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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A43344	A discourse concerning meekness and quietness of spirit to which is added, A sermon on Acts 28. 22, shewing that the Christian religion is not a sect, and yet that it is every where spoken against / by Matthew Henry ...	Henry, Matthew, 1662-1714.; Henry, Matthew, 1662-1714. Sermon on Acts XXVII, 22.; Howe, John, 1630-1705.	1699 (1699)	Wing H1475_PARTIAL; Wing H1476_PARTIAL; ESTC R14901	132,581	220

to admiration answered not a word to all their unjust Calumnies and Accusations but at the same time he bound them over to the Judgment of the great Day by that awful word Mat. 26. 64. Hereafter ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of the Power and still he bears in expectation of that same Day He doth not take Vengeance presently because he hath an Eternity before him for the doing of it And by the way we may infer from hence That those who would be like their Heavenly Father must bear Reproach and Contradiction patiently When any thing is said against us reflecting never so little Disparagement upon us or our Families our Resentments of it are very sensible and we are apt to take it hainously nay and to say we do well to be angry for it is not a thing to be endur'd not to be endur'd O think how much God bears with the Contempt and Reproach cast upon his great Name and that will surely qualify our Resentments of any indignity done to our little Names Who are we that we must not be spoken against Or what are our Sayings that they must not be contradicted Such Affronts as these we should learn to bear as David did when Shimei cursed him So let him Curse and as the Son of David did when his Enemies reviled him Blessing them that Curse us and Praying for them that this Persecute us that we may be the Children of our Father which is in Heaven God adjourns his Vindication to the great Day and then surely we may adjourn ours to that day as St. Paul doth his 1 Cor. 4. 5. Secondly Let us acknowledge the Power of Divine Grace in keeping up the Christian Religion in the World notwithstanding the universal Contradiction and Opposition it hath met with One would think that a way thus spoken against every where should have been long ere this lost and ruin'd and the Christian Name cut off to be no more in remembrance which its Adversaries have so industriously endeavoured if it had been of Men it had certainly come to naught quickly though they had let it alone but being of God it was to admiration Victorious over all oppo●ition A Sect a Cheat could never have supported it self against so much Contradiction no Human Power or Policy could have kept it up nor any thing less than an Almighty Arm. The continuance of the Christian Religion in the world to this day is a standing Miracle for the Conviction of its Adversaries and the Confirmation of the Faith of those that adhere to it VVhen we consider what a mighty Force was raised by the Powers of Darkness against Christianity when it was in its Infancy how many they were that spoke against it learned Men great Men Books were written Laws were made against it those that spoke for it how few were they and how mean and despicable the foolish things of the VVorld and the Weak and yet we see the Word of God mightily growing and prevailing Must we not needs say this is the Lord 's doing it is marvellous in our eyes The several false Religions of the Heathen with their various Superstitions and Idolatries though they gave very little Opposition one to another but agreed together well enough yet having no foundation in Truth they all wither'd away and dwindled to nothing and after the mighty sway they had born and all means possible us'd to support 'em at length their Day came to fall their Oracles silenced their Altars deserted and the Gods themselves were famished Zeph. 2. 11. and perished from the Earth according to that Prediction Ier. 10. 11. which is put into the mouths of the Captiv'd Jews to retort upon their insulting Enemies and for that purpose is originally in the Caldee Dialect VVe may ask triumphantly not only where are the Gods of Humath and of Arpad Where are the Gods of Sepharvaim Hena and Ivah those obscure and petty Deities But where are the Gods of Babylon and Aegypt Greece and Rome the illustrious names of Saturn and Iupiter Iuno and Diana where are the Gods which our British and Saxon Aucestors worshipped bofore they received the Light of the glorious Gospel Are they not all forgotten as dead Men out of mind and their names written in the dust But Christ's Holy Religion though for some Ages it was utterly destitute of all Secular Supports and Advantages and was assaulted on all hands by