went to Lydia's house, where having spent some time with the brethren, and comforted them, they left Philippi.

After they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to the celebrated city Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews; into which Paul, according to his usual custom, entered, and during three successive sabbaths, preached out of the scriptures, that Jesus must of necessity be the Messiah promised to the Jews. Upon which some of them received the faith, and associated with Paul and Silas, besides several Greek proselytes and women of quality. But the infidel Jews opposing them as much as possible, got together some* officers belonging to the courts of judicature, and in a tumultuous manner beset Jason's house, where, searching for Paul and Silas, and not finding them, they resolved to be revenged on somebody, and therefore seized Jason and some of the brethren, and carried them before the officers of justice; complaining, that these men, who had filled the world with disorder and confusion, were entertained by Jason; and that they preached a doctrine quite contrary to Caesar's authority over them, declaring one Jesus to be their King. The magistrates knew not well what to do in this case, being tender of disobliging either the Jews or Romans; and therefore taking security of Jason for himself and his companions, they dismissed them. But being concerned for Paul's safety, by night they sent him and Silas to Beræa, where they went straitway into the synagogue, and met with a sort of people

Officers, &c. The agoraivi of the Greek can have no relation to the English version, which calls them lewd fellows; nor much to the vulgate, except they mean by agoraioi, the circumforaneous lawyers, not those of the forum; for they translating the Greek, de vulgo viros quosquam malos, certain wicked men of the common people, must mean the mob. But the word, without any periphrasis, plainly signifies belonging to a court of judicature; and by it possibly, in this place, might be meant some of those that used to summon the people to assemblies upon extraordinary occasions.

+ Disorder, &c. The Greek word anastatôsantes is very oddly turned in our translation, by rendering it, to turn it upside down. See Acts, xvii. 6.

ingenuous and mild, vastly differing from the rude inhabitants of Thessalonica, for they cheerfully embraced the faith, and spent their time in reading the scriptures, observing whether what Paul taught was agreeable with what the scriptures say of the Messiah. Many, therefore, of the Jews received the faith, as likewise many Gentiles of the better sort, both men and women. Now when the Jews of Thessalonica heard that Paul preached the gospel at Beræa, they pursued him thither, resolving he should not rest within reach of them. To secure him, therefore, from their malice, and to elude the persecutors, the Christians there sent Paul toward the sea-side, as if he meant to take ship, whereas he intended to go to Athens on foot; but Silas and Timothy were left behind, and were ordered to follow after.

While Paul waited for his company at Athens, he perceived, with great emotion of spirit, that the city was wholly given to idolatry: for which reason he not only preached in the synagogue to the Jews and proselytes, but in other places of concourse, he took occasion to make known the Christian doctrine to all the heathens he met. Some learned men of Athens, both Epicureans + and Stoics, seeing Paul so ready to engage in dispute with every one, undertook to confute him; but not understanding him, some said, he was a prating babbling fellow; others, that he came to discover some strange God to them, because he frequently mentioned Jesus and the resurrection.

After this, they conducted him to that celebrated hill ncar the citadel, which was called the Areopagus, ‡ and examined what new religion it was he taught; for all that they had hitherto heard, was new and strange, and

*

Wholly. That Athens was so, appears from the number of idols there, being more than in all Greece besides.

+ Epicureans. There were two contrary sects of philosophers at Athens, the Epicureans, who denied a providence, and the Stoics, who maintained the doctrine of fate, but denied all freedom of will.

Areopagus. In Athens, their areopagus was their senate or standing court of judicature, by whose law and orders any new gods were received among them;

therefore they desired to have a full account of it. Paul being brought before the magistrates in the Areopagus, said, "I perceive, O Athenians, that ye are exceedingly addicted to the worship of invisible powers; for as I passed along the streets of this magnificent city, I found an altar on which was this remarkable inscription, To THE UNKNOWN GOD;'* so desirous do you seem to be, that no deity, whether known or unknown, may be passed by without some religious regard. Now I should think myself remarkably happy, if I might direct you to the knowledge of true religion. Him, therefore, whom you acknowledge not to know, yet profess to worship, is he that I preach, the invisible God of heaven and earth, who cannot be contained in temples of man's making; nor can any image made by man be a proper instrument of his worship, he being so far from wanting our help, that it is he that gives to all their life, and all that they possess. And from one man he hath made a whole world of men, who, by his providential care, inhabit the whole earth, he having, in his unerring council, allotted to each the boundaries of their several habitations; all things in the disposition of his providence cntering in this one great end, that they should seek after their Creator and worship him, who is indeed near every one of us, even as the soul that animates us. For our life,

motion, and subsistence, is wholly through him, according to that which one of your own poets hath said. God therefore being our Creator, we cannot in reason suppose him to be the work of our hands, such as a piece of gold or silver, how curiously soever wrought by human art.

and, therefore, as soon as they conceived Paul was a promulger of new and strange deities, they brought him to the areopagus to have him examined, what gods they were that he thus preached. Acts, ch. xvii. v. 19.

