the tenets of the Cerinthians, the following particulars (taken from the author's larger Introduction) are necessary to be known in order to understand the design of the evangelist in composing his Gospel.

Cerinthus was by birth a Jew, who lived at the close of the first century: having studied literature and philosophy at Alexandria, he attempted, at length, to form a new and singular system of doctrine and discipline, by a monstrous combination of the doctrines of Jesus Christ, with the opinions and errors of the Jews and Gnostics. From the latter he borrowed their Pleroma, or fulness, their Æons, or spirits, their Demiurgus, or creator of the visible world, &c. and so modified and tempered these fictions as to give them an air of Judaism, which must have considerably favoured the progress of his heresy. He taught, that the most high God was utterly unknown before the appearance of Christ, and dwelt in a remote heaven called ПÄHРMA (Plerōma) with the chief spirits, or æons. That this supreme God first generated an only begotten soN, MONOTENHΣ (Monogenes, who again begat the WORD, AOTOE (Logos,) which was inferior to the first-born. That CHRIST was a still lower æon, though far superior to some others. That there were two higher æons, distinct from Christ; one called ZOH (Zoe,) or LIFE, and the other 2 (Phōs,) or the LIGHT. That from the æons again proceeded inferior orders of spirits, and particularly one Demiurgus, who created this visible world out of eternal matter. That this Demiurgus was ignorant of the supreme God, and much lower than the æons, which were wholly invisible. That he was, however, the peculiar God and protector of the Israelites, and sent Moses to them, whose laws were to be of perpetual obligation. That Jesus was a mere man, of the most illustrious sanctity and justice, the real son of Joseph and Mary. That the æon Christ descended upon him in the form of a dove, when he was baptized, revealed to him the unknown Father, and empowered him to work miracles. That the æon LIGHT entered John the Baptist in the same manner, and, therefore, that John was in some respects preferable to Christ. That Jesus, after his union with Christ, opposed himself with vigour to the God of the Jews, at whose instigation he was seized and crucified by the Hebrew chiefs, and that when Jesus was

taken captive, and came to suffer, Christ ascended up on high, so that the man Jesus alone was subjected to the pains of an ignominious death. That Christ will one day return upon earth, and renewing his former union with the man Jesus, will reign in Palestine a thousand years, during which his disciples will enjoy the most exquisite sensual delights

Bearing these dogmas in mind, we shall find that Saint John's Gospel is divided into three parts, viz.

PART I. contains doctrines laid down in opposition to those of Cerinthus. (John i. 1—18.)

PART II. delivers the proofs of those doctrines in a historical manner. (i. 19,-xx. 29.

PART III. is a conclusion, or appendix, giving an account of the person of the writer, and of his design in writing his Gospel. (xx. 30, 31, xxi.)

SECTION VL-On the Acts of the Apostles.

The Book of the ACTS of the APOSTLES forms the fifth and last of the historical books of the New Testament, and connects the Gospels with the Epistles; being a useful postscript to the former, and a proper introduction to the latter. That Saint Luke was the author of the Acts of the Apostles, is evident, both from the introduction, and from the unanimous testimonies of the early Christians. The Gospel and the Book of the Acts of the Apostles are both inscribed to Theophilus and in the very first verse of the Acts there is a reference made to his Gospel, which he calls "the former Treatise." On this account Dr. Benson and some other critics have conjectured that Saint Luke wrote the Gospel and Acts in one book, and divided it into two parts. From the frequent use of the first person plural, it is clear that he was present at most of the transactions he relates. To the genuineness and authenticity of this book, which was written about the year 63, all the Christian Fathers bear unanimous testimony.

The acts of the apostles may be divided into three principal parts; viz.:

PART I. contains the Rise and Progress of the mother church at Jerusalem, from the time of our Saviour's ascension to the first Jewish persecution. (ch. i.—viii.)

PART II. comprises the Dispersion of the Disciples-the propagation of Christianity among the Samaritans-the conversion of Saint Paul, and the foundation of a Christian church at Antioch. (ch. viii. 5, xii.)

PART III. describes the conversion of the more remote Gentiles, by Barnabas and Paul, and, after their separation, by Paul and his associates, among whom was Luke himself during the latter part of Paul's labours. (ch. xiii.— xxviii.)

