LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNL 
 
 OK 
 
 Mrs. SARAH P. WALS WORTH. 
 
 Received October, 1894. 
 ^Accessions No *5j[( ID & Class No. 
 
If 
 
A YEAR WITH ST. PAUL; 
 
 OK 
 
 FIFTY-TWO LESSONS 
 
 SUNDAYS OF THE YEAR 
 
 BT 
 
 CHARLES E. KNOX. 
 
 UJIVBRSITT 
 
 NEW-YORK: 
 ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH & CO., 770 BROADLY, 
 
 CORNER OF NINTH STREET. 
 
 1869. 
 

 Entered, according to Act of Congress, In the year 1802, by 
 
 ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH, 
 
 Jb the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southeni 
 District of New-York. 
 
 JOHN A. GRAY, 
 
 Printer, Stereotyper, and Binder^ 
 
 FBANKFOKT AND JACOB STRET 
 
 Fire -Proof Buildings. 
 
fntoimc&m. 
 
 IT is my desire and my hope to interest young people 
 who are beginning to study the Scriptures by subjects 
 rather than by the regular, measured lesson of verses. 
 This " Year with St. Paul " is designed to give variety 
 to the course of Biblical Instruction in the Church, the 
 Family and the School ; and especially to open, if pos- 
 sible, a new and attractive department of study to 
 those just ready to advance from seven-verse lessons 
 to something more general and more continuous, and 
 who, in the transition from- childhood to youth, are 
 growing imjatk-nt of the ordinary unvarying recitation 
 and questioning of verse by verse. The subjects have 
 been stated with the hope of exciting and fixing the 
 attention. The questions are intended to bring out 
 both the text of the Scripture-lesson and the descrip- 
 tions which follow, and to be suggestive to those who 
 find such questions a help in teaching. 
 
 The descriptions of the Apostle's life, as it is illus- 
 1 by civil history and geographical scenery, are 
 taki-n substantially from "Conybeare and Howson's 
 Life and Epistles of St. Paul." The attempt is simply 
 to sketch the outline of that * living picture.' Quota- 
 tions will be found frequent ; and even where there are 
 no quotations, the spirit of many a paragraph or sen- 
 tence is almost literally preserved. If the Scripture, 
 thus illustrated by the life of the age in which it was 
 written, shall produce jn the minds of young people an 
 impression, in some measure like that which was awa* 
 kened in the mind of the early oriental reader of the 
 book of Acts, the object will be secured. It is believed 
 
iv INTRODUCTION. 
 
 those external helps will aid the young to form a concep- 
 tion of the Apostle's life, as it appeared to one who, at 
 Jerusalem or at Rome, in the first century, read the last 
 half of the Acts of the Apostles ; and therefore will aid 
 to exalt in their minds the heroism, the courage, the 
 zeal, the faith, which the religion of Jesus wrought in 
 the life of Paul. 
 
 These lessons have been confined within the limit of 
 a year, in the conviction that young persons at the 
 age alluded to generally tire of a study protracted be- 
 yond that length of time. Why should we do that in 
 teaching the Bible, which we never do in our secular 
 schools ? Why should we protract the one same study, 
 year after year, till the mind is wearied with the same- 
 ness ? A series of yearly subjects, adapted and gradu- 
 ated to the advancement of the scholar, would widen 
 the range of Biblical teaching, would, without harm, 
 meet the ft ndness of all young people for marked points 
 of progress, and give them a more general knowledge 
 of the Biule. Such a system the author has had in 
 mind in the preparation of the present work ; and 
 should these lessons on the Life of St. Paul be re- 
 ceived with favor, another volume may supply lessons 
 for another year. 
 
Cable jof Contents, 
 
 FIRST SUNDAY. 
 THE INFANCY XHD CHILDHOOD or PAUL. 
 
 SECOND SUNDAY. 
 BAUL AT SCHOOL. 
 
 Till III) SUNDAY. 
 AUL AND STEPHEN. 
 
 FOURTH SUNDAY. 
 
 THE CONVERSION. 
 
 FIFTH SUNDAY. 
 DAMASCUS, ARABIA, AND TARED* 
 
 ,' SINDAY. 
 BARNABAS GOES FOR SAUL. 
 
 SEVENTH SUNDAY. 
 THE BEGINNING or THE JOURNEYS. 
 
 EIGHTH SUNDAY. 
 THE PRO-CONSUL AT PAPHOS. 
 
 NINTH SUNDAY. 
 PERILS or ROBBERS,' AND ' PERILS or RIVERS. 
 
 TFNTII SUNDAY. 
 JESUS or NAZARETH, THE MESSIAH. 
 
 ELEVENTH SUNDAY. 
 Ax EXTRAORDINARY THING IN A SYNAGOGUE 
 
 TWELFTH SUNDAY. 
 
 FLIGHTS FROM CITY TO CITY. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 THIRTEENTH SUNDAY. 
 JUPITER AND MERCURY. 
 
 FOURTEENTH SUNDAY. 
 THE JOURNEY HOME. 
 
 FIFTEENTH SUNDAY. 
 A DIFFICULT QUESTION. 
 
 SIXTEENTH SUNDAY. 
 
 TUB 
 
 SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY. 
 THE LETTER AND THE LETTER-BEARER*. 
 
 EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY. 
 STARTING ON THE SECOND JOURNBY. 
 
 NINETEENTH SUNDAY. 
 A NEW COMPANION AND NEW TRAVKUL 
 
 TWENTIETH SUNDAY. 
 FROM ASIA TO EUROPE. 
 
 TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY. 
 ROMAN LAW. 
 
 TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY. 
 THE FOUNDING or TUB THESSALONIAV CHUMX 
 
 TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY. 
 THE MOB OF THE IDLERS. 
 
 TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY. 
 THE JOURNEY TO GREECE. 
 
 TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY. 
 THE GRECIAN CAPITAL. 
 
 TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY. 
 MAKS* HILL. 
 
 TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY. 
 
 THK CITY OF THE TWO SEAS.' 
 
 TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE. 
 
 TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY. 
 A PERSECUTOR PERSECUTED. 
 
CONTEXTS. 
 
 THIRTIETH SUNDAY. 
 THE SECOND RETURN HOME. 
 
 THIRTY FIRST SUNDAY. 
 TUB TIIIRD JOURNET APOLLOS or ALBXAHMUA. 
 
 THIRTY-SECOND SUNDAY. 
 MIRACLES AND MAGIC- WORKERS. 
 
 Till RT Y-THIRD SUNDAY. 
 TUB TEMPLE or DIANA. 
 
 THIimVOURTIf SUNDAY. 
 TUB TOWV-CLERK or 1 
 
 THIRTY-FIFTH SUNDAY. 
 TITUS, TUB MBSSBJIQER. 
 
 THIRTY-SIXTH SUNDAY, 
 to MOMTHS ur MACEDONIA AND ILLYRICCM. 
 
 THIRTY SEVKNTH SUNDAY. 
 PHOCBB CARRIES A LETTER TO BOMB. 
 
 THIRTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY. 
 THE GAMES AT THE ISTHMUS. 
 
 THIRTY-NINTH SUNDAY. 
 THE COASTS or ASIA.* 
 
 FORTIETH SUNDAY. 
 TOE ELDERS or KPHBSUS. 
 
 FORTY-FIRST SUNDAY 
 THIRD JOURKET HOME. 
 
 FORTY-SECOND SUNDAY 
 A MOB ix JERUSALEM. 
 
 FORTY-THIRD SUNDAY. 
 THE ADDRESS FROM THE STAIRS. 
 
 FORTY-FOURTH SUNDAY. 
 PAUL A PRISONER BEFORE THE SANHEDRIM. 
 
 FORTY-FIFTH SUNDAY. 
 THB CAPITAL AND THE GOVERNOR or JUDRA. 
 
 FORTY-SIXTH SUNDAY. 
 
 Tax APPEAL TO THB EMPEEOB. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 FORTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY 
 THE ROYAL VISITORS. 
 
 FORTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY. 
 
 THE PRISONER SENT TO ROME. 
 
 FORTY-NINTH SUNDAY 
 STORM AND SHIPWRECK. 
 
 FIFTIETH SUNDAY. 
 SICILY AND ITALY. 
 
 FIFTY-FIRST SUNDAY. 
 PAUL'S RESIDENCE IN ROME, 
 
 FIFTY-SECOND SUNDAT 
 ffn TRIAL AND THE EXBOFTIOS. 
 
U1U7BRSIT! 
 
 A YEAR WITH ST. PAUL, 
 
 Stmbag, 
 
 THE INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD OF PAUL. 
 
 LESSON. 
 
 ACTS xxi. 39 ; xxii. 3; xxiii. 6, 8, 16; xxvi. 5 ; PIIIL. iii. 5; 
 I. SAM. x, 21, 24 ; ACTS xvi. 87, 38, and xxii. 26-28. 
 
 E need some knowledge of the province and the 
 city in which Paul passed his infancy and child- 
 hood, to have a correct idea of Paul's life. 
 
 CIUCIA was a province of the Roman Empire, and 
 at the time when Paul lived was divided into two 
 nearly equal portions. The western part was filled with 
 bold, rough mountains from the great chain of Mount 
 Taurus to the sea. On the Mediterranean they form 
 the high, wild coast of broken cliffs, in the centre of the 
 curve from the Bay of Issus to the Sea of Pamphylia. 
 The whole region was therefore called Rough Cilicia. 
 The people who lived in all this district were notorious 
 robbers. They formed innumerable strongholds in the 
 mountains. The name of Isauria, in the interior, re- 
 presented to the Romans all that was bold and cruel in 
 robbery. The forests and many cliffs, the little bays 
 and creeks on the sea, made an easy escape and refuge 
 for pirates. These Isaurians were so resolute and in 
 
2 (FIRST SUNDAY.) 
 
 dependent in their rough country, that the Romans, 
 after many attempts, gave up subduing them on land. 
 They then became more bold on the sea, until they dis- 
 
 turbed the whole commerce of the Mediterranean; 
 " their fleets seemed innumerable ; they were connected 
 with other desperate men, far beyond their own coasts ; 
 and they began to arouse attention at Rome. A vast 
 expedition was fitted out under the command of Pompey 
 
TXFA XC Y A XD CHILD HO OD OF PA UL. 3 
 
 the Great ; thousands of piratic vessels were burnt on 
 the coast of Cilicia, and the inhabitants dispersed ; and 
 the Mediterranean was made safe for the voyages of 
 merchants and apostles. A city on the borders of the 
 two divisions of Cilicia was named, in honor of the con- 
 queror of the pirates, Pompeiopolis," (city of Pompey.) 
 The eastern part of Cilicia was called Flat Cilicia. 
 It was a rich and extensive plain, and was esteemed 
 valuable on account of its rich fertility, and because its 
 fruitful valleys were so well protected. The long range 
 of mountains on the north and west rose like a wall all 
 the way from Pompeiopolis to the very centre of Asia 
 Minor, and formed a safe defence for all travellers up 
 the valleys, while there was another road of travel 
 around the corner of the sea, and southwards through 
 the mountains towards Antioch and Syria. Flat Cilicia 
 was, therefore, the natural high-road for caravans and 
 armies. It was the route of some of the greatest gen- 
 erals of antiquity. Cyrus led his army over this plain, 
 on his way from the western part of Asia Minor to 
 attack his brother, King of Persia. Alexander the 
 Great and his army, on his career of victory from Ma- 
 cedonia, was met here by the five hundred thousand 
 f Darius, and just above the gulf of Issus won 
 the victory which made him master of the Persian em- 
 pire. The hosts of the Crusaders, too, passed along 
 this plain. It was here, not more than half a century 
 before Paul was born, that Cicero the orator was Gov- 
 ernor or Pro-Consul of Cilicia. While here, he wrote 
 many letters to his friends, whfch give a good general 
 .dea of the way in which the Roman Empire governed 
 the province. lie travelled over the same country, and 
 through the same places, through which Paul travelled. 
 He probably regarded the Jews with much contempt, 
 and would be likely to treat them 
 
4 (FIRST SUNDAY.} 
 
 TARSUS was the capital of the whole province of both 
 Rough and Flat Cilicia. A clear and cold river flowed 
 from the snows of the steep mountains of Taurus 
 through the city, and spread out into a harbor below 
 the town. Alexander the Great nearly lost his life in 
 bathing in the cold and rapid waters of the Cydnus. 
 Tarsus was an ancient and great city. About the time 
 of Paul, it is said, that " in all that relates to philoso- 
 phy and general education, it was even more illustrious 
 than Athens or Alexandria." It was therefore a learned 
 city: there "the Greek language was spoken, and Greek 
 literature studiously cultivated." "The people of Tar- 
 sus were celebrated for their mental power, their readi- 
 ness in repartee, and their fondness for the study of 
 philosophy." In general, we may infer that, commer- 
 cially, Tarsus was the principal port in the eastern part 
 of the Mediterranean, and that, in cultivation, it was 
 " a city where the language of refinement was spoken 
 nn<l written in the midst of a ruder population, who use 
 a different language and possess no literature of their 
 own." 
 
 This was the city in which the parents of Paul lived, 
 when Saul was born. We know that both father and 
 mother were Hebrews, for Paul himself says that he is 
 ' a Hebrew of Hebrews,' (or from Hebrews,) which 
 means that he was a pure Hebrew, and that neither 
 father nor mother was at first a proselyte from any 
 other nation to the Jews. They spoke, no doubt, their 
 native tongue, and yet Saul, in his early years in Tar- 
 sus, would as often hear the Greek. He must have 
 learned both the Hebrew and the Greek almost as soon 
 as he learned to talk. At home, however, the family 
 were strictly Hebrews. His parents were Pharisees : 
 they taught him the rigid observance of all the rites 
 and traditions of his sect. They were of the tribe of 
 
IXFAXCV AXD CHILDHOOD OF PAUL. 5 
 
 Benjamin, and they gave- their son the name of the first 
 King <>i' Israel taken ironi the same favored tribe. It 
 may be that the great Apostle had both names, Saul 
 and Paul, from his infancy. Although in the book of 
 Acts he is called Paul only after the conversion of Sur- 
 
 I^itthis in Cyprus, as we shall he real tor see, yet 
 " it is most probable that he had both names in child- 
 hood :" that iu his Hebrew home he was called by the 
 ancient Hebrew name of Saul, and that the Gentiles 
 (the Romans especially) gave it the Roman form of 
 Paulus. It may ]..s-i!>ly l>e, too, that from motives of 
 intnv-t ami policy, he was called sometimes, among 
 
 '.lids and by the family, the Roman name, Paul, as 
 we kno\v he mentions, in his epistle to the Romans, 
 two "kinsmen," Junia 1 and Lucius 1 , whose names are 
 Roman. 
 
 Saul's father was also a Roman citi/.en. How did he 
 gain this privilege? It was not because he was a 
 native of the city. "It had been given him, or had de- 
 scended to him, as his own right; he might have pur 
 chased it for a large sum of money*, but it is more pro- 
 bable that some iniluential Roman had obtained it for 
 him as a reward for services rendered during the civil 
 
 .'' And hence, as this citizenship, procured by 
 
 y, or by valuable service, belonged to the family, 
 Saul was ' free-born,' and could afterwards rely upon 
 his citizen si iip as a defence in the time of trouble. 
 
 We cannot decide whether Saul's parents wero 
 wealthy or poor. If his father purchased the Roman 
 citizenship, it would have required large expense; but 
 on the other hand, when it was bestowed by the gov- 
 ernment for services done to the army or to the state, it 
 would have been given to the poor as well as to the 
 
 1 Romans xvi. 7, 21. * See Acts xxii. 28. 
 
C IFTRS7 1 SUNDAY.) 
 
 rich. Saul learned a trade. He was a tent- maker, as 
 we learn from his occupation when he came to Corinth, 3 
 but this does not prove that either he or his parents 
 were reduced to necessary labor for a livelihood. " It 
 was the custom among the Jews that all boys should 
 learn a trade. Rabbi Judah saith, 4 He that teacheth 
 not his son a trade, does the same as if he taught him 
 to be a thief,' and Rabban Gamaliel saith : c He that 
 hath a trade in his hand, to what is he like ? he is like 
 a vineyard that is fenced.' " Tent-making was a pro- 
 fitable occupation at Tarsus. The goats of his na- 
 tive province furnished hair, from which was woven 
 hair-cloth, sold in the markets for the tent-covering. It 
 is perhaps well to think that Saul's father was in mod- 
 erate circumstances and position, occupied, like many 
 of the Jews, in the traffic of the land-merchants, or of 
 the sea-commerce, and that he gave his son a trade 
 which would be of use to him wherever his lot might 
 be cast, and however he might be reduced from a 
 learned or a professional life to dependence on common 
 labor for a living. 
 
 Did Saul have brothers and sisters ? We read of one 
 sister at Jerusalem, whose son saved his life. Some of 
 Saul's kindred became Christians before Saul himself, 
 as is clear from the Epistle to the Romans, where An 
 dronicus and Junia are said to have been in Christ be 
 fpre himself. 
 
 Here Saul was born, in this flourishing city of Tar- 
 sus. Here, as a boy, he played perhaps by the side 
 of the clear, cold river, building his little ships to sail 
 upon the water, and sometimes losing them on ac- 
 count of the swiftness of the current which came rush- 
 ing down from the mountain-sides to the sea. He saw 
 
 3 xviil 8. 
 
INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD OF PAUL. 7 
 
 the fertile plains, and the high mountains beyond. Ho 
 saw the water-falls pouring over the rocks in full flood, 
 when the snow melted. He saw in the streets, and on 
 the wharves, men of various languages and costumes : 
 the Cyprian from the island opposite ; the Syrian from 
 Antioch ; the rough, wild, mountain-ranger from Rough 
 
 a or from Isauria, half-suspected as a very robber; 
 the hardy Cappadocian from the interior ; the handsome 
 Greek from the famous land beyond the Archipelago ; 
 the Roman trafficker and the Roman soldier from the 
 
 : hilled city ; and now and then the swarthy Egypt- 
 ian and the wandering Arab; while his own nation 
 never lacked representatives. He saw the eastern cara- 
 van, with its long train, start off up the valley for the 
 head-water! of the Euphrates, and the company of trad- 
 ers on the route around the Bay of Issus, composed of 
 its smaller parties, on their way to Antioch, to Caesarca, 
 to Samaria, or even to Damascus or to Jerusalem. I Ie 
 saw ships from Cyprus and from Caesarea, from Alex- 
 andria and from the western seas, in the harbor ; and 
 the toil-worn throng of men and animals which had 
 jn<t arrived through the wild Cilician i^atcs, from the 
 Kphesus and Smyrna road, bringing their strange stories 
 from the ruder regions of the interior. Eager and 
 quick to observe, Saul the boy was now making the 
 acquaintance of these various nations and their people, 
 whom afterwards he was so much to influence. 
 
(FIRST SUNDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 WHERE was Paul torn ? 
 
 Where in the Scriptures do you find the place of Paul's 
 
 birth ? 
 
 Does more than one person speak of it ? 
 Who speaks the greater number of times of Paul's early 
 
 life? 
 
 Where was he when he spoke of it ? 
 In which place does he speak most of it ? 
 What was Cilicia ? 
 
 What was the name of the western part ? 
 
 What kind of people lived there ? 
 
 What famous robbers lived near ? 
 
 What drove the pirates from the sea ? 
 
 What has the driving of pirates from the sea to do with 
 
 Paul's life? 
 What was the name of the eastern part ? 
 
 How did it differ from the western part ? 
 What were the principal roads out of it ? 
 What travelled on these roads ? 
 What great generals have passed over these roads ? 
 What great armies have marched here ? 
 What famous Roman was once Governor of this province ? 
 Was it before or after Paul's birth ? 
 Why doesn't he notice the Jews in his letters to hia 
 
 friends ? 
 
 Was Tarsus a place of much consequence in the province ? 
 In what respects was it ' no mean city ' ? 
 With what cities did it rank in learning at that time f 
 What were the people especially celebrated for ? 
 What language was spoken there ? 
 Did all the people probably use one language ? 
 With what great cities did Tarsus probably have trade ? 
 Of what nation was Paul ? 
 
 Were his father and mother loth of the same nation ? 
 How do YOU know ? 
 
(FIRST SUNDAY.) 
 
 How many brothers and sisters had Paul ? 
 
 Did Paul have any relatives not Jews ? 
 
 What language was spoken in the house ? 
 
 Did Paul learn any other language ? 
 What tribe did his parents belong to ? 
 
 Can you find more than one place where Paul speaks 
 of his tribe ? 
 
 Whoso name, in their tribe, did they give to their son ? 
 
 How is it that we have two names ? 
 
 Would his own family be likely to call him by the Ro- 
 man name? 
 
 Had he any relatives with Roman names ? 
 What sect of his nation did Saul's parents belong to ? 
 
 When Saul grew up, did he prefer his father's sect, or 
 some other ? 
 
 In how many places does Paul speak of this sect ? To 
 
 whom ? 
 
 Was Saul's father connected in any way with any other na- 
 tion? 
 
 In what two ways might he have become a Roman cit- 
 izen ? 
 
 Was this of any consequence to Saul ? 
 
 What does he mean, when he says he is ' free-born 7 ? 
 
 Did he ever make use of this right of his birth ? 
 Can you tell whether Saul's parents were wealthy or poor ? 
 
 What does their sending Saul to Jerusalem to be edu- 
 cated seem to show ? 
 
 Were the other Apostles wealthy or poor ? 
 
 What trade did Saul learn when young ? 
 
 Does this show whether his parents were wealthy or 
 poor? 
 
 What two maxims of the Rabbis, in respect to trade, 
 are given ? 
 
 What were tents made from ? 
 
 What people did Saul the boy see in the streets of Tar 
 sus ? 
 
 What difference did it make with Saul in after life ? 
 
 Was Saul taught to read the Scriptures and to pray ? 
 (2) 
 
SAUL AT SCHOOL. 
 
 LESSON. 
 
 ACTS xxii. 3 ; xxvi. 4, 5 ; xxiii. 6-8. GALATIANS i. 14. 
 
 fFARSUS was a place of learning, but the learning wr.s 
 -i under the control and teaching of the Greeks. The 
 Hebrews looked at the Greeks as ' strangers ' and 
 4 aliens ;' and the strict Pharisees no doubt held these 
 schools in abhorrence. If there were Greek schools 
 for children, it is not probable that Saul the boy would 
 be permitted to attend them. ' He received his educa- 
 tion, therefore, at home rather than at school ;' or, if 
 he went to a school, it was not to a Greek school, but 
 rather to "some room connected with a synagogue, 
 where a noisy class of Jewish children were seated on 
 the ground with their teacher, after the manner of Mo- 
 hammedan children in the East, who may be seen at 
 their lessons near the mosque." At such a place, it may 
 be, he learned to read and write, going to school and 
 returning, as was the custom, with a servant. Perhaps 
 he thought of his own boyish school-days, and of the 
 servant who took him to school and brought him home, 
 when he afterwards wrote to the Galatians that the 
 Law is a servant who leads us to the school of Christ. 1 
 As he grew older, he gained his religious knowledge 
 
 1 Galatians iii. 24. The word translated l schoolmaster/ in thia 
 passage, means literally, boy-leader, the servant who led boys to school, 
 not the master who taught them after they were there. 
 
SAUL AT SCHOOL. 9 
 
 " from hearing the ' Scriptures read in the synagogue, 
 from listening to the arguments and discussions of 
 learned doctors, and from that habit of questioning and 
 \\\\<\\ -crincr which was permitted even to children among 
 the Jews." It is not at all improbable that, when a 
 boy, Saul, with his mind wide-awake to all the life of 
 his busy city, and sharpened by what he heard and saw, 
 can-fully trained by his Pharisaic parents, quick to ask 
 and to answer questions at the synagogue, was known 
 :i< a child of more than usual promise, and as "one 
 likely to uphold," when he should become a man, " the 
 honor of the Scriptures against the half-infidel teaching 
 of the day." II N parents ami friends would wish there- 
 
 ;iat he should have a more careful training than he 
 could obtain in a heathen city; and that at the capital 
 city of Jerusalem itself, he should learn more perfectly 
 
 ! iw of his fathers. 
 There are three opinions in respect to the time when 
 
 iit to Jerusalem. The first opinion is, that h- 
 sent by his parents, " between the ages often and thir- 
 teen," since if he went at a later age, " he could not 
 have said that he had been 'brought up in Jerusalem.' 
 It is thought, too, that as Paul before Agrippa said, 
 ' My manner of life from my youth^ which was at the 
 
 unong mine own nation at Jerusalem, know all the 
 lews, which knew me from the beginning? it implies 
 that he came from Tarsus at an early age." The second 
 opinion is, that " in his youth he was brought up in the 
 schools of Tarsus, fully instructed in all the arts and 
 sciences, before he went to study the law under Gama 
 liel." The third opinion is, that " though as a Jew and 
 a Pharisee, he would not be educated in the heathen 
 schools of Tarsus, he did not go to Jerusalem to be 
 trained under Gamaliel till about the age of thirty, and 
 after the ascension of Christ." It seems more correct 
 
10 (SECOND SUNDAY.) 
 
 to suppose that Saul went to Jerusalem when he was 
 young. Perhaps he went to live with that sister who 
 seems to have lived afterwards in Jerusalem. 3 And we 
 may suppose he was taken first, as the Saviour himself 
 was at about this very time and at twelve years of age, 
 l>y his parents when they ' went up ' to attend one of 
 (he great festivals of the Hebrew nation. About the 
 time of the Hebrew Thanksgiving, (Feast of Taber- 
 nacles,) or of the Feast of Passover, when all the men 
 journeyed in companies to the great and holy city, the 
 Jews of Cilicia and of the surrounding region would 
 begin to gather in Tarsus, either to make up the cara- 
 van which would move around the corner of the sea to 
 Antioch, and so down the sea-coast toward Palestine, 
 or to go aboard the swifter ships, which would take 
 them across to Ca3sarea, and then to make the shorter 
 caravan-journey through Judea to the capital. Think 
 of the wonder and delight with which the Hebrew boy 
 would long for the day when he would sail out of the 
 clear, cold river, out of the harbor, on the great Medi- 
 terranean, away and across toward the beautiful moun- 
 tains where Abraham and Jacob and Joshua once lived, 
 among which David once led his flocks of sheep, to the 
 city and to the very temple in which the holy child 
 Samuel answered the voice of the Lord in the night. 
 How many pleasant thoughts would crowd into his 
 mind, all along the way. 
 
 As he sailed toward the high Mount Carmel, where 
 Elijah sent his servant to look off upon the sea for clouds 
 rising to give rain, as he rode high on the back of a 
 camel through the ancient land of his forefathers, from 
 the sea-coast up towards the interior, how quickly ho 
 would catch the conversation of his fellow-travellers, 
 
 ui. 16. 
 
SAUL AT SCHOOL. 11 
 
 and remember all lie hud learned in the synagogue. As 
 he left Ca?saiva, his father would point out to him, away 
 off on one side, the distant hills of Mount Gilboa, near 
 
 MOURT C1RMZL. 
 
 which his groat na: : ^ n g Saul, and his three sons 
 
 and his armor-bearer died. 3 As he came to the borders 
 of his own tribe of J>enjamin, he would look for the vil- 
 "f (iihi-ah, Saul's home, when Samuel anointed 
 him to be king, 4 and would know that on the further 
 border was Jerusalem, with all its glory. Climbing 
 over the range of hills, he saw the temple glittering 
 with gold ; the pile of sacred buildings around the shin- 
 ing centre ; he saw the whole ancient and honored and 
 holy city surrounded by its wall, and beyond, the Mount 
 of Olives; and, when the caravan-train wound its way 
 under the arch of the gates into the very streets, more 
 than ever before would he thank God he was a Jew 
 4 of the tribe of Benjamin,' and * a Hebrew of the He- 
 brews.' IKre he is to finish his education. Here he 
 is to learn and to know more of the history and prophe- 
 cy and poetry of his honored nation. Here he will min- 
 
 *I. Samuel xxxi. 1-6. 4 I. Samuel x. 26 ; xv. 34. 
 
12 (SECOND SUNDAY.) 
 
 gle in the worship of the very temple. Here he will see 
 and hear the greatest doctors of the world. Here, 
 tli inks the Hebrew boy, will I study with zeal what I 
 now more than ever love, and will }"rove that I am 
 worthy of my tribe and family, and diligently will I 
 serve my God ! 
 
 Alas ! in Jerusalem itself, Saul sees Roman soldiers, 
 just as he has seen them in Tarsus and in all the places 
 along the route, reminding him that his country, once 
 free under God, is now ruled by foreign power. Indeed, 
 when he first landed from the sea, he had paid his trav- 
 elling-fee in Roman coin, and on all the coin he had taken 
 in Judea, he had seen the " image and superscription " 
 of the Roman emperors ; he had heard Roman words 
 used in the common conversation of the Jews ; there 
 were Roman buildings in the towns through which he 
 passed ; and did not the very first city in which he set 
 foot in his native land, (Ca3sarea,) bear the name of a 
 cruel tyrant of Rome ? How the patriotism of the He- 
 brew boy would rise, quick and warm within him, when 
 he thought how shamefully his country was oppressed 
 by the great empire which now stretched from the dis- 
 tant islands of Britain to the Euphrates ! and especially 
 as he thought how the governors appointed to rule over 
 this 'promised' lajid had sometimes set up and put 
 down the high-priests, just as they liked, and how per- 
 haps even the schools of the famous teachers, to which 
 he had come, might be all interrupted and broken up 
 if any successor of the impious Herod should wish. 
 
 The great schools at Jerusalem were of course reli- 
 gious schools. Two among them were greatest of all, 
 and were rivals, as they had been from the days of 
 Ilillel and Shammai, their founders. Both these schools 
 taught the traditions as well as the law of Moses ; both 
 taught the doctrines of the Pharisees : but the school 
 
SAUL AT SCHOOL. 13 
 
 of Ilillel said tradition was butter than the law, and 
 above it, Avhile the school of Shammai said the law was 
 the better and tin- greater. The disputes between these 
 schools were so violent, that it gre\v into a proverb, 
 "that oven Elijah the Tishbite would not be able to re- 
 concile the disciples of II illel and Shammai." 
 
 Ilillel was grandfather of Gamaliel. When, therefore, 
 Saul entered GamalieVs school, and became an earnest 
 student of tradition and of law, (putting tradition iirM.ae- 
 eording to the school of Ilillel,) he soon learned to be "ex- 
 Mis of the t radii ions of his fathers."* Ex- 
 cept his teaching that tradition had more authority than 
 the law of .Moses, (which our Saviour s> sharply rebuk- 
 ed, ) Gamaliel was perhaps the very best teacher Saul 
 could have had, other than the Saviour himself, to fit him 
 for his future lite. k * I IN learning was so eminent and 
 his character so iweivd, that he is one of the seven 
 who alone among Jewish doctors have been honored 
 with the title of c Rabban.' " T lie was not so bigoted 
 a< many of the 1'harisees. Candid and wise as he shows 
 himself to be when he afterwards gives advice to the 
 high-prie<t and the Sad' hen Peter and the other 
 
 Apostles are brought before them for preaching, 8 he is 
 *aid to havc> been ' in reputation with all the people,' 
 and it i< added that Mo him they agreed.' Unlike many 
 of the Ph. to objection to studying the 
 
 learning of the Greeks. 9 T \ s no small degree 
 
 6 Galatians i. 14. 
 
 xv. 1-6. Mark yii. 3-13. 
 . master ; Rabbi, my master ; Rabban or Rabboni, (John xx. 
 
 tor. 17, 29, 34-40. 
 
 And it may be thought, from the fact that Saul was placed under 
 Gamaliel, that his parents did not object to his attending the Greek 
 schools of Tarsus. 
 
14 (SECOND SUNDAY.) 
 
 of intelligent judgment and independence in Gamaliel, 
 for even the Greek language had at one time been for- 
 bidden to be taught to the Hebrew youth. How im- 
 portant it was that Saul should know both the Greek 
 language and be familiar with the Greek writings, we 
 now know, who have seen how he was able to preach 
 at Athens and at Corinth, to dispute with Epicureans 
 and Stoics, 10 and to quote their own authors to the 
 Greeks. 11 
 
 We should think of Saul, now growing to be a young 
 man, as one of the younger speakers in the assemblies 
 of the Rabbis of Jerusalem, in the midst of whom was 
 Gamaliel. All are seated, as was the custom, according 
 to their rank and advancement and wisdom. The prin- 
 cipal subjects of discussion are the tradition, the law, the 
 prophets and the psalms, the power to interpret which 
 v, as " the one thing most prized by his countrymen." 
 Some one, perhaps Gamaliel himself, reads a passage 
 out of the Hebrew Bible, or gives out in Hebrew some 
 topic of discussion, which is translated into the common 
 l;ir,iiuage, then interpreted in various ways by various 
 persona, illustrated by maxims and allegories, compared 
 with the opinions of ancient Rabbis, and last of all, pcr- 
 h:ij>s expounded by Gamaliel himself. The younger 
 students were present to listen and to inquire, " both 
 h-.-iring them and asking them questions,' as our Sav- 
 .our did ; 12 for it was a peculiarity of the Jewish schools 
 that the pupil was encouraged to catechise the teacher, 
 find contradictory opinions were expressed with the 
 utmost freedom." Among the many Hebrew youth 
 gathered in Jerusalem from distant cities and foreign 
 
 I0 xvii. 18. 
 
 11 xvii. 28. I. Corinth, xv. 33. " Evil communications," etc., is a 
 quotation from a Greek Comedy. Titus i. 12. 
 "Luke ii. 46. 
 
8AUL AT SUIIOOL. 15 
 
 lands, young Saul was certainly one of the most active 
 and most promising students ; for he himself said after 
 wards : % - ilotis of the traditions of my fathers, 
 
 I pushed forwards in the study of the Jews' religion, 
 above many of my school-fellows of my nation." J3 
 
 Saul is now just coming to manhood, and we can 
 think of the result of his education. That result, we 
 suppose, was something like this : He was candid and 
 honest in judgment ; he was willing to study and to 
 use the books and the lan^ua^e of the Greeks ; he was 
 intensely zealous for the traditions and for the law of 
 Moses. He bad learned to dispute keenly, clearly, and 
 learnedly, and to quote the Scriptures quickly and aptly. 
 lie had filled his memory with the traditions, with the 
 diiiieult points of Jewish controversy, and with the 
 opinions of the gr. .ers. Born a Pharisee. 
 
 rated at home a Pharisee', trained in Jerusalem by the 
 very chief of the Pharisees, he was now, in his strong, 
 matured judgment, heartily an advocate of the very 
 strictest school of the Pharisees, which taught tradition 
 to be superior to Moses' commandments; and he was 
 most ri^'id in his roiisrientioiis practice of washings 
 s and f:!<tin--s and all the other ceremonies. 
 
 18 Galatians i. 14. I profited (the Greek word means literally * to 
 drive forward/ not unlike the English 'to push forward,') in the 
 Jews' religion above many my equals (literally equals in age or fel- 
 low-equals) in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous, eta 
 
(SECOND SUNDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 WHAT kind of learning was there in Tarsus ? 
 
 How would the Jews think of it ? 
 
 Do you think Saul attended a Greek school ? 
 
 What kind of a school was his ? 
 
 What did he mean, afterwards, when he said, " The iait 
 is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ " ? 
 
 Where was he taught in religious things ? and how ? 
 
 Do you think Saul would be well known at the syna- 
 gogue ? 
 
 Why should he go to Jerusalem ? 
 
 What are the three opinions in respect to the time when he 
 went to Jerusalem ? 
 
 What do c brought up in this city/ and l from my youth . . . 
 at Jerusalem/ seem to show ? 
 
 At what age do you think he went ? 
 
 What relative of his probably lived in Jerusalem after- 
 wards ? 
 
 With whom would he go to Jerusalem ? 
 
 What would he see and think of on the way ? 
 
 What would he think of, if he sailed past Mount Carmel ? 
 
 What hills would he see on the way from Ciesarea ? 
 
 What village would he look for, as he came to the tribe 
 of Benjamin? 
 
 What would Saul think of, as he entered Jerusalem ? 
 
 Is it a good thing to make high resolutions at such a 
 time? 
 
 What proofs of Roman authority did Saul see at Jeru- 
 salem, and on his way ? 
 
 What did the very name of Csesarea show ? 
 
 How might the schools of Jerusalem be interrupted ? 
 What kind of schools were the great schools of Jerusalem ? 
 
 What two were greatest of all ? 
 
 Did they both belong to one or to different sects ? 
 
 Did they belong to Pharisee or Sadducee? 
 (3) 
 
(SECOND SUNDAY.} 
 
 What were the doctrines of the Pharisees ? 
 
 "What the doctrines of the Sadducees ? 
 
 What was the one principal doctrine on which they dif 
 
 fered? 
 
 What was the difference between the two schools ? 
 What was the proverb about then: bitter disputing ? 
 When our Saviour rebuked traditions, which one of 
 
 these schools did he especially rebuke ? 
 Who was Saul's teacher? 
 
 What was the name of his grandfather ? 
 
 What was Saul taught 'at the feet of Gamaliel ' ? 
 
 Did Saul like traditions ? 
 
 What does ' zealous towards God ' mean ? 
 
 Was Gamaliel a good teacher for Saul ? 
 
 What kind of a man was he? 
 
 Wlu-r ie mentioned in the Bible 
 
 What was his ad vi.-c in respect to the Apostles at that 
 
 time? 
 
 How did he differ from many Pharisees ? 
 Why was it important for Saul to know Greek ? 
 Can you mention any instances of his quoting from 
 
 Greek authors ? 
 
 What was the manner of teaching? 
 What was most prized? 
 Did the teacher question the scholar? 
 Was Saul equal to his school-fellows ? 
 How do you know ? 
 
 What does 'profited' mean in that passage? 
 Ho\v many things can you mention as the result of Saul's 
 education ? 
 
 lie more or less a Pharisee than before ? 
 What kind of a life did Saul lead in Jerusalem ? 
 Did he like tradition more or less than before ? 
 Is it right to put any thing before the commandments of the 
 Bible? 
 
 Can you think of any things which men do put before these 
 commands ? 
 
ffi&irb Swnbun, 
 
 SAUL AND STEPHEN. 
 
 LESSON. 
 
 I. CORINTHIANS xv. 9 ; ACTS xxii. 20 ; vii. 64-60 ; viii. 1-4. 
 
 A NUMBER of years must have passed, after Saul 
 came up to Jerusalem, before the persecution of 
 Stephen took place. If Saul came to Jerusalem at about 
 twelve years of age, there must have been nearly, if 
 not quite, eighteen years before he makes his appear- 
 ance at the stoning of the first martyr ; for soon after 
 Stephen's death he. preached at Damascus, and it is not 
 probable that he would commence public preaching be- 
 fore the usual priestly age of thirty. We may suppose 
 that Saul visited his home frequently during these 
 eighteen years. It may be that lie spent much of his 
 time at home, especially as he grew older, returning 
 now to the schools of his native town to study the 
 Greek language and literature, so that he might be 
 fully prepared to meet the arguments of the heathen in- 
 fidels. During these years, other children were becom- 
 ing men. Years before, there had been a child born in 
 the hill-country of Judah, not far away, who was now 
 receiving his rough training in the wilderness and in 
 the deserts, where he grew, 'waxing strong in spirit, 
 till the day of his showing unto Israel,' when he 
 preached c the baptism of repentance.' Along the 
 chore of the Lake of Galilee were boys mending their 
 fathers' nets, who were growing hardy and strong for 
 their future work, and who, even before they had grown 
 
SAUL AND STEPHEN. 17 
 
 f:o be men, were no doubt thinking of, and watchful for, 
 the Messiah. The GREAT TEACHER, born in Bethle- 
 hem, now nearly ready to fulfil the prophetic words of 
 John the Baptist, was at Nazareth, waiting for the time 
 when his great work should call him into public life. 
 He, too, at twelve years of age, had heard and asked 
 <1 Mentions of the doctors in the temple. lie would 
 soon be as old as the priests, who at thirty entered 
 on their office, when lie would preach, and teach the 
 whole world the most important of all doctrines. 
 Ilmv is it that Saul never meets any of these persons? 
 How is it that, while he believed with his nation that it 
 was Ul time fur the Messiah to appear, and Jesus was 
 claiming to be the Messiah, and all the wonderful works 
 of the Saviour wen- occurring through all the country, 
 and the condemnation and the crueitixion were taking 
 place, he seems not to know of any of these events by 
 personal presence and sight ? In none of his epistles 
 or spreehes. after his conversion, does he allude to the 
 
 f having seen the Saviour, or of having known 
 the disciples, though they all visited the temple, and 
 
 conspicuous to all men at the great festivals of the 
 capital. We must think that Saul was at this time ab- 
 sent from the city, and probably at Tarsus, just as after 
 his conversion he returns again for a short time to Tar- 
 sus. 1 If li J>sent only three years, it will be suf- 
 ficient to show why he did not meet Jesus or any of his 
 disciples. It is more creditable to Saul's candor and 
 M isdom and conscientiousness to believe that he was 
 
 with the Greek scholars of Tarsus, and heard of 
 the great events occurring in Judea only from a dis- 
 tance : that he thought of the miracles of Jesus only 
 as the work of some extraordinary and skilful magi* 
 
 1 Acts ix. 30. 
 
18 (THIRD SUNDAY.) 
 
 cian, and of his disciples as a band of honest and credu- 
 lous and deluded men. In all the confessions of his 
 sins afterwards, he never speaks of the trial and cruci- 
 fixion of his Lord, as he would have done had he been 
 one of the persecutors then. It was not till after the 
 resurrection of Jesus that Saul came back to Jerusalem. 
 He then found in Jerusalem quite a number of these 
 men, who had been followers of Jesus the Xazarene, and 
 who believed that he was the Messiah. He would at 
 once think of them as a new sect, who were giving a 
 wrong meaning to the Scriptures, who were trying to 
 make known their pernicious doctrines, and who ought, 
 therefore, to be put down as soon as possible. When 
 we read that 'certain men of Cilicia and of Asia 2 
 arose' to dispute with Stephen, we may think that Saul, 
 recently returned from Tarsus, was among them, eager 
 to show his zeal for the law of his forefathers, and his 
 power of disputation against the teachers of this new 
 doctrine. Saul no doubt prided himself on his own 
 upright life, his careful observance of all the duties laid 
 down in the traditions and in the law, and that he was 
 faultless in washings and prayers and fastings, in phy- 
 lacteries and fringes, in sacrifices and charities and good 
 works. He would be bitterly provoked that any fol- 
 lower of a teacher, (a magician, perhaps,) who had con- 
 demned so earnestly the keeping of the tradition, should 
 be teaching in the temple, and that the disciples of 
 Jesus were increasing in Jerusalem 3 ; that great won- 
 ders and miracles were done among the people 4 ; arid 
 that many even of the priests 3 were turning to this j>n - 
 tended Messiah. With all the earnestness of his nature 
 
 9 Acts vi. 9. Proselytes of Africa, (from Gyrene and Alexandria,) 
 of Asia Minor, (from Cilicia and Asia,) of Rome, (Libertines, pro 
 bably freed-men from Rome.) 
 
 vi. 7. 4 vi. 8. 
 
SATL .l.V// tTEPIIEX. 19 
 
 and the power of his mind, he would join with the 
 Pharisees in crushing out this new sect. Hence it is, 
 we suppose, that we luive Saul introduced to us in the 
 Acts just at this point, when not only the miracles of 
 the Pentecost had been 'noised abroad;' 6 when not 
 only the healing of the lame man at the gate of the 
 temple by Peter and John was well known ; when not 
 only the strange death of Ananias had caused excite- 
 ment amoiiLT the people; when the resolute Peter and 
 John were braving the threats of the chief council, 
 preaching, in spite of it, in the temple; but when, also, 
 a in \v member of the sect, said to possess more than 
 wisdom,' was attracting the attention of the 
 .cd men of the diilerent synagogues. Stephen was 
 4 lull of faith and power.' He met the disputers from 
 Africa and Asia Minor and Rome 3 boldly, and 'they 
 not aide to resist the wisdom and the spirit by 
 which he spake.' 
 
 The fact that they had been defeated in fair argu- 
 ment, stirred the fury of men bad at heart and deter- 
 mined to uphold their school and sect and law by what- 
 ever means. Murder was in their hearts, and it soon 
 came out in words of falsehood and crime. When wo 
 read that they ' suborned men,' (hired men to perjuro 
 them 'ward from Paul's own 
 
 * I have lived in all good conscience before God 
 unto this day," we cannot suppose that Saul deliber- 
 ately helped to bribe a false witness to perjure himself 
 for the purpose of taking life. It is by no means pro- 
 bable that all of the Jews consented to this most wicked 
 act of perjury ; but when the witnesses appeared, Saul 
 no doubt took little pains to inquire into their character, 
 and was glad of any pretext by which this pestilent 
 
 8 Chap, ii : 6. 6 vi. 10. T xxiii, 1. 
 
20 (THIRD SUNDAY.) 
 
 Stephen could be got out of the way. In the midst of 
 all this excitement, when ' they stirred up all the people 
 and the elders and scribes,' and caught Stephen, and 
 brought him to the council, Saul must have watched 
 every event with the most eager eye ; and he must 
 have hoped that Stephen would be brought to silence, 
 if not to punishment and to death. It was in this very 
 trial of Stephen, no doubt, that Saul's bitterness be- 
 came more and more inflamed. He was one who looked 
 on that face, like ' the face of an angel,' while the 
 high-priest put the customary charge : 'Are these things 
 so ?' And that pure and shining countenance did not 
 win his heart, but rather fired his persecuting spirit. 
 He heard Stephen's speech before the council. 8 At 
 first he approved of it, and prided himself in his right- 
 eousness perhaps, while Stephen was giving the history 
 of the race ; but when the honest, faithful man called 
 all the council stiff-necked, uncircumciscd, resistors of 
 God's Spirit, persecutors, betrayers, murderer s,' J all the 
 haughty pride of his Pharisaic nature, and all the power 
 of his education, rose in a moment, and fixed his pur- 
 pose to condemn him. c Cut to the heart,' ' gnashing 
 on him with his teeth,' he, like the rest, was only pro- 
 voked the more by the calm serenity of the culprit ; 
 and now, when their passion was overflowing, it needed 
 but those other words of Stephen, ' I see the Son of 
 Man at the right hand of God,' to let loose all restraint. 
 Blind and unreasoning, stirred to the depths of their 
 sensitive pride, boiling with rage, all was over. Now 
 there was only a violent, relentless, cruel mob. They 
 cried out with a loud voice ; they rent their clothes ; 
 they ran upon him with one accord ; they cast him out 
 of their city. And now Saul, a maddened bigot against 
 the truth, kept the garments which the witnesses had 
 
 vii. 51, 82. 
 
PAUL AXD STEPHEN. 21 
 
 lai'l oft' that they ini^lit stone him. While the angelic 
 Stephen, with the lii^ht of heaven on his face, and the 
 prayer of Jesus on his lips, received the blows of his 
 brutal murderers, Saul kept their garments, that they 
 might the more easily do their murderous deed. He 
 consented, or 'approved of it, as the word means. We 
 arc therefore fully prepared for what follows. Once 
 permitting his wicked passion and pride to master him, 
 thinking his rage and prejudice were religion, he en- 
 tered into the persecution with all his heart. While 
 devout men carried Stephen to his burial, Saul c mal^ 
 havoc of the church, entering into every house, and 
 lialiiiLT intn and women, committed them to prison.' 
 II<>\\ much lie was doing for the very religion he aimed 
 to destroy ! He scattered the disciples of Jesus ; and 
 filled with the Holy Ghost, they went everywhere 
 preaching the word. 
 
(THIRD SUNDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 TTOW many years were there between Saul's coming to Jeru- 
 salem and the stoning of Stephen ? 
 
 How do you know ? 
 
 Was Saul in Jerusalem all these years ? 
 
 "What other persons were there in other parts of the 
 land? 
 
 How is it that Saul meets none of these persons ? 
 
 Why may we think Saul was not in Jerusalem during 
 our Saviour's public ministry ? 
 
 When did he probably return to Jerusalem ? 
 What did he now find ? 
 
 What would he think of these persons ? 
 
 Why may we suppose that Saul was one of those who 
 disputed with Stephen ? 
 
 Repeat the verse. 
 
 How do you show that there were representatives from 
 Europe, Asia and Africa ? 
 
 What would touch his pride, as belonging to that school 
 which held the supremacy of tradition ? 
 
 What events had recently occurred in Jerusalem ? 
 What new member of the new sect now appears ? 
 
 What kind of a man is he ? 
 
 Which is the better, faith or wisdom ? Why ? 
 
 Is a man who has faith ever entirely destitute of wis- 
 dom? 
 
 Whom did he meet in dispute ? 
 
 Who had the better argument ? 
 
 What was the result ? 
 What is meant by * suborn ' ? 
 
 Do you think Saul * suborned ' men ? 
 
 What did he have to do with the c suborned men ' ? 
 
 What would Saul hope ? 
 What effect did Stephen's speech have on Saul's mind ? 
 
 What did he probably think when Stephen began ? 
 
 (5) 
 
(THIRD SUNDAY.) 
 
 What especially cut him to the heart ? 
 
 What good thing will 'cut people to the heart * now? 
 
 What added most of all to Saul's rage ? 
 
 What does 'gnashed on him with their teeth ' show? 
 
 Do you think Stephen had a vision of heaven ? 
 
 Whom did Stephen see in heaven ? 
 
 Which person of the Trinity gave Stephen power to see 
 
 Jesus ? 
 
 Who gives power to see spiritual things ? 
 If we ever see Jesus in heaven, whose guidance will lead 
 
 us there ? 
 
 Why did they stop their ears ? 
 Did Stephen have a regular trial ? 
 
 What did Saul have to do with the witnesses f 
 
 Did Saul help stone Stephen ? 
 
 Whose dying prayer did Stephen use ? 
 
 To 'fall asleep ' like Stephen, at the last, what must we 
 
 have? 
 Did Saul like the death of Stephen ? 
 
 When he ' consented/ did he only give permission ? 
 
 What act shows that he publicly consented ? 
 
 What did Saul mistake for religion ? 
 
 Can you think of anything in men themselves which 
 
 they sometimes mistake for religion ? 
 Do you suppose Saul forgot the death of Stephen ? 
 What effect might Stephen's prayer have had on him ? 
 Who buried Stephen ? 
 
 Is it right to lament over friends ? 
 
 Is it right to grieve for friends who, we are satisfied, are 
 
 in heaven ? 
 What was Saul now doing ? 
 
 Did he overthrow the new sect ? 
 
 What did he do ? 
 
 What is the better way to treat any despised cause, 
 
 when it is first advocated ? 
 Who were left in Jerusalem ? 
 
 What did Paul think of his own conduct afterwards ? 
 Did he ever condemn his feelings against Stephen? 
 
 (o) 
 
Jfxwrllj Sxmbim, 
 
 THE CONVERSION. 
 
 LESSON. 
 ACTS viii. 3 ; ix. 1-18 ; xxii. 4-16 ; xxiii. 1 ; xxvi. 9-15. 
 
 46 /THERE are strong grounds for believing that if 
 A Saul was not a member of -the Sanhedrim at the 
 time of Stephen's death, he was elected into that pow- 
 erful Senate soon after : possibly as a reward for his zeal 
 against the heretic, for he himself says that when the 
 Christians were put to death, c I gave my vote against 
 them.' " l If he were a member of this national council, 
 he must have been married, for it is said one of the 
 qualifications for the office was, that the person should 
 be both husband and father. Whether he was or was 
 not a member of the Sanhedrim, he was trusted by them 
 as one who would execute their plans for rooting out 
 the new sect. He was chief man in the persecution, 
 and his persecution grew more and more bitter and vio- 
 lent. He made havoc of the Church ; he went into 
 every house ; he haled men and women, (the old Eng- 
 lish word for haul, to drag ; a ) he bound them ; he shut 
 them up in prison ; in every synagogue he punished 
 them; and though he had succeeded in driving the 
 
 1 xxvi. 10. The word voice means strictly a pebble used for voting, 
 and so a vote or voice. 
 
 2 As in Spenser's Fairy Queen : 
 
 * Him sternly grypt and hailing to and fro, 
 To overthrow him strongly did assay.' 
 
777^ CONVERSION. 23 
 
 most of the dis'-iples from the city, lie was still breath- 
 ing in (as the word maybe translated) threatening and 
 
 hter. lh- draped forth even the women, although, 
 in tin- I. \ :he women are kept so secluded. He shut 
 
 1 1]) in prison. He gave his voice against the dis- 
 \ to the death; and, the worst of all, he tried to 
 
 them blaspheme the name of their Lord. His 
 
 as a persecute* had become notorious in the dis* 
 taut city of Damascus. Many had brought to Anania> :! 
 
 port of his horrible injustice, and far and near, 
 he was the- terror of all belie\ T<. His own sorrow af- 
 terwards, shows how malignant was his spirit, for it was 
 in his own speeches afterwards in Jerusalem/ and at 
 Caesarea,* that he confessed with shame these crimes ; 
 and in his letters, too, he laments how he 'persecuted 
 beyond measure the Church of God and laid it waste/ 8 
 how he was 4 a blasphemer and a persecutor, and inju- 
 rious' ; 7 how he felt that he was not fit to be 'called 
 an Apostle because he persecuted the Church of God.' 8 
 It may be that Saul seized also Samaritans and Gen- 
 tiles. More cities than Damascus felt the power of his 
 fierce hate. Perhaps the Samaritans, in whose city 
 there had been great joy that Philip had preached to 
 them as well as to Jews, and the many Samaritan vil 
 lages 9 iii which Peter and John preached, had proof 
 of Saul's double spite against them as Samaritans and 
 Christians. 
 
 Mad with fury and blind bigotry, Saul tried to carry 
 is persecutions to the beautiful city of Damascus. We 
 do not suppose the chief priests had any civil authority 
 over Damascus, but only an ecclesiastical authority, as 
 the Pope of Rome claims ecclesiastical power over 
 distant and foreign countries. What was the route he 
 
 Mi. 13 4 xxii. 5 xxvi. 10, 11. 'Galatians i. 13. 7 I. Tim. i. 13. 
 I. Corinth, xv. 0. 9 Acts viii. 5, 8, 25. 
 
(FOURTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 J 
 
 took we do not know. He would first go n^f ;h, through 
 that Samaria and that Galilee in which lay to many 
 "'cenes of our Saviour's life, persecuting, perhaps, as lie 
 
THE C( > O.V. 25 
 
 went, nil lie found ' of that way.' lie might then follow 
 
 the road up the Jordan, around the Sea of Galilee, and 
 
 cross the river just below the little Lake Merom, or still 
 
 following the small streams of the upper Jordan, strike 
 
 the road from Tyre to Damascus somewhere near C:csa- 
 
 i'hilippi; but he would more probably take the 
 
 direet course, and cross the Jordan below the Sea 
 
 of (ialilee. As he rode along the tops of the hills in 
 
 Samaria, lie would get occasional glimpses of the ]\Iedi- 
 
 :iean. Further on he would look down on the blue 
 
 >w perhaps hateful in his glaring 
 
 -the plarr \\ hriv the Na/.aivnr wrought his magic 
 wonders; and in the far distance he would see the 
 snow of Mount Herman. ' masrus il- 
 
 Kclf. Al'i : the Jordan, he would 
 
 'iious journey through OH -lain. "All 
 
 annmd are stony hills, through which the withered 
 stems of the scant;. ;<>n hardly penetrate. Over 
 
 this desert, under the burning sky, full of fiery zeal, the 
 impetuous Saul holds his course. When some eminence 
 is gained, the vast horizon is seen stretching on all sides, 
 ;.t where the steep sides of Lebanon interrupt it, 
 like the ocean without a boundary. Damascus, at 
 length anxiously looked for, is seen from afar, resting 
 in the green enclosure of its beautiful gardens, like an 
 island of Paradise in the desert." Wearied with his 
 long journey, no sight can be more refreshing ; for the 
 view is one of the most celebrated, and the city is one 
 of the most illustrious in the world. Damascus is one 
 of the two oldest cities in the world. It was already 
 built in the time of Abraham. 10 David fortified it with 
 
 10 Genesis xiv. 15; xv. 2. 'Josephus makes it even older than 
 Abraham.' Hebron is mentioned first, but it may not have been 
 older. Genesis xiii. 18. 
 
26 (FOURTH SUXDAY.) 
 
 a garrison, when it was a part of his kingdom. 11 It 
 made trouble to Solomon. 12 Naaman, the Syrian Gen- 
 eral, proudly told Elisha that the sweet, fresh waters 
 of Damascus were " better than all the waters of Is- 
 rael." 13 Its merchants, and the merchants of Syria, 
 over which it was capital, brought to the fairs of the 
 rich city of Tyre, emeralds, purple embroidery, fine 
 linen, coral, and agates. They expended a c multitude 
 of riches,' and bore away from Tyre a c multitude of 
 wares.' 14 To the time of Saul it continued to be a rich, 
 a powerful, a beautiful emporium of trade, between the 
 countries on the Mediterranean and the distant Persia 
 and India, as to this very day the costly merchandise 
 of the distant West and the distant East meet in its 
 streets. About thirty or forty years before Saul's bird), 
 Pompey the Great " received at Damascus ambassadors 
 and presents from the neighboring kings, and the next 
 year all Syria became a Roman province." 16 The life 
 of Damascus is its rivers and fountains and lakes. The 
 streams which rise in the mountains of Lebanon, become 
 one ' deep, broad, rushing ' river, as they flow eastward 
 towards the city ; and at length the river " is drawn 
 out again into watercourses and spread in all directions. 
 For miles around, is a wilderness of gardens, with roses 
 in the tangled shrubbery, and with fruit on the branches 
 overhead. Everywhere among the trees the murmur 
 of unseen rivulets is heard. Every dwelling has its 
 fountain ; and at night, when the sun has set behind 
 Mount Lebanon, the lights of the city are seen flashing 
 on the waters." " Without the waters of this river, 
 
 11 II. Sam. viii. 6. "I. Kings xi. 24, 25. 18 II. Kings v. 12. 
 "Ezekiel, xxvii. 16, 18. 
 
 10 While Saul was at Damascus, the city was under the temporary 
 rule of Aretag, King of Arabia Petraea, (II. Corinth, xi. 32, 33,) but 
 it soon became subject again to the Romans. 
 
Til :oy. 27 
 
 the splendid plain would be a desert ; with them, it 
 is an earthly paradise, luxuriating with fields of the 
 heaviest grain, as also with groves and orchards of the 
 fruit. Damascus is still a gem, 'the eye of the 
 whole East.' " "All travellers in all ages have paused 
 ist the eyes with this prospect, on which Saul 
 d ; and the prospect has always been the same." 
 On his wicked and awful errand, the bold man ap- 
 proaches this ancient and beautiful city. Here, under 
 the glow and heat of an Eastern sun at mid-day, just as 
 pects to reach the city of rest and comfort, he is 
 struck down, blinded and astonished by that Flashing 
 Li-_rhr, more brilliant, than the noon-day brightness. 
 All Iiis attendants are trrri!i"d, IM-U -ildeivd, and dumb. 16 
 And there appeared to Saul in the light, One whom 
 \\- saw was Jesus the Despised. From him came 
 a voice of authority : ' Why pcrsecutest thou ME?' 
 
 It was then the awaked man saw what an awful crime 
 lie had been commit ting, and that Jesus of Nazareth 
 he .Messiah. "I am Jesus whom thou persecutest" 
 " He does not say, ' I am the Son of God the Eter- 
 nal Word the Lord of nun and of angels,' but, C I am 
 J B, Jesus of Nazareth, who was mocked and cruci- 
 fied, who was buried and who rose from the dead, and 
 
 18 In Acts ix. 7, it is saul that Saul's companions * stood speechless, 
 and in xxvi. 14, that all fell to the earth. There is no contradiction. 
 In the I <T, they fall before the voice speaks; in the ix., it 
 
 is after the voice speaks, and Saul answers, the voice speaks again; 
 and Saul answers again, and the voice speaks the third time, that the 
 men with Saul stood. All but Saul had risen. There had been abun- 
 dant time, after the first awful surprise, for them to rise. In ix. 7, 
 the men are said to stand, v hearing a voice; ' in xxii. 9, it is said" they 
 4 heard not the voice/ There is no contradiction, if we suppose that 
 in one case it is meant that they heard the sound of the voice, as we 
 say we hear the voice of thunder, and in the other that they heard not 
 the words of the voice. 
 
28 (FOURTH SUNDAY.} 
 
 who now appears to thoe that thou mayest know the 
 truth of my resurrection, that I may convince tliee of 
 thy sin and call thee to be my Apostle.' " Submitting 
 to that call, he is directed what to do ; and, arising and 
 opening his eyes, dark and blind, he is led into Damas- 
 cus ; not now to persecute, but, in the agony of his 
 deep contrition and shame, to be separate from all men. 
 There he is left alone. No disciple of Jesus would 
 come to him to give him sympathy, for they were all 
 terrified at his coming to Damascus ; and he would 
 shrink with horror from the Jews who still reviled the 
 true Messiah. He is alone ; alone to think of his former 
 life ; alone to think of his raging wickedness, of his proud 
 hatred and blind prejudice against Jesus the Son of Jo- 
 seph ; alone to think that same Jesus had proved, by the 
 especial favor of a miracle, that He was the Messiah ; 
 alone to confess all his wickedness ; alone, fasting and 
 praying and receiving pardon from Jesus his Lord and 
 his Christ. And now he prayed as he had never prayed 
 before. Now he saw that all his prayers which, as a 
 Pharisee, he had repeated from a child, were idle and 
 vain repetitions. Now, as he gave up all his ambitious 
 plans for life, his thought of being a great scholar and 
 Doctor among the Rabbis of Jerusalem ; now, as he 
 made that other greater sacrifice of his opinion and his 
 will, he humbly prayed to Jesus, his former enemy, his 
 glorious Lord, for pardon and for some place in his ser- 
 vice. The same Jesus sent his messenger to open hm 
 eyes by a miracle, and to teach him that he must him- 
 self suffer and be persecuted, and preach the name of 
 the Son of Joseph c to Gentiles and to kings and to the 
 children of Israel.' 
 
(FOURTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 reason is there to suppose that Saul was a member 
 ' of the Sanhedrim ? 
 
 What does 4 1 gave my voice against them,' mean ? 
 X i: nc as many distinct acts of his persecution in Jerusalem 
 as you can. 
 
 What is the meaning of 4 haling ' ? 
 
 How may the words * breathing out 1 be translated ? 
 
 What was the worst act of all ? 
 
 Can you prove that Saul's reputation as a persecutor 
 
 h:ul extended beyond Jerusalem ? 
 How do you certainly know ti. ;>irit was malig- 
 
 nant? 
 
 Did Saul think in his heart that lie was right? 
 May a man be conscientiously cruel? conscientiously 
 
 wicked ? 
 
 Did Saul ever regret his conscientious persecution after- 
 wards ? 
 
 Is it a duty to have a right conscience ? 
 While Saul is persecuting at Jerusalem, where are 
 
 Philip ami Peter and John? 
 Did Saul go to more than one strange city ? 
 
 What authority would a priest in Jerusalem have in 
 
 Damasci; 
 What parts of the land, in which our Saviour had espe 
 
 cially been, would he pass through ? 
 What would he be likely to think of, when he saw Lake 
 
 Gennesav 
 
 Where do you think he crossed the Jordan ? 
 What kind of country is he in after crossing the Jordan ? 
 What kind of a city is Damascus ? 
 
 What events in its history can you state ? 
 In what kind of scenery is the city ? 
 
 How many separate accounts are there of Saul's conversion ? 
 Where are they, and which is the most complete ? 
 
(FOURTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 Does the same person give them all ? 
 At what time of day did the miracle take place ? 
 
 What do you think of Saul's being deceived at such a 
 
 time and in such a place ? 
 Could this be lightning ? 
 What was the effect on the men with him ? 
 How do you reconcile l stood speechless,' (ix. 7,) and 
 
 1 all fallen to the earth 7 (xxvi. 14) ? 
 How do you reconcile 4 hearing a voice,' (ix. 7,) and 
 
 1 heard not a voice * (xxii. 9) ? 
 How was Saul persecuting Jesus himself? 
 What is it to 4 kick against the pricks ' ? 
 What meaning is there in the answer, 4 1 am Jesus of 
 
 Nazareth ' ? 
 
 Why did he now tremble ? 
 Why should a clear and powerful conception of God or 
 
 of the Saviour make men tremble ? 
 Did Saul see Jesus at the time of the miracle ? 
 Was the conversion now, or when he is said to pray at Da- 
 mascus ? 
 
 What does his question show in respect to the surren- 
 der of himself? 
 
 How long a time is necessary to be converted ? 
 Why was Saul now alone in Damascus ? 
 How did Ananias feel about going to him ? 
 What kind of a man was Ananias ? 
 What reason is given why he should go ? 
 What Christian virtues did it require in Ananias to g 
 
 to him ? 
 
 What was Saul doing and thinking before Ananias came 
 Had Saul been accustomed to pray before ? 
 Was it easy for Saul to become a Christian ? 
 What two great sacrifices did it cost Saul ? 
 
 How does it cost every one the same two things now, 
 
 to be a Christian ? 
 
 (8) 
 
jSfunbarr. 
 
 DAMASCUS, ARABIA, AND TARSUS. 
 
 LESSON. 
 
 ACTSIX. 19-30; xxii. 16-21; xxvi. 16-20; GALATIANS i. 15-23; 
 II. CORINTHIANS xi. 32, 33. 
 
 TIIK work of Saul's future life was at once revealed to 
 him at the time of his conversion. 1 Least of all had 
 that proud Pharisee thought that he would ever preach 
 to Gentiles. But so complete was his surrender of him- 
 to the first command of his Messiah, that, with all 
 ardor of his strong nature, he accepted the service 
 riu-d him. C A minister and a witness of the things 
 h<- had seen/ and of those things he was yet to see, 
 he now was to go especially to the Gentiles. 2 And 
 yet IK' was to preach to the Jews wherever >he had op- 
 portunity. 
 
 No sooner, therefore, had he recovered strength from 
 th" exhaustion to which the shock to his physical system 
 and his anguish and fasting had reduced him, than he 
 boldly ] .reached Christ in the synagogues. The disci- 
 9 of Jesus had now gathered around him. And now 
 it was that all his previous training came to the assist- 
 ance of the cause he had once despised. He knew the 
 Scriptures ; he knew the teaching of the Rabbis, even 
 those of Jerusalem ; he knew the traditions. All his 
 accurate learning in their minute investigations was not 
 
 1 I. Corinth, ix. 1 ; xv. 8 ; Acts ix. 17, 27; xxii. 14; xxvi. 16. 
 * See too I. Timothy ii. 7. 
 
 OF 
 
30 (SltTII SUXDAY.) 
 
 lost, for he knew every form and phase of the argument 
 which any Jew could advance. Out of their own Scrip- 
 tures, and with unusual power, he could prove that 
 Jesus the Nazarene was the Son of God. The Jews 
 ' that heard him were amazed.' They knew his reputa- 
 \ tion at Jerusalem : they knew with what fiery Pharisaic 
 zeal and with what authority, he had come to Damas- 
 cus : they knew what he meant to do when he reached 
 Damascus. And now, instead of ' arresting' and 'haling' 
 and ' imprisoning' and accusing to the death men and 
 women too, and sending them off under safe escort to 
 Jerusalem, he was advocating with all his eminent 
 ability the Nazarene cause, and giving it his warmest 
 sympathy and love. 
 
 / Saul's preaching was directed to the two points : First, 
 /The Messiah, the Christ, is the Son of God;* he unfolded 
 / from the Scriptures the true nature of the Messiah's 
 / spiritual kingdom ; and, secondly, This Jesus is that 
 ^ very Messiah, 4 and has already established his spiritual 
 kingdom in the heart of his disciples. The more he 
 reflected, the more he saw how all the works of Jesus 
 fulfilled the Scriptures. Increasing more in strength 
 therefore, 'he confounded the Jews which dwelt in 
 \Damascus.' 
 
 Saul was not probably long at Damascus immediately 
 after his conversion. When it is said, ' after many JUI/A 
 were fulfilled,' his life in Arabia, and his dwelling in 
 Damascus the second time, are doubtless included. 
 " The fury of the Jews must have been excited to the 
 utmost pitch." He must, therefore, leave Damascus. 
 ]>nt it would not do to go back at once to Jerusalem. 
 The Jewish fury would be doubled against him there. 
 His life would not be worth a tithe of annis there ; and 
 even if he should escape, the people would be too much 
 3 ix- 20. 22d verse. 
 
DAMASCUS, ARABIA, AND TARSUS. 
 
 31 
 
 enraged now to listen to him candidly. lie did not 
 
 need the instruction of the other apostles at Jerusalem. 
 
 Hi- knew the Scriptures perhaps better than they; the 
 
 Divine Spirit had wrought in him the great change, and 
 
 8 himself had instructed him. He was no doubt 
 
 divinely guided to retire into seclusion. lie did not, 
 
 fore, go " to Jerusalem to those who were apostles 
 
 re him, but he went into Arabia, and returned 
 
 again to Damascus." 5 
 
 There is so much difference of meaning in the word 
 'Arabia/ as it is used by different geographers, that it 
 cannot be determined with any certainty where Saul , 
 
 r~ 
 
 Xarttui 
 
 Galatians i. 17, 18. 
 
32 (FIFTH SUNDAY.} 
 
 went. The whole northern portion of Arabia is so com 
 posed of endless desert plains stretching to the north 
 and east towards Palestine, Mesopotamia, and Baby- 
 lonia, that its boundary has never been exactly fixed. 
 Even the three great divisions of Arabia have their 
 boundaries but loosely drawn. Along down the coast 
 | of the Red Sea, and in the south-west corner of the great 
 /Arabian peninsula, was Happy Arabia, fruitful and rich, 
 ] (Arabia Felix.) The great central and northern deserts, 
 /stretching across the wilderness and plains towards the 
 Euphrates and Damascus and the Jordan, was Desert 
 Arabia, (Arabia Deserta.) The Great Rocky Wilder- 
 ness, from the south of Palestine down into the small 
 peninsula between the two heads of the Red Sea, WMH 
 Rocky Arabia, (Arabia Petrsea,) with Petra its capital. 
 It is more probable that Saul retired cither into the 
 borders of Desert Arabia, and did not go far from Da- 
 mascus, or that he went into Rocky Arabia, and it may 
 be trod the hallowed ground of Horcb and of Sinai. 
 It may be that he preached the Gospel in rock-hewn 
 IVtra ; it may be that he spoke of Jesus to the Arabian 
 Christians who were at Jerusalem during the Pentecost 
 Festival ; e it may be that to wise men of the East he 
 described the great mission of the Babe of Bethlehem ; 
 it may be that for communion with God alone, and for 
 repentance, he sought the solitudes of that wild and 
 silent region, and like Moses, like Elijah, even like 
 Christ himself, was strengthened 'in the wilderness' for 
 his great work by especial divine influences. 
 
 Precisely how long he was in Arabia we do not know. 
 But when he left Damascus the second time for Jerusa- 
 lem, it was at least 'three years after' his conversion. 
 i.'Kiy mean indeed enly parts of three years, as tho 
 'three days' between the crucifixion and resurrection, 
 
 6 Actsii. 11. 
 
1U ' :, AND TARSUS. 33 
 
 according to the Jewish mode of reckoning, means 
 parts of three days, (a part of the first day, the whole 
 of the second, and a part of the third.) He must have 
 
 in Arabia more than one year. 
 Once more he stepped from the borders of the desert \ ^ 
 
 lens of Damascus, prepared now henceforth 
 (o inert, prrsecution at every step of his eventful life. 
 
 i now his life was in double peril, for not only the 
 Jews, but the governor of the city tried to seize him. 
 The king's garrison, 7 as \\ 086 furious nu-n who 
 
 \vnv unable to mrrt him in argument from tlir Scripture, / 
 
 hrd ilir gatefl <lay and night to kill him.' In the- / 
 darkness of t of the / 
 
 city, through thr window of a house built in the outer- V 
 wall, the great and good and haled Apostle, liK 
 
 \ from Jericho," and like David from King 
 
 Saul, was forced to escape, let down in a basket. At 
 mid-night perhaps, instead of mid-day, he passed the 
 
 "ii the road to Jerusalem, where the light flashe. 
 about him from heaven. What thoughts were now i 
 his mind, as he journe; trdfl th" holy city : the 
 
 temple ;tl 'ah really come; the pro- 
 
 phecies fulfilled ; his own wicked, blind persecution; the 
 change in him- ' and the Rabbis; the waters 
 
 of G:: w sacred t he passed them, because 
 
 i been there ; the yearning of liis soul with af- 
 
 :i for every true d .s he trod again the hills 
 
 ; the thought of friends in Tarsus, and their 
 mistaken knowledge of Jesus, as he caught sight of the 
 Meditenanean from the hill-top as he came near the 
 walls of Jerusalem, Calvary and the crucifixion, Stephen 
 and his murder and his vision of Jesus, so unlike his 
 own ; his familiar places of resort, where he learned 
 the traditions and the law, and disputed in the syna- 
 
 * Sec note 15, on page 26. 8 Jo liua ii. 15. 9 I. Sam. xix. 12. 
 
34 (FIFTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 gogues. How gladly he would bring the good news lie 
 had learned to his old friends and fellow-students, to the 
 teachers and to Gamaliel! Surely some of them will 
 believe on Jesus. How eagerly he will join himself to 
 the disciples of the despised Messiah ! 
 
 But in the city he soon found that "as the Jews 
 / hated him, so the Christians suspected him. They could 
 ^ not believe he was a disciple." The long distance to Da 
 >, mascus, the uncertain roads, the frequent interruption 
 and robberies, the infrequent return of Christians to 
 Jerusalem, the seat of persecution, all might have pre- 
 vented the disciples from getting knowledge of his con- 
 version, or might have led them to distrust such a 
 strange conversion till it had been tested. 'Barnabas 
 \ took him and brought him to the apostles.' Why Bar- 
 J nabas ? Barnabas was from Cyprus. 10 Cyprus was not 
 far from Tarsus. Barnabas may have been at school at 
 Tarsus. He and Saul may have been acquainted be- 
 ; e. There is an ancient tradition that they studied 
 together in the school of Gamaliel. If not acquainted, 
 Barnabas would feel especial interest in a native of a 
 city which was within a few hours' sail of his early 
 homo, and in which, no doubt, he had often been. Bar- 
 nabas was a kind-hearted and generous man, too; for 
 IK/ had sold lii.s land, and had brought the money for 
 
 iples to use. 11 
 Barnabas brought Saul to Peter and James, the only 
 
 ytvvo apostles whom Saul at this time saw; and he was 
 \vitl them only fifteen days. How many things were 
 sii<l by these good men, in these few days, of Jesus and 
 his life and work, and of their work ! 'And now boldly 
 in tho temple he disputed with the Grecians," 2 and as 
 
 10 Arts iv. .%. iv. 37. 
 
 12 Tiiis word does not mean native Greeks, but foreign Jews v,\io 
 
 KJ (>L'r < 
 
DAMASCUS, .!, AND TARSUS. 35 
 
 Iiis Kabbinical knowledge served liim in Damascus, so 
 did his knowledge of Greek probably serve him here. 
 But as he did to Stephen, so did they to him. ' They 
 went about to kill him.' lie must c make haste to get 
 out of the city.' 'They will not receive thy testimony 
 concerning me,' were the words of his Divine Lord to 
 him, in a trance, while at prayer in the temple. And 
 although Saul seems to have clung fondly to his desire 
 to try to convert his friends and acquaintances, the com- 
 mand is plain and emphatic: c Depart, for I will send 
 thce far hence t<> the (* Bo the brethren br< 
 
 him down to < . probably where h6 first landed 
 
 years ago, and sent him home to r the 
 
 iamil . their apostate son, and 
 
 shut him. out of their home, or themselves found the 
 
 .tli and Sa\ iour ii: do not know. 
 
 " \Ve may well imagine that some of his Christian kins- 
 men, 13 whose : v handed down to US possibly 
 his sister, the playmate of his childhood, and his sister's 
 son, 14 who afterwards saved his life were gathered at 
 that time by his exertions into the fold of Christ." 
 Doubtless, too, he disputed in the synagogues of Tar- 
 id perhaps in the public schools of the learned 
 
 '.s, well furnished now against the heathen philo- 
 sophers of the place. lie would now win them to the 
 
 ah of Gentile as well as of Jew. No doubt he 
 
 lied in other towns and villages of Cilicia. Cer- 
 tainly there were churches in Cilicia afterwards; 16 and 
 we love to think that some of its early members were 
 converted by Saul's labors, and that, although the breth- 
 ren in Judea did not know him by face, they were thank- 
 ful to God for what he was doing, when they heard, 
 * That he which persecuted us in times past, now 
 preaches the faith he once destroyed.' 
 
 11 Romans xvi. 11, 21. 14 Acts xxiii. 16. 1B xv. 23, 41. 
 
(FIFTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 WHAT was to be Saul'*s great work now ? 
 
 At what two places was his life-work given him ? 
 By what two persons ? 
 
 What shows the thoroughness of Saul's conversion ? 
 Should people expect to be converted by strange appear 
 
 ances now ? 
 
 How long was Saul in Damascus now ? 
 What did ho do there ? 
 To whom did he preach ? 
 How was he fitted to argue with them ? 
 In what thing did he not speak like a Pharisee ? 
 What were the two subjects of his preaching ? 
 What did the people who heard him think ? 
 How much time is included in the * many days 7 that 
 
 * were fulfilled'? 
 
 Were the Jews of Damascus converted when they heard of 
 Saul's conversion ? 
 
 What one of two effects may be expected in one who 
 
 knows his friend or companion is converted ? 
 Where did Saul go from Damascus ? 
 Why not go to Jerusalem ? 
 Did he need instruction in order to become an Apostle ? 
 
 what part of Arabia do you think he went ? 
 That did he go there for ? 
 low long was he there ? 
 /'After three years I went up to Jerusalem :' three years 
 
 after what ? 
 
 When Saul came back to Damascus, what put his life in 
 double peril ? 
 
 /Who was King over Damascus now ? 
 Was it the King, or who was it who tried to i 
 How did he escape ? 
 
 What other persons in Scripture escaped in the same 
 manner ? 
 
 (9) 
 
(FIFTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 bat would Saul think of on the way to Jerusalem ? 
 For what especial purpose did he now go to Jerusalem ? 
 Ifow^did the disciples at Jerusalem treat him at first? 
 Why ? 
 
 What motive might they think Saul had ? 
 \Why is it that Barnabas brings him to the discip.es ? 
 "What kind of a man was Barnabas ? 
 What reason did he give why they should receive Saul? 
 How many of the Apostles did he see ? 
 How long was he in Jerusalem ? 
 What did he do in Jerusalem ? 
 Who were the 'Grecians 1 ? 
 Did he, or did he not, wish to stay ? Why ? 
 What confession does Saul D ife time? 
 
 Was it in Jerusalem, or where was it, that his life-work 
 
 was to be ? 
 Where did he now go? 
 
 How would his own family think of him? 
 Were any of his kinsmen converted? 
 What would he do in Tarsus ? 
 Can a person be a Christian and never speak of it ? 
 Do you think Saul went to any other cities of Cilicia ? 
 How do you know there were churches in Cilicia afterwards ? 
 Did the disciples in Judca know Saul personally at that 
 time ? 
 
 What did they say of him at this time ? 
 Did Saul's conversion do good where he had never been ? 
 
 Did his persecution do harm where he had never been ? 
 Is it possible for a man to confine his Christian or un 
 
 Christian influence to the place where he is ? 
 If it is not Christian, what must it be ? 
 (10) 
 
 
BARNABAS GOES FOR SAUL. 
 
 LESSON. 
 
 ACTS ix. 30-35 ; xi. 19-30 ; xii. 24, 23. 
 
 AND now, while Saul is at Tarsus, and the Church 
 from Judea to Galilee had rest, believers are multi- 
 plied. Peter preaches at Lydda, and heals a palsied 
 man ; at Joppa, and raises Dorcas to life ; at Ca3sarea, 
 and Cornelius and his kinsmen and friends believe. 
 Others, scattered by the persecution of Stephen, little 
 thinking that the 'young man Saul' was now too a be- 
 liever, travelled to Phenice, (Phenicia,) and to Cyprus 
 and to Antioch. Some of these men from Cyprus and 
 from Cyrene, 1 who could therefore speak Greek, and 
 who knew the manners and the character of the Greeks 
 better than the others, preached to the Greeks 3 at An- 
 tioch ; and a great number of the Greeks believed. The 
 story now gathers around the two places, Ca)sarea and 
 Antioch, in which the Gospel is preached to the Gen- 
 tiles, and where are now gathered into the Church rep- 
 resentatives of the two great nations of Greece and 
 Rome. 
 
 And now, no doubt Saul, under the direction of the 
 Holy Spirit, was waiting for the door to the Gentiles 
 to 'be fully opened before he should enter directly on his 
 
 1 Gyrene is directly south of Greece, in Africa, six hundred miles 
 farther west than the map extends. See Map in frontispiece. 
 
 * Possibly these may have been Greek-speaking Jews, but moro 
 likely Greeks. 
 
BARNABAS GOES FOR SAUL. 
 
 life-work. Here lie had been two or three years, 
 and was now ready for further direction, when he was 
 sent for by his Christian bivlhren. It is Barnabas who 
 comes to introduce him to hi.s work. It was natu- 
 
38 (SIXTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 ral, when the disciples of Jerusalem heard what was 
 being done in Antioch, that they should send down 
 Barnabas to Antioeh, for with that city he was no 
 doubt as familiar as with Tarsus, from his early home in 
 Cyprus. And now that the Greeks and Romans, at 
 Antioeh and at Czesarca, are receiving the Gospel ; now 
 that, after Peter had told his story of the conversion of 
 the Roman centurion Cornelius, the Apostles at Jeru- 
 salem had boldly said, in opposition to all the Jewish 
 prejudice, ' Then hath God given repentance unto life 
 to the Gentiles also ; ' now that the Apostles had sent 
 him down to Antioeh ; now that he saw the Spirit of 
 God was working mightily in Antioeh ; and now that 
 he knew Saul was to be the Apostle to the Gentiles, 
 ' full of the Holy Ghost and of faith,' Barnabas set off 
 to Tarsus to seek Saul. To Antioeh Saul returns, and 
 here with Barnabas labors a whole year. 
 
 Let us think now what kind of a place this is in which 
 these two eminent Christian teachers pass a year of 
 their lives, and with such success that the disciples first 
 receive the name of ' CHRISTIANS.' 
 
 Antioeh was one of the ancient cities of the Syrian 
 coast. From the river Orontes, and from the harbor 
 of the city on the sea, its ships sailed to all parts of the 
 Mediterranean, while along the valley of the Orontes to 
 the south-east, it communicated with the great caravan- 
 trade of Damascus and the East, of Jerusalem and the 
 South. From this time, and two centuries onward, it 
 was the great sea-port of the whole rich inland territo- 
 ry, even of Mesopotamia and parts of Arabia. It was 
 the. third city of the Roman Empire, ranking next after 
 Rome and Alexandria. It was adorned by the emper- 
 ors as the capital of the Syrian provinces. A long, level 
 and broa:l street, four miles in length, passed through 
 tli-- cil v. On each side of it were colonnades, so that tho 
 
G'OXS FOR SAUL. 39 
 
 of pe<.plc could walk under the covered ways 
 of the beautiful avenue from one end of the city to the 
 oilier. A palace for the Syrian king or Roman govern- 
 or, an ornamental arch, a temple of Jupiter on one suni- 
 Bait of the neighboring mountain, and a citadel on another, 
 'tractions. The whole was sur. 
 
 ; led l>y a wall. " Luxurious Romans were attracted 
 beautiful climate. New wants continually mul- 
 lipli-d the business of its commerce. Its gardens and 
 s grew and < 1 on the north side of the 
 
 . .Many; history of Antioch 
 
 in tl JF of those times, as a place of sin 
 
 tire and enjoyment. Here and there, an ele\ 
 thought is 08ft ith the nani". I 'oetg have spent 
 
 their youn-j; <1 itioch, great generals have died 
 
 emperor niixd it. But for 
 
 the most | population was a worthless rabble cf 
 
 I OrieniaN. Tlie frivolous amusements of 
 the theati iie occupation of their life. They had 
 
 -ion for races and for party quarrels. The Oriental 
 superstition and imposture was in full life here. The 
 Chaldean astrologers found their most credulous disci- 
 i Antioeh. Jewish impostors, sufficiently common 
 throughout the East, found their best opportunities 
 It is probable that no populations have ever been 
 more abandoned than those of Oriental Greek cities un- 
 der the 1 woman Kmpire ; and of these cities, Antioeh was 
 the gr. d the worst." The Olympic games were 
 
 celebrated at Daphne, a beautiful, most vicious village, 
 five miles from the city ; and thither, to see the games, 
 and to worship Apollo, in the magnificent temple, 
 thousands of pilgrims went every year. 
 It was in such a rich, prosperous, thronged, and 
 1 city, that the Spirit of God was now manifest, 
 would all oppose the sim 
 
40 (SIXTH SUNDAY.} 
 
 pic, humiliating, and purifying doctrines of Jesus. Yet 
 many were believing. Barnabas would need aid. To 
 this place, therefore, he brought Saul to assist in the 
 good work. We cannot tell all which they accom- 
 plished during the year. No doubt they preached in 
 the public places ; no doubt they tried to lead the pil- 
 grims of a false faith to the true God and to the Mes- 
 siah ; and perhaps they preached the Gospel in the very 
 village of Daphne, endeavoring to turn the worshippers 
 from these vanities to serve the living God.' They 
 nad, however, attracted the attention of the people so 
 much that they gave them a new name. The people 
 s.v.v, strangely enough, Jews and Gentiles were united in 
 this new sect. They heard them speak much of 'the 
 Christ,' of him who had been crucified at Jerusalem, 
 who, they claimed, had risen from the dead and was 
 ' the Messiah ' whom the Jews had been expecting to 
 appear, or ' the Christ:,' in the Greek language; the 
 
 'K-I-S pivachcd the doctrine that this 'Christ' was 
 
 : whenever any one prayed, he prayed in the name 
 
 of 'Christ;' whatever they all did, they pretended to 
 
 do for the sake of ' Christ ; ' and therefore the Antioch- 
 
 ans called preachers and pray-ers together, in ridicule 
 
 or in contempt, ' Christ-ians.' 
 
 The Jews called the disciples ' Nazarencs,' or ' Gali- 
 leans,' and they would not call those who believed in a 
 false Christ, 'Christians.' The disciples called them- 
 selves 'brethren' and disciples; and they would not 
 probably take upon themselves a name which meant 
 simply 'believers in the Messiah,' for all the Jews be- 
 
 1 in a Messiah. The idle and witty people of An- 
 tioch, who ' were famous for their invention of nick- 
 names,' were quick to sec that these men were dif- 
 
 t from other Jews and from other Gentiles, and 
 that ihi-y had in :i year o.-ganiv.ud a church of thei: 
 
{RNABA& FOR SAUL. 41 
 
 own. It was no doubt the witty Greeks and Romans 
 and Syrian-;, who fastened on the disciples the contemp- 
 tuous name of 'Christians.' 
 
 There had been, within a few years, earthquakes and 
 famines in various parts of the Roman Kmpiiv ; and 
 Judra had not escaped. " Tlie reign of Claudius Cn-sar, 
 from lnd harvests and other causes, was a period of 
 al distress and scarcity 'over the whole world.' 
 In the fourth year of his reign, we are told byJosephnfl 
 that tlie famine was so severe that the price of food be- 
 came enormous, and great numbers perished." One 
 noble woman, tlie mother of il M king in tlie 
 
 neighborhood of ancient Nineveh, who had eome to Je- 
 rusalem to worship, was so touched with pity at the; 
 y she saw among the poor, that she sent to Alex- 
 andria to buy corn, and to Cyprus to buy figs for them; 
 and her son, the king himself, sent large sums of money 
 to Jerusalem. It may have been this same famine, or 
 arth,' which Agabus the prophet foretold. 
 The Christian COnvertfl were not slow to show their 
 love for their brethren, and their gratitude for the new 
 religion which they had been taught. 'According to 
 their ability,' they sent relief to the brethren in Judea, 
 appointing IJarnabas and Saul to carry their contribu- 
 tion to the ciders in Jerusalem. 
 
 When Barnabas and Saul reached Jerusalem, they 
 probably found what was worse than famine. James, 
 the brother of John, had been murdered by Herod. 
 was in prison, and was soon to be executed. I3y 
 a miracle Peter was delivered, and by a miracle Herod, 
 the murderer, the proud, selfish man, displaying him- 
 self in magnificent robes which shone with silver, to the 
 great multitude in the royal theatre of Csesarca, was 
 smitten with death. In the very city in which Corne- 
 
 <1, and which probably 
 
42 (SIA'TII SUNDAY.) 
 
 Saul now passed through on his return from Jerusalem 
 to Antioch, the impious King, wrapped in his royal ap- 
 parel, but eaten with horrible disease, was carried out 
 of the theatre built by his grandfather (who murdered 
 the innocents of Bethlehem) to die. Barnabas and Saul 
 had fulfilled their mission. They had relieved the breth- 
 ren of Judea ; and with John Mark, (nephew or cousin 
 to Barnabas, 3 ) they were on their way back to Antioeh, 
 still to labor there for their common Lord. 
 
