But Paul, what moved thee thus to do? The love of Christ, says he.
It was not I, but the grace of God that was with me. As who should
say, O grace! It was such grace to save me! It was such marvellous
grace for God to look down from heaven upon me, and that secured me
from the wrath to come, that I am captivated with the sense of the
riches of it. Hence I act, hence I labour; for how can I otherwise
do, since God not only separated me from my sins and companions, but
separated all the powers of my soul and body to his service? I am
therefore prompted on by this exceeding love to labour as I have
done; yet not I, but the grace of God with me.

Oh! I shall never forget his love, nor the circumstances under which
I was, when his love laid hold upon me. I was going to Damascus with
letters from the high-priest, to make havock of God's people there,
as I had made havock of them in other places. These bloody letters
were not imposed upon me. I went to the high-priest and desired them
of him; Acts ix. 1, 2; and yet he saved me! I was one of the men, of
the chief men, that had a hand in the blood of his martyr Stephen;
yet he had mercy on me! When I was at Damascus, I stunk so horribly
like a blood-sucker, that I became a terror to all thereabout. Yea,
Ananias (good man) made intercession to my Lord against me; yet he
would have mercy upon me, yea, joined mercy to mercy, until he had
made me a monument of grace! He made a saint of me, and persuaded me
that my transgressions were forgiven me.

When I began to preach, those that heard me were amazed, and said,
"Is not this he that destroyed them that called on this name in
Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them
bound to the high-priest?" Hell doth know that I was a sinner;
heaven doth know that I was a sinner; the world also knows that I was