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know; yea the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all." It is the omnipotence of God visibly displayed for the ratification of that which would not otherwise have been believed-When the Apostles stand forth with an intrepid resolution to publish a statement that could not fail to provoke the vengeance of established authorities; the principle on which they act is simple and operative. The injunctions of Heaven are laid upon them, and forbid their consideration of temporary power. "Whether it be right in the sight of God, to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye-for we cannot but speak the things that we have seen and heard-we ought to obey God rather than men." If, further, they be found sacrificing to the assertion of Christian facts and principles every earthly interest, and all mortal happiness; the motive assigned is equal to their conduct. "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, yet not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down but not destroyed; knowing that He, which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus-for which cause we faint not: but, though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our 1 Acts iii. 12, 13, 16. 2 Acts iv. 19, 20. v. 29.

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outward affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Whilst we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." 1 If in the midst of an almost unearthly career, pursued with the animation of such hopes as these, any of them are found to betray occasionally the littleness and infirmity of human nature; all this is consistent with a system, which exalts, but does not extinguish human feelings. That confession of mortal imperfection, which one of them put forth in the season of their triumph, must not be forgotten in the hour of their weakness. “We also are men of like passions with you." They may at least be acquitted from any impeachment of their sincerity, if, after having laboured in the united vindication of Christian Truth, any of them should be seduced by the influence of such passions to a culpable dispute and angry separation. And, further, if after such a rupture, they should still continue, though without any longer co

1

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2 Cor. iv. v.

2 Acts xiv. 15.

operation, to disseminate the same principles, and to maintain the same cause; the sincerity of their convictions will account for this; for their attachment to that cause was the predominant attachment, and, on the principles of human nature might not be, and on those of Christianity should not be affected by the suspension of other ties - especially of such as originated only in their adherence to a common' object. So far, indeed, does their attachment to this object appear to have absorbed the lesser interests, and minor instincts of life, that one of them, writing to his Corinthian converts, exhorts them to adopt with him the resolution, of merging natural sympathies in the overwhelming principle of principle of Christian love.

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Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh; yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet, now we know him no more."1 And, not only does this principle appear to have subordinated the friendships of time to the concerns of eternity, but almost to have annihilated in the mind of this Apostle even the sense of personal injury, whenever the interests of Christianity were at stake. "Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife, and some also of good will. The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, sup

1 2 Cor. v. 16.

posing to add afflictions to my bonds.

But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the Gospel. What then? Notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached

and I therein

do rejoice; yea, and will rejoice."2 Now, let the philosopher attribute these effects to a "ruling passion," or or the Christian to the "love of Christ" their explanation is attended with no difficulty, on the supposition that this distinguished individual was honest in his conduct, and, though none beside have ever exhibited such devotion, the singularity of the case would amount to no impossibility. On the contrary, an investigation of all that was involved in his personal conviction would rather lead us to ask why such instance should be rare, than to scruple its admission as an historical fact, or entertain a doubt as to its proper solution. The case also of a temporary desertion from the laborious prosecution of the Christian cause is obviously attributable to the fluctuations of an inconstant, or the weakness of an infirm mind. The circumstances of the time are quite consistent with such a construction, without any inculpation of the truth of the system, or even of a personal belief in it on the part of the individual. The conveniences incident to

2 Philipp. i. 15, 18.
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the maintenance of the system being actual and present, and the happiness annexed to it for the most part unseen and reversionary, such conduct is explained by the imbecility of our nature, and is indeed the spontaneous result of its impatience and indiscretion. A preference of present to future good is too common in our own day, amongst those who cannot be charged with scepticism, to warrant our expecting, that none who then believed it could neglect its influence, even to the extent of practical apostacy. We feel an emotion of pain, but none of doubt, when we read the complaint of the captive Apostle, "Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world," because we know that the consequences of such conduct are not the less certain, nor their previous acknowledgement necessarily the less sincere, because some earthly seduction may have induced an inattention to the one, or even a total relinquishment of the other. Experience has demonstrated, that the secularities of life, and the "powers of the world to come" are capable of exercising an indefinite influence on human conduct; and this, in each instance, without the absolute exclusion, of the other. Individuals of great susceptibility have been known to vacillate between almost every degree of austerity and

12 Tim. iv. 10.