The Acts of the Apostles afford abundant evidence of the truth and divine original of the Christian religion; for we learn from this book, that the Gospel was not indebted for its success to deceit or fraud; but it was wholly the result of the mighty power of God, and of the excellence and efficacy of the saving truths which it contains. The general and particular doctrines comprised in the Acts of the Apostles, are perfectly in unison with the glorious truths revealed in the Gospels, and illustrated in the apostolic Epistles; and are admirably suited to the state of the persons, whether Jews or Gentiles, to whom they were addressed. And the evidences which the apostles gave of their doctrine, in their appeals to prophecies and miracles, and the various gifts of the Spirit, were so numerous and so strong, and at the same time so widely adapted to every class of persons, that the truth of the religion which they attest cannot be reasonably disputed.

In perusing this very interesting portion of sacred history, it will be desirable constantly to refer to the accompanying map of the Travels of the Apostles, particularly those of Saint Paul.

CHAPTER II.

ON THE EPISTOLARY OR DOCTRINAL WRITINGS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, PARTICULARLY THOSE OF SAINT PAUL.

SECTION I.-A Brief Account of the Apostle Paul.-Nature of the Epistolarly Writings of the New Testament.

I. A BRIEF Account of Saint Paul.

SAUL, also called PAUL, (by which name this illustrious apostle was generally known after his preaching among the Gentiles, especially among the Greeks and Romans,) was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, a descendant of the patriarch Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin, and a native of Tarsus, then the chief city of Cilicia. By birth he was a citizen of Rome, a distinguished honour and privilege, which had been conferred on some of his ancestors for services rendered to the commonwealth during the wars. His father was a Pharisee, and he himself was educated in the most rigid principles of that sect; but he was also early initiated into Greek literature at Tarsus: and his parents completed his education by having him taught the art of tent-making, in conformity with the custom of the Jews at that time. It appears from Acts xxiii. 16-22, and Rom. xvi. 7. 11. 21, that his sister's son and some others of his relations were Christians, and had embraced the Gospel before his conversion; but Saul himself was an inveterate enemy of the Christian name and faith, until his conversion in A.D. 35, on the road to Damascus whither he was going with letters of commission from the high priest and elders, or sanhedrin, to the synagogue of the Jews at Damascus, empowering him to bring to Jerusalem any Christians, whether men or women, whom he might find there.

Shortly after his baptism, and the descent of the Holy Spirit upon him, Saul went into Arabia; (Gal. i. 17;) and during his residence in that country he was fully instructed, as we may reasonably think, by divine revelation, and by diligent study of the Old Testament, in the doctrines and duties of the Gospel. Three years after his conversion, he returned to Damascus, A.D. 38, (Gal. i. 18,) and boldly preached the Gospel to the Jews,

who, rejecting his testimony, as an apostate, conspired to kill him; but, the plot being communicated to Saul, he escaped from Damascus privately by night, and went up to Jerusalem, for the first time since his conversion. After some hesitation on the part of the Christians in that city, he was acknowledged to be a disciple. He remained at Jerusalem only fifteen days, during which his boldness in preaching the Gospel so irritated the Hellenistic Jews, that they conspired against him; "which when the brethren knew, they brought him down to Cæsarea Philippi, and sent him forth to Tarsus." (Acts ix. 28-30.)

From that time (A.D. 39) to the year 58, the apostle preached the Gospel in various parts of Asia Minor and in Greece with great energy and success; but, being rescued from a tumultuous assembly of Jews, who would have put him to death, at Jerusalem, (Acts xxi, xxii.) he was sent Cæsarea by the tribune Lysias, who directed the Jewish council to accuse him before Felix, the Roman procurator. By this officer he was detained in prison two years; and, his cause being heard before Festus the successor of Felix, the apostle appealed to the imperial tribunal, and was sent to Rome, (Acts xxiv.-xxvii.) A.D. 60. Here he was confined two years, from A.D. 61 to 63. As Saint Luke has not continued Saint Paul's history beyond his first imprisonment at Rome, we have no authentic record of his subsequent travels and labours from the spring of A.D. 63, when he was released, to the time of his martyrdom. This is said to have taken place by decapitation, June 29, A.D. 66, at Aquæ Salviæ, three miles from Rome. Fourteen epistles are extant bearing the name of this distinguished "apostle of Jesus Christ," whose life and labours have justly been considered as an irrefragable proof of the truth of the Christian revelation. II. Nature and Design of the Epistolary Writings of the New Testament

The Epistles, or letters addressed to various Christian communities, and also to individuals, by the apostles Paul, James, Peter, and John, form the second principal division of the New Testament. These writings abundantly confirm all the material facts related in the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles. The particulars of our Savour's life and death are often referred to in them, as grounded upon the