prison, under a pretence of his being a promoter of sedition, and dangerous to the government, by reason of the multitude of his followers.

S. Was not Jesus liable to the ..ne accusation?

T. Yes and had he not retired with his disciples from Judea into Galilee, upon the news of the imprisonment of John, the Pharisees, jealous of his proceedings, had probbly seized on him also.

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S. Where is Galilee situated? T. It was a province of Palestine, extending itself chiefly into the northern parts thereof. It is bounded by Lebanon and Syria on the north, by Phoenicia on the west, by Sama. ria on the south, and by the river Jordan and sea of Galilee on the east. It is generally divided into the lower and upper Galilee the upper is called the Galilee of the Gentiles, either because its inhabirants were chiefly Gentiles, or be cause it bordered on the Gentile na tions of Phenicia, Syria and Arabia. The whole country was fruitful and well cultivated, and the people laborious and in lustrious. It contained many towns and villages, and so well inhabited, that the least of them did not contain less than 15,000 souls. The natives were of a warlike genius; resolute to defend their liberties from all invasions; but but so seditious that they often brought upon themselves the Roman

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S. Did any thing remarkable occur in this journey?

T. As our Saviour past through the country of Samaria, at the entrance of the town of Sychar, where Jacob's well stood, he had a very important dialogue with a woman of

the country, while his disciples wöre gone into the city to buy provisions. This woman being come to draw was ter at this famous well, Jesus desired her to give him thereof to drink. — The woman, perceiving by his speech and dress that he was a Jew, ex. pressed her astonishment that he should address himself to a Samaritan; because these were extremely abhorred of the Jews. But Jesus, laying aside all distinction, and knowing her to be a woman of loose life and conversation, began under the metaphor of water to discourse to her of spiritual blessings; and, to make her sensible of his omniscience, he put her in mind that she had been divorced five times for adultries, and that she then lived in fornication. This being a secret which the woman knew could not be knowa by a stranger, convinced the wo man of his prophetic spirit and therefore she desired his opinion in regard to the proper place of work ship, whether it was on mount Ge rizzim, or at Jerusalem? To which Jesus replied, by giving a preference to the form and place of worship among the Jews; but at the same time said, that the time was approaching when the sacrifices and ceremonial rites should cease, and when God, who is a spirit, expected to be wor. shipped in a more rational and spiri ritual manner, than had been prac tised either on mount Gerizzim, or at Jerusalem.

S Where does Sychar lie?

T. The city was called Sychar, or Sychem, or Shechem, and was the capitol of the country of SamariaIt is the same which now bears the name of Naplose, and stands in a narrow valley between mount Geriz.

zim on the south, at the foot of which it is situate, and mount Ebal on the north.

S. Did not you tell me that Hyr. canus destroyed the temple on mount Gerizzim?

T. Yes but the Samaritans still retain a little place of worship on that mount to which they repair at certain seasons, to perform the rites of their religion.

S. I thought that Samaria was a city, and not a province.

7. There was formerly a city called Samaria; but that city was destroyed many years before our Saviour's ministry. The Samaria here mentioned was a province of Pales tine, so called from the city Samaria, which once was the capital of the kingdom of Israel. This province lies exactly between Judea to the south, and Galilee to the north, and extends itself from the Mediterranean sea westward, to the river Jordan eastward, taking up a considerable part of what formerly be longed to the tribe of Ephraim, and the half tribe of Manasseh on the west side of Jordan.

T. In some cases they did buy and traffic with them but the Pharisees pretended a tradition forbidding a Jew to borrow any thing of them, or to receive any kindness from them, or to drink of their water, This or to eat of their morsels. like many other traditions of theirs, which were not founded in the law of God, nor in equity, our Saviour" rejected and despised; because it served only to impair the law of common friendship and humanity. he not only drank of the woman's water: but afterwards went into the city upon the invitation of the people and eat and conversed freely with the Shechemites.

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S. Did the woman believe in what Jesus told her?

T. Yes for Jesus having added to what he had said before, that he himself was the Messiah, she left her water-pots, ran into the city, shewed what had happened to her, and now openly professed her belief that he was the great prophet (expected to be sent into the world.Upon which many of the inhabitants crowded to the well, and invited him and his disciples into their city; where he confirmed their belief, with many divine sermons.

S. How long did Jesus stay there? T. Only two days and proceedthence to Cana in Galilee.

S. What remarkable acts did Jesus perform at Cana?

7. He cured by his word only, and at a great distance, the son of a great officer at court, who lay at the point of death. This miracle convinced numbers of our Saviour's divinity, and converted them to the Christian faith. And here we may properly date the beginning of our

Saviour's preaching faith, hope and repentance; the sum and substance of the gospel.

S. Did he continue at Cana?

T. No: he went about preaching and doing good in every village and place whither he came : and when he was come to Nazareth, and went into the synagogue, the master presented him with the book of the prophets; as the custom then was to offer it to any strange grave layman, that should come in. There he expounded the first verse of the lxist chapter of Isaiah, so clearly and gracefully, applying it in general terms to himself, that the whole congregation were astonished at his parts: but they at last, stumbling at the meanness of his parentage and education, and provoked by his upheidings and freedom of speech, would have thrown him headlong from the brow of the hill on which the city was built, had he not by a miracle delivered himself out of their hands, and left their city.