the most vigorous Attacks of its daring and most implacable Enemies yet it hath strangely weather'd its point and is in being and thanks be to God in some places in a flourishing state to this day Its cause an opposed but never a baffled cause Let us turn aside now and see this great sight a Bush burning and yet not consum'd and say The Lord is in it of a Truth Come and see the Captain of our Salvation riding forth in the Chariot of the everlasting Gospel with his Crown upon his Head and his Bow in his Hand conquering and to conquer That which was every where spoken against Christianity was like the Viper which fasten'd upon St. Paul's Hand it gave people occasion to think very ill concerning it and to look for its speedy fall as the barbarous people concerning him whom they concluded to be a Murtherer and expected that he should have swollen or fallen down Dead But it hath in all Ages shaken those venomous Beasts into the Fire and taken no harm and so hath prov'd its own Divine Original Let us herein acknowledge the Wisdom and Power of our Lord Jesus who hath so firmly built his Church upon a Rock that the Gates of Hell i. e. all its Powers and Policies and Numbers could never prevail against it Mahomet though he industriously adapted his Religion to the Sensual Appetites of Men whose Reason only and not their Lusts could object against it yet he obtain'd no strength nor interest at all till by a thousand Artifices he had got the Power of the Sword and with it forbad any upon pain of Death to speak against him or his Doctrine charging his first Followers who were to propagate his Religion if they met with any that objected against it not to dispute with them but to kill them immediately By which means that grand Imposture in a little time got some footing in the world and by the same Barbarous and Inhumane Methods it hath been supported now above a Thousand Years And in like manner that great Enemy of the Church represented in St. Iohn's Vision maintains his Interest by causing that as many as would not worship the Image of the Reast should be killed Rev. 13. 15. Thus are Errors and false Religions propagated strip them of the●●●●ports they fall to the ground of course but on the contrary the Ch●●stian Religion was planted and preserv'd not only without but against secular Force recommended and

Let Meekness stand Centinel and upon the advance of a Provocation let us examine who it is we are about to be angry with and for what What are the merits of the Cause wherein lay the Offence what was the Nature and Tendency of it What are likely to be the Consequences of our Resentments and what harm will it be if we stifle them and let them go no further Such as these are the Interrogatories which Meekness would put to the Soul and in answer to them would abstract all that which Passion is apt to suggest and hear Reason only as it becomes rational Creatures to do Three great Dictates of Meekness we find put together in one Scripture Iames 1. 19. Be swift to hear slow to speak slow to Wrath which some observe to be couch'd in three proper Names of Ishmael's Son Gen. 25. 14. 1 Chron. 1. 30. which Bishop Prideaux in the beginning of the Wars recommended to a Gentleman that had been his Pupil as the summary of his Advice Mishma Dumah Massa the signification of which is Hear Keep silence Bear Hear Reason keep Passion silent and then you will not find it difficult to bear the Provocation It is said of the Holy one of Israel when the Aegyptians provok'd him that he weigh'd a Path to his Anger So the Margin reads it from the Hebrew Psal. 78. 50. Libravit semitam irae suae Iustice first poised the Cause and then Anger pour'd out the Vials Thus Gen. 11. 5. The Lord came down to see the Pride of the Babel-builders before he scatter'd them and Gen. 18. 21. He came down to see the Wickedness of Sodom before he overthrew it though both were obvious and bare-faced to teach us to consider before we are angry and to judge before we pa●s Sentence that herein we may be followers of God as dear Children and be merciful as our Father which is in Heaven is merciful We read Iames 3. 13. of the meekness of Wisdom for where there is not Wisdom that Wisdom which is profitable to direct that Wisdom of the Prudent which is to understand ●is way meekness will not long be preserv'd It is our Rashness and Inconsideration that betrays us to all the Mischiefs of an ungovern'd Passion in the neck of which the Reins are laid which should be kept in the Hand of Reason and so we are hurry'd upon a thousand Precipices Nehemiah is a remarkable instance of Prudence presiding in just resentments He owns Neb. 5. 