habitually cruel, selfish, artful, ambitious, or corrupt. There is nothing, which impeaches his integrity, or which ought to render us suspicious of his moral character. He was only actuated by a species of mistaken zeal, which has been common enough in every age. There is no sufficient reason for supposing, that he had ever seen our Lord, or his miracles; nor that he was acquainted with the apostles, or their preaching, before he engaged in this violent career. If, before this time, he had been at the school of Gamaliel, from the retired life of the Jewish scholar, there is very little reason to suppose, that he could have known much of the new religion. He had come from the schools full of Jewish learning and Jewish pride. When he entered into public life, he had taken up the common reports and prejudices respecting Jesus and his followers; and, without much inquiry into the subject, he thought he should signalize himself and his order, and gratify the Pharisees, by the persecution of the christians.

But God, whose purposes are far beyond our ken, and whose means are infinitely various, had marked out this young man for the most eminent apostle of the faith, which he was now intent upon exterminating. If we suppose Paul's character such as I have represented it to be, uncorrupt, disinterested, and void of malice, his heart warmed by a zeal for what he imagined to be God's truth, and his head heated by religious prejudices, there wanted nothing but to show to this young man, by the irresistible evidence of his senses, that this very Jesus, whom he regarded as a crucified, detestable malefactor, was really alive in power, and risen from the dead, to turn the whole current of his conduct, sentiments and character. This mercy God granted him, and at a time, too, when his mind was yet open to conviction, and his heart not yet hardened by the pride of system, or by a long life of persecuting habits. As he was going

down to Damascus, with a commission from the rulers of his nation, to seize and bring to Jerusalem all whom he could find bearing the name of christians, Jesus appears to him. In a moment truth bursts upon his mind, and he sinks to the earth in all the humility and terrour of irresistible conviction. His senses are overpowered, his purpose fails, his situation appears to him, as it would to any honest and religious man, upon the discovery of such a fact, and oppresses him with inconceivable remorse. Trembling and astonished, he says, Lord what wilt thou have me to do? In an instant his views are all changed; and, from this hour, nothing can exceed his sense of his former unworthiness, and his ardour in the cause of that Jesus, whom he before thought to be dead, and whose disciples he considered it an honour to exterminate. This miracle alone was wanting to convert a man of Paul's age and temperament, a man open to conviction, eager in embracing any new sentiment, which he thought to be truth, and who now obtained, by God's mercy, that conviction which he needed. From this hour, the darling object of his life was to repair, if possible, the injuries, which he had committed against Jesus and his cause. The memory of his former conduct, and his sense of God's mercy, never deserted him; but he sacredly devotes a long and laborious life to propagate that faith, which he had been destroying. Well might he extol the unsearchable riches of God's mercy. Last of all, says he, Jesus was seen by me, also, as by one born out of due time; for I am the least of the apostles, and am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

I cannot now pursue the reflections, which this remarkable case suggests. You are sensible, that it is an argument for the truth of our religion, which is not to be resisted. It is proper to remind you, however, that it was an indispensable requisite of an apostle,

that he should have seen our Saviour in person, after his resurrection, and have received his commission immediately from him. This appears to be the distinguishing qualification of the apostolical office. Paul, now possessing it, takes the place in the number of the twelve, which was left vacant by the death of Judas. The manner, then, of Paul's conversion, by the personal appearance of our Saviour, thus appears peculiarly proper, and even necessary. A thousand other means might have been used, merely to convert him, but this appears to have been chosen with a view to that office, for which God especially designed him, the apostleship of the Gentiles. It has been suggested, and, perhaps, with some appearance of truth, that, when the eleven judged it necessary to supply the place of Judas, and chose Matthias by lot, they did not act by the direction of the Holy Spirit, which was not yet given, but merely by dictates of human prudence, which, on that occasion, seems to have carried them too far. No man, or body of men, could, by their designation, confer an office of such authority as this, which was to bind the consciences of others. It was necessary, that the candidate should receive his commission and supernatural powers from Jesus himself. Thus our Lord seems to have superseded the election of Matthias, and, with a view to the conversion of the Gentiles, to have appointed Paul, the person, perhaps, of all others in Jerusalem, best qualified by his learning, resolution and the circumstances of his former life, for this arduous employment.

Paul proceeds to Damascus; but enters it, how dif ferent a man!-humble, penitent, teachable, hardly daring to lift up his eyes to heaven. Here he is kindly received by Ananias, a disciple of Jesus, who restores to him his sight, which he had lost by the brightness of the vision of Jesus, and baptizes him nto the profession of christianity. He does not re

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turn to Jerusalem, where he would have been in the utmost danger from the resentment of his employers; but retires into Arabia, where he probably was employed in gaining a more comprehensive knowledge of the christian faith, by successive revelations, and by a more diligent study of the Jewish scriptures, with reference to the proofs of the Messiahship of Jesus. He afterwards returns; and I need not recount to you the number of his services, the dangers he encountered, the success he obtained, or the death to which he at last submitted in the cause of Christ. The Acts, written by his companion Luke, and his own epistles, give us an exact and interesting detail of his life; and surely no man, after reading his history and his letters, but must exclaim, this was a man born for great purposes! The conversion and history of Paul are not to be accounted for but by the interposition of God.

In summing up the traits of Paul's character, you will observe, how singularly he was qualified for that office, to which he was especially destined, the apostleship of the Gentiles throughout the Roman empire. He was the only one of the apostles, who appears to have had what may be called a liberal education, or, at least, who had any tincture of the literature and philosophy of the Greeks. But his mind, naturally powerful, was not only furnished with the Jewish learning of the age, but discovers, also, an intimate acquaintance with the genius and science of the Gentiles. He appears, also, more than any other of the apostles, to be fond of argumentation, and powerfully eloquent; two qualities, which could not fail to arrest the attention of those to whom he was sent. The mission, which was given him, demanded not only a strength of genius like his, but an ardour, which no discouragement should quench, a resolution, which no dangers should overthrow, a spirit of laborious perseverance, and indefatigable activity, which should

that he should have seen our Saviour in person, after his resurrection, and have received his commission immediately from him. This appears to be the distinguishing qualification of the apostolical office. Paul, now possessing it, takes the place in the number of the twelve, which was left vacant by the death of Judas. The manner, then, of Paul's conversion, by the personal appearance of our Saviour, thus appears peculiarly proper, and even necessary. A thousand other means might have been used, merely to convert him, but this appears to have been chosen with a view to that office, for which God especially designed him, the apostleship of the Gentiles. It has been suggested, and, perhaps, with some appearance of truth, that, when the eleven judged it necessary to supply the place of Judas, and chose Matthias by lot, they did not act by the direction of the Holy Spirit, which was not yet given, but merely by dictates of human prudence, which, on that occasion, seems to have carried them too far. No man, or body of men, could, by their designation, confer an office of such authority as this, which was to bind the consciences of others. It was necessary, that the candidate should receive his commission and supernatural powers from Jesus himself. Thus our Lord seems to have superseded the election of Matthias, and, with a view to the conversion of the Gentiles, to have appointed Paul, the person, perhaps, of all others in Jerusalem, best qualified by his learning, resolution and the circumstances of his former life, for this arduous employment.

Paul proceeds to Damascus; but enters it, how dif ferent a man !—humble, penitent, teachable, hardly daring to lift up his eyes to heaven. Here he is kindly received by Ananias, a disciple of Jesus, who restores to him his sight, which he had lost by the brightness of the vision of Jesus, and baptizes him nto the profession of christianity. He does not re