I 11
i~~~~~~~_____           i
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THE
METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL
AND
COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL
BY
JOHN S. HOWSON, D. D.
DEAN OF CHESTER
WITH AN INTRODUCTION
BY
PROF. H. B. HACIETT, D. D.
EDITOR OF SMITH'S BIBLE DICTIONARY
TWO VOLUMES IN ONE
PUBLISHED BY THE
AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY
117 WASHINGTON STREET, BOSTON
HURD AND HOUGHTON, 13 ASTOR PLACE, N. Y.
The Riverside Press, Cambridge, Mass
1872.




Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, by
TE AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY,
in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
RIVERSIDE, CAMBRIDGE:
STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED BY
H. O. HOUGHTON AND COMPANY.




INTRODUCTION.
T  HE name of Dr. Howson, author of the tracts
in this volume, needs no introduction to American readers. His writings, especially his " Life and
Epistles of Paul" and his " Hulsean Lectures on
the Character of Paul," have made him as well
known in this country as in England.   Even in
these more elaborate works he has shown a rare
faculty of so treating his subjects as to interest and
instruct readers of every class.
The tracts here published are an outgrowth of
these more extended studies to which we have referred. The one on the "Metaphors of Paul" consists of papers first published in the " Sunday
Magazine" in England (1866-67), and republished
at the instance of the present writer in the American "Theological Eclectic" (1867-68).  The papers were subsequently brought tog6ther by the
author himself in a book form and published in
England in 1870. They are reprinted here from
that edition.
The contents are adapted to the wants of the
general reader, as well as of the student and the




iv              INTR OD UCTION.
preacher. The " Metaphors " of Paul are a part of
his writings that specially need such illustration.
The Apostle James derives his most expressive figures from natural objects, or from permanent aspects
of human life and experience; 1 and hence they are
readily understood without comment or explanation in every age and by every people. The Apostle Paul has taken his imagery largely from local
customs and national usages which for us have
passed away; and hence the allusions to them can
be fully understood only as the things themselves
are explained and set before us by vivid representation. This service Dr. Howson has performed
for us in an admirable manner.   He gives us no
tedious archaeological details; but just the requisite
kind and amount of information concerning the military and agricultural usages of the Greeks and
Romans, their style of architecture, and the'contests of the gymnasium and stadium; and thus we are
enabled to see and feel almost as eye-witnesses the
force of his illustrations drawn from such sources.
The study of Paul's Metaphors as unfolded in these
pages reveals, a striking unity in his Epistles, and
they help to confirm their genuineness. It should
be mentioned, too, that our English Version often
fails to bring out the full significance of these fig1 See, for example, the Epistle of James, i. 6,10; iii. 4, 5, 7; iv.
14; v. 2, 3, 7, etc.




INTRODUCTION.                  v
ures.  Dr. Howson has taken pains to correct these
inaccuracies, and' has thus restored to the reader
some of the most expressive traits of Paul's imagery,
otherwise lost to us. It is surprising to find how
much new beauty and instructiveness are often given
to the Apostle's language by such corrections.
The crowning excellence of the work, after all,
is its practical aim and earnest religious spirit.  Its
ample learning, its illustrations, its eloquence, are
all subordinate to that end.  It is adapted to stimulate religious feeling, and to impress the truth, as
well as guide us to a knowledge of it.
In speaking of the other work, the " Sketches
of Paul's Companions," a brief word may suffice.
The notices of the Apostle's co-laborers who appear in the Acts and the Epistles, are so scattered
and incidental that the ordinary reader seldom obtains
a distinct idea of their number or of their characteristics and individuality.  Dr. Howson has brought
together these fugitive notices in his " Sketches"
so as to present the actors in their separate fields
of labor as well as in their coordination to the
great Apostle: and has thus given us a juster impression both of the manifold labors of these Companions of Paul and of his own greater efficiency
from his having had such coadjutors. Dr. Howson's familiarity with this branch of Scripture history is shown here to great advantage.
H. B. H.








CONTENTS.
I.  ROMAN SOLDIERS.... 1'
II. CLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE.    2...  21
III. ANCIENT AGRICULTURE..... 45
IV. GREEK GAMES......  65








THE METAPHORS OF
ST. PAUL.








THE
METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
I.
ROMAN SOLDIERS.
- VERY part of Holy Scripture has its own distinctive imagery; and through the medium of
this imagery its instruction is often conveyed. Thus,
when we read the prophecies of Amos, "who was
among the herdmen of Tekoa," -himself a "herdman " in a wild and pastoral district, - the images
are such as these: the fat " kine of Bashan, which
say unto their masters, Bring and let us drink;"
" the lion roaring in the forest;" " the seven stars of
Orion, before the shadow of death is turned into the
morning;" " the basket of summer fruit; " "the grasshoppers in the shooting up of the latter growth."
Unless we rightly apprehend the circumstances, the
scenery, and the pursuits, in connection with which
it was God's will that His prophet should speak, we
cannot fully understand the meaning of His words;
and so far, to us, their force and instructiveness is
diminished.
The imagery of the Book of Amos is an emphatic
1




2        THE METAPEHORS OF ST. PAUL.
and strongly marked instance of a principle which is
applicable, in various degrees, to all parts of the
Bible. The life of Joseph, the life of Moses, the life
of Ruth, the life of Elijah, all have their appropriate
atmosphere and coloring; and if we look at them
without reference to these, they fade away into something abstract and dead. And so it is with the New
Testament. But here, though the principle is the
same, we feel that we are brought into a new world,
and that the principle must be applied to very different
details. Every part of the Old Testament has an oriental complexion. We illustrate it by referring to what
travellers tell us of the tents of the Bedouin Arabs, of
the courts of Eastern princes, of caravans and camels
and palm trees. And so it is, no doubt, to some extent, in the case of the New Testament. But still, on
the whole, in passing from one to the other, we are
conscious that a change has come over the scene, and
that God has begun to speak to us now through similitudes of a different kind. We find ourselves brought
in contact with circumstances far more nearly resembling those which surround us in modern life. We
are in fact, when the New Testament is our study,
on the borders or in the heart of Greek civilization,
and we are always in the midst of the Roman Empire.
It is no more possible fully to understand what the
Apostles say to us, than what the Prophets say to us,
if we dissever their words from the circumstances of
their lives. The metaphors they use are drawn (as
indeed they must have been drawn, to be intelligible




R OMAN S OLDIERS.              3
at all) from the things which were around them. My
endeavor will be, in four sections, to illustrate certain
groups of images which are common in one part
of the New Testament, and, in the present section,
while keeping in view especially one very notable
passage in the Epistle to the Ephesians, to elucidate
the military metaphors of St. Paul.
It seldom occurs to us to consider how large a
portion of his time St. Paul spent in the close proximity of soldiers. He lived under the shadow of the
greatest military monarchy which the world has seen.
Englishmen are less able than others to realize all
that is implied in this simple fact; hence they are
startled into the impression of novelty, when they
first travel in France or Austria, and see troops filing
through the streets of every city, and large barracks
in every country town. But such sights were no
novelty to St. Paul. No doubt they were more frequent and conspicuous in some parts of the Empire
than others. In Philippi, for instance, in Troas, and
the Pisidian Antioch, which were Roman colonies,
we may well believe that the warlike symbols of
Rome were more prominent than in other cities
which he visited; and the State of Syria, which was a
very uneasy province, and was held by a standing
army of 60,000 men, was very different from that of
Achaia or Bithynia, which were comparatively quiet
and settled districts. But, wherever he resided, military uniforms and military quarters were familiar
objects; wherever he travelled, he was liable to meet




4        THE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
troops on their march from one province to another,
or in the pursuit of banditti, or acting as an escort of
prisoners.
But we are not left to this general kind of illustration. We are well acquainted with several incidents of his life, which connected him, in a manner
peculiarly intimate, with Roman soldiers and their
officers and their armor. It is enough to make a simple reference to his arrest in the court of the Temple,
when the commandant of the garrison of Antonia with
some of his subalterns and a body of troops, ran down
and took him into custody, - then to the time which
the Apostle spent in the barracks within Antonia,
and to the events which took place there, —then
to his night journey to Antipatris, under the charge
of a guard almost as numerous as half an English
regiment, besides a squadron of dragoons,-then
to his captivity of two years at Caesarea, the centre
of the provincial military government, where he was
probably chained by the hand to a soldier,- then to
his adventurous voyage, when an officer of a distinguished corps was his close companion, and when the
swords of the soldiers under his command, which had
cut the fastenings of the boat, were only just prevented from taking the Apostle's life and the lives of
his fellow-prisoners, - then to the delivering up of the
prisoners to the commander of the Prsetorian Guards,
after which, though Paul was suffered to dwell by
himself, yet it was not without " a soldier who kept
him," - and lastly, to the facts hinted at in passages




ROMAN S OLDIERS.                5
of the Epistles written at Rome, as when he says, in
affixing his autograph to the Colossian letter, " the
salutation by the hand of me Paul," and then, feeling
the chain clank on his wrist as he writes, he adds,
" remember my chains," - or, in the Ephesian letter,
when he describes himself as "an ambassador in
bonds," - an ambassador of the free Gospel, fastened
to a soldier;- it is enough to enumerate these things,
in order to see how natural it is that St. Paul should
speak to us in military metaphors, nay, how unnatural it would be (if I may say so with reverence)
were no such metaphors to be found in his writings.
Our best mode of approaching the direct illustration of our selected context is first to notice some of
those other texts where imagery of the same kind is
more lightly touched by St. Paul, and so to rise by
successive steps to the allegory in which the Christian
warrior is set before us in the full panoply of God.
Then it will not be irrelevant if we turn in conclusion
to some other passages, where similes from the same
source are employed by the Apostle, less obviously
but not less forcibly.
The first of these passages is in the thirteenth
chapter of the Romans.1 That Epistle was written
at Corinth, which, both as the seat of local government, and because of its critical position on a strait
between two seas, must have been garrisoned by a
strong military force. The image which always rises
before my mind when I read the passage, is this: I
1 Rom. xiii. 11-13.




6        THE ME TAPI ORS OF ST. PAUL.
fancy St. Paul - after a day spent in hard work,
partly in tent-making and partly in preaching and in
visitation among his converts - writing far through
the night to the Christians in Rome, and just at daybreak, when the sentinels are changing guard, and the
morning light glances on their armor,- while at the
same time the last sounds of debauched revelers in
the street fall upon his ears, - expressing himself in
the now familiar words, " The night is far spent, the
day is at hand; let us therefore cast off the works of
darkness, and let us put on the armor of light; let
us walk honestly as in the day, not in rioting and
drunkenness."
As to the phrase " armor of light," it is evidently
equivalent to the phrase "armor of righteousness,"
which he uses elsewhere, — i. e., spiritual armor for
the contest against spiritual foes. But in the place
where this last expression occurs, the idea is more
fully developed than in the former case. Here it is
" the armor of righteousness on the right hand and
on the left." We have not simply armor in the abstract, as in the other instance, but armor specially
described as of two kinds, "on the right hand and on
the left," - i. e., offensive and defensive, represented
generally by the sword and the shield. St. Paul
is here describing himself, and his own attitude in
regard to the resistance he had met with at Corinth
in the progress of his apostolic work. This is not
the only occasion in this severe Epistle (as we shall
1 2 Cor. vi. 7.




ROMAN SOLDIERS.                7
see afterwards) where he uses military language in
describing his own position in reference to the enemies
of the truth.
We reach something still more definite and specific,
when we come to the fifth chapter of the first letter
to the Thessalonians.l " We are not of the night.... therefore let us not sleep... They
that be drunken, are drunken in the night.... Let
us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the
breastplate of faitl-and love; and for an helmet, the
hope of salvation." The chief remarks to be made
here, I think, are that this Epistle was written from
Corinth, like that to the Romans, but on a previous
visit; that the whole context is very similar to that
which has been quoted from the Romans; and that
while this passage contains many more details than
that just adduced from the second Corinthian Epistle,
yet it is entirely limited to defensive armor. As to
any observations on two pieces of armor that are
specified, -" the breastplate of faith and love," and
the " helmet of salvation," - these belong more properly to our discussion of the allegory in the sixth of
Ephesians,' which claims from us now a more direct
consideration.
Enough has been quoted already to prove that the
usq of military metaphors is a familiar thing to St.
Paul. And in the passages hitherto adduced, these
metaphors have one general type, which is quite in
harmony with the longer extract before us. In ex1 1 Thess. v. 5-8,          1 Eph. vi. 10-17.




8        THE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
amining its different parts, I should wish to be guided
by the reverent belief that each word has a meaning,
-that each word is the best that could be used,and at the same time, I should wish to be on my
guard against that pedantry of interpretation which
tortures the Bible into meanings which it was never
intended to bear, and which, in this case, would deprive the Apostle's imagery of all its freshness and
elasticity.
I have called the passage an allegory. But it cannot strictly be described by that term. It is a series
of images with a running explanation. In a pure
allegory the key of interpretation is to be derived
from the context, or from the circumstances, or from
analogy. But here the image and the interpretation
are given side by side. We " wrestle " or engage in
close conflict, but " not with flesh and blood," -i. e.,
(as we see from a passage where the same phrase is
used in the Galatians), not with man, but with spiritual foes. We wear "armor," but it is the armor of
light, the armor of righteousness, the panoply of God.
We carry a "shield," but it is the shield of faith.
We wield a " sword," but it is the sword of the Spirit.
This is St. Paul's manner. He explains his metaphors as he proceeds. We have, therefore, no need
to waste our time discussing the principles of the'interpretation of allegory. We may begin at once to
go in order through the clauses of which the passage
is composed.
One of the first thoughts which occur to us in look



ROMAN S OLDIERS.              9
ing at the introductory words is this, that the armor
is of no use to us unless we put it on. We are not
to be passive in the matter. The opening words give
a positive injunction; and the only way to obey the
injunction is to put on the armor, and to wear it and
use it. Another obvious thought relates to the perilous condition of those who are destitute of this armor.
Without it we are utterly defenseless. And it is no
light matter to be defenseless in the presence of a foe,
who is not only hostile but accomplished in stratagem, and who commands an army such as that which
is described in the verses before us. There is a story
of a Spartan soldier who went into battle without his
armor, and who was fined by the Senate though he
had been victorious. This anecdote supplies a very
useful admonition to the Christian soldier.
One word in this introductory portion is unfortunately translated in the Authorized Version.  The
phrase, " having done all," is by no means, in my
opinion, an adequate rendering of the Greek. The
marginal translation, "having overcome," is more
correct. The original denotes that we are to beat
down all opposition, and having done this to " stand,"
to hold our ground. And this word "stand," which
occurs once and again, sets before us the true nature
of the Christian's conflict. We have a defensive
military position to hold for God, and we must hold
it. Our duty is no light skirmish which might be
half an amusement to those who enjoy a iry; but it
is a serious and momentous struggle  — tLhe field




10       THE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
where we are posted, like the struggle of those who
fought at.Inkermann.
I find in two of Chrysostom's sermons on this
chapter some remarks on these introductory verses
so good and forcible that I think they deserve to be
quoted. With reference to the wiles of the devil he
expresses himself as follows: " The Apostle saith not,
Against the fighting, nor Against the hostilities, but
Against the wiles. This enemy is at war with us,
not simply, not openly, but by wiles: i. e., he tries to
deceive us and to take us by artifice. He never proposes to us sins in their proper colors. Thus, he
does not speak of idolatry, but he sets it off in another
dress, making his discourse plausible, and employing
disguises." In reference to the expression just alluded to, " having subdued all," he adds: "That is,
having subdued our passions and vile lusts, and all
things else that trouble us. The Apostle speaks not
merely of doing the deed, but of completing it, so as
not only to slay, but to stand after we have slain; for
many who have gained this victory have failed again.
Having subdued all, saith he, not Having subdued
one and not another; for even after the victory we
must stand. An enemy may be struck, but things
that are struck revive again." And once more, in
reference to the word "stand," Chrysostom  says:
" The very first feature in tactics is to know how to
stand well, and many things will depend upon that.
In the case of mere athletic exercises the word of
command which the trainer gives before anything




ROMAN SOLDIERS.               11
else is this, to stand firm. Much more will it be the
first' thing in militarymatters. The man who, in a
true sense, stands, is upright; he stands not in a lazy
attitude, not leaning upon anything. The luxurious
man does not stand upright, but stoops; so does the
lewd man, so does the lover of money."
This is enough concerning the attitude and posture
of the Christian warrior. We come now to the armnor itself which he wears. As described to us here
we observe that it consists of six pieces. A few
words may be devoted to each of them. But first let
us bear in mind how much reality and life are communicated to the description when we recollect where
St. Paul was when he wrote it. He was in the midst
of the Pratorian Guards, the elite of the Roman
army, a body of men raised far more conspicuously
above the legions than our Guards, or even the
French Imperial Guard, are above the regiments of
the line. But not only was he in the midst of them,
seeing them continually, and hearing daily all the
sounds of barrack life, but he was fastened to one of
these guardsmen while he dictated the letter, and he
felt the chain on his wrist while he affixed his signature.
First in order of enumeration we have the BELT"having your loins girt about with truth."  By this
we are not to understand a loose sword-belt like that
which our own officers wear, nor any ornamented
girdle, but a very strong girding apparatus, made of
leather and covered with metal plates, and fastened




12       THE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
firmly round the loins. The appearance and use of
it are best seen in ancient statues in the British Museum and elsewhere. It was the first part of the
armor which the soldier would put on, and it was of
essential use to him for the purpose of safety, and
especially for the sake of standing firmly. It was to
the Roman soldier exactly what Truth is to the soldier of Christ. Of Christ Himself it is said in the
prophecy, that " righteousness shall be the girdle of.
his loins, and faithfulness" (the word is truth in the
Septuagint) " the girdle of his reins." 1
The BREASTPLATE is next to be considered. It is
described as the "breastplate of righteousness."  A
question might be raised here as to the meaning of
the word s' righteousness," whether it denotes the justification which belongs to the believer by virtue of
his union with Christ, or refers to that rectitude of
character which cannot be wanting in a true Christian. I feel little doubt that the latter is the true
meaning of St. Paul; and this for two or three reasons. In the first place justification would seem to
belong more naturally to the "shield of faith," which
is mentioned below; but, again, it appears to me that
all the parts of defensive armor mentioned here designate graces of Christian character. Moreover, in the
shorter allegory of the first Thessalonian letter the
breastplate is described as made up of "faith and
love," a perfect account of that principle in a Christian which leads him to feel rightly, to think rightly,
1 Isaiah xi. 5.




UOMAN S OLDIERS.              13
and to act rightly; but hardly such a definition as we
should expect of a sinner's state of pardon and acceptance with God. But there is another reason which,
to my mind, is almost decisive. St. Paul is here
again using Greek words from  the Old Testament
(and it is important to observe this; for there is seldom any long passage in St. Paul's writings without
some quotation from the Septuagint), and there we
find it said of the Lord Himself that " He put on
righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation on his head." 1 The incongruity is obvious
on the former interpretation. "It is God that justifieth."
~This reference to Isaiah leads me to break the
order of St. Paul's words, and to take "the helmet
of salvation" next after the " breastplate of righteousness;" for they are coupled together in the same
clause by the prophet from whom he quotes. Clearly
we might have some difficulty here in assigning a
precise meaning to the Christian's helmet, were it
not that the Apostle himself comes to our assistance;
for he says to the Thessalonians that it is " the hope
of salvation " which we are to take for a HELMET. I
conceive, then, that we are to see here a representation of that cheerful and courageous hope which is so
important an element in the Christian's warfare, arid
so bright an ornament and crowning point to all the
other graces of his character.
The helmet is perhaps the brightest and most con1 Isaiah lix. 17.




14      THE IMETAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
spicuous part of a soldier's equipment; but there are
other parts less showy, but not less essential. A
soldier badly shod can never last well through a campaign. Many of us have a vivid remembrance of
what we read in the newspapers concerning some
passages of the Crimean War.  St. Paul does not
leave his description of the Christian warrior incomplete in this respect. " HAVE YOUR FEET SHOD," he
says, "with the preparation (or with the prompt
ready movement) of the gospel of peace."   It is
needless to enter here into any details concerning the
military equipment of the feet which enabled the Roman armies to march to the conquest of the world;
but we should observe the holy irony with which St.
Paul gives an unexpected turn to his mention of this
part of the Christian armor. The Roman soldiers
were all on the alert in obeying orders to carry into
every nation the miseries of War. The like alacrity
ought to be shown by us in our obedience to our
Captain; and no slipshod indolence ought to make
us slow in moving on this happy errand of Peace.
The words in which the Authorized Version introduces the SHIELD are again (I conceive) inadequate,
or, at least, obscure. "Above all" conveys the impression of" especially," as though the Apostle were
now about to mention what is most important. And
perhaps " the shield of faith " is, in fact, the most important of all the defenses of the Christian soldier.
But I think the Greek words mean simply " over
all," "on the outside of all."  The great Roman




ROMAN SOLDIERS.               15
shield referred to here was very different from the
small bucklers which were used in some kinds of
ancient warfare. Sculptured representations of it
may be seen on Trajan's Column. It covered and
protected the whole body; and whatever weak points
there might be in other parts of the armor, this supplied their deficiencies, as faith comes to the rescue
when all other graces are failing. True faith is invaluable and invulnerable. It is competent to quench
even the " fiery arrows" of the Evil One. Here the
image of the Christian conflict assumes all the animation of a siege; and one of the best illustrations I
am acquainted with of the words used by the Apostle
is in the history of one of the sieges of Rhodes, during which arrows charged with combustible materials
were sent against the ships, and the very expression
chosen here by St. Paul is employed by Diodorus
Siculus in describing the defenses used for quenching
the fire.
One part of the armor remains- THE SWORD
— " the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of
God," - i. e., the sword which the Spirit gives, and
which is none other than God's revealed truth. This
is the one offensive weapon. We are not sanctioned
in the use of any other; all the rest of our armor
is defensive; and this is very instructive. Our conflict is not with man, but with sin. We have no
angry passions of our own to gratify. Our duty is
steadfastly to resist; and when we strike, we must
strike only with the weapon which God puts into our




16       THE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
hands. All this is made more emphatic, if we observe
that one weapon, - the most characteristic weapon of
the Roman soldier, - the great piluzm or pike, which
Lord'Macaulay has introduced with strict truth into
one of his "Lays of Rome," - this weapon is entirely omitted. Here the parallel is left incomplete.
Can we doubt that this -was done purposely? The
silence of Scripture has its meaning as well as its
actual words.
I abstain from further and closer practical comments. These would enter into the region of Christian experience, and would belong to a treatise of a
deeper kind. I will only now, through a few remaining paragraphs, follow the same thread of thought,
where it conducts us to one or two other places, in
which (as I have said) military metaphors are employed, less obviously at first sight, though not less
forcibly.
Some of these relate to the long operation of campaigning, rather than the mere putting on of armor.
Thus, when Timotheus is admonished to " endure
hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ," it is
added by the Apostle: " No man that goeth on a
campaign entangleth himself with the common affairs
of life, that he may please him who hath chosen him
to be a soldier." 1 It is to be regretted that the expression " this life " should have found a place in the
English Version, inasmuch as it mixes the metaphor
with the thing intended, besides stating what is not
12 Tilm. ii. 3, 4.




ROMAN SOLDIERS.               17
true. For if one thing above all others belongs
peculiarly to this life, it is War. This, however, does
not hinder war, in the form of a prolonged campaign,
from furnishing most apt illustrations of three things
which are expected from the Christian, -patient endurance, firm separation from those interests which
are not compatible with his main purpose, and an
earnest desire to please his Commander.
There is again a passage in the early part of the
Second Epistle to the Corinthians,1 which involves
no difficulty as to its general meaning, but great part
of the vividness of which we lose by not noticing
how imagery, drawn from the conduct of a campaign,
runs through the whole of the context. In the last
passage the reference was to an individual soldier;
here it is to a commander. St. Paul is speaking in
peremptory language of his apostolic power and authority. The military phraseology starts suddenly
to view in the third verse, "Though we walk in the
flesh, we do not war after the flesh." This is clear
enough. But in what follows it is not always remarked that every phrase to the end of the sixth
verse is appropriate to some part of a campaign, and
drawn in fact from the familiar experience of those
terrible Roman wars which were well remembered
in every region through which the Apostle travelled.
No one will question this as regards the words
"weapons," and " warfare."  But the " strongholds "
are the rock forts, such as those which once bristled
2 Cor. x. 3-6.
2




18      THE? METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
along the coast of his native Cilicia, and of which he
must often have heard, when his father told him how
they were " pulled down" by the Romans in their
wars against the pirates. Those " high things that
exalt themselves," those high eminences of the pride
of nature, occupied in force by hostile troops, had
been a familiar experience in many wars throughout
Asia Minor, while one of the grandest of all was the
Acropolis that towered over Corinth. But this is not
all. Ancient warfare ended with the taking of prisoners, who were carried into some safe place (such as
this very Acropolis) where obedience would be secure. So the Apostle speaks of  bringing into captivity every thought to (or rather into) the obedience
of Christ." And then, further, if in a country that had
been conquered on the whole, rebellions were here
and there to break out again, it was not the habit of
the Romans to desist till complete subordination was
established. So the Apostle holds himself in readiness to "revenge all disobedience," even when on
the whole (for this he will not doubt) the general
" obedience " of the Corinthian Church is 6 fulfilled."
Here then are a series of phrases which describe the
vigorous prosecution of a campaign, and the determined subjugation of the last symptom of rebellion.
And who will say that we do not lose by failing to
notice this character of the language? Who will say
that we do not gain by allowing it to have its natural
and close association with what history tells of the
course and the consolidation of Roman military conquest?




ROMAN SOLDIERS.               19
And more yet remains to be said concerning even
this portion of the subject. St. Paul pursues the progress of the campaign till it reaches that which, in a
Roman's eyes, was the most glorious of all consummations, — the progress of the triumphal procession
after final victory; and he introduces God Himself
as the victor and the leader of the triumph. Twice
we find this image expressed, with the technical and
classical word which belongs to the subject: once
when the great conquest effected through the death
of Christ is the topic of the Apostle's enthusiastic
sentences,l and once when the progressive advance
of the Gospel of Christ is represented in language
strictly suitable to the long procession of conqueror
and captives by the Sacred Way to the Capitol.2
In the former case the words are brief and simple,
which describe the "open display" of the defeat of' principalities and powers." In the latter the description is prolonged and given in detail. The doctrine preached by the Apostle "in every place" is
compared to the fragrance which filled the streets
from clouds of incense; while the fatal doom of the
captives contrasted with the exulting joy of the citizens, is a vivid representation of the awful alternative which separates the hearers of the Gospel into
"them that are saved," and " them that perish."
And still the whole subject of the military metaphors of St. Paul is not exhausted. There are other
passages where the same expressive imagery occurs:
1 Col. ii. 15.       12 Cor. ii. 14-16.




20       THE METAPH ORS OF ST. PAUL.
as when he tells us that " without were fightings,
within were fears," a description of his own experience which may well give encouragement to us; 1 or
as when he speaks of the' "law in our members
waging war against the law of the mind and taking
us captive;" and perhaps our own experience is
enough to make us aware that no metaphor would be
more suitable to the case than one derived from the
dreadful realities of war; 2 or as when he assures his
most consistent converts that "the peace of God,
which passeth all understanding, shall garrison their
hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."  This is
an unexpected - almost an ironical - turn, like that
which we noticed before, when we saw that "the
preparation of the Gospel of peace " was an essential
part of the " armor of God."  And the natural conclusion of these remarks is an allusion to the Great
Resurrection, when " the trumpet shall sound," 4 and
every faithful Christian warrior shall have his place
in his own " order " or " division," of the vast Army
of the Lord of Hosts.5
1 2 Cor. vii. 5.  2 Rom. vii. 23.  8 Phil. iv. 7.
4 1 Cor. xv. 52; see xiv. 8.     5 1 Cor. xv. 23.




II.
CLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE.
OUR last section was on the military metaphors
of St. Paul, with especial reference to the middle
portion of the sixth chapter of the Epistle to the
Ephesians. The present will deal with the architectural metaphors of the same Apostle, with prominent
but not by any means exclusive reference to a passage in the third chapter of the Second Epistle to the
Corinthians.
The thought which lies at the basis of these essays
is this: that in order to understand an ancient writer
it is not enough to study his books, but necessary
also to know something of the fashion of his times, -
not safe simply to work from the Dictionary, without
some regard to the records of Monumental History,
without some effort to reproduce and realize manners and customs, and the outward expression of the
old social life. Even in order to understand the bare
meaning of the words, we must know something of
the life. Much more, when we desire to appreciate
the nicer shades of meaning, and to enter into the
full force of illustrative language. For this purpose
we have need of Archaeology as much as of Philology.
The two cannot prudently be dissevered. And more




22      THE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
than this. Unless our Archaeology is correct, our
Philology, being connected with anachronisms, will
lead us into positive errors.
These observations, true of ancient writers in general, are quite as true of Sacred as Profane. Moses
and Luke, Ezra and Paul, did not write independently of the circumstances with which they were surrounded, or of the tastes, pursuits, and habits of their
time. If they had done so, they would have been
unintelligible when they wrote. And they will only
be approximately intelligible to us, unless we have
the means of re-setting the words in their true associations. When a man has once seen a really Oriental city, and made himself familiar with the sights
and smells of a bazaar, walked on the flat roofs, or
stood among the camels, he has acquired a power
of appreciating the Old Testament, such as no dead
Lexicon could ever give him. And how great a help
for the New Testament is gained, when, in some
good museum, a man has taken into his hand a silver
denarius, and looked at the fine features of Tiberius -worthy of a nobler character, - and turned
the coin round, and read the Latin inscription, and
reflected on the possibility that this might have been
the very piece of money that was shown to our
Saviour, on the high probability that it was minted
at the same time, and on the certainty that it was
exactly like it, in size and material, in the "image
and-superscription!"
These are only superficial illustrations, but they




CLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE.          23
are illustrations of a principle; and the application
of the principle becomes important, exactly in proportion as the writer in question, whoever he may
be, has some favorite classes of imagery drawn from
the circumstances of his time; and in proportion as
those circumstances, from which the imagery is drawn,
are in themselves peculiar and removed from the
sphere of our own customary thoughts.
Now thus much may be said, without any danger
of dispute, concerning St. Paul's favorite illustrations,
that they are drawn, not from the operations and uniform phenomena of the natural world, but from the
activities and outward exhibition of human society,
- from the life of soldiers, the life of slaves, from the
market, from athletic exercises, from agriculture, from
architecture.
That there is a strong tendency to architectural
metaphors in St. Paul's Epistles no one will dispute.
But it is worth while to remark that this tendency to
refer to buildings may be observed not only there,
but in his speeches too. Let us call to mind two
speeches, uttered in busy centres of population, and
in the midst of those who had glorious architectural
works every day before their eyes. At Athens how
grandly does the Apostle point mentally, if not literally, to the Parthenon and Propylea and their associated statues on the Acropolis, telling his hearers
that God, " seeing that He is Lord of heaven and
earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands," and
that the Godhead is not " like unto gold, or silver, or




24       THE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
stone, graven by art or man's device!"1 And at
Miletus how significantly and strongly does he conclude his address to those who had come from Ephesus, where Diana's temple was the most magnificent
and prominent object, - " Now, brethren, I commend
you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is
able to build you zip / " 2  low or why St. Paul's
style had this tendency it is needless to determine.
It might be a matter of temperament or of education.
He might have a taste for architecture, natural or
acquired. That he was a man of fine perceptions and
strong social feelings cannot be doubted. And to
such men it is natural to enter into the spirit of a
great city and its outward expression as given in its
buildings. Again we are told that Gamaliel, under
whom the Apostle was instructed, was a man of enlarged mind, and by no means destitute of sympathy
with the culture of the Greeks. However this may
be, St. Paul, writing under Divine inspiration, does
use ideas drawn from buildings, as vehicles of instruction. Architectural phraseology is inwoven into
the texture of his Epistles, and to a much larger extent than would at first sight be supposed.
Let us take, in the first place, in elucidation of this
topic, a single word, the word 1 edify."  This verb,
or its substantive, " edifcation," occurs in some form
or other about twenty times in the New Testament;
and in every instance, except one, it is used by St.
Paul; and that exception is in the Acts of the Apos1 Acts xvii. 24, 29; see verses 16 and 23.  2 Acts xx. 32.




CLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE.           25
tles,l a book written almost certainly under St. Paul's
superintendence. This fact is remarkable, and well
adapted to arrest the attention. But it becomes still
more marked, when we observe that, on proceeding
to look for the Greek word of which " edify" is the
English translation (or rather the Latin translation,
introduced from the Vulgate by Wycliffe), we find
that other passages must be added to the list, and all
in the same Apostle's writings. To quote the places
where " edify " and " edification" occur in the English would be needless. They are all ready in our
memories for use when occasion requires. But, in
order to transfer our associations to the Greek word,
which is actually St. Paul's word, and to which they
more properly belong, I may observe that the language is precisely the same when he lays down the
principle of non-interference with another Apostle's
work, - "I will not build (edify) on another man's
foundation;"2 that the same favorite image occurs
when he expresses the utter inconsistency involved in
a return from Christianity to Judaism, -" If I proceed to build up the edifice which I took so much
pains to pull down, I make myself a transgressor;"3
and that, with regard to moral practice, he uses " build
up" in a bad sense as well as a good one, when he
says, after laying down the truth that it is Christian
love which "builds up,"4 that if the strong brother
approaches too near association -with idolatry, the
1 Acts ix. 31.          2 Rom. xv. 20.
8 Gal. ii. 18.          4 1 Cor. viii. 1.




26       T.E METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
conscience of the weak brother may be " built up,"'
so as to eat that which is sacrificed to idols, -may
become, in fact, a structure of sin. In this passage
the Authorized Version has "edify" in the margin;
and this is the word in Wycliffe's version. The word
is "build" in the other two passages which I have
just quoted. It is evident that even then the words
"edify" and " edification " were narrowing themselves to their theological sense, while " edifice " has
still continued to have its widest sense. Not that the
narrowing process was completed for some considerable time. Spenser uses " edify" in the' sense of
building; and I find it said of the Castle of Corfu in
Hakluyt's travels (under the date 1553), "It is not
only of situation the strongest I have seen, but also
of edification."
We might follow this disquisition on a single word
into results of considerable interest.
The question has a bearing on Christian Evidence.
It is something that the same prevalent metaphor is
used, and in the same kind of way, in several of the
Epistles which bear the name of St. Paul. Unity of
style tends to prove unity of authorship. If one man
wrote all these Epistles, then all are authentic. So,
again, it is always interesting to find a peculiarity
which marks the Epistles marking also the speeches
which are assigned to this Apostle in the Acts. It
helps to prove that the Paul of the letters is the Paul
of the narrative; and this, too, is something. Here
1 1 Cor. viii. 10.




CLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE.          27
it must in candor be added, that this argument, if
applied to the Epistle to the Hebrews, tends to separate it from the Epistles which were undoubtedly
written by St. Paul. On some grounds, I am strongly inclined to believe that he did write the Hebrews;
but this argument, so far as it goes, has a tendency
the other way. In those passages, " He who hath
builded the house hath more honor than the house:
for every house is builded by some one; but He that
built all things is God," 1- and " a greater and more
perfect tabernacle, not of this building," 2-and again,
" Abraham looked for a city which hath foundations,
whose builder and maker is God;" —in these passages it is remarkable that the original words are
quite different from those which are customary with
St. Paul when he speaks of building or edifying.
But again, the topic before us has a bearing on
Christian Doctrine. I have an impression that we
have acquired the habit of using the word " edify " in
a way slightly different from that of St. Paul, from
whom we borrow it. We give it an individual application. We say that this or that - a book read
in private, a sentence from a sermon, a providential
occurrence - is edifying to the individual Christian,
without reference to his social position in the Church.
But " edify" with St. Paul is always a social word,
having regard to the mutual improvement of members of the Church, and the growth of the whole
body in faith and love. "The Churches in Judsea
1 Heb. iii. 3, 4.  2 Heb. ix. 11.  8 Heb. xi. 10.




28       THE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
and Galilee and Samaria," it is said, "had rest and
were edified." 1 Paul says to the Corinthian Church,
"We do all things for your edifying." 2 He says to
the members of the Thessalonian Church, "Edify
one another."  And he tells the Ephesian Church
that various ministrations are given, "for the edifying
of the body of Christ 4.... from Whom the whole
maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of
itself in love." 5 So, too, he says that Christians are,
collectively as well as individually, the Temple of
God. There are two passages, 6 one in the First and
one in the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, which
may be instructively compared in reference to this
point. Now, all this, if we consider the matter closely,
is almost implied in the word, and in the metaphor
which it represents. A building is an aggregate
thing. And believers are not buildings, but parts of
a building. St. Peter calls them "living stones."  I
think we are sometimes too apt to forget this, and to
treat Christianity (if I may use the expression) as if
it were monolithic. We may lose in precision by
not attending to the metaphors which are involved in
Scripture words, and thus the proportions of our
doctrine may be disturbed. It is not too much to
say that, with regard to the point before us, we
might, out of St. Paul's use of the word " edify " or
" build," get a whole commentary on that article of
the Creed,- " I believe in the Holy Catholic Church."
1 Acts ix. 31.  2 2 Cor. xii. 19.  8 1 Thess. v. 11.
4 Eph. iv. 12.  5 Eph. iv. 16.  6.1 Cor. vi. 19; 2 Cor. vi. 16.




CLASSICAL -ARCHITECTURE.          29
However this may be, nearly all will agree that
such passages as these have a very important bearing
on Christian Practice. "All things may be lawful
for me, but all things do not edify."'  "We ought
not to please ourselves, but let every one try to
please his neighbor for his good unto edification." 2
"Let us follow after the things which make for peace,
and things wherewith one may edify another." 3 The
force of this last passage is much enhanced by the
words which follow: " For the sake of meat do not
run the risk of pulling to pieces the work —the
building - of God."  The word here translated " destroy " in the English version is not that which is so
rendered a few verses above (" For meat destroy not
him for whom Christ died "), but it is the contrasted
word opposed to " build," just as in that phrase,
quoted before from another Epistle (again an instance
of the unity of St. Paul's style), " If I build up again
what once I pulled down" or "pulled to pieces."
How vividly do we see this momentous duty of respecting scruples and prejudices, of forbearance in
social intercourse, of controlling our vehemence and
censoriousness, when we think of those around us as
parts with ourselves of a building, which ought to be
advancing in beauty and solidity! Those disorderly
tempers disturb the proportion, that selfishness of
ours mars the unity, those hasty words, those careless
acts, are the pickaxes which loosen the mortar. And
so with regard to public ministrations: "He that
1 Cor. x. 23.  2 Rom. xv. 1, 2.  3 Rom. xiv. 19, 20.




30       THE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
speaketh in a tongue buildeth up himself: he that
prophesieth, buildeth up the church;"1  " Forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye
may excel to the building up of the church;" 2
" Verily thou givest thanks well, but the other is not
built up." 3 If we neglect the principle involved in
such a context as this, - if we are bent on display
and power and self-advancement, - well may the
Church be dilapidated instead of built. So, again,
of the contrast of knowledge and love: " Knowledge
inflates;" it only produces a bubble that will burst;
but "love edifies," - it constructs what is solid; its
work is to be patiently building a noble and enduring
palace.
But it is time that we advance from words to sentences. Let us examine a few passages where the
architectural metaphor is more fully developed. We
will follow a natural order, and take first the foundation, then the step, and then the furniture of the house.
We have seen that St. Paul says he will not " build
on another man's foundation," when he means to say
that he will not trespass on another man's missionary
province. But he uses the same image in a deeper
sense in various emphatic passages. In two of them
there is the same juxtaposition of what is agricultural
and what is architectural, which we have in this third
chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians: " Ye
are God's husbandry, ye are God's building." 4 Just
11 Cor. xiv. 3-5.           2 1 Cor. xiv. 12.
3 1 Cor. xiv. 17.            4 1 Cor. iii. 9.




CLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE.           31
so, on turning to the Ephesians and Colossians (again
an illustration of the unity of authorship), we find in
one, "That ye, having your root and your foundation in love - your root as a tree, your foundation
as a building,l - may be able to know what is the
love of Christ;" and in the other, " As ye have received Christ so walk in Him, having your root
struck down deep into Him, and raising up the building on Him as your foundation." 2 A glance at the
Greek shows that the language is the same in both
passages. The only difference is, that in the former
the Ephesians are addressed as having been set on a
safe foundation, the Colossians are reminded of the
duty of raising up the structure so founded. Nor is
this the only place in the Epistle to the Colossians
where reference is made to the foundation.3
But let us turn to two other passages, where the
imagery is presented to us in detail. Both are good
illustrations of what Paley calls St. Paul's peculiarity
of "going off at a word." In the nineteenth verse
of the second chapter of the Ephesians, after he has
happened to use the word "household," it seems as
if the whole house rose before him, from foundation
to roof, and transformed itself into a,temple.  The
chapter concludes thus: " Ye are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ
Himself being the chief corner-stone; in Whom all
the building fitly framed together groweth unto an
holy temple in the Lord: in Whom    ye also are
1 Eph. iii. 17.  2 Col. ii. 6, 7..  3 See Col. i. 23.




32        THE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
builded together for an habitation of God through
the Spirit."  Now, all I will observe on this quotation is this: that I do not believe that the apostles and
prophets are the foundation of which St. Paul speaks;
but that Jesus Christ is foundation-stone and cornerstone in one. I would render it thus: "Built on
the apostolic and prophetic foundation-stone " - the
stone which apostles and prophets laid, and on which
they themselves rest, - for " other foundation can no
man lay, than that is laid," - namely, Christ. The
other passage is in the Second Epistle to Timothy.
Having spoken of the overthrowing of the faith of
some, the Apostle adds: " Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord
knoweth them that are his: and, Let every one that
nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity."2
What two grand inscriptions!  Two eternal principles, one expressing the immutability of God, to
drive away despair; the other describing the character of God's people, to drive away presumption. Well
may they be indelibly cut on the apostolic and prophetic foundation.3
I said I would pass from the foundation to the
step. The text to which I refer is again in one of
the Pastoral Epistles: " They that have used the
office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good
degree."4 This is an interesting passage, and I
hardly think it is to be understood as it is commonly
1 Eph. ii. 20-22.          2 2 Tim. ii. 19.
3 See Rev. xxi. 14.        4 1 Tim. iii. 13.




CLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE.            33
explained. The English word " degree " is correctly
used in the sense of a step for further progress, as
it is used in Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" of the
climber up ambition's ladder:"But when he once attains the utmost round,
He then unto the ladder turns his back,
Looks in the clouds, scorning the base degrees
By which he did ascend."
I do not say that the words just quoted from St.
Paul are generally interpreted in the spirit of this
speech of Brutus; but the popular interpretation involves some risk of taking this direction. I cannot
but hesitate to believe that St. Paul urges deacons to
a discharge of duty either by the prospect of promotion, or by the charm of a higher position in the
esteem of men. I should rather suppose that he alludes to their making sure of a firm spiritual standing, as before God and in prospect of the great day.
This is more in harmony with the context. The
" good degree" is coupled with " great boldness in
the faith."  All this they secure "to themselves."
Besides doing service to the Church, they advance
more and more in the confidence of their own spiritual life. With this expression it may be useful to
compare what is said at the end of this Epistle
(though there perhaps the metaphor is mixed), of
the "laying up in store for ourselves a good foundation against the time to come, that we may lay hold
on eternal life." 1 And it is certainly a coincidence of
1 Tim. vi. 19.
3




34       THE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
some interest that all the passages which I have just
been adducing in reference to the foundation and
basement of buildings, are from Epistles addressed
to Ephesus, where that celebrated Temple was, on
the substructions of which immense labor and expense had been lavished, - that Temple which was
full in sight when the mob cried out for two hours,
"Great is Diana of the Ephesians."
But let us enter the house under the Apostle's
guidance, and see what spiritual application he makes
of the furniture which we find there. I follow the
context of a passage which has already been partially
quoted. In the Second Epistle to Timothy, in the
second chapter, having described the foundation, he
passes on to say: " But in a great house there are
not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of
wood and of earth; and some to honor and some to
dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself from
these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and
meet for the Master's use, and prepared unto every
good work."' In the nineteenth verse he seems to
set before us the Church in its essential character, as
resting on an exclusive basis and marked by eternal
principles; here, in what follows, the Church is exhibited to us in its mixed and outward character, lest
erroneous conclusions should be drawn from the preceding. We have here a parable like the parable of
the net; but we have something more than in the
parable of the net. Not only are there two classes,
1 2 Tim. ii. 20, 21.