6 7. I was very angry when I heard their Cry but that anger did not at all transgress the Laws of Meekness for it follows Then I consulted with my self or as the Hebrew hath it My heart consulted in me Before he express'd his Displeasure he retir'd into his own bosom took time for a sober thought upon the case and then he rebuked the Nobles in a very solid rational Discourse v. 8 9 10 11. and the success was good v. 12 13. In every Cause when Passion presently demands Judgment Meekness moves for further time and will have the matter fairly argued and Council heard on both sides When the injur'd Levite had pitch'd upon a very barbarous Course to irritate the Tribes of Israel who commonly were too fiery to need a Spur against the Men of Gibeah yet withall he refer'd the matter to their deliberate Counsels to teach us when our Hearts are meditating revenge to do likewise Iudg. 19. 30. so and so the matter is consider of it take advice and then speak your minds When Iob had any quarrel with his Servants he was willing to admit a rati●nal debate of the matter and to hear what they had to say for themselves For saith he what shall I do when God riseth up and withal did not he that made me in the Womb make him Job 31. 13 14 15. When our Hearts are at any time hot within us we would do well to put that Question to our selves which God put to Cain Gen. 4. 6. Why am I wroth Why am I angry at all Why so soon angry Why so very angry Why so far transported and dispossess'd of my self by my anger What reason is there for all this Do I well to be angry for a Gourd that came up in a Night and perished in a Night Jona 4. 9. Should I be touch'd to the quick by such a sudden and transient Provocation Will not my cooler Thoughts correct these hasty Resentments and therefore were it not better to check them now Such are the reasonings of the Meekness of Wisdom 2. The Work of Meekness is to calm the Spirit so as that the inward Peace may not be disturbed by any outward Provocation No doubt but a Man may express his displeasure against the Miscarriages of another as much as at any time there is occasion for without suffering his Resentments to recoil upon himself and to put his own Soul into a hurry What need a Man to tear himself his Soul so it is in the Hebrew in his anger Job 18. 4. Cannot we charge home upon our Enemies Camp without the wilful disordering of our own Troops Doubtless we may if Meekness have the command for that 's a Grace which preserves a Man Master of himself while he contends to be Master of another And tho' there may be some firing in the Out-works yet fortifies the Heart the Main-Fort the Inner-wards against the assaults of Provocation which do us no great harm while they do not rob us of our Peace nor disturb the Rest of our Souls As Patience in case of Sorrow so Meekness in case of Anger keeps possession of the Soul as the expression is Luke 21. 19. that we be not disseiz'd of that Free-hold and takes care when the Bell is up that it do not overturn The Drift of Christ's Farewell-Sermon to his Disciples we have in the first Words of it Io● 14. 1. Let not your Hearts be troubled It is the Duty and Interest of all good People whatever happens to keep Trouble from their Hearts and to have them even and sedate tho' the Eye as Iob expresseth it should continue unavoidably in the Provocation of this World Iob 17. 2. The Wicked 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Turbulent and Unquiet so the Word primarily signifies are like the troubled Sea when it cannot rest Isa. 57. 20. but that Peace of God which passeth all understanding keeps the Hearts and Minds of all the Meek of the Earth Meekness preserves the Mind from being ruffled and discomposed and the Spirit from being unhing'd by the Vanities and Vexations of this lower World It stills the noise of the Sea the noise of her Waves and the Tumult of the Soul permits not the Passions to crowd out in a disorderly manner like a confused ungovern'd Rabble but draws them out like the Train'd-bands Rank and File every one in his own order ready to March to Charge to Fire to Retreat as Wisdom and Grace give the Word of