 3 Colossians iv. 10. The word translated 'sister's son' may mean 
 cousin ae well as nephew. 
 
(SIXTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 WHILE Saul was at Tarsus, what had occurred in Palestine? 
 
 Where had Peter been, and what had he done ? 
 
 Where had other disciples been ? 
 
 Where were these places ? 
 
 To whom had they preached in Antioch ? 
 
 Why was it that the men of Cyprus and Gyrene preach- 
 ed to * the Grecians ' ? 
 
 What was the result of their preaching ? 
 
 About what two places do the Acts of the Apostles now 
 gather ? 
 
 What two great nations are now represented in the new 
 
 converts ? 
 
 What may we suppose Saul was waiting for in Tarsus ? 
 Inn;: ha<l lie been in Tarsus? 
 
 What did the disciples in Jerusalem hear about An- 
 tioch ? 
 
 Why do they send Barnabas to Antioch ? 
 
 Will a Christian do anything more than * be glad/ when 
 he sees * the work of God ' ? 
 
 What two things must a man be * full of,' to be in the 
 highest sense *a good man ' ? 
 
 Can a man be good at all, without these things ? 
 
 What was the result of Barnabas' s coming ? 
 
 What is meant by ' added 'f 
 
 Why was it that Barnabas went for Saul? 
 What did Barnabas want Saul for ? 
 
 I low long were they in Antioch ? 
 
 What country was Antioch capital of ? 
 
 In what direction and by what means did it have trade ? 
 
 Which were the first three cities of the Roman empire ? 
 
 How was the city adorned ? and by whom ? 
 
 Who came to Antioch ? and why ? 
 
 Poets? generals? emperors? 
 
 What kind of population was that of Antioch ? 
 
SIXTH SUNDAY. 
 
 How did Antioch compare with other Oriental Greek 
 
 cities ? 
 
 "What famous village near Antioch ? 
 "What celebration was held there ? 
 Who would oppose the Gospel in Antioch ? 
 How do you know the Apostles attracted attention in An- 
 tioch ? 
 
 Why do you think they were called Christians ? 
 Why would not the disciples or the Jews give the name ? 
 Must a person be willing to be singular to be a Christ- 
 ian? 
 
 Who came down from Jerusalem * in these days ' ? 
 What did one of them do ? 
 
 Is this man mentioned elsewhere in the Scriptures ? 
 What had happened in parts of the Roman empire ? 
 What is said of the reign of Claudius Caesar ? 
 What is meant by * throughout all the world ' ? 
 Did any besides the disciples send * relief* to Jerusalem ? 
 Who went from Antioch to Jerusalem ? 
 Does piety make men more or less generous ? why ? 
 What had happened when Barnabas and Saul reached Jeru- 
 salem ? 
 
 What became of both King and prisoner ? 
 
 Who built the theatre in which the King was smitten ? 
 
 Had Saul ever been in Cacsarea ? 
 
 Would you rather belong to such a set of Kings or such 
 
 a set of Apostles ? 
 
 Must you belong to one class or the other ? 
 What effect did Herod's persecution have on the preach- 
 ing of the word ? 
 
 What is meant by 4 fulfilling their ministry ' ? 
 What especial reason is there why John Mark went back 
 with Barnabas and Saul ? 
 
 (12) 
 
Scbcntfr 
 
 THE BEGINNING OF THE JOURNEYa 
 
 LESSON. 
 Acts xiii. 1-5. 
 
 K 'church' of An!io,-h ably of Christ- 
 
 inns, which probably met at tlic dilleivnt houses of 
 the Christians for prayer, for study of the Scriptures, 
 for worship and ir the celebration of the Lord's 
 Slipper. And n<\v there were among them, at the 
 clpse of the year, <>r rather at the return of Barnabas 
 and Saul from Ji-ni<:.h-ni, 'certain prophets and teach- 
 ers.' These were not pn>phcts like tliose of the Old 
 at, In those days a ' prophet ' need not have 
 any knowledge of things to come, or speak of what 
 would happen in 'the future. lie was more than a sim- 
 ple teacher, and less than an apostle. 1 He was a teacher, 
 it is supposed, who at times, if not ahvays, taught by 
 the unusual power of a direct inspiration. Three of 
 these prophets and teachers are mentioned, besides Bar- 
 and Saul. Who arc these three ? Simeon Niger, 
 Lucius of Cyrene, Manacn, 1 lerod's foster-brother.- 3 We 
 have only one item of information in respect to each of 
 the three. Simeon is a Hebrew name, and Niger is a 
 Roman name ; so that probably Simeon Niger was a 
 Jew who, like Saul, had lived among the Romans when 
 he was young, or had afterwards gained the Roman 
 name from some acquaintance or connection with them, 
 
 J I. Corinth, xii. 28. 
 
 11 See the margin in the reference Bible. 
 
44 (SEVENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 The Latin word 'niger' means '"black, dark, dusky,' 
 and it is easy to think the name might have been given 
 at first contemptuously, on account of his complexion, 
 and retained here to distinguish him from the other 
 Simeons and Simons mentioned in the New Testa- 
 ment. 3 As the word means also ' sad, mournful,' and 
 then ' ill-omened, unlucky,' and then still c bad, wicked,' 
 the name might have been given for his natural appear- 
 ance, or for his ill-fortune in life, or he may have been 
 noted for his wickedness before his conversion. It has 
 been supposed that Lucius is the same person as Luke, 
 the writer of the Book of Acts, who went with the 
 Apostle from Troas on his journeys ; 4 but it is not pro- 
 bable that Luke would have mentioned himself as one 
 of the most honored teachers of the church ; " and be- 
 sides, the Latin form of the name, Lucas, does not come 
 from Lucius, but from Lucanus." Lucius is from Cy 
 renc, " that African city which abounded in Jews, and 
 which sent to Jerusalem our Saviour's cross-bearer.'" 
 Wlien Paul wrote afterwards from Corinth his letter to 
 the Romans, 8 there was a Lucius with him, perhaps 
 this same one. Who was Manaen ? Herod the Te- 
 trarch 7 was Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of Galilee, whose 
 
 8 They arc the same Dame : Simeon, the Hebrew form ; Simon, 
 the Greek form ; and there are eleven in all, besides Simeon Niger. 
 Simon Peter, Simon the zealot or Canaanite, (Matt. x. 2, 4 ; Luke 
 Ti 15,) Simon the Pharisee, (Luke vii. 40,) Simon the leper, (Matt 
 xxvi. C,) Simon the Cyrenean, (Mark xv. 21,) Simon the sorcerer, 
 (Acts viii. 9,) Simon the tanner, (Acts ix. 43,) Simon the brother of 
 Jesus, (Matt. xiii. 55,) Simon the father of Judas Iscariot, (John vi, 
 71,) Simeon of the Temple, (Luke ii. 25,) and Simeon, Jesus' ances- 
 tor, (Luke iii. 80.) 
 
 4 * We/ he says, Acts xvi. 10. B Mark xv. 21. c Romans xvi. 21. 
 
 T Tetrarch is a Greek word, from tctros, a fourth, and archon y 
 ruler, and at the first meant the ruler of a fourth part of a country. 
 It afterwards meant a ruler of any part, the same as cthnarch^ (cthnos^ 
 country, and archon, ruler.) 
 
OF THE JOURNEYS. 45 
 
 In-other, Ih rod Archelans, was Tetrarch of Judea, and 
 : Herod Philip, was Tetrarch of part of 
 the rough region between Lake Tiberias and Damas- 
 All three were sons of Herod the Great, the mur- 
 derer of the innocents at Bethlehem. The two former 
 sons were educated together at Rome, and in childhood 
 no doubt 'brought up' together ; and so the 
 il foster-brother, "spent 
 
 his early childhood with . Midhadno 
 
 doubt some ] with Herod the 
 
 r of the Christian 
 
 church at Ai:li<u-h. . o cruel sons were both ex- 
 
 iles in Gaul, i . >man Kmperor; the 
 
 ;:ioned, (Antipas) on the aecu 
 
 of his OWri nephew, that other ' Jferod who 
 
 -mitten by a death \. How iniicli 
 
 more honorable is the single mention of Manaen's 
 
 here in the Scriptures, though so little is known 
 
 of him, than all the glory of the Hcrodian line! 
 
 "Tho Christian community at Antiocli were engaged 
 in one united act of prayer and humiliation. That this 
 solemnity would be accompanied by words of exhorta- 
 tion, and that it would be crowned and completed by 
 the holy communion, is more than probable ; that it was 
 accompanied with f.i-tin ( _r, we arc expressly told. These 
 religious services might have had a special reference to 
 the means which were to be adopted for the spread of 
 the Gospel, which was now to be given to all men; 
 and the words, 'Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the 
 work whereunto I have called them,' may have been an 
 answer to their specific prayers." How the hearts of 
 all must have been filled with sacred wonder and awe 
 at th. is change from the old Jewish custom, this sending 
 F preachers among the Gentiles, far away, to teach 
 them also the words of the Messiah already come, and 
 
46 (SEVENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 with a deep sense of the work they were beginning 
 And so they came together again at the time of depart- 
 ure no doubt, to fast and to pray, and to consecrate 
 these two brethren to their great and holy work. "A 
 fast is appointed ; prayers are offered up ; the two are 
 ordained by that most simple act of the ' laying on of 
 hands.' "' 
 
 Why now did the Apostles go to Cyprus first ? No 
 doubt they were divinely guided, but still guided 
 through human motives. Four reasons may be given, 
 which may have induced them to go there. First. Cy- 
 prus is not far distant from the mainland of Syria ; its 
 high mountains are easily seen, in clear weather, from 
 the coast near the mouth of the Orontes, and in the 
 summer season there must have been many vessels pass- 
 ing and repassing between Salamis and Seleucia. Se- 
 condly. " It 'w r as the native place of Barnabas. It 
 would be natural to suppose that the truth would bo 
 welcomed in Cyprus, when it was brought by Barna- 
 bas and his kinsman, 9 Mark, to their own connection 01 
 friends." Thirdly. There were many Jews in Salamis. 
 " By sailing to that city, they were following the track 
 of the synagogues. Their mission, it is true, was chiefly 
 to the Gentiles, but their surest way of reaching them 
 was through the Jewish proselytes and the Jews who 
 spoke Greek." Fourthly. " Some of the inhabitants 
 of Cyprus were already Christians. There was no 
 place- out of Palestine, except Antioch, where the Gos- 
 pel had been better received." 10 John Mark is with 
 his uncle and Saul, as an assistant or attendant. 11 
 
 8 Acts vi. 6; I. Tim. iv. 14 ; v. 22 ; II. Tim. i. G ; Ilcb. vi. 2. 
 
 9 Coloss. iv. 10. 
 
 10 Acts xi. 10, 20 ; xxi. 1G ; iv. 36. 
 
 11 'And they had also John as attendant or assistant.' Tin 
 
THE BE 
 
 G OF THE JOURNEYS. 
 
 Seleucia was tlic port and harbor of Antioch. It 
 not at tin 1 numth of the river Orontcs, but six or 
 eight Inilcs above it. Here the- must couu> to 
 
 -hip on the great sea. "If Darnabas and Saul 
 n by water from Antioch, they sailed on the 
 h-ej and rapid, but not clear river, winding around the 
 bases of high cliffs or by richly cultivated hanks, where 
 the vine and the fig-tree, the myrtle and the bay, are 
 mingled with dwarf-oak and sycamore," and then turn- 
 ing short to the right, they crept along the coast into 
 the harbor, protected by lofty hills. If, instead of tak- 
 ing this winding course of forty miles, they took the 
 road for sixteen miles straight across, " they crossed 
 the river on the north side of Antioch, and came along 
 the base of the Pierian hills by a route which is now 
 roughly covered with fragrant and picturesque shrubs, 
 but which then doubtless was a track well worn by 
 travellers." Here, in a sea-port, which was at the same 
 
 Greek word means literally an under-rower, a common sailor, who 
 worked at the oar under the regular shipmen or seamen . And so it 
 came to mean an Attendant in the synagogue, who handed the volume 
 or the rolls to the reader, and returned them to their place. Hence, 
 any attendant or associate-assistant 
 
48 (SEVENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 time a fortress and a harbor, from the piers whose 
 " large stones, fastened by their iron cramps, protected 
 the vessels in the harbor from the swell of the western 
 sea, with high and craggy summits on the north-east 
 looking down upon them," in the midst of unsympa- 
 thizing sailors, the two missionaries, with their younger 
 companion, stepped on board the vessel which was to 
 take them from the sacred shores of Palestine, as they 
 bore their blessed message to the whole wide world of 
 heathen. "As they cleared the port, the whole sweep 
 of the bay of Antioch opened on their left ; the low 
 ground by the mouth of the Orontes ; the wild and 
 woody country beyond it ; and then the peak of Mount 
 Casius, rising symmetrically from the very edge of the 
 sea to a height of five thousand feet. On the right, in 
 the south-west horizon, if the day was clear, they saw 
 the island of Cyprus from the first. With a fair wind, 
 they would run down from Seleucia to Salamis in a few 
 hours ; and the land would rapidly rise in forms well 
 known and familiar to Barnabas." Pointing the ship 
 to the very centre of the cast end of the island, and 
 leaving behind and far away on either side the two 
 promontories and their mountain-headlands, the captain 
 would ^teer direct for Salamis. " The ground lies low 
 in the neighborhood of the city, and this low land is the 
 largest plain in Cyprus. It stretches inwards between 
 the two mountain-ranges to the very heart of the 
 country. A large city on the sea-shore, a wide-spread 
 plain with fields of grain and orchards, and the blue 
 mountains beyond, composed the view on which tho 
 eyes of Barnabas and Saul and Mark rested when they 
 came to anchor in the bay of Salamis." 
 
 Here we find many Jews, " for we learn that this 
 city had several synagogues, while other cities had only 
 
TllK YJJiO OF TUV JOURNEYS. 
 
 one." 1 " The unparalleled produ- of 
 
 mid r ;i fruit, wine, ilax, and honey, would nat- 
 
 urally attract them to the commercial port. "Wi.ru 
 :t the copper-mines for the Kmperor Au- 
 gustus C'a-sar, many Jews at that time came to C\ 
 ]5arn: i Saul preached here in the synagogues. 
 
 4 We do not know how long tl i, or what was 
 
 their success^ Some st: is to be laid on the fact 
 
 that John Mark v. minister. \ we are 
 
 to infer from this that hi 
 
 lytes, who were convinced by the :ig of 
 
 the Apostles," 11 
 
 " Compare verses 14, 15; see ix. 20, and contrast xvil I and 
 xviii. 4. 
 
 "See I. Corinth. L 14,16,17. 
 
(SEVENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 WHAT was the church of Antioch ? 
 
 "What do you mean by ' a church J now ? 
 "Where did they meet for worship ? 
 Who were in the church at the end of the year ? 
 
 How did these ' prophets ' differ from those of the Old 
 
 Testament ? 
 What was the difference between ' prophet ' and 
 
 'teacher 9 ! 
 What was the difference between * prophet ' and 
 
 'apostle'? 
 
 Where in the Scriptures do you find this difference ? 
 How many of these prophets and teachers are men- 
 tioned ? 
 
 Whose names are the first and the last ? 
 Was Barnabas an Apostle ? 
 What is the meaning of Apostle ? 
 Of what nation was Simeon Niger ? 
 Why called Niger ? 
 How many other Simeons are there in the New Testa- 
 
 ment ? 
 Is Lucius the same as Luke ? 
 
 Where is Gyrene, and who else was from there ? 
 Is Lucius mentioned anywhere else in the Scriptures ? 
 Who was Manaen ? 
 
 Whose son was Herod the Tetrarch ? 
 What does Tetrarch mean ? 
 What notorious thing did his father do ? 
 What notorious thing did this Herod the Tetrarch do ? 
 What became of him and his brother ? 
 How was Manaen connected with them ? 
 Whom do you most honor, Herod or Manaen ? Why ? 
 What other disciple from Jerusalem was in Antioch ? 
 In the meetings of the church at Antioch, what would be one 
 subject they would all think of ? 
 (13) 
 
(SEVENTH SUNDAY.} 
 
 Do you suppose they thought themselves of sending men 
 
 abroad to preach ? 
 What was the Jewish custom ? 
 "What command did they receive ? 
 Who is the source of authority ? 
 What is meant by * laid hands on them ' ? 
 Do you think it was at the same service in which they 
 
 received the command, or at another, that they 
 
 4 laid hands on them ' ? 
 
 flow many missionary journeys did Saul make ? 
 Did his brethren send him, or who ? 
 Where did he first go ? 
 Do you suppose the place to which they were to go waa 
 
 revealed ? 
 What four reasons may bo given why he went to Cyprus 
 
 first? 
 What does the Greek word here translated * minister* 
 
 mean? 
 Where and what was Seleucia ? 
 
 How would the three go from Antioch to Seleucia ? 
 Where was Salamis ? 
 How long would it take to go to Salamis ? 
 Was there more than one synagogue in Salamis ? 
 What does this show ? 
 What would bring the Jews there ? 
 What did John Mark do ? 
 Is there any way for us to preach the Gospel besidei 
 
 preaching from the pulpit ? 
 Who are the best * under-rowers ' to pastors now ? 
 
THE PRO-CONSUL AT PAPIIOS. 
 
 LESSON. 
 ACTS xiii. G-12. 
 
 T)ET\VEEN Salamis, the commercial port at the east 
 D end of Cyprus, and Paphos at the west end, there 
 must have been a well-travelled and frequented road. 
 The missionaries must have had several halting-places 
 in a journey of a hundred miles. As the history of the 
 Acts gives us only the important events of the journeys, 
 there is nothing to forbid us thinking that they preached 
 at settlements along the way. They travelled, no doubt, 
 the shortest way from one principal city to another, 
 between the range of mountains and the sea. 
 
 Paphos was the capital of the island. The Roman 
 Governor lived here. The people were mostly Greeks, 
 and there w r as a garrison of Roman troops to hold and 
 defend the place. While the languages of the two 
 nations equally mingled, the Greek religion prevailed 
 over the Roman, for Paphos had been for ages a place 
 famous for its mythological history. The temple of 
 Paphos, it was said, " was built on the spot where 
 Venus was gently wafted to the shore from her native 
 waves " Homer sung of Paphos : Virgil, of the temple 
 of Venus there, " where a hundred altars burn with 
 Arabian frankincense:" Horace, of the "queen of 
 Cnidus and of Paphos." A few years after Saul's visit, 
 "curiosity led Titus" (afterward Emperor of Rome, 
 and then on his way to conquer Judca and to destroy 
 
 o 
 
THE PRO-COXSUL AT PAPJIOS. 51 
 
 Jerusalem) " to visit the temple of Venus, famous for 
 the worship of the inhabitants and the concourse of 
 strangers who resorted hither from all parts." 
 
 "\Vlio no\v was 'the Deputy* ? To answer this ques- 
 tion, we must know what the government of the Roman 
 Kinpi; er Cyprus, and what ofiice Sergius Paulus 
 
 held under the government. Some years after the Em- 
 pire was established on the ruins of the Republic, the 
 
 .1 at Rumo, who lin President of the Roman 
 
 Republic, ceased to be elected by the people. The two 
 On<iils had been for o chief officers of honor 
 
 and of authority in the nation, (like our own resident, 
 only- :.) but now that the Emperor 
 
 was supreme, the Consul was in a lower degree of honor 
 and authority, and was elected from the Senate. And 
 now that the Ionian Kmpire ' i over SO 
 
 many small countries, officers were sent out to govern 
 
 rovinces; and these office -.renerally men 
 
 who lutd been Con>uN. These men were called Pro 
 1 ils, For Consuls, As {/* Consuls, because in the 
 provinces they had about tl: authority which tho 
 
 -I had at Koine. As therefore Cicero, be-fore the 
 time of Saul, wa< Pro-Consul of the province of Cilicia, 
 
 Gallio was Pro-Consul of 
 
 the province of Achaia. at its chief city, Corinth, 1 so was 
 Sergius Paulus Pro-Consul of the province of Cypr 
 
 ief city, Paphos. The word c Deputy ' stands here 
 for Pro-Consul. 5 Sergius Paulus might have been for- 
 merly Senator at Rome. At any rate, he had in some 
 
 rained the election of the Senate, and now for a 
 year or longer is Pro-Consul, or Governor, or 'Deputy' 
 of Cyprus. He had under him military officers, cen- 
 
 1 Acts xviii. 12-16. 
 
 8 The Greek word is the same word commonly used to translate tho 
 Latin prt>-consul into Greek. 
 
52 (EIGHTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 turions, captains, etc., and civil officers, assessors, judges, 
 etc. ; and he himself, as a Judge, held his own court, 
 just as Gallio, the Pro-Consul at Corinth, held his court 
 when the people attempted to accuse Paul before him. 
 The Pro-Consul was perhaps not unlike the Governor 
 whom our own Congress sends out to administer the 
 laws of the United States in a territory before it be- 
 comes a State. 
 
 Sergius Paulus, the Pro-Consul at Paphos, was a 
 * prudent ' man : he had a candid and inquiring mind : 
 he admitted the sorcerer to his presence, and sent for 
 Barnabas and Saul. And now, before him as a Judge, 
 Truth and Falsehood come in conflict in the Apostle 
 and the Magician. 
 
 It is not strange that we find this magic-worker with 
 this dignified and sober official, and indeed spending 
 some time with him, as it would seem. " For many 
 years before this time, and many years after, impostors 
 from the East, pretending to magical powers, had great, 
 influence over the Roman mind.'" Even educated Ro- 
 mans had become superstitious. There were at Rome 
 soothsayers from Asia Minor : there was magic medi- 
 cine from Syria: there were magic tables of calculations 
 from Babylon : there were even Jewish fortune-tellers, 
 the gipsies of that day. Even the great generals, like 
 Pompey and Julius Cassar, consulted these soothsayers 
 and astrologers as oracles. And it was not without 
 some shade of truth that the great Latin satirist, Juve- 
 nal, describes the Emperor Tiberius Csesar, ' sitting 
 on the rock of Capri, with his flock of Chaldean astrol- 
 3 round him.' These magic-workers, so numer- 
 ous throughout the Empire, would of course gather 
 around such places of resort as Paphos ; and it is not 
 strange, therefore, that the Pro-Consul, like more illus- 
 trious men, should have with him this ' false prophet,' 
 
THE PRO-CONSUL AT PATHOS. 58 
 
 who, though a Jew, had given himself the Arabic name 
 
 of Elymas, or, The Wise. But it shows the impartial 
 
 r of his mind that he sent for Barnabas and Saul 
 
 also, and wished to hear from them " the word of God." 
 
 hear the declaration of an oracle 
 
 or to see some wonder wrought. Perhaps Elymas was 
 
 to answer wonder with wonder, as the Egyptian 
 
 magicians answered Moses 3 in the presence of Pharaoh. 
 
 But when Saul did nothing more than to preach the 
 
 simple faith in - the Messiah, Elymas sought to 
 
 turn away the < Jovei-uor's mind. Truth was on one 
 
 d) 1 OB the other. Tin plain con- 
 
 rhest inr that the Gos- 
 
 pel should not be overthrown by i I hypocrit- 
 
 rts. And when Elymas attempted to prejudice 
 and pervert the Pro-Consul's mind uniairly again 
 faith, he was y silenced in an awful in: 
 
 Filled with that same Holy Spirit which gave Peter 
 power to see and to denounce the lies and hypocri 
 Ananias and Sapphira, Saul was able to see the wicked 
 malice of this man, and to denounce his imposture. 
 ions of his apostolical authority, derived from 
 IVtcr when lie solemnly told Simon, the 
 magician of Samaria, "Th; ''* not right in the 
 
 sight of God f," 4 Saul boldly and solemnly exposed the 
 ion of Elymas and his hatred of righteous- 
 He called down a miracle upon him, as an awful 
 warning to all such impostors, and a rebuke to all who 
 trusted them, as well as a proof that what he said was 
 the word of God. The Roman Governor, not like many 
 proud men in Judea, who, when they were 'aston- 
 ished,' 'marvelled' and still disbelieved, and then re- 
 viled, took the proof of Saul's doctrine with an honest 
 heart, and believed in Jesus of Nazareth. 
 
 Exodus vii. 11, 22 ; viii. 7. * Acta viii. 21. 
 
64 (EIGHTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 The conversion of such a prominent man could hard- 
 ly fail to excite much attention in Cyprus ; and wo 
 may believe that through his influence other Gentiles, 
 even in dissolute Paphos, and in various parts of the 
 island, received the simple doctrines of salvation which 
 he had learned in his own soul. 
 
 Such is Saul's first recorded triumph among the Gen- 
 tiles : the conversion of a man of authority, in one of 
 the vilest cities of the heathen ; an official under the 
 great nation which oppressed the Jews, higher in office 
 than the centurion Cornelius at Csesarea ; an honored, 
 powerful governor of a province, yielding his heart to 
 the simple a truth as it is in Jesus." 
 
 " And now, from this point in the Apostolical history, 
 PAUL appears as the great figure in every picture. Bar- 
 nabas, henceforward, is always in the background. The 
 great Apostle now enters on his work as Preacher to 
 the Gentiles, and at the moment of his active occupa- 
 tion of the field in which he is called to labor, his name 
 is suddenly changed. As Abram was changed into 
 Abraham, when God promised that he should be the 
 ' father of many nations ;' as Simon was changed into 
 Peter when it was said, ' On this rock I will build my 
 Church,' so Saul is changed into Paul at the moment of 
 his first great victory among the Heathen." Before 
 this, he has always been called Saul. At this point, he 
 is "Saul who also is called Paul." After this lie is 
 always called Paul. In all his epistles written after- 
 ward, he calls himself Paul, 6 and never Saul. And 
 Peter, in one of his epistles, calls him " our beloved 
 brother Paul." 6 Why is it that his name is changed, 
 and changed just at this time ? 
 
 Three principal reasons have been given for the change. 
 
 6 Sec the first verse of all Paul's Epistles, except Hebrews. 
 II. Peter iii. 15. 
 
THE PRO- CONSUL AT PAPIIOS. 55 
 
 The first reason i<, kt that he adopted it himself, after 
 
 .. as expressing liis own feelings." The 
 
 I 'aiilu.s means little. As Saul, before his 
 
 conversion, was like "the unbridled King Saul," the 
 
 proud, self-confident persecutor of David, so Paul the 
 
 convert, lowly and penitent, wished to indicate by his 
 
 ' the least of the Apostles," and 
 
 "fos than the least of all saint 
 
 The second reason is, that Ser^ius Panln* gave him 
 
 ::i iiioii.il of his own conver- 
 
 was cai inns from the 
 
 L, and Mi-tclhi'; was called Oeticus 
 
 :e, so Saul carried away his 
 
 tory over the hcalhen- 
 
 : fthe Pro-Consul Paul 
 
 third reason la, :it!le 
 
 ., name from this time, to show t hat 
 1 and teacher of the Gentiles." Gent lie 
 re often adopted in Jewish famil: 
 nes Philip 7 and Alexander, 7 as the 11 
 
 ;er, 8 as in our own time 
 the sc. take names from the countries i:i 
 
 tOO, there were d 
 
 ie national and the other foreign, as Beltcshaz- 
 
 //ir-l)aniel, Esther-II:i.ia-'a, J .1 i jnon- 
 
 , and so Saul-Paulus. ^Yhichever opinion AVO 
 
 aral that the name of the Roman Pro- 
 
 d should bring the name of PAUL here to the 
 
 mind -of the inspired writer. It is natural, too, that 
 
 Henceforth among the Gentiles he should use the Ho- 
 
 -.same ; and then, having used it on his travels, and 
 
 7 Matt. x. 3 ; Acts xix. 33, 34 ; vi. 5 ; xii. 8. 
 
 8 Acts xviii. 8 ; i. 23 ; xiii. 1. 
 * Daniel x. 1 ; Esther ii. 7. 
 
66 (EIGHTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 during the more important part of his life, he should 
 write to the Gentile churches, " I, Paul the Apostle." 
 Paulus was the name of a well-known family among 
 the Romans, one of the most distinguished members of 
 which, Emilius Paulus, fell fighting against Hannibal at 
 CannaB. It is possible that when Paul's father, or the 
 family, obtained the Roman citizenship, there was some 
 connection or attachment of the family to the Roman 
 Paulus family, and so the parents could gratify their 
 Hebrew and their Roman attachments, by naming thoir 
 son Saul and Paulus. 
 
(EIGHTH SUXDA V.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 WHERE was Paphos ? 
 
 Do you think the Apostles preached at any places \)& 
 
 tween Salamis and Paphos ? 
 What was Paphos ? 
 What people lived there ? 
 What religion prevailed ? and why ? 
 What famous general afterward visited this city ? 
 What celebrated poets wrote of this city ? 
 
 the religion of Paphos moral ? 
 Wh.v iorality of heathen religions now ? 
 
 What did Saul bring to Paphos ? 
 What was * the Deputy'? 
 
 What was a Roman Consul ? 
 
 What was a Roman Pro-Consul ? 
 
 What famous orator had been Pro-Consul of Cilicia ? 
 
 What other Pro-Consul is mentioned in ' the Acts' ? 
 
 What is the name of this 'Deputy'? 
 
 Hnw had he been elected to this office ? 
 
 What oflicu may he have held at Rome ? 
 
 What officers were under him ? 
 
 What officer in our own government was the Pro-Consul 
 
 somewhat like ? 
 Whom did the Apostles find with the Pro-Consul ? 
 
 AN* hat other men like him are mentioned in the Scriptures ? 
 Is it necessary to think he tried as a prophet, to foretell 
 
 future events? 1 
 
 What did educated Romans think of such men? 
 Will education keep a man from absurd and wicked 
 
 tilings in religion ? 
 
 Was the Pro-Consul doing a strange thing in having th!a 
 magician with him ? 
 
 What is the meaning of Bar-jesus ? a 
 
 1 See page 43. 
 
 * Compare Matt. xvi. 17 with John i. 42, and xxi. 15. 
 
(EIGHTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 What language is l Elymas,' and what docs it mean ? 
 Whom does the Pro-Consul send for ? 
 
 Do you think he wished to know the truth ? 
 
 What kind of a Inan was he ? 
 
 What do you think he expected from the Apostles ? 
 
 Between what two things was the conflict ? 
 What did Elymas try to do ? 
 
 What right had Saul to call down blindness on this man ? 
 
 What other instances in the Scriptures of such power ex- 
 ercised, and by whom ? 
 
 What was the miracle for ? 
 
 How did Saul publicly condemn Elymas 7 secret motives ? 
 
 Have we a right, as Saul did, to condemn the motives of 
 another ? 
 
 How did the Pro-Consul differ from the proud Jews who 
 saw our Saviour's miracles ? 
 
 What influence would the Pro-Consul's conversion bo 
 likely to have through the island ? 
 
 What must we have, which Saul had, to lead men to 
 
 Jesus ? 
 What change is made in the Apostle's name here ? 
 
 What other similar changes of name in the Scriptures ? 
 
 What is he called before and after this time, in the 
 Scriptures ? 
 
 Did the Apostle afterward call himself Saul or Paul ? 
 
 What did Peter call him ? 
 
 What three ways are there" of accounting for the change ? 
 
 Were Gentile names ever adopted in Jewish families ? 
 
 What examples have you of double names in the Scrip- 
 tures ? 
 
 Who is now first in the rest of the Book of Acts, Paul 
 or Barnabas ? 
 
 When you think of the King of Israel, is Saul a good 
 or a bad name ? 
 
 When you think of the Apostle to the Gentiles, is Saul 
 a good or a bad name ? 
 
 How can you make your name for ever a good or a bad 
 nanio ? 
 
 (10) 
 
Tlinth 
 
 'PERILS OF ROBBERS' AN^D 'PERILS OF RIVERS. 
 
 LESSON. 
 
 < xiii. i:J, 11; xv. 36-39. II. Corinthians xi. 2G, 27. 
 
 FROM i' ,ips wouM be much more frequent 
 
 tho coast of Pamphylia than to Alexandria or 
 
 u, on tliu KLTypt: ' of the Mediterr; 
 
 or than to an\ >;md tin- Arch- 
 
 o to which Paul did afterwards go. It is very 
 : hal when tin- A|> idy to depart, 
 
 a shir, was just about to sail to Attalia or to T 
 anl that they took a.lvanta-v <>t tlu- opportunity I 
 thither. A seeoinl reason why they went to Pamphylia 
 
 may have been, that I'aul nii^lit like to go now 
 
 g lln)se provinces near Cilieia. Vainpliylia was 
 
 next liis native province, aii'l the people AVere in some 
 
 Lethe Cilieians. A third reason may have 
 
 of Pamphylia WGTG more rough 
 
 and less , \ and prohahly more simple-hearted 
 
 u than the inhabitants of those provinces which were 
 
 completely penetrated with the corrupt civilisa- 
 tion of Greece and Rome ;" and Paul might have 
 thought, therefore, that they would be more likely to 
 
 \e the simple truth. A fourth reason, we may 
 suppose, was that Paul thought of the many families 
 " in the great towns beyond the mountains of Tarsus, 
 such as Antioch in Pisidia, and Iconium in Lycaonia," 
 and lie hoped through them to reach the Gentiles, "who 
 
 1 the iv. as i:very where, to the worship of the s\ it- 
 
58 
 
 (NINTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 agogue." We can hardly think that Paul had a direct 
 vision at this time, like the trance in the temple, 1 or like 
 the vision at Troas, 2 for these visions seem to be record- 
 ed, not as frequent but as extraordinary events. What- 
 ever was the inducement to visit these regions rathei 
 than others, Paul and Barnabas and Mark sailed out of 
 
 T I A 
 
 MEDITERRA 
 
 Paphos, around past the promontories at the west end 
 of the island. Not many hours after the promontories 
 of Cyprus, on the east, had receded in the horizon, 
 would be seen before them, far in the north-west, the 
 hills of Lycia, and far in the north-east, the high dill's 
 of Paul's native province, between which they B.'iilod 
 straight " to the innermost bend of the bay of Attalia." 
 
 xxii. 17 -I 
 
PERILS OF 'ROBBERS' AXD DIVERS. 59 
 
 As they sailed over this Lay, they would sec a lino of 
 
 :nt. tin-summits," stretching along in a 
 
 curve, like the curve of the coast, kirk through the in- 
 
 , and enclosing a wide plain, itself like a bay 
 
 ied in by the mountains. Pack from the shore, 
 
 .d like Tarsus, on a ri 
 
 this large plain, with hills on the sides, a valley in front, 
 with the river Cestrns connecting it with the sea and 
 " with the mountains behind/' We know almost noth- 
 
 :'this city, except that near it, on a height, v 
 temple of Diana, and that an annual festival was held 
 in honor of the goddess. Just near this temple we may 
 supp.. . 1. ringing the 
 
 great Apostle, oame to its moorings. 
 
 The Apostle- .lid not stay long in IVrga. There is 
 HO notice of their preaching here on their out ward j<>nr- 
 
 B tin-re is on ' ;hey did preach at 
 
 hing does not se ! with 
 
 very mark, d : .Mark left them. It is clearly 
 
 ir wishes; lor afterv, id condemned 
 
 ]\!ark for "going not with them to the work." Possi- 
 
 My, too, it was the cause of ill-fc- t Paul and 
 
 ibas, as u be cause of quarrel 
 
 and separation." 4 Mark probably found a ship in the 
 river about to sail to Palestine. He saw now the peril 
 of the journey up through the rough country and the 
 mountains lie thought of his pleasant early home in 
 Jerusalem. He shrunk from the work, and wished to 
 l>c with his friends; and, as there was opportunity to 
 reach hume ly a ship direct to Crcsarea, or to some 
 other point of Pale-tine, he "departed from them from 
 Pamphvliar \Ve are not to think that Mark forfeited 
 
 iristiaii character. Dwelling always before in Je- 
 
 I 115. xv. 
 
CO (NIXTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 rusalcin probably, and unacquainted, like Paul and 
 Barnabas, with these rougher provinces, he may have 
 had a wicked timidity; and he weakly allowed his 
 natural longing for home to over-balance the interests 
 of the great cause. He was the child of a Christian 
 mother ; he knew the sincerity and devotion of the dis- 
 ciples who met to pray in his mother's house ; B he had 
 felt and seen the power of their religion in persecution ; 
 he had heard the prayers for Peter in prison ; he had 
 been in Antioch when the Spirit of God abounded unto 
 the salvation of many ; he had seen Paul's preaching 
 confirmed by a miracle at Paphos ; he knew Barnabas 
 and Paul were on a most important mission, sent by 
 the Holy Ghost to carry the Gospel to unknown parts 
 of the earth ; and yet now, just when his assistance and 
 company would be needed, if ever, 6 lie falters and 
 shrinks from the work. Afterwards, however, he was 
 willing to go with the same Apostles on agsecond mis- 
 sionary journey, 4 and though Paul at that time would 
 not take him, he did go with Barnabas to Cyprus. 4 But 
 in later years Paul was reconciled and, indeed, attached 
 to him ; for, when he writes to his brethren in Colosse, 
 he commends Mark as a fellow-worker unto the king- 
 dom of God, and ' a comfort ' to himself; 7 and he writes 
 Timothy to bring Mark to him, for " he is profitable to 
 me for the ministry." 8 
 
 After Mark had left them, Paul and Barnabas took 
 their perilous way a hundred miles directly into the in- 
 terior. Their journey lay up through the circle of 
 mountains, whose "ragged summits" they had seen 
 from the sea. From the broad plain beyond Pcrgn, 
 
 6 xii. 12. 
 
 8 The region of the mountain-robbers was now before them. 
 
 7 Colo.SHuns iv. 10, 11. 
 
 Ml, Timothy iv 11. 
 
ILS OF iROliliERS' AXD 'RIVERS! 01 
 
 tJu-y toiled upwards to the high table-land on tlie otlicr 
 side of the principal mountain-range. "In all parts of 
 ancient history, the lawless and marauding habits of the 
 people of these mountn notorious." Although 
 
 tin.- Apostles ] little to the one side of the dis- 
 
 0f tsarina, the name which is more than any other 
 in A.- ia .Minor connected witll daring rol>l)ery, yet the 
 people of that region carried their dashing and plunder- 
 
 \cursionsintoall the surrounding country. The 
 Pindians :i.ls< were robbers, like their neighbors on the 
 the 1'amphylian^ nearest the mountains 
 ' had not piit, up their mbbcr habits, and did 
 
 not always allow ///// nciglibors to live in peace." 
 Kvu Alexander the ( in at, who once : 
 
 ' j try towtird !'und 
 
 diflieulties of -upaiu-n in 
 
 ]>enrtrati:i Mrict/' One 1 of the rOH 
 
 cam}': ' LOohlttJ tlie (J: 
 
 oi'S\ i-i;i, wafl among tl a . hill-forts near the upper waters 
 of the CVstrus an<l : Ion. And many years after 
 
 this time, not very far from the very route which tlie 
 
 must have taken, at Cremna, a robl.er 
 1 the Ko- I died a desperate death in these 
 
 mountains. " No people thn.ugh the mid>t of v/hoin 
 1'aul ever travelled, abounded more in those 'perils of 
 robbers' of which he 1 , than the wild and 
 
 lawless elapses of the Tisidian highlanders ;" an<l it is 
 no doubt to the perils of this journey in part that lie 
 alludes when, writing to the Christians of Corinth, lie 
 sums up the suilerings of his life. Here certainly lie 
 Avas ' in weariness and painfulness,' and ' in watchings 
 often,' and ' in perils by the heathen,' if not ' in perils 
 of robbe 
 
 There were other perils, too, from the very nature of 
 the count; Kite. There were 'perils of riv 
 
62 (NINTH SUNDAY) 
 
 crs.' 9 We perhaps do not fully appreciate the dangei 
 in which an Eastern traveller is, from the crossing- of 
 streams, or even from travelling by their side, as when 
 Paul followed the valley of the Oestrus. The dry 
 water-courses then are often flooded with wonderful 
 suddenness. High and steep mountains and violent 
 rains, suddenly swell the streams until they are tor- 
 rents. "All the livens in the East are liable to these 
 violent and sudden changes. And no district of Asia 
 Minor has more of these ' water-floods ' than the moun- 
 tainous tract of Pisidia, where rivers burst out at the 
 bases of high cliffs, or dash wildly down through nar 
 row ravines." Probably there were bridges, but these 
 might be swept away by the impetuous and swollen 
 floods, tossing and tumbling on their jyvay from the 
 heights and precipices of Pisidia to the Pamphylian 
 Sea. " The Apostle's course was probably never far from 
 the channels of the Oestrus and the Eurymedon ; and 
 it is interesting to know that just in this vicinity, to 
 this day, in the village of Paoli, (St. Paul,) his name is 
 still retained." It is the custom of the people of Perg:i, 
 at the beginning of the hot season, to move up fromtho 
 plains to the cool, basin-like hollows on the mountains. 
 The people may be seen climbing to the upper grounds, 
 men, women, and children, flocks and herds, camels and 
 asses, like the patriarchs of old. If, then, St. Paul wan 
 at Perga in May, as very likely he may have been, if he 
 left Antioch w^hen the sea was first ' open ' in the spring, 
 lie would find the inhabitants going directly on the 
 route of his own journey. He would not wish to stay 
 in Perga. We may think of him as joining some cara* 
 
 9 In II. Corinthians xi. 2fi, it is ' perils of waters.' The word 
 strictly means rivers, or swollen rivers, torrents, floods, ns in Msitt. 
 vii. 27, " the rains descended and the rivers came," the swollen, rapid 
 torrent, like our frcx/tct. 
 
' 
 
 PERILS OF 'ROBBERS' AND 'RIVERS. 63 
 
 van of families up to the heights, as journeying along a 
 road with frowning cliffs on either side, with fountains 
 bursting out among the flowers, with dashing and dan- 
 gerous floods across the path, as climbing up even in a 
 \\-\\- hours into a colder climate, into a wilder and more 
 barren region, witli valleys of sand between the rocky 
 liiils, until at length he and J>urnabas came out on the 
 central table-land of Asia Minor, and, passing the shore 
 of a beautiful lake, came to Antioch of Pisidia. 
 
(NINTH SUNDAY 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 VU1IERE do the missionaries go next ? 
 "VYho composed * his company ' ? 
 Do you suppose them directed by the especial revelation 
 
 of the Spirit ? 
 
 What four reasons may be given why they go there ? 
 How many of these reasons arc like those which led 
 
 them from Antioch to Cyprus ? 
 Do you suppose Paul had a vision ? 
 Where was Perga ? 
 
 How did its situation resemble that of Tarsus ? 
 
 What do we know of Pcrga ? 
 
 How long did they stay here ? 
 
 Do you think they preached ? Why ? 
 
 What town on the coast had they passed when they 
 
 reached Perga ? 
 
 Where is it mentioned afterwards ? 
 What painful event took place at Perga ? 
 
 How do you know this return was against Paul's wishes ? 
 
 What do you think led Mark to leave them ? 
 
 Was he right, or wrong, do you think ? 
 
 Do you think Mark forfeited his claim to be thought a 
 
 Christian ? 
 What had been Mark's home-influences in religious 
 
 things ? 
 
 What was there to make him timid ? 
 Is there any time when it is wrong for every one to bo 
 
 timid ? 
 
 How can a man gain courage in doing right? 
 Who and what will help him ? 
 Did Mark ever return to his work ? 
 Where is Mark next mentioned ? 
 On what occasion ? 
 What did Barnabas wish ? 
 What did Paul say, when Mark wished to go ? 
 (17) 
 
(XIXTJI SUXDAY.} 
 
 Did they ever work together again ? 
 Can you prove Paul became attached again to Mark ? 
 Where did Paul and Barnabas now go ? 
 What made their work now toilsome ? 
 What famous robber-region were they near ? 
 What was the character of many Pisidians and Pamphy 
 
 lians ? 
 
 What famous generals had much trouble here ? 
 What, in one of his letters afterwards, describes Paul'? 
 
 toil and peril ? 
 
 What other peril from the nature of the country ? 
 How may * perils of waters' be translated ? 
 What was true of 1' with the rest of 
 
 I Minor? 
 I In A- many of ; Ifl can you suppose Paul was in 
 
 on this journey ? 
 What other of his sufferings may have happened at this 
 
 time ? 
 
 What time of the year do you suppose it was ? 
 What time of the year did the people of Perga leave 
 
 their city ? and for what ? 
 What new reason is there, then, for not staying Longer 
 
 now in Perga ? 
 t changes in country and climate, in going up from 
 
 Perga to Antioch in Pisidia ? 
 The course of what stream did they follow ? 
 Where was Antioch in Pisidia ? 
 Why called Antioch in P India f 
 
 (18) 
 
JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE MESSIAH. 
 
 LESSON. 
 
 ACTS xiii. 15-41. 
 
 OF Antioch in Pisidia we know but little, but it was 
 a town of sufficient consequence to be a Roman 
 colony. 1 Romans and Roman soldiers and Roman mil- 
 itary standards and Roman magistrates were seen here. 
 The great road from Smyrna and Ephesus to the ' Cili- 
 . cian Gates,' 2 near Tarsus, led through this town ; and 
 Antioch was about half-way between the Archipelago 
 and the * Gates.' Here, among Romans, Greeks, Pisi- 
 dians, were Jews in larger or smaller numbers ; for 
 here* is a synagogue in which Jews and Gentile prose- 
 lytes met to worship. If "you had gone into this syna- 
 gogue, you would probably have seen the women sepa- 
 rated from the men, either in a separate gallery, or 
 behind a lattice-work partition : the men all with 
 hats on : the desk in the centre, where the reader 
 ' opened the book in sight of all the people :' " the 
 carefully closed ark on the side of the building nearest 
 to Jerusalem," where the rolls or manuscripts of the 
 law were kept : " the seats 8 all round the building, from 
 
 1 The meaning of Roman colony, in connection with a town, will 
 be seen when we come to the description of the colony of Philippi, 
 in Twentieth Sunday. Antioch in Pisidia was a colony, like Philippi. 
 
 a See the map of Cilicia, in First Sunday. 
 
 8 In the East, probably there would not be raised seats, as in the 
 drawing, but rather matting without benches. 
 
JESUS OF NAZARETH, TUE MESSIAH. Co 
 
 <vhich c the eyes of all those in the synagogue were fast- 
 ened ' on the one who speaks : the chief seats nearest 
 the ark, and the platform for the 'ruler' or 'rulers' of 
 the synagogue." After the opening prayer, "the sacred 
 roll of manuscript was handed from the ark to the 
 reader by the attendant or ' minister,' 4 and parts, first 
 
 
 7 
 
 A 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 I L 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 < j 
 
 U 
 
 
 
 C 
 
 
 
 D 
 
 -mf 
 
 L ^>- 
 
 m 
 
 E 
 
 ^^ 
 
 mrf 
 
 D 
 
 TTT 
 
 0? 
 
 A SYNAGOGUE. 
 
 A Sacred recess of the Ark, with doors or curtains In front B Platform for 
 -alters. C Reader's desk. D Seats, with women's gallery above theuu 
 L Hall or court P Stairs to women's gal: 
 
 of the law and then of the prophecies, were read in 
 the regular order of the Sabbath-lessons. The reader 
 stood in the i :ill the congregation sat around. 
 
 The mam; Ifl rolled up and handed back to the 
 
 'luiiii orned to the ark. Then followed a 
 
 pause, during which strangers or learned men who had 
 'any word of consolation' or of exhortation rose and 
 addressed the congregation. And then, after rehears- 
 ing the story of the suffering of the chosen people, or 
 the allegorical interpretation of some dark passage of 
 
 4 Luke iv. 17, 20 ; see also note 11, page 46. 
 
C6 (TENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 Holy Writ, the worship was closed with a benediction 
 and a solemn Amen," uttered perhaps by the congrega- 
 tion. 5 
 
 On the Sabbath after Paul and Barnabas reached 
 Antioch, the congregation came together as usual in 
 the synagogue. There were Gentiles as well as Jews 
 in the seats along the sides converted proselytes from 
 the city and the country around. In the gallery, or be- 
 hind a lattice, were the Jewesses, and among them 
 * honorable women.' The two strangers came in ; they 
 were offered the Tallitli, the loose, fringed, white, four- 
 cornered scarf worn on the shoulders or head the re- 
 galia of an Israelite in the synagogue and receiving it, 
 they sat down on the seats with the others. Prayer 
 was offered. The ' minister ' handed ' the book ' from 
 the ark to the reader at the desk. Portions of the law 
 and the prophets were read. The book was handed 
 back, and placed again in the ark. And then the ' rulers 
 of the synagogue ' " sent to the new comers, on whom 
 many eves had already been fixed, and invited them to 
 a<!<!ross the assembly, if they had words of comfort or 
 of instruction to speak to their fellow-Israelites." We 
 can almost see Paul, as he rises to speak. With a face 
 full of earnestness, and an attitude at once animated 
 and emphatic, he stretches out his hand and commences 
 his address. 
 
 We may not have recorded all that Paul said, but we 
 certainly have the substance of what he said, and that 
 substance in his very words : 
 
 ADDRESS IN THE SYNAGOGUE. 
 
 Notice now the object of this address, and its prin- 
 cipal parts. 
 
 The Object. The one great object was to prove to 
 
 6 Nchcmiah viii. C. 
 
JESUS OF .Til, THE MESSIAH. 67 
 
 ttive Jews and the Gentile proselytes, mingled iu 
 
 VRETH is the MES- 
 SIAH }>TL '//</<;</ /// tlte Hebrew Scriptures. 
 
 To prove this, lie does not state his proposition Tit the 
 oingof hi :d at once proceed to prove 
 
 a the Scriplir- 'id do ; but he 
 
 of exhortation in the 
 
 I. T . HISTOKY. (Introductory: IGth to 
 
 -onio part 
 of the nation" 
 
 i [ebrew i i'aul doea 
 
 i- our 
 n 'and : 
 
 d to 
 
 : Ot' tilt' } i till' 
 
 y, tin 1 pmini- . (o \vliii-li all \ 
 
 n to his argument. 
 i from 
 
 nda-'t' of Iv... The con- 
 
 lion st-cs, tOOt, th:it Taul iinnly 1- ir Scriptures. 
 
 IT. ] that 
 
 Ihat / (wlii'-h all , 
 
 oncof Da\ id's 
 
 
 is of Na/areth, a * Saviour 
 
 unto i ;he lon^- . This is tho 
 
 }lain 'loii which lie then goes on 
 
 III. PKOOF 3 "S OP NAZAKKTII V/AS MEANT IN 
 
 . (24th to 37th verse.) Next comes the 
 
 argument to prove, from their own Scriptures, that 
 
 7 ii. 10. 8 vii. 2. 
 
 * I. Chronicles xvii. 11-11; II. Samr.d vii. 12, 13, 1C; Tsalm 
 r.Tvxix. S, 4. 
 
68 (TENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 Jesus is the one person of David's posterity whom God 
 meant in this promise : that is, to prove that the ancient 
 Hebrew Scriptures were fulfilled in this Jesus. Three 
 proofs are given. 
 
 First Proof. (24th and 25th verses.) Jesus of Na- 
 zareth appeared after his extraordinary forerunner had 
 announced his coming, just as the prophets declared the 
 Messiah would come. 10 All the people acknowledged 
 John the Baptist a wonderful prophet, sent of God. 11 
 He could not and he would not lie, and yet he always 
 said, while fulfilling his mission, c I am not the Messiah, 
 but one among you, who cometh after me, is the Mes- 
 siah. I am the forerunner, 13 as Isaiah says. 10 HE is 
 the ONE coming after the forerunner.' 
 
 Second Proof . (26th to 29th verse.) Jegjis of Naza- 
 reth was in innocence and in ignominy slain, as the 
 Scriptures declared the Messiah would be : the rulers 
 did not understand that the Scriptures declare that the 
 innocent Messiah should be condemned and slain, as 
 they plainly do. And so they, in ' condemning ' Jesus, 
 in finding ' no cause of death ' in him, in asking Pilate 
 to slay him, fulfilled these very prophecies 13 which they 
 did not understand. The death of Jesus on the cross, 14 
 and his burial in the sepulchre, 15 therefore, particularly 
 fulfilled the Scripture. The Apostle, while making this 
 second proof that Jesus is Messiah, appeals also to the 
 Jews (children of the stock of Abraham) and prose- 
 lytes (whoever feareth God) to receive the c word of 
 salvation ' sent, because the rulers have rejected it. 
 
 10 Isaiah xl. 3 ; Malachi iv. 5, 6. " Matthew xiv. 5 ; xxi. 26. 
 
 12 John i. 23. 
 
 13 Such prophecies especially as Isaiah liii. 3, 6-9, etc., and Panic,; 
 ix. 26, etc. The Jews understood these and others to refer to the 
 coming of Messiah. 
 
 11 Isaiah liii. 12. " liii. 9. 
 
JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE MESSIAH. 69 
 
 Third Proof. (Versos 30 to 37.) Jesus of Nazareth 
 rose from the dead. We know surely God raised him 
 from the dead; for those who knew him Lest, who 
 came up from Galilee to Jerusalem with him, ;//"/,y 
 OS, bear testimony that they saw him, not <>/>, 
 but ^ many days/ This fact is therefore well estab- 
 IMied, and it is in direct fulfilment of God's promise to 
 our ancestors. /'>!'. just as God foretold to David that 
 tin- Messiah should be of his seed, when he said, 'Thou 
 art my son, this day ha\v I ! gotten thee/ which we 
 ha \v always understood as referring to the .Messiah, 
 and ./"//>/ OS he said that his mercies and promises should 
 be surely received by Das id and by us his posterity, so 
 did he foretell to David that the HOLY O\i:, the MES- 
 SIAH, l should not see corruption? that is, his body 
 should not be corrupted in the irrave, but should be 
 ryed from decay and death. This promise made 
 to Da\id, k Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see 
 corruption,' cannot mean that David was the Holy 
 ( )ne, for David's body saw corruption in the urave, but 
 it meant that the MKSSIAH, the HOLY ONE, should not 
 see corruption ; and that Mes>iah is Jesus of Nazareth 
 therefore, for God rai-ed Him up a-ain, and HE saw no 
 corruption. 
 
 These,!: \e t hive arguments : The Scriptures 
 
 Kay that the M<-Mah will have a forerunner: Jesus of 
 Nazareth had a forerunner. The Scriptures say that 
 the Messiah will be unjustly condemned and slain: 
 JeMis of Nazareth was unjustly condemned and slain 
 by our Yery rulers, who were blindly fulfilling the 
 Scriptures. The Scriptures say that the Messiah shall 
 rise from the dead : Jesus of Nazareth has risen from 
 .he dead. Therefore, 
 
 JESUS OF NAZAKKTII /x TIM: .V KSSIAII. 
 
 TV. Tin: PKATH-AL APPLICATION. (Verses 38, 39.) 
 
70 (TENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 Take this Jesus, then, the Fulfilment of the Ancient 
 Scriptures, as your Messiah. Your sins may be for- 
 given, if you believe in Him ; and though you cannot 
 be made just by that law of Moses which has this day 
 been read in the desk of the synagogue, because yon 
 have all broken it, yet all of you, who believe in Jesus 
 as Messiah, may become pardoned^ and so justified, by 
 Him. 
 
 V. THE WARNING. (Verses 40, 41.) And beware 
 lest the dreadful prediction of the prophets to all who 
 simply wonder at the works of God, and despise them, 
 coine upon you. 
 
(TENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS, 
 
 WHAT do we know of Antioch in Pisidia ? 
 Describe a synagogue. 
 
 What were the three principal parts of the worship f 
 On what day of the week did the missionaries go to the syn- 
 agogue ? 
 
 How were they taken notice of ? By whom ? 
 What was the custom with Israelite strangers ? 
 What was the one great object of Paul's spen-h ? 
 Does Paul state this object at first ? 
 
 I. What is the first division of the speech ? 
 
 What common custom does Paul follow ? 
 
 What other speeches in the New Testament follow this 
 
 bom I 
 
 What period of Jewish history does ho describe ? 
 How would the Jews like this story ? 
 What would be the effect on their minds in reference to 
 
 the rest of the speech ? 
 Who were there in the synagogue that * feared God 
 
 (16th verse) besides men of Israel ? 
 What is meant (17th verse) by ' exalted the people' ? 
 What is meant by * suffered their manners' ? 
 When God * suffers 1 sin, does he cause it ? 
 Did David ever commit sin ? 
 What is meant, then, by 4 a man after mine own heart* ? 
 
 II. What is the second division of the speech ? 
 
 What promise is this ? 
 
 Where do you find it recorded ? 
 
 What is meant by David's seed reigning forever ? 
 
 III. What is the third division of the speech ? 
 What does Paul take his proofs from ? 
 Why was it important to prove this ? 
 
 1. What is the first proof that Jesus is Messiah ? 
 
 Why did the Jews think the Messiah would have a re- 
 markable forerunner ? 
 (19) 
 
(TENTH SUNDAY.} 
 
 What did the Jewish people think of John the Baptist 
 Why ought they to receive John's word as true ? 
 What did John say of himself ? 
 Whose words did he quote ? 
 2. What is the second proof that Jesus is Messiah ? 
 
 In what respect did the * rulers J misinterpret their own 
 
 Scriptures ? 
 
 How did they fulfil the Scriptures they misunderstood ? 
 Why did they misunderstand them ? 
 To whom, then, did the promise of the prophets come ? 
 
 (26th verse.) 
 What two classes are addressed in the twenty-sixth 
 
 verse ? 
 
 8. What is the third proof that Jesus is Messiah ? 
 How do we know God raised him from the dead ? 
 How many persons saw him alive after his resurrection ? 
 What persons were they ? 
 Did they see him more than once ? 
 What passage did Paul quote to prove again that Jesus 
 
 is David's son ? 
 
 How did the Jews commonly understand this passage ? 
 What passage did he quote to prove whatever is promised 
 
 to David's son is sure ? 
 What passage to prove the Messiah would rise from the 
 
 dead? 
 
 Why couldn't this passage mean David ? 
 AVhom did it mean ? Why ? 
 State now Paul's three proofs that Jesus is Messiah. 
 
 Which is the strongest of the three proofs ? 
 I V. What is the fourth division of the speech ? 
 
 What is the object of preaching? (38th verse.) Through 
 
 whom ? 
 What advantage is it to believe Jesus is Messiah more 
 
 than to live by the law of Moses ? 
 Whom does that law condemn ? 
 Arc we, or are we not, under Moses' law ? 
 Whom does Messiah save ? 
 V. What is the fifth division of the speech ? 
 To whom does this warning now come ? 
 (20) 
 
(SIcfacnfb 
 
 AN EXTRAORDINARY THING IN A SYNAGOGUR 
 
 LESSON. 
 
 ACTS xiii. -12-50. 
 
 rFHINK now of Paul's new position, as ho stands ir, 
 A the Kv: of Pisidiau Ant iu-h, at the close of 
 
 liis address. lie has be e same things which 
 
 In- had listened to \\'ith so inucli i when Stephen 
 
 made his Bpeeoh before the SanliC(lrini. How strange 
 it seems, when we think of the two attitudes: Saul, 
 with : iicnts of the witnesses at Jerusalem, and 
 
 consenting to the death of Stephen ; Paul, in the syna- 
 gogue at Antioch of Pi>idia, repeating the story, the 
 prophecies which Stephen repeated, and finishing 1/n'. 
 argumn nt wliich Stephen would no doubt have finished, 
 had he been permitted. Here is a change which only 
 the Spirit of God can in a! 
 
 " This address made a deep and thrilling impression 
 on the audienee. While the congregation were pouring 
 out of the synagogue, many of them crowded around 
 the speaker, bogging that c these words,' which had 
 moved their deepest feelings, might be repeated to 
 them on their next occasion of assembling together." l 
 And when most of the people had gone, many of the 
 and Gentiles, who had been powerfully moved by 
 
 1 The words * the next Sabbath,' are translated in the margin, ' in 
 the week between/ and it is not quite certain whether they mean the 
 next Saturday or some other day. The Jews were accustomed to 
 meet in their synagogue on Monday and Thursday, as well as Saturday. 
 
72 (ELEVENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 the proof that Jesus was the Messiah, still clung to 
 Paul and Barnabas, and followed them. The Apostles 
 urged them to hold fast their present convictions, and 
 knowing the opposition and the persecution which this 
 belief in Jesus everywhere excited, to ask God's grace, 
 to keep and to help them. 
 
 It is not probable that these two good men were idle 
 through the week. They attended, no doubt, the meet- 
 ings at the synagogue, if there were any. They found 
 opportunity for conversation with many persons : they 
 were invited to the homes of the people : they taught 
 and argued the Messiahship of Jesus, proving it by 
 quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures which they had 
 not cited on the Sabbath. They and their doctrine 
 were soon known through all the town by both Jews 
 and Gentiles. All this seems evident, for the next Sab- 
 bath, ' the whole city ' flocked in a great multitude to 
 hear the word of God. The crowding of the people to 
 hear this new doctrine, especially the number of the 
 Gentiles not proselytes, the common, profane, uncircum- 
 cised, unholy throng, touched at once the bigoted pride 
 and envy of the Jews. They could not endure that all 
 these were to be their equals in religious things, that 
 ' the favored people ' were to be degraded to this low 
 level. Instead of hoping and believing that many of 
 the multitude would become proselytes to their own 
 faith, they selfishly feared that their own importance 
 and dignity would be lessened, if the blessings God had 
 given them should be shared by the multitude. Stub- 
 born and wilful in their exclusiveness, " they who on 
 one Sabbath had listened with breathless interest to the 
 teachers who spoke to them of the promised Messiah, 
 were on the next Sabbath filled with the most excited 
 indignation when they found that this Messiah was ' a 
 light to lighten the Gentiles,' as well as ' the glory of 
 
STRANGE TIHXG L\ A SYNAGOGUE. 73 
 
 his people Is 1 An uproar was made; and when 
 
 Paul, who is evidently tin- diiof speaker, again addressed 
 them, they reviled and conlradi 
 
 And now, riglit here in this synagogue of Pisidia, 
 occurs the great change in the Apostle's whole life- 
 coursc of preaching indeed, in the whole apostolic 
 method of preaching. He boldly turns away from the 
 Jews to the Gentiles. We do not know that this had 
 at any time been done before. Paul indeed understood 
 fully that win-never the time should come when the 
 Gentiles would hear his message and the Jews would 
 not, 1;. ? o turn to 'the uncircnra- 
 
 *the iind. .in, 1 Mhe dogs,' 'the ofiscourinv;.' IIv 
 kn-'w such a thing would i :io Jewish custom, 
 
 :md v.-ould meet with BOOH1 and contempt and Sj : 
 
 ution; lut 1 he words of the vision on tho road to 
 Damascus, the command repeated at Damascus, and the 
 :i at .Jerusalem, were all plain and 
 Lve. II>- wa> to offer hN message always to the 
 'V.s'/, and then to the Gentile. 8 Right here was 
 tho turning-point and test ofh is Apostleship to the Gen- 
 tiles. Never before had there been a time when, in a- 
 1 massofcirc meircumcised crowded 
 
 yn:i'_ro'_ruc, the faith of the Hebrew Scrip- 
 had been offered openly to Gentiles who were not 
 proselytes, and offered to them because the Jews reject- 
 ed it. Jesus had indeed praised the faith of individual 
 Gentiles, like the Roman centurion at Capernaum, 3 and 
 the Syrophenician woman. 4 Peter had preached to the 
 household of Cornelius, the Roman officer, but it was 
 distinctly separate from all Jews. So Sergius Paulus, 
 the Roman Governor of Cyprus, had believed, but it is 
 not said that there were synagoyues in Paphos, nor does 
 
 9 Romans i. 16. 3 Luke vii. 9. 4 Matt. xv. 28, and Mark vii. 26. 
 
74 (ELEVENTH SUNDAY,) 
 
 it appear that there were Jews, other than the ' false 
 prophet,' present. But here were both Jews and Gen- 
 tiles together in great numbers. In the hearing of both, 
 the word of life had been spoken ; the Jews had rejected 
 it ; and therefore Paul, boldly breaking through all 
 bigotry, narrow pride, and exclusiveness, turned direct- 
 ly away from the Jews to the unproselyted Gentiles. 
 Here, then, he stood forth fully revealed, the Apostle to 
 the Gentiles* We, in our day, can hardly feel how 
 much strength of character it needed to take this bold 
 position, nor how much especial heavenly grace and 
 strength even an inspired Apostle required for this most 
 extraordinary and most difficult duty. 
 
 The Apostles take pains to make the impression, that 
 this extraordinary conduct by them in the synagogue, 
 is not the result simply of their own judgment and wish. 
 They quote immediately from the Hebrew Scriptures to 
 show they are right in turning from Jews who reject 
 the Gospel, to Gentiles who receive the Gospel. From 
 their own sacred writings, they quoted a prophecy 
 which predicts the preaching of the word of God to 
 people outside the Hebrew nation, and they claimed 
 that the time of the fulfilment of the prophecy had 
 come. " I have set thee to be a light to the Gentiles, 
 that thou shouldest be for salvation to the ends of the 
 0//-/A." They still more boldly claimed, also, that they 
 were acting by the direct command of God; that in 
 this prophecy, God directed them to perform this most 
 unusual duty: 'For so hath the Lord commanded ux? 
 a duty which was no longer to be unusual with them. 
 Wherever, afterwards, the Jews rejected their message, 
 they turned to the Gentiles. 
 
 Two effects were immediately produced by these bold 
 
 6 Romans xi. 13. 
 
STRANGE TIIIXG IN A SYNAGOGUE. 75 
 
 words of the Apostles. The Gentiles gladly hailed this 
 most -extraordinary message to them : the/Jews burned 
 with more bitter opposition, until at length they set 
 into motion an angry persecution. 
 
 The Apostles' hearts were filled with joy, for they 
 had threat success in preaching to the Gentiles. For 
 all the perils of robbers and of rivers, for all his weari- 
 ness and watchings on the road, Paul had now an 
 abundant reward. The good news spread through the 
 country. Through a largo region of even wild Pisidia, 
 and perhaps of Phxygia, fl the good news of salvation 
 through Jesus Christ was 'published/ 
 
 The Jews probably shut the Apostles out of the syn- 
 agogue at once, but they were not sati-licd with that. 
 They determined to drive them out of the city ; and 
 they succeeded, by trick and by intrigue. They excited 
 'the devout and honorable women, and the chief men 
 of the city.' There were many women, who we're pros- 
 elytes to the Jewish religion, in the towns out of l*;! 1 - 
 estine ; and they had no small influence. Most of the 
 women in Damascus, it is said, were proselytes. Here 
 in Antioch of Pisidia, there seem to have been not only 
 Jewish women, but other women, who attended the 
 rogue. As the women whom the Jews excited 
 devout,' they held probably the Jew Mi 
 faith: as they are called 'honorable' in this Gentile 
 city, they were probably at first Gentiles. It is not 
 likely that the Jews would go directly to Gentile women 
 who did not accept the Jewish faith. It is not likely 
 that strict Jewesses could have had large influence in 
 
 6 "Antioch in (or near) Pisidia, being a border city, iras considered 
 
 at different times as belonging to different provinces. Ptolemy places 
 
 it in Pamphylia, and Strabo in Pliryjria." This is accounted for by 
 
 supposing that Pisidia was formerly part of Phrygia, but in Paul's 
 
 rl of Pamphvlia. Sf- tli-- iu;tj iij Ninth Sunday. 
 
76 (ELEVENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 this Roman town. We suppose, therefore, that these 
 women were proselytes rather than native Jews or 
 open Gentiles. Exciting these women of position and 
 . of recognised piety against the Apostles, and either by 
 the influence of the women or in addition to them, ex- 
 citing the chief men of the city, the Jews organized a 
 systematic persecution. " Whether the supreme mag- 
 istrates of the colony were induced by this unfair agi- 
 tation to pass a sentence of formal banishment, we are 
 not informed," but the Apostles were expelled out of 
 the limits of the colony. 
 
(ELEVENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 speech is Paul's speech in Antioch like ? 
 "What resemblance can you trace ? 
 What change had taken place hi Paul ? 
 Can you account for this great cnange in Paul in more 
 
 than one way? 
 
 What kind of an impression did Paul's speech make ? 
 Vi" iat did the Gentiles in the synagogue wish from Paul ? 
 Do you think these l Gentiles ' were proselytes, or not ? 
 What is meant by 4 the next Sabbath ' ? 
 When was the next time of assembling ? 
 Was there a 'congregation* left in the synagogue after 
 
 4 the Jews were gone out 1 ? 
 What is a proselyte ? 
 What advice did Paul and Barnabas give to those who 
 
 followed them ? Why ? 
 What is meant by 4 the grace of God ' ? 
 What did the Apostles probably do during the week ? 
 What proves that they were not idle ? 
 Did the multitude who came together * to hear the word 
 
 of God, 1 come intending to obey it ? 
 Is it right to induce people to come to church from other 
 
 motives than to obey the word of God ? 
 What made the Jews envious ? 
 
 AVhy is the word l multitudes/ and not multitude, used ? 
 "Why should the Jews have been glad to see * almost the 
 
 whole city T there ? 
 
 What might they have expected or hoped ? 
 What did they ? why ? 
 
 What is the extraordinary thing in this synagogue ? 
 Had this ever been done before ? 
 What led Paul to think that such a time would come ? 
 How did this offer differ from former offers to Gentiles ? 
 Did our Saviour ever preach to Gentiles ? 
 
 thi.; different from Peter's preaching to Cornelius ? 
 (21) 
 
(ELEVENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 How did it differ from Paul's preaching to Sergius Paulus ? 
 
 Do you think the Gentiles to whom this offer was made 
 were proselytes, or not ? 
 
 Can you prove that Paul was the Apostle to the Gen- 
 tiles ? 
 
 "What sort of boldness did it need for. the Apostle to 
 take such a position ? 
 
 Does the courage now needed to be a Christian differ 
 from it ? 
 
 How does Paul show he is right in turning to the Gen- 
 tiles ? 
 
 Who is * thee,' in the forty-seventh verse ? 
 
 What does ' ends of the earth ' mean ? 
 
 From what prophet is this quotation made ? 
 
 What other bold claim did the Apostles make ? 
 
 Did this conduct in the synagogue continue to be an ex- 
 traordinary thing with the Apostles ? 
 What two effects were produced by this conduct ? 
 
 What is meant by l glorified the word of the Lord ' ? 
 
 What is meant by 4 ordained to eternal life 7 ? 
 
 How far was the Gospel preached ? 
 What did the Jews first against the Apostles ? 
 
 AVhat more did they determine to do ? 
 
 How did they now attempt to do it ? 
 
 Through what two classes of persons ? 
 
 What was often true of women in Gentile towns ? 
 
 What three classes were there, to one of which it is sup- 
 posed these women belonged ? 
 
 Which one of the three did they belong to ? 
 
 What does * devout ' show ? 
 
 What does * honorable ' show ? 
 
 What was the result of the persecution ? 
 
 Do you think there was a formal sentence of the xnagi* 
 trates ? 
 
 What-is meant by * coasts' ? 
 (22) 
 
Sunbiw. 
 
 FLIGHTS FROM CITY TO CITY. 
 
 LESSON. 
 ACTS xiiL 51, 52 ; xiv. 1-7. 
 
 THIS was the first persecution of Paul and 
 -*- since they began their missionary journey. And 
 now, thrust out of Antioeh and out of Tisidia, they 
 did not forget the words of their divine Master to the 
 vc. 1 As a testimony a-'aii: loked persecute 
 
 ors of Antioch, they shook off the very dust from their 
 I they to,,k their way along the dry, barren road 
 to the east. "It was taught by the Scribes that the 
 dust of a heathen land detiled by the touch. Hence, 
 the shaking of the dust off the feet implied the city was 
 profane." And one of greater authority than the Scribes 
 iiad tau;_rht that that city was profane, and exposed to 
 condemnation in the day of judgment, which persecuted 
 his servants and di-dples. 
 
 r:it as the banished missionaries trod the < sunburnt 
 road ' up the mount : hey left behind them, in the 
 
 city, a company of men filled with the purest joy. The 
 Gentiles who had sincerely believed were rejoicing in 
 their new-found faith: they were full of that highest 
 joy which the human heart is capable of receiving the 
 joy of the Holy Ghost. They had lost their teachers ; 
 they were in the midt of trial and persecution : but 
 the words an 1 the grace of Jesus had entered their 
 trusting hearts, and they could only rejoice. 
 
 ti x. 14, 15. 
 
78 (TWELFTH SUNVA Y.) 
 
 After the Apostles had climbed the mountain-range 
 east of Antioch, 2 they looked down on a large plain 
 the largest, it is said, in Asia Minor. As they de- 
 scended the other slope of the mountains, on the west 
 or north-west from Iconium, they could see, in the far 
 distance, across the elevated table-land of the plain, two 
 bold, high mountains Mount Argseus, 3 a hundred and 
 fifty miles away, almost in the east, stretching itseli 
 far above the line of the horizon, and Black Mountain, 
 a strange-looking mass of rock and earth, rising froir 
 the plain ' like a lofty island from the surface of the 
 ocean,' a hundred or more miles distant in the south- 
 east, in the very direction of Tarsus. Coming down 
 the heights, they could probably see the city of Ico- 
 nium for some time before they reached it, situated as 
 it is, far out in the plain. If they struck across to the 
 road from Philomelium, they could see the city for 
 twelve or fourteen miles of their journey. 
 
 We know more of Iconium since the time of Paul 
 than during his life. It has become a famous place, as 
 the city in which the great Turkish Empire had its first 
 beginnings. The town still remains, with its Avails 
 built of broken columns, capitals, pedestals, and other 
 pieces of sculpture, its eighty gates, its towers with 
 Arabic inscriptions : with its great mosque, ' the mina- 
 ret reaching to the stars ;' with its colleges, churches, 
 public baths, its fortified palace, its carpet and colored 
 leather manufactories : with its massive Arabic archi- 
 tecture and famous Mohammedan tomb. How it looked 
 in the time of Paul we do not know. "We can think of 
 the town as in the plain, surrounded almost on every 
 side by mountains covered with snow. " The dements 
 
 2 They may have crossed the range sooner than is indicated by the 
 line on the map. 
 
 * See iiiup of Cilicia, Fiiot Sunday. 
 
FLIGHTS FROM CITY TO CITY. 79 
 
 of its population would be as follows : a large number 
 of trilling and frivolous Greeks, whose principal places 
 of resort would be the theatre and the market-place; 
 some remains of a still older population, coming in oc- 
 casionally from the country, or residing in a separate 
 quarter oi' the town ; some few Roman officials, civil or 
 military, holding themselves proudly aloof from the 
 inhabitants of a subjugated province ; and an old set- 
 tlement of Jews, who exercised their trade during the 
 week, and met on the Sabbath to read the law in the 
 igogue." 
 
 Into the synagogue went the two strangers, as they 
 di'l at Antioch: who, though persecuted and forced to 
 their work in Pisidia, did not leave their success 
 behind them. There also le of Jews 
 
 an 1 Ghreeb (* proselytes or heathen, or both') beli. \cl 
 the Gospel. And although the bitter and proud Jews 
 did not permit the believers of Iconium to have peace,' 
 iiny more than they did their ' brethren ' of Antioch, 
 they did not succeed in driving the Apostles away at 
 once. Although they 'stirred up' the Gentiles, c the 
 heathen,' to prejudice and ill-feeling, yet the people be- 
 1 the dm/trine, and the Apostles abode there 'long 
 time.' Here, sixty or eighty miles from their late en- 
 emies, at Antioch, they reasoned with the Jews out of 
 their Scriptures. They gave another and more striking 
 proof of their authority to explain the word of God. 
 JTliey did miracles. Who could now fail of being con- 
 vinced of the right and truth of their words ? 
 
 We suppose Paul and Barnabas were in Iconium 
 some months. The time must have been much longer 
 than two weeks, for they were in Antioch of Pisidia as 
 Jong as that ; 4 and their stay in Iconium is evidently 
 
 4 As they wcut into the synagogue at Antioch on the Sabbath-day, 
 I the city on Friday at lea.- 
 
80 (TWELFTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 compared with their stay in preceding places. 
 time abode they,' it is said, just after the description 
 of their stay in Antioch. The time must have been 
 shorter than a year ; for the same narrative which de- 
 clares that they spent ( a whole year' in Antioch in 
 Syria, 6 and that Paul spent ' a year and six months ' in 
 Corinth, 8 and ' dwelt two whole years in his own hired 
 house ' in Rome, 7 would not have failed to note here a 
 time so long. " There is a tradition of certain events 
 said to have occurred while the Apostles were in Ico- 
 nium ; and we may safely adopt so much of the story 
 as to imagine Paul preaching long and late to crowded 
 congregations, as he did afterwards at Troas; 8 his en- 
 emies bringing him before the civil authorities, with 
 the cry that he was disturbing their households by his 
 sorcery, or with complaints that he was ' exceedingly 
 troubling the city.' ' : No doubt, also, the Apostles 
 preached the word from house to house, ' opening and 
 alleging that this is the very Christ.' And notwith- 
 standing all the opposition, they had their good reward 
 for * weariness ' and ' perils ' in the c great multitude ' oi 
 converts. 
 
 During these months the whole city became divided 
 into two great parties, (" a common occurrence on far 
 less important occasions, in these cities of Oriental 
 Greeks :") one party holding that they were good and 
 true men, preaching with sincerity and by God's com- 
 mand : the other, that their preaching and doctrine 
 were pretension and falsehood, and perhaps also that 
 their miracles were mere magic or deception, like the 
 
 they did not leave the city till after the 'next Sabbath-day' not at 
 K'u<t till Sunday or Monday. This would make from nine to eleven 
 days. There was probably considerably more time consumed after 
 the second Sabbath in ' stirring up' the women and elm f men. 
 6 Act c xviii. 11. 7 xxviii. 30. B xx. ^-11, 
 
FLIGHTS FROM CITY TO CITY. 81 
 
 works of all sorcerers. " But here, as at Antiocli, tho 
 influential classes were on the side of the Jews. A 
 determined attempt/ 1 which had no doubt been gather- 
 ing force from month to month, " was at last made to 
 crush the Apostles, by loading them with insult, and 
 illy stoning them to death." When the actual as- 
 pault was about to be made, the disciples in some way 
 discovered it in time to flee to some of the smaller 
 towns or villages. 
 
 We must not think t! :<e it is saidLystra and 
 
 " were 'cities of i ./ it is meant that the 
 
 '1 now out of one province into another. 
 Iflin \va< tin- capital of i I plain 
 
 on which l">kd d\vn tV.'in tin' moun- 
 
 tain^ comprised a Large part nf the province of Ly- 
 caonia. " It was a hare and dreary region, umv.v 
 by st - liable to occasional floods." 
 
 Lystra and Derbe \vre small and retired places, little 
 known. The writer, in calling them 'cities of Ly 
 caonia,' only intends t<> fix their situation. They were 
 perhaps small towns, "with a rude dialect and simple 
 superstition," off on the boundaries of the province, 
 where the customs of the people did not change, as in 
 the great cities, and " where Greek, though certainly 
 understood, was not commonly spoken." The exact 
 sites of these cities arc not known, but it is supposed 
 they were at the foot of Black Mountain. The flight 
 from Iconium was therefore towards the south-east, to- 
 wards the huge, dark pile which, standing out in tho 
 plain, looks so much like a high * island in the midst 
 of the sea.' Perhaps, however, they did not go directly 
 to Lystra, for they preached also in the ' region round 
 about.' This must have occurred before the events at 
 Lystra took place ; for when they left Lystra, they 
 went directly to Derbe ; and when they left Derbe, 
 
82 (TWELFTH SUNDA Y.) 
 
 they return ed at once, it would seem, to Lystra and to 
 Iconium. It may have been that the peril was so great 
 that they did not venture to preach at once in these 
 cities, but were for a while in some of the still more 
 obscure settlements under the shadow of the great 
 mountain. Whether they first preached in " the region 
 round about," or went out from Lystra into the sur- 
 rounding country, a most important event occurred in 
 Lystra. It is to be noticed that there is no mention of 
 any synagogue in this city. Nothing is said of any 
 Jews, except those who came from Iconium. We 
 si Kill see afterwards that there were in the town at 
 least two or three Jews. 
 
 "We are now instantly brought into contact with 
 Heathen superstition and mythology ; yet not the su- 
 perstition of an educated mind, as that of Sergius 
 Paulus, nor the mythology of the refined and cultivated 
 Athenians, but the mythology of a rude and illiterate 
 people. Thus does the Gospel, in the person of Paul, 
 clash with opposing powers," one after the other : with 
 the crafty sorcerer, the Roman official, the bitter Jew, 
 the cruel magistrate, and now with false divinities. 
 
(TWELFTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 WHAT docs shaking the dust off the feet signify ? 
 
 What difference was there in the teaching of the Savioul 
 
 and of the Scribes in respect to this ? 
 Does * the disciples ' mean Paul and Barnabas ? 
 
 AVhat can give the highest joy in the bitterest pcrscu- 
 
 tion? 
 
 Are sacred and holy things gloomy or joyful ? 
 Does the Holy Spirit design to make men sad or gloomy ? 
 Is it religion or the want of it which makes many pro- 
 ms gloomy and doleful ? 
 
 What kind of a country did the Apostles now enter ? 
 How was Iconium situat 
 
 ty since become famous ? 
 AVhat was the mixture of population in Paul's time ? 
 
 ; tin- Apoetta pj in this t 
 What success did tl : ^TC ? 
 
 AY h^n it is said they **<? spake/ etc., do you think any- 
 thing peculiar in their preaching in this town is 
 meant ? 
 
 Were these Greeks c proselytes ' ? 
 AVhat .\.i -; the result of the persecution at first ? 
 II(.\v f:tr wm they from Antioch in Pisidia? 
 AVhat did they besides argue from the Scriptures ? 
 How long were they in Iconium ? How do you prove it ? 
 How long do you think they were in Antioch of Pisidia? 
 AVhat tradition is there in respect to Paul in Iconium ? 
 What does ' word of his grace J mean ? 
 What else did they ? 
 AVhat did this l testimony * prove ? 
 Were all who heard and saw convinced ? * 
 
 AVhat happened during this time ? 
 What did the two parties probably claim in respect to 
 
 him? 
 
 What was true of such divisions in Oriental cities ? 
 (23) 
 
(TWELFTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 Were all who took Paul's side Christians ? 
 
 What is meant by the Gospel ? 
 What did the persecutors determine to do ? 
 
 What two parties united in this persecution ? 
 
 Whose rulers are l their rulers ' ? 
 
 Was stoning a Jewish or a Gentile punishment ? 
 To what kind of a place did they flee ? 
 
 In what direction ? 
 
 Did they pass out of the province in which Iconium was ? 
 
 What was Iconium in respect to the province ? 
 
 Why are these called * cities of Lycaonia ' ? 
 
 What kind of country was Lycaonia ? 
 
 Where were Lystra and Derbe ? 
 
 Did they preach the Gospel anywhere else than in these 
 places ? 
 
 Was this preaching before or after they entered Lystra ? 
 
 In what kind of places was this preaching ? 
 
 Can you think of any other religion than one, which 
 teaches us to go as willingly to the obscure and 
 the poor as to the influential and the rich ? 
 
 EOW does true piety in the heart make men feel in re- 
 spect to poor and rich ? 
 What sort of people were the Lystrians ? 
 
 Were there Jews among them ? 
 
 How did the superstition of the Lystrians differ from 
 that of others ? 
 
 What kinds of people had the Gospel now come in con- 
 flict with ? 
 
 What opposite effects had been produced ? 
 
 Does the Gospel always produce some effect when it is 
 faithfully preached ? 
 (24) 
 
(Tinrteenllj 
 
 JUPITER AND MERCURY. 
 
 LESSON. 
 ACTS xiv. 8-20. 
 
 " TT was a common belief among the ancients that 
 A the gods visited tin- earth in the form of men. 
 Such a belief with regard to Jupiter, 4 the father of 
 an 1 men/ would he natural in any rural district, 
 aii-l nowhere more than in Lystra ; for Lystra, as ap- 
 ription -iven, 1 was under the espe- 
 cial protection Of Jupit divinities were ini- 
 1 to liaunt the cities under their protection. The 
 temple or the statue of Jupiter was a conspicuous ob- 
 ject in front of the city gates : what wonder was it, 
 i here tore, if the citizens of Lystra should be prone to 
 believe that their 'Jupiter which was before the city' 
 would willingly vi>it his favorite people?" Mercury 
 was the messenger find herald of the gods, especially 
 of Jupiter, and h-: naturally thought to attend 
 Jupiter on his expeditions. The Lycaonians, especially 
 in the region of Lystra, would quickly believe any story 
 of these t\ro divinities appearing together, if a miracle 
 had been wrought, such as this which Luke records. 
 
 " We suppose that Paul gathered groups of Lystrians 
 about him, and addres-cd them" in the open squares of 
 the city, or other places of public resort, as a modern 
 
 1 ' Which, 1 in the thirteenth verse, relates to ' Jupiter,' and not tc 
 / as the Greek clearly shows. It was Jupiter whose image or 
 temple wos before the city, and so was its protection. 
 
84 (THIRTEENTH SUNDAY.) ' 
 
 missionary might address the natives of a Hindoo vil- 
 lage. Although the ' speech of Lycaonia ' was a rough, 
 rude dialect of Greek, like some broken accent 01 
 c brogue ' in respect to our own English, or the obscure 
 remnant of some older language, yet the people would 
 understand Paul when he spoke to them in Greek. 
 
 As Paul was preaching one day, he saw seated on the 
 ground a helpless cripple, weak in his feet, who had 
 never walked, earnestly listening to his words. Paul 
 saw at once more than his deformity and helplessness. 
 He ' steadfastly beheld* him. (and these words in the 
 Greek are peculiarly forcible : they mean, he looked 
 with a sharp, piercing gaze, as the gaze of one stretch- 
 ing forward to look intently.) By the power of the 
 Holy Spirit, he was able to penetrate the very secrets 
 of the cripple's soul : he saw that ' he had faith to be 
 Piive'd ' a from the disease of his body, if not from the 
 spiritual disease of his soul. As Peter, 'fastening his 
 ;]><m' that other cripple at the Beautiful gate of the 
 Tempk', 3 said to him, ' In the name of Jesus Christ of 
 Na/areth, rise up and walk,' so Paul to this heathen 
 cripple in his idolatrous audience at Lystra : ' Stand 
 upright on thy feet.' God's power instantly met human 
 faith, and wrought a mighty change. " The lame man 
 sprang up in the joyful consciousness of a power he 
 had never felt before, and walked like one who had 
 never been infirm." Notice the combination of results 
 in the miracle : strength in place of weakness ; sound- 
 ness and straightness instead of disease and deformity ; 
 the art of walking, of balancing and moving at the 
 same time, by one who had never learned. 
 
 4 Faith to be healed' The Greek word is, * to be saved.' It may 
 be in the sense of * to be saved' from disease, that is, to be healed, 
 of it may be to be saved from sin. 
 
 Acts iii. 11, etc. 
 
JUPITER AXD MERCURY 85 
 
 "And now aro.-v tumult of voices from the 
 
 en>\vl. Su.-h a cure of such a disease, so sudden and 
 complete, would have confounded the most skilful phy- 
 sicians/' The people, ill led with astonishment, at once 
 concluded that the divinities were come. They cried 
 out in their mother-tongue that Jupiter and Mercury, 
 n the form of men, were again in Lyeaoniu. Paul was 
 the * chief speaker.' They took him, therefore, for Mer- 
 cury, the god of eloquence. Barnabas must be Jupi- 
 ter, because Jupiter and Mercury always were com- 
 panions in their earthly appearances, "though we may 
 well believe that there was something majestically be- 
 nt in the appearance of Barnabas, while th- 
 sonal aspect of Paul was the rather insignificant. It 
 is also possible t! abas was older^ and there- 
 
 fore more vencrall i 'aul/' 
 
 r rhe news of a miracle, and that the gods had done 
 it, spread quickly through the small town. The gods 
 had o iin ! They had cured the cripple, lame 
 
 from birth I All the people i ited ;m<l in tumult. 
 
 How should they honor the heavenly visitors! The 
 priest of Jupiter's temple at the city gates was called 
 to sacrifice to his god. The priest and his attendants, 
 '.ng garlands of leaves and flowers on their heads, 
 and bearing them in their hands, brought oxen to make 
 a " procession moved amidst crowds of 
 people to the house in which the Apostles were." By 
 some persons, 'gates' has been supposed to mean c the 
 gates of the city which the excited people hung with 
 garlands in idolatrous honor of Paul and Barnabas 
 within :' by others, the gates or doors of the house, 
 opening from the street into the hall which led to the 
 inner court, the reception-room or sitting-room of the 
 house. 
 
 The Apostles were horror-stricken, when they knew 
 
86 (THIRTEENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 what the people were doing. Rending their clothes 
 and rushing out among the people, they opposed the 
 people, and expressed their abhorrence of what they 
 were going to do. It may be that Luke has preserved 
 only the short outline of Paul's speech. 
 Notice the argument : 
 
 I. We are not gods, but men with feelings like yours. 
 
 II. Worship of such gods is wrong, as we have 
 preached to you : these gods are mere vanities, mere 
 nothings : we declare to you one Living God. 
 
 III. This one God, and not your ' vanities,' made all 
 things : the heavens above, the earth beneath, all things 
 
 IV. In ancient times some excuse might possibly 
 have been offered ; for having no such light as the 
 Jews, the Gentiles everywhere walked in their own 
 ways. 
 
