conveyed under fuch diverfity of circumftance and expreffion, and the mention of them in the epiftle fo allied to the occafion which introduces it, viz. the infinuation of his adverfaries that he would come to Corinth no more, that I am perfuaded no attentive reader will believe, that these paffages were written in concert with one another, or will doubt but that the agreement is unfought and uncontrived.

But, in the Acts, Eraftus accompanied Timothy in this journey, of whom no mention is made in the epiftle. From what has been faid in our obfervations upon the Epiftle to the Romans, it appears probable that Erastus was a Corinthian. If so, though he accompanied Timothy to Corinth, he was only returning home, and Timothy was the meffenger charged with St. Paul's orders. At any rate, this discrepancy fhews that the paffages were not taken from one another.

No. IV.

Chap. xvi. ver. 10, 11. "Now, if Timo"theus come, fee that he may be with you "without fear; for he worketh the work of

you

"the Lord, as I alfo do: let no man there"fore defpife him, but conduct him forth "" in peace, that he may come unto me, for "I look for him with the brethren." From the paffage confidered in the preceding number, it appears that Timothy was fent to Corinth, either with the epistle, or before it for this caufe have I fent unto Timotheus." From the paffage now quoted, we infer that Timothy was not fent with the epiftle; for had he been the bearer of the letter, or accompanied it, would St. Paul in that letter have faid, "if Timothy come?" Nor is the sequel confiftent with the fuppofition of his carrying the letter; for if Timothy was with the Apoftle when he wrote the letter, could he say, as he does, “I look for him with the brethren?" I conclude therefore that Timothy had left St. Paul to proceed upon his journey before the letter was written. Farther, the paffage before us feems to imply, that Timothy was not expected by St. Paul to arrive at Corinth, till after they had received the letter. He gives them directions in the letter how to treat him when he should arrive; "if he come,

act

act towards him fo and fo. Lastly, the whole form of expreffion is most naturally applicable to the fuppofition of Timothy's coming to Corinth, not directly from St. Paul, but from fome other

his inftructions had been,

quarter; and that when he should

reach Corinth, to return. Now, how stands this matter in the history? Turn to the nineteenth chapter and twenty-first verse of the Acts, and you will find that Timothy did not, when fent from Ephesus, where he left St. Paul, and where the present epistle was written, proceed by a straight course to Corinth, but that he went round through Macedonia. This clears up every thing; for, although Timothy was fent forth upon his journey before the letter was written, yet he might not reach Corinth till after the letter arrived there; and he would come to Corinth, when he did come, not directly from St. Paul at Ephefus, but from fome part of Macedonia. Here therefore is a circumstantial and critical agreement, and unquestionably without defign; for neither of the two paffages in the epistle mentions Timothy's journey into Macedonia at all, though

though nothing but a circuit of that kind can explain and reconcile the expreffions which the writer uses.

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No. V.

Chap. 1. ver. 12. "Now this I fay, that every one of you faith, I am of Paul, and "I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of "Chrift."

Alfo iii. 6, "I have planted, Apollos wa"tered, but God gave the increase."

This expreffion, "I have planted, Apollos watered," imports two things; first, that Paul had been at Corinth before Apollos; fecondly, that Apollos had been at Corinth after Paul, but before the writing of this epiftle. This implied account of the feveral events, and of the order in which they took place, corresponds exactly with the hiftory. St. Paul, after his firft vifit into Greece, returned from Corinth into Syria by the way of Ephefus'; and, dropping his companions Aquila and Priscilla at Ephefus,he proceeded forwards to Jerufalem: from Jerufalem he defcended to Antioch; and from thence made a progress through some G

of

of the upper or northern provinces of the Leffer Afia (Acts xviii. 19. 23): during which progrefs, and confequently in the interval between St. Paul's first and second visit to Corinth, and confequently alfo before the writing of this epistle, which was at Ephefus two years at leaft after the apoftle's return from his progrefs, we hear of Apollos, and we hear of him at Corinth. Whilft St. Paul was engaged, as hath been faid, in Phrygia and Galatia, Apollos came down to Ephefus; and being, in St. Paul's abfence, inftructed by Aquila and Priscilla, and having obtained letters of recommendation from the church at Ephefus, he paffed over to Achaia; and when he was there, we read that he

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helped them much which had believed through grace, for he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publicly." Acts xviii. 27, 28. To have brought Apollos into Achaia, of which Corinth was the capital city, as well as the principal Christian Church; and to have fhewn that he preached the gofpel in that country, would have been fufficient for our purpose. But the history happens alfo to mention Corinth by name, as the place