occafion of this firft inftance of a general declenfion, it seemed not unfeafonable to point out its ordinary progress and fymptoms.

The Chriftians of Philadelphia are highly extolled. They were a humble, charitable, fervent people, deeply fenfible of their own weaknefs, fearful of being feduced by Satan and their own hearts. The Spirit affures them, that they had a little ftrength, which had at once been proved and exerted in holding faft the fimplicity of the Gofpel, and in detecting and refifting all adulterations of it. They are further affured, that the Judaical heretics fhould be brought at length to fubmit to become their difciples in religion: And a promise of strong support is held out to them, because they had maintained a true patience in fuffering. To them, as to all the reft of the Churches, the rewards beyond the grave are propofed as the grand motives of perfeverance.

Laodicea too much refembled Sardis. The people were in a LUKEWARM ftate, a religious mediocrity, moft odious to Chrift; because his religion calls for the whole vehemence of the foul, and bids us to be cool only in WORLDLY things. The foundation of this lukewarmnefs was laid in pride: They had loft the conviction of their internal blindness, mifery, and depravity. When men go on for years in a placid unfeeling uniformity, this is always the cafe. They were fatisfied with themselves, and felt no need of higher attainThe counfel, which is given to them,to buy of him gold, white raiment, and eye-falve,is precious; and this call to their fouls demonftrates that they had learnt to maintain, in cafy indolence, an orthodoxy of fentiments without any vivid attention to the Spirit of God :—In a word, his influence was only not defpifed in Laodicea.

Such

Such were the fituations of the feven Churches of Afia. The criticifm is indeed ineftimable: It is candid, impartial, and penetrating. He, who has indulged us with it, intended it for the use of all fucceeding Churches: - and "he that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit faith to the Churches."

CHAP.

CHA P. XV.

THE REMAINDER OF THE FIRST CENTURY.

T is the obfervation of one of the antients, that St. Luke, in the clofe of his Apoftolical history, leaves the reader thirfting for more. I feel the force and juftness of the thought at this moment. I have hitherto failed by the compafs of Scripture; and now find myself at once entering into an immenfe ocean without a guide. In fact I have undertaken to conduct the reader through a long, obfcure, and difficult courfe, with fcarce a beacon here and there fet up to direct me:- but I must make the best ufe I can of the very scanty materials before me.

It feems plain, that the Apoftles in general did not leave Judea, till after the first council held at Jerufalem. They feem never to have been in hafte to quit the land of their nativity. Probably the threatening appearances of its defolation by the Romans, haftened their departure into distant regions. And before the clofe of this century it appears, that the power of the Gofpel was felt throughout the Roman empire. I fhall divide this chapter into four parts, and review, firft, The progrefs and perfecution of the Church. Secondly, -The lives, characters, and deaths of the Apostles and most celebrated Evangelifts. Thirdly,- The herefies of this period. And, laftly,—The general character of Chriftianity in this first age.

It was about the year of our Lord 64, that the A. D. city of Rome fuftained a general conflagration. 64.

VOL. I.

H

The

The emperor Nero, loft as he was to all fenfe of reputation, and hackneyed in flagitiousness, was yet studious to avert the infamy of being reckoned the author of this calamity, which was generally imputed to him. But no fteps that he could take were fufficient to do away the fufpicion. There was, however, a particular clafs of people, fo fingularly diftinct from the rest of mankind, and fo much hated on account of the condemnation which their doctrine and purity of life affixed to all except themselves, that they might be calumniated with impunity. These were then known at Rome by the name of Christians. Unless we tranfplant ourselves into those times, we can scarce conceive how odious and contemptible the appellation then was. The judicious Tacitus calls their religion a deteftable fuperftition, "which at firft was fuppreffed, and afterwards broke out afresh, and spread not only through Judea the origin of the evil, but through the metropolis alfo, the common fewer in which every thing filthy and flagitious meets and spreads." If fo grave and cautious a writer as Tacitus can thus afperse the Chriftians without proof and without moderation, we need not wonder, that fo impure a wretch as Nero fhould not hesitate to charge them with the fact of burning Rome.

Now it was that the Romans legally perfecuted the Church for the first time. And thofe, who know the virulence of man's natural enmity, will rather wonder that it commenced not earlier, than that it raged at length with fuch dreadful fury. "Some perfons were apprehended, who confeffed themfelves Chriftians; and by their evidence, fays Tacitus, a great multitude afterwards were difcovered and feized:-and they were condemned not fo much for the burning of Rome, as for being the Tacitus, B. xv.

enemies

enemies of mankind." A very remarkable accufation! It may be explained as follows. - True Chriftians, though the genuine friends of all their fellow-creatures, cannot allow men, who are NOT true Chriftians, to be in the favour of God. Their very earnestnefs, in calling on their neighbours to repent and believe the Gospel, proves to those neighbours in what a dangerous ftate they are then apprehended to be. All, who are not moved by the admonitions of Chriftian charity to flee from the wrath to come, will naturally be difgufted; and thus the purest benevolence will be construed into the moft merciless bigotry. Thus Chriftians incurred the general hatred, to which the conduct neither of Jews nor heretics rendered them obnoxious.-And the fame caufe produces fimilar effects to this day.

Their execution was aggravated with infult. They were covered with fkins of wild beafts and torn by dogs: they were crucified, and fet on fire, that they might ferve for lights in the night-time. Nero offered his gardens for this fpectacle, and exhibited the games of the circus. People could not, however, avoid pitying them, bafe and undeferving as they were in the eyes of Tacitus, because they suffered not for the public good, but to gratify the cruelty of a tyrant. It appears from a paffage in Seneca compared with Juvenal, that Nero ordered them to be covered with wax, and other combustible materials: and, that after a sharp ftake was put under their chin, to make them continue upright, they were burnt alive to give light to the fpectators +.

*

We have no account how the people of God conducted themselves under thefe fufferings. What we know of their behaviour in fimilar scenes, leaves

Seneca, Ep. 14. Juv. 1 and 8 with his Scholiaft.

+ Buller's Hiftory of Established Christianity.

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