ON THE CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL.

energy and decision; dissatisfied with mediocrity, he carried his
principles to the extreme, and was formed to encounter and van-
quish opposition. Dificulties, instead of discouraging, roused
and caused him to put forth all his strength. He was a consci-
He felt that duty was impe-
entious, though misguided man.
rious, and when he was persuaded that any thing was a duty, he
never rested till he had performed it. Talents, learning, bigotry,
self-righteousness, a scrupulous attention to the minutest ceremo-
nies, energy, and conscience, were like a sevenfold shield to repel
the arrows of truth., Our Lord declares that the conversion of
a pharisce is less probable than that of a publican or a prostitute;
and experience corroborates the Scripture which asserts, that
"not many wise men after the flesh are called."

A furious persecution of the Christians was commenced by the
Pharisees, and other advocates for the law of Moses; and Stephen
fell the first victim to their rage. By this means the Christians
were "scattered abroad," and carried the gospel to the different
places to which they fled for shelter, and converted many. Saul
now determined to take an active part in extirpating them.
The High Priest furnished him with requisite powers and cre-
dentials; and, armed with this authority, "He made havock of
the church, entering into every house, and hailing men and wo-
Hearing that there were
men, committed them to prison."
Christians in Damascus, he set off for that city, "Breathing out
threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, be-
ing exceedingly mad against them," as St. Luke strongly ex-
presses it, and St. Paul himself acknowledges.

Interest

Consider the state of his mind as he travelled along the road. Ambition stimulated him; his conduct would embalm his memory, and rank him amongst the Jewish worthies. spurred him; he should presently rise to riches, honours, and preferments. Religion urged him; he thought he was doing God service, and should have a place in Heaven by the side of Abraham and Moses. Every angry passion raged uncontrolled, and every tender feeling was extinguished. His zeal was more bitter than wormwood, more fierce than the devouring flame, and his heart was harder than adamant itself. He appears to be eminently the son of perdition." His conversion seems hopeless. Time works wonders; yet time itself can hardly be expected to wear away impressions so deeply engraved on such an obdurate soul. Every thing in nature and in providence conspires to strengthen him in infidelity; and revelation itself, being "But my thoughts are not misunderstood, contributes to it. your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from Heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bad, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to

!

the eater, so shall my word be that goeth out of my mouth; it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."When he drew near to Damascus, he was suddenly struck to the ground. He fell an unbeliever, a persecutor, an enemy to God: -he rose a Christian, a new creature, a meek and humble disciple of Jesus Christ. What hath God wrought? The language of Isaiah is finely expressive of the change which was now effected. "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf, and the young hon, and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child put his hand on the cockatrice den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain.”

It would be an insult to common sense to suppose that St. Paul converted himself, or had any share in his conversion. Neither can it be reasonably supposed that he was converted by the external evidence of the miraculous light and voice which he saw and heard; for he had resisted the vastly superior and almost innumerable miracles in the cool hour of reflection; it was not very probable therefore that he would yield to it in the warmth and violence of passion. If it be objected, The other Hiracies were wrought on strangers, this was performed on himself; the light blinded him, the voice addressed him distinctly, and a supernatural power struck him to the ground,—I reply, The terror attending these awful circumstances might have made him confess that Jesus was the Christ, and have suspended his persecuting rage while it lasted; but, as it abated, unbelief and all the evil passions would revive. We have an instance of this in Volney, the French atheist; in a violent storm at sea, when the ship was in imminent danger of being lost, Volney threw. himself on the deck, crying in an agony, "Oh, my God! my God!" There is a God then, Monsieur Volney?' said one of the passengers to him; "O yes! there is, there is! Lord save me," exclaimed the terrified infidel. The ship, however, got safely to port: Volney was extremely disconcerted when his confession was publicly related; but excused it, by saying, he was so frightened by the storm that he did not know what he said, and iramediately returned to his atheistical sentiments.

66

The Holy Spirit adapts a person to the work he intends him to perform; he does not select him for a work because he is fit for it, but qualifies and makes him fit, after he has selected him. Having chosen St. Paul to bear his gospel "before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel," he employed both nature and providence to prepare him for it. The one gave him talents and energy, which the other cultivated and increased, and finally, Grace sanctified them.

Wotton under Edge.

W. W.

THE WISDOM PROPER TO MAN;

OR, A BRIEF COMMENT AND REFLECTIONS ON JOB XXVIII.

In the fierce disputes between Job and his friends, the great question was, " Whether the providence of God towards men, in a way of prosperity or adversity, afforded any criterion of character? They contended it did; and, therefore, concluded, from the sore calamities which had befallen him, that he was a wicked man. He, on the contrary, contended, that it did not; and that there is a depth in God's ways which surpasseth mortal scrutiny. Such is the drift of his argument all thro igh this chapter: in which he allows that man had dug deep, but contends that it was not deep enough for this: that this was wisdom peculiar to God; and that that which was proper to man was of another description.

