CHA P. II. JUDEA AND GALILEE. Tvinces, HE Holy Land was divided into three provinces, JUDEA, GALILEE, and SAMARIA. This laft was in a fituation fo peculiar, as to deferve to be confidered diftinctly. And of the Churches of the two former I have not much more to fay, than that their ftate, by fair analogy, may be eftimated from that of the mother-church. Indeed a ftrong foundation had been laid for their converfion by the miniftry of John the Baptift, and by that of our Lord in the days of his flesh, The angel Gabriel had foretold of the fon of Zacharias, "that many of the children of Ifrael he fhould turn to the Lord their God*." Repentance was His theme, and by this he prepared the way of the Lord. Jefus himself condefcended in his fubordinate capacity of prophet and teacher to purfue the fame method, though no regular Churches were yet formed. He promifed that the gift of the Holy Ghoft fhould be vouchfafed to his difciples, and we have feveral intimations, that a greater degree of fuccels, of purity, of knowledge, and of glory, fhould, attend his religion after he thould leave this world, than during his perfonal miniftry 4. Luke i 2. ↑ John xiv, and xvi. Judea Let this account, once for all, for the much greater ufe which I make of the Acts and of the Epiftles, than of the four Gofpels. Thefe laft are indeed ineftimable; but their uses are of another kind, and fall not within the plan of this work. Judea and Galilce being thus prepared for the Gofpel, the blefled tidings began to be spread through them, and to be attended with rapid fuccefs, foon after the first perfecution which arofe concerning Stephen. Thofe, who had felt the flame of Divine Love in Jerufalem, being obliged to flee, preached through thefe regions, and many thoufands were converted, as we have feen. The mother-church, no doubt, was the moft numerous, but various Churches in the country must have contributed to make up the fum. The small fize of Palestine may tempt fome to wonder, if many thoufands became Chriftians, how the main body of the nation could yet remain in infidelity. The amazing populoufnefs and fertility of the country accounts for this. The number of populous towns, in Galilee particularly, is aftonishing, as appears from Jofephus's narrative of the Jewish war. The fingle town of Gadara, near the lake of Gennezaret, by no means a town of the first magnitude, maintained two thoufand fwine*. If then the importance of regions be measured by the number of inhabitants, rather than by the extent of ground, this fmall country might vie perhaps with modern Ruffia. Of thefe Churches the firft inftruments were not the Apoftles themfelves, though they doubtless vifited them afterwards, and confirmed them. James the fon of Zebedee would not confine his labours to Jerufalem, till the time of his martyrdom, no more than the reft of the twelve, if perhaps we except James the fon of Alpheus, who was the firft ftanding Paftor of Jerufalem. Thefe Churches, most probably, followed the example of the parent-church, both in its first love and comfortable progrefs, and alfo in its unhappy declenfion, * Mark v. 15: declenfion. Peter's activity in establishing them was very confpicuous. "The Lord wrought effectually" in him for the converfion of the Jews all along*. He paffed through all quarters, and vifited the places most remote from the capital, fuch as Lydda, Saron, and Joppat. In all these places the Spirit of God accompanied his work. It was in this laft city that the Lord by him raised Tabitha from the dead. I fhould fcarce have mentioned this miracle, in a work which profeffes all along to record the ordinary, not the extraordinary opera tions of the Holy Ghoft, were not the woman diftinguished by her good works and alms-deeds which the did." All the widows ftood by Peter weeping, and fhewing the "coats and garments which he had made, while fhe was with them." Thus had this woman's faith evidenced itfelf by good works; and the Spirit of piety and of prayer had gone hand in hand with that of induftrious beneficence. Hail, Tabitha! thou haft the highest glory, and of the most solid kind, which is attainable on earth! But the reader fees how fimple and low Chriftian exploits muft appear in the eyes of worldly men. They are not like the fwelling deeds of heroes and ftatefmen, which have hitherto, for the most part, monopolized the hiftoric page. But the perfons who are influenced by the Spirit of Chrift, with Tabitha will yet know with whom they would wish to be numbered. The female fex, almoft excluded from civil hiftory, will appear perhaps more confpicuous in ecclefiaftical. Lefs immerfed in fecular concerns, and lefs haughty and independent in fpirit, they feem, in all ages, to have had their full proportion, or more than the other fex, of the grace of the Gospel. Gal. ii. 8. † Acts ix. СНАР, THIS CHA P. III. SAMARIA. HIS country lay in the midft between Judea and Galilee, though diftinguished from them both in its polity and religion. The inhabitants poffeffed a large part of the district, which had belonged to the ten tribes, whom the kings of Affyria had carried into captivity. These conquerors had filled their vacant place with various colonists*, who mixed the worship of Jehovah with their idols, vainly boafted of their relation to Jacobt, profeffed to regard the law of Mofes, and defpifed or at leaft depreciated the reft of the Old Testament. Our Saviour clearly decides the contest, which, for ages, had been carried on between them and the Jews, in favour of the latter. But though the Samaritan was an idolater in his very foundation, yet in moral practice he appears not worse than the Jew. Both, indeed, were at this time extremely corrupt, and gloried in cherishing an enmity, which forbad them the exercife of common humanity to one another. The Divine Saviour pitied this people. He visited them himself §, and fome finners were converted. He made a fecond attempt ", but the bigotry of the village to which he approached, prevented them from receiving him there, a circumftance, which excited the fiery zeal of the two fons of Zebedee, and gave occafion to our Lord to fay, "The Son of Man is not come to destroy * 2 Kings xvii. § John iv. + John v. 12. men's ↑ John iv. 22. men's lives, but to fave them." He meekly bore the repulfe, and went to another village. But the effufions of his kindnefs toward this unhappy people were now to appear in abundance. Among the feven deacons the next perfon to Stephen, in zeal and activity, was Philip. Driven from Jerufalem by the perfecution, he was directed to go to the city of Samaria, perhaps to the fame city called Sychar, where our Lord had converfed with the woman over Jacob's well. There he preached Chrift, and the Gospel entered the hearts of many, fo "that there was great joy in that city *." The inhabitants appear to have been a very ignorant fimple people, but now that the Spirit of God was poured upon them, none received the Gofpel with more cordial pleafure One effect immediately appeared, which indeed never fails to attend the hearty reception of the Gofpel. Superftition and diabolical delufions. vanished. A perfon, named Simon, had deceived this people with forceries; I dare not fay with pretended forceries: We fhall fee fufficient proof, before we have done with the apoftolical hiftory, that forcery was a real thing. For a long time they had been infatuated; but Philip's doctrine expelled their regard for thefe things, and numbers of both fexes were baptized. Simon himself, though a, ftranger to the nature and power of Chrift's religion, was yet convinced, that Chriftianity in general was true; and this feems the juft idea of a mere hiftorical believer. The Apoftles hearing of the happy reception of the Gospel at Samaria, fent down Peter and John, who prayed on the behalf of the people, that the Holy Ghost might be imparted through the impofition of hands. The Spirit was communicated, not only in extraordinary gifts, but alfo in an effufion of the A&ts viii. 8. |