and conjuring books! What systems of nonsense and knavery must have been here! What glosses, commentaries and riddles! For we may be sure, my beloved, these were not books of useful knowledge and learning, or books that taught virtue and morality, since such, without doubt, the apostle would have preserved; but they were juggling and conjuring books, such as contained Heathen traditions, with false miracles and false doctrines, and were probably full of metaphysical distinctions and the controversial divinity of those days; such as bundles of foolish sermons, Pagan systems, articles of their faith, formularies, lying mysteries, cabalistical nonsense, and the High-Church pamphlets of that age; all opposite to the divine truths uttered by Paul.

"So mightily grew the word of God, and prevailed" (ver. 20). Take notice here, men and brethren, that the ready way to make the word of God grow and prevail was to burn all the priests' books. Oh! my beloved, that our eyes were also opened! What fuel should we have for bonfires!

Nothing occurs remarkable between this and the 23rd verse, which tells us, that "the same time there arose no small stir about that way." And then follows the reason, vers. 24-27: "For a certain man, named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen, whom he called together, with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth: moreover, ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying, that they be no gods which are made with hands; so that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought, but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshipeth."

A notable speech and a fair confession! He kept a shop for the deity, and got a world of money by this godly trade; and rather than lose it, he will oppose Christianity and maintain his craft against Jesus Christ.

This mechanical priest and his brethren, retainers to Diana, had lost many kind customers by Paul's preaching; their holy gear began to lie upon their hands; folks' eyes were opened, and the cheat was disclosed: upon

which the Rev. Dr. Demetrius and the whole convocation of priests and craftsmen resolve to accuse the apostle as an enemy to the church, and an underminer of its rights and interests. "Sirs," says Mr. Prolocutor, "ye know that by this craft we have our wealth.". "Now if this Paul goes on to persuade people, as he does, that all our gain is built on deceit, and that our trade is of human institution, our function will fall into contempt, and we into beggary."

All this was artfully addressed to the interest and avarice of his brother craftsmen, who sharing the benefit of the cheat, and living plentifully upon ecclesiastical revenues of the established church of Diana, had motives sufficient to engage them in the defence of the said church and cheat.

Now he has a knack for catching the bigots, by telling them what danger there was of the church; and lest "the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshiped." What pity it was that so pure and primitive a church, and the most orthodox and best-constituted church in all Asia, should be in such piteous danger!

1. Observe here, first, dearly beloved, what false knaves and godless infidels these priestly crew were. If they believed that their mistress, the Goddess, who had indeed the best-accustomed church in all Asia, was as great as they pretended her to be, why did they mistrust her power to protect her own grandeur and defend herself, especially against a single man, whom they represented as an enemy to the gods and their church, and who was consequently the more easy to be defeated or destroyed? But if they knew her unable to defend her divinity and support her church, with them, her priests and tradesmen, then were they in reality cheats and unbelievers, though outwardly grave and zealous votaries.

2. Take notice, in the 2nd place, of the wide difference that there is between these high-priests' church and the Bible church!

The priests' church being a trading church, and money being her end, and grimace her ware, which were the source of their authority and reverence, whatever enlightened the people, marred the market of the priests. By this craft we have our wealth:"- "While we can by

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bawling and lying put off our trumpery for religion, it will always sell well; otherwise it will not be worth a groat; let us contend for our trumpery, and cry, The Church!" Accordingly we find the auditory in the next verse actually practising the advice given them by this High-Church preacher, and roaring for Diana of Ephesus, or, which is the same thing, for the church. 'By this craft we have our wealth."

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This, my friends, was the spirit of the priests' church, so opposite to that of the Bible church, which being founded upon a rock, fears neither rain, nor storms, nor Dissenters, nor false brethren; yea, she is founded upon a rock, which rock is Christ; and whoever trusts in him and believes the Scripture, cannot think his church in danger. Indeed, if his church is founded upon hoods, and caps, and cringes, and forms, and filthy lucre, he may well dread the judgment of God and the reason of man; for they are both against him and his dowdy, and his church will totter as soon as ever common sense takes it by the collar. By fearing for the superstructure, he owns the foundation to be sandy. "By this craft we have our wealth."

