good-that they should perfevere in this design after they began to feel its confequences-that they fhould perfift in it until death-that never a fingle man fhould defert the cause and discover the fraud. This would furpass all miracles.

If their design had been a fraud, it might, in the time of it, have been eafily detected and fup preffed.

The facts, which they relate, they declared, were done publicly and recently, and that they were known and remembered by many then living. If there had been no fuch perfon as Jefus Chrift, or if he had performed no fuch miracles as are afcrib ed to him; no credit would have been given to their report.

The difciples of Jefus had enemies who wished to confound them. The Jewish rulers fpared no pains to fupprefs the Chriftian caufe. Their en mity to it would have excited them to convict the witneffes of falsehood, if they had not known that the facts afferted were indifputable. If they had discovered any fraud, they would immediately have made it public, As they never denied the facts, but only ftudied to evade the conclufion. drawn from them, they must have been convinced, that the facts themselves were undeniable.

These witnesses have left a written teftimony which has come down to us with every defirable circumstance of credibility.

There are four men who have profeffedly writ ten diftin&t hiftories of the life, miniftry and works. of Jefus Chrift. Two of them, Matthew and John, were his attendant difciples from. the beginning to the end of his public life. The other two, Mark and Luke, were contemporary and converfant with his difciples. Four others, Peter, James, Jude and Paul, have written epiftles to particular focieties of Chriftians, or to Chriftians in general. In thefe epiftles, they recognize the character, affert or al

lude to the miracles, and teach the doctrines of Je fus, in fubftance, as they are related by the before mentioned hiftorians. Three of thefe letter writers were Chrift's disciples. The laft was a contempo rary Jew, a man of uncommon zeal, learning and ability; much converfant in public affairs; for a while an enemy to Chriftianity, but afterward converted to the belief of it. So that the Chriftian hiftory ftands on the credit of eight different perfons, moft of them difciples, and all of them contemporaries of Chrift. They wrote feparately, on different occafions, without any appearance of concert; and yet they all fubftantially agree. These writings were received as genuine in the time when the authors lived, and in the next fucceeding age, and from age to age, ever fince, down to the prefent time. There is no ancient hiftory extant, which is fo completely authenticated.

The converfion, miniftry and epiftles of the Apostle Paul afford ftrong and undeniable evidence of the truth of the Chriftian religion. To thefe I shall now pay particular attention.

The account, which we have of him, is given by Luke in his hiftory of the Acts of the Apoftles. This Luke appears to have been a man of learning; fuch his writings fhew him to be. He was an esteemed and eminent phyfician-fo Paul calls him. He was admitted to an acquaintance with men of the firft diftinction; as appears by the dedication of his works to the most excellent Theophilus. He was highly regarded among the Chrif tians of his time, and his praife, for the gospel which he wrote, was in all the churches. He was an intimate companion of St. Paul, and accompanied him for a confiderable time in his travels.From him we have particular information concern. ing Paul's early life, remarkable converfion, and fubfequent condu&t: And every thing related by

Luke we find confirmed in the writings of Paul himfelf.

Paul, who was a Jew by nation, had been educated in the rigid principles of the fect called Pharifees, and formed to eminent learning in the celebrated school of Gamaliel. He was a man of dif tinction among his countrymen, and famous for his zeal in oppofing Chriftianity. His worldly intereft and preferment, the fentiments imbibed from his education, and the prevalent opinion of the Jewish rulers and priefts, all concurred to fill him with violent prejudices against the gospel of Chrift. In human view, no man was more unlikely than he, to be converted to the belief of it; and no time, was more unpromifing for his converfion than that in which it took place. He had juft confented to, and affifted in the execution of an eminent preacher of the gospel. Breathing out threatening and flaughter against the difciples of the Lord, he had fought and obtained from the Jewish high priest a commiffion to bind and bring to Jerufalem for public punishment all, both men and women, whom he found profeffing the faith of Jesus Christ. And for the execution of this bloody commiffion, he was now going to Damafcus. His zeal against the gofpel was, at this time, wound up to the higheft ftrain. Who would fufpect, that this man fhould become a Chriftian?But fo it was:: When he came near to Damafcus, he was, at noon day, fuddenly furprised with a light from heaven, far exceeding the brightness of the fun. This was followed with an articulate voice, calling him by name, expoftulating with him for his perfecution of the church of Chrift, and warning him of the ruin which he would bring on himself. Struck with conviction of his guilt, Paul inquired, 'Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?' The fame voicedirected him to proceed on his journey into the city, where he fhould meet with inftructions adapt

ed to his cafe. In confequence of this vifion he fell blind. He was led by fome of the company which attended him, into the city. There he spent his time in prayer. After fome days a Chriftian difciple came to him, related to him the purpose of the vision, and restored him to his fight by laying his hands on him in the name of Chrift. Soon after this, Paul became a preacher of the gofpel. That this wonderful fcene was real, and not imaginary, no man can reafonbly doubt.

There is nothing, in Paul's conduct or writings, that favours of fanaticifm; but, on the contrary, he uniformly appears to have poffeffed a good understanding and a found judgment. If he had been an enthusiast, yet he never would have fancied a revelation in oppofition to his religious princi ples, his worldly intereft, and all his ftrong prejudices. Enthusiasm never takes this turn, but always falls in with fome previous paffion, intereft or humor.

Paul was now actually engaged in a defign to extirpate Christianity, and he was perfuaded, that his defign was laudable. If he had been a fanatic, he might have fancied a revelation in favor of his defign; but it was impoffible that imagination hould create a light and voice in direct oppofition to a defign, which he had fo much at heart, and which he thought fo pious.

Befides: This whole fcene was open and public, and attended with none of thofe circumftances of fecrefy and difguife, which ufually attend the revelations of enthufiafts and impoftors. It took place, not in the night, but in full day-not in a private apartment, or retired desert, but in the high road, and near a populous city-not when Paul was alone, but when he was in the company of a number of people, who all faw the light and heard the voice, as well as he, though they understood not the words which were fpoken. And these were

not Christians, but enemies to Christianity, as well as he.

Nothing can be more abfurd, than to fuppofe, that a number of men, all violent oppofers of the gofpel, fhould happen, all at the fame moment, to fancy, that they faw a light, and heard a voice in confirmation of the gospel, and that one of them fell blind, and continued fo for feveral days, if no fuch thing had taken place.

That this story was not a fiction of the writer, but a fact fully believed by him, is as evident, as any ancient historical fact can poffibly be. It is publicly afferted by Luke foon after it is faid to have happened; and the time, place and circumftances are pointed out; fo that it might eafily have been disproved, if it had not been true. Paul himself, in two of his public defences, and in the prefence of numbers of Jews, relates the ftory, and appeals to it as a proof of his Apostleship, which he would not have done, if there had not been full evidence of the truth of it. He alludes to it also in feveral of his epiftles, which fhews, that it was then fully believed in the churches.

This vifion produced in Paul a mighty change. From this time he became a firm, unwavering believer, and a zealous, intrepid preacher of the gofpel. He openly profeffed his faith, that Jefus was the Son of God; and he immediately received baptism the inftituted badge of disciplelhip. And, be ing divinely instructed, that he was appointed a minifter and witness of Jefus, he ftraightway preached him in Damafcus, proving that he was the very Chrift foretold by the prophets. From Damafcus, where he first began his miniftry, and where he foon found his life in danger, he privately escaped to Jerufalem. There he joined the other Apostles, and fpake boldly in the name of the Lord Jefus, Afterward, being ordained by certain prophets and teachers of the church as an Apoftle of the Gen