'Y^ILE'^MlMEI^SIIinf'

BI^KEas

DIVINITY SCHOOL
TROWBRIDGE LIBRARY

GIFT OF
The Rev. Oscar E. Maurer, D. D.
Pastor
First Church, New Haven
long . km? 

PAUL

THE MISSIONARY

The Rev. WILLIAM M. TAYLOR, D.D.
MINISTER OF THE BROADWAY TABERNACLE, N. Y. CITY
AUTHOR OP "DANIEL THE BELOVED1' " PETER THE APOSTLE" "dAVID, KING ()S
ISRAEL" "ELIJAH THE PROPHET " AND " MOSES THE LAW-GIVER "

NEW YORK
HARPER & BROTHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE

By the Rev. W. M. TAYLOR, D.D.

Daniel the Beloved.

Elijah the Prophet.

David, King of Israel.

Moses the Law-Giver.

Peter the Apostle.

Paul the Missionary.

i2mo, Cloth, $i 50 a volume.

Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, New York.

BJXr~ Any of the above works sent by mail, postage prepaid, to any part
of the United States, on receipt of the price.

Copyright, 1881, by Harper & Brothers.

PREFACE.

THE life of Paul must always be a subject of deepest
interest to the Christian student ; and in recent years
many admirable works — conspicuously those of Conybeare
and Howson, Lewin and .Farrar — have been devoted to its
elucidation. The present volume, however, does not come
into competition with any one of these, for the author has
specially aimed at pointing the practical lessons for modern
life which are suggested by the personal experiences and
missionary labors of the Great Apostle, and that is a de
partment which has heretofore been too largely neglected.
He has, indeed, availed himself of every means at his dis
posal for the illustration of the narrative, but his great de
sign has been to show what the precept of Paul, " Be ye
followers of me, even as I also am of Christ," means here
and now for us; and his prayer is that God may bless these
discourses to the furtherance of the study of the New Tes
tament Scriptures, and to the fostering of a more earnest
missionary spirit among the members of the Christian
Churches in the land.
New York, 5 West Thirty-fifth Street.

CONTENTS.

Page
T. Stephen  7
II. Early History and Conversion of Paul.  27
III. Damascus. — Arabia. — Jerusalem  47
IV. A Year at Antioch  68
V. Cyprus  88
VI. The First Recorded Sermon of Paul  109
VII. Iconium, Lystra, Derbe  128
VIII. Confirming the Churches  147
IX. The Council of Jerusalem  165
X. The Two Contentions  186
XI. The Second Missionary Band  204
XII. Paul at Philippi  223
XIII. Thessalonica and Berea  242
XIV. Athens  259
XV. The First-fruits of Achaia  277
XVI. Ephesus  296
XVII. The Uproar at Ephesus  316
XVIII. The Doctrinal Epistles  335
XIX. The Parting Address  355
XX. Miletus to Jerusalem  374
XXI. From Jeritsalem to Ccesarea  392
XXII. Paul before Felix : Felix before Paul  409
XXIII. Defence before Agrippa  425
XXIV. The Voyage and Shipwreck  443
XXV. Malta, Puteoli, and Appii Forum  463

viii Contents. Page
XXVI. Rome  481
XXVII. The Epistles of the Imprisonment  500
XXVIII. The Pastoral Epistles. — Second Imprisonment and
Martyrdom  521
XXIX. Such a One as Paul  540
INDEX  557

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page
Ephesus  Frontispiece
Tarsus  .faces 28
Wall of Damascus  " 54
Antioch on the Orontes  " 72
Paul's First Missionary Route  " 82
Paul's Second Missionary Route  " 204
Athens Restored, as Seen from the Pnyx  " 260
Corinth Restored, as Seen from the Acrocorinthus  " 378
Paul's Third Missionary Route.  " 300
Ephesus from the Theatre  " 304
Paul's Route to Rome  " 444
Map of " St. Paul's Bay," on the Island of Malta  " 464
Mole of Puteoli  " 472

PAUL THE MISSIONARY.

STEPHEN.
Acts vi., vii.

