for three years; of which no other account is given than this short one, that " that "ftraightway he preached Chrift in the fynagogues, that he is the Son of God; that all that heard him were amazed, and faid, Is not this he that deftroyed them which called on his name in Jerufalem? that he increased the more in ftrength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damafcus; and that, after many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him." From Damafcus he proceeded to Jerufalem; and of his refidence there nothing more particular is recorded, than that "he was with the apostles, coming "in and going out; that he spake boldy in "the name of the Lord Jefus, and disputed

against the Grecians who went about to "kill him." From Jerufalem, the history fends him to his native city of Tarfus*. It seems probable, from the order and dispofition of the history, that St. Paul's stay at Tarfus was of fome continuance; for we hear nothing more of him, until, after a long apparent interval, and much interjacent nar

Acts, chap. ix. ver. 30.

rative,

rative, Barnabas, defirous of Paul's affiftance upon the enlargement of the Christian misfion," went to Tarfus for to feek him*.' We cannot doubt but that the new apostle had been bufied in his miniftry; yet of what he did, or what he fuffered, during this period, which may include three or four years, the history profeffes not to deliver any information. As Tarfus was fituated upon the fea coaft, and as, though Tarfus was his home, yet it is probable he visited from thence many other places, for the purpose of preaching the Gofpel, it is not unlikely, that in the courfe of three or four years, he might undertake many short voyages to neighbouring countries, in the navigating of which we may be allowed to fuppose that fome of those difafters and fhipwrecks befel him, to which he refers in the quotation before us, "thrice I fuffered shipwreck, a "night and a day I have been in the deep." This laft clause I am inclined to interpret of his being obliged to take to an open boat, upon the lofs of the ship, and his continuing

* Chap. xi. ver. 25.

out

out at fea in that dangerous fituation, a night and a day. St. Paul is here recounting his fufferings, not relating miracles. From Tarfus, Barnabas brought Paul to Antioch, and there he remained a year; but of the tranfactions of that year no other defcription is given than what is contained in the four laft verses of the eleventh chapter. After a more folemn dedication to the ministry, Barnabas and Paul proceeded from Antioch to Cilicia, and from thence they failed to Cyprus, of which voyage no particulars are mentioned. Upon their return from Cyprus, they made a progress together through the Leffer Afia; and though two remarkable fpeeches be preferved, and a few incidents in the course of their travels circumstantially related, yet it is the account of this progrefs, upon the whole, given profeffedly with conciseness: for instance, at Iconium it is faid that they abode a long time*; yet of this long abode, except concerning the manner in which they were driven away, no memoir is inferted in the

Chap. xiv. ver. 3.

hiftory.

hiftory. The whole is wrapped up in one short summary, “they spake boldly in the "Lord, which gave teftimony unto the word "of his grace, and granted figns and won"ders to be done by their hands." Having completed their progress, the two apostles returned to Antioch, "and there they abode long time with the difciples." Here we have another large portion of time paffed over in filence. To this fucceeded a journey to Jerufalem, upon a difpute which then much agitated theChristian church, concerning the obligation of the law of Mofes, When the object of that journey was completed, Paul propofed to Barnabas to go again and visit their brethren in every city where they had preached the word of the Lord. The execution of this plan carried our Apostle through Syria, Cilicia, and many provinces of the Leffer Afia; yet is the account of the whole journey difpatched, in four verses of the fixteenth chapter.

If the Acts of the Apoftles had undertaken to exhibit regular annals of St. Paul's ministry, or even any continued account of his life, from his converfion at Damafcus

to

to his imprisonment at Rome, I should have thought the omiffion of the circumstances referred to in our epistle, a matter of reafonable objection. But when it appears, from the history itself, that large portions of St. Paul's life were either paffed over in filence, or only flightly touched upon, and that nothing more than certain detached incidents and difcourfes are related; when we obferve also, that the author of the history, did not join our apostle's fociety till a few years before the writing of the epistle, at leaft that there is no proof in the hiftory that he did fo; in comparing the hiftory with the epistle, we shall not be furprised by the discovery of omiffions; we shall afcribe it to truth that there is no contradiction.

Chap. iii. ver. 1.

No. X.

"Do we begin again "to commend ourfelves; or need we, as "fome others, epiftles of commendation to you?"

66

"As fome others." Turn to Acts xviii. 27, and you will find that, a fhort time before the writing of this epiftle, Apollos had gone

to