 V. But there is no excuse now, as there was roally 
 no excuse then ; for rain from heaven, and the seasons 
 which bring us fruit, and all the wonderful manner in 
 which the earth and the heavens are made, show one 
 God Alone, whom alone we ought to worship. 
 
 How coldly this address of Paul fell on that ignorant, 
 superstitious people, eager to offer oxen and garlands in 
 sacrifice to men like themselves. The natural religion 
 of poetry and of imagination they liked, but the wor- 
 ship of One Jehovah only, they did not like. The crowd 
 were ' scarce restrained' from worshipping mortals liko 
 themselves. They slowly led away the victims. 
 
 But instead of gratitude that the lame man had been 
 healed in their city, we now find a very great and sur- 
 prising change of feeling. Excited in one direction, 
 they were soon excited in another, as were the, Jews at 
 Jerusalem, when one day they cried, 'IIosaTimi,' and 
 the next day, 'Crucify him.' "The Lycaonians were 
 
JUPITER AXD MKRCURY. 87 
 
 , 
 
 proverbially fickle and faithless." Some of the hostile 
 Jews from Icorrium had come to Lystra on some er- 
 rand ; perhaps on purpose to persecute the Apostles. 
 " When they heard of the miracles worked on the lame 
 man, and found how great an effect it had produced on 
 the people of Lystra, they would be ready with a new 
 interpretation of the occurrence." And just as at 
 Jerusalem the Jews said that Jesus 'cast out devils 
 by lieelzebub, the prince of devils,' so might they say 
 that this miracle was "not by Divine agency, but by 
 some diabolical inairic. This is probably the true in- 
 tatinn of that sudden change of fcel'mi: amon^ 
 iiii-, which at first sight seems very surpris- 
 <t deda: workers gods: 
 
 the miracle-workers themselves denied that they were 
 gods: the Jews said that it was sorcery, ma- ic, the 
 and of T. 1 ignorant 
 
 and ( asily duped, tliey not only believed it, but suffered 
 themselves to be led on to persecution and to murder. 
 In the very streets the mob stoiud Paul, then bar- 
 baron>ly draifircd him out of the _rav, and cast him out 
 1. Their supcr.-iitions ehan-j. Sodden as 
 
 that of the 4 barbarous at Malta, 
 
 who iirst thought Paul a inurderei 1 , and then a god. 4 
 The Apostle mentions this in his catalogue of 
 
 his suilenngs. 6 Both at Lystra and when lie wrote to 
 the Corinthians he mu>t have thought of the stoning of 
 Stephen. And as Stephen's death only increased the 
 number of disciples, so does the stoning of Paul only 
 briiiLT into si^ht others who believed on Jesus, and one 
 who was afterwards fellow-apostle and fellow-mission- 
 ary with Paul. 'Disciples stood round about him,' 
 when he lay as dead, when he recovered from the swoon 
 and rose up. 
 
 4 Acts xxviii. 4-6. * II, Corinth, xi. 2B. 
 
88 (THIRTEENTH SUNDAY.} 
 
 Among these disciples of Lystra, we have reason to 
 believe, was Timothy. His mother w<is a Jewess, his 
 father a Greek ; and about two years later, when Paul 
 came to Lystra again, he found Timothy already a 
 Christian, and ' well reported of by the brethren.' In 
 one of his letters afterwards to Timothy, Paul reminds 
 Timothy of his knowledge of his own persecution ' at 
 Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra" " We have thus the 
 strongest reasons for believing that Timothy was wit- 
 ness of Paul's injurious treatment, and this too at a 
 time of life when the mind receives its deepest impres- 
 sions from the spectacle of innocent suffering and un- 
 daunted courage. And it is far from impossible that 
 the generous and warm-hearted youth was standing in 
 that group of disciples, who surrounded the apparently 
 lifeless body of the Apostle, outside the walls of Lys- 
 tra." His mother Eunice, and his grandmother Lois, 
 pml,ally dwelt there, 9 so that there were in Lystra at 
 least three Jews when Paul came. Educated in the 
 study of the sacred Scriptures by his mother and grand- 
 mother, 10 he was ready to receive the Gospel when it 
 came to him. It was not without a divine purpose, 
 therefore, that Paul was permitted to be persecuted at 
 Iconium, and that he fled to Lystra to suffer anew; for 
 here it is that he finds a convert who is to be another 
 faithful preacher of the Gospel. 
 
 " Derbe is somewhere not far from the Black Moun- 
 tain." In a few hours he would come to that place. 
 He probably had no persecution in this town ; for when 
 he writes to Timothy that he was witness of his sufiV 
 ing ' at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra,' he does not 
 mention Derbe. " It may have been a quiet resting- 
 
 fl Acts xvL 1. 7 II. Tim. iii. 10, 11. 
 
 II. Tim. i. 5. B Acts xvi. 1-3. lf II. Tim. iii. 15. 
 
JUPITER AXD MERCURY. 89 
 
 place after a loner journey full of toil and danger." 
 
 Here Paul recovered his strength after the stoning; 
 
 ;or after his weariness ; but here 
 
 also he was still preaching the Gospel, for here he 
 made many disciples. 11 
 
 11 Margin of 2 1st verse. 
 
(THIRTEENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 WHAT especial reason is there why the Lystrians would ex- 
 ' pect the gods to visit them ? 
 
 What is meant by * Jupiter which was before the city 7 ? 
 
 Who was Jupiter ? Who was Mercury ? 
 Where did Paul speak in Lystra ? 
 
 What language did he speak ? 
 
 What was the ' speech of Lycaonia ' ? 
 What hearer was there in one of Paul's audiences ? 
 
 What does ' impotent ' mean ? 
 
 How long had he been a cripple ? 
 
 What does 4 steadfastly beholding ' mean ? 
 
 What, besides his lameness, did Paul see ? 
 
 How could Paul * perceive ' faith ? 
 
 What other miracle does this miracle resemble ? 
 
 How many points of resemblance can you trace ? 
 
 What two things united to make this mighty change ? 
 
 Are there any other than these two things necessary in 
 the conversion of a soul ? 
 
 Are they exercised differently from what they were in 
 this cripple's case ? 
 
 How many results of this miracle can you mention ? 
 
 What did the cripple's leaping show ? 
 What effect did this miracle have on the assembly? 
 
 Why did they call Paul, Mercury ? 
 
 Why Barnabas, Jupiter ? What suppositions can you 
 make ? 
 
 What was now proposed ? 
 
 Whom did they call for ? 
 
 What does * gates ' mean ? 
 Wh}- had not the Apostles prevented this procession before ? 
 
 Why did they rend their clothes ? 
 
 How do you know that Paul, and not Barnabas, spoko ? 
 What was the first point in the argument ? 
 
 What does * of like passions ' mean ? 
 (25) 
 
(THIRTEENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 What <vas the second point ? 
 
 What does * vanities' mean? 
 What was the third point ? 
 What was the fourth point ? 
 
 Do you suppose * all nations ' includes the Jews ? 
 
 Does God ever excuse sin ? 
 What is the fifth point in the address? 
 
 What is meant by ' left not himself without witness ' ? 
 
 Docs God wish to have us * filled with gladness 7 ? 
 
 What is there especially in rain and fruit and the seasons 
 
 which shows this ? 
 
 What is the whole argument designed to prove ? 
 What was the effect of Paul's speech on the people ? 
 
 What was this sacrifice intended to express ? 
 
 Was it in any way a sacrifice for sin ? 
 
 Do men naturally like natural religion? Why? 
 
 Do men naturally like to practise the Christian religion ? 
 Why? 
 
 What other interpretation might have been given of tho 
 mir:: 
 
 Do you think it was given by these Jews ? 
 
 I lad the Jews in Palestine ever so explained miracles ? 
 
 What were the Lycaonians proverbial for ? 
 
 Did they actually stone Paul to death? 
 
 Why didn't they stone Barna- 
 
 What change as sudden as this in the minds of two dif- 
 ferent peoples at two different times ? 
 When Paul 4 rose up, J was there a miracle ? 
 
 Who were these * disciples ' ? Lystrians or others ? 
 
 What fellow-laborer afterwards joined Paul at Lystra ? 
 
 What reason have we to believe that he was among 
 these * disciples ' ? 
 
 Do you think the evidence sufficient ? 
 What do you know of Derbe ? 
 
 What did Paul there ? 
 
 What was the result ? 
 
 (26) 
 
Sxmbag, 
 
 THE JOURNEY HOME. 
 
 LESSON. 
 
 ACTS xiv. 21-27. 
 
 DERBE is the end of Paul's first missionary journey. 
 ^Je was now not very far from his own homo at 
 Tarsus. Derbe could not have been farther from the 
 celebrated pass through the mountains 1 down to Tar- 
 sus, than from Iconium. lie was at the one foot of that 
 mountain-range, at the other foot of which lay his na- 
 tive province. The journey of a day or two would have 
 probably taken him into Cilicia. " But his thoughts 
 did not centre in his earthly home." He thought of 
 his converts in the different places through which he 
 had come : how exposed they were to persecution and 
 to doubts of the truth, and to trouble from the argu- 
 ments of the Jews ; how much they needed strengthen- 
 ing in the faith, the comfort of his presence, and his 
 words ; and especially how they needed to be formed 
 into organized and fixed churches for their mutual 
 strength and protection. And so, after staying in Dcrbe 
 long enough perhaps to recover Paul's strength, and for 
 the persecuting spirit in Lystra to subside, Paul and 
 Barnabas turned their steps back upon the road which 
 they came. At Lystra, Timothy may have been one 
 who helped make up the church ; for there, as well as 
 
 1 The famous c Ciliciau Gates,' a narrow mountain-pass, through 
 which many an ancient army marched on the route from west to east, 
 and from east to west. See the map of Cilicia, First Sunday. 
 
THE JO URXEY HOME. 91 
 
 in Antioch ar. a, it would seem that a church 
 
 rmed. Undaunted by danger, by their own bold 
 
 example they d tlie disciples, even when they 
 
 told them that they could only be disciples of Jesus by 
 
 1 trough great suffering and affliction. What 
 
 undoubting confidence must these good men have had 
 
 in tlic-ir religion, when they " ventured to address to 
 
 their earliest converts such words of encouragement as 
 
 : c We can only outer the kingdom of God by 
 
 :hrough much tribulation.'" In ordaining 
 
 1 ciders in every church,' they followed the example of 
 
 the churches in Jndea, which had their elden distinct 
 
 from -s. 2 Jcwi-h elders h:> 
 
 of Moses. 3 T second ti UK 
 
 the elders of the < :rcli arc spoken of, the 
 
 . 
 
 ;-ntly nn ,fter\vards. 4 Paul him- 
 
 v rites to Titus to < lers.* 
 
 The Apostles mu<t have remained in each place a 
 or more, and very likely several days; for there must 
 have been in each place a time appointed for fasting, 
 and t' . On their journey home, 
 
 probably they did not pivach publicly in the towns, for 
 that would only have kindled at once the fury of ] 
 cut or-' , and put the brethren in greater peril. The 
 brethren <s would now preach in their own 
 
 cities; and besides, it would be natural for Paul to 
 think, even as soon as this, of making a second journey 
 to these churches, as he afterwards did. The stay of 
 
 2 xi. 30. 
 
 3 Numbers xi. 16, 17. Deuteronomy xix. 12; xxi. 2-6; xxxi. 9. 
 I. Sam. xxx. 26. I. Chronicles xxi. 16. Ezra v. 5; vi. 14. Matt 
 rv. 2; xxviii. 12. Acts iv. 5 ; vi. 12. 
 
 4 xv. 4, 6, 23; xvi. 4 ; xx. 17. 
 6 Titus i. 5. 
 
92 (FOURTEENTH S 
 
 the Apostles in these cities was therefore quite different 
 from what it was on their way out. Then it was most 
 public, the whole city of Antioch flocking to the syna- 
 gogue, the whole city of Iconium divided into parties 
 in respect to them, the whole city of Lystra hailing 
 them first as gods, and then mobbing them. N"ow the 
 visit must have been quite private : they gathered 
 around them a few disciples in some private house, and 
 with devout and solemn rites, organized the church of 
 God in the place. 
 
 How differently, too, would the Apostles approach 
 the various places from what they did before. As they 
 came across the great plain from the south towards 
 Iconium, they would look on the city before them, and 
 think sorrowfully of the wickedness and cruelty which 
 they had seen and felt both there and in Lystra; and 
 joyfully and thankfully would they think of what they 
 had been permitted to accomplish. As they climbed 
 the mountains towards Pi.-idia, they would rejoice 
 that now in Iconium and Lystra, churches were founded 
 in spite of persecution. As they saw again in the dis- 
 tance Antioch, what pure pleasure filled their hearts in 
 anticipation of meeting the converts whom, months be- 
 fore, they left, 'filled with joy and \\ ith the Holy Ghost.' 
 Welcomed again by these dear converts, they soon 
 learned their state and the attitude of the Jews at the 
 synagogue. Giving them instruction in respect to any 
 difficult questions which might have arisen, ' confirming 
 their souls,' ' exhorting them to continue in the faith,' 
 'ordaining them elders,' and rejoicing again and a^ain 
 that they had offered the Gospel to the Gentiles in the 
 synagogue, they took their perilous way again down 
 through the mountains, past lake and torrent and river 
 and robber-haunts, to the plain of Pamphylia. " If our 
 conjecture is correct, that they went up from Penra in 
 the spring, and returned at the close of autumn, and 
 
THE JOURNEY HOME. 93 
 
 fpcnt all the hotter months of the year in the elevated 
 districts, they would again pass in a lew days through 
 a great change of seasons, and almost from summer to 
 winter. The people of Pamphylia would have returned 
 from their cold residences, to the warm shelter of the 
 plain by the sea-side ; and Perga would be full of in- 
 habitants." This may be the reason why Paul and 
 Barnabas now stopped to preach in Perga. " We read 
 neither of conversions nor of persecutions here. The 
 Jews, if any Jews resided here, were less inquisitive 
 and less tyrannical than those at Antioch and Iconium ; 
 and the votaries of 'Diana before the city' at IV 
 
 ;iable than those who worshipped ' Jupi- 
 Ture the city' at Lystra. And when the time 
 came i<r returning to Syria, they did not sail down the 
 Oestrus, but travelled fttiTOM the plain toAttalia, on 
 the rdgc <>f the Pamphylian gulf/' This was the city, 
 at the innermost point of the bay, towards which they 
 sailed on their way from Cyprus to Pcrga, a city which, 
 from that time to this, ha> existed and flourished, and 
 retained its name. 7 From this city, centuries after, the 
 two great armies of the Crusaders, having come down 
 to the coast, through parts of the same districts 
 which Paul and ]>arnah:is travelled, embarked, like 
 thorn, for Antioch in Syria. " Behind the town is the 
 plain through which the waters of the Catarrh 
 How, perpetually constructing and destroying and re- 
 constructing their fantastic channels. In front of it, 
 and along the shore, are long lines of cliffs, over which 
 the river finds its way in waterfalls to the sea, and 
 which conceal the plain from those who look towards 
 the land from the inner waters of the bay, and even en- 
 croach on the prospect of the mountains themselves." 
 
 See page 59. 
 
 1 On our modern maps, in tin- Tuiki-h province of Aiiaddia, you 
 ill see the name of J 
 
94 (FOURTEENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 The Apostles stepped into the little ship which was 
 to bear them back to Palestine, and which was to mark 
 the track the Crusaders followed. Passing the high 
 cliffs of Rough Cilicia, the long coast of Cyprus, and 
 the familiar scenery about Tarsus, they passed on to the 
 place c whence they had been recommended to the grace 
 of God, for the work which they fulfilled.' Unlike the 
 Crusaders, whose arrival was anxiously waited for by 
 the ' Prince of Antioch,' and by a great gathering of 
 his nobles and chief men, and who were "brought into 
 Antioch with much pomp and circumstance, in the 
 midst of a great assemblage of the clergy and people," 
 the Apostles, unattended, stepped on shore at Seleucia, 
 or on the bank of the Orontes at Antioch, and found 
 their brethren. Quickly the assembly of the church 
 was gathered. Gladly, eagerly they heard the story 
 of the strange and perilous journey. Sorrowfully they 
 grieved over the wickedness of the persecutors ; thank- 
 fully, joyfully they praised God that the great mission, 
 undertaken with trembling and with solemn awe in 
 their hearts, had been fully accomplished, and that 'He 
 had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.' 
 
 The Apostles had been gone probably the greater 
 portion of a year. We have supposed them starting, at 
 the opening of navigation, from Seleucia, remaining in 
 Cyprus two or three weeks, consuming a week more on 
 the way to Pisidia in the spring, remaining two weeks 
 or more in Pisidian Antioch, three or four months in 
 Iconium, two weeks in Lystra and the region round 
 about, three or four weeks in Derbe, and consuming 
 two months or more on the returning journey in the 
 latter part of autumn. 
 
 So ended the first missionary journey, the work of HO 
 much labor, of so much faith, of so much lofty Christian 
 <*cnira^(! ; a journey so successful and of surh inestima- 
 ble coiisiMjiifin 
 
(FOC. I'll SUXDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 IV 1 1 AT success had the Apostles' preaching in Dcrbe? 
 
 What other meaning is therefor the words, 'had taught 
 
 many ' ? 
 
 How far was Derbe from Tarsus ? 
 What were the ' Cilician Gates ' ? 
 Do you suppose Paul failed to think of Tarsus now ? 
 What else did he think of? 
 Who may have helped make up the church at Lystra? 
 
 What strange kind of encouragement did the Apostles 
 
 give to their new converts ? 
 What i <{)c< i;J reason was there why Paul should say 
 
 What docs this show in respect to their religion ? 
 
 When religion promises happiness here, docs it promise 
 freedom from trials ? 
 
 Docs religion itself bring trouble ? 
 
 What does ' confirming the souls ' mean ? 
 
 What docs 'the faith' mean? 
 
 Had ' ciders' been ordained at any other place ? 
 
 How long had the office of 'elders' existed? 
 
 What was the difference between a Jewish and a Christ- 
 ian elder? 
 
 At what places are other 'elders' mentioned in tho 
 New Testament? 
 
 What is meant by ' ordained ' ? 
 
 ]Iw long did the Apostles remain in each place? 
 
 Do you suppose there was a separate meeting for prayer 
 and fasting? 
 
 Did they preach publicly ? Why ? 
 
 What is meant by ' commended ' them ? 
 
 Who is meant by l the Lord? on whom they believed ? 
 In what particulars were their visits different now from their 
 Tisits on the way out ? 
 
 What would they think of, as they approached tho dif- 
 ferent towns ? 
 
(FOURTEENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 Do you think they felt any especial interest in Antioch 
 in Pisidia ? 
 
 Do you think they preached elsewhere in Pisidia than 
 in Antioch ? 
 
 Is there anything which may mean that they did ? 
 What reason might there have been for stopping to preach 
 :ow in Perga? 
 
 What difference in the route down from Perga to the 
 sea, from that on the way up ? 
 
 Where was Attalia ? 
 
 Who else embarked here for Antioch ? 
 What is meant by 4 recommended to the grace of God * ? 
 
 What is it to 4 fulfil a work ' ? 
 
 How does the Apostles' disembarking at Antioch com- 
 pare with that of the Crusaders ? 
 
 How were they welcomed ? By whom ? 
 
 What was the one great thought in the minds of all af- 
 ter the Apostles had told their story ? 
 
 State the outline of the journey, giving an event in each 
 
 place. 
 How long had the Apostles been gone ? 
 
 Can you distribute the tiincV 
 
 What were the chief Christian characteristics necessary 
 to prosecute successfully such a journey ? 
 
 Why is this journey so important to us ? 
 
 What is the ' door of faith.' 
 
 How had it been opened to Gentiles ? 
 
 What one thing only, did all the journeying, all the 
 teaching, all the persecution mean ? 
 
 (28) 
 
Jlftccntb 
 
 A DIFFICULT QUESTION. 
 
 LESSON. 
 ACTS xiv. 28; xv. 1, 2. 
 
 HOW long Paul and Marnabas remained in Antioch, 
 we cannot determine accurately. It is suppo 
 they were there live or -' B. We maybe sure, 
 
 ho\\ it they were not idle. Indeed, a Q61 
 
 was now arising, which would require no small 
 aii'l attention. Alter a time, there came <lo\\ n 
 from Jii'lea 'certain men 91 who introluce<l a subject 
 into the assembly which at once aroused all the feelings 
 both of Jews and Gentiles. This subject was the occa- 
 sion of a lonir aii-1 trouble.! controversy; it was tho 
 means of sending Paul airaiii to Jerusalem ; aniLLtin- 
 t.lif> niost momentous consequences to .all 
 
 s of the Church and the world. It was debated with 
 the ger earnestness on each side, by the e\il- 
 
 mjnded and the tnie-lu artcd ; and afterwards, at An- 
 tioch ancl at Jerusalemp^y two ]>:irties, both of whom 
 > doubt jinccro and liouest. The question to be 
 decided was this : 
 
 ( ]' 'ivert$ from the Gentiles ought to obey the \ 
 
 I law of Moses. / 
 
 The disturbers at Antioch said at first, that Gentile 
 
 but this really meant 
 the same thing as when they said afterwards, at Jeru- 
 
 1 Notice that they arc not called ' brethren? 
 
06 (FIFTEENTH SUNDAY.} 
 
 salem, that they ought to be circumcised and to 
 the law of Moses. For to demand that they should be 
 circumcised, was to demand that .they should submit to 
 the initiatory rite of Moses' law in becoming a Jew, and 
 was therefore only a test of submission to all the cere- 
 monies and rites of the whole Mosaic law that is, to 
 all the rules about eating clean and unclean meats, about 
 Clings, sacrifices, etc. The real question, then, was: - 
 / Whether converts from the Gentiles ought to obey the J 
 I law of Moses. 
 
 To understand the real perplexity and difficulty which 
 ^ this question would excite among the disciples at An- 
 tioch and at Jerusalem, we must think of the broad, 
 distinct line which, in the mind of a Jew, was always 
 ^jlmwn between a Jew and a Gentile. If we notice three, 
 things, they will help us to understand the difficulties 
 of the question. 
 
 , . x I. The separation between Jews and Gentiles was 
 \is. The Jews were scattered everywhere 
 amongHie Gentiles, " over every part of the lloman em- 
 pire. In every important city of the cast and the west, 
 were some members of that mysterious people, who had 
 a written law, which they read and re-read, week by 
 week and year by year, in the midst of those who sur- 
 rounded them who were bound everywhere by a secret 
 link of affection to one city in the world, where alone 
 their religious sacrifices could be offered whose whole 
 life was utterly abhorrent from the temples and images 
 which crowded the neighborhood of the synagogues, 
 and from the gay and impure festivities of the Greek 
 and Roman worship. Hence the Jews in foreign na- 
 tions were surrounded by an idolatry which shocked all 
 their feelings, and a shameless profligacy which was 
 
 2 See, ulrfo, in the Letter in reply, ver.ie 21. 
 
A DIFFICULT QUESTION. 97 
 
 cv< U'd with what the Gentiles called religion." 
 
 :i the G< to the Jew-\ 
 
 ish faith, " were looked on with some suspicion by the 1 
 Jews t 1 . and thoroughly hated and despised I 
 
 by the Gentiles" With ii/ .-itred and contempt, / 
 
 the Jews hated the idolatry of the Gentiles, their in<ut>/ 
 jgods, their unclean and abominable sacrifices, StStr*- 
 many temples, instead of n^ their hoiTlhln inid shame- 
 less impurity even in honor of their gods. The reliyiuus *Jf 
 
 : rat inn was 1! a \vry wide one. 
 
 IT. The separation w ' rtual. Side >)y si<lo - -. 
 
 with tin- and u with the- 
 
 doctrines of Judaism. ilations of Greek pliiloso- 
 
 j.heis wen- i led in schools;" so that 
 
 i 'lato and Aristotle, Zeno and 
 
 Epicurus, as well as Moses, * had in every city those 
 that preached them.' '' The Jews naturally suspected / 
 flfid hnteci all the philosophy and science which had// 
 formed the mythology and theology of the Genti! 
 Ind f havi- M -n, many of her teachers wouh' 
 
 not allow their pupils to study the Greek Janguagc am" 
 literature. ' 'I separation was therefore 
 
 added to a reli'/mus , 
 
 IIL .M.'iv tlian this, 1 a'mn was wi<iL Tlien, 
 
 as imw, the Jews mingled freely with Gentiles in all ^ 
 
 places of * buying and sellinur, conversing and disput- 
 / ])iit in their families they were entirely separate. 
 It was t unlawful,* in their domestic rpl.iiinna, c for a 
 liiaii that was a Jew to keep company with nnp of an. 
 other nation.' 4 The . :ade against Peter by his 
 
 fellow-Christians was: 'Thou wcntest in to men uncir- 
 cumeised, and did-t eat with them." : ' Thi< matter of 
 eati ' /io^ejjting with Gentiles, had great influ- 
 
 8 iv. 21. 4 x. 28. 6 ii. 3. 
 
98 (FIFTEENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 ance over the Jews' life. The table and the daily meal, 
 is one place where acquaintance ripens into friendly 
 feeling, and friendly feeling ripens into attachment 
 u With the man with whom I can neither eat nor drink, 
 let our business intercourse be what it may, I shall sel- 
 dom become as familiar as with him whose guest I am, 
 and he mine. If we have, besides, an abhorrence of the 
 food which each other eats, this forms a new obstacle 
 to closer intimacy. Nothing better than this could 
 possibly be devised to keep one people distinct from 
 another. It causes the difference between them to bo 
 ever present to the mind, touching as it does upon so 
 many points of social and e very-day contact." It keeps 
 people separate better " than any difference of doctrine 
 or^worship." 
 
 \ /" I will buy with you, sell with you, walk with you, talk with you, 
 / and so following ; but I will not cat with you, drink with you, nor 
 /pray with you," 
 
 pays Shylock the Jew in the Merchant of Venice. 
 
 The social separation therefore every day and every 
 hour strengthened the religious and intellectual sq>ara- 
 tion of Jews from Gentiles. 
 
 bis wide separation was most rigidly maintained, 
 like the separation of caste among the Hindoos. "A 
 Hindoo cannot eat with a Parsee or a Mohammedan ; 
 and among the Hindoos themselves, the meals of a 
 J>rahmm are polluted by the presence of a Pariah, 
 thougli they meet and have free intercourse in the or- 
 dinary transactions of business." 
 
 Now, how was it possible for a Jew, educated accord- 
 ing to the law of Moses^ even though he believed on 
 Jesus as the Messiah, to receive a Gentile religion *li/, 
 intellectually, socially, unless he would not only forsake 
 idolatry and the heathen way of thinking of Christian 
 <.li !!!_% IHI! wonltl also consent to c-al only I he rlrrm 
 
A DIFFICULT QUESTION. 99 
 
 \ 
 moats; in short, unless lie would consent to circumci- 
 
 > all the washings and sacrifices and tithes, which \ 
 (he law of Moses commanded. 
 
 We must remember that one previous point had been\ ^L^ 
 si-itlcd, that the G< ntil>:s might receive the Gospel and \ r* 
 /:; vjht be converted. The conversion of Cornelius under j 
 IVter's preaching had settled that. 8 The precise point/ 
 to be settled was, wJiether Gentiles already con-\ 
 verted ought to obey (ill the particulars of Moses 1 fa I . 
 Notice now how ;t missionary journey would ' \\QA 
 
 bring un this question for decision. " Paul and Barna- 
 .'1 no doubt freely join il intercourse with 
 
 us at Antioch in Pisidia, at Iconium, 
 . At Antioch in Syria, too, they had 
 with mud '."in' with the Gentile brethren*" 
 
 . i-h Ch; -ially those who had 
 
 ;i out of Judea an i some of them, at 
 
 -thought this .-ill wroii^. They could not onduro 
 Uought of receiving directly into the church thes 
 multitudes of converts from the Gentiles without tht/v 
 "inent to obey the regular Jewish laws. Some < 
 Jewi>li Christ i.-ins were no doubt most sincere : 
 -ition to rrccivin^ the Gentile Christians, without/ 
 coming u; es 1 law. " AVe can well believe thatx 
 
 tlu 1 minds <>f many may have been perplexed by the 
 t of our Lord himself; for he had 
 not 1- the lost sheep of the house of 
 
 I-rai'l ;' and he said that ' it was not meet to take the 
 children's bread and give it to dogs.' To them this 
 change " was <i rebellion against all that they had been 
 'it to hold inviolably sacred." The Jews, c the 
 holy people,' would soon be swallowed up, they would 
 think, in this " universal and indiscriminating religion " 
 
 "Actsxi. 18. 
 
 \ 
 
100 FIFTEENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 of Christianity, if this were the way in which it was 
 to he administered. And Saul of Tarsus, the young 
 Pharisee, who, years before, sat ' at the feet of Gama- 
 liel,' was the principal person who was now trying to 
 make this change. Very likely, therefore, it was c cer- 
 tain' ' of the sect of the Pharisees' 7 who went down to 
 Antioch to attend to this matter. 
 
 See now the precise form the discussion took. These 
 did not say, that it would be well to be circum- 
 cised ; it would avoid difficulty in the church, it would 
 letter satisfy the minds of the Christian brethren at 
 Jerusalem, if they would be circumcised and keep 
 Moses' law: but very falsely they said : c Except ye be 
 circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot l)e 
 must have been instantly op- 
 
 posed by Paul with his intensest energy. The very 
 foundations of Christianity were in danger of being un- 
 dermined. "He did not yield, ' no, not for an hour.' " 
 V For some time the discussion was continued in An 
 tiocli ; perhaps for months, or even for a year. There 
 .id perplexity among the Syrian Christ- 
 ians. The minds of Gentile converts were troubled 
 and unsettled. The Gospel of Christ was perverted. 
 Great harm was being done. And so it was determined 
 that Paul and Barnabas and others should go up to Jeru- 
 salem, and there, in an assembly of apostles and elders, 
 have this difficult question settled. At Jerusalem were 
 the principal Apostles, James and Peter and John. 
 From Judea, the party who raised the vexed question 
 came, and would exist at Jerusalem in its greatest 
 strength. At Jerusalem, the other question about 
 .Peter's preaching to the Gentiles had been decided. 
 Jerusalem was the place where all religious questions 
 
 7 xv. 5. 
 
A DIFFICULT QUESTION. 
 
 101 
 
 been decided forjegnturies\ Jerusalem was there- 
 fore tne^ptace^fliere, once for all, this question ought 
 to be decided ; and Paul and ]3arnabas were the per- 
 sons who ought to go and represent the side of truth 
 and of right there. 
 
(FIFTEENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 TJOW long were Paul and Barnabas in Antioch ? 
 
 "Who at length came to Antioch ? 
 
 What did they teach ? 
 
 "When they required men to be circumcised, what test 
 was it ? 
 
 What were some of the other observances required ? 
 What then was the difficult question ? 
 
 What is the general reason why it was difficult ? 
 What was the first characteristic of this separation ? 
 
 How did the scattered Jews appear to Romans and 
 Greeks in foreign cities ? 
 
 What did the Jews see connected with the Gentile re- 
 ligions ? 
 
 How would a proselyte be thought of both by Jews and 
 Gentiles ? 
 
 What was the distinction between the Jews and Gen- 
 tiles in respect to the doctrine of God ? 
 
 What in respect to sacrifices ? 
 
 What in respect to temples ? 
 
 What in respect to moral purity ? 
 What was the second characteristic of the separation ? 
 
 What doctrines were taught in these foreign cities ? 
 
 What was the Greek and Roman mythology ? 
 
 What would the Jews think of Greek and Roman phi- 
 losophy ? 
 
 What did some Jewish teachers think of the Greek lan- 
 guage ? 
 What was the third characteristic of the separation ? 
 
 In what respect did the Jews mingle freely with Gen- 
 tiles ? 
 
 In what respects did they keep themselves separate ? 
 
 What was thought unlawful ? 
 
 Where do you find this rule referred to ? 
 
 How was it that the rule about eating kept them sepa* 
 rate? 
 
 (29) 
 
(FIFTEENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 "What separation in a modern heathen nation is some- 
 thing like this ? 
 
 State now the difficulties in receiving a Gentile or a Jew into 
 the church. 
 
 What previous point had been settled ? 
 When had that been settled? 
 "What did the Apostles say at that time ? 
 What was the precise point now ? 
 
 How did Paul's recent journey bring up this question ? 
 Do you think the Jewish Christians sincere in opposing 
 
 Paul? 
 What had our Saviour said which they might quote on 
 
 their side ? 
 Of what sect were the men who came to Antioch from 
 
 Ju.i 
 
 In respect to ths/orm, of their demand, what did not these 
 men say ? What did they say ? 
 
 What did Paul think of such a doctrine? 
 Why was the doctrine dangerous ? 
 What shows that the discussion continued some time ? 
 What is the difference between 'dissension' and 'dis- 
 putation ' ? 
 
 What would naturally be the result among the Syrian Christ- 
 ians? 
 
 Could they honestly be in trouble about it ? 
 How could the question be decided ? 
 What was determined at last ? 
 
 Why was it proper that it should be decided at Jerusa- 
 lem? 
 
 (30) 
 
Sifftenlfr Sxmbag. 
 
 THE COUNCIL. 
 
 LESSON. 
 
 GALATIANS ii. 1-10; ACTS xv. 3-22. 
 
 rrillS third journey of the Apostle to Jerusalem after 
 - his conversion, is supposed to be the one which 
 ] 'aid speaks of in the second chapter of his Letter to the 
 Galatians. 1 There seems to be little doubt that these 
 arc the men whom Paul there calls * false brethren,' 
 who were ' brought in unawares,' and c who came to 
 spy out his liberty,' that is, to see whether he was living 
 freely with Gentiles in Antioch, and ' to whom he did 
 not give place, no, not for an hour.' 
 
 We are there told that Paul did not go up to Jeru- 
 salem simply by the direction of the Antioch Christians, 
 but also * by revelation,' by the direction of a vision, 
 like the vision in the Temple years before, or at Troas 
 afterwards. 8 We are told, also, that Titus was one of 
 the c other disciples ' who went with him ; for Titus 
 was a Greek, and c uncircumcised :' he was a specimen 
 of the Gentile converts, that the Apostles and elders 
 and disciples at Jerusalem might see what kind of per- 
 Bons they were who were now made the occasion of 
 this controversy. It is evident that through all the * dis- 
 
 1 There have been various opinions in respect to which of Paul's 
 five journeys to Jerusalem is meant by the passage in Galatians, in 
 which he speaks of going up * fourteen years after.' " The view w 
 bave adopted is that of the best critics and commentators." 
 
 3 Acts xvi. '.). 
 
THE COUNCIL. 103 
 
 putation' at Antioch, most if not all of the Christiana 
 held to the side of Paul, for it is said they were ' brought 
 on their way by t-ie Church.' If the greater part of the 
 Church had condemned Paul's course, it is not likely 
 that we would have had this notice of their sympathy 
 :i:id atta.'hment. "The course of the. Apostles was 
 along the great Roman road which followed the Phoe- 
 coast-line, and traces of which arc still seen in 
 the cliffs overhanging the sea, and thence through the 
 middle of Samaria and Judea." Along the way, they 
 saw believers already converted, some of whom, in 
 Phcnice, had been converted under the preaching of 
 4 those scattered abroad ' after the persecution of Stc-^ 
 phcn. 3 The number had probably increased since that 
 time. In Samaria, Philip the Evangelist, and Peter and 
 John, had 1 the Gospel had 
 
 received with * great joy,' at least in one city. 4 To 
 
 < -hurclies they found on the way, they told 
 
 i the story of their journey among the Gen- 
 
 :nd how 'a door of faith' had been 'opened tc 
 
 the Gentiles.' In all these places, there was great ro 
 
 juicing among the assemble': rs. To the church 
 
 at JIM- at length told th* ory. 
 
 With wl.- rs must Paul have entered 
 
 Jerusalem now! Twice before-, since his conversion, 
 had lie been in the holy city. 6 This third time, he came 
 en a far more important errand, and probably was in 
 the city much longer than at either of the other, times.' 
 During the fourteen years since his conversion, 7 there 
 had been many changes. Death had taken away many 
 
 xi. 19. 
 
 viii. 8, 14, 25 ; ix. 32. 
 
 Acts xxii. 17; Galatians i. 18 ; and Acts xi. 30. 
 Galatians i. IS ; Acts xii. 25. 
 
 * Fourteen years afler? is supposed to mean ' after ' bis convex 1 . 
 ion. 
 
104 (SIXTEENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 of his early companions, " but some must have been 
 there who had studied with him ' at the feet of Gama- 
 liel.' " Herod Agrippa, who killed James and would 
 have killed Peter, had met his awful death. The Jews 
 had far less power than then to persecute and tyrannize 
 over the Church. Some of the Pharisees perhaps some 
 of Gamaliel's school like Paul, had believed that Jesus 
 was the Christ. But though they had believed, they 
 had not, like Paul, altogether relinquished their rigid 
 and intense zeal for the law ; and it was with them Paul 
 was now to discuss this most difficult question. 
 
 Think for a moment how much was involved in the 
 settlement of that question : "Whether Gentile converts 
 ought to obey the law of Moses. The question was 
 then to be decided for all countries outside of the land 
 of Judea; for in all countries, Ggntile converts would 
 surely be made. It was to be decided for all ages till 
 the end of the world. It was to be decided there in 
 Jerusalem, whether we Gentiles of America, in these 
 it days, shall be required, when we believe in Jesus 
 the Saviour, to submit to the ' washings,' and c fasts,' 
 and ' sacrifices,' to observe the Passover and other 
 feasts, and the whole ceremonial of the Mosnu- law. 
 
 When Paul and Barnabas, then, bringing Titus and 
 others with them, told to the assembled church the 
 story of their wonderful success in preaching the Gos- 
 pel among the Gentiles of Cyprus and Asia Minor, the 
 Pharisee-members of the church said at once that these 
 Gentile converts must certainly -be circumcised and 
 commanded ' to keep the law of Moses.' This was an 
 attack on the whole course of Paul, who had admitted 
 Gentiles to the Church, and who had not left them, so 
 far as we know, any direction in respect to the ceremo- 
 nial law. It was casting a suspicion and a reproach on 
 Barnabas. It was saying, too, that Titus, whom they 
 
THE COUNCIL. 105 
 
 had brought with them as a Christian brother, with 
 whom they had eaten and kept company, must be cir- 
 cumcised or he could not be saved. 
 
 The whole subject was now opened. There was 
 "icst conversation about it, in the homes of the disci- 
 . wherever the brethren met, and at the meetings 
 the chun-h, for some days. We know that Paul, be- 
 the great public meeting took place, at which the 
 final decision was to be made, consulted privately the 
 AIM, sties, 8 and told over his journey, his labor, and 
 the result of it all ; and that James, Peter, and John, 
 4 pillars ' of the Church, agreed with and sympathi/cd 
 with Paul. 9 
 
 At k-ngth the great meeting \vas appointed, that 
 which is now called in Church history, 
 
 FIRST COUNCIL OF THE CIIKI-MAN CHURCH. 
 
 This council may have been in session more than one 
 day. To understand fully the deliberations of this im- 
 portant body, let us divide its proceedings into the dif- 
 ferent parts : 
 
 First, there was much earnest debate, (verse 7,) and 
 perhaps, am.)ii_r ca.Livr-mind.-d .lews and strong Phari- 
 n violent controversy. How long this ' dis- 
 piitiii'.r lasted, \ve do not know. The Spirit of Inspi- 
 ration did not dictate that this discussion should bo 
 preserved, but only the words which divinely moved 
 sties spake. It consumed, however, doubtless, no 
 small part of the whole council. 
 
 Secondly, Peter, on the part of the Apostles, was tho 
 first who gave his opinion, (verses 7 to 11.) It was 
 proper that he should speak first, because he first of all v ' 
 preached the Gospel to the Gentiles. He spoke, 1. 
 (verse 7) of his own preaching to the Gentiles a long 
 
 9 Galatians ii. 2. * Galatians ii. 9. 
 
106 (SIXTEENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 time before, at Csesarea; of the Gentiles' belief in tho 
 word of God, and of God's directing him to go to 
 them : 10 2. (verses 8, 9) of the decisive fact that the 
 Holy Spirit had been sent to these Gentiles as He had 
 been to the Jewish believers, 11 and that was God's tes- 
 timony that both Gentile and Jew wefe alike to him 
 3. (verse 10) of the yoke of the Jewish law, whicl. 
 bowed down their neck beneath its pressure com 
 posed, as it was, of so many sacrifices, fasts, types, 
 carefulness in respect to eating with Gentiles and with 
 defiled persons ; of how no one had ever been able to 
 bear up under all the ceremonies it commanded, so 
 weighty were they; of how the Pharisees themselves 
 could bear testimony to the carefulness and exactness 
 and the labor of keeping that law ; and of how they 
 ought not to put this yoke on Gentiles, to whom God 
 had, without it, given the Holy Spirit: 4. (verse 11) 
 <>!' the grace of Jesus, the Messiah, and not the law of 
 .Moses, as the way of being saved for us who arc Jews, 
 as well as for these Gentiles. 
 
 Peter gave his decision, therefore, in favor of Paul, 
 Mud against the sect of the Pharisees. 
 
 Thirdly, ]>arnabas and Paul next spoke, one follow- 
 ing the other, (verse 12.) Probably Barnabas spoke 
 first, lie had been known longer among the brethren 
 of Judea than Paul. " There was a great silence through 
 all the multitude, and every eye was turned on the mis- 
 sionaries while they gave the narrative of their jour- 
 neys." They said that God, by miracles and wonders. 
 had shown that the Gentiles were to be the same as the 
 Jews in the Church. At Paphos, a wilful and wicked 
 magic-worker had been struck blind ; at Iconium, dur- 
 ing a long residence, ' signs and wonders ' had been 
 
 Acts x. 14, 15, 19, 20, 28. " x. 44, 45; xi. 15, 17, 18. 
 
THE COUNCIL. 107 
 
 done. Those wonderful works showed, that God had 
 been with thorn, and that it was lie who had helped 
 them plant so many churches in the midst of perils, and 
 robbers, and rivers, and mountains, and persecuting 
 
 . and wicked, cruel, superstitious Gentiles. They 
 paid, too, that on their return, they found these Gen- 
 til- s faithful, and rejoicing in God in the midst of their 
 trials. The Holy Spirit had given testimony to Peter's 
 
 liing to the Gentiles at Cirsaiva, but both the 
 .If '!i/ !<jHrU and miracles had testified to their preach- 
 in- in C\ j Asia Minor. This we suppose is the 
 substance of what Kirnabas and Paul said, one speak- 
 ing of sonic tilings and the other of others. 
 
 FomtliK stlo now spoke, (verses 13 
 
 to 21.) There were two Apostles of the name of James. 18 
 Jamrs the brother of John, was killed by IIerod. 1:! Thix 
 James is supposed to be lie who was also called 'James 
 : .lu>t.' "No judgment could have more weight 
 with the Pharisees than his." After the long narratives 
 of Barnabas and Paul, the multitude would look with 
 solemn silence for his opinion. James spoke, 1. (verses 
 13, 14) of Peter's preaching to the Gentiles, and of 
 their conversion by the Spirit ; and then, 2. (verses 15 
 to 18) }>r<'\ r!, by quoting a passage from the Hebrew 
 Scriptures, that the conversion of the Gentiles hao 
 
 ./.-? been God's purpose. Peter was right in preach 
 ing to the Gentiles, said the Apostle James; for ir 
 Amos, the prophet, it is written that God will builc 
 again the Jewish nation, 14 after its downfall, in orde, 
 
 13 Matthew x. 2, 3 ; Acts i. 13. * Acts xii. 2. 
 
 14 The tabernacle is the tent, or the house of David ; and the royal 
 house is used here as a figure of the nation. It is as if it were said, 
 * I will build again the Royal Throne of the Hebrew Nation.' The 
 Royal Throne of England is used as a figure for the government or 
 the nation of England. 
 
108 (SIXTEENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 that the rest of mankind and all the Gentiles might seek 
 after God. It is evident, therefore, that from the be- 
 ginning God meant that the Gentiles should be eon- 
 verted and brought into the Church, for God knows 
 ifll his works from the beginning. Wherefore, 3. (verse 
 ] 0) he judged that Gentiles who turn to God should 
 not be troubled with rites and ceremonies : but yet, 4. 
 (verses 20, 21) they ought to be taught to avoid ccr- 
 tain things which might be the occasion of trouble and 
 offence to their Jewish brethren ; four things, especially 
 forbidden by that law read every Sabbath in the syna- 
 gogues, four things they should be instructed to avoid 
 meat offered to idols, 15 sensual lusts, things strangled, y' 
 and blood. If the Gentiles and the Jews were now to 
 eat together, they must both agree to give up those 
 tilings which were offensive to each other. The Gen- 
 tiles ought to give up meat polluted by idols, and meat 
 from animals strangled, 16 and meat with blood in it, 
 since the very sight of these things on the table would 
 at once arouse the horror of a Je\v. 17 
 
 Fifthly, this advice of James seemed right and good, 
 and the council solemnly adopted it, (verses 22 and 20.) 
 It was neither at one extreme nor at the other. It re- 
 leased the Gentile converts from obeying the whole 
 Mosaic law. They need not be circumcised, nor offer 
 sacrifice, nor observe the feasts, the fasts, the washings, 
 
 16 * Pollutions of idols,' that is, " the flesh of animals offered to 
 idols, which remained over and was eaten by the worshippers, or was 
 sometimes sold in the markets." This flesh, according to Moses' law, 
 was polluted. 
 
 16 A strangled animal would of course retain the blood in the flesh, 
 vhile the Levitical law was that the blood should be poured out when 
 he animal was killed, (I^eviticus xvii. 13.) ' Strangled animals,' that 
 
 *, " those animals which, like fowls, were caught jn snares, and 
 Those blood was not let." 
 
 17 Leviticus xvii. 10- -14. 
 
THE COUNCIL. 109 
 
 At the same time, it commanded them to observe 
 certain parts of the la\v, the violation of which would 
 prevent the hearty agreement of Jews with Gentiles. 
 
 The church c the elders and the brethren ' agreed 
 upon this wise and just arrangement : the Apostl 
 
 honored and dignified character, recommended 
 rod approved it : the I foly Ghost confirmed it. 18 Tliis 
 
 difficult question was therefore answered by a 
 clear and satisfactory decision. 
 
 11 Terse 28. 
 
(SIXTEENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 I AT other account of this journey to Jerusalem have w 
 besides that in the Acts ? 
 By whose direction then did Paul go ? 
 Who was one of the ' certain other' ? (xv. 2.) Why ? 
 What does 4 being brought on their way by the church ' 
 mean ? 
 
 What are the c certain men ' in Acts called in Galatians ? 
 What does l spy out our liberty ' mean ? 
 When had the Gospel been preached in Phcnice and Sa- 
 maria ? By whom ? 
 Do you think these churches had not heard this news 
 
 before ? 
 
 How many times before, since his conversion, had Paul been 
 in Jerusalem ? 
 
 On what occasions ? 
 * Fourteen years after ' what ? 
 What changes had taken place ? 
 What was involved in the question ? 
 
 Who now started the question again ? 
 
 What was it saying in respect to Paul and Barnabas and 
 
 Titus ? 
 
 Whom did Paul consult privately ? 
 What is this great meeting called in church-history ? 
 
 How long did it continue ? 
 What was the first part of the council ? 
 Who took part in it ? 
 How much time did it consume ? 
 What was the second part ? 
 
 Why should he speak first ? 
 What was the first point in his speech ? 
 Where do you find the account of this ? 
 What was the second point ? 
 
 What is the reason here why Jews and Gentiles are 
 alike ? 
 
 (31) 
 
(SIXTEENTH SUXDAY.) 
 
 How docs faith purify the heart ? 
 
 What was the third point in his speech ? 
 
 Explain the meaning of this verse. 
 
 What is the fourth point ? 
 
 "What is meant by 4 the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ ' ? 
 
 How can we be saved now ? 
 
 What was Peter's decision, therefore ? 
 What was the third part of the council ? 
 
 What addition did they make to Peter's argument? 
 
 At what places hrid miracles been wrought? 
 What was the fourth part of the council ? 
 
 How do you distinguish from each other the two Apos. 
 une? 
 
 What was this one also called ? 
 
 What were the first and second points in his speech ? 
 
 What prophet does ho quote ? 
 
 What is th>' UK-lining of * the tahrrnaclc of David'? 
 
 What is the meaning then of the sixteenth verse? 
 
 How docs he prove that God from the beginning intend- 
 ed to convert the Gentiles ? 
 What were the third and fourth points in his speech ? 
 
 If the Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians were to 
 cat together, what must the Gentiles give up ? 
 
 What is meant by * pollutions of idols ' ? 
 
 Why were strangled animals and l blood' named? 
 
 How were these four things forbidden every Sabbath ? 
 What was the fifth part of the council ? 
 
 Wno confirmed the decision ? 
 (32) 
 
Sunbag . 
 
 THE LETTER AND THE LETTER-BEARERS, 
 
 LESSON. 
 ACTS xv. 22-35 ; GALATIANS ii. 9-14. 
 
 ONE thing only now remained ; to send the decision 
 of the church to the Gentile converts so anxiously 
 Availing for it. That there might be no charge of mis- 
 representation against Paul and Barnabas, or other ob- 
 jection by the ' false brethren ' at Antioch, Judas-Bar- 
 sibas and Silas were appointed to go with the Apostles. 
 They were to carry a letter from the church, contain- 
 ing the decision of the council, and were to explain 
 * by word ' what was written within. 
 
 And so the little company take the road back to An- 
 tioch a larger company than when they came Judas, 
 Silas, Paul, Barnabas, Mark, 1 Titus, and ' others.' While 
 they are on their way with the letter, let us think of two 
 or three things which had been decided by the council at 
 Jerusalem, from which they were now returning. 
 
 I. Paul had been publicly recognised by the church, 
 and by the inspired Apostles, as Apostle to the Gen- 
 t ; lcs. His first missionary journey had been approved 
 by the council. And besides this, James, Peter, and 
 John* saw that Paul was called of God to a special 
 
 1 Mark, you remember, came back from Pamphylia to Jerusalem. 
 We find him very soon again at Antioch. It is probable that he was 
 in this company with his kinsman, Barnabas. 
 
 3 This is the only time Paul and John met, so far as we know. 
 John here disappears from the Scriptures till we sec him again in the 
 isle of Patmos. 
 
Till-: IKTTKR AND LETTER-BE ARJRS. Ill 
 
 work among Gentiles. 3 They therefore gave him and 
 Barnabas their ' right hand of fellowship,' appointing 
 them to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles, and thera- 
 to Jews. 3 Paul's apostleship to the 
 Gentiles had been therefore publicly established. 
 
 II. The three Apostles at Jerusalem had directed 
 Paul and Barnabas especially ' to remember the poor.' 4 
 
 " The Jewish Christians in Jerusalem were exposed to y 
 peculiar suffering from poverty, and we have seen Paul 
 and Barnabas once before the bearers of a contribution 
 from a foreign city to their relief." That Paul was 
 'forward to do' this we know from his epistles after- 
 wards, 6 in which we see that he kept in mind the poor 
 :salem in his journeys. 
 
 III. Thus, the (iivrk, who came up with them to 
 ;salem, had not been circumcised ; 6 and so a Gentile, 
 
 without yielding to the law of Moses, had been pub- 
 licly recognised as a believer. The case of Titus would 
 IK- used as an example with other Jews and Gentiles, 
 as Paul himself mentions the fact when he writes to the 
 Gentile Galatians. 8 
 
 The company of travellers were joyfully received at 
 Ani' rcially the two missionaries and the two 
 
 letter-hearers from Jerusalem. "The whole body of 
 the church was summoned together to hear the reading 
 of the letter ; and we can well imagine the eagerness 
 with which they crowded to listen to such an import- 
 ant communication." When it was opened they read, 
 
 3 Galatians ii. 0. 4 Galatiana ii. 10. 
 
 5 A collection at Corinth for the saints at Jerusalem is recom- 
 mended in I. Corinthians xvi. 1-3 ; and the same passage shows that 
 Paul recommended the same thing to the Galatians. The Mace- 
 donians and the Achaians made collections for poor saints at Jerusa- 
 lem. Romans xv. 2G. 
 
 c Gal < 
 
IJL^i ^OjG V JCL,^ H,Ht^iJLll &U2\S^JL 2.) 
 
 that in/b? things only they would bo required to obey 
 the Mosaic Law. They were not obliged to be circum- 
 cised, nor to offer the many sacrifices at the temple, nor 
 to practise the Jewish purifications, nor to make the 
 Jewish difference between clean and unclean meats, ex- 
 cept in respect to meat offered to idols, strangulated 
 meat, and meat with blood in it. In a word, except 
 these four things, which every one ought willingly to 
 observe, the whole exact and burdensome routine of 
 Moses' law was not binding on them. What rejoicing 
 tli is glad news made among them we can best appre- 
 ciate by thinking how it would be in our day. Suppose 
 the demand was made to-day that the Gentile Christ- 
 ians of America must keep the law of Moses, must offer 
 sacrifices at Jerusalem, must eat none but clean meats, 
 must purify ourselves at every defilement according to 
 the slow and exact processes of the Levitical law, and 
 in all other things be governed by the ceremonial law 
 of Moses : suppose that we had sent good men to Je- 
 rusalem, to have the decision made by authorities in the 
 church there under the direction of the Holy Ghost : 
 suppose we should receive on their return such a letter 
 as this which was read in Antioch. We can imagine 
 the pleasure and the pious thanksgiving of the Antioch 
 Christians, on their release from the yoke of the bond- 
 age of the law. 
 
 How -much, too, the words and the sympathy of 
 Judas and of Silas added to their rejoicing. c Being 
 prophets,' by the especial teaching of the Holy Spirit 7 
 they exhorted and confirmed the brethren. And after 
 some short stay, the church permitted them to depart. 
 Silas, however, had a new and a greater work to do, * 
 although perhaps he did not know it. He was to be- 
 
THE LETTER AND LETTER-BEARERS. 113 
 
 come the feUow-missionary of Paul. Guided by the 
 Divine Spirit, and thinking he could do good in An- 
 tioch, lie remained with the two missionaries and with 
 many others who were there, 'teaching and preaching 
 the word of the Lord.' 
 
 There is one other event which occurred at Antioch 
 in connection with this subject of the council and the 
 letter. It is supposed that while Paul and Barnabas 
 were remaining in Antioch, that visit of Peter to An- 
 tioch took place during which Paul found it necessary 
 to reprove Peter. 8 For some reason, which we do not 
 know, Peter came from Jerusalem to Antioch, and 
 while there, at tir.M lived fret ';. [y with the 
 
 Gentiles. This was in accordance with the decision of 
 the council. IJnt \\Ia-n other Jewish brethren came 
 down from Jerusalem from James, who seem to have 
 ined their old .Iewi>h prejudices against eating with 
 Gen withdrew and separated' himself from 
 
 the Gentiles, living with the Jews only. This was not 
 in violation of the letter of the decree of the council, 
 for that said nothing about compelling the Jewish 
 Christians to eat with the Gentile Christians ; but it 
 was plainly opposed to its spirit, since the decree was 
 meant to promote the social fellowship of Jewish and 
 Gentile Christians. Other Jewish Christians followed 
 the example of Peter, and even Barnabas was led to do 
 the same thing. 
 
 This inconsistent conduct of Peter, which was likely \/ 
 to make anxiety and perhaps controversy again in the 
 church, Paul resisted with all his might. We find here 
 a little of Peter's old fickle impulsiveness, but it is his ( 
 only departure from his unfaltering steadfastness that 
 we find anywhere after his bitter repentance for denial, 
 
 ii. 11. 
 
114 (SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 Paul did not spare him the rebuke he thought lie de- 
 served. ' Before all,' 9 lie ' withstood him to the face,' 9 
 and emphatically reminded him that he was in effect 
 going back to the old and false principle, that a man 
 was justified by keeping the law of Moses, and not, as 
 all Christians now believed, by believing in Jesus the 
 Christ. The whole occurrence was no doubt some 
 months, perhaps a year, after the council. 
 
 " This scene, though merely mentioned, is one of the 
 most remarkable in sacred history ; and the mind tries 
 to picture to itself the appearance of the two men. It 
 is therefore lat least allowable to mention here that 
 general notion of the forms and features of the two 
 Apostles, which has been handed down in tradition, 
 and was represented by the early artists. St. Paul is 
 set before us as having the strongly marked and promi- 
 nent features of a Jew, yet not without some of the ' 
 finer lines of Greek thought. His stature was diminu- 
 tive and his body disfigured by some lameness or dis- 
 tortion, which may have provoked the contemptuous 
 expressions of his enemies." 10 His face is represented 
 as long and oval, his nose eagle-shaped, his eyes spark- 
 ling and gray, under thick, overhanging eyebrows united 
 at the centre, his complexion transparent, his forehead 
 high and bald, his hair brown, and his beard long, 
 flowing, and pointed. " St. Peter is represented to us as 
 a man of larger and stronger form," ' with a broad fore- 
 head, rather coarse features, an open, undaunted coun 
 tenancc,' a quick, dark eye, a pale, sallow complexion, 
 " and the short hair which is described as entirely gray 
 at the time of his death, curled black and thick round 
 his temples and chin, when the two Apostles stood to- 
 gethor at Antioch, twenty years before their martyr- 
 
 14th verse. 10 See II. Corinthians x. 1, 10. 
 
THE LETTER AND LETTER-LEARERS. 115 
 
 dnm." The- -us and pictures may have at least 
 
 :i partial foundation in truth. 
 
 Though tlie strongest indignation is expressed in 
 Paul's rebuke, we have no reason to suppose that any 
 actual quarrel took place between the two Apostles. 
 Peter most likely saw at once his fault, and melted into 
 penitence. " His mind was easily moved to quirk and 
 sudden changes ; his disposition was loving and gener- 
 ous ; and we should expect his sorrow to be at Antioch 
 what it was at tlie high-priest's house in Jerusalem." 
 How delightful it is, too, to turn to the closing words 
 of his own second letter to Christian believers, in 
 which, while writing of tlie pure 
 
 :.-eful happiness of tin- fut:. !, he touch- 
 
 ing! y alludes to 4 our beloved brothi / The very V 
 
 fidelity of his brother-Ap- \;iti>(-h. made dee; 
 
 and broader in Q IM art of the noble Peter Li:* 
 
 love and esteem for Paul to the end of his days. 
 
 11 H. Peter iii. 15, 16. 
 
(SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 11THAT one thing remained to be done ? 
 
 What was .the object of sending persons with Paul and 
 
 Barnabas ? 
 
 How many made up the party who returned to Antioch ? 
 Why do we think that Mark was in the company ? 
 What had the council decided in respect to Paul ? 
 What was decided in respect to his journey ? 
 What did James, Peter and John ? 
 What is meant by c right hand of fellowship ' ? 
 What is meant by 'the heathen' and 'the circumci- 
 sion ' ? 
 
 Did Paul see John at any other time ? 
 What direction did the three Apostles give to Paul ? 
 What shows that Paul did this ? 
 Where does he say that he did ? 
 What had been decided in respect to Titus ? 
 
 Why was this important ? 
 How would the party be received at Antioch ? 
 To whom was this letter addressed ? 
 
 Was it directed to all Christians in these places ? 
 What does * troubled you with words ' refer to ? 
 What does * subverting your souls ' mean ? 
 Who claim authority in the expression 4 to whom we 
 
 gave ' ? 
 
 Who had hazarded their lives ? Where ? 
 Who is the highest authority in respect to the necessary 
 
 things ? 
 
 Why are these things called * necessary ' ? 
 Who are * they,' in the thirtieth verse ? 
 What does the word 'multitude' show in respect to the 
 
 size of the Antioch church ? 
 
 What other office than letter-bearers did Judas and Silas 
 hold? 
 
 What was a prophet ? 
 What is meant by ' confirmed them ' ? 
 (33) 
 
(SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 What providential purpose was there in Silas's remain- 
 ing ? 
 
 llow much of Silas's life did this stay at Antioch change ? 
 Why is it especially important to seek divine guidance 
 when we make changes in our homes or our busi- 
 ness ? 
 
 What other event is supposed to have taken place at this 
 time at Antioch ? 
 
 How did Peter live at the first ? 
 What did he afterwards ? after what? 
 'Withdrew and separated himself from whom ? 
 What is meant by ' fearing the circumcision ' ? 
 Did Peter violate the decree of the council ? 
 Who followed his example ? 
 Can a man confine his wrong acts to himself? 
 What trait of Peter's character is shown hero ? 
 What did Paul say and do f 
 
 long a time after the council might this have been ? 
 Was there any open quarrel 1 two Apostles ? 
 
 What might be expected naturally from Peter ? 
 How did Peter afterwards speak of Paul ? 
 Where does he say this V 
 What had he just been writing about ? 
 What was the effect therefore of Paul's reproof? 
 What will be the effect of every just and kind reproof 
 iu the heart of a good man ? 
 (34) 
 
(Si 0b tonllj Snub air. 
 
 STARTING ON THE SECOND JOURNEY. 
 
 LESSON. 
 
 ACTS xv. 85-41 ; xvi. 1. 
 
 FO1I many days, for some weeks or months, Paul and 
 Barnabas continued to preach and teach in Antioch. 
 The church of c Christians ' must have increased largely 
 by this time. There must have been many in the city 
 to listen to the doctrines of Jesus, for it was ' with many 
 others also ' that they taught. Simeon Niger and Lu- 
 cius of Gyrene and Menaen were perhaps there still. 
 Mark and Silas and Titus were there. Many strangers, 
 among those who flocked to this city and its famous 
 oracle, as well as the people of the city, must have list- 
 ened to these numerous preachers. It was not neces- 
 sary that all these ' prophets ' should remain there, even 
 after Judas and Peter had departed. Other churches, 
 feeble and struggling, needed the aid and sympathy of 
 strong instruction and Christian visitation. Paul could 
 but think again and again of the pro-consul at Paphos, v 
 of the brethren and elders at the other Antioch and :it 
 Iconium and Lystra and Derbe ; and he longed to see 
 them and help them and do them good. At length 
 Paul proposes to Barnabas a visit to all those cities of 
 their former journey. The full purpose of the visit y 
 must have been to see what was the condition of the 
 churches, to strengthen them in the faith, and to carry 
 t IK-MI the decision of the council at Jerusalem. 
 
 Ban; < a<ly to go, but he wishc;; to take John v 
 
niE SEC OX I) JOURNEY. 117 
 
 Mark with them. Paul had tried Mark once. Once 
 before from this very city, from the very port of Scleu- 
 cia, he had started with .Mark ; and when they came to 
 the real hardship of the journey, Markjvitlidrew and 
 came home. He remembered the painful separation at 
 Porira ; and lie could not consent to risk such a failure 
 
 ^econd time. Paul could not take Mark again. 
 
 The Scriptures are honest in their narrative. They 
 
 tell us plainly that. Paul and Barnabas, though mission. 
 
 aries and holy men, had a w >!;:irp contention' about this 
 
 mailer. It was a personal opinion and not a doctrine 
 
 it which they contended. Ii 
 
 vs or Gentiles, but simply the 
 iitness or Tson for a work. There \\ 
 
 Ii tfo dou is. 
 
 Placing om>elves on one side and - , \ve can 
 
 -ns why ca-h one mi;_'-lii think himself right in 
 
 ring to his own opinion. \Ye can think how Paul 
 
 i steadfast will and undaunted courage in ^ 
 a work of constant danger: how he would think the 
 whole work put in peril or disgraced by withdrawal 
 from it : what an embarrassment and hindrance a timid 
 or half-hearted companion would be to him: how Mark's 
 first failure in such an important work made .Mark un- 
 trustworthy in Paul's esteem for a journey through 
 wild mountain-passes and rough enemies. We can 
 think how Barnabas loved his kinsman : how he thought 
 of the pleasure of taking him again to his native island : 
 how Mark had cost him many prayers and much anx- 
 iety : how 4 his dearest wish was to see him a mission- w 
 ary of Christ :' how Mark had repented of the wrong 
 he had done in withdrawing from Perga : how, now 
 won back to obedience, he had come from his home in 
 Jerusalem, and was ready now to face all the difficulties 
 and daiwrs of the enterprise : how, to reject him now, 
 
1 1 8 (EIGHTEENTH BUND A F.) 
 
 was to treat harshly his sincere and tender repentance, 
 and to diminish his influence as a preacher and servant 
 of Jesus. " Paul's natural disposition was impetuous ? 
 and Impatient and easily kindled to indignation," Bar- 
 nabas was once foremost among the ' prophets ' of An- 
 tioch, when Paul was last, and now Paul only was chief is 
 of all. Barnabas might possibly have thought, too, that 
 as lie had first introduced Paul to the Apostles at Jeru- 
 salem, as he had first brought him to Antioch, it was 
 but right that Paul should listen to him in his love for 
 his relative. Each clung to his own opinion. No doubt 
 both were to be blamed, as other good and great and 
 inspired men are blamed for their sins. 
 
 As they could not agree, they must separate; but 
 we cannot suppose they parted in anger, like enemies." 
 "Divine Providence overruled their quarrel to a goodv 
 result." They divided the whole journey between 
 them. Perhaps the agreement was made that Paul 
 should go to the cities on the main land, and Barnabas 
 should again go over the island. It may be that Bar- 
 nabas went from Cyprus to Perga too. 1 % As Pcrga was 
 the place to which Mark went before, it would be nat- 
 ural for Barnabas and Mark to go as far as that again. So 
 Barnabas and Mark sailed again no doubt from Seleucia, 
 to Sal amis, leaving Paul in Antioch to do upon the land 
 his part of the visitation of the churches. 
 
 Paul now went through Syria and Cilicia. Of course 
 he did not go by sea. Taking Silas, he went therefore 
 first to those churches in the region of Antioch and in 
 his native province in which he had before labordd. 9 
 Churches already existed in Cilicia. The letter of the 
 
 1 If Barnabas went through Cyprus and then up to Perga, and Paul 
 Antioch in Pisidia, then both of them went to all the cities of their 
 previous journey. 
 
 2 Galatians i. 21. 
 
ON THE SECOND JOURNEY. 119 
 
 Council had "been addressed to the Gentile brethren in 
 Cilii'ia as well a- in Syria and in Antioch. It was a good 
 thing, too, that. Silas, who was recommended in the let- 
 ter of the council, was with Paul, on his visit to the 
 
 Compare this map with the map of Cilicia in the First Sunday. It 
 will be well to compare any of the maps with the general map in the 
 Frontispiece. 
 
 churches of Syria and Cilicia. We cannot tell the ex- 
 act cities 111 which these churches were. Possibly Paul 
 may have struck off first into the country east of An- 
 tioch, or into the valley of the Orontes, and may have 
 visited some of the cities there ; but more likely lie and 
 
120 (EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 Silas crossed the bridge over the Orontes at Antioch, 
 and took the road towards the north. They crossed the 
 mountain-range, the boundary between Syria and Cili- 
 cia, through the gorge called ' the Syrian Gates.' Among 
 the cities on the road around the corner of the great 
 sea were Alexandria, named after Alexander the Great, 
 and Issus, at the very corner, where the same great 
 general won a great victory. " If there were churches 
 anywhere in Cilicia, there must have been one in Tar- 
 sus. Paul had lived there perhaps some years since his 
 conversion." If then they took the direct Roman road 
 from Issus to Tarsus, they now came to the plain of 
 Flat Cilicia, with which Paul had been familiar from 
 a child, and passed through two conspicuous ci tics' 
 which Paul knew. When he entered his native city, 
 how Paul's heart must have swelled with thankfulness 
 that lie had been rescued from the self-righteous deeds 
 of a Pharisaic life : how he burned to rescue his beloved 
 city from the vain idols and dumb statues of heathen 
 religion he saw in the streets. Even here in Tarsus a 
 change had begun. We may hope it penetrated the 
 Apostle's own family, and that some of his early ac- 
 quaintances and friends had been brought to Christ. 
 
 13 ut the missionaries did not make long stay here. 
 Other cities of the first journey lay beyond the moun- 
 tains. Across ' the sunny plains of Cilicia,' beyond that 
 great mountain-wall, whose lofty towers stretched far 
 away to the east and to the west, lay the high table- 
 land of Lycaonia. On the first journey, Paul had 
 climbed through this range of Taurus, between Perga 
 and Pisidia : now he struck straight across to Derbc 
 first. " There is no sufficient reason to think that ho 
 went by any other than the ordinary road." There wag 
 
 8 Mopsuestia and Adana. 
 
STARTING OX THE SECOND JOURNEY. 121 
 
 one opening in that great mountain-chain. This pass, 
 
 mountains had been rudely rent apart, 
 lie door through which peaceful travel and warring 
 armies, from anci. 3, had passed between the 
 
 'entral lands within and tlie lower sea-plains with- 
 out. This was the ancient Cilician Gates. Through 
 this gorge had marched the grand army of Cyrus on 
 Wards I5alylon. Alexander the (ireat, with 
 ::iy, canie down through these gates to the plains 
 of Cilicia. Cicero once rode through this 
 iile, and wrote back to his friend a description of his 
 journey. .Many an army h. d in this 
 
 wild mountain-gap. Towards ; , .f Cilicia, 
 
 which admitted tliem to the interior of Asia Elinor, the, 
 travellers now took their way. They fallowed first, no 
 douht,the valley of the ri\er by the side of which Paul 
 I in boyhood. Perhaps more than once Paul had 
 ridden ahng this very track, in boyho.nl ;;u<l youth, or 
 i-veii when preaching in Cilicia after his conversion. 
 >u approach the mountain, "the hills suddenly 
 draw together and form a narrow pass guarded by pre- 
 cipitous (Tills. In some places the ravine contracts to 
 the width often or twelve ] vm room for only 
 
 It is an anxious place to any one in 
 and of a military expedition. The scene around 
 is striking and i: iopy of fir-trees is 
 
 high overhead. Hundreds of feet high, on cither side, 
 rise the bare limestone cliffs." Up, and still Tip wards, 
 clijnb the travellers, over rocks and over hills, over the 
 confined streams which sweep the narrow road, through 
 forest and shade, till the last height is reached, and they 
 come out on the open country, four thousand feet above 
 the sea. Turning to the left and the west, they take 
 the road towards Iconium. "As Paul left the moun- 
 tain-passes, and came alon-j; down the lower heights, 
 
122 (EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY.') 
 
 his heart, full of affection and anxiety all through the 
 journey, would beat more quickly at the sight of the 
 well-known objects before him." The thought of his 
 disciples, the recollection of his friends in these remote 
 places, would come with new force upon his mind, for 
 now the tender-hearted Apostle was approaching the 
 home of his own converts of Lycaonia. In the distance 
 was the same well-shaped form of the Black Mountain 
 rising .out of the same wide-spreading plain near which 
 iay Derbe and Lystria, and away beyond was the more 
 important city of Iconium. Two or three days must 
 have been consumed already since they left Tarsus. 
 
 Derbe, the last place of the former journey, is now 
 before them. "We can imagine the joy of the converts 
 on meeting Paul ; the inquiries for Barnabas ; the wel- 
 come to Silas ; the questions about the ' brethren ' of 
 Cilicia and Antioch and Jerusalem ; the reading of the 
 letter of the council; the 'teaching and preaching,' the 
 r-ncoura'jvnK'iit and solemn warning of Paul. This is 
 all we know of Derbe. No wonderful or striking event 
 occurred which seemed good to the spirit of inspiration 
 to record, although there may have been a quiet and v 
 extensive Christian influence working in many hearts 
 The work of God is noiseless and without observation v 
 often where it is most powerful and lasting. 
 
(EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 TTO W long must Paul and Barnabas have been in Antioch ? 
 What difference was there between 'teaching' and 
 
 ' preaching ' religious doctrines ? 
 What shows that the church was large ? 
 Do you think there was more than one congregation in 
 
 Antioch ? 
 
 Who were the teachers in Antioch ? 
 Who had now departed ? 
 
 Why might some of these teachers be spared from An- 
 tioch 
 
 What would Paul naturally think of? 
 What did he propose to Barnabas ? 
 What was the design of the visit ? 
 I'M !..- DM t o go over the whole of the former journey? 
 What does Barnabas answer to Paul's proposal ? 
 Did Paul agree with Barnabas ? Why ? 
 Was there anything more than calm disagreement be- 
 tween them ? 
 If they sharply disputed with each other, does it show 
 
 that they were not good men ? 
 
 What four reasons can you give why Paul should not take 
 Mark ? 
 
 What seven reasons can you give why Barnabas should wish 
 to take Mark ? 
 
 What reasons were there also from the position of the 
 
 men? 
 
 Which one should have yielded ? 
 How was their dissension overruled ? 
 What similar blessing comes from the division of the 
 
 church into denominations ? 
 
 Do you suppose the two Apostles parted in anger ? 
 If Christian denominations differ, how should it be? 
 What is there to show that the Antioch Christians took 
 
 Paul's side ? 
 How did they divide the former journey between them? 
 
 (85) 
 
(EIGHTEENTH SUNDAl ) 
 
 "Where did Barnabas and Mark go ? 
 
 How can you arrange the whole of their former journey 
 
 between them ? 
 Who went with Paul ? 
 Where did they go first ? 
 What additional evidence have we now that there were 
 
 churches in Cilicia ? 
 Why was it a good thing for Paul to have Silas with 
 
 him? 
 
 What valley may they have first visited ? 
 What is more likely ? 
 What gorge would they pass through ? 
 Through what cities near the corner of the sea ? 
 What plain did they strike into after leaving Issus ? 
 Is it probable that they went to Tarsus ? 
 What was the direct road to Derbe ? 
 
 Where did Paul cross this mountain range before ? 
 
 For what mountain-pass did they strike ? 
 
 What generals had led their armies through this pass ? 
 
 What orator had described it ? 
 
 What was the narrowest width of the pass ? 
 
 What would be their first thoughts on reaching the high 
 
 land? 
 
 What is said of Derbc? 
 
 How does the kingdom of God often make progress ? 
 Is religion any the less strong when it is silent ? 
 Does it speak the less forcibly to you, when it speaks 
 
 silently ? 
 
 (36) 
 
'Nineteenth 
 
 A NEW COMPANION AND NEW TRAVELS. 
 
 LESSON. 
 ACTS xvi. 1-8. 
 
 VTOW we follow ' .-;. Perhaps 
 
 m others went with :u Derbe. No miracle is 
 
 ii" \v performed. No excited multitude rush toother 
 to h:iil men like themselves as gods : no fickle, deludrd 
 crowd, with the fury of :i mob, now stone the man 
 whom they had IIMIJ,, : ; etly ami peace- 
 
 fully tlie missi.marirs did their work here, as they did 
 at Derhe. II< ;v, hoW0V0T, they f,.und one- who was to 
 go with them in their work and who was to become of 
 '.Treat service to the Chtireh. 1 Timotliy had been ^i-adu- 
 ally prepared for the work he was now to do. His 
 her had instructed him in the holy Scriptures from 
 ehildlmod ;- and hN <:randinother was a woman of faith 
 and prayer. I Fe had LTrown to be a young man, and 
 had listened to the preaehin^ of the stranger, who 
 healed a cripple lame from his mother's womb. Ho 
 1 that Jesus W9B the Messiah. He no 
 doubt saw Paul stoned by the brutal mob. He became 
 a faithful and earnest diseiple of Jesus the Messiah, 
 lie was well known to all the brethren of the place and 
 of Iconium ; and by them all he was well spoken of, as 
 
 1 Some persons have supposed that Timothy was from Dcrbc, but 
 it seems more probable that he was from Lystra, 
 a II. Timothy L 5; Xii. 15. 
 
19.4 (NINETEENTH SUNDAY.] 
 
 devoted and true. Paul saw that he was just the per- 
 son, in his natural ability, and in his earnest, affection- 
 ate consecration to the Master, to be of great service 
 in preaching. He found Timothy ready to go with 
 them, and he determined to take him. Perhaps Paul 
 thought, too, that Timothy was fitted to teach and to 
 attract both Jews and Gentiles, since he was the son of 
 a Greek and a Jewess. 
 
 But Timothy himself was not legally a Jew, and 
 therefore he might be suspected everywhere in the 
 synagogues, and might create excitement, trouble, per- 
 secution. To prevent any difficulty of this kind, Paul 
 4 took and circumcised him,' so that, although the son 
 of a Jewess, he might now be a Jew according to the 
 rite of the law. 
 
 But was not Paul violating the decree of the coun- 
 cil ? the very letter which he had brought with him to 
 the. diurdi of Lystra? No, not at all. That decree 
 said that the Apostles laid upon the brethren no other 
 luirtlt-ii than four necessary things. No one need be 
 circumcised, if he did not wish to be. If any one 
 wished to be, there was nothing to prevent. If it 
 
 V should be thought best to gain influence with the Jews, 
 so that they would more readily listen to the Gospel of 
 Jesus, it was perfectly proper. At Jerusalem Paul re- 
 fused to circumcise Titus, because some persons had 
 said that circumcision was necessary, if a man would be 
 saved that no one could be saved ivithout it. That he 
 denied. Timothy was already known and well spoken 
 
 ' of, as a Christian. Paul circumcised him, not that he 
 'i/ilf/ht be saved, but that he might more directly and 
 more effectively influence the Jews. 
 
 It is not improbable that Timothy was now ordained 
 as a ] readier of the Gospel of Jesus, at Lystra, or more 
 likely at Iconium, since before that solemn ceremony 
 
NEW COirPAXInX AND NEW TRAVELS. 125 
 
 took place, Paul seems to have learned from the breth- 
 ren of Iconium their opinion of Timothy. In his let- 
 
 3, the Apostle alludes to the 
 
 time when he was consecrated to the work of the min- 
 he laying on of hands.' 3 The ordination of 
 >!ian young man to the ministry would add great 
 interest to the visit of the Apostle to Iconium ; and as 
 it. mi jht have been in a private manner, it could have 
 been done without exciting another such contention be- 
 tween two factions in the city ab took place on tho 
 former visit. 
 
 We have no distinct account of a visit to Antioch in 
 Pisidia. let we can hardly suppose that Paul did not 
 in some way communicate with the church there; for 
 Paul started with the intention of visiting * every city 
 y had preached the word of the Lord.' 4 If 
 Paul and Silas and Timothy remained some weeks at 
 Iconium, then VPOulcl have been abundant time to visit 
 Pi>idia, or to see, moue than once, the elders and prin- 
 cipal persons of the Antioch church. It is very likely 
 that they finished the circle of the churches, which they 
 meant at the first to visit. Possibly that was all they 
 to do, at on the journey; but now 
 
 they resolved to carry the good news of the Gospel 
 still further. The decree of the council, which they had 
 delivered to all the churches, would be glad news ei 
 where to Gentiles who might wish to obey the words 
 of life. 
 
 We know very little of the Apostle's visit through 
 Phrygia and Galatia. No cities are mentioned. Per- 
 haps he visited Colosse, 6 which is supposed to have been 
 in Phrygia, and to the people of which city Paul with 
 Timothy afterwards wrote a letter. 6 
 
 I. Timothy iv. 14 ; II. Timothy i. 6. 
 4 xv. 36. 6 Colossians i. 1, 2. 
 
126 (NINETEENTH SUNDAY.} 
 
 The letter of Paul to the Galatians tells us some 
 thing of his visit to their province. It was certainly ' in 
 infirmity of the flesh ' that he preached the Gospel to 
 them ' at the first y' 6 and it has been thought that Paul 
 was sick among this people, and that this accounts for 
 his speaking of their great kindness to them. He say 
 that they received him c as an angel ' or messenger c of 
 God,' and if it had been possible they would have 
 4 plucked out their own eyes' for him. 7 Whatever was 
 the infirmity of the flesh among the Galatians, he c set 
 forth' to them 'Jesus Christ, the crucified one.' 8 Some 
 at least were converted ; 9 and ' some churches of Gala- 
 tia ' 10 were added to the other established churches of 
 Cilicia and Lycaonia and Phrygia, before the little band 
 of earnest missionaries left the province. 
 
 As they journeyed westward, they were forbidden 
 by the Holy Spirit to preach in Asia^ but not to enter 
 the province. Then they turned to the north towards 
 ]>ithynia, but the Holy Spirit forbade them to enter 
 that province. It is very likely that Paul's design was 
 to ' reach some of the great cities on the coast of the 
 Archipelago, the emporium of trade at or near the ends 
 of the roads through central Asia Minor. These great 
 cities of pro-consular Asia, which afterwards were to 
 contain churches, were not yet to have the Gospel 
 preached in them. Ephesus, Smyrna, Philadelphia, 
 Sardis, Pergamos, Thyatira, Laodicea, those seven cities 
 to which John wrote his wonderful letters, 11 were not 
 yet tc spring into existence. Leaving Bithynia on the 
 right iiand, they entered Asia, and passed along the 
 borders of Mysia, without preaching, to Troas, one of 
 the chief cities of Mysia. 12 
 
 6 Galatians iv. 13. 7 iv. 14, 15. * ffi. ]. iii. 27. 
 
 10 i. 2. " Revelation!. 11. 
 
 " It is very difficult to fix tbc exact geographical boundaries of 
 
NEW COMPAXlnX AXD XEW TRAVELS. 127 
 
 WESTERN ASIA MINOR. 
 
 Now Paul strikes into a new kind of life: now hov 
 comes into the old classic region. Along these wcst/- 
 eni shores of Asia Minor, many of the earliest events 
 of Grecian history took place, and there, sprang up the 
 races which had so much to do with forming the na- 
 ;:il character of Greece. Tho Roman legions too 
 shook these same shores with the tramp of war, and 
 these petty kingdoms of antiquity were forced to bend 
 before the iron sceptre of Caesar. As he came in sight 
 
 Galatia, Phrygia, Mysia, Bithynia, Asia, in the time of Paul. * These 
 boundaries were continually changing, and these names implied a 
 larger or smaller territory at one time than another.' The province 
 of Asia (not the continent) probably im Juried at le-ast ' 
 and Curia. 
 
128 (NINETEENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 of the waters of the Archipelago, he looked out on 
 the sea on which have transpired so many wonderful 
 events of history and poetry and song. He was near 
 the old battle-ground of the Trojan war. As he 
 came near to Troas, he struck the well-built national 
 road which would have led him to the very gates of 
 Rome. Xerxes had stood on this ground with his great 
 army, on his way to be conquered by the brave Greeks. 
 Julius Caesar had been here with all his pomp of war. 
 Alexander the Great, too, gathered here new strength 
 for his conquest. And all around him was the scene of 
 Homer's great poem, Mount Ida, the Simois, and Sen- 
 mander. Paul was a scholar ; and he could not be 4 
 without some knowledge of all these things as he en- 
 tered Troas. 
 
(.V/.\ II SUNDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS, 
 
 HAT is the next place to which the Apostles go ? 
 Whom did they find there ? 
 How had he been gradually prepared for his work! 
 Was he well known at any other place ? 
 What did the 'brethren 1 say of him? 
 What did Paul sec in him? 
 AVI i" >thy's father? 
 
 How would this hdp Ti:n<>thy in his work? 
 Why was not Timothy legally a Jew ? 
 
 Why did Paul dreumcisQ him? 
 Was not Paul violating the decree of the council ? 
 
 Why did Paul n ;<iso to circumcise Titus at Jenisa ein? 
 Was there any similar reason now for refusing to cur- 
 
 cumcisc Timothy? 
 If Timothy's mother had been a Greek, would Paul 
 
 have circumcised him? 
 If ho had not circumcised Timothy, what would have 
 
 been the effect on the <K 
 Do you supj -. Timothy VTM now ordained? 
 
 Can you prove that Paul helped ordain Timothy ? 
 What is meant by 4 the laying on of my hands ' ? 
 What cities do you think are referred to, in the fourth verse t 
 What decreefl ' were delivered ? 
 Why may you suppose they had some communication 
 
 with Antiorh in Pisidia? 
 Would Gentile Christians be glad to hear the decree of 
 
 the council ? 
 How would this fact have helped to increase the numbers 
 
 daily ? 
 
 Was Phrygia nearer Antioch in Pisidia or Iconium ? 
 Where was Galatia? 
 
 What does Paul say of his preaching to the Galatians 
 
 at first? 
 
 What has this been thought to mean ? 
 (37) 
 
(NINETEENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 How do you know churches of Galatia must have been 
 
 formed ? 
 What especial expressions of the Galatians' attachment 
 
 to Paul are given ? 
 In what direction did they go next ? 
 Why did they not preach in Asia ? 
 Why did they turn back from Mysia ? 
 Why did they not go into Bithynia ? 
 Where was Bithynia ? 
 What was Asia ? 
 
 What did it probably include at this time ? 
 What was probably Paul's object, if he wished to preach 
 
 in Asia ? 
 
 What churches were afterwards founded in Asia ? 
 How could they pass ly Mysia, and yet come to Troas ? 
 In entering Mysia, were they not violating the command 
 
 not to preach in Asia ? 
 Is the Holy Spirit as really present to guide believers 
 
 now, as he was to show Paul his course ? 
 To what place did the Apostles come ? Why * came 
 
 down 1 ? 
 
 What region was Paul now entering ? 
 For what events are these shores famous ? 
 What road did they strike near this place ? 
 What old battle-ground was supposed to be near ? 
 What great generals had been here ? 
 
 The scene of what famous poem was here ? 
 Do you suppose Paul knew anything of these things ? 
 What greater purpose had he than any who had pre- 
 ceded him there ? 
 (38) 
 
tttueniictb 
 
 FllOM ASIA TO EUROPE. 
 
 LESSON. 
 ACTS xvi. 9-16. 
 
 4 T Troas, Paul looked out over the i . IIo 
 
 ** saw the hiirh laiuls wliich rose from the islands of 
 i >.-< ami Inil.!-. ii-west. Possibly, 
 
 :u went d\vn brliind <>f thesea, 
 
 ;i here and there l.y :m islau.l, lie could see, over 
 ;<>s and Imbros, the higher hills of Sarnothrace, 
 and t'urllier to the west, the lofty Mount Athos, on the 
 very coast of Europe, the long promontory on which it 
 is st retelling miles out into the sea towards Asia. 
 
 What must have been the thought of the earnest 
 Apostle, filled with zeal for his Master, as he looked 
 the waters towards another great continent! 
 Would the Gospel be preached in that distant country? 
 How he would long to preach it there himself. He 
 had been forbidden to preach in 'Asia.' Perhaps there 
 was a work for him to do, in the distant and 'miserable 
 heathenism ' of Europe. Thoughts like these would 
 be natural to Paul. And in the night, there was a vis- 
 ion of a man from the distant Macedonia, urging the 
 spiritual wants of his country. It was a vision sent of 
 God to show him his work. The breaking morning af- 
 ter that eventful night, found the Apostle ready to take 
 nggestions of 'it as his rule of life. Per- 
 
130 
 
 (TWENTIETH SUNDAY.) 
 
 haps in the east the sun rose, as in the description of 
 Virgil : 
 
 "And now the day-star was rising from the summit of lofty Ida, 
 And was leading on the day." l 
 
 The islands of the sea were illumined, and the waters 
 wparkled in the light. Four travellers might have been 
 seen at the shipping of the harbor, seeking passage to 
 
 j&ieid ii. 8ul. 
 
FROM ASIA TO EUROPE. 131 
 
 Europe. The ship on which they embarked, l loosed ' 
 i'rniii port and ; >.iiled 8 wind' J to Samothraee. 
 
 When God give- direction, all t hi: -. ^ 
 
 out of the harl>or, Teiiedos, with its fables of 
 refuge lor the <i. \\ and of the wooden hor 
 
 in tlie story of the Trojan war, was on the left: i 
 coast of Mysia on the right. On they glide, pa>t the 
 Hellespont, 1 of so many real and fancied ex- 
 
 ploits, \\ -MI tin- o] tde, 
 
 between Tcncdos and Imbro-. id to he tin- ca 
 
 of t 1 ! <n the high sinninit of the 
 
 island to whieh they g>, is Neptune's throne, overlook- 
 ing all the sailors told over these 
 fabl*^ --y guided the ship. To l > aul tliey P :< t 
 'vaniti'-,' and only showed him the foolishness of the 
 
 loin of man the wild vagaries of mind to wh: 
 (J reeks and Koinans liowed down to worship. 
 
 Saniothraee ha< : under it tlic ship 
 
 anchon-d for the niuht. It is not probable that bl 
 Ap<- lit on shore here. Tlieir work lay further 
 
 on. It is well, however, to notice that this island took 
 its name from the country near which it lay. It was 
 ios of Thrace, (Samo-Thrace,) to distinguish it from 
 another Sa::n>s, famous in history, off the coast of Ephe- 
 sus. The next day, a lew hours brought the little com- 
 pany of missionaries into the chami- D the i-Iand 
 
 of Thasos and the shore, and then to Neapolis. The 
 shore, unlike that of Samothrace, is low. The Apostle 
 docs not seem to stop at Xeapolis. The town was the 
 sea-port of Philippi. As, therefore, in Syria, he preached 
 at Antioch, and not at Seleucia, so he goes directly to 
 4 the chief city ' of the region. 3 The distance from 
 
 a To sail in ' a straight course ' must have been, of course, to sail 
 with the wind ; and the wind must have been in the south-east. 
 3 Philippi was not the chief city. The margin has it, more correct* 
 
132 (TWENTIETH SUNDAY.) 
 