thee thine Elders a●d they will tell thee that the Fear of the Lord that is Wisdom and to depart from Evil that is Vnderstanding They will tell thee That Religion's Ways are Ways of Pleasantness and all her Paths are Peace and that all the Wealth and Pleasure in this World is not worth one Hours Communion with God in Jesus Christ. They will tell thee That there is no Truths so certain and weighty as Divine Truths and that no Statutes and Judgments are so righteous as the Divine Law which is Holy Iust and Good They will tell thee That real Holiness and Sanctification is the Perfection of the Human Nature as well as the Participation of a Divine Nature That a firm Belief of the Principles of Religion is the greatest improvement of our intellectual Powers a strict Adherence to its Rules our surest Guide in all our Ways and a chearful Dependance upon its Promises the Fountain of better Ioys and the Foundation of better Hopes than any we can be furnish'd with in the things of Sense and Time They will tell thee that a Life of serious Godliness is incomparably the most Sublime and Honourable the most Sweet and Comfortable Life a Man can live in this World and that nothing doth more answer the end of our Creation better befriend Societies nor conduce more to our true interest in both Worlds than that Holy Religion which is every where spoken against 4. Consider that the cause of Religion and Godliness however it be spoken against and oppos'd will infallibly be the prevailing Cause at last We are sensible of a mighty struggle in the World betwixt the seed of the Woman and the seed of the Serpent Michael and his Angels on the one side and the Dragon and his Angels on the other Many there are that speak against Religion and are very vigorous in opposing it and some tho' but a few that are speaking for it contending for the Faith and striving against Sin now it is desirable to know which of these contesting Interests will be victorious and we may be assur'd that the cause of God and Religion will certainly carry the day Contradicted Truths will be effectually clear'd and vindicated Despised Holiness will be honour'd Mistakes rectify'd Reproaches roll'd away and every thing set in a true Light Then you shall return and discern between Truth and Falshood Right and Wrong which now it is not always easie to do The Day of the Lord is said to be in the Valley of Decision Joel 3. 14. Because then and there will this great Cause be decided which has been so long depending and a definitive Sentence given from which there will ly no Appeal and against which there will be no Exception Our God will then come and will not Keep Silence whoever now Speak against Religion he will then speak for it and will undoubtedly be justified when he speaks and clear when he judgeth Particular Parties and Interests as such will wither and come to nothing But Catholick Christianity that is Denying Vngodliness and Worldly Lusts and living Soberly Righteously and Godly in this present World in ●●pectation to the Blessed Hope This is Good and the Goodness of it being founded on the unchangeable will of the Eternal Mind it is Eternally Good and no doubt will be Eternally Glorious whatever is said against it This this is that Gold and Silver and those Precious Stones which will stand the Test of the Fire that shall try every Mans Work I Cor. 3. 12 13. and will be found unto 〈◊〉 and Honour and Glory at the Appearing of 〈◊〉 Christ. Assure 〈◊〉 selves Christians there is a Day of Recom●●●es for t●e Controversy of Sion coming and it is at Hand Behold the Iudge standeth before the Door Then Vice and Wickedness which now appear so daring so threatning will be effectually and irrecovera●● crush'd and such a fatal and incurable Blow given to the Serpen●● Head that he shall never hil● 〈◊〉 never spit his Venom any more Then shall the Vpright have the Dominion Psal. 49. 14. and all the faithful Souldiers of the Lord Jesus shall be call'd to set their Feet upon the Necks of Principalities and Powers Then Atheists and Blasphemers the Debauchees and prophane Scoffers of the Age will have their Mouths stopt with an irresistable Conviction will have all their vile Calumnies visibly confuted their Hearts fill'd with unspeakable Horror and their Faces with everlasting Shame Their Refuge of Lies will then be swept away and Rocks and Mountains call'd upon in vain to shelter them Then shall the Righteous who are now trampled upon and despised shine as the Sun in the Firmament of their Father Wisdom and her Children shall be first justified and then glorified before all the World And they that through Grace have gotten the Victory over the Beast and over his Image shall solace themselves and praise their Redeemer with everlasting Songs of Triumph The Dirt that is now unjustly thrown upon them will not only be wiped off but will add to their Glory and every Reproach for the Testimony of Jesus will be a Pearl in their Crown The Righteous Judge of Heaven and Earth will shortly render to every Man according to his Work To them who by patient continuance in Well-doing seek for Glory and Honour and Immortality in the other World and in pursuit of that patiently bear Disgrace and Contempt in this to them he will render Eternal Life w●ich will make them as Happy as they can desire far more Happy than they can now conceive But to them that are Conten●● and do not obey the Truth but contradict it and rebel