CLASSICAL AR CHITECTURE.          35
- vessels of rich material to honor, and vessels of
mean material to dishonor, - but there are gradations
in each class; gold and silver in the one, wood and
earth in the other; not all among the good equally
good, not all among the bad equally bad. A great
house has a vast variety of furniture. In the twentieth verse we have the duty and the responsibility
which arise from the consideration of this fact.
Our thoughts are carried, by natural association,
from this passage to another of still more solemn import, where the same imagery is employed. I mean
those verses in the ninth of the Romans, avowedly
difficult even to the sternest Predestinarian, where
the vessels of wrath are contrasted with the vessels
of mercy: the former fitted (not by God) to destruction, the latter expressly prepared (by God)
unto glory.l I think we gain something, in the exposition of this passage, by following the line of St.
Paul's metaphorical language, and by putting the
words in the Romans side by side with the other
more explicit words addressed to Timothy. In that
place we see that the Apostle does not urge his illustration beyond the point of contrast and classification.
He does not say that because the furniture in a great
house is separated into great classes, with subordinate gradations in each, therefore the members of
the Church on earth are irrevocably so divided. He
adds, that if a man keeps himself clear from association with the meaner vessels, he will himself become
1 Rom. ix. 21-23.




36       THE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
one of the nobler. So in the Romans we have the
two classes set before us: the sure tendency of the
one to destruction, unless there is a recovery; the
great truth that the glorious condition of the other
is due to God only. All else is left open and untouched. The language is not so much argumentative as illustrative. It is of great importance, in the
interpretation of Scripture, not to press a metaphor
beyond the point which it was intended to elucidate,
and not to deal with allegory as though it were
logic.
Now, in drawing toward the conclusion of this section, I wish to revert to a remark which I made at
the outset, namely, that a careful notice of the significance of imagery is all the more incumbent on us,
in proportion as the circumstances from which that
imagery is drawn may be peculiar. We ought to
keep in mind the distinctive character of Classical
Architecture, and to remember that it was from tzis
architecture that St. Paul drew his illustrations. We
are apt to give too Oriental a coloring to the New
Testament, and this for an obvious reason. The
Classical world has passed away. We must reproduce it, if we wish to see it as it was. But, to realize the outward circumstances of the Old Testament,
we need only read the books of travellers, and study
the pictures of modern artists. We see Abraham in
every sheik; Rebecca is at the well near every village;
the climate and the seasons are in the main unalAd. But the colonial lictors at Philippi, the Prce



CLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE.           37
torium at Rome, Pilate with his official chair on the
piece of tesselated pavement, - these must be reinstated in the scene, if we are to see them at all. The
materials for reproducing the life exist in abundance
in literature and museums, but the life itself does not
exist; and the work of reproducing it requires the
union of exact scholarship rightly applied, with a
lively imagination under the control of judgment.
Now, the illustrations which St. Paul connects with
human habitations are not drawn from the wilderness, not from the transient dwellings of nomadic
life, but from the solid cities of the Greeks and
Romans. We might quote, in elucidation of this, a
verse where he uses that very contrast to heighten
the emphasis which he wishes to give to a forcible
passage: " I know that if this earthly dwelling, which
is only a tent, is taken to pieces, I have a building
of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the
heavens." 1 Nor is it from any Eastern kind of
architecture, but from Classical Architecture, that St.
Paul draws his metaphors of this class. There is
one passage which might at first sight be thought an
exception; but it is not really such. I allude to that
place in the Ephesians where he says that Christ has
" broken down the middle wall of partition, that He
might reconcile both Jews and Gentiles unto God in
one body." 2 I imagine there is a tacit reference to
that partition wall in the Jewish Temple, on which
notices were put up, forbidding Gentiles to enter the
1 2 Cor. v. 1.            2 Eph. ii. 14,16.




38       THE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
inner court. But then Herod's Temple was of Classical Architecture, like the great structures in Athens
and Ephesus, not, as Solomon's may have been, of
some Eastern Phoenician style, like the buildings of
Tyre. Josephus gives us a full description of the
Corinthian columns. Even the notices on the partition wall were in Latin and Greek. -The complexion
of Palestine in St. Paul's day was probably European rather than Asiatic; and we should be quite in
error if we were to imagine the monotony of a modern Eastern town to be the type of what he habitually saw in Cmesarea, or even in Jerusalem.
Now, are there any peculiarities of Classical Architecture which we ought to take into account when we
comment on any of the illustrations which, for our
instruction, St. Paul was inspired to draw from that
source? It seems to me that there are two. One is
this, that all conspicuous Greek buildings, and most
of the conspicuous Roman buildings, of his time, were
characterized by vertical columns, supporting a horizontal entablature.
The significant application of this peculiarity is
seen at once in that passage, where, in a time of controversy, he adduces the support of James and Cephas
and John, who had the recognized reputation of being
" pillars" in the Church.1 Here the Church is evidently treated as a building,- a palace, or temple, or
the like; and these three men are spoken of, not
simply as stones in the building, just as ordinary
1 Gal. ii. 9.




CLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE.          39
Christians might be, but as characteristic and essential parts, as both ornaments and supports.' Now,
apply this to another context, concerning which some
dispute has almost always existed: "These things I
write, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to
behave thyself in the house of God, which is the
Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the
truth."2 I hold it to be an indefensible distortion of
the passage, from polemical reasons, to take these last
words and connect them with what follows, thus:
"The pillar and ground of the truth, and without controversy great, is the mystery of godliness." I see no
reason why the Church should not be called a pillar
and support of the truth. What, indeed, would be-.
come of the light without the candlestick? But I am
very much disposed, notwithstanding, to think that
this is not the meaning of the passage. I am inclined
to believe that Paul says this to Timothy: " I write
to thee, seeing that thou hast a prominent and responsible place in the house of God, in order that thou
mayest fill that place aright, and be thyself indeed a
pillar and support of the truth." In favor of this
view, we have the analogy of the passage just adduced
from the Galatians. We have also this consideration,
that the Church is a building, not a pillar, while a
pillar is a partial support of a classical building, and
one ornament out of many. It is in the criticism of
just such a passage as this that I would claim for
Archeology its right to be combined with Philology.
1 See Rev. iii. 12.    2 1 Tim. iii. 14,15.




40       THE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
Not that there is any grammatical objection to the
interpretation I am advocating; nor is the sanction
wanting of early commentators, whose instinctive
sense in a case of this kind is of considerable moment.
The other architectural feature of ancient cities, to
which I desire to invite attention, brings us at once
to the passage from that third chapter of the First
Epistle to the Corinthians, to which reference was
made at the outset. I believe that in such cities as
Ephesus, where the letter was written, or Corinth, to
which it was addressed, there was a signal difference
(far greater than in modern European cities) between
the gorgeous splendor of the great public buildings,
and the meanness and squalor of those streets where
the poor and profligate resided. The former were
constructed of marble and granite; the capitals of
their columns and their roofs were richly decorated
with silver and gold; the latter were mean structures,
run up with boards for walls, with straw in the interstices, and thatch on the top. This is the contrast on
which St. Paul seizes - slabs and pillars of marble
and granite, and gold and silver, on one hand;
wood, hay, stubble, on the other, -to set forth two
very different results of the spiritual edification (I use
the word in its neutral sense) which goes on in the
Church. Sometimes the passage is treated as though
the picture presented were that of a dunghill of straw
and sticks, with jewels, such as diamonds and emeralds, among the rubbish. But such an image would
be utterly improbable in itself, and out of harmony




CLASSICAL AR CHITECTURE.          41
with all the context. The whole allegory is strictly
and consistently architectural.1
In order to enter into the full significance of the
allegory, we should look at the context. St. Paul is
addressing those who were addicted to the spirit of
party, and is speaking of the right estimate of Christian ministers. He first uses an agricultural metaphor, and then he passes to an architectural. Our
approach to the architectural structure lies, as it were,
through a garden-or orchard. Here Paul has planted
the precious trees.  Apollos, and probably others
with him, as subordinates and successors to Paul, are
watering them. Suddenly the image changes to a
new one, more capable of being turned to what the
Apostle wishes to enforce. A building in progress
rises before us. Paul has laid the foundation, -laid
it once for all, and laid it well. He has no objection
to say this, for it has been done by the grace of God.
On this foundation Apollos and others are building.
As to building on another foundation, this is set aside
at once. The work is going on, and will go on indefinitely in the future; but it will be tested. A day
will come when the fire will burn up those wretched
edifices of wood and straw, and leave unharmed in
their glorious beauty those that were raised of marble
and granite, and decorated with silver and gold. The
men who raised such structures as these shall not
only be safe, but rewarded; the men who lost their
time on the others shall just escape out of the confla1 See pp. 126-129.




42       THE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
gration, because they built on the right foundation,
but their escape shall be barely an escape.
It is a most serious admonition to the minister of
the Gospel " to take heed how he buildeth," that is,
with what materials, -what kind of teaching, what
kind of parochial arrangements, what kind of provision for the young, what kind of care for tender
consciences or for desperate guilt. He should consider, too, what his materials have cost him. If they
are cheap and worthless, the first that came to hand,
what fate can he expect for his building in the day
of trial? Is it not well worth his while to see that
the quarry is worked for the stone, and the mine explored deep for the silver and the gold, that all his
materials may be precious, solid, and good, and may
survive the fire, as the temples of Corinth itself survived the conflagration of Mummius, which burnt the
hovels around?
It will be gathered that I think the building itself
in this passage is not simply the development of doctrine and the promotion of sound practical truth.
These I look on as the materials of building. The
building itself. I should regard, in analogy with all
that has preceded, as the persons, or rather I ought
to say the characters, which result from this good or
bad edification.
But still the passage may be lawfully applied to.
remind us of the importance of regular and systematic instruction in religious truth. And hence a
lesson may be drawn, which has reference to the re



CLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE.           43
sponsibility of the recipients, not the givers, of instruction.  And we may conclude with an extract
from the first of the Catechetical Lectures of St. Cyril,
which he delivered about the year 347 A. D. in the
grand Basilica erected by Constantine the Great:
" Abide thou in the catechisings," he says. " Though
our discourse be long, let not thy mind be wearied out
For thou art receiving thine armor against the antagonist power: against heresies, against Jews, and
Samaritans, and Gentiles. Thou hast many enemies.
Take to thee many darts."' He uses here the military
imagery, which.was the subject of the first of these
essays. Presently he uses the agricultural imagery,
which will be the subject of the next of the series.
" Study the things that are spoken, and keep them forever, - considering this to be the planting season.
Unless we dig, and that deeply, how shall that afterwards be planted rightly which has once been planted
ill?" And then - quite in St. Paul's own manner
-he passes to the simile with the consideration of
which we have been occupied in the present essay,
- " Or consider catechising to be a kind of building.
Unless we dig deep, and lay the foundation; unless
by successive fastenings in the masonry we bind the
framework of the house together, that no opening be
detected, nor the work be left unsound, nought avails
all our former labor. But stone must succeed stone
in course, and corner must follow corner, and, inequalities being smoothed away, the masonry must
rise regular. In like manner, we are bringing to




44      THE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
thee stones, as it were, of knowledge. Thou must
hear concerning the living God; concerning the Judgment; concerning Christ; concerning the Resurrection; and many things are made to follow one the
other, which, though now dropped one by one, at
length are presented in harmonious connection. But
if thou wilt not connect them into one whole, and remember what is first, and what is second, the builder
indeed buildeth, but the building will be unstable."




III.
ANCIENT AGRICULTURE.
R   APID transitions from one metaphor to another
are characteristic of St. Paul.
One transition of this kind is to be found in the
eighth verse of the tenth chapter of the Second
Epistle to the Corinthians. St. Paul has been using
language drawn from the incidents of a campaign to
describe the course which he himself might be forced
to adopt, if those to whom he writes, or others, were
to persist in their disobedience. In such a case he
might be compelled to put all his spiritual power into
action, and to " pull down" their " strongholds" of
arrogance and pride, just as the rock-forts of his
native Cilicia were destroyed in the Roman wars with
the pirates. Such a course of procedure would be a
cause of deep regret to him; for, as he says in the
verse before us,  the authority" which "the Lord
had given," was intended for purposes of "edification," or building up, not for purposes of " destruction," or pulling down. This is the last echo of the
military image, -or rather not the very last echo,
for the identical phrase is found again at the very
close of the Epistle,' - but it is an echo of the mil1 See 2 Cor. xiii. 10.




46       THE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
itary image, though in the English version it is
muffled, as it were, so as to be almost inaudible; and
the fact to which attention is invited is the close juxtaposition in one sentence of the military and the
architectural metaphor.
Another instance of rapid transition may introduce
us directly to the subject of the present section. The
agricultural metaphors of St. Paul are not by any
means the most prominent, but they constitute a sufficient topic for one essay. " Ye are God's husbandry,
ye are God's building," he says to the Corinthians,
in the ninth verse of the third chapter of his First
Epistle. The agricultural and the architectural image
are here side by side, as, in the last case, the architectural and the military. We have already given our
attention to the architectural allegory which follows
this point of transition. Our subject now is the
agricultural allegory which precedes it: "I have
planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
So then neither is he that planteth anything, neither
he that watereth: but God that giveth the increase.
Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one;
and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are laborers together
with God: ye are God's husbandry." 1
Paley points out very acutely the delicate yet perfectly unconscious harmony of this passage with what
we read in the Acts, and uses it as an argument for
the authenticity of both the Epistle and the. History.
1 1 Cor. iii. 6-9.




ANCIENT AGRICUL TURE.            47
Not only must Paul have been at Corinth before
Apollos, but Apollos must have been there in the
interval between the Apostle's visit and the writing
of this letter. This is not our subject now, except so
far as this, that it leads us to mark more closely the
Providential sequence of one teacher after another in
God's gracious work of preparing and maturing his
Church.
This image of a large cultivated garden, in which
many are employed, is indeed a most apt, a most
copious illustration of nearly all the main characteristics of the Christian Ministry. There is first the
succession of which I have spoken, the tasks assigned now to one and now to another, according to
the law of the seasons and the will of the great Master of the garden, one beginning when another has
left off; one completing what another has prepared.
At the same time there is justice to each: " Every
man shall receive his own reward according to his
own labor."  And yet all the work is one. Though
many hands are employed, according to their aptitude
and the time when they are required, the progress is
one through the advancing year to one result: " He
that planteth and he that watereth are one." All,
too, is entirely dependent on an unseen power:
" Neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that
watereth: but God that giveth the increase."  Then
there are the lessons of cheerfulness, hopefulness, and
patience; the habit of not looking for immediate
results, but at the same time the confident expecta



48       THE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
tion that in spite of adverse weather the flower and
fruit will come at last, which all are necessarily
associated with the very thought of a garden, and
which should be diligently fostered by eyery Christian
minister in his own heart and mind. And lastly,
there is the duty of giving diligent heed to the young
plants. How much may be expected, if they are
vigilantly and carefully tended at first, one by one!
" Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if
the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear,
and the pomegranates bud forth."1
It has been said before, that the references to
nature in St. Paul's writings are almost entirely to
nature in connection with human labor; not to its
beauty and to the impressions which the mind passively receives from it, but to its useful and beneficent
processes under the work of cultivation. There is
hardly any mere natural imagery in his Epistles.
We find more of this kind of illustration in the one
short Epistle of St. James, than in all the writings of
St. Paul. What we read in the fifteenth chapter of
the first letter to the Corinthians, -" There is one
glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon,
and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth
from another star in glory," 2  is no real exception
to this. This is not an outburst of, adoring admiration, like those of the Psalmist " when he considered
the heavens, the work of God's fingers, the moon
and the stars, which He had ordained." 3 It is really
1 Cant. vii. 12.  2 1 Cor. xv. 41.  3 Ps. viii. 3.




ANCIENT AGRICULTURE.            49
the continuance of the preceding argument, and a
new illustration arising out of that which he had
used before. He had been speaking of the difference
between "bodies terrestrial," or the organization of
beings like ourselves adapted to an existence on
earth; and "bodi'es celestial," or the organization of
beings like the angels, adapted to a heavenly residence. And nothing is more natural (if I may so
speak) than that this contrast should suggest another
connected with the heavens themselves. The sun,
the moon, and the stars, though they all give light,
are very different among themselves, and each is
suited to its own place and its own function. So
above he had said that among the organisms of animal life on the earth there are great varieties, each
according to its office in the economy of God's world:
"All flesh is not the same flesh; but there is one
kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another
of fishes, and another of birds."  Now, going backwards again along the line of the Apostle's illustrations, we have the passage which I am aiming at:
" But some man will say, How are the dead raised
up? and with what body do they come? Thou fool,
that which thou sowest is not quickened except it
die: and that which thou sowest, thou sowest not
that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance
of wheat, or of some other grain: but God giveth it
a body as it hath pleased Him, and to every seed his
own body." 1 Here we have that reference to nature
1 1 Cor. xv. 35-38.
4




50      THEE ME TAPHORS OF S T. PA UL.
in its connection with human labor and its productive operations rather than its mere phenomena, to
which allusion was made just now. As, in speaking to the uneducated Lystrians, St. Paul had urged
" the rains from heaven and the fruitful seasons " as
an argument for gratitude and a lesson against idolatry, so here he presses on the speculative Corinthians the facts with which they were familiar in the
sowing and reaping of every year, as one reason for
casting aside all theoretical objections to a resurrection of the body. The grain and the corn-plant, the
seed and the harvest, are the same, and yet not the
same. They are so connected as to be identical, and
yet a wonderful change of form and organization has
taken place under the operation of mysterious laws.
Why should it be otherwise with our own frames?
He returns to this illustration again, after deviating
just rapidly to touch the other illustrations: "' So also
is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption; it is sown in dishonor,
it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised
in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a
spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is
a spiritual body." 1 We have here, then, what I think
may truly be termed an agricultural allegory. The
appeal is to the universal experience of man in the
work of husbandry. And if there is just one Jewish
touch where the subject is first approached in this
chapter, --  Christ the first-fruits, afterwards they
1 1 Cor. xv. 42-44.




ANCIENT AGRICULTURE.             51
that are-Christ's at his coming," -this is quite
what we should expect.1
This image of the harvest, in various applications,
as we know, pervades the whole of Scripture from
its very earliest portions, from the dreams of Joseph
or of Pharaoh, and the gleaning of Ruth and her
mother. But St. Paul uses it so pointedly, and so
much in a way of his own, that I think it may be included as an element in his characteristic style. The
progressive change of organization, along with absolute identity of being, has just been adduced as a
type of the Resurrection.  How solemnly is this
thought (in the sixth chapter of the Galatians) connected with the ultimate results to ourselves in eternity of the life which we lead in the moments of our
time! " Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for
whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also. reap.
For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap
corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of
the Spirit reap life everlasting." 2 Here is the principle of inevitable retribution, the growing and growing, according to irresistible laws; the moral organism
passing into new forms without losing its identity,
just as the rich waving harvest is developed from the
poor shriveled grain. And clearly here the human
side of the subject, the actual agricultural process, is
a very prominent part of the image and the lesson,
whether it be viewed in the aspect of warning or of
encouragement. And the same train of thought meets
1 Cor. xv. 20, 23.        2 Gal. vi. 7, 8.




52       THE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
us in a nearly contemporary Epistle, in reference to
another subject, namely, the blessing, " twice blest,"
of generous giving:' He which soweth sparingly shall
reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully
shall reap also bountifully; " "God loveth a cheerful
giver." It is written of such a man that he " disperses
abroad; he gives to the poor;" and yet he is no loser;
his " righteousness "- or rather it ought to be, his
liberality and beneficence, his power of doing good
-- "endureth" still.1 A man is no loser by sowing
his grain, in faith, with an open hand; he secures the 
harvest, and he secures a larger supply of grain than
ever, for sowing in future over wider fields. In the
encouraging verses which conclude the passage, I
will not stay to inquire whether the true reading
gives the Apostle's words in the form of a promise
or a prayer; for indeed promises and prayers in the
Apostolic writings run into one another, so that we
can hardly distinguish them, even as the readings of
the manuscripts do in such passages. "Now   He
that ministereth seed to the sower," in the world of
nature and in the work of agriculture, "may He
multiply (or, He shall multiply) your seed sown, and
increase the fruits of your righteousness," - or rather,
as before, "your liberality and beneficence," -
"being enriched in everything unto all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to
God." 1 No imagery could set before us more vividly the rich and increasing reward which waits upon
1 2 Cor. ix. 6-9.    2 2 Cor. ix. 10, 11.




ANCIENT AGRICULTU RE.            53
faithful and generous service on our side, or the
overflowing blessing on God's side, which gives life
and abundance and growth to all honest spiritual
husbandry.
This passage leads me to single out a word which
is certainly very characteristic of St. Paul.  The
word " riches " has often been noticed as marking his
style; and the same is true of the word "fruit;"
and not merely is this a verbal, but also a moral
characteristic. It seems to me to express that kind
of exuberance, so to speak, which will never allow
him to hope and believe by halves. The former
word is a metaphor from the market, the latter from
the corn-field or the orchard. He desires to visit the
Romans, that he may "have some fruit among them
also, as among other Gentiles." 1  Writing to the
Philippians of the precariousness of his life, he says
(so I understand him), that he valued this continuance "in the flesh" as the condition of bringing
forth "fruit" in his work.2 Writing to the Colossians, his expression concerning the Gospel is, that in
all the world it is ever " growing," and ever " bringing forth fruit."3  And this I notice (unless I am
mistaken) as a mark of St. Paul's way of using this
word, that he always applies it to what is good. And
that this should be so seems to us very appropriate
and very beautiful. The blessedness of the righteous man is that, planted as he is " by the water side,"
he " bringeth forth his fruit in due season," whereas
1 Rom. i. 13.    2 Phil. i. 22.  1 s Col. i. 6.




54      FTHE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
the ungodly is " like the chaff which the wind driveth
away." 1 The passage which most naturally occurs
to us here is that in the Galatians, where the fruit of
the Spirit is contrasted in detail with the works of
the flesh.2 It is a contrast very similar to that which
we find elsewhere between the wages of sin and the
gift of God.3 Nor is that passage in the Galatians a
solitary instance. We find the same in the Ephesians,-" Walk as children of the light; for the
fruit of light is in all goodness and righteousness
and truth," 4 the force of which is very much enhanced by our observing what follows: " Have no
fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness."
And similar language is found in the Epistle to the
Romans, -" What fruit had ye then in those things
whereof ye are now ashamed?" but "now, being
emancipated" from that dreadful master, sin, and
" become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto
holiness, and the end everlasting life." 5 Sometimes
the phrase is applied generally, as (not to repeat
again that passage concerning " the fruits of righteousness" addressed to the Corinthians) 6 when he
desires that the PlIilippians may be "filled" with
those "fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus
Christ to the glory and praise of God," 7 or that' the
Colossians may be "fruitful in every good work, and
increase in the knowledge of God." 8 Sometimes
1 Ps. i. 3, 4.  2 Gal. v. 19-23.  3 See Rom. vi. 23.
4 Eph. v. 8, 9, 11.  5 Rom. vi. 21, 22.  6 2 Cor. ix. 10.
7 Phil. i. 11.  8 Col. i. 10.




ANCIENT AGRICULTURE.             55
the reference is specific, as when he says that he is
going to Jerusalem to deliver and lay up safely in
store, and to seal, " the fruit" of the liberality of
the Christians in Macedonia and Achaia; 1 or when
he says afterwards of similar generosity which came
to himself from Macedonia, " Not because I desire a
gift, but I desire fruit that may abound to your account;" 2 or when he urges in one of the Pastoral
Epistles, that they who profess Christ's religion must
learn to maintain good works, and contribute to those
wants of others which must of necessity be brought
before them, in order that with all this profession
they "be not unfruitful." 3 But in all these cases,
whether they are general or specific, the reference is
to what is good. One apparent exception may very
naturally here come into the mind, namely, that passage in which two consecutive verses end, the former
with the phrase " bring forth fruit unto God," the latter with the phrase, "bring forth fruit unto death." 4
But these verses occur in the seventh of the Romans,
and even if the image were the same, I think it
would be natural to call the passage an oxymoron,
and so it would really be an instance of the rule,
and not an exception. I conceive, however, that the
image is different, and that the reference is to fruit as
the offspring of marriage. I believe it will be found
true, that when St. Paul applies to moral subjects
the word "fruit," as derived from the corn-field or
1 Rom. xv. 28.           2 Phil. iv. 17.
8 Tit. iii. 14.          4  Rom. vii. 4, 5.




56       TlTE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
the orchard, he applies it to what is good. I say
nothing-of the other parts of Scripture. But it is as
if he thought the term too honorable - expressing as
it does the result of man's honest, useful labor, in
subordination to and in dependence on the bounteous
and life-giving influences of Heaven,- too honorable
and too cheerful to be applied to what is bad. " The
root of the righteous'yieldeth fruit." 1 " He shall be
as a tree planted by the waters, neither shall cease
from yielding fruit." 2
One particular passage —a remarkable and difficult passage - in that Epistle to the Romans, now
claims a moment of close attention.3 I allude, of
course, to the allegory drawn in the eleventh chapter
from the grafting of the olive-tree. The image first
appears in the sixteenth verse, and (as we have seen
in other instances) in close combination with another
image, - " If the first-fruit be holy, the lump is also
holy; and if the root be holy, so are the branches;"
and then it is rapidly developed with varied and
pointed application up to the end of the twenty-fourth
verse. With all the great doctrinal and historical
questions arising from this passage, we have on the
present occasion nothing to do; our concern is with
the outward imagery, and in it there is this very
strange circumstance, that the lesson is drawn from
the grafting of branches of a wild olive-tree on the
stock of a good olive-tree - the grafting of branches
of a wild fruit-tree on the stock of a good fruit-tree,
I Prov. xii. 12.  2 Jer. xvii. 8.  3 Rom. xi. 16-24.




ANCIENT AGRICUL TURE.            57
- a process unheard of among gardeners. Commentators have tortured themselves with this difficulty, and some of them have adduced instances of
this process with certain supposed good results as
regards the productiveness of the olive. I confess I
am very skeptical on this point, and the explanation
which I suggest is very simple, though I am not
aware of having seen it previously suggested elsewhere. I believe that here partly is the very point
of the parable, that the grafting was contrary to the
law of nature. So strange a grafting as that which
had taken place in the case of the Gentiles made the
lesson far more emphatic to them. It was the very
contrary to the grafting which took place in the
olive-grounds to which all readers of the Epistle
were accustomed. This work of artificial cultivation
is indeed the basis of the parable, but it is the basis
by way of contrast rather than of comparison. So,
our Lord, in St. Luke's Gospel, compares God to a
selfish man and an unjust judges and makes the argument for the answering of prayer all the stronger.1
Or let us take another illustration. St. James says
to the rich tyrants of his day, " Your gold and silver
is rusted, and the rust of them shall be a witness
against you." 2 Now gold does not rust. St. James
was quite aware of this. But herein, I apprehend, is
one part of the point of the image. Their very gold
should become mysteriously their curse. So in the
case before us. St. Paul knew very well the pro1 See Luke xi. 8; xviii. 6.    2 James v. 3.




58      THE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
cesses which took place in the olive-grounds which
were abundant then, as they are now, in all parts of
the Levant. He must have seen them often when he
was a boy at Tarsus. Boys notice all such things;
and the experience of early life becomes, even in an
Apostle, the basis of religious teaching.  To find
fault with him for inexactness, seems to me very like
finding fault with him (as some critics do in these
days) for inaccurate applications of the Old Testament. He knew the Old Testament, and so did his
Jewish readers, far better than we do. But we must
not leave our proper subject.
And one other side of the subject must be touched
before it has been handled completely. Agriculture
has to do with the animal as well as the vegetable
world; and something within this province, too, in
the writings of St. Paul, will reward our careful attention.
I have sometimes been impressed with the fact,
while thinking of this topic, that the critical words
addressed to the Apostle from heaven at the threshold of his Christian career, were in truth an agricultural metaphor, " Saul! Saul! it is hard for thee " -
Who knows - I write it with reverence- whether
at that moment the operations of ploughing might
not be going on within sight of the road along which
the persecutor was travelling?  At all events, the
image is certainly drawn from those operations, as
certainly as the images in the Sermon on the Mount
were drawn from the lilies which grew in the field, or




ANCIENT AGRICULTURE.             59
the birds which flew over it. All who have journeyed
in the East, or even in the South of Europe, are
familiar with that ox-goad, the resistance to which only
increases the suffering of the restive animal, and in
allusion to which the force of conscience, sharpened
by God's Spirit, is depicted in the words, " It is hard
for thee to kick against the pricks." 1 And it seems
to me interesting to notice, on the one hand, that our
blessed Lord's words, spoken on this occasion from
heaven, were a parable, like the parables which He
graciously uttered on earth, and, on the other hand,
that they are in harmony with, and might almost be
fancied to have given a holy suggestion of, one class
of the Apostle's own habitual imagery.
I may remark that what was said in the earlier
part of this section in reference to orchards, vineyards, and corn-fields, has its counterpart here in reference to flocks and oxen. St. Paul's illustrative language deals with human labor and its useful results,
rather than with nature viewed poetically on the side
of beauty and mere expressiveness. Accordingly,
the animals under the care of man are presented to
us more on the industrial side than the contemplative.
It is the farmer near the large town, rather than the
shepherd in the wilderness, who comes before us in
the pages of this Apostle. It is remarkable that nowhere, in all his unquestioned Epistles,2 is Jesus Christ
set forth as the Good Shepherd. I do not forget
those touching words in the address at Miletus, " Take
1 Acts xxvi. 14.           2 See Heb. xiii. 20.




60      THE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
heed to the flock; feed the Church which God hath
purchased with his own blood; for grievous wolves
shall enter in, not sparing the flock." 1 And perhaps
it would be strange if no one instance were found in
St. Paul of the employment of an image which is
almost universal throughout the rest of Scripture.
But still it is not characteristic of his style. It is
very different with regard to St. Peter, in whose First
Epistle these words, "Feed the flock; be examples
to the flock," 2 are a true echo of the words at the
end of the Gospels, " Feed my sheep, feed my
lambs." 3
With St. Paul's habit of illustration the concourse
of men, where business goes on and buying and selling, is more in harmony than the solitary mountainside, where the sheep are following their shepherd
and diligently cropping the thin herbage on the rocky
slopes. We see this in that passage of his Epistles
when he does mention the flock, "Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? Who planteth a
vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who
feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the
flock? "4 the real meaning of which is this, " Who
keeps a vineyard or a flock of sheep without living
by the profits of the grapes and the milk, when they
are brought into the market?"  In this case, as in
so many others, three metaphors - one military and
two agricultural - are rapidly thrown together. The
1 Acts xx. 28, 29.        2 1 Pet. v. 2, 3.
8 John xxi. 15-17.        4 1 Cor. ix. 7.




ANCIENT AGRICULTURE.             61
point on which they are brought to bear is the claim
which Christian ministers have on the support of the
people, whether or not they may find it necessary or
politic to urge that claim. With this it seems natural to combine another passage in another Epistle
(remarkable also for the heaping up of metaphors),
though there the duty of the minister to labor among
his people is urged, his support being assumed, while
here it is their duty to support him which is pressed,
his labor being assumed. "No man that enters on a
soldier's career mixes himself up with the common
business of life; no man, striving in the games will
obtain the prize unless he has kept the rules; the
husbandman that laboreth must be first partaker of
the fruits;" I i. e., it is the farmer that works who
has thefirst claim to the profits of the produce of
the farm. The idle farmer, the idle clergyman, deserves to starve. Perhaps the word "fruits " might
more naturally seem to connect this sentence with the
earlier part of this section; but it is better to have
taken it in its present connection, because of the common bearing of both these passages on one subject -
the Christian ministry - which also is the subject of
the one remaining passage with which I am now about
to conclude.
" Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that
treadeth out the corn."  When a sentence from the
Old Testament is more than once quoted in the New
Testament, it always seems to have a peculiar claim
1 2 Tim. ii. 4-6.




62       THE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
on our reverent attention. And St. Paul quotes this
sentence from Deuteronomy   twice, in two Epistles
written at very different periods, and each time brings,
it to bear on the same topic. "It is written in the
law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of
the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take
care for oxen? or saith He it altogether for our sakes?
For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that
plougheth should plough in the hope of a harvest,
and he that thresheth should do this in the hope of
partaking of the harvest" 2 (for so I conceive the
true meaning of the latter words would be given).
The eye ranges here over the whole agricultural process, from the ploughing and sowing to the reaping
and threshing, and all this ought to be conducted in
hope; otherwise all the cheerfulness, all the elasticity
of the work is gone. The Christian people ought to
be very careful that their clergy are not weighed
down by the perpetual harassing care of the maintenance of their families and the education of their
children. When they see all the harvest of wealth
around them, they ought, if they labor patiently, at
least to have some small share of it. There may
possibly, as Chrysostom says, be a hint to them, - to
this effect, that they do labor diligently, that they be
not impatient under the irksome monotony of routine,
and that they be content with, it may be, a very scanty
portion of all this profusion of wealth. But the main
lesson is to the Christian people, that they support
1 Deut. xxv. 4.         2 1 Cor. ix. 9, 10.




ANCIENT AGRICULTURE.             63
the hearts and the strength of their clergy by en.
dowments, and gifts, and liberal payments, and still
iore by sympathy, and respect, and large cooperation. The lesson is riveted forever on the Church,
in strong words, by the other passage, " Let the elders
that rule well be counted worthy of double honor,
especially they who labor in the word and doctrine;
for the Scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox
that treadeth out the corn." 1 How beautifully is this
large lesson of charity and justice developed out of
what might seem a very trivial and unimportant precept! " Doth God take care for oxen?"  Certainly
He does, but He takes care for man much more.
Wjien He tells us that it is a duty to be considerate
of the former, He reminds us that it is a still more
urgent duty to feel sympathy for the latter. It is our
Lord's argument, " Not a sparrow falls to the ground
without your Father: ye are of more value than
many sparrows; 2 and again, " Which of you shall
have a sheep fallen into a pit on the Sabbath and will
not lift it out? How much is a man better than a
sheep? " 3 By thus inculcating the duty of considerately caring for dumb animals, the Jewish Law really
enforces the general principle, the wider duty, which
embraces all things, "both great and small."  Our
poet's words come here irresistibly into the mind,"The dear God who loveth us
IHe made and loveth all."
And indeed this considerate care in the minor instance
1 1 Tim. v. 17,18.  2 Matt. x. 29, 31.  3 Matt. xii. 11, 12




64      THE I METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
is itself a training for humanity and kindness in reference to the greater. Such a suggestion as that of
this little precept in the Pentateuch, furnished to a
thoughtful, devout, and feeling mind, spreads out into
a thousand instances, and finds its opportunities in
all the relations of life, and especially those relations
where service on our behalf has established a claim
to our gratitude.




Iv.
GREEK GAMES.
T  HE four short essays in which I am inviting attention to four of St. Paul's favorite metaphors,
do not by any means exhaust the characteristic imagery of that Apostle; and in order to give a better
completeness to the series, it may be useful to prefix
to this last essay a few general remarks on the whole
subject.
A single example, selected out of those which have
previously been given, may (though at the risk of
some repetition) conveniently introduce these general
remarks. St. Paul, in writing his First Epistle to the
Corinthians, says to them, as we have seen,1 "Ye are
God's building." These simple words are like the
striking of a key-note. There follows immediately
the full swell of a familiar passage,2 with all its melodious rhythm, and its intricate verbal and moral harmonies. There is no need to occupy ourselves again
with the religious meanings of the passage. Attention is simply directed to the characteristic nature of
the allegory.  If we place ourselves at Ephesus,
where the letter was written, or at Corinth, where
the letter was received, and mark the evident and
1 See p. 40.              2 1 Cor. iii. 9-15.
5




66      THE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
outward characteristics of such places, we see at once
the significance of the language.  Conspicuous in
these cities were vast public buildings, such as the
Temple of Diana at Ephesus,l and similar edifices at
Corinth; strong, firm, and magnificent, with columns
and slabs of marble, porphyry, and granite -" precious stones -" and richly completed with metallic
decorations, " gold and silver." But close beside them
were the hovels of the poor, with a sharpness of contrast to which we are not accustomed, but which we
can in some degree set before our minds by imagining some of our great public edifices to be densely
surrounded by an accumulation of wretched villages,
with huts hastily run up with " wood," the interstices
filled with " hay," and the roof thatched with " stubble."  And now suppose a fire to take place in such
a scene, and you have immediately the simple outward image on which the Apostle's manifold parable
rests. All these wretched hovels, so cheaply, so
carelessly built, would be burnt up; and all that
could be hoped for to the poor man himself, in any
one of them, would be a bare personal escape through
the flames. The great building, on the other hand,
might be scorched and blackened, but it would stand
steady and erect, and exhibit still all the proofs of
patient working in the quarry, of good and solid masonry, and of rich and elaborate ornament. In listening to expositions of this passage, we often find that
this plain and simple way of looking at it has never
1 See Acts xix. 27.




GREEK GAMES.                67
occurred to the expositor, and we are presented with
the unreal and grotesque image of a rubbish-heap,
consisting of sticks and straw, and containing also
some contents of a jeweler's shop, diamonds, rubies,
and garnets. This is not the style in which St. Paul
would be likely to write to educated men. a And misconceptions of such a kind arise from this, that men,
in interpreting Scripture, so often look only at the
words and not at the things; so often forget that
every writer in the Bible drew his illustrations from
the circumstances with which he was surrounded, and
especially those circumstances which were most in
harmony with the temperament of mind which the
Holy Ghost, in that particular case, consecrated andemployed.
The general notion, then, of these essays is this, that
in order to enter into the full force of St. Paul's writings it is needful to have, not only that clear apprehension of the meaning of his words, which we obtain
through our exact study of Greek literature, but also
that apprehension of the familiar sights and sounds,
customs and institutions, surrounding him, which is
furnished by our knowledge of history and antiquities, science and art; and further, to consider carefully what portions of that outward environment he
most employs by preference or habit in the inculcation of religious truth. In studying the Bible, the
dictionary of things is almost as important as the dictionary of words; and St. Paul's writings are no
exception to this rule, but one of its best exemplifications.




68       THE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
As to his own temperament and predilection, we
may again revert to a remark which was made before,l that his metaphors are usually drawn, not from
the operations and phenomena of the natural world,
but from the activities and the outward manifestations
of human life. In this respect St. Paul's illustrative
language has already been contrasted with that of
St. James: " The vapor, the fierce wind, the fountain, beasts and birds and serpents, the flower of the
grass, the wave of the sea, the early-and latter rain,
the sun risen with a burning heat," 2 -these are like
the figures of the ancient prophets. There is more
imagery of this kind, I think, in the one short Epistle
of St. James than in all the speeches and letters of
St. Paul put together. The address to the idolaters
of Lystra,3 country people as they were in a rude and
remote district, if it is an exception at all, is exactly
that kind of exception which makes the general rule
more palpably evident.
St. Paul's favorite figures are undoubtedly taken
from the midst of the busiest human society. Four of
these have been selected for careful examination, and
we are now proceeding -to consider the fourth. But
others of the same general type might easily have
been added to the list; and again, for the sake of
completeness it may be desirable to name two or
three instances. Thus, first, how large a portion of
St. Paul's attention is given to money-matters! How
1 Pape 48.   2 James iv. 14; iii. 4, 7, 11, 12; i. 6, 10, 11; v. 7.
3 Acts xiv. 15-17.




GREEK GAMES.                69
often are his images drawn from the market! To
take only three instances: "Owe no man anything,
but to love one another."  It would be impossible, perhaps, by the use of any other illustration, to
express with equal force all that this sentence implies. Again, in the phrase, " Redeem the time," 2
what is really said is this, " Buy out of the market
what you may never buy so cheap again; use the
opportunity while you have it, and use it thoroughly."
So again, his reference to the law courts anl the administration of justice, even when he is arguing
points of theology, is an instance which strikes us
forcibly. An interesting question arises, whether in
such passages he refers mainly to Jewish law or to
Roman law, especially when the allusion is to marriage 3 and the making of wills;4 but in either case
his consistency is preserved as regards the characteristic nature of his imagery. A third instance is that
of slavery, as was almost inevitable for such a writer
at this period of history. In the ancient world, war
and slavery ran into one another; and throughout
the Roman empire the whole of society was made up
of the contrasts of "bond" and L"free," 5 with the
freedmen (and such, probably, were St. Paul's own
ancestors) intermediate between the two. Hence,
when speaking of the most momentous alternatives
in the condition of the soul, his language is drawn
1 Rom. xiii. 8.         2 Eph. v. 16; Col. iv. 5.
8 Rom. vii. 3, 4.       4 Gal. iii. 15; iv. 1.
61 Cor. xii. 13; Gal. iii. 28; Col. iii. 11.




70       THE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
from the experience of slaves. The great and decisive change is expressed thus: "Being emancipated from that cruel master, Sin, ye are now the
happy slaves of a good master, God.1' But it is time
to proceed without delay to our proper subject. The
imagery to which our special consideration is to be
given now is the most animated of all, being derived
from the lively and exciting games of the Greeks.
There is an obvious reason why images of this
kind should have been very familiar to St. Paul's
thoughts, and why, when made the vehicles of instruction, they should have been very helpful to his converts. Wherever he was residing, at Corinth, at Athens, and in all places where a Greek population was
predominant (and this was, in fact, over the whole of
the Levant), the athletic games of the Greeks came
before his notice; as a subject which caused the most
engrossing and universal interest. The Gymnasium,
or place of training, and the Stadium, or ground for
running, were among the most conspicuous and most
frequented spots in the architecture and embellishment of the cities. Of many of them the remains
can still be traced. Wrestling, boxing, and especially
foot-races, with all the preliminary trining, with the
assembled and applauding multitudes while the contest was going on, with the formality of the heralds
and the strict observance of the rules, with the umpires and prizes and eager congratulations at the close,
with the poems which perpetuated great victories like
1 Rom. vi. 18, 22.  See vii. 23; viii. 21.




GREEK GAMES.                7i
heir-looms through successive generations, - these
things were almost a religion among the Greeks, and
they caused an enthusiasm which we ourselves can
hardly understand, though it does happen that in our
day athletic sports are a fancy and a fashion, and
really in some cases, it would seem, almost a religion.
I said, especially the foot-race.  This was preeminently the struggle which caused the most eager
interest in that age and in those countries. And this
is preiminently the image which seems to come obviously to the Apostle, when he employs comparisons
of this kind. We find instances in the Book of Acts.
Thus when he is preaching one of his great missionary sermons at Antioch in Pisidia, and has occasion to mention John the Baptist, he speaks of him as."fulfilling his course," 1 which literally means, " running the race he had to run;" and this lively expression is evidently a fitting representation of that career,
which did not last very long, but was very energetic
while it lasted. So in addressing the elders at Miletus, and speaking of himself, and alluding with deep
feeling to the "bonds and afflictions " which awaited
him, he says: "None of these things move me,
neither count I my life dear unto myself, that I may
finish my course with joy." 2  He knows that his
course requires a vigorous effort; he feels that there
are many things to dissuade him from it and to cause
him to turn aside; but he braces himself up, like a
runner, for the struggle, throws himself into it with
1 Acts xiii. 25.         2 Acts xx. 24.