 Xeapolis to Philippi is about ten miles, and the road 
 across a range of high hills. When we reach the high 
 ground, "an extensive and magnificent sea-view is 
 opened towards the south." We see Neptune's throne 
 on Samothrace, in the south-east: we see the broader 
 island of Thasos just in front, while far to the south 
 highest of all, towers Mount Athos, on its long penin- 
 sula. Turning our backs on this delightful view, we 
 begin the descent on the other side of the ridge ; and 
 now we see a " plain, level as an inland sea, and which, 
 if the eye could reach it all, would be seen winding far 
 within its mountain-enclosure, to the west and north." 
 It is either " exuberantly green," from its famous fruit- 
 fulness of soil, if it is summer, or "cold and dreary" if 
 winter. This is the memorable plain of Philippi. " The 
 whole region around is eloquent of the history of the 
 hi<t battle of the Roman republic. On some part of 
 this very rilgi', were the camps of Brutus and Cassius. 
 The stream before us, is the river which passed in front 
 of them. Below us is the marsh by which Antony 
 crossed, as he approached his antagonist. Directly op- 
 posite is the hill of Philippi, where Cassius died. Be- 
 hind us is the sea, across which Brutus sent the body t' 
 of Cassius to the island of Thasos, lest his death should 
 dishearten the army before the final struggle. The city 
 of Philippi was itself a monument of the end of that j 
 struggle. And now a Jewish Apostle had come to the I 
 same place, to win a greater victory than that of Philip- 1 
 pi, and to found a more durable empire than that of ' 
 Augustus." 
 
 Philippi was c a colony.* What is meant by this 
 expression? A Roman colony was a very different 
 thing from what we think of as an English colony in 
 
 )y, the first city, that is, the first city to which they csmie. Thcssa- 
 lonica was the chief city, the greatest oi'all in Macedonia. 
 
F2WM AHlA TO EUROPE. 1G3 
 
 our time: ;i company gathered in almost any loose 
 manner. .<ig out to Australia, to Hudson's Lay, 
 
 or to India, to settle the country; or like the colonies 
 of Virginia or Carol: iries ago. The Ro- 
 
 mans divided the world into two classes of people, 
 mans and nans, or more proudly, into 'citi- 
 
 zens' ami Sir; When a colony was to be 
 
 formed, a certain number of rit /.:>;?.$ went from Koine, 
 in stati-ly form, like an army, and either took possession 
 of a town already built, or laid out a town for them- 
 selves. This town they fortified, and they thcmseU 
 wen i. Tn all the pride of Roman d 
 
 in tl: ' mid>t of a population of 'strangers,' they estab- 
 lished the laws and customs of Rome. They aimed to 
 e city 'a miniature resemblance of Rome.' The 
 banners and the t-n-igns of Rome were hung out; t 
 fasces and the /<;;/", the magistrates and the li<-fors 
 Were seen. - traveller who passed through a 
 
 colony, saw the insignia of the Imperial city. lie heard g/ 
 the Latin language and was responsible strictly to the 
 RomaiHaw." The coin had Latin inscriptions, even if 
 the city were in a Hebrew or a Greek or an Egyptian 
 province. This wa< the 'eotoopJ It was designed to 
 be a strong military outpost to establish and to secure 
 the authority of the great empire. Alter a time, some 
 of the native inhabitants of the conquered town would 
 gradually be united with the Romans, and they then 
 formed part of the colony. 
 
 Every native 'citi/en,' and every adopted 'citizen,' 
 had certain rights, among which three were esteemed 
 ] >er haps the greatest of all his privileges. He was never , 
 to be scourged : he was not to be arrested, except in ex- 
 treme cases : he had the right to appeal, when he thought 
 he was unjustly treated in the courts,/r0ra the manis- 
 Emperor. <TS' possessed none of 
 
134 (TWENTIETH SUNDAY.) 
 
 these rights ; and it was not an easy thing to become a 
 ' citizen.' We shall soon see how Paul claimed for him- 
 self two of these rights, what advantage they were to 
 him, and what rebuke they were to his persecutors ; 
 and hereafter, we shall see how he claimed the third 
 right 
 
 Romans and Greeks mingled in the colony of Philip- 
 pi ; but there were few Jews in the city. The Jews 
 are a trafficking people ; and this was a military, and not 
 a mercantile city. We find no synagogue in Philippi, 
 but only a place of prayer by the river-side. The Jews 
 in strange cities, when they could have no synagogue, 
 were accustomed to build a 'house of prayer,' " a slight 
 and temporary structure, often open to the sky." Prob- 
 ably for the sake of the ablutions connected with the 
 worship, these houses were by the sea or near a river. 
 In Philippi, the ' house of prayer ' was outside the gate, 
 and by the river-side. It may be that the assembly 
 was composed only of women. Women only are men- 
 tioned, and these arc not all native Jews. Lydia, at 
 least, is a proselyte. She is from Thyatira, a city of the 
 province of Asia. She is a seller of purple ; that is, her 
 business ia firmnont.pri w|f,h tne art of dyeing that par^ 
 ticular color, which Homer mentions as produced in the 
 region of Thyatira, and which is known to have ren- 
 dered that city famous. " In this unpretending place, 
 and to this congregation oi~pious women, the Ho^pe! 
 was first preached in Europe. The .missionary party 
 came up from Ueapolis in the early part of the week, 
 for it would seem that there were c certain days ' before 
 4 the Sabbath.' On that day the strangers went and 
 joined the little company of worshippers at their prayer 
 by the river-side. They c sat down and spoke^thus 
 assuming the attitude*"6f tfli 
 
 Hie simple-hearted Lydia believed that Jesus is Mes- 
 
FROM AM A TO EUROPE. 135 
 
 siali and Saviour, ami was baptized. c Her household ' 
 also are baptized. Tv///- 7 // religion quickly follows 
 faith in Jesus, in the simple and sincere heart. Another 
 too, follows from genuine piety : genuine hospi- 
 The house, as well as the heart of Lydia, was 
 opened. With a generous and loving care for her rc- 
 Ii;_ri< >us benefactors, and with gratitude to the Great .Mas- 
 ter who sent them, she constrained the little baud of 
 good men to make her house their home. What a peace- 
 ful and beautiful picture is this, of Lydia and her house- 
 hold, in their y and purity and artless faith! 
 How the soil and holy influence of Chri-tian woman- 
 hood sanctifies, how the s tion of these 
 and good men exalts, how the very atmosphere 
 ice and quietness pervade :ily of 
 fri.-uds and guests. We can hardly help thinking of 
 the peace and the hospitality and the instruction of t he. 
 I'.ilaco ]>eautiful, in the path of Bunyan's pilgrim. 
 How wide the contrast between this picture and that 
 picture of religion which the Roman poet, Iloraer, 
 ior us, in this very same region, by the side <>f 
 a neighbo r : " The Edonian matrons, in frantic 
 ement, wandering, under the name of religion, 
 with dishevelled hair and violent cries, on the banks of 
 the Strymon." 
 
 It may have been Lydia, so quick to show her faith 
 by her works, who, afterwards returning to her native 
 place, aided in the establishment of that church to which 
 the Apostle John wrote in the Revelation, and which 
 lie commended for "works, and charity, and service,^ 
 and faith, and patience." 4 
 
 4 Revelation ii. 18, ] 
 
(TWENTIETH SUNDAY.) 
 
 CLTJESTIONS. 
 
 WHAT could Paul see from Troas ? 
 
 "What would he think of and desire ? 
 
 Was he intending to preach in Troas ? 
 What occurred in the night ? 
 
 Where was Macedonia;? 
 
 How did Paul regard this vision ? 
 
 What does l assuredly gathering ' mean ? 
 
 What poet has given a description of sun-rise here ? 
 Who were the four travellers ? 
 
 How do you know there were four ? 
 
 Could they sail exactly in a straight course to Samo- 
 thrace ? 
 
 What does the expression mean ? 
 
 What story was connected with Tenedos ? 
 
 What with the sea between Tenedos and Imbros ? 
 
 Whose throne was fabled to be on Samothrace J 
 Why do you think that the vessel anchored at Samothrace 
 for the night? 
 
 What does the name of this island mean ? 
 Where did they land the next day ? 
 
 What was Neapolis ? 
 
 Why didn't they stop here to preach ? 
 
 What docs the 4 chief city ' mean ? 
 
 What was the chief city ? 
 
 What is the plain of Philippi memorable for? 
 What was Philippi ? 
 
 How did the Romans divide the world ? 
 
 How did the Greeks divide it ? 
 
 What was the Jewish division ? 
 
 How was a Roman colony formed ? 
 
 What did the 'citizens' aim to make the city? 
 
 What signs of Roman power were seen ? 
 
 What was the design of forming a colony ? 
 
 Could foreigners become Roman citizens ? HOT ? ' 
 
 2 See page 5. 
 (39) 
 
(TWENTIETH SUXDAY.) 
 
 What were three great rights of a Roman citizen ? 
 Were there many Jews in Philippi ? 
 What shows it ? 
 
 What was the l house of prayer * ? 
 Why was it built by the river-side? 
 Who composed this assembly ? 
 What would have been thought by the people of a 
 
 preacher who would seek such an audience ? 
 Who was Lydia? 
 
 For what was her native city famous ? 
 
 At what time in the week did the Apostles reach Phi- 
 
 lippi? 
 
 What docs 'sat down and spake* show ? 
 If Lydia * worshipped God* bcfoiv ', was she 
 
 not God's child? 
 
 t, 1 to make a person God's 
 
 W hen a person really begins to 'attend unto religious 
 
 tilings,' what docs it show? 
 What is meant by 4 household ' ? 
 
 What is the natural result of conversion in a fatUcr or 
 
 moll * 
 
 What is another natural effect? 
 What characteristics can you mention of Lydia's char- 
 
 What characteristics of the family and guests at this 
 
 time? 
 
 What two other pictures by what two other authors? 
 Where was the river Strymon ? 
 Is Thyatira mentioned elsewhere in the Scripture ? 
 What may Lydia have done ? 
 
 In the Apostle John's praise of the church there, can 
 you sec anything of Lydia's character ? 
 (40) 
 
toxcnltr-first 
 
 ROMAN LAW. 
 
 LESSON. 
 ACTS xvi. 16-39. 
 
 THE quiet of the little company in the house of Lydia 
 was not to continue. The Apostle was soon to 
 come into direct conflict with the power of Roman law 
 in the c colony ;' and that strong law was soon to estab- 
 lish his independent rights. 
 
 It is to be carefully noticed now, that the first perse- 
 cution in Europe is very different from those which 
 1 'aul had endured in Asia Minor. At Antioch in Pisidia, 
 at Iconium, at Lystra, it was the Jews who persecuted 
 Paul; but there were no Jews in the persecution at 
 Philippi. On the other hand, the Philippians persecuted 
 the Apostles, in part because they were Jews. Before, 
 the conflict had been between Christianity and Jewish 
 prejudice; now, it was between Christianity and pure 
 paganism a paganism established and secured by all 
 the cultivation and power of two great and wise na- 
 tions. To understand how this conflict was brought 
 about, we must know something of one form of pagan 
 superstition. 
 
 " In the lively imagination of the Greeks, the whole 
 visible and invisible world was peopled with spiritual 
 powers." These were called demons. The Greeks 
 thought them good as well as evil. Some have believed 
 " that a wicked spiritual agency was really exerted iu 
 
ROMAN LAW. 137 
 
 their prophetic sanctuaries and their prophets." The 
 Greeks and Romans declared that the strange motions 
 made by these prophets, and the words of their oracles, 
 and the other indications of spiritual power, were the 
 work of Apollo, or of Python, as he was sometimes 
 culled. There was a great variety of these manifesta- 
 tions, and they were often seen. These diviners or 
 soothsayers or ventriloquists, therefore, were said to 
 be possessed of the spirit of 1^/thon. " Sometimes 
 those supposed to be possessed of this spirit were of 
 the highest rank of society ; sometimes they went about 
 the stive-Is like insane impostors of the lowest rank." 
 
 be people i livings and wild mutterings 
 
 . y l o r 1 1 . ' B miserable persons 
 
 for gam* Very oi; 
 
 . Sneh a slave might be of high value to a man 
 who cared nothing for religion nor for wicked decep- 
 tion nor for the misery of the poor wretches who were 
 either lunatic or really possessed by the evil spirit. 
 The value of such a demoniac slave was so great at 
 times, that two or more persons were partners in own- 
 in-- the property. This was the case of the 'female 
 
 ' possess^ a spirit of Python 1 at Philippi. 
 
 d by two masters or more, who from her 
 ravings made c much profit.' " We all know the kind 
 of sacredness with which the ravings of common insan- 
 ity are apt to be regarded by the ignorant ; and we can 
 easily understand the notoriety which the gestures and 
 words of this demoniac would obtain in Philippi. It 
 was far from a matter of indifference, when she met the 
 members of the Christian congregation on the road to 
 the house of prayer, and began to follow Paul and to 
 cry : (either because some words she had overheard 
 mingled with her diseased imagination, or because the 
 
 1 See the margin in the reference Bible. 
 
1 38 (TWENTY-FIRST S UNDA Y.) 
 
 evil spirit in her was compelled to speak the truth :) 
 ' These men are the servants (bondmen) of the Most 
 High God, who are come to announce to you the way 
 of salvation.' " " The whole city must soon have been 
 familiar with her new cry," for she continued it several 
 days. Paul knew this, and he could not endure that 
 the pure religion of Jesus should be contaminated by 
 such unholy assistance. Their preaching, and the wor- 
 ship by the river-side were better without such testi- 
 mony. While he pitied the poor demoiriac, he remem- 
 bered the words of the Master, * In my name they shall 
 cast out devils,' (demons.) When " lie could bear the 
 Satanic interruption no longer," grieved at heart, and 
 in the name of Jesus the Messiah, he commanded the 
 evil spirit to come out of^ier. 
 
 With the healing of the mind and of the spirit of this 
 poor slave, the wicked masters lost their gain. En- 
 i, they draped Paul and Silas into the forum 
 the open court or market-place, like the open squares 
 used in some of our cities for market-places. Timothy 
 and Luke were not taken. Paul was the man that 
 wrought the cure. Silas was Paul's intimate compan- 
 ion. Perhaps Timothy and Luke were not with Paul 
 and Silas on that day. Paul and Silas were quickly 
 dragged (as Paul himself hauled men and women to 
 prison 2 ) "before the Prcetors" or magistrates. 
 
 " The excited complainants must have felt some diffi- 
 culty in stating their complaint. The slave that had 
 lately been such a lucrative possession had suddenly 
 become valueless, but the law had no remedy for do-v' 
 Btroying the value of property by the casting out of 
 spirits. The true state of the case was therefore con- v 
 cealed, and an accusation laid before the Praetors in the 
 following form : ' These men are throwing the whole o 
 
 2 Sec note 2, page 22 
 
X LAW. 139 
 
 into confusion ; moreover, they are Jews ; and 
 are attempting to introduce new religious observ- 
 ances, which we, being Roman citizens, cannot receive 
 and adopt.' " Dividing the ion into the ti 
 
 .;i easily see what was true and what was 
 
 . " It was quite false that Paul and Silas were 
 
 irbing the city, for nothing could have been more 
 
 i and orderly than tl -hip and teaching at 
 
 the house of Lydia, or at the place of prayer by the 
 
 water-side." It was true that they u i. There 
 
 ::niing and spite in accusing them of this ; for 
 
 -tispccted, and de- 
 n out of Rome in con- 
 nee of an uproar." T: :is of the colony, 
 mid think it their duty "to copy the indignation 
 Olty. 11 Ii vrafl i rue, too, that Paul and 
 ly violating the law. "The Roman 
 1 the introduction of religions, 
 igefl in wur>L' likely to un- 
 the minds of the citizens, or to produce any tu- 
 multuous uproar. Paul and Silas had undoubtedly 
 loing what in S.-MUC degree exposed them to legal 
 penalties, and were beginning a change which tc; 
 t> bri: . and whicli at down 
 the whole weight of tin- W on the Christian 
 : see, then, why 'the multitude rose 
 up.' A wonderful slave had lost her spirit of prophecy 
 the cause of wonder and excitement and curiosity had 
 ikcnaway: the hated Jews had done it: they 
 were breaking the law of ' the colony.' The excited 
 crowd rose into a mob. The Prsetors, if they would 
 be popular, must not hesitate. It was no time to think 
 of further proof. The rough form of the Roman sen- 
 was pronounced : ^Go^llctors: strip off tlitir gar- 
 
140 (TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY.) 
 
 ments:* let them be scourged' "The order was 
 promptly obeyed, and the heavy blows descended." 
 The Roman scourging was much more severe than the 
 Jewish, and the Apostles received 'many stripes.' 
 " Bleeding and faint from the rod," the jailer was told 
 4 to keep them safely.' " Not content with placing the 
 Apostles among other common offenders in the jail, he 
 thrust them ' into the inner prison,' and then forced 
 their limbs, lacerated as they were and bleeding from 
 the scourge, into a painful and constrained posture by 
 means of an instrument used to confine and torture the 
 bodies of the worst malefactors. We must picture to 
 ourselves something very different from the rough com- 
 fort of an American jail. The inner prisons of the an- 
 cients were rather pestilential cells, damp and cold, 
 from which the light was excluded, and where the 
 chains rusted on the limbs of the prisoners." 
 
 I> at cruel as was the scourging, cold and hard as 
 were the prison-walls, the spirit of joyfulness was in 
 the hearts of these good men. Sleepless because of 
 their pain and fatigue, with heart and voice, they sung 
 praises to God. What they sung, we do not know, 
 but it would be strange if, at such a time, the Psalms 
 of David did not rise to the lips of a Jew. How com- 
 forting and how hopeful would have been such words 
 as these, chanted in the Hebrew manner : 
 
 " The Lord looscth the prisoners : 
 The Lord raiseth them that are bowed down : 
 The Lord loveth the righteous : 
 
 8 u It is quite a mistake to suppose that the magistrates rent their 
 own garments, like the high-priest at Jerusalem." That was a Jewith, 
 not a Roman custom. " Some commentators think the ma,q ; 
 tore off the garments of Paul and Silas with their own hands, lut 
 that is not necessary." It is more piobablc that they gave the cus- 
 tomary order to tho lictors, their attendant*. 
 
ROMAN LAW. 141 
 
 The Lord pressrveth the strangers, 
 
 But the way of the wicked, he turaeth upside down.' 1 4 
 
 " Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee : 
 According to the greatness of thy power, 
 Preserve thou those appointed to die." * 
 
 "Attend unto my cry, 
 For I am brought very low 
 Deliver me from my persecutors, 
 For they are stronger than I. 
 Bring my soul out of prison, 
 That I may praise thy name." e 
 
 " Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help. 
 Whose hope is in the Lord his God." 7 
 
 The oilier prisoners heard tlinn. Slaves, debtors, 
 robbers, inn to the cheerful 
 
 songs of the new prisoners. These were strange crimi- 
 nals : these -ing out on the night- 
 from the inner prison. These must be good men, 
 too, who, bleeding from the scourge and at midnight, 
 
 praises to God. The very songs of Paul and Silas /- 
 preached their religion to their fellow-prisoners. Who 
 Bay that some of these very prisoners did not after- 
 wards believe in the Saviour, because new hopes and 
 neu were awakened by what they that night 
 
 id saw? It maybe that the earthquake oc- * 
 cur: as the Apostles were finishing 8 those other 
 
 words of the Psalmist : 
 
 "He brought them out of daikness 
 And the shadow of death, 
 And brake their bonds in sunder. 
 
 4 Psalm cxlvi. 7-9. 6 Ixxix. 11. 8 cxlii. 6, 7. 
 
 7 cxlvi. 5. The whole cxlvi. would have been most appropriate 
 and comforting. 
 
 b The tense of the Greek verb signifies that they continued to sing, 
 and the prisoners continued to listen. " The Apostles were singing 
 O'ld the prisoners were listening, when tlio earthquake came." 
 
142 (TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY.) 
 
 Oh ! that men would praise the Lord 
 
 For his goodness and for his wonderful works 
 
 To the children of men ; 
 
 For he hath broken the gates of brass 
 
 And cut the bars of iron in sunder." ' 
 
 The iron bars and the gates were broken asunder by 
 that God to whom they sung and prayed. And they 
 were free to go. 
 
 But there was something more dreadful than earth- 
 quake to the prison-keeper. " By the Roman law, the 
 jailor was to undergo the same punishment which the 
 malefactors who escaped were to have suffered." "What 
 was his consternation when, awakened out of his sleep, 
 he saw the doors open. He at once supposed the pris- 
 oners had fled. Inevitable death must be his fate. Su- 
 icide was better than such disgrace. " Philippi is fa-^| 
 mous in the annals of suicide." The jailer would have 
 added liis name to the list of Cassius, Brutus, Titinius, 
 and many others who rashly died by their own hand 
 after the great battle of Philippi, had not Paul's loudv 
 voice reached him. Instead of death, he found spiritual 
 life. Startled, trembling, remembering his crimes, his 
 raitvrness to cast the persecuted men into the inner 
 prison, the near approach of death and his unfitness to 
 die, and recalling, too, perhaps, that the very cause of 
 all the persecution of these good men, was that the de- 
 moniac had said they taught a way of salvation, ho 
 sprang in with a light and fell down before his prison- 
 ers, to ask that all-important question : c What must I 
 do to be saved ? ' Believe on Jesus as your Lord and 
 as the Messiah, was the faithful answer. Like Lydia, 
 his heart was opened to hear and to believe. Like 
 Lydia, he and his house were baptized. Family rcli- * 
 gion again followed piety in the head of the household. 
 
 9 Psalm cvii. 14 -in. 
 
ROMAN LA Jr. 143 
 
 ('hri.-tff'in //' followed next. 'lie washed the 
 
 stripes' of the wounded and brui--:-d men. He brought 
 them out of the wretched cell into his house ; he gave 
 them food ; and there was great rejoicing that night. 
 The Gospel had a second home in Europe. 
 
 On reflection, the magistrates became convinced of 
 the rashness and irregularity of their proceedings ; or 
 perhaps they heard that the Jews cast out the spirit 
 because the slave cried after them ; or the earthquake 
 may have alarmed them. At : . in the morning, 
 
 they sent a new order by the lictors 10 to the jailer. 
 Evidently they feared lest some authority from Rome 
 might inquire into the accusations against the prisoners, 
 and the regularity of yesterday's trial. ''Let those men* 
 
 ontemptuous expression. The jailer was 
 full of joy. 
 
 But now it was Paul's turn. Now he claims his 
 rights as a Roman citizen. If he had violated Roman 
 law in one thing, the n tea had violated it in two 
 
 other far more important points. They had arrested 
 two Roman citizens on the mere outcry of the peo- 
 ple, and, with hardly the forms of a trial, had hastily* 
 :ice on them. They had scourged two Ro- 
 . The reply of Paul is therefore the noble 
 rtion of hifl just rights. The n s had done 
 
 a great wrong: Let them eoine and mak' it right. It 
 was the time for the magistrates to tremble. Should 
 their crime become known at Rome, as Paul himself 
 might make it known, they would certainly lose their 
 power, if they would not be most severely punished ; 
 
 10 The word * sergeant,' means here ( rod-holders, 1 lictors^ the at- 
 tendant officers of the magistrate. 
 
 11 It might be translated, Let those fellows go. 
 
144 (TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY.) 
 
 for their rashness had put the whole majesty of the law 
 in peril. With servile humiliation, quite the contrast 
 of their yesterday's presumption, they came privately 
 and besought their abused prisoners to go quietly from 
 the city. 
 
[TWENTY-FIPJST SL\\DA r.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 WHAT is tisis lesson the account of? 
 
 AVI i;it difference is there between the Philippian persecu- 
 tion and those in Asia Minor ? 
 What two things had been in conflict before? What 
 
 two now ? 
 
 What was a demon f 
 
 What is meant by * the spirit of Python ' ? 
 Why were demoniac slaves thought valuable property? 
 What shows that this 'damsel' was held as very val- 
 uable? 
 
 What is meant in the margin by ' of divination ' ? 
 What harm did her outcries do? 
 
 do you explain the way in which she had learned 
 
 what sho said? 
 
 \Vas this new cry known in the city ? 
 Whoso words and what words did Paul remember? 
 If this miracle was done publicly, what depended on 
 
 the success of Paul's command ? 
 AY hat was the effect of the cure on her masters ? 
 \Yho escaped? 
 
 What is meant by ' market-place' ? 
 Who were these rulers? 
 
 i the accusation made in a regular form ? Why ? 
 What are the three parts of the charge which they made? 
 Was the first part true or false ? 
 
 the second part true or false ? 
 What wicked cunning was there in this part ? 
 What was true in reference to the third part ? 
 Explain the cause of excitement 
 Was the command of the magistrates the regular deci* 
 
 sion of a court ? 
 
 Whose clothes did the magistrates rend off? 
 Did the magistrates themselves rend off the clothes ? 
 does ' many stripes ' show ? 
 
(TWENTY-FIRST SUNDA r.) 
 
 Did the jailer do more than he was commanded ? 
 
 Where are 'the stocks'? 
 
 What caused their joyfulness ? 
 
 What would they be likely to sing ? 
 
 How did they preach their religion without knowing it ! 
 
 What happened while they were singing ? 
 What was the first alarm of the jailer ? 
 
 What did he intend to do ? 
 
 What was true of Philippi in respect to suicides ? 
 
 Who prevented the jailer ? 
 
 Would a guilty prisoner use such words as Paul's ? 
 
 What made the jailer ask such a question of his pri- 
 soner ? 
 
 If there was an earthquake now, would you be led to 
 ask this question ? 
 
 Why isn't it better to seek * to be saved ' now ? 
 What did Paul tell the jailer was the way to be saved ? 
 
 Has there been any change since that time ? 
 
 What is it to believe on the Saviour ? 
 
 What two results followed the jailer's conversion ? 
 Why did the magistrates send new orders ? 
 
 AVh;it does the word * sergeants'* mean? 
 
 \Va> the order of the magistrates respectful ? 
 
 Who had broken the law more, the magistrates or Paul ? 
 
 How did Paul assert his rights ? 
 
 Who held the power now ? 
 
 Who must now seek favor ? 
 (42) 
 
(Tfocnftr-sccoub Sunbarr. 
 
 THE FOUNDING OF THE THESSALONIAN CHURCH. 
 
 LESSON. 
 ACTS xvi. 40; xvii. 1-4. 
 
 fTIIE Apostles \ i <-ld i-d to (lie request of the magis- 
 L trates, l>ut tliry did not go in hasty flight. AVitli 
 tin di'_rnity and self-possession of innocent nun, they 
 went iii-st to the house of LydlA, where they met the 
 brethren and irave their farewell words of comfort ; Mini 
 then they leit the. city. Luke probably remained be- 
 hind. 1 Perhaps Timothy did. Paul and Silas only arc 
 mentioned at Thcssahmiea. 4 The new church of the 
 riiilippians, in which the families of Lydia and of the 
 jailer held a prominent place, may have needed the in- 
 struction and care of Luke and Timothy. Timothy, it 
 will he remembered, was the son of a Greek, and it is 
 supposed that Luke too was a Greek. They could 
 mingle with the Greeks and Romans of Philippi with- 
 out creating suspicion or excitement. 
 
 If w r e stop for a moment and fix in the mind the out- 
 line of three great provinces, it will help us much to 
 gain a clear idea of the Apostle's journeys now and 
 hereafter in all this region. In Paul's time, the coun- 
 try from the great Hxmus mountain-range (which runs 
 
 1 Luke was with the Apostle at Philippi, as the seventeenth verse 
 ahcftrs, * followed Paul and us,' but the account of Paul's journey is 
 continued from this point to the twentieth chapter in the third per- 
 son. See seventeenth chapter, *Xow when tltey, etc. 
 
 2 xvii. 10. 
 
146 
 
 (TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY.) 
 
 almost parallel with the Danube) to the southernmost 
 cape of Greece was divided into Ulyricum^ Macedonia^ 
 
 and Achaia. If Paul did not preach in Illyricum, ho 
 went to the very borders of the province. He after- 
 wards wrote from Corinth to Rome, * from Jerusalem 
 round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the 
 Gospel of Christ.' 3 Paul travelled over Macedonia and 
 Achaia several times. In his letters written later in 
 life, we find many allusions to Achaia.* We now see 
 him taking the first of his journeys into Macedonia. 
 From Philippi, his course struck off towards the centre 
 and the capital of that great province. 
 
 8 Romans xv. 19. 
 4 Rom. xv. 2G ; II. Corinth, ix. 2 ; xi. 10 ; I. Thcss. i. 7, 8, 
 
THE THESSALONIAN CHURCH. 147 
 
 At Philippi, if not before, Paul had entered the great 
 Komaii military road. It was the great state road 
 b led from the west to the cast. It was built at 
 enormous . and reached from Dyrrachium cm 
 
 the Illyrican coast (opposite Brundusium, from which 
 the road continued to Rome) to Cypsela 6 in 
 Thrace, and perhaps farther. Possibly Paul trod this 
 identical road at Troas. Philippi was the first im- 
 portant city in Macedonia on this state-road ; and Thes- 
 saloni about hall-way Let \veen Dyrrachium and 
 
 la. Alortg the stone pavement of this Roman 
 road, Paul and Silas, two Roman riti/cns, travel, still 
 
 iVmii their scourging; not now fleeing lor li 
 f.y ni-hf, but 1ml, r . 'Mlippian rulers 
 
 in their own hands. As they passed the mile-stones, care- 
 fully put up all along the way, they would be reminded 
 that every foot-pa, v pru taking them towards the seven- 
 hilled Monarch of the World. In later years, on the 
 other side of the Adriatic, Paul trod the same pavement 
 at Appii Forum and Three Taverns. 9 Amphipolis and 
 Apollonia divided the distance between Philippi and 
 Thessalonica into three nearly equal parts. We may 
 think of Paul and Silas as lodging over-night in each of 
 places, since the journey from one place to an- 
 other was about one day's travel. The road to Am- 
 phipolis lay across the plain north of the mountains of 
 celebrated for their gold and silver-mines and 
 for their beautiful roses. "The ancient name of Am- 
 phipolis was ' Nine-Ways,' from the great number of 
 roads from Thrace and Macedonia which met at this 
 point." It was afterwards called Amphipolis, 7 because 
 the river flowed almost around it. Xerxes crossed this 
 
 1 Sec map in Twentieth Sunday. c Acts xxviii. 15. 
 
 7 Amphi, about, polis, the city. 
 
148 (TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY.} 
 
 river here, and offered to it a sacrifice of white horses. 
 The river spread out into a lake above the town. The 
 city is just in a pass of the mountains, and commands 
 the best road from the sea up to the Macedonian plains. 
 It was a place of consequence therefore. Demosthenes 
 spoke of it in his famous orations to the Athenians. 
 
 Paul and Silas had come thirty-three miles. The next 
 part of the journey was thirty miles to Apollonia. The 
 Roman road is " along the edge of the Strymonic gulf, 
 first between cliffs and the sea and then across a well- 
 wooded sea-plain, where the peak of Mount Athos is 
 seen far across the bay to the left. As we leave the 
 sea, we have before us on the coast Stagirus, the birth- 
 place of Aristotle the philosopher, and just where the 
 mountains close on the roads is the tomb of Euripides, 
 the tragic poet." Apollonia was somewhere on the 
 road across the neck of the three-pronged peninsula, 
 and about thirty-seven miles from Thessalonica. The 
 country is varied and picturesque. There is a long 
 valley in which are two lakes. Then the sea appears 
 again. Then there is another valley, the long and fruit- 
 ful valley of the river Axius, and right before us on its 
 bank is Thessalonica, the largest and most important 
 city on the great road. It was named for Thessalonica, 
 a sister of Alexander the Great. 8 It was the capital of 
 Macedonia. When Cicero was exiled from Rome, he 
 lived here. The great Roman generals, Antony and 
 Octavius, were here after the celebrated battle of 
 Philippi. And from that day to this it has been one 
 of the chief cities on the European side of the Archi- 
 pelago. Before Constantinople was built, it was tlio 
 capital of all that region around the head of the A 4 !;. 
 It was at the head of the busy ^Egean Sea and at the 
 
 8 Its former name was Therma. It was re-named when re-built and 
 adorned by Thcssalonica's husband, Cassandcr. 
 
THE T1IESSALONIAX CHURCH. 149 
 
 outlet of the trade of thrifty and fertile Macedonia; 
 and " there probably never was a time, from the day 
 when it, first received its name, that the city was not a 
 busy commercial town. It ranks in our own day, in 
 European Turkey, next to Constantinople. 9 We see 
 how appropriate a place it was for one of the starting- 
 points of the Gospel in Europe ; and we can appreciate 
 the force of the expression used by Paul a few months 
 alter leaving the Thessalonians, when he writes to 
 them: 'From you sounded out the word of the Lord, 
 not only in Macedonia, but in every place.' 10 
 
 Thessalonica became in this part of Europe, like An- 
 tioch in Syria, a city wl 11 were known and 
 
 where their influence was felt. 
 
 In Thessaloniea there was a synagogue; for in this 
 busy, tralli< kin_r town were many Jews. Perhaps the 
 reason why Paul and Silas did not stop in Amphipolis 
 and Apollonia was that there was no synagogue. 
 
 As Paul and Silas now enter the Thessalonian syna- 
 gogue, we may recall the entrance of the two strangers 
 into the synagogue of Pisidian Antioch, and Paul's ad- 
 dress in reply to the invitation of the chief men. Al- 
 though the city was Greek, and his work was mainly 
 among G entiles, Paul came first, as his manner was, to 
 the Jews ; and at first all the Jews listened with patience 
 and with curiosity. For three Sabbath-days and at any 
 intervening meetings and in conversation from day to 
 day, he reasoned with them. His address to the Thes- 
 salonian congregation was on the same great subject 
 as that to the Pisidian Jews and Gentiles ; but only the 
 three chief points of his discourse are given : (1.) That 
 the Messiah of the Scriptures must be a suffering Mes- 
 
 The name of Thessalonica is not yet entirely lost. It is now Sa- 
 lonica. One of the ino-ln-a missionary stations has been in Salouica, 
 10 I. Thessalonians i. 8. 
 
150 (TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY.) 
 
 siah ; (2.) That the Messiah, after death, must rise 
 again; (3.) That Jesus of Nazareth suffered, died, and 
 rose again, and therefore was the Messiah foretold. 
 
 Here, as at Antioch, were Jews and proselytes (' de- 
 vout Greeks ') in the synagogue. Here, as there, some 
 Jews at once believed, and a multitude of Gentile- 
 Greeks,and of the ' chief women' also ' not a few.' 
 
 From the letter, which Paul soon afterwards wrote 
 hack to the Thessalonian believers, we gain a glimpse 
 of his conduct and of his way of preaching in Thes- 
 salonica. We see him preaching with unflinching 
 courage 11 and without flattery. 12 We see him encour- 
 aging and correcting his converts as carefully and kindly 
 as a father his own children, 13 loving and cherishing 
 them as tenderly and gently as a nurse her own off- 
 spring, 14 watching over ' each one,' 13 and like a faithful 
 shepherd and friend, ready to give his own life for his 
 loved flock. 16 Well might the Apostle write them : " Ye 
 are witnesses, how holily and justly and unblamably we 
 1 K'lmved ourselves among you." 19 At Thessalonica, too, 
 Paul labored to support himself while he preached 
 very likely at the trade of tent-maker, which he learned 
 when a boy. Late at night, no doubt, the Apostle 
 might have been seen by lamp-light working at the 
 rough tent-cloth, so as to be chargeable to nobody. 17 It 
 was the Apostle's way of teaching what he preached, 
 and of enforcing what he commanded in his letters 
 c Study to be quiet and to work with your own hands,' 
 
 11 "After that we had suffered and were shamefully treated at Phi- 
 lippi, an ye know, we were bold to speak to you" I. Thcss. ii. 2. 
 
 " " Neither at any time used we flattering words, /js ye know." 
 Verse 5. 
 
 13 Verse 11. 14 Verse 7. 
 
 15 Verse 8. "Affectionately desirous," etc. 
 
 * Verse 10. " Verse 9. 
 
TI1K Tin-:*<AL<)XlAN CHURCH. 151 
 
 and c if any man would not work, neitlier let liim cat,' 18 
 and of warning men not to be c busy-bodies,' 19 but to 
 do their own work. 18 
 
 The converts left at Philippi did not forget Paul's 
 sulli-rings. ' Once and again' tlie Ph'Uippian believers, 
 Lydin and the jailer ibremost among them no doub% 
 sent gifts to him while at Thessalonica. 20 Perhaps the 
 jailer himself came over the road through Amphipolis 
 and Apollonia to bring the money and the gifts con- 
 tributed. 
 
 God abundantly blessed the Apostles' faithful lal 
 in Thessalonica. A larp* ehmvh was gathrivd. Al- 
 though the persecution seems to have commenced after 
 Paul an<l 8 1 been there only thr. . very 
 
 likely they remain what lon-'cr time. 
 
 I began to persecute, he no doubt turned 
 to the ({entiles. The Thessalonian church, we have 
 reason to believe, was made up in good part of Gen- 
 ibr in the letters to these converts, "the Jewish 
 Scriptures are not once quoted," and he addressed those 
 who had turned from idols? 1 
 
 To the pious Greek converts, what a new and blessed 
 
 ;t was there in the doctrine of the resurrection 
 
 of the dead. We can still read on the sepulchres of 
 
 heathen Thessahmiea ancient inscriptions which say 
 
 that after death there is no resurrection, and after the 
 
 no meeting of loved ones. How different from 
 
 this thick darkness was the light and hope of Paul's 
 
 doctrine, not to sorrow for those who sleep in Jesus as 
 
 those others who have no hop> 
 
 18 Notice the words, I. Thcssalonians iv. 11, *a3 we commanded 
 you.' II. Thcssalonians iii. 10. 
 11 II. Thessalonians iii. 11. 
 
 20 Philippians iv. 16, ir,. 
 
 21 I. Thessalonians i. 9. 
 
 . M. 
 
(TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 I \ID the Apostles go directly from the prison out of the city ? 
 
 Who were l the brethren' ? 
 
 Who went with Paul from the city ? 
 
 Who remained ? How do you know ? 
 
 Into what three provinces was the whole great peninsula 
 then divided ? 
 
 Where in the Scriptures is Illyricum mentioned ? 
 
 Did Paul preach in Illyricum ? 
 
 Did Paul travel into Achaia more than once ? 
 
 What province was he now in ? 
 On what road did Paul now travel ? 
 
 At what point on the road was Thcssalonica ? 
 
 How far did this road reach ? 
 
 Where did Paul travel on this same road afterwards ? 
 
 Where do you find the notice of it ? 
 
 What parts did Amphipolis and Apollonia divide the 
 journey into ? 
 
 What was the ancient name of Amphipolis ? Why ? 
 
 Why was it called Amphipolis ? 
 
 What made it a place of consequence ? 
 
 What did Xerxes here ? 
 
 Between Amphipolis and Apollonia what birth place ? 
 what tomb ? 
 
 Near what river was Thessalonica ? 
 For whom was Thessalonica named ? 
 
 What exile had lived here ? 
 
 What has Thessalonica been since that time ? 
 
 What before Constantinople was built ? 
 
 Why was its position good ? 
 
 How docs it rank now ? 
 
 What is its name now ? 
 
 What has been there in modern times? 
 
 \Vh.-it sentence of the Apostle illustrates its influence 
 then ? 
 
 What resemblance between Thessalonica and Antioch ? 
 (43) 
 
(T\\- .tJOND SUXDAY.) 
 
 Why did the Apostles pass through Amphipolis and Apollo- 
 nia without preaching ? 
 
 Why was there a synagogue in Thcssalonica ? 
 
 How long did Paul reason ? Where ? With whom ? 
 
 What resemblance can you draw l>ctwcen his visit hero 
 
 and at Antioch in Pisidia ? 
 What does * opening and alleging' mean V 
 What were the three points of his discourse? 
 What does 4 consorted ' mean ? 
 What proselytes are mentioned ? 
 
 llow do we know what Paul's conduct and preaching were ID 
 Thessalonica ? 
 
 Why did it require courage? 
 How was he like a father to his converts ? 
 How like a nurse? 
 
 What nther verse shows his fond affection? 
 How did he support himself ? 
 What commands did he enforce in this manner ? 
 What was the result of Paul's labors in the city ? 
 
 Were the members of the Thessalonian church Jews 
 
 or Gentiles ? 
 What shows it ? 
 
 What comfort was there to them in the doctrine of re- 
 surrection ? 
 
 (44) 
 
THE MOB OP THE IDLERS. 
 
 LESSON. 
 
 ACTS xvii. 6-13. 
 
 THE Jews of Thessalonica were as envious as the 
 Jews of Antiocli in Pisidia. They did not like to 
 see the multitude yielding so fast to Paul's teaching. 
 Especially when they thought how the Roman Govern- 
 ment looked on all Jews with suspicion, they did not 
 like to see these stranger Jews, who preached strange 
 doctrines, gaining influence with the inhabitants. They 
 therefore quickly found means to hinder and to silence 
 the two faithful preachers. 
 
 "A multitude of idlers about the market and the 
 landing-places abound in every such city." These low 
 fellows 1 the Jews got together, and, by their arts, ex- 
 cited them into a mob. They made an uproar through 
 the city. Then they assaulted the house of the man 9 
 whose guests Paul and Silas were supposed to be. They 
 hoped to find the two hated men ; to bring them out ; 
 and then to get the excited people 3 to pronounce a 
 
 1 ' Market-place loungers ' or idlers, the phrase means. 
 
 3 A * Jason ' is mentioned in Paul's letter from Corinth to Rome 
 (Romans xvi. 21) as Paul's kinsman. Very likely Jason of Thessa- 
 lonica went to Corinth. The name is one Greek form of Joshua or 
 Jesus. 
 
 a The word translated 4 people ' in the fifth verse means the people 
 gathered in tin forviii to judge and try causes, the (l')nus, the public 
 assembly ; a different word from ' people' in verse 13 
 
THE MOB OF THE IDLERS. 153 
 
 Judgment against them. Paul and Silas were absent ; 
 and so the mob dragged Jason, and some other Clirist- 
 
 wlioni they found, to the city magistrates. 
 It is to be noticed now that this is not Roman au- 
 thority. Thessalonica was called c a, free city.' It was in 
 a Roman province, but was allowed to govern itself; 
 that is, the citizens elected their own magistrates, and 
 \prere not ruled by a Roman Pro-consul and a Roman 
 irarrison. 4 This was a privilege and a compliment to 
 the city, in return for its help in the wars ; and the, 
 Greeks would be most careful to preserve it. The mairis- 
 , therefore, to whom the crow. I carried Jason, 
 not tin i- Pro-consul of Macedonia and his attnxl 
 ants, like the Pro-consul of Cyprus at Paphos, but the 
 Greek city magistrates. Like the people, they w MI hi 
 y jealous of the rights of their free city, and par- 
 ticularly careful to do nothing to forfeit them. The 
 accusation against the Christians and Jason, which the 
 Jews and the mob cried out before the magistrates, was 
 therefore well formed to increase the excitement. It 
 was in substance this : 
 
 "These men, who are setting the whole world in confusion, are come 
 at last. And Jason hath received them into his house. And 
 ' ii the face of Hie Emperor's decrees, for they declare 
 v another King, whom tficy call Jesus" 
 
 These Jews would be glad to put themselves on the 
 side of the I jnpcror's authority, and to cast off from 
 themselves the suspicion of the government by fastening 
 it on this new sect against which their charges were in 
 part true. Jason and his fellow-Christians did receive 
 Jesus to be King, as Paul had taught ; but none of 
 them taught or believed that Jesus was an earthly king, 
 in opposition to Civ<ar. 
 
 4 The Pro-consul, who ruled the province of Macedonia, probably 
 lived in Thessalonica, but had no authority over the city. 
 
154 (TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY.) 
 
 If the accusation was true, there was cause for alarm 
 to the magistrates and to the people. The charge was 
 a charge of sedition. The freedom of the city might 
 be in peril. The people and the magistrates were there- 
 fore c troubled.' " It is evident that the magistrates 
 were excited and unsettled as well as the multitude. 
 No doubt they were anxious to stand well with the 
 Roman government, and not to injure themselves 01 
 their city by a wrong decision in this dispute between 
 the Christians and the Jews." Their course was a wise 
 one in the circumstances. It was to ' take security ' 
 from Jason and his companions. By this expression it 
 is most probably meant that a sum of money was de- 
 posited with the magistrates, and that the Christian 
 people of the place made themselves responsible that 
 no attempt at sedition should be made against the gov- 
 ernment, and that the- peace should be kept in Thessa- 
 lonica itself. In this way the disturbance was quieted." 
 
 l>ut though the magistrates had gained quiet in the 
 city, Paul and Silas were in peril. The lower classes 
 were still excited. The Jews were in a state of un- 
 reasonable and fanatical rage. The Apostles could not 
 appear in public as before, without danger to them- 
 selves and to their fellow-Christians, who were security 
 for their good-behavior. They must be silent, if they 
 remained. Silence was impossible with Paul. He must 
 o reach. That was the one great command to the dis- 
 nples ; and to the earnest heart of Paul it was woe if 
 ie did not preach. Under the same watchful care of 
 ' brethren,' which let Paul down in a basket from the 
 rralls of Damascus, the two pilgrim-preachers departed 
 the same evening from Thessalonica. 
 
 " Passing under the Arch of Augustus and out of the 
 
 \V- tern Gate, the Great Road crosses tlir plain and 
 
 Ifi t!so mountains." Paul and Silas, in th,- silence 
 
THE MOB OF THE IDLERS. 155 
 
 of the night, took their way again along the paved 
 ray. Gradually separating from the bay, they 
 lie broad river -whose waters flow from the dis- 
 tant mountains of the nortli and west, through nearly 
 the whole length and breadth of Macedonia. If they 
 ';one on as far as Edessa, they would have had 
 the high lands "a glorious view of all the coun- 
 try " which stretch- Id < >n leagues from the nearer 
 mountains to the sea. To that place, however, Paul 
 was not directed, but turning south, away from the 
 thorouirhlaro and into a smaller, they went down 
 to Berea. "If this journey was at all what it is now, 
 the travellers first . the neighbor- 
 hood of Thessalonica, and then droMdd a wide tract of 
 fields of grain, and then the bed of 'the v, ide-llnwing 
 Axius, 1 near whieh the day must have broken upon 
 them/' Then there was another wide, long stretch of 
 plain : then a river, with high artificial banks to guard 
 against floods. Then the road enters a vast forest, in 
 which were " spaces of cultivated land and villages 
 concealed among the trees." Then, after miles of travel 
 through the woods, the road begins to ascend, and 
 leads up to the gate of Be; 
 
 We know little of this city as it was. At the present 
 day, it is one of the most pleasant towns in the re- 
 gion. "Plane trees spread a grateful shade over its 
 gardens: streams of water abound in every street." 
 There are some few remains of Greek and Roman build- 
 ; ngs. But Berea has a more noble renown than that 
 which springs from splendid walls and temples. The 
 Jews here were more noble-minded than those whom 
 Paul and Silas had left. When Paul and Silas present- 
 ed, in their synagogue, the arguments to prove that 
 Jesus was the Messiah, " they not only listened, but 
 examined the Scriptures themselves, to see if his argu- 
 
150 (TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY.) 
 
 mcnts were confirmed by prophecy." They persevered 
 also. Dally they did it. 'TJierefore many of them 
 believed,' as every one who candidly and diligently 
 and obediently searches the Scriptures, to know and to 
 do the truth, will believe. Because a man searches the 
 Scriptures rightly, therefore will he believe. Here, too, 
 were ' honorable women ' who believed. At Antioch 
 in Pisidia, * honorable women ' had aided to persecute 
 Paul, but at Thessalonica c chief women,' and at Berea 
 ' honorable Greek women,' were his helpers and disci- 
 ples. But just as persecuting Jews followed Paul from 
 Antioch to Iconium, so they did from Thessalonica to 
 Berea, as soon as they knew they were preaching there 
 their doctrine of the Messiah. 
 
 How long Paul was here, it is not said. " From the 
 fact that the Bereans were * daily ' searching the Scrip- 
 for arguments in favor of or against the Apostle's 
 doctrine, we conclude that he remained in Berea sev- 
 eral days, at least." It would be a week or two weeks, 
 before the Thessalonian Jews would get knowledge 
 that the preachers were at Berea, and before they could 
 make the journey, for Berea was sixty miles from Thes- 
 salonica. 
 
(T \ i 'EXTY- THIRD S UXDA Y.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 IV II AT was the cause of the Jews' persecution ? 
 
 \Vere they envious of the same thing as the Pisidian 
 
 Jews ? 
 
 "What especial reason in Thessalonica for their envy? 
 What is meant by * lewd fellows' ? 
 What did they accomplish with these fellows ? 
 In what other pl-n-L- is there a Jason mentioned ? 
 What did tiu-y hope to accomplish ? 
 What docs * people,' in the fifth ver.-c, nu:m ? 
 Who were l;i\ - Jason ? 
 
 What kind of authority is now exercised ? 
 Wl; 
 
 horn Jason was brou.-ht V 
 people and the ma cry jealous 
 
 of? 
 
 the general accusation ? 
 Against whinn was it made? 
 What w;. r^e against Jason? 
 
 What was the definite accusation? 
 Against whom w;: le ? 
 
 Why would the Jews be glad to make such an accusa- 
 tion? 
 
 Was the accusation true ? 
 What was the crime in the accusation ? 
 Was there any reason why the people should be 
 
 'troubled'? 
 What course did the magistrates take ? 
 
 Did they act hastily, like the magistrates at Philippi ? 
 What is meant by * taken security ' ? 
 Why were the Apostles still in peril ? 
 
 Why did not Paul remain silent in Thessalonica? 
 Why did they send them by night ? 
 What road did the Apostles take ? 
 In what direction was Berea ? 
 What kind of a town is it now ? 
 (45) 
 
(TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY.) 
 
 Why were the Jews here more noble-minded than those of 
 Thessalonica ? 
 
 What things were l those things ' ? 
 
 What proves that they persevered ? 
 
 Why did many Bereans believe ? T 
 
 What is the reason why many persons do not believe ? 
 
 How should the Scriptures be examined ? 
 
 What difference between the l chief women' of Bcrca 
 
 and of Antioch in Pisidia ? 
 Who followed the Apostles from Thessalonica ? 
 
 Is it meant that Paul preached at this time all the doc- 
 trines of 4 the word of God' ? 
 
 How long was Paul in Berea ? 
 
 What difference in the departure of Paul from Philippi, 
 Thessalonica, and Antioch ? 
 
 How does it compare with his departure from Pisidian 
 Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra ? 
 
 Uc) 
 
Sfocntn-fouvih 
 
 THE JOURNEY TO GREECE. 
 
 T 
 
 LESSON. 
 
 ACTS xvii. 13-16. 
 
 Jews "< 
 
 ll car 
 
 prey," but they could not t tin- faith al- 
 
 in many hearts, nor prevent others still from re- 
 ceiving it. Ti it, however, unpleasant, and no 
 doubt unsafe, f r Paul to preach in Berea. TheBcrean 
 
 friends ; and although 
 
 they thought it best to send Paul away, they kept Silas 
 an- 1 Timothy 1 to instruct and to assist them. Perhaps 
 the fact that Silas and Timothy might be of some 
 service to the new church of Thessalonica was an ad- 
 ditional reason for their remaining. It was no doubt 
 some of the Berean converts who went with Paul on 
 ay. Luke and Timothy and Silas had been taken 
 from him : who else than these warm-hearted converts 
 
 there to go with him in his trials ? 
 
 Why did Paul go to Athena / lie could not, of 
 
 course, go back to Thessalonica. If he had gone back 
 
 to Edessa or further west, the busy thoroughfare of the 
 
 Roman road would soon have brought the Thessalonians 
 
 1 If Timothy was not at Thessalonica with Paul and Silas, (see be- 
 ginning of Twenty-second Sunday,) the Thessalonian persecutors 
 would not be so bitter against him. Besides, it might not be wise in 
 them, in a Greek city, to attack a man whose father was a Greek, 
 (xvi. i.) Timothy may have brought the gifts from Philippi to Thes- 
 ualonica, perhaps just as Paul came away. 
 
158 (TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 on his track. It would be better to pass out of the 
 province and far beyond their reach. It seems proba- 
 ble, therefore, that he went directly to Athens by sea, 
 although it is supposed by some persons that the phrase, 
 ' to go as it were to the sea,' 2 shows rather that he went 
 by land. We suppose that he took ship somewhere 
 near Dium, 3 to which place there was a road from Berea. 
 Here, near the lofty Mount Olympus, with its broad base, 
 its sides dark with woods, its glittering, snowy sum- 
 mit rising above the clouds and on which was thought 
 to be the throne of the gods here, where all the as- 
 sociations of ancient Greece begin to suggest them- 
 selves Paul embarks for the ancient capital. "The 
 shepherds from the heights above the celebrated Vale 
 of Tempo may have watched the sails of his ship that 
 day, as it moved like a white speck from the waters of 
 the Thcrmaic Gulf into the JEgean Sea." 
 
 As Paul looked back, the gigantic Olympus was close 
 bfliind, with its many ridges and many vales : the moun- 
 tains beyond Thessalonica grew dim: Mount Athos, 
 away off towards the north-east, far out on its penin- 
 sula, seems ' like an island floating in the horizon.' 
 " Gradually the nearer heights of snowy Olympus 
 recede into the distance, as the vessel approaches 
 nearer and nearer to the centre of all the interest of 
 classic Greece. All the land and water in sight be- 
 comes more eloquent as we advance. Poetry and his- 
 tory are on every side : every rock is a monument : 
 every current is alive with some memory of the past." 
 The long island of Eubooa shuts them off from a distant 
 view of the pass of Thermopylae, where Leonidas and 
 his three hundred Spartans defied the mighty host of 
 Xerxes, and from the plain of Marathon, where tho 
 
 2 The Greek words translated ( as it "toerej do not mean that thcro 
 was any deception. 8 Map on page 1 ! i '.. 
 
THE JOURXEY TO GREECE. 
 
 159 
 
 Athenians bravely stood against the armies of Persia. 
 At length the island is passed^ and the ship rounds the 
 southern extremity of Attica, " Sunium's high promon- 
 tory still crowned with the white columns of that 
 
 temple of Minerva which was the landmark to Greek 
 sailors," and which showed Athens was near at hand. 
 
 " To one who travels in classic lands, no moment is 
 more exciting than when he has left the cape of Su- 
 nium he-hind, and eagerly looks for the first glimpse of 
 that city which was l tho-eye of Greece, mother of arts 
 and .eloquence.' ' As the ship sails slowly up the gulf, 
 a light suddenly flashes in the distant air as from a mir- 
 ror. It is the Hashing of the armor of Minerva's great 
 statue, standing with poised shield and spear on the 
 summit of the citadel of Athens. And now from the 
 deck of the vessel you can see Athens itself, its famous 
 buildings, its surrounding hills. Directly before us is 
 the illustrious island Salamis, near which Xerxes, from 
 his high throne on the coast of Attica, saw his fleet, his 
 : iopc, destroyed. The atmosphere, famous for its 
 
160 (TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 clearness, reveals even the distant mountains, which 
 seem nearer than they are. And now, as we approach 
 the harbor, the high craggy peak which we see crowded 
 with temples and statues, in the centre of the city, is the 
 citadel, 4 from the top of which the colossal Minerva 
 locks over her idolatrous kingdom. White sails are 
 plying in the harbor, and making their busy errands 
 from the Piraeus to Cenchrcea from the harbor of 
 Athens to the harbor of Corinth. The Piraeus was to 
 Athens what Seleucia was to Antioch, what Ncapolis 
 was to Philippi. 5 As we near the entrance to the Pi- 
 
 neus, " the land seems to rise, and conceals all the 
 plain. Idlers come down on the rocks tc watch the 
 coming vessel. The sailors are all on the alert. Sud- 
 denly an opening is revealed ; and a sharp turn of the 
 helm brings the ship in between two pierp, on which 
 towers are erected," and from one to the other of which 
 a chain was sometimes thrown to keep out hostile ships. 
 u We are in smooth water, and we cast anchor in the 
 basin of the Piraeus. 
 
 " Had Paul come to this spot four hundred years be- 
 
 4 The Acropolis: aero, top or summit, polio, city the highest part 
 of the city, the citadel, (the armory and defence.) 
 6 See pages 47 and 131. 
 
THE JOUKXXY TO GREECE. 161 
 
 iic would have been in Athens from the moment 
 of his lauding at the Piraeus. At that time the two 
 !>y a double line of walls, made fam- 
 ous by the name of 'the Zo//y ~!JW/.$.' ' Between 
 tliese walls a populous street five miles in length then 
 lied across the plain. Since that time wars had 
 ofh-ii s-.vept over the land. The Romans now ruled 
 here as everywhere ; and " on each side of the road, as 
 Paul went up to Athens, were broken fragments of the 
 masonry which had once been the pride of Athens." 
 ruined street this street of ruins 
 Paul came to the gates of Athens ; and through 
 entered at once a city well described in those three 
 short words of inspiration, ' fall of idols?* Here, 
 close by the gates, is " an iraagffo? .Neptune on horse- 
 hurling hi< trident 91 Ban ifl a temple to Ceres, 
 i'-ulture, "on the walls of which an 
 i tells us the statues within were the work of 
 the ce' <." Paul goes through the gate. 
 
 "Sculptured forms of JMiuerva, Jupiter, and Apollo, of 
 Mi'ivury and the muses, stand near a sanctuary of Bac- 
 chus. Tnnples, st, irs abound on every side." 
 In every .street are seen the works of art, designed to 
 purpose of idolatry. There were statues to 
 all the mythological divinities. There were images of 
 i on Olympus. There were Chiselled forms 
 of faMed heroes, such as Hercules and Theseus. " Every 
 public place and building too was a heathen sanctuary. 
 The Record House was a temple of the mother of the 
 gods The Council House had statues of Apollo and 
 Jupiter, with an altar of Vesta. The theatre was con- 
 secrated to Bacchus. And as if the idolatrous imagina- 
 tion of the Athenians could not be satisfied, altars \verg 
 
 8 See the margin of the sixteenth verse. 
 
162 (TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 erected to Fame, to Modesty, to Energy, to Persuasion, 
 and to Pity." " One traveller tells us, ' There were more 
 gods in Athens than in all the rest of the country ;' and 
 the Roman satirist hardly exaggerates when he says it 
 is easier to find a god there than a man." 
 
 Here, in the midst of all this magnificent workman- 
 ship and beauty, Paul reflected. " His path had been 
 among the forms of great men and deified heroes, among 
 the temples, the statues, the altars of the gods of Greece. 
 In every form of beauty and grandeur wrought out by 
 the sculptor and the architect, he had seen the vain 
 fancies of the Greek mythology." And men were wor- 
 shipping these dumb, dead, beautiful things which they 
 themselves had made, and knew nothing of the one 
 true God or of the true Messiah. In all that great, 
 eager, thinking city, only one man's great heart ' was 
 stirred in him ' for the sin and folly of this worship, 
 when lie saw Athens, the pride and beauty of that land, 
 'full of idols: 
 
 The friends who came with Paul now returned. They 
 bore with them Paul's command to Silas and Timothy 
 to hasten to him. There was much work to be done ; 
 and there was need of help. 
 
 
(TWENTY-FOURTH SUXDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 VyilY did the Bercans send Paul away? 
 
 Who remained ? For what reason ? 
 
 Who 'conducted* Paul;' 
 Why did Paul go to Athens ? 
 
 Did he go by sea or land ? 
 
 What has l as it were 1 been thought to show? 
 
 Was there any deception ? 
 
 Where may we suppose he took ship ? 
 
 Near what mountain ? 
 
 What celebrated Vale did he pass? 
 
 What other mountain on the other side ? 
 
 What celebrated little -Ik-Ms on the main-land? 
 
 Who fought there? 
 
 What was the most southern point of land ? 
 
 What would he sec as he -ailed up the Saronic gulf? 
 
 What was the Piraeus? 
 
 What was Cenchraea? 
 
 What other places similar to the Piraeus and Cenchraea? 
 IIm* would it have been different, if Paul had come to the 
 Pinrus four hundred years before? 
 
 What were the 4 Long Walls' ? 
 
 What were at the gates of the city? 
 
 What inside the gates? 
 
 What were some of the particular objects in the streets ? 
 
 How were the public buildings idolatrous ? 
 
 To what virtues and abstractions were altars erected? 
 
 What did one traveller say about the gods of Athens ? 
 
 What Roman sarcasm is given ? 
 
 What does 4 wholly given to idolatry ' mean ? 
 What characteristics of the Athenians would a worldly- 
 minded man have noticed ? 
 
 What has the city of Athens always been admired for? 
 
 What things were the pride of the people ? 
 
 What one principal thing did Paul notice? 
 
(TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 Why was it not as right for Athenians to worship Jupiter 
 
 as for the Jews to worship Jehovah ? 
 Were they both different conceptions of the same heing ? 
 Is it right 1 3 worship God through images ? Why ? 
 Do you suppose the heathen worship the image simply, 
 
 without the idea of a God in it ? 
 Why may we not use a picture or an image to help our 
 
 conception of God ? 
 
 Is there any Mediator in heathen religion ? 
 Can men be saved without a Mediator ? 
 Is anything more meant by 4 his spirit was stirred ' than that 
 Paul pitied the Athenians ? 
 
 When men commit sin, what ought we to think of be- 
 sides their wretchedness ? 
 When l they departed/ where did they go ? 
 What message did they bear ? 
 Why 'with all speed'? 
 
 If the Spirit of God is all-powerful to assist, why can 
 not one man do the whole work as well as more ? 
 Have we any amount of Silas and Timotheus coming to 
 Paul? 
 
 (48) 
 
THE GRECIAN CAPITAL. 
 
 LESSON. 
 ACTS xvii. 1G-21. 
 
 PAUL was alone in Athens. Doubtless lie wont, as 
 usual, at oiice 10 thu yiiagogue, but we have no 
 account of what was said or done there. While he 
 wailed lor Silas and Timothy, lie had lime to see the 
 beautiful city and its idolatry. Three places would at- 
 tract his attention, as they did the attention of every 
 traveller: the Market-place, (the ForumJ) Mars' Hill, 
 (Areopagus, 1 ) and the Citadel, (the Acropolis.) 
 
 The librum, or market-place, was the meeting-place 
 of the people. It was a little valley formed by three 
 hills on three sides. On the east of it was the citadel, 
 " towering high above the city of which it is the glory 
 and the crown." On the north is the craggy Mars' 
 Hill. On the west side was " a sloping hill partially 
 levelled, (the Jfyjiar,) the famous meeting-place for politi- 
 cal assemblies." From the Pynx and the Forum, in 
 ancient times, the orators and the statesmen spoke to 
 the people. Here poets recited their verses to an au- 
 dience skilled ' in all the points of nice criticism : here 
 the artists exhibited their statues and paintings : here 
 goods of all descriptions were bought and sold : here 
 
 1 A compound Greek word, from pagus, hill, and Arco, of Mars, 
 the god of war. 
 
164 (TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 the public assembly of c the people ' 3 met to discuss 
 and to make the laws of the city, to sit as council and 
 to decide as judge in many of the legal questions. In 
 Paul's time, " when Athens could be proud only of her 
 recollections of the past," the Forum was still the cen- 
 tre "of philosophy, of idleness, of conversation, and of 
 business." This c market ' was far more than the open 
 market-spaces, to be seen in many modern cities. It is 
 " rather to be compared to the beautiful squares of such 
 Italian cities as Verona and Florence, where historical 
 buildings have closed in the space with narrow limits, 
 and sculpture has peopled it with impressive images." 
 "Among the buildings of greatest interest in the Forum, 
 were the porticoes or porches, which were decorated 
 with paintings and statuary." Two of these were, the 
 Portico of the King, on the roof of which were statues 
 of Theseus, the ancient hero, and of the God of Day ; 
 :ind the Portico of Jupiter, in front of which was Jupi- 
 ter's image, and within which were paintings illustrat- 
 ing the rise of the Athenian government. Among the 
 trees were statues of great men, such as Solon the Law- 
 giver, Ciinon the Admiral, and Demosthenes the Orator. 
 Here were statues to Mercury, the messenger and the 
 orator of the gods ; to Apollo, who had delivered the 
 city from the plague ; " and in the centre of all, the 
 altar of the Twelve Gods." " If from this point we 
 look up to Mars' Hill, we see the temple of Mars, and 
 we know that the sanctuary of the Furies is just hid- 
 den by the projecting ridge of rock. If we look to the 
 Citadel, we see in the distance, on the ledges of rock, a 
 series of little temples to Bacchus and ^Esculupius, to 
 Venus, to Earth, and to Ceres. 
 
 Areopagus, or Mars' Hill, had also its decorations ; 
 but it was mainly famous for being the place where tho 
 a See page 152, note 2. 
 
THE GRECIAN CAPITAL. 165 
 
 highest and most awful court of the nation held its sol- 
 emn sessions. 3 
 
 The Acropolis, 4 or citadel was the top of the tower- 
 ing hill which we saw from the sea. It was in the ccn- 
 
 A. Areopagus. B. Pynx. C. Museum. D. Temple of Jupiter. E. Temple of 
 Theseus^ F. Lyceum. G. Temple of Fortune. 
 
 trc of Athens, as it was also the very centre of the 
 pride and patriotism of t lie Athenian people. It was 
 a steep mass of rock, and could be ascended only 
 from one side. While therefore it was the security 
 of the city, it was made also the polished ornament 
 for the display of Grecian art. An orator said : " it 
 
 3 A fuller description of Mars' Hill will be given in the next chap- 
 ter. 
 
 4 Sec page 160, note 4. 
 
166 (TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 was the middle space of the five circles of a shield, of 
 which the four outer circles were Athens, Attica, Greece, 
 and the world." The top of this hill was " a museum 
 of art, of history and of religion, of architecture and of 
 sculpture, dedicated to the glory of the nation and to 
 the worship of the gods." If Paul went up the flight 
 of rocky steps which led hither, and entered the mag- 
 nificent gateway, we can imagine what he saw. At the 
 splendid entrance was a statue of Mercury, guarding 
 the gate : then statues of Venus and the Graces : then 
 a bronze statue of Minerva, as the goddess of Health : 
 then the image of Diana. Then there were statues of 
 Pericles, the orator and statesman, " to whom the glory 
 of the Acropolis was due :" of Agrippa, and of Augus- 
 tus Ca-sar : of Theseus contending with the Minotaur, 
 and of Hercules strangling the serpents. In the centre 
 ie Parthenon of Minerva, "the glorious temple 
 which rose in the proudest period of Athenian history, 
 and which, through ages of war and decay," remains 
 'still tolerably perfect.' Within it was the great ivory 
 and gold statue of Minerva, the work of Phidias, and 
 unrivalled in the world except by his own statue of 
 Jupiter. In another smaller temple, was another small 
 statue of Minerva, which, like that of Diana at Ephe- 
 sus, was believed to have fallen from heaven. 5 There 
 was still another statue of Minerva, the largest of all in 
 the city. It }vas made of brass, "from the shields and 
 bra/en spoils of the battle of Marathon, and rose in gi- 
 gantic proportions above all the buildings of the Acrop- 
 olis, and stood with spear and shield as the guardian 
 deity of Athens and Attica." It was this huge but 
 beautiful statue which Paul perhaps saw as he sailed 
 up the gulf towards the Piraeus. " Now he had landed 
 
 6 Acts xix. 33. 
 
THE urj-:<:iAX CAPITAL. 1C7 
 
 raid 1 hid seen tlic wonders of the city. Here perhaps, 
 by this great statue, Paul looked down on the city 
 'full of idol*:" 
 
 If Paul looked from the Acropolis away over the city 
 walls into the open country, he saw in one direction 
 the place where Aristotle, and in the opposite direction 
 the place where Plato, both pupils of Socrates, held 
 their famous schools. Aristotle, the teacher of Alex- 
 ander the Great, once taught in another part of the 
 surrounding groves. There were other schools within, 
 the city, in Paul's day. In ono of the porches of the 
 Forum the Stoics met : those stern, proud men, who 
 tauirht ' that men should be free from passion, unm<> 
 by joy or grief, and submit without complaint to the 
 necessity by which all things are governed." In one 
 of the gardens, the Epicureans met the easy, free mm, 
 who believed that pleasure was the end of life. These 
 Stoics and Epicureans, the representatives of Pride and 
 Pleasure, Paul was soon to meet in the Forum, in his 
 discussions there. 
 
 How di He rent were the thoughts of Paul from those 
 of many men who have visi ted Athens, and have seen 
 all these beautiful works of art. " He burned with zeal 
 fr that GOD whom he saw dishonored all through the 
 city. lie was melted to pity for those who, notwith- 
 standing their intellectual greatness, were ' wholly 
 given to idolatry.' He was not blinded to the reality 
 of things by the appearance of art or philosophy. 
 Karthly beauty and human wisdorn_were_o-iio value, 
 were worse than nothing, if they made falsehood good 
 and madiPvice a god." Paul, therefore, could not be 
 silent. lie exhorted in the synagogue of the Jews, 
 reasoning, as before, from their Scriptures. He dis- 
 puted with those who gathered in the Forum to dis- 
 cuss every ne\v and strange subject or philosophy. He 
 
168 (TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 would have no dull nor weak antagonists. He would 
 be persecuted by no mob. He would be heard with 
 respectful attention, if he had anything to say which 
 the Athenians thought worthy their attention. There, 
 to the mingled gathering, he preached Jesus and the 
 resurrection ; and there, while he taught these simple 
 doctrines, he met the human philosophers, in all the 
 pride of their worldly wisdom the Stoics and Epicu- 
 reans who came into the Forum. One man said, What 
 does this talking-fellow 6 say ? And another, He seems 
 to be a proclaimer of strange gods. 
 
 How contrary Paul's simple doctrines were to all 
 their philosophy. He preached simply that Jesus was 
 the Saviour of men from sin, and that there would be a 
 resurrection from the dead. Neither the Stoics nor 
 Epicureans believed there was any need of being saved, 
 or that there would be any resurrection. The Stoics 
 were pantheists : they believed the world or the uni- 
 verse was itself God, a great living machine that rolled 
 on from eternity to eternity. The Epicureans were 
 atheists : they believed there was no God. Both said 
 that the soul of man would expire with his body, and 
 so that there could be no resurrection. The Stoics 
 taught a proud indifference to all joy, grief, anger, 
 change in life, care, thought for the future. The Epi- 
 cureans taught a love for everything which could give 
 pleasure, without thought of right or wrong ; that men 
 should not of course seek pleasure which brought pain 
 with it, unless the pleasure would be more than the 
 pain ; but that men should do what would give them 
 
 8 The Greek word rendered 'babbler' meant originally a seed- 
 
 picker, like a bird who picks up seed, and afterwards one who picked 
 
 up items or scraps of knowledge. In the light of all their ideas of 
 
 eloquence, it was therefore a sharp sarcasm when the Athenians said : 
 
 What does this item-monger, or deah-r in small-folk, say ? ' 
 
 
 
T1IK GRECIAN CAPITAL. 169 
 
 tlic gfl mount of pleasure in tlic whole life. The 
 
 was therefore taught to depend on himself for 
 everything. He scorned to receive aid from any per- 
 son or thing ; and so he did not wish, he thought he 
 <li<l not need a Saviour. The preaching of Jesus was 
 foolishness to him. The Epicureans sought gratifica- 
 tion only. The doctrines of Paul forbade many kinds 
 of pleasure as wicked. The preaching of Jesus was 
 foolishness to them. 
 
 Still there were some in the gathering who wished 
 to know more of this new doctrine ; and they, eager to 
 know the latest kind of religion, as well as the latest 
 news, brought Paul to Areopagus. "Demosthenes 
 four hundred years before, had rebuked the Athenians 
 for their idle curiosity, telling tUem they were always 
 craving after news and excitement, even when destruc- 
 tion itself was hanging over their liberties;" and in 
 Paul's time, the Athenians were still as eager as ever 
 4 to tell or to hear some new thing.' 
 
(TWENTY-FIFTH ,S UXD d 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 TO what place in the city would Paul go first ? 
 IIow would a synagogue be esteemed in Athens ? 
 What three public places would attract Paul's notice ? . 
 What was the Market-place? 
 
 What three hills on three sides ? 
 
 What was done in this market-place and at the Pynx ? 
 
 What ' people' met here ? 
 
 IIow would it compare with the open business-squares 
 
 of modern cities ? 
 What peculiar class of buildings ? 
 What two especially noted ? 
 What statues of great men ? 
 
 What could be seen on Mars' Hill from the Forum ? 
 What does Areopagus iean ? 
 
 What was it mainly famous for? 
 What docs Acropolis mean ? 
 
 Where was it ? What was it? 
 
 To what did an orator liken the Acropolis ? 
 
 What was on the top of this hill? 
 
 Name some of the gods and some of the men whose 
 
 statues were there. 
 
 What was the principal building of the Acropolis ? 
 To whom was it dedicated ? Who was she ? 
 What three statues of her, and what were their charao 
 
 teristics ? 
 
 Do you suppose Paul failed to visit the Acropolis ? 
 What, outside of the city, could Paul have seen from the 
 Acropolis ? 
 
 What schools were within, the city V 
 AVI Kit was the difference between a Stoic and an Epicu- 
 rean? 
 What was the chief cause of Paul's earnest zeal ? 
 
 What is the significance of ' Therefore disputed he' ? 
 Who were 4 the devout persons' ? 
 Whom would Paul meet in the Forum ? 
 (49) 
 
SUXDA Y.) 
 
 How would he be received ? 
 
 Vi'h.-it t\v<> opinions were expressed in respect to them? 
 
 What d<" 
 
 t did such a question mean in the mouth of an 
 
 Athenian ? 
 
 What does 4 setter forth' mean ? 
 "What did Paul preach in the Forum ? 
 
 AVus this the doctrine of the general resurrection or. of 
 
 the resurrection of Jesus ? 
 AVhy was this doctrine especially connected with the 
 
 preaching about Jesus ? 
 
 What did the Stoics and Epicureans believe? 
 What were the Stoics in respect to their belief in a God ? 
 
 the Epicureans? 
 
 What other dillerence was there in their tcarhings? 
 Why was the preaching of Jesus foolishness to the Stoic ? 
 
 Why to tho Epicurean r* 
 Why did they take Paul to Mars' Hill? 
 What does 4 new doctrine' refer to? 
 AVI iat did Demosthenes rebuke the Athenians for ? 
 Is it wrong to wish to learn 'the news'? 
 Is it wise to be seeking a new religion ? 
 Were the Athenians right or wrong in seeking to leai u 
 
 the new religion which Paul brought? 
 Was Paul right in taking advantage of their curiosity ? 
 
 (50) 
 
Suivbitn, 
 
 MARS' HILL. 
 
 LESSON. 
 ACTS xvii. 22-34. 
 
 44 rpHE place to which the Athenians took Paul was 
 - the summit of the hill of Areopagus, where the 
 most awful court of Athens had sat from the earliest 
 times, to pass sentence on the greatest criminals, and 
 to decide the most solemn questions of religion. The 
 judges sat in the open air, on seats hewn out in the 
 rock ; and the place was reached by a flight of stone 
 steps directly from the Forum. On this spot, a long 
 series of awful causes connected with crime and religion 
 had been decided." The first one of all was fabled to 
 have been a trial of Mars, on charge of murdering a 
 son of Neptune. Mars was acquitted, and hence the 
 plurti was called Mars' Hill, (Areopagus. 1 ) The temple 
 of Mars was on the brow of the hill. The sanctuary of 
 the Furies, the avenging goddesses, who punished the 
 condemned by taking away peace of mind and giving 
 misery and misfortune, was just below the judges' seat, 
 in a broken cleft of the rock, and gave great solemnity 
 to the place. " Even in the decay of Athens, in Paul's 
 time, the people regarded this spot and this court with 
 superstitious reverence. Here they thought of the 
 dread recollections of centuries. It was the place of 
 silent awe in the midst of the gay and frivolous eify 
 
 J See page 103, note 1. 
 
HILL. 171 
 
 To conic from the Forum to Areopagus, was to corao 
 into the presence of a higher power. X<> place in Athens 
 so suitable for a discourse on the doctrines and 
 mysteries of religion ;" and when the novelty-loving 
 and religious Athenians found Paul's conversations and 
 address to the people in the Forum were about religion, 
 they brought him hitherto hear him. "They took the 
 Apostle from the tumult of public discussion, to the 
 plaee most convenient and most appropriate. There 
 W& everything in the place to incline those who came 
 to a reverent and thoughtful attention. It is probable 
 that Dionysius and other Areopagites, were on the 
 judicial Beats. Tin- dread thoughts associated with the 
 hill of Mars, may have solemnized the minds of some 
 of the people who crowded up the stone steps witli the 
 Apostle, to hear his announcement of new divini' 
 
 Tli ink now of the Apostle on the summit of Mars' 
 Hill. Think of the intense earnestness of Paul, and of 
 the frivolous character of his hearers. Think of the 
 certainty, the truth, the solemn meaning of the Gospel 
 lie preached, and of the worthless religion and mytholo- 
 gy which made Athens famous in the earth. Think of 
 all the temples, statues, idols, altars around him, and of 
 what he said about temples and idols. Close to him 
 was the temple of Mars. Just below him was the 
 abode of the Furies. Opposite, on the Acropolis, was 
 the splendid Parthenon of Minerva. Yet here Paul 
 boldly declares that 'GoD dwells not in TEMPLES made 
 with hands.' "Wherever his eye turned, he saw a 
 multitude of statues in every form, and situation. Right 
 in front of him, towering from its pedestal on the rock 
 of the Acropolis, was the immense brazen statue of 
 Minerva, arnved with spear, shield, and helmet, as the 
 champion of Athens. Standing almost in its very shade, 
 
172 (TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 he declared that the GODHEAD is not to be likened to 
 that work of Phidias, or to any other image in gold, 
 silver or stone, graven by art or man's device" 
 
 Among all the altars, he had noticed one -with the 
 singular inscription, 'To the Unknown GodJ as though 
 the superstitious people would not omit from their wor- 
 ship one possible god whom they might not know. 
 This inscription Paul took for the text of his address on 
 Mars' Hill. 
 
 THE ADDRESS OX MARS* HILL. 
 
 It is not the object of thisjiddress to prove that Jesus 
 is the J/'.W'///, as it was in the address at Antioch of 
 Pisidia ; 2 but to prove to idolaters that there is one 
 God, and that Jesus, of whom he had spoken in the 
 Forum, would be the final Judge of men's good and 
 
 evil deeds. 
 
 I. The Introduction: The Unknown God, (verses 22, 
 23.) 
 
 Notice witli what courtesy and with what carefulness 
 Paul adapts his introduction to his Athenian audience. 
 lie was speaking to men accustomed to oratory and to el- 
 oquence. He was speaking in a place where men had been 
 condemned for rclierious offences. lie does not com- 
 
 o 
 
 mence, therefore, by saying that it was wrong to make 
 1 hese statues and idols. He might have lost the attention 
 of his audience, and the opportunity for an argument : 
 he might even have put his life in danger, if he had at- 
 tacked at once their national gods. In commencing, 
 therefore, he only speaks of what he, as a traveller and 
 stranger, had seen in their city. Every car would be 
 delicately attentive : " Ye men of Athens, I perceive 
 that in all things you are very religious? For, passing 
 
 . <'.7. 
 3 Our En^li ion is generally correct, but does not quite 
 
JA.-172S' HILL. 173 
 
 through your city, and beholding the objects of your 
 worship, I saw an altar on which was written : To the 
 \owx God. This God, whom you worship igno- 
 rantly, I wish to make known to you." 
 
 II. This unJcnown god is the ONE ONLY GOD, (verses 
 24 to 26.) 
 
 The reasons why he only is God, are : 
 
 1. (Verse 24.) He created all things. lie is Ruler, 
 therefore, of all heaven and all earth. He is therefore 
 infinitely greater than the human temple of any other 
 god, or than the temples of all other gods. 
 
 2. (Verse 25.) He does not need worship, as other 
 
 11 to do. lie himself gives life, breath, all 
 things, to the very worshippers. 
 
 \ r crse 20.) lie created all men. He madi. them 
 all of one blood. 1 II- li\< -i the time of their existence 
 in the world, and the length of their stay on earth. 
 
 III. All men alike ought to worship thix ONE GOD, 
 (verses 27, 28.) 
 
 1. r>(v;m<e he declares that he created all things, 
 that he created men, that he decides the length and 
 place of every life in order that men should seek him 
 and t , that is, worship him. 
 
 2. Because, as he created us at the first, so he now 
 gives us life and breath, every day and every hour. 
 Your own poets, too, say the same thing : that we are 
 the offspring of God : that is, that we obtain life from 
 Mm. 
 
 express the idea of the Greek, in the words, ' too superstitious/ The 
 Greek \vords rather mean, * more careful about religious things ' than 
 other people. How true it was ! 
 
 4 'Of one Hood.' The Greeks boastfully claimed an origin for 
 themselves, different from the rest of the world. All beside Greeks 
 were * Barbarians.' Romans i. 14. 
 
i74 (TWEXTY-SL\'TII SUNDAY.) 
 
 IV. GOD, then, cannot be a statue or an image, (ver.se 
 29.) 
 
 If we are the offspring of God, he is our Father. As 
 we are living flesh and blood and spirit, our Father 
 cannot be a gold or silver image, carved and graven by 
 art, or a marble statue, chiselled by man's device, like 
 all these images and statues, like the beautiful and co- 
 lossal image of Minerva yonder, formed by the art and 
 device of the sculptor Phidias. 
 
 V. GOD overlooks the past, provided you will now 
 repent and. prepare for his judgment-day, (verses 30, 31, 
 first part.) 
 
 VI. Jesus of Nazareth is to be the Judge at that day, 
 (verse 31.) That Jesus of whom I spoke to you in 
 the Forum, is God's appointed Judge for that day, 
 when every man shall give account of himself to 
 God. God has given us proof that Jesus is to be his 
 Judge at that day, because he raised Jesus from the 
 dead. 
 
 Paul was perhaps going to show why the resurrec- 
 tion of Jesus proved that he would be the Judge at the 
 judgment-day, but he was suddenly interrupted. "Some 
 of those who listened broke out into laughter and de- 
 vision. The doctrine of 'resurrection' was to them 
 ridiculous. Others said, with a polite indifference, that 
 they would hear him again on the subject. We have 
 no knowledge that they sought Paul to hear him again. 
 Curiosity was gratified. For the rest, they simply did 
 not care. 
 
 Although Paul's address was adapted to win them, 
 the cultivated and polished Athenians politely declined 
 to hear him, the common people derided him. In the 
 midst of the derision of some and the indifference of 
 others, Paul was dismissed and the assembly dispersed. 
 
J/.IA'.S" HILL. 175 
 
 And yet the result from ;:;! }\\< labor was successful; 
 lor a few souls heard and believed : even one of the 
 AiVMpMgitrs, and also one of the common crowd, a 
 woman, and some others. 
 
 " It is a serious and instructive fact, that the ruercan- 
 tile people* received the message of God with greater 
 readiness than the hi ghly cultivated and polished Athe- 
 nians. Two letters to Thessalonica and two to Corinth, 
 cities on either side of Athens, show the flourishing 
 state of those churches. But we have no letter \ 
 by Paul to the Athenians ; and we do not read that 
 Paul wa< ever in Athene a-'ain/' 
 
 * Of Thr.vsil.mir.i | '.th. 
 
(TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 WHERE did the Athenians take Paul ? 
 
 How was this place reached from the Forum ? 
 What made this place especially sacred ? 
 Why was it called Areopagus ? 
 
 Why was it a suitable place to which to bring Paul ? 
 Contrast now some of the things around Paul with Pauls 
 spirit. 
 
 Show the force of * God dwells not in temples, 7 etc. 
 Show the force of 'the Godhead is not like unto gold, 1 
 
 etc. 
 What was the text of Paul's address ? 
 
 JIow does the object of this address differ from his ob- 
 ject at Antioch in Pisidia? 
 L What verses contain the Introduction ? 
 
 What is the subject of the Introduction ? 
 
 Did Paul say at once that idolatry was wrong ? Why ? 
 
 What kind of an audience was he speaking to? 
 
 How does he gain their eager attention ? 
 
 What does ' too superstitious ' mean ? 
 
 What does ' devotions ' mean ? 
 
 Do you think any particular 4 unknown god ' was meant 
 
 by the inscription ? 
 Was it right for Paul to apply this inscription to the true 
 
 God? 
 
 II. What is the second head of the Address? 
 What is the first reason? 
 
 Does God never dwell in earthly temples ? 
 What is the second reason ? 
 
 If God does not need worship, why should we worship 
 
 him? 
 If God gives all things to men, why should we ask him 
 
 for them ? 
 What is the third reason ? 
 
 What did the Greeks boast for themselves ? 
 (51) 
 
(TWENTY- I &1XTH SUXDA 5V; 
 
 TV hat docs 'determined the times before appointed 1 
 
 mean? 
 
 What is meant by * bounds of their habitation' ? 
 ITT. What is the third head of the Address ? 
 
 1. Why did God create all men and fix their times ? 
 What does 'feel after him and find him ' mean ? 
 
 2. What does God besides create us ? 
 
 W hich requires more power, to preserve us or to create us ? 
 What quotation does Paul make in proof ? 
 
 IV. What is the fourth head ? 
 
 Give the meaning of the twenty-ninth verse ? 
 
 What gold and ivory image was there on the Acropolis ? 
 
 What image of bra 
 
 What kind of stone images at Athens ? 
 
 V, What is the fifth head? 
 
 What is meant by * the times of this ignorance * ? 
 What is meant by 4 winked at' ? 
 Docs God overlook ignorance of his law ? 
 How far is ignorance an excuse for sin ? 
 What does he now require fur which we cannot offer ig- 
 norance as an excuse ? 
 
 What 4 day ' has God appointed ? For what ? 
 What does l in righteousness' mean? 
 Will there be any complaint then that our ignorance 
 or our weakness was not considered in the deci- 
 sion ? 
 VT. What is the sixth head ? 
 
 Whom does * that man ' mean ? 
 Where had Paul spoken of Him before ? 
 How has God given proof that He is to be the Judge ? 
 Why did the Athenians break in upon Paul's speech at this 
 point ? 
 
 What two kinds of conduct were shown ? 
 What two kinds of people probably were represented ? 
 Was Paul's address successful ? 
 What is an Areopagite ? 
 When is preaching successful ? 
 (52) 
 
Sunbair. 
 
 "THE CITY OF THE TWO SEAS. 
 
 LESSON. 
 
 ACTS xviii. 1-5. 
 
 1)AUL must liave gone to Corinth by one of two 
 routes. He took either the coast-road through Eleu- 
 sis and Megara or the shorter sail of a few hours in one of 
 the many ships plying between the Piraws and Cenchrca. 
 AVhen he readied Corinth, he was in a place far dill'er- 
 cnt from Athens. Athens was a Greek free city. Corinth^ 
 was a Roman colony. It was like going from Thessa- 
 ]<>ii':M to Piiilippi. 1 Athens was a university town : 
 Co:-inth was a business town. It was something like 
 going from Oxford to London. Athens had once been 
 greater politically than Corinth; but in Paul's time 
 Athens had lost its business character, retaining chiefly 
 its renown for learning, while Corinth was ' a new and 
 splendid city,' rebuilt by Julius Caesar, after having 
 been once destroyed, and now kept in order by a 1 Jo- 
 in an Pro-consul. It was a most important town. It 
 was situated on the isthmus between the two seas. I>y 
 mounting to the summit of the hill 2 at Corinth, we gain 
 
 1 Sec p.-igc 153, and 132, 133. 
 
 " The fortified citadel called, like the Acropolis at Athens, (sec note 
 4, page 100,) Acro-Corinthus, summit of Corinth. It was two thou- 
 sand foot high above the sea, its sides steep, and the shadow reached 
 hull-w:sy across the isthmus. The space on the summit was large 
 enough for a town. 
 
"THE CITY OF THE TWO SEAS." 177 
 
 a c magnificent and extensive view.' There is a sea on 
 the north and a sea on the south-east. The Acropolis 
 of Athens can be seen forty-five miles away. The moun- 
 tains of Attica are in the eastern horizon. On the other 
 side " are the large masses of mountains of north-eastern 
 v, with Mount Parnassus towering at Delphi." 
 The city lies at your feet. On cither side at the coast 
 i< a harbor : on the eastern sea, Cenclirea, on the west- 
 cm sea, Lechcum. Hence Corinth was called by the 
 poets 'The City of the Two Seas.' It had been and 
 still was to some extent the crossing-place of two great 
 1-t ravel alonfj the isthmus from 
 
 the continent to the Pcloponcssus and the travel across 
 the isthmus from sea to sea. It had been therefor- 
 still was a city of great military importance; for it 
 controlled both routes. In ancient and in more in 
 times, nations have fought for the control of this town 
 and its citadel. 
 
 Here, more than anywhere else, would you see the 
 ( Ireek race in all its lite and activity. For hundreds 
 of years before Paul's time the inhabitants of Corinth 
 had gone out in companies and colonized on many of 
 the coasts of Europe in the west and east. As the col- 
 onies grew, the people of these towns used to come 
 back to Corinth to trade and to see their native city. 
 Ships came iV sea to her two harbors. In this 
 
 city, too, were manufactures in metals, in dyeing and in 
 porcelain, from which v ;-e sold to all countries. 
 