against the Light and Laws of it being ●e●●lv'd to obey Vnrighteousness to them he will render with a just and Almighty Hand Indignation and Wrath the effect of which will be such Tribulation and Anguish to the Soul as will make them feel eternally what now they will not be perswaded to believe that it is a fearful thing to fall into the Hands of the living God for never any hardned their Hearts against him and prosper'd Brethren These are the true Sayings of God on the certainty of which we may venture our Immortal Souls They who speak and act so much against Religion design to run it down and extirpate it that the Name of it may be no more in remembrance and perhaps you hear them sometimes boast of their success herein If they can but handsomly as they think ridicule the sacred Text or Banter any of the Divine Mysteries 〈◊〉 as if a good Man they 〈…〉 they had run down Religion Run down Religion In the Name of my great Master I defy all the Powers of Hell and Earth to run it down They may sooner run down the flowing Tide or the Sun when he goes forth in his strength than run down the least of the Dictates of Eternal Truth

not only bless'd God that sent her and blessed her Advice but blessed her 1 Sam. 25. 32 33. and v. 35. not only hearkned to her Voice but accepted her Person Tho perhaps the Reprover supposeth the fault greater than really it was and though the Reproof be not given with all the Prudence in the World yet Meekness will teach us to accept it quietly and to make the best use we can of it nay if indeed we be altogether innocent of that which we are reproved for yet the Meekness of Wisdom would teach us to apply the Reproof to some other fault which our own Consciences convict us of We would not quarrel with a real intended Kindness tho' not done with Ceremony tho' in some circumstances mistaken or misplac'd You that are in Inferior Relations Children Servants Scholars must with all Meekness and Submission receive the Reproofs of your Parents Masters and Teachers Their Age supposeth them to have more Understanding than you however their Place gives them an Authority over you to which you are to pay a Deference and in which you are to acquiesce else farewel all Order and Peace in Societies The Angel rebuked Hagar for flying from her Mistriss tho' she dealt hardly with her and obliged her to return and submit her self under her hands Gen. 16. 6 9. If the Spirit of any Ruler rise up against thee and thou be chidden for a Fault leave not thy Place as an Inferior for yielding pacifies great offences done and prevents the like Eccl. 10. 4. If thou hast thought evil lay thy hand upon thy Mouth to keep that evil thought from breaking out in any undue and unbecoming Language Pro. 30. 32. Reproofs are then likely to do us good when we meekly submit to them then are they as an Ear-ring of Gold and an Ornament of fine Gold when an obedient Ear is given to a wise Reprover Pro. 25. v. 12. Nay even Superiors are to receive Reproofs from their Inferiors with Meekness as they would any other Token of Kindness and Good-will Naaman when he turn'd away from the Prophet in a rage yet hearkned to the Reproof which his own Servants gave him and was over-rul'd by the Reason of it 2 Kin. 5. 11 13 14. which was no more a disparagement to him than it was to receive Instruction from his Wife's Maid to whom to go ●or a cure of his Leprosie v. 2 3. Meekness teacheth us when a just Reproof is given to regard not so much who speaks as what is spoken 3. We must instruct Gain-sayers with Meekness 2 Tim. 2. 24 25. It is there prescrib'd to Ministers that they must not 〈◊〉 but be gentle to all Men in Meekness instructing those that oppose themselves They serve the Prince of Peace they preach the Gospel of Peace they are the Ambassadors of Peace and therefore must be sure to keep the Peace The Apostles those prime Ministers of State in Christ's Kingdom were not Military Men or Men of strife and noise but Fishermen that follow their Employment with quietness and silence 'T is highly necessary that the Guides of the Church be strict Governours of their own Passions Learn of me saith Christ for I am meek and lowly and therefore fit to teach you Mat. 11. 