Man, he allows, had found out many things: he had not only surveyed all that was visible on the face of the earth; but had gone into the bowels of it, in search of hidden treasures. By carrying artificial light into the mineral regions, he had in a manner contracted the reign of darkness. Subterranean floods had yielded to his controul. Leaving far behind him that part of his species who obtain bread by cultivating the surface, he had descended in search of the sparkling ore and the brilliant gems. He had trodden a path unoccupied by either bird or beast. By applying his skill to the massy rocks, though so deep as to form, as it were, "the roots of mountains," he had, piece by piece, fairly overturned them. Being incommoded by waters, he had, for the purpose of drawing them off, and for washing away the rubbish, that the precious objects of his pursuit might become visible, made channels at the bottom of the mine like "rivers ;" and, lest they should rise and overflow him, he had contrived, by the use of machinery, to diminish, and thereby to confine them within proper bounds. In short, by his skill and perseverance,. he had brought forth the precious articles to light. See him walking upon the earth in triumph! Who can deny him their

applause?

After all these deep and successful researches, however, one question remained unanswered," Where shall Wisdom be found? and Where is the place of Understanding?" The vein or mine where wisdom grows was yet unexplored. The depths of Providence were still beyond human reach. Industry could not discover it, nor all its precious treasures purchase it! You may search, not the earth only, but the ocean, and s ill the question will return," Whence cometh Wisdom? and Where is the place of Understanding?" It is hid from the eyes of all living, even from the most soaring minds. Death or futurity may throw some light upon it; but even that will be partial. A perfect 3 E

XIV.

comprehension of it is the prerogative of God only. He only who made all things can comprehend his own designs.

There is, however, a species of wisdom within the province of man; and let him attend to that as his own proper concern. "Unto man, he said, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding."

REFLECTIONS.

From the whole we see there are three species of wisdom: The first is the wisdom of this world, and which is common among men ;- the next is the wisdom peculiar to God, but to which men too frequently aspire; and the last is the wisdom from above, and which is proper tó man.

With respect to the first, there is much to admire. The extent to which human ingenuity will go, in accomplishing worldly objects, is astonishing. The energies herein exerted are worthy of a better cause. What self-denial, what resolution, what contrivance, what application, what patience, what perseverance! There is scarcely a danger but men will encounter it, or a difficulty but they will surmount it. That which strength cannot effect at once, art and application will accomplish by degrees. But alas! the prize for which all these energies are exerted is perishing; and will shortly be of no account. "Where then is wisdom, and where is the place of understanding?" Surely, it is not here!

With respect to the second, it is not Job's friends only that have intruded into things which they have not seen. "It is well," said a great writer, " for man to know the length of his tether." Our Saviour was asked, "Whether there were few that should be saved?" But he refused a direct answer; and there are hundreds of questions started in divinity, which, I believe, Christ or his apostles would have treated in the same manner. I have seen attempts to ascertain how God exists in three persons, how divine predestination consists with human agency and accountableness,· how a pure creature came to entertain the idea of casting off the government of his Creator; and many other things of the kind: but they always seemed to me to darken counsel with words without knowledge. We find the solution of no such questions in the word of God; and we find Moses warning the Israelites, that "secret things belong to the Lord our God; and things which are revealed to us and to our chil dren for ever." We also hear David declaring, "Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty; neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me. Surely, I have behaved and quicted myself as a child that is weaned of his mother. My soul is even as a weaned child." Let vain men, on this account, go on to speak of the Scriptures as not adapted to "any high perfection in knowledge:" let them eharge the sacred writers, and even their Lord himself, with ig

A PARENT'S REFLECTIONS.

895

norance; but let not serious Christians aim to be wise above what is written. When we see a writer of this description dis cussing subjects too high for him, and concerning which the Scriptures are silent, however we may respect his character or his talents, we must needs say to him as Job does to the miner, "Where is wisdom? - and Where is the place of understanding?" It is beyond the limits of thy researches.

The third and last kind of wisdom is that which is proper to man. "Unto man he said, The fear of the Lord, that is wise dom; and to depart from evil is understanding." It is practi cal, and not merely speculative. All speculative knowledge is either in itself injurious, or, through the corruption of the human heart, dangerous: but this directly tends to humble, and so to profit the soul. The very words are of a humbling nature: it is the language of a wise Master to a weak but conceited servant, charging him to keep to that employment which he has set hum about, and not to neglect it by interfering in what does not concern him. It is language that abases the pride of Science; for in fearing the Lord, and departing from evil, the unlearned and the learned stand upon the same ground. Science, it is true, is in many ways friendly to religion; but to be truly profitable to the party, it is necessary that, amidst all his acquirements, he should become a fool, that he may be wise." Finally, The language implies, that man is so sunk and entangled in evil, that there is work enough for his understanding, during the short space allotted him in this world, to depart from it. Instead of perplexing himself with things too high for him, let him ask, "Wherewith shall a man cleanse his way? How is the love of evil to be conquered? What principle is that which will raise my soul from the bondage of corruption? Where is the good way, that I may walk in it, and find rest for my soul?" "Here is wisdom, and here is the place of understanding;" at least that which is proper to man. GAIUS.

*

Lindsey's Apol, ch. ii, Priestley on Necessity, p. 133.

A PARENT'S REFLECTIONS.

EVERY thing that God does must be important. With a word, he creates an universe; and with his breath, millions of immortal souls! "Who is a god like unto our God? Glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, continually doing wonders!" Creation attests his power; but man displays his image and his grace: Creation is the scaffolding; but man the "habitation of God, through the Spirit." Hence the little infant becomes an object of importance, not only as it is "fearfully and wonder