THE Book of the Acts of the Apostles was composed
by Luke as a supplementary treatise to the Gospel
which goes by his name. His design in the earlier pro
duction was to record " all that Jesus began both to do and
to teach until the day in which he was taken up."* His
purpose in the latter was to set forth what the Lord con
tinued to do on the earth, through the effusion of his Spirit
upon his apostles and disciples. The story divides itself
naturally into two parts. The central figure in the first is
Peter, the "apostle of the circumcision;" that in the sec
ond is Paul, the " apostle of the Gentiles." The boundary
line between these two. sections, indeed, is not sharply or
distinctly denned, for the one overlaps the other; and we
have important scenes in the life of Peter introduced after
the first appearance of Paul in the narrative. But this feat
ure of the written record only corresponds to the relations
of the two apostles themselves to each other; for while
Peter's labors were specially among the Jews, he was the

* Acts i., i.
T*

8 Paul the Missionary.
first to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles ; and while Paul's
great work was among the Gentiles, he invariably made the
synagogue of the Jews his base of operations in seeking the
evangelization of the Gentiles.
In the first portion of the history our attention is mainly
confined to events that happened in Jerusalem, which was
the cradle of the infant church ; and that city was the scene
of the tragedy which we propose to bring before you now,
as the proper introduction to the life of Paul. After the
Pentecostal baptism of the Holy Ghost, consequent on the
ascension of the Lord, the company of believers contin
ued for some years in visible incorporation with the Jewish
Church. They formed, indeed, in many respects, a commu
nity by themselves, meeting statedly for worship and fel
lowship, in private houses, and in convenient public places ;*
having a common fund for their support ;t and conspicuous
for- the purity and elevation of their lives. t But they had
not formally broken away from the ritual of Moses. They
conformed to all the customs of the Jews ; going up to the
Temple at the hour of prayer, § and keeping strictly by the
law which had been given to their fathers. Hence, at first,
they were not assailed with implacable animosity. The
Sadducees, indeed, who did not believe in a resurrection,
or in angels, or in spirit, || were greatly exasperated at their
proclamation of the resurrection of Christ, and on two sep
arate occasions attempted to silence the apostles ;1T but the
advice of the cautious Gamaliel prevailed over their vio
lence, and for a season persecution was arrested. When,
however, in the development of the principles of the Lord
Jesus, the apostles and their coadjutors began to speak of
* Acts ii.,46; iii., 11 ; iv., 31. t Acts ii.,44; iv., 32-35.
t Acts ii., 42, 47. § Acts iii., 1.
|| Acts xxiii., 8. IT Acts iv., 16-21 ; v., 17, 18, 28.

Stephen. 9
the law of Moses as a temporary thing which was to be ab
sorbed in, and superseded by a spiritual and enduring system,
the Pharisees and Sadducees combined to crush them, and
had not their doctrines partaken of the indestructibility of
God they would undoubtedly have been exterminated. The
collision was occasioned by the zeal and ability of the man
who first fell a victim to its severity ; and that we may fully
understand the case, it is needful that we go somewhat mi
nutely into detail.
In Jerusalem — head-quarters as it was of the Jewish wor
ship — there were many Israelites who had been born in the
foreign cities, to which, after the Dispersion, the chosen peo
ple had repaired in large numbers. Naturally, those who
had come from the same district drew together and formed
separate synagogues ; just as among ourselves we have
churches known as Scotch or Irish connected with the
same denomination. The Alexandrian Jews met in the
synagogue of the Alexandrians ; those from Cyrene in that
of the Cyrenians ; while the freedmen who had been eman
cipated from Roman slavery assembled in that of the Lib
ertines. Now, from among this Greek-born element of the
population of Jerusalem, a considerable number, of whom
many were widows, joined the company of believers. These
persons, according to the plan which had been adopted,
were entitled to be supported out of the common fund;
but the apostles could not look after everything ; and those
to whom they had intrusted the duty of dividing the money
had very likely shown some partiality in its distribution.
It was, at least, alleged by the Hellenists that their widows
" had been neglected in the daily ministrations ;" and to re
move all cause of complaint, the apostles took immediate
steps to secure the election by the believers themselves of
seven men, whom they ordained, with prayer and the laying
on of hands, to the work of " serving tables." It is worthy

