extreme distress, which he felt in Afia, and which he describes fo pathetically in his Epiftle to the Corinthians. Human refources failed; and God alone, he learnt, could fupport him. The prudent and eloquent harangue of a magiftrate, called the town-clerk, was the providential inftrument of his deliverance. He calmed the fpirits of the Ephefians, and filenced the uproar; after which Paul affectionately embraced the difciples, and left Ephefus. Three years he had laboured with great fuccefs; and he had the precaution to leave paftors to fuperintend that and the neighbouring Churches. But he forefaw with grief, as he afterwards told thefe paftors in a very pathetic addrefs, when he had fent for them to Miletus, that their prefent purity would not continue unftained. Wolves would enter among them to devour the flock; and, among themselves heretical perverfenefs would find countenance, and produce pernicious feparations. He did all, however, which man could do: he warned them of the danger; and exhorted them to the perfevering difcharge of their duty. The parting between the Apoftles and these minifters cannot be read without emotion. The elegant and affecting narrative of St. Luke is before the reader, and ought not to be abridged. The corruption of this excellent Church feems not, however, to have taken place, when he wrote to them his epiftle. It is full of instruction; and, next to that to the Romans, may be looked on as a most admirable fyftem of divinity. It has this remarkable recommendation, that it will ferve for any Church and for any age. Not a veftige appears in it of any thing peculiarly miraculous, or exclufively primitive. The controverfies of the Chriftian world concerning doctrine would foor 2 Cor. i. 8, 9, 10. + Acts xx, be be decided, if men would fubmit to be taught by the fimple, literal, and grammatical meaning of this fhort treatife. Every thing of doctrine and of duty is in it; and what the Gofpel really is, may thence be collected with the greatest certainty. It appears that Timothy was the chief paftor at Ephefus in Paul's abfence *. The Apoftle's first epiftle to him throws fome light on the ftate of this Church during his adminiftration. There were fome perfons of a judaical and legal turn of mind, who endeavoured, by contentious questions, to pervert the fimplicity of evangelical faith, hope, and love. There were others in the oppofite extreme: Two are particularly characterized, Hymenæus and Alexander, who abufed the profeffion of the faith to fuch open licentioufnefs, as to render their ejection from the Church a neceffary measure, So early were the Churches of Chrift infected with the fame evils, which, at this day, fail not to attend the propagation of Divine truth! From the directions which he gives to Timothy concerning the regulation of public worship, and the character and conduct of church-officers, it appears, indeed, that ecclefiaftical polity had taken a firm root in this Church. But modern partizans and bigots will ftill fearch the fcriptures in vain to find their own exact model, in matters, which the Word of God hath left indifferent, or at leaft to be decided only by various circumftances of prudential expediency: Churches will, doubtlefs, be much better employed, in eftablishing and in obferving useful practical rules, which are compatible with very different forms of government. I fhould fufpect, that the fuperftitious and felf-righteous fpirit, which, under a thoufand aufterities, afterwards fupported itself in the eastern Churches, and proved one of the moft, powerful * 1 Tim. i. powerful engines of popery, had even then begun to fhew itself in Ephefus and had given occafion to the Apoftolical cautions, as well as to the prophetical declaration of the vast increase of those evils in after-times *. It was the charitable practice of the Church of Ephefus to maintain Chriftian widows at the public expenfe. But I fear this liberality had been abufed. Young widows, who had been living a life of eafe, had thrown themselves as a burden on their religious brethren; and however high they might appear in Chriflian profeffion, fome of them exchanged the love of Chrift for the love of the world, and the indulgence of fenfuality t. As an idle life is a great fource of these evils, the Apostle recommends that these fhould be encouraged to enter again into the matrimonial state, which would furnish laudable domeftic employments, rather than that they should be maintained by the Church in a state of indolence. The widows, who fhould be fo maintained by the public ftock, he recommends to be thofe, who were far advanced in life, of eminent laborious piety, and diftinguifhed for their works of charity. On the whole, we may difcover among these excellent people fome appearances of the very worst of evils; which, as yet, made feeble efforts, were kept down by the fuperior light and grace that prevailed, and which feemed in indignant filence to be expecting future opportunities of diffufing themfelves. We know nothing more of this Church during the remainder of St. Paul's life, nor after his death, till toward the close of the first century. St. John, the only furvivor of the Apoftles, long continued his fatherly care of the Churches of Afia propria. During his exile at Patmos he was favoured with * 1 Tim. iv. + v. 15. an an astonishing and magnificent vision of the Lord Jefus, from whom he received several distinct charges, addreffed to the feven Churches of Afia, defcriptive of their spiritual state at that time, and containing fuitable directions to each of them. The paftors of the Churches are called angels; and, what has been obfervable in all ages was then the cafe, the character of the paftors was much the fame with that of the people. We have here then, from the highest authority, fome account of the ftate of thefe Churches at the clofe of the first century. It is fhort, but important.-Let us endeavour to comprise it into as clear a view as poffible. The Ephefians were ftill alive in the faith. Attempts had been made to pervert them, but in yain. However fubtil the poifon of herefy be, here it could find no admiffion. Nor could the abominations of the Nicolaitanes, who appear to have been a fect extremely corrupt in morals, make any progrefs among them. They patiently bore the cross ever attendant on the real faith of Jefus, but could endure nothing that tended to adulterate it. The taste and fpirit of the Gofpel continued with them: They laboured in good works without fainting or weariness; and their fpiritual discernment was not to be impofed on by any pretences. Yet they had declined from the intenseness of that love, which they had at firft exhibited: Their hearts panted not after Chrift with that steady ardour which formerly had animated this people; and, with all the marks of found health remaining, their yigour had much abated. How exactly does this account agree with the common cafe of the beft Chriftian churches. Because it is a common cafe, and far from being the worst cafe, Chriftians are apt to be content under fuch fuch a decline, and to impute it to neceffity, or to the lofs of fudden fervours of no great value, and to plume themselves on the folidity of an improved judgment. But true zeal and true charity fhould be fhewn habitually, and not only now and then when occafional inroads of the enemy may hap、 pen to call for particular exertions. Thefe affections ought to GROW as the understanding is improved. The fpirit of prayer, of love to Chrift, of active fervices for his name, was now abated at Ephefus, and a cool prudence was too much magnified at the expenfe of charity. The eternal falvation of real Chriftians there was fafe; but real Chriftians fhould have more in view than their own falvation,—namely, the propagation of godliness to pofterity. Thefe cautious Chriftians did not confider that their decline paved the way for farther and more melancholy declenfions in the divine life that the influence of their example was likely to be mischievous to those who followed: that their juniors would much more readily imitate their defects than their virtues; in fine, that a foundation was already laid for the un-churching of this people, and for the defolation in which this very region now remains under Mahometan wickedness and ignorance. next addreffed. It The Church of Smyrna is was at once in a ftate of great and holiness of heart and life. commends them in general. That, toward the end of the first century, they fhould have preferved the divine life in fuch vigour,-a period of about forty years most probably, if indeed there had been no intermiffions,is fomewhat extraordinary, and except in the cafe of Philadelphia, not easily paralleled in hiftory:So naturally does depravity prevail, in a courfe of time, over the beft-conftituted churches. But their tribulation and poverty are particularly marked.. |