the rage of his unbelieving countrymen; he returned in the following year to that city to renew his attempt at the risk of equal danger (ot). With respect to friendship, our Saviour confirmed its obligations by the sanction of his own example. His whole conduct to his disciples is a pattern of tender friendship, St. John is particularly distinguished as "the disciple whom Jesus loved." Lazarus, who was not one of his disciples, is called by Christ himself his friend (n) \ and was one of the very few persons whom Christ raised from the dead. The affectionate regard of our Saviour to Lazarus and his sisters to beautifully expressed in the simple and touching language of the evangelist: "Now Jesus "loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus (0)." Consider, too, the remarkably kind attention of our Saviour towards Peter; who, after his shameful denial of his Lord, might justly apprehend that he should no longer be owned as a disciple. One of the angels who appeared to the women at the sepulchre on the morning of the resurrection, addressed them, conformably, we may presume, to the injunction of Christ, in these terms: "Depart, fay to his. disci"pies, and to Peter, he goeth before you into Gali"lee (/>)." To St. Peter, and to him only, Christ shewed himself separately on the very day on which he arose. And afterwards, in the presence of six of his other disciples, he confirmed St. Peter, with" marks of great confidence and distinction, in the

apostolical

(m) Luke, iv. 16—30. Matt. xiii. 54—58. (n) John, xi. 11. (0) John, xi. 5.

apostolical osfice (q). Finally, it was in the very act of blessing his disciples, that Christ ascended into heaven O).

To the instances which have been produced of different virtues so gloriously exemplifiedin our Saviour's actions, many circumstances of his life evincing the fame and other virtues might have been added (i). Far from wishing to exhaust, had it been possible to exhaust, the subject; my desire is to lead you to apply habitually to the sacred source, from which the preceding examples have been derived. Study the life of your Saviour, in his thoughts, words, and deeds. By prayer and exertion endeavour to be conformed to his image upon earth, as you hope to be conformed to it in heaven. Take for your guide, imitate as far as human weakness can imitate, this perfect pattern of perfect holiness. Far as you will ever remain short of it, labour still to approach nearer to it. The more earnestly you strive to be a faithful disciple of the Lord, the more of " that mind will, «* be in you, which was in Christ Jesus (/),"

(p ) Mark, xvi. 7. (q) Luke, xxiv. 34. i Cor. xv. 5.

(r) John, xxi. 15, &c.

(j) Luke*xxiv. 51. A very copious selection, accompanied with many excellent observations, may be found in Archbishop Newcome's Observations on oar Lord's conduct.

(/) Philipp. ii. 5.

CHAPTER IX.

THE HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY TO THE SUBVERSION OF THE WESTERN EMPIRE.

VV HEN the divine author of Christianity had withdrawn his visible presence from the earth; his religion speedily experienced, according to his predictions, the encreasing enmity of a world whose practices it condemned, whose forms of worship it superseded. The pure gold was to be tried in the furnace of adversity. . Scarcely had the apostles of Christ opened their commission, when a violent persecution, commencing with the martyrdom of Stephen, was raised "against .the church which was in "Jerusalem: and they were all scattered abroad "throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, ** except the apostles (#)." This sudden dispersion of the Christians was rendered by the overruling hand of God the cause of an immediate and extensive diffusion of the true faith. "They which "were scattered abroad upon the persecution that "arose about Stephen, travelled as far as Phenice^ "and Cyprus,and Antioch, preaching the word (£)." The implacable hatred of the Jews remained undiminished. Some few years afterwards " Herod the "king stretched forth his hands to vex certain "of the church: and he killed James, the brother "of John, with the sword. And, because he saw it

"pleased

(a) Acts, viii. i. (^) Acts, xi. Iq.

"pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter "also (c)." The virulence with which St. Paul was constantly opposed, and his life repeatedly attempted, by the Jews both in Judea and in distant countries, attested the rooted inveteracy with which that nation beheld Christianity and its preachers. From this enemy, however, the faith of Christ was in a great measure delivered by the victories of Titus.

But an enemy far more terrible remained; the idolatrous empire of Rome. From his throne in that capital the emperor from time to time "stretched forth his hands," not, like Herod, merely to seize some unfortunate victims within the -walls of the city where he dwelt; but "to vex "and to kill," even in the utmost parts of the Roman world, those who conscientiously refused to burn incense to the gods of the pantheon. The persecutions which the Christians endured under the emperors are usually enumerated as ten : a number not very accurate, as it exceeds in amount the persecutions which were general throughout the empire; and falls far short of thofe which raged at different times in particular provinces. Polytheism, limited by no bounds, was always ready to admit the reception of a new deity. The Romans had never scrupled to venerate the gods of the countries which they subdued: and the conquered countries had without hesitation united the gods of Rome with the original objects of their national worship, The Christians, therefore, who steadily refused all intercourse with idols, were regarded by the possessor of

the

(c) Acts,xii. 1—3.

the throne of the Cæsars as rebels alike against the majesty of heaven and his own. They suffered also from being to a certain degree confounded, in the common apprehension, with the Jews; whom, in the words of Tacitus, the Roman?, like the Persians and the Greeks, considered as " the most despica"ble portion of their slaves." In addition to these causes of suspicion and abhorrence, they had to encounter the effect of the grossest and most malignant calumnies raised and spread abroad with unwearied activity by their Jewish and Pagan adversaries: calumnies partly calculated to rouse the imperial jealousy, by representing the Christans as the partisans of "another king, one Jesus (d);" partly to render them objects of universal detestation, by describing them as addicted in secret to the most flagitious and horrible crimes, and as being the cause, by their impiety and vices, of every calamity, foreign or domestic, which afflicted the state. Hence arose the miseries which they sustained during nearly three centuries, sometimes from the fury of legal vengeance, at other times, from the unauthorised but unrestrained outrages of the people.

The Christians, for such were evidently the persons whom Suetonius ignorantly denominates "the "Jews who raised continual tumults in Rome at "the instigation of Christ," were expelled from that city by Claudius (/)." With this indication

of

(</) Acts, xvii. 17.

(e) The fact probably was, that the Jews, stigmatised and oppressed, might create some disturbances; and that the Christians, being regarded as a sect of Jews, were involved in the sentence of banishment.