T. To Capernaum, the metropolis of Galilee, situated on a fine lake, which is called in the New Testament sometimes the sea of Galilee, from the province of Galilee in general; and the sea of Tiberias, from a town of that name, situated on its western shore; and the lake of Gennesareth, from that particualar tract of Galilee, which bounded it a great way, on the western side; in the Old Testament it is called the sea of Chinnereth. It is 40 furlongs broad, and 100 in length; upon a gravel, which makes the water both of a good colour and taste: the river Jordan runs through the midst of it, and stocks it with great variety of fish.

infliction of God, and therefore so far above the power of art to remedy, that the attempt to cure it by medicinc, was esteemed by them impious and presumptive. This cure thus supposed to be reserved to God alone, increased our Saviour's reputation so much, that he was obliged to retire for a while into a desart place, lest the great multitude of his followers should give umbrage to the state.

S. How long did Jesus remain in this retirement?

T. When the crowds that followed him were dispersed, he returned in private to Capernaum, but was soon found out to be there; and the house where he abode was filled with a crowd of people, and of Pharisees

and doctors of the law, who came from Jerusalem, and from Judæa and Galilee, to hear his doctrine, and to see his miracles. This throng interrupting the admission of the diseased, four men, who brought a paralytic on his couch to be healed, were forced to uncover the roof of the house, and to let him down from thence in his bed, in the room where Jesus was sitting.

S. What was the form of building among these people, that they could let this paralytic person through the top of the house?

T. The houses in Judæa were low built, and flat roofed, with a battlement breast-high surrounding it. They ascended to the roof by a pair of stairs within the house, which led to a trap door, even with the roof; .and also by another pair of stairs, on the outside of the house By these outside stairs the paralytic was carried, and let down through the trap door, or the way of the roof, as the Jews call it, which was fixed in the tiling.

reverential joy and awe,at the strang and wonderful things they had seen and heard, praised and returned thanks to God for the same. Jesus soon after this, called Levi the son of Alphæus, a rich publican, to follow him; who readily left his gainful employment, obeyed our Lord's calling, and became his apostle. This was the evangelist Matthew.

S. Did the Pharisees join in the public gratitude to God, for having given such power unto men?

T. No: they were envious thereat, and waited an opportunity to accuse him of sedition, blasphemy, and immorality. And finding him and his apostles, after the call of Matthew, associate with publicans, persons whom the Jews abhorred, and cat and drink, and converse publickly with them and sinners; they were much scandalised thereat, and upbraided him therewith, and with Lis disciples not fasting; and having per suaded some of Jo'm's disciples to accompany them, they demanded of Jesus, why it was his disciples ob

T. Having publickly admired and approved their faith, he took this cpportunity to assert his divinity in the presence of these Scribes and Pharisees, by absolving this man of all his sins; which, as they knew and owned, is a power proper to God alone. Then he ordered the sick man to rise and walk; which upon speaking the word, he did instantly, to the great surprise, and conviction of those, that a little before were ready to stone him for blasphemy, in assuming the power of forgiving sins, which belonged to God only to do. Every one was filled with a

and John's disciples, were known to keep many? Jesus knew the secrets of their hearts, and to confound their pride told them, that, in regard to his company, it is not the whole, but the sick that need a physician: that God will have mercy, or requires us to pro mote our neighbour's advantage, with all the kind offices we can, of which the care of the soul is greatest, ra ther than sacrifice, or rites and ordinances of the ceremonial law and that he came not to call the righte ous, but sinners to repentance. And as to the fasting of his disciples, he told them that it was not a proper scason for them to fast and martify

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themselves, while he was with them: and that to impose rigorous austerities, as necessary and acceptable, which God has no where commanded, and account these acts of willworship as meritorious, whlie they omitted the weightier matters of the law, was substituting another method of salvation, than what God had prescribed them, or would accept their performances in.

S. Are there any evidences from Jewish and Heathen authors, in confirmation of the several gospel facts you have mentioned?

T. Yes. The Jewish doctors expected the Messiah should be born of an immaculate virgin. Julian the apostate, Chalcidus, and Pliny, acknowledge the new star, or body of light, which conducted the wise men from the east to the new-born babe, Jesus, at Bethlehem. Josephus witnesseth that John the Baptist was the fore-runner of Christ. Phlegon the heathen confesses that Jesus was a great prophet; and both the Talmud, Celsus, and Julian, acknowledge many miracles which he wrought.

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ID Jesus continue long at
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Capernaum after this?

T. No: the near approach of the passover called him to Jerusalem.

S. Why was he obliged to go up to Jerusalem at the passover ?

T. I have already given you an account of the institution of the passower to which I shall now add some further observations necessary to give a fuller and more clear insight into the practice and custom of the Jews, upon this solemn festival, and which will serve also as an answer to your question. This grand feast of the Jews began yearly on the fourteenth of the month Abib, which was afterwards called Nisan, and answers to the thirtieth day of March with us. The first ceremony towards the keep ing this solemnity began on the tenth

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day of Abib; when every house or family took up the lamb intended to be eaten nn the feast day, and kept it till the fourteenth, using this caution to prevent their being imposed upon in the market, by one that otherwise might happen to be blemished. And this was the reason pretended by the priests for selling such lambs in the outer courts of the temple, when Jesus turned them out, and complained, that they had made his father's house, instead of a house of prayer, a den of thieves. For as it was impossible for the Jews that came from far to worship at Jerusa lem, to bring their paschal lambs with them; the priests made a gain hereof, by providing of lambs which they warranted to be without blemish, and obliging travellers to take