72       THE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
all his force and spirit, and thinks of the joy and
exultation which await him at the close.
Similar, and very frequently, is his language in
the Epistles. It is well worth our while to observe
how generally atd variously this figure is distributed
through them. Some phrases of this kind must appear strange to those who do not consider the context of circumstances by which the Apostle was surrounded. Thus, to take as our guide the same English word which we have observed in the Acts:
" Pray for us," he says to the Thessalonians, " that
the word of the Lord may have free course and be
glorified."  Here the Gospel itself is the runner,
for which he desires a race that shall be vigorous,
rapid, free from obstacles, and triumphant at the end.
Again, to turn to most pathetic language having
reference to himself, he writes to Timothy, " I have
fought the good fight; I have finished my course;
I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up
for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord,
the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day."2 We
must be careful here to give the right meaning to
the word " fight."  This term has nothing to do with
war. It denotes an athletic contest. And the particular kind of athletic contest, which he specifies in
his customary way, is the foot-race.  But now he is
writing near the close of life. The race is nearly
run, the struggle is all but over; he is weary, as it
were, and panting with the effort; but he is success12 Thess. iii. 1.         2 2 Tim. iv. 7, 8.




GREEK GAMIES.               73
ful; the crown is in sight, and the Judge, the " righteous" Judge, who cannot make a'mistake, is there,
ready to place that bright wreath upon his head.
And as with the word " course," so with the verb
that corresponds with it.l "It is not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth," says St. Paul in
an argument,2 which turns all our confidence toward
Him who " hath compassion" and " showeth mercy."
His anxiety regarding the success of his own apostolic work is expressed by the same image in two.very different Epistles, written at widely separated
points of time. He tells the Galatians that at an
early period he negotiated very carefully at Jerusalem, " lest by any means he should run or had run
in vain;" and writing long afterwards from Rome
to the Philippians, he expresses his desire that they
may be consistent, in order that he himself "may
rejoice in the day of Christ, that he has not run in
vain."4 And the metaphor which he applies to the
progress of the Gospel committed to him, he applies
also to the practical consistency and progress of those
who had learnt the truth from him. "Ye did run
well," he says to some, who had grievously failed
and fallen; " who hath hindered you, that ye should
not obey the truth?" 5,  Ye were running the Chris1 In 2 Thess. iii. 1, the margin has "run." No use is here made
of Heb. xii. 1, simply because in these essays it is not desirable
absolutely to assume the Pauline authorship of that Epistle.
2 Rom. ix. 15, 16.             8 Gal. ii. 2.
4 Phil. ii. 16.                5 Gal. v. 7.




.74     THE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
tian race successfully and well; who put these obstacles in your way, which have thrown you down,
and brought you to shame? " The whole language,
as read in the original Greek, is far more easily recognized as applicable to the foot-race, than can possibly be perceived in the English version.
Thus we see that both direct and indirect advantages may be gained, by pursuing a narrow line of
thought suggested by mere words. We here perceive
the harmony of St. Paul's language in his speeches
and his letters, and lay hold on one of the small
collateral proofs of the genuine and honest character
both of the Acts and the Epistles. We are very far,
however, as yet from having mentioned all instances,of the use of such metaphors in these latter documents; and perhaps their use, in fact, strikes us all
the more, when the actual words, to which our attention has hitherto been given, are not employed.
Thus, when St. Paul says to Timothy, "Exercise.thyself unto godliness," the word he employs is
most distinctly taken from the training and practicing for gymnastic contests. And then he adds:
6' Bodily exercise profiteth little, but godliness is profitable unto all things, having the promise of the life
that now is, and of that which is to come," 2 - a-passage often misinterpreted. It is, in fact, frequently
distorted in two ways. The "bodily exercise" is
taken to mean religious asceticism, and the contrast
is understood to lie between this and some supposed
11 Tim. iv. 7.         2 Ver. 8.




GREEK GAMES.                75
"' godliness" not connected with bodily self-denial;
whereas the comparison is simply between the training of the body for the games, and the training of the
whole man, body, soul, and spirit, in the life of religion. And -this helps us to avoid the other mistake,
which is often committed in the interpretation of the
passage. It would be a strange thing, if St. Paul
were to urge his disciple to the practice of a strict
religious training of his character, by any promise
relating chiefly to this life. He does nothing of the
kind. He points out that, if the athletes will do so
much for a reward which is merely of this world, we
ought to do much under the influence of a promise
which relates not merely to this world, but also to
the next. God has indeed a blessing for this world,
as the blessing of Esau; but his highest blessing is
for the next world, even as the blessing of Jacob.
It is as if St. Paul said to Timothy (and we could
well imagine that such recollections of the past were
in his mind as he wrote), "My son Timothy, thou
rememberest how, when we were at Corinth,' with
our brother Silas, and Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, we watched the athletes training for the
games; young men of noble forms, eager and active,
patient and persevering. It was a foolish toil, for a
worthless reward. But we may learn a serviceable
lesson from them. The children of this world are in
their generation more diligent than the children of
light. Train thyself- thy religious character - with
1 Acts xviii. 5, 8.




76      TTHE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
the like eagerness and activity, patience and perseverance. Thy reward is not only earthly, but heavenly." And similar trains of thought might be followed in reference to other phrases, where not obviously at first sight, but still really, images from the
games are imbedded in the context of the Epistles.
Thus, when he says that he himself has spoken the
Gospel of God "with much contention," 1 or that
others have been " striving fervently "2 in intercessory prayer, or when he tells Timothy to "fight
the good fight of faith," the metaphor is really agonistic, though the variations in the English version
conceal the fact. But we must turn now to more
copious passages, where the agonistic allegory is presented in its most animated form.
In the Epistle to the Philippians St. Paul writes
thus: " Not as though I had already attained, either
were already perfect,- but I follow after. This one
thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind,
and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high
calling of God in Christ Jesus."4  Was there ever a
more vigorous picture of a runner in earnest? Here
is the eager pressing toward a definite end in view,
-the feeling that nothing else is to be thought of
for the present, the determination that nothing shall
interfere with the matter in hand; and at the same
time, with this strong effort of the will, there is thd
11 Thess. ii. 2.        2 Col. iv. 12.
8 1 Tim. vi. 12.        4 Phil. iii. 12-14.




GREEK GAMES.                 77
utmost alacrity and activity of movement. Here is
no looking back, no thought of giving up the struggle. The whole energy of mind and body is bent
upon success; and till success is achieved, nothing is
done. It would be easy to dwell on these points at
greater length; but really the best commentary on
the passage is supplied by the familiar facts of a well
contested foot-race.
And there is yet a still more copious and lively
instance of the same kind of illustration. As in the
discussions of the other metaphors, some one passage
was selected as furnishing the best sample, and as
containing in fact the main basis for the discussion,
so here we turn naturally to some verses in the ninth
chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians:
" Know ye not that they which run in a race, run all,
but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may
obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery
is temperate in all things. Now they do it that they
may obtain a fading crown; but we an unfading. I
therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not
as one that beateth the air: but I keep under my
body, and bring it into subjection; lest that by any
means, when I have preached.to others, I myself
should be a castaway."1 It may perhaps be a help
toward our entering fully into the spiritual meaning
of this passage, if we try to associate one practical
topic with each one of the four verses.
And the topic which we may associate with the first
1 Cor. ix. 24-27.




78       THE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
of the verses is this: the earnestness of purpose that
is essential to the Christian's career. " Know ye not
that they which run in a race, run all, but one receiveth the prize?  So run, that ye may obtain."  St.
Paul appeals to the experience of the Corinthians.
There was nothing with which they were better acquainted than these famous foot-races. Their own
games near their own city were among the most celebrated in the world. They "knew" well that each
race was eagerly contested, and that "one " obtained
the prize. But at this point we must mark a difference. In that race there was competition; and because there was competition, each runner was in earnest. In the Christian race there is no competition.
The prize is within the reach of all. But then each
runner must be as much in earnest as though there
were competition and only one prize. And this is
what the Apostle expresses. He does not say (as I
understand his words) "run so-in such a way-as
to obtain," - but, "run so - as those runners run -
in order that ye may obtain." In their case there is
rivalry, and therefore they are in earnest. In your
case there is no rivalry; but their earnestness of purpose is an example to you.
And certainly no pattern of earnestness can be a
more forcible example than the earnestness that
arises from eager competition. " Run in the Christian race as the athlete in the foot-race runs." All
his nerves and sinews are strung up for the effort he
is making. Nothing else is thought of; and as the




GREEK GAMES.                79
distance between his feet and the winning-post diminishes, he does not flag, but throws more and more
exertion into the mnovement of his limbs. Whatever
strength and elasticity he can summon up, whatever
struggling remainder of his short and failing breath
he can muster, all may be wanted at the very last
moment. And what a contrast this is to our dull and
languid Christianity! We go and take our place in
the course as though the prize could be won without
any running at all, or as if there were no prize worth
running for. We dream and loiter and fold our arms;
we turn aside to look at every object of passing interest; or if we did begin with some vigor, all the zest
and warmth of the struggle grows feebler and fainter
when it ought to become more animated, and, like
the Galatians, we care little what hindrances occur
to stop our course, and to risk a dishonorable fall.
Earnestness of purpose is what we want, and there
is no picture of earnestness more forcible than that
which is drawn from the ardor of competition.
But now we pass to the next verse, "Every man
that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all
things;" and the lesson is pointed by a contrast,
" They do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an
incorruptible." The successful athlete in the Greek
foot-race received for his prize a crown of green
leaves, placed by the judge upon his head. In itself
it was of no value; but it was the mark of victory.
The winning of this crown was sung in poetry; it
was the subject of pride and congratulation to the




80       THE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
city from which the successful runner came; and it
was the ground of boasting for long generations afterwards in his family. For the winning of this, exertions were made involving the utmost patience and
self-denial, and no waste of strength and activity was
thought too great if only it could be secured. And
yet it was only a corruptible, a fading crown. Its
beauty passed away sooner than the beauty of those
leaves which are stripped off from our trees by the
winds of November. And indeed all human glory is
a fading crown. It must wither and die in the end.
Yet what trouble men take to obtain it! And what
an example in this respect is the eager lover of glory
to the Christian! His crown can never fade. To
lose that crown, as it certainly may be lost, by neglect, by indolence, by turning out of the right course,
by falling headlong over temptations that lie before
our very feet, this is surely the strangest and most
unaccountable folly; while to win it is worth far
more, ten thousand times, than all the toil of the most
faithful servant of Christ, all the torture of the most
suffering martyr.
This verse, however, points not to suffering, but to
self-restraint, which self-restraint is itself a blessing;
and the topic which we may associate with these
words in the Apostle's comparison might be expressed thus, - self-restraint inspired by hope. It is
often worth a man's while to give up something which
he values for the sake of some higher good in prospect. This is what was done in the Greek athletic




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GREEK GAMES.                81
sports when the competitors were under training;
and so indeed it is now, sometimes to an absurd extent, in English athletic sports.  Classical authors
furnish us with materials, by help of which we might,
if it were necessary, describe the strict discipline to
which these young Greeks were subjected under the
trainer, - the diet, the exercise, the hard life, the fixed
hours, the peremptory abstinence from  everything
likely to hinder the end in view. It is the example
to the Christian presented by this discipline which
is the point before us. Nor is this the only place
where the same Apostle makes a similar reference.
In writing another of his Epistles, he says, " If a
man also strive for masteries, yet is he- not crowned,
except he strive lawfully; "  i. e., he cannot obtain
the prize unless he complies with the regulations;
and these regulations included, among other things,
very strict and systematic methods of discipline and
training. And the gospel strife with earthly sin for
a heavenly prize has likewise its strict regulations.
There is a preparatory discipline and training to
which the Christian must be subjected before he can
be fit to enter on his reward. The discipline, however, is, as was said before, itself a blessing. The
training is a training for happiness. The Apostle
expresses it thus: "Temperance in all things;" the
habit of self-restraint running through the whole life;
a check placed, not only on the.passions, but on the
words; moderation strictly practiced in food and in
1 2 Tim. ii. 5.
6




82       THE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
sleep; those eager desires for amusement and novelty
kept in control; so that the man is always master of
himself. Thus under God's grace that character is
formed, which commands respect and exerts influence
in this life, and is prepared to enter on the future life,
where no sin and folly disturb the balance of the purified soul. It is the hope of that life which furnishes
the motive for self-restraint, just as the hope of victory in the foot-race gives the athlete patience to
submit to all the discipline and training required by
the rules.
"I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I,
not as one that beateth the air," is the next of the
Apostle's sentences. Definiteness of aim, then, in
the Christian's race and contest, is our next topic.
And it will be observed, that St. Paul presents this
subject under two images: one drawn from running,
the other from boxing. The foot-race was as I have
said, the most popular athletic contest among the
Greeks; and it supplied. to the Apostle his favorite comparison, in connection with subjects of this
class. But the pugilistic contest was also constant
and familiar at the public games, and he combines
this contest with the other in illustration of the point
which is now before us. Not only does the Christian
act with earnestness of purpose, not only is he encouraged to practice self-restraint, but he is definite
in his aims. And in two ways he is definite. He
has a distinct view of the objects of his desire, and a
distinct view of the enemies against which he must
contend.




GREEK GAMIES.               83
"I so run, not as uncertainly."  A man who does
not know his own mind is seldom successful. That
is a very unhappy temperament which is easily turned
this way and that, and which always yields to the
latest influence, is always persuaded by the last new
argument. Such a man is continually in the hands
of others. He is never his own master.  He never
does anything well. And there is another very unhappy habit of mind: when a man does not go direct
to his point, - when he tries experiments on the right
and on the left; when he loses time by hesitation,
or follows circuitous methods, whereas the straightforward course is always the best. They are both
opposed to the true dignity of Christian principle.
The disciple of Christ should be known as a simplehearted man. His eye is single. He has one great
object before him. His desire is to be like Christ, to
prepare for spending eternity wifh that Blessed Master, ~and meanwhile to honor Him by doing good to
all around him. And nothing could express this in
a more lively manner than the comparison with the
runner in a race.  Direct; with the goal straight
before him; with his whole frame vigorously moving that way; moving, too, by the shortest path, -
such is his course. Let such be our course. " Forgetting the things that are behind, and reaching forward to the things that are before, let us press toward the mark of the prize of our high calling."
But still, while we have a course to run, we have
also enemies to fight; and, to express this, another




84       THE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
metaphor is appropriate: "So fight I, not as one
that beateth the air." St. Paul passes here from the
runner to the boxer, and, drawing a comparison from
this source, he points out that the Christian has very
definite antagonists. With the pugilist it is no mere
striking for striking's sake, no mere pastime, no dealing of blows in the air for the exercise of the muscles.
When the Corinthians or Athenians or Ephesians
came in crowds to see their favorite athlete engaged
in this contest, it was no showy and unmeaning attitudes that they came to witness, but the vigilant and
most active employment of hand and eye for the purpose of victory over an opponent equally active and
vigilant. And the best application which we can
make for ourselves of this apostolic comparison is
this: that we must be on the alert against our besetting sins; that we must keep our attention fixed upon
them, and deal our blows steadily against them.
Now, in order to do this, we must first know what
our besetting sins really are. This is a most serious.
subject. It is not sin in general that we have to contend against, not the sins of our neighbors, not the
sins which we have no temptation to commit, but
"the sin which doth so easily beset us."' What is
that sin? Has the reader discovered his besetting
sin? If not, this is not the place for dogmatizing on
spiritual things; but it may well be doubted whether
it is possible for us to be saved at all, unless we
have found out our besetting sin.
1 Heb. xii. 1.




GREEK GAMES.                85
Now let us consider the last of these four emphatic verses: " I keep under my body, and bring
it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I
have preached unto others, I myself should be a castaway."  The image of the pugilist is still continued
here; and we have to observe, first, what the Apostle
does, and, secondly, why he does it. He resists his
carnal nature, systematically attacks it, and perseveres
till he has subdued it; and this he does under the
influence of a salutary fear, lest, whilst he has been
made a blessing to others, he himself should fail to
obtain the reward. The topic then suggested by
this part of the passage might be expressed thus:
persevering effort inspired by fear.
The simple fact of St. Paul using this image at all
is a very grave fact. This pugilistic encounter was
no mere light and languid amusement. Very often
it was a matter of life and death. And certainly
there is something very revolting in the thought of
such a combat (whether in Ancient Greece or in
Modern England) being made an entertainment for
a crowd of spectators. But these Corinthians, Ephesians, and Athenians were heathens, and whatever
we may feel on this subject does not affect the strong
significance of the Apostle's comparison. It is the
intense reality of the struggle which constitutes the
point of resemblance. Those heavy blows, dealt by
one combatant with tremendous force upon the other,
are taken to signify the resolute and incessant warfare which the Christian maintains with whatever




86      THE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
is sinful in his human nature. These fleshly inclinations are determined to give him no rest, and he is
determined to give them no rest; and he perseveres
till the blows of this opponent become weak and
faint, and he is master of the field. This is a very
serious picture of the Christian life in one of its aspects; and it shows it to be very different from what
it is sometimes supposed to be, -a mere habit of
passive acquiescence in certain opinions; a mere decorous compliance with certain rules of society; a mere
receiving of impressions from without, unaccompanied by any spring of resolute energy from within.
But it is quite as important, and even more important, to observe the motive of the Apostle in this
energetic and vigilant resistance. His persevering
effort is inspired by fear: "I keep under my body,
and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means,
when I have preached unto others, I myself should
be a castaway." "i Lest " - never was a little word
more weighty in any sentence; and the writer makes
it more emphatic, by the addition of " by any means."
Could there be a more solemn admonition of danger?
Here is this great Apostle, to whom the establishment of Christianity in the world is due more than
to any one else, telling us that he carried on a watchful and vigorous warfare against his fleshly nature,
for fear lest, in the midst of all these ministrations,
he himself should lose his reward. Well, then, may
we fear for ourselves; and, most of all, those
amongst us who are actively endeavoring to do spir



GREEK GAMES.                87
itual good to others.  What thought can go with
greater power into the very depths of the conscience
than this "God may be using me for the spiritual
good of others, and yet my own heart may not be
right; my own soul may not be safe, through the
mysterious power of sin in my fleshly nature: I may
be falling away farther from God, even while I am
drawing others nearer to HI-im?"  It is of course
obvious that we are here brought into contact with
the doctrines of predestination and election, and that
a difficulty arises when such a passage as this is compared with passages supporting these doctrines. It
is easy to range texts on both sides of such a controversy as that, and not easy to reconcile them, except
by making one set of texts give way to another.
And this we have no right to do. With other parts
of Scripture before us, we might meditate with advantage on the sweet comfort which is derived from
the conviction that those who have placed their souls
in the care of Christ are safe, and that no one can
pluck them out of that Saviour's hands. But that is
not our subject now. We must take the Bible as we
find it. St. Paul does most distinctly tell us in this
place that with him the fear of being " a castaway"
was a commanding motive. Hope and fear are the
two poles of the Christian's life; and certainly fear
has a very conspicuous place in Holy Scriptures.
" Be not high-minded, but fear."  "Pass the time
of your sojourning here in fear."  "Let him that
thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." 1
1 Rom. xi. 20; 1 Pet. i. 17; 1 Cor. x. 12.




88       THE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
The general subject of St. Paul's habit of taking
metaphorical language from the athletic games is by
no means yet exhausted.    Even in the context
which we have been examining at considerable
length, there is at least one other agonistic allusion,
which might easily escape notice. When St. Paul
speaks in this passage of " having preached to others," the true rendering is, " having been a herald to
others." And the reference is to that officer in the
concourse at the games, whose business it was, with
his voice, or with a trumpet, to summon the competitors to the exciting struggle. Much more, too, might
be said on various points of detail, which have been
only lightly touched, such as the training,' the rules,2
the judge,3 the prize,4 the attending spectators,5 and
the jubilant joy 6 with which the victor was received
at the close of the race. But it is now time to lay
the subject aside; and this short series of papers on
St. Paul's illustrative language may be briefly concluded by two reflections, - one of which has reference to the Apostle himself, the other to the Bible at
large.
It is impossible not to feel, in pursuing such studies
as these, that we have not merely St. Paul's instruction and exhortation, but his personal example, before us. We always feel that we should like to know
something of the character of a man who produced
such wonderful effects in the world as the Apostle
1 1Cor. ix. 25; 1 Tim. iv. 7, 8.  2 2 Tim. ii. 5.  8 2 Tim. iv. 8.
4 1 Cor. ix. 24; Phil. iii. 14.  6 1 Cor. iv. 9.  6 Acts xx. 24.




GREEK GAMES.                89
Paul. And certainly, we have no lack of materials
for forming a judgment on this subject. Among
other things, we have his customary language. A
man's customary language (at least if he is a man of
mark) generally shows something of his character;
and perhaps especially the language which he uses
in his letters. For in letter-writing we are free from
the disturbing influences of conversation, while yet
the personal element is strongly present.  Four
groups of St. Paul's favorite similes have been before
our attention, and perhaps each of them might furnish a suggestion in regard to his character. Thus,
in his architectural imagery we might be reminded
of his steady adherence to first principles, and of his
constructive ability (under God's Spirit) in regard
both to doctrine and the Church; while his illustrations drawn from agriculture seem to present him
before us in his sympathizing care for the spiritual
growth of his converts and his reliance on the exercise of God's beneficent power. But perhaps it is
more easy to make this use of the metaphors which
he draws from Roman Soldiers and Greek Games.
We can hardly be mistaken in believing that by
combining them together we obtain an approximate
picture of the man. In both cases his references
to such subjects are copious, natural, and customary.
From this we should conclude that there was something of the Soldier and the Athlete in his moral
and religious constitution. And so in truth it was.
He had much of what we should call tenacity of




90       THE METAPHORS OF ST. PAUL.
character, a great power of elastic recovery when
he was beaten back by opposition, a strong will, not
deterred by difficulties, and at the same time a remarkable alacrity and versatility and readiness of
resource. We know this to have been the case, from
the facts of his life; but we see it also in the imagery which he is in the habit of borrowing from the
Roman Soldiers and the Greek Games.
As to Scripture in general, the remark which suggests itself in conclusion is this, that the careful student can in every part of it enter upon large and
precious trains of thought, and can find a germinating power even in what seem to be its secondary
portions. In these short essays we have been following very narrow paths through a very limited portion
of God's Word; and yet we have found a good deal
to interest and instruct us. It is a great proof of
the endless variety and richness of the Bible, if we
can gain so much by merely pursuing the course of
a peculiar word or a characteristic metaphor. God's
Word is like God's World, very varied, very rich,
very beautiful. You never know when you have
exhausted all its secrets. The Bible, like Nature,
has something for every class of mind. As in the
phenomena around us there are resources and invitations both for science and for poetry, so does God's
Revelation furnish materials both for exact theological definition and for the free play of devout thought
and feeling. Look at the Bible in a new light, and
you straightway see some new charm. This is true,




GREEK GAMES.                91
even in regard to very minute particulars. The view
from a commanding Alpine summit, which has been
climbed by great labor, and where half a kingdom is
spread before you, is very glorious and not to be forgotten; but the quiet footpath along the slopes of
the lower eminences may also be full of beauty at
every turn. And such has been our modest course
in these essays. It is something to have obtained a
deeper conviction than before of the inexhaustible
charms and advantages of even the by-ways of
Scripture.








THE COMPANIONS OF
ST. PAUL.








PREFACE.
I   HAVE long cherished the hope of writing a
bookon Scripture Characters; The biographical
form in which a large part of the Bible is given
to us is an invitation to this study; and there can be
no doubt that, of all studies, it is one of the most
instructive..Yet the books are very few which supply anything like an exhaustive treatment of this subject.
Sermons and essays, no doubt, there are in abundance on special characters of Holy Writ; but I know
nothing which has any claim to completeness, except
Niemeyer's " Charakteristik der Bibel," which first
appeared in 1775, and the three volumes of " Scripture Biography," published between 1832 and 1848,
by my revered friend Archdeacon Evans. The
former work is very unequal; and on other grounds
it may be questioned whether a mere translation of
it would be the best mode of presenting the whole
subject to English readers. The latter work, too,
excellent as it is, leaves much to be done in the same
field by others.




iv                 PREFACE.
It seems very unlikely that leisure will ever be
granted to me for the accomplishing of what I have
desired; but I may hope, if life is prolonged, to publish some slight volumes in illustration of Bible Biography.  These papers, which originally appeared
in the " Sunday Magazine," and are now republished
after revision, are obviously quite superficial, and
aim almost exclusively at the promotion of practical
religious life. The 1st, 2d, 3d, 7th, and 8th were
in substance preached in Chester Cathedral. They
will be followed by a new edition of the Hulsean
Lectures for 1862, on the "Character of St. Paul,"
and by some Sermons on Scripture Characters, which
have been preached on public occasions.
J. S. H.
CHESTER, December 30, 1870.




CONTENTS
PAGE
I. ST. BARNABAS.......  7
II. LYDIA......  28
III. ST. LUKE.....  44
IV. APOLLOS........  60
V. TITUS.....  78
VI. PHOEBE........  95
VII. FELIX.........  109
VIII. JULIUS........ 125
IX. ONESIMUS......     144
X. EPAPHRODITUS.....161
XI. AQUILA AND PRISCILLA.....  178
XII. TIMOTHEUS.......194








THE
COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
I.
ST. BARNABAS.
"A good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith." - ACTS
xi. 24.
IN order to study intelligently the character of any
man, it is essential to take into account, not only
the distinguishing features of his own mind and disposition, but also the circumstances of every kind by
which he was surrounded. Those circumstances limit
and direct the action of his personality; and they
very often make him, in the lapse of time, to be different from what he was at the first. The place where
he was born, the scenes that environed his childhood,
the occupations in which his faculties have been
engaged, all such things have much to do with our
estimate of the man himself. And if we suppose
that, in later years, he finds a home in a new country,
that his health is impaired by climate or other causes,
that employments different from the former have
begun to occupy his attention, it is evident that the
course of his biography must vary accordingly.




8       THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
Of all the circumstances which surround a man,
those which determine his relation to other men are
by far the most important. The companions even of
the greatest man may almost be said to be constituent parts of his character. They must certainly be
known and appreciated, before we can give a truthful
and complete account of his career. A man's companions receive his influence and reflect his feelings;
through them he necessarily acts on society at large;
and, again, they react powerfully upon his own sentiments, and frequently modify the form of his work.
We cannot isolate him from them without the risk of
distorting, and either dwarfing or exaggerating, his
proportions.
These remarks are preeminently true of such a
person as the Apostle Paul, whose temperament was
preeminently social. This feature of his mind and
heart is conspicuous everywhere, whether we study
him in his own Epistles, or in the narrative written
by his friend St. Luke. The human environment, so
to speak, which surrounds St. Paul, is the very atmosphere of his life. We cannot separate him from his
companions. By seeing his power over them we see
what he was. In his relations to them, on the one
hand, we trace the delicate shades of his fine feeling.
On the other hand, they were the instruments by
which he acted on large communities. It is true likewise, that, charged though he was with a Divine commission and empowered inwardly with supernatural
strength, yet his companions had a reflex action upon




ST. BARNABAS.                 9
his feelings and habits of thought. In contact with
them his human characteristics were developed, as
literally as might be the case with any of ourselves;
and they frequently determined the course of his conduct and shaped the results of his life.
A series of papers, then, on the " Companions of
St. Paul," may be of some little value as contributing
toward the illustration of the Great Apostle's own
biography, independently of the utility of studying
these men and women themselves. Such a series, in
an unpretending form, I now propose to offer to the
reader; and in doing this my aim will be, not simply
to bring out to view the characteristics of St. Paul's
associates, one by one, but also to make some useful
applications of them, so as to put various parts of our
own experience, in succession, side by side with their
examples.
There are two very obvious reasons why we should
begin with Barnabas.
In the first place this course is chronologically
correct. The intimate associations of St. Paul with
this friend began at the very outset of his active
career. No earlier companionship is recorded in connection with the Apostle's influence over the minds
of others, or the progress of his Missionary work.
Moreover, it is more than probable that they were
well acquainted with one another before either of
them was a Christian. One came from Cyprus; the
other from Cilicia;l and these two provinces were
1 Acts iv. 36; xxi. 39; xxii. 3.




10      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
closely connected with one another by mercantile
intercourse. Paul, too, and Barnabas were both of
pure Israelitish descent.l Thus not only the geographical circumstances of the case, but the affinities
of feeling which would naturally subsist between men,
who, while Jews of the Greek dispersion, were yet
loyal to the old hereditary Judaism, point to the
probability of an early friendship; and certainly the
supposition of such a friendship explains much of
what is recorded in the Bible concerning the relations
of the two men.
But, further, the selection of Barnabas for our first
subject is made natural in another way. His kindly
disposition, and the service which he rendered to St.
Paul, constitute him, above all others in this group, a
good representative of personal friendship. If in any
one, among the associates of our Apostle, the idea of
companionship is, as it were, personified, that one is
Barnabas.. Something of this characteristic is made
known to us in the designation which the earlier
Apostles gave to him, when they styled him the " Son
of Consolation." 2 It is probable, indeed, that this
title had reference chiefly to his power of warm and
instructive "exhortation;" but, even if thus interpreted, it reveals to us social qualities of high value;
and certainly his actions are in harmony with this
power of giving encouragement by his words.. And
this, too, must be added, as we shall presently see,
that Barnabas displays the defective and weak side,
1 Acts iv. 36; Phil. iii. 5.,  2 Acts iv. 36.




ST. BARNABAS.               11
as well as the cheering and consoling side, of an
ardent and affectionate disposition.
There are four passages in the New Testament,
all connected with St. Paul, which bring before us
definite features of the character of Barnabas, - two
exhibiting his high excellences, and two revealing his
faults. But-before we turn to them, we must glance
at an earlier passage, which has no reference to the
Apostle of the Gentiles, but is valuable to us here as
striking the key-note, so to speak, of the character
of his friend.
In those happy earliest days of the Church, when
"the multitude of them that believed were of one
heart and one soul," when none of them said " that
aught of the things which he possessed was his own,"
and consequently " none among them lacked," —
Barnabas, "a Levite, of the island of Cyprus," is the
one among the disciples who is specified as " selling
his land, and laying the price at the Apostles' feet,"
for the general good of the Christian community.l
Either the amount which he gave was peculiarly
large, or there was something in his manner of giving, which causes him to be singled out in this description of self-denying generosity; and we may pause
here for a moment, to note the example which would
be afforded to us, even if we were to proceed no
further.
Generosity, -we shall find that this word, better
than any other, describes the character of Barnabas.
1 Acts iv. 37.




12      TRE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
This first incident from his life exhibits to us generosity in its literal sense of the free surrendering of
private property for the public benefit., But this is
by no means the main point on which we should lay
hold, in striving to learn something from the example.
Mere giving may arise from various motives. But the
deep inward principle of generosity applies to all the
conduct of life, and finds its exercise even when we
have no property to give. A generous man is a man
whose heart goes out freely and warmly toward
others, -who is not always thinking of himself; not
calculating nicely how this or that will affect his own
comfort, his own credit, his own position. Such a
man is always ready for kind and neighborly acts.
And such a man, too, can easily throw himself into
mutual understanding and combination with others
for the general good; whereas a man who is centered in himself is always liable to be mistaken and
to mistake those around him. Let me illustrate this
by a homely comparison.
There is a characteristic difference between houses
in the East and houses in the West. Our dwellings
have their windows on the outside, from which we
can look on the open country and see freely what is
passing elsewhere. A domestic dwelling in the East,
on the contrary, opens into an inner court, which
presents the only view, while all around is the dull
dead wall. There is something of the same kind of
difference between one' man and another. Some can
easily begin frank and open communication with




ST. BARNABAS.               13
their neighbors -other men cannot or will not.
Barnabas is an example of the former; and he was
all the happier in consequence, and all the more
useful.
And there is another mark of generosity, suggested
by the passage before us, which should not be overlooked. A generous man, acting on warm impulses,
does not delay in doing good, but acts promptly and
on the moment. The help wanted by the Christian
community in Jerusalem was wanted then, and Barnabas gave it then. He might very naturally have
considered the various reasons there were for delay.
For instance, it was probable that similar need for
assistance might occur on some future occasion. Besides this, many other persons were giving liberally
at that time. But Barnabas did not reason in this
way. Probably he did not reason at all. And this
at least we may learn from him, that, when undoubted good is to be done, it is best to do it heartily,
and to do it now.
But it is time that we should turn to the first of
the four passages, which describes circumstances in
the life of Barnabas directly connected with St.
Paul. Generosity is here again manifest, but in another and a more winning aspect.
It was a most critical moment in St. Paul's life,
and in the history of the Church. On his return to
Jerusalem, after his sudden conversion at Damascus,
he was naturally suspected. "He assayed to join
himself to the disciples; but they were all afraid of




14      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
him, and believed not that he was a disciple." 1 It is
difficult to blame them. For what could they have
thought of him? Here was a man who had been
their unscrupulous enemy, " breathing out slaughter
and threatenings," dragging " both men and women
into prison," 2 ready to undergo any toil and travel
to any distance, if only he might extirpate the Christians; and now this man was in Jerusalem again,
professing to be their friend and wishing to be associated with them. They must have thought it was
some contrivance, some stratagem arranged for their
harm. It must be remembered that they were not
then a powerful body, but very weak, with no protection from the authorities. They were like a flock of
sheep; and they might well say of this son of Benjamin, in the words applied to his great ancestor: " He
ravins like a wolf; in the morning he devoured the
prey; and now at night he is dividing the spoil." 3
If we consider the crisis, we see how much harm
would have come both to St. Paul's personal comfort
and happiness, and to his power of extending and
consolidating the Church, if this most natural and
most serious misunderstanding had not been removed.
The happy instrument of removing it was Barnabas. "He took him, and brought him to the Apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the
Lord in the way, and that He had spoken to him,
and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in
the name of Jesus." The result was entire confidence
1 Acts ix. 26.  2 Acts ix. 1, 2;. xxii. 4.  3 Gen. xlix. 27.




ST. BARNABAS.               15
and work heartily combined in the cause of Christ.
He who had been a persecutor was now with the
Apostles at Jerusalem, as a trusted friend and fellowlaborer, " coming in and going out" and "'speaking
boldly."
Now I spoke above of putting our experience side
by side with the example of Barnabas. Misunderstandings are very common in this poor world of
ours. People will differ without reason; will take
unfavorable views of one another; will think they
are on opposite sides, when really they are not on
opposite sides. When such a state of things is seen
to arise, this is the great opportunity for those (and
they are very numerous) who occupy themselves in
gossip and making mischief. But this is also the
Christian's opportunity for making peace and promoting combination in good and useful works. Let
the reader ask himself what he is in the habit of doing
in such a case. A very common habit with us is
simply to look on, under such circumstances, and to be
passive, - possibly even to take a sort of pleasure in
the infirmities of our neighbors. " These people," we
say, "will look upon one another as enemies, when
they ought to be friends; they are very foolish; but
we cannot help it "; and we do nothing. Such was
not the view or the practice of Barnabas. And this
system of letting things grow crooked, when we
might do something toward putting them straight, is
really moral cowardice or moral laziness; and we
must remember that we are responsible, not only for




16      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
the harm which we positively cause, but also, in a
great measure, for the evil which we might have
prevented.
Only it must be recollected that whatever good
we do in this way must be done, not by harshness
and rebuke, but by sympathy and persuasion. This
is a principle of almost universal application, and to
nothing is it more applicable than to cases of religious misunderstanding. But, most strangely, we are
in the habit of forgetting this. We live in a time of
much religious debate. And this, indeed, is by no
means an unmixed evil. Anything is better than
stagnant indifference; and debate has a tendency to
bring out truth more clearly into view. If others
hold wrong opinions, our wish must be to induce
them to adopt right opinions. But is it wise to attempt to secure this end by the method of attack?
Let us ask any man to refer to his own experience.
Were you ever convinced yourself by being attacked?
When you were assailed, was not your first impulse
to resist, and to shelter yourself as closely as possible
within your old defenses? You have heard the fable
of the Traveller, the Wind, and the Sun. The Traveller was enveloped in a thick cloak. The Wind
and the Sun contended which of them could most
easily induce him to lay the cloak aside. The Wind
made the attempt first. A furious storm came over
the heavens, the trees were broken, the cattle were
terrified, the cold sleet drove angrily across the plain.
But the Traveller drew his cloak more closely to




ST. BARNABAS.                17
him, and folded it round and round. And now the
weather cleared. The landscape grew bright again.
The Sun's turn was now come to make the attempt.
As the warmth of the rays increased, the Traveller
gradually relaxed his hold. Each step made him feel
that the cloak was more and more a burden; he laid
it aside; and the Sun had succeeded, where the
Wind had failed. What could never have been done
by violent attack, was easily accomplished by gentle
persuasion. Barnabas, at a critical time, not by
harsh discussion, but by genial warmth, removed a
prejudice; and we, following in his steps, may perhaps find many opportunities of doing the same.
Nor is it merely the satisfaction and happiness of
religious fellow-workmen which is to be considered
in such a case. Simple offices of Christian kindness
may be of far greater moment to the community at
large than can be calculated at the time. This incident in the life of Barnabas is of peculiar value, because it shows us what great results may follow to
the progress of the Gospel from a single act of timely
generosity.
The second passage, which sets Barnabas before us
in close companionship with the Apostle, leads us to
give him a very great place in the Apostolic history,
both for a far.seeing and enlightened intelligence, and
for a noble and generous nature. News came from
Jerusalem that the reception of the Gospel was proceeding with unexampled success in the northern
2




18      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
parts of Syria, especially at Antioch.l The authorities of the Church felt instinctively that Barnabas
was the fittest man to send on a mission of inquiry
and encouragement. The account of his feeling and
conduct on his arrival at Antioch is replete with information concerning his mind and character. " When
he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad."
We recognize here immediately one of those sure indications which are prominent in St. Paul's description of true Christian charity,2 namely, that it " rejoiceth in the truth." And then follow words which
exhibit Barnabas as a. Son of Exhortation."'  " He
exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they
would cleave unto the Lord." In all this there are
the clear tokens of a genial, friendly, and zealous disposition. Then, immediately below, it is added, " For
he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and
of Faith," - a sentence which is placed at the head
of this paper, because it seems to concentrate in itself the full description of the man.  Those who
unite thus the inward power of Divine grace with
natural aptitude for persuasion, are commonly successful. And the success of Barnabas at Antioch
was great. " Much people was added unto the Lord."
Such occurrences, taking place in a city so populous, and so eminent both in political and mercantile
life, were of peculiar moment to the future history
of the Church. Barnabas evidently felt the critical
value of the opportunity; for he decided to stay at
1 Acts'xi. 22.          2 1 Cor. xiii. 6.




ST. BARNABAS.               19
Antioch. But something of_ still greater importance
follows. He knew of St. Paul's special mission to
the Gentiles. He felt how desirable it was that his
friend should be brought to labor in the midst of this
movement of active thought and serious conviction at
Antioch. Accordingly, he " went to Tarsus to seek
Saul: and when he had found him he brought him
unto Antioch. And it came to pass that a whole
year they assembled themselves with the Church, and
taught much people."
We cannot dwell too carefully on this transaction,
whether we wish to estimate the impulse thus given
to the progress of Christianity, or to appreciate the
distinctive features of the character of Barnabas. It
was at Antioch, under the joint ministry of these two
men, that the Church of Christ first became conscious
of itself, so to speak, as a great self-existent community, and received its proper designation.l From
Antioch, too, proceeded the first great missionary expedition of the Church in the persons of these two
men.2 It is, however, rather the individual part
played by Barnabas at this time, on which we are
here to dwell. His friend, since their last meeting,
though fully recognized as a true disciple by the
Christians at Jerusalem 8 (and this recognition was
due to Barnabas), had been driven away by persecution, and had been living and working in the shade
at Tarsus. Certainly we cannot suppose him to have
been idle. But it was Barnabas who gave him the
1 Acts xi. 26.   2 Acts xiii. 4.  8 Gal. i. 22-24.




20      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
great opportunity, which was now open before him.
Barnabas may be said, in a certain sense, to have
made Paul what he afterwards became. He brought
him out of obscurity. He put him in the fore-front,
though he must have been well aware that he was
likely to become more distinguished and powerful
than himself. This is that peculiar mark of a generous disposition which was mentioned above, the absence of anxiety for personal credit, the readiness for
friendly combination in useful undertakings without
any selfish end in view. There are some men who
have no heart for any enterprise, unless they can have
the first place in it. This is perhaps a prevalent
temptation with most energetic characters. But this
habit of mind is not according to the law laid down
by Christ. " Whosoever will be chief among you,
let him be your servant." 1 And Barnabas is a good
example to show us how such temptation can be
overcome.
We do not wonder at the confidence which he inspired on various occasions, and in reference to very
different subjects. Thus, when charitable contributions were soon afterwards sent from Antioch to the
poor Christians in Judaea, he was chosen with St.
Paul, to convey the gift.2 At another time, when the
two men were engaged in missionary work, and garlands and sacrifices were brought out with the intention of doing worship to the Apostles, the title which
these poor idolaters of Lystra gave to Barnabas
1 Matt. xx. 27.         2 Acts xi. 30.




S T. BARNABAS.               21
seems like a recognition of his benignity.' And
afterwards, when a very serious religious question
required to be settled, affecting the whole future condition of Gentile converts, he again was chosen, with
three others, to convey the decisive letter from Jerusalem to Antioch; and it is said, in the very phrase
which is the translation of his name, that, when the
letter was read, "they rejoiced for the Consolation." 2
But such a character has its defects and its dangers. And now, more briefly, we must take notice
of two instances where Barnabas failed in his duty,
under the pressure, apparently, of temptations incident to his natural disposition. It would not be fair
to the Scriptures, or to Barnabas, or to ourselves, to
pass over his failings in silence; not fair to the Scriptures, for they never present to us any biography,
except ONE, as absolutely perfect; not fair to Barnabas, for the saints of God are deeply conscious of infirmity and sin, and would not wish to wear a false
gloss upon their character; not fair to ourselves, for
one of our great encouragements is to know that the
Scripture Saints, in whom grace was victorious, were
naturally men " of like passions-" with us.3
The first -missionary journey had been happily accomplished; but soon after the close of it a sharp
quarrel took place between the two men who had
labored so well together. Their companion on the
journey, John Mark, a near relative of Barnabas,
had been unfaithful in Pamphylia, had shrunk from
1 Acts xiv. 12.  2 Acts xv. 31.  3 Acts xiv. 15.




22      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
the difficulties and dangers of the enterprise, and had
returned to his home.1 We are told, near the end of
the fifteenth chapter, that Paul and Barnabas again
proposed to "go and visit their brethren in every
city where they had preached the word of the Lord,
to see how they fared."  The strong desire, and,
indeed, determination of Barnabas, was to take his
young relative along with them once more. "But
Paul thought not good to take him with them, who
departed from them in Pamphylia, and went not with
them to the work; and the contention was so sharp
between them, that they departed asunder one from
the other," and took different routes.2
Thus the friendship which had not been disturbed
by selfishness on either side, or by difference of disposition, now gave way before the sensitiveness
caused by family relationships. The expression seems
to imply that temper was lost on both sides. Therefore, both were to blame. St. Paul's part in the
transaction we need not now pause to examine. But
we may take occasion to remark that warm-hearted
and generous men, like Barnabas, should beware of
too much partiality toward relatives, in any case
where posts of responsibility are in question. Even
religious men are apt to take a very false view of this
matter; and ever since the quarrel of these two good
men at Antioch, this kind of domestic management
has, again and again, both in public appointments and
in private matters, brought great discredit on relig1 Acts xiii. 13.         2 Acts xv. 36-40.




ST. BARNABAS.               23
ious profession. Many are the occasions when such
an appeal as the following might most properly be
made: " You may think your relative a very good
man for such a post. But your thinking so does not
make the fact really so. On the contrary, your judgment in this case is very likely to be under the influence of your feelings. And, after all, the question
is, not who is a good man, but who is the best man."
It will be observed here, that nothing has been said
against promoting the progress in life of the younger
members of our families, watching over their interests, and using every effort to start them well, and to
encourage them in the path of duty. We know on
the highest authority, that " if any provide not for his
own house," he is worse than one who has never
heard of Christianity.l Attention is merely drawn
to a distinction which is constantly forgotten in all
ranks of life. A post of public trust is not created
for the benefit of the man who holds it, but the benefit of those whom he is to serve in that post. Therefore our conduct in such cases should be guided, not
by our affections and our preferences, but by our desire for the public good. There is little doubt that
St. Paul was right on the whole; though certainly
he ought to have kept his temper. And perhaps his
firmness on this occasion had a most beneficial effect
on the young man himself, who is declared, many
years afterwards, to have then become "profitable for
the ministry." 2
1 Tim. v. 8.             2 2 Tim. iv. 11.