29. We must contend earnestly but not angrily and passionately no not for the ●●ith once delivered to the Saints Iude v. 3. when we have never so great an assurance that it is the cause of Truth we are pleading yet we must so manage our Defence of it against those who gainsay as to make it appear that it is not the Confusion of the Erroneous but the Confutation of the Error that we intend This Meekness would teach us not to prejudge a Cause nor to condemn an Adversary unheard but calmly to state matters in difference as knowing that a Truth well open'd is half confirm'd It would teach us not to aggravate matters in dispute nor to father upon an Adversary all the absurd Consequences which we think may be inferr'd from his Opinion It would teach us to judge charitably of those that differ from us and to forbear all personal Reflections in arguing with them God's Cause needs not the Patronage of our sinful Heats and Passions which not only shatter the Peace but often give● a mighty shock even to the Truth it self we plead for Meekness would prevent and cure that Bigotry which hath been so long the Bane of the Church and contribute a great deal towards the Advancement of that happy State in which notwithstanding little Differences of Apprehension and Opinion the Lord shall be one and his Name one Publick Reformations are carry'd on with most Credit and Comfort and are most likely to settle upon lasting Foundations when Meekness sits at the Stern and guides the Motions of them When Christ was purging the Temple tho' he was therein acted by a Zeal for God's House that even eat him up yet he did it with Meekness and Prudence which appear'd in this instance that when he drove out the Sheep and Oxen which would easily be caught again he said to them that sold Doves Take these things hence Joh. 2. 16. He did not let loose the Doves and send them flying for that would have been to the loss and prejudice of the Owners Angry noisie bitter Arguings ill become the Asserters of that Truth which is great and will prevail without all that adoe It was a very froward and perverse Generation that our Lord Jesus lived in and yet it is said Mat. 12. 19. He shall not strive nor cry neither shall any Man hear his Voice in the Street tho' he could have broke them as easily as a bruised Reed and extinguish'd them as soon as one could quench the wiek of a Candle newly lighted yet he will not do it till the day comes when he shall bring forth Iudgment unto Victory Moses dealt with a very obstinate and stiff-neck'd People And yet my Doctrine saith he shall drop as the Dew and distil as the small Rain Deut. 32. 2. 'T was not the Wind nor the Earthquake nor the Fire that brought Elijah into Temper for the Lord was not in them but the still small Voice did it when he heard that he wrap'd his Face in his Mantle 1 Kin. 19. 11 12 13. In dealing with Gain-sayers a Spirit of Meekness will teach us to consider their Temper Education Custom the Power of Prejudice they Labour under the Influence of others upon them and to make Allowances accordingly and not to call as passionate Contenders are apt to do every false Step an Apostacy every Errour and Mistake nay every Misconstrued Misplaced Word a Heresie and every Misdemeanor no less than Treason and Rebelion Methods of Proceeding more likely to irritate and harden than to convince and reduce Gain-sayers I have heard it observed long since That the Scourge of the Tongue hath driven many out of the Temple but never drove any into it 4.

Ornament I have been recommending to you is confessedly excellent and lovely will you put it on and wear it that by this all Men may know that you are Christ's Disciples and you may be found among the Sheep on the right Hand at the great day when Christs Angels shall gather out of his Kingdom every thing that offends Every one will give Meekness a good Word but in this as in other instances Probitus laudatur alget Love is commended by all and yet the Love of many waxeth cold But let all that would not be self-condemned practise what they praise And as there is nothing in which I should more expect to prevail so there is nothing in which it will easier appear whether I have prevailed or no this Tree will soon be known by its Fruits So many are the Passages of almost every day which call for the exercise of this Grace that our profiting therein will quickly appear to our selves and to all with whom we converse Our Meekness and Quietness is more obvious and falls more directly under a Trial and Observation than our Love to God and our Faith in Christ and other Graces the exercise whereof lies more immediately between God and our own Souls Shall we therefore set our selves to manifest in all our C●●●iage and Converse that we have indeed gotten good by this plain Discourse that our Relations and Neighbours and all that we have Dealings with may observe a Change in us for the better and may take Knowledge of us that we have been with Iesus and let not the Impressions hereof ever wear off but living and dying let us be found among the Quiet in the Land We all wish to see quiet Familes and quiet Churches and quiet Neighbourhoods and quiet Nations and it will be so if there be quiet Hearts and not otherwise FINIS A SERMON On Acts XXVIIJ 22. Shewing That the CHRISTIAN RELIGION Is not a SECT And yet that it is Every where Spoken against By MATTHEW HENRY Minister of the Gospel LONDON Printed for and Sold by Thomas Parkhurst at the Bible and Three Crowns in Cheapside M DC XCIX Christianity no Sect to be spoken against ACTS 28. 