and SAVIOUR, JESUS CHRIST, and his APOSTLES, CC. 323 treafury of vital breath, and not reflefl an the Divine Wifdom that formed it ? If we furvey the earth, we there difcover the footfieps of an Almighty Being, who fretchetii, the north over the emptyplace, and hangeth the earth upon nothing; filling it with a great variety of admirable and ufe- ful creatures, and maintaining them all by the bounty of his hand. It is he that clothes the grafs with a delightful verdure, that crowns the year with his loving-kind- nefs, and caufes the valleys to [land thick with corn. It is he that maketh the grafs to grow upon the mountains, and herb for thefervice of man : he adorns the lilies of the field that neither toil nor fpin, with a glory.that excels the pomp and grandeur of Solomon's court : He Phut up the fea with doors, and faid, Hitherto (halt thou come, but no further, and here(hall thy proud waves be flayed. Ìt is this Almighty Being that arrefis the form, and fmooths the tempeffuous billows of the deep ; that delivereth the mariner from all his troubles, and bringeth his fhip into the defired haven of fafety. How reafonable, therefore, is it that we rhould worfhip . and adore this omnipotent, ,this kind Creator, and not transfer the honours due to him alone, to frail mortals, much Icfs to dumb idols, the works of men's hands, which cannot profit. Thus having perfuaded the ,people to defifl from the idolatrous worfhip they would have paid them, the apoflles con- tinued their labours in infirubfing the people, and planting in this city the gofpel of the Son of God : but the malice of the Jews fill purfued them; for fame of thefe bigotted Ifraelites coming from Antioch and Iconium, exafperated and furred up the multitude ; fo that thofe very perfons who could hardly be refrained from offer- ing facrifice to them, now ufed them like llaves, [loving them in fo cruel a manner, that Paul was thought to be dead, and as fuch they dragged him out of the city ; but while the Chriflians of Lyfira were attending on his corpfe, probably in order to carry him to his grave, he arofe and returned with them into the city; and the next day departed with Barnabas to Derbe, where they preached the gofpel, and con- verted many ; no danger being able to terrify them from the work, of the miniflry ; and publifhing the glad-tidings of falva- tion in every place they came to. However, they did not long continue at Derbe, but returned to Lyftra, Ìconiumt and Antioch of Pifidia, confirming the Chriflians of thofe places in the faith, ear - neflly perfuading them to perfevere, and. not be difcouraged with thofe troubles and perfecutions which they mull expert would attend the profeffion of the gofpel. And that the affairs of the church might be conducted with more regularity, they or- dained elders and parlors; to teach, to inflruf, and to watch over them; and then left them to the proteftion of the Almighty, to whofe care they recommended them by falling and prayer. The apoflles, after leaving Antioch, paflèd through Pifidia, and came to Pam- phylia; and after preaching the gofpel at Perga, they went down to Attalia. Having thus finithed the circuit of their miniflry, they returned back to. Antioch in Syria, from whence they at firfi departed. Here they fummoned the church, and gave them an account of their tninifiry, the fuccefs it had met with in thefe different parts, and howgreat a door had thus been opened for the converfion of the Heathens. During St. Paul's flay at Antioch, that famous controverfy, relating to the obfer- vation of the Jewifh ceremonies in the Chriftian difpenfation, was let on foot by certain Jewilh converts, to the great dif- turbance of the whole church. And it was determined to fend Paul and Barnabas to confult with the apoflles and church at Je- rufalem, that this affair might be fettled on the moil folid foundation. On their arrival at Jerufalem, they firft addreffed themfelves to Peter, James, and John, the pillars of that church, by whom they were kindly entertained, and admitted to the right-
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