24      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
But another instance of weakness on the part of
Barnabas is recorded in Holy Scripture. The last
passage to which reference has been made is found in
one of the Epistles. He and St. Paul had at least
one other meeting in the same famous city of Antioch. There is every reason to believe that the old
quarrel had entirely passed away, and that the unflinching Apostle of the Gentiles and the generoushearted kinsman of Mark 1 were firm friends again.
But once more, and at the same place, a painful occurrence brought the two friends into open collision.
We need not inquire here into the precise date of the
event, or describe the circumstances out of which it
arose. We are merely considering Barnabas in his
relation to St. Paul. It is in the Epistle to the Galatians that the transaction is recorded.2  St. Paul is
alluding to an occasion when St. Peter was very
much to blame, and seriously in danger of promoting wide-spread corruption of the truth.  This too
was a critical time. It was of peculiar importance
just then to maintain the principles of the Gospel
clearly, and without any chance of mistake; and St.
Peter had wrongly given apparent sanction to those
who were mixing Jewish error with the truth. This
had a disastrous effect on those who were within
reach of his influence. " The other Jews dissembled
likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was
carried away with their dissimulation."
It is apparently not difficult to trace here the char1 Col. iv. 10.              2 Gal. ii. 11.




ST. BARNABAS.               25
acteristic temperament of Barnabas again on its weak
side. His was just that kind of disposition which
makes it easy to become a partisan, to flow on with
the general current, to take the complexion of surrounding opinion, and to sanction by acquiescence
many things which ought to be resisted. It is not
pleasant for a warm-hearted and generous man to
tell his neighbors that they are all in the wrong.
When there is ready facility for giving and winning
confidence and for securing cooperation, there must
also be the danger of easy yielding, in order to
please. But we may carry this trustful and uninquiring acquiescence so far, that it becomes unfaithfulness; and then harm results instead of good. The
desire to make everything smooth with everybody is
a temptation to be most resolutely resisted. It is
quite true that St. Paul tells us that he himself
"'pleased all men in all things;" 1 but, this was in
opposition to pleasing himself; and he adds that he
pleased them for their " profit, that they might be
saved."  The pleasing was not the end, but the
means. It is true also that he " was made all things
to all men;" 2 but the conclusion of the sentence
must be examined too, that we may see the correct
meaning of these words. It was in order that "by
all means he might save some." If our end is the
saving of men's souls, we shall find that resistance is
sometimes a duty as well as acquiescence. And certainly the tolerating of erroneous human admixtures
1 1 Cor. x. 33.            2 1 Cor. ix. 22.




26      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
with Revealed Truth is not the way to save men's
souls. St. Paul felt this very deeply, and therefore
he gave a severe rebuke to St. Peter, and indirectly
gave a salutary admonition to Barnabas, and to all
who, like Barnabas, are tempted, even by generous
and unselfish feelings, to join with those who are unfaithful to the cause of Christ.
Now we have been looking at the faults of Barnabas. We have not disguised those faults, but have
honestly followed the record of the New Testament
in exposing them to view. But let not this be the
last impression left on our minds. Let our thoughts
go back, at the close of these remarks, and rest upon
his good qualities; his generosity in giving whatever
he could give to increase the happiness and comfort
of those around him, and in giving it heartily and
without delay; his generosity in taking trouble to remove misunderstandings, to promote cooperation, and
to establish friendship among those who were in danger of becoming enemies; his generosity in rejoicing
over the spiritual attainments of others, in the absence of envy and jealousy, and in willingness to
take the lowest place, if only he might be useful. Let
this example be taken into our hearts, so that we may
strive, by God's grace, to imitate it, and thus become,
among those who surround us, " Sons of Consolation,
with messages of love; Daughters of Consolation,
on loving errands, too." 1
1 See Hymn for St. Barnabas' Day, in the Church's Year, by the
Bishop of Lincoln.




ST. BARNABAS.               27
"Sons of Consolation," " Daughters of Consolation." It is a Hebrew form of expression, and denotes that the wish to give consolation is close to the
heart, and that efforts to give consolation are the
habit of the life. None of us, however, can be the
real fountain-head of consolation. " Christ the Consoler " is seated alone in the midst of suffering Humanity.l In order to bring true consolation, we must
point to Him. Before his gracious countenance the
chains of the captive fall off. In his tender sympathy, the heart that has been wounded by sorrow
finds relief. In his strengthening presence the distracted mind recovers its balance. Through Him sin
is forgiven. May God enable us all to " flee for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us;" for
here only - whatever alleviations there may be for a
time, here only, for time and for eternity- is
"Strong Consolation." 2
1 The allusion is to Ary Scheffer's well-known picture, "Christus
Consolator."
2 Heb. vi. 18.




II.
LYDIA.
"Whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things
which were spoken of Paul." -ACTS xvi. 14.
T  HERE is always a peculiar interest in examining the first beginnings of an enterprise which
has resulted in great success. While contemplating the results with satisfaction, and looking over the
wide range of all that has been accomplished, we
find our thoughts inevitably suggesting the question,
What were the characteristics of the first steps in
that which has made such remarkable progress?
There is no doubt that one of the greatest and
most successful enterprises of the world has been the
extending of Christianity over Europe. For centuries, with one small exception, every country in this
Continent has been, at least nominally, Christian.
And with its Christianity have grown up that civilization and that power of Europe which are too often
made the occasions of'foolish boasting. But all this
state.of things had once a beginning. When St.
Paul was in that part of his history which corresponds with this sixteenth chapter of the Acts, i. e.,
about twenty years after the death and resurrection
of Christ, there was no Christianity at all in Europe,




LYDIA.                   29
except so far as a few scattered Jews, travelling for
purposes of trade,- or here and there a Greek sailor
or Roman soldier,- might have in their hearts the
seeds of Divine truth, sown there by the words and
work of Christ in Judcea, or elsewhere by some followers of Christ. No doubt in this way some preparation was going on for the great Christian community of Rome; but still, on the whole, it may be said
with truth that Europe at this moment was Heathen
from one end to the other.
The circumstances, therefore, of the first passing
offour religion from Asia into Europe, invest this
portion of Sacred History with surpassing interest.
In reading it, we find ourselves in the midst of the
first days of an enterprise which grew continually
from that point, and which has resulted in an astonishing success. And this we may say at once of the
characteristics of these earliest days of European
Christianity, that they come before us in Scripture
with an impression of peculiar cheerfulness. This
can be made evident in more ways than one. It
strikes us forcibly, in the first place, if we compare
the circumstances of this time with those of the time
immediately preceding.
St. Paul had been travelling through Galatia. We
see this from the sixth verse. There it seems that he
was struck down and delayed by an attack of illness.
He mentions this afterwards in writing to the Galatians, " Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh
I preached the Gospel to you at the first;" or, more




-30     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
correctly and more fully, " Ye remember that I was
in weak health when I was among you preaching the
Gospel at the first, and, in fact, that weak health was
the cause of my stay among you; " and then he proceeds to remind them of their sympathy with his sufferings.l The tone in which he writes this shows
that he felt the trial very deeply. Now, in coming
down from Galatia to the coast of Troas, he met St.
Luke. This we know beyond any doubt, from the
form of the narrative.  Again, in another of his
Epistles we find him describing St. Luke as "the beloved physician." 2 And it always seems to me that
we ought to connect together this sickness and this
meeting with the physician. However this may be,
the Apostle did meet at Troas, at this particular
time, a congenial spirit and an honest friend, who
thenceforward shared his toil and cheered him with
his society. But to this subject we shall return in
the next of this series of papers on " The Companions of St. Paul."
And in another way, if we read the narrative correctly, we see how cheerful circumstances attended
this crossing over into Europe, as compared with
what had occurred immediately before. On leaving
Galatia there had been much perplexity and disappointment. They attempted to preach the Gospel in
one district, and were prevented. They " assayed"
to go into another district, " but the Spirit suffered
them not."8 In what particular form these hin1 Gal. iv. 13.  2 Col. iv. 14.  8 Acts xvi. 6, 7.




LYDIA.                   31
drances presented themselves we are not informed,
but the effect must have been great discouragement;
and to a man of St. Paul's temperament, especially
after recent illness, it must have been peculiarly trying to make no progress. But on reaching the seacoast at Troas, an express vision made everything
clear. There appeared to the Apostle, in the night,
a man of Macedonia, saying, " Come over " - into
Europe-" and help us."   So the clouds, which had
hung- over their path, now rolled away. The course,
which had been obscure, now became distinctly visible. "Immediately," said St. Luke, " we endeavored
to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the
Lord had called us to preach the Gospel there." 1
We endeavored, it must be observed, is the expression used. The " we " is not employed in describing
what happened in Galatia, or on the way from thence
to Troas. This is the proof, which was referred to
above, that St. Luke became St. Paul's companion
at this particular point.
Even the short description of the voyage leaves a
most cheerful impression upon the mind. " Loosing
from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis, and from thence
to Philippi." There was no delay. If they sailed
with a straight course, the wind must have been favorable. And as to the time spent on the passage, we
have a subsequent account of the same voyage occupying five days, whereas on this occasion it took only
1 Acts xvi. 10.




32      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
parts of two.1 Those who remember how various
the intervals of time used to be in the early part of
this century, according to the weather, in the crossing
over between Holyhead and Dublin, can judge how
well worth while it is to allude to all such circumstances.
But now we are brought to Philippi, where a flourishing and admirable Church was speedily founded.
This was the beginning of Christianity in Europe.
We were to examine more particularly the characteristics of the first steps in an enterprise so great and
successful.
The facts are given very simply thus (vers. 1315): "We were in that city " - Philippi -" abiding certain days. And on the Sabbath we went out
of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont
to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto
the women which resorted thither. And a certain
woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of
Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose
heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the
things which were spoken of Paul. And when she
was baptized, and her household, she besought us
saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the
Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And
she constrained us."
(1.) First, then, I notice that the whole of this
great success began with prayer. Just as at the beginning of what we may call Asiatic Christianity in Jerusalem, immediately, after our Lord's ascension, the
1 Compare Acts xvi. 11 with xx. 6.




LYDIA.                  33
Apostles, " with the women, continued with one accord
in prayer and supplication," so here, at the beginning of European Christianity, prayer is the preliminary step, before any true progress is made. And
it is not merely the act of prayer that attracts our
attention at this point, but the habit of prayer.
Lydia and her friends gathered together in the place
"where prayer was wont to be made." Provision was
carefully made for a serious employment; a place was
fixed for the purpose; an engagement was kept. It
is a most instructive example; and the more closely
we look at it, the more we see how applicable it is
to ourselves in regard to all our undertakings. In
every missionary enterprise, in every effort to improve
and extend religious work around us, in the education
of the young, in our common daily employments, in
our time of adversity, in our time of prosperity, - if
we are to hope for God's blessing we must begin
with prayer.
(2.) A further point should now be remarked,
namely, the day on which these meetings for prayer
took place. I have observed that arrangements were
made for a fixed day, and the rule punctually kept.
And the day from which all this missionary success
spread forth was the Sabbath. From this I draw an
inference as to the blessing which comes from a religious observance of our English Sunday. It is true
that, in this narrative, we have merely to do with the
Jewish Sabbath. It was on Saturday, as we should
say, that Lydia and the other women met by the river
3




34      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
side for prayer at Philippi, just as other Jews met in
their synagogues on Saturday at Thessalonica or at
Corinth. The Easter sun had not yet risen upon
Europe. But the principle which actuated them is
the same principle which should influence our conduct.
It was the keeping of an appointed day holy. It was
the conscientious use of'a well-known opportunity for
religious benefit.
Now, it is possible that among the readers of these
essays there may be some- and let me single out
especially young men - who, either at the present
time or at some future time, may be under circumstances which tempt them to disregard God's Holy
Day. There may be ridicule to be feared, or there
may be the enticements of pleasure or of business.
The example of these godly women is good for-such
cases. They had moral courage to do what they felt
to be right and good for their souls. The day appointed for religious rest was not neglected. And
the example, too, is full of encouragement as well
as warning. For the great Christian harvest which
began in the flourishing Church of Philippi, grew
from the seeds sown on these Sabbath days.
(3.) But the text now calls us to lay stress on
another point; and here the example becomes more
personal and individual. At these meetings there
was " a certain woman named Lydia, whose heart the
Lord opened, so that she attended unto the things
which were spoken of Paul."  Here is the operation
of grace, - of the Divine grace which comes in




LYDIA.                  35
answer to prayer and in the use of appointed means.
The inward power of religion can be derived only
from this source. By preaching an earnest sermon
we can produce an impression on the ear; by writing
a religious book we can produce an impression on
the eye; but the effectual reception of the truth in
the mind, the warm  action of the truth upon the
heart, this is due to God alone. " The Lord opened
the heart of Lydia, that she attended unto the things
which were spoken of Paul."   We cannot lay too
much stress upon the manner in which Lydia's change
is described to us. It is from this living spring alone
that the fertilizing stream of true Christianity flows.
When we read in the Scriptures the history of the
outward growth of the Church, this is the underthought which is always present. When we ourselves
are discussing the means and methods of doing good,
we must never forget that all true progress is urged
on, through us, by the Divine hand. It is well, and,
indeed, quite necessary, that we should spend diligent
efforts in the increase and strengthening of religious
ministrations all around us. But let such efforts always be associated with prayer, that Divine grace, as
in the instance of Lydia, may accompany such ministrations, and make them powerful in saving souls.
(4.) And now let us observe further how quiet
this beginning was. This is a fourth and a very
instructive characteristic. "The kingdom of God
cometh not with observation."  Here, in the first
1 Luke xvii. 20.




36      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
steps of the Christian religion on the Continent of
Europe, is no great conspicuous movement, no ostentatious parade. Here is not even a great assembly
gathered together, so that a public appeal might be
made, and an impression produced on a whole community. That little assembly by the river side was
as simple and unobtrusive as possible, more like a
small prayer-meeting, or a Bible class, or a cottage
lecture, as we might say, than anything else. There
had been great and conspicuous movements on those
shores. Conquering armies had passed this way, and
history records proudly all the particulars. The contrast is great with what we read here. St. Luke's
simple record tells us of something altogether modest
and unpretending. These few women, meeting thus
for prayer at the river side, were probably almost less
regarded than any other inhabitants of Philippi. On
these Sabbath days, the occupations of the city went
on as usual, - Roman soldiers on parade, women
coming in from the country to market, shopkeepers
at their business, the magistrates administering justice; and then, as the evening came on, general, and
not very innocent amusement. Meantime these godly
women sought out a quite place, retired from all the
distractions of the town, and prayed; and in this unpretending scene the Conversion of Europe began.
There is much encouragement in this. Only few
of us can fill any great place in the world; and if
more of us could fill such a place, possibly the religious results might be very small. But here is




LYDIA.                   37
something very modest in its beginning, very large
in its results. " This reminds us that, not parade and
display, but godly simplicity, is the sure guarantee of
success. All of us, however humble in position, can
reproduce in our own life an experience like that of
Lydia and her companions at Philippi; and in so doing we may be the precursors of blessing on a far
greater scale than we imagine. The brightest light
may begin in a spark. The largest tree grows from
a seed. In " quietness and confidence " is " strength." 
(5.) But observe further- and this, too, is a very
practical point for our modern English life- that all
who assembled thus for prayer and became the first
European disciples of St. Paul, were women. At
least, no men are mentioned. "We went out," says
St. Luke, "where prayer was wont to be made: and
we sat down, and spake to the women which resorted
thither." And the one who is specified as having her
" heart opened " by the Lord, in consequence of what
was spoken, is a woman.
It would seem also that the Christian work of
women was characteristic of this Church at Philippi.
In the Epistle addressed to it long afterwards, we
find St. Paul saying, " Help those women who labored
with me in the Gospel; " and an observable message
is sent in that letter to two of the Christian women
in this place. "I beseech Euodia and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord." 2
How similar this hint is to what is very often required
1 Is. xxx. 15.               2 Phil. iv. 2.




38      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
among ourselves! Here are two good women, engaged, no doubt, in works of religious usefulness;
but they cannot agree. Some family misunderstanding - some silly party spirit - some infirmity of temper- has spoilt their cooperation and diminished the
usefulness of their lives. Thus does the Bible mingle for us here, as elsewhere, admonition with its encouragement.
I think we may go further, and say that this help
of women seems to have been characteristic of the
Churches founded in Europe. At Antioch in Pisidia,
indeed, the leading women of the city are conspicuous, but as hinderers and persecutors, not as promoters of St. Paul's work.1 But in every one of the
great European Churches women are in the forefront
as helpers of the Gospel. From Philippi the Apostle
went to Thessalonica. There we find " the chief
women not a few" among the true and active believers.2 From thence to Athens. There of two converts who are specified by name, one was a woman.3
From Athens to Corinth; and there, and in its neighborhood, we encounter the familiar names of Chloe,
Priscilla, and Phoebe, two of whom, at least, must
come more particularly before our notice hereafter; 4
while in the great Epistle to Rome, written from Corinth, the enumeration of female converts - mentioned,
too, in terms which show that they were active laborers in the good cause - is very remarkable.5
1 Acts xiii. 50.  2 Acts xvii. 4.  8 Acts xvii. 34.
4 Rom. xvi. 1; 1 Cor. i. 11; xvi. 19.  5 Rom. xvi. 3-15.




LYDIA.                   39
Why do I lay stress on this fact? It is that I may
make the example of Lydia all the stronger, by showing that it is not an isolated one, -that I may use
the whole case as an argument addressed to women,
and that I may say to them, " See what you can do
for the Gospel, if you try. Do you wish to promote
its acceptance and its influence? If you do, you can.
Probably you can really do even more than men." In
the state of society of which we read in the Acts of the
Apostles, women were, in the very nature of the case,
the best Missionaries. And the same thing will be
felt now to be true in regard to the Mohammedan
world, if we are to convert it at all. But at home
also the same thing is true. The phrase "Home
Missions" expresses very well what we are continually wanting, even in our families. The Church is,
in a great measure, only nominally converted: it
needs missionary effort thrown continually in upon
itself; and the best workers in its field must still be
such as these godly women of the New Testament.
(6.) We are thus brought to another point, which
is also conspicuous as one of the characteristic features of this early European Church, namely, that it
was preeminently the religion of household life. It
is, in fact, here first that the conversion of households
is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. But it is
mentioned here very emphatically  The narrative
proceeds to inform us, immediately after the text, that
Lydia "was baptized, and her household."   The
blessing which came to her diffused itself over the




40      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
whole circle of her domestic life. And the same fact
is made equally prominent in the account of the next
great conversion of Philippi, which in its general circumstances was as different as possible. When the
terrified jailer asked the question, " What must I do
to be saved? " the answer was, " Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house:"
and the history proceeds to say that "he and all
his " were baptized, and that he " rejoiced, believing
in God with all his house."  I need not proceed further, or I might adduce "the household of Stephanas" at Corinth,] and other instances.  What I desire to urge is this, that Christian life in the Church
is based on Christian life in the Family; that within
our homes is the mainspring of that machinery which
benefits society at large, and that in this history of
the foundation of the European Church are lessons,
to every one of us, of commonplace domestic duties.
(7.) One other brief remark concludes all that is
possible here, in illustration of the conversion of
Lydia, considered as an example to our own times
and to ourselves. When she received the Gospel
into her heart, she immediately supplied help to the
Ministers of that Gospel. She gave them a home.
She furnished them with a starting-point for their
work. She promoted that union with kindred spirits which furthers the good progress of Religion.
When she and her household had been baptized, St.
Luke adds:" She besought us, saying, If ye have
1  Cor. i. 16.




LYDIA.                  41
judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my
house, and abide there: and she constrained us."' Not that they were unwilling; but the narrative
is so given as to bring out prominently to view, not
only her humility, but her zeal, and her determination to show her gratitude by doing good. And
there is another verse at the end of the chapter
which might pass unobserved, but which it is very
important to notice in this connection. After Paul
and Silas had suffered " shameful" treatment at
Philippi,'- their bodies lacerated with rods, their
limbs tortured in the rack, - on being set free, we
read that " they went out of the prison, and entered
into the house of Lydia," and there " saw the brethren." 2 This shows that. her service had not been the
result of a mere fitful impulse, but that she had given
them continuous help; that they were at home in her
house, and that they could confidently count on her
effectual aid in promoting the work to which they
were devoted. Lydia is certainly worthy of high
honor as the first in Europe who gave a home to
the Ministers of the Gospel, and as the precursor of
all those who, by endowments, by subscriptions, by
sympathy, by cooperation, have made their ministrations easier and more effective than they would
otherwise'have been, and more commensurate with
the wants of the world.
This remark would bring us, by an easy transition, from the simple example of Lydia into the
11 Thess. ii. 2.        2 Acts xvi. 40.




42      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
midst of those great church questions which happily
are the subjects of eager debate just now: such as
the part which lay people ought to take in churchwork; the best way of organizing the religious services of women; the various methods of securing
and increasing resources for spreading the Gospel at
home and abroad. I say it is a happy circumstance
that these subjects are eagerly debated. For debate
leads to improvement, and diversity of opinion is far
better than indifference.
But into such matters we cannot enter now. We
may just recur to one remark which was made at
the outset concerning the cheerfulness which characterized this early introduction of Christianity into
Europe. It is a very bright place in the history of
the world; and it is always good policy to dwell on
anything that is cheerful, and to make the most of
it. Prosperity does not last long. It would not be
good for us if it did. Prosperity does not last long
in the Church. And doubtless a long absence of
trouble would not be good for the Church. At
Philippi the clouds came very soon over that bright
sky, as we see when we leave this quiet scene by the
river side to pursue the history.
And yet there is even a permanent cheerfulness
connected with the Church of that place. Read the
letter written afterwards by St. Paul to that Church.
No other Epistle is so free from blame. He calls
the Philippians his "joy and his crown." 1 He
I Phil. iv. 1.




LYD1A.                  43
speaks with gratitude of their faithfulness and generosity. And in harmony with all this he tells them
to be happy. "Rejoice in the Lord alway: and
again I say, Rejoice."1 Compare this with the
modest beginning which has been before our attention.  Does not the comparison encourage us to
hope that even our small efforts may lead to some
permanent good? If we begin with prayer; if we
are diligent in the use of appointed means; if we
refer everything to God's grace; if we " study to be
quiet";2 if we are attentive to home duties; if we
help those who are laboring for Christ, - then, beyond any doubt, we are bearing fruit unto God, and
" our fruit will remain." 3
1 Phil. iv. 4.  2 1 Thess. iv. 11.  8 John xv. 16.




III.
ST. LUKE.
Luke, the beloved Physician." -COL. iv. 14.
THE preceding paper, in the course of some remarks on the cheerful aspect which was worn by
Christianity on its transition from Asia to Europe,
called attention to the fact that at this moment St.
Luke was enrolled among St. Paul's companions.
We ascertain this beyond the reach of doubt by the
change of a pronoun.   In describing the journey
from Galatia -where the Apostle had been detained
by sickness - to the sea-coast at Troas - where he
received his summons into Macedonia -the narrative uses the word " they " of the missionary party.2
But on the departure from Troas the phraseology is
changed, and St. Luke says, "Immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia." 3 The same language, too, is continued in' the narrative of what
took place at Philippi. Thus far, then, St. Luke is
very pointedly associated in Holy Scripture with this
neighborhood.
But again, we lose sight of this mode of expression from the time when St. Paul quits Macedonia on
this particular missionary circuit, and we do not dis1 Gal. iv. 13.  2 Acts xvi. 6.   3 Acts xvi. 10.




ST. LUKE.                 45
cern any further trace of it till, on the next missionary circuit, several years afterwards, we find him
in this region once more. His visits to Thessalonica,
Athens, and Corinth, on the former journey, and his
visit to Ephesus on the latter, have been recorded.
Then follows a brief notice of a visit to Greece, and
of a return eastwards through Macedonia. Here it is
that suddenly we detect the presence of St. Luke in
the same neighborhood and in the same way as before, by the change of a pronoun. "These, going
before, tarried for us at Troas: and we sailed away
from Philippi and came unto them to Troas." 1
From this time he appears to have been in close
companionship with the Apostle till the end of the
events which are recorded in the Acts. He certainly went with him to Rome.2  And now we have
to observe further, in Epistles written during the
first imprisonment in that city, that " Luke, the
fellow-laborer," "Luke, the beloved physician," are
among those who send salutations to Philemon and
the Colossians.3 In the Epistle to the Philippians,
which was written during the same imprisonment, no
such salutation is sent by him; but there is a high
probability that this Epistle was written later than
the others; and this leads to the presumption that
the " true yokefellow," who is instructed to "help
those women which labored with Paul in the Gospel," is no other than St. Luke, who may be prel Acts xx. 5, 6.     2 Acts xxviii. 16.
8 Philem. 24; Col. iv. 14.




46      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
sumed to have returned to Macedonia.1 Thus, again,
we associate him with the neighborhood of Philippi,
and possibly with Lydia, who furnished the subject
for our last meditation. Hence, in every way, this
appears a very natural and suitable position for turning our thoughts to St. Luke.
The subject would be very large, if we were to
take into account all the characteristics of his Gospel, as well as the contents, the style, and the special
value of the Acts of the Apostles. Tradition, too,
has been busy with St. Luke, and in a full account
of him it could hardly be disregarded.  It is evidently necessary to narrow our view within a small
compass, bearing carefully in mind also that we are
considering him in the light of one of St. Paul's companions.
Tradition says that St. Luke was a painter. This
opinion rests on no true foundation; it is, moreover,
comparatively modern; and it has been the fruitful
source of many superstitions. And yet in one sense
it is most true that he was a painter.2 In the Book
of the Acts, besides many minor portraits, we have a
full-length picture of the Great Apostle of the Gentiles. We ought ever gratefully to remember how
much all the ages (we to St. Luke for this. Without
his aid we could not have fully known St. Paul. The
portrait, too, is drawn, not merely by the hand of a
master, but by the hand of a friend. St. Luke knew
1 Phil. iv. 3.
2 See De Pressens6, Les Trois Premiers Siecles, vol. ii. p. 10.




ST. LUKE.                 47
St. Paul by familiar companionship; and it is quite
evident that his attachment to him was most devoted
and warm. We see how thoroughly the biographer
- though in one sense he is writing an autobiography at the same time - sinks and forgets himself.
Thus indirectly he tells us something of his own
character. In what he says of St. Paul, and in what
he abstains from saying about himself, he reveals to
us both his ardent and steady friendship, and, at the
same time, his modesty and humility.
But much more is made known to us concerning
St. Luke through what is said of him by St. Paul.
He speaks of him, as we have seen, not merely as his
" fellow-laborer," but also as " the beloved.physician."
There is more meaning in the latter phrase than appears at first sight; and we shall do well to take it
as the thread to guide us, from this point, in our
present reflections.
The mere fact that his profession and occupation
in life are specified is full of interest. There are only
two other such cases in the record which we have of
the companions of our Apostle.  ".Demetrius, the,
silversmith," 1 though his conduct had much to do
with a very important passage of St. Paul's career,
can hardly be said to have been one of his companions; and of "Alexander the coppersmith," or
" Zenas the lawyer," 2 we know too little to be justified in building anything on the. mention of their
names. Lydia, " the seller of purple," 3 was proba1 Acts xix. 24. 2 2 Tim. iv. 14; Tit. iii. 13. 8 Acts xvi. 14.




48      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
bly brought to Philippi, and thus within the sacred
circle of Apostolic companionship, by the exigencies
of her trade; while of Aquila and Priscilla, who
were " tent-makers," we are distinctly told that Paul
"abode with them, because he was of the same
craft." 1 Similarly, we are quite justified in believing
that St. Luke's professional life was the occasion of
his coming into close contact with St. Paul. The
mere specifying of his profession in the salutation implies a great deal. It must be remembered,
too, that physicians were men of high culture, and
that this would establish an easy link of connection
with one who, besides other great qualifications for
his work, was a man of literary culture. But there
is a strong probability, as was hinted in the last essay,
that a deeper union between the two men subsisted
than any which would be supplied by mere community of intellectual tastes. St. Paul had been suffering from serious illness in Galatia,2 and very soon afterwards St. Luke appears with him, side by side, at
Troas.  During subsequent years they were frequently associated together in the closest manner;
and we have the best reasons for believing that the
Apostle's health was always delicate. What so natural as to suppose that the first acquaintance at Troas
was marked by the exercise of St. Luke's professional skill, and that the same skill was on many
subsequent occasions available for the alleviation of
suffering and fatigue? How entirely this explains
1 Acts xviii. 3.             2 Gal. iv. 13.




ST. LUKE.                 49
the peculiar warmth and definiteness of the allusion
in the Epistle to the Colossians! We must carefully
observe, too, that it is not merely St. Luke's medical
knowledge which St. Paul mentions, but that he calls
him " beloved" in connection with this characteristic.
There seems to be evidently here the sense of personal gratitude for benefits received.
Proceeding now from this train of thought, it is
natural to attempt to trace out some indications in
St. Luke's writings of the fact that he was a physician. This can be done here only in the slightest
manner; but the task will not be difficult.
It is no fancy which detects in St. Luke's Gospel
the traces of a professional feeling in various incidental passages, as well as in allusions to subjects which
may be properly called medical. Thus it is in this
Gospel alone, in the record of that first sermon at
Nazareth, that we find the prominent mention of the
" healing " of both mind and body as a characteristic
of the Saviour's mission; and here only, at the close
of that sermon, have we the quoting of that pointed
proverb, " Physician, heal thyself." 1 With this may
be classed a phrase which is unique in this Gospel, in
the account of what took place soon afterwards, -
"' The power of the Lord was present to heal them." 2
So again, we have, twice repeated, in this Gospel, a
peculiar phrase having reference to recovery from
sickness: "There went virtue out of Him and healed
them all;" " Somebody hath touched me; for I per1 Luke iv. 18, 23.          2 Luke v. 17.
4




50      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
ceive that virtue is gone out of me." 1 But, above
all, we must notice (if we may, without irreverence,
use such an expression) what is almost an amusing
corroboration of the view which has been expressed
concerning the existence of this professional feeling
in St. Luke's Gospel. In the account which another
Evangelist gives of the woman healed by the way, it
is said that "she had suffered many things of many
physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was
nothing bettered, but rather grew worse," 2 so that a
reflection seems to be thrown on the skill of the physicians; whereas St. Luke states the fact simply thus:
" She had spent all her living upon physicians, neither
could be healed of any," 3 thus casting no imputation
on the skill of those who belonged to his own profession.4
Similarly we trace indications of the physician's
mind in the mention of technical details and in the
use of appropriate medical terms. To elucidate this
fully, it would be necessary to compare St. Luke's
Greek in these cases with the terminology of Greek
writers on medical science. It may suffice to give a
few illustrations. Two are furnished by the account
of the healing of Peter's wife's mother. When St.
Luke describes the fever as a "great" fever, and'
speaks of Jesus as " standing over" the patient, he is
really using - as can be proved by reference to, the
1 Luke vi. 19; viii. 46.    2 Mark v. 26.
8 Luke viii. 43.
4 See Smith of Jordanhill, Diss. on the. Gospels, p. 291.




ST. LUKE.                 51
proper authors - technical forms of expression;
while still by the words, " He rebuked the fever," he
is careful to mark the miraculous nature of the cure.1
The Acts of the Apostles may supply our other examples; and it is important to show that the characteristic, which is now under consideration, is common
to both books. In the account of miracles of healing, the writer of the Acts has an evident tendency
to dwell on symptoms; and this is a true mark of the
medical mind. Thus, in relating the case of the lame
man at the Temple gate, it is not merely the fact of
the recovery which is stated, but it is said that " the
feet and ankle bones received strength;" and it is
added further, as if to mark the stages of the recovery, that "he stood and walked." 2  So the stages of
the blindness of Elymas at Paphos are indicated, and
the symptoms of the case, as well as the mere fact of
the loss of sight, when it is said that, on the utterance of St. Paul's stern anathema, " there fell on
him a mist and a darkness, and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand." 3 The last instance may be furnished by the record of St. Paul's
stay in Malta, after the shipwreck. A  miraculous
cure was worked there on the father of Publius, " the
chief man of the island," who was suffering from
dysentery in an aggravated form; and the language
which St. Luke applies to the patient is as exact and
appropriate as if he himself had been called in to
treat the case professionally.4
1 Luke iv. 88, 39.         2 Acts iii. 7, 8.
8 Acts xiii. 11.           4 Acts xxviii. 8.




52      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
The Collect for St. Luke's Day is one of the most
beautiful in the Prayer-book. The very form of the
petition -"May it please thee " -has a soothing
sound, which gives to the whole prayer a character of
its own. But the main feature of the Collect is that
it lays hold of that fact concerning St. Luke, which
has been dwelt on above, and turns it to a spiritual
use; that it sets before us this Evangelist and historian as a " physician of the soul," and offers up the
supplication that "by the wholesome medicines of
the doctrine delivered by him all the diseases of our
souls may be healed."  We could hardly occupy the
remainder of our space more suitably or more usefully,
than by briefly considering how St. Luke's writings
may truly and distinctively be viewed as medicine
for the soul. Of course, his writings have several
characteristics of their own. Here the view must be
narrowed to those particulars which may justly be
termed medicinal and remedial for sorrow and sin. I
believe those who are suffering deeply from sorrow
or sin do often find in St. Luke's Gospel a special
consolation. The purpose of these remarks is to suggest a probable reason.
The Lord's Prayer, as given in St. Matthew, speaks
of debts: in St. Luke it speaks of sins.' This may
serve to indicate, in a pointed way, one of the differences between the two Gospels. The characteristic
Parables of the Pharisee and Publican, and of the
Prodigal Son, will at once occur to the mind in con1 Matt. vi. 12; Luke xi. 4.




ST. LUKE.                  53
nection with this subject. Again, while St. Matthew's
Gospel always leads the-mind up to the establishment
of Christ's kingdom, St. Luke's Gospel diffuses itself,
as it were, over the whole range of the needs of humanity. This general statement can be justified by
a reference to two distinctive particulars.
This Gospel penetrates, as has often been remarked,
with peculiar closeness into our domestic life; it also
makes special mention of the poor, and special mention of children. All this sympathetic tendency may
be summed up in a brief compass by noting how St.
Luke is led to give a prominent place to widows,
and to enlist our feelings on their behalf. Here only
does any notice occur of that "widow of fourscore
and four years," Anna, of the tribe of Aser, "which
departed not from the Temple, but served God with
fastings and prayers night and day." 1 Here only
have we that touching allusion to the most pathetic
part of Elijah's career: " I tell you of a truth, many
widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when
great famine was throughout the land; but unto none
of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of
Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow." 2 Above all,
it is in this Gospel only that we have the miracle at
the gate of Nain; and in regard to that occurrence it
is to be observed, not merely that she, whose son was
restored to her from the bier, was " a widow," but
that it was her " only son," and that the Lord arrested the funeral procession, because He had " com1 Luke ii. 36, 37.           2 Luke iv. 25, 26.




54      TETHE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
passion." 1 By such assurances of Divine sympathy,
the Evangelist, like the good Samaritan in his own
parable, "pours oil and wine" into our wounds.
Who can hesitate to say that a biography of Christ
which presents the distinguishing features, here most
slightly sketched out, is full of healing medicine for
the sorrows of human life?
With the subject just considered above we might
naturally associate that parable in St. Luke's Gospel,
and in his Gospel only, which exhibits to us a widow
seeking in vain for justice from an unjust judge.2
But it will be best to use it for the purpose of illustrating our second point; and indeed with this
end in view, we can combine it, not less naturally,
with another parable, which also is found only in this
Gospel. A traveller at midnight is in need of refreshment after his journey, and though at first he is
rudely and selfishly repulsed, at length importunity
wins the granting of the request,3 just as, at length,
the widow obtains her desire by incessant asking.
A peculiar kind of parable is, in fact, given by St.
Luke to persuade us that persevering prayer must be
granted. The argument is, that if importunity succeeds with bad and' selfish men, it must succeed with
the good and merciful God.
And this characteristic of the Gospel is in harmony
with what we read throughout its pages concerning
Prayer. The effect on the mind is very great, when
we trace out patiently in these pages all the instances
1 Luke vii. 12, 13.  2 Luke xviii. 3.  8 Luke xi. 8.




ST. LUKE.                 55
in which our Lord invites us to the habit of prayer
by his own holy example. At his baptism He was
"praying" when " the heaven was opened and the
Holy Ghost descended upon Him."   When the record is given of some of his early miracles, "great
multitudes coming together to hear and to be healed
of their infirmities," it is added that " He withdrew
Himself into the wilderness, and prayed." 2 And as
at the close of his own wonder-working, so, before
the appointment of those who were to do wonders in
his name, " it came to pass in those days, that He
went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all
night in prayer to God; and when it was day He
called unto Him his disciples, and of them He chose
twelve."3 Just before his transfiguration He had
gone "up into a mountain to pray;" and it was " as
He prayed " that the fashion of his countenance was
altered, and that his garment became white and
glistering.4  It was after He had been "praying,"
that, at the instance of his disciples, He gave them
the Lord's Prayer, proceeding to enforce it by the
parable of the Midnight Traveller, and by the argument which has been adduced above.5  And we may
conclude this remarkable catalogue by the words
addressed to St. Peter at the time of the Passion.
Nothing could more clearly indicate a constant habit
of prayer, or more solemnly inculcate on us the duty
of forming this habit, than the reference to the ter1 Luke iii 21, 22.  2 Luke v. 15, 16.  8 Luke vi. 12, 13.
4 Luke ix. 28, 29.       6 Luke xi. 1.




56      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
rible " sifting " which all the disciples were destined
to experience, with the addition, " I have prayed for
thee; and when thou art converted, strengthen thy
brethren."l Nor could we find anywhere a more
" wholesome medicine," in alltimes of sin and weakness and temptation, than in these passages concerning prayer, which St. Luke's Gospel contains for us.
If in other places the "doctrine delivered by him "
is soothing and consoling in sorrow, these passages
are medicinal and remedial for. the worst " diseases of
the soul."
But now, though St. Luke's Gospel comes very
close to those who are suffering under sorrow and sin,
it is by no means sombre or depressing in its character. On the contrary, it is marked by peculiar
cheerfulness. I believe that any one, taking a Concordance into his hand, and examining the words that
are expressive of joy and exultation, might test this
satisfactorily for himself. It is, again, in this Gospel only that those jubilant hymns are found which
mark our Lord's Nativity, and have obtained a permanent place in our Church Services. Such cheerful encouragement may well be classed among the
remedies which our souls need for thorough spiritual
health.
Perhaps, however, we shall conclude the subject
more fitly by turning to the Acts of the Apostles for
specimens of the encouraging nature of St. Luke's
writing; and all the more, because we thus observe
1 Luke xxii. 31, 32.




ST. LUKE.                 57
him again in the character of a companion of St.
Paul. There is certainly no lack of tenderness and
pathos in this later " treatise.".It would be difficult
to find. anywhere a passage more touching, more expressive of deep sorrow and suffering, than the address to the Ephesian elders at Miletus. Again, as
to Prayer, this is brought before us on two occasions
in the most emphatic manner - incidentally, too,
through St. Paul's example, as in " the former treatise" through the example of his Master - both when
the Apostle "kneeled down and prayed with them
all" on the shore at Miletus after that address; 1 and
again at the close of the voyage, when they " kneeled
down on the shore and prayed " at Tyre.2 All that
is involved in such descriptions is truly medicinal to
the soul. But for the full convalescence of the soul,
if the comparison may be carried so far, there is
needed also the " wholesome doctrine " of warm encouragement: and this is certainly supplied in the
Acts of the Apostles.
The whole tone and tenor of the book has this
tendency.  The cheering and strengthening communications to St. Paul -as when it was said to
him in Corinth at a troublous time, "Be not afraid,
but speak, and hold not thy peace: for I am with
thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee; " 3 or
when the assurance came in the castle at Jerusalem,
"Be of good cheer, Paul; for as thou hast testified
of me here, so must thou bear witness also at
1 Acts xx. 36.  2 Acts xxi. 5.  8 Acts xviii. 9, 10.




58      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
Rome;"1 or on board the ship, in the midst of the
raging storm, when he was enabled to exhort the crew
to " be of good cheer," through the confidence given
to himself, "Fear not, Paul; lo! God hath given
thee all them that sail with thee " 2  such cheering
and strengthening communications to him ought not
to be without their effect on us. And yet perhaps
even more hope, with a greater trust in God's good
providence, is derived to us, in our daily trials, from
some of the more commonplace encouragements in
this narrative: as when we find, at the beginning of
the voyage to Rome, that "Julius courteously entreated Paul at Sidon, and gave him liberty to go
unto his friends to refresh himself; "3 or when, at the
close of the voyage, he was greeted by the brethren,
who "came to meet him at Appii Forum and the
Three Taverns, whom when Paul saw, he thanked
God and took courage."4 At these times, too, St.
Luke was with him, to watch over his health, and to
cheer him with companionship. So we return to the
topic from which our meditations began - "Luke,
the beloved physician " - faithful and assiduous in all
these journeys -faithful also to the very end: for
we find him with the Apostle not only in the first
Roman imprisonment, during which the Epistle to
the Colossians was written, but in the last imprisonment of all, when others had forsaken him, and he
writes with deep feeling, " Only Luke is with me." 5
1 Acts xxiii. 11.  2 Acts xxvii. 22, 24.  3 Acts xxvii. 3.
4 Acts xxviii. 15.       6 2 Tim. iv. 11.




ST. LUKE.                 59
It now remains, as a consequence of what has here
been elucidated, that we should thankfully discharge
two duties, one having reference to ourselves, the
other to those around us. The remedial power of
those parts of Holy Scripture, which St. Luke was
inspired to write, should be drawn into our hearts;
and having made it our own, we should endeavor to
dispense it, as God may enable us, for the healing of
the diseases of a sick world.




IV.
APOLLOS.
"An eloquent man, and mighty in the Scriptures."-ACTS
xviii. 24.
A S we pursue the course of St. Paul's biography,
we see his character and work on very. various
sides; and, as we might naturally expect, his Companions reflect this variety. In estimating his powers
of active administration, for instance, we consider him
in reference to such men as Timotheus and Titus.
His warm personal friendship is illustrated by Barnabas and Epaphroditus. Or, again, his influence on
the mind of his Heathen associates may be in some
degree appreciated by what we read of his contact
with Felix and Julius. The subject of our present
thoughts reminds us of another side of this varied
and unceasing activity. Apollos brings us within the
sphere of theology and controversy, and shows us
St. Paul in his contact with religious party, and in
his mode of dealing with it: whilst in studying this
relation between the two men we shall certainly find
copious instruction for our own times, and for each
one among ourselves.
Apollos was, for a while at least, in close communication with St. Paul, and himself played no inconsiderable part in one of the great Churches which the




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APOLL OS.                 61
Apostle founded. Our information on these points,
and on the character of Apollos, is derived almost
entirely from the Acts of the Apostles and from the
First Epistle to the Corinthians. There is indeed a
slight allusion to him in one of the latest Epistles;
but it is too casual to furnish in itself any materials
for our description and understanding of the man,
though, if added to what we obtain elsewhere, it forms
a fit termination to our thoughts on the subject.
The passage from the Acts of the Apostles may
be given at length. " A certain Jew, named Apollos,
born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in
the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and, being fervent
in the Spirit, he spake and taught diligently the
things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.
And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue:
whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took
him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of
God more perfectly. And when he was disposed to
pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the
disciples to receive him: who, when he was come,
helped them much which had believed through grace:
for he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publicly,
showing by the Scriptures that Jesus was Christ." 
Now here several things come to view which ought'
to be well considered when we wish to appreciate
fully the work and the character of Apollos.
The first thing to be taken into account in estimat1 Acts xviii. 24-28.




