CENTURY I.

A SUMMARY VIEW OF THE CHURCH, SO FAR AS IT MAY BE COLLEETED FROM THE SCRIPTURE.

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СНАР. І.

JERUSALEM.

THA repentance and remiffion of fins

should be preached in the name of Jesus Chrift, beginning at Jerufalem," is a paffage of Scripture, which at once points out what the Chriftian religion is, and where we may look for its beginning. We are to defcribe the rife of a difpenfation the moft glorious to God, and the most beneficent to man. Chriftianity found mankind in an universal ftate of fin and mifery. In Judea alone fomething of the worship of the true God exifted. The forms of the Mofaic economy fubfifted, but were greatly obfcured and corrupted with Pharifaic traditions, and Sadducean profanenefs. The ancient people of God had defiled themselves with heathen profligacy: and, though there wanted not a multitude of teachers among them, yet, when He, who knew what was in man, faw the fpiritual condition of this people, "he was moved with compaffion toward them, because they fainted, and were as fheep without a fhepherd."

Certainly

Certainly they were in poffeffion of a degree at leaft of moral information, though that was extremely defective, and, in many points of view, fundamentally erroneous. But, of that instruction, which confifts in repentance and remiffion of fins, they were totally deftitute. Notwithstanding the light of the Old Teftament, the provifion of facrifices, the declaration of fo many prophecies concerning the Meffiah, and the examples of fo many holy men, who, in that dark and preparatory difpenfation, had learned to fear God, and to believe in his promises of grace, it does not appear, that the body of the Jewish nation were, in their religious ftate, materially better than the reft of the world. That men needed fuch a change of difpofition as in Scripture is expreffed by the term μer, that they muft become new creatures, and receive the forgiveness of fins by faith in the facrifice of the Lamb of God, were ideas unknown in Judea:if indeed we except the dim light which vifited the fouls of Zacharias, of Simeon, of Anna, and of a few other devout perfons, who looked for redemption in Jerufalem.

Such was the difmal night, in which the Sun of Righteousness made his appearance in the world. Scarce in any age had ignorance and wickedness a more general prevalence. The hiftory by Jofephus evinces this. This author dwells chiefly indeed on public and political affairs; yet he throws a fufficient light on the manners of the times, and fhews, that the extreme impiety and profligacy of the Herodian princes were but too faithfully tranfcribed into the lives of their fubjects. There had been periods of Jewish ftory more favourable to godlinefs: for inftance the age of Joshua, of David, of Ezra and of Nehemiah, For fome perfons there ever were who, at leaft, implicitly refted on the

God

God of Ifrael, and trufted in the Redeemer that was to come. But the darkeft feafon was chofen for the exhibition of the Light of Life by him, "who hath put the times and seasons in his own power."

To know our own depravity and helplessness, and, by faith in Chrift, to know "experimentally" the suitable and the efficacious cure, is doubtless the genuine fecret of true piety. But wherever wickedness and profanenefs have fpread very generally, the knowledge of thefe doctrines is ufually loft. Amidft a thousand difputes even on religious fubjects, these are erased out of men's creed,-the very doctrines-which alone can be the means of freeing them from vice and folly. It was their ignorance of these things, which moved the Son of God to lament the uninformed condition of the Jews in this day. To dwell on the history of Chrift himself is foreign to my defign. Indeed a few fouls were converted during HIS abode on earth: but the five hundred brethren, who faw him all at one time after his refurrection, feem to have made the fum total of his difciples. And it may further be observed, that all these, and the eleven fincere Apoftles themselves, were poffeffed with notions of a temporal kingdom, the rock on which their countrymen fatally split in their expofitions of the scriptures relating to the expected Meffiah; and that they had not yet learned, with any clearness and fteadiness of apprehenfion, to fet their affections on things above.

And now was the critical moment, when it pleafed God to erect the first Chriftian church at Jerufalem. This was the firft of thofe EFFUSIONS of the Spirit of God, which from age to age have vifited the earth, fince the coming of Chrift, and prevented it from being quite over

run with ignorance and fin. It is an unfpeakable advantage, that we have the facred narrative to unfold this to our understandings. The want of fuch an advantage will appear too fully in the hiftory of the fucceeding EFFUSIONS* of the Divine Spirit. Our duty however is not to complain, but to be thankful. If we carefully attend to this first instance, it will ferve as a fpecimen, by which to try other religious phenomena: and whether they lead to genuine piety or not, may generally be judged from their agreement or difagreement with this.

Let us then obferve the circumftances in which this effufion of the Holy Spirit was vouchfafed. As repentance and remiffion of fins were leading doctrines of Chrift's religion, the most ample room had been made for them by the completion of his redemption. He had offered himself a facrifice for the fins of men, "was rifen" from the dead" for our juftification," and in the fight of his difciples was juft afcended up to heaven. That the Gospel, the good news for penitent finners, the good news of reconciliation with God, fhould begin at Jerufalem, the scene of so much wickednets perpetrated, and of fo much grace abused,

In the term effufion there is not here included the idea of the miraculous or extraordinary operations of the Spirit of God, but only of fuch operations as he vouchfafes in every age to his church The plan of this history has little connection with the former. It is, however, to be remembered, that a remarkable difplay of the Divine Grace, at fome particular season, is always intended by the expreffions EFFUSION of the Spirit of God, or EFFUSION of the Divine or Holy Spirit.—On this occafion the term "out-pouring" of the Spirit of God, might be fully juftified by the prophetical language of Scripture; it is alfo extremely fignificant, and exactly coincides with the author's meaning; but it is omitted because it is grown fo unfashionable that the ideas, which ought to be affixed to it, are almoft entirely loft.

abused, was itself no mean argument of the riches of Divine Goodness, and was an illuftrious exemplification of the grand purpose of the Gospel,-to justify the ungodly, and to quicken the dead. By the order of their Divine Mafter the Apoftles remained at Jerufalem, waiting for the promised Holy Spirit, "which they had heard of him*, and abode in mutual charity, and in the fervent exercise of prayer and fupplication. What the Holy Spirit was to do for them, they feemed little to understand; if one may conjecture from their laft question to their Mafter, "Wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom to Ifrael?" It is natural to apprehend, that they were feafting their imaginations with the delightful profpect of a fplendid kingdom, attended with all the circumftances of external pomp and grandeur. Principalities and lordships were, in their fancy, foon to be affumed in the room of fithermen's nets and boats, and they pleased themselves with the notion of their Master's external dominion in the world. Not that they were without a genuine tafte for fomething infinitely better. At any rate, they afford us an useful leffon;-" they continued in prayer and fupplication." They, who do fo in every age, fhall doubtlefs understand, in God's due time, what the kingdom of heaven means, and find by happy experience that kingdom established in their own fouls, even " righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghoft."

During this interefting crifis, we do not find them employed in any other business than this of prayer, except in filling up the apoftolical college of twelve, by the fubftitution of Matthias in the room of the unhappy Judas, who, for the love of a little gain of this world, had unfitted himself

• Acts i, 4.

for