 At certain times in the yea* the streets were crowded 
 vho came to attend the Isthmian Games. 
 In Paul's time there was much of the ancient activity and 
 life, although the old city had been destroyed and a 
 new one, years afterwards, founded by the Roman em- 
 peror. We must think of Corinth, then, when Paul 
 landed at Cer. .'-man Empire, 
 
178 (TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 in which Jews and Greeks were more numerous than 
 Romans, and as the capital 3 of the Roman province of 
 Achaia. 
 
 We can think of three reasons why Paul came from 
 Athens to Corinth : First. The discouragement lie met 
 at Athens. Secondly. Corinth " was a large business city, 
 in immediate communication with Rome and the western 
 Mediterranean, with Thessalonica and Ephesus in the 
 ^Egean Sea and with Antioch and Alexandria in the 
 east : the Gospel, if established there, would spread 
 everywhere." Thirdly. Jews were numerous in Corinth. 
 There were " communities of scattered Jews in various 
 parts of the province," more or less connected with 
 Corinth. "A religion which was first to be planted in 
 tin- synagogue, and intended thence to scatter its seeds 
 over all parts of the earth, could nowhere find a more 
 .ible soil than among the Hebrew families at 
 ilh." 
 
 "At this particular time there was a greater number 
 AS than usual in the city; for they had lately been 
 banished from Rome by command of the Emperor 
 Claudius Crcsar." One historian says " that Claudius 
 drove the Jews from Rome because they were inces- 
 santly raising tumults at the instigation of a certain 
 Chrestus. Much has been written concerning this sen- 
 tence of the historian. Some have thought that there 
 was really a Jew called Chrestus, who excited political 
 disturbances : others that the name is used by mistake 
 for Christus, and that the disturbances arose from the 
 Jewish expectations concerning the Messiah or Christ. 
 The events at least followed the actual appearance of 
 Christ." 
 
 3 Athens was the ancient capital, before Greece was conquered. 
 But under the Romans Corinth was capital of Greece, and Greece was 
 now the province of Achaia. 
 
11 THE CITY OF Thti T\VO SEAS." 179 
 
 Apulia and Prisrilla were among the Jews banished 
 and among those wlio came to Corinth. They were 
 natives of Poutns, a province on the Euxine (Black) 
 Sea, directly north of Antioch in Syria. When Peter 
 preached on the day of Penteoost at Jerusalem, there 
 were men from Pontus 4 in the assembly. Possibly 
 A<juila and Priscilla were tliere; or they may have heard 
 the Gospel at home in Pontus from those who were 
 in Jerusalem at the feast of Pentecost. For some rea- 
 son they had gone to Koine ; and they were now ban- 
 ished from Rome to pursue their trade in Corinth. As 
 they -, Paul 'abode' with them. If 
 
 they wciv imt already Christians, they soon became so. 6 
 With them Paul labored at the trade which no doubt 
 
 lit him in his youth. " Those w 
 
 Aqnila at Corinth, in the working hours .found Paul 
 quietly occupied with the same work as his fellow-labor- 
 ers. Though he knew the Gospel to be a matter of life! 
 and death to the soul, he gave himself to an ordinary 
 with as much zest as though he had no other oc- 
 cupation, lie 'labored working with his own hand' 
 among the Corinthians, as he afterwards reminded 
 them," 6 so that no one could reproach him with in- 
 ;ice or any selfish motives in preaching. 
 
 " The Sabbath was a day of rest. On that day the 
 le their tent-making and their other trades, 
 and amid the derision of their Gentile neighbors went 
 V> the synagogue." There, as often as the Sabbath ro 
 turned, P:v,il reasoned with both Jews and Greeks. 
 "His countrymen listened with incredulity or convic- 
 tion, while he 'endeavored to persuade' them to be- 
 lieve in Jesus the promised Messiah and the Saviour of 
 the world." The result seems to have been that he was 
 
 4 Acts ii. 9. 6 Verse 26. 6 I. Corinthians iv. 12. 
 
180 (TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY.} 
 
 f:ir more successful amoncr the Greeks than with .lis 
 
 O '"i 
 
 countrymen. 
 
 WliIIc he was thus working in the week and preaching 
 on the Sabbath, Timothy and Silas returned. It seems 
 they did not reach Athens before Paul left that place. 
 Perhaps they sailed directly from Thessalonica or Dium 7 
 to Cenchrsea ; or they may have come, by land to Attica, 
 and from Athens down the isthmus. What news would 
 they bring from Thessalonica ? Good news it was in- 
 deed, as we know from the first letter of Paul to the 
 Thessalonians : news of steadfast converts, of men of 
 'nth, of diligent and careful ' Christians.' 
 
 Their arrival, and the good news they brought, pro- 
 duced " an instant increase of zeal and energy" in Paul, 
 especially against the opposcrs who now began to re- 
 sist his teachings " He himself declares that he was 
 in Corinth * in weakness and in fear and in much trem- 
 bling,' 8 but c God, who comforteth those that are cast 
 i, comfDrted him by the coming' 9 of his friends. 
 It was not the only time that Paul derived strength, 
 when c he saw the brethren and thanked God and took 
 courage.' 10 And now, with much greater emphasis than 
 before, he preached^ to his fellow-Israelites and urged 
 them to receive Jesus of Nazareth as their Messiah. 
 
 T See page 158. 8 I. Corinthians ii. 3. 9 II. Corinthians vii. % 
 10 Acts xxviii. 15. 
 
(T\VEXTY >AY.} 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 \VIIAT two routes from Athens to Corinth ? 
 How do we suppose Paul wont ? 
 What difference between Athens and Corinth? 
 Why was it like going from Thessalonica to Philippi f 
 was it something like going from Oxford to Lou 
 don? 
 
 Wh; e greater city? 
 
 How had Athens changed ? 
 
 What a -1 vantage was there in the situation of Corinth? 
 W 1 r ie Acro-Cori nthus ? 
 
 AVI iat could be seen from it ? 
 Wh lei important? 
 
 What two harbors had Corinth ? 
 What two lines of travel passed through Corinth ? 
 Would Paul see more of the r le in Athens or 
 
 in Corinth ? 
 
 Why did the people come back to the city? 
 
 What manufactures in Corinth ? 
 
 Why were the streets crowded at certain times of the 
 
 year ? 
 
 What was the capital of Greece in Paul's time? 
 What was the name of the province then ? 
 What three reasons may be given why Paul came to Corinth ? 
 Why were there more Jews than usual in the city ? 
 Who was 'Claudius'? 
 What reason is given why he drove the Tews frora 
 
 Rome ? 
 What is that historian supposed to mean ? 
 
 I What two banished Jews came to Corinth ? 
 What country were they natives of? 
 Where was that province ? 
 Where had men from that province heard tho Compel? 
 Do you suppose they were Christians ? 
 How could they have heard the 'jlospcl ? 
 What was their trade ? 
 (53) 
 
( TWENT Y-SE VENTII S UNDA F.) 
 
 "Was it necessary for Paul to labor? 
 Was it degrading to his Apostolic authority to labor ? 
 Is it honorable to be unwilling to labor ? Is it right ?, 
 Where does he remind the Corinthians of his labor 
 
 among them? 
 
 What reason may be given for his labor ? 
 On frhat day of tlie ueek did the Jews go to their synagogue ? 
 What especial doctrine would Paul * reason ' about ? 
 In respect to what did he ' persuade ' them ? 
 Who came during this time ? 
 
 Had Paul been in Corinth over more than one Sabbath ? 
 From what place had Paul sent word to Timothy and 
 
 Silas ? 
 How did they come from Macedonia ? From what 
 
 place ? 
 
 What news did they bring? 
 What is meant by * pressed in the Spirit ' ? 
 
 Was this the effect of the good news or of the immedi- 
 ate influence of the Spirit ? 
 Why is it a good thing to have news from earnest 
 
 churches and of revivals, told in other churches ? 
 Is it right to rely on human sympathy for our religious 
 
 earnestness ? 
 "What other time was Paul strengthened by the coming 
 
 of friends ? Where ? 
 What did Paul's earnestness lead him to do ? 
 
 What is meant by * testified that Jesus is the Christ ' ? 
 What is the test of genuine religious labor ? 
 (54) 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE. 
 
 LESSON. 
 ACTS xviii. 5-7 ; I. Thessalonians i. 1 . 
 
 PAlTL'S increase of zeal an 1 energy " was net tlic 
 only result of the arrival of Timothy and Silas. 
 
 liv h:i'l been sent while Paul was at Allans to 
 luiivhof Thcss.-ilonira. 1 And 
 
 n\v the news he brought on his ivturn led Paul to write 
 -salonian converts. Paul wrote this 
 
 partly to show his affection for these converts :md 
 to encourage them in the inulst of their persecutions, 
 and in part to correct some errors into which they had 
 fallen." No doubt the Jews who excited the idle rab- 
 ble of Thessalonica against Paul and Silas and Jason 
 would continue to molest the Thessalonian church vrben* 
 ever they had opportunity. And it was perhaps but 
 natural that these believers, who had had so little in- 
 struction, should fall into some mistakes. " Many of 
 the new converts were uneasy about the state of their 
 relatives or friends who had died since their conver- 
 sion. Oilu-rs, thinking Christ was soon to appear at 
 
 cond coming, were persuading themselves that 
 they need no longer continue their usual labor. Others 
 were despising the gift of prophesying." To assist them 
 in these troubles, and to correct their error, Paul writes 
 them a most affectionate letter, in winch he most kindly 
 
 1 1. Thessaloniaas iii. 1, 2. 
 
182 (TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 praises and encourages them. This letter is the First 
 Epistle to the Thessalonians. 
 
 As we suppose this is the first epistle 2 which Paul 
 wrote to a church of believers, and his other epistles 
 are more or less like it, it is well for us to stop and 
 think a moment of the general subject of the epistles 
 before we go on. By settling two or three questions in 
 respect to one, we settle them in respect to all. 
 
 I. First, then, How do wo know the epistles of Paul 
 were written on his journeys ? They must have been 
 written in towns on his journeys ; for the churches to 
 which they are addressed were established on his second 
 and third journeys, and lie journeyed all his life after- 
 wards, till he was prisoner at Rome. Paul first preached 
 the Gospel in Galatia and Philippi and Thessalonica and 
 Corinth and Ephesus ; and it is not likely that he wrote 
 his letters to Galatians, Philippians, Thessalonians, Co- 
 rinthians, Ephesians, during the very short time between 
 his second and third journeys, when he was in Jerusa- 
 lem, nor during that turbulent time when he was taken 
 prisoner and sent off under a Roman guard to Crcsarca. 
 It is more likely that he wrote them in places where he 
 remained a much longer time, such as Corinth. It 
 would be unnatural to suppose that they were all writ- 
 ten from Jerusalem ; for while there are many allusions 
 to Greek and Roman names and places and events, 
 there are few allusions to indicate that the writer was 
 in Judea. The ancient inscriptions added at the end 
 of the Epistles, 3 though uninspired, and though it is 
 thought they are not all correct, yet all show they were 
 written in the towns along his journeys. 
 
 II. How can we tell where each epistle was written ? 
 We cannot certainly decide. We can only judge oi 
 
 2 Sec no.'ic 12 page 184. 
 
 8 See the end of the various Epistles. 
 
TLE. 183 
 
 tho place ami (J in which the Apostolic 
 
 write; hat the Apostle says of places and per- 
 
 sons a:xl ::iple, in this first 
 
 to the Thessalonians, (1 .) Paul speaks as if he had 
 but recently come from Thessalonica, and as if the 
 
 :ilonian believers had but recently been converted. 
 lie v And ye became followers of us* having 
 
 ed the word in much affliction :' ' Ye were en- 
 7 cs to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia ; 
 i'r they show what manner of c/ / we had 
 
 .nd lio\v <l to God from idols: 16 c Ye 
 
 a, our entrance unto you that it was not 
 in vain, but afl <rs ye 
 
 know 'Wo, brethren, having been taken from you 
 for a short time in person" I n t h < -se 1 1 . ; I cer- 
 
 tainly writes as if t-> n",v OOD 
 
 been amon^ them. (2.) Paul says that lie has 
 lately been in Athens. 8 (3.) lie declares that Timothy 
 had just come from Thessaloniea.^ This letter to the 
 must have been written, then, after Tim- 
 othy reaehed Paul, and alter Paul left Athens ; and as 
 Timothy reached Paul at Corinth, after Paul had left 
 Athen- and alter Paul had just come, a E ^s be- 
 
 i ThcssaL :-e often sailing 
 
 too from Cenchraea to Thessalonica, there can be little 
 doubt that Paul wrote this first letter to the Thessalo- 
 nians from Corinth. 10 In the same manner, we are to 
 decide where each epistle was written. 
 
 4 I. Thess. i. 6. 6 i. 7. ii. 1, 2. 
 
 7 ii. 17. The Greek participle is past, not present. 
 
 8 in. 1. Hi. 6. 
 
 10 You will notice the uninspired inscription at the end of the epis- 
 tle, added by another writer, says the epistle was written from Athens. 
 This is generally thought by scholars to be a mistake. They agree 
 Chat the Thcssaloniau epistles were written from Corinth. 
 
184 (TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 III. If these epistles are simply letters written by a 
 Christian traveller to Christian churches, how is it that 
 they are inspired Scripture to us ? Some persons may 
 think the dignity and authority of these sacred epistles 
 are lessened by the thought that they were written in 
 journeying ; but we must remember that the journeys 
 were in issionary journeys, and the missionary divinely 
 inspired. Some of the most solemn and most forcible 
 appeals to Christian churches in modern times have 
 been the letters of missionaries. If they had been in- 
 spired, they would have been binding on us, like the 
 Scriptures. If what an inspired missionary Apostle 
 apoke to the people of Thessalonica when he was in 
 tlicir city is the word of God to us, 11 then surely what 
 an inspired missionary Apostle wrote to the believers of 
 that same place, from a city a few hundred miles away, 
 is the word of God to us. 
 
 It is well for us also to take up one of these epistles, 
 and by dividing it into parts to see how full it is of per- 
 sonal kindness and affection. We will see in this epistle 
 the largeness of Paul's affectionate nature. 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE TIIESSALONIANS. 12 
 
 I. Paul thanks God for their conversion. 
 
 Remembering their faith, love, and hope while he 
 wivs in Thessalonica, 13 and how earnestly they received 
 the Gospel in those solemn meetings, 14 he gives thanks 
 that, in affliction or persecution, they followed his own 
 i- x ample, and became examples to all believers in Mace- 
 donia and Achaia. 15 Recalling to their minds his iin- 
 
 11 Acts xvii. 2, 3. 
 
 12 This First Epistle U the Thcssalonians, it is agreed, is the first 
 of all Paul's Epistles. There is difference of opinion in respect to the 
 order of time in which all the Epistles were written ; but in the fu- 
 ture lessons we will follow that which Conybeare and Ilowson have 
 adopted. 
 
 13 I. Thcss. i. 3. 14 i. 5. 15 i. 0-9. 
 
THE FIKXT J-jrWLV. 185 
 
 prisonracnt in Philippi, and tlic boldness necessary to 
 piv;irh afterwards in their city, 1 '' 1 lie calls them to wit- 
 ihe faithfulness of his preaching, 17 his affectionate 
 treatment of them, as a nurse 18 and a father 1 - 1 their own 
 children, his daily labor to support himself,-' and ^ives 
 thanks to God the more earnestly, because in persecu- 
 tion they did not hesitate to follow him, a persecuted 
 Apostle, as the churches in Jndea had followed others."' 1 
 (Chapters i. ii. 1-16.) 
 
 1 1". After he left them, he longed greatly to see 
 them. 
 
 Though he had been absent from them only a little 
 while, he wished more than once to return, but U.H 
 hindnvd. He calls them his ' glory and joy.' (ii. 
 1 7 -JO.) 
 
 I 1 1. As he could not then come himself, he sent Tim- 
 othy to them. 
 
 Timothy was sent to strengthen them in the faith 
 and to comfort them in the persecution which Paul 
 himself had foretold would come upon them. (iii. 1-5.) 
 
 IV. lie is full of joy at the good news Timothy 
 has brought, (iii. 6-13.) 
 
 V. He advisi-s them in respect to their temptations 
 and in respect to Christian virtues: 
 
 In respect to impurity and defrauding, 22 brotherly 
 love, quiet, and good order i 83 in respect to those who 
 died and the Lord's second coming. I Ie comforts 
 them in respect to the dead by declaring those asleep 
 in Jesus shall live with Jesus. He comforts them in 
 vt to the second coming by saying they ' are not in 
 darkness, and hence not likely to be overtaken by the 
 day of the Lord ' as by a thief in the night. " Where- 
 fore comfort one another with these words." 24 Ho 
 
 19 ii. 1,2. 17 ii. 3-6. 18 ii. 7. 19 ii. 11. 20 ii. 9. 
 
 J ii. 14. 22 iv. 1-7. a9 iv. 9-12. 24 iv. 13, 14-18 ; v. 11, 
 
18G (TWMNTY-EIGBTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 gives them directions in respect to their teachers or 
 pastors, 25 the ' unruly,' the ' feeble-minded,' and the 
 ' weak ;' 26 and in respect to the practical virtues of 
 forgiveness, joyfulness, prayer, thankfulness, treatment 
 of the Holy Spirit, and of prophesying. 27 (Chapters i v. 
 v. 1-22.) 
 
 VI. In concluding, he asks God's blessings on them, 
 requests their prayers for himself, and commands that 
 this letter be read to all the brethren, (v. 23-28.) 
 
 Such was the first inspired epistle, written by the es- 
 pecial influence of the Holy Spirit, and adapted to the 
 wants of the Thessalonians : from which wo, taking 
 into account our changed circumstances, may learn the 
 ' mind of the Spirit.' 
 
 In Corinth again the Jews resisted Paul ; and again 
 Paul turned to the Gentiles. "A proselyte named 
 Justus, concerning whom we know nothing more, 
 <'jM-!H'd his door to the rejected Apostle." He pro- 
 bably Centered into* Justus's house to meet his flock 
 there. He was shut out of the synagogue, and he 
 must have some place to teach and preach. "He 
 doubtless continued to lodge with Aquila and Pris- 
 cilia. 28 " He abode there, as afterwards at Rome in ' his 
 own hired lodging.' " 29 " It may readily be supposed 
 that there was no convenient place for teaching in the 
 manufactory of Aquila -and Priscilla." Greeks would 
 not be likely to come there and mingle with Jews 
 lately exiled from Rome. "Justus, being a proselyte, 
 was exactly in the position to receive under his roof 
 both Greeks and Hebrews." 
 
 "v. 12, 13. 2fl v. 14. - 7 v. 16-22. 2e Luke x. 5-7. 
 
 29 Acts xxviii. 30. 
 

 .f r.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 'IVIIAT oilier result of the arrival of Timothy and Silas waa 
 " there? 
 
 Where had Timothy been sent? 
 
 What had probably continued to trouble the Thcssalo- 
 
 nian church ? 
 What three mistakes does this especially show they 
 
 had evidently fallen into ? 
 What is the object of this letter? 
 
 How do we kn \ rittcn on his jour- 
 
 neys ? 
 AN' hen* was Paul between the third journey and his 
 
 journey as prisoner to Rome ? l 
 Might not some of these epistles have been written from 
 
 Caesa 
 Why may we not think some of them were written from 
 
 Jerusalem ? 
 
 Will the same n-a^on apply to Caesarea? 
 Are the inscriptions at the end of the epistles a part of 
 
 the epistles ? 
 
 Arc they all thought to be correct ? 
 AVhat do they all show? 
 
 Can ire ;; uinly decide where each epistle was wrjttcn? 
 AVhat is the first reason why we suppose the first epistle to 
 the Thessalonians was written at Corinth V 
 
 Which one of these passages shows most clearly that 
 
 Paul had lately been in Thessalonica ? 
 What is the second reason? 
 What is the third reason? 
 
 Do these facts agree with the account in the Acts ? 
 At what place does the inscription at the end of this 
 
 epistle say it was written ? 
 What two persons were with Paul when he wrote it? 2 
 
 1 Acts xxi. 33 ; xxiii. 31, 33, 35 ; xxir. 27. 
 * In I. Thesa. i. 1, Silvanus is the same name as Silas. Silas is the 
 short or contracted form. 
 
 (55) 
 
TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY. 
 
 From the reasons given, does Athens or Corinth seem 
 
 to you the more probable place ? 
 
 How is the dignity and authority of all his epistles affected 
 by the fact that they were written on Paul's journeys? 
 
 What is this First Epistle full of? 
 I. What is the first subject of the epistle ? 
 How far does it extend ? 
 
 Turn to the first chapters of the epistle and show how 
 Paul alludes to their Christian virtues at the 
 first. 
 
 Show how he alludes to his imprisonment at Philippi. 
 Show the allusion to the faithfulness of his preaching 
 
 and to his kind care for them. 
 Show the allusion to his daily labor, and their own 
 
 faithfulness in persecution. 
 IT. What is the second subject of the epistle ? 
 Show the passage in the epistle. 
 What affectionate titles does he call them by ? 
 
 III. What is the third subject of the epistle ? 
 
 At what place was lie when he sent word to Timothy 
 
 to go to them ? 
 What did he send Timothy for? 
 
 IV. What is the fourth subject of the epistle ? 
 How far does it extend ? 
 
 V. What is the fifth part of the epistle ? 
 
 How far does it extend ? 
 
 Point out the passages in respect to brotherly- love, quiet 
 
 and good order. 
 Show the passages in respect to believers who have died 
 
 and ' the second coming/ 
 What other kind directions can you show ? 
 VL What is the conclusion of the epistle ? 
 Why is this epistle adapted to us ? 
 Did all the Jews of Corinth obey Paul's preaching? . 
 Where did Paul teach afterwards ? 
 What reason is there for supposing that he still lodged 
 
 at Aquila's house ? 
 (56) 
 
A PERSECUTOR PERSECUTED. 
 
 LESSON. 
 ACTS xviii. 8- IT. 
 
 T'HK opposition of the Jews at Corinth did not pre- 
 vent the real sue- ;;iFs preaching. A church 
 -oon formed, an<l rapidly innva-'-d. Many lu-ard, 
 belie\vd, and were baptized. We have the name of 
 the iirst convert in Achaia. "When Paul afterwards 
 wrote from Corinth his letter to Rome, lie mentioned 
 Kpenetus 1 as the 'first fruits of Achaia.' But when, 
 after he left the Corinthians, he wrote a letter back to 
 them, lie said 'the household of Stephanas' were the 
 4 first fruits of Achaia.' a Perhaps Epenetus was a 
 member of Stephanas' household. Another convert's 
 name was (lainv in wlmse house Paul staid during 
 1 1 v i M t at Corinth. 4 Not many philosophers, not 
 many wise men, not many mighty, not many noble, 6 but 
 many of the degraded and the profligate 6 were called 
 into the kingdom of God. Yet one man of eminence 
 received the Gospel as a little child ; Crispus, 3 the ruler 
 of the synagogue, probably a "man of learning and of 
 high character." 
 
 
 1 Roman's xvi. ,1. a I. Corinthians xvi. 15. 
 
 3 In I. Corinthians i. 14, Crispus and Gaius are mentioned togeth' 
 cr. It seems likely that both were converted at the same time. 
 Romans xvi 23. 6 1. Cor. i. 26. 6 1. Cor.vi. 10, 11. 
 
1S8 (TWEXTY-XIXTU SUXLAY.) 
 
 Paul was not to be driven away by opposition. God 
 spoke to him in a vision, directing him to speak boldly 
 and his success would be great. For the long period 
 of a year and six months, he continued to teach and to 
 preach. The promise of God was abundantly fulfilled. 
 The Corinthian church became large and flourishing. 
 
 Two important events, we suppose, occurred while 
 Paul labored and preached in Corinth, during the year 
 and a half. One was the writing of a second letter to 
 the Thessalonian Christians. The other was the com- 
 ing of a new Pro-Consul to the capital of the province. 
 
 Paul had no doubt heard again from Thessalonica. 
 There seems to have been much excitement among 
 these Christians in respect to the second coming of the 
 Lord. What he had written in his first letter about 
 that subject T had been either misunderstood or pervert- 
 ed. Their wrong notions of that great and mysterious 
 event ' the day and the hour,' of which 'no man nor 
 angel knows, but the Father only ' was creating much 
 trouble and needless anxiety. And therefore, to com- 
 fort and to correct them again, Paul writes 
 
 THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE TIIESSALONIANS." 
 
 /V/vtf, he praises their 'growing faith' and 'abound- 
 ing charity,' their patience and faith in persecution 
 and trouble, 10 and speaks of his prayers for them. 11 
 
 Secondly, he tells them not to be 'shaken in mind 
 nor troubled ' about the second coming of the Lord ; 12 
 that there would be a ' falling away from the faith first;' 
 that they ought to be steadfast and hold firm what 
 they had been taught by preaching and by letter, 13 and 
 prays the Saviour and God to comfort their hearts. 11 
 
 T I. Thessalonians iv. 13 to v. 11. See, too, pages 181, 186. 
 8 See note 10, page 183. II. The*, i. 3. 10 i. 4. 
 
 "ill. J2 ii. 3-11. 19 ii. 15. 14 ii. 16,17. 
 
A PERSECUTOR PERSECUTED. 189 
 
 /. their prayers," and commands them 
 
 to be 'orderly' and 'industrious,' : ' ; to 'note' and 'ad- 
 monish' the man who does not obey his letter. 1 ' 
 
 Such was the second inspired epistle written by 
 divine direction, adapted to the present wants of the 
 Thessalonians, and containing the doctrines which were 
 to govern and to comfort the children of God for all 
 time. 
 
 We need not suppose that Paul's preaching in the 
 city and his writing to the Thessalonians occupied nil 
 lii< time during his long residence in Corinth. It is 
 said ! ',tn<;<l there' a year Mnd a half. It need 
 
 not V meant at all that he did not sometimes go out 
 <-h. "The expression may only de- 
 note that it was his head-quarter! or general place of 
 . Communic.r y and frequent by 
 
 land and water with otln-r parts of the province. Twc 
 short days' journey to the south were the Jews of Ar- 
 gos. About the same distance to the east was the city 
 of Athens, which had been imperfectly evangeli/ed. 
 Within a walk of a lew hours, along a road busy with 
 traffic, was the sea-port of Cenchra?a." We know tliei v 
 WTO a church cMalli>hed at Cenchnea, 18 and there were, 
 at other places many ' churches of God,' 1<J amon'j; which 
 Paul praised c the patience and faith ' of the The.-salo.. 
 nian disci; 
 
 While Paul was thus busy in his work from month 
 to month, a new Pro-Consul .of the province was an- 
 nounced. His arrival from Rome was an event of great 
 and <:rave importance. An exacting, rigorous, cruel 
 man might make the people of the province wretched. 
 A just, candid, and well-disposed man might make 
 them contented and happy. We know little of Gallio, 
 iii. 1, 2. " iii. 7-13. 17 iii. 14, 15. 
 
 '" Romans xvi. 1. 1D II. Thess. i. 4. 
 
190 (TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 except that he was the brother of the philosopher Sen 
 eca, and that Seneca speaks of him with much affection, 
 saying that he was " not only an honest man, but also 
 one who won general favor from his amiable temper 
 and popular manners." This coincides with the descrip- 
 tion given in the Acts. 
 
 The Jews took advantage of the change of govern- 
 ment to assault Paul, and get a decision against him 
 from their new officer. " It is quite evident that the 
 act was preconcerted and the occasion chosen. The 
 Jews, making use of the privileges they enjoyed as a 
 separate community, and well aware that their worship 
 was protected by the Roman state, accused Paul of 
 violating their own religious law. They seem to have 
 thought that if this violation of Jewish law could be 
 proved, that Paul must be held responsible to the law 
 of t lie empire ; or perhaps they hoped that he would 
 be given up to them for punishment." They hoped, 
 perhaps, too, that Gallio would be glad to please them, 
 or would not notice the difference between their own 
 la\v and the Roman law. 
 
 We must see, then, Gallio seated as judge in the 
 pro-consular court, with his military and civil officers 
 around him, with the robes and emblems of Roman 
 authority. " Before this heathen ruler, the Jews are 
 making their accusation with eager clamor. Their chief 
 speaker is Sosthenes, the successor of Crispus, or, it 
 may be, the ruler of another synagogue. The Greeks 
 stand around to hear the result, and to learn something 
 of the new Governor's character : they hated the Jews, 
 and were ready rather to take Paul's side than that of 
 the Jews. The Jews of Corinth were not so crafty in 
 the statement of their accusation as the Jews of Tlies- 
 fcjiloiiica had been: the exact charge was lhat Paul 
 taught men to worship c contrary to law? What \\\ >v ? 
 
A PERSECUTOR PERSECUTED. 101 
 
 The Jewish law, or Roman law ? Perhaps the perse- 
 cutors meant to leave that point undecided, hoping Gal- 
 lio would condemn Paul for teaching another God than 
 the Roman gods. Gallio showed by his reply that he 
 knew the duties of his office. He did not permit Paul 
 to make a defence. If the case had been one of wrong 
 or of crime against Roman law, he would have given 
 it investigation, but as it was only one of Jewish law 
 and superstition, they must look to that themselves. 
 They mijit excommunicate Paul from their church, if 
 liuel. II'' would be no judge of such questions. 
 
 The persecutors were com !. Hut this 
 
 nil. Now their \\hkt.l artifice, recoiled on 
 themselves. The Stadb v. :ilied by (iallio's do- 
 
 rMon. Excit'-'l '. and enraged at the Je \ 
 
 they c a f persecutor and beat him right 
 
 In-fore the Pro-Consul. AVith easy negligence, Gallio 
 left the persecutor to his persecutors. He thought, 
 perlfcips, that a bitter and cruel man, like Sosthenes, 
 did not deserve the interference of a Judge, even 
 though law was on ; when others, bitter and 
 
 cruel, assaulted //////. When it is said, therefore, that 
 w ( laliio cared for none of these things,' it is not meant 
 that he was indifferent to religious things, (although 
 that might be true,) but that he would not meddle 
 with what did not belong to his office and duties. It 
 may be doubted, however, whether he ought not to 
 have prevented the public beating of any man, even a 
 bitter and malignant persecutor. 
 
 The result was, that the accusers were disgraced; 
 Gallio was popular among the Greeks ; and Paul was 
 respected as an injured man. How wonderfully had 
 the words of the vision been fulfilled ! The enemies 
 who had c set on ' Paul, had not c hurt ' him. 
 
(TWENTY-JflNTH SUNDA Y.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 AID the Jews succeed in their opposition ? 
 IIow do you know a church was formed ? 
 "Who was the first convert ? 
 How do you reconcile the two passages in Romans anil 
 
 in I. Corinthians ? 
 
 What other person was prohably converted at this time ? 
 How is he especially connected with Paul ? 
 From what classes were the converts taken ? Prove it. 
 AY hat eminent man was converted ? Eminent how ? 
 AY hat result followed as in the case of Lydia and of the 
 
 jailer ? 
 
 How was Paul's duty now made known to him? 
 AY as this more than a dream ? 
 Has God ever given directions by dreams ? 
 Is it right for us to rely on any such direction ? 
 AYhat was Paul told not to do ? 
 What was Paul told to do ? 
 !; Paul had not obeyed the direction, what would have 
 
 been the result to the * much people ' ? 
 AVhcn is it wrong for us to be silent ? 
 
 did Paul know when to flee and when to stay, in 
 
 time of persecution ? 
 
 AYlicn is it wrong to fear receiving injury ? 
 How long did Paul remain in Corinth ? 
 
 Had he been in Corinth more than two or three weeks 
 
 Iff ore the vision ? 
 
 AYhat two important events do we suppose occurred during 
 this residence? 
 
 Could Paul have lived in Corinth so long without hear- 
 ing from Thessalonica ? Why ? 
 AAliat especial subject gave anxiety to the Thessalonian 
 
 Christians ? 
 
 Do you suppose all were excited about this subject ? 
 AYhat had Paul written about ? Where ? 
 What is the object of Paul in writing this inspired letter ? 
 (57) 
 
(TWBNTY-lTlNTa SUNDAY.) 
 
 Turn to the Epistle, and point out some of tho subjects 
 
 of the first part. 
 What is the second part? Show the subject and the 
 
 recommendation. 
 Point out the subjects of the third part. 
 
 is meant by 4 continued there' ? Kead the margin. 
 What else m:iy Paid have done? 
 If the games at the Islhmu ; were celebrated during this 
 
 time, would Paul have visited them ? 
 To \\li.;t places may he have gone? 
 Who :i "lit this f 
 
 Wli -iy'? , 
 
 Why was this event of great importance? 
 WhoM' bi iio? 
 
 What kind of a man did his broth- ho was? 
 
 What advanUire did the .Je\vs try to -;iin V 
 What diil j;c upon 1'. 
 
 What would they probably hope ? 
 What tin > made up the court ? 
 
 Wi: :.tly the Jews' chief-speal. 
 
 What was the exact form of the accusation ? What law? 
 AVhy did not Gallio permit Paul to defend himself? 
 Was there any recognised violation of Roman law ? 
 
 'your law' civil or religious law y 
 9 it right for Gallio to refuse to decide ? 
 What did the Greeks now V 
 
 What did Gallio probably think ? 
 
 Does * cared for none of these things' mean * indifferent 
 
 to religious things-' ? 
 Wh . lit? 
 
 What words had been fulfilled ? 
 
 (58) 
 
unburn 
 
 THE SECOND RETURN HOME. 
 
 LESSON. 
 
 ACTS xviii. 18-22. 
 
 AT length the time came when Paul thought best to 
 leave Corinth, and to return to Judea. It had been 
 a long time since he and Silas left Antioch in Syria. 
 The journey had been long and wearisome, but it had 
 bc-cn even more successful than Paul's first journey with 
 Barnabas. In Corinth, Paul had at last found a place 
 in which lie could preach and rest without fear of suc- 
 cessful persecution. If the Greeks of Corinth did not 
 all welcome his preaching, neither would they permit 
 the malignant Jews to persecute publicly a man who 
 they well knew had committed no offence against the 
 lav, s of the province. His work there, as the founder 
 of churches, had now been accomplished. lie wished 
 to be at the coming national festival at Jerusalem. 1 It 
 may be that Aquila and Priscilla were about to remove 
 to Kphesus ; and if so, the removal may have had some- 
 thing to do with Paul's return. His home in Corinth 
 would be broken up, and he could go with them part 
 of the way. 
 
 After giving farewell to the Corinthian church, the 
 tlnv" went down to Cenclmca. "Descending from the 
 table-land on which Corinth was situated, the road 
 
 1 4 This feast that cometh,' in the 21st verse, means probably the 
 Feast of Pentecost. 
 
THE SECOXD RETURN HOME. 193 
 
 stretched eight or nine miles across the Isthmus," to 
 this harbor. Here, at different times, ini^lit be .seen 
 from Egypt and from Syria, from 'Asia ' and from 
 Macedonia, and smaller craft from Crete and the islands 
 of the ^Egean Sea. All the sea-commerce of Corinth 
 from the east came through this harbor. It was there- 
 fore a town of considerable size. Whether Ph<H>e prafl 
 a convert, and the church was already formed at this 
 place, 2 we are not yet told. If Paul had not preached 
 here before, he may have remained here a day or more 
 no\v. But here, where lie landed from Antioch, the 
 three step on board the ship which was to carry them 
 to Ephesus. 
 
 Before the vessel sailed, however, or more likely be- 
 
 iicy embarked, a religious ceremony was performed 
 
 which we must stop to notice. Either Paul or Aquila 
 
 had previously taken avow. The time of this vow had 
 
 expired. " Such vows the Jews, even when in f<> 
 
 countries, often took on themselves, in consequence of 
 
 some mercy received or some deliverance from danger, 
 
 or some other occurrence which had produced a deep, 
 
 soK-iun impression on the mind." The obligations such 
 
 ns took were : to abstain from wine and all strong 
 
 drinks, not to enter any house in which was a dead 
 
 , not to ai funeral nor to allow themselves 
 
 to be made unclean according to the Mosaic law, and 
 
 not to cut the hair till the end of a fixed length of 
 
 time. 
 
 There is a difference of opinion about the person who 
 took this vow. The words of the Scripture may mean 
 either Paul or Aquila. Some persons think that Paul 
 could not have made such a vow, because it would have 
 been in violation of his own principles the principles 
 
 2 Romans xvi. 1. 
 
: 
 
 
 
 - : . 
 

 
 
 : 
 
 
196 (THUtTHSTH SUNDAY^ 
 
 and night, some beautiful island or some cluster o* 
 islets, at length the long Icarus and the long Samoa 
 (reminding him of the Thracian Samos 5 ) passed slowly 
 by ; and if the wind was fair, the coast off the city of 
 Ephesus is soon before them. " It seems that the ves- 
 sel was bound for Syria, and staid only a short time in 
 harbor at Ephesus. But even during the short interval 
 of his stay, Paul made a visit to his Jewish fellow-coun- 
 trymen, and (the Sabbath being probably one of the 
 days during which he remained) lie held a discussion 
 witli them in the synagogue about the Messiah. Their 
 curiosity was excited by what they heard ; and perhaps 
 if he had staid longer, the curiosity would soon have 
 been followed by persecution, as at Antioch in Pisidia. 
 But he could not grant their request." He was anxious 
 to reach Jerusalem in time for the national festival ; 
 and, if he should not go on in the ship, he might have 
 no other opportunity. He saw, however, enough to 
 encourage him to promise the Epliesian Jews that lie 
 would return, if it should be God's will. We shall see 
 how exactly Paul kept his promise. 
 
 From Ephesus, the ship sailed past Cos and Rhodes, 
 two islands afterwards mentioned in Paul's voyages (i . 
 Then Paul was almost in familiar waters. Possibly the 
 cliffs of Lycia could be seen. The previous sail of Paul 
 and Barnabas from Paphos to Perga was in the neigh- 
 boring seas. Far away to the left lay the shores of 
 Pamphylia. Rough Cilicia lay hid behind the watery 
 horizon in the north-east. A little further on tmir 
 course, and Cyprus rose into sight, and for a day or 
 more lay in the sea, a high, black line of land off on the 
 left. Then came another long sail, and finally the dis- 
 tant outline of Palestine appears, and then the familiar 
 
 * Sec page 131. 6 Acts xxi. 1. 
 
THE SEC 0X1) RETURN HOME. 197 
 
 coast about Civsarea. Here Paul, after a long, tiresome 
 ride on the water, steppe*! ashore: in this lioman cap- 
 ital of the Roman province of Judea, although lie wax 
 on his way to the /febrew capita! of the Land 
 
 Yomise. 
 
 " The journey from Caesarea to Jerusalem is related 
 in a single word." 7 Nothing is said of what occurred 
 at Jerusalem : nothing of meetings with other Apostles, 
 of controversies about disputed points of doctrine : 
 nothing of Paul's recitals of ' all that God had done 
 with them,' 8 nor even of the festival, if indeed Paul ar- 
 rived i:i time, !!< -imply i:;::de a short Visit of sympa- 
 thy and of courtesy to the ehnn-li, and then he went 
 dwn to Antioch. It is likely the journey to Antioch 
 vrafl made ly land ; and if it was, he passed over the 
 same coast road whieh we have supposed he travelled 
 when he went up from Antioch to the council of Jeru- 
 salem with the Slitlieult question.' 
 
 With Paul, Antioch, more than Jerusalem, was the 
 point of starting and of return. This visit to Antioch 
 was probably his last ; and he was to make but one 
 more visit to Jerusalem, and that one of persecution, 
 of suffering and of final separation. 
 
 1 The two words, * gone up, 1 are one word in the -Greek. Some 
 persons think that Paul did not go to Jerusalem at all, but he cer- 
 tainly intended to, when he was at Ephesus, (verse 21 ;) and why 
 did lie come to Caesarea, if not to go to Jerusalem ? 
 
 8 Acts xiv. 27. The reason why nothing is said about Paul's visit 
 at Jerusalem, doubtless is, that nothing occurred in respect to his 
 great work among the Gentiles. 
 
(THIRTIETH SUNDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 TTOW does this second journey compare with the first ? 
 What kind of a place had Paul found Corinth ? 
 Why did he now wish to return ? 
 What was the ' feast that cometh ' ? 
 What else may have led Paul to return ? 
 To what towi\ did the three go first ? 
 
 What person mentioned afterwards by Paul lived in this 
 
 place ? 
 
 Is it probable that Paul preached here at any time ? 
 What took place before they sailed ? 
 When were such vows taken ? 
 What obligations were taken ? 
 Who may l having shorn his head ' refer to ? 
 Was that vow in violation of Paul's principles ? 
 What reason for supposing that it was Aquila who took 
 
 the vow ? 
 
 Which one do you think took the vow ? 
 If it was Paul, what additional reason for hastening to 
 
 Jerusalem ? 
 Through what waters did the voyage lie? 
 
 What made journeys frequent between Corinth and 
 
 Ephesus ? 
 The connection between the two cities was like what in 
 
 our own day ? 
 Where would Paul leave tne course of his journey to 
 
 Greece ? 
 
 What * straight course ' would he think of ? 
 What two islands, among others, did he pass ? 
 What did one of them remind him of ? 
 Where was the vessel bound for ? 
 What did Paul in Ephesus ? 
 What did the Jews wish ? 
 Why did not Paul consent ? 
 What was this visit the first beginnings of? 
 What did Paul promise ? 
 (69) 
 
(THIRTIETH SUNDAY.) 
 
 Did Paul observe the Jewish feasts ? 
 
 Was not this keeping Moses' law ? 
 
 Did he it from obligation or from choice ? 
 
 Who remained at Ephesus ? 
 
 Why could they not teach the Ephesians as well as Paul f 
 What two islands did Paul sail past ? AVhere are they men- 
 tioned ? 
 
 The track of what previous voyage were they near? 
 dills? shores? horizon? 
 
 What island on the loft ? 
 What distinction between Caesarea and Jerusalem ? 
 
 What docs 'gone up* mean ? What ' church 1 ? 
 
 Did Paul go to Jerusalem ? 
 
 Why have we no account of Paul's visit in Jerusalem ? 
 
 What is meant by 'saluted the church* ? 
 How was the journey made to Antioch ? 
 
 When had IM ln-m over the road before? 
 
 What was Antioch in relation to Paul's missionary 
 journeys ? 
 
 What visits were there to the two cities ? 
 (60) 
 
Sxmirajr* 
 
 THE THIRD JOURNEY. APOLLOS OF ALEXANDRIA. 
 
 LESSON. 
 ACTS xviii. 23-28. 
 
 PAUL must have been gone from Antioch, on his 
 second journey, two years or more. To make the 
 journey through Syria and Cilicia, 1 Derbe and Lystra, 
 :md other ' cities,'' 2 remaining long enough in each to as- 
 oertain the condition of the * churches,' 3 to go 'through- 
 out Phrygia and the region of Galatia,' 4 travelling all 
 the way on foot to Troas, must have taken from one to 
 t wo months : from Troas to Philippi, Thessalonica, fi and 
 :, six or eight weeks: from Bcrea to Athens and 
 Corinth, three or four weeks. He was at Corinth pro- 
 bably more than ' a year and a half;' 6 and he must have 
 been nearly two months from Corinth to Coesarea by 
 the way of Ephesus, and from Caesarea to Antioch by 
 way of Jerusalem. It seems likely that he was in some 
 of these places much longer than we have supposed 
 in this reckoning ; and therefore that the time of ab- 
 sence from Antioch had been from two to two and a 
 half years. 
 
 He was now among the 'Christians' of Antioch c a 
 good while.' He related to them the story of his long 
 an i successful journey. He had found the churches 
 in Lycaonia steadfast : he had explored Phrygia and 
 
 ; xv. -11. 4 xvi. 6. 
 
 2 xvi. 4. B xvi. 12, 1,, ; xvii. 1, 2, 10. 
 
 * xvi. 5. 8 xviii. 11. 
 
THE THIRD JOUKXXY. 199 
 
 Galatia and preach CM! the Gospel there. Flourishing 
 churches had been planted in the tar-distant lands of Ma- 
 cedonia and Achaia. No 'difiicult question' was now 
 raised, by envious or narrow-minded Pharisees, when 
 Paul told how he had lived with the Gentiles all along 
 his journey. Neither famine nor controversy sent him 
 now on an errand to Jerusalem. With other ' pro- 
 phets and teachers,' he continued to instruct publicly 
 and privately the believers of the city, until his de-sire 
 to know the condition of the Phrygian and Galatian 
 converts, and his promise to the Jews of Ephcsus, led 
 him to plan his third missionary journey. 
 
 .Harnabas and Mark are no longer spoken of. Kvcn 
 Silas is lid mentioned. It is probable that Silas re- 
 mained at Jerusalem, where lie had already been 'a 
 chief man' 7 in the church. We shall find afterwards 
 that Timothy was one of his companions. Perhaps he 
 from the time of leaving Antioch. 
 
 It is evident that this was a systematic visit of churches 
 and places. He went over * all the country of Galatia 
 and Phrygia in order? He must have visited some of 
 the Syrian and Cilician churches, if he travelled in the 
 track of his former journey to Tarsus and through the 
 Cilician Gates. In Galatia and Phry_na Paul may have 
 visited other places than those he visited before. He 
 seems to have gone through the principal towns of 
 two provinces without persecution or interruption, 
 making more thorough the incomplete visit of two years 
 before. Two things Paul designed to accomplish : first 
 to encourage and strengthen the converts in their trials 
 and against error, and secondly to make collections for 
 the poor Christians in Judea. When James, Peter and 
 John, at the council of Jerusalem, declared that Paul 
 
 T iv. 22. 
 
200 (THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY.) 
 
 was the Apostle to the Heathen or Gentiles, they di- 
 rected him to remember the poor. 8 It is to these very 
 Galatians that Paul writes when he mentions this direc- 
 tion of the three Apostles, and when he says : ' I was 
 forward to do the same.' 8 We know, too, what the 
 order was which he gave to the churches of Galatia. 
 It was the same which he afterwards gave to the church 
 of Corinth : 9 ' that each one, on the first day of the 
 week, should save a certain portion of his earnings as 
 God had prospered him, and have it ready to send, 
 ' when an opportunity offered, to Jerusalem. 9 
 
 With this twofold object in view, we think of the 
 beginning of this third journey. Nothing is said of 
 Paul's exact route, till he arrived at Ephesus. 10 He no 
 doubt passed over again the sunny Cilician plain ; 
 looked up again at the frowning cliffs at the Great 
 Mountain Gate ; and again trod the high table-land of 
 Lycaonia. 
 
 After Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch in Pisidin, 
 we cannot fix on any cities which he visited. We only 
 know that in the Scripture account Galatia is mentioned 
 first, while in the account of the former journey Phry- 
 gia is first mentioned. 11 " We are at liberty to suppose, 
 therefore, that he travelled first from. Lycaouia through 
 Cappadocia into Galatia, and then by Phrygia to the 
 coast of the JEgean. The great road from Iconium 
 to Ephesus passed along the valley of the river Mean- 
 der and near the cities of Laodicea and Colossc ; and 
 we naturally suppose that the Apostle approached tho 
 capital of 'Asia' along this well-travelled line." Whilo 
 the Apostle is making this long journey from Plirygia 
 
 8 Galatiana ii. 9, 10. 
 
 8 I. Corinthians xvi. 1, 2. 
 
 10 Sec frontispiece map for the supposed route. 
 
 Jl Compare xvii : . 23 with xvi. 6. 
 
Til K THIRD JUURXET. 201 
 
 to Ephesus, the route of which and the incidents of 
 which we know nothing about, our attention is directed 
 to another great and good man, who arrived at the eap- 
 ital of Asia before him. 
 
 Aquila and Priscilhi liad remained at Ephesus some 
 time after Paul sailed for Coesarea, when there came a 
 man who was destined to do the church great service. 
 This man was a Jew and an orator. He was skilled in 
 the Scriptures, having been taught no doubt, as Paul 
 himself had been, by earnest and faithful parents. Be- 
 M'!r< IM-'HI^ thoroughly acquainted with the Jewish 
 Scriptures, he possessed, doubtless, like Paul, the know- 
 <>f the best schools of his age. He was born in 
 :i<lria in Egypt, "the emporium of Greek com- 
 merce, where literature, philosophy, and criticis: 
 
 the utmost intellectual activity," and where were 
 is schools for the training of orators. In this city, 
 which had been " the most wealthy and splendid city 
 of the known world," and which in Paul's time " cxer- 
 ncxt after Athens, the strongest intellectual influ- 
 ence over the age," Apollos was trained up. In this city, 
 where Jewish learning mingled with Gentile cultiva- 
 tion, and which is now as famous for its translation of 
 the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek and for its Jewish 
 theology as for its Museum and Library, 1 " he had had 
 r opportunities to become an orator than even 
 Paul at Tarsus; for the Jews abounded in Alexandria 
 and possessed learned schools of their own. " With 
 the eloquence of a Greek orator, the subject of his 
 study and teaching was the Scriptures of his forefathers. 
 His reputation in the synagogue was that of a man 
 1 mighty in the Scriptures.' " Whether he came to 
 
 " The Museum was " an establishment in which men devoted to 
 literary pursuits were maintained at the public cost/ 7 The Library 
 contained at one time 400,000 volumes. 
 
202 (THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY.) 
 
 Ephesus directly from Alexandria or from other cities 
 whither his earnest spirit led him to advocate his reli- 
 gion, is an undecided question. 
 
 But Apollos was yet only a disciple of John the Bap- 
 tist. Apollos may himself have listened to the bold 
 teaching of that honest reformer, ' clothed with camels' 
 Inir and a leathern girdle.' The sturdy doctrines of 
 the great forerunner had seized fast hold of his earnest 
 mind. Filled with zeal to spread John's doctrines of 
 repentance, reformation, and the new coming of the 
 Messiah, he taught that c way of the Lord^ which his 
 accepted Master taught. " We may conceive of him 
 as travelling, like a second John the Baptist, outside ot 
 Judea, expounding the prophecies of the Old Testa- 
 ment, announcing that the time of the Messiah had 
 come, and calling unholy Jews to repentance in the very 
 spirit of Elias." 
 
 " Thus burning with zeal and confident of the truth 
 of what he had learned, lie spoke out boldly in the syn- 
 agogue of Ephesus, where an intense interest must have 
 been excited about this time concerning the Messiah. 
 Paul had recently been there and departed with the 
 promise of return. Aquila and Priscilla, though taking 
 no forward part as public teachers, would keep what 
 Paul had said before the minds of the Israelites. And 
 now an Alexandrian Jew had introduced himself in the 
 synagogue, bearing testimony to the same Messiah with 
 singular eloquence and with great power in the in- 
 terpretation of Scripture. Thus an unconscious prq. 
 panition was made for the arrival of Paul, who was al 
 ready approaching Ephesus through the up-lands of 
 Asia Minor." 
 
 " The teaching of Apollos, though eloquent, learned, 
 
 " Matthew iii 1-3 ; Luke Hi. 4 ; John i 23 ; Isaiah xl. 3 
 
THE THIRD JOURNEY. 203 
 
 and zealous, had a very gr. >-t in it. But God 
 
 had provided among his listeners" those who could 
 teaeh even this learned and earnest orator his deficiency. 
 Two humble tent-makers kne\v the Messiah had come. 
 The prophecies which Apollos expounded so convinc- 
 ingly in favor of the near approach of the Messiah, 
 A([uila and Priscilla showed to mean Jesus of Nazaret h. 
 The faithful arguments of Aquila and Priscilla con- 
 vinced the great-hearted and humble-minded Apollos 
 that Jesus was the One who was to follow John the 
 forerunner. 
 
 Apollos soon embarked for Corinth. News from 
 Corinth may have led him to think he could assist the 
 church there. The Ephesian Christians ^ave him letters 
 of introduction and commendation to their Corinthian 
 brethren. To the Corinthian Christians he pro\vd .1 
 most valuable help ; for even the Jews, it would seem, 
 who had rejected Paul, were 'mightily convinced' by 
 the eloquent arguments of Apollos that the Jesus cruci- 
 fied at Jerusalem was the Messiah. "And yet evil 
 grew up side by side with good. For while Apollos 
 was honestly cooperating with Paul, he was unwillingly 
 held up as a rival of the Apostle himself. In this city 
 of critics and orators, the learning and eloquent speak- 
 ing of Apollos were contrasted with the unlearned sim- 
 plu-ity with which Paul had purposely preached the 
 Gospel to his Corinthian audience." Some held to the 
 new teacher, and some to the old. And this was no 
 doubt the origin of those divisions of Paul and of Apollos 
 wliich afterwards gave so much anxiety to the Apostle. 14 
 " We cannot imagine that Apollos himself wished or 
 tolerated such unchristian divisions." 
 
 14 1. CorinthiaDS i. 12. 
 
(THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 TrOW long had Paul been gone on the second journey? 
 
 Can you distribute the time ? 
 How long did he remain in Antioch ? 
 
 What did he there ? 
 
 What two things led him to plan a third journey ? 
 
 Where were Barnabas and Mark ? 
 
 Where was Silas ? 
 
 Who was his companion ? 
 What kind of a visit was this ? 
 
 What two things did Paul design to accomplish ? 
 
 What especial direction of the Apostles did he wish to 
 carry out ? What Apostles ? 
 
 To whom does he mention this direction ? 
 
 What order did Paul give in respect to this ? to whom ? 
 
 What is the first city named on this journey ? 
 
 Did Paul go through Syria and Cilicia to reach Galatia ? 
 
 What cities can you say he visited ? 
 
 How are Galatia and Phrygia named differently in the 
 previous journey ? 
 
 What may you suppose, then, in respect to the route ? 
 Whom had Paul left at Ephesus ? 
 
 Who came to Ephesus during Paul's absence ? 
 
 What was he ? From what place ? 
 
 How did this city compare with Athens and Tarsus ? 
 
 What had it to do with orators ? 
 
 What four things was it famous for ? 
 
 What was the subject of this orator's eloquence ? 
 Whose disciple was Apollos ? 
 
 How did he become his disciple ? 
 
 What is meant by l way of the Lord ' ? 
 
 What had John the Baptisf^preached ? 
 
 What is meant by * present in the Spirit ' ? 
 
 Did Apollos teach the immediate coming of the Mes- 
 siah ? 
 
 What else did he teach ? 
 (61) 
 
( 77///J TY- FIRST SUXDA T.) 
 
 "What does 'knowing only the bajrtism of John* moan? 
 Where <li<l Apollos speak ? 
 
 AVI nit combined to increase the interest concerning the 
 
 Messiah V 
 
 AVhat effect would this have on Paul's coming? 
 Who instructed Apollos ? 
 
 AVhat was the one particular point in their instructions ? 
 Should believers in humble station despair of convincing 
 
 the most learned or eloquent ? 
 AVhat previous ; >n had Aquila and Priscilla for 
 
 approaching Apollos? 
 Is it right at all times to inform a man in error that ho 
 
 is wrong? 
 
 Hw should it be done? 
 AVhere did Apollos go ? Why ? 
 
 What li 1 tin' Ephesian Christians for him? 
 
 A V horn did Apollos help in Achaia ? 
 
 AVhat does 4 believed through grace' mean y 
 
 Why did Apollos accomplish what Paul did not? 
 
 How did the subject of Apollos' preaching at Corinth 
 
 compare with Paul's at Antioch in Pisidia ? 
 IIow did he show that Jesus was the Messiah ? 
 What evil mingled with the good ? 
 AVhat led to this ? 
 
 IIow do you know there were these divisions ? 
 Is it not right to prefer one preacher to another f 
 Why were these divisions wrong ? 
 (62) 
 
MIRACLES AND MAGIC-WORKERS, 
 
 LESSON. 
 ACTS xix. 1 - 20. 
 
 " TjiPHESUS was the greatest city of Asia Minor as 
 -LJ well as the metropolis of the province of Asia ; and 
 as it was constantly visited by ships from all parts of tho 
 Mediterranean, and united by great roads with the mar- 
 kets of the interior, it was the common meeting-place 
 <>!' various characters and classes of men." Among 
 these various classes who had gathered in this stirring 
 city were a few disciples of John the Baptist. There 
 were ' about twelve men' who had learned John's doc- 
 trines in different places or had been converts to Apol- 
 los' preaching in Kphesus. If tliey had heard of Jesus 
 as the .Messiah, they did not fully understand the doc- 
 trine. Apollos must have been gone some time before 
 Paul arrived; and it maybe these disciples came to 
 K]>l;csus after Apollos had departed. If they had re- 
 ceived instruction from Aquila and Priscilla, that in- 
 struction was not sufficient. " They had only received 
 John's baptism, and were ignorant of the great out- 
 pouring of the Holy Ghost." 
 
 I 'a ul had now come down from the upper country 1 and 
 on one of the great roads from the east entered Ephesus. 
 !! found out the Jews to whom he had given his pr<>- 
 
 !.- <1(K33 not mean, of course, coasts of the 
 sea, but the upper parts or provinces. 
 
MIRACLKS AXD MAG 1C -WORKERS. 205 
 
 mise of return ; : an. I lie now met this small company 
 of John's d Paul's simple, earnest question 
 
 HUM! i.) perplex them. Though they sincerely wished 
 to do right, they were ignorant of the Holy Spirit's es- 
 pecial appearance at the day of Pentecost and since 
 that time. Though baptized by John, they had not 
 been baptized with that outpoured Spirit which the 
 Saviour promised. They were therefore reminded that 
 John himself told the people to believe on him who 
 should come after him, that is, on Jesus of Nazareth, 
 the Messiah. Convinced of the Messiahship of Jesus, 
 they received the baptism which he commanded his dis- 
 ciples t. administer; and then, on them, as on the gath- 
 ered multitude at Pentecost, the gift of tongues and the 
 gift of prophecy descended. 
 
 Paul now took up his residence in the city. Aquila 
 and Priscijla were still there without doubt, as they are 
 mcniituicd both before and after this time. 3 It is very 
 likely that Paul again worked at his trade with th< 
 tent-makers ; for he afterwards told the Kphesian ChriM- 
 ians that 'his own hands had ministered to his ne< 
 Mties and to those who were with him.' 4 Sabbath by 
 Sahbath he went to the synagogue to reason with the 
 Jews. He was present at many other meetings, or 
 whenever opportunity offered, to argue with his conn 
 trymen, with proselytes or with Gentiles. For three 
 months he was permitted to preach the Messiahship of 
 Jesus of Xazareth. Those who had invited him to re- 
 turn to Ephesus did not persecute him ; and although 
 some of them would not be convinced, and even ' spake 
 evil' of the spiritual truth Paul preached, opposing him 
 
 2 xviii. 21. 
 
 3 xviii. 26 ; I. Corinthians xvi. 19 This Epistle, as will soon be 
 seen, was written soon after this time from Ephesus. 
 
 4 xx. 34. 
 
206 (TfflRTY-SECOyD SUNDAY.) 
 
 publicly, yet they do not seem to have attempted to in- 
 jure Paul himself. 
 
 Paul, however, separated himself and his disciples 
 from the synagogue. As at Corinth, when he was com- 
 pelled to leave the synagogue, so in Ephesus, God pro- 
 vided him a friend and opportunity to continue his 
 work. " Tyrannus was probably a teacher of philoso- 
 phy or rhetoric, converted by the Apostle." He opened 
 his * school ' to Paul, and most likely assisted Paul in 
 his c daily ' discussions. The converts were now there- 
 fore formed into a distinct organization ; and thus the 
 Ephesian church to which Paul wrote his Epistle was 
 founded. 
 
 During the two years while Paul taught and pro; 
 in the school of Tyrannus much more good was done 
 "than simply within the city. Jews and Greeks through- 
 out the whole province of Asia heard of the Christian 
 doctrine. No doubt other churches in other places 
 were founded If Paid himself did not go out of tho 
 
JL. ASD MAGIC-WORKi:. 207 
 
 city, Timothy and V. Archippus, 7 
 
 may have gone out to Colosse, 8 II: Laodi- 
 
 and other neighboring tov 
 
 know i: -w faithful Paul was in liis 
 
 .11 work : that he not only t iblicly in tin/ 
 
 ool of Tyrannic, but went about 'from house t> 
 house :'* that affectionately and 'with tears'* he warned 
 
 :ii all, ceasing not, 'night and day,' 9 when opportun- 
 ity offered: that he most earnestly enforced that one 
 -son of the Christian preacher, 'repentance <> 
 
 '/V 10 and while, for example's sake, supporting him- 
 self by labor, he ' shunned not to declare all the coun- 
 sel of God.' 11 Sin-h faithful labor God always blesses. 
 Tli -irch became large and flourishing ; the 
 
 Go- u through all the province ; and 
 
 spec^ 1 1 miracles, beside the miraculous gifts of tongues 
 and of prophecy, confirmed the divine doctri -tly 
 
 preached. 
 
 The city of Ephesus was famous through all the an- 
 cient world for two especial things: the worship of 
 Diana and the practice of magic. We shall soon see 
 how Paul's preaching came in conflict with the wor- 
 ship of Diana. At present, we are called to notice how 
 the unusual miracles which Paul wrought came in con- 
 flict with the practice of magic. The practice of magic, 
 indeed, was closely connected with the worship of 
 Diana. It was said that certain "mysterious symbols, 
 called 'Ephesian Letters,' were engraved on the crown, 
 the girdle, and the feet of the goddess." When these 
 mystic words were pronounced, they were considered 
 a charm, especially against evil spirits. When they 
 were written, they were carried about as amulets or 
 worn on some part of the body. " Curious stories are 
 
 5 xix. 22. e Colossians i. 2, 7. 7 Colossians iv. 12, 13, 16-17. 
 B rx. 17, 18, 20. ix. 31. 10 xx. 21. xx. 27. 
 
208 (THIRTY-SECOND SUNDAY.) 
 
 told of their influence. The rich Croesus is said to have 
 repeated them on his funeral-pile ; and an Ephesian 
 wrestler is said to have been always successful against 
 his antagonist from Miletus till he lost the parchment 
 on which they were written. The study of these sym- 
 bols was an elaborate science ; and books both numer- 
 ous and costly were written by learned professors " of 
 the science. Magicians naturally flocked to Ephesus even 
 more than they did to Paphos in Cyprus. 12 "Among 
 those who w r ere in the city during Paul's residence 
 there, were several wandering Jewish magic-workers." 
 The Jews had from the earliest times a strange fond- 
 ness for these practices ; and sorcery was sternly for- 
 bidden by the law. 13 And now even more than ever, 
 in an evil age of superstition and imposture, worthless 
 iixn of the chosen nation wandered from city to city, 
 even among the Gentiles, disregarding their God and . 
 disgracing alike the law and the religion of their fathers. 
 Seven brothers, who were magicians, soon became no- 
 torious from their conduct towards Paul in Ephesus. 
 Their father's name was Sceva. He " is called a chief- 
 priest, either because he had really been high-priest at 
 Jerusalem or because he was chief of one of the twenty- 
 four courses of priests." There must have been a neg- 
 ligence indeed in the father, like that of Eli of old, 14 to 
 permit his sons, so many of them, to go so far astray 
 from the very worship and ordinances of Moses. 
 
 The c especial miracles,' or, as the words mean, the 
 c not ordinary miracles,' wrought by Paul, consisted in 
 the communication of healing power to the diseased 
 and tV.e demoniac by means of garments, handkerchiefs, 
 
 " See page 52 in Eighth Sunday. 
 
 13 Deuteronomy xviii. 10, 11 ; Leviticus xx. 27 ; Exodus xxii. 18, 
 I. Samuel xxviii. ::, '.. 
 "I.Samuel ii. 12, IT 
 
MIRACLES AXD MAGIO -WORKERS. 200 
 
 r t nd aprons. Here was a far greater effect, openly ob- 
 
 1, than anything ever known to be prodneed by 
 
 the eharms an<l amulets of the 4 Ephe>ian Let UTS.' It 
 
 ublicly known that real cures had been e. 
 Paul. Persons known to have been possessed of de- 
 had been made sound in mind. A strong impres- 
 sion must have been made " on the minds of those who 
 practised curious arts in Kphcsus." The wandering -Ti -\\ s 
 thought there must be some peculiar magic charm in the 
 namt whieh Paul need. Especially Sceva's sons, consid- 
 ering nothing sacred whieh would add to their arts of de- 
 ;i, did not scruple at once to profane the name of 
 by pronouncing it over a demoniac*. Tin' demons 
 :-ither to them nor indeed to Paul, but 
 only to Jesus. The authority of Jesus, used \>y Paul the 
 ajipoi!.' ant of Jesus, they were forced to obey ; 
 
 but they scorned and defied the authority of v 
 men, who profanely tried to use even the holy name of 
 Jesus for their own purposes. In maddened iren/.y, 
 the demoniac sprang upon the apostate priests, over- 
 powered and wounded them, and in violent rage drovo 
 them naked iVom the house. 
 
 " The fearful result of the profane use of the holy 
 name of the Saviour soon became notorious throughout 
 Ephesus. Consternation and alarm took possession of 
 the minds of many : the name of the Lord Jesus began 
 to be reverenced and honored. The conscience of 
 'many that believed' 15 was moved by this testimony 
 against their magic arts ; and they came and made full 
 confession to the Apostle, and publicly acknowledged 
 and forsook their sorcery. 
 
 " The fear and conviction seems to have extended 
 beyond those who made a profession of Christianity. 
 
 16 Or the words may mean, * those who had previously believed* 
 
210 (THIRTY-SECOND SUNDAY.) 
 
 A large number of the sorcerers themselves openly re- 
 nounced their practice ; and they brought together the 
 books that contained the mystic symbols and burnt 
 them before all the people. When the volumes were 
 consumed, they proceeded to reckon their price. Such 
 books, from their very nature, would be costly ; and all 
 books of that age were vastly more expensive than the 
 dearest books of our day. Hence we must not be sur- 
 prised that the whole cost thus surrendered and sacri- 
 amounted to as much as nine thousand dollars. 16 
 This scene must have been long remembered at Ephc- 
 sus. It was a strong proof of honest conviction on the 
 part of the sorcerers and a striking witness of the 
 triumph of Jesus Christ over the powers of darkness." 
 
 " The 'piece of silver' was doubtless the drachma, the Greek coia 
 of the time : its value was about eighteen cents. 
 
(TIWiTY-SECOXD SUXDA Y.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 A V 1 1 Y was Ephcsus the meeting-place of many classes of 
 " men? 
 
 AYhat was one class now in Ephesus? 
 
 How many men were there of this class ? 
 
 Do you suppose they had seen Apollos ? 
 What promise did Paul now fulfil ? 
 
 AY hat does ' upper coasts ' mean ? 
 AVhat was Paul's question to these disciples? 
 
 Can men believe without receiving the Holy Spirit ? 
 
 AYhat answer did these disciples m 
 
 io Holy Spirit a person or an influence? 
 
 AVas it possible that these men could not have heard of 
 Divine influence f 
 
 In I me did the Apostle baptize? 
 
 \Yhat connection has the question about baptism with 
 the former question ? 
 
 How did John's baptism differ from this baptism? 
 
 Did John preach faith as well as penitence ? 
 
 AYhat two effects followed Paul's baptism? 
 
 YYhat other manifestations were these effects like ? 
 AVhy iii.ty we think Paul worked at his trade ? 
 
 How many Sabbaths did Paul speak in the synagogue ? 
 
 AVTiat was the result? 
 
 WTiat friend received Paul ? AVhat was he ? 
 
 Did Paul preach more or less often than before ? 
 
 How long was he teaching in Tyrannus's school ? 
 AY ho else heard the Gospel besides the Ephesians ? 
 
 AYhat other persons might have gone out of Ephcsus ? 
 
 AVhere are their names mentioned ? 
 
 To what places may they have gone ? 
 
 \Yhat description have we of Paul's life while residing in 
 Ephesus ? 
 
 Point out as many particulars of it as you can, 
 
 AYhat was the one great lesson he taught ? % 
 (63) 
 
(THIRTY-SECOND SUNDA r.) 
 
 Arc repentance and faith to be exercised towards the 
 same person (xx. 21) ? 
 
 What was the success of Paul's work in Ephesus ? 
 
 AY hat confirmed the doctrines he preached ? 
 AY hat two things was Ephesus famous for ? 
 
 How was magic connected with Diana ? 
 
 What stories are told of these sjonbols ? 
 
 What books were written ? By whom ? 
 
 What magic-workers were at that time in Ephesus ? 
 
 What does 'vagabond' mean? 
 
 What had been the tendency of the Jews? for how 
 long? 
 
 AY hat seven brothers ? Who was Sceva ? 
 What does l special miracles' mean? What were these mir- 
 acles ? 
 
 How did these miracles come into connection with the 
 magic-workers ? 
 
 What did the magicians think the power of Paul con- 
 sisted in ? 
 
 What is the meaning of 'adjure' ? 
 
 What did the demoniac answer ? 
 
 What was the result throughout Ephesus ? 
 
 Is the ' many ' in the eighteenth, the same as that in the 
 nineteenth verse ? 
 
 What was the cost of the books burned ? 
 
 How do you account for this large cost ? 
 What did the whole occurrence prove ? 
 (64) 
 
(Tlnrtn-flnrb 
 
 THE TEMPLE OP DIANA. 
 
 LESSON. 
 ACTS xix. 21-34. 
 
 1)AUL was never satisfied with one success in Ins 
 Master* When the Gospel was received by 
 
 multitudes in one place, or when opposers, like Elymas 
 the^ sorcerer of Paphos, or like the sons of Sceva at 
 Kphesus, were overcome by some triumphant demon- 
 stration of God's power, Paul, confident and unwearied, 
 pressed on to new journeys and new labors. The suc- 
 cess of his first missionary journey with Barnabas only 
 caused another and longer and more laborious journey 
 to be planned. The greater success of the second jour- 
 ney with Silas, only led him to plan a third and more 
 particular journey over all the same broad region. And 
 now, here at Kphesus, on his third journey, we find 
 him already thinking of a fourth missionary journey. 
 The outline of Paul's plan of such a journey is given us. 
 After again going over Macedonia and Aehaia, and re- 
 turning to Jerusalem with the collections for the poor, 
 the great Apostle intends to make a fourth and still 
 more extended journey, to Rome itself. What a dif- 
 ferent journey did he make to Rome when that time 
 came ! as a prisoner ; and yet an Apostle and a preach- 
 er, though a prisoner ! At present, however, Paul re- 
 mained in Ephesus, to finish his work there, only send- 
 r\vard Timothy and Erastus to visit the churches 
 
212 (THIRTY-TRIED SUNDAY.) 
 
 of Macedonia. And while he remained, a remarkable 
 tumult took place in the city, connected with the wor- 
 ship of Diana. We need to know something more of 
 Ephesus and of Diana to understand it. 
 
 Ephesus had become " the chief city of Asia Minor," 
 " the metropolis of the province of Asia," because it 
 was situated where it naturally received the trade of 
 the interior provinces, and because its admirable harbor 
 brought to it ships from all countries. To the north- 
 east, a road led through mountain defiles to Sardis and 
 to Phrygia. To the east, through a gorge, and then up 
 the valley of the crooked river Meander, went a branch 
 r< :i ! of the great thoroughfare to the distant Euphrates, 
 through Iconium. Along these roads, and many smaller, 
 the slow and stately caravan of merchants wouncj, or 
 the petty traffickers of petty towns and villages brought 
 their goods for sale. From the north, from the west, 
 from the south and the east, from Smyrna and Troas, 
 from Philippi and Thessalonica, from Corinth and 
 Athens, from Miletus and Crete and Alexandria and 
 Antiocli and Tarsus, came ships laden with merchan- 
 dise to anchor in her harbors. Partly on a mountain- 
 slopo, partly on a smaller, round-shaped hill, and partly 
 in the plain between these heights and the sea, wero 
 the buildings of the city. The river Cayster flowed 
 through the plain in its winding channel to the sea. A 
 lake near its mouth made the inner harbor. Within 
 the walls, which stretched along the plain and up and 
 down the uneven surface of the mountain-slope, were 
 the principal public buildings. There was a forum with 
 its public buildings around the open space through which 
 the excited multitude " rushed up to the well-known 
 place of meeting." There was a gymnasium, between 
 the hill and the mountain, where wrestlers and racers 
 trained for their contests. There were temples to 
 
THE TEMPLE OF DTAXA. 213 
 
 Jupiter and to Julius C;esar. There was a vast theatre, 
 with marble scats, one of the largest in the world, not 
 far from the foot of the mountain. There were build- 
 in LT< lor hat lil. 
 
 I Jut outside the Avails, "one building surpassed all the 
 rest in magnificence and in fame. This was the Temple 
 of Diana, which glittered in brilliant beauty at the 
 of the harbor, and wa^ n by the ancients 
 
 " of the wonders of the world. The sun, it was 
 sail, saw nothing in its course more magnificent than 
 Diana's Temple. IN immense foundations were care- 
 fully laid in the marshy ground," to prevent its being 
 shaken by earthquake, it is said. Its walls were built 
 of marble, from neighboring quarries. "All the Greek 
 <>(' Asia contributed to the building." CY 
 Y, the rieh King of Lydia, helped to rear the 
 idolatrous temple. The most distinguished architects 
 directed the work. After many years, it reached its 
 completion, and was then set on fire on the night in 
 which Alexander was horn. " It was rebuilt, with new 
 and more sumptuous magnificence. The ladies of Ephe- 
 their jewelry. Alexander the Great offered 
 all the spoils of his triumphant eastern campaign, if he 
 might inscribe his name on the Avails. The Eph* 
 continually added new dccorati< Me building-, 
 
 with statues and pictures by the most famou 
 It was the Temple of Diana which gave fame to the 
 city. "Oxford in England is not more Oxford on ac- 
 count of its University, than Ephesus was Ephesus on 
 account of the Temple of Diana." l This temple was 
 very different from what we now conceive a temple to 
 be. Like other temples of the ancients, it was not 
 roofed over, so as to receive an assembly of worship- 
 
 1 Dr. ITrx 1 
 
214 (THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY.) 
 
 pers,but consisted of several colonnades round the cham- 
 ber in which the idol was. A great part of the space 
 was open to the sky. The graceful beauty of these col- 
 umns was superior to anything the world had before 
 seen. Each column was the gift of a king, and the 
 number of them was one hundred and twenty-seven, of 
 which thirty-six were enriched with ornament and color. 
 The long rows of these graceful and beautiful columns, 
 sixty feet high, enclosed a space two or three times 
 larger than the largest churches of our cities, for the 
 temple was four hundred and twenty-five feet long, and 
 two hundred and twenty feet broad. " The folding- 
 doors were of cypress-wood ; the part which was not 
 open to the sky was roofed over with cedar ; and the 
 stair-case was formed of the wood of one single vine 
 from the island of Cyprus. The value and fame of the . 
 temple were increased by the i'act that it was the treas- 
 ury, in which a large portion of the wealth of western 
 A M;I was laid up.* It is probable that there was no 
 religious building in the world, in which was centred 
 a greater amount of admiration, enthusiasm, and super- 
 stition." 
 
 It would naturally be supposed that the image within . 
 this splendid temple would be a beautiful statue of the 1 
 goddess, like the statues of the Athenian Acropolis. It 
 was not so. The image of Diana was a rude figure 
 carved from wood, resembling more the ugly idols of ] 
 India, than the graceful statues of Greece. A woman's 
 form above, " terminated below in a shapeless block. 
 In each hand was a bar of metal. The dress 1 was cov- . 
 cred with mystic symbols, and the small chamber where 
 it stood, within the temple, was concealed by a curtain 
 
 2 One modern writer says, " that the temple of the Epliesian I)i;i,i 
 was what tho Bank of England is in the re oilcrn world." 
 
Till-: TEMPLE OF DIAXA. 215 
 
 in front." Such was the rude image which was wor- 
 shipped with devout veneration at Kphesus. Like one 
 of the statues of ^Minerva on the Acropolis at Athens, 
 it W&B believed to have 'fallen from the sky.' And this 
 belief added to the blind idolatry of the superstitious 
 liesians. 
 
 The idolatrous pilgrims who came to the Temple of 
 Diana, would like some memorial of their visit, some 
 im:i;_re of the goddess or model of her temple ; and 
 hence at Ephesus, as at other like idolatrous citi 
 other heathen custom grew up. Little images, either 
 of the chamber in which the goddess dwelt, or of her 
 ilicent temple, were made ami sold to the chang- 
 iii'_r croud which thronged the streets. These were 
 called 'shrines.' " They were carried in processions, 
 on journeys and military ns, and sometimes 
 
 set up as household gods in private houses. The ma- 
 terial might be wood or gold or silver." Those men- 
 tioned in the Acts were made of silver. These had 
 become scattered over the province, and borne up the 
 roads into the interior, and carried away on ships sail- 
 ing to almost every part of the known world. 
 
 \Ve see now the cause, of the excitement which De- 
 metrius raised. The th ' of Paul's ministry in 
 Kphesus were drawing to ;; ithout any disturb- 
 ance from the idolaters. Paul was too discreet a man 
 to Attack any person's occupation directly in this heath- 
 en city, although he pivachcd as boldly as at Athens 
 that the ' Godhead is not like to gold or silver or stone, 
 graven with art and man's device.' " Paul's character 
 had risen so high as to obtain influence over the wealth- 
 iest and most powerful persons in the place, and the in- 
 terest of one of the prevalent trades was seriously 
 
216 [THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY.) 
 
 threatened." Demetrius gathered together his fellow 
 silversmiths, and excited them against Paul. " He ap- 
 pealed first to their interest and then to their fanati- 
 cism." He told them their profitable business was in 
 danger; and more than this, the temple of the great 
 goddess Diana, (to which we can imagine him pointing 
 as he spoke,) was in danger of being despised, and her 
 honor and her worship, extending throughout their 
 province of Asia and the civilized world, would soon 
 be destroyed. His speech was like flame among straw. 
 The crowd was instantly in a fury. In boisterous rage, 
 they burst into a cry in honor of their goddess : c Great 
 is Diana of the Ephesians ! ' They soon filled the city 
 with a tumult. Citizens and strangers were quickly 
 excited by the violent outcries of this influential class 
 of artisans. A general rush was made towards the 
 theatre. Paul in some way escaped. But his travelling 
 companions, Gaius and Aristarchus, were hurried oft* 
 Avith tin' mob. As soon as Paul knew it, " a sense of 
 the danger of his companions and a fearless zeal for the 
 truth, urged him to hasten to the theatre and present 
 himself before the people." His converts knew too 
 well the violence of such a mob to permit him to run 
 this hazard. Perhaps they would not have succeeded 
 in preventing him, had not other influential friends in- 
 terfered also. "And now is seen the advantage which 
 is secured to a righteous cause by the upright character 
 and unflinching zeal of its champion." Some of the 
 leading men, who held the office of ' Presidents of the 
 ( lames,' 4 at certain times of the year, had learned to re- 
 spect Paul's character. "Whether converted or not, 
 
 4 'The chief of Asia' were ten men of wealth, who were annually 
 elected to preside over the games, to provide the necessary expenses, 
 and to maintain order. "They were men of high distinction ami 
 extensive influence." 
 
THE TEMPLE OF DIANA. 217 
 
 they had a friendly feeling towards the Apostle ; and 
 well knowing the passions of an Ephcsian mob when 
 excited, they sent an urgent message to him to prevent 
 him from venturing into the scene of disorder and 
 r. Then Paul reluctantly consented to remain 
 in privacy, while the mob crowded violently into the 
 theatre, filling the stone seats, tier above tier, and rend- 
 ing the air with their confused and fanatical cries." 
 Never was a mob better described than when it is said 
 'the greater part knew not why they were come to- 
 gether.' 
 
 Why was Alexander 'put forward' to address the 
 assembly? "It is most natural to suppose that the 
 Were alanm-d by the tumult, and anxious to clear 
 themselves from blame, and to show they had nothing 
 to <]<> with Paul." The Jews, however, wt re enemies 
 of idolatry, and the idolatrous crowd would not hear 
 Alexander, but broke out into a wild, uproarious clamor, 
 shouting and crying, especially around Gains and Aris- 
 ta rch us, for two long hours, the name and the praise 
 of their goddess. 
 
(THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 did the success of Paul's first journey lead him to do ? 
 
 To what did the second journey lead ? 
 
 What journey does Paul plan while on his third journey ? 
 
 Did he accomplish what he designed ? 
 
 AVhom did he send on before him ? Where ? 
 
 AVhat is the significance of ' so he sent* ? 
 "What natural advantage had Ephesus in its location ? 
 
 What routes by land ? What by sea ? 
 
 When was the city built ? 
 
 AVhat were the principal buildings within the city ? 
 
 AVhat are outside the walls ? 
 What was thought and said of Diana's Temple ? 
 
 How were its foundations laid ? It was built of what f 
 
 Who helped build it ? When burned ? 
 
 How was it decorated ? 
 
 How is Ephesus compared to Oxford? 
 
 Describe the form of the Temple. 
 
 How was its value increased ? 
 
 With what great modern institution has it been com- 
 pared ? 
 What was the image of Diana? 
 
 Where was it placed ? 
 
 Where did this image come from ? 
 
 What other image had the same thing said of it ? 
 What models of Diana's Temple were made at Ephesus ? 
 
 Who bought them ? For what ? 
 
 AVhat were they used for ? 
 
 What were they made from ? Carried where ? 
 How long had Paul been in Ephesus ? 
 
 Had he had any persecution ? 
 
 Had he preached against idols ? 
 
 What created the ' no small stir' ? 
 
 AVhat does the interference with this sale show in re 
 
 spcct to Paul's character ? 
 Whom did Demetrius gather? 
 (05) 
 
(7V. IIRD SUXDAY.) 
 
 "What two things docs he appeal to? 
 
 What did he tell them first? 
 
 What did he next refer to ? 
 
 What is meant by 4 almost throughout all Asia ' ? 
 
 "What does the twenty-sixth verse show in respect to 
 Paul's success in Ephesus? 
 
 "\Vhat is meant by 'all the world' ? 
 What was the effect of Demetrius' speech? 
 
 What was the meaning of their cry ? 
 
 Why would the city soon become excited? 
 What building was filled ? 
 
 Who were carried off by the crowd ? Why ? 
 
 Do you think Paul knew of the disturbance at the first I 
 
 Would Paul have withdrawn ? 
 
 What did he now wish to do ? Why ? 
 
 Who prevented him? Why? 
 Who now proved Paul's friends? 
 
 Who were these men ? 
 By what name are tlu-y rallrd in the Acts? 
 
 What message did they send V Why? 
 
 What few words describe this mob ? 
 Why was Alexander * put forward ' ? 
 
 Why wouldn't the crowd hear him ? 
 
 AVI iat especially provoked their outcry ? 
 
 Around whom would the clamor be loudest f 
 (00) 
 
 
31 fnrf i) -f0urilj 
 
 THE TOWN-CLERK OF EPIIESUS. 
 
 LESSON. 
 ACTS xix. 35-41. 
 
 A NOTHER person now appears among the excited 
 ** multitude. We can see him making his way through 
 the clamorous crowd to the stage of the theatre. And 
 either because the excitement of the mob had worn itself 
 out, or because the character and office of the man in- 
 spired respect, the uproar gradually died away at his ap- 
 pearance. It was the ' Town-Clerk' of the city. Whether 
 we think of his official position or his character as shown 
 by his speech, we have reason to say : " No one in the 
 city was so well suited to calm this Ephesian mob." 
 
 Ephesus was a free city, like Thessalonica ;* only the 
 Romans wore willing to pay more respect and honor to 
 Ephesus than to Thessalonica. "Asia was always a 
 favored province " with the Romans, and Ephesus was 
 among the most favored of the Greek cities. The city 
 had therefore its own magistrates, elected by the people. 
 One of these magistrates was the ' Town-Clerk.' Per- 
 haps the title of ' Chancellor' or of 'Recorder' or of 
 ' Chief Magistrate ' would have described better his of- 
 fice and duties. There is little doubt " that he was a 
 magistrate of great authority in a high and very pub- 
 lic position. He was the keeper of the state papers 
 and of tho city records ; he read what was of public 
 
 1 See page 153 in Twenty-third Sunday. 
 
THE TOWN-CLERK OF EPHESUS. 210 
 
 importance before the senate an<l assembly; he was 
 :it when money was deposited in the Temple of 
 Diana ; and when letters were sent to the people of 
 Ephcsus, they were officially addressed to him. Hence 
 no magistrate was more before the public at Ephesus 
 UN very looks were familiar to all the citizens, and no 
 . one was so likely to calm and disperse an aiiirry, ex- 
 cited multitude." When the multitude had grown suf- 
 ficiently quiet to hear him, the Town-Clerk made a 
 short address to them, which is an admirable model of 
 t-andor, good-judgment, tact, and argument. 
 
 SPEECH OP THE TOWN-CLERK. 
 
 Hi presents four short, strong arguments against this 
 turbulent y one of which is stronger 
 
 than the preeeding. 
 
 / '/, ' .1 (Verses 35, 36.) What man is he 
 
 who does not know that Kjihesus is temple-keeper 3 of 
 tin- LCivat goddess Diana? "The contradiction of a 
 lew insignificant strangers cannot affect what is notori- 
 pua in all the world." * Ye ought therefore to be quiet 
 and do nothing rashly.' 
 
 Second Argument. (Verse 37.) These men whom 
 you have brought here are not guilty of robbing or 
 MULT the temple 3 nor of outraging our feelings by 
 blaspheming our goddess. They have committed no 
 crime against Diana. They have not even done any- 
 thing to warrant this great and prolonged outcry about 
 our goddess. 
 
 2 See the margin. The word meant at first temple-sweeper, and 
 was the title of the servant who took care of the temple. " It be- 
 came afterwards a title of the greatest honor, and was eagerly appro- 
 priated by the most famous cities." 
 
 8 * Robb^s of churches? that is, of temples. The Greek word 
 means ' temple-robbers} 
 
220 (THIRTY-FOURTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 TJiird Argument. (Verses 38, 39.) In respect xo 
 the complaint of Demetrius and the silver-smiths, why 
 do they not make their accusation according to the reg- 
 ular course of law ? If these men have done them in- 
 justice, there is a remedy provided. The Court is in 
 session. There are the city magistrates for the very 
 purpose of trying such offenders. Or let them appeal 
 to the pro-consul of the province ! 
 
 Fourth Argument. (Verse 40.) This is the most 
 forcible argument. Such an uproar as this puts our city 
 and its freedom in peril. The government may call us 
 to an account ; and we have no excuse for this tumult. 
 And you know what the Roman law is, against riotous 
 assemblies of this kind, and the heavy penalty on us all 
 for disobedience. 
 
 " So having rapidly brought his arguments to a 
 climax, lie calmed down the excited multitude and at 
 once pronounced the legal words which declared the as- 
 sembly dispersed." Demetrius and the silversmiths now 
 saw they were in especial danger; for they had excited 
 the tunfult. The matter had gone perhaps farther 
 than they intended. The people saw that they might 
 be entangled also in an accusation against Demetrius. 
 " The stone seats were gradually emptied. The up- 
 roar ceased, and the rioters dispersed to their various 
 occupations and amusements." Thus God used the 
 Greek and Roman authorities to protect Paul, in 
 his perilous work of introducing tho religion of Jesus 
 into pagan and superstitious countries. The magis- 
 trates of Philippi had been compelled to respect his 
 rights : the candid good sense of Gallio, the Pro-Con- 
 sul of Corinth, had defeated Paul's persecutors : the 
 eloquence of the Ephesian Town-Clerk 3:ad forced a 
 riot against him and his fellow-travellers to dffpcrse. 
 
 It would seem that this was one of the ?iist occur- 
 
 
THE TO\v:\-<'i.i:iiK <>r KPIIESUS. 221 
 
 rences of Paul's tliree year's residence. But before we 
 see him take his farewell, we must notice one other 
 important thing- which no doubt occurred some time 
 during his stay in Ephesus. This was the writing of 
 The First Epistle to the Corinthians. Among other 
 reasons why we suppose this letter was written while 
 Paul was in Ephesus are four : 
 
 ttrst. Paul spoke of remaining at Ephesus when lie 
 wrote the letter. 4 The letter could not have been writ- 
 ten after he left Ephesus. 
 
 Secondly. Apottos had been in Corinth.* Paul c<>uM 
 not have well known this before he reached Eph< 
 so that the letter must have been wr r he came 
 
 <1<>\\ n from the 'upper coasts' and found that Apollos 
 had gone over to Corinth. 6 
 
 7'////v//y. Aquila and Priscilla were with him when 
 he wrote it. 7 It is clear that they resided in KI>! 
 
 FourtJdy. There was constant communication across 
 the sea from Ephesus to Corinth. And Paul was in 
 Ephesus about three years. Paul must have heard 
 often from Corinth. It seems therefore most natural 
 to suppose that he wrote at this time to the Corinth- 
 ian-. 1 
 
 Indeed it is not only probable that Paul wrote this 
 letter to the Corinthian Church, but that he visited 
 Corinth while at Ephesus ; for when he wrote his 
 second letter to the Corinthians, shortly after he left 
 Ephesus, he said that he was now coming a third time 
 
 4 I. Corinth, xvi. 8. 6 i. 12; iii. 4, 22. 
 
 Acts xix. 1. 'I. Corinth, xvi. 19. 
 
