to Jerusalem, and the beginning of that long imprisonment first at Cæsarea, and afterwards at Rome, of which we heard in the second lesson of this morning. Then come the Epistles to the Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and to Philemon, written during his imprisonment at Rome. And thirdly, we have the two Epistles to Timothy, and that to Titus, written at a period later than the history in the Acts reaches down to; that is, between the end of St. Paul's first imprisonment at Rome, and his death. The date of the remaining two Epistles, those to the Galatians and to the Hebrews, it does not seem possible to fix with certainty.

This is the division of St. Paul's Epistles according to the order of time; and this is one very important division of them, because by thus considering the different states of the church at which they were written, we understand their object better, and can see why some things are more dwelt on in some of them, and others in others. Another very important division of them is according to their subject, whether general or particular; and in this division the Epistles to the Romans, Ephesians, and Colossians, are to be put as one class, and the other eleven Epistles as belonging to another class. What I mean is this, that the Epistle to the Romans was written to a church of which St. Paul as yet knew nothing personally,

and is sent as a general view of what Christianity was, and what practice should naturally flow from its principles. And the Epistles to the Ephesians and Colossians seem to have been of the nature of circulars; for the Colossians are directed to pass on the Epistle directed to them to the church at Laodicea, and to get in return the Epistle from Laodicea; that is, in all probability, our Epistle to the Ephesians, which, having been sent on from Ephesus to other places, had come to Laodicea, and was from thence to be forwarded immediately to Colosse. Thus both these Epistles are quite of a general character, containing like that to the Romans, only on a smaller scale, a general view of Christian principles and practice, not more fitted to one church than to another.

On the other hand, all the other eleven Epistles are more or less particular. That to Philemon is written to an individual about a private affair, his slave Onesimus having fled from him to Rome, and being sent back to him by Paul. Those to the Thessalonians and Philippians seem like the overflowing of the apostle's affection towards two churches, for which he appears to have felt an unusual degree of regard. Those to Timothy and Titus are addressed to persons in a particular office, and are commonly called the Pastoral Epistles, as containing directions for Christian pastors or ministers. That to the Galatians, and the first

to the Corinthians, were occasioned by reports which St. Paul had received of certain faults in those two churches, or are an answer to questions which had been specially put to him by those to whom he writes. The second to the Corinthians was also occasioned by a particular circumstance, -the collection that was making amongst them for the benefit of the Christians at Jerusalem. And lastly, the Epistle to the Hebrews is principally taken up with showing how the priesthood and ceremonies of the law were fulfilled in Christ, and therefore were no longer to be retained as a matter of religion. This also is a most important division; for it teaches us where the apostle is giving a general view of Christianity, and where he is dwelling on some particular point or points in it; and prevents us therefore from being surprised if we do not find all those things which we deem important insisted on in every Epistle. And further, by some of the Epistles being general, and others particular, we have a double advantage. We have, on the one hand, a complete view of the Gospel as a general guide to us all; and then we have also particular lessons for more particular duties and situations, such as may often occur again, and for which a mere general picture of Christianity would hardly contain all the instruction which we require.

One thing further may be observed, in which

Paul, by the wisdom given to him, has done yet more for our benefit. From his habit of being frequently led away by some particular word to leave his immediate subject for that contemplation of Christ's Gospel in all its fulness, which was the subject ever nearest his heart, it has happened that, even in an epistle written upon some particular subject, I had almost said, upon a matter of business, we have the most full and beautiful general views of the whole of Christianity. For instance, nowhere do we meet with fuller statements concerning our Christian hopes after death, concerning our forgiveness for Christ's sake, and our having to stand before his judgment, than in the fourth and fifth chapters of the second epistle to the Corinthians. Yet these, with the third chapter also, all arise out of a particular and personal matter, namely, his not having come to Corinth at the time that he had first purposed; a circumstance which had been laid hold of by his enemies, as proceeding either from fickleness or from a distrust of his own authority; and which leads him therefore to uphold the dignity of his ministry, and to contrast it with the humiliations and distresses to which himself and others engaged in it were continually exposed. And then when thinking of these, he goes on in the fulness of his heart to enlarge upon that eternal hope and love which supported him under them. So that, in

fact, the very portion of the second epistle to the Corinthians, which is perhaps to us most valuable, is, with respect to the particular object of the epistle, no more than a digression.

But in considering what St. Paul, by the wisdom given unto him, has left for our benefit, one point must not be left unnoticed. That divine wisdom is shown, not only in what he has written, but in what he has not written. Here is the great contrast between him and those Christian writers whom we call the Fathers. They holding the truths which St. Paul has taught, have left us those same truths-all the truths of Christ's Gospel,-put forth with great earnestness, and sometimes with great beauty. His hopes, his faith, his love unfeigned may be seen often in their pages, assuring us that the same Spirit of holiness and love, who had done so much for Paul, had filled their hearts also; that they were partakers with him of the same promises, and were servants of the same Master. But what they did not partake of was that spirit of wisdom, which was given to Paul far more for our sakes than for his own, because his words were to be our guide for ever. Therefore in him there is not only all Christian truth, but it is free from the mixture of human foolishness and error. In his epistles all is equal; all is grave and sober, and wise and true; all is fitted to be an authority and a rule. Whereas in

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