and the end of their conversation; and, through their faith and patience upon earth, they now inherit the promised glory in heaven.

By the books Paul got at the true account of the creation and generation of the world; whereby he traces all things up to the first cause, the triune parent of all, and the all-wise disposer of all events. He never found in all the books any thing like the eternity of the earth, as deists dream, and fools believe. Paul doth not make God a reformer or a reviser, but the Maker and Creator of all things. By faith we understand that the world was framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of the things which do appear."

We are well informed who founded the earth, and who spread out the heavens; and how the one is to be dissolved, and the other wrapped up at last, when the mystery of God shall be finished, and the measure of iniquity filled.

From the books Paul gathers the account of the ancient counsels, covenants, and settlements, of eternity. The heavenly Father's counsel and will of purpose; his absolute choice of the virgin Mary's seed to be assumed in her womb in the fulness of time by the divine word, and to be made by eternal union one with him; of the Saviour's agreeing to take part of the children's flesh and blood; of the Father's love to us, and choice of us in him; of his giving him to us, and we to him; of the life he gave us in him, and of our predestination to be conformed to

his image, to life and glory in him, and of bringing us to the external enjoyment of it by him.

He shews from the books the prophecies and promises that went before, and the accomplishment of both by the appearance of Christ, and the glory that should follow his appearance, both to Jews and Gentiles. The rejection of the Jews for their unbelief, and the salvation of the Gentiles upon it ; the restoration of all the tribes, and the Gentiles' fulness with them; the universal reign of Christ; his second appearance at the world's end; the resurrection of the just at it; the new heaven and the new earth; the glorious rest that remains to the people of God; the keeping of the great Sabbath in the thousand years' reign; the resurrection of the wicked, and their final judgment, at the close of it; together with the delivery up of the kingdom of grace to the Father, that the kingdom of ultimate glory may take place; which, in the fulfilment and blessed enjoyment, is all that heart can hope, or hope expect.

From the books we learn the creation of angels by Christ, and the decree made known to them, that, when the first begotten was to be brought into the world, (in human nature) all the angels of God were to worship him.

But some resisted this their Maker's will, and in this matter despised the very race of human beings, and rebelled against that divine revelation, or that decree declared, and so abode not in the truth, for

which they were charged with folly, and banished from their own habitations, from the mansions of bliss; to which folly (out of revenge) they add that of the great transgression, by endeavouring to counteract the will of God in every thing relative to our salvation. They beguiled Eve, and seduced Adam by her means, and so brought sin into the world, and death by sin; by which they have usurped kingly dominion over the children of men, in whom we have all had our conversation in times past.

The books shew us the destruction of Satan and his works by the death of Christ; how Satan's head was broken by the Saviour's bruised heel; the judgment of angels at the last day by Christ the Judge, and by the verdict of every preacher, and by the testimony of all the saints; and the books conclude with the eternal banishment, imprisonment, and punishment of Satan, and all his angelic legions, and of all the human myriads that have favoured and supported his cursed interest, and who have died in alliance with him.

But again, besides these sacred books of the holy scriptures, we may see that, as Paul's work lay amongst the heathen, and his enemies were always plotting against him, if he could pick up any book. of theirs which in any sense made for his purpose, he chose to make use of it. The Athenians seem to have been determined to engross all the gods, and their affections, to themselves; and, fearing lest there should be any god which they knew not, they deter

mined not to provoke him to jealousy, and therefore dedicated one altar to him, if there should happen to be such a being in this world, or elsewhere; and, having thus secured themselves from the anger of jealousy of every god, as they hoped, it appears that they made a law to punish either with death, or something capital, any person that should declare or proclaim any strange god among them; and by this law it should seem they apprehended Paul, when he preached the death and resurrection of Jesus; for "certain philosophers of the Epicureans and of the Stoicks encountered him; and some said, What will this babbler say? Other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods, because he preached to them Jesus, and the resurrection. And they took him, and brought him to Mars-hill, saying, May we know what this new doctrine whereof thou speakest is? for thou bringest strange things to our ears; we would know, therefore, what these things mean. Paul seems to have some knowledge of this law, and makes good use of what he knew of it. He informs them that they could not lay such a thing to him nor support such a charge against him; for " as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I saw an 'altar with this inscription, To the unknown God Whom ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. Now, as there most certainly was such a God, and whom they acknowledged to be an unknown one, and had dedicated an altar to him, Paul applies the inscription of the altar to their ignorance in

worship, and declares in his doctrine that God to them which they confessed they knew nothing of, and so worked himself out of that clause of their act, and out of the hands of his accusers: in all which we may see the wisdom of the serpent, and the harmlessness of the dove..

giveth to all life, hath made of one

Again, Paul handles another of their books against them. "God, that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands, neither is worshipped with men's hands as though he needed any thing, seeing he and breath, and all things, and blood all nations of men, for in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, for we are his offspring; for asmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, and silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device."

Once more, Paul quotes a passage out of a Cretian poet against the Cretians; one of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are always liars, evil beasts, slow bellies; in which hẹ represents their national sin to be that of lying, their dispositions to be savage and brutal, and that their hands were slow to labour, and their bellies as slow, dead, and heavy, being indulged in gluttony and excess; and declares this witness to be true, and bids Titus rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith. I shall now dis

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