10 Paul the Missionary.
of note, as an incidental indication of the conciliatory spirit
by which the Jewish disciples were animated, that, judging
from the Greek names they bore, all the seven who were
thus chosen belonged to the Hellenist section, from which
the murmuring had originally come. Only two of them,
however, seem to have risen into prominence in the Church
in any other capacity than that of deacon. These were
Philip, who is elsewhere styled the Evangelist* and Stephen,
who received the protomartyr's crown. The expressions
used by the historian concerning the latter are very strong.
He is described as "full of faith and power;'' and it is af
firmed that those who disputed with him were "not able to
resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake." " He
seems," as Dean Stanley has well said, " to have been an
instance, such as is not uncommon in history, of a new en
ergy derived from a new sphere. He shot far ahead of his
six companions, and far above his particular office."f Not
content with serving tables, he sought to interest those
among whom he moved in Jesus and his Gospel. Espe
cially did he aim at the conversion of his fellow-Hellenists-;
and the earnestness of his efforts in this direction evoked
the antagonism of the members of four particular syna
gogues whose names are here mentioned, and to one of
which — that, namely, of the Cilicians — it is likely that Saul
of Tarsus belonged. It is entirely probable, therefore, that
as Paul was in the front rank of his persecutors, he was also
one of the keenest disputants with whom Stephen had to con
tend ; and though the immediate effect was only to inflame
the rage of the controversialist, we may well believe that
the truths which he then heard became the germs of much
which, under the influence of the Holy Ghost, afterward de
veloped into the Epistles with which we are now so familiar.
* Acts xxi., 8. t Smith's "Dictionary," art. Stephen.

Stephen. i i
We are not told what were the particular points concern
ing which Stephen debated with his opponents ; but as he
was charged with speaking "blasphemous words against
Moses and against God," and the witnesses against him al
leged that they had heard him say that " this Jesus of Naz
areth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs
that Moses delivered to us," we infer that he must have
been insisting on the spirituality of true worship, the tem
porary nature of the Jewish law, and the non-essential re
lation of locality to the service of God. It is, indeed, af
firmed that those who bore this testimony were false wit
nesses. But the falsehood most probably consisted in the
meaning which they imputed to his words, just as in the
analogous case of the Lord Jesus, his own expressions,
which were correctly quoted, were perverted into the .utter
ances of blasphemy. We incline, therefore, to the opinion
that Stephen actually had said all that the witnesses al
leged, the rather that, as Lewin has well remarked, " this
was no more than what our Lord himself had foretold
to the woman of Samaria, that neither in Samaria nor
in Jerusalem, but in spirit and in truth, should God be
worshipped."* Perhaps his birth, training, and residence
abroad had prepared him for a freer handling of the Mo
saic law than that which it was accustomed to receive in
the metropolis of Judea ; and so the Holy Ghost, working
through his own individual leanings, may have brought him
'all the more rapidly to appreciate the importance of that
aspect of Christianity which distinguishes it from all mere
localized worship, and fits it for diffusion throughout the
world. This would lead him, in his disputations with the
Hellenists, to dwell on the spiritual character of the Gospel ;
* The "Life and Epistles of St. Paul," by Thomas Lewin, Esq., vol.
I, p. 32-

12 Paul the Missionary.
to insist upon its superiority to the external and restricted
ritual of Moses; and to forecast the time when Judaism
should cease, and Jew and Gentile should stand alike be^
fore God, without respect to race or to locality.
If we take this view, we may easily comprehend how the
prejudices, not only of the Pharisees and the Sadducees,
but also of the common people of Jerusalem, were raised so
speedily and so vindictively against him. At a later day,
when Paul himself was making his defence from the castle
stairs in the same city, the people gave him audience until
he spake of his having been commissioned to go to the Gen
tiles ; but at that point they became infuriated, and cried,
" Away with such a fellow from the earth, for it is not fit
that he should live."* Now, a somewhat similar effect was
produced by Stephen's addresses, and therefore we may
suppose that he had been wounding Jewish susceptibilities
by pursuing a course of argument which clearly led to the
inbringing of the Gentiles.
But his adversaries would not proceed against him with
out some show of law. Accordingly, they caught him and
brought him to the council-hall, in which the members of
the Sanhedrim, with the high-priest as their president, were
assembled, and there preferred against him the accusation
to which we have referred. The tumult was doubtless great
as the crowd surged into the court -room, for noise is an
inseparable accompaniment of Oriental rage ; but all was
calmness in the confessor's breast ; for, as they gazed upon
him, men saw " his face as it had been the face of an an
gel." The perception of this heavenly radiance surprised
them into silence ; for when, in answer to the high-priest's
question, " Are these things so ?" he entered upon his de
fence, they listened for a time with close attention.

