The apostle who wrote to the Hebrews, about 35 years after the afcenfion of Chrifl, had feen a part of the scene which the prophets had sketched filled up by the hand of Providence. Jefus, who had been made lower than the angels for a little, had been crowned with glory and honour; his religion had been embraced by thousands and tens of thousands in Asia, in Africa, and in Europe; it was advancing with a rapidity which was astonishing and delightful: every thing feemed to prefage its unlimited fuccefs; though the fhort period which had as yet elapfed had not afforded time for the completion of its victories. But now we fee not yet all things put under him. Seventeen hundred years more, my brethren, have been numbered to the human race, and ma ny generations of men have paffed in fucceffion over the scene of time, and gone down into the grave: and now we fee not yet all things put under Chrift. For fome ages after the death of his apoftles, the religion of Jefus continued to profper and to prevail; it then declined from its purity,and its progrefs was fuddenly fufpended. Long it lay enfeebled and degraded under the yoke of corruption, impofed by the fame means, and faftened upon it by the fame hands which had ruined natural religion. With

in

in these three centuries it has been gradually recovering its pure and fimple honours, but has not yet been able to go forth to make new conquests among the Heathen.

Let us reverently inquire into these things, and confider,

I. The causes of the fuccefs of Christianity in the first ages.

II. The causes of the fufpenfion of its progress.

III. The prefent afpect of the Christian world.

I. We are to confider the causes of the fuccefs of Christianity in the firft ages.

During the age of the apoftles, the truth and authority of the Chriftian difpenfation were evinced to the world by extraordinary proofs. Miraculous works were performed under the miniftry of the teachers; the fick were healed, the knowledge of languages was inftantaneously conveyed, and by various other gifts of the Spirit an external evidence attended and fuftained

tained the progrefs of the faith. These palpa. ble characters of the divine interpofition were neceffary in the first introduction of the great cause upon earth, and they were to go into the record of the New Teftament, afcertained by the testimony of apoftles and martyrs, for the inftruction of future ages. But the miraculous powers could not be permitted to attend Christianity through the whole of its progrefs; nor even to continue through any long course of time, confiftently with the order of providence in the moral government of mankind. The exact time of the ceffation of these powers cannot now be fixed. But there remains no good evidence of any one specific miracle within the Christian church later than the period of the fall of Jerufalem. For ages after that event, however, the religion of Jefus continued to make a rapid and decifive progrefs among the nations; and that it did make this progress without the prefence of miraculous atteftations, furnishes an experimental proof, that the means of the propagation of Christianity are attainable at all times under ordinary providence; that the fame caufes which in the second and third centuries carried righ teousness unto victory, would, if fairly brought into operation, produce the like effects in any

other

other age; and that if the progress of the gofpel has been obftructed, and is still obstructed, it must be owing to the church itself presenting a different afpect to the heathen, from that which it exhibited in the days of its power.

The leading caufe of the fuccefs of the gofpel in the early ages was the effential excellence of the fyftem. The apostle Paul who was deeply fenfible of the inherent strength of Christianity, as founded in its permanent characters, abstracted from the miraculous gifts which fuited only its infant condition, obferved, that when the extraordinary communications of prophecy, of tongues, and of knowledge, fhould cease and vanish away, there should still remain the unalterable glories of Chriftianity, its Faith, its Hope, its Charity; that thefe belong to the church in its maturity, when that which is perfect is come; and that of thefe Charity is the greatest.

When the Chriftians reafoned with the Heathens on the vanity of Polytheism and idolatry; and when, in oppofition to the prejudices of the popular fuperftition, they declared the truth in its native fimplicity, their fuccefs was cer

tain; they prevailed through the obvious goodnefs of their caufe. The doctrine of the gofpel beaming its pure light on the understanding, produced immediate and fteady conviction The facts of the New Testament attaching upon the heart, created an intereft which was fervent and effective; while the found morality of the whole fyftem impreffed on the confcience the direct and instant sense of obligation.

In conferences between the fubjects of the Pagan fyftem, and the followers of the new religion, the Chriftian advocate ftood on the ftrong ground of nature, when he teftified the first and most fublime truth in the universe, "God "is One, he is holy, he is good." The moment that this primitive doctrine was restored to the mind of men, and fully understood and embraced, Heathenifm fell to pieces; the profligate vifions of Olympus difappeared; fuperftition was left utterly defenceless; the hearer was already almost perfuaded to become a Christian; and he was altogether perfuaded, as foon as he understood the religion in its body and fpirit, and perceived its uniform reference to the moral character of the Eternal One.

Christianity