to Athens, from which city, being anxious about the new converts at Theffalonica, he fent Timothy to them, who brought him fuch an account as gave him great fatisfaction. From Athens Paul went to Corinth, and being fill anxious about the church at Theffalonica, he wrote to the chriftians at this place this epiftle, in which he encourages them to ftedfaftnefs in the chrif tian faith, notwithstanding the difficulties they had to ftruggle with, both from the Jews and their own coun. trymen. He likewife gives them more particular information concerning the chriftian doctrine of the refurrection, which they feem in fome refpects to have mifapprehended. This epifle was written A. D. 52, and is therefore the oldest writing of any chriftian. Being undoubtedly authentic, and not written after, but during the time of the transactions it alludes to, it supplies a most indifputable evidence of the certainty of thofe facts which neceffarily imply the truth of the whole chriftian history. After reading a portion of this epiftle, with fuch remarks as may occur to me, I fhall endeavour to exprefs the fenfe of it in a connected paraphrafe, and in a language more familiar and intelligible to us than that of the original. 1. i. e. they were diflinguished from the idolatrous Gentiles, as they had been before by the knowledge of the true God, and of the gofpel of Jefus Chrift. You fee here, as upon all other occafions, how the term God is applied to the Father, exclufively of Christ, or any other being. It is a language which would have been highly improper, and could never have taken place place, if Chrift, as the Son of God, had been equal to the Father, in eternity and all divine attributes. You See that, according to the apoftle we are to confider the Father only as God, and Chrift as our mafter, or teach. er, instructed and authorized by God. 2. We fee here the practice of the apoftles to pray for particular churches and perfons, tho' the state of the churches and of the perfons was well known to God, and he would no doubt, do what was right and fit with refpect to them. While we are in this imperfect flate, anxiety about ourselves and our friends is unavoidable, and to exprefs this before God with proper refignation, is not only highly ufeful to us, promoting a habit of acknowledging God in all our ways, but as being, for that reafon perhaps, enjoined, as proper to our receiv ing favours from God. 4. i. e. You are chofen to be the peculiar people of God, or highly favoured by him, diftinguifhed by the best of his gifts, that of the gospel, as the Jews were by their peculiar difpenfation. THE PARAPHRASE. I Paul, with the concurrence of my companions, Silas and Timothy, address this epifle to you chriftians in Theffalonica, who are converted from idolatry, to the worship of the one living and true God, and the belief of the gofpel of Jefus Chrift. May you have all the bleffings which this God, and this gospel, can impart to you. I am truly thankful to God in my prayers for you, when I confider how much you have already diftin. guifhed yourselves by your faithful and affectionate labonrs in the cause of the gospel, and by your patient hope of the rewards of it. This cannot fail to be pleas ing to God, who has favoured you with the knowledge of the gospel, the truth of which was not only proved to you by fufficient arguments, but was confirmed by mira eulous gifts of the fpirit, which left no room to doubt of its coming from God. You know alfo that our converfation was agreeable to our profeffion, especially in our labours and fufferings on your account. In this you have followed our example, and notwithstanding the perfecution you have met with, the joy with which you have been filled, through the participation of the miraculous gift of the spirit, has led you fo to behave, that you are a pattern to the churches in Macedonia, which are in your neighbourhood, and even to those in Achaia, where I now am, at fo great a distance from you. And not only in thofe countries, but in all chriftian churches, your faith and zeal are fo well known (as if they had been proclaimed with the found of a trumpet) that they want no information concerning them. For we found them able to inform us, when we were about to inform them, with what readiness you embraced the gospel that we preached, and how in confequence of it, you turned from the worship of idols, to that of the living and true God, and entertained the firmeft belief that Chrift will come again to raise the dead and judge the world, a truth which: had been evidenced by his own refurrection to immortal life, and that you will then be delivered delivered from thofe punishments which God will inflict on the wicked and impenitent. Ch. II. 1. The apostle, having given a general ac. count of his planting the gospel among the Theffalonians, and their reception of it, proceeds to remind them of his own difinterested labours on their account, in order to engage their attachment to that gofpel which came fo well recommended to them, and to induce them to be ar with patience and cheerfulness all the trials to which their adherence to it might expofe them. For it was natural to them to infer, tho' he does not make the inference for them, that if the profeffion of the gospel could lead him to act with that patience and fortitude, without regard to his reputation or advantage, it ought to induce them to act with the fame heroifm. 2. It was from Philippi, where he had been imprisoned, that Paul went to Theffalonica. 3. The love of praife was a great motive with the Greek philofophers, to whofe conduct he seems to al Jude. In general too they made a confiderable gain of their difcourfes, and they were far from being free from the impurity to which the heathen world was fhamefully addicted. 6. As the apoftle elsewhere obferves, the workman is worthy of his hire, and they who preach the gospel have a right to live by the gospel; but he forebore to avail himself of that right, for the greater furtherance of of the gospel. 9. Both at Theffalonica, at Corinth, and at Ephefus, Paul had maintained himfelf by the trade of a tent maker, and probably he did the fame at other places; while the more wealthy and confiderate churches at a distance had fent him occasionally supplies, as the Philippians, he fays, did once and again. If the most unquestioned indications of an upright mind in this epifle be properly attended to (and I will venture to say there is no inftance upon record of any hypocrite writing in this manner) and it be compared with the equally unquestionable zeal of the apostle in preaching the gospel, and the marks of a sound mind in conducting himself with the greatest prudence and judgment, a conviction of the truth of christianity will be the neceffary refult. Let any unbeliever account for the character, the conducì, and the mode of writing, of this apoftle upon any other fuppofition, if he can. If any person thinks that he can, I will venture to say he either has not duly attended to all the circumstances, or has little knowledge of human nature. THE PARAPHRASE. In writing to you, Theffalonians, I have still lefs oc cafion to speak of the fuccefs of my preaching, for you know that it was very great, notwithstanding the op pofition that I and my companions met with from the Jews just before at Philippi, and upon our first arrival anong yourselves. From this circumftance you will naturally infer the purity of our motives. And indeed it was nothing of our own invention, or that we had any perfonal intereft in, that we taught you, nor did we artfully go about to gain you over to any base pur pofe of our own, but confidering our felves as employed by God, in a great and important truft, our object was not |