These craftsmen keep a rout about the danger of their church. Why, my brethren, it ought to be in danger, like a sorry bundle of inventions and gimcracks as it was. But for the pure, the primitive church of Christ, "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Yea, the craftsmen shall not prevail against it, who are the sorest enemies which it ever had-it is "founded upon a rock." Paul does not once complain in all the New Testament that his church was in danger, nor does any other of the apostles or evangelists. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but the word of the Lord abideth for ever." What say our craftsmen to this? Either they know it not or believe it not. Paul, whenever he mentions dangers or perils in his Epistles, means perils to his own person: nor did he by his own person ever in all his life mean the church. But Paul had the spirit of God; he was no

craftsman.

We, my beloved, who are Christians, trust to the veracity of God that he will for ever defend the holy Revelation that he has given us. Let us, on our part, treat it as becomes its dignity and omnipotent Author. turn our religion into a play, nor dishonour it with bau

Let us not

bles, as the manner of the Popish craftsmen is, who convert their churches into puppet-shows and music-meetings, and then, when they are laughed at, cry they are in danger. Pretty fellows ! to raise our mirth, whether we will or no, and then make us choke ourselves to keep it in. Their "craft is in danger to be set at nought.' They know its value, and quake lest other people should know it too. Oh! the impudence of craftsmen! how boldly they mock God, and in his name pick pockets !

3. Let us observe, 3rdly, my brethren, that the Christian religion, which prevailed against all the powers of the world, cannot be in danger from all the powers of the world: and every church may be in danger but a Christian church. Let us praise the Lord, my Christian friends, that our church is safe.

Proceed we now to the 28th verse: "And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians!"

I. We may remark here, 1st, my friends, the violent effects of a hot sermon, however absurd and villanous. Here is Dr. Demetrius, whose craft was all his religion, lugs Heaven into a dispute about his trade, and tacks the salvation of his hearers to the gain which he made of his shrines; yet this awakened no indignation in the seduced and ill-judging auditory; but straight they "were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians!"-The Church! the Church!

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2. 2ndly, we may remark, that Ignorance is the mother of Zeal. They were full of wrath." For what? Why, for Diana of Ephesus-a god created by a stone-cutter; an insensible piece of rock, guarded by a band of priests; who, hard as it was, picked a fine livelihood out of it. But Paul had opened some men's eyes, and the loaves began to come in but slowly. This enraged the craftsmen, and they enraged the people. The priests lost customers, and the people lost their senses. Such is the power of delusion over dark and slavish minds! Let but the priest point at a windmill, and cry the church is falling, his congregation will venture their brains to stop the sails. What a rare army does Zeal raise, when Religion and Reason do not spoil the muster or stop their march!

The next is the 29th verse: “And the whole city was filled with confusion; and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theatre."

"And the whole city was filled with confusion." Who doubts it, when church was the cry, and the priests had begun it? Give them but their way, and allow them but to assert their own claims, they will quickly turn all things, human and divine, topsy-turvy. Here is a whole city thrown into confusion, purely because a branch of the priestly trade, infamous, forged and irreligious, was like to fall before the word of God preached by Paul.

1. This shews, sirs, that there is nothing so lying and so vile that they will not justify. They knew that their church was a creature of their own composing; that the worship performed in it was burlesque worship, contrived by themselves and paid to a senseless image; and they knew that the whole was an impudent delusion, framed by human invention. And yet you see, my beloved, how they raise heaven and earth in defence of their forgeries and superstitions. Not a tittle will they part with, not a shrine, not a ceremony. No, rather than this, they publish lies, they deceive the people, they decry sober piety, they raise a sedition, and confound all things. "By this craft we have our wealth."

2. Behold here, 2ndly, the different behaviour of truth and falsehood, or in other words, of Paul and the craftsmen! When men contend for truth, they do it calmly, because they are sure that it will support itself. But error, conscious of its weak foundation, flies instantly for support to rage and oppression. Paul reasons peaceably and powerfully; Demetrius deceives, scolds, and raises a mob. But I defy the craftsmen to shew me one mob of Paul's raising in all the New Testament.

The apostle wanted no mob; he neither blended politics nor gain with his doctrine; he had no factious designs; he meddled not with human affairs; he taught peace, and he practised it; he had no grimace to support, no mock reverence to acquire or defend; he abhorred pious fraud, and exposed it; he shewed the people the manifest truths of the Gospel and of Reason, and that presently opened their eyes to see the impious delusions and bold impositions of the reigning priests; and hence began the rage of Dr. Demetrius and his mob.

3. From this you may learn, 3rdly, my friends, that one man with truth on his side, is enough to frighten a whole army, yea, a whole hierarchy of craftsmen, and to defeat them, if he has but a fair hearing. You see also the graceless methods that red-hot high priests take to confute