 8 Actsxviii. 18, 19, 26. 
 
 9 The ancient inscription (see the end of the Epistle) says this let* 
 ter was written at Philippi. Apply the above reasons, and see what 
 you think 
 
222 (THIRTY-FOURTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 to them. 10 If he was on his way to a third visit, when 
 he left Ephesus, then there must have been a second^ 
 before he left Ephesus. No doubt Apollos or some other 
 Christian had come across to Ephesus from Corinth 
 and told Paul of the state of things among the Corinth- 
 ian Christians. He had much to tell which was joyful 
 and hopeful ; but much also which was painful ; for 
 shameful sins had crept into the church. There were 
 tares among the wheat. Corinth was a most corrupt 
 and vicious city; and Corinthian Christians had be- 
 come defiled like Christian unbelievers. If Paul made 
 them a visit at this time, it was to correct and to ad- 
 monish the Corinthian believers for their sins. 
 
 After his return to Ephesus from this second journey, 
 (if the supposition is right,) we suppose he sent Tim- 
 othy and Erastus on before him to Macedonia ; and 
 then after some time had passed, c some members of the 
 household of Chloe, a distinguished family at Corinth, 
 arrived ;' and from them Paul learned more fully what 
 was the state of things in the church of Corinth. 11 An- 
 other evil had sprung up. The church had become di- 
 vided into parties. There was a Paul-party, an Apollos- 
 party, a Peter-party, and even a Christ-party. 11 Some 
 professed believers had become vilely and shamelessly 
 impure in their life. Some were showing their want of 
 brotherly love by prosecuting their brethren in the hea- 
 then courts of law. Some, who had gone 1 >ack into open 
 immorality, had even begun to doubt the resurrection 
 of the dead. 
 
 And therefore Paul writes to them 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 
 
 And therefore do we find, among other subjects, that 
 four of the great subjects about which Paul writes are : 
 
 10 II Corinth, xii. 14 ; xiii. 1. " I. Corinth, i. 11-13. 
 
THE TOWX-CLERX OF EPIIESUS. 223 
 
 I. Their divisions into parties. lie wishes and tries 
 to have them do away with these. (Chapter i. 10-13 ; 
 Hi. 3-9, 21-23 ; iv. C.) 
 
 II. Their permission of shameless immorality. (Cfcap- 
 tir v. 11.) 
 
 IK. Their legal prosecutions of each other, (chapter 
 vi. 1, 5-7,) while they ought to exercise brotherly love 
 (or charity) towards each other. (Chapter xiii.) 
 IV. The resurrection of the dead. (Chapter xv.) 
 In the conclusion of the letter, he directed the Co- 
 rinthians to make collections for their poor Christian 
 brethren in Judea, and to have these collections realy 
 ir him when he came, so that he might take them to 
 Jerusalem. 19 He tells them also that he is expecting to 
 visit Macedonia, 13 and that perhaps he will spend the 
 winter in Corinth, 14 that he has sent the youthful Tim- 
 othy on before him, and if he came to Corinth to give 
 him no cause of fear, 15 that Aquila and Priscilla and the 
 believers who assemble in their house, as at Corinth, 
 send their salutations and Christian love, 16 and that ho 
 sends his own salutations and love. 17 
 
 18 xvi. 1-3. xvi. 5. J4 XT!. 6. 
 
 u xvL 10 ; ir, 17. " xri. 19. " xri. 21, 34. 
 
(THIRTY-FOURTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 \yllAT person now makes his appearance ? 
 AVhat place would he take to speak? 
 Why would the uproar die away ? 
 How was Ephesus like Thessalonica ? 
 
 Which city did the Romans respect the more ? 
 Did the Romans appoint the magistrates in Ephesus ? 
 What other name might be substituted for * Town- 
 Clerk ' ? 
 
 What were the duties of his office ? 
 Would the multitude know him when they saw him ? 
 How many arguments does the Town-Clerk pfesent ? 
 What was the object of his arguments ? 
 What was the first argument ? 
 What is the meaning of 4 worshipper' or 4 temple* 
 
 keeper ' ? 
 
 Explain the meaning of the thirty-sixth verse. 
 AY hat was the second argument ? 
 What is the meaning of 4 robbers of churches ' ? 
 What was the third argument ? 
 What is meant by 'the law is open' ? 
 Who were the deputies ? 
 What is the fourth argument ? 
 Who might * call them in question ' ? 
 What were they in danger of ? 
 Who would be responsible for the riotous assembly ? 
 Which of these arguments is the strongest? Which the 
 weakest ? 
 
 What was done by the Town-Clerk after he finished his 
 
 speech ? 
 
 What did Demetrius now see? 
 Compare Paul's escapes at Philippi, at Corinth, at Eph- 
 
 csus. 
 
 What other thing probably occurred while Paul resided in 
 Ephesus ? 
 
 (67) 
 
 
(TOlRTYrFOURTa SCXDA Y.) 
 
 How many reasons were given for this supposition ? 
 
 What is tin.- lir.-t reason? 
 
 Before what time must it have been written ? 
 
 AVI Kit is the second reason ? 
 
 How do you know he had been there ? 
 
 After what time must it have been written then? 
 
 What is the third reason? 
 
 How do you know they were living in Ephesus ? 
 
 What is the fourth reason ? 
 
 What makes it probable that Paul visited Corinth during 
 these three years ? 
 
 What persons brought news to Paul from Corinth? 
 
 What evils had sprung up in the Corinthian church ? 
 What is the first of four great subjects in this Epistle? the 
 second? the third? the fourth? 
 
 Wh ' ihjcct of the thirteenth chapter of this Knistlo f 
 
 What ia -ileenth? 
 
 What direction does Paul give in the conclusion ? 
 
 To what other church had he given this order ? 
 
 When was it to be made ? 
 
 How was it to be sent ? 
 What does Paul write in respect to his visiting them F 
 
 What about Timothy ? Aquila and Pii scilli ? 
 (68) 
 
irhr-fifilj Sxuvbajj. 
 
 TITUS, THE MESSENGER. 
 
 LESSON. 
 
 ACTS xx. 1, 2 ; II. CORINTHIANS ii. 12, 13 ; vii. 5-7. 
 
 P AUL'S work was now finished in Ephesus. At least 
 -- he thought it best to remain no longer. His presence 
 might be the cause of new excitement and perhaps of 
 trouble or of persecution to others than himself; and 
 as there were now many who could teach and preach 
 the doctrines of Jesus, the good work could be carried 
 on without him. He therefore called the disciples to- 
 gether, and affectionately bade them farewell. How 
 much had been accomplished during the three years ! 
 There had been many converts : a large church had been 
 established : enemies had been convinced : many had 
 ceased to worship Diana : the sale of shrines had de- 
 creased : the whole province of Asia had heard the 
 word of God : perhaps it was at this very time that 
 the other six of the seven churches of Asia 1 were 
 founded. (See map on page 127.) 
 
 After the affectionate parting between Paul and the 
 Christians of Ephesus, we are told very little of Paul's 
 labors during nine or ten months. All the notice we 
 have of this period in the Acts is in the first two verses 
 of the twentieth chapter. We have, however, many 
 hints given us in his letters in regard to his journey, 
 his visits, and his labors. We shall soon see that the 
 second epistle to the Corinthian Christians was written 
 
 1 Revelation i. 11. 
 
TITUS, THE MESSEXGEK. 225 
 
 from Philippi, and tlicreforc from that epistle we are 
 able to learn about Paul's second journey from Asia 
 into Macedonia. 
 
 AVho were Paul's fellow-travellers now from Ephesus 
 to Macedonia? Timothy we have supposed was with 
 him from Antioch to Ephesus. But he had sent Tim- 
 othy on before him. 2 Two disciples from Asia are men- 
 tioned when lie returns from Corinth, 3 and one of them 
 wa^ an Ephesian. 4 They both continued faithful friends 
 of Paul in his journeys and labors afterwards. 8 Even 
 when Paul was prisoner in Rome he mentions these 
 two natives of Asia as his ready helpers and followers. 8 
 Tyrhirus and Trophiiiius. It is not unl'^ely 
 that they were with Paul on the way from Ephesus to 
 .Macedonia and Greece. 
 
 Paul st]]cd at Troas T on his way. If ho went by 
 ship, I in among the islands of the Archipe- 
 
 lago, and at length anchored in that harbor from which 
 he went before, c in a straight course ' to Samothrace. 8 
 Before, he had been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to 
 preach here, 8 but now his preaching was successful. 
 The way was open for him to do great good. He evi- 
 dently intended to remain longer in Troas, but he was 
 LTivatly troubled in spirit because Titus did not meet 
 him there as he expected. Titus, it will be remem- 
 bered, was the Greek who was not circumcised at the 
 council of Jerusalem; and it is supposed that Paul 
 sent him from Ephesus to Corinth 9 on an errand to the 
 church, in part if not wholly to make ready the collec- 
 
 2 Acts xix. 22. xx. 4. 4 xxi. 29. 
 
 6 xxi. 29 ; Ephesians vi. 21 ; Colossians iv. 7; Titus iii. 12. 
 
 6 He mentions them in II. Timothy iv. 12, 20 ; and that Paul was 
 in Rome when he wrote that epistle, see ctapter i. verse 17. 
 
 7 II. Corinthians ii. 12, 13. B Acts xvi. G, 8, 11. 
 
 9 II. Corinthians xii 18 ; vii. 13. 
 
220 (THIRTY-FIFTH SUNDAY.} 
 
 tions for the poor in Judea. Paul, before lie left Ephe- 
 sus, had no doubt expected to hear from Titus an ac- 
 count of the condition of the Corinthian church, but as 
 the uproar in the theatre led him to depart sooner than 
 he had anticipated, and before Titus returned, he left 
 word for Titus to join him on his journey. Paul grew 
 most anxious at Troas to see Titus, and to learn how the 
 Corinthian Christians had received his advice and his 
 rebukes. " He had resolved to wait for Titus at Troas, 
 expecting he would come soon. He was disappointed : 
 week after week passed, but Titus did not come. It 
 was to be hoped that he would bring news of the tri- 
 umph of good over evil at Corinth ; yet it might not 
 be so. The Corinthians might have forsaken the faitli 
 of their first teacher, and have rejected his messenger. 
 l^iul appears to have suffered all the sickness of hope 
 deferred. * My spirit had no rest, because I found not 
 Titus my brother.' " His anxiety did not prevent his 
 preaching. In the synagogue as usual, and first to the 
 Jews no doubt, he preached ' Christ's Gospel ' the glad 
 news of the Messiah. Some, if not many, were ready 
 to hear. "And the foundation of a church was laid 
 which we shall find him revisiting not long afterwards." 
 But now his anxiety about the more important Corinth- 
 ian church and the importance of meeting Titus urged 
 him on. Embarking, therefore, and 'loosing from Troas,' 
 and sailing over the waters of the upper Archipelago, 
 past the familiar islands and jutting points and moun- 
 tain-heights, he came again to Neapolis, arid from thence 
 to Philippi. 10 
 
 Here were warm friends for the Apostle : the simple- 
 hearted Lydia with her open house, only too glad to 
 
 10 As one of the objects of Paul's visit was to make collections lor 
 the poor Christians of Judea, he would not pass by a church so im- 
 portant as that of Philippi. 
 
TITUS, THE "''HER. 227 
 
 receive him: the brethren who had assembled iu 
 Lyd iu's house to bid Paul farewell : the jailer and his 
 family. Some or all of these, and others who had since 
 believed, were full of joy and of cordial affection. " For 
 of all the churches which he founded, the Philip pi a us 
 
 to have been the most free from fault and most 
 
 attached to Paul." When Paul wrote his epistle to 
 
 them afterwards, he finds no fault, but highly praises 
 
 them ; and so ardent was their love for Paul that they 
 
 to him gifts to cheer and to support him. 11 
 
 vcii all their warmth of affection and tender kind- 
 -Sid not take : gloom from Paul's mind. 
 
 imself saysy that when he 'came into Macedonia, 1 
 he 'had no rest, 5 he was 'troubled on every side,' he 
 had 'fightings without' and 'fears within.' It was 
 the time perhaps, more than any other in his life, when 
 Paul seemed to be weighed down by his afflictions, 
 and more than all, by anxiety from the ' daily care of 
 all the churches.' 13 But how nobly and bravely lie tri- 
 umphed over all his afflictions and anxieties ! 
 
 length the long-expected Titus arrived at Philippi 
 and relieved Paul's anxiety by Letter news than he had 
 hoped to hear. The most of the Corinthian Christ- 
 ians had yielded to Paul's advice and rebuke, and shown 
 the deepest sorrow for the sins into which they had 
 fallen." They had ceased to permit the gross, open im- 
 moralities. They had already made in part at least 
 their collections for the poor believers of Palestine. 
 
 But there were a few who did not submit with tho 
 rest of the church. They were louder and more bitter 
 than ever in their tone against the Apostle. They were 
 even ready to charge that he was selfish in making the 
 collections, insinuating most probably that he had some 
 
 11 Fhilippians iv. 15, 1C. u II. Corinthians xi. 28. 
 
228 (THIRTY-FIFTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 selfish interest in this plan of raising money and gifts 
 for others. " The same opponents accused him also of 
 vanity and of cowardly weakness : they declared that he 
 was continually threatening without striking and pro- 
 mising without performing ; always on his way to Co 
 rinth, but never venturing to come ; and that he was 
 as fickle in his teaching as in his practice ; refusing to 
 circumcise Titus, yet circumcising Timothy ; a Jew 
 among the Jews and a Gentile among the Gentiles." 
 It would seem, also, that there were unkind compari- 
 sons made between Paul and other religious teachers in 
 Corinth. 
 
 Having received this information from Titus, Paul 
 directed Titus to return and to continue the collections 
 in the churches of Achaia. And he sends by him an- 
 other letter, not addressed as the first epistle had been, 
 simply to Corinth, but to all the churches in the pro- 
 vince of Achaia ; perhaps in Athens and Cenchrrca, in 
 Argos and Sicyon and Megara. The object of the 
 Apostle was to encourage and calm the larger number 
 of the believers ; and, at the same time, to warn and 
 denounce those who despised his Apostolic authority 
 and the commands, of the Messiah. 
 
 SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 
 
 Among the many subjects in respect to which this 
 epistle was written, we may notice, 
 
 I. Thanksgiving for deliverance from great danger in 
 'Asia,' probably in Ephesus. (Chapter i. 3, 4, 8-10.) 
 
 II. The reason for postponing his visit to Corinth. 
 (Chapter i. 15, 16, 23.) 
 
 III. Forgiveness to those who grieve for their im- 
 morality. (Chapter ii. 10.) 
 
 IV. His distress at not hearing from them by Titus, 
 (Chapter ii. 12, 13 ; vii. 5.) 
 
 
TITUS, THE . <JER. 229 
 
 V. His joy at the good news Titus brought. (Chap 
 Ur vii. C-9, 13, 16.) 
 
 VI. Directions for the collections. The example of 
 the Macedonians ought to teach them how to give. 
 (Chapter viii. 1-4, G ; ix. G, 7.) 
 
 VII. Answer to those who were bitter against him, 
 (chapter x. 1, 2, 10, 11 ; xi. 18, 22-31,) and to those 
 who denied his Apostleship. (Chapter xii. 11, 12.) 
 
 VIII. Warning of punishment to those who were not 
 penitent for sin. (Chapter xii. 20, 21 ; xiii. 1, 2.) 
 
 Any one -who reads this Epistle carefully through, 
 will find two whole chapters (viii. ix.) devoted to the 
 subject of the collection. It was a thing of great im- 
 portance in Paul's mind, not only because he wished all 
 ors to be generous, but because he saw that gcn- 
 y exercised by the Gentiles abroad towards the 
 Jews at .Jerusalem would bind both Jews and Gentiles 
 together in Christian love, and so prevent that foolish 
 and wicked division in the church to which they were 
 V) liable. 
 
 Titus, the earnest-minded Greek disciple, bore this 
 q>istle ;> his Corinthian countrymen. When the Apos- 
 tle c exhorted' him to do it, he c went of his own accord.' 
 Some brother whose name we do not know, but whose 
 praise was * throughout all the churches,' 13 went with 
 Titus to Corinth 
 
 1 II. Corinthians viii. 16-18. 
 
(THIRTY-FIFTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 \yiIY was it best for Paul to leave Ephesus ? 
 
 State as many things as you can which were accom- 
 plished during the three years. 
 
 How long a time is passed over in these two Verses of the 
 twentieth chapter ? 1 
 
 Where have we any particulars given in respect to this 
 
 period ? 
 
 Where was the second letter to the Corinthians written ? 
 W ho were fellow-travellers of Paul into Macedonia ? 
 What had become of Timothy ? 
 Where were Tychicus and Trophimus, Paul's faithful 
 
 friends afterwards ? 
 What place did Paul stop at ? 
 
 What had he been forbidden to do, when at Troas be 
 
 fore? 
 
 What was the prospect in his preaching now ? 
 What is meant by 4 a door was opened unto me/ etc. ? 
 W hat troubled Paul? 
 
 Who was Titus ? Where mentioned first before ? 
 Where is it supposed that Paul had sent him ? 
 On what errand had he sent him ? 
 What word had Paul probably left at Ephesus for Ti- 
 tus ? 
 
 Why was Paul so anxious to see Titus ? 
 What is meant by 'Christ's Gospel' ? 
 How was it right for Paul to leave Troas, when there 
 
 were such prospects of good from preaching ? 
 Why is it probable that Paul now went directly to Philippi ? 
 Whom did he see there ? 
 How did the Philippian church compare with othef 
 
 churches ? 
 
 What was the state of Paul's mind ? 
 What especially weighed him down ? 
 Had Paul good reason to be downcast ? 
 
 1 A note in the next lesson will show how this time la reckoned, 
 (69) 
 
( 77/7 ;:7T-/ 77-7 V/ BUNDA F.) 
 
 Did he yield to it, so as to give way before it ? 
 What was the cll'oct of tlie arrival of Titus ? 
 
 AVI lat news did he bring from Corinth ? 
 
 What was the state of a few in Corinth ? 
 What direction did Paul give immediately to Titus ? 
 
 What letter did h 3 send by him ? 
 
 To whom is this letter directed ? 
 
 What other churches were there besides that in Corinth ? 
 
 What were the two objects of this letter ? 
 Turn to this Epistle and point out his thanks for escape from 
 peril. 
 
 Show the reason for putting off his visit to Corintli, 
 (twenty-third verse especially.) 
 
 Show his forgiveness towards his enemies. 
 
 Point out his distress at the absence of Titus. 
 
 Show his joy at the coming of Titus. 
 
 What are his directions for the collections ? 
 
 What was the example of Macedonia ? 
 
 What did he say to his opposers ? 
 
 What answer to the deniers of his Apostleship ? 
 
 What were the l signs of an Apostle ' ? 
 
 What warning against the impenitent church members, 
 
 (xiii. 2 especially) ? 
 What was one thing of great importance in Paul's mind ? 
 
 How many chapters are given to the subject ? 
 
 Why was it of so much importance ? 
 
 Who went with Titus ? 
 
 (70) 
 
SIX MONTHS IN MACEDONIA AND ILLYRICUM. 
 
 LESSON. 
 ACTS xx. 2, 3. 
 
 AFTER Titus had gone, Paul still continued in the 
 regions to the north of Greece. As he must have 
 been ten months at least in going from Ephesus to Co- 
 rinth and back to Philippi, and as only three months 
 of this time were spent in Corinth, seven months at 
 
 must have been spent on the journey to and from 
 Corinth, and the greater part of the seven months must 
 
 been passed in Macedonia or Illyricum. Paul 
 ini'^lit have wished that the Corinthians should have 
 full time to consider his letter before he reached Co- 
 rinth. He might have desired to avoid any further bit- 
 terness or excitement in his opposers, till they should 
 have considered his warnings and should have had 
 space for repentance. He had more than time, there- 
 fore, to visit the churches of Philippi, Thessalonica, and 
 Bcrea. As a Roman citizen with established rights, he 
 could quietly instruct the Philippian believers. Per- 
 haps he preached now in Amphipolis and Apollonia. 
 No mob of idlers forced him. again to leave Jason's 
 
 1 From Pentecost (I. Corinthians xvi. 8) in May till * the days of un- 
 leavened bread/ (Acts xx. 6,) that is, the Passover in the next March, 
 was ten months. Three months in Corinth leaves seven months 
 on the road. If Paul left Ephesus before Pentecost in May, on ac- 
 count of the uproar in the theatre, the time must have been longer 
 
IN MACEDONIA AND ILLYRICUM. 231 
 
 house in Thcssalonica. When lie reached Corinth, lie 
 wrote to Rome that lie had ' fully preached the Gospel 
 of Christ round about unto Illyricum.' 2 It is most 
 likely, therefore, that this was the time when he went 
 to the prominent cities of Macedonia, as far as the very 
 boundaries of Illyricum, or when he even preached in 
 the towns of Illyricum. All this may reasonably be 
 included in the words, c when he had gone ov^r those 
 parts and given them much exhortation.' If this is true, 
 then lie would naturally follow the great road west from 
 Thessalonica. And this time he must have climbed the 
 mountains towards Edessa, from which he looked down 
 on the broad and beautiful valley of the Axius. In 
 Edessa he may have preached, and in other cities, till 
 he camv even to Dyrrachium, from which place lie 
 min'lit hare Vni I'm-'u-d across to Italy. 3 On the 
 side, as on the cast side of the Adriatic Sea, it w:; 
 
 road which led to Rome. Whether Paul wmt 
 into those distant regions, or never passed over the 
 mountain boundary of Macedonia, there was enough to 
 occupy his time till he deemed it best to turn his 
 footsteps southward towards Greece. 
 
 " During his stay at Ephesus, and in all parts of his 
 journey in Troas and Macedonia, his heart had been 
 continually at Corinth. He had been in frequent com- 
 munication with his inconsistent and rebellious con- 
 verts." lie had written them letters. lie had sent 
 engers and messages. lie had probably made 
 them a visit. Now there were even more than ever 
 urirent reasons why he should be in Corinth. His se- 
 cond letter had reached them some time before. His 
 presence would be of great service in aiding the well- 
 disposed and in restraining the evil-minded. He wished 
 to receive the collections for the poor Christians of 
 
 3 Romans XT. 19. 3 Pee map on page 146. 
 
232 (THIRTY-SIXTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 Judea, so that he could take them with him on his 
 return to Jerusalem. 
 
 If the calculation which has been made in respect to 
 the length of time during which Paul was on the way 
 from Ephesus to Corinth is correct, then it must now 
 have been near the winter season. It was in Novem- 
 ber or December that Paul and his fellow-travellers 
 turned southward, taking no doubt Berea in their 
 course ; " and this makes it likely that he went by land 
 rather than by sea." (See the frontispiece map.) 
 We know the ancient ship-masters did not like to ven- 
 ture out on the boisterous winter seas/ "A good road 
 to the south had long been formed from the neighbor- 
 hood of Bcrea, connecting the chief towns of Macdo- 
 nia with those of Achaia. Opportunities would not 
 be wanting for preaching the Gospel at every stage of 
 his journey ; and we may infer either that churches 
 were formed in every chief city between Thessalonica 
 and Corinth, or that the glad tidings had been unsuc- 
 cessfully proclaimed." 
 
 " It was probably already winter when Paul once more 
 beheld in the distance the lofty citadel, towering above 
 the isthmus which it commands. The gloomy season must 
 have harmonized with his feelings as he approached. 
 The clouds which hung round the summit of the Aero 
 Corinthus and cast their shadow upon the city belo\ 
 typified the mists of vice and error which darkened the 
 minds even of its Christian citizens. Paul knew thatj 
 for some of them, he had labored in vain. He was 
 turning to converts who had become immoral : to frienc 
 
 o 
 
 who had forgotten his love : to enemies who denied his 
 apostolic authority. It is true the most of the Corinth 
 ian Christians had repented of their worst sins ; yc 
 even towards the penitent he could not feel all the con 
 4 Acts xxvii. 9. 
 
AV MACEDONIA AND ILLYPJCUlf. 233 
 
 fidcnce of earlier affection. And there were still left a 
 few obstinate ones, who would not give up their habits 
 of impurity, and who, when he spoke to them of right- 
 eousness and judgment to come, replied by openly de- 
 fending their sins or by denying his authority. He 
 now came prepared to put down this opposition with the 
 utmost decision. He was resolved to cast out of the 
 church these opposers of truth and goodness, just as, 
 in the exercise of his apostolic authority, he had warned 
 them a few months before, * when I come again, I will 
 not spare.' 5 His weapons arc not now carnal, as when 
 he went with hors. \ spearmen to Damascus, but 
 
 spiritual, { mighty through God to pull doifh the strong- 
 h olds' of his wicked enemies. 
 
 As Paul came along the isthmus road, looking out 
 now on one sea, now on the other, and perhaps from 
 some height catching a view of Athens, his thoughts 
 must have gone back to happier times: when after land- 
 ing at Cenchrrca, discouraged from his ill-success at Ath- 
 ens, in a few short months a large church had been 
 gathered in Corinth : when God visited him in a vision 
 and promised him ' much people in this city :' when no 
 utors nor opposers succeeded against him. From 
 'isy, wicked, polluted city God hod gathered a 
 #reat number to be his children. " II 'And reds of be- 
 lievers now called on the name of Jesus, who, when lie 
 first came to Corinth, worshipped nothing but gods like 
 their own ambition and anger and lust. It was painful 
 to tli ink their conversion so incomplete that they were 
 still defiled by heathen pollutions, but the most of them 
 had r< Miate ones were few ; and if the 
 
 older ones were tied by chains of habit," the children 
 might be trained up in the service of the Lord. Such 
 
 6 II. Corinthians xiii. 2. 
 
234 (THIRTY-SIXTH SUNDA F.) 
 
 may have been some of Paul's thoughts, as his little 
 company drew near the city walls and entered the well- 
 known gates. And what thoughts of the faithful breth- 
 ren thronged their minds, of Erastus the Treasurer, 6 oi 
 Stephanas and Epenetus, 7 of Fortunatus and Achaicus, 8 
 of Gains, 6 as they threaded their way amid the noise 
 and bustle of the crowded streets. Aquila and Priscilla 
 were not there to open their doors to Paul, (we shall 
 soon find they had returned to Rome,) but the hospita- 
 ble Gains, who was ever ready to entertain his believ- 
 ing brethren, 9 received the Apostle into his house. 
 
 It is supposed that at Corinth Paul received news 
 from the churches in Galatia : that painful tidings had 
 come across the ^Egean from Ephesus concerning the 
 condition of the Galatian Christians which aroused his 
 astonishment and his indignation. " His converts there 
 were forsaking his teaching in respect to obeying the 
 customs and rites of Moses' law, 10 and were listening to 
 false missionaries from Palestine, who, like those who 
 had once come down to Antioch, said that they could 
 not be saved unless they were circumcised and kept the 
 law of Moses. 11 They said, too, like the party hostile to 
 Paul in Corinth, that Paul was not an Apostle, " for lie 
 had not, like the twelve Apostles, been a follower of 
 Jesus on earth : that he was only a teacher sent out by 
 authority of the Twelve, and his teaching was to be re 
 ceived only so far as it agreed with theirs." And so 
 the Galatian Christians, more simple-minded than the 
 Christians of Corinth or of Ephesus, were being troubled 
 about that ' difficult question ' 12 which had been care 
 
 c Romans xvi. 23. 7 Romans xvi. 5 ; I. Corinthians xvi. 15. 
 
 8 I. Corinthians xvi. 17. 
 
 * Romans xvi. 23. * Gains mine host and of the whole church? 
 w Circumcision, washings, unclean meats, etc. "Acts xv. 1, 6 
 13 Sec Fifteenth Sunday. 
 
AY MACEDONIA A XI) 1LLYRICU1F. 235 
 
 fully and emphatically decided by all the Apostles at the 
 council of Jerusalem. 19 Some-of them were even being 
 circumcised, and were trying to keep the law of -Moses. 
 Paul therefore wrote a most earnest letter to the Ga- 
 latians, in which sadness and severity mingle, the sad- 
 : ^a warm-hearted man Avho finds his friends leav- 
 ing him, and the severity of a faithful Apostle who finds 
 >nverts leaving the truth. 
 
 THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 
 
 Notice two of the principal subjects in this letter: 
 I. Paul proves that he is an Apostle independent of 
 tin- Tw< V 
 
 1. Because h<5 received his author!; :ich by re- 
 velation from Jesus the Messiah, (i. 1, 11, 12.) 
 
 2. Because he wa< made an Apostle without consult- 
 ing at all with the other Apostles. After his conversion 
 lie did not go to Jerusalem to be taught, but into Aral ia. 
 (i. 15-17.) 
 
 3. Because he saw only the two Apostles, James and 
 Peter, for fifteen days, when he was in Jerusalem the 
 first time after his conversion, and could not therefore 
 have been made an Apostle by the assembly of all the 
 other Apostles, (i. 18, 19.) 
 
 4. Because when he went up to the council at Jeru- 
 salem, James, Peter, and John recognized him as the 
 
 -tie to the Gentiles, (ii. 1, 7-10.) 
 
 5. Because he himself by Apostolical authority had 
 rebuked the Apostle Peter at Antioch. (ii. 11-14.) 
 
 II. Paul shows that obedience to Jesus and faith in 
 him, and not obedience to the law of Moses, is to save 
 pman. (iii. 1, 2, 10, 26.) He who goes back to the 
 law of Moses is a slave : he who believes in Jesus is a 
 |K>n. (iv. 1-7.) 
 
 8 Sec Sixteenth Sunday. 
 
(THIRTY-SIXTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 SHOW how Paul must have been ten months on the way 
 from Ephesus to Corinth, and from Corinth back to Phi- 
 HppL 
 
 How long, then, must he have been in Macedonia and 
 
 Illyricum ? 
 
 Why might Paul have delayed his visit to Corinth ? 
 "What was tnere to occupy his time so long ? 
 Why may we suppose this is the time when he preached 
 
 1 round about unto Illyricum ' ? 
 What is meant by l those parts ' ? 
 Show where Paul may have gone. 
 To what country did Titus afterwards go ? 
 What shows that Corinth had been much in his thoughts ? 
 What two especial reasons why he should now press on 
 
 to Corinth ? 
 
 Why is it likely that he now went by land to Corinth ? 
 What opportunities to preach on the way ? 
 What sad thoughts would be natural for Paulas he. ap- 
 proached Corinth ? 
 
 Converts? friends? enemies? 
 The penitent ? the obstinate ? 
 \Vli:it was he prepared to do? 
 How does this journey compare with Saul's journey to 
 
 Damascus ? 
 
 What happy thoughts would be natural also ? 
 Church ? vision ? 4 much people ' ? 
 The imperfect ? the obstinate ? the children v 
 Of whom did Paul and his friends think, when they en- 
 tered the streets ? 
 To whose house did Paul go ? 
 What news did Paul probably receive at Corinth ? 
 What were these converts doing ? 
 To whom were they listening ? 
 What did they say about Paul's Apostleship ? 
 What 'difficult question' was giving them trouble? 
 (71) 
 
(7Y//AT. .\'J)AY.) 
 
 What epistle cli.d Paul now write ? 
 What two things mingle in it? 
 Sadness of whom ? severity of whom ? 
 What is the first of two principal subjects in this Epistle? 
 Could a man become an Apostle who was not one of the 
 
 twelve Apostles ? 
 Turn to the Epistle and show where Paul declares hia 
 
 authority came directly from the Saviour. 
 What is the second reason why he was an independent Apos- 
 He? 
 
 How docs he prove that he was not made an Apostle by the 
 election of all the Apostles? 
 What is the fourth reason?' 
 
 What is meant by * perceived the grace that was given 
 
 unto mo'? 
 
 What is meant by * the right hand of fellowship ' ? 
 What is the fifth reason why he is an independent Apostle ? 
 What is the second of two principal subjects in this Epistle ? 
 Is all of the law of Moses done away ? 
 Can a man have faith in Jesus who docs not keep the 
 
 Ten Commandments ? 
 If a man lives a strictly moral life, by these laws of 
 
 Moses, can he not be saved without faith ? 
 Is there any power in faith itself to save a man ? 
 Is there any power in works to save a man ? 
 Why is a man a slave who lives according to all the law 
 
 of Moses ? 
 
 How is ho a son who lives by faith on Jesus ? 
 (72) 
 
PHCEBE CARRIES A LETTER TO ROME. 
 
 LESSON. 
 
 ACTS xx. 3 ; xix. 21. Romans i. 8, 11, 13, 15 ; xv. 19, 20, 23-26, 
 28; xvi. 
 
 WHEN" the messenger who bore the letter to the 
 Galatians had gone, Paul resolutely set himself to 
 work to accomplish the objects for which he came. It 
 has been supposed that he established his authority as 
 an Apostle beyond all dispute, and to the dismay of 
 those who denied it, by showing c the signs of an Apos- 
 tle,' l that rs, by working miracles. But it is hardly 
 necessary to suppose miracles were wrought. The sol- 
 emn presence of the Spirit of God could overpower all 
 opposition, and demonstrate to the conviction even of 
 enemies, Paul's claim, nay, his absolute duty to be an 
 Apostle. The wilful and stubborn and immoral mem- 
 bers of the church were no doubt brought before the j 
 solemn assembly of the church for trial : the presenc 
 of the Holy Spirit and the power of the Lord Jesus 
 were sought in prayer : the worst offenders, thos 
 whose open and- shameless sins required so heavy a pur 
 ishment, were publicly cast out of the church, as Paul 
 had directed when he wrote them. 3 
 
 Paul was three months in Corinth. The writing of 
 the letter to the Galatians, aifd the discipline of im- 
 moral church-members, must have consumed some lit 
 tie time. When these were done, he visited, doubt- 
 
 1 II. Corinth, xii. 12. a I. Corinth, v. 3-5 
 
TV/'. -VST ^1 LETTER TO ROME. 237 
 
 :iboring churches. As his letter from 
 Philippi was addressed to the Christians of Achaia as 
 well as of Corinth. that the churches through- 
 
 out the province had the same faults as that at Corinth. 
 While therefore he went from church to church, in Ar- 
 ia Sicyon, in Megara, in Cenchraca or in other 
 , he encouraged the good and corrected the bad. 
 of the Corinthian brethren went with him perhaps; 
 g, or Stephanas, or Fortunatus, on some of these 
 excursions. At the same time, the collections for the 
 inns in Judea were g from these places. 
 
 Considerable money must have been gathered, for they 
 had been laying by their gifts a year or more. 4 The 
 whole sum collected was now intrusted to Paul, or 
 to certain persons :. Paul had directed, 5 to 
 
 carry their donation to Jerusalem. 
 
 We suppose that it was sometime during this tl 
 months that a Christian lady of Cenchnea left Corinth 
 to go to Rome. She was a lady of position and of some 
 wealth, for she was a patron or helper 6 of many Christ- 
 ians, Paul among the number. She was also a deaconess 
 in the rhurch of Cenchnea. 7 Her name was Phoebe, and 
 she was about to sail to Rome upon some private busi- 
 
 IT. Corinth, i. 1 . 
 
 4 II. Corinth, ix. 2 ; I. Corinth, xvi. 2. 
 
 6 I. Corinth. xvl 3. 
 
 In Romans xvi. 2, the word 'succorer' means in the Greek, a 
 lef person, a patron, one who stands before another : when applied 
 men, a front-rank man. The fact that she had business at Rome 
 also shows that she must have possessed some little property. 
 
 7 In Romans xvi. 1, the word * servant ' is the same which in other 
 
 - translated deacon. It here means deaconess, an office which 
 the separation of women from men in the East made necessary. Tho 
 deaconess was an experienced and respected woman, who had charge 
 of the sick and poor women, as the deacons did of the poor and sick 
 men. 
 
238 (THIRTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 ness. We know Paul was intending to visit Rome in Ids 
 next journey. 8 We know that he was already acquaint- 
 ed with some of the Christians of Rome. lie therefore 
 took this opportunity to send a letter to these Roman 
 Christians. Paul may have been on one of his visits to 
 Cenchrsea, when he delivered his letter, ready prepared, 
 to Phoebe, or Phoebe may have come over from the 
 eastern sea-port of Corinth, Cenchra3a, to the western 
 sea-port, Lecheum, which was much nearer to Rome. 
 She then passed through Corinth, and took in charge 
 
 PAU,'S EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.* 
 
 Although Paul had not been in Rome, he had reason 
 to think very highly of the Christians there. 10 The 
 church at Rome seems already to have grown large and 
 flourishing. Rome was so constantly in communication 
 with all parts of the empire, especially towards the east, 
 that it would have been strange if some believers had 
 not found their way there. There were ' strangers of 
 Rome ' at Jerusalem some years before, when Peter 
 preached at the Pentecost. 11 Some of these Romans 
 may have been among the 'three thousand' converts 
 that day, and on their return may have preached the 
 doctrines of Jesus. 
 
 There is no reason to suppose an Apostle had been 
 in Rome. We know Paul had not, and we know too 
 that Paul was very careful not to interfere unasked 
 with work which another man, especially another Apos- 
 tle, had begun. 12 Certainly Peter could not have been 
 in Rome at this time, or even before this, without Paul 
 
 8 Acts xix. 21. 
 
 9 It is generally agreed that the inscription at the end of the Epis* 
 tie to the Romans is correct. See it. 
 
 1C ' Your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world/ Romans 
 
 i. 8. 
 
 11 Acts ii. 10, 4-1. ' Romans xv. 20. 
 
P1ICEBE CARRIES A LETTER TO ROME. 230 
 
 taking some notice of it in this letter. Paul was too 
 earnest and too warm in his feelings not to make some 
 allusion to his fellow-Apostle, if lie was there; "but, 
 among the many names mentioned in this epistle, the 
 name of Peter does not once occur. 
 
 Were these Roman Christians Jews or Gentiles ? 
 From many of Paul's expressions in this letter, it seems 
 that the most of them were Gentiles. Yet as the Jews 
 were in all large cities, and would be in unusual num- 
 ers in the capital of the empire, and as there are Jew- 
 names among those to whom Paul sends his greet- 
 in Rome, we must suppose that there was a goodly 
 umber of Jews also in the Roman church. 
 To this church of mingled Jews and Greeks an<l 
 Romans, Paul wrote his epistle. Unlike his letters to 
 the Thessalnniaiis, to the Corinthians, and to the Gala- 
 tians, this letter to the Romans is a long and careful 
 ami learned discussion of the great doctrines of the new 
 religion which Jesus the Messiah had introduced. Paul 
 had not been in Rome, as he had been in Galatia, Thes- 
 salonica, and Corinth ; and therefore he was not so well 
 acquainted with the Romans as he was with the Gala- 
 tians and Thessalonians and Corinthians. He himself 
 had not founded the church in Rome, as he had these 
 others. And for these reasons, the epistle has few allu- 
 sions to himself, and has less of that warm affectionate- 
 ness which breathes and throbs all through these other 
 loving letters. Still, although he is not acquainted 
 with the great majority of the Roman Christians, he 
 tells them that ' he longs to see them,' that * he had 
 often intended to visit them, but had been prevented,' 
 that 4 he wanted to preach in Rome,' as well as in Cor- 
 inth and Ephesus. 
 
 He then discusses the one* great subject, in which 
 ii the Je\v utiles of the Re man church would 
 
240 (THIRTY-SEVENTH SUNDA Y.) 
 
 be deeply interested : TJiat Jeics and Gentiles are both 
 equal in the kingdom of God, through faith in Jesus 
 tJie Messiah : that both are sinners : both need a Sav- 
 iour : that JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE MESSIAH, is equal- 
 ly a SAVIOUR for both, if they both have faith in him. 
 
 Near the end of this letter, he told them that although 
 they were strangers, he had ' written boldly, because 
 God had made him the Apostle to the Gentiles.' 13 
 
 And now we see that the great heart of the Apostle 
 was not to be satisfied with making Rome the end of 
 his next journey, but that he had already extended his 
 plan to the very distant end of the Roman empire. His 
 plan now was, after he had returned to Jerusalem, to 
 make his fourth journey jeach to Spain. And therefore 
 he promised to the Romans that c when he should take 
 his journey to Spain, he would make them that visit 
 which for many years he had longed to make.' As he 
 was just about to start with his collections for Jerusa- 
 lem, he said nothing to the Romans about making col- 
 lections. He probably hoped to teach them Christian 
 liberality, as he had the other churches, when he should 
 make his visit. 
 
 And then, at the end of the epistle, there is a chapter 
 of kind remembrances sent to his friends, which shows 
 that Paul was not only the Christian Apostle, but the 
 Christian gentleman. How kindly he recommends 
 Phoebe, the deaconess of Cenchrrca, to their attention 
 and assistance. How affectionately and gratefully he 
 sends his greetings to Priscilla and Aquila. Wherever 
 these good people were, at Corinth, at Ephesus, or at 
 Rome, 14 their house was always open for the assembly 
 of Christians ; and once at least, probably at Ephesus, 
 
 "xv. 15, 16. 
 
 14 Acts xviii. 2, 3 ; I. Corinth, xvi. 19 ; Romans xvi. 3. 
 
CAl TO ROME. 241 
 
 tlicy were willing to put their own life in danger to 
 pr>teet Paul. All the churches had heard of Aquihi 
 I Prise-ilia, and were thankful to them. Paul wished 
 to be remembered, too, to Epenetus, one of his first 
 converts in Achaia, who was no\v in I 'nine. The most 
 of the other names in the chapter are (ireek, which 
 seems to show that they were from Greece, and that 
 they were converted in the regions of Greece. Some 
 of the persons were Jews, and were kinsmen of Paul. 
 
 Other persons than Paul send their good wish.- 
 the brethren of Rome : Timothy, his youthful and faith- 
 ful c work-fellow: 9 Lucius, perhaps the very Lucius who 
 at Antiodi when he started on his first journey: 15 
 >n, the very Jason of Thessaloniea it may be, Sosipa- 
 annther kinsman, (wl; 4 person 
 
 who soon afterwards went with Paul back to Corinth: 1 ') 
 LOS, the hospitable friend of the whole Church, and 
 at whose house Paul is now writing ; and Erastus, the 
 Treasurer of the city of Corinth. 17 
 
 15 Acts xiii. 1. See page 44. 
 
 10 xx. 4. 
 
 17 In Romans xvi. 23, the word chamberlain means in the Greek, 
 when applied to a household officer, a steward, or overseer : when ap- 
 p.ied to a city, a financial officer, a treasurer* 
 
(THIRTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 did the Apostle resolutely do after the letter to the 
 ' Galatians had gone ? 
 
 How has it been supposed that he established his Apos- 
 tolic authority ? 
 
 Is this supposition necessary ? 
 
 What was probably done with wilful, immoral church- 
 members ? 
 
 When had Paul directed this course before ? 
 How long was Paul in Corinth ? 
 
 Why may we suppose other neighboring churches had 
 the same faults as the Corinthian church ? 
 
 Where were these churches ? 
 
 Who perhaps went with him ? 
 
 What was gathered ? 
 
 To whom was it entrusted ? 
 
 What direction had Paul given in respect to opposing 
 
 such persons ? 
 Who left Cenchraea about this time ? 
 
 What shows she was a person of position ? 
 
 What does the word 'succorer' mean ? 
 
 What does the fact that she had business at Rome show? 
 
 What does the word l servant ' mean ? 
 
 What was a 4 deaconess ' ? 
 What was Paul intending to do after this journey ? 
 
 What did Paul send by her ? 
 
 Where did Paul deliver it to her ? 
 
 How do you know Paul thought highly of the Roman 
 
 Christians ? 
 How is it probable the Christians first went to Rome ? 
 
 Where did ' strangers of Rome ' hear Peter preach ? 
 
 Had Peter ever been in Rome ? 
 
 Why would Paul have mentioned him, if he had been 
 there ? 
 
 What was Paul's rule about preaching where another 
 Apostle had been ? 
 (73) 
 
> A r.) 
 
 Were the Roman Christians Jews or (jlentiles? 
 How docs this Epistle differ from those Paul had written be- 
 fore ? 
 
 "What reason is there for not alluding to himself? 
 "What does he say about wishing to see them? 
 "What is the one great subject of the Epistle ? 
 Who are equal ? How are they equal ? 
 Who are sinners ? Are they equally sinners ? 
 What is a sinner? 
 
 What is the Saviour a Saviour from ? 
 How can we have him for our Saviour ? 
 What is faith? 
 
 What reason does Paul give for writing boldly to strangers? 
 How far does the great Apostle now purpose to make his 
 next journey reach ? 
 
 After what did he hope to do this ? 
 
 What was he going to Jerusalem for ? 
 
 Why doesn't Paul speak of the collection in this 
 
 Epistle ? 
 What is the last chapter of the Epistle to the Romans ? 
 
 Turn to the chapter, and point out there Paul's kind care 
 
 for Phoebe. 
 
 Point out his attention to Priscilla and Aquila. 
 Where had they perilled their life for Paul ? 
 In what places have these Christians been mentioned be- 
 fore? 
 
 Why were the churches thankful to them ? 
 What is meant by 4 church in their house ' ? 
 Point out the name of another convert of Paul's. 
 What does 4 first fruits ' mean ? 
 
 Of what nation were the most of these persons mention- 
 ed in the chapter ? 
 
 Point out the names of those with Paul at Corinth who sent 
 their good wishes to their Roman brethren. 
 
 Who perhaps was Lucius ? Jason ? Sosipater? 
 At whose house was Paul living? 
 What does Chamberlain' mean? 
 (74) 
 
THE GAMES AT THE ISTHMUS. 
 
 LESSON. 
 
 ACTS xx. 3, 4, 5 ; I. Corinthians ix. 24-27 ; Galatians v. 7 ; Philip* 
 pians iii. 13, 14 ; I. Thessaloniana ii. 19-; II. Timothy ii. 5, ir. 6-8 
 Hebrews xii. 1-4. 
 
 ONE thought which very naturally arises, as we think 
 over all that Paul had seen in Greece, is in respect 
 to the Grecian Festivals. Did Paul sec the famous 
 games which have helped to make Greece so celebrat- 
 ed ? We know that there arc many vivid figures of 
 speech in his epistles, which are taken from the various 
 feats of strength and of agility performed in these places 
 of amusement. To be sure there was the separate and 
 peculiar building for the race-course in almost every 
 city which lie had visited. He had been familiar with 
 the phrases and customs of the athletic sports from early 
 years, for at Tarsus itself was the race-building, and 
 when a boy, he might have witnessed the contests. 
 And especially at Ephesus, these contests of strength 
 and of speed, and the training for them, were subjects 
 of absorbing interest to all the people. But on the very 
 Isthmus of Corinth, which he so often trod, was held 
 one of the four great festivals of Greece. And in Paul's 
 time, these ' Isthmian Games ' were in their most suc- 
 cessful operation. They were celebrated every third 
 year, and in the spring or summer. While, therefore, 
 it is not likely that Paul \\ihx-sMMl <JM-S(.' _;:im<-s 
 
THE GAMES AT THE ISTHMUS. 243 
 
 iliis ' three months' of his last visit to Corinth, since he 
 
 ;ed Philippi by March, 1 yet it is likely, from careful 
 
 calculation, that the games were celebrated during the 
 
 t\vo years which he spent in Corinth the first time. It 
 
 is proper, therefore, for us to stop and look in upon this 
 
 national festival. 
 
 Just at the narrowest part of the Isthmus was a tem- 
 ple to Xcptune, and near it a theatre and a race-course. 
 These buildings were about eight miles from Corinth, 
 and Paul would pass the very spot, if he went at any 
 time by land from Athens to Corinth, or from Corinth 
 to Athens. The entrance to the temple was through 
 an avenue of statues of the victors, and through groves 
 of ) line-trees, from the leaves of which the victor's chap- 
 let \\ -IK woven. The games celebrated in-ar this tem- 
 ple were made sacred to Neptune. The people came 
 pouring in from all parts of the country, to the celebra- 
 tion. In early times, the Athenians were especially 
 honored at the games ; they came across the gulf from 
 Athens in a sacred vessel, and seats in a space as lar^e 
 as the sail of their vessel were reserved for them. The 
 crowds of men came not only to see the games, but to 
 buy and to sell, to visit, and to learn of the latest pro- 
 ductions in literature and music and art. The best way 
 to make known a newly-written book or poem, a paint- 
 ing or a statue, was to read it or exhibit it at these jubi- 
 lant celebrations, when people from all Greece were 
 present. Musical and poetical contests sometimes formed 
 a part of the games ; but the reading of a book or ex- 
 hibition of a painting was not a part of the regular cel- 
 ebration. 
 
 Both the theatre and the building for foot-races at 
 the Isthmus, were built of white marble. The building 
 
 1 See page 230, note 1. 
 
244 
 
 (THIRTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 for the foot-races was called the Stadium, (a measure 
 of length, equal to our furlong,) because the race-course 
 in it was just a stadium long. It was a long, open edi- 
 fice, with a circular end. In the circular space at the 
 end, the various feats of wrestling, boxing, etc., took 
 
 A STADIUM 
 
 place. The race-course itself was straight. The marble 
 seats rose on each side. The judges sat on one side, 
 opposite the goal. Directly across from them was the 
 priestess' altar and seat. The open space for the racers 
 AV;I< adorned with altars and statues. At tfce starting- 
 place was a square pillar, with the motto, BE THE BEST. 
 Half-way down the course was another square pillar, 
 with the word HASTEN. On the square pillar which 
 was the goal, was the word TURN". The runners turned 
 around the goal, when the race was twice or more 
 times the length of the stadium. 
 
 The prize in the foot-race of the stadium was the 
 most ancient and the most honorable of all the prizes at 
 the games. In the time of Paul it was simply a gar 
 land of pine leaves. The simplicity of the reward was 
 designed to heighten the value of the honor. 
 
 The men who entered their names as competitors for 
 the prize were required to be examined, to show they 
 were freemen, that they were Greeks by birth, and that 
 tli'-y W<TO ii"! trnilty of great and infamous crimes, 
 
THE GAMES AT THE ISTHMUS. 245 
 
 Then for ten months before the day of the race, thoy 
 were trained by regular teachers, who had the care of 
 li candidates. Strict rules were enforced in respect 
 to food and sleep and exercise. The rules in respect 
 to the manner of running were also carefully taught. 
 The violation of any one of these, forfeited the crown. 
 X<> unfair pushing or pulling or other advantage was 
 allowed to be taken. 
 
 The games at the Isthmus were much the same as the 
 Olympic games, and the description of one will answer 
 general for that of the other. We must imagine the 
 whole Isthmus alive with ; a the day approached. 
 
 We must see tents spread on the turf, beneath the clear 
 and sunny sky of Greece. We must see traffickers bring- 
 iii'4 their wares of all kinds to this great fair ; and the 
 whole space around Neptune's temple and the theatre 
 and the stadium filled with an eager, gay, lively, and 
 witty people. The slow and tedious training of the 
 candidates for the high honors of the Isthmian games, 
 is done. The morning of the first day has arrived. The 
 sacrifices to Neptune have been performed : the athletes 
 have taken their solemn vows at the altar,^ that they have 
 -ed through the regular ten months' training, and 
 that they will use no unfair means in the combats. The 
 people pour into the seats, filling tier above tier, till a 
 great multitude hover over the narrow race-course. 
 Relations and friends of the racers are in the crowds : 
 shouting and laughter and a great hum of voices fill the 
 air : the judges, clad in their official robes, take their 
 seats. A herald steps forth into the area, and the busy 
 hum of voices dies into silence, while he makes pro- 
 nation : ^Let the runners in the stadium advance? 
 The runners enter and take their places by lot. The 
 herald calls out their names and, their country one by 
 one. If any one had taken the prize before, the an- 
 
246 (THIRTY-EIGHTH SUXDAY.) 
 
 nouncement by the herald is received with the loudest 
 applause. All is silent again, while the herald calls : 
 "Can any one here present reproach these athletes with 
 having been slaves or with leading an immoral life ? " 
 The universal silence proclaims them all the noble free- 
 men of Greece, and every heart throbs with the sense 
 of the mere honor of admission to the area of the sta- 
 dium. Many an eye of the eager racers has fallen on 
 the motto of the pillar at the starting-line ; many a high 
 resolve echoes in the heart the words, BE TIIE BEST. 
 The hope of friends, the glory of success, the garlands 
 on the ivory table in plain sight, the disgrace of defeat, 
 the cheering cries of the great multitude, all unite to 
 swell the high thought of every man as he is placed in 
 position. The attendants leave them : the herald puts 
 his trumpet to his mouth. The signal sounds, and every 
 man bounds for the goal. The crowds of spectators 
 cheer and shout. Their cries of derision drive those 
 who i'all behind quickly from sight, while redoubled 
 applause fills the air, as the two or three who are fore- j 
 most pass the pillar HASTEX. The wild confusion and 
 clamor cease for a moment, as the rival racers bound j 
 past the goal into the open space beyond ; and sharp 
 and loud debate, mingled with the still louder and re- j 
 doubled war of voices, almost overpower the blast of 
 the herald's trumpet, as he proclaims silence, and an- 
 nounces from the judges the name and the city of the 
 
 or. 
 
 Other and more difficult races follow : races twice the 
 length of the course, with the exciting turn at the goal : 
 then other races, up to six and twelve times across tho 
 track. Some racers bear off more than one prize, run- 
 ning again and again. Some, unsuccessful at the first, 
 in the first trial of the stadium, at last gain the praise 
 of the multitude, and the honor of the prize. Other 
 
Till. US ISTHMUS. 247 
 
 gynma- <>f boxing, wrestling, leaping, quoiting, 
 
 fill out tlic later part of t: 
 
 The victor did not receive his prizes till the games 
 were all over; but friei relations crowded to 
 
 him, congratulated and c: him, "and lilting him 
 
 on their shoulders, held him up to the applause of the 
 nho strewed handfuls of flowers over him." 
 On the last day of the festival, the conquerors in all 
 the games of foot-racing, horse and chariot-riding, etc., 
 re summoned by proclamation to the place where 
 honors were awarded. " The victors, dressed in 
 rir 1 in their hands, 
 
 I almost int<- '. it h joy, proce< '!.< 1 in grand 
 
 'on to the theatre, march' be sound of 
 
 flutes and surrounded by an immense multitude, who 
 made the air ring with their a-rlamations. When t! 
 hcd the ihe chorus of singers saluted th 
 
 with the ancient hymn, composed by the poet Archilo- 
 chus to exalt the glory of the victors, the surrounding 
 multitude joining their voices to those of the musicians. 
 Then the trumpet sounded, the herald proclaimed the 
 name ;;i:.l country of the victor, and the nature of his 
 prize, the acclamations of the people within and without 
 building were redoubled, and flowers and garlands 
 e showered from all sides upon the happy conqueror, 
 wh<> at this moment was thought to have gained the 
 loftiest pinnacle of human glory and felicity." The vic- 
 tors' names were inscribed in the archives of the Isth- 
 mian Games ; and with all the pomp of triumph they 
 e escorted by proud friends and relations and neigli- 
 3 to their native city. 
 
 Such were the games to which Paul alluded in the 
 
 imagery of his letters. It may be that he mingled with 
 
 busy crowds of the Isthmus, and gathered a knot 
 
 of Greeks around him to hear of Jesus. Whatever wo 
 
248 {THIRTY-EIGHTH SUXDAY.} 
 
 may think in respect to the probability of Paul's at- 
 
 tending Dailies where saeriiiees were offered to a heathen 
 
 66 plainly how Paul alluded to all parts oft ho 
 
 ;im contests : both to the race and to the boxing, 3 
 
 to the herald 3 and to \\\Q. judge* to the eager running 
 
 of the racer,* to the rules of the race,* and to the fading 
 
 of leaves, 7 compared with the unfading crown 
 
 which Jesus gives his followers. 
 
 During Paul's three months in Corinth, the Jews bc- 
 jran again to persecute him. lie had formed his plan 
 ;1 from Cenclmea, as he did before, to Judea. As 
 soon as the sea was safe, he was ready to depart. The 
 old and bitter hatred which in other places had put his 
 life in peril, now rankled in the hearts of the Corinthian 
 . A plot against his life, when he should embark, 
 1. " The Jews generally settled in LCI vat 
 It sea-ports, for the sake of commerce, and 
 their occupation would give them peculiar influence 
 c\rr the captains and owners of merchant-vessels, in 
 one of which Paul must have sailed. They might, 
 therefore, form the project of seizing or murdering him 
 at Cenchnea with great probability of success." Paul 
 therefore changed his plan. He determined to return 
 on the route l>y which he came. By the time he reached 
 Philippi, quite a little company was gathered to cross 
 with him into Asia. These may have been the persons 
 ited by the different churches to carry their coi- 
 ns. Sopatcr may have joined him at Berea : 
 Aristarchus and Secundus, at Thessalonica. Timothy 
 
 I. Corinthians ix. 26. 
 
 8 In I. Corinthians ix. 27, the figure is carried out in the Greek as 
 it is not in our translation. The meaning of the original is, ' When I 
 have been a herald to others, I myself should be rojirtod.' 
 4 II. Timothy iv. 8. e II. Timothy ii. 5. 
 
 * Philippians ill 14. T I. Corinthians ix. 25. 
 
219 
 
 had cither been with him all the way from Macedonia 
 to Corinth, or joined him in Macedonia. Gaius and 
 Tychicus and Trophimus came all the way from Corinth. 
 Luke became one of the company at Philippi, or earlier 
 in the route. Paul and Luke remained a little time at 
 Philippi, while the rest of the company sailed for Troas. 
 
(THIRTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 WHAT striking figures of speech in Paul's Epistles ? 
 What peculiar building in almost every city ? 
 Why had Paul been familiar from youth with these 
 
 games ? 
 
 What was true of Ephesus ? 
 
 What one of the great festivals was held near Corinth ? 
 How often were they celebrated ? 
 Did Paul see these games during the three months at 
 
 Corinth ? Why ? 
 Was Paul ever in Corinth at the time of one of these 
 
 celebrations ? 
 
 Vhat buildings on the Isthmus ? Where ? 
 Did Paul ever pass them ? 
 Describe the entrance to the temple. 
 To whom were the games consecrated ? 
 How had the Athenians been honored at the Isthmian 
 
 games ? 
 
 What besides these games did people come to see ? 
 What was the name of the building for foot-races ? 
 
 AYhy was this name given ? 
 * What kind of a building was it ? 
 
 Circular space ? race-course ? seats ? judges ? pillars ? 
 How did the prize of the foot-race compare with other 
 prizes ? 
 
 What was the prize ? Why so simple ? 
 What was first required of men who wished to become com- 
 petitors ? 
 
 How long were they required to make preparation ? 
 What other strict rules ? 
 . What rules on the race-course ? 
 
 What was the appearance of the Isthmus on the morning <rf 
 the contest ? 
 
 What sacrifices ? What vows ? 
 Describe the appearance of the stadiunr . 
 (75) 
 
(THIRTY-EIGHTH SUX-DA Y.) 
 
 What was the lie-raid's proclamation? 
 
 When the runners enter, what docs the herald an- 
 nounce ? 
 
 AY hat is the next proclamation of the herald ? 
 
 What effect has this on the multitude ? 
 
 Who decides the race ? Who announces it ? 
 
 What besides the name of the rider is announced? 
 
 What other races and games follov, 
 When did the victor receive his prize ? 
 
 What were the ceremonies ? 
 
 In what were the victors' names written ? 
 
 Who accompanied them home ? 
 Do you think Paul would attend such games ? Why? 
 
 t parts of the games arc referred to in the passage from 
 L Corinthians ? 
 
 What U meant by * is temperate in all things 1 ? 
 
 What is meant by 4 corruptible crown * ? 
 
 What is alluded to in ' So fight I,' etc. ? 
 
 What does 'keep under my body/ etc., mean ? 
 
 What is meant by * when I have preached,* etc. ? 
 What is referred to in the passage from Philippians? 
 What in I. Thcssalonians ? 
 What in II. Timothy? 
 
 What three things in the eighth verse of the fourth 
 
 chapter ? 
 What allusion in Hebrews ? 
 
 What does the * great cloud of witnesses' refer to ? 
 
 What allusion to the games may there be in the fourth 
 
 se ? 
 What did the Jews begin to do again in Corinth ? 
 
 What had been Paul's plan? 
 
 Why did he change it ? 
 
 What would help the Jews in their plans ? 
 
 Who composed Paul's company ? 
 
 Where did each join him probably ? 
 
 Who remained at Philippi ? 
 (76) 
 
unban. 
 
 'THE COASTS OF ASIA.* 
 
 LESSON. 
 
 ACTS xx. 6-16. 
 
 TT may be that Paul and Luke remained in Philippi to 
 -*- keep tlie Jewish Passover. A new and higher mean- 
 ing was now given to that sacred festival. The Lamb, 
 the blood of which, sprinkled on the hearts of men, pre- 
 vented the death-angel from destroying the soul, had 
 been slain for man's redemption. Jesus was the great 
 Passover for all men. Paul and Luke could not fail to 
 think of the comparison between the ancient Passover 
 and the new. They either observed the Jewish feast 
 of seven days, removing all leaven and all impurity 
 from their houses, or they celebrated that simple and 
 solemn rite which our Saviour gave to his Church in 
 place of the burdensome ceremonies of the Hebrew 
 Passover week. No doubt the Philippian Christians 
 with Paul and Luke gathered around the Lord's table 
 to commemorate the ' broken body ' and 'flowing blood ' 
 of the Lamb of Calvary. 
 
 But there was another Jewish festival w r hich had 
 been made most sacred to Christians. It was at the 
 Feast of Pentecost that the sacred Spirit first descended 
 on the Christian Church. How hallowed was that day, 
 especially in Jerusalem ! With what praise, with what 
 devout rejoicings did the disciples of Jerusalem cele- 
 brate its annual return ! After the Passover, therefore, 
 
THE COASTS OF ASIA. 251 
 
 Paul hastened on to be in Jerusalem at Pentecost. 1 But 
 
 .lid short visits could be made on the way, if lie 
 would reach the holy city in sev< .<. "The voy- 
 
 age seemed to begin unfavorably." Two days was suf- 
 
 : time to sail from Neapolis to Troas, with a fail- 
 wind, and this was all the time taken on that first voy- 
 age across to Europe, when they passed the night at 
 Samothrace.* But now five days were occupied. A 
 calm, or a contrary wind, must have detained the ship. 
 It' it \va> a contrary wind, the track of the vessel was 
 not now ' straight,' a but zig-zag, from 'lacking' from 
 onr point 'o another ibr the sails to calch the wind. a 
 [f the " f s of colossal masonry among the oak 
 
 . the huge columns of granite lying in the har- 
 bor," the broken arches of a towering i heat re conspic- 
 
 froin the sea, if these ruins in our day indicate 
 with any certainty what Troas was when Paul sailed 
 towards it, " we may be certain that the city, both on 
 the approach from the water and to those who wander- 
 ed through its streets, presented an appearance of 
 grandeur and prosperity. Like Corinth, Ephesus, or 
 Thessalonica, it was a place where the Apostle must 
 have wished to lay firm and strong the foundations of 
 the Gospel." 
 
 We have a description of only one of the seven days 
 which Paul spent in Troas, but that was an important 
 day. And the whole passage is a most important one, 
 because it shows the observance of the first day of the 
 week as the Sabbath day. It gives us also a vivid pic- 
 ture of an evening service. The sacred services of the 
 day were made doubly solemn and doubly precious by 
 
 lebration of the holy communion. And in the 
 
 1 Pentecost, meaning fifty, was fifty days seven weeks and ono 
 day from Passover day. 
 
 1 Acts xvi. 11. See the map ou page 20G. 
 
252 (THIRTY-NINTH SUNDA K) 
 
 evening they came together again with mingled feelings 
 of joy and of sadness. The vessel was to sail on Mon- 
 day morning. " The place was an upper room, with a 
 recess or balcony projecting over the street or court. 
 Many lamps were burning in the room where the con- 
 gregation was assembled. The place was hot and 
 crowded. With the feeling that the next day was the 
 day of his departure, and that souls might be lost by 
 delay, Paul continued in earnest discourse, prolonging 
 it even to midnight, when suddenly an accident occurred 
 which filled the assembly with alarm, though it was af- 
 terwards changed into an occasion of joy and thanks- 
 giving. A young listener, whose name was Eutychus, 
 was overcome by exhaustion, heat, and weariness, and 
 sank into deep slumber. He was seated or leaning in 
 the balcony, and, falling down in his sleep, was dashed 
 on the pavement below, and was taken up dead." Loud 
 outcries of terror and confusion followed. Paul alone 
 seems to be calm and unmoved. The power of the great 
 Master was with his disciple. He went down and 
 stretched himself upon the body, as Elisha did on the 
 body of the child, 4 and calmly said : ' Do not lament ; 
 for his life is in him.' 
 
 The interruption seems to have broken up the regu- 
 lar order of the services. After the long labors of the 
 day and evening, Paul took food to strengthen him. 
 Even then the earnest, warm-hearted Apostle was not 
 fully satisfied. Till the very breaking of the day, ho 
 continued to converse familiarly with the disciples. 
 Then the congregation broke up, for it was time to go 
 to the ship. Only Paul's fellow-travellers went on 
 board. For some reason Paul chose to walk across tho 
 promontory tc Assos. Possibly he might gain a few 
 
 4 II. Kin-rs iv. "4. 
 
THE COASTS OF ASIA. 253 
 
 Lours with the disciples at Troas, for the distance around 
 was twice- as far as it was across to Assos. More likely 
 however, the A] jostle preferred to be alone. Solitude, 
 communion with his own thoughts and with his Saviour, 
 and prayer, were precious to him. " The discomfort of 
 a crowded ship is unfavorable for devotion ; and prayer 
 and meditation are necessary for maintaining the reli- 
 gious life even of the Apostle." Strength and peace 
 surely sought and obtained by him from that 
 Saviour who often prayed in solitude, as Paul pursued 
 his lonely road that day across the neck of the peninsu- 
 la. His walk \\ as on the 1'oman r -ad, and therefore 
 sale and easy. It was "through the oak woods, then 
 in full foliage, (for it was now the opening spring-time, 1 ! 
 which cover all that shore with ^reeiine-s and shade." 
 He made no Stop in Assos. "We may suppose that 
 the \> already hnrc t and waiting when he ar- 
 
 rived ; or that he saw it approaching from the west 
 through the channel between the island Lesbos and the 
 main shore. lie went on board, and the Greek sailors 
 and Apostolic missionaries continued their voyage. As 
 to Assos itself, we must conclude, if we compare the 
 description of the ancients with present appearances, 
 that its aspect as seen from the sea was magnificent. 
 On a wall of rock rising out of the water, was a sloping 
 bank with a long portico on it. Above this was a mag 
 niiicent gate, approached by a ilight of steps. Highe- 
 still was the theatre, which commanded a glorious vie^ 
 of Lesbos and the sea. The whole was crowned by a, 
 citadel of Greek masonry on a cliff of granite. Such 
 was the view which gradually faded into indistinctness 
 as the vessel retired from the shore, and the summit of 
 Mount Ida rose in the evening sky." 
 
 Southward, across the Gulf of Adramyttium, the 
 pilot guides the ship between the island and the conti 
 
254 (THIRTY-NINTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 nent. On the right the bold, high, mountainous island 
 rises : on the left lies the mainland : in front is the 
 ' beautiful Mitylene,' the chief city of Lesbos. Here on 
 this island, here in this very city, lived the famous 
 poetess Sappho, surrounded by her literary circle. " The 
 beauty of the capital of Sappho's island was celebrated 
 by the architects, poets T and philosophers of Rome t " 
 Here the ship probably anchored for the night, protect- 
 ed from wind and waiting for daylight before they tried 
 the difficult channel between the southern end of Les- 
 bos and Asia. 
 
 A long sweep around an irregular projection of land, 
 brought them sometime during Tuesday abreast the 
 coast of Chios. " On one side were the gigantic masses 
 of the mainland : on the other was the rich, fertile 
 island, with its gardens of oranges, citrons, almonds, 
 and jinnu'Lrranates, its luxuriant vineyards and its white, 
 rod houses, overshadowed -by evergreens." On 
 the next day, Wednesday, the ship was in scenery fa- 
 mfriar to Paul. They were crossing the bay in front 
 of KJ>IK-SUS. -Sails in sight were set for Ephcsus, ves- 
 sels were coming out of the harbor of the great and 
 busy city. If the sun was in the west, so that the rays 
 WIMV reflected from the city, the glittering columns of 
 Diana's temple may have been in view. Paul thought 
 of his Christian converts, and yearned to see them, but 
 lie ' had determined to sail by Ephesus.' If he would 
 be nt Jerusalem at Pentecost, he must not leave this 
 siii}). He might not iind another which would take 
 him to Palestine in time for the national festival. Before 
 ni^ht, they were close by the side of Samos. Through 
 > \\ pass, where the water is shut in between the 
 island and a high, long ridge, lies the course to the 
 fawn oi'S'imos, and directly opposite, on the coast, and 
 not more than a mile from Samos. is "the 
 
THE COASTS OF ASL-L 255 
 
 of Trogyllium." Hero Paul might have gone ashore, 
 if he had wished to visit Kphesus, which was now twen- 
 ty or thirty miles to the northward. A better plan 
 suggested itself to his mind* lie found the shlj 
 to stop some time at the next landing-place, and that 
 place was Miletus, which was in direct communication 
 with Kphesus. Though he could not visit the Ephesian 
 church himself, he determined to send word to some 
 of the principal members to meet hhn at Miletus. 
 
 "The sail from Trogyllium, with a fair wind, would 
 require but a little time. If the vessel weighed anchor 
 at daylnvak nn Thur>day, she would be in harbor long 
 IM !'..!(' i n. The message was sent to Ephesus imme- 
 diately on lu-r arrival ; and Paul remained at -Miletus, 
 waiting for those whom the Holy Spirit, by his hands, 
 had made 'overseers' over the fleck of Christ." 
 
(THIRTY-NINTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 QUESTION'S. 
 
 were * the days of unleavened bread ' ? Why so 
 called? 
 
 What new meaning had been given to it ? 
 Would Paul and Luke observe the Jewish festival ? 
 Would they fail to observe the Christian form of the 
 
 feast ? 
 Was our Lord's Supper celebrated more or less often 
 
 than now in the early Church ? 
 
 What other Jewish festival had been made sacred to Christ- 
 ians ? Why? 
 
 What is the meaning of the word ? 
 Why did Paul hasten on ? 
 How long was the voyage to Troas ? 
 
 How long had Paul been in going from Troas to Philippi 
 
 on a former journey ? 
 What made the difference? 
 Would the course be ' straight ' ? 
 How long was Paul at Troas ? 
 
 Which one of these days is described ? 
 
 What day of the week, then, did Paul reach Troas ? 
 
 Why is this description an important one ? 
 
 Was there a synagogue at Troas ? 
 
 When Paul went into the synagogues on 4 the Sabbath, 1 
 
 what day was it ? 
 
 What day did the disciples at Troas assemble ? 
 How came there to be disciples in Troas ? 
 What is meant by ' to break bread ' ? 
 Do you think thfere was a second assembly in the eve.u- 
 
 ing? 
 In what place was the meeting ? 
 
 Why did Paul continue preaching so late ? 
 
 Are there ever reasons now why preaching should some- 
 
 times be continued equally long ? 
 Is Eutychus to be blamed for falling asleep ? 
 Is there any excuse in this for sleeping in church ? 
 (77) 
 
(T. XI' XI) AY.) 
 
 Show how Eut}'chus might have fallen from an eastern 
 
 window. 
 
 What would this accident produce in the audience? 
 What was the effect on Paul? 
 
 Whom wa.s he like, in falling on him and embracing 
 
 him ? 
 
 Kutychus dead or in a swoon? 
 How do you reconcile 4 taken up dead,' and Mife is in 
 
 him'? 
 Did Paul go on with the preaching ? 
 
 Does 4 had broken bread,' in the eleventh verse, differ 
 
 from 4 to break bread,' in the seventh verse ? 
 long did the conversation continue V What was it 
 
 about ? 
 Who went aboard the ship ? Why did imt Paul ? 
 
 1 ml could walk to Assos as soon aa 
 the ship could sail there ? 
 What day wa Paul walked to Assos ? 
 
 How long was Paul in Assos ? 
 What island was to be seen from Assos ? 
 How did Assos appear from the sea? 
 What mountain in the north-east ? 
 What gulf did they cross? to what island? 
 What was Mil \ . hat famous poetess had lived hero ? 
 
 AVho celebrated the praises of Mitylenc ? for what? 
 Did the vessel stop here ? 
 ilcw far did they sail on Tuesday ? 
 
 What was on either hand ? 
 Where was the ship the next day ? 
 AY hat could be seen ? 
 Why did not Paul stop at Ephesus ? 
 What was Samos ? Trogyllium ? 
 Where was Thursday's sail ? Was it all day? 
 What message was sent ? 
 Might it have been sent from Cape Trogy Ilium? 
 
 (78) 
 
THE ELDERS OF EPIIESUS. 
 
 LESSON. 
 
 ACTS xx. 17-38. 
 
 MILETUS was a more ancient town than Epliesus. It 
 was famed for having sent out many colonies, some 
 to the Euxine (Black) Sea, some to Egypt, some to the 
 distant west. But it was a town of far less importance 
 than Ephesus ; for the immense quantities of earth 
 brought down by the river Meander had filled up the 
 harbor and made the city only a second-rate sea-port. 
 , however, the captain of the ship remained on 
 business for a day or two. 
 
 What, gladness and joy was there among the Christ- 
 ians of Kphcsus when they hoard that Paul was at Mi- 
 letus. How eagerly they would take the journey of a 
 few miles to see their old instructor and pastor, who 
 taught them at the school of Tyrannus. "The elders 
 of the church must have gathered together in all hasto 
 to obey the summons, and gone with eager steps out of 
 the southern gate which leads to Miletus. By those 
 who travel on such an errand, a journey of twenty or 
 thirty miles over a good road is not thought long and 
 tedious." Nor would they think the steep ascent over 
 the mountain-ridge nor even the darkness of night as 
 any obstacle. " The elders of Ephesus might easily 
 reach Miletus on the day after Paul's message was re- 
 ceived." A modern traveller who went over this same 
 mountain-ridge in the same month of April, had, no 
 
 
 
ELDERS OF EPUESUS. 257 
 
 doubt, a similar journey, when he said : " The weather 
 was unsettled : tlie sky was blue and the sun shone, but 
 a wot, wintry north wind swept the clouds along the 
 mountain-range." From these heights the country, 
 Mike a perfect and beautiful map,' can be seen far be- 
 yond Miletus and the Meander. Weariness from rapid 
 journeying would soon be forgotten at the sight of 
 Paul's face. There was Timothy, too, and other ' breth- 
 ren ' more or less known or heard about. There at 
 Miletus the two parties mingled: Paul and his band 
 of steadfast converts, the missionary party; and the 
 ation of intel' nstian nu-n from the great 
 
 metropolis of Asia Minor. Going one side to some 
 <[uiei spot on the shore, they thanked God 
 were i <1 to see each other's faces airain; and 
 
 there in some such solitary spot we can see the 
 Apostle speaking earnestly, in subdued and solemn 
 manner, to those to whom God had given the Christ- 
 ian oversight of the great and wicked Ephesus. What 
 a "singular contrast" did this little party form "with 
 the great crowds which used to assemble in the im- 
 mense theatre of Miletus ! But that vast theatre is 
 now a silent ruin, while the words spoken by a common 
 traveller that day to a few despised strangers are still 
 living to teach lessons for all time, and to make known 
 eternal truths to all w r ho will hear them. At the same 
 time they reveal to us, as though they were merely 
 human words, all the tenderness and affection of Paul, 
 the speaker." 
 
 ADDRESS TO THE ELDERS AT MILETUS. 
 
 This address is not a regular and formal argument, 
 like the other addresses of the Apostle which we have 
 noticed on his journeys, but rather a simple, short, 
 earnest exhortation. It is not an argument to convince 
 
258 (FORTIETH SUNDAY.) 
 
 men, to lead them to believe what they do not believe, 
 but an appeal to men to do faithfully what they already 
 arc trying to do. It is, therefore, simply the outpour- 
 ing of Paul's earnest heart in a short, urgent, free talk 
 with the responsible elders from Ephesus. We are not, 
 therefore, to expect the regular divisions of a speed i. 
 We may, however, notice a natural division into five 
 parts : 
 
 I. His life in Ephesus. (Verses 18 to 21.) You 
 know what my life in Ephesus was for the three years 
 during which I lived among you, whether it enforced 
 the doctrines of penitence and faith which I preached 
 or not. 
 
 II. His journey to Jerusalem now is with foreboding 
 of evil. (Verses 22 to 24.) He is going to Jerusalem, 
 not free in spirit, as we would expect one to go who 
 eagerly presses on to attend the national Festival, but 
 bound in spirit. The Holy Spirit of God had revealed 
 that ' bonds and afflictions ' were among ' the things ' 
 which would certainly c befall him there.' Not once or 
 twice, but in every city the Spirit of God plainly told 
 him these things, yet he pressed directly on to Jerusa- 
 lem. Nothing moved him, not the prospect of the loss 
 of life itself, from the path of duty. Was there ever a 
 more heroic courage ? 
 
 HI. His duty to them is done. (Verses 25 to 27.) 
 When on my former return to Jerusalem, I promised 
 to come again, if God would permit. But now I shall 
 not see you again. My whole work for Ephesus is 
 done. I am innocent. I have done it faithfully. I 
 have spoken the whole word of God to you. 
 
 IV. His warning. (Verses 28 to 31.) You arc now 
 the overseers of the Ephesian church. Feed it. Watch 
 it. Greedy, cruel men will enter it, like wolves into a 
 sheep-fold. There are even men among you who will 
 
Till. RS OF EPHEBU8. 259 
 
 pervert the truth : y. Watch 
 
 without c -.ample. For three 
 
 whole years I have watched and warned you all, day 
 and niijht, and \\ '. 
 
 V. Elis farewell, (Verses 32 to 35.) Aslr.ou : 
 you, I commit you to God. HE is able to Imild up 
 your church, and to give you all the eternal inheritance. 
 Uemember these words and all my words. I have K>( 
 lied for silver or gold or apparel. These very 
 hands, AN liieh you see, have labored to support in; 
 and indeed others also. And you ought to labor 
 to support the helpless. Remember a^ain my example 
 of unselfish labor; .icmber more the words of 
 
 our Saviour, how lie said: It is more blessed t<> 
 
 in to receive. 
 
 things are worthy of notice in tl ss of 
 
 Paul. (Tint, hoi? much Paul speaks of himself in it ! 
 In every one of these subjects on which he spoke, he 
 referred freely to what he himself had done and was 
 about to do. "We must remember that he was among 
 warm personal friends, and that it was proper for a 
 faithful man like Paul to refer to himself as an example. 
 And yet notice, secondly, how solemnly the word of 
 God is made superior to all his oicn work. In every 
 subject of his address, God is made more prominent 
 than himself. Does he refer to his life at Ephesus ? 
 It was to preach to Jews and Greeks penitence and 
 faith towards Jesus our Lord and our Messiah. Docs 
 he speak of his journey to Jerusalem ? It is to say 
 that the Holy Ghost has revealed to him what is to be- 
 fall him and to speak of the ministiy of Jesus. Does 
 he speak of his duty as ended ? It was his duty to 
 h the kingdom of God. Does he warn them? 
 The Holy Ghost has made them overseers. And when 
 he bids them farewell, it is to commit them to God, 
 
260 (FORTIETH SUNDAY.) 
 
 and to repeat as his last words tlie words of the 
 Saviour. 
 
 Paul's address at Icomum was to Jews : his address 
 at Athens was to Gentiles : his address at Miletus was 
 to Christians. At Iconium he argued from the Hebrew 
 Scriptures : at Athens he argued from nature and from 
 the truth which he found in heathen altars and Greek 
 poets : in Miletus he argued from the words of Jesus 
 and from his own Apostolic authority derived from 
 Jesus. What boldness, what wisdom, what affection, 
 what solemnity was there in Paul on all these occa- 
 ^jons ; and how does he exhibit all these virtues as he 
 now, at Miletus, leaves his missionary life, thenceforth 
 to be more than ever a sufferer for his Master. 
 
 When Paul's warm and pungent address was ended, 
 one impulse, prompted all to seek God's blessing in 
 prayer. What would a stranger have thought who 
 should have seen that company in that solitary place all 
 kneeling in prayer to an unseen God ! It was indeed to 
 an invisible but powerful God, who was establishing an 
 invisible and powerful kingdom, that these insignificant 
 men prayed a kingdom which was to overturn Diana's 
 temple at Ephesus and Minerva's statue on the Acro- 
 polis at Athens, to overpower the great Roman empire, 
 jni'i at length to triumph over all heathen authorities ; 
 and these kneeling, praying men were the mighty powers 
 on earth which were laying the foundations of this king- 
 dom under the direction of their unseen King. " In pray- 
 inu' with them, Paul knelt down that unusual posture 
 being a token of his fervor and of how much he was 
 overcome by the scene. The posture for prayer was 
 standing, both in the Jewish and in the early Christian 
 church." 1 "And then followed an outbreak of natural 
 
 1 Mark xi. 25. 
 
THE ELDERS OF EPHL> 261 
 
 grief, whirl i even Christian faith and resignation were 
 not able to restrain. They fell on the Apostle's neck 
 
 lung to him and kissed him, sorrowing most be- 
 cause of his own foreboding announcement that they 
 should never behold that countenance again on which 
 they had so often gazed with reverence and love. ]>ut 
 no long time could be devoted to grief. The wind was 
 fair,- and the vessel must depart. The Christian brethren 
 
 torn from the embrace of their friends."' The 
 ship pulled off from the shore and stood out to sea. 
 The saddened elders of Ephesus turned at length their 
 eyea frona the receding vessel, and took their slow and 
 melancholy journey home. 
 
 * See xii. 1. 4 With a straight course : ' the wind must hare been 
 Gvir. 
 
(FORTIETH SUNDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 YI7HICH was more ancient, Miletus or Ephcsus? which the 
 ' more important ? 
 
 "What had the river Meander to do with Miletus? 
 Describe the journey from Ephesus to Miletus. How 
 
 far was it ? 
 
 Who now made up Paul's company ? 
 
 How does this address to the elders differ from other ad- 
 dresses of Paul on his journeys ? 
 
 What verses contain the first division of this address ? 
 What is the subject ? 
 What time is meant by * the first day that I came into 
 
 Asia ' ? 
 
 Had the Jews l laid wait ' for Paul in Ephesus f 
 What doctrines had he preached ? 
 What kind of life must Paul have lived to have appealed 
 
 to their knowledge of it ? 
 What is the second subject of the address ? 
 What does 4 bound in the spirit ' mean ? 
 What caused his feeling that evil would come upon 
 
 him? 
 
 How did this certain information affect Paul ? 
 What is meant by l finish my course J ? 
 How could Paul speak of finishing it with joy, when he 
 
 expected evil ? 
 What is the third subject of the address ? 
 
 What one thing did Paul certainly know ? 
 
 How did this farewell differ from his former farewell at 
 
 Ephesus ? 
 
 What does c take you to record ' mean ? 
 What is meant by l pure from the blood ' ? 
 What does the twenty-seventh verse mean ? 
 What is the fourth subject of the address ? 
 
 Who makes pastors or elders in the church ? 
 Can a person be pastor or elder without His appoint' 
 ment? 
 
 (79) 
 
(/ 
 
 Whose blood is ' his own blood ' ? 
 
 Does tliis prove that Jesus is God? 
 
 What is meant by 4 grievous wolves J ? 
 
 "What are l perverse things ' ? 
 
 "What is the last strong argument with which Paul en- 
 forces his warning ? 
 What is the fifth subject of the address ? 
 
 What is the meaning of * commend to God 7 ? 
 
 How can 4 the word ' 4 build up ' a person ? 
 
 ] fad Paul labored at common work for himself alone \ 
 
 \\ hose words does he quote ? 
 
 Are these words found in the four Gospels ? 
 What two things arc especially to be noted in this address? 
 
 Why was it proper for Paul to speak of himself? 
 
 Show how, in each divi.-ion of the address, God's work 
 
 i-.iore prominent than his own. 
 
 What throe (lasses of persons did Paul address in Iconiufci, 
 Athens, and Miletus ? 
 
 AVI Kit thne different sources of argument? 
 
 Give some of the characteristics of this address* 
 
 What does l kneeled down* show? 
 
 What caused the greatest sorrow in parting ? 
 
 Did Paul take leave of his missionary life here ? 
 (80) 
 
J^rto-first 
 
 THE THIRD JOURNEY HOME. 
 
 LESSON. 
 ACTS xil. 1-16. 
 
 THE difference in the description of the two voyages 
 of Paul from Ephesus to Caasarea is so marked that 
 it is worthy of our careful notice. The account of the 
 10 on Paul's second return home passes quickly 
 over the whole distance between the two cities. It is 
 simply said: c And he sailed from Ephesus. And 
 when lie had landed at Ccesarea.' 1 But in the account 
 of the third return to Palestine, we have mentioned 
 every stage of his voyage. The principal islands, the 
 towns, the change of ships, and the incidents of the 
 journey are noticed. Notice how particularly we have 
 had Paul's journey described ever since Luke joined 
 Paul at Philippi. It seems probable, therefore, that 
 Luke described more minutely those things which he 
 saw as an eye-witness, just as on the second journey at 
 Philippi we had a full description of the demoniac slave 
 and of Paul's imprisonment in the jail ; and when Paul 
 went on to Thessalonica, leaving Luke behind, there is 
 only a general description given. 3 
 
 Paul and his little company from the deck of the ship 
 may have watched the little company of good men, from 
 whom they had just separated, till the vessel had with- 
 
 1 xviii. 21, 22. 
 
 3 Compare chapter xvi. 12-40 with xvii. 1-10, and sec note 1 
 Twenty-second Sunday. 
 
TUB THIRD JOURXEY HOME. 263 
 
 drawn far from the shore and was headed down the 
 Icarian Sea. " With a fair wind she could easily run 
 down to Cos the same afternoon." The wind must 
 have been in their favor, for they sailed in ' a straight 
 course.' 3 "With this wind the vessel would make 
 IKT passage from Miletus to Cos in six hours, pass- 
 in ir the shores of Caria (see map on page 127) and 
 the high summits of Mount Latmus in the interior on 
 the left, and groups of small islands studding the sea 
 on the right." The rocky and barren island of Tatinos, 
 used by the 1 Ionian ^overmnent a< a place of bani.sh- 
 
 ple so soon afterwards 
 
 saw hi< wonderful ' I be seen now and then 
 
 through tJ iller islets. The name of tin- town 
 
 1 itself to which the vessel held 
 
 its c Cos. " It is described by the ancients as 
 
 a beautiful and well-built city, and surrounded with for- 
 tifications ; but its beauty had been injured by an earth- 
 quake." The island was renowned for its wine, silks, 
 and beautiful cotton : the city, for its harbor, sheltered 
 from winds, and for its medical school. Here was a 
 temple to JEsculapius, the god of healing, which was 
 1 crowded with models,' so as to become in effect a mu 
 seum of anatomy." Hippocrates, the most celebrated 
 physician of antiquity, was born here, and wrote, taught, 
 and practised his profession in his early home. Luke, 
 the physician, 5 "who knew these coasts so well, could 
 hardly be ignorant of the scientific and religious celeb- 
 rity of Cos." How thankful would he be that he was 
 not a victim to the vain superstitions with which idola- 
 trous Greeks had filled the profession of medicine. 
 Apelles, too, the most celebrated painter of Greece, 
 who painted the portrait of Alexander the Great, and 
 
 3 Sec note 2 page 131. 4 Rev. i. 9. 6 Col. iv. 14. 
 
264 (FORTY-FIRST SUNDAY.) 
 
 whose most famous paintings were in the temple of 
 ^Esculapius at Cos, was said to be a native of the island. 
 Opposite Cos, and on the coast of Caria, was Halicar- 
 nassus, where Herodotus, c the Father of History ' and 
 the extensive traveller, and Dionysius, the literary critic 
 and historian, were born. 
 