62      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
ing any man who has played an important part in
life is the influence to which he was exposed in his
early days. The associations of his youth; the place
of his training; the manner of his education,- these
things have usually much to do with the career which
follows.
Now we know what Alexandria was. Even in the
Acts of the Apostles we see it in its relations to the
religious life of the Jews in Jerusalem,l and to the
world-wide commerce of Heathen Italy.2  This city
was a most remarkable meeting-place of East and
West, and was characterized alike by mercantile and
mental activity. Even the memory of Alexander,
its great founder, would tend to produce breadth of
view among the Alexandrians, to make them tolerant
and less disposed than others to lay stress on national
distinctions. Here too the Hebrew Scriptures were
translated into Greek; and here a famous school of
Biblical interpretation grew up side by side with
schools of Greek philosophy. Such mutual relations
of Jews and Gentiles in this place were among the
providential preparations for the spread of Christianity. In the midst of these influences Apollos was
brought up; and the accomplishments thus acquired
were of essential service to him in his future work.
Even if we consider Alexandria only as a school of
high education, a resort of learned men, and a place
affording opportunities, if rightly used, for the training
of the mind, it is instructive to observe how God made
1 Acts vi. 9.      2 Acts xxvii. 6; xviii. 11.




APOLLOS.                  63
use of such opportunities in preparing his servant for
his appointed task. And this thought leads us to the
homely but very useful remark, that we ought to
set a high value on early training, even as regards
this world's studies. We cannot tell to what beneficial and religious purposes a good education may be
made subservient.
Another thought, too, is suggested by thus viewing
Alexandria as the starting-point of one of St. Paul's
Companions. It is interesting to mark how  God
draws from different sources what is meant ultimately
to flow together in one beneficent stream. The contrast between St. Paul's training and that of Apollos
was probably very great. The latter was nurtured
in Greek scholarship at Alexandria. The former
was "brought up" in Rabbinical learning "at the
feet of Gamaliel" in Jerusalem.1 Yet afterwards
they met, and became fellow-workers in the cause of
the Gospel. It is an example full of instruction and
encouragement to ourselves, inviting us, in regard to
our own experience and our own cooperation with
others, to consider and admire God's providential ordering of the early steps of our lives.
Hitherto we have been looking rather on the secular side - now we must turn to the more directly religious side —of the preparation of Apollos for the
work that was appointed him. And this we see comprised in two particulars. First, we find, as indeed
we should expect from the circumstances of the case,
1 Acts xxii. 3.




64      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
that he was learned in the Old Testament Scriptures.
Next we are told that he had received some instruction -only elementary, it is true, but still very important- in the facts and doctrines of Christianity.
We cannot dwell too carefully on this, that it was
through being " mighty in the Scriptures " that Apollos became mighty in other respects. This knowledge
-of the Jewish Bible, this apprehension of its meaning,
this power of explaining and illustrating its contents,.
became the basis of all his subsequent usefulness. It
requires the exercise of but little thought to draw
out all the benefit of this example for ourselves.
With him this sacred possession was limited to the
Old Testament. We have, in addition, the still higher
blessing of the New. So that whatever argument
there was in his case for the acquisition of rich stores
of Biblical knowledge is immensely strengthened in
ours.
But, though the Scriptures, with which Apollos
was familiar, were simply the books of the Old Testament, he had obtained, before he came to Ephesus,
some knowledge -and good knowledge, too, though
imperfect- of the Christian Revelation. He had
been "instructed in the way of the Lord," so as to
be able to "teach diligently the things of the Lord,"
knowing, however, only the baptism of John.
Whether he had come in contact with John the Baptist personally, or acquired his knowledge through
some of those who had heard John's preaching in
Judaea, and who had gone from thence to Alexandria,




APOLL OS.                 65
we cannot tell. The latter supposition is the more
probable. However this may be, he knew the Gospel
system up to the level of John's teaching, and no
higher.
Now here a remark may be made, which is worthy
of some attention. If Apollos knew all that John
the Baptist had taught, he knew the most important
part of Christianity; for John had said of Jesus,
" Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the.sin of the world." 1 The Gospel system, indeed, contains much more than this. In due time Sacraments
were instituted; a Ministry was set apart; a great
system of Morals was given, applicable to all the circumstances of our lives; above all, the teaching and
strengthening power of the Holy Ghost was made
known and promised.2  But in these words of John
the Baptist by the bank of Jordan we have the main
point. This is the life-giving part of the Gospel system. However far our religious attainments may
ultimately reach, it is here -in the Redemption
wrought out by Christ for sin —that we have the
fresh well-spring from which all the rest flows out.
Let us never lose this thought from our mind. In
all our study, in all our work, let the great central
principle never be overlaid or forgotten.
But now we begin to enter upon considerations
which relate not so much to the advantages and opportunities that Apollos possessed, as to features of
his personal character.
1 John i. 29.          2 See Acts xix. 2, 3.
5




66      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
It is said here that he was " eloquent."  Now on
this I do not dwell, except so far as to note that God
chooses I-s instruments suitably. Eloquence is a
gift bestowed only on a few. We may be very useful without eloquence. We may be very mischievous
with eloquence. The point of real moment to all of
us here is, that in the case of Apollos this gift was
sanctified and turned to a religious use.
A similar remark, too, might perhaps, with justice,
be made regarding his " fervency of spirit."  Apollos was evidently a man of warm temperament; and
temperaments vary.   Some are naturally warmer
than others. And yet is it not evident that there
must be warmth wherever the true love of Christ is
present? There must be enthusiasm where Christ
has been received fully into the heart; and enthusiasm in ourselves is God's instrument for kindling
enthusiasm in others. So that in this respect, too,
there is something for every one of us to learn from
Apollos, and to make the ground-work of self-examination.
But the same sentence presents to us another feature, which might not at first sight attract our notice. "This man was instructed in the way of the
Lord;" " he taught diligently the things of the Lord;"
he learnt the way of God "more perfectly."  From
these phrases, especially as read in the original Greek,
I should infer that he had that habit of mind which
we call accuracy; and it is a most important habitfar more important than is commonly supposed. The




AP OLL OS.               67
difference between one man and another in regard
to real influence in the world relates not so much
to amount of knowledge as accuracy of knowledge.
Moreover, progressive advance in religious knowledge depends, at each step, upon accuracy. And now
we ask the further question: On what does accuracy
depend? The answer is easy. For the most part it
depends on attention. An inattentive learner never
becomes an accurate scholar. Justly then do we lay
great stress on attention, in the teaching of the
young. The exercise, too, of this faculty depends in
a great measure upon ourselves; so that here again
Apollos is brought face to face with our own experience, and gives to us in his example a most useful admonition.
But at this point - in the mode of his coming in
contact with Aquila and Priscilla, and so indirectly
with St. Paul - we begin to note a moral and religious feature of Apollos, which merits our special attention, because it is singularly characteristic of him,
as well as full of beneficial suggestions to ourselves.
When Aquila and Priscilla had heard Apollos in the
synagogue, " they took him unto them and expounded
unto him the way of God more perfectly." These
two Jewish Christians, as we learn from the early
part of the chapter,l were " tent-makers," with whom
St. Paul had made acquaintance at Corinth, and
whom he had left at Ephesus a short time previous
to the arrival of Apollos. They became the religious
1 Acts xviii. 3.




68      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
instructors of this Alexandrian stranger, who in their
hands was a most willing learner. Thus here we
have an eloquent man, a learned man, a fervent man,
not unwilling to be taught, and taught too by plain
and homely people, who were engaged in business.
One of these teachers, moreover, was a woman.  It
was not from a Theological College that Apollos obtained his advanced religious instruction. In making
this observation we are certainly not justified in suggesting that Scripture throws any contempt on learning or scholarship. We have seen the very'contrary
above, in the cases both of this Jew of Alexandria and
of St. Paul himself. Still the fact is as stated here.
The secular training of Apollos came from a very distinguished source, his high religious training from a
very lowly one. How frequently has this been the
case since! Those who have been eminent in University honors have often learnt their best lessons of
religion even from the poor, and often from women, in
the retired hours of domestic life. By such methods
God's Providence brings all parts of a man's experience into harmony, and causes all to bear,upon the
one point of active service. Those men who produce
great religious results on the minds of others have
usually drawn their own teaching from very various
sources. Many things are made tributary to that
stream of wide influence, which in the end flows full
and strong. There must, however, be a teachable
spirit, if the benefits are to be fully realized. We
must become children, if we are to be high in the




APOLLOS.                 69
kingdom of heaven. This was exemplified in the instance of Apollos. Let it be our honest desire that
it may be exemplified in ours.
Next we turn to notice the active career of usefulness on which he now entered. Equipped, as we
have seen, with varied knowledge, he was filled with
a noble zeal to make that knowledge fruitful. His
desires turned with characteristic energy to a distant
scene of labor; nor is it difficult to conjecture the
reasons which attracted his thoughts towards Corinth.
The name and importance of the place were very
familiar to him. Alexandria, Ephesus, and Corinth
were connected together by the intercourse of constant
trade. But especially his friends Aquila and Priscilla
would, in their conversation, be constantly speaking of
St. Paul's work in Achaia, where they first had met
him. The names of his chief converts, too, would be
frequently mentioned, with the difficulties and troubles
of the young Christian community in that district.
Thus Apollos was seized with the desire of doing
public service on the field which was prepared to his
hand, and of continuing the work which St. Paul had
already begun; and Aquila and Priscilla were in nowise loth to encourage him in the enterprise. They
evidently rejoiced in the prospect of such aid being
given to their Corinthian friends, whom they knew
to be in the midst of perilous temptations. "The
brethren" in Ephesus shared these feelings, "and
wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive" Apollos.
The mention of this fact is full of interest, for it is




70      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
the first recorded instance of commendatory letters,a kind of correspondence which became, in the times
that immediately succeeded, an instrument of the utmost value for binding together the separated parts
of the growing Church. Armed with such letters,
Apollos crossed the sea from Ephesus to Corinth;
and the result is told in forcible though simple language: "When he was come to Corinth, he helped
them much which had believed through grace; for
he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publicly,
showing by the Scriptures that Jesus was Christ."
What a great position was this, and what an enviable position, to be the organ of friendly communication between two Churches, to bind together two
parts of the Christian community, and to communi-'cate strength where strength was needed And let
it not be forgotten that helping work of this kind,
on a smaller or larger scale, is within the power of
us all.
Here it is that we see the exertions of St. Paul
and Apollos in the cause of the Gospel, though starting from two different points, brought harmoniously
into one focus. Attempts indeed were made, too successfully, to separate the Church of Corinth into
antagonistic sections, connected with the names of
these two men. But in heart and intention their
work was one. Just at this moment of St. Paul's
life it is that the First Epistle to the Corinthians
comes in, to enable us to continue the biography of
Apollos, and to obtain from it fresh lessons very
useful for our times.




APOLLOS.                 71
The Epistle, soon after its opening, makes very
pointed allusions to Apollos. After introductory salutations, thanksgiving, and advice, the Apostle begins his rebuke suddenly: "It hath been declared
unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of
the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among
you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I
am of Paul; and I of Apollos.; and I of Cephas;
and I of Christ;" 1 and, again, after an interval, he
returns to the same subject thus: " Whereas there is
among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye
not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith,
I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye
not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos,
but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the'
Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos
watered; but God gave the increase." 2 At this point
it is worth while to notice in passing how exactly yet
how unconsciously, so to speak, the facts here implied harmonize with the history which we find in the
Acts. The Corinthians are reminded that Apollos
continued among them the work which Paul had
begun. Paul arrived first at Corinth, Apollos afterwards. But this is not all. It is implied that Apollos
had been there in the interval between St. Paul's
personal visit on the Second Missionary Journey,
and the writing of this letter, which we know to
have taken place at Ephesus on the Third Missionary
Journey.3 It is not, however, any corroborations of
11 Cor. i. 11, 12         2 1 Col. iii. 3-6.
8 See Acts xix. 1; 1 Cor. xvi. 8, 19.




72      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
the mere accuracy of Scripture, however interesting
they may be, to which our attention is to be turned
at present. We are following the career of one of
St. Paul's Companions, with the view -of learning
from his life and work something useful for ourselves.
The arrival of this learned and eloquent man,
though intended for the spreading and deepening of
practical religion, had been followed, as we see, by
the formation of religious parties. Some of these
Corinthian Christians had a preference for St. Paul,
some for Apollos. So they ranged themselves in
different sections, and called themselves by different
names. All this was very natural, though very
wrong. Each of these two Missionaries of Christ
had his own peculiar gifts and means of influence.
In all that we usually sum up under the term popularity Apollos was probably far superior. On the
other hand, St. Paul had been first in the field, had
founded the Church in Corinth, and came with supreme authority. Besides this, individual hearts and
minds had been relatively brought more closely into
contact with the one or the other. Thus that deplorable growth of party spirit took place at Corinth,
which has had its counterpart ever since in all ages
of the Church, which is bearing its mischievous fruits
even now, too plentifully, in England.
It is not needful here to attempt any discrimination of the -exact characteristics of these parties in
Corinth; nor indeed is this an easy task. It is more




AP OLL OS.               73
important for us to ascertain the cure for this evil
tendency among ourselves. The true remedy is to
be found in those general principles which St. Paul
enunciates in this Epistle. We are to look up to
that one common Divine source from whence all
gifts and graces proceed.  He reminds the Corinthians that they are to think even of their greatest
teachers - whether they were Apollos or Paul himself- as " ministers " through whom God works in
them spiritual good. They are not to exalt one atthe expense of another. They are to view all the
spiritual benefit that comes to them by human instrumentality as sent by God. "Let no man glory
in men," he says; "for all things are yours -
whether Paul or Apollos, or things present, or things
to come - all are yours." 
Now the question arises - and in estimating his
character it is quite essential to answer the question
— whether this party spirit, which was developed at
Corinth, was in any way the fault of Apollos, and
whether, when it was developed, he encouraged it at
all. Here another passage from the latter part of the
same Epistle presents itself to our attention, and
supplies the answer.  The Apostle writes: "As
touching our brother Apollos, I greatly desired him
to come unto you with the brethren; but his will
was not at all to come at this time; but he will come
when he shall have convenient time." 2 We perceive
from this that Apollos had now left Corinth and
11 Cor. iii. 21, 22.   2 1 Cor. xvi. 12.




74      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
returned to Ephesus, and that he and St. Paul were
in personal companionship together. It is the first
record which we possess of their actual meeting,
though indirectly, as we have seen, they had been in
diligent cooperation. At Ephesus they had abundant
opportunity of conversing together concerning the
state of things in Corinth; and, viewed in the light
of this fact, the verse before us is very instructive.
There is no doubt that, with so much zeal, so much
learning, so much eloquence, so much popularity,
Apollos might have made himself eminent as a party
leader. In most ages of the Church such gifts have
been used, too willingly, for such purposes. But this
Apollos would not do. There are good reasons, as
we have seen, for believing that in some attractive
qualities he was far superior to St. Paul. But he
preferred the safety and welfare of the Church to
his own self-aggrandizement. And how considerate
is his conduct, as made known to us on this occasion!
St. Paul wished him to go to Corinth at this time.
But for the present he firmly declined. His appearance there would only have been the signal for a
new outbreak of this party spirit.
And indeed how admirable is the conduct of these
two apostolic men one towards another! We are
considering them as Companions; and their mutual
relation, with the personal feeling exhibited on each
side at a critical time, must be specially observed.
Nor is there any difficulty in seeing, on the part of
St. Paul, the greatest generosity, with the most per



APOLLOS.                 75
feet confidence that Apollos would not abuse an opportunity; and, on the other side, the most delicate
and thoughtful respect for St. Paul, and the utmost
reluctance on the part of Apollos to run any risk of
exalting himself at the expense of another. What an
example of self-restraint and mutual consideration is
presented to us here! Such an example ought to be
carefully followed. It is this kind of forbearance
which maintains and strengthens friendship, and secures the continuance of associated Christian work.
Friendships thus cemented last long and bear
many strains. We are not surprised by the anxiety
shown by St. Paul long afterwards for the comfort
of Apollos in the prospect of a fatiguing journey. In
his Epistle to Titus we find this message: "Bring
Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey diligently, that nothing be wanting unto them." 1 Of
Zenas we know nothing, but of Apollos we know
much; and we might reasonably conjecture from this
passage that he and the Apostle had been brought
into continually nearer companionship, and that they
had often travelled together. In itself, as was remarked at the outset, it is too casual to give us much
information; but it is in harmony with, and a fitting
conclusion to, all the rest.
This meditation on the life and work of Apollos,
imperfect as it is, may at least serve as an illustration
of the large amount of religious instruction which we
may secure to ourselves from the study of a Scripture
1 Titus iii. 13.




76      THE  COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
Character. Recognition of God's hand in our early
training, a good and conscientious use of opportunities, a ready zeal for Christ's service, humility in
learning from those who are further advanced in the
Christian course than ourselves, a cheerful rendering
of timely help to those around us, a firm discountenancing of factious party spirit, a considerate care
for the reputation and comfort of others; can we not
all, through the Holy Spirit's aid, form such habits
of mind as these? The example of Apollos is not
above the standard at which we ought to aim. Sometimes the characters of Scripture seem to be far removed from  our own experience, and almost to belong to another world. Not so here. The pattern
is quite on our own level, and singularly suitable for
our own times.
This is just the kind of life which, if we are true
Christians, we must desire to lead. And we may revert, as we end, to one encouraging thought to which
expression was given in the earlier part of this paper.
The providential guiding of Apollos in connection
with St. Paul was very remarkable. His early knowledge of Christianity began at Alexandria; his mature
training was received, and his active work began, at
Ephesus; his distinguished public career was run at
Corinth.  Thus three great cities saw  the three
stages of his religious progress. Or we may set before our minds this fact of providential guidance in
another way.   St. Paul, apparently by accident,
meets Aquila and Priscilla at Corinth. There,




AP OLL OS.                77
through intercourse with him, they become fitted for
influence on a large scale. At Ephesus, Apollos is
brought under this beneficial influence. And finally
he is laboring at Corinth on the foundation laid by
St. Paul, while the Apostle is again cooperating with
Aquila and Priscilla in Ephesus. We may justly put
all this side by side with our own experience in regard to changes of home, of occupation, of companionship; and may draw from it the comfortable assurance that, wherever we are, if we have a true desire
to serve God, He will provide for us suitable work,,
and, so far as we need, Christian sympathy.




V.
TITUS.
"My partner and fellow-helper concerning you." — 2 COR. viii. 23.
THE     word "companionship" is very far from
summing up St. Paul's whole relation to those
who were closely associated with him   during his
varied and eventful life. Of course, even his friendships are fall of interest; because they illustrate
features of his character and display the principles on
which he acted. But each of these friendships became also the basis of cooperation. They were not
merely occasions for the interchange of kindly personal feeling, but were turned into efficient helps of
active and sustained work in the cause of Christ.
Nor, again, does the word " cooperation" by any
means sum up all the remainder of what was involved in these relationships. In St. Paul were
found a large capacity and a pressing zeal for administration. He used his friends without losing their
affections. He sent them on suitable errands. He
combined their services in fitting proportions. He
posted them in places where, in his judgment, they
had appropriate work to do. He corresponded with
them by letter when he could not see them personally. In fact, during his short life, a considerable




TITUS.                  79
part of the Levant was covered with the net-work of
his organization.
We might connect this organizing and governing
faculty of St. Paul with various friends whose names
are known to us. The most obvious of all would be
Timotheus, whom we can trace through a long period
in the most intimate communication with the Apostle, acting under his orders, strengthened by his sympathy, sent by him on various errands, till at last we
see him placed by his authority at Ephesus, to ordain, to govern, to teach, to exercise discipline. But
this eminent friend of St. Paul being above all others
associated with him " as a son with his father," 1 and
having labored together with him through a long
range of time up to the very close of his life,2 may
with advantage be reserved for the conclusion of our
series. Or, again, we might have selected Silas, who,
partly in conjunction with Timotheus, became St.
Paul's associate and fellow-laborer, when he separated
from Barnabas; but that Second Missionary Journey, to which this conjunction belongs, has already
been illustrated, so far as our limits allow, by Lydia,
Luke, and Apollos. Or, again, we might take for
the basis of some remarks on St. Paul's administrative powers, Tychicus and Trophimus, who are prominently named as his companions on the Third Missionary Journey,4 and who appear afterwards in close
1 Phil. ii. 22.         2 2 Tim. iv. 6, 21.
8 Acts xv. 40; xvii. 14; xviii. 5. See 1 Thess. i. 1.
4 Acts xx. iv.




80      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
communication with him: the latter in Jerusalem,
in the midst of very eventful circumstances;1 the
former in connection with the sending of the Epistles
to the Ephesians and Colossians during the first Roman imprisonment,2 as well as at a still later period.3
But on the whole they come to view less distinctively
and prominently than Titus, who also suits chronologically the place at which we are now arrived, and
to whom, moreover, as well as to Timotheus, a letter
was addressed by the Apostle, which has both a personal and an official character, and which is preserved
to us in the canonical Scriptures.
The notices of Titus in the New Testament are
not very copious; but they are sufficient for our
present purpose, which is to contemplate him as a
specimen and sample of the Companions used by St.
Paul for the spreading of truth, the promotion of
charity, and the refuting of error; and perhaps our
end will best be accomplished by considering, first,
the general methods on which St. Paul acted as an
administrator, and, secondly, certain characteristics of
Titus himself, so far as they can be ascertained.
I. It is not difficult to enumerate the qualities which
make a man powerful in acting on the minds and
hearts of others, in using and regulating their services,
and in winning and maintaining their confidence.
Nor are the proofs wanting that these qualities were
1 Acts xxi. 29. See 2 Tim. iv. 20.
2 Eph. vi. 21, 22; Col. iv. 7.
8 See Tit. iii. 12; and 2 Tim. iv. 12.




TITUS.                  81
combined, to a high degree of perfection, in the Apostle Paul.
The first of these qualities, which I should be disposed to specify, is the possession of a well-understood
line of policy, and the pursuance of it with a clear
vision and a strong will. Mastery over the minds of
others is never obtained by those who do not know
their own mind. But where a fixed end is kept
distinctly in view and steadily and firmly sought, this
always gives confidence to weaker natures, and supplies direction to subordinate help. When men are
so led, they follow easily and instinctively. Now certainly there was never any doubt as to the tendency
of St. Paul's chief thoughts and warmest feelings.
The one point on which his eye was habitually fixed,
and to which he turned again after every discouragement, was the securing in the hearts of all men a reception for Christ and his salvation. His speeches,
his letters, his whole course of conduct, all declare
this as clearly as possible.
Next to this may be mentioned the habit of never
sparing himself. Sometimes it happens that there is
latent self-indulgence in the leaders of other men.
Such leadership, however, is apt to break down in the
end, and at least it must fail in exciting enthusiasm.
St. Paul was always ready to do more himself than
he expected from others. No general with mutinous
soldiers ever threw himself more heartily and personally into the work of his campaign, than did this
Apostle with his army of willing and loyal followers.
6




82      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
At all points we find the same habit of indefatigable
exertion: as at Lystra, when he rose from what
appeared to be his deathblow, and turned at once to
new missionary work; or at Troas, when, in the
midst of a fatiguing voyage, he spent the whole night
in exhortation and teaching;2 or at Miletus, when,
having a few hours to spare, he sent for the Ephesian
presbyters, that he might strengthen them for the
discharge of their duties;3 or in Rome, when, immediately on his arrival, he " called the chief of the
Jews together," that he might "see them and speak
with them concerning Christ and his salvation." 4
But for consummate leadership other qualities are
wanted, besides the clear pursuance of a settled line
of policy and a ready willingness to undertake hard
work. The power of facile adaptation is an important element in the composition of such a character;
and this was eminently conspicuous in St. Paul. He
could easily bend to circumstances, while keeping his
main end resolutely in view and never relaxing his
active exertions. If he cannot preach the Gospel in
Asia, he will make the attempt in Bithynia.5 If he
refuses to circumcise Titus under conditions of one
kind, he is willing to circumcise Timotheus under
circumstances of another kind.6 If he is in prison
and precluded from travelling, he can write letters,
and thus pursue his old work in a new way. He can
1 Acts xiv. 19-21.       2 Acts xx. 7, 11.
8 Acts xx. 15-17.        4 Acts xxviii. 17, 20.
6 Acts xvi. 7.           6 Acts xvi. 3; Gal. ii. 3.




TITUS.                  83
be a Jew to the Jew - a Gentile to the Gentile -
" all things to all men, that by all means he may save
some." 1 Such versatility, when it is united with
consistency and self-denial, is sure to win varied adherents and to retain them, whereas the stiffness of
mere obstinacy repels or alienates many, whose active
assistance would otherwise be willingly given.
A still deeper point of character must now be
mentioned, on which the real force of administrative
ability very largely depends. St. Paul had an unaffected sympathy with the sorrows and joys, the
difficulties and successes, of those with whom he was
associated. They could always reckon on his personal
interest in everything that concerned them, as, on the
other hand, they knew that he always took for granted
a similar interest on their part in regard to all his
concerns. And this mutual affection extended, not
merely to progress or discouragement in the great
cause of religion, but to questions of health and of
minute personal comfort.  It is needless to give
examples to illustrate either the power of such feelings, or the fact that they had a large influence in St.
Paul's. administrative career. Two such instances
will come before us in order, when we turn our
thoughts to Onesimus and Epaphroditus.
With this deep inward affection must be united
that easy habit of giving outward expression to considerate feelings, in manner, in words, in writing,
which we call courtesy, before we have enumerated
1 Cor. ix. 22.




84      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
all St. Paul's capabilities for exercising influence on
others and commanding their services. Rudeness of
behavior and want of tact forfeit much cooperation,
even when higher qualities are present, that deserve
to retain it. St. Paul was singularly accomplished
in regard to the finer points of social intercourse; and
the great cause of Christianity gained much in his
hands from this circumstance. We see this in his address to Agrippa, and in his letter to Philemon; nor
can we doubt that his daily conduct among his companions and fellow-laborers was marked by this feature.
Our enumeration may conclude with the mention
of his discriminating judgment. This faculty is essential for a successful leader of other men. Unless he can distinguish among their characters, so as
to see what duties are best suited for each, and so as
to treat them according to. their several temperaments,
confusions and misunderstandings must result, and the
best work must be impeded and retarded. That St.
Paul possessed this power of discrimination to an
unusual degree is very evident. While dealing with
the progress of the Gospel on the broadest scale, he
had a remarkable capacity of singling out individuals
for distinct observation and recollection. We see this
in the specific prayers which he offered up according
to the emergencies which came before his attention.
We see it in the appropriate variety of the messages
sent, in the course of his Epistles, to different persons.
We see it, too, in the assigning to his companions




TITUS.                   85
separate missions, suitable to the disposition and capabilities of each. A marked instance of this is to
be found by means of comparing Timotheus and
Titus.
This brings us back to the point from which we
started. And now, leaving these general remarks on
St. Paul's administrative power, we may turn our attention to Titus, as furnishing in his career an illustration of the exercise of this power, besides affording to us in his own personal character some very
useful suggestions for our conduct.
II. Most persons, reading the Epistles to Timothy
and the Epistle to Titus carefully, and then comparing them, will be conscious of a difference in tone,
which leads to an impression that there was a marked
difference of character in the two men. This method
of drawing the distinction may be somewhat fine
and delicate. It does not, however, follow from this
that the distinction itself is fanciful. Moreover, it
bears the test of a close examination. In the Epistles
to Timothy no one can fail to observe a peculiar
tenderness of feeling. The allusions to the childhood of Timothy;l to his mother and his grandmother;2 to his tears; to his delicate health;  to
his companionship with St. Paul in time of suffering,5
as well as the strong injunctions not to show
weakness in the discharge of his duties,6 - lead us
12 Tim. iii. 15.   2 2 Tim i. 5.    3 2 Tim. i. 4.
4 1 Tim. v. 23.                5 2 Tim. iii. 10, 11.
61 Tim. i.18; vi. 13, 14; 2 Tim. ii. 1.




86       THE COM.PANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
to infer the existence of something like a feminine
softness in the character of Timothy.1 No such features are conspicuous in the Epistle addressed to
Titus. Its tone is altogether more abrupt and severe.
This may arise partly from the character of that
rough Cretan population among whom the duties of
Titus were to be discharged; but it is natural to connect it also with the character of Titus himself. St.
Paul writes as if he did not fear any weakness on
his part, and as if he expected him to be fully competent for the hard task assigned to him.
With this introductory remark, suggested by the
comparison of two men whose names almost necessarily present themselves as parallel words, we may
proceed to follow the Scriptural notices of Titus
in their chronological order. He is not mentioned
in the Acts at all. The requisite information must be
derived from the Epistle to the Galatians, the Second
Epistle to the Corinthians, and the Pastoral Epistles.
Our series of slight biographical notices has
brought us now to the Third Missionary Journey of
St. Paul. On this circuit, as on the former, the earlier part of his progress was through the district of
Galatia. We have seen that on the first of these occasions he was detained there by illness, and joined
soon afterwards by St. Luke. Shortly after the second visit he heard of a very rapid declension of his
converts into serious errors; and this caused him to
write the Epistle to the Galatians. It is here that
1 See art. "Timotheus," in the Dictionary of the Bible.




TITTU.                  87
the first notice of Titus occurs; and it is observable
that he is mentioned in such a way as to convey the
impression that he was well known to the Galatian
Christians. From this we should infer that he was
among St. Paul's Companions on this part of his
missionary travels. Certainly he was with him, as
we shall see, and in active service under his orders,
very soon afterwards.
The facts mentioned in this Epistle concerning
Titus carry us back to an earlier time. St. Paul,
in the course of his argument on the freedom of the
Church from the necessity of Jewish practices, has
occasion to mention the important journey undertaken by himself and Barnabas from Antioch to Jerusalem. Among " certain others,"1 who were with
him1 was Titus;2 and it is added that "he, being
a Greek, was not compelled to be circumcised." 
Great efforts were evidently made to exercise compulsion; but they were most firmly resisted, and the
resistance was enforced, as we perceive in the context, by vehement arguments. Now here we see that
Titus was a true Gentile, not, like Timotheus, of
half-Jewish descent.4 He was, in fact, a representative of the Gentile Church on this occasion, as
Barnabas was of the Jewish. We see also that Titus
had been at Antioch with Paul and Barnabas during
the time of their active and united work in that
place. A very natural inference is, that he had been
1 Acts xv. 2.         2 Gal. ii. 1.
3 Gal. ii. 3.         4 Acts xvi. 1, 3.




88       THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
converted then and there: In the Epistle addressed
afterwards to himself he is entitled St. Paul's " own
son after the common faith," 1 which associates him
with this Apostle by the closest of ties, both personal and religious. Of the occupation of Titus in
the interval between this conference at Jerusalem
and St. Paul's second visit to Galatia, a period of
several years, we know nothing. Of the occurrence
which is recorded in connection with that conference
this is worth observing, that Titus appears there in
connection with the firm and uncompromising side
of St. Paul's character, just as the circumcision of
Timotheus, on the other hand, exhibits him on the
side of conciliation.
Soon after writing the Epistle to the Galatians, on
this Third Missionary Journey, St. Paul had occasion
to write the First Epistle to the Corinthians. This
letter was elicited from him by very serious abuses
affecting morality, as those in Galatia had affected
doctrine. It can be shown by very satisfactory arguments 2 that Titus was one of the bearers of this
letter from Ephesus to Corinth: And now again he
appears in parallelism and in contrast with Timotheus. That disciple, too, was sent on a mission to
Corinth about the same time. But he certainly did
not take the letter. And at this point it occurs to
make the observation, that the missions of the two
1 Tit. i. 4.
2 1 Cor. xvi. 11, 12. See a compact statement of the case in
art. " Titus," in the Dictionary of the Bible.




TITUS.                  89
men appear to have been very different, and in harmony with their respective dispositions. The words
concerning Timotheus are: "If he come, see that he
may be with you without fear; for he worketh the
work of the Lord, as I also do. Let no man therefore despise him: but conduct him forth in peace,
that he may come unto me; for I look for him with
the brethren." 1 The impression derived from this
is, not that Timotheus was a robust controversialist,
but rather that he was sent on some message of conciliation. Titus, on the other hand, as one of " the
brethren" who conveyed the letter, was the bearer of
very stern rebukes; and this collision with the abuses
at Corinth would make a considerable demand on
him for firmness and decision, to say nothing of the
promptitude and energy which were required about
this time, as we shall see, by the business of the
collection now in progress for "the poor saints in
Judsea."
With the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, which
followed the First at a short interval, we come upon
a clear view of Titus. The materials for describing
his character are no longer conjectural, or derived
from minute arguments. St. Paul speaks of him and
of his mission warmly and openly to the Corinthians. And, first, his intense anxiety to meet Titus
on his return from Corinth, in the interval between
the first and second letters, and to hear the news he
brought of the Church in that place, must be made
the subject of remark.
1 1 Cor. xvi. 10, 11.




90:     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
While Titus was still absent, St. Paul proceeded
from Ephesus to Troas "to preach Christ's Gospel;"
and he adds that there "a door was opened to him
of the Lord." Still he says he had " no rest in his
spirit, because he found not Titus his brother," but
" taking his leave of them, went forth from thence
into Macedonia." 1 There, to his great joy, he met
Titus, and received from him good intelligence respecting the converts who had made him so anxious.
Nowhere in St. Paul's Epistles is a warmer expression to be found of exuberant thanksgiving and happiness; and we can see very plainly that this feeling is connected with certain personal qualifications
in Titus himself. He was "filled with comfort; he
was exceeding joyful in all his tribulation." On his
arrival in Macedonia, "his flesh had no rest, but he
was troubled,on every side: without were fightings,
within were fears. Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down comforted him by
the coming of Titus." It was something to enjoy
the sympathy of a congenial companion; but far
more than this: "not by his coming only" was the
Apostle comforted, "but by the consolation wherewith Titus had been comforted in the Corinthians."
He was able to tell the Apostle of their earnest repentance, of their fervent mind towards himself, of
their sorrow for their sin, of their vehement indignant
efforts for the clearing of themselves.2 Now the point
of interest for us here is, that Titus shared all the
1 2 Cor. ii. 12, 13.     2 2 Cor. vii. 4-11.




TITUS.                  91
feelings of St. Paul. Whatever joy and comfort the
Apostle experienced in the recovery of these erring
Corinthians was reflected, and, indeed had been anticipated, in the messenger. It was not simply St.
Paul that was " comforted by the consolation; ". but
Titus, who brought' the news, also felt the consolation. And all this is brought to view below still
more explicitly: "We were comforted in your comfort; yea, and exceedingly the more joyed we for the
joy of Titus, because his spirit was refreshed by you
all. His inward affection is more abundant towards
you, whilst he remembereth the obedience of you all,
how with fear and trembling you received him."
Nothing could display more clearly, both the affectionate and loyal nature of Titus, and also his
thorough abhorrence of evil, and hearty rejoicing in
the truth.
But this is not all that the Epistle before us enables us to ascertain in regard to the mission and the
character of Titus. The question of the collection,
in which St. Paul took so warm an interest, was involved in some embarrassment at Corinth. In this
place there had evidently been much profession of
alacrity at first, and some considerable abatement of
zeal afterwards. It is very possible that the party
spirit, which had grown up to so disastrous a height
in this Church, had produced its usual injurious
effect on practical works of charity. However this
might be, the messenger, who was authorized to deal
1 2 Cor. vii. 13, 15.




92      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
with this question, was required to have firmness and
tact, as well as strict integrity; and, in both respects,
Titus receives the strongest testimony from the Apostle. As to the latter point, while indignantly repelling an imputation which had been cast on his own
honor and unselfishness, he says, " Did I make a gain
of you by any of them whom I sent unto you? Did
Titus make a gain of you? Walked we not in the
same spirit? walked we not in the same steps?" 1
As to the former, we have the utmost commendation
both of the zeal he showed in animating them at the
outset, and of his moral courage afterwards in kindling their flagging generosity.2 The sentences which
are used on this subject by the Apostle imply the existence in Titus of very high qualities, which, added
to what has been mentioned above, show him to have
been a character well worthy to be admired and imitated. The mere fact of his being sent on such a
mission is high praise; and nothing can exceed the
confidence expressed in the words, " Whether any do
inquire of Titus, he is my partner and fellow-helper
concerning you." 3'
Again there is a considerable space, during which
his biography is a blank. Titus does not appear in
companionship with St. Paul on any subsequent journey; nor does his name occur in connection with any
event at Jerusalem, or the imprisonment in Rome.
Neither is this the place for inquiring and deciding
where and at what time the Epistle to Titus him1 2 Cor. xii. 17,18.  2 2 Cor. viii. 6, 16, 17.   3 2 Col. viii. 23.




TITUS.                  93
self was written. The general strain of the letter
has been spoken of above, as affording some insight
into the characteristic disposition and ability of Titus.
The Cretans, among whom he is placed, are described
in most unfavorable terms;1 and under these circumstances, he is to " set in order the things that are
wanting," to "exhort and convince gainsayers," to
" stop the mouths of unruly and vain talkers," to " rebuke sharply," to "speak the things that become
sound doctrine," to "show himself a pattern of good
works," to preach " obedience to magistrates," to "reject heretics." 2 He to whom such a commission was
confidently intrusted by St. Paul, could not have been
wanting in energy, firmness, judgment, and force of
character.
One sentence in this Epistle forms an apparent
link of connection with the latest notice of the name
of Titus. St. Paul says to him: "Be diligent to
come unto me to Nicopolis: for I have determined
there to winter." 3 Now we find it stated in the last~
of the Pastoral Epistles, written shortly before St.
Paul's death, that "Titus was gone to Dalmatia." 4
This was a wild and rugged district, with a rough
population, not far from Nicopolis; and there may
have been some connection between the two journeys.
Neither tradition nor history helps us to any details.
It is just worth while to observe, that this mention of
a difficult mission and an inclement season is in har1 Tit. i. 12.  2      Tit. i. 5, 9,11, 13;   iii. 1,,. 10.
8 Tit. iii. 12.          4 2 Tim. iv. 10.




94      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
mony with the temperament and capabilities of Titus
and the work which the Apostle was in the habit of
assigning to him.
It is, however, with the island of Crete that this
companion of St. Paul must be closely and permanently associated. And such an association is well
adapted to attract the imagination and to fix itself in
the memory. The commanding geographical position of Candia, in advance, of the Archipelago, and
in the line of seafarers on their voyages from Syria
to Italy; the grand outline and solid masses of its
mountains; the fame of its mythological traditions;
the hereditary turbulence of its inhabitants; the
rough vicissitudes of its history, - combine to make
it memorable among islands. The Biblical student,
too, can never forget that one of the most remarkable
passages in St. Paul's history was connected with its
southern coast.1 Nor has the memory of Titus, in
the midst of many superstitions, ever been lost in the
island. When the Venetians occupied it, they gave
to " St. Titus " a place side by side with their own
" St. Mark." We may conclude with an extract from
a panegyric pronounced by one of his successors in
the episcopal superintendence of Crete.  Andreas
Cretensis says that Titus " laid the foundation of the
Church in Crete, was himself there the pillar of the
Truth and the strong support of the Faith, the unwearied trumpet of the proclamation of the Gospel,
and the clear utterance of the tongue of St. Paul."
xActs xxvii. 7-16. See art. " Crete," in the Dictionary of the Bible.




VI.
PH(EBE.
"A succorer of many, and of myself also." -RoM. xvi. 2.
IN the second of these papers, when attention was
turned to the first coming of Christianity with St.
Paul into Europe, and to the Scripture notices of
Lydia, as illustrating the methods by which the Gospel made progress on its new field, some remarks
were made on the religious service of women as
apparently characteristic of the Church in Philippi.1
The scope of these remarks might very easily and
justly have been extended; and we have now reached
a point where it ought to be extended. It may be
said with perfect truth that the religious service of
women is characteristic of Christianity itself, and that
we see this most clearly in connection with St. Paul
and his Companions.
That the Gospel has raised woman to a higher
point than any which she ever occupied before, we
all admit. Not only is this seen to be true on comparing the Christian world with all parts and all ages
of the Heathen world; but it is found to be true
too when we institute a careful comparison between
Christianity and Judaism. In reading the Old Tes1 Acts xvi. 14, 15, 40; Phil. iv. 2, 3.




96      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
tament and the New we are conscious of a difference
between the two, in regard to the relative part played
by women, though it may not be easy to express this
consciousness in definite words. For the sake of
marking the contrast, so far as this can be done in
a single sentence, let us take the case of the widow.
Who is so much honored now as the Christian widow?
What a respectful recognition we pay to her sorrow
and her experience! What a great place she has in
the Christian Church, for influence, for advice, for
the promotion of good works. Such is the spirit in
which she is spoken of in the New Testament.1  But
it is not exactly so in the Old. The tone in which
she is mentioned there is different. There she is
rather the objectof compassion; and if we turn,
beyond the pages of Scripture, to other early Jewish
writings, they seem to place her almost in a position
of contempt.  This may suffice as a glance at a mere
corner of a large subject, namely, the elevation of
women through the coming of Him, who, Himself,
" born of woman "2 has left with them henceforward a
peculiar power of efficient ministration.
Such ministrations began even in the earliest Gospel days, during the sojourn of our Saviour on earth.
In fact all the great principles of Christian Life and
the Christian Church, and this principle among the
rest, were foreshadowed in the records of that Biog1 See especially St. Luke's Gospel (ii. 37; iv. 25; vii. 12;
xviii. 3)ewith Acts vi. 1; ix. 39, and 1 Tim. v. 9.
2 Gal. iv. 4.




PHcEBE.                  97
raphy. We may omit, if we will, the mention of
Anna, the pious prophetess "' of the tribe of Aser,"
as belonging rather to the end of the Old Dispensation than the beginning of the New; and also of St.
Mary, the mother of our Lord, " and her cousin Elizabeth," as standing apart in a sphere of their own.2
But when we turn beyond the period of Christ's infancy and youth, to the beginning of his active work,
we find him punctually aided by the devoted sympathy and service of women. They followed Him from
place to place; they practiced self-denial for his sake;
they found their happiness in diminishing his toil and
supplying his wants. When St Luke describes our
Lord as " going throughout every city and village,
preaching and showing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God," he proceeds to say not merely that
"the twelve were with him," but likewise " certain
women."   Then three are specified; and it is added
that there were " many others," who, with those three,
" ministered to him of their substance." 3 This was in
Galilee, the scene of numerous journeys and of much
active work. From thence some of them-"many
of them " —followed him into Judsea, at a time when
the Apostles were full of fear; and still the description given of them at the Cross is that they were
" ministering." 5 They held themselves in readiness
to do anything that they might be able to do for
Christ; and this waiting in readiness is most truly the
1 Luke ii. 36-38.  2 Luke i. 5-58.  3 Luke viii. 1-3.
4 Mark xv. 41.        5 Matt. xxvii. 55.
7




98      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
spirit of serving. From the Cross to the Grave they
"followed" Him still,1 and even at the Grave itself
we see in them the same spirit of serving. It might
have been supposed when the great stone was placed
at the door of the sepulchre, and when evening came
on, that all occasion, all possibility, of " ministering"
was over.   But such was not the view of these
women. When they went away from the sepulchre,
it was still to do Him honor. They bought and prepared sweet spices for the embalmment of the body.2
Can we fail to see in this an anticipation and prophecy of that feminine service which became a distinguishing mark of the Christian Church?
If we turn to the Book of Acts, with the illustrations of it supplied by the Epistles, we find this service appearing in a more systematic form. As regards the women mentioned above, even they are
seen once more, just after the Ascension, in company
with the Apostles.3 And when they are lost to view,
others of the same sex become prominent in efficient
ministrations. We need not lay undue stress on the
"widows" to whom our attention is turned in the
account of the appointment of the first deacons,4 or
on the "widows" who surrounded Dorcas;5 though
in both cases we seem to perceive the germs of the
organization of charity. It is of course, as has been
said, in connection with the life of St. Paul that we
should expect the fullest notices of such feminine
1 Luke xxiii. 55.  2 Mark xvi. 1.  3 Acts i. 14.
4 Acts vi. 1.       6 Acts ix 39, 41.