22. For as concerning this Sect we know that every where it is spoken against WOULD you think that such a spiteful scornful Word as this should ever be said of the Christian Religion That pure Religion and undefiled which came into the World supported by the strongest Evidences of Truth and recommended by the most endearing Allurements of Grace and Goodness The sayings whereof are so faithful and so well worthy of all acceptation That Sacred Institution which scatters the brightest Rays of Divine Light and Love that ever were darted from Heaven to Earth That 's it which is here so invidiously call'd a Sect and is said to be every where spoken against It will be worth while to observe 1. Who they were that said this they were the chief of the Iews that were at Rome ver 17. The Iews were look'd upon at least they look'd upon themselves as a very knowing People The Iews at Rome a place of Learning and Enquiry thought themselves more knowing than the other Jews St. Paul in his Epistle to the Romans chap. 17. 2. 20. takes notice of it Thou art called a 〈◊〉 and makest thy boast of God and knowest his Will and art confident that thou thy self art a Guide of the Blind a Light of them which are in Darkness c. And we have reason to suppose that the Chief of the Jews there who had the greatest Advantages of Education and Correspondence were the most intelligent It might also be justly expected that upon the first notices of the Gospel the Iews should have been of all People most ready to acquaint themselves with a Religion which was so much the Honour and Perfection of their own And yet it seems the Iews the chief of the Jews at Rome knew no more of Christianity but this that it was a Sect every where spoken against This we know said they and it was all they knew concerning it The Iews were of all other the most bitter and inveterate Enemies to the Christians while the Roman Emperors tolerated them as they did till Nero's time the Iews with an unwearied Malice persecuted them from City to City and were the first Wheel in most of the Opposition that the Gospel met with when it was first Preached Now one would think they would not have been so vigorous and industrious to suppress Christianity if they had not very well acquainted themselves with it and known it to deserve such opposition But it seems by this they knew little or nothing of the Religion they so much mal●gned had never search'd into the Merits of its Cause no● weigh'd the Proofs of its Divine Authority but against all Law and Reason condemn'd it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Iustin 〈◊〉 complains purely upon common Fame and follow the cry to run it down because it was 〈◊〉 where spoken against 2. Upon what 〈◊〉 they said this They were now appointing a time to discourse with St. Paul upon the grand Question in debate whether Iesus of Nazar●●● was 〈◊〉 Messiah or no. And they seem'd willing to hear what that great Man had to say 〈◊〉 defence of the Religion he preach'd We desire say they to hear of thee what 〈◊〉 Now one would expect that 〈◊〉 good a Cause managed by such a skilful Advoca●● would not but carry the day and be Victorious and that they would all have been brought over to the belief of Christianity But we find v. 24. that it prov'd otherwise after all there were those that believed not and the Text intimates the reason of their Infidelity they came to hear the word under a Prejudice They had already imbib'd an ill opinion of the way which right or wrong they resolved to hold fast And tho' some of them by the help of Divine Grace got over this stumbling Block that like the Bereans were more Noble than the rest and of freer thought yet many of them continued under the power of those Prejudices and were seal'd up under Unbelief v. 26. 27. Thus is the Power of the Word in many baffled by the Power of Prejudice They do not believe because they are resolved they will not They conclude that no good thing can come out of Nazareth and will not be perswaded to come and see Thus do they prejudge the Cause answering the matter before they bear it and it will pro●e folly and shame to them Now in the Account they here give of their Knowledge of the Christian Religion we may observe 1. That they look'd upon it to be a Sect and we 'll prove that to be f●●lse 2. A Sect every where spoken against and we will grant that to be true that it is generally spoken against tho' t is most unreasonable and unjust it should be so First