to the Corinthians he fays, We have wronged no man, we have corrupted no maa, we have defrauded no man, 2 Cor. vii. 2.

It was not, then, the defire of gratifying any irregular paffion that could induce St. Paul to turn Christian, any more than the hope of advancing himself either in wealth, or reputation, or power. But ftill it is poffible, fome men may say, (and I would leave no imaginable objection unanswered) that though St. Paul could have no felfish or interested view in undertaking fuch an imposture, yet for the fake of its moral doctrines he might be inclined to fupport the Christian faith, and make use of some pious frauds to advance a religion, which, though erroneous and falfe in its theological tenets, and in the facts upon which it was grounded, was in its precepts and influence beneficial to mankind.

fumptive proof of his being no impoftor! Surely had he been one, he would have given some hints in these private letters of the cheat they were carrying on, and fome fecret directions to turn it to fome worldly purposes of one kind or another; but no fuch thing is to be found in any one of them. The fame difinterested, holy, and divine spirit, breathes in all thefe, as in the other more public epiftles.

8

Now

Now it is true that fome good men in the heathen world have both pretended to Divine revelations, and introduced or fupported religions they knew to be falfe, under a notion of public utility: but befides that this practice was built upon maxims difclaimed by the Jews, (who looking upon truth, not utility,, to be the basis of their religion, abhorred all fuch frauds, and thought them injurious to the honour of God) the circumstances they acted in were very different from thofe of St.. Paul.

The firft reformers of favage, uncivilized nations, had no other way to tame those barbarous people, and bring them to fubmit to order and government, but by the reverencewhich they acquired from this pretence.. The fraud was therefore alike beneficial both to the deceiver and the deceived.. And in all other inftances which can be given of good men acting this part, they not only did it to ferve good ends, but were fecure of its doing no harm. Thus when Lycurgus perfuaded the Spartans, or Numa the Romans,, that the laws of the one were inspired by Apollo, or thofe of the other by Egeria,, when they taught their people to put great. faith

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faith in oracles, or in augury, no temporal mischief either to them or their people could attend the reception of that belief. It drew on no perfecutions, no enmity with the world. But at that time when St. Paul undertook the preaching of the Gospel to perfuade any man to be a Christian, was to perfuade him to expofe himself to all the calumnies human nature could fuffer. This St. Paul knew; this he not only expected, but warned thofe he taught to look for it too, 1 Theff. iii. 4. 2 Cor. vi. 4, 5. Eph. vi. 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16. Phil. i. 28, 29, 30. Col. i. 9, 10, 11. Rom. viii. 35, 36. The only support that he had himself, or gave to them, was, That if they fuffered with Christ,

they should be alfo glorified together.' And that he reckoned that the fufferings of the 'present time were not worthy to be com

pared with that glory.' Rom. viii. 17, 18. So likewife he writes to the Theffalonians. "We ourselves glory in you, in the churches of God, for your patience and faith in all your perfecutions and tribulations that you endure; which is a manifeft token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may ' be counted worthy of the kingdom of God,

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for which alfo ye fuffer. Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompenfe [or pay] tribulation to them that trouble you; and to you who are troubled, reft with us, when the Lord Jefus fhall be revealed from • Heaven, with his mighty angels,' &c. 2 Theff. i. 4, 5, 6, 7. And to the Corinthians Thess. he fays, If in this life only we have hope in Chrift, we are of all men the most miferable.' How much reason he had to say this, the hatred, the contempt, the torments, the deaths endured by the chriftians in that age, and long afterwards, abundantly prove. Who-: ever professed the Gospel under these circumftances, without an entire conviction of its being a Divine revelation, must have been mad; and if he made others profess it by fraud or deceit, he must have been worse than mad; he must have been the most hardened wretch that ever breathed. Could any man who had in his nature the leaft fpark of humanity, subject his fellow-creatures to fo many miferies; or could one that had in his mind the least ray of reafon, expofe himself to share them with thofe he deceived, in order to advance a religion which he knew to be falfe, merely for the fake of its moral doc

trines?

trines? Such an extravagance is too abfurd to be fuppofed; and I dwell too long on a notion that upon a little reflection confutes itself.

I would only add to the other proofs I have given, that St. Paul could have no rational motive to become a Difciple of Chrift, unlefs. he fincerely believed in him, this obfervation that whereas it may be objected to the other Apostles, by thofe who are refolved! not to credit their teftimony, that having been: deeply engaged with Jefus during his life,. they were obliged to continue the fame profeffions after his death, for the fupport of their own credit, and from having gone too far to go back, this can by no means be faid. of St. Paul. On the contrary, whatever force there may be in that way of reafoning, it all tends to convince us that St. Paul muft naturally have continued a Jew, and an enemy of Christ Jesus: if they were engaged on one fide, he was as ftrongly engaged on the other. If fhame with-held them from changing fides, much more ought it to have ftopt him, who, being of a higher education and rank in life a great deal than they, had more credit to lofe, and must be fuppofed to have been