 Turning short around the corner of this island, the 
 next morning the long promontory of Cnidus, which 
 looked so much like an island, was in sight. 6 The north- 
 west winds blow steadily and with violence along this 
 coast during the good season. When, therefore, they 
 passed the high precipice which forms the end of Cnidus, 
 they ran swiftly down to Rhodes. The city was at the 
 northern end of the island. Situated at the western end 
 of the eastern Mediterranean, and at the entrance to 
 the jEgean Sea, with a good harbor, it was the natural 
 st < >]>]>iiiLC-plaoe of very many trading vessels. The island 
 furnished " copious supplies of ship-timber," and the 
 city was renowned for ship-building, lihodcs was 
 ' famed in ancient times, and is still celebrated, for 
 its delightful climate and the fertility of its soil. The 
 gardens are filled with delicious fruit, every gale is 
 scented with the most powerful fragrance wafted from 
 groves of orange and citron-trees, and the number- 
 less aromatic herbs exhale such a profusion of the rich- 
 est odors, that the whole atmosphere seems impregnated 
 with spicy perfume." The city itself " rose in the midst 
 of its penumed gardens and its amphitheatre of hills, 
 so united and so symmetrical that it appeared like one 
 house." Statues abounded. The fragments of the im- 
 mense statue to the sun, which was called 'The Colos- 
 sus of Rhodes,' and one of the seven wonders of the 
 
 6 Paul sailed past Cnidus afterwards when be went to Koine, 
 Acts xxvii. 7. 
 
TUK THIRD JOUltyXY HOM 265 
 
 world, rind which hud been shaken down and broken 
 
 :i earthquake, still lay on the ground at 
 
 :. trance to the harbor, 7 when Paul's vessel arrived. 
 
 y and luxuriance were on c ; and thy 
 
 the clear and sunny ati: the islands of the Arch- 
 
 :> and the coasts of Asia could be seen for many 
 miles around. " It was a proverb, that the sun shone 
 every day in Rhodes." "We do not know thai 
 landed, like other great con* ; \ isited the 
 
 city. It would not be I BT the liar 
 
 the night 
 
 of the city to weigh anchor in :iing was pro- 
 
 1 from the other eon- 
 wit h which they were daily familiar/' 
 
 course of the ship was now to the etftt, t>v, 
 
 ::i, which from the 
 
 is of Rhodes. In front of them was "a long line 
 
 \vy summits on the coast, and the sea between is 
 nulled beneath the bine and brilliant sky/' The point 
 towards which the helmsman now directs the prow of 
 
 ar the further end of these mountains 
 Patara, the harbor of Xanthus, the chief city of Lycia, 
 MB Xeapolis was the harbor of Philippi. Either the 
 vessel was to stop here, or was to follow the coast of 
 Asia Miii"- ..d. Whatever was its destination, it 
 
 was not going imm t o Palestine. Possibly Paul 
 
 intended to sail in it as far as he could towards Judea, 
 homing to iind a ship in some one of the ports at which 
 they should stop bound directly for Coesarea. If this 
 -o, he may have made inquiry off the harbor of 
 Rhodes whether any ship was in port bound directly 
 
 enormous was this brazen statue, that when at length these 
 ore sold, it took nine hundred camels to carry them 
 
266 (FORTY-FIRST SUNDAY.) 
 
 for any port of Judea. At any rate, he found a ship at 
 Putara, which was to sail to Phoenicia. From Pli<cni- 
 cia he could reach Jerusalem by land along the road he 
 had travelled before, provided there should be no ves- 
 sel ready to depart for Caesarea. Hastening, therefore, 
 to be at Jerusalem at Pentecost, "they went on board 
 without delay ; and it seems evident, from the mode of 
 expression, that they sailed the very day of their ar- 
 rival. Since the voyage lay across the open sea, with 
 no shoals nor rocks to be dreaded, and since the north- 
 west winds often blow steadily over these seas during 
 the spring, there could be no reason why the vessel 
 should not weigh anchor in the evening, and sail through 
 the night. AVe think of Paul, therefore, no longer as 
 passing through narrow channels or coasting along in 
 the shadow of great mountains, but as sailing directly 
 on through the midnight hours, with a prosperous 
 breeze filling the canvass and the waves curling and 
 sounding round the bow of the vessel." Before a 
 strong wind, the trip across to Tyre might have been 
 made in two days. One phrase especially indicates 
 that the voyage was a quick one. It is said that ' when 
 they had discovered Cyprus, they left it on the left 
 hand,' " as if they had hardly more than seen it in the 
 distance on the left hand in front, before they left it 
 behind on the left hand. It was probably towards even- 
 ing of the second day that the highest mountain of Cy- 
 prus appeared. "There would be snow on it at that 
 season of the year." The next morning Paphos and 
 the whole island were past: indeed fast passing into the 
 north-west horizon. (See map on page 195.) " The first 
 land in sight now would be the high range of Lebanon 
 in Syria, and they would easily arrive at Tyre before 
 evening." 
 
 Tyre from the earliest times had been a place of traf 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
T1IK TIIIRT) JOURNEY HOME. 267 
 
 fic. Since Hi rain, King of Tyre, furnished Solomon 
 ;als for the Turn pic," it had been a rich, busy, 
 prosperous city; but in Paul's time the height of its 
 Vfaa past. It still had some manufactures 
 and some commerce. The ship which brought Paul 
 stopped at Tyre to unload her cargo. It is not i : 
 sary at all to suppose that her H 
 
 from l > atara. She "may have brought grain from the 
 Black Sea or wine from the Archipelago, with the pur- 
 pose of taking on at T\ "nieian inanu- 
 iaet tires/' It seems 1 it the same ship \\nit, 
 on to Pt \VliiIe the change of cargoes was 
 
 ! days, Paul found 
 out the Christ' .Irs of Tyiv. Some of the Ty- 
 
 i they foresaw tin- 
 by Paul to .i i. I>ut they could not 
 
 ying out his purpose. II 
 
 over one Sabbath, and then, as fathers and moth- 
 ers and children atfeetionately accompanied him to the 
 ship, he kneeled down as at Miletus, on the shore, and 
 prayed to God. The ship took its course southward, 
 and after the greater part of a day's sailing along the 
 coast, reached Ptolemais, its destination. Across from 
 on the next point of the coast, was Mount 
 Cannel, jutting out into the sea. A line from Ptole- 
 mais to Cape Cannel was like the string of a well-bent 
 bo\v, for the sandy shore swept round from one point 
 to the other in a regular curve. Here also Paul found 
 out again 'the brethren' and spent a day with them. 
 Another day's travelling by land brought them to Ca3- 
 sarea. The journey all the way from Troas had been 
 accomplished in abundant time for him to reach Jerusa- 
 
 IL Sam. v. 11 and I. Kings v. 
 
2G8 (FORTY-FIRST SUNDAY.) 
 
 lem before Pentecost ; and therefore he had a few leisure 
 days in Csesarea. 9 
 
 At Csesarea Paul and his company found a home in 
 the Christian family of Philip. As Ca3sarea is the last 
 place in which the Scripture previously mentions Philip, 10 
 it is likely he had his permanent residence here ; and that 
 his four daughters, by their superior devotedness and the 
 gift of the prophetic office, assisted him in his work. It 
 is natural to think that these inspired women foretold 
 the sorrows to come upon Paul. Another prophet did 
 plainly predict what the sufferings of Paul would be. 
 In 'every city' 11 along the voyage the Holy Spirit had 
 revealed to him bonds and afflictions awaiting him. At 
 Tyre, the first place he landed on the Syrian coast, he 
 a voice of warning. At Csesarea, four prophets in 
 the very house in which he stays point out the future 
 evil. And now that same prophet, who many years 
 beluiv at Antioch foretold the famine, which came to 
 06 d>\vii from Jerusalem and foretold chains 
 
 m Passover to Pentecost was, as we have seen, (page 251 note 
 1,) seven weeks and a day. How long was Paul on the journey ? 
 
 From Philippi to Troas, (xx. 6,) 5 daya 
 
 At Troas, .7 
 
 From Troas to Assos and to Mitylene, (xx. 13, 14,) . 1 
 Mitylene to Chios, to Samos, to Miletus, (xx. 15,) . . 3 
 At Miletus and to Cos, (about 3 days,) .... 3 
 From Cos to Rhodes, to Patara, (xxi. 1,) ... 2 
 
 From Patara to Tyre, 2 
 
 At Tyre, (xxi. 4,) 7 
 
 ]'ix:n Tyre to Ptolemais, and at Ptolcmais, (7,) . . 2 
 From Ptolcmais to Caesarca, (8,) 1 
 
 33 " 
 Leaving for the * many days' (10) at Caesarea and in Jc- 
 
 rn ;ilcm, before the day of Pentecost, . . 17 
 
 50 " 
 10 Acts viii. 40. " xx. 23. 12 xi. 28. 
 
THE THIRD Jo HOME. 2 09 
 
 and imprisonment for Paul. I>y 1/mding hi- ; own hands 
 
 and feet, in the manner of the ancient prophets 13 he 
 
 y)ifn7 the Lmpriflonnient of Paul. Luke 
 
 and Trophimus and the disciples of C; -.-eatly 
 
 distressed at this sad/prediction, and wept and besought 
 
 Paul not to go where he would certainly be delivered 
 
 up to wicked men. But what could ever daunt the 
 
 igeof Paul? He was ready not only to he im- 
 
 '->, for J< . AY hen they saw 
 
 his unfaltering purpose, and tli; ' ised him only 
 
 sorrow, they ( I to the Lord's will. Loading 
 
 up their baggage, 14 they journeyed up to the holy city, 
 
 1 with the presence of one of tl !es of 
 
 nd of a disciple formerly of Cyprus, who then 
 
 .o may indeed ha\ 
 
 of those Cyprian .lews who first made known the Gos- 
 pel to the Greeks of Antioch." 15 
 
 ; ; Jeremiah xiii. 1-11. 
 14 'Took up our carriages' 1 means took up the packages or bundles 
 
 i 1 to carry. 
 
 16 Acts xi. 19. It has been conjectured that Mnason was called 
 an * old disciple' because he was one of the seventy whonr. Jesus sent 
 forth. Luke x. 1, 17. 
 
(FORTY-FIRST SUNDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 different descriptions of Paul's second and third voy* 
 ' ages home are there ? 
 
 Who is with Paul on this voyage who was not on tlic 
 other ? 
 
 What other instance is there of this writer's minute de- 
 scription of what he himself saw ? 
 What is meant by 'launched' ? 
 
 Why must the wind have been in thcif favor ? 
 
 What famous island did they pass on their right ? 
 
 What was the first island on their course ? 
 
 What city on this island ? Famous for what ? 
 
 What temple ? What physician born here ? 
 
 Why interesting to Luke? 
 
 What painter born here ? What was he famous for? 
 
 What town opposite Cos ? Famous for what? 
 What promontory did they pass the next morning? 
 
 Where is it mentioned in the Scriptures ? 
 
 What winds prevail here ? 
 
 Why would the voyage be swift to Rhodes ? 
 
 Where was the city of Rhodes ? 
 
 Why was it the natural stopping-place for vessels ? 
 
 What was Rhodes renowned for ? 
 
 The city ? the atmosphere ? the proverb ? 
 
 What was 'the Colossus of Rhodes' ? 
 In what direction was the voyage after leaving Rhodes f 
 
 Towards what country ? To what city ? 
 
 What was the city? 
 
 What was the destination of the vessel ? 
 
 Why did Paul exchange ships ? 
 
 Where was Phoenicia ? 
 
 What change in the voyage now ? 
 
 Why may we think the passage to Tyre a quick one I 
 Was Tyre in Phoenicia or in Syria ? 
 
 Where is Tyre first mentioned in the Scriptures ? 
 
 Was it more prosperous then or in Paul's time? 
 
 Why did the ship stop at Tyre ? 
 (81) 
 
(Foil -.ir.) 
 
 Was Patara the beginning of the ship's voyage ? 
 Was Tyre the end of her voy; 
 
 Can you point out any passage in the Acts which indicates 
 how there came to b 
 
 Did the Spirit that Paul should not go to Je- 
 
 iem ? 
 
 Wh.it is the meaning of the v< 
 Who came out of the city to the sea-shore ? 
 Where was Ptolemais? In what country ? 
 l!"\v was the journey probably made to Caesarca? 
 Had Paul's journey from Philippi to Ciusarea been made 
 
 in tii.. rost? 
 
 Can you 
 Whom did Paul find at Cftsarea? 
 
 Ha vi \\ .t'.y notice of this man before ? 
 Wh ngelist'? 
 
 What does *one of the seven 1 mean? 
 Why is the fa<-t mi'iiti'.ncd th.at the daughters prophe- 
 sied? 
 
 What other prophet comes to Ctcsarea ? 
 Where else is lie mentioned? 
 What did he foretell ? How ? 
 Whom did he resemble in doing this ? 
 What was meant by 'deliver him into the hands of the 
 
 Gentiles'? 
 
 Could this result be avoided ? 
 Who hoi, Is the Christians of Caesarca * besought* 
 
 Paul? 
 Would it have been right for Paul not to have gone to 
 
 Jerusalem ? 
 
 Was Paul's resolution mere wilful determination ? 
 What is the proper manner in which to meet unwelcome 
 
 providential events ? 
 What does l took up our carriages ' mean ? 
 
 Who went with Paul ? Whom did they bring? 
 
 Why has it been thought he was called * an old dis* 
 
 ciple ' ? 
 
 What significance in his coming from Cyprus ? 
 (82) 
 
A MOB IN JERUSALEM. 
 
 LESSON. 
 ACTS xxi. 17-36. 
 
 THE 'brethren' of Jerusalem had no doubt hcaid by 
 tliis time of Paul's return. No sooner, therefore, 
 was Paul in Jerusalem, and settled in the house of 
 Mnason, than he received their glad welcome. Every- 
 where he went, he found some warm friends, whose 
 attachment no opposition nor persecution nor forebod- 
 ing, could break. Silas might have been among them: 
 possibly Barnabas and Mark, as it was the time of 
 Pentecost. 
 
 Paul seems to have had three objects in mind in vis- 
 it ing Jerusalem : to present the collect lorn 1 taken in the 
 Gentile churches for the poor Christians of Judea, to 
 attend the Pentecost, and to overcome the hostile feeling 
 to him which existed in the minds of many of the 
 Christians. Friendly as his Christian brethren were, 
 there were still some of them who were ' zealous of the 
 law,' and were far from liking Paul's manner of preach- 
 in LT to the Gentiles about keeping the law of Moses. 
 The old and difficult question 2 still gave them trouble 
 in some of its forms. Indeed, it was these rpersons, 
 and the missionaries which they had sent out, whom 
 Paul had found to be making disturbance in the churches 
 of Galatia 3 and of Corinth. 4 Before he went to Rome, 
 
 1 Sec chapter xxiv. 17, 18. 3 Sec page 23 J. 
 
 * See Fifteenth Sunday. See page 228. 
 
A MOB L\ JERUSALEM. 271 
 
 he would wish, therefore, to have all misunderstanding 
 nnd ditViculty removed : " to win, by the force of Christ- 
 ian love and forbe:. 6 liearts of those whom he 
 led, in spite of all their weaknesses and errors, as 
 brethren in Christ Je~ 
 
 >uppose Paul, therefore, to ha\ -e spent the even- 
 : >f the day on which lie arrived with his friends, 
 :recl on the next day to meet the ehureh and to 
 show 4 what God had wrought by his ministry.' 
 
 In the morning, the elders of the ehureh and the 
 
 Apov-' ,. gathered t The brethren 
 
 wh-) had brought up the collection from the Gentile 
 
 churches, Luke'' and Trophiimis,* and whatever others 
 
 had continued on the journey past Troas and Miletuv 
 
 went into the assembly, and 4 Paul wUli them.' It is 
 
 likely, therefore, that at this meeting the charities of 
 
 - ntile ehureh'-s were i 1 to the church at 
 
 llem, to be distributed to the poor of Judea. 
 
 Alter the salutations, either by 'the kiss of peace ' or 
 
 by words of Christian courtesy, or both, Paul told the 
 
 of his journey. He had been gone about four 
 
 f since he left Antioch. He had been on a long 
 
 and eventful journey; and every particular would be 
 
 full of interest to his hearers. He therefore 'declared 
 
 "/<///// what things God had wrought.' He spoke 
 
 of the systematic visitation of the churches in Galatia 
 
 and Phrygia, of his long and peaceful and profitable 
 
 ncc in Ephcsus, of Apollos and the disciples of 
 
 John, of Aquila and Prise-ilia, and 'the church in their 
 
 1 With *',<?,' verse 18. 6 Terse 29. 
 
 7 In xx. 4, it is only said that the seven brethren mentioned ' accom- 
 panied him into . 
 
 * From Antioch to Ephcsus, from oric to two months. At Ephesns, 
 three /?(//>. From Ephesus to Corinth and back to Troas, ten months ; 
 from Troas to Jerusalem, about seven week*, (fifty days.) 
 
272 (FORTY-SECOND SUNDAY,') 
 
 house,' of the school of Tyrannus, of those \vlio had as- 
 sisted him to preach the word in the towns of Asia, 9 of 
 the seven sons of Sceva and the mighty triumph of 
 God's cause over Ephesian magic-workers, of that other 
 great triumph over the superstitious worship of Diana, 
 of God's gracious protection through the Town Clerk 
 from the Ephesian mob, of the troubles at Corinth, of 
 Troas and Philippi and Illyricum and Corinth, of his 
 letters and how he had tried to win back offenders and 
 punish the obstinate, of his care to remember the poor 
 and the collections they had now brought back with 
 them, of the miraculous restoration of Eutychus at 
 Troas, of the elders at Miletus, and of brethren at Tyre, 
 and of his prosperous voyage and safe arrival. 
 
 Great results had been accomplished. Especially in 
 
 thf chiof metropolis of Asia Minor, a large and flourish- 
 
 ' inrch had l>rcu gathered, and he had assurance 
 
 from the eldc-rs whom he met at Miletus, as well as from 
 
 'irit, that God would be with and bless his 
 
 at Ephesus. 
 
 " In such a discourse, Paul could scarcely avoid touch- 
 
 :i subjects \vhich would excite painful feelings and 
 
 arouse bitter prejudice in many of his audience. He 
 
 could hardly speak of (lalatia without mentioning tho; 
 
 :i;>ts made there to turn aside his converts. He 
 
 could not describe the condition of Corinth without 
 
 alluding to those who came from Palestine, who had 
 
 introduced confusion and strife among the Christians 
 
 of that city. Yet he dwelt, no doubt, so far as he could,, 
 
 on topics in which all present could agree." 
 
 Whatever of personal feeling or personal prejudice 
 there' was, the whole assembly could but give devout 
 thanks to God and glorify him for what he had done. 
 
 9 six. 10. 
 
VOB IN JXlll-^ALXM. 273 
 
 It was thought best, however, l>y the assembly, to repre- 
 sent to Paul the state of mind 'in many of the Jewish 
 l>elii'vers in Jerusalem in respect to him, and to devise 
 s<>i;ie means by which no open difficulties shouhl . 
 They t<>ld Paul, therefore, that many Jewish beli 
 in the city who were 'zealous of the law,' believed that 
 he had been teaching the Jews in foreign cities not to 
 circu: ir children nor to keep the custoi: 
 
 Mo 
 
 This was not true in respect to Paul. lie had taught 
 
 < need not circumcise their children, 
 
 nor k e r p the law of Mosos, unless they preferred. 1 1 > 
 
 liad not said that Jews ought not to circumcise their 
 
 children.. They could if they liked. Indeed, he himself 
 
 had circumcised Timothy, the son of a Jew* i& Yer 
 
 ily sec how sincere men, especially prejudiced 
 
 men, would think Paul had been constantly teaching 
 
 .Jews not to circumcise their children and not ti- 
 
 the customs of Moses. It would be prudent to show 
 
 ardent advocates of Moses' customs, that Paul 
 
 pike willing at all appropriate times to do what 
 
 the customs of Moses required, although he did not 
 
 admit that he was obliged to do it. 
 
 What, therefore, is it proper to do? 10 was the ques- 
 tion of the assembly. " It was of great consequence 
 not to shock the prejudices of these brethren too rudely, 
 lest they should be tempted to make shipwreck of their 
 faith and renounce their Christianity altogether. Their 
 feelings would be easily excited by any appeal to their 
 Hebrew law. They might easily be roused to fury 
 against one whom they were taught to regard as a 
 despiser of the law and a reviler of the customs of their 
 forefathers." 
 
 10 This must be the meaning of ' What is it, therefore ? ' 
 
274 (FORTY-SECOND SUNDAY.) 
 
 ' What is it proper to do ? It will soon be known 
 that you have come,' the elders said. C A multitude 
 will gather. There may be violent and angry dispute 
 and clamor. They may claim that you have gone far 
 beyond the decree and the letter of the council in respect 
 to this difficult question.' A plan was suggested which, 
 it was thought, would take away all ill-feeling, by show- 
 ing that Paul himself ' kept the law,' ' walked orderly,' 
 and that these charges ' were nothing.' Four Jewish 
 Christians were in the city who had a vow ll according 
 to the law of Moses. The time of the vow would soon 
 expire, and then they would offer the customary sacri- 
 fices required by the law of Moses from those who take 
 vows. If Paul would purify 11 himself with .them, go 
 with them to the temple, and pay for them the expense 
 of the sacrifices offered at the termination of the vow, 12 
 it would be an open denial of the charges made against 
 him. By doing this, he would be a sharer of their vow, 
 :md would show, by observing one of the ceremonies 
 of the law of Moses, that he respected the law, and did 
 not mean to treat it contemptuously. And if he should 
 do this, he would not at all show that he wished Gen- 
 tiles to do the same thing ; for the decree of the council 
 and the letter which had been sent to the churches, and 
 which Paul himself had carried to the Gentiles, had told 
 them they were required to 'observe no such tiling.' 
 Paul, who himself had taken a vow on his former jour- 
 ney abroad, 13 was quite willing to do this, if it would 
 be the means of preventing outbreak or difficulty. 
 
 The next day Paul took the men and attended to tlio 
 
 11 See pages 193, 194. 
 
 " " In the case of poor Nazarites, it was customary for others to be 
 at the expense of the sacrifice by which their vow was terminated, 
 who thus became partners in their vows." DR. ROBINSON.'' 
 
 "Acts xviii. 18. % 
 
A MOB IX JERUSALEM. 275 
 
 puriticatioii for himself. He then 
 went with them to tin- temple: lie purchased (as Paul 
 wa< not rich, the brethren no doubt helped him, or 
 money was taken from the poor fund which had 
 
 !;>hed by the collections) the animals for sacrifice: 
 
 he announced to the priest that the time of a vow made 
 
 MY I'mir of his friends had come to an end, and that he 
 
 had purchased the animals for sacrifice, and wished to 
 
 share their vow with them by waiting till the sacrifice 
 
 ihcir hair shorn and burned on the altar. 
 
 Ii YV ds the end of a certain " that 
 
 :icnt occurred about Paul. These seven days- 
 
 may ! i the period of the vow, or the time after 
 
 Paul ! isc of 
 
 ir men. At this time, multitudes olMVws ire;: 
 
 ippers from every laud 
 
 thron temple. Among them were some Jews 
 
 from Asia, who had seen Paul at Ephesus. They had 
 among the Jews of the synagogue there, 
 from which Paul had wiihdrawn when he and hi 
 
 went to the school of Tyrannus ; and with bitter 
 hatred they had seen Paul building up a Chri.-tiau 
 church in Ephesns. Their strong feelings had drawn 
 them home to the sacred festival and the holy temple ; 
 and they " now beheld, where they least expected to 
 find him, the apostate Israelite, who had opposed their 
 :id drawn away their converts. An oppor 
 tuuity of revenge had suddenly presented itself. They 
 sprang upon their enemy and shouted, while they held 
 him fast : ' 3 [en of Israel, help ! This is the man that 
 teacheth all men everywhere against the people and the 
 law and this place.' " A crowd rushed towards the 
 spot; and the Jews of Asia added to the excitement 
 by crying out that the man whom they held fast had 
 brought Greeks into the holy temple. This was enough 
 
276 (FORTY-SECOND SUNDAY.) 
 
 to make a Jewish multitude frantic with anger, horror 
 and indignation. The exciting and awful news ran 
 through the city. The multitude was multiplied. The 
 crowd rushed upon Paul. They would not shed his 
 blood in the sacred temple, but they dragged him out 
 beyond those columns " on which inscriptions in Greek 
 and Latin warned all Gentiles against going beyond 
 them on pain of death." Pulling him down the steps 
 and beating him, they were on the very point of killing 
 Viim. The Levites quickly rolled together the gates of 
 .he temple, " lest the Holy Place should be polluted 
 with murder." But before the more malicious of the 
 Jews could get at Paul to take his life, a company of 
 Roman soldiers, commanded by the officer of the gar- 
 . wheeled through the crowd and rescued him. 
 Chaining him fast to two soldiers, and finding it impos- 
 sible to get any good answer from the clamorous mul- 
 titude, the officer commanded him to be taken up into 
 the garrison. Their strength was but barely sufficient. 
 ing violence of the people was so great that 
 they carried their innocent prisoner in their arms up 
 the stairs, the maddened people shouting behind: 'Away 
 with him ! away with him ! ' 
 
;: 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 O were among the disciples at Jerusalem ? 
 
 What were Paul's three objects in visitin 
 
 Can you prove that two of these objects were his ? 
 
 Can you find any proof in respect to the third ? 
 Who did not like Paul's manner of preaching ? In what ro 
 ipcct ? 
 
 What question still gave trouble? 
 Who were gathered to \ \\ ? 
 
 Who probably presented the collections ? 
 
 How long had Paul been gone ? 
 
 How did Paul 'declare' the story of his journey? 
 
 What particulars can you mention ? 
 
 What was one of the gn .its of this journey > 
 
 Had not Paul pn-a-!i-d in almost every place to Jews? 
 
 Why is it then said, 'Among the Gentiles' ? 
 
 Whom did the Cli: fct Jerusalem recognise as 
 
 causing all these results ? 
 What painful feelings would be probably excited? 
 
 What two places especially would bring up the difficult 
 points ? 
 
 How many Jews were there who were sensitive ID re- 
 spect to the law ? 
 
 What had they been 4 informed ' in respect to Paul f 
 
 Was this true ? 
 
 What had Paul taught ? 
 
 What had Paul himself done ? 
 
 What was Paul's position in respect to this question ? 
 "What is the meaning of l What is it, therefore ' ? 
 
 What was it best to avoid ? 
 
 What was likely to take place ? 
 What plan was suggested ? 
 
 What is meant by *a vow' ? 
 
 What is the meaning of l purify thyself with them' ? 
 
 Explain l be at charges with them.' 
 (S3) 
 
(FORTY-SECOND SUNDAY.} 
 
 "What would 'the shaving of the head 7 openly show? 
 Would this be a violation of the decree of the council ? 
 In which verse is the decree of the council referred to ? 
 How soon did Paul go with these four men to the temple ? 
 How might the necessary animals have been purchased ? 
 Explain ' signify the accomplishment of the days,' etc, 
 What were the 4 seven days ' ? 
 Who would be in the temple at this feast ? 
 What foreign Jews saw Paul ? 
 From what place were they probably ? 
 What probably added to their excitement and hatred ? 
 What did they now do and say in the temple ? 
 
 Were they in the temple itself, or in one of th^ court*} 
 Why should the words they cried excite the people so 
 
 much? 
 
 What was the most exciting thing in what they said ? 
 Had Trophimus been in the temple? 
 What courts of the temple was Paul dragged out of ? 
 What inscriptions were on what columns f 
 Who closed the doors ? Why ? 
 Do you suppose all the Jews would have taken Paul's 
 
 life? 
 
 Would it have been right to have taken his life, accord- 
 ing to their law ? 
 
 Would the mode have been right ? 
 How was Paul rescued ? 
 How was he chained ? 
 
 Why was he commanded to be earned off ? Where ? 
 What shows the power and violence of the crowd ? 
 What other outcry was the outcry of the multitude 
 like? 
 
 (84) 
 

 TUP] ADDRESS FROM THE STAIRS. 
 
 LESSON. 
 ACTS xxi. 37-40; xxii. 1-29. 
 
 Til!! .' l or garrison, from which the Roman 
 
 - soldiers came, who rescue 1 Paul, was the For 
 
 which was close besid :ph-, and command- 
 
 ed tlic temple as the temple commanded the city. This 
 i'nrtiiication was very large. "Within, it had the ex- 
 arancc of a palace, being divided into 
 apartments of every kind, with galleries and baths and 
 broad halls or barracks for a thousand soldiers, so that 
 it seemed like a city." Its towers looked down on the 
 temple, and from them the sentinels could see what was 
 going on in the various courts; and flights of stone stairs 
 led down to the level spaces on the sides of the temple, 
 so that the soldiers could at any time enter and prevent 
 tumults. It was not always filled with soldiers, but at 
 the time of the festivals a military force was kept there 
 to suppress any outbreak against the Roman power. 
 Indeed, at this very time the soldiers of the fortress and * 
 the people of the city were in great excitement in con- 
 sequence of an Egyptian Jew a who, as a pretended 
 prophet, had led off a vast number of fanatic followers 
 into the wilderness, to be slain or captured by the 
 Roman troops." 
 
 1 The Greek word translated ' castle,' means strictly an encamp 
 ment, or ' barracks.' 
 
278 
 
 (FORTY- THIRD S UXDA Y. ) 
 
 The Roman sentinels on the towers and the walls 
 had watched the growing excitement in the courts of 
 the temple ; and as the multitude and the uproar in- 
 creased, they sent word to Claudius Lysias, the officer of 
 the garrison, that the whole city was in commotion. It 
 might be a case of uprising against the Roman govern- 
 ment, and not a moment was to be lost. With a few 
 sturdy companies of soldiers, under their centurions, ho 
 
 ^pii^ipiii^i^s- 
 
 (THE TEMPLE AND FORTRESS ANTONIA.2) 
 
 rushed down the stairs into the temple-area. As ho 
 pushed directly forward to the man who was the centre 
 of all this excitement, the crowd gave w r ay before " the 
 flushing arms and disciplined movements of the Imperial 
 
 3 We must remember the difference between the temple and the 
 courts of the temple ; and also that each court of the temple was higher 
 than the court outside of it, and that the temple was highest of all. 
 The tower at the south-east corner of Antonia overlooked all: the walls 
 of the fort overlooked the lower courts. We do not know exactly at 
 what point in the wall between Antonia and the temple-area the flight 
 of stone steps was, but the crowd of Jews were on the marble pave- 
 ment of the court of the Gentiles. They accused Paul of taking 
 Gentiles past the forbidden boundary up into the court of the Israel- 
 
TIL'. -US. 279 
 
 soldi- '.--way, out 
 
 oft!;. :' the shouting cr<> 
 
 :'. out of ; i of the inol), Paul was Jed up 
 
 SB. "At this moment, the Apostle, 
 
 with tlie utmo ':!, turned to the com- 
 
 liicerwh :id addressing him 
 
 in Gr< illy: 'May I speak with ! ! 
 
 Claudi-is ' U startled t<> hear his prisoner ad- 
 
 him in (I reek, and ask( d him if he was not the 
 
 Egyptian r of the late rebellion." Paul's calm 
 
 reply 1 much i :icnt. II.- 
 
 not an Kgyptian Jew, but a Jew of Tarsus. He could 
 
 speak -mug. 
 
 robber nor ler of rebels, but 
 
 spectacle citi/en of a di --(I city. .re he 
 
 besought Lysias to allow him to s] < M people. 
 
 "Therequ :io, and v> [most sur- 
 
 i that Lysias should 1 it; but there 
 
 seems to have been something in Paul's aspect 
 manner which from the first gained an influence over 
 the mind of the Roman officer, and lie did not r 
 his consent. And now, in a moment, the whole scene 
 was changed." Paul turned about on the stairs, and 
 motioned with his hand to the noisy crowds 1 
 
 elliing in his appearance, as of a man accustomed 
 address gatherings of people, commanded their atten- 
 tion. The turbulent c sea of heads ' became tranquil, 
 and there was ' great silence.' We can see Paul's out- 
 stretched wave of his hand, as he says : 
 
 " Men, brethren, and fathers, hear now my 
 defence to you." 3 
 
 Paul's wisd<m-and skill and courtesy are again shown 
 by speaking in Hebrew. The confused multitude evi- 
 
 * The words in italics in the Bible are not in the original Greek. 
 
280 (FORTY-THIRD SUXDAY.} 
 
 dently iliought some vile Gentile or Gentile Christian 
 had been dragged out of the inner sacred enclosure of 
 the temple. The sound of the Hebrew language half 
 disarmed them. If Paul had spoken in Greek, the most 
 of the people would have understood him. " But the 
 sound of the holy tongue in that holy place fell like a 
 calm on the troublous waters. The silence became uni- 
 versal and breathless ; and the Apostle proceeded to 
 address his countrymen : 
 
 "I am myself 4 an Israelite, born indeed 6 at 
 Tarsus in Cilicia, yet 6 brought up in this city, 
 and taught at the feet of Gamaliel in the strict- 
 est doctrine of the law of our fathers." 
 
 PAUL'S DEFENCE FROM THE STAIRS. 
 
 Two charges had been made against Paul, which had 
 caused the uproar : one, that he had everywhere spoken 
 evil of the Jews, of their holy law, and of their holy 
 temple ; and the second, that he had polluted the tem- 
 ple by bringing Greeks into it. It was no doubt Paul's 
 purpose to answer fully both these charges. The sec- 
 ond charge, we know, was entirely false. The men in 
 the temple with him were Jews. Trophimus was not 
 in the temple, though he had been in the street with 
 Paul. Paul was not permitted to reach that point of 
 his speech where he could have defended himself from 
 the second accusation. His address up to the point 
 at which it was broken off, was in defence of himself 
 against the first charge. He gives three reasons to 
 show that he had not spoken disrespectfully of the 
 Jews nor of their holy law nor of the temple. 
 
 First. He was himself a Jew by birth and by educa- 
 
 4 * Verily ' is meant to emphasize I. I, verily, am : I myself am. 
 * The 'yet* shows an opposite meaning in the previous clause, 
 indeed, yet brou$\t np.' 
 
TIL. 281 
 
 tion. (verse 3.) He was indeed born in a distant Greek 
 city, but was educated in Jerusalem, by Gamaliel him- 
 self, and was zealous for the law. 
 
 Secondly. There was nothing in his conversion which 
 F! 10 wed any disrespect to the law or to the temple, 
 (verses 4 to 1C.) He had indeed been converted from 
 an enemy of Jesus and of this sect of Christians, to a 
 preacher of the Messiahship of Jesus, but he had, dur- 
 ing his conversion, honored both the law and the 
 pie. 1. For the high-priest and the elders could bear 
 witness that he perseci Christians because he 
 
 thought they were [ the law, and that he went 
 
 to Damascus to imprison them. There was no di<n- 
 \n the law in thUJnit eagerness to obey it. 2. On 
 the road to Damascus he had been miraculously struek 
 blind, by the glorious appearance of Jesus of Nazareth, 
 and from that time he knew that Jesus was the Mes- 
 siah ; but" in all that was said and done, there was noth- 
 ^ainst the law or the temple. 3. In Damascus, 
 a man who reverenced the law had miraculously restored 
 him to sight and baptized him in the name of Jesus, 
 telling him that he was to bear testimony of what he 
 had seen and heard to all men. 
 
 Thirdly. When he came back to Jerusalem and was 
 >n the temple, he had a vision, in which Jesus 
 appeared to him and directed him to hasten away from 
 Jerusalem to avoid being killed. (Verses 17 to 21.) He 
 himself had wished to remain and to convince those who 
 knew how bitter a persecutor he had been, that this 
 Jesus was the Messiah predicted in the law, but the 
 voice in the temple had told him that his testimony 
 would not be received by his acquaintances and friends, 
 and had said : ' Depart, I will send thee far hence unto 
 the Gentiles.' 
 
 " Up to this point, Paul had riveted their attention." 
 
282 FORTY-THIRD SUNDAY.) 
 
 Many of them knew that he spoke the truth in respect 
 to his early life and his persecution. " Even when he 
 told them of his miraculous conversion, of Ananias, and 
 of his vision in the temple, they listened still." What 
 a solemn stillness there must have been when he ac- 
 cused himself of the murder of Stephen ! But when 
 the word ' Gentiles ' was spoken, " one outburst of fran- 
 tic indignation rose from the temple-area and silenced 
 the speaker on the stairs. Their national pride bore 
 down every argument which could influence their rea- 
 son or their reverence. They could not bear the thought 
 of uncircumcised heathen being made- equal to the sons 
 of Abraham. They cried out that such a wretch ought 
 not to pollute the earth with his presence, that it was a 
 shame to have preserved his life ; and in their rage they 
 tossed off their outer garments and threw up dust into 
 the air with frantic violence." 
 
 If Paul had been permitted to go on with his de- 
 fence, he would no doubt have tried to show, fourthly, 
 that since he had been a preacher to the Gentiles, ho 
 had said nothing evil of the Jews or the law or the tem- 
 ple to the Gentiles : that the law and the prophecies 
 themselves were being fulfilled by the conversion of 
 the Gentiles : that Jesus himself was the Messiah ac- 
 cording to the law and the prophets and according to 
 the very ceremonies of the temple. And then he 
 would have shown, no doubt, fifthly, that he had not 
 taken any Greeks into the temple : that the charge of 
 pollution was altogether a mistake. But the outcry of 
 the people prevented him from answering farther. 
 
 Lysias, the Roman officer, seems not to have under- 
 stood Paul's Hebrew speech. When he saw the people 
 suddenly break out into such imprecations and violent 
 actions, " he concluded his prisoner must be guilty of 
 some enormous crime. He ordered him, therefore, to 
 
THE ADVREXX I- ROM Till-: STAIRS. 283 
 
 be taken immediaU -ly from the stairs into the barracks,"" 
 and to be scourged till lie confessed his guilt. The 
 centurion 1 t<> have Paul 'stretched out/ and 
 
 bound like a criminal, 4 to receive the lashes. 1 The' rude 
 Roman soldiers would not he very tender in their cruel 
 work. Paul had, however, an abundant protection. A 
 
 imple words were like magic, lie simply said to 
 the centurion: "Is it lawful for you to put to the 
 scourge a Roman citi/en, uncondeinned ?" The centu- 
 rion ordered the soldiers to stop: he went to Lysias 
 and said significantly : u T. 1 what thou doedt, 
 
 for this man is a Rom. -both 
 
 astonished and alarm. !. 'hat no man would 
 
 -hip if it did not 
 
 really belong to him, and h- prisoner." 
 
 lie found that Paul was not only a Roman citi/m, but 
 a more honorable cili/.eii than himself; u for while 
 Oaudias 1 d purchased the riu'ht for " a irreat 
 
 sum,' Paul was 'free born.'" 6 Paul was instantly re- 
 
 1 ; and the command'.: T of Fort Antonia, 
 
 like the magistrates of Philippi, was 'afraid' of the 
 innocent, unthreatening Apostle, 'because he had bound 
 him. 9 
 
 6 See page 6. 
 
( FO R 7T- TIL Hi D S UXDA Y.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 WHAT is the meaning of the word ' castle 1 ? 
 What ' castle ' was this ? 
 Its size ? its towers ? its garrison ? 
 AYhat excitement about this time among soldiers and 
 
 citizens ? 
 IIo\v had news of the disturbance probably been brought 
 
 to the chief captain ? 
 
 AYas his object, in sending soldiers, to rescue Paul? 
 AY hat is the difference between the temple and the courts of 
 the temple ? 
 
 How was the fortress situated, with reference to the 
 
 temple-courts ? 
 
 In what court was the multitude ? 
 What did they accuse Paul of ? 
 
 Had not Paul been led all the way from the temple-court ? 
 What did Paul now say? 
 Why may we suppose he spoke in Greek ? 
 What shows the chief captain was surprised ? 
 Could not Egyptians speak Greek ? 
 Did not Lysias know that Paul was a Jew ? 
 AY hat Egyptian did the l chief captain ' refer to ? 
 Show what points are comprised in Paul's reply. 
 Why did the noisy multitude grow quiet so soon ? 
 
 Do you think many in the multitude knew Paul ? 
 
 AY hat were the first words Paul said ? 
 
 Why are words put in italics in our translation of tho 
 
 Bible? 
 
 AYould the multitude have understood Greek ? 
 Why did Paul speak in Hebrew ? 
 AVhat is the force of * verily* ? 
 AYhat is the force of 'yet ' ? 
 What two charges had been made against Paul (xxi. 28) ? 
 
 Did Paul answer both of these charges ? AVhy ? 
 How many reasons did he give against the first charge ? 
 What is the first reason ? In what verse ? 
 (85) 
 
.1 r.) 
 
 Wh.it is the second reason ? In what verses ? 
 What is the first point in this reason? 
 How had lie honored the law in thi 
 What is the second point in this reason? 
 How docs this bear on the general argument ? 
 What is the third point in this reason ? 
 What was there especially in the character of Ananias 
 
 which should have led Paul to obey him ? 
 What did the miracle show in respect to Ananias's mes- 
 sage ? 
 
 What is the third reason? In what verses? 
 What does 'prayed in the temple' show? 
 AVhy did Paul wish to remain ? 
 Why 
 
 What \\rre the word* of the divine direction to Paul? 
 What points in Paul'> ftddraa had especially kept the at- 
 i-m of the people? 
 
 What words made the outcry against him? 
 
 Why did they 'cast off their cu> i throw up 
 
 dust? 
 
 What fourth and fifth reasons was Paul intending doubtless 
 to give ? 
 
 Why would Lysias think Paul guilty of great crime? 
 AVhy did he order him to be scourge 1? 
 What protection had Paul ? 
 What was the difference between the Roman dtizenship 
 
 of Lysias and of Paul ? 
 What does 4 examined him' mean ? 
 What did Lysias fear? 
 
 (86) 
 
Jfjorfg-fjoitrtlj 
 
 PAUL A PRISONER BEFORE THE SANHEDRIM. 
 
 LESSON. 
 
 ACTS xxii. 30; xxiii. 1-24. 
 
 THE most natural way now for Lysias to find out 
 Paul's crime was to bring him down to the regular 
 Jewish court. He called together, therefore, the mem- 
 
 of the Jewish Sanhedrim and the chief priests ; 
 and then he brought Paul down the stone stairway, 
 no doubt with an escort of soldiers for his safe-keeping, 
 and 'set him before them.' 
 
 " Only a narrow space of the Great Temple court 
 
 otween the steps which led down from the tower 
 of Antonia and those which led up to the hall Ga/ith, 
 the Sanhedrim's accustomed place of meeting. If that, 
 hall was used on this occasion, no heathen soldiers 
 would be allowed to enter it ; for it was within the ba- 
 lustrade which separated the sanctuary from the court. 
 But the fear of pollution would keep the Apostle's life 
 safe within that enclosure. There is good reason, how- 
 ever, for believing that the Sanhedrim met at that period 
 in a place less sacred, to which the soldiers would be 
 admitted." The scene is no longer Roman, but Jewish. 
 AVI i at a change had twenty-five 1 years wrought ! Then 
 
 1 Fourteen years after his conversion Paul came with alms to Jeru- 
 salem; (see page 41 ;) his first journey occupied a year at least ; his 
 second journey occupied about two and a half years ; his third jour- 
 ney about four years; and the different times at Antioch (xii. 25 ;md 
 xiii. 1-2 ; xiv. 28 ; xv. 35, 36 ; xviii. 22, 23) must have amounted to 
 as much as three and a half years. 
 
PAUL A PRISONER. 2S5 
 
 Stephen stood Before the Sanhedrim, and Paul was one " 
 who gave Ins 'vote.' Xow Paul was a prisoner before 
 the same council. Oi: > may have me 
 
 of tin- very persons who then heard Stephen's speech. 
 Some of ihe hccn Iris fellow-disciples 
 
 at the school of Gamaliel. Some of them may have 
 :i with him in his mad persecutions of the sect of 
 Christians. They well knew the truth of hi . on 
 
 the I hit no consciousness of guilt now 
 
 flushed the cheek of Paul. The blood of Jesus had 
 cleansed away all which he had long ago aekunwl.-dged 
 to be the vilest of crimes. Now, undaunted, he could 
 look ! steadily around on the council. Paul 
 
 iiren, I have al- 
 ways 1'm-d a conscientious life before God up to this 
 
 day." k -That uniliuc' ; and those confident 
 
 words so enraged the hi .-..mmanded 
 
 those near Paul to strife :i the mouth. This 
 
 brutal insult rou- -lie's feeling, and he ex- 
 
 claimed: "God shall smite tliee, thou wliited wall: sit- 
 ttst thou to judge me according to the law and then, 
 in defiance of the law, dost thou command me to be 
 struck 'r'' These words may have' been an indignant as 
 serti..u of his rights, or Paul mayha\e Uttered "a pro- 
 phetic denunciation." If they were a prophecy, they 
 'My fulfilled, when afterwards :: . in the 
 
 Jewish war, set tire to this same 1 -t's house, 
 
 drove him out of it, and, finding him in an aqueduct, 
 
 ht him and murdered him. The members of the 
 Sanhedrim" treated VrmTVfffmla ns prnfiinQ..anA.jftBftU 
 Ji^JlIj]Revilest tEoiTGod's high-priest ?' was now 
 t/t< if ind.ignant exclamati-n. I'a'il's n-ply was, with all 
 
 nin'j; submission to that very law they had accused 
 liim of violating, that he did not consider that Ananias 
 or he would not have violated a well- 
 
-~o RTY-FOUEJ- 
 
 jajgwn_Lnr, Pietiad/ what Paul meant, it is difficult 
 
 : _-:-*: f ~-.~~. : " :: :: --vr.; c '.['.< -'." "/."." \. :- rr. :- .r.~ t:. i* *-^ 
 r. .'.-.. ~ T ... ^ ."- ~~ * ' i i r. r. * 
 *:.":_; f 7 \ '.'..':.-' -:i-;-. rr.^T :: > 
 
 This act of cruel 
 
 :.-.- > : : .1: :: .". 
 r r. r.". r^ 
 
 ::..-. "':. 
 
 a earnestly advocated the 
 the resorrectioo of the 
 We know that this was one strong argument 
 Paol had wed n prwing JCMB of Kjoreth tc 
 
 - :-: --: : : -.: -:..-'- :..- : - ; -- :.:- ^--- : - ? 
 
 ing the icamitscdoa of the dead. 4 It was probably 
 
 - ;;; kr.:- i "...-.: I -" --' v" ' " -^ '- '- ' - - '-- : ----- 
 
23? 
 t of the resurrection of Jesus, to prove that 
 
 was the Messiah. The Sadducees would hate him 
 
 that. When Paul was arraigned for his - 
 ig, the doctrine of the resurrection was 4 called in 
 question.' He might rightly, therefore, put himself 
 Jhfi_fhansees, and say that they had a common 
 rtrine at staEel Instantly UiBie m js- a divistotra 
 
 rival parties lost sight of Paul in their 
 against each other. At length the Scribes 
 on the Pharisees' side said they had no fault to find with 
 Paul : that if he really had seen a vision in the Temple, 
 or had heard a voice from God if a spirit or angel had 
 spoken to him they ought not to fight against God. 
 And now the judgment-hall was filled with contention 
 acd violence ; " and soon Claudius Lysas received worJT 
 of what was taking place ; and, fearing lest the Roman j 
 citizen, whom he was bound to protect, should be torn 
 in pieces between the parties, he ordered the troops to 
 go down instantly and bring him back into the soldiers' 
 quarters within the fortress." 
 
 That night, when Paul was alone and sad, in his deso- 
 
 late condition, reflecting no doubt upon the interruption 
 to his plan of a fonnh missionary journey to Rome, a 
 other vision appeared to him. The Lord Jesus himself 
 appeared to him and told him to be of good cheer, that 
 he should see Borne, and that he should there bear tes- 
 timony to His resurrection and Messiahship. 
 
 The next morning a conspiracy was made to assas- 
 sinate Paul. More than forty Jews took a dreadful 
 oath either themselves to perish from hunger and thirst 
 CM- to slay Paul. The chiefpriests and elders were 
 :ed enough to listen to them and to help on the 
 They were no doubt more en raged than ever to 
 c that Paul escaped from the Sanhedrim the day 
 before. What a horrible crime was this which they 
 
288 (FORTY-FOURTH SUNDAY.} 
 
 agreed to do and winch they concealed under the ap- 
 pearance of justice and religion! to ask that Paul 
 might be brought to a court of justice, and to murder* 
 him on the way ! 
 
 " The plot was ready : the next day it was to be car- 
 ried into effect ; but God confounded the plans of the 
 conspirators." One of Paul's relatives here appears. 
 The only member of that household in Tarsus of whom 
 we have any knowledge is mentioned : the sister of 
 Paul's childhood. The kind and affectionate act of 
 Paul's nephew, in the midst of so much danger to him- 
 self, shows that his mother must have had something of 
 her apostolic brother's kind and tender and loving dis- 
 position, and that she had trained her son into the prac- 
 tice of her own virtues. This young man went to Fort 
 Antonia, gained entrance into the barracks, got per- 
 n to see his uncle, and told him of the plot against 
 his life. ] 'aid's Roman citizenship, as well as his per- 
 sonal character, had already won him respect in the 
 garrison ; and the centurion promptly listened to Paul's 
 request that the young man might be taken to the head- 
 quarters of Lysias. And the chief-oilicer himself either 
 respected Paul so much, or feared him so much because ! 
 he had bound him, or was of such a kind and obliging 
 disposition, that he took the young stranger by the 
 hand and went with him into a private place and asked 
 him what he wished. Then Paul's nephew not only 
 told the story of the conspiracy, but entreated Lysias 
 not to yield to the request of the Jews. How earnestly 
 Lysias must have listened as the young Jew went on 
 with his story! How the resolution and patriotism of 
 the Roman soldier rose when he knew that the Jev/SN 
 out of malice were plotting against the life of a Roman 
 citizen. He promptly decided what to do, but did not 
 tell his informimt. lie simply dismissed him by charg- 
 
PAUL A P1USOX Kit. 280 
 
 ing him to tell no man whatever that he had brought 
 him tliis informal 5' -n. 
 
 Two centurions were immediately called : they were 
 ordered to get ready two hundred of the regular sol- 
 di iy of the cavalry, and two hundred spear-' 
 men: to Le ready tojftari o'clock 
 in the evening, and to take Paul the prisoner in safety^ 
 to FelDTTlie governor. And 1- the journey 
 was long, and they must go rapidly, they were ordered 
 to bav^naore-thaji one horse for Paul. " W may be 
 surprised that so Jar nt to secure the 
 safety of one man; but we must remember that this 
 man was a Unman hile the garrison in Fort 
 Ant nia, a thousand strong, could e Eire that 
 number I'm- one day ; and that assassinations, robberies, 
 and rebellions were quite frequent at that time in 
 Judea/' No one could tell what size the conspiracy 
 lit reach, or to wh::' tent the conspirators 
 would go, if any discovery was made of Paul's depart- 
 ure. Everything was done, therefore, secretly as well 
 as promptly; and an hour w:. which would ex- 
 cite as little suspieion as possible. "At the time ap- 
 pointed, the troops, with Paul in the midst of them, 
 marched out of the fortress, and at a rapid pace took 
 the road to Ciesarca/' 
 
(FORTY-FOURTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 WAS it right or wrong for Lysias to bring Paul before the 
 * ' council ? 
 
 What was the council? 
 
 What two places were there where this l council' met? 
 How many years since Stephen's trial ? Show it. 
 Whom may Paul have seen in the council ? 
 How would they think of Paul ? 
 
 I low could he boldly face that court, when he had ac- 
 knowledged himself guilty of murder? 
 How can the greatest criminal gain again the feeling of 
 
 right? 
 
 Why does not Paul now say, 4 Men, brethren, and fathers' ? 
 What is meant by 4 all good conscience ' ? 
 Can a conscience be good which will permit a man to 
 
 persecute and murder ? 
 Why did the high-priest give his command ? 
 What two explanations of Paul's reply? 
 If a prophecy, what was the fulfilment ? 
 Why had the high-priest done wickedly ? 
 Were those who * stood by ' right in their reply ? 
 What does * resist not ' mean ? 
 What five meanings have been given to this answer of 
 
 Paul's? 
 
 Which one do you think correct ? 
 What did the act of the high-priest show Paul ? 
 What two parties were there in the council ? 
 With which party did Paul agree ? on what point ? 
 How was the doctrine of 4 resurrection 7 called in ques 
 
 tion? 
 
 Where had Paul advocated this doctrine ? for what ? 
 Do you think Paul's position on this doctrine was well 
 
 known ? 
 
 i^hat would the Sadducee.s think of Paul's declaration ? 
 Was it right for Paul to make this declaration for this 
 purpose ? 
 
 (87) 
 

 (F01:TY , SUNDAY.) 
 
 In what other way can you explain this declaration ? 
 Why did the Pharisee Scribes take Paul's part ? 
 Why did they declare Paul innocent? 
 What other doctrine than resurrection did they refer 
 
 to? 
 To what time did they refer, when an angel or a spirit 
 
 <>ken to Paul? 
 
 Why did the chief captain ta\- iin from the Jews? 
 
 What would Paul be likely to think of when alone ? 
 Why was the vision an especial comfort to him ? 
 What con.-pira'-y wa ; made? By whom? 
 
 Is it at any time right to call upon ourselves such 
 
 curses ? 
 
 Who lid nspiracy on? 
 
 Why : ; to such proposals? 
 
 Why w:i .ess especially horrible ? 
 
 Hn-.v was the plan defeated? 
 
 What (l'cs this show in respect to Paul's sister? 
 What did Paul's nephew? 
 How did Lysias receive him ? Why ? 
 What was the effect on Lysias? 
 
 Why was this heathen officer more noble than the tem- 
 ple-councillors ? 
 What was the plan of Lysias ? 
 
 11 there be so many men and horses in this fc li- 
 re s 
 
 Why were so many sent ? 
 Was there more than one 4 beast ' for Paul ? 
 What was the hour ? Why ? 
 (88) 
 
THE CAPITAL AND THE GOVERNOR OF JUDEA. 
 
 LESSON. 
 
 ACTS xxiii. 25-35; xxiv. 1-26. 
 
 THE conspirators were perhaps in session arranging 
 the details of the plot, when the armed men tramped 
 along the street and the striking of the horses' hoofs on 
 the pavement rang out on the night-air. But the pass- 
 ing ..{'armed companies of Roman soldiers had become 
 too common a thing in Jerusalem to call especial at- 
 tention to it, or to awaken suspicion that Paul was on 
 the way to a place of safety. 
 
 Till about midnight the centurions would take thcii 
 e directly northward, and probably along the very 
 road which Paul took when he went to Damascus. 
 IIo\v diii'erent the journey now ! Then, an escort of 
 ;-s at his own command : now, himself a prisoner 
 under a Roman guard! At midnight they would be 
 about at Gophua, (see the map on page 24,) and then 
 would leave the Damascus road, turning to the left to- 
 wards the coast. "Soon they began to descend, start- 
 ling the shepherd on the hills of Ephrairn and rousing 
 the village peasant, who woke to curse his heathen op- 
 pressor as he heard the voices and the well-known tramp 
 of the Roman soldiers." About day-break they must 
 have been near the foot of the hilly ridges which make 
 up the broken mountain-range. From the last hill they 
 descended, they overlooked the plain of Sharon. "The 
 
THE CAPITAL ASti THE GOYKHXQR. 'J'Ji 
 
 road (lien turned northward^ , rieli land of tlie 
 
 plain of Sharon, through fields of wheat and harley, al- 
 most ivady I'm* the harvest.'' Some low, wooded hills 
 DOW shut oil' their view of Karly in the forenoon 
 
 theyn ached the town of Antipatria Tl now out 
 
 of the mountain-passes, in an open, level country. The 
 foot-sold u i -s. WOW )'" I- -n^er needed for protection, and 
 they iniijht l>e wanted at Jerusalem. One centurion 
 turned hark therefore with them to Fort Antonia. The 
 caval'-y ami spearmen went on, prohahly under the 
 orders of the o; :i ; and in the afternoon 
 
 u their weary tpi the streets of Cu-sar. 
 
 They \\ also or quarters <>f Felix, 
 
 d the pi' ited the lelhT which 
 
 I . The Governor md 
 
 the i' >liv. iiiLT official despatch : 
 
 U 6V '-is sends greeting to his J^xceUi /><>/ 
 
 /' -/or. T/ils man was apprehended l>n 
 
 11,. ,/, ,/-.s- <i,nl on the point of Icing killed by them, v\' 
 
 I came and rescued him <//'// rd ; for 
 
 I ham <! that Jie was a Roman citi&ti 1 And when I 
 
 fished to ascertain the charye which they had against 
 
 him, I took Jiirn down to their San In <1i'iin ; and there I 
 
 hat the charge had reference to < riain </>" .<ti.ons 
 
 of I<e icas accused of no offence 
 
 ///// fif death or i /tow, havi/^f 
 
 that a plot is about to be formed 
 
 '* l>fe, I send him to thce forthwith^ 
 
 < >,,,! Thave told <rs that they must bring their 
 
 ':/e before thce. Farewell" 
 
 " Felix raised his eyes from the paper and said: 'To 
 what province does he belong ? ' It was the first ques- 
 tion wliic?i a Roman governor would naturally ask in 
 
 1 This was false, but Lysias craftily inserted it to save himself from 
 disgrace. lie did not rescue Paul because he was a Roman citizen. 
 
292 (FORTY-FIFTH SUNDAY.} 
 
 such a case. The Roman law had strict rules for all 
 legal communication between provinces. In the present- 
 case, there could be no difficulty. A Roman citizen, 
 with certain vague charges brought against him, was 
 placed under the protection of a governor of a province, 
 who was bound to keep him in safe custody till the 
 cause should be heard. Having found, therefore, that 
 Paul was a native of the province of Cilicia, Felix 
 simply ordered him to be kept in ' Herod's prsetoriura,' 3 
 and said to Paul himself: 'I will hear and decide thy 
 cause when thy accusers have come.' " 
 
 The city to which Paul was now brought was one 
 through which he had passed several times. It was 
 built up by Herod the Great from an insignificant place < 
 t6 be a splendid city. In twelve years he built a wall 
 around the town and decorated it with splendid build- 
 ings. He named it Crcsarca in honor of Augustus Crcsar 
 the Emperor. The buildings were made of white stone. 
 There was a theatre (from which Herod Agrippa was 
 carried out to die 3 ) and an amphitheatre. There were 
 aqueducts for the conveyance of water. There was a 
 temple dedicated to Caesar. There were many other 
 splendid buildings. There were statues and heal hen 
 sanctuaries. " The city was provided with everything 
 that could contribute to magnificence, amusement, and 
 health. But its great boast was its harbor." The west 
 winds swept with great fury against this unprotected 
 coast. At immense expense and with immense labor, 
 Herod built a stone harbor, equal in size to the natural 
 harbor of the Piraeus of Athens. 4 " Vast stones were 
 sunk in the sea to the depth of twenty fathoms, and 
 thus a stupendous breakwater was formed, curving 
 
 * The palace and 'judgment-hall' (verse 35) combined. 
 . * See pages 41, 42. 4 See map page 1GO. 
 
THE CAPITAL Al\l) THE GOVERNOR. 293 
 
 tonnd so t&a to give r.'nij>l<U' \\ against tlio 
 
 south-westerly winds. It \v:;s open only on the north/' 
 
 "Within it a fleet mi^ht ride in perfect safety in all 
 
 ," Into this harbor tin.' ships wliidi had borne 
 
 Paul on hi TOSS the sea to Caesarea 
 
 il IK- re hal ca-t anchor. When Herod's 
 
 work in tlie city ami the harbor had been com- 
 
 1, llcrod himself iixrd his ]>alacc (orprceto,- 
 
 i lie capital of the Rninn, 
 '/'Ce of Jiuh a. k Herod's pra-toriuni' was probably 
 
 udenoeof l-Vlix and other governors After Herod's 
 
 :h. 
 
 Althoii L . e capital of.Tudea, it 
 
 n as much a (ieiitile city as it was a J 
 city. .Many v heathen strangers' lived there. "The 
 harbor was called the 'Augustan Harbor:' the eily, 
 'Aniru>t:iii Caasarea. 3 M\-en in tin' Jrwi>h synagogues 
 the (ireek translation of the Scriptir . ;;!. 
 
 i v, the Governor of this Roman province., was a 
 
 the lowest rank to high authority. lie was at iirst a 
 slave, i ii lie had done, AVC do not 
 
 know what, lie was made tree by the emperor. When 
 he was the frcedman of the emperor he was strangely 
 honored with military appointments, until lie was : 
 Procurator 5 or Governor of Judea. He was cruel, un- 
 , unscrupulous and profligate. A Roman 
 historian says : " That in the practice of all kinds of lust 
 and cruelty, he exercised the power of a king with the 
 temper of a slave." He had caused one high-priest to 
 be murdered by a gang of villains at the very steps of 
 the temple. He had enticed Drusilla, a daughter of 
 Herod Agrippa, who was celebrated for her beauty, to 
 
 * The Procurator had much more power and dignity than the Pro* 
 '. See page 51. 
 
294 (FORTY-FIFTH SUNDA Y.) 
 
 leave her husband and to live with him. Yet lie did the 
 Jews some good services. " He cleared various parts of 
 the country from robbers : he pursued and drove away 
 that Egyptian fanatic " who had attempted to raise se- 
 dition under pretence of prophetic power, and for whom 
 Claudius Lysias mistook Paul. The story of Paul's 
 imprisonment by him, in the Scriptures, shows, as will 
 be seen, his servile meanness. He was now only wait- 
 ing for Paul's accusers to arrive before bringing on his 
 trial. 
 
 " The law required that causes should be heard 
 speedily; and the Apostle's enemies were not long in 
 arriving. Five days either alter Paul's departure from 
 Jerusalem or after his arrival at Caesarca, his accusers 
 appeared. They brought with them "one of those 
 advocates, who practised in the law-courts of the pro- 
 \ inces where the forms of lloman law were imperfectly 
 known and the Latin language imperfectly understood." 
 His name, Tertullus, is Roman: perhaps he spoke in 
 Latin. The formal accusation was made before the 
 governor; the prisoner was brought in ; and Tcrtullus 
 made a speech in which, after flattering Felix: with un- 
 merited praise, he charged Paul with three crimes: 
 
 I. With sedition or illegal disturbances among all 
 the Jews throughout the empire. 6 . 
 
 II. With being a ringleader of 'the sect of the Xaza- 
 rencs.' 
 
 III. " With an attempt to profane the temple at Je- 
 rusalem." 
 
 The first was a charge of treason against the Roman 
 empire: the second was the charge of heresy against 
 the law of Moses : the third was the charge of sacri- 
 
 8 * Throughout the world.' The Roman empire occupied ulmoat 
 the habitable world. 
 
THE CAPITAL A XI) THE GOVERNOR. 295 
 
 c, an offence against the IJoinan law as well as the 
 Jewish, for the Roman law protected the Jews in their 
 
 ship. 
 
 Tcrtullus finished his speech by saying that Lysias, 
 the Jerusalem chief-captain, had forcibly taken :nvay 
 1'aul from the regular course of justice, when the Jews 
 ;ld have given him a fair trial according to their own 
 lical law ; and that he had sent him from Jeru- 
 salem down to Ca?sarea, to be tried here, when he 
 might as well have been tried in Jerusalem. Ananias 
 and the elders agreed to what Tcrtullus had said. 
 
 "The Governor now mad- W to the prisoner 
 
 to signify that h ;nake his defence. The Jews 
 
 6 silent ; and the ApOStfa n-fiited TerFullus step by 
 
 PAUL'S REPLY TO TERTULLU8. 
 
 I. Paui expresses his satisfaction that l-YIi\ has been 
 governor of the province for many years, because he 
 can ea>ily ascertain whether he himself had at any time 
 
 d sedition during those years, and also that it had 
 been only twelve days since he came to Jerusalem at 
 all. 7 (Verses 10, 11.) 
 
 II. In respect to sedition, Why does not Tcrtullus 
 bring the proof of his charges? Why does he not 
 prove the time and the place at which I committed 
 
 - ? Neither in the temple nor in the syn- 
 agogues nor about the city have I been found disputing 
 or exciting the people. 8 (Verses 12, 13.) 
 
 7 Felix had been governor six or eight years ; and Paul had not 
 been in the country, during Felix's reign, before his recent return 
 from his missionary journey, more than a rery few days, if at all. 
 What opportunity had there been for him to raise sedition ? 
 
 8 It is worthy of notice that Tertullus had accused Paul of sedition 
 everywhere throughout the empire ; Paul justly answers the charge 
 only so far as respects the province of Judea. The jurisdiction of u 
 Felix was confined to his province. 
 
296 (FORTY-FIFTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 HI. In respect to hwesy, Paul confessed lie belonged 
 to a ' sect,' but that he believed in the Jewish law and 
 in the Jewish prophets. There is indeed a ' sect ' of 
 the Jews called by some the ' sect of the Nazarenes,' 
 just as there is a sect of the Pharisees and a sect of the 
 Sadducees. As the Roman law protected these sects of 
 Jews in their national faith, Paul claimed protection for 
 the sect to which he belonged. He said too that in 
 one most important point, the doctrine of the resurrec- 
 tion, his own sect agreed with the sect to which his 
 accusers belonged ; and that, as for himself, in respect 
 to all these things, he tried to live a conscientious life. 
 (Verses 14 to 16.) 
 
 IV. In respect to polluting the temple, Paul declared 
 that he was in the temple after regular purification, 
 " not gathering a multitude nor causing a tumult :" 
 that those very Jews of Asia 9 who first saw him 
 there were the proper witnesses to bring against him, 
 and they ought to state what the act of pollution was 
 which he had committed. (Verses 17 to 19.) 
 
 V. la respect to the trial before the Sanhedrim, let 
 these members of the Sanhedrim present say whether 
 any accusation was made against me there ; or whether 
 there was any disturbance there, except what arose from 
 the doctrine of the resurrection, which both many : 
 them and I myself believe. (Verses 20, 21.) 
 
 Paul had made a strong argument for himself, even in 
 the mind of this wicked governor. Felix knew some- 
 thing of the Jews and their quiirrels. He must have 
 known something of the Christian religion too, for it 
 had been known in Ca3sarea for years. But Felix could i 
 not quite make up his mind to acquit his prisoner, as he 
 ought to have done. He simply said he would wait till 
 Lysias came before he would give his final decision. 
 xxi. 27. 
 
THE CA .iyj) Till-: GOVERNOR. 297 
 
 tliat which scenu <1 to be kindness towards his 
 prisoner was selfishness. ! him all the freedom 
 
 he well could, and even called Paul often into his pre-i^ 
 sence; but lie hoped by this means to receive from^ 
 Paul's friends a bribe for his liberation. In his bold 
 w'n-kedncss, he even had the effrontery to invite Paul 
 to speak of the pure and holy religion of Jesus to him, 
 while his adulterous Drusilla sat by his side. No won- 
 der the convicted man trembled when Paul "reasoned^ 
 of righteousness, tempe/ance, and judgment to come." 
 
 UHI7BRSIT7 
 
(FORTY-FIFTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 yilY would not so large a company of troops excite suspi- 
 " cion? 
 
 What direction did they take ? Along what road ? 
 
 Where was Antipatris ? Describe the journey there. 
 
 Why did the footmen return ? 
 
 To whom did the horsemen deliver Paul ? 
 
 What did they present him ? 
 What was the opening sentence of Lysias' s letter ? 
 
 What is not true in the second sentence ? 
 
 Why did Lysias write it ? 
 
 What is meant by l an army' ? 
 
 Why did Lysias send Paul to Felix, if he was innocent ? 
 
 Was Lysias right or wrong in sending him ? 
 "What was the Governor's first question ? Why ? 
 
 Was he doing his duty in imprisoning Paul ? 
 
 Ought Paul to have been discharged without waiting for 
 his accusers ? 
 
 Was Paul kept in a common prison ? Why ? 
 
 What is meant by 'judgment-hall ' ? 
 \Yhat was Cassarea? Who built and adorned it ? 
 
 How many years in building ? Prominent buildings ? 
 
 What was the especial pride of the city ? 
 
 Was Caesarea a Jewish city? Why ? 
 How had Felix risen to authority ? 
 
 How did the office of Governor in Judea differ from the 
 same office in Cyprus ? 
 
 What kind of a man was Felix ? 
 
 What crimes had he committed? 
 
 What favors had he done the Jews ? 
 Why did Paul's accusers come down to Caesarea so soon? 
 
 Whom did they bring ? Why ? 
 
 Was the opening sentence of his speech true ? 
 
 What is meant by 4 providence ' ? 
 
 What three crimes did he accuse Paul of? 
 
 What does 4 pestilent ' mean ? 
 (89) 
 
.ir.) 
 
 What di Jiout the world ' mean ? 
 
 the rhim of Tcrtullus that the Jews were proceed- 
 ing U'irall y, true or not ? 
 
 ullus's speech was true? 
 
 to Tertullus's speech or not? 
 t is the first division of Paul's spec 
 How long had I\'lix been (Jovi-rnor ? 
 Why should Paul be glad of 1 
 What is the second division of Paul's speech ? 
 
 J)id IV.ul in this answer one of the charges fit lly f 
 Temple, people, synagogues, city: why did' he name 
 
 ^e? 
 "What is tlic third divi.-ion of the speech? 
 
 What i< h : . \ ? How could it be charged upon Paul? 
 
 Paul refute this charge? 
 
 In what two things did Paul agree with other sects? 
 What is the fourth division d 
 
 Whatproo/'did Paul demand of this charge ? 
 What is the lifth division of the speech? 
 What was the Governor's decision? 
 
 What is meant by * having more perfect knowledge of 
 
 that way' ? 
 
 Was it right or wrong in Felix to * defer' this matter? 
 Why did Felix let Paul have liberty? 
 With whom did Felix hear Paul preach? 
 What do you suppose was his motive in asking Paul to 
 preach 'of Christ'? 
 
 Why should Felix especially tremble when Paul preach- 
 ed on these subjects ? 
 Why would we tremble, if we should see clearly the 
 
 meaning of these same subjects ? 
 What is meant by 4 temperance ' ? 
 Did Felix see Paul after this time ? 
 Have we the power to fix 4 the convenient season ' when 
 wo will be converted ? 
 (90) 
 
TIIE APPEAL TO THE EMPEROR. 
 
 LESSON. 
 Acrs xxiv. 27; xxv. 1-22. 
 
 FOR two whole years the unscrupulous Felix kept 
 Paul in custody at CsBsarea. " lie was not bound 
 to fix any definite time for the trial, but might defer it 
 at his .pleasure, and keep the accused in custody during 
 the interval. The prisoner was given in charge to a 
 soldier, who was responsible with his own life for the 
 safe keeping of his prisoner ; and the keeping of the 
 prisoner was made sure by chaining the prisoner's right 
 hand to the soldier's left." Paul might have been kept 
 at the barracks of the soldiers or in a private house, 
 under charge of his keeper. No doubt many of his 
 Christian friends did visit him. As it was customary 
 for the Roman troops to remain in one place a num- 
 ber of years, Cornelius, the centurion, may possibly 
 have still been in Caesarea. At least his Christian influ- 
 ence and that of his ' kinsmen and near friends,' may 
 have lingered in many converts among both soldiers 
 and people. The Apostle, who remained two years in 
 Corinth and three years in Ephesus to instruct and 
 direct the Corinthian and Ephesian churches, would 
 find enough to do for two years, even though a prison- 
 er, in teaching the church in Csesarea. " Many mes- 
 sages and even letters, of which we know nothing, may 
 have been sent from Csesarea to brethren at a distance." 
 
THE APPEAL TO THE EMPEROR. 290 
 
 It lias been supposed that Luke, during these two years, 
 wrote his Gospel under the direction of Paul. 
 
 During these two years, the cruelty of Felix to the 
 Jew more and more unendurable. At last 
 
 there was a terrible outbreak between the Jews and the 
 Greeks of Ciesarea, and many Jews were slaughtered 
 in the streets. "In the end, Felix was summoned to, 
 Ronu, and the Jews followed him with their accusa- 
 tions." Felix, an\i<us to lay up favor with the Jews, 1 1* 
 Kit Paul bound. And so it happened that " the same 
 enmity oft hi' \vrld against the Gospel which set Bar- 
 ;1 a prisoner." 
 
 JY it; . !. appointed by the Emperor, 
 
 us to have IKVII an upright and honorable man. And 
 now, just as the Jews of Corinth when (Jallio was first 
 appointed tried to -. t the influence of the new Pro- 
 Consul in their favor, so the Jews of Jerusalem, when 
 Festus, the new Governor, came to Crcsarea, tried to 
 take advantage of the change to get Paul into their 
 own power. On the very first visit of Festus from the 
 modern to the ancient capital, to make himself acquaint- 
 ed with the people and with their favorite city, only 
 three days after assuming authority over the province, 
 the Jews made an accusation against Paul. They 
 crowded around him in a multitude and declared that 
 Paul ought not to live. 2 What their open hatred did 
 not accomplish under Felix, they hoped by plausible 
 arts to gain, under Festus. "They asked Festus, as a 
 favor, (and they had good reason to hope that the new 
 governor, on his arrival, would not refuse it,) that he 
 would allow Paul to be brought up to Jerusalem. The 
 plea doubtless was that he ought to be tried again bc- 
 
 1 * AVilling to show tbe Jews a pleasure.' The Greek words mcaii 
 very nearly the English phrase, * wishing to be in the good graces of 
 the Jews.' 2 xxv. 24. 
 
300 (FORTY-SIXTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 fore the Sanhedrim. The real purpose was to assassi* 
 nate him on the road." Two years had not softened 
 the bitterness of their hate. " The answer of Festusl 
 was dignified and just, and worthy of his office. He! 
 said that Paul was in custody at Caesarea, and that he j 
 himself was shortly to return thither: that it was not 
 the custom of the Romans to give up an uncondemnedj 
 man as a favor :" that his accusers must meet him face 
 to face, and he must have full opportunity to defend 
 himself. " Those therefore who were competent to the 
 task of accusers, should come down with him to Cuesa- 
 rea, and there make the accusation." 
 
 After ten days spent in Jerusalem, Festus returned 
 to his capital. The very next day he ordered a session 
 of his court, and took his place among his councillors 3 
 on the judgment-seat. The prisoner was brought in. 
 The accusers made many charges, but they gave no 
 proof of them to the fair-minded Festus. These charges 
 are not described by Luke in regular form, as those of 
 Tertullus were, but we may remember that Felix did 
 not acquit Paul of Tertullus' accusation, and therefore 
 that it still remained. Paul's reply was the same as be- 
 fore. He declared himself innocent of heresy, ( c against 
 the law of Moses,') of sacrilege, (' against the temple,') 
 and of treason, (' against Caesar.') 
 
 Festus soon saw that Paul had committed no crime, v 
 especially one worthy of death. 4 He saw the difficulty 
 was one of religious prejudice and of Jewish law, and 
 was not of political character. He was therefore in 
 some perplexity ; 5 for he did not wish to lose the 
 opportunity of gaining the good wishes of the Jews. 6 
 " He proposed, therefore, to Paul, that he should go up 
 to Jerusalem and be tried there, in his presence, or at 
 
 ' Verse 12. 4 See verses 25, 20. 6 Verse 20, with margin. 
 The words in verse 9 are the same as in xxiv. 27. See note 1. 
 
TI1K APPEAL To Till-: EMPEROR. 301 
 
 least under his protection." Paul could, by his own t- 
 consent, if the Governor should a<?ree to it, transfer 
 himself from the jurisdiction of the Governor's court to 
 that of the Sanhedrim. ]>tit he knew too well tho dan- 
 
 of such a change ; ami lie knew, too, that it was 
 his ri^ht as a Roman citizen to be tried by the Roman t - 
 and not by the Jewish law. I Fe <jui<-kly declined, there- 
 
 . tin- proposal, and boldly clainu-d his rights from 
 r<-tus. At riiilippi he had claimed one of the three 
 
 : pri\ ilr--. -s of Roman riti/enship, 7 the freedom / 
 ffOm 8C imw, b : OS, he claimed 
 
 another, (/,, fight of to thr J^,,)** r<>r. Raul's 
 
 reply to tl,i< gbl ! :i provinre. nU lull 
 
 of dignity an-! 
 
 " I stand before Coesar's tribunal, and there 
 ought my trial to be. To the Jews I have done 
 no wrong, as thou knowest full well. If I am 
 guilty of breaking the law, and have done any- 
 thing worthy of death, I refuse not to die ; but 
 if the things whereof these men accuse mo are 
 nought, no man can give me up to them. I 
 appeal unto Ccesar." 
 
 Fest us was no doubt surprised ; but he had no choice. 
 k - P>y the mere pronunciation of those powerful words, 
 
 " Paul instantly removed his cause v 
 from the jtir'. oefore whom he 
 
 stood, to the supreme tiibunal of the Kmperor at Rome." 
 Only one tiling was to be determined by Festus, and 
 he had nothing to do but to send his prisoner to Rome. 
 " There were a few cases in which the right of appeal 
 was not permitted : a bandit or a pirate, for example, 
 illicit be condemned and executed by the magistrate 
 of the province, notwithstanding his appeal to the Em- 
 peror. Festus therefore consulted his councillors. It 
 T See page 143. 
 
302 (FORTY-SIXTH SUNDAY.} 
 
 was clear that Paul's case was not one of these, excep- 
 tions. The appeal would stand. Festus " immediately ; 
 pronounced the decision of the court " : ' Thou hast ; 
 appealed unto Caesar : to Caesar thou shalt go.' 
 
 It may seem strange that Paul should have made this 
 appeal, when he was evidently so near acquittal. There 
 are, however, three sufficient reasons : the danger of 
 some other attempt to take him to Jerusalem, the prob- 
 ability that he would be kept in prison for years in 
 Caesarcn, and the fact that Paul wished to go to Rome, 
 lie might as well be prisoner in Rome as in Csesarea. 
 If he should be acquitted speedily at Rome, he would 
 be precisely where he wanted to be ; and if not, there 
 might be many opportunities, even while a prisoner, as 
 there had been in Cassarea, of teaching, even among 
 soldiers and jailers, the doctrines of Jesus. 
 
 After the appeal was decided, Festus had one other 
 duty to perform. " lie was bound to forward to Romey 
 all the acts and documents bearing on the trial, the | 
 statements of the witnesses, and the record of his own 
 judgment on the case. And it was his further duty to 
 keep the accused person in safe custody, and to send 
 him to Rome for trial at the earliest opportunity. Fes- \ 
 tus was in new perplexity. Paul had appealed ; he had 
 allowed the appeal: but no crime had been proved 
 against the prisoner. Justly enough, it seemed absurd 
 to him to send a prisoner to Rome without any charge 
 of crime. 8 
 
 During the days while Festus was in this state of 
 perplexity in respect to Paul, a distinguished visitor 
 came to Cacsarea to congratulate Festus on his new 
 position as governor of the province. This was the 
 great-grandson of Herod the Great, (who built Cicsa- 
 
 8 Verse 27, (xxv.) 
 
77/7: APPEAL TO THE EMPEROR. 303 
 
 rc:i.) who wu< :i( this time Bong of Chalcis, :i small city 
 and district cast of Ant inch and of the river Orontcs. 
 II.- \vas the brother of 1 )rusilla (who lived with Felix) 
 and of Ik-mice ; and his sister r>erni<v accompanied 
 him 1 - which their ;:idfather had built. 
 
 "This prince- hud lci-n acquainted from his youth with 
 all that related to the Jewish law, and was at this time 
 superintendent of the temple, with the power of appoint- 
 ing the hiirh-priest. Fcstus took advantage of this op- 
 port unity of consulting one better informed than him- 
 self on the points in question." 1 lie told Ai^rippa the 
 of hi* prisoner 4 left iu bonds by Felix/ and spoke 
 iully of Pan!' larution concerning a 
 
 Oertail v ^ 1() n:l 'l \w\\ dead but was alive a-jain. 
 
 'This cannot have- been ' thatAgrippa 
 
 liad heard of the resun ( < ; ion of Jesus, or of the Apos- 
 
 . il. His curiosity was anmsel, and he e\p: 
 a wish to see the prisoner. Festus readily yield- -d to 
 bis-request, and iixcd the next day fur the interview." 
 
(FORTY-SIXTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 FN what kind of confinement was Paul kept ? How long ? 
 
 Where might he have lived ? 
 
 What Roman centurion may have still been in Caesnrea ? 
 
 What was Paul doubtless doing all this time ? 
 
 What has been supposed in respect to Luke ? 
 
 Why did Felix cease to be Governor of Judea? 
 
 What is the meaning of l willing to show the Jews a 
 
 pleasure ' ? 
 "What kind of a man was the new Governor ? 
 
 What advantage did the Jews try to take ? 
 
 Why would the new Governor go to Jerusalem so soon ? 
 
 What three verses show how they besought Felix ? 
 
 What was probably their plan ? their purpose ? 
 
 What kind of an answer was the Governor's ? 
 
 What did he require ? 
 
 How long before Felix returned ? 
 
 What just Roman law did he enforce ? (Verse 16.) 
 
 Why did he return to Caesarea? 
 Where was the court held ? 
 
 If the l accusers ' could not ' prove ' their * complaints, 1 
 why did Paul make any answer ? 
 
 What three points did Paul's reply comprise ? 
 What did Festus see the difficulty to be ? 
 
 How did Festus resemble Felix ? 
 
 What proposal did he make to Paul ? 
 
 What power had Paul in respect to this proposal ? 
 
 Why was not this a good plan ? 
 
 What does it show in respect to the honesty of Festus? 
 What right did Paul now claim ? 
 
 What other privilege had Paul claimed before ? 
 
 How was the Governor's judgment-seat Caesar's tri- 
 bunal ? 
 
 What did Paul really accuse Festus of in the sentence : 
 4 To the Jews I have done/ etc. 
 
 How did Paul sustain the Roman law ? 
 (91) 
 
 
(FO:> .jr.. 
 
 Is it right always to sustain the law V 
 What inu bo cliect of Paul's reply on Festus ? 
 
 What w. t on Paul's trial ? 
 
 What one thing must Festus now determine ? 
 
 Whom did he consult ? Why V 
 
 What was the decision ? 
 
 How many reasons can you give why it was best for Paul to 
 make this appeal ? 
 
 After the appeal was decided, what other duty had Fes- 
 
 What new perplexity was he in? 
 What came to pass in these days ? 
 
 What was their object in visiting Festus? 
 Who was Agrippa? Bcrnicc? DrusillaV 
 How wnv theM 1: ;esarea? 
 
 acquainted with what? with power oi 
 what? 
 
 Why did Festus consult A;j;rippa about Paul ? 
 W hat did he tell this king? 
 Which did the a first from Festus, 'judgment* 
 
 or trial ? 
 
 What is meant by * their own superstition 7 ? 
 Was there more than one Jesus ? 
 
 Do you suppose that Festus did not understand what Paul 
 meant by the resurrection of Jesus ? 
 
 What is meant by * doubted of such manner of ques- 
 tions'? 
 
 Wh:< \ugustus? 
 
 Why was King Agrippa's curiosity excited? 
 (02) 
 
 
Jwin-scbcntlj 
 
 THE ROYAL VISITORS. 
 
 LESSON. 
 ACTS xxv. 23-27; xxvi. 
 
 T^ESTUS was determined to give his royal visitors 
 * the fullest entertainment possible from the speech 
 of his eloquent prisoner. The occasion was therefore 
 to be made dignified and ceremonious. He sent invita- 
 tions to the principal men of Ca3sarea to be present. 
 He ordered the captains of the thousands to attend him 
 on liis entrance into the audience-chamber. And then 
 with King Agrippa and Berniee, with his retinue of 
 military officers and distinguished citizens, with great 
 display lie seated himself and his illustrious guests in 
 the conspicuous part of the chamber, and ordered Paul 
 to be brought in. 
 
 One of the times had indeed come when Paul was to 
 bear ' the name of the Lord before kings.' 1 Here, in 
 this royal city of Ca3sarea, he was to speak before the 
 king whose ancestor built up all this splendor, and 
 whose father had been publicly hailed as a god by the 
 multitude in the great theatre where he made an im 
 pious oration ; 2 he was to speak before that king's beau- 
 tiful, courtly and wicked sister Bernice, as he had once 
 spoken before his other beautiful and wicked sister Dm 
 
 1 ix. 15. 
 
 9 xii. 21-23. That was Herod Agrippa I. 77iis was bis son, Herod 
 Agrippa II. 
 
THE HOYAL VISITORS. 305 
 
 silla ; and In- H before Festus, the Gov- 
 
 ernor ofJudea. Tlu' members of tin- Ileivdian family 
 
 well acquainted with Jewish customs and usages, 
 but were thoroughly negligent of them and thoroughly 
 unprincipled. The new governor of the province, though 
 inclined to do justice, was the- representative of an art- 
 ful, designing, oppressive empire. On the one sid. 
 
 'iiness in all its dignity and authority : on the other 
 
 >imple spiritual power of the Gospel. 
 
 Festus himself made an opening address to the as- 
 
 scml>: . ing Agrippa. It was simply 
 
 the statement which he had made to Agrippa before in 
 
 private, 1 form of a ceremonious 
 
 :ately sp. -tus, with much display, directed 
 
 Agrippa' Ion to Paul. I!.- 1 that 
 
 Paul was innocent of any crime punished l.y death. He 
 f !iat Paul had appealed to the Kmperor ; and then 
 he declared his own perplexity in making out a 
 
 of Paul's case, to be sent to the Emperor. That 
 Agrippa. might hear the prisoner's own story, he had 
 ordered this audience, and now Paul might be permit- 
 ted to speak for 1 
 
 S BEFOKi: !'A. 
 
 As Paul was now invited to speak before a J< 
 king, he does not try to defend himself from the~~charge 
 of treason the Poman law, but rather from the 
 
 :! law. Indeed if 
 
 had been decided ibat he shcnil e and be 
 
 tried be lore the Emperor in respect to the accusations 
 made against him. In i 'i therefore before King 
 
 Agrippa Paul gives the reasons why the Jews have 
 sought his life, and earnestly speaks of Jesus as the 
 Me -Mali of the Je 
 
 I. Paul first declared King Agrippa's familiarity with 
 
306 (FORTY-SE VLXTH SUXDA Y.) 
 
 Jewish customs and usages a source of satisfaction to 
 him in making his address. (Verses 2, 3.) AVI ion 
 Paul spoke to Festus, a Roman, recently arrived from 
 Rome, he could not of course speak so freely of cus- 
 toms and sects among the Jews. 
 
 II. In respect to heresy, or violating the law of Moses, 
 which the Jews had accused him of, he was as far from 
 committing that crime as any Jew. (A^erses 4 to 8.) 
 For (1.) In all his early life he had been educated and 
 had lived as a Pharisee, keeping the law in the strictest 
 manner, as the Jews themselves knew. (4, 5.) And 
 now (2.) The very thing the Jews accused him of was y, 
 that he believed the great promise of the Messiah made 
 to the Jews was fulfilled. ^(G, 7, 8.) All the tribes of 
 Israel claimed that the time would come when that 
 
 :;! promise would be fulfilled. lie had only claimed 
 that it ir<tx already fulfilled ; that Jesus of Nazareth 
 this Messiah ; and that his resurrection from the 
 dead ] roved him to be. And why should it be thought 
 incredible among the Jews and especially among the 
 Phari>e<-s, whu believed in the resurrection of the dead, 
 that God should raise Jesus from the dead? By 
 believing that Jesus of Nazareth had risen from the 
 dead and therefore was the Messiah, he was arf really 
 keeping the law as the Jews were in expecting a Mes- 1 
 si ah at all. 
 
 III. The real 'causes' why the Jews seized him in 
 the temple and tried to kill him in Jerusalem were 
 not heresy, but that he had changed from a persecutor \/ 
 of Jesus and of his followers to their friend, and had 
 preached to the Gentiles, in obedience to Jesus' com- 
 mand. (Verses 9 to 23.) This change had taken place 
 in the following manner : 
 
 1. He had first been a most fierce persecutor of Jesus 
 and his followers. (0-11.) 
 
TJH. A VISITORS. 307 
 
 2. On liis way to Damascus the evidence of a mirac* 
 tilous light, a miraculous voice and a miraculous ap- 
 
 Linself, which lie could not resist, 
 
 had convinced him that Jesus was the Messiah of the 
 Scriptures. (12-15.) 
 
 3. Jesus the Messiah, in that vision, commanded him 
 to preach to the Gentiles, that they might be saved also. 
 (16-18.) 
 
 4. And 1 1 the words of the Messiah 
 and preached to the Gentiles, the Jews tried to kill ** 
 him. (19-21.) 
 
 'ut from the time of his change iVoin an enemy 
 to a friend Of Jeans, Up to that very day, there- had hec-n 
 n<> heresy; for h 1 nothing hut what the Jew- 
 
 Scriptures t: 'irht : that the Mcs>iah 
 
 should rise from the dead: that 
 he should give the light of religion to the Gentiles 
 well as to the JeW8. (22, 23.) And : re now 
 
 the things in respect to which Paul claimed that he bore 
 witness to small and to great. The overwhelming evi- 
 dence of that miraculous vision could never he taken tx 
 from his mind. Jesus of Xa/arclh was the ?dc>si:ih of 
 the prophets and of the law of Moses, lie knew it;] 
 
 and he obeyed the voice of the 
 
 King Agrippa could fully com; all this. All 
 
 the points in 1'ai. ' I \ he could well underhand. 
 
 But to the lioin::M Festus, there was much that was 
 strange and unmeaning. This strange vision of which 
 Paul Bp ike : v, hat ' And : I 
 
 resurrection of the dead : " To the cold man of the/ 
 world, as to the inquisitive Athenians^ it was foolish-l 
 ness." To him, Paul "seemed like a mad enthusiast, 
 whose head had been turned" by incessant study of 
 :he religious writings to which he referred. He broke 
 in, therefore, upon the Apostle's speech : 
 
SOS (FORTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 \ " Paul, thou art beside thyself : much learning 
 - makes thee mad." 
 
 Much learning is literally ' many letters ' much study 
 is making thee mad. It is not unlikely that in his im 
 prisonment Paul had other manuscripts beside the He 
 brew Scriptures ; and that he had been diligently study 
 ing the c rolls ' of the prophets and of the law and of 
 other religious writers. It may be that Festus referred 
 to this when he saw the fiery earnestness of this strange 
 prisoner before his royal guests. Paul had not been 
 speaking to Festus, but to Agrippa ; but with perfect 
 ion, he calmly and earnestly replies to Fes- 
 tus : 
 
 "However mad I may seem to thee, most 
 noble Festus, my words are most reasonable 
 and sober, as King Agrippa, being a Jew, 
 fully knows and understands. These things 
 were not secretly done, but most openly and 
 publicly." 
 