* Acts xxii., 22.

Stephen. 13
The address which he delivered seems to the superficial
reader to be no more than a brief resume of leading inci
dents in the history of Israel, ending with a withering de
nunciation of his accusers. It appears, at first sight, to
give no sort of answer to the charges which had been
brought against him, and to have little or no bearing on
the circumstances in which he was placed. But these has
tily-received impressions are erroneous ; for, when we go
minutely into the analysis of his defence, we discover that
Stephen was making history do the work of argument, and
that his speech was as skilfully constructed as it was con
clusive. I say nothing now of the minor and unimportant
discrepancies between some of his statements and those
of the Book of Genesis ;* but, believing as I do, that even
though they were utterly irreconcilable, there is nothing in
them to shake our faith in the great verities of the Word of
God, I proceed at once to set before you the drift and
purpose of the address as a whole. There are in it three
distinct yet parallel lines of argument, along which the
mind of the speaker runs, as it were, simultaneously, until,
with the accumulated impetus which he has thence derived,
he hurls at the heads of his hearers that tremendous invec
tive in the midst of which he was interrupted by the lawless
violence alike of judges, accusess, and spectators.
The first of these lines of argument treats of locality in
its relation to the acceptable worship of God. His accusers
had alleged that he had spoken against " this holy place ;"
and he met their statement with a simple rehearsal of facts
in the history of their own ancestors, which suggested the
conclusion that, as there had been true worship of God be-
* For a clear statement of these discrepancies, and the best attempt
at the solution of them, see the Donellan Lectures on " The Inspiration
of Holy Scripture," by William Lee, pp. 448-454.

14 Paul the Missionary.
fore the Temple was built, so there might be again after it
had passed away. Very evidently there was no difference
between one place and another in the matter of holiness,
when Abraham lived on the earth ; for that patriarch served
God as really and as acceptably as any man ever did, and
yet he had ho possession save a burial-place in the Land
of Promise. It mattered not, however, where he reared his
altar, his offering was well pleasing unto God, and wherever
he called upon the name of the Lord, his prayer was heard
and answered. So, in Egypt, the service rendered to God
by Joseph was as truly worship as if it had been offered in
the so-called " holy place ;" while, when Moses stood at the
burning bush trembling with mingled fear and reverence,
Jehovah said to him, " Put off thy shoes from off thy feet ;
for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground ;" imply
ing that saeredness was given to any locality by God's gra
cious revelation of his presence there. Moreover, after the
tabernacle was set up, it was moved from place to place in
the wilderness, and even after the settlement of the tribes
in Canaan it was found at Shiloh,* at Gibeon,f and appar
ently also at Nob.J Nor is this all ; at the very dedica
tion of the Temple itself, Solomon recognized the fact that
"the Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands;"
and at a later day Isaiah had reaffirmed the same thing,
saying : " Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool : where is the house that ye
build unto me ? and where is the place of my rest ? For
all those things hath my hand made, and all those things
have been, saith the Lord."§ Now, from all this, the in
ference, implied rather than expressed, but yet likely to be
well understood by those with whom Stephen had been in

* Joshua xviii., I. t I Chron. xvi., 39.
t I Sam. xxi., 1. § Isa. Ixvi., 1, 2.

Stephen. 15
the habit of debating, was, that locality was not of the es
sence of warship, and that he was not to be found guilty
of blasphemy for what he had said regarding the Temple.
The second line of argument dealt with the question of
the permanence of the Mosaic ritual. He had been ac
cused of "blaspheming Moses," and his reply to that indict
ment was a rehearsal of their history which showed that
from its beginning there had been a gradual development
in their religious progress, one thing having been added to,
or having grown out of another, and all reaching forward to
something yet nobler in the future for which they were pre
paring. First there was the call of Abraham, and his sepa
ration from his Chaldean kinsmen ; then, added to that sep
aration, there was the covenant of circumcision; then, after
the sojourn in Egypt, there was superimposed the ritual of
the tabernacle, which, at a later date, was superseded by that
of the Temple. But at the introduction of each of these
changes there had been an indication given that something
still nobler was to be expected. Thus at Abraham's call
the promise, made to him while yet he was in Ur of the
Chaldees, was one which embraced not a household or a
nation merely, but the world ; for so it ran : " In thee shall
all families of the earth be blessed." This promise was re
newed when the covenant of circumcision was