PHGEBE.                  99
ministrations as were characteristic of the earliest
Church.
With St. Paul everything takes a wider range;
and we begin now to see more clearly the place which
women are destined to occupy in relation to the social life of Christendom. Lydia has already furnished
occasion for some remarks at length. Priscilla, with
her husband, will be the subject of one of these
papers, before the series is closed. But besides these,
other women are mentioned in the Acts, though in
a slight, yet in a significant way. Damaris 1 might
fairly be adduced as an example of bold confession
of the faith, such as women have often made, when
men have faltered. The daughters of Philip,2 who
had the gift of prophecy, can hardly be thought to
have resided as unmarried women in their father's
house, without doing useful service to the Church.
But when we turn to the Epistles, we find a profuse
number of instances, which tend to prove our point.
Chloe 3 and Appia,4 Euodia and Syntyche,5 are mentioned by name among the women who were directly
or indirectly associated with St. Paul in promoting
the cause of the Gospel at places as widely separated
as Corinth, Colossse, and Philippi. And especially it
is in the Epistle to the Romans that we find a catalogue of female names which almost startles us, when
we think of the early period to which this document
belongs. The salutations in the sixteenth chapter, in1 Acts xvii. 34.  2 Acts xxi. 9.   3 1 Cor. i. 11.
4 Philemon 2.          5 Phil. iv. 2.




100     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
cidental as they are, give us much information as to
the facts of the case. The number of female fellowworkers, who are mentioned there by name, and with
a distinct reference to their Christian cooperation, is
remarkable. Priscilla appears here, as elsewhere;
and we find, among other women, the following specified also, with an allusion to. their service: " Mary,
who bestowed much labor on us;" "Tryphena and
Tryphosa, who labor in the Lord;" "Persis, which
labored much in the Lord."1 Such phrases imply a
system of wide-spread sympathy and service in the
Christian cause.
It is, however, in the name and description of
Phoebe that the whole case is most completely summed
up. As regards both her direct association with St.
Paul, and the exact account of her character and
work, she must always demand our special attention
in connection with this general subject. St. Paul
says, at the beginning of this sixteenth chapter: "I
commend unto you Phoebe our sister, which is a
servant (a deaconess) of the church which is at
Cenchrem; that ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever
business she hath need of you: for she hath been a
succorer of many, and of myself also."  Each of the
particulars named in these verses may be made the
subject of a few remarks in order.
(1.) We may, in the first instance, pause with advantage on the name of the place with which the
1 Rom. xvi. 6, 12.




PHCEBE.                 101
name of Phoebe is thus connected in the Epistle to
the Romans.  Cenchree,, from whence she came, was
the eastern seaport of Corinth, and distant from that
city about nine miles. Corinth was as remarkable in
its situation as memorable in its history; and every
part of St. Paul's connection with its neighborhood
is full of interest. He was twice there. His first
visit was on the Second Missionary Circuit; on his
return from which we find him sailing from this very
harbor of Cenchreae.1  The second residence at
Corinth was in the Third Missionary Circuit; during
which he wrote the Epistle to the Romans. It is
not unlikely that he wrote the letter immediately before his return to the East; and it is almost certain
that Phoebe conveyed it. Thus, on both occasions,
the Apostle is very definitely associated with Cenchrea; and in the mention of "the church that was
at" this place, we seem to have an indication of a
rapid and wide:spread advance of Christianity at
the Isthmus. It may be inferred, that in connection
with the central church in Corinth there were organized suburban churches, with their systematic agencies
for charitable and'religious work.
(2.) An official position is evidently indicated by
the statement that Phoebe was a "servant of" a
local church. She was clearly no mere volunteer,
acting outside of all ecclesiastical arrangements.
This, however, is not the place for discussing the
charitable and religious ministry of women on its
1 Acts xviii. 18.




102      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
strictly ecclesiastical side: it is enough to make a remark, in passing, on its importance. What is passing
in nearly all parts of Protestant Christendom, including the United States of America, makes it evident
that a new sense of the urgency of this question has
grown up in many minds. It is felt that we require
something more in this direction than we have been
accustomed to possess since the Reformation. " Nothing, indeed, could be. more undesirable than that
charitable work should be regarded as the employment of a distinct and professional class, instead of
being the duty of the whole'Church, and therefore of
each member of it, according to the opportunities
presented in his or her course of life. But it is precisely work of this kind which has led to the recognition of the fact; that there are forms of evil and suffering with which it is unable to cope, which demand
the complete devotion of time and strength from
those who are able to give it.1 And it is certainly a
fact of some moment that we find the woman-deacon,2
as well as the man-deacon, in the Apostolic Church,
and thus possess all the sanction which we require
for what is felt to be very needful in the Modern
Church.
(3.) We pass on to the account which is given of
1 Preface to the Life of Pastor Fliedner (translated by Catherine
Winkworth), p. xviii. It is truly said (p. vi.) that this story
" places before us a courageous and hard-working life, concentrated
with unusual constancy and good sense on one aim, and achieving
it with rare success."
2 This is the true meaning of 1 Tim. iii. 11.




PHWEBE.                 103
Phoebe's past services.  She had been "a succorer
of many."  This phrase is very beautiful: and, even
in the English, it means a great deal. Yet it fails to
express the whole sense of the original. "' Succor"
may be given in various ways.; but the term here
employed would seem to indicate one who had stood
forth as the patroness of the unprotected and despised. There is no doubt that the Christians were
objects of contempt at this time in Achaia; and even
if this were not the case, the Greek word would in
itself -imply moral courage, generous bounty, and
large sympathy; and the points of importance to us
here are that these qualities are exhibited by a woman,
and in such a way as to promote the progress and
strength of the New Religion. There seems good
reason for supposing that Phoebe was a person of
some rank and substance. We might place her in
comparison with the "great woman" of Shunem,
dwelling " among her own people," who showed hospitality to Elisha; and certainly the Apostle's feeling
finds expression in language very similar in tone to
that used by the Prophet: " Beholcl, thou hast been
careful for us with all this care; what is to be done
for thee? " 1 There is this interest too in the comparison, that one of these scenes is eminently characteristic of the Old Testament, the other eminently
characteristic of the New. The state of society in
the Greek cities of the Levant, during St. Paul's day,
was of such a kind as to give peculiar emphasis to
1 2 Kings iv. 8, 13.




104     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
the attitude taken by Phoebe. Nor was her help afforded merely to St. Paul.  She had been a succorer
of "many." A large amount of brave and active
service is revealed to us in this phrase. Phoebe is a
worthy follower of the women of the Gospels, and a
useful example to all those of her sex who desire to
employ fully the special power which God has given
them for promoting the cause of Christ.
(4.) But St. Paul adds: "and of myself also."
Here we encounter that warm personal feeling, which
gives so great a charm to St. Paul's intercourse with
his friends, whether recorded in the narrative of the
Acts, or exhibited in his letters. Gratitude is one of
the marked features of his character; and the manifestations of it break out at every turn. He remembers how affectionately the Galatians received him,
when he " preached the Gospel to them at the first." 
He remembers how generously the Philippians aided
him " in the beginning of the Gospel" on the European continent, by sending him funds to Thessalonica.2 In writing to the Colossians, he specifies those
who were " a comfort to him." 3 In writing to Timotheus,-he mentions Onesiphorus, who " oft refreshed
him, sought him out in prison, and was not ashamed
of his chain." 4 Even this very chapter which furnishes our present contribution to the series of St.
Paul's Companions, has several instances of the same
kind. Aquila and Priscilla are stated to have " laid
1 Gal. iv. 13-15.           2 Phil. iv. 15, 16.
8 Col. iv. 11.              4 2 Tim. i. 16-18.




PHCEBE.                 105
down their necks for his sake."  Mary has "bestowed much labor on him."  Urban has been "his
helper." Gaius has been " his host." Thus it is with
regard to Phoebe. It is no mere formal and official
errand on which she goes to Rome; but he follows
her with his gratitude. The letter which she carries
is a record of what he owes to her; and this obligation is made the ground of an appeal to the Roman
Christians, to enforce the duty of their receiving her
with confidence and respect, and of aiding her to the
utmost of their power.
(5.) This brings us to our last point.  The Christians are to 1" receive Phoebe in the Lord, as becometh
saints," and to "assist her in whatsoever -business
she hath need." Each of these clauses merits a separate and careful attention. "In the Lord " is a customary phrase with St. Paul. It denotes in such a
passage as this community of interest under Christ,
and points to the fact that all the persons in question,
and all their concerns, belong to Him. But it means
even more than this.  It suggests the thought of
cooperation in the same kind of religious work. We
might compare what is said here to the Romans of
Phoebe with- what is said to the Corinthians of Timotheus:1 "If he come, see that he may be with you
without fear; for he worketh the work of the Lord,
as I also do; " or with what is said to the Philippians
of Epaphroditus: 2 "Receive him in the Lord with all
gladness; and hold such in reputation: because for
1 1 Cor. xvi. 10.         2 Phil. ii. 29, 3Q,




106     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
the work of Christ he was nigh unto death." As to
the phrase, " worthy of the saints," it may be difficult
to decide whether the meaning is that Phoebe is to be
received in such a manner as she herself deserves, or
in such a manner as would be a matter of course with
the Roman Christians if they were what they professed to be. We may be quite content to leave this
point indeterminate, and to consider that the phrase
includes both meanings. But, further, they were not
only to give her a friendly and worthy reception, but
to furnish her with all the assistance she needed for
the errands on which she was sent. Such a request
was clearly most reasonable. St. Paul is here asking help for one who herself had been a helper of
" many." We must add the additional claim arising
from her venturing on the risk and toil of a long voyage by sea, which was then a far more formidable undertaking than it is now.
Here the remark may be made, that if Phcebe is
herself an example and a pattern, this injunction to
the Romans is equally an injunction to Christian people of all times, that they give aid to those who honestly follow in her steps. When women are earnestly devoting their lives to the service of Christ, in
active exertion and generous self-sacrifice, they ought
to be helped and reinforced by sympathy and respect,
and by "whatsoever they have need of" to make
their work effectual. Better than all mere churchorganization is this free and willing help; and, indeed, without such help, organization is very apt to
degenerate into dead machinery.




PTCEBE.                 107
But whilst urging the peculiar claims of faithful
feminine service on the respect, assistance, and encouragement of the Christian community at large, we
must not forget that there is another side of the subject which closely and seriously concerns a great number, perhaps the greater number, of the readers of this
paper. If Christianity owes much to women, let it be
recollected how much women owe to Christianity. We
have seen above how they have been elevated, and
what new powers they have received, through the coming of Christ. They ought then unceasingly to bear in
mind the corresponding demand which this fact has
established upon them for devotion and service. They
cannot be too forcibly reminded that thenceforward
there rests on them a peculiar responsibility, a peculiar
call to gratitude and to enthusiasm for Christ. Let
them not fall below the position in which He has placed
them. Let them cast aside their besetting temptations, and do the work which it is appointed to them
to do - remembering the women in Judaea and in
Galilee, at the Cross and at the Grave - remembering also the women who aided the Apostles, and, in
what has been well called the ".private ministry of
the Word," became the best missionaries of domestic
life.
There is good reason too why men, especially in
these uneasy times of ours, should keep well in mind
the peculiar benediction which rests on godly women,
and their peculiar aptitude for efficient service under
the Gospel. We ought to recognize those special ca



108     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
pabilities; we ought to make the most of them, and
devise methodical plans for that end by the exercise
of our best wisdom. No effort could be more in harmony with the will of Christ and the practice of his
Apostles. Jesus Christ accepted the ministry of the,Galilean women; and the Apostle of Jesus Christ
has messages of special earnestness and significance
for the "women which labored with him in the
Gospel."'
I Phil. iv. 3.




VII.
FELIX.
"And Felix, willing to show the Jews a pleasure, left Paul
bound." - ACTS xxiv. 27.
T  HE earliest points of contact between Christianity and Heathenism    must of necessity possess
for us a permanent interest, and may be expected to
supply us with instruction of peculiar value. In our
own day, indeed, Christianity has its points of contact
with Heathenism; and each such instance is full of
interest for every serious mind, and full of instruction
even for us at home. This is found to be the case by
all who care to study with attention the modern records of Missionary progress. But we must expect
to find a peculiar freshness and a forcible reality in
all instances of this kind which are recorded in Scripture concerning that time when Christianity was new,
and when Heathenism was only beginning to be dislodged from its ancient strongholds.
Such points of contact are, of course, mainly to be
found in the history of the life of that Apostle who
was especially designated to the office of evangelizing
the Gentiles. Undoubtedly we must not forget Cornelius, whose conversion in one sense overshadowed
all other Gentile conversions. But still St. Peter,




110     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
when he had thus opened wide the doors of the Universal Church, fell back into the position of the
Apostle of the Jews, and, as regards the heathen
world, made way for St. Paul.
Four marked instances of contact with Heathenism
in connection with his life, as recorded in the Acts,
will at once recur to the reader's memory, - two having reference to Heathenism in its rude and uncivilized
form; two bringing before us states of society where
both culture and business had reached a high standard.
The two former are the scenes at Lystra, where the
people first sought to worship St. Paul as a god, and
then endeavored to stone him to death;1 and at
Melita, when the process was inverted, and when,
after supposing him to be a murderer, they said that
he was a god.2 Here we see Christianity face to face
with ignorance, superstition, prejudice, and fanaticism.
The other two are the discourse on Mars' Hill at
Athens,3 and the tumult among the silversmiths at
Ephesus.4  Here we see how the Gospel of Christ is
called to encounter both the sneers of supercilious
philosophy and the unscrupulous intrigues of self-interest. And still, is it not too true that our Holy
Religion has the same enemies to meet, - ignorance,
superstition, self-conceit, selfishness, - and that not
only in the heathen world outside, but at home among
ourselves?
These four instances, however, show to us the con1 Acts xiv. 11-19.         2 Acts xxviii. 2-6.
8 Acts xvii. 22.           4 Acts xix. 24.




FELIX.                 111
tact of Christianity with Heathenism on the great
scale, and in reference to general truths with their
opposing errors. We may expect to obtain instruction for ourselves, still more pointedly and directly,
through such contact with the individual consciences
of heathen men. In observing what moral phenomena are exhibited on such occasions - in seeing
how St. Paul, on the one hand, deals with such
persons; and how, on the other hand, they act under
his influence, receiving the truth, or resisting it - we
are prepared to find that principles of great importance come to view, with permanent admonition or encouragement for our own conduct. There are various
such instances in St. Paul's life. Such names as those
of Sergius Paulus,, of Gallio, Claudius Lysias, and
Festus, will at once occur to us.l I select, however,
those two which seem to me the best, partly because
they represent, more thani any others, a close personal
intimacy with St. Paul, and partly because they are
very different in character from one another. I take
Felix the Governor for my present subject, and for
our next subject I propose Julius the Centurion.
We are to examine the character of Felix, the
manner in which the Gospel was presented to him by
St. Paul, and the manner in which he acted when
God providentially granted him this great opportunity.
In order to appreciate these things no long introduction will be necessary.
Felix was the Roman Governor of Judaea, and re1 Acts xiii. 7; xviii. 12; xxiii. 26; xxiv. 27.




112     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
sided, as was the custom, not in Jerusalem, but in the
government-house at Caesarea on the coast. The
Apostle was first brought face to face with him when
he was conveyed to this place as a prisoner from
Jerusalem. On his return from that visit to Greece,
during which we last saw him sending Phoebe with
the Epistle to the Romans, he had been violently attacked by a Jewish mob in the Temple court; and
Claudius Lysias, with some soldiers from the garrison,
had rescued him, but was much perplexed by the
case, besides becoming aware of a conspiracy among
the Jews to take away his life.2 Accordingly he sent
him, under a strong escort, to Csesarea with a letter
to the Governor; and the twenty-third chapter ends
with these words: "When they came to Coesarea,
and delivered the Epistle to the Governor, they
presented Paul also before him; and when the Governor had read the letter, he asked of what province
the prisoner was," and having ascertained this, he
said to him, " I will hear thee when thine accusers
are also come." 3
In this there was evidently nothing to blame.
Felix acted like a clear-sighted man of business, and
apparently with a due sense of the responsibility of
office. So far our first impression is favorable. But
as we pursue the narrative we begin to see beneath
the surface. And here the remark is suggested, that
we must not judge of men by their public official
1 Acts xxi. 31, 32.        2 Acts xxiii. 12, 21, 23.
8 Acts xxiii. 33-35.




FELIX.                 113
appearances. A bad man may be a very equitable
magistrate. Nor are lay people only to be included
within a sentence which invites to serious self-examination. A clergyman too may preach well and
forcibly- may discharge his general clerical duties
in a very faultless manner - while yet he is not truly
in his heart a religious man. This example of Felix
- even at the first glance - is full of searching and
penetrating questions for every one of us.
On the trial which took place at Caesarea, when
Tertullus, who held a brief for the Jews, made an
ingenious and complimentary speech, and St. Paul
made an honest and manly defense for himself, we
need not dwell. Felix appears again at the close of
the proceedings in what we must pronounce, upon the
whole, a favorable aspect. "Having more perfect
knowledge of that way," the narrative says, "he
deferred them, and said, When Lysias the chief captain shall come down, I will know the uttermost of
your matter." In these words, knowing Felix as we
do from other circumstances, we can, indeed, see very
clearly the working of interested motives; and we
feel that he ought to have set St. Paul at liberty.
Still, on looking at the matter merely by itself, it
might very fairly be argued that he wished to maintain a strict observance of the Roman law, to exercise due caution, and to act fairly.
What follows, too, might be taken to indicate a
kind-hearted disposition, as well as a desire to act
legally and justly. "Felix commanded a centurion
8




114     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
to keep Paul, and to let him have liberty, and that
he should forbid none of his acquaintance to minister
or come to him." In the case of a state prisoner like
St. Paul, who was also, a Roman citizen,' there was
always the power of giving great alleviation to the
imprisonment; and this power Felix freely used for
his benefit. The Apostle was allowed to be comparatively "at liberty."  This did not, indeed, involve so much freedom as what we call in England
being allowed to go on bail. He was always under
the eye of an officer of the army. Still he was not
thrown into a dismal dungeon, as he had been at
Philippi.2 There was perfect freedom to see his
friends, to converse with them, and to receive their
help. We are well aware how great a difference this
must have made to St. Paul, when we remember his
sociable and loving disposition. But more than this.
In thus being allowed freely to converse with " his
acquaintance," he had the opportunity of prosecuting
his work. Those who were Christians already would,
to use his own words elsewhere, " wax confident by
his bonds." 3 Those who were not Christians could
see, better than they could under other circumstances,
what strength and elasticity there is in the principles
of the Gospel. All this suggests to our minds even
a feeling of gratitude to Felix for the liberty which
he accorded to our Great Apostle.
But, further, the way in which this was done seems
to argue considerate care and deliberation. We have
1 Acts xvi. 37; xxii. 25.  Acts xvi, 24.  8 Phil. i. 14.




FELIX.                 115
evidently here the very words of the order which he
gave. The centurion was not only to let Paul "have
liberty," but to " forbid none of his acquaintance to
minister or come to him." There is the impression
here of his entertaining a favorable opinion of St.
Paul, and of something like personal regard. Either
the report of Claudius Lysias, or his own recent interview with the prisoner, may have produced an
influence on the mind of Felix. However this may
be, we see that he gave a very kind and considerate
treatment to St. Paul.' And at this point the remark
may be permitted, that even such conduct as this is
not always a true indication of character. Various
inferior motives may persuade a bad and selfish man
to act in such a way that he is praised and admired
for his kindness. There may be in such a case the
carelessness of weak good-nature; there may be the
calm calculation of sagacious policy. We have no
right, indeed, to assert the presence of such motives
in any instance which comes in contact with our own
experience in society; but sometimes other features
of character come to view which force us to such a
judgment' which lift the veil, and enable us to see
a selfish, cowardly, unjust, time-serving man under
an exterior show of benevolence and fairness. So it
was in the case of Felix.
"After certain days, when Felix came with his
wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul
and heard him concerning'the faith in Christ; and
as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and




ii6     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered,
Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient
season, I will call for thee." Here we suddenly discover a totally different aspect of the man; and one
singularly in harmony with what we know of him
from other sources. We have, in fact, a great deal
of independent information concerning the life and
character of this Governor of Judea. They are
described to us by an eminent Jewish and an eminent Heathen historian. From these authorities we
learn that he had once been a slave, and that, with
his brother, he obtained his freedom and rose to
power through sordid flattery and by making himself the useful instrument of the crimes of great
men. When thus raised to unenviable eminence,
and installed in his place of power at Caesarea, he
was cruel, unscrupulous, and mercenary. Having
bought his position by base subserviency, he used it
for selfish tyranny. The Heathen historian, to whom
I have referred, expresses this in a terrible sentence
by saying 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 was the cause of a great
amount of tumult and bloodshed in Judea; he encouraged and profited by plunder and extortion; and,
as the Jewish historian tells us, he procured the
murder of the High-priest, at a sacred festival, and
by the hand of a friend of the High-priest himself,
who had been bribed for the purpose. His private
life, too, was profligate and licentious. This very




FELIX.                  117
woman Drusilla had been enticed from her husband
by help of a fortune-teller. On the whole, the private character and public administration of Felix were
so bad and exasperating, that they were spoken of
among the causes which hastened on the ruin of the
Jewish nation. It was before this specimen of Heathenism that St. Paul, as the representative of Christianity, now stood at Csesarea.
This interview was not part of the Apostle's trial
before Felix as Governor. It was rather a-conversation than a trial; and one motive which led to
the interview was clearly curiosity. Drusilla was a
Jewish princess, a sister of Herod Agrippa II., who
is mentioned soon afterwards in connection with
Festus, the successor of Felix. It might almost seem
as though idle religious curiosity was hereditary in
the Herodian family. We recollect how one member
of that family, at an earlier date, had, without any
trace of real religious earnestness, desired to see
Jesus Christ.1 So; after this date, we find the Second
Agrippa with Bernice face to face with St. Paul in
a spirit not very different from that of Felix and
Drusilla.2 She must have heard of Christianity and
its celebrated Apostle. The preaching and the miracles of the Gospel had not been "done in a corner."
Felix seems to have shared her curiosity, or to have
yielded to it; and thus it came to pass that Felix
"heard Paul concerning the faith in Christ."
It is worth while to pause here, if this was one of
1 Luke ix, 9; xxiii. 8.      2 Acts xxv. 22.




118     THE COMIPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
the motives that led to the interview. There was a
full opportunity of learning the whole truth of the
Gospel and of becoming a Christian; but no benefit
resulted. The motive was curiosity. Are there not
similar instances - very many - in our own day,
and with a similar absence of any beneficial result?
Love of variety, love of novelty, love of excitement
in matters of religion, is only a form of dissipation.
Running after favorite preachers, going in crowds to
attractive services, - this, in itself, has nothing whatever to do with religion in the heart. If this is all,
as you come, so you' go away, with only this difference, that your heart is more frivolous and more
careless, because you have succeeded in coming in
contact with a serious subject without carrying away
any permanently serious impression.
But what did St. Paul say to Felix?   He was
really serious. He was really in. earnest. He said
nothing to gratify curiosity. His purpose was not to
please, not to amuse, but, if possible, to do good.' He
aimed directly at the conscience. He said, not what
Felix wished to know, but what it was very good
for Felix to hear. He " reasoned of righteousness,
temperance, and judgment." Such topics so exactly
suited the case of Felix, that we might truly say
that the Governor's own life and character formed
the dark background on which these subjects were
placed in clear relief. As to righteousness, he himself was acting unrighteously at this time in retaining St. Paul'in prison, when no case had been




FELIX.                 119
proved against him.   As to temperance or selfrestraint, Drusilla was there to witness against him.
As to judgment, Felix was about this time under
accusation, and was before long summoned to take
his trial in Rome. It is not, indeed, at all likely
that St. Paul preached on these subjects in any rude
or offensive manner. No doubt he spoke with all
his usual tact, so as to win the respect of his hearers.
Nor was any offense really taken. And yet the
words went home. " Felix trembled." He had good
reason for trembling; and he did tremble. So far
an impression was made. But; after all, it was only
the impression of terror on a slavish mind. As it
has been quaintly expressed, " his early fears in childhood had been kept alive, and notions of punishment practically quickened, by the lashes of his
master's whip," and now " he recognized his old
familiar terrors, and the Gospel which could not
reach him as a man, came rudely home to him as a
slave, and whipped this gilded image of royalty upon
his throne." 1
Here, in passing, it is important that we should
make another remark on the language used by St.
Paul to Felix. " He reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come." It might be asked,
Did not St. Paul preach Christ? St. Paul always
preached Christ. Who will presume to say that he
ever failed in this? But we cannot preach the Gospel without preaching the Law. Unless there is a
1 Archdeacon Evans' Scripture Biography, vol. i. p. 311.




120     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
sense of the Law broken, we cannot value the Gospel which heals and saves. Hence, just as at Athens,
in speaking to a large number of H-eathens, he said
that God had " appointed a day in the which He will
judge the world in righteousness," 1 so here, in addressing an individual Heathen, he uses the terrors
of the Law, that he may awake the sense of sin, and
the consciousness that a Saviour is needed.
"Felix trembled."  But the impression did not
last. He had not sought the interview with any high
motive, and hence no blessing followed. He put the
matter off to a " convenient season;" and, so far as
we know, the impression never returned. How different was it with another eminent Roman, in this
same city of Caesarea, in the case of an interview
with another Apostle! The allusion, of course, is to
what was mentioned above, the history of Cornelius
and St. Peter. Then all was pious, humble, and
godly preparation for the truth of God. The words of
Cornelius on the arrival of Peter were, " Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all
things that are commanded thee of God." 2 Different indeed was this state of mind from that of Felix!
and how different the result!
But as we come near to the end of the chapter,
we obtain a further insight into the mean and contemptible character of Felix. " He hoped also that
money should have been given him of Paul, that he
might loose him; wherefore he sent for him the
1 Acts xvii. 31.            2 Acts x. 33.




FELIX.                 121
oftener, and communed with him."  There could not
be a greater condemnation of a magistrate. If St.
Paul was wrongly imprisoned, he ought to have been
set free without money. If he was rightly imprisoned, he ought to have been kept in prison, whether
money was paid to the magistrate or not. Bribery
was strictly forbidden by the Roman law. We see
here the inveterate slavishness of the man; and we
seem to see this all the more clearly, if we look still
more closely into the history. It might be asked
how Felix could expect such a prisoner as St. Paul
to be able to find money, even if he was willing to
give a bribe. But we find above that the Apostle
told Felix in his defense, that he had come to Judaea,
" to bring alms to his nation, and offerings." 1 So that
he might easily imagine that St. Paul had large funds
at his command. Not that these funds belonged to
St. Paul. But when a man feels no scruple in practicing fraud for his own interest, he readily believes
that another man will practice fraud, if he has something to gain by it. It is very difficult for a dishonest
man to believe in the integrity of other men; very
difficult for a selfish man to believe that any one will
do good simply from the love of doing good.
But, to return to the words that were just now
quoted, it is impossible not to wish that we could
have heard the conversations of these two men. We
should then have been able to appreciate the significance of that companionship which did in truth sub1 Acts xxiv. 17.




122     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
sist between Paul and Felix. We should, indeed,
then have seen Christianity and Heathenism face to
face, and each with its true and full expression. This
verse, however, tells us quite enough in general terms
to give point to the instruction we are to obtain here.
As regards St. Paul, we observe that he was quite
immovable. He could probably have obtained funds
from his friends for a lawful purpose without touching any money that was intrusted to him for the
poor; and by means of a bribe he might easily have
obtained his liberty, for he had not yet appealed to
the Emperor. And, again, by so doing he would
have obtained new opportunities for travelling far
and wide and preaching the Gospel. But he who
taught obedience to the law would not break the law,
even for the purpose of saving souls.
The chapter ends with the words which are placed
at the head of this paper; "After two years Portius
Festus came into. Felix's room; and Felix, willing to
show the Jews a pleasure, left Paul bound." On this
I will only remark that the contemptible and servile
meanness of Felix is visible to the end. His official
dignity is only skin-deep; he is still a slave. After
all these conversations with St. Paul, after all these
golden opportunities (golden, indeed, for such opportunities were hardly ever given to any one else in the
world), he left Paul in prison, not because it was just
to do so, but because he wished to have the favor of
the Jews. History supplies the explanation. Felix
was summoned to Rome to give an account of his con



FELIX.                 123
duct; and the favorable testimony of the Jews was
just then of great importance to him. For this he
sacrificed St. Paul, and sacrificed his own soul.
Now, as we quit the subject, one thought very naturally occurs to us. If Felix had yielded to the impression which his first interview with the Apostle of
Christ had made upon him; if, when he " trembled "
under the sense of his guilt and the fear of coming
judgment, he had followed on to make acquaintance
with the Saviour Christ, whom Paul was even then
preaching to him, the result would have been very
different. However seared his life was by bad and
degrading habits, Divine grace could have made him
a new man. But he procrastinated, and the opportunity was lost.
"' When I have a convenient season, I will call for
thee."  This sentence suggests a very serious appeal
to the reader. It may not have been "convenient"
to you hitherto to begin in earnest the solemn work
of saving your soul. Sin has held you in its strong
grasp up to the present moment; or business has
been so engrossing, that you have not been able to.
forget it; or a gay and giddy world has perpetually
run away with all your graver thoughts. You do
not indeed intend to quit this life without having secured the salvation of your soul; but you wait for a
" convenient season."  Now it is quite certain that
you wil never have a more convenient season than
the present. You look forward to the beneficial results of some affliction. But what guarantee can you




124     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
have that affliction will produce upon your mind the
precise effect which you anticipate? Or you expect
that sickness and the threatening nearness to death
will convert you. But where do you obtain any
promise regarding the manner of the sickness or the
accident which is to be the precursor of your death?
Or you wait till the attraction of those things which
now absorb you ceases to be all-powerful. But how
do you propose to overcome the habits which will
have been formed under the influence of this attraction, and which will continue after the attraction has
ceased? No. All such calculations are quite delusive. The vain world and your weak heart are always
saying to you, like Felix, " To-morrow, not To-day."
Christ says, and Reason says, and Heaven and Hell
say, " To-day, not To-morrow."




VIII.
JULIUS.
" The centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their
purpose." - ACTS xxvii. 43.
A S we study the well-defined and instructive characters which the New Testament in abundance
presents to us, nothing is more remarkable than the
favorable impression which the officers of the Roman
army leave upon the mind. It may be that the military career is favorable to some attractive virtues. *It
may be, on the other hand, that the Scripture would
remind us by these instances that eminent virtues may
be formed in spite of adverse circumstances in the
military life. We need not attempt to determine that
point. Probably there is some truth in each of these
suppositions; but, however we may settle that question, the above-mentioned fact is undoubted.
In the centurion at Capernaum we have the exhibition of a very high type of character well sustained
throughout. He was tolerant and generous; for he
built the Jews their synagogue. He was full of warmhearted sympathy; for the illness and approaching
death of his slave filled him with utter distress. His
humility was remarkable; for he did not regard himself worthy to receive the Saviour under his roof.




126     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
Yet he was no weak man, but had very correct and
strict notions of discipline. He recognized the obedience due to the military powers above him, and expected those beneath him to obey.   I am a man
under authority," he said, " and I say to this man, Go,
and he goeth, and to another, Come, and he cometh,
and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it;" and,
arguing from his own position in these respects to the
Saviour's power, he exhibited an example of faith
which caused Jesus to " marvel." 1
And there is another centurion in the Gospels who
merits our admiration and respect. " Certainly this
was a righteous man. Truly this man was the Son
of God." 2 These words, spoken at the Cross, draw
a sharp line of distinction between the speaker and
the general company of the soldiers around. Others
were mocking and blaspheming. Here was an honest
yielding to conviction, and a candid confession of the
truth. It is a startling fact that the first visible
beneficial effect of the death of Christ was upon the
mind of a soldier and a heathen; so that we recognize
some force, as well as beauty, in the words of a
French writer, who says, " This centurion's faith and
confession are the first-fruits of the faith of the Gentiles, and the prophetic sign that the nations are now
to take the place of the Jews. Jesus all his life long
devoted Himself to the Jews. Instantly after his
death He begins to declare Himself for the Gentiles
1 Mark viii. 10; Luke vii. 9.
2 Mark xv. 39; Luke xxiii. 47.




JULIUS.                 127
by this first act of grace. The first results of his
death are not for a Priest, not for a Doctor of the
Law, not for a Pharisee, not for any Jew, but for a
Gentile and a man of war, who was simply there on
military duty." 1
Now, if we turn from the Gospels to the Book of
the Acts, and examine the varied gallery of portraits
which that book contains, we find there also two
centurions, on whom we are constrained to look with
feelings of sincere respect and warm regard.
Whatever we may say of the centurion at the Cross
as a prophecy and anticipation of the bringing-in of
the Gentiles, the main interest of that great change
is concentrated, and intended to be concentrated, in
the case of Cornelius. All the circumstances combine
to draw our attention to it in the most pointed manner.
That with which we are concerned here is the character of the man. It is not merely that the great
act of conversion, through the instrumentality of St.
Peter, is brought before us as the introduction to that
blessing which is now come to all nations; but the
example of Cornelius is itself a pattern. This might
have been otherwise. The conversion would not have
been less real, if a vile and cowardly profligate like
Felix had been suddenly turned into a Christian.
But it has pleased God to make Cornelius not only
the sample and precursor of a great religious revolution, but also a nmodel for our imitation. The various
particulars which we learn of him can only be enu1 Quesnel on Mark xv. 39, and Luke xxiii. 47.




128     THE COMPANIONS -OF ST. PAUL.
merated here in the briefest way. But when we
remember that he was a man most regular in his
private prayers - that he exercised a religious influence over his household; that he was generous and
liberal, and had the high esteem of the Jews who
surrounded him, and that he listened most reverently
and earnestly to the instructions of St. Peter; not,
like Felix, when he heard the word of St. Paul,
putting the matter off to a more "convenient season," - we see at once that there is quite enough to
justify the strong expressions used above.l
St. Paul came frequently in contact with the Roman army, especially in the latter part of his career.
Five centurions are mentioned in connection with the
arrest at Jerusalem and the imprisonment at Cmesarea,
besides those who took part in rescuing him from the
mob.2 Of course, some of them may have been the
same officers, appearing at different times on different
duties; and this probably was the case. But it is interesting, in connection with the train of thought with
which we began, to mark these circumstances.  One
of these centurions was the officer -the captain, as
we should say -who stood by when St. Paul was
being bound with thongs, in order to be beaten, and
on learning that he was a Roman citizen, informed
his commanding officer - the colonel, as we should
say -of the danger he was incurring.3 The next
was the centurion whom St. Paul discreetly called,
when he learned from his nephew of the conspiracy
1 Acts x. 1; xi. 18.  2 Acts xxi. 32.  3 Acts xxii. 25, 26.




JULIUS.                 129
which had been formed against him, and whom St.
Paul requested to take the young man to the commanding officer, Claudius Lysias.1 Two others were
those whom Claudius Lysias sent in command of the
escort that conveyed St. Paul to Caesarea.2  Nothing
is said to give any indication of their characters. We
simply know that they discharged their duty very
promptly and methodically. But when we come to
the close of the imprisonment at Camsarea, and the
time of the voyage to Rome, then we meet another
centurion, who quite deserves our very careful attention.3
Our last subject was Felix; the character now before our attention is that of Julius. Both are taken
as specimens of that early contact of Christianity with
Heathenism, of which the life of St. Paul furnishes
the best illustrations. And, as was remarked in the
preceding paper, these two men present to us this
contact in two very different points of view, and
with two very different kinds of instructions for ourselves.
We saw that " after two years," during which the
Apostle was in detention at Cmsarea, Felix was summoned to Rome to give an account of serious charges
that were made against him, and that "willing," for
his own interest, " to show the Jews a pleasure, he left
Paul bound." 4 Festus, who succeeded Felix, was in
great perplexity in regard to this prisoner, besides
1 Acts xxiii. 17.         2 Acts xxiii. 23.
3 Acts xxvii. 1.          4 Acts xxiv. 27.
9




130     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
being very anxious to begin his new work without
incurring unpopularity.  He proposed that St. Paul
should go to take lAs trial in Jerusalem. The Apostle
saw the danger in which this would involve him; and
instantly, with great tact, made use of the privilege
which his Roman citizenship gave him, and appealed
to the Emperor.l This made it necessary to send
him to Rome. Some delays took place which need
not be referred to here. In due time a convenient
opportunity came; and, as we read in the first verse
of the twenty-seventh chapter, " When it was determined that we," that is, St. Luke and St: Paul, with
Aristarchus, "should sail into Italy, they delivered
Paul and certain other prisoners unto one named
Julius, a Centurion of Augustus' band."
The specifying of the military corps to which Julius belonged, singles him out at dnce as an officer of
rank. He seems to have held a commission in the
most distinguished part of the Roman army, and that
which was the most closely connected with the Emperor and his court. For some time he had been on
foreign duty at Cmsarea. Now he was about to return to head-quarters.
There are six places where he is referred to during
the subsequent narrative. We will take them, very
briefly, in order, with the view of learning what the
Scripture teaches us concerning him.
(1.) After they set sail, " the next day they touched at Sidon; " 2 and it is added that Julius " courte1 Acts xxv. 11.            2 Acts xxvii. 3.




JULIUS.                 131
ously entreated Paul, and gave him liberty to go unto
his friends to refresh himself."  Here we pause; for
we have before us distinct features of the character
of Julius. We must remember that he was a Heathen. This enhances the favorable impression produced on us by his courtesy and kindness. Whether
this courtesy and kindness arose from his own natural
disposition, or from some influence which St. Paul
had already gained over him, or from what he may
have observed and heard when the Apostle was
brought before Festus and Agrippa (for it is highly
probable that he was present on that memorable occasion), we cannot tell. In any case we admire and
respect Julius for the treatment which he gave to the
Apostle. We must observe that it was not a mere
hard dry permission to go on shore and see his friends
that was accorded. There was something, indeed, even
in this. He might have insisted on his staying on board
while the vessel was in the harbor. He might have
said that this was the only guarantee he could have that
the prisoner would not escape. Even his placing confidence in St. Paul implies a large and rapid growth of
good-will between the Christian and the Heathen; and
we are not surprised that St. Luke notes the circumstance. But there was a remarkable display of considerate feeling in the manner in which this was done.
As it has been rather quaintly expressed by an old
and well-known commentator," Julius treated St. Paul
like a scholar, a gentleman, and a friend." And then
let all that is implied by two of the prominent words




132     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
of this verse be considered: "Julius courteously entreated Paul, and gave him liberty to go unto his
friends to refresh himself." He must have needed
refreshment for his bodily health and for his spirits.
We know that he was of a delicate constitution; and,
after enduring many hardships, and going through
scenes of great excitement, he had been kept " two
years " a prisoner at Caesarea, hindered from prosecuting the work on which his heart was bent, and
harassed by the persecution of the Jews and the unfair dealing of the Roman governor. We all suffer
from toil and excitement- from alternations between
exposure to inclement weather at one time and confinement to close quarters at another - from conflict
of mind and ill-treatment; nor were the Apostles
any exception to this rule. And of all refreshments,
the most consoling would be the congenial society of
Christian friends. The Apostles had all our human
feelings. And in St. Paul the feelings of friendship
and sympathy were found in the utmost intensity.
Putting all these things together, we see good reason
for looking oni Julius, at this point of the narrative,
with admiration, respect, and gratitude.l
(2.) The next point at which we pause, but only
for a moment, is Myra.2 Here the centurion with
his prisoners changed ships. The vessel in which
1 When Ignatius was on his voyage from Antioch to his martyrdom in Rome, the brutality of the soldiers who guarded him was
such that he compared them to wild beasts.
2 Ver. 5.




JULIUS.                133
they had come from Caesarea was not going much
further in the right direction; but in the harbor of
Myra they found an Alexandrian vessel bound for
Italy. The centurion made a bargain with the captain, and "put" his prisoners "therein."  On this
we need not dwell, except just to remark that Julius'
is expressly mentioned. All through this narrative
he is the prominent person in conniection with St.
Paul. The new ship, as we learn afterwards, had
altogether two hundred and seventy-six persons on
board.l Our business is simply with the centurion,
wherever he is mentioned, and with any features of
his character that we can discover.
(3.) In this large ship they set sail from Myra, in
very bad weather. The gale drove them to Crete,,
and they came to anchor in a roadstead on the south
of that island, called Fair Havens.2  There they
stayed for some time, in the hope that the storm
would abate. It would have been wise if they had
stayed there longer. St. Paul recommended this
course. He warned them that if they continued
their voyage at that season, there would be much
risk to the ship, to the cargo, and to their lives.
"Nevertheless, the centurion believed the master and
the owner of the - ship, more than those things
which were spoken by Paul." We cannot wonder at
this. Any one of us, under the like circumstances,
would probably have done the same; especially as,
besides the master and the owner, "the more part;
1 Ver. 37.             2 Ver. 8.




134     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
advised" to leave Fair Havens. The master had experience of the sea: the owner had the best possible
reasons for consulting for the safety of the ship; and
there was that argument from the majority of voices
which so often leads us wrong. We certainly cannot
blame Julius. Perhaps we ought rather to give him
credit for good sense. He could not be aware of the
communications which God had made to the mind of
St. Paul; and he was not in a condition to understand,
or to be persuaded by, any such communications.
Nor, indeed, is it certain that St. Paul spoke at this
time with any prophetical or supernatural insight.
Still St. Paul was right, and Julius was wrong. This
came to view clearly afterwards, and was one of the
circumstances which gradually raised the Apostle to
a position of commanding influence over all on board.
Julius apparently felt this influence above all others;
and it is just worth while to remark here, in pursuing
our slight biographical thread, that Julius evidently
took no offense because St. Paul honestly opposed
him in a debate on an important subject.
(4.) We must pass over a time of great trouble
and danger, before we come to the next mention of
the centurion. The gale, which overtook the ship
after leaving Fair Havens, lasted a fortnight; and at
the close of that period the vessel was wrecked.
Before the wreck actually took place, there was a
night of fearful anxiety. The ship was at anchor;
but the storm was still raging, and there was the
most imminent risk of her going on the rocks.1 In
1 Ver. 29.




JULIUS.                 135
these circumstances the sailors, under the pretense of
doing something to anchor the ship more firmly, were
preparing to lower the boat, to secure their own
safety, and to leave the passengers to their fate. St.
Paul understood the treacherous and cowardly design
-saw   the danger-but acted with consummate
judgment. He said nothing to the sailors, but spoke
at once to his friend the centurion and to the soldiers.
He appealed, too, to their own instinct of self-preservation: " Except these " - the sailors — " abide in the
ship, ye "- ye soldiers -" cannot be saved."  The
centurion and his men had now implicit confidence in
the Apostle, and they dealt with the matter promptly.
" They cut off the ropes of the boat and let her fall
off." Thus the sailors were kept on board to do what
was necessary - and what they alone could do -
when the daylight should come: and we see how the
lives of nearly three hundred people were saved
through the good understanding established between
Paul the Apostle and Julius the Centurion - through
the contact of friendly feeling between a Christian
and a Heathen.
(5.) When the daylight came, this good understanding - this friendly feeling - led, in a still more
remarkable way, to similar results; and this brings
us to the passage which was selected at the outset as
expressing most fully the main point of the whole
subject. When the vessel struck, she did not go to
pieces immediately. " The fore-part stuck fast, and
remained unmovable, but the hinder part was broken




136     THE  COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
with the violence of the waves: and the soldiers'
counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them
should swim out and escape: but the centurion,
willing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose."'
The advice given by the soldiers is easily understood.
They were answerable with their own lives for the
prisoners; and it was better for them to be able to
show that they had put the prsioners to death on an
emergency than to be called to account for carelessly
allowing them to escape. They forgot, indeed, that
they owed their own lives to St. Paul; but we cannot
be surprised to find Roman soldiers selfish and cruel.
And now, in this moment of imminent danger not
only to St. Paul but to all his fellow-passengers,
comes out conspicuously to view the peculiar feeling
of Julius towards him. "The centurion, willing to
save Paul, kept them from their purpose." Had
Paul not been of the party -had Julius been a man
of a different disposition —all the other prisoners
would have been killed. In the end all were saved:
but this was entirely due to the influence gained by
St. Paul over Julius - to the friendship felt by the
Heathen Centurion for the Christian Apostle.
(6.) The last mention of this centurion is in Rome
itself. After the winter had been spent in Malta,
another Alexandrian vessel was employed to carry on
all the shipwrecked people. Nothing occurred to
hinder this part of the voyage. The centurion and
his prisoners landed at Puteoli - they went up to
1 Vers. 42, 43.