 " Then turning again to the Jewish voluptuary who 
 sat beside the Governor, he made this solemn appeal tr 
 him : 
 
 " King Agrippa, dost thou believe these pro- 
 phets ? I know that thou believest." 
 
 The King had been educated into full belief in the in 
 spired prophets of the Hebrews. The next natural 
 thought therefore must have been and perhaps Paul 
 was intending to put it into words : " Then must thou 
 believe that Jesus is the Messiah spoken of in the 
 prophets." 
 
 The King's reply prevented him, and turned the cur- 
 rent of Paul's address : " Thou wilt soon 3 persuade me 
 
 8 " It is universally admitted that the phrase rendered * aJniost ' can- 
 not bear that translation. The name ' Christian/ of heathen coinage, 
 in the mouth of Agrippa. does not imply any sincere or decided cmo- 
 
TflE ROYAL VISITORS. 309 
 
 to be a l Christian.' " As the word Christian cannot 
 have been an honorary name in the mind of a Jew like 
 Agrippa, but rather a name of contempt, " the words 
 were doubtless spoken in irony and contempt." 
 
 J5ut Paul was not to be put off in this way. lie 
 made a most earnest reply, as though the King's words 
 
 spoken in earnest a reply which was as com-;? 
 prehensive and sublime as it was earnest "sweeping 
 r MI nd the bench and the audience, and ending with a 
 touching allusion to his own captivity:" 
 
 " I would to God, that, whether soon or late, , 
 whether with little persuasion or \vith much 
 persuasion, not only thou, but all that hear 
 mo this day, were such as I am, except these 
 bonds." 
 
 " King Agrippa had no desire to hear more : he rose 
 from his seat, with the Governor and Hi-mire and those 
 that sat with them. As they retired, they discuss*. 1 
 the case." They agreed that Paul had not only done 
 nothing worthy of death, but nothing worthy of im- 
 pri-'imirnt. "Agrippa said positively to Festus : 'This 
 man might have been set at liberty, if he had not ap- 
 pealed -to the Emperor.' But the appeal had been 
 niaVTel There was "no retreat either for Festus or for 
 Paul." Festus had no wish to keep Paul in bonds, as 
 Felix had done, and he only waited for a good oppor 
 tunity to send his prisoner to Koine. 
 
 lion ; for lie was a haughty and light-minded voluptuary. The sense 
 may be, * really, without much ado, thou art trying to make me a 
 Christian :' * you would make a Christian of me, as easily and in as 
 .:id a way as you were made yourself.' " DR. EADIE. 
 
(FORTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 "117 II AT shows that Festus meant to make Paul's eloquence 
 an entertainment for his guests ? 
 What prediction made to Paul had come to pass ? 
 What associations added to the force of this prediction ? 
 AY hat two powers were represented here ? 
 Did Festus say anything in his speech which he had not 
 already told Agrippa ? 
 
 What high testimony did he give to Paul's character? 
 Who was Augustus ? Why called * my lord ' ? 
 Could Festus have helped doing this 4 unreasonable ' 
 
 thing ? 
 
 What is Paul's purpose in his speech ? Why ? 
 What is the introductory part of Paul's speech ? 
 
 Why was Paul more glad to speak before Agrippa than 
 
 before Festus ? 
 What is the second part of the speech? 
 
 What is the first point in this part of the argument ? 
 What circumstances can you state which show that 
 
 Paul had been well known to the Jews ? 
 What to show that he had been one of the * strictei t 
 
 sect 7 ? 
 
 What is the second point in this part ? 
 What ' promise ' is referred to ? 
 How did 4 the twelve tribes hope to come ' to this proa 
 
 ise? 
 
 What is meant by 'instantly serving God/ etc. ? 
 How was Paul accused for this ' hope's sake ' ? 
 What has the raising of the dead to do with th5s hope 
 What is the third part of the speech ? 
 
 How is this connected with the second part ? 
 
 What is the first point in this part of the argument ? 
 
 How l many things ' are here named which Paul did i 
 
 a persecutor 
 
 What is the second point in this part ? 
 (03) 
 
YTY-BEVENTH XL' XI) A r.) 
 
 How many things united to force conviction on Paul's 
 mind ? 
 
 What is the third point in this part of the speech ? 
 
 What was the especial 'purpose' in Paul's conversion? 
 
 How was Paul ' delivered from the people and from the 
 Gentiles 7 ? 
 
 "What was God's purpose in sending him to the Gen- 
 tiles ? 
 
 What is meant by * inheritance among them,' etc. ? 
 
 What are the means by which a Gentile now can obtain 
 this inheritance? 
 
 What is the fourth point in this part ? 
 
 In h" and countries did Paul obey this 
 
 command ? A\ 
 
 Can a man l n-pnit of any sin without * turning to 
 God'? 
 
 Are all 'good wpri .tance ' ? 
 
 Show how the fifth point sums up this third part of the 
 rch. 
 
 AN' hat was the one great thing which Paul felt and en- 
 forced in this part of his speech ? 
 
 What different effects did Paul's speaking produce on the 
 Iwo rulers' minds ? 
 
 What reason may be given why Festus thought Paul 
 mad? 
 
 What does 'much learning ' signify ? 
 
 To whom had Paul been speaking? 
 
 Explain the meaning of the twenty-fifth and twenty- 
 sixth verses. 
 
 How is the twenty-eighth verse connected with the pre- 
 vious speech ? 
 
 What is the next natural thought ? 
 
 How was that close of the argument prevented ? 
 
 Did Agrippa mean that he was on the point of yielding 
 to Paul's arguments? 
 
 Explain the force of the Apostle's reply. 
 
 Why did not Agrippa listen longer ? 
 
 What was the result of the conference ? 
 (94) 
 
xwburr, 
 
 THE PRISONER SENT TO ROME. 
 
 LESSON. 
 
 ACTS xxvii. 1-13. 
 
 PAUL was sent to Rome by ship. We do not know 
 that there were any passenger-ships in those clays, 
 Bailing at regular times between the great cities of the 
 Mediterranean ; but there were large numbers of mer- 
 chant-ships plying between all the towns on the coasts. 
 Even emperors themselves were compelled to sail in 
 these ships when they took their voyages of business, 
 as we know that, when Titus was besieging Jerusalem, 
 his father, the Emperor Vespasian, took a merohant- 
 ship at least as far as Rhodes, and that, when he had 
 ended the siege and hastened to Italy, Titus himself 
 went by a merchant-ship which touched at Rhegium 
 and Puteoli, places at which Paul himself touched o: 
 his voyage. 1 " If such was the mode in which ev 
 royal persons travelled from the provinces to the metr< 
 polis, we must of course conclude that those who tra 1 
 elled on the business of the state must have been coi 
 tent to go in the same manner. The sending of stai 
 prisoners to Rome from various parts of the em pi 
 was an event of frequent occurrence. Such groups o: 
 prisoners as this which now went aboard the ship 
 Caesarea must often have left Caesarca and other caste 
 ports in merchant-vessels bound for the west." 
 It is worth while to stop a moment and think of 
 
 1 xxviii. 13. 
 
 
THE PRlSOXEli SEST TO ROME. 311 
 
 busy Mediterranean, and IZ'-nie afl the centre of its com- 
 merce, to help our thoughts of Paul's voyage. The 
 many provinces on all sides sent up to Rome their 
 many articles of traflic. From the province of Africa 
 on the south came "hcav \ of marMc ami gran- 
 
 ite" and of furniture-woods. From the coast of Asia 
 Minor, on the east, came the silks a which had 
 
 been brought "from beyond the Euphrates to the mar- 
 kets anl wharves of Ephesus." From the Black Sea 
 came fish, and from the Archipelago ship-loads of wine. 
 From the distant west, ships with wool and other ar- 
 ticles anehored in the harbors of Ital; 
 chilly was a country rich in the merchandise sent off 
 to the great metropolis. From the distant Indian 
 Ocean, up the Red Sea, and then down the valley of 
 to Alexandria, puiuvd the constant flow of 
 trade in spices, dyes, jewels and perfumes. Added 
 to , icles of traffic, the ships of Alexandria for 
 
 me and for the north and west were laden with 
 linen, paper and glass. And still more, the great ar- 
 ticle of trade which occupied many more of its vessels 
 was the Egyptian wheat, which grew along the fertile 
 banks of the Kile and which helped to feed the mul- 
 titudes of Italy. "The Egyptian grain-vessels were 
 usually bound for the harbor of Puteoli," and we shall 
 soon see the Apostle aboard one of these very ships, 
 and at length landing at that very port. 3 Besides the 
 larger vessels employed in this direct trade between the 
 different provinces and with Rome, we must think of 
 the multitude of smaller ships which were in the coast- 
 ing t rade, and which did not venture so boldly out on the 
 
 at deep. 
 It was probably on one of these coasting-vessels ther 
 
 * Sec frontispiece for illustration of this and the two following 
 lessons. 
 
812 (FORTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 in port at Ciesarea, that Festus the Governor placed 
 Paul. It was a ' ship of Adramyttinm,' a town in My- 
 sia which Paul had himself passed when he came down 
 from Phrygia to Troas. It was found that the captain 
 intended to follow closely the coasts of 'Asia,' 3 a voy- 
 age which would be quite familiar to Paul. 4 Most 
 akely, however, the centurion who had charge of the 
 prisoners meant to sail in this coasting-vessel only till 
 he could find a larger and faster vessel bound more di- 
 rectly for Italy. 
 
 We can see, therefore, the mingled company which 
 was Leathered on the 'ship of Adramyttium ' as she 
 turned her prow towards the northern entrance of the 
 splendid stone harbor of Ca3sarca. There were the 
 captain and the crew: there were Julius the centurion 
 and his Unman soldiers : there were Paul, his two com- 
 panions, Luke and Aristarchus of Thessalonica, 5 and 
 the other prisoners: there were the passengers bound 
 for longer and shorter voyages. Once out of the har- 
 bor, the vessel stood to the north. Passing Mount Car- 
 mel and Ptolemais and Tyre, the next day she " put 
 into Sidon." There were passengers to land, or there 
 was something to be added to or taken from the cargo, 
 or the wind made it more convenient to run into this 
 harbor. 
 
 In this ancient city, for so many centuries connected 
 with Tyre, there were undoubtedly fellow-disciples. 
 Christian preachers must have visited this town as one 
 of the chief cities of Phoenice f Paul and Barnabas them- 
 selves must have stopped here, on their way up from 
 Antioch to Jerusalem. 7 The Sidonian Christians must 
 
 * Not Asia Minor, but the province of Asia. * xx. 13-17; xxi. 1. 
 6 Aristarchus may have been one of the prisoners. See Colossianfi 
 iv. 10, written after Paul reached Rome. 
 c xi. 19. 7 xv. 3. 
 
THE PI TO ROME. 313 
 
 have heard of Paul's landing at Tyre on his last voyage 
 from the west to Jerusalem, two years before. Thmu^h 
 the courtesy of the Roman centurion, (who had no doubt 
 known Paul be-fore he left Ciesarea,) these 4 friends' at 
 Sidon were permitted to sliow Paid kind attentions. 
 Paul was permitted to go on shore to meet them. 
 
 The ship met with opposite winds after leaving Sidon. 
 " The direct course from Sidon to the ' coasts of Asia' 
 would liavr beQQ U) tin- -..uthward of Cyprus, across 
 the sea ov<-r which the Apostle- saih-d BO pmspcrously 
 
 Mi-oiiLT wind which 
 
 then drOV the ship swiftly towards the east now hin- 
 dered his direct course to the west, the captain took 
 the course to the north of Cyprus, through the seas of 
 rilicia and Pamphylia. Ti nother reason, too, 
 
 for p:t-Mii;_r Cyprufl on the north. There is a current in 
 tlu- great sea bet ween Cyprus and the main shore, which 
 continues alon^ the coast of Asia Minor to the Arehi- 
 
 o; and when they should tall into this current, the 
 progress of the voyage would be easier. The whole 
 
 _co must have been made by ' tacking ' against the 
 wind. Paul was in familiar waters. Seleucia and Sa- 
 lamis were oiv. either hand as they came around the 
 eastern end of Cyprus. The coast of his native pro- 
 vince, the hiLrh summits of the mountains of Taurus be- 
 hind Tarsus, the lofty cliffs of Pamphylia, the towns of 
 Alt alia and Perga were slowly passed, and the ship 
 came to a harbor inLycia not far from Patara. 8 This 
 
 lie harbor of Myra. a city of which little is known. 
 But as at Patara, on his last voyage to Judea, Paul 
 made ;i change of ships, so at Myra the centurion trans- 
 ferred his soldiers and prisoners to another vessel. For 
 here at Myra the centurion found an Egyptian grain- 
 ship from Alexandria bound for Italy. Myra was di- 
 8 xxi. 1. 9 See verse 38. 
 
314 (FORTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY.} 
 
 rectly north from Alexandria ; and it is not unlikely 
 that the powerful west wind which Paul's ship had 
 encountered in coming from Sidon, had forced the 
 heavily-laden Alexandrian ship out of her direct course. 
 To escape the fury of a head-wind in the open sea, 
 and to gain the advantage of the shore-current, she had 
 come over to the opposite coast of the Mediterranean. 
 Even in our own day it is no uncommon thing for ships 
 from. Alexandria coming westward to sail to the north 
 for the sake of the current. The Apostle was now no 
 doubt in a much larger ship. This vessel we know was 
 able to accommodate two hundred and seventy six per- 
 sons, 10 passengers and crew. But in this heavy-laden 
 si Tip, and with an adverse wind, the voyage was very 
 slow. Patara and Rhodes were slowly passed, and it was 
 c many days' before Cnidus was reached. Cnidus had 
 a good harbor ; and when they should pass this .pro- 
 montory, they could have no longer the protection of 
 the coast nor the advantage of the current, but would 
 meet the full fury of the north-west wind. It was im- 
 possible to take the regular course straight across the 
 ^Egean, past the island of Cythera. Instead, however, 
 of getting into shelter in this excellent harbor of Cni- 
 dus, the seamen hoped to run down to the southern side 
 of Crete, and then, with this long island as a protec- 
 tion, to make their way across the mouth cf the Arch- 
 ipelago. 
 
 Here therefore the course of Paul's voyage left the 
 scenes of his former journeys. When once exposed to 
 the full force of the wind, the seamen found it a dim- 
 cult task to bring the ship around the end of the island. 
 Having passed Cape Salmone, they were able to get on 
 slowly, as they had done from Myra to Cnidus, umil 
 
 10 Verse 37. 
 
TO ROME. 315 
 
 they; i-'air Havens. u There seems 
 
 t<> h:> . ttO t)',\n ;it Fair Havens," but only an an- 
 
 chor;iL!v>: Vom the wind-, n-ar Lasca. Very like- 
 
 ly tin- TS ami sailors vi nd so the 
 
 came to be mentioned. Much time had now hern 
 spent since they lefl C; plough probably lor the 
 
 ship in an ordinary voyage to have reached Rome, for the 
 time of v ..me when it was thought dangerous 
 
 to try the open sea. The Fast of the Atonement was 
 already past, which occurred near the end of Septem- 
 ber, alter which time 1; itfl thought l! 
 ]>ecially danggrona, IV. -m Ihe storms which occurred 
 ahout that time. It wa<, >uld say, paM the 
 equinox, or about the time of the iMjuinoctial storm, 
 the time when the severer storms set in. Paul warned 
 those who had control of the ship of the danger of 
 going on. His good judgment taught him the risk of 
 lurther exposure: he had had no little experience, too, 
 on the sea: perhaps there was also prophetic foresight 
 of what was to happen. It is not surprising, IIOA\ 
 that the centurion thought more of the opinions of the 
 helmsman and of the captain 11 than of his prisoner. 
 Fair Havens was not well situated to pass the winter 
 in. Farther on was Phenice, which the sailors de- 
 scribed as a good harbor and as having a coast lying 
 towards the south-west and north-west; and which 
 would therefore give protection against the violent 
 winds from those quarters. Waiting then till the fu- 
 rious north-west wind had ceased, and a gentle south 
 wind had sprung up, the sailors pushed on close along 
 the shore, not doubting but that they would soon reach 
 Phenice. 
 
 11 In verse 11 the word * master' means the governor, pilot, helms- 
 and ' owner,' the ship-owner, or ship-master, master and owner 
 often being one. 
 
(FORTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 did passengers sail from one country to another in 
 *" Paul's time ? 
 
 What illustrious examples are given ? 
 
 Did the sending of state-prisoners to Rome often, occur? 
 
 How was Rome the centre of commerce ? 
 
 "What was sent from Africa ? Is the continent of Africa 
 
 meant ? 
 What came from Asia Minor ? Through what harbor 
 
 especially ? 
 
 The Black Sea ? the ^Egean ? the West ? 
 Why did Egypt send so much to Italy ? 
 What other articles from Alexandria ? 
 What was the Egyptians' great article of traffic with 
 
 Italy ? 
 In what Italian harbor did these ships usually discharge 
 
 their cargo ? 
 What other vessels on the Mediterranean besides these 
 
 larger ones ? 
 
 Into whose care did the Governor of Judea deliver Paul? 
 How many men had a centurion under him ? 
 What is meant by Augustus's band ? 
 Into what kind of a ship was Paul taken ? 
 Where was Adramyttium ? 
 
 Do you think Julius meant to sail in this ship to Italy ? 
 What does 'coasts of Asia' mean? 
 When had Paul seen these coasts ? 
 What four classes of persons were on the ship ? 
 Who was Aristarchus ? 
 
 Why did they touch at Sidon ? What places had they 
 passed ? 
 
 With what city was Sidon connected? 
 Why must we think there were Christians here ? 
 What respect for Paul did Julius show ? 
 What is meant by * sailed under Cyprus ' ? 
 
 On which side of Cyprus was the sea of Cilicia? 
 Was this the direct course? 
 (95) 
 
(FORTY-EIGHTH SUXDAY.) 
 
 What two reasons arc there for taking this course ? 
 What is meant by 4 tacking'? Why must they havo 
 
 4 tacked'? 
 
 What familiar objects between Sidon and Myra ? 
 WJiere was Myra ? near what city ? 
 
 What one event connected with Paul's travels occurred 
 
 in both these cities? 
 Why was a change of ships now made? 
 What kind of a ship was the new one ? 
 Was it larger or smaller than the one Paul left ? 
 Where bound ? From what port ? Its cargo ? 
 Were there other passengers than those on the Adra* 
 
 invttium ship? 
 
 In what : fmiM Myra? 
 
 Why should an F/jryptian >hip sailing to Italy come so 
 
 much out of its way? 
 
 What is true of the sailing of such ships now? 
 Why was the sailing now so slow ? 
 
 What two places did they pass where Paul had been 
 
 before? 
 
 Where was Cnidus ? What was it ? 
 Why did not the ship stop at Cnidus? 
 What is meant by * sailed under Crete' ? 
 Why did they try to do t 
 Why was it difficult to pass Cape Salmone ? 
 What was Fair Havens ? Why is Lasea named ? 
 Why was sailing now dangerous? 
 What time of the year was it? 
 What reason had Paul for warning sailors in respect to 
 
 sailing ? 
 Do you think Paul meant this as a prophecy, or as hi? 
 
 opinion ? 
 
 What docs 4 master and owner' mean? 
 AVhy were they determined to push on ? 
 Did they mean to leave Crete during the winter ? 
 What is meant by 'lieth towards the south-west and 
 
 north-west ' ? 
 
 What induced them to leave Fair Havens? 
 (90) 
 
SIORM AND SHIPWRECK. 
 
 LESSON. 
 ACTS xxvii. 13-44. 
 
 ALL on board seem now to have given up reaching 
 Rome till the next spring, but they thought they* 
 were certain of a good harbor to winter in. The light 
 south wind was bearing the ship along the coast of 
 Crete ; the sailors were in good spirits ; the passengers 
 were filled with hope of rest and safety ; the very land 
 about Phenice may have been in sight : when in a mo- 
 ment all was changed. A swift, fierce storm, one of 
 those unforeseen eastern hurricanes, struck the vessel, 
 and catching it in its awful grasp, made it completely 
 unmanageable. It was a typhoon, or curoclydon, (a 
 word meaning 'east wind and waves,') rushing down 
 the mountainous sides of the island. 1 The sea was in- 
 stantly in a foam : the sails had been ' trimmed ' for a 
 favoring breeze from another direction : the ship would 
 not obey the helm, or, in the expressive words of the 
 Geeek, c would not look the wind in thejace,' 2 and tlio 
 best the sailors could do, was to let her 'scud before 
 the gale.' The vessel was of course driven ' off the 
 island? and so swiftly that the sailors feared they 
 
 1 Our translation, * arose against it,' docs not fully express the snd- 
 aenness and fury which are expressed in the Greek words : the Greek 
 words mean, the tempest * cast itself down or along it (the island.)' 
 
 3 Our translation, 'could not bear up into the wind,' has the same 
 meaning. 
 
STORM AND SHIPWRECK. 31 7 
 
 would 1) > c i! i i"<] into the dreadful quicksands 3 on tlio 
 coast of Afri-a. AVI now to be done in such 
 
 danger ? Four things were done. First, tlie sailors 
 took advantage of the direction of the storm to get un- 
 der the protection of the little island, Clauda. "lino 
 tln-y would have' the advau: age of a temporary lull and 
 of less boisterous water for a few miles." Taking this 
 temporary advantage, secondly, 'the boat wcti hritted 
 on board?* It would be the height of folly, with such 
 a load of passengers, to let go this boat, the only hope, 
 if the ship >hmild spriinr a nad leak ; but to get a boat, 
 half filled with v. <T the- sides of the ship in a 
 
 gah 1 of wind, wa< ; ///>/'// work? Thirdly, they 'tmdbP- 
 gird V tli (1 ship. T :ti.n against ti.o 
 
 starting of the planks iu the hull of the ship. 'Helps,' 
 that is, ropes or cables, were passed around the frame 
 of the ship to strengthen it ami to prevent a leak. 
 Fourthly, they * lowered tJie gear? 6 They either took 
 iu the sails or pulled down the ropes and yards. These 
 different preparations were made so that they might 
 c weather out the storm.' 
 
 To one unacquainted with the sea it might appear 
 that they were now beaten in all directions bythe'ivind 
 and waves; and on some maps the track of the ship 
 laid down changes towards all points of the compass; 
 but it has been shown, with no little reason, that the 
 course was nearly straight till they reached the island 
 on which they were wrecked. Sailors know quite well 
 
 $ The word ' quicksands/ in Greek, is * Syr^is/ the name of tin 
 famous quicksands Qn the African coast, directly towards which thf 
 ship was driving. See the frontispiece map. 
 
 4 * To. come by the boat/ is to get mastery of it, so as to hoist it 
 into the ship. It must have been towing behind. 
 
 -ke sail,* verse 17. Literally, * they lowered the gearing* 
 The sails, or only the ropes and yards, may be meant. 
 
318 (FORTY-NINTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 that sometimes it is far more dangerous to let the ship 
 roll at the mercy of the storm, or to e scud under bare 
 poles,' than it is to head the ship nearly towards the 
 wind and to spread a sail. Any one who knows what 
 the seamen's phrase c to tack ' means, knows that a ship 
 can be made to sail in good weather in a direction 
 nearly contrary to the wind ; and although this could 
 not well be done in a storm, yet by keeping the head 
 of the ship nearly towards the wind, and a small sail 
 set, the vessel would be steadier, and would be driven 
 slowly backward. This is called * lying to? (that is, 
 lying to the wind,) and the vessel is allowed to ' drift] 
 " a plan constantly resorted to, when the object is not 
 so much to make progress as to outride the gale." For 
 Paul's ship " to have scudded before the gale under bare 
 poles, or under storm-sails, would infallibly have strand- 
 ed them in the Syrtis." But if the vessel was laid to, 
 and was allowed to drift, in a straight course, in four- 
 days she must have been very near the island 
 
 The second day of the storm, they c lightened the 
 ship.' The vessel had probably sprung a leak ; and the 
 crew cast overboard the things which they could afford 
 to lose best. It was not enough, however. The leak 
 continued ; and the third day, the passengers helped the 
 sailors 7 throw out all the 4 tackling ' the heavy ropes, 
 spars and yards which could be spared. Then for 
 many days and nights there was great distress, such as 
 no one who had never been out on the sea in a long and 
 furious storm and in a leaking ship, can know. The 
 constant work of passengers and crew by day and by 
 night, the anxious watching against leak in all p:irls of 
 the ship, the violent dashing of the waves over flic vc* 
 
 6 Verse 27. 
 Notice that in verse 18, 'they' is used, nnd in verse JO, ' wr .* 
 
ST01LM AXD SHIPWRECK. 319 
 
 sel and the pumping out of the water, the throwing 
 over of one heavy article after another, the ceaseless 
 plunging and rolling of the vessel, the creaking and 
 .lining of the ship's frame and rigging, the terror of 
 frighten* ngers and the sickness of others, the 
 
 . ; iml)ing cold and wet, the wearisome strain of mind 
 ;nd body, all united to increase their helpless suilering. 
 And besides all this the sky was entirely overcast. 
 There was neither sun nor stars to Steer by. 8 " It was 
 in possible to know how near they might be to the 
 otis coast. Y orst danger was from 
 
 th" leaky BtatC of bad that 
 
 at length tli-; 1' all hope of IM-'HILT sa\ed," and 
 
 iliMiiglit the ship must go down. Besides all this dis- 
 ere could have been no regular meals. Much 
 of the pro visions migfel ha\- l.eeii spoiled by the sea- 
 water; and the food which they had, must have' been 
 taken only between their labors. Despair W9A in every 
 heart but one. 
 
 Paul, the prisoner, is hopeful and confident. "While 
 the heathen sailors had been trying in vain to save the 
 ship, praying no doubt to their gods, God, who holds 
 the winds, had spoken to his Apostle and had answered 
 his prayers. Paul had another vision, like the one 
 Troas," in which God directed his course. In the midst 
 of the despairing sailors, Paul reminded them of his 
 warning at Fair Havens, not to reproach them, but to 
 show that his words were worthy of their respect and 
 confidence. And now he declares that not one of all 
 the crew and passengers should be lost. Only the ship 
 would go down. God's angel had told him the destiny 
 of the ship and those on board. God's purpose that his 
 
 8 They had no compass, of course ; and the sun and stars were the 
 reliance of the ancient helmsman, when out of sight of land or at 
 
320 (FORTY-NINTH SUNDAY.} 
 
 Apostle should stand in the presence of the Emperor 
 should not be defeated. And for Paul's sake, God 
 would preserve all his fellow-voyagers. We are not 
 told whether the sailors believed that God whom Paul 
 believed, and took heart as Paul urged them to do. 
 Paul's high hope could but have made them more 
 hopeful. 
 
 Still the storm continued. Day and night followed, 
 perhaps more than once. The danger did not cease. 
 At length, it was fourteen long days since they had 
 been driven out into the lower Adriatic Sea. 10 About 
 midnight of the fourteenth night, as they were tossed 
 up and down, "the sailors suspected that they were 
 Hearing land." As they could not see, they must have 
 hi-ard the breaking of waves on the shore. "The roar 
 of breakers is a peculiar sound, which can be detected 
 by a practised ear," although persons not sailors might 
 not distinguish it from other sounds of a storm. On 
 sounding, they found they were rapidly running into 
 shallower water. The anchors were quickly cleared 
 and cast out of the stern, which would prevent the ves- 
 sel from swinging around. 11 How anxiously they must 
 have waited for daylight ! Who could tell what might 
 occur from the breaking of an anchor-cable ? A cold 
 rain was falling ; 12 the wind was rattling the rigging, 
 if indeed there was rigging left ; and no one could yet 
 see the rocks or what kind of shore was right before 
 them. The ship itself might go down before morning. 
 This the sailors knew better than the passengers ; and 
 in the darkness, and without knowing whither they 
 would be carried, they selfishly attempted to get away 
 
 10 Adria was the Adriatic Sea, including then the Ionian Sea. 
 
 11 If they had anchored like modern vessels, from the bow, the ves- 
 sel might have swung around on to rocks, since the wind WHS from 
 behind. 12 xxviii. 2. 
 
STORM AXD SHIPWRECK. 321 
 
 from the ship in the boat. Pretending to lower anchors 
 from the bow, (which no doubt would have steadied 
 the ship,) they got the boat down to the water's edge. 
 Paul saw the sailors were intending to flee and to leave 
 the rot to their fate, and his appeal to the centurion 
 slipped their seltish plan. The soldiers instantly cut 
 the lowering-ropes; the boat fell, instantly filled with 
 water and went to the bottom, or drifted off into the 
 
 .ness. 
 
 Paul the prisoner now is the chief and commanding 
 
 p -:->n in all that large number. lie persuades them 
 
 to take food to strengthen them, himself setting the 
 
 log thanks to God, when all 
 
 oth-- 'ring. From such a 
 
 heroic courage, they also took heart In-tcad of giving 
 up in d--pair, they now went to work to make the ship 
 as light as possible, so as to run her far up on the land 
 and from her to get to shore. The cargo of wh<-at in the 
 hold, which while tossing on the open sea they proba- 
 bly could not well get at, they now poured out into the 
 sc-i. When this work of some hours was done, the day 
 had I. and the land could be seen. Xo one could 
 
 tell what land it was ; but they saw a small inlet "with 
 a beach, into which they resolved to thrust the ship. 
 ]>ut to do this Avould require the greatest care. The 
 rudders (of which there were two in ancient vessels, 
 and which were large, strong oars, at the sides of the 
 stern) seem to have been bound up out of the way of 
 the cables, when the anchors were cast out of the stern. 
 The rudder-bands were now unlashed, the anchor-cables 
 cut, the sail hoisted, and the ship was run aground. " It 
 does not appear quite certain whether they exactly hit 
 
 11 The word * creek/ m verse 39, is used in the maritime sense. 
 See the Dictionary. 
 
3-2*2 (FORTY-NINTH SUNDAY.} 
 
 the point at which they aimed." But the bow stuck 
 fast on a spot where two opposing seas had thrown up 
 :i hidden bank of earth or sand, and the waves dashing 
 against each other just there, the stern was soon broken 
 to pieces. 
 
 Another incident is given at this point, quite charac- 
 teristic of Roman soldiers. " The soldiers were answer- 
 able with their own lives for their prisoners, and were 
 afraid some of them should swim out and escape ; and 
 therefore, in the spirit of true Roman cruelty, they pro- 
 posed to kill them at once. Paul's influence over the 
 centurion was again the means of saving his own life 
 and the life of his fellow-prisoners. The centurion 
 iniirht care little for the rest, but he was determined to \ 
 save Paul. lie therefore prevented the soldiers from 
 accomplishing their heartless purpose, and directed 
 those who could swim " soldiers and prisoners togeth- 
 er, no doubt to cast themselves into the sea first, 
 " while the rest made use of spars and broken pieces 
 of the wreck." Most wonderfully, not one of the whole 
 two hundred and seventy-six iailed to reach the shore 
 through the breakers. 
 
(FORTY-NINTH SUXDA F.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 "\VIIEX did the ship's crew now expect to reach Italy f 
 What was the Euroclydon ? 
 'What is the meaning of the word? 
 What is meant by * arose against it 7 ? 
 4 The ship was caught ' ? * could not bear up into th* 
 
 wind '? Mother drive 1 ? 
 Where was the vessel driven ? 
 What was the first thing the sailors did ? 
 What was the second thing done ? Why ' much work ' ? 
 What was thj third thing done? Why? 
 What was tin- fourth thing? 'Strain sail' ? Why? ' 
 Is it likely that the wind now lu-at them in all directions? 
 What thivi- ways arc there of managing a ship at such 
 
 a time? Which i -t? 
 
 What is * lying to* in & storm ? 'drifting ' f 
 What is the object of permitting a vessel to drift ? 
 Why would it have been unsafe for this ship to run be- 
 fore the gale ? 
 IIow long did the ship drift ? Where would they have 
 
 been by this time, if they drifted ? 
 What was done the second day of the storm ? Why ? 
 What the third day ? 
 
 IIow do you know the passengers helped ? 
 What is "the ' tickling'? 
 What circumstances must have united to increase their 
 
 suffering ? 
 
 IIow long did this continue ? 
 Why did the overcast sky add to their danger ? 
 What was the danger worst of all ? 
 Did every one yield to despair of saving life ? 
 Why did not Paul yield ? 
 Is there anything in religion to produce hope in great 
 
 dangers and trials ? 
 
 Why is 'long abstinence* mentioned in the twenty-first 
 verse ? 
 
 (07) 
 
{FORTY-NINTH SUNDAY.) 
 
 Does it mean that Paul, or all, abstained ? 
 Why did Paul allude to his warning at Crete ? 
 
 How did Paul know without this vision that his own 
 
 life would not be lost ? 
 Can you mention any other instance of wicked men 
 
 preserved for the righteous 1 sake ? 
 What especial prediction did Paul make ? 
 * The fourteenth night had come ' : fourteenth after what ? 
 "What is meant by 4 driven up and down ' ? 
 What was 'Adria'? 
 
 How could the sailors tell they were near land ? 
 What did the 'sounding' show? 
 Would they be likely to continue drifting backwards, 
 
 after they thought land near ? 
 Why did they cast the anchors * out of the stern* ? 
 Were these anchors like our anchors ? 
 What does the sailors* attempt to get out of the ship 
 show in respect to their opinion of saving the 
 ship ? 
 What effect would casting anchors from the loio have 
 
 had ? 
 
 Do you suppose Paul meant that they had eaten nothing for 
 fourteen <l 
 
 Was not this a time when thanks to God before a meal 
 
 might have been omitted, if ever ? 
 
 What do the thirty-sixth and thirty-eighth verses show in 
 respect to the influence of Paul's hope upon the ship's com- 
 pany ? 
 
 Why didn't they cast out the wheat before? Why 
 
 now ? 
 
 What docs * creek' mean? What were the 'rudder- 
 bands'? 
 Why should the ship run aground * where two seas 
 
 met'? 
 
 Why would the waves be violent there ? 
 What characteristic of the Iloman soldier is here seen ? 
 Why were the prisoners saved? 
 How many persons escaped to land ? How ? 
 
 (08) 
 
.fiftieth 
 
 SICILY AND ITALY. 
 
 LESSON. 
 ACTS xxviii. 1-16. 
 
 T1IIK whole large number of passengers and crew was 
 at 1 <>!i shore. * Not a hair' had ; fallen 
 
 1 of any' ofthem. The wreek lay off ori 
 The loss had been only 'of the 
 i. 1 Paul's predictions had 1><" n fullHS-d. They 
 e the words of God given to him to utter to his 
 
 \v-men. 
 
 People were soon found. The island was declared 
 
 to be Melita. P- lors themselves soon re- 
 
 l some prominent feature of the island, by 
 
 which they' knew it. There were anciently two islands 
 
 is name, one of which is now called Malta and the -J 
 other JAA !(. Malta is no doubt the one on which 
 Paul was wrecked, although there are those who have 
 thought it was Melcda. \ far up in the 
 
 Adriatic Sea, on the coast of Illyricum. It would be 
 very strange indeed if a vessel could have been driven 
 BO far up the gulf, without coming in conflict with any 
 island or coast. v Why, too, should not Paul have gone 
 to Home directly across Italy, instead of going away 
 :i id by Sicily, as we shall see he did ? It is by far 
 more natural to suppose that Malta^ is the island ; and 
 there are some strong reasons for believing that the bay 
 to t! .died. St. Paul's Bay, was, as the tradition 
 
 if to bo, the place of Paul's shipwreck. 
 
324 SICILY AND ITALY. 
 
 The people are said to have been ' barbarous,' but it 
 is not meant that they were savage, uncultivated and 
 cruel. They did not speak the Greek language ; and 
 therefore to one who, like Paul or Luke, made use of 
 the ordinary division of all mankind into Greeks and 
 barbarians, 1 they were ' barbarous people.' Still they 
 were as superstitious as they were kind. They kindled 
 a blazing lire in the cold October rain. It was not sur- 
 prising that Paul, in gathering hastily a bundle of brush- 
 wood from the wet ground, should not have noticed a 
 viper in it. And when the heat revived the reptile 
 from the stupor which the cold rain had produced, it 
 clung to Paul's hand. It is not said that Paul was bit- 
 ten, but the superstitious people thought, from the na- 
 ture of the reptile, that he must be bitten, and that he 
 would fall dead. And just as the people of Lystra first 
 said Paul was a god and then stoned him as a magic- 
 worker, so the people of Malta suddenly changed from 
 railing Paul a murderer to calling him a god. Paul of 
 course did not permit them to give him any such title, 
 but preached to them the same doctrine which he did 
 to the Lystrians, that he was a man of like passions 
 with them, and that there was only one God, who made 
 heaven and the earth and the sea. Very soon, too, 
 miracles were wrought to confirm the truth of his 
 words. The father of 'the chief man of the island,' at 
 whose house Paul and Luke and others no doubt were 
 hospitably entertained, was restored from an aggra- ' 
 vated disease. Publius may have been the Roman gov- ' 
 ernor, for his name is Roman. Malta belonged to Rome, 
 and Publius was the ' chief man ' of the island. But the 
 cure was wrought by prayer to that one God whom Paul 
 preached, and in the name of that Jesus through whom 
 only, Paul every where taught men could be saved. The 
 1 Sec Romans i. 14 T, Corintliians xiv. 11. 
 
(FIFTIETH SUNDAY.) 325 
 
 healing of the governor's father, or of the father of so 
 well known a man as Publiu<, w*fl quickly known 
 throughout the little inland, and many other sufferers, 
 brought to Paul, were healed. Every one who was 
 healed, heard also of Jesus the Messiah, for Paul 
 wrought no cures in any other name or power. The 
 kindness of the people was returned to them therefore: 
 health for hospitality. 
 
 All honor and attention were paid to Paul and his 
 companions during his stay of three months. Julius no 
 doul>t gave him his liberty. The inhabitants, soldiers, 
 
 sailors, must have h- Ts earn 
 
 . -hing during this providential delay. Perhaps 
 many a convert thanked God for the blessing of the 
 
 It was soon known that another Alexandrian ship 
 
 in a harbor of Malta, passing the winter. At the 
 
 prow of the vessel were sculptured images or painted 
 
 iigures of the twin gods, the sons of Jupiter, which were 
 
 the sign or the badge of the vessel. Castor and Pollux 
 
 the patron gods of sailors. The centurion put his 
 
 sailors and prisoners aboard this ship, (for it was bound 
 
 for Italy,) and in the month of January* they were on 
 
 their way towards Home. Sicily must have been visible 
 
 soon after they set sail, the distant blue mountains rising 
 
 nbuve the black line of the shore. The two promonto- 
 
 on the south-east corner of the island once passed, 
 
 the burning Mount Etna was seen, fifty or sixty miles to 
 
 the north, lifting its cone-like form, with its plume of 
 
 'ke, far up into the air ; and the city of Syracuse, 
 
 partly on a little island in its harbor and partly on the 
 
 shore, was directly before them. Syracuse was the 
 
 wealthiest and largest town of Sicily ; and Sicily, from 
 
 its abundant fruits and its immense harvests of wheat, 
 
 1 See xxvii. 9, (with page 315 ;) xxvii. 27 ; and xxviii. 11 
 
$26 SICILY AXD ITALY. 
 
 was called by the Romans, c the store-house of Italy.' 
 In the harbor and in the town many a battle had been 
 fought with revolutionary parties and with foreign in- 
 vaders. In Syracuse, Plato and Cicero had lived ; in this 
 city, the poet Theocritus and the philosopher Archimedes 
 were born ; and here Archimedes, at work on a mathe- 
 matical problem, was killed by Roman soldiers, when 
 the Roman army captured the city. The beautiful bay 
 swept around a circumference of live miles, and the lit- 
 tle island on which the city had been first built had be- 
 come gradually united by buildings to the shore. Here 
 the ship remained three days. Julius, the centurion, 
 who had been so kind at Sidon, and who had learned 
 to respect Paul still more in the storm and shipwreck, 
 would not refuse to let Paul go ashore. In such a busy, 
 trafficking city as this, Paul would find hundreds of 
 Jews ; and if there was an opportunity for Paul to meet 
 them in their synagogue, Jesus the Messiah was cer- 
 tainly proclaimed : so that the tradition may be true 
 which says that Paul was "the first founder of the 
 Sicilian church." 
 
 Sailing out of this splendid harbor, the ship turned 
 her painted head to the north, towards the straits of 
 Sicily. The wind does not seem to have been favora- j 
 ble, for they were obliged to make a circuit. If the 
 wind was in the west and they were close to the shore 
 and the high mountains, "they were obliged to stand 
 out to sea to fill their sails, and so they came to Rlic- 
 gium by a circuitous sweep." 3 The ship, which had for 
 its protecting divinities Castor and Pollux, had come 
 to a city over which 'the Great Twin Brothers ' were 
 supposed to be protectors. The Rhcgians worshipped 
 
 * A traveller says that " when he made a voyage from Syracuse to 
 Rhegiura, the vessel in which he sailed took a similar circuit for thia 
 reason." 
 
(FIFTIETH SUNDAY.) 
 
 327 
 
 Castor and Pollux as their divinity. At Rhegium and 
 at the Rhegian Pillars, twelve miles north, was the 
 regular crossing-place from Italy to Sicily. In this an- 
 eient port, the first port of Italy at which Paul touched, 
 the ship staid one day, waiting for a favorable wind to 
 carry them through the difficult straits. The south 
 wind bore them safely through the channel between 
 Scylla and Charybdis, and in one day to Puteoli. 
 
 As they drew near the point of land which shut off 
 (heir view the bay on which Puteoli is situated, 
 they could see more clearly the rich fields and vine-clad 
 maintain sides of lower Italy. Passing Cape Minerva, 
 the magnificent bay of Naples, celebrated for its wonder- 
 ful beauty by all travellers, ancient and modern, burst 
 them. ]>ack of the middle point of the curve 
 :it Vesuvius, not then a fiery volcano, but 
 i and sunny,' ' with its westward slope covered 
 with vines.' "Little did the Apostle dream, when he 
 
328 SICILY AND ITALY. 
 
 looked from the vessel's deck to the right, that a ruin 
 like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, hung over the fail- 
 cities at the base of the mountain, and that the Jewish 
 princess Drusilla," before whom he preached at Csesa- 1 
 rea, " and her child, would find their tomb in that ruin." 
 The coast curves in most graceful forms ; and at the 
 opposite end of this magnificent bay is the little recess 
 in front of Puteoli. " In all this wide and sunny ex- 
 panse of blue waters, no part w r as calmer or more beau- 
 tiful. Puteoli was the Liverpool of Italy." In its fine 
 harbor and at its piers lay the Alexandrian grain-ships, 
 at the end of their long, heavy voyages ; and it is said 
 tli at crowds of idlers came down to the pier to watch 
 these ships come in. In this very bay, the sailors of 
 one of these ships had paid divine honors to the Em-v/ 
 ]>cror Augustus, saying that he had made their voyages 
 Baft and their trade prosperous. But now the Alexan- 
 drian sailors had a greater than Augustus on board 
 their vessel, the messenger of a kingdom and a King 
 which were to outlast the crumbling foundations of his 
 mighty empire. The Scripture story says nothing to 
 us of the business of the city, the beauty of its surround- 
 ing scenery, the strength and size of the great piers in 
 the harbor, the mineral springs not far off, nothing of 
 the fact that here armies, embarked for Spain, and here 
 ambassadors landed from Carthage, but only that Paul 
 found c brethren ' who wished him to stay in Pute- 
 oli 'seven days.' Here too Christ had been preach- 
 ed : here in the distant West, disciples of Jesus were 
 found, ' brethren ' of the one great household of faith : 
 h'-re the famous Apostle, who had written his instruc- 
 tive letter from Corinth to Rome, was well known. I Ie 
 \\ : - now a prisoner in chains, escaped from shipwreck, g 
 Julius permitted Paul to remain. Why should he not 
 favor the man who had saved his life? 
 
(FIFTIETH 8UXDAY.) 329 
 
 To go up from Puteoli to Rome was something like 
 going from Liverpool to London. At a little distance 
 from Puteoli, the great southern Roman state road 
 passed, connecting at Brundusium with the road across 
 .Macedonia to the east, by a ferry. After a short jour- 
 ney from Puteoli up to Capua, the Roman soldiers and 
 their prisoners would strike the very road which Paul 
 and Luke had before trodden from Philippi to Thessa- 
 lonioa. Leaving the important town of Capua, the sol- 
 diers took up the last stage of their journey : the first 
 mile-stone told them it was 'one hundred and twenty- 
 five miles to Rome.' Along the stone pavement, so 
 perfectly fixed in its place that after hundreds of years 
 inueli of it still remains perfect without repairing, over 
 arehed bridges, they came down to Sinuessa, on the 
 MB, Here the hills shut off the view of Mount Vesu- 
 vius. Then around the shore of another beautiful bay, 
 they pass through the " long street of FormiaB, with its 
 villas on the sea-side and above it," where Cicero had 
 " one of his favorite retreats from the turmoil of the 
 political world," and where, in a palanquin, he was at 
 last assassinated. Thence, the next principal town is 
 Anxur, on a bold coast of precipices, "with its houses 
 and temples high above the sea." Then the road passes 
 through miles of marshes, and for twenty miles there 
 is a canal by its side, on which the party may have 
 rode, as the poet Horace once did, in a boat drawn by 
 mules. At Appii Forum, " full of low tavern-keepers 
 and boatmen, the mules were unfastened;" and there, 
 a few Christian men, who had heard that the Apostle had 
 landed at Puteoli, and who had hastened to meet him, 
 recognized the Apostle in the crowd and greeted him 
 with holy joy and thanksgiving. Ten miles further on, 
 at Three Taverns, more Christians met him. The weary 
 and worn Apostle took heart and strength when he saw 
 
330 SICILY AND ITALY. 
 
 his friends, (perhaps Aquila and Priscilla were among 
 them, 4 ) and devoutly thanked God for their comfort and 
 friendship. With this pleasant company, the rest of 
 the journey quickly passed. Horsemen and carriages, 
 vehicles of all descriptions, and people of all classes, 
 increase rapidly. The villas and gardens of wealthy 
 citizens are all along the slope of the Alban hills. On 
 the upper side of the road now lies Aricia, the last town 
 before Rome comes into sight ; " and on the hill-side 
 swarms of beggars besot travellers as they passed. On 
 the summit of the next rise, Paul of Tarsus would ob- 
 tain his first view of Rome. No conspicuous building, 
 rising above the rest, attracted the eye." Ancient 
 Rome had no dome nor tower, no cupola nor spire. 
 From where Paul was, it was one wide-spread mass of 
 buildings, the dwellings of poor and rich mingled to- 
 gether, and the temples and palaces, theatres, colon- 
 nades and baths, were not distinguishable. After 
 descending to the plain, the road is in a straight line, 
 " with the sepulchres of illustrious families on either 
 hand. The old pavement then lay through gardens 
 and new-built houses ; and throngs of people, in various 
 costumes and on various errands, vehicles, horsemen 
 and foot-passengers, soldiers and laborers, Romans and 
 foreigners, became more crowded and confusing. The 
 houses grew closer. They were already in Rome." 
 Julius and his prisoners had but to move on under the 
 arch of the gateway, " which was perpetually dripping 
 with the water of the aqueduct that went over it," and 
 they were within the walls of the Imperial city. 
 
 4 Romans xvi. 3, 4. 
 

 (FIFTIETH SLLVDA Y.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 \yiIAT prediction had been fulfilled ? 
 
 What two islands were there called Melita ? 
 Which one of the two do you think this was f 
 What is meant by 4 barbarous people' ? 
 AY hat added to the cold and wet? 
 AY hat time of the year was it ? 
 AY hat shows the superstition of the people ? 
 Did the viper come out of thejire? 
 Did it bite or st'iny Paul? 
 What did the superstitious people think ? 
 Why did they change their minds ? Like what other 
 
 people ? 
 
 AY hut promise of our Saviour was here fulfilled ? 
 What did Paul probably say when they gave him this 
 
 name ? 
 
 Who lived in these 4 quarters ' ? Who was he ? 
 To whom did the island belong ? 
 AYhile Paul was guest at his house what did he ? 
 How long did Paul stay at the house of Publius ? 
 How do we know that many on the island heard Jesus ? 
 IIo\v long was Paul in Malta? 
 
 AYhat attention was shown while he staid? What 
 
 when he departed ? 
 AYhat ship was in port on the island ? 
 
 Was this harbor at the place of shipwreck ? 
 AYhat is meant by * whose sign ' ? 
 AY ho were Castor and Pollux ? 
 
 How do you know what time of year it was when they again 
 set sail ? 
 
 AYhat three things were seen after they left Malta ? 
 
 What was Syracuse ? AYhat was Sicily called ? 
 
 What historical events had taken place in Syracuse and 
 
 its harbor ? 
 
 What celebrated death occurred here ? 
 The bay ? the island ? How long in port ? 
 Did Paul probably go ashore ? What opportunities ? 
 What tradition? 
 
 (99) 
 
(FIFTIETH SUNDAY.) 
 
 In what direction did the ship sail from Syracuse ? 
 
 Where was Rhegium ? 
 
 What does 4 fetched a compass' mean ? 
 
 Why did they fetch a circuit ? What docs a modern 
 traveller say ? 
 
 What gods were the supposed protectors of Rhegium ? 
 
 Rhcgiuin and Rhegian Pillars ? 
 
 How long was the ship at Rhegium ? Why ? 
 What celebrated strait ? What celebrated dangers ? 
 
 How long was the voyage to Puteoli ? 
 
 What was to be seen as they neared Cape Minerva ? 
 What after passing it ? 
 
 What mountain was visible ? What was it then ? 
 
 Who perished in an eruption? What cities ? 
 Where was Puteoli in respect to Naples and its bay ? 
 
 Puteoli ? its ships ? idlers ? divine honors ? 
 
 What facts in respect to Puteoli does the Scripture say 
 nothing of ? 
 
 How came these brethren at Puteoli ? 
 
 Did Paul tarry or did he not ? 
 What road did Paul strike after leaving Puteoli ? 
 
 At what point have we supposed ? In what direction 
 from Puteoli ? 
 
 What other point on the road was as near as this ? 
 
 How far was Capua from Rome ? 
 
 What is there remarkable about this road ? 
 
 What was the first place on the coast ? 
 
 What was there of interest at Formic ? Anxur ? 
 
 What marshes further on ? What else ? 
 
 How did the poet Horace once travel these twenty 
 
 miles ? 
 What did the poet say Apii For am was *full of ? 
 
 Whom did Paul find there V 
 
 How far on was Three Taverns ? 
 
 Who may have been among the brethren here ? 
 
 How was Paul affected at seeing the Roman brethren ? 
 
 The Alban Hills ? Aricia ? the view of Rome ? 
 
 Sepulchres ? throngs ? horses ? gateway ? 
 (100) 
 
Suniraj. 
 
 PAUL'S RESIDENCE IN ROME. 
 
 LESSON. 
 
 ACTS xiTiii. 16-31; PHILIPPIANS i. 13; iv. 22. 
 
 WE cannot tell whether the centurion Julius ordered 
 his soldiers with their prisoners through the nar- 
 row streets to the Forum, and then to the palace of the 
 Kinperor and that part of it calkd {\\vprcetorium, or to 
 the irrcat praetorian camp outside the city wall. The 
 >tm was the quarters of the Emperor's body- 
 iruard ; and as it is likely that the Emperor would wish 
 his guard near him, we may reasonably think that the 
 pnvtorium of which Paul writes from Rome to his 
 Christian friends at Philippi 1 was the barracks of the 
 Imperial guard which were attached to the Emperor's 
 palace. Julius delivered up his prisoners to the Pre- 
 fect of the Prcetorian Guard, as the Greek word means, 
 or to the Captain of the (Imperial or Emperor's) Guard, 
 as this word is properly translated into English. It was 
 the duty of this Prefect " to keep in custody all accused 
 persons who were to be tried before the Emperor." 
 Here, on the Palatine Hill, close by the Forum, sur- 
 rounded by all the illustrious buildings of Rome, by all 
 the places where the most stirring scenes of Roman 
 history occurred, Paul the prisoner is given up to the 
 
 1 The words, ' in the palace? in Philippians i. 13, are in the Greek, 
 ' in the prcetorium? It is the same word which we saw was translated 
 4 judgment-hall' in chapter xxiii. 35. 
 
332 PAUL'S RESIDENCE 7.Y ROME. 
 
 keeping of the Emperor Nero's 3 chief captain. What V 
 a prisoner was he to be in the power of such an Em- 
 peror ! We may well believe that Julius was reluctant 
 to give up his prisoner, from very attachment to him. 
 Nero had not yet arrived at that degree of cruelty which 
 has made his name a perpetual scorn and terror ; and 
 his prcetorian prefect at this time was probably Burrus, 
 who was a good man. We suppose that the statement 
 which Julius made in reference to Paul's heroic conduct 
 on the voyage from Judea, and the letter of Festus, ob- 
 tained for Paul from the captain of the guard, favors 
 which other prisoners did not enjoy. Burrus soon per- 
 mitted Paul to dwell by himself: probably in some 
 other part of the city, only the soldier to whose arm ho 
 was chained must be with him as his guard. 
 
 Perhaps Paul went at first to lodge again with Aquila 
 and Priscilla. Afterwards he had a hired lodging 3 of 
 his own. He at once inquired what was the state of 
 the church in the city. As the Emperor Claudius was 
 dead, who some years before had driven the Jews from 
 Rome, 4 no doubt many other Jews besides Aquila and 
 Priscilla returned to Rome. The friends to whom lie 
 sent his greetings from Corinth may have been Jews 
 expelled from Rome and converted by Paul's preach- 
 ing while absent. There was Epenetus, one of the first 
 converted in Achaia, and many others with Greek 
 names, who may have been converted while away from 
 Italy. 5 And there were women, too. There were the 
 kind-hearted Mary, the beloved Persis, the working 
 Tryphena and Tryphosa, and the respected mother of 
 
 a Claudius, who was Emperor when Paul was at Coriiith the first 
 time (xviii. 2,) was now dead. Nero was Emperor. 
 
 8 Notice the difference between ' lodging,' in verse 23, and * owu 
 hired house/ in verse 30. 4 xviii. 2. 
 
 * See for all these names Rom. xvi. 5-15. 
 
(FIFTY FIRST SIWDA }'.) 333 
 
 Rufus. Many others now, we may believe, hail been 
 gat he the church of Christ. And all of them 
 
 had received much instruction and help from Paul, 
 either directly ironi his preaching in other cities or 
 from his epistle to the Roman Christians. They must 
 ha\ e heard of his sei/urc at Jerusalem and of his im- 
 prisonment at Crcsarea, and must have watched with 
 eagerness when the new Governor Festus was sent to 
 province of Judea, to see what would become of 
 Paul. They were expecting that he would make that 
 vi-it which lie had promised them, 6 if he should be re- 
 leased. Perhaps they had heard of his appeal to the 
 ror. Perhaps they were expecting him as a pri- 
 h they may not have known that he was 
 a prisoner till the news came that he wafl at Puteoli. 
 
 But although there was already a Christian church in 
 Home, t he-re were also multitudes of unconverted Jews. 
 They all lived in a separate part of the city, across the 
 river Tiber. They were not now cruelly treated, but 
 had returned from the exile of Claudius, to live for a 
 while in peace ; for "in the early years of Nero, which 
 distinguished for a mild and lenient government 
 of the empire, the Jews in Rome seem to have enjoyed 
 complete toleration, and to have been a numerous, 
 wealthy and influential community." In Rome, there- 
 fore, as everywhere else, Paul spoke to his own coun- 
 trymen first. He had been in Rome only three days, 
 when he sent for the principal men among the Jews, to 
 tell them why he, their fellow-countryman, was a pri- 
 soner, and waiting a trial before the Emperor. These 
 Roman Jews might already have prejudices against the 
 Preacher to the Gentiles. Or they might think that, 
 as he had appealed from the Jewish law to the Roman, 
 had refused to go to Jerusalem to be tried and had 
 6 Rom. xv. 24. 
 
334 PAUL'S RESIDENCE IN ROME. 
 
 preferred to come to Rome, that Paul was false to his 
 own country and nation. Paul sets the whole matter 
 right at once, by declaring that he was forced to appeal 
 to the Emperor. In his address to them, Paul declares, 
 (1.) His innocence of the charges made against him. 
 (Verse 17.) (2.) That he would have been acquitted at 
 Csesarea, if the Jews had not opposed him contrary to 
 all law. (Verse 18.) (3.) That he had no complaint to 
 make of a just trial by the laws of his own nation, but 
 that the unlawful opposition of the Jews had forced 
 him to protect himself by appealing to the Roman law 
 and to Coesar. (Verse 19.) (4.) That so far was he 
 from disrespecting the laws and customs of his nation, 
 that his only crime was believing that God would de- 
 liver his people by the Messiah, the Hope of Israel. 
 "And therefore he said, 'Men and brethren, for the 
 Hope of Israel I am bound with this chain? " 
 
 Their answer was comforting and encouraging to 
 Paul. "They had received no written communication 
 from Judea concerning him ;" and none of the Jewish 
 bivthren who had arrived at Rome had spoken any evil 
 of him. They had therefore no accusation to make 
 against Paul ; but they wished to hear him speak of the 
 doctrines which he taught. They said that these doc- 
 triiics of Jesus were unpopular everywhere among the 
 Jews, but as Paul was the one great preacher of these 
 doctrines, they would be glad to hear from him the 
 truth in respect to them. A day was therefore ap- 
 pointed for this purpose, and a meeting, to be held at 
 Paul's lodgings. 
 
 On that day Paul spoke long and earnestly to the as- 
 sembled audience. His subject was the same great 
 subject which he had preached about at Antioch in 
 Pisidia and at all other places : Jesus of Nazareth, the 
 Messiah The proofs were shown in the prophets am] 
 
(FIFTY-FIRST SUNDAY.) 335 
 
 in the law of Moses. All the day long the earnest dis- 
 cussion between Paul and the Jews continued. Some 
 were convinced. Some would not believe, but it was 
 because they were not willing to be convinced. Towards 
 evening those who disbelieved were just about to with- 
 draw, when Paul solemnly warned them of the awful 
 sin of cloMnir their eyes to the light and their ears to 
 the truth. He earnestly warned them with those awful 
 words which Jesus himself had quoted 7 from Isaiah in 
 respect to the stubborn and wilful ; and warned them 
 also that the salvation which was intended for them 
 would, if they rejected it, be given to the Gentiles. And 
 so the separation of the Apostle from the Roman Jews ^ 
 took place, they withdrawing to dispute among them- 
 selves about this new 'sect,' and Paul remaining to 
 
 i Jesus and his salvation to all who would hear. 
 ]>tiiTus permitted Paul now to hire a house of his 
 own, and to preach in it to all who chose to come. 
 How strangely God had ordered Paul's career and an- 
 swered his prayers ! The desire of his heart for years 
 had been to visit Rome, and to preach the Gospel there. 
 He had come to Rome how differently from what he 
 expected ! He was permitted to preach in Rome for 
 two whole years, as freely as at Corinth or at Ephesus. 
 No man could harm him ; no enemy could persecute 
 him ; for he was under the protection of the Roman 
 Government, the strong arm of the Pra3torian Prefect 
 supporting and sustaining him. " We must not forget, 
 however, that he was still a prisoner under military 
 custody, chained by the arm, both day and night, to 
 one of the Imperial body-guard, and thus subjected to 
 the rudeness and caprice of an insolent soldiery." 
 Who can say that even the soldiers chained to his side 
 
 7 Matthew xiii. 14, 15 ; Isaiah vi. 9, 10. 
 
33G PAUL'S RESIDENCE IN ROME. 
 
 were not subdued by the Gospel of Jesus exemplified 
 in the preaching and in the life of the Great Apostle ? 
 
 But though Paul was permitted to preach for so long 
 a time, yet his trial was delayed. Two years seem a 
 long time for a prisoner to wait at the very door of the 
 Emperor for a decision on the charges against him. 
 Four reasons may be given for this delay. First. The 
 Emperor might postpone the trial at his own pleasure. 
 Secondly. The prosecutors might not have reached 
 Rome. " The Roman courts required the personal 
 presence of the prosecutor." If the prosecuting Jews 
 from Syria did not set sail till spring or summer, they 
 would not reach Rome till the summer or autumn after- 
 wards. If the prosecutor did not appear, the law at 
 this time did not bring the prisoner to the bar and 
 acquit him, but was very indifferent about the time 
 during which lie was kept in prison. Thirdly. The 
 witnesses might have been delayed. The evidence which 
 failed at CsDsarea would be likely to fail at Rome ; and 
 the Jews might demand time to bring more witnesses. 
 The charge of sedition brought against Paul was that he 
 had excited sedition, not in one place only, but through- 
 out the world, 8 that is, everywhere throughout the 
 empire, and time might be required to collect witnesses 
 from Judea, from Syria, from Cilicia, from Pisidia, from 
 Macedonia, from Achaia, from " all the cities from Da- 
 mascus to Ephesus." This would take a year or more. 
 Fourthly. The official notice of the case, sent by Festus, 
 might have been lost in the shipwreck at Malta. No 
 case of appeal to the Emperor could be tried without 
 such a notice. It would take no little time to send to 
 Festus for a new notice. 
 
 Paul was not only preaching during all this time, but 
 caring personally for his converted friends in Rome, 
 8 xxiv. 5. 
 
(FIFTY- FIRS T S UNDA Y.) 337 
 
 and instructing his converts in distant countries and 
 cities. and messengers were sent from the 
 
 ' hired house' in Koine to the churches over which ho 
 watched witli such tender care. During these two 
 years were undoubtedly written 
 
 TUB EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIAXS; and by the mes- 
 senger who carried it to Colosse was sent also 
 
 THE EPISTLE TO PHILEMON, who is thought to have 
 lived in Colosse ; 
 
 Tin-: EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIAXS ; and 
 THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 
 Paul was not without his near and intimate friends 
 at this time. Xear him in the city must have resided 
 some of those faithful companions who were true to 
 him in advri>ity. Timothy was with him perhaps in 
 his own house. 9 Luke, his fellow-traveller through the 
 long and fearful voyage, was there also and was re- 
 mbered to the brethren of Colosse 10 in the letter. 
 Tychicus, who five years before had travelled with him 
 from Corinth through Troas to Ephesus, 11 was his mes- 
 senger to carry his letters to Ephesus and to Colosse. 12 
 Mark, whom Paul would not take with him on his 
 second journey, was auain with him. 13 Demas, who 
 afterwards forsook him for his love for the world, was 
 there. 14 Ari>tarchu<, 13 who, when at Ephesus, had been 
 carried by the mob into the theatre, and who came with 
 Paul from Caesarea, 15 and Epaphras, 16 were his fellow- 
 prisoners. His imprisonment was cheered, too, by an 
 occasional visit of a Christian brother from some one 
 of the many places in which he preached, as when the 
 
 Col. i. 1, 2 ; Philemon 1 ; Philip, i. 1. 
 
 19 Col. iv. 14 ; Philemon 24. Acts xx. 4. 
 
 B Eph. vi. 21, 22 ; Col. iv. 7, 8. " Col. iv. 10 ; Philemon 24. 
 
 14 Phil. 24 ; Col. iv. 14 ; II. Tim. iv. 10. 
 
 15 Acts xix. 29 ; xxvii. 2. " Col. i. 7 ; Philemon 23. 
 
338 PAULAS RESIDENCE IN ROME. 
 
 warm-hearted Epaphroditus of Philippi came to Paul, 
 bringing him a present of contributions for his sup- 
 port, 17 and bearing back with him, when he had re- 
 covered from sickness, the Letter to his steadfast and 
 much praised Christian friends in Philippi. 18 
 
 17 Philip, iv. 18. See the margin. 
 
 18 Philip, ii. 25-30. The Epistle to Philippi is full of praise, and 
 has hardly any censure. The simple-hearted fiiith of Lydia and of the 
 jailer was enduring in its effects. 
 

 (FIFTY-FIRST SUNDAT., 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 TO wliat place in Rome was Paul taken ? 
 
 AVhat does the verse in Philippians mean ? 
 
 What two places were there with this name ? 
 
 Who was the Captain of the Guard ? What was hi 
 
 duty? 
 
 Who was Emperor at this time ? 
 Who was 4 Captain of the Guard' during these years ? 
 Why was Paul permitted to dwell by himself ? Who 
 
 was with him ? 
 What difference between the Apostle's dwelling at first 
 
 and afterwards ? 
 
 Why had many Jews no doubt returned to Rome ? 
 What converts perhaps ? What women ? 
 AVI uit instruction had all the Roman Christians received 
 
 from Paul ? 
 
 AVhat other Jews were there in Rome? AYhere did they 
 jve ? AVhy were they not persecuted ? 
 
 AVhy did Paul send for them ? What persons among 
 
 them? 
 
 AVhat is the first point in Paul's address to them ? 
 What is the second point ? 
 
 What is the third point ? ' Spake against it : ' against 
 what ? 
 
 AVhat does *had aught to accuse my nation of mean ? 
 What is the fourth point ? 
 
 AVhat is meant by the Hope of Israel? 
 How was it that Paul was a prisoner 4 for this cause ' ? 
 What kind of answer did the Jews make to Paul ? 
 
 Do you think they had heard nothing at all of Paul's 
 
 arrest and trial ? 
 
 What kind of communication may 4 letters ' mean ? 
 What did they wish to hear from Paul ? Why ? 
 AVhat arrangement was made ? 
 Was there no synagogue in Rome ? 
 
 Show how the argument of Paul's address was the samo 
 
 as at Antioch in Pisidia. 
 How long did the discussion continue ? 
 (101) 
 
SUNDA Y.) 
 
 What was the result ? 
 What warning did the Apostle give ? To whom ? 
 
 Who used this warning before Paul ? From what pro- 
 phet is it taken ? 
 
 What does ' hearing, ye shall hear,' mean ? 
 What is the meaning of 4 waxed gross ' ? 
 Did God mean to prevent their being converted ? 
 What prediction is there in the last words of this warn- 
 ing ? 
 What especial force was there in such a prediction in 
 
 Rome? 
 
 Has the prediction of this warning been fulfilled in re- 
 spect to both Jews and Gentiles ? 
 To what Gentiles now does this warning apply as well 
 
 as to those Jews ? 
 
 What division took place after this time ? 
 Where did Paul dwell ? Why must Roman soldiers have 
 heard him preach ? 
 
 What especial advantage for preaching had Paul now? 
 What three reasons may be given why Paul's trial was de- 
 layed so long ? 
 
 What else besides preaching was Paul doing during this 
 
 time? 
 
 WTiat two Epistles were probably sent together ? Why ? 
 What other two Epistles are thought to have been writ- 
 ten there ? 
 
 How do you show that Timothy was with Paul ? 
 What other fellow-traveller ? 
 Who carried the letters to Ephesus and Colosse ? Show 
 
 it. 
 
 What early companion was in Rome ? What * fellow- 
 prisoners ' ? 
 Who visited Paul in his imprisonment ? 
 
 To what place did he carry an Epistle ? 
 Prove that he had been sick. 
 What is a pleasant peculiarity of this Epistle ? 
 From what persons in Rome did Paul send salutations 
 to these Christian brethren ? 
 (102) 
 
Sunburn 
 
 THE TPJAL AND THE EXECUTION. 
 
 LESSON. 
 
 Acrs xxviii. 30, 31; PHILIPPIANS i. 12-14, iv. 22; PIIILEMOU 9 
 H. TIMOTHY iv. 6-8, 16, 17. 
 
 YT7IIEREVER Paul's residence was in the city, there 
 ' was a Roman soldier always with him. Of course 
 it could not always be the same soldier; and in the 
 roe oftwo year*, man;. W6P6 made. In this 
 
 way many soldiers saw Paul and knew him. So: 
 times too he went perhaps to the barracks of the Pr;; - 
 torian (luard, whether the Pratori"in was near the 
 palace of the Emperor or -amp without the city. 
 
 So remarkable a prisoner must have excited great at- 
 tention and great talk among the soldiers. At length 
 Paul could write what he did to his Christian friends 
 at Philippi : that his troubles had helped the preaching 
 of the Gospel, for his imprisonment for Christ's sake 
 well known in all i\\c prcetorium : l that his Christ- 
 ian brethren were more bold to speak out for Christ, 
 on account of the well-known fact of his imprisonment 
 and the cause of it. God's wise and mysterious pur- 
 pose was now seen in sending Paul as a prisoner to 
 Rome. How could he in any other way have gotten 
 into the Emperor's very household ? But now converts 
 were made even among the Emperor's guard or the 
 Emperor's servants. Cruel soldiers, under their still 
 more cruel master, N"ero, sent by him perhaps to do 
 
 2 ' In all the palace ;' in the Greek, * in all the prcetorium? 
 
340 THE TRIAL AND THE EXECUTION. 
 
 some heartless murder or barbarous injustice, must have 
 been surprised at the uniform goodness of such a man, 
 and tenderly touched by the Christian love which bound 
 Paul and his converts together. Servants of the royal 
 family, familiar with the crime and the shame of the 
 Emperor's palace, and disgusted with all the horrible 
 vice they saw, may have heard the words of the aged 
 and venerable Paul, telling of another and a better life, 
 of sins forgiven and real happiness received through 
 Jesus the Messiah. Whoever these converts ' of Cassar's 
 household ' were, they sent their Christian salutations to 
 their brethren of Philippi in the letter Paul sent by 
 Epaphroditus. 
 
 Nero was already growing more public in his acts of 
 cruelty. He had divorced and murdered one wife to 
 marry another. The wicked woman who was now his 
 Empress, professed to be a proselyte to the Jewish re- 
 ligion ; and any man of less courage than Paul might 
 have trembled when he thought that he was soon to be 
 tried by an unprincipled Emperor, whose unscrupulous 
 wife might eagerly listen to the accusations of his ene- 
 mies. 
 
 We have now come to the end of the Acts of the 
 Apostles. It did not seem best to the spirit of inspira. 
 tion that the last years of Paul's life and his death 
 should be described in the sacred Scriptures. Yet how 
 eagerly we desire to know how the last hours of the 
 great Apostle's life w r ere spent, what kind of a death 
 he died and in what manner he met death. It is surely 
 not wrong for us to gather together what testimony 
 we can about these things, and so complete the biogra- 
 phy of this great man. 3 
 
 7 Tliis testimony is gathered from those writers in the first centu- 
 ries, called the early Christian Fathers. There have been two opin- 
 
(FIFTY-SECOND SUNDAY.) 341 
 
 " It was universally believed by the ancient Church 
 that Paul's appeal to C;esar ended successfully; that he 
 :<-qnitted; and that he spent some years in free- 
 dom 'before he was again imprisoned and condemned.' 
 Though there is not very much evidence on this subject, 
 "it is all one way"* According to this supposition, 
 the story of the rest of his life will be given, dividing 
 it into three parts: his first trial: his absence from 
 Rome : his arrest and second trial, and condemnation. 
 
 After the long delay of two years, it is supposed 
 Paul's trial was at length ordered by the Emperor. 
 The Emperors Tiberius :md Claudius usually heard ap- 
 peaN made to them in the Forum ; but Xero held his 
 invat tribunal in the Imperial Palaee, on the Palatine 
 Hill. There, "at one end of a splendid hall, lined with 
 the precious marbles of lv_rypt and of Lybia, we must 
 imagine the Caesar seated." Around him, we see twenty 
 counsellors, men of the highest rank. Two are Con- 
 suls, others are high magistrates of Rome and the rest 
 are Senators. " Over this distinguished bench of judges, 
 led the Absolute Ruler of the whole civili/ed 
 1," Caesar Nero, whose terrible power made men 
 tremble with fear and horror, whose vices made them 
 despise him, whose murder of his wife and mother and 
 adopted brother was only the beginning of more general 
 cruelty throughout Italy, and whose pitiable love of 
 
 ions among learned men in respect to the time of Paul's death, one 
 class holding that Paul was executed at the end of his first imprison- 
 ment, the other that he lived some years after his first trial, and was 
 executed after a second trial. There is a general and substantial 
 agreement in respect to the fact and the method of Paul's execution, 
 and no contradiction ; and we have given the opinion of those who 
 believe there was a second imprisonment, so as to give the fuller ac- 
 count of the two. The lesson would be made too long by giving quo- 
 tations from the fathers. The principal names are, Clement, Tertul- 
 lian, En-whins, Chrysostom and Jerome. 
 
342 THE TRIAL AND THE EXECUTION. 
 
 vulgar applause led him to degrade himself by " pub- 
 licly performing as a musician on the stage and as a 
 charioteer in the races." 
 
 " Before the tribunal of this blood-stained adulterer, 
 Paul the Apostle was now brought in fetters, by his 
 military guard." Paul did not quail. GOD, who guard- 
 ed his life, was greater than Nero ; and in God was his 
 trust. The prosecutor was called to bring forward his 
 witnesses. Proof of the charges was required : that he 
 had disturbed the worship of the Jews, secured to them 
 by law ; that he had polluted their temple ; that he 
 had broken the peace of the empire by stirring up sedi- 
 tion in many cities, as the ringleader of the Nazarene 
 sect. The last charge would be considered a solemn 
 crime by the body of counsellors and by the Emperor. 
 Perhaps there were witnesses from Jerusalem, from 
 Ephesus, from Corinth, to give testimony against him. 
 Perhaps another orator, like Tertullus, complimented 
 and flattered the Emperor, while he painted in dark 
 colors the great offences of Paul. From his previous 
 speeches, we can think how Paul would reply. The 
 testimony of those present with him in the temple, 
 would show that he did not profane the temple. He 
 would show that he had reverenced and had not vio- 
 lated the law of the Jewish religion ; that he belonged 
 to one of several sects of the Jews. He would prove 
 that his teachings everywhere, in his letters as well as 
 in his preaching, had been to submit to the law of the 
 empire. The very letter he had sent to Rome to his 
 friends, (and which may have been shown in the court,) 
 instead of stirring up sedition against the government, 
 had taught them to submit to the ^powers that be? 3 It 
 may be that he spoke again of the doctrines of his sect, 
 
 1 Romans xiii. 1. 
 
(FIFTY-SECOND bCXDAY.} 343 
 
 and reasoned of resurrection, righteousness, temperance 
 and judgment to come. Xero was too much hardened 
 in crime and shame to tremble, like Felix, at these 
 awful realities. 
 
 " When both sides had been heard, and the witnesses 
 
 all examined and cross-examined, (a process which per- 
 
 lasted several days,) the judgment of the court 
 
 was taken. Each of the counsellors gave his opinion in 
 
 writing to the Emperor, who never discussed the judg- 
 
 ment with his counsellors, as better Emperors had done, 
 
 but after reading their opinions, gave sentence accord- 
 
 > his own pleasure." When we think what the 
 
 and that his wicked wile sympathized 
 
 with i . we miirht expect that Paul would have 
 
 condemned. But God so it the Em- 
 
 peror, from mere caprice, or from contempt of the petty 
 
 quarrels of Jews, or for some other reason, acquitted 
 
 Paul, ordered his chains to be struck off and that ho 
 
 should be set at liberty. 4 
 
 AVith what profound thanksgiving to % God did the 
 Christians of Rome, and indeed everywhere, where 
 Paul had been, receive the news of the Emperor's de- 
 cree. The great Apostle was now free to go, and to 
 
 h again for his divine Master. 
 
 Paul's absence from Home is thought to have been 
 
 about irs. These five years are supposed to 
 
 nt in the following manner. First, he 
 
 went through Macedonia to Asia Minor. Just before 
 
 his trial, in his letter to the Philippians, he wrote that 
 
 he hoped to visit Philippi soon, 6 and in his letter to 
 
 Philemon in Colosse, he told Philemon to prepare him 
 
 ':/ing, for he trusted his prayers for his deliverance 
 
 4 We may suppose, however, that either the prosecutor or the wit- 
 nesses did not appear, and that Paul was dismissed from lack of evi- 
 dence. 6 Philippians ii. 24, 23. 
 
344 THE TRIAL AND THE EXECUTION. 
 
 would be answered. 6 If he went to Philippi and to 
 'Asia,' his journey would be down the great road, 
 through Italy, to Brundusium, across the Adriatic to 
 Dyrrachium, through Illyricum on the great road to 
 Thessalonica and then through familiar places to Philip- 
 pi. Then after a happy, glad time with his Philippian 
 children, he went on to Ephesus 7 and to the surround- 
 ing towns, among which was Colosse, and enjoyed the 
 friendship of Philemon and the ' brethren,' staying at 
 the ' lodgings ' prepared. The next year, it is supposed, 
 he took his long thought of 8 journey into Spain. It is 
 not likely that he would go by Rome, for the fury of 
 Nero had now broken out in persecution. 
 
 SUPPOSED JOURNEYS OP PAUL AFTER THE FIRST TRIAL. 
 
 If he went at all, he probably went by sea from Eph- 
 esus to Massilia, from which city he could, on any day, 
 roach towns in Spain. In Spain, he is thought to have 
 labored two years, founding churches along the coast 
 in the principal cities. It was just about the time that 
 he took this voyage that the great lire in Rome oc- 
 curred which was the occasion of Nero's violent perso- 
 
 e Philemon 22. 
 
 T Can you reconcile this supposition with Acts xx. 26 ? 
 
 * Romans xv. 24, 28. 
 
(FIFTY-SECOND SUNDAY.) 345 
 
 cution of the Christians. Paul would not of course go 
 back to Rome at this time. He more likely sailed back 
 to Ephesus. He had now become an aged man, be- 
 tween sixty and seventy years old. 9 
 
 Timothy was now at Ephesus as the preacher and 
 pastor of the Ephesian church. From Ephesus Paul 
 went to Macedonia 10 for a while, where he wrote 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY, 
 
 in which he gave Timothy instructions about the sacred 
 nflice of the ministry, about worship and about the 
 character of deacons." The aged Apostle is about now 
 to leave his mantle on his beloved son in the ministry. 
 Soon after, Paul returned to Ephesus. 18 And after- 
 wards he made, it would seem, a short visit with Titus 
 to the island of Crete. Titus he left in Crete, 13 and 
 soon after his return to Ephesus wrote to him 
 
 THE EPISTLE TO TITUS, 
 
 in which he gives Titus instruction in respect to the 
 churches which Christians had already founded in 
 Crete. If this letter to Titus was written at Ephesus, 
 
 9 At his conversion he was thirty years old or over, (see page 16.) 
 
 30 years. 
 4 Fourteen years after/ (Gal. ii. 1, Acts xv. 2,) 
 
 he went from Antioch to Jerusalem with the 
 
 * difficult question,' 14 years. 
 
 His second journey and stay at Antioch was 
 
 about 3 years. 
 
 His third journey was about . . 4 " 
 
 AtCaesarea, 2 " 
 
 Journey to Rome and in Rome, nearly . 8 " 
 From his acquittal to Ephesus, were about 4 " 
 
 60 years old or over. 
 
 10 1. Timothy i. 3. ll I. Timothy iii. 1-6, 14, 15, 8-10. 
 
 "iii. H. Titus i. 5. 
 
346 THE TRIAL AND THE EXECUTION*. 
 
 it shows where Paul was intending to spend the next 
 winter, for he directs Titus to come to him before the 
 next winter at Nicopolis, 14 a town of considerable im- 
 portance in lllyricum ; and if the second letter to Tim- 
 othy was written Yxfterwards at Rome, it seems to show 
 that Paul went from Ephesus to Miletus and to Co- 
 rinth, 1 on the way to Nicopolis and on his way to 
 Rome ; for lie says that one of his fellow-travellers was 
 left at Miletus sick, and that Erastus, the former Trea- 
 surer of Corinth, had staid behind in that city. From 
 Nicopolis, perhaps Paul hoped to visit and to preach in 
 many of the towns of lllyricum. 
 
 Paul was now not very far from Rome. The Christ- 
 ians of Rome had been accused of setting lire to the 
 city. Nero had persecuted them with savage fury. 
 The first great slaughter of Christian martyrs had 
 begun. Paul was the very chief of the Christians. lie 
 would soon be known, wherever he was, and every- 
 where he would have enemies. Perhaps for this reason ho 
 had not remained long in one place except in distant 
 Spain. " There is nothing improbable in supposing 
 that, upon the testimony of some informer, he was ar- 
 rested by the magistrates of Nicopolis and forwarded 
 to Rome for trial. The second imprisonment was se- 
 verer than the first. It was now dangerous for Christians 
 to make themselves known publicly as friends of the 
 Apostle. The horrible wickedness of Nero had been 
 fully and publicly seen. The people were greatly ex- 
 cited and indignant on account of the tremendous con- 
 flagration which had burnt to ashes half their city. Nero 
 himself was accused of setting the city on fire. The 
 unprincipled and murderous Emperor tried to turn sus- 
 picion from himself, by accusing the Christians of the 
 crime and by persecuting them. " Some were cruci- 
 11 iii. 12. II. Tim. iv. 20. 
 
(FIFTY-SECOND SUNDAY.) 347 
 
 fied : sonic were disguised in the skins of beasts and 
 limited to death by dogs : some were wrapped in robes 
 impiv vitli inflammable materials and set on 
 
 fire at night to illuminate the circus and the gardens of 
 y great multitude' perished, the whole 
 body of Christians being considered as involved in the 
 crime of firing the city." This was in the first excite- 
 ment, and the first excitement was past when Paul 
 reached Rome. But the city had in it many informers, 
 who were ready to accuse any unhappy Christian of 
 this great crime. It could not have been long before 
 Paul was brought up to the court. His case was not 
 now tried by the Kmperor, but by the single judge 
 
 i the wicked Emperor had appointed over the 
 city. At the first hearing he escaped, although his 
 frirnds all deserted him. 18 'Nevertheless,' he wrote to 
 his dear son Timothy, ' the Lord stood by me and 
 Htrengthened me ; and I was delivered out of the mouth 
 of the lion.' 17 What the charge at this first hearing 
 was is not told us : perhaps the charge of firing the . 
 city. Paul perhaps was able to make it appear to his 
 judge that he was innocent of that charge; for he was 
 absent from the city at the time. While in prison 
 
 . waiting a hearing probably on another charge, 
 the venerable Apostle wrote his last letter. His heart 
 yearned over Timothy, and he longed to have him a 
 faithful minister of the Messiah. He wrote therefore 
 to urge upon Timothy his solemn duties, 
 
 THE SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 
 
 He did not expect to escape condemnation and exe- 
 cution ; but he wrote like one whose spirit was lifted far 
 
 * II. Timothy iv. 10, 17. 
 
 " It may be that Paul actually saved himself from being thrown to 
 the wild beasts bv declaring himself a Roman citizen. 
 
348 THE TRIAL AND THE EXECUTION. 
 
 above all human suffering. Almost alone in that great 
 and wicked city, Luke the only one of his constant friends 
 who was with him, 18 with an unjust sentence, the bench 
 and the sword of the executioner plainly in the path be- 
 fore him, Paul is a triumphing conqueror. Hear the 
 Christian hero : " I AM NOW READY TO BE OFFERED, 
 
 AND THE TIME OF MY DEPARTURE IS AT HAND. I HAVE 
 FOUGHT A GOOD FIGHT, I HAVE FINISHED MY COURSE, 
 I HAVE KEPT THE FAITH I HENCEFORTH THERE IS LAID 
 11' FOR ME A CROWN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, WHICH THE 
 LORD, THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGE, SHALL GIVE ME AT THAT 
 DAY." 
 
 In these, his last days, he cannot forget those dear 
 friends who had been his comfort in so many hours 
 of trial, Aquila and Priscilla, who had fled, we may 
 suppose, from the persecution to Ephcsus, 19 and lie 
 could but wish for the kind sympathy and presence of 
 some of his faithful fellow-laborers. He urges Timothy 
 to come to him/ lie had no longer any reproach for 
 Mark, but wishes him to come to him in his old n;_! 
 If Timothy and Mark reached Rome, to cheer their 
 great teacher's last days, there could have been but a very 
 little time before his condemnation. We do not know 
 what crime Paul was accused of, nor what was the rea- 
 son for the sudden end of his trial ; but we know that 
 he was condemned. 
 
 The privileges of a Roman citizen saved Paul no 
 doubt from the wild beasts, from torture, or from cru- 
 cifixion. He was sentenced to be beheaded, according 
 to general tradition ; and tradition says too that the 
 place was outside the gate, on the road to Ostia, the 
 harbor of Rome. (See map on page 327.) The throngs 
 of people, merchants, sailors, travellers, letter-be:irers, 
 
 19 II. Tim. iv. 11, 10, 12. 19 Verso 10. 2 ? Verse 11, see j^c 60> 
 
(FIFTY-SECOND SUNDAY.} 319 
 
 messengers, priests, citizens from all provinces, stran- 
 gers from all countries, who hastened that day from the 
 1) arbor to Rome and from Rome to the harbor, little 
 knew that a greater hero than Roman historian or Ro- 
 man poet ever praised was being led out to execution. 
 " Through the dust and tumult of those busy crowds 
 the small troop of soldiers silently threaded their way, 
 under the bright sky of an Italian" midsummer." There, 
 not far distant from the city, the axe of the lictor or 
 the sword of a military executioner severed the head 
 of Paul the Apostle from his body ; and the heroic and 
 enraptured spirit took its eager flight to the presence 
 of Jesus. " Weeping friends took up the corpse and 
 carried it for burial to those subterranean labyrinths 
 where, through many ages of oppression, the persecuted 
 church found refuge for the living and sepulchres for 
 the dead." 
 
 The Roman emperors are dead : the great Augustus 
 could not preserve his empire from destruction after he 
 was gone : the detestable Nero is remembered only to 
 be execrated. But Paul of Tarsus is not dead. He 
 lives in all the churches of Christendom to-day. He is 
 iwercd by thousands and by millions as a great teacher. 
 The kingdom he helped to establish is stronger now 
 than when he was on earth, a kingdom which cannot 
 be moved. Multitudes of Gentiles thank the great 
 Apostle to the Gentiles for his sufferings and courage 
 and martyrdom. And in the Last Great Day myriads 
 of souls will thank him for that life and those words 
 which taught them the forgiveness of sin through 
 JESUS OP NAZARETH, THE MESSIAH OF THE WORLD. 
 
(FIFTY-SECOND SUNDAY.) 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 WHAT wise providence is now seen in sending Paul to 
 Rome? 
 
 How were Paul's ' bonds manifest in all the prsetoriam ' ? 
 What was the effect of Paul's imprisonment in Rome on the 
 Christians there ? 
 
 IIow was Nero changing about this time ? 
 Who was the Empress ? 
 
 Have we any account of Paul's last days in the Scriptures ? 
 
 From what authorities is the remaining narrative of 
 Paul's life gathered ? 
 
 AVhat two opinions have there been in respect to tho 
 time of the Apostle's death? 1 
 
 In what respect do the opinions agree ? 
 
 Which one of the two general opinions is here adopted? 
 Into what three parts is the remainder of his life divided ? 
 Where did Tiberius and Claudius hear their appeals ? Nero ? 
 
 Who sat with him? Three classes ? 
 
 Nero's power ? vices ? murders ? love of applause ? 
 
 What proof would be required at the trial ? 
 
 Which charge would be thought to contain the greatest 
 crime ? 
 
 How can we tell what Paul would answer ? 
 
 What especial evidence could be produced in court 
 against the principal charge ? 
 
 IIow was the decision given ? 
 
 What reasons may be given for Nero's acquittal ? 
 How long is it thought that Paul was absent from Rome ? 
 
 What reason is there for supposing he went to Philippi ? 
 
 What for thinking he went to Colosse ? 
 
 Over what route would he go to these places ? 
 
 Can you reconcile his visiting Ephesus with Acts xx. 25 ? 
 
 Where did he go the next year V 
 
 What is the probable route V 
 
 How long is it supposed that he was in Spain ? 
 
 1 On cither suppositio res in the lesson refer to the clos- 
 
 I.ig scenes of his life. 
 
 (103) 
 
 
(FIFTY-SECOND SUNDA F.) 
 
 To what place did he return? 
 Show what Paul's age must have been at this time. 
 In what passage does Paul allude to his age ? 
 Who was at Ephesus ? What Epistle did Paul write ? 
 
 Point out the passages which show the object of his letter. 
 What Epistle was next written? 
 
 Where was Titus ? Show what the instructions to him 
 
 were about. 
 
 What indication do you get from this Epistle in respect to 
 Other places where Paul lived ? 
 
 On the supposition made, where did Paul go next ? 
 What would he do there? 
 A VI i ere was Paul arrested ? For what reason ? 
 
 How did the second imprisonment differ from the first ? 
 Why was it dangerous for a Christian to be in Rome ? 
 Would Paul be tried by the Emperor ? 
 What happened at his * first answer ' ? 
 Who * stood by him 7 ? What does the rest of that 
 
 verso mean ? 
 
 What was Paul's last Epistle ?' 
 Who only was with him ? 
 What was plainly before him ? 
 Who conquers, Paul or Nero ? 
 What is the figure in the words written to Timothy ? 
 
 Show the points of comparison. 
 What especial kind wishes and requests of affection 
 
 does he express ? 
 
 What advantage would Paul's Roman citizenship be to him 
 now? 
 
 Where does tradition say Paul was executed ? 
 How was he executed ? 
 What is the result of Paul's whole life ? 
 What was the one great lesson which he everywhere taught ? 
 If the evidence of Paul's arguments and life do not lead 
 you to believe in Jesus as your Messiah and Saviour, can you 
 le less guilty than the Jews who rejected the Messiahship of 
 Jesus f 
 
 * The Epistle to the Hebrews has not been included in these lessons. 
 (104) 
 
P YB 72220 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY