conversion, and the part that he acted in conse quence of it, was an imposture, it was such an imposture as could not be carried on by one man alone. The faith he professed, and of which he became an apostle, was not his invention. He was not the author or beginner of it, and therefore it was not in his power to draw the doctrines of it out of his own imagination; with Jesus, who was the Author and Head of it, he had never had any communication before his death, nor with his apostles after his death, except as their persecutor.

As he took on himself the office and character of an apostle, it was absolutely necessary for him to have a precise and perfect knowledge of all the facts contained in the gospel, several of which had only passed between Jesus himself and his twelve apostles, and others more privately still, so that they could be known but to very few, being not yet made public by any writings; otherwise, he would have exposed himself to ridicule among those who preached that gospel with more knowledge than he; and as the testimony they bore would have been different in point of fact, and many of their doctrines and interpretations of Scripture repugnant to his, from their entire disagreement with those Jewish opinions in which he was bred up; either they must have been forced to ruin his credit, or he would have ruined theirs. It was therefore impossible for him to act this part but in confederacy, at least with the apostles.

But how could he gain these men to become his confederates? How could he learn of them by what secret arts they so imposed upon the senses and understandings of men? Was it by furiously persecuting them and their brethren, as we find that

he did, to the very moment of his conversion? Would they venture to trust their capital enemy with all the secrets of their imposture,-with those upon which all their hopes and credit depended? All this is still more impossible than that he should attempt to engage in their fraud without their consent and assistance.

To

Had the miraculous story of his conversion been an imposture, there were difficulties at the very outset which could not be overcome. account for the way he chose of declaring himself a convert to Christ, we must suppose, that all those who were with him when he pretended he had his vision, were his accomplices; otherwise the story he told could have gained no belief, being contradicted by them whose testimony was necessary to vouch for the truth of it. And yet, how can we suppose that all these men should be willing to join in this imposture? They were probably officers of justice, or soldiers, who had been employed often before in executing the orders of the high-priest and the rulers, against the Christians.

it

What then should now induce them to betray the business they were employed in? Or does even appear that they had any connection with the man they so lied for, or had any reward from him for it? But they must have been accomplices in carrying on this wicked fraud, and the whole matter must have been previously agreed on between them,-a supposition too improbable to be admitted. Had the Jews, either at Damascus or Jerusalem, who were concerned in discovering the cheat, been able to convict him of fraud in this affair, the whole scheme must

have been nipt in the bud. But we find that many years afterwards, when they had all the time and means they could desire, to make the strictest inquiry, he was bold enough to appeal to Agrippa, in the presence of Festus, upon his own knowledge of the truth of his story,-a very remarkable proof, both of the notoriety of the fact, and the integrity of the man.

But further, let us observe in what manner this wondrous imposture was carried on by Paul himself. His first care ought to have been to get himself owned and received as an apostle; till this was done, the bottom he stood upon was very narrow; nor could he have any probable means of supporting himself in any esteem or credit among the disciples. Intruders run a double risk; they are in danger of being detected, not only by those upon whom they attempt to practise their cheats, but also by those into whose society they force themselves, who must always be jealous of such an intrusion, and much more from one who had before been their declared enemy. To gain the apostles, therefore, and bring them to admit him into a participation of all their mysteries, all their designs, and all their authority, was absolutely necessary; but instead of attending to this, he went into Arabia, returned to Damascus, and did not repair to Jerusalem till three years had elapsed. Among the apostles themselves he used no arts to conciliate favour, and betrayed no fears as to the grounds of his apostleship. "He even withstood Peter to the face, and reproved him before all the disciples, because he was to be blamed." If he was an impostor, how could he venture to offend one whom it so highly cou

cerned him to agree with,-and to please. Accomplices in fraud, are obliged to shew greater regard to each other,such freedom belongs to truth alone.

There is another part of his apostolical functions connected with this stage of the argument, deserving of particular notice; and that is, the difficulties St Paul had to encounter among the Gentiles, in the enterprise he undertook of going to them, making himself their apostle, and converting them to the religion of Christ. In this enterprise he had to contend, first, with the policy and power of the magistrates, which was every where armed with all its terrors against Christianity. When, therefore, St Paul undertook the conversion of the Gentiles, he knew very well that the most severe persecutions must be the consequence of any success in his design.

In the second place, he had to contend with the interest, credit, and craft of the priests. How gainful a trade they, with all their inferior dependants, made of those superstitions which he proposed to destroy; how much credit they had with the people, as well as the state, by means of them, and how much craft they employed in carrying on their imposture, all history shews. St Paul could not doubt that all these men would exert their utmost abilities to stop the spreading of the doctrines he preached,-doctrines which struck at the root of their power and gain. Whatever, therefore, their cunning could do to support their own worship, whatever aid they could draw from the magistrate, whatever zeal they could raise in the people, St Paul had to contend with, unsupported by any human assistance.

The apostle had, in the third place, to encounter all the prejudices and passions of the people. Had he confined his preaching to Judea alone, this difficulty would not have been so great. The people there had begun to be somewhat favourably disposed towards the miracles and teaching of the apostles; but among the Gentiles, no such disposi tions could be expected. Their prejudices were violent, not only in favour of their own superstitions, but in a particular manner against any doctrines taught by a Jew; whom all other nations hated and despised. What authority then could St Paul flatter himself that his preaching would carry along with it, among people to whom he was at once both the object of national hatred, and national scorn?

But besides the popular prejudices against his nation, the doctrines he taught were such as shocked all their most ingrafted religious opinions. They agreed to no principles of which he could avail himself to procure their assent to the other parts of the gospel he preached. They expected no Christ, like the Jews. They allowed no such Scriptures as the Old Testament, which contained predictions and proofs of the Messiah, to which he could refer.

Besides, they were strongly attached to idolatry, not by their prejudices alone, but by their passions, which were flattered and gratified by it. Its rites dazzled their senses by magnificent shews, and allured them by pleasures often of a very impure and immoral nature. Instead of all this, the gospel proposed to them no other terms of acceptance with God, but a worshipping him in spirit and truth, sincere repentance, and perfect submission to the