esteemed one of the wonders of the world. The Ephesians were deplorably sunk in degrading superstition and idolatry, and addicted to the grossest impurities. Among these people, however, the ministry of Paul was eminently blessed to the conversion of many. The church at Ephesus was founded about A. D. 54, and this epistle was written when the apostle was prisoner at Rome.

Philippians. The apostle Paul wrote this epistle while a prisoner at Rome, about a. d. 62, to instruct and encourage the believers in their profession of the gospel. The epistle is written in a style the most elegant, and it is filled with the loftiest sentiments, and the most affectionate exhortations to all the members of the Philippian church. Colossians. This epistle was written about the same time as those to the Ephesians and Philippians, when the apostle was a prisoner at Rome.

Thessalonians. The first epistle to the Thessalonians was the means of much consolation to that people; but some expressions in it had been misapprehended by several members of the church. They were in expectation of the near approach of Christ, of the end of the world, and of the day of judgment; by which they were led to neglect their temporal affairs as inconsistent with the anticipation of that awful event. To correct this misapprehension, the tendency of which was so injurious to the interests of Christianity, the apostle was inspired to write this second epistle soon after the former.

TIMOTHY I. II. TITUS. -PHILEMON.

Timothy I. Timothy the evangelist appears to have been a native of Lystria, a city of Lycaonia. His father was a Greek; but his mother Eunice, who was a Jewess, and his grandmother Lois, who were excellent persons, took such pious care of his education, that his mind was stored with the scriptures even from a child. He was brought to a

knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus, when but a youth, by the ministry of Paul; who, on a second visit to the brethren at Lystria, found Timothy in such high estimation by the church at that place, and at Iconium, that he chose him as his companion and assistant in his missionary labors. He accompanied Paul in his journeys, assisted him in his apostolic office, preaching the gospel, and establishing the infant churches; and he never left him except when sent on some special mission. To defend and preserve the purity of evangelical doctrine, and to regulate the discipline of the church at Ephesus, Timothy was left by the apostle in that city.

Timothy II. The second epistle to Timothy was written by Paul, while he was a prisoner at Rome, and expecting the termination of his life by martyrdom, and, as many suppose, only a few months before that event happened.

Titus. Titus was left by the apostle in Crete, as he says, 66 to set in order the things that were wanting, and to ordain elders in every city." The epistle to Titus might not improperly be called the epistle to the Cretans, as it was designed not so much to instruct Titus, as to serve for a warrant to lay before them, to which he might appeal as his infallible directory in the regulation of the churches on that island.

Philemon. This epistle was written by Paul, at Rome, about A. D. 64, for the purpose of reconciling Philemon to his slave Onesimus; who, having robbed his master, and fled to this city, was there converted to the faith of Christ by means of the apostle's ministry.

HEBREWS.-JAMES.- -PETER I. II. Hebrews. The Hebrews, to whom this letter was addressed, were the Jewish believers of the gospel, dwelling in Palestine, A. D. 63. Their circumstances will be evident from a perusal of the epistle; by which we learn that they

were exposed to grievous suffering on account of their profession of Christ.

In some respects, the epistle to the Hebrews is the most important of the New Testament scriptures; it is an invaluable appendix to the epistle to the Romans, inculcating precisely the same momentous doctrines.

James. This epistle is called catholic or general, because it was not written to any particular church, but to the whole Jewish nation then dispersed abroad. It also addresses Christians in some passages, and in others, those who did not believe.

Peter I. The first epistle of Peter appears to have been written in a time of grievous persecution, by which Christians were scattered abroad. It is called general, because it was addressed to all believers in their dispersion; the converts both from among the Jews, and from idolaters.

Peter II. The second epistle of Peter was addressed to the same persons as the former, and was written, as is believed, about a year later. It was evidently written in the anticipation of a violent death, ch. i. 14. and it is supposed from Rome, where, it is believed, the author suffered.

JOHN I. II. JUDE.-REVELATIONS. John I. The name of John is neither prefixed or subscribed to this epistle, yet from the earliest times it has always been attributed to him. The peculiar style and spirit of the writing declare it to have been the work of John. It begins without a salutation, and ends without a benediction, and, therefore, some have doubted the propriety of calling it an epistle.

John II. Though this epistle does not bear the name of the author, it was evidently written by John the apostle. Jude. The epistle of Jude was written about A. D. 65. The design of it was to guard believers against the principles and practices of the false teachers who had arisen in the church during the apostolic age.

Revelation. The title of this book is contained in its first verse. It is called Revelation, from the signification of Apochalypsos, its Greek title. It was written by the apostle John during his banishment in the isle of Patmos, and was imparted to him especially to exhibit the prophetic history of the church of Christ down to the end of the world.

Many parts of the revelation are necessarily obscure to us, because they contain predictions of events still future.

JEWISH SECTS.

On the restoration of the Jewish church, after the Babylonish captivity, there arose two parties among them, who manifested a regard for religion. One of them adhered to the Scriptures only, rejecting all human traditions. Professing to observe the whole law, they assumed the name Zadikim, the righteous. From these proceeded the Samaritans and Sadducees. The other party, besides the inspired Scriptures, superadded the traditions of the elders; and from a supposed superior degree of sanctity were called Chasidim, the pious. From these arose the Pharisees and Essenes.

The Samaritans were originally the idolatrous successors of of the ten tribes, part of whom the king of Assyria sent to unite with the scattered few in repeopling Samaria and the land of Israel. At first, as a punishment for their idolatry, they were plagued with lions; but on this being reported to the king, a priest was sent from among the captives to instruct them in the law of God. "So they feared the LORD, and made unto themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence," 2 Kings xvii. 24-33.

Afterwards they became partially reformed, admitted the

writings of Moses, built a temple on mount Gerizim, and worshipped the God of Israel. From the conversation of the woman of Sychar, we learn that even the more corrupt class had some knowledge of the Messiah, and expected his appearance, John iv. 25.

SADDUCEES.

The Sadducees were a kind of deists. They received their appellation from Sadoc their founder, who lived B. C. 280 years. At first they rejected only the traditions of the elders, as being destitute of divine authority, but afterwards they adopted many impious notions like those of Epicurus a heathen philosopher, and rejected the whole of the sacred writings, except the five books of Moses. They denied the resurrection of the dead, the existence of angels, and the immortality of the soul. They admitted the being and providence of Almighty God; but they rejected the doctrine of rewards and punishments in a future state. Josephus, the Jewish historian, observes, "Whenever they sat in judgment upon criminals, they always were for the severest sentence against them." He also says, "Their number was the fewest of all the sects of the Jews; but they were only those of the best quality, and of the greatest riches among them."

PHARISEES.

The Pharisees were the principal sect among the Jews; and though they were haughty despisers of the common people, the vulgar entertained such an opinion of their sanctity, that it became a common notion among them that if only two persons were received into heaven, one of them must be a pharisee. The greater part of the doctors of the law and the scribes were of this party. They esteemed the traditions of the wise men as of nearly equal authority with the word of God, and generally gave them