* Unknown God. There are many stories about this inscription; but it is most 'probable it proceeded from their hospitality towards the men that occasioned it ; for they were as ready to receive any strange god to their worship, as they were to entertain strangers. And this is plain from the whole inscription, of which this is but part; which runs thus, "To the gods of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and to one strange God, which they knew not."

This time of ignorance hath lasted long; but now God calls you all to repentance, for he hath appointed a great and awful day, in which he will judge the whole world in righteousness, and pass a final sentence of happiness or misery on each according to his true character; which he will do by that illustrious Man, whom he hath ordained, of which he hath given sufficient assurance to all men, by raising him from the dead." When they heard him mention the resurrection, some rudely mocked and made a jest of it, as a despicable and incredible tale, particularly the Epicureans did this, who deny a future state: and others, of a more curious turn, coolly said, "This is enough for the present, we will hear thee again on this subject, when a convenient opportunity offers." Now Paul, finding so little disposition in this learned auditory, to hearken to the truth, went out of the midst of them, leaving the far greater part in the same deplorable state of ignorance and superstition as he found them. Nevertheless, there were some that believed and associated with him, particularly Dionysius one of the senators or judges in the Areopagus, and his wife Damaris with some others.

From Athens Paul departed to Corinth, where he found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because the emperor Claudius, toward the latter end of his reign, made an edict to banish the Jews from Rome and Italy; and finding that Aquila was brought up to the same trade f

*Corinth. This was a city of so much consequence, that it was at one time considered by the Romans as a rival, almost as dangerous as Carthage. From the convenience of its situation for commerce, it abounded in riches, and was furnished with all the accommodations, elegancies, and superfluities of life. This by too natural a consequence, led its inhabitants into luxury, lewdness, and all manner of vice; and they were accordingly infamous even to a proverb.

Trade. It was a great maxim and principle among the Jews, "That he, who teaches not his son a trade, teaches him to be a thief." They thought it not only fit, but a necessary part of education, whereby, if reduced by necessity, though ever so great and learned, they might by manual labour maintain themselves. Hence nothing was more common, than for their wisest and most learned

in which he was when young instructed, he took up his quarters with him, and wrought with him in the trade of tent-making. But every sabbath he preached in the synagogues of the Jews, labouring to convince both Jews and Greeks.

By this time Silas and Timothy were come from Macedonia; and Paul being very much concerned at the obstinacy of the Jews, did his utmost to convince them that Jesus was the Messiah; but when they not only opposed him, but blasphemed the name of the Saviour, and treated him contumeliously, he not only used that ordinary ceremony of shaking his shoes or his garments, intimating thereby their unworthiness of having the gospel further preached to them, and the sad consequences that attend obstinacy, but said, Having thus warned you, I am free from the guilt of your destruction, which will certainly come upon you; I will stay no longer among you, but will without any further scruple preach to the Gentiles. And going out of the synagogue, he went to the house of one Justus, a Gentile by birth, but a Jewish Proselyte. Before Paul quitted the synagogue, though many of the Jews opposed him, Crispus, the chief of the synagogue, and several of the Corinthians believed and were baptized. At this time, conscious of the disadvantages attending his person and address; he was discouraged in a view of the learning, politeness and grandeur of many Gentile inhabitants of the city, and by the assaults which had been made upon him in various places. The Lord Jesus, therefore, interposed in a very gracious manner, and said to him by night in a vision, Fear not,

Rabbins to take their denominations from their callings. This custom was taken up by the christians, especially the monks and ascetics of the early ages, who together with their strict profession, and almost incredible exercises of devotion, took upon them a particular trade, whereby they maintained themselves. The business our apostle was put to, was that of tent-making, whereat he wrought, for some particular reasons, even after his calling to the apostleship. An honest but mean trade; though it was useful and profitable, especially in those warlike countries where armies had such frequent use for tents.