some particular church, was meant, as of Philadelphia or Jerusalem. Our translators have rendered the words, To the Elect Lady, which is the common acceptation of them, and from which I see no reason for departing; I therefore consider that this Epistle was written to some lady of eminence, styled elect on account of her distinguished piety. The place of her residence is not known.

III. THIS Epistle consists of only thirteen verses; and Dr. Lardner observes, that of these thirteen "eight may be found in the first Epistle, either in sense or expression." The design of it was to caution the lady, to whom it was addressed, against those false teachers who asserted that Christ was not a real man, but only a man in appearance; and that he did not actually suffer what he seemed to suffer. This doctrine the Apostle condemns in very severe terms, as being destructive of the atonement of Christ; and he recommends that no encouragement or countenance should be given to those who maintain it; he inculcates also the necessity of obedience to the commandments of God, and of mutual love and benevolence among Christians.

IV. FROM the similarity between the sentiments and expressions of this and the former Epistle, it is conjectured that they were written at nearly the same time; and therefore we place the date of this Epistle also in the year 69.

PART II.

CHAPTER THE TWENTY-NINTH.

OF THE THIRD GENERAL EPISTLE OF ST. JOHN.

I. Genuineness of this Epistle.-II. Its Inscription and Date. III. Design and Substance of it.—. IV. Observations upon this and the foregoing Epistle.

I. IGNATIUS is supposed to have referred to this Epistle, and it is mentioned by Origen, Eusebius, Cyril, and most of the later fathers. The same doubts were formerly entertained concerning it as concerning the preceding Epistle, and they were removed at the same time.

II. THIS Epistle, in which also the Apostle calls himself the Elder, is addressed to Caius; but it is not known who this Caius or Gaius was. Several persons of that name are mentioned in the New Testament (a) ; : and in the antient history of the church we meet with one Caius, who was bishop of Ephesus; a second, who was bishop of Thessalonica; and a third, who was bishop of Pergamus; all of whom are said to have been contemporary with John. It is impossible to ascertain to which, or whether to any, of these several persons this Epistle was addressed; but the commendation of the hospitality of Caius seems to imply that (a) Acts, c. 19. v. 29. c. 20. v. 4. Cor. c. 1. v. 14. Rom. c. 16. v. 23.

he was in a private station, and that he was possessed of some substance. It is supposed to have been written soon after the two former, that is, about the year 69.

III. THE design of this short Epistle was to commend Caius for having shown kindness to some Christians, as they passed through the place where he resided; to censure Diotrephes, who had arrogantly assumed some authority to himself; and to praise the good conduct of Demetrius. It is not known who Diotrephes and Demetrius were.

IV. THIS, and the foregoing Epistle, are supposed to have been written from Ephesus; and it is probable that the persons to whom they were addressed lived at no great distance from that city, as St. John expresses a hope of seeing them shortly. These Epistles are improperly called catholic, as they are written to private persons; which circumstance may account for their not being generally known in the primitive church.

PART II.

CHAPTER THE THIRTIETH.

OF THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF ST. JUDE.

1. History of St. Jude. II. Genuineness of this Epistle. III. Its Inscription and Date. — IV. Substance of it.

1. JUDAS, or Jude, called also Lebbæus and Thaddæus, was the son of Alphæus or Cleophas, the brother of James the Less, the cousin-german of our Saviour, and one of the twelve Apostles (a). His call to be a disciple of Jesus is not recorded; and, except in the catalogues of the Apostles, he is mentioned only once in the Gospels. After Christ's interesting discourse to his disciples, not long before his crucifixion, " Judas saith unto him (not Iscariot,) Lord how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself to us, and not to the world (b)?? From which question it is inferred, that at this time Judas had the common prejudice of the Jews concerning the kingdom of the Messiah. Jude is not men tioned in the Acts of the Apostles, nor is a single circumstance recorded of him in any antient author, upon which we can depend. He is generally reckoned among those Apostles who did not suffer martyrdom.

II. THIS Epistle is quoted by Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Origen, Dionysius of Alexandria,

(a) Luke, c. 6. v. 16. Acts, c. 1. v. 13. Matt. c. 10. v. 3. Mark, c. 3. v. 18. Matt. c. 13. v. 55. Mark, c. 6. v. 3. (b) John, c. 14. v. 22,

Jude,

and most of the later fathers. Jerome says, brother of James, left a short Epistle, which is one of the seven called catholic. But because of a quotation from a book of Enoch, which is apocryphal, it is rejected by many; however at length it has obtained authority, and is reckoned among the sacred Scriptures (c)." Upon this subject it has been remarked, that Jude does not in fact quote any book of Enoch; he only says that "Enoch prophesied," and that prophecy might have been traditional (d). And, moreover, the book of Enoch, mentioned by Origen, was probably not known in the time of Jude, as it is believed to have been a forgery of the second century. It is difficult to ascertain to what Jude does really refer; but whatever it was, it does not afford a sufficient reason for setting aside the Genuineness of this book, in opposition to the authorities which were just now cited.

III. THIS Epistle is addressed, "To them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called (e);" that is, to all Christians without any distinction. From the following passage, "Remember ye the words which were spoken before of the Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts (ƒ);" it is evident that this Epistle was written some time subsequent to St. Peter's Epistles (g), and St. Paul's Epistles to Timothy, in which these pro

(c) De Vir. III. cap. 4.

(d) The Arabians and the Indians have certainly preserved the tradition. Vide Gibbon and Maurice.

(g) There is great similarity between this Epistle and the second chapter of St. Peter's second Epistle.