JULIUS.                 137
Rome by the great south road - and " when they
came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners
to the captain of the guard." 1 His duty-was done.
He proceeds to obey whatever new military orders
are laid upon him. St. Paul is " allowed to dwell in
his own hired house, with the soldier that keeps him;"
and, while waiting for his.trial, has opportunities of
preaching the Gospel to those who come to him, and
of writing Epistles to distant Churches.
A thought here occurs to the mind, which opens
out into other very serious thoughts. It seems highly
probable that St. Paul, Felix, and Julius were, for
some considerable time, in Rome together. But,
even if this was the case, it is very likely that the
Apostle never met either of these two men again. A
large city is like a large forest, where different paths
may be pursued.again and again without any chance
of meeting. Each man, however, in such a city has
his own history, and carries about with him the
results of his past experience and opportunities. Felix
was what he became after he had trembled at the
reasoning of "temperance, righteousness, and judgment " - after he had procrastinated to a " convenient
season " - after he had treated St. Paul unjustly, and,
" to please the Jews," left him in prison. Julius was
what he became after close companionship on shipboard (and where could companionship be more
close?) with the Apostle - after treating him kindly
- after owing his own life to him, and after saving
his life in return.
1 Acts xxviii. 16.




138     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
Whether this intercourse ripened into an acceptance of the Gospel and the new life in Christ Jesus,,
we do not know. But, without endeavoring to penetrate that secret, there is permanent instruction for us
even in this slight biographical sketch which has been
drawn by help of the last two chapters of the Acts.
What is this instruction?
We have followed the biographical thread, through
a series of incidents, with very little mention of Religion. This course is in harmony with the character
of the chapter itself. It is by no means one of the
shortest in the book: yet no mention of Christ occurs
in it from the beginning to the end. The duty of an
expositor of the Bible is to deal fairly with the Sacred
Volume, to take it as he finds it - to try to catch its
true spirit - to study and to explain its various parts
in succession -feeling sure that there is everywhere
in it some Christian lesson, even where Christ is not
named.
And is it not most instructive to find such variety
of teaching, as we go through the parts of Scripture
in order? Here we have been considering in two
successive papers two of the early points of contact
between Christianity and Heathenism, as exhibited
in the intercourse of St. Paul with Felix and with
Julius: and there could not well be a greater difference than between the impressions which these two
parts of the record leave on the mind. In the one
case there is the most searching appeal, in reference
to the salvation of the soul, shaking the conscience




JULIUS.                 139
to its very foundations. In the other case are the
incidents of friendly intercourse, with its happy results
as regards the affairs of this world. And is it not an
indication of the Divinity of the Bible, that while it
penetrates the depths of the soul, sets before us, in
words of fire, the horrible misery of sin, and draws
us, with the most intense persuasion, to the mercy of
Christ, it also takes us by the hand where we are, and
leads us along the path of our daily life, so that we
may be happy in ourselves and a blessing to all around
us?
We might say that the subject of the last essay
contained warning for the unconverted, and that the
subject of this paper contains advice for the converted.
The instruction we are to draw from the account of
this centurion relates to the duty and the advantages
of courtesy. And let it be remembered, as was said
above, that the force of the example is very much increased by the fact that Julius was a Heathen. When
our Lord would inculcate the duty of active benevolence, He exhibits a Samaritan showing kindness to
a wounded Jew. When we are admonished of the
sin of ingratitude, we are reminded that the one man
who returned thanks after the healing of the leprosy
was a Samaritan. So it is here. The example of
courtesy is shown on that side which the Christian
mind would naturally and instinctively regard with
suspicion.
We can hardly fail to read the lesson. And as to
the place in Christian character which ought to be




140     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
occupied by courtesy - that is, by kind consideration,
polite behavior, friendly treatment - it is enough
here to quote a string of texts; and perhaps it would
be hardly possible to strengthen the argument derived from their simple juxtaposition. In the Sermon
on the Mount we find this: " Blessed are the meek;
blessed are the merciful; blessed are the peacemakers;" and also this: " Whosoever shall compel
thee to go a mile, go with him twain." 1 In the First
Epistle of St. Peter we find this: s" Honor all men::
be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of
another; be pitiful, be courteous." 2 In the Epistle
to the Ephesians this: "Letall bitterness and clamor
be put away from you; and be ye kind one to another,
tender-hearted."  In the Epistle to the Romans
this: "Be kindly affectioned one to anotheri with
brotherly love; in honor preferring one another."4
Whilst in the Epistle to the Philippians- written at
the -ery period to which we are now come in our
course of biographical sketches, and in the midst of
those very soldiers of the Roman army, to which our
attention has just been especially directed -'we have
the whole case summed up thus: "Let nothing be
done through'strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of
mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
Look not every man on his own things, but every
man also on the things of others. Let this mind be
in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." 5
1 Matt. v. 5, 7, 9, 41.     2 1 Peter ii. 17; iii. 8.
3 Eph. iv. 31, 32.  4 Rom. xii. 10.  5 Phil. ii. 3-5.




JULI US.                141
Aid let it not be said, in the midst of our boasted
civilization, that injunctions to courtesy are obsolete.
It is as needful as ever it was that the lesson should
be carefully studied and well learnt; and this, too,
in very various sections of our social life. Those,
for instance, who have had much to do with education are well aware that rudeness in the time of
boyhood is sometimes almost held as a point of
honor; and it is highly desirable to point out that
such behavior is not really manly, and is attended
by no good consequences. Rudeness, too, both of
language and manner, is still prevalent among the
uneducated classes.  There is no reason, however,
why hands hard with labor should not accompany a
perfectly gentle and polite mind; and in proportion
as this change is effected, there will result a clear
gain to the social comfort of life, and even to Religion.
Nor let those who regard themselves as belonging to the higher ranks of society claim any exemption from the admonition with which this subject
pursues us all. There may be much discourtesy
without rudeness. The presence of a certain amount
of refinement may, in fact, indicate a worse violation
of the Christian law, because such a state of mind
contains the element of supercilious contempt. There
must, indeed, be gradations in the community corresponding with varieties of employment; but the feeling which separates them in this country, if closely
analyzed, would often be found to deviate far from




142     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
the Gospel standard. Two young men, perhaps,
have started from the same point in the career of
life, and in the course of a few years one is earning
his bread by the sweat of his brow, the other by some
routine work of the pen: once they were companions
on equal terms, but now the latter begins to look
down on the former, as though belonging to an inferior race. Or two mothers, with their families, are
brought into close neighborhood, and through some
accidental distinction, which it is hardly possible to
define, they discover that even ordinary civility is
impossible. It is surely not difficult to decide that
such states of feeling are out of harmony with the
mind of Christ, and very injurious to the progress
of his cause in the world.
Nor do such instances by any means exhaust the
applications of the lesson which we have been considering. Iow unjustifiable, for example, are the
alienations and animosities often engendered by
political partisanship! and how injurious to that
sacred "bond of peace " which ought to unite together all those who bear the Christian name! The
vast difference between Christianity and Heathenism
did not hinder the interchange of courtesy and mutual regard between Julius the Centurion and Paul
the Apostle. Too often our parties seem to divide
us into absolutely opposite religions. It is, above all,
when we consider the suspicion and distrust, the
rude recriminations, the unfair arguments, which
separate different sections of the so-called religious




JULI US.                 143
world,- it is here that we begin to appreciate most
fully the value of the Christian lesson furnished to
us, at the close of the Book of Acts, by a Heathen
example.




IX.
ONESIMUS.
"In time past to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and
to me." - PHILEM. 11.
T  HE Acts of the Apostles end by informing us
that, on his arrival in Rome, St. Paul "dwelt
two whole years in his own hired house, and received
all that came in unto him, preaching the kingdom
of God, and teaching those things which concern
the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man
forbidding him."1
The cheerful tone of these words is remarkable.
We cannot indeed help instinctively wishing that the
narrative had been prolonged. We should have
been glad to have read histories of the Apostle's
conversations in Rome, and of the persons whom he
met there, as copious and full as those which give
so much varied interest to all the later chapters of
this Book. But though the termination is abrupt, it
is confident and sanguine. And this is the more
worthy of note, if we consider carefully all the circumstances of the case. There were many things in
St. Paul's condition at this time which might naturally have been disheartening and dispiriting. But
1 Acts xxviii. 30, 31.




ONESIMUS.                145
our last glance at the Great Apostle and his work,
as afforded us by this Book, enables us to see them
on the bright side. Either his own energetic and
unyielding spirit communicated itself to his biographer, or St. Luke, cheering St. Paul by his companionship, wrote as he felt and as he enabled others
to feel.
" Two whole years" in mature life is a large part
of a laborious career. We must be careful, indeed,
to lay stress on these two conditions -mature life,
and a laborious career. In childhood two years
would not be reckoned long, because, though such
a period seems longer to the child than it does to
older persons, it produces no evident results for the
benefit of society at large. And, with an idle man,
it is of very little moment whether he lives two years'
or twenty. In fact, the shorter period is perhaps to
be preferred, because he has wasted less time, and
his example has been less mischievous. But when
life is in its mature strength, and when active usefulness is the habit of the life, then " two whole years"
is a very long time.
No one will dispute that St. Paul's career was one
of unceasing activity and toil; and at the moment
of which we read here, there seemed to be a singular
value in his life. There had been no cessation of his
activity from the time of his being first sent out on
his Missionary course with Barnabas from Antioch.'
He was now, so far as we can ascertain, a little over
1 Acts xiii. 3.
10




146     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
sixty years old. His health, too, was delicate; and it
was evident that a few years would begin to make a
great difference in his power of enduring fatigue and
resisting the effects of sickness or privation. Thus
there is a peculiar interest in what he did and what
he suffered at this period of his life.
He was at this time, a prisoner in Rome. And
though he was far from having absolutely lost his
freedom of speech and action, it is evident that such
restraint must have involved much trial, with serious
hindrances of the work to which he was devoted.
His mode of employment in the midst of this combined bondage and liberty cannot fail to be peculiarly
instructive; and though, as has been said, the narrative in the Acts ends abruptly, we are not without materials for obtaining large information on this
subject. We shall however be better able to appreciate the full significance of the " two whole years,"
in Rome, if we revert for a moment to the circumstances which had preceded.
On looking back to the close of an earlier chapter,
and to the last character but one that was under our
consideration, we are reminded of another period of
" two years." 1 St. Paul had been apprehended at
Jerusalem, in the midst of a tumult, and sent to
Cesarea, where the Governor Felix resided: and
here, too, he was a prisoner for this space of time,
shut out from the active employments in which he
always longed to be engaged. This condition of
1 Acts xxiv. 27.




ONESIM US.               147
restraint had indeed its alleviations. Felix, as we
recollect, did not treat him harshly. He gave orders
to the centurion that he should allow St. Paul to have
a considerable amount of liberty, "and forbid none
of his acquaintance to minister or come unto him." t
Still he was restricted to one place: and to a man of
his temperament this must have been no slight trial.
He saw how the companies of soldiers went and
came along the great Roman roads which were connected with this city; but no such journeys were
possible to him. He looked out over the sea, and
saw the white sails of the ships, which kept up a busy
traffic between this harbor and the far-off coasts; but
he was not able to cross the water which separated
him from Ephesus, or Corinth, or Rome. Whatever
opportunities he might have of acting on the minds
of others in conversation or by correspondence, this
taking out of "two years" from the midst of his
active career was a disappointment to which he would
not easily submit, except by remembering that it was
God's will.
At length the time came for his departure. " After
two years " another governor succeeded. "Porcius
Festus came into Felix's room; and Felix, willing to
show the Jews a pleasure, left Paul bound." The
events which followed under the governorship of
Festus are told at length in the twenty-fifth and
twenty-sixth chapters, though perhaps they occupied
no very long period. The time was come when St.
1 Acts xxiv. 23.




148     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
Paul was to cross this sea towards Rome, and, as we
have seen, under the charge of one of these very
soldiers. And now the voyage' itself must be taken
into account in connection with our present train of
thought. It must be remembered that a ship is very
often practically a prison, especially when it is crowded
with people and the weather is stormy. Now we
know that there were nearly three hundred people
on board the vessel in which the Apostle Paul was
wrecked.' The storm, too, had been so violent and
prolonged, that great privations had been suffered by
the whole crew.2 There was also considerable detention at more places than one; and, on the whole, we
cannot put^the time spent between Caesarea and Rome
at less than half a year. Thus, with the two imprisonments, we have four years and a half to be
taken out of a laborious career in mature life. When
we wish to appreciate the exertions and the success
of St. Paul, it behooves us to take into careful consideration all these sufferings and hindrances, and the
probable effect of these things upon his health.
The Roman imprisonment, indeed, seems to have
allowed even larger liberty and more alleviation than
the former one at Cesarea. Either the favorable report of Festus the Governor, who was much perplexed by the case, or the influence of Julius the
Centurion, who evidently had a true affection and
respect for St. Paul, or other circumstances of which
we know nothing, caused him to have some of the
1 Acts xxvii. 37.    2 Acts xxvii. 18-21, 33, 34.




ONESIMUS.                149
fullest privileges permitted to a prisoner. On his
arrival in Rome, when delivered up to the Captain of
the Guard, he was not forced Into a dismal dungeon
with a crowd of malefactors, but "' suffered to dwell
by himself with a soldier that kept him."  Some
soldier was always his companion, with his own arm
chained to St..Paul's arm. Such was the custom.
He alludes to this when he addresses the Jews, whom,
immediately on his arrival, he invited to visit him:
"' It is for the hope of Israel that I am bound with
this chain." 2 Further on we are told that there was
a large meeting of Jews " at his lodging." And then
it seems that he changed his quarters, and, though
still a prisoner, lived in a commodious house, of which,
either by subscriptions in Rome or through the help
of distant churches,3 he was enabled to defray the
cost; and the two last verses of the book are in the
cheerful words which were quoted above.
Now, though a direct and detailed history is not
given to us, we have both in the passage itself and
elsewhere, very full materials for enabling us to appreciate the manner and results of St. Paul's employment during these " two whole years."  We see,
from the very wording of the passage, that large
numbers of persons came to him. Besides this,
the soldier who kept guard over him was frequently
changed, and thus he must have made acquaintance
with a considerable number of members of the army.
But moreover, however much he was hindered from
1 Acts xxviii. 16. 2 Ver. 20. See Col. iv. 18. 8 See Phil. iv. 14.




150     THE COMlPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
travelling, he was not hindered from writing. We
know what the letters were which he wrote at this
time. They were the Epistles to the Philippians, to
the Ephesians, to the Colossians, and to Philemon.
Thus we have the most authentic resources, partly in
the concluding words of the Book of Acts, partly in
these four Epistles, for picturing to ourselves the
employments and the companions of St. Paul during
these " two whole years," and the opportunities which
he possessed even then, and diligently used, for spreading the Gospel of Christ.
The mere fact of his writing these letters should
be dwelt upon with attention. A time of imprisonment was favorable to this occupation. And what a
powerful method of doing good was here within his
reach! He could instruct distant churches, console
them in their difficulties, rebuke their errors; and all
that he thus set before them with such ends, being in
writing, was their perpetual possession. They could
refer to the words of their great teacher, consider
them well, read them aloud, copy them down, study
them in private, learn them by heart, place them side
by side with their conduct, "for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." 1 But not only
so: in writing thus he communicated with all future
ages. As it has been truly and well said, " the restraint on St. Paul's liberty proved the means of
opening to him a sphere of activity which has given
him access to all nations, which makes him the con1 2 Tim. iii. 16.




ONESIMUS.                151
temporary of every age." In writing to the Ephesians
and Colossians concerning great doctrines; in writing
to the Philippians concerning the example of Christ;
in writing to Philemon concerning justice and mercy,
he is speaking to us, if we will but listen to him,
without let or hindrance, just as in Rome he personally "received all that came in unto him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things
which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, no man forbidding him."
But we know, moreover, from these Epistles, much
of his personal intercourse, and of the large effects
which followed it. I say nothing at present of all
those Christians who were in the Great City itself
before St. Paul came there, and to whom messages
had been conveyed by Phoebe in the Epistle to the
Romans.l With most of these he doubtless made
acquaintance. But I confine myself to the letters
written at this period from Rome itself. Here, for
instance, at the close of the letters to the Colossians
and Philemon, are the names of Luke and Aristarchus, whom we know to have been his companions
on the voyage from Caesarea.2  Here is Demas, up to
the present time his "fellow-laborer," though afterwards he fell away; through that love of the world
which is still the great enemy of the love of Christ.3
Here is Mark, described now as a "fellow-worker
1 Rom. xvi. 1-16.
2 Col. iv. 10, 14; Philem. 24. See Acts xxvii. 2.
3 2 Tim. iv. 10.




152     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
unto the kingdom of God," and a " comfort" to the
Apostle, though some years before he had been faithless, had " departed " from Paul, and " not gone with
him to the work."1 And, if we turn from these
Epistles to that which was written, apparently some-'
what later, to the Philippians, we seem to see that
Luke has now left him, while Timotheus is with him.2
Both are names very familiarly known in connection
with the Church of Philippi.3 Perhaps Luke had
been sent to the Philippians. Paul certainly hopes
to send Timothy soon. This large circle of friends
at Rome is full of interest. It is a mark of the
Apostle's great influence and power over the minds of
others. And it is to be remembered that it is not
merely friendship, to sustain and console, with which
we are concerned here. But these names represent
a large system of concurrent effort. He was the
heart. He gave the pulsations from which strength
and warmth and force came to them: so that they
labored under him, and labored successfully. Thus
we find him saying, in reference to those who were
with him in Rome, "Many of the brethren in the
Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more
bold to speak the word without fear." 4
We may even pursue this train of thought further, so as to come to still more definite results, and
from each of these four Epistles we may single out
one friend and fellow-laborer of St. Paul, concerning
1 Acts xiii. 13; xv. 38.       2 Phil. i. 1; ii. 19.
3 Acts xvi. 12; xvii. 15; xviii. 5; xx. 6.  4 Phil. i. 14. <




ONESIMUS,                153
whom, at this period, we really have very full information. And in thus singling out individuals, and
observing their personal relation with the Apostle,
we see more of the inner working of his mind and
heart -of the real principles on which he acted -
than we could possibly see by the mere study of any
general statements. We open the Epistle to the
Colossians, and there we find, near the beginning,
this said concerning Epacphras, that he is the Apostle's "dear fellow-servant," that he is "for them a
faithful minister of Christ," and that he had also declared to St. Paul " their love in the Spirit;" but especially, near the end, we find this: " Epaphras, who
is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always laboring for you fervently in prayers, that ye
may stand perfect and complete in all the will of
God; for I bear him record that he hath a great
zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicaea, and
them in Hierapolis."  Now what a large amount of
Christian love and cooperation comes to view from a
careful examination of such a passage as this! What
a consolidation and strengthening of scattered Christian communities it represents! And if Epaphras is
the living link of connection between the Apostle
and Colossae with its neighboring cities,,Tychicus
holds the same relation towards the great community
of Ephesus. The words concerning him are these.
After asking the Ephesians to pray for him, and reminding them that he is " an ambassador in bonds,"
1Col i. 7, 8; iv. 12,13.




154     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
he says, "That ye may also know my affairs, and
how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful
minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all
things, whom I am sending to you for the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs, and that he
might comfort your hearts."1 Here is the same unceasing activity in a time of bondage; the same uncontrollable sympathy; the same features of personal
intercourse; the same employment of a friend and
companion for the strengthening of those who are
far removed. But in illustration of all these points,
perhaps the best examples are Epaphroditus, who is
conspicuous in the Epistle to the Philippians, and
Onesimus, whose fault and repentance gave occasion
to the exquisite letter addressed to Philemon. Attention is first invited to the second of these two;
and there is one special fact which invests his case
with peculiar importance.
In the Roman Empire were a class of persons extremely numerous and universally diffused, of which
we in England have happily no experience. In the
city of Rome itself, probably half the population
consisted of slaves: the greater part of the industrial
labor, both in the metropolis and in the provinces,
was in their hands; and very often they were highly
educated. Thus, deplorable as their condition really
was, they were very important members of society;
and, of course, they were met at every turn. Now
if Christianity is a beneficent system, coixtensive in
1 Eph. vi. 21, 22.




ONESIMUS.                 155
its remedial power with the evils which afflict humanity, one of its assigned functions must have been to
ameliorate the condition of slaves, and to put an end
to the system under which they suffered. The mode
in which this has been gradually effected in the course
of ages supplies material for one of the most instructive of all studies; and it receives a signal illustration from the short story of Onesimus.
The story is soon told. Onesimus was the slave
of Philemon at Colossae: he had robbed his master
and run away; and, in the end, found his way to
Rome. There, by some strange chance, as we should
say, this runaway slave met with St. Paul, and under
his teaching became a Christian. And now he was
to be reconciled to his master. Such was the occasion of this most courteous and beautiful letter. The
Apostle has to deal with a delicate subject; and he
does this with consummate skill, and with the most
delicate Christian tact. We might dwell upon this
feature of it in detail. Or we might adduce this correspondence as a specimen of St. Paul's varied activity under circumstances when most men would have
been discouraged, and tempted to relax their efforts.
Or we might use it to illustrate another point. Not
only, while a prisoner, is he unceasingly occupied in
the diffusion of great doctrinal truths, but he can give
his time and thought to a case of domestic discomfort, and to the interest of a fugitive thief.  The
point, however, selected for the present occasion,
and that to which our thoughts have been tending, is




156      TEE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
this, that the short apostolic letter now before ug
elucidates the principle upon which a vast amount of
human suffering has been alleviated, and a large proportion of the human race elevated from a degraded
position to equal brotherhood with the rest.
Of the character of Onesimus, when converted to
Christianity, we may just say this, that he became
altogether a different man. "Begotten " to a new
and spiritual life by St. Paul "in his bonds" at
Rome, he is become the brother both of the Apostle
himself and of the master who had been wronged.
We find these new relationships briefly and strongly
expressed in an Epistle which Onesimus himself conveyed; an Epistle which, with this subject before us,
it is most instructive to compare with that to Philemon. In writing to the Colossians, St. Paul says he
is sending Tychicus " with Onesimus, a faithful and
beloved brother;" and then he adds, not without a
most suggestive hint to the Christian residents at
Colosse: "who is one of you." 1 He who had been
the slave of Philemon is now made the " brother" of
the saints. He who had been a runaway thief is now
worthy of the highest trust. To the Apostle himself
in Rome he is so dear, that he speaks of him as "his
very heart," as "his very self." 2 Onesimus shows,
too, such capability of useful service, that he might
take Philemon's own place in helping the Apostle, if
only it were right to retain him without permission.3
As regards Philemon, Onesimus is now, though still
1 Col. iv. 9.  2 Philem. 12, 17.  3 Ver. 14.




ONESIMI US.              157
bound to him by the tie of earthly service, a true
spiritual brother. To him he is even more than he is
to St. Paul. It is assumed that he is doubly dear to
him, "both in the flesh and in the Lord."' The
whole is summed up in the words that were quoted
at the head of these remarks, words characterized
even by a certain playfulness which is lost to the
English reader. The Greek word " Onesimus " means
"profitable;" and, knowing this, we detect a singular cheerfulness of confidence expressed in the saying
that he who was " in time past unprofitable " to Philemon is now "profitable" to him as well as to St.
Paul.
This change in the poor slave, and in the feelings
that now surrounded him, is a sample of the influence
which in time undermined the system of slavery.
Let us see for a moment what this slave-system was
in the Roman world. Bondmen at this period might
be purchased, or might be taken as captives in war,
or might be born of slave-parents in the household
of their masters. To which of these sources the
bondage of Onesimus is to be' traced, we are not able
to say. But this may be remarked, by the way, that
Phrygia, in which the city of Colossai was situated,
was preeminently and proverbially a slave-producing
region; so that even in this respect the case before
us is a typical instance. Whatever the origin of the
bondage in any particular case might have been, its
condition was always most miserable. A slave had
1 Ver. 16.




158     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
no legal personality. He was merely a living machine, and was viewed almost as belonging to the
same class as the cattle on the farm or the furniture
in the house. It is evidently natural that such a state
of things should not only have marred the comfort
of domestic life, but fostered the commission of crime
and endangered the peace of society. The inevitable
characteristics of slaves in the Roman Empire were
theft and falsehood, and, when it was possible, conspiracy.  Seneca, a contemporary of St. Paul in
Rome, says: " Show me how many slaves there are,
and I will show you how many enemies we have."
Perhaps the saddest of all the circumstances connected with the system of ancient slavery was, that
even the highest minds regarded it as a matter of
course. They could hardly conceive of society as
existing without it. We in England can hardly imagine the toleration of such an evil.
Now, one great office of Christianity has been the
emancipating of the slave. But how? Not by vehemently telling him of his rights. Not by inflaming
his indignation against his oppressors. This would
have made Christ's kingdom  "a kingdom of this
world;" 1 would have sanctioned insurrection; would
have excited under the Emperors a " Servile War;"
like that which made havoc previously in the Republic; a war, too, which would have led to a reaction
of still greater oppression and cruelty.  The true
solvent for this hard and bitter evil was charity, such
1 John xviii. 36.




ONESIM US.               159
as was felt by the centurion of Capernaum,l such as
was encouraged by St. Paul in Rome. The altering
of the heart both of the master and the slave, the
purifying of their motives, the softening of the affections of the master and the creating in him a spirit
of justice, the raising of the slave up to a sense of
duty, and the giving to him a hope which throws the
accidents of our earthly condition into the shade,this was the true. Act of Emancipation. Thus the
slave lost his vices; became loyal, truthful, honest;
and the master, on the other hand, became considerate, kind, and just. Thus Slavery died, as it were, a
natural death. The sentiments created by Christianity in due time pervaded the Christian commonwealth,
and ultimately passed into usage and law.
We should observe, too, that this particular instance exemplifies what St. Paul says, in general
terms, of the duties of masters and slaves. In that
Epistle which has been referred to as intrusted to
Onesimus, these duties are laid down.2 In proportion
as they were discharged in the right spirit, an approximation would take place between two naturally
hostile sections of the community; and just as already " Jew and Greek " were made one, so, to quote
again the same Epistle to the Colossians,3 " bond and
free " were made one. Onesimus stands, in fact, to
one subject almost in the same relation in which Cornelius stands to the other. We cannot too carefully
observe St. Paul's consistency with himself. He does
1 Luke vii. 2.  2 Col. iii. 22; iv. 1.  8 Col. iii. 11.




1-60    THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
not urge Onesimus to insist on separation from his
master, or even to demand his freedom. On the contrary, he sends him back. He may give a suggestion to Philemon, and may confidently express a
hope that he will do " even more " than the Apostle
says.1 But the duty of Onesimus is clear. All is to
be left to the operation of true Christian principle in
the two men, according to the circumstances in which
they are respectively placed. This is in strict harmony with what is enjoined in one of the Epistles to
the Corinthians, that each man is willingly to abide
in that calling where Christianity has found him.
Nay, "is he called, being a slave?"  He is " to use
this servile condition all the more readily," that in it
he may do all the more honor to Christ:2 for such,
whether he considers the context or the Greek, the
careful student will perceive to be the true meaning
of the passage. And Onesimus seems to have caught
the true spirit of this great lesson. He has a full
sense of the wrong done to Philemon, and is in no
wise unwilling to return to Colossse. It is instructive
to see here how a great principle is involved in what
seems at first sight a casual circumstance; and when
we consider that by such methods as this Slavery has
been gradually ceasing to exist, we feel that we have
in the story of Onesimus a signal proof of the richness and expansiveness of Scripture.
1 Philem. 21.             2 1 Cor. vii. 21.




X.
EPAPHRODITUS.
-" My brother, and companion in labor, and fellow-soldier, but your
messenger, and he that ministered to my wants." -PHIL. ii. 25.
A     UTHENTIC materials for obtaining a clear
view of St. Paul's employments during his
captivity in Rome, and for appreciating the use which
he made there of his facilities for spreading the Gospel, are supplied by no Epistle so well as by that
which was written to the Philippians; and of all
those companions who surrounded him at that time,
and became helpful, both in Rome itself and in regard to communication with distant churches, the
best to select as a representative of the whole number is Epaphroditus, the bearer of this letter to
Philippi.
As regards the Epistle, it is worth while, in the
first place, to observe that, while it contains no slight
or obscure indications of suffering and struggle, it
gives the impression of great vigor and of success in
conducting the apostolic work. St. Paul tells the
Philippians that "he would have them understand
that the things which had happened unto him had
fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the Gospel."1
1 Phil. i. 12.
11




162     THE CO.MPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
His imprisonment, and the manner in which he had
been able to bear his afflictions and to use his opportunities, had infused courage and zeal into the great
majority of the Christian community in Rome. Some,
indeed, he adds, were under the influence of inferior
motives; but still, on the whole, there was marked
progress.' And in the course of the Epistle there
occurs the mention of two classes of persons with
whom he was specially associated, and through whom
the Gospel obtained a wide diffusion.  These were
the Imperial troops and the members of the Imperial
household. What is called" the palace "2 must really
be understood as denoting the general body of soldiers in Rome, whether quartered on the Palatine or
in the other parts of the city; and in the phrase
" Cesar's household"   all those are comprised,
whether slaves, or freedmen, or officials of various
ranks, who stood in some sort of personal relation.to
the Emperor. It is evident that in carefully attending
to the two methods thus supplied for spreading the
Truth of Christ, we are closely considering St. Paul's
Companions.
As regards the Imperial household, from the Christian members of which salutations were sent with
peculiar warmth to the Christians at Philippi, it is
obvious, even at first sight, that any religious impression made here was likely to have great iesults.
Officials of all kinds, touching every rank and condition of life, were in connection with that vast estab1 Vers. 15-18.     2 Ver. 13.     3 Phil. iv. 22.




EPAPHIRODITUS.              163
lishment. Moreover, that establishment was in the
very centre of the civilized world, and had drawn into
itself and assimilated very various national elements
from all parts of the empire. Doubtless, too, Christianity had penetrated into this household before St.
Paul himself arrived in Rome. This might almost
be taken for granted from the very existence of the
Epistle to the Romans, which had been sent from
Corinth more than two years before the voyage from
Caesarea began.l
But we need not be limited to these general expressions. We are able to supply details from something more than mere conjecture, and to name with a
high degree of probability some of the persons with
whom St. Paul was brought in contact in the close
neighborhood of the Court. In endeavoring to elucidate this point we naturally turn to that list of
names, which is found in the last chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, and of which no use was made
when Onesimus was our subject. Now it is a circumstance of very singular interest that some resting places of the dead, undoubtedly appertaining to
members of Cesar's household, and undoubtedly also
belonging to the very time of St. Paul's sojourn in
Rome, exhibit in connection with sepulchral ashes a
large number of the very names which occur in this
chapter. The writer of this paper can never forget
the start of pleasure with which he saw the name of
Tryphkena in one of these cells underground, and
1 See Rom. xv. 25,31; xvi. 1, 2.




164     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
then that of Tryphosa among the foliage in another
part of the same vineyard. But many others of the
identical names in the Epistle occur among these inscriptions. Some, indeed, such as Urban and Hermes,
are common names, so as to cause no surprise. Others,
such as Stachys and Patrobas, are comparatively rare,
so as to arrest the attention more; while such a combination as that of Philologus and Julia deserves
special observation, the former word appearing among
these monuments, and the latter in itself indicating a
connection with the Imperial family.l  On the whole,
though nothing can be absolutely proved, it is difficult
not to believe that we have here in Modern Rome
the ashes of some of those in the midst of whose
companionship St. Paul preached the Gospel in Ancient Rome.
From the Imperial household to the Imperial
troops the transition is easy and obvious.  The
word " palace " in our English Version itself supplies
the natural link of connection. A large number of
soldiers were quartered in the palace itself on the
Palatine Hill; and among the most interesting remains of Imperial Rome are rude inscriptions scrawled
by these rough soldiers on the plaster, at the very
period when Christianity was young. Some have
thought that St. Paul himself had his residence in
one of these chambers. Others, perhaps with more
1 See the Bishop of Lincoln's Tour in Italy, vol. ii. p. 173, and
especially Professor Lightfoot's Commnentary on the Philippians, pp.
169-176.




EPAPHRODI T US.             165
probability, have imagined his dwelling to have been
within the great Pr-etorian Camp, the position of
which is still conspicuously marked by a great square
inclosure on the north of the city. The most probable view of all is that the expression in the Epistle
refers not to any exact place, but to the body of Pretorian guards, wherever they were stationed.  The
position of St. Paul's "hired house," 1 may be left
indeterminate, as of no moment in regard to our
present subject. The point of importance is his continuous communication with the soldiers.
We know that the Apostle was freely allowed to
see " all that came in unto him." 2 His conversations,
then, were incessant; and they must have led to much
subsequent discussion, resulting in the gradual diffusion of Christian faith and love. But a companion
of one particular class, though the individuals were
not the same, was with him night and day. A' soldier
was always by his side, with his own hand chained
to the Apostle's hand. This circumstance furnished
to him a remarkable opportunity for spreading the
Gospel. The soldier who kept guard over him was
frequently changed; and thus, in the course of the
" two whole years," he must have made the intimate
acquaintance of a considerable number of members of
the army. As first one and then another relieved
guard in this military duty, each of these rough men,
in this intimate relation, would observe and wonder at
the earnestness and zeal of this prisoner; would see
1 Acts xxviii. 30.          2 Acts xxviii. 31.




166     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
and hear him in his appeals to those " that came in
unto him;" he would marvel at his intense earnest.
ness in argument and in persuasion; at other times
would see him studying such "books " as those which
are mentioned in reference to a later imprisonment,
and " especially the parchments," 1 if we are to view
them as denoting the Old Testament Scriptures;
would watch that process of dictation, under which
one part of the New Testament Scriptures came gradually into existence, and, above all, would watch him
at his prayers,- those prayers, to which he alludes
so constantly in the opening parts of his Epistles,
and nowhere more emphatically than in those four
Epistles which were written at this time in Rome.2
Each such soldier, when his duty was done, would
go back to tell his comrades of this wonderful prisoner. Nothing like it had ever been known.   It
would be the talk of all the barracks. And, of course,
it is obvious that the quarters of the soldiers were,
more or less, in relation with all the city. Thus, by
the exercise of a little careful thought, we begin to
see the full meaning of the juxtaposition'of the two
sentences which St. Paul places together in the early
part of what he writes to the Philippians: " I would
that you should understand, brethren, that the things
which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto
the furtherance of the Gospel; so that my bonds in
Christ are manifest to all the Pretorian troops and to
1 2 Tim. iv. 13.
2 See Eph. i. 16; Phil i. 4; Col. i. 3; Philem. 4.




EPAPHR ODITUS.             167
all others elsewhere." It seems strange that a power
of spreading the- Gospel, which was denied to him in
Jerusalem, the Holy City of Revealed Truth, should
have been given to him in Rome, the profligate and
cruel centre of the Heathen World; stranger still that
this liberty of evangelization should have been exercised through the very soldiers who caused him to be
perpetually a prisoner.
But again, the work done at the centre not only
produced results in Rome, but affected a much wider
circumference through the medium of the soldiers.
These members of the Roman army'were recruited
from many barbarous nations on all the frontiers of
the empire. They came from Britain, from Germany,
from Africa, from the Danube, from the East. And,
in turn, they were liable to' be sent out to various
and far distant places on foreign duty. An illustration
of this is supplied by the case of the Centurion Julius,
who has recently been under our direct consideration.1
These troops in Rome were in organic connection
with all the provinces. Thus the army itself became
a kind of missionary organization; and there is little
doubt that the ultimate establishment of Christianity
in the empire owed a great deal to the spread of
Christian thoughts and Christian feelings by these
methods. Campaigns or civil wars took place frequently during this period; and in each great movement of Roman soldiers we can justly see a preparation for the receiving of the Gospel. Our own
1 Acts xxvii. 1; xxviii. 16.




168     THE COMPANIONS OF S T. PA UL.
country, for instance, was just then in the process of
being conquered; and as the victorious army pressed
on afterwards, and established itself firmly in such
places as London, Chester, and York, they would
bring with them reminiscences of St. Paul; and thus
the words spoken and the work done by this prisoner
at Rome were among the causes that led to the founding of the early British Church. We have good reason to look back with thankfulness to what he was
able to do in those "two years, no man forbidding
him." 1
Thus, through the medium of the soldiery, progress was made in the diffusion of the Gospel over
the world, though the great Apostle of the Gentiles
was stationary in his prison-house. But, in another
and more emphatic sense, it is true, to use his own
expression, that " the Word of God was not bound" 2
while he himself was in bondage.3 "The care of all
the churches " still pressed incessantly upon his active mind; and from this Imperial centre, whence
troops, and governors, and judges were continually
sent to all the provinces, St. Paul too dispatched
his messengers with letters which have survived to
our day, while military and political dispatches have
been forgotten. We cannot too carefully bear in
mind that the Companions of St. Paul stood to him
in the place of postal arrangements. In the case of
several of his Epistles, we can name the persons who
conveyed them. For instance, Onesimus took, along
1 Acts xxviii. 30, 31.  2 2 Tim. ii. 9.  3 2 Cor. xi. 28.




EPAPHRODITUS.               169
with the private communication to Philemon, those
documents which are associated with the names of
Ephesus and Colossse; Phoebe was the bearer of the
great letter from Corinth to Rome; and at an earlier
period we find Titus engaged in the same way in
connection with the Epistles to the Corinthians.
The correspondence of St. Paul with Philippi
possesses an interest which is unique. No church
was so dear to him; no church so thoroughly deserved, or so copiously received, his approval. In
the midst of his thought of all the various Christian
communities which he had founded, the remembrance
of none was so pleasing to him as of this. He calls
it "his joy and his crown." The circumstances under
which the first converts were made at Philippi (and
it must be regarded as highly probable that among
these early converts was Epaphroditus) were of such
a character as to leave an indelible impression on
his memory. All his communications, too, with this
church, since that first introduction of Christianity
into Europe, had been satisfactory and cheering.
The notices, indeed, of his two subsequent visits to
Philippi, are but scantily given in the Acts.l But the
Epistles reveal an intercourse, which indicates warm
feeling and watchful thought towards the Apostle.
This church, though not wealthy, as other churches
were,2 and though much tried by conflict and suffering, had supplied St. Paul's wants by generous
contributions, both in Thessalonica, very soon after
1 Acts xx. 3, 6.       2 See 2 Cor. viii. 2.




170     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
his departure from Philippi, and, at a later time, in
Corinth.l Thus, by the recollection of his own sufferings, by the joy with which he beheld their victory
over persecution, and by a sense of personal kindness shown to himself, St. Paul was specially bound
in affection to the Philippians.
The occasion which brought Epaphroditus to Rome,
and caused the writing of this Epistle, was a recurrence of their old generosity. They heard that he
was in prison and in want. Thus, "now at the last
their care of him flourished again." 2 The original
expression, which is thus translated, is very beautiful. It reminds us of a tree, which, though it may
have suffered in hard winters, and though it may
have been severely handled by the axe, still lives and
sends out fresh and vigorous shoots. Their wish, too,
was not simply to send a certain sum of money safely
to Rome, but to supply as much sympathy and comfort as possible to the Apostle in his time of difficulty and trial; and as the best representative of
their own feelings, and the most likely person to
make the gift acceptable, they chose Epaphroditus.
Now, to aid us in estimating aright the character
of Epaphroditus, and his association with St. Paul
in relation to the spread of the Gospel, we have a
passage very copious in detailed information, while
it is full of the tenderest feeling. St. Paul is now
sending back Epaphroditus, of whom he gives this
description: he is "my brother, and companion in
12 Cor. xi. 9.              2 Phil. iv. 10.




EPAPr RODITUS.             171
labor, and fellow-soldier, but your messenger, and
he that ministered to my wants." Then he adds the
reason why he is now sending him: "for he longed
after you all, and was full of.heaviness, because that
ye had heard that he had been sick; for, indeed, he.
was sick nigh unto death; but God had mercy on
him; and not on him only, but on me also, lest I
should have sorrow upon sorrow: I am sending him,
therefore, the more carefully, that, when ye see him
again, ye may rejoice, and that I may be the less
sorrowful." And further and most interesting information is supplied in the concluding words of the
passage, where, after urging that Epaphroditus ought
to be received " with all gladness," he gives this additional reason why he ought to be held in high
honor, "because, for the work of Christ, he was
nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply
their lack of service towards him." By this last expression we are not to understand that there was
any reluctance on the part of the Philippians in general to do service to St. Paul, but that Epaphroditus
had done what those who were absent could not do,
and what they would have done if they could. The
words invite us to consider at length what Epaphroditus was to St. Paul, what he was to the Philippians, how he became a bond of closer union
between the Apostle and this Macedonian Church,
what his sufferings and feelings had been in time of
sickness, and, further, what the actual cause of this
sickness had been. Some very brief remarks on




172     THE COM1PANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
each of these five points are all that is possible
here.
(1.) As to the estimate which St. Paul set on
Epaphroditus, it is evident, in the first place, that
sufficient time had elapsed since his arrival in Rome
for the Apostle to know him well and to speak of him
confidently. He was no mere casual acquaintance;
and certainly St. Paul was not in the habit of using
words at random. But we find him here accumulating the most honorable epithets in describing his
friend. Epaphroditus is his "brother," his "companion in labor," his "fellow-soldier." The description is given in an ascending scale. Here are brought
before us common sympathies in feeling, labors undertaken in common, and community in suffering
and struggle. May we not also add - community
in victory?  It is clear that Epaphroditus has not
been content with simply being the messenger of the
Philippian Church, however prompt and faithful, and
then stopping with the discharge of his errand. He
has entered into St. Paul's case with much feeling;
has thrown himself heartily into his work; has
stood by his side in conflict. Other parts of the
Epistle reveal to us that St. Paul had many opponents in Rtome, and that some things involved to
him a peculiar harassing of the mind. We cannot
wonder, then, that he speaks warmly of Epaphroditus. We must mark, too, the personal gratitude
expressed in the last phrase of the verse, -" he that
ministered to my wants." It is very evident from




EPAPHRODITUS.               173
this language that the Philippian "messenger " had
not simply presented the money which he brought,
but had contributed also his own thoughtful solicitude and encouragement. All this explains the deep
emotion with which St. Paul asks that Epaphroditus, on his return to Philippi, may be " received in
the Lord with all gladness," - and with which he
thanks God for his mercy in having restored his
friend to health, after a dangerous sickness, - lest,
as he says, he himself should have had " sorrow upon
sorrow."
(2.) Turning now, in the second place, to the relation of Epaphroditus with the Philippian Church,
we see in him their willing and zealous messenger.
He is the representative of their liberality. Evidently, too, he is no commonplace member of that
community. His generous character corresponds
with the errand on which he has been sent. And
now he is about to be placed in a new relation to
the Church in Philippi. Now he is taking back to
them this Epistle, which is to fortify them and cheer
them for whatever conflicts are still in store. Having
" sown worldly things " in sending Epaphroditus to
Italy, they are now, in his return, reaping "spiritual
things"l for themselves and for all future ages.
Among the journeys which come before our notice in
the apostolic history, hardly any are more worthy of
our attention and sympathy than those which Epaphroditus took from and to Philippi. And it is quite
1 See 1 Cor. ix. 11.




174     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
worth our while to bear in mind that we are now,
through the most modern arrangements for travelling,
better able to realize the route than formerly. From
Rome he would travel, as we should say, by Brindisi;
and then, after crossing the Adriatic, would follow the
great Roman road, which then intersected the mountainous country which we call Albania. Everything
which gives freshness of outward circumstances to
the ever-fresh lessons of the earliest Christian times
has a value which ought not to be despised; and
certainly Epaphroditus has a claim on our minute
attention, as the worthy representative of a noble
church.
(3.) We are thus brought to observe, thirdly, how
Epaphroditus became a link of personal feeling between St. Paul and the Christians of Philippi, binding together more closely than ever the Apostle and
his converts. The mere arrival of Epaphroditus in
Rome must have made old memories more vivid, and
kindled warm affections to a greater warmth. Questions innumerable would be asked concerning wellknown friends of former days, concerning new accessions to the faith, concerning those who were gone to
their rest. The gift, too, which Epaphroditus brought
was made far more precious, and touched the Apostle's heart more tenderly, in being conveyed by such
a man. Meanwhile, the anxiety which was felt in
Philippi, through the news of their messenger's serious illness, became known to St. Paul. Thus an earnest wish was awakened in his mind to alleviate their




EPAPHR ODITUS.             175
sorrow. Great as was his own loss in seeing Epaphroditus depart, he was anxious that he should return
at once, that when they " saw him again " they might
"rejoice," and that, as he most generously adds, he
himself might be " the less sorrowful." It would be
difficult to find anywhere a more affecting interchange
of affectionate feeling. It is a most forcible illustration of the truth that the " whole body is joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth."' And in pursuing such reflections we see
the advantage of studying the New Testament according to the biographical method. We thus learn
how  Christian feeling may be strengthened, and
Christian hearts united, through individual exertion.
This, too, is within the power of every one of us, if
we use our opportunities aright, by putting ourselves
in ready sympathy with those around us and with all
whom we can help.
(4.) What has just been said suggests a fourth
point, well worthy of distinct attention. Epaphroditus had been dangerously ill, causing much anxiety to
St. Paul; and the news of this illness had reached
the Philippians, causing distress to them. This feeling on their part was a sure indication that he was
worthy of their love and esteem. But the point to
which attention is here asked is this, that Epaphroditus was himself unsettled and unhinged, when he
heard of this feeling among the Philippians. " He
longed after them all, and was full of heaviness, be1 Eph. iv. 16.




176     THE COMIPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
cause that they had heard that he had been sick." We
like Epaphroditus none the less on this account. It
brings him very near to ourselves. It is just what
many of us have experienced, in times of nervous illness, when we know that friends are anxious, and
when we think of home.
(5.) But one thing more must be noticed before we
close. The origin of this serious and dangerous illness is made known to us. It was in the cause of the
Gospel that this risk had been incurred. " For the
work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life." And the original Greek conveys the
impression that there had been in Epaphroditus an
imprudent zeal, a disregard of proper precautions, an
overtaxing of his strength. The same causes have
often since brought faithful ministers of the Gospel
into jeopardy of their lives, and, though there is
always something to regret in such imprudence, still
enthusiasm and self-forgetfulness are admirable features of character, and such men ought to be "held in
reputation."
As we leave the subject, there is a temptation to
pause for a moment on a thought which is suggested
by the sending forth from Rome such letters as those
which were conveyed by Onesimus and Epaphroditus.
Every eye is now turned with new and intense interest to what is taking place there.' May we not say
1 This was written in the early part of the present year; and the
substance of this paper was preached in a sermon at that time in
the English Church at Nice.




EPAPHRODITUS.               177
that Paul is still bound in Rome? Nothing indeed
can be more out of harmony with the spirit of these
papers than harsh judgments on those who do not
agree with the writer.  Stern controversy has its
place elsewhere, but not here. But even some Roman
Catholics are now saying that one of the things most
needed throughout the Roman Catholic communion,
in seminaries for the education of the clergy, in parishes for the reading of the laity, is a thorough
knowledge and intelligent appreciation of the doctrine and character of St. Paul. This, however,
is, under present circumstances, quite impracticable.
The course of history has been such that the Council
of Trent, like Felix, "left Paul bound." 1 If only
we could pour through the whole Roman Communion a flood of St. Paul's doctrine, well understood,
vast benefits would follow to Christendom at large.
But the fountain of this stream is frozen at Rome.
While there every detached text which is supposed
to reflect honor on St. Peter receives a colossal exaggeration, it is no breach of justice or charity to say
that the whole continuous and elaborate teaching of
St. Paul is thrown into the shade. Once, when he
was literally a prisoner in Rome, his Epistles went
forth freely from thence, to be the possession of the
whole Christian people.  Now this part of "the
Word of God" is itself" bound" in Rome. Is not
this contrast one of the most startling in history?
1 Acts xxiv. 27.
12




XI.
AQUILA AND PRISCILLA.
"Aquila and Priscilla, with the church that is in their house." -
1 COR. xvi. 19.
10   O religious book is less symmetrical and system~      atic than the Bible in its arrangement of doctrines and precepts; yet in no book is there so complete a code of faith and duty for all the varied circumstances of life. Broad and fearless in its statement of principles, it is also - if only there be that
due exercise of judgment and of the individual conscience, which gives half its value to the observance
of a religious rule - found to be really minute in its
directions for conduct. In whatever condition we
may be placed, light and guidance are always provided for us in the pages of Scripture. But these
statements of principles, these directions for conduct,
are not always obvious on the surface, and are often
supplied where we should least expect to find them.
Sometimes through the indirect teaching of an example, sometimes through words dropped incidentally,
and by the way; sometimes by the relation of casual
circumstances, which unexpectedly reveal great truths;
it is thus, in regard to very important matters, that
we learn to " understand what the will of the Lord




AQUlILA AND PRISCILLA.          179
is." 1 Hence the full benefit of the Scriptures is not
to be got except by patient search and close comparison. The careless reader misses much. The diligent
and well-equipped student is often surprised when he
finds how parts of the Bible, which seemed intended
for no such purpose, are " profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." 2 In this, as in all things, it is discovered in
the end that " Wisdom is justified of her children."'
The truth of these general remarks has already received some elucidation through two of the present
series of slight biographies. In the case of Onesimus we have been brought face to face with the great
problem of Slavery, and we have there seen how
Christianity deals with it; not by violence, not by
fomenting insurrection and war, but by gentleness, by
forbearance, by mutual trust, by the sense of justice
in every relation of life; and we have seen how this
instance encourages us to believe that these methods
must in the end have their sure result in the abolition
of Slavery. Yet who would have expected our instruction regarding so great a question to have been
found in so casual and incidental a part of the Bible
as the Epistle to Philemon? 4 Again, it is in the
same indirect manner that we receive one of our most
instructive lessons regarding the value and the duty
of Courtesy. Julius, the Heathen Centurion, reminds
us that this commonplace, but often neglected virtue,
1 Eph. v. 17.             2 2 Tim. iii. 16.
3 Matt. xi. 19.           4 Philem. 16, 21.




180     THE, COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
is not only the best policy, but also an imperative
rule of Christian life.1 And- to turn to a third instance - when we close this series, in the last paper,
with a notice of Timotheus, we shall see how a subject which we feel to be a vital matter, and which is
just now under the most serious discussion in all
parts of our country, is spread before us only after
close examination of a context, which at first sight
appears intended for another purpose. The necessity of a religious education for our children might
be expected to be one of the primary duties urged
upon us in a revelation from heaven; yet nowhere
in the New Testament do we find this laid down in
any formal and precise manner. The case, however,
is presented to us, in its whole breadth and its happy
results, and with far greater force and encouragement
than any mere enactment could have supplied, in
what we are told of the early childhood of Timotheus, and of those holy influences which passed into
his character and prepared him for his coming duties.2
Another topic is now before us. The true unit of
social life in the Church is found in the life of those
who are joined together in marriage. Nothing can
be of more vital consequence than the manner in
which this subject is presented to us in Scripture.
We should of course expect the duties of husband
and wife to be laid before us there in very clear and
copious language. And this we do find. Two Apos1 Acts xxvii. 3, 31, 43.  2 2 Tim. i. 5; iii. 14, 15.




A QUILA AND PRISCILLA.          181
ties devote a definite and a very emphatic part of
their writings to this topic. What St. Peter says in
his First Epistle,' added to what we read in St. Paul's
Epistles to the Ephesians and Colossians,2 supplies a
most complete and most sacred code for married life.
And yet there are some things to be learned in regard
to this state in its relation to the well-being of the
Church, which no mere catalogue of duties, however
authoritative and earnest, could ever have taught; and
it is remarkable that in connection with the history of
each of these Apostles there is the notice of a married couple, -such as in one case to supply a most
awful warning, in the other a most cheering and most
useful example.
In connection with the life of St. Peter -  himself
a married man," as we are pointedly reminded in our
Service for Holy Matrimony,3 —we have Ananias
and Sapphira teaching, and teaching for our solemn
admonition, by example. In accounts of great crimes
nothing shocks us so much as conspiracy and deliberate compact in evil. To be alone in the commission of willful sin is dreadful; but a far deeper guilt
is incurred when there has been a calm mutual understanding preparatory to the perpetration of the wrong.
And when those who are united together in the most
sacred of bonds have joined together in the commission of crime, then, indeed, we have an illustration
of the true proverb, that the worst thing in the world
1 1 Peter iii. 1-7.  2 Eph. v. 22-33; Col. iii. 18, 19.
3 See Matt. viii. 14; 1 Cor. ix. 5.




182     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
is the corruption of the best. The history of Ananias
and Sapphira must stand out in awful prominence, to
warn us that a curse instead of a blessing may enter
within the circle which was intended to be the holiest
and happiest on earth, and that the husband and the
wife, instead of strengthening one another in doing
and suffering God's will, may make one another strong
and fearless in sin and shame.
St. Paul was himself unmarried, and held strongly
to the view that it was an advantage to his work
that he should so remain.1  And this circumstance
tends to throw out into stronger relief the married
life of Aquila and Priscilla, which is to be the subject
of our present thoughts. We are to view them, not
in their relation to one another, but as his Companions, and as through that Companionship doing good
service to the Church. If, with this thought in our
minds, we take in succession the five passages where
this wedded pair is mentioned, we shall not find it
difficult to deduce from them useful instruction, quite
as applicable to our own times as to those of the
Apostles.
(1.) The meeting of St. Paul with Aquila and
Priscilla is, in the first place, an illustration of the
providential opportunities of life. He had recently,
when travelling on his Second Missionary Journey,
" departed from Athens and come to Corinth." Just
then it happened that the Emperor " Claudius had
commanded all Jews to depart from Rome."    We
1 1 Cor. vii. 7, 8, 40; ix. 5. See Matt. xix. 12.




A QUILA AND PRiSCILLA.         183
need not enter here into any speculation concerning the reason for this harsh edict. Among these
Jews, "lately come from Italy," was one of Pontus,
"named Aquila, with his wife Priscilla." In them
the Apostle found congenial companions: "and because he was of the same craft, he abode with them
and wrought; for by their occupation they were tentmakers." 1 Now who would have expected such companionship to have been provided at this time and
place? Pontus - known to us otherwise through
St. Peter's first Epistle, but at a later period, as the
home of certain Christians2 - was very remote alike
from Jerusalem and. from Rome. Aquila and Priscilla had been brought to Rome through some of the
exigencies of trade. Thence, in consequence of the
Emperor's edict, they had moved eastward, possibly
intending to return to Pontus, and meanwhile exercising their craft in the great mercantile city of
Corinth, which lay on the route. At that moment
St. Paul was moving southwards to the same place.
The synagogue would of course be a bond of union
between himself and these strangers. But another
and very close bond was found in the trade in which
both he and they had been trained. It was a wise
Jewish maxim that every man, however wealthy
might be the family to which he belonged, ought to
learn a trade. Here we see the unexpected blessing
which came to Saul of Tarsus through having learnt
the business of tent-making; for it secured to him, at
1 Acts xviii. 1-3.       2 1 Pet. i. 1.




184     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
this critical time, a close friendship, with all its opportunities for furthering religious work, and all its
cheerful solace to himself. Such a meeting was very
remarkable. Yet it occurred quite, as we say, in the
-natural order of events. And God provides for us,
in the natural order of events, meetings quite as remarkable. One of our greatest responsibilities consists in our using aright such providential opportunities.
Let it now be remarked that the friendship thus
formed at Corinth is an illustration of the righ't use
of providential opportunities. We need not give any
attention here to the question whether Aquila and
Priscilla had been converted to Christianity before
they met St. Paul. That point does not affect what
is here so strongly urged. In due time, if not from
the first,-these friends became hearty Christians together, helping each other to do God's work more
effectually than they could have done separately. We
shall see, as we pursue the history, how very far this
union of kindred spirits was a mere friendship, valued
for its own sake and ending in itself.
Still it is quite to our purpose to observe that this
companionship provided solace for St. Paul at a time
when it was much needed. He had been "left at
Athens" alone; and the manner in which this circumstance is mentioned by himself 1 seems evidently
to imply that the time which he spent in that frivolous
city, as well as the early part of his visit to Corinth,
1 1 Thess. iii. 1.




AQUILA AND PRISCILLA.           185
was a time of depression and discouragement. This
inference, too, is confirmed by the strong language
used in the Acts 1 of the new impulse which his spirit
received whean Timotheus and Silas, on coming from
Macedonia, rejoined him. To this we must add what
he himself says of the " fear and trembling " and the
sense of "weakness" which took possession of him
during his early days at Corinth2- a statement
which again is confirmed by a vision recorded in St.
Luke's narrative, - where the Lord is described as
saying to him by night, "Be not afraid, but speak,
and hold not thy peace; for I am with thee, and no
man shall set on thee to hurt thee; for I have much
people in this city."3 It is evident, too, that the
utter profligacy of Corinth must have been a perpetual distress to St. Paul, and that all the associations
of the place must have been alien from his sympathies. Putting all these things together, we learn to
appreciate the value of the home he unexpectedly
found here at this time. Though sternly separated
from any domestic life of his own, Divine Providence
had prepared for him, not only "an open door" for
his missionary work, but the soothing refreshment of
domestic society. The married life of Aquila and
Priscilla was made helpful to him without placing him
under any restraint. This is a point to which we are
invited to give special attention in this part of St.
Paul's life. Devoted missionary though he was, his
1 Acts xvii. 15; xviii. 5.  2 1 Cor. ii. 3.
8 Acts xviii. 9, 10.




186     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
disposition was removed as far as possible from moroseness. The society of this godly and intelligent matron
is to be taken into account among the circumstances
which strengthened and cheered him in his work; and
those who have the happiness of ruling over settled
Christian homes may learn here that one of the highest forms of hospitality is to provide religious sympathy
and cheerful intercourse for those who might otherwise be depressed in their solitary round of service.
(2.) We now follow  St. Paul, and Aquila and
Priscilla along with him, from Corinth to Ephesus. 1
Possibly his movements in some degree determined
theirs. Or, on the contrary, the exigencies of business
may have taken them across the AEgean, and thus
afforded to him a convenient opportunity for accomplishing part of his return-journey. He had determined to spend an approaching festival at Jerusalem.
Meanwhile they remained at Ephesus, with the
promise and expectation of the Apostle's return. 2
It cannot be doubted that one definite purpose in
these arrangements was that they should continue
the work which, even in this short stay at Ephesus,
had been begun by St. Paul, and should prepare the
way for future and more systematic work on his
return. And an occasion speedily presented itself
for doing signal service in this way. Doubtless the
case of Apollos was only one of many cases in which
their help was exerted; but it is singled out as an instructive specimen for our attention.
1 Acts xviii. 18.         2 Acts xviii. 21.




A(2UILA AND PRISCILLA.          187
It is needless to repeat here what was said in an
earlier paper concerning Apollos. We then considered
some part of what may be learnt on his side of this
meeting with Aquila and Priscilla. His willingness
to learn, and to learn from a woman, notwithstanding
his eager zeal and the admiration which his high talents excited, was noted as an example worthy and yet
difficult of imitation. Now it is our part to observe
their side, and especially hers. Their zeal for Christ
mpade them quick-sighted in discovering the capabilities of Apollos; and they at once devoted themselves
to the task of equipping him more completely for his
high service. Their sound judgment and mature
character fitted them for this task; and they were
enabled to communicate to him that full Christian
teaching which they themselves had received from
St. Paul. In the office which this wedded pair performed for Apollos and the Church, a great part must
obviously be assigned to the ready sympathy and
tact of Priscilla. From the very fact that her name
is always mentioned with her husband's we might infer that she possessed high qualities, if not that her
character was the more energetic of the two; and it
is worthy of notice, in connection with this view,
that in three of the five places where the names occur, Priscilla, according to the true reading of the
text, is mentioned before Aquila.1 And at least we
may trace in this occurrence at Ephesus a signal illustration of the truth that in Christ's active service, as
1 Acts xviii. 26; Rom. xvi. 3; 2 Tim. iv. 19.




188     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
well as in the blessings of his salvation, there is
"neither male nor female," 1 and that women as well
as men have their responsible and efficient part to
play in advancing God's kingdom.
Nor ought we to fail in noticing how the warmhearted and painstaking efforts of Aquila and Priscilla
at Ephesus reacted on the place where they had
originally made acquaintance with St. Paul. When
Apollos was " disposed to pass into Achaia," 2 they
encouraged him to do this; letters of commendation
were supplied to him; and when he came to Corinth,
he "helped them much which had believed through
grace." St. Paul had instructed Aquila and Priscilla
at Corinth; they instruct Apollos at Ephesus; and
he then passes on to Corinth to "water" where the
Apostle had "planted."3  So true it is that the
streams of God's providence move hither and thither,
and often turn back to the place from which they
originarly moved.
(3.) Whilst Aquila and Priscilla remain at Ephesus, St. Paul now arrives, according to his promise,
and rejoins them. We discover this by the salutation
from these friends transmitted by him in the First
Epistle to the Corinthians, which was written in
Ephesus; and here it is that we first encounter that
beautiful expression,4-" the church that is in their
house." Again we are invited, as we follow the
notices of this godly pair, to look at Christianity on
1 Gal. iii. 28.  2 Acts xviii. 27.  3 1 Cor. iii. 6.
4 1 Cor. xvi. 19. See Rom. xvi. 5; Col. iv. 15; Philem. 2.




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AQUILA AND PRISCILLA.           189
its domestic side. No side of our religion is more
important; and first let a word be said, in passing, on
the subject of Family Prayer.
Amid much that is cause for regret in the religion
of modern England, we trace one bright feature of it
in the institution of Domestic Worship. Other ages
of the Church, and other countries of Christendom,
have not been equally marked by this excellent practice; and it is earnestly to be hoped that no relaxation of the habit will take place amongst us. The
family is thus recognized as the real unit of Church
life; a sacred fire is kept burning upon the domestic
hearth; and members of the same household are
taught to consider themselves joined together by a
higher bond than that which belongs to mere nature.
But if we turn back from our own times to those
in which Aquila and Priscilla lived, we see a different,
if not a higher, significance in the phrase which is
before us. Those were times of peril and rebuke.
We see here hospitality on what may truly be called
its heroic side. The " house " of Aquila and Priscilla
was devoted to something very different from that
mere domestic comfort, the overvaluing of which is
one of the weak points of modern English society.
Their home was the, acknowledged place of meeting
to the disciples of Christ, for instruction, for worship,
and for mutual help; and this involved ridicule, and
might at any time involve violence, and even death.
We see still the same characteristic in this household
as before, when it provided a home for St. Paul at




190     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
Corinth. Still the husband and the wife are mentioned side by side, as cooperating, and, indeed, as
being one, in the same good work. But now the
home is provided for others besides St. Paul. The
followers of Christ were all welcome there. It might
truly be said that, in acting thus, they gave a home to
Christ Himself. In his persecuted followers " He
was a stranger, and they took Him in;" and the promised blessing was theirs; inasmuch as they did it
"to one of these his brethren, they did it unto
Him." 1
(4.) No very long interval elapsed between the
writing of the First Epistle to the Corinthians from
Ephesus, and the writing of the Epistle to the Romans.
But in this interval, for reasons which we are not
able to supply, Aquila and Priscilla had returned to
Rome, whence originally they had been exiled by the
Emperor. They naturally have the first place in the
long list of Christians resident in Rome, to whom the
Apostle sends salutations;2 and their characteristics
remain the same. Once more their hospitality is
prominent. " The church in their house" is named
here again. As in Corinth, as in Ephesus, so in the
great metropolis of the empire, they have the high
distinction of making their home a shelter for those
who professed the name of Christ, and a means for
consolidating and extending his Church.   They
share, indeed, this distinction with others, - with
Nymphas, for instance, at Colosss; 3 and the case of
1 Matt. xxv. 35, 40.  2 Rom. xvi. 3-5.  3 Col. iv. 15.




AQUILA AND PRISCILLA.           191
Philemon there is still more closely similar, because
in the mention of Appial we can hardly fail to recognize the name of his wife. But Aquila and Priscilla must always be the typical examples of domestic
Christianity and of hospitality in its highest form.
The very occurrence of their names here, in this
part of the Epistle to the Romans, gives a wide range
to their example, and seems to connect them with the
whole world. But the context makes some additions,
which tend further to raise them to a position of high
eminence. They are said by the Apostle not only to
have been "his helpers in Christ Jesus "- which,
indeed, the passages already quoted show that they
were, - but to have " laid down their own necks for
his sake." This points to some heroic facing of
danger on his behalf. It is not of importance here
to determine where this took place. The probability
is that it was at Ephesus, where, according to the
Acts of the Apostles,2 circumstances of great peril
occurred to the Apostle at the time when Aquila and
Priscilla were with him in that city. The personal
gratitude of the Apostle breaks out warmly in this
passage, " To whom not only I give thanks, but all
the churches of the Gentiles."
Here it is well worth while to refer to the apt, and
yet incidental, correspondence of this expression with
the history. Even at Corinth, where we first see
these disciples with St. Paul, there had been great
opposition on the part of the Jews. Aquila and
1 Philem. 2.            2 Acts xix. 21; xx. 1.




192     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
Priscilla adhered to St. Paul; hence they would be
viewed as deserters from the Jewish cause, and would
share his persecution. They were " Jews taking part
with Gentiles, - and in that which was the great
controversy of the day, the admission of the Gentiles
to a parity of religious situation with Jews." 1 The
accord, however, of the history and the Epistles,
though full of interest and highly important, is not
our present subject. It is the character of Aquila
and Priscilla, in companionship with St. Paul, which
now occupies our attention. And may we not say
that we, too, as " Gentiles," have reason to give them
" thanks," both for their aid in the first spread of the
Gospel, and for the example which they have left to
our homes?
(5.) Our limit of space being reached, no other
use shall be made of the one remaining allusion to
these friends of St. Paul, in his latest Epistle,2 except to remark that the friendship, tried and strengthened through such variety of experience, continued
to the end. Shortly before his martyrdom, he sends
to them a loving salutation- the only salutation in
this affecting letter, - the sharers of it with Aquila
and Priscilla being " the household of Onesiphorus; "
so that the domestic aspect of Christian life is doubly
made conspicuous and charming at the very close of
the Apostle's career.
There is another side of the biography of Aquila
and Priscilla which might have been employed for
1 Paley's Horce, Paulinse, ii. 2. 2 Tim. iv. 19.




AQUILA AND PRISCILLA.           193
a very instructive lesson. They were examples of
the combination of active Christianity with industrial life; and no combination is of greater importance in our own times. But it seemed best to follow
one principal train of thought in this short paper.
Wedded life in combination with active Christianity
is the very central point of the safety and happiness
of society. Domestic duties within the household are
of course the most important of all. But the married state has opportunities for exerting powerful
influence far beyond its direct and immediate responsibilities. This has been taken as our present
subject; and the manner in which it is exhibited to
us in these incidental passages of the New Testament
illustrates well what was said at the outset concerning
the completeness of the Bible in regard to all moral
teaching, though without careful and minute study
that completeness cannot be fully known.
13




XII.
TIMOTHEUS.
"As a son with the father, he hath served with me in the Gospel."
PHIL. ii. 22.
IN our little gallery of "The Companions of St.
Paul," the last panel must be filled with a slight
sketch of Timotheus. For many reasons it is evident that he is the fittest to conclude the series.
This disciple was associated with the Apostle through
a longer range of time than any other of whom we
have record. Joining him at an early period of his
missionary enterprise, he remained in close communication with him till near the very time of his
martyrdom. As a personal witness, he "had fully
known " the sufferings of the Apostle; in fact - and
this is the literal meaning of the Greek word in the
passage,1- he had followed these sufferings step by
step. He had been actively employed by his master,
on responsible errands, in various places, through
many years. In Epistles written on several occasions
at wide intervals, from Corinth, from Ephesus, from
Rome,2 his name is coupled with St. Paul's so closely
1 2 Tim. iii. 10, 11.
2 1 Thess. i. 1; 2 Thess. i. 1. Compare 2 Cor. i. 1; also, Phil. i,
1; Col. i. 1; Philem. 1.




TIO 0 THE US.             195
in the opening sentence, that he seems almost identified rather than associated with him. To Timotheus
alone are two extant letters personally acldessed;
and letters, too, marked with so peculiar a tenderness
of feeling, and so minute a mention of details, as to
single him out very strongly and definitely as the
friend for whom St. Paul's personal preference was
the greatest. Whatever of intimacy, confidence, and
sympathy is implied in the word "companionship,"
is in this case the most intense.
Our best course is to follow the life of Timotheus
chronologically, making such reflections from point
to point as naturally suggest themselves. Thus, too,
we shall see what he was successively in relation to
the other Companions of St. Paul, we shall join
together some links which as yet are unfastened, and
shall obtain a view over this whole cycle of apostolic
friends. The Epistles enable us to begin this survey
from an earlier point than any which is presented to
us in the Acts of the Apostles, and show us something of the training of Timotheus even in his childhood, and therefore something of his preparation for
that subsquent usefulness which marked his career
when it became connected with that of the Apostle
of the Gentiles.
The first actual mention of Timotheus in St.
Luke's narrative is in the sixteenth chapter of the
Acts, where he is described as the son of a Jewess
who had become a Christian.1 This prominent men1 Acts xvi. 1.




196     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
tion of his mother is somewhat remarkable; and
from another source we learn her actual name, and
something, too, of her character. St. Paul, in his
latest letter, when writing of the " unfeigned faith"
that was in Timotheus, adds that such faith had
" dwelt first in his grandmother Lois, and his mother
Eunice;" l and in another part of the same document he charges him " to continue in the things
which he had learned, knowing of whom he had
learned them; and that from a child he had known
the Holy Scriptures." 2 Thus, we see that on the
woman's side of this family there had been, for two
generations at least, the inestimable blessing of hereditary piety.
It is not a little remarkable that a character which
is among the most faultless and charming in the
Bible, should be the character of that one person
whose domestic relations and early training are thus
described. And this circumstance is the more observable, if we can trace, as we can almost certainly, something of a feminine softness in Timotheus, as though
his mother's gentle influence had passed into his
mind and disposition. The method, too, of his early
training is very important for us to notice. It was
the method of Biblical instruction. " From a child
he knew the Holy Scriptures." Those Scriptures, of
course, in his case were the Old Testament. We are
richer than the Jews by reason of possessing the
New Testament in addition. This does not diminish,
1 2 Tim. i. 5.           2 2 Tim. iii. 14, 15.




TIMO THE US.              197
but rather infinitely increases, the weight we should
attach to the Bible as an instrument of instruction.
But again, not only the method, but the spiritual
principle, which was at work in this process, should
be noticed. Even in the Acts of the Apostles the
faith of Eunice is made prominent; and here we
see that it was the ruling power of life both in her
case and in that of Lois. This passage of Holy Writ
is full of admonition to Christian households as to
the training of the young, and full of encouragement as to the happy results which may be expected
from such training.
In tracing now this biography onward, we are able
still to insert another stage of it before we reach the
point where the first mention of Timotheus occurs in
the Acts. St. Paul had been at Lystra previously to
the time when this young disciple actually joined him
there as his travelling companion.1 Moreover, the
Apostle speaks of him as " his own son in the faith," 2
which seems to imply beyond a doubt that he himself was the instrument of his conversion. On the
occasion, too, of this second visit Eunice is described
as already a believer. All these circumstances point
to the conclusion that Timotheus was converted on
the occasion of the first visit. And this derives a
strong confirmation from a passage, already noticed,
in the Second Epistle to Timothy.3  There it is said
that he had fully known and closely followed " the
persecutions and afflictions" which came to St. Paul
1 Acts xiv. 6  21 Tim. i. 2.  8 2 Tim. iii. 11.




198     THE COJMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
"at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra."  Now, these
sufferings occurred to St. Paul on the first visit; and
the order in which the places are mentioned is the
exact geographical order in which he was exposed to
these trials. And this again leads to another thought.
Such sufferings and ill-treatment incurred by one
who is beloved and respected, make a deep impression upon a young mind; and we see in this earliest
acquaintance of St. Paul and Timotheus the foundations deeply laid of a warm attachment and allegiance of the latter to the former, as well as an admirable preparation for arduous work and strong
endurance. Nor must we forget that the circumstances
thus related would bring Timotheus into personal
acquaintance with St. Paul's earliest missionary companions; and we cannot well doubt that at this time
he became familiar with the noble countenance of
him whom the rude Lycaonians instinctively " called
Jupiter,"' as well as with the voice of him whom
they named " Mlercurius, because he was the chief
speaker." 1
Barnabas ceased to be St. Paul's missionary companion, and Silas was taken in his place.2  We have
now passed from the First M[issionary Journey to the
Second, and are brought to the association of Timotheus with St. Paul in the actual work of evangelization. This point in the apostolic history is carefully marked by St. Luke;. and it is full of instruce
tion for us as to the duty of requiring in those who
1 Acts xiv. 12.           2 Acts xv. 36-41.




TIMO THE US.              199
are to be placed in high ministerial offices the qualification of ascertained fitness. We should also set the
passage side by side with sentences in each of the
two Epistles to Timotheus. Just as St. Paul urged
the memory of this disciple's mother and grandmother
to stimulate him to consistency and progress in piety,
so he urges him to "stir up the gift of God," 1 which
manifestly had been bestowed upon him at the time
of the " laying on of hands " by the Apostles and the
general body of the presbyters. Evidence was fully
supplied as to his personal character at this time.
" He was well reported of by all the brethren that
were at Lystra and Iconium."   A further reason
also for the choice is to be discovered in the words
which follow: "Him would Paul have to go forth
with him." It is not obscurely intimated here that
there was something in Timotheus which won the
Apostle's personal affection. He seems to have perceived from the very first - to quote the phrase which
he used long afterwards of this friend- that he was
"like-minded" with himself;2 and great must have
been his joy to have found such a companion in the
very neighborhood which, a few years before, had
been the scene of so much injustice and suffering, at
a time, too, when he had been mourning over the
defection of Mark.3  And a further point of fitness
for this moment of missionary work remains to be
noted. It was a crisis in the history of the Church,
1 1 Tim. iv. 14; 2 Tim. i. 6.  2 Phil. ii. 20.
8 Acts xiii. 13; xv. 38.




200     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
in regard to the relation between Judaism and Christianity. More need not be said in order to show that
in the choice of a fellow-worker for Paul's future
labors there was peculiar wisdom in selecting one
whose mother was a Jewess, while "his father was a
Greek."
The devotion of Timotheus, and the devotion of
his mother also, were shown by his willingness to
leave her for Christ's service; and the blessing was
theirs which the Lord Himself promised to such
" forsaking" of home "for his name's sake." I We
now pass to the active employment of Timotheus in
missionary work, on this Second Apostolic Journey,
in conjunction with St. Paul and his other companions. One such companion has already been named;
and presently, at the moment of passing over into
Europe, he became associated with St. Luke also.2
From this point he took part in the whole Macedonian round, and became one of the founders of the
great churches of Philippi and Thessalonica. His
name, indeed, is not mentioned by St. Luke in connection with either place. But we have the Apostle's
weighty words in testimony of his faithful service at
the former city: "Ye know the proof of him, that
as a son with his father, he served with me in the
Gospel."3 That he was not imprisoned there with
Paul and Silas, is easily accounted for by his comparative youth and subordination. There might, indeed,
be some timidity in his conduct; but we trace his
1 Matt. xix. 29.  2 Acts xvi. 10-13.  8 Phil. ii. 22.




TIJI 0 TIE US.           201
subordination by the order of the three names in the
Epistles written soon afterwards to Thessalonica; 
and it should be remarked, by the way, that these
Epistles imply a familiar knowledge of him in that
city also. Passing on from Thessalonica to Beroea,
we find him brought into contact with earnest discussions on the meaning of those Scriptures,2 with which
he had been made so well acquainted in his childhood
at home; and here his name reappears in the text of
the narrative. It is stated that he and Silas were
left behind in Macedonia with instructions to rejoin
the Apostle as soon as their errand should be discharged; and they did rejoin him when he was established in Corinth. 3
It was arranged in the course of God's providence
that St. Paul should have no companion with him
in Athens; and the fact that he was "alone "4 in
that city, enhances the force of the unique impression
we receive fiom that most remarkable passage of his
life. But what we read of the effect produced upon
his mind and work, when Timotheus, with Silas, rejoined him, tends to show us how much his happiness
was increased by the presence of his friends, and what
a reserve of true religious force resided for him in the
mere fact of companionship. Some are too ready to
throw upon others the work which they ought to do
themselves; but he increased in zeal and activity
when he could obtain others to help him. The literal
1 1 Thess. i. 1; 2 Thess. i. 1.  2 Acts xvii. 11.
8 Acts xvii. 14, 15; xviii. 5.  4 1 Thess. iii. 1.




202     THE COM1PANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
meaning of the passage is, that on their coming he
was " engrossed " or " absorbed " in "thle Word." 1
The Epistles to Thessalonica, the writing of which
followed close upon the arrival of Timotheus, show
the high estimate which St. Paul had formed of him.
In allusion to the mission with which he had been
recently charged, he describes him as "his brother,"
as "the minister of God," and as "his fellow-laborer
in the Gospel of Christ."  Nor ought we to fail to
notice the confidence implied in the mission itself.
Serious troubles had occurred in Thessalonica; and
this young disciple was sent to " establish " them and
to " comfort them concerning their faith," so that they
" should not be moved by these afflictions." 2 Even
this slight notice of what took place during the
Apostle's journey in Macedonia and Achaia, affords
a testimony to many excellent and remarlable qualities in one so young, and so lately introduced into the
work of missionary life. It is evident also that the
journey afforded opportunities for gaining invaluable
experience.
We have no means of supplying any information
concerning Timotheus in the interval between the
residence at Corinth, and the time when the Third
Missionary Journey was well begun.  1-le and Silas
were, as we have seen, together with the Apostle at
Corinth. There is every reason to believe that they
travelled with him thence, touching at Ephesus on
the way, to " the feast in Jerusalem." 3  Possibly
1 Acts xviii 5.  2 1 Thess. iii. 2, 3.  3 Acts xviii. 21.




T111i THE US.             203
Silas remained in Jerusalem. At all events, we do
not trace him in company with St. Paul on the subsequent journey.  But Timotheus is with him still.
And when the Apostle is at Ephesus, we find him
going over once more, in compliance with his desire,
on an errand into Macedonia. Here his name is associatec with that of Erastus, as formerly with that
of Silas. " Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had
passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem: so he sent into Macedonia two of them that
ministered to him, Timotheus and Erastus." 1 In this
we see the same obedience and alacrity on the part of
Timotheus; the same confidence on the part of St.
Paul. The mode of expression shows that they were
intended to prepare his way. If Timotheus was to
occupy himself with the details of the collection which
St. Paul was at this time busily promoting, even'that
implied a character well known to be honorable, discreet, and trustworthy. But if he was commissioned
to endeavor to assuage the party spirit and to correct the abuses at Corinth, qualities were implied of
a yet higher and rarer kind. That he was directed
to proceed to Corinth we have good proof; and the
terms in which he is spoken of in the first Epistle
to that place, written soon after his departure, deserve attention. St. Paul says in one passage: " I
have sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved
son, and faitlzfzd in the Lord, who shall bring you
into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as
I teach everywlhere in every chzzrch." 2 Nothing can
1 Acts xix. 21, 22.        2 1 Cor. iv. 17.




204     TIE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
be more expressive of deep affection and confidential
trust; and it may be added by the way, that if Timotheus knew so well what the Apostle taught " everywhere in every church," it seems natural to infer
that he had been with him in many places, where no
mention occurs of his name. We are not surprised
to read what he says in another part of the same
letter, " If Timotheus come, see that he may be with
you without fear, for he worketh the work of the
Lord, as I also do." 1 Much time had now elapsed
since those two friends had been associated together,in this " work of the Lord; " many new circumstances
must have occurred to put the character of Timotheus
to a severe trial; the confidence, however, of the
Apostle had not been diminished, but rather increased.
The relationship remained the same as it had been
when they were formerly together at Corinth, and
when the Gospel was preached among the Corinthians - to use his own words in the second Epistle
- " by me and Silvanus and Timotheus. " 2 And if
in this anxious wish that his friend should be exposed
to no fear there is an indication of some timidity
of temperament in Timotheus, such a circumstance
brings us nearer to him in sympathy, while it helps
us to appreciate more fully the affection which was
felt towards him by St. Paul.
We have seen that the Epistles to the Corinthians
enable us to trace a considerable amount of the occupation of Timotheus on this journey, while St.
11 Cor. xvi. 10.           2 2 Cor. i. 19.




TI OT HE US.              205
Paul was outward bound. We can also detect his
presence with the Apostle at Corinth, the farthest
point of the journey; for in the Epistle to the Romans,
written there, we find, "Timotheus my work-fellow
saluteth you."l We have no means of similarly
illustrating the homeward route; but at Ephesus, or
in Macedonia, or at Corinth, we feel almost sure that
he must have met Apollos and Titus, as well as
Aquila and Priscilla; 2 and when we see the Apostle
moving eastward, we find him expressly associated
with a large group of companions. " There accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Bercea; and of the
Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius
of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and
Trophimus." 3 How long this large apostolic company continued to travel together we do not know.
Some of them were probably trustees for the collection which St. Paul had been gathering for "the
poor saints at Jerusalem."4  Sopater of Beroea, or
Aristarchus and Secundus of Thessalonica, may have
returned back. to Macedonia from the neighborhood
of Ephesus. It is very likely that Tychicus remained
there, and possible that Timotheus with Gaius went
together to their native neighborhoods of Derbe and
Lystra. We have no means of deciding the question.
All that we know is that he is not mentioned at any
subsequent part of the voyage. Nor is he specified in the account of that commotion which took
l Rom. xvi. 21.        2 See 2 Tim. iv. 19.
3 Acts xx. 4.           4 Rom. xv. 26.




206     THE COMIPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
place at Jerusalem immediately after the Apostle's
arrival. Trophimus, who had been one of the company at Troas, is named; he was the innocent cause
of St. Paul's trouble and suffering; 1 but the name of
Timotheus appears nowhere. Nor is he spoken of
during the time of the imprisonment at CTsarea. So
that we are not able in any way to associate him in
our thoughts with Felix or with Festus.
Again, on the voyage from Palestine to Rome, it
appears almost certain that Timotheus cannot have
been with St. Paul, though Aristarchus, another of
the Troas party, was with him.2 Neither on the slow
progress fiom Coesarea to Myra, nor in the haven on
the south coast of Crete, nor on board the ship during
the storm, nor in the shipwreck, nor during the three
months in Malta, nor on the fine and rapid sail from
Malta to the west of Italy, does St. Luke find any
occasion for mentioning Timotheus. It is natural to
conclude that he was not present. But we know
from the Epistles that he soon rejoined his friend in
Rome. In the opening of the letters to the Colossians and Philemon, the two names appear linked together, 3 just as had been the case in those earliest
letters sent from Corinth to Thessalonica. Then it
was " Paul and Silvanus and Timotheus." Now it is
" Paul and Timotheus."  Silas is not associated with
St. Paul as formerly; but the close link between him
1 Acts xxi. 29.
2 Acts xxvii. 2.  See Col. iv. 10; Philem. 24.
3 Col. i. 1; Philem. 1.




TI1 0 T HE US.            207
and Timotheus subsists unbroken by lapse of years
and by change of circumstances. And may we not
say that the union of these names in the beginning
of these letters denotes not only similarity of sentiment, but community of action, if not a certain kind
of official connection? Other companions are mentioned in the letters, Demas for instance, and Luke
himself; but they only send a message of Christian
love near the close;1 their signatures are not prefixed
to the writing in the formal sending of " grace and
peace." So preeminent is the confidence placed in
Timotheus by St. Paul.
The same remark applies to the Epistle to the
Philippians, which belongs to the same imprisonment.
But here a passage occurs of so much importance,
that it must be quoted at length. "I trust in the
Lord Jesus," says the writer, " to send Timotheus
shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort,
when I know your state. For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state. For
all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus
Christ's. But ye know the-proof of him, that as a
son with the father, he hath served with me in the
Gospel. Him therefore I hope to send presently, so
soon as I shall see how it will go with me." 2 Very
full and varied information regarding the character
of Timotheus is given to us in this passage. He is
contrasted with others, as being thoroughly likeminded with the Apostle, as having a true and
1 Col. iv. 14.            2 Phil. ii. 19-23.




208      THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PA-UL.
entire sympathy with him, and as being one who
could take an honest and genuine interest in the best
prosperity of the Philippians. It is implied, too, that
he is very different from others, who seek their own
advantage, and not the honor of Christ; and it is asserted that he had always shown the utmost obedience
to the Apostle in all that related to the Gospel, being
to him as a son to a father: and the Philippians are
directly appealed to, as knowing, by what they had
seen themselves, that this was perfectly true.
Such is the character which we can read in the
Epistles written during St. Paul's first imprisonment,
and sent by Onesimus and Epaphroditus, with whom
we are sure that Timotheus must have conversed
often and earnestly. There remain the Epistles written to Timotheus himself in a subsequent period, of
which we need not attempt to furnish the details.
Whatever journeys by land or voyages by sea filled
up this concluding space of the great Apostle's life;
whatever privations or difficulties Timotheus himself
may have then incurred,' one thing is very plain, that
he was always at his master's service, ready to stay
wherever he might be stationed, ready to go wherever
he might,be sent. "I besought thee to abide at
Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia;" this is the
language of the first Epistle. " Do thy diligence to
come shortly unto me; do thy diligence to come before
winter;" this is the language of the second.2 -Still it
is the same relationship, of a son to a father. Still
1 See Heb. xiii. 23.  2 1 Tim. i. 3; 2 Tim. iv. 9, 21.




TTIO 0 TIIE US.            209
there is the same obedience on one side, still the
same confidence on the other. "My beloved son,"
is the phrase of one Epistle. " My own son in the
fait:;" is the phrase of the other.l How great was
the trust reposed in Timotheus is evident from the
commissions which these letters convey. He is to
repress false doctrine, to regulate public worship, to
ordain faithful ministers, and, above all, to be an
example "in word, in conversation, in charity, in
spirit, in faith, in purity." 2
And as, in all records of friendship, it is not anything connected with the discharge of public or official responsibilities which leaves the most abiding
and definite impression on the mind, but usually
some slight incidental circumstances that indicate the
presence of a deep undercurrent of personal feeling,
so, in the present instance, the mention of common
details, such as might occur in the correspondence of
any two friends, comes to our aid, enabling us quite
easily and naturally to give the last and most clharacteristic touch to our picture. " The cloak that I left
at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with
thee, and the books, but especially the parchments." 3
Even in this there is something which seizes strongly
on the imagination. We should be glad to know
what those books, what those parchments were. But
another passage of the same kind attracts us still
11 Tim. i. 2; 2 Tim. i. 2.     21 Tim. iv. 12.
3 2 Tim. iv. 13.
14




210     THE COMPANIONS OF ST. PAUL.
more. In the midst of very serious injunctions, the
thought of the delicate health of Timotheus and of
the danger into which he might fall of neglecting
one of his means of usefulness, seems to occur to the
affectionate Apostle, and he says, " Drink no longer
water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake
and thine often infirmities." 1 We might with benefit
use this passage as an indication of the temperance
of Timotheus, and thus as an example to ourselves.
Though of a delicate constitution, inherited, perhaps,
from his mother, and though liable to weakness, and
suffering often from fatigue, he was strictly abstemious. But here the quotation is adduced simply to
illustrate the personal intimacy which subsisted to
the end between the Great Apostle and the dearest
of his Companions.
At the close of this survey of St. Paul's Companions, one thought remains in the mind, which is
well worthy to keep its place there, as an incitement
to self-examination and an exhortation to duty. Nowhere in the whole range of Biography do we find
friendship and companionship employed, on so large
a scale, for the highest ends, without the alloy of
selfishness or ambition. Some serious questions, such
as the following, are suggested regarding our own
Companions. " Who are these Companions?  How
and why have they been chosen? What is the link
which binds us to them?   What benefits do we
11 Tim. v. 23.




TIM O THE US.            211
gain from them, and what benefits, through them, do
we confer on others? And, whatever be the links
which unite us to them, is loyal'allegiance to.CHRIST
the one commanding bond which gives strength and
sac.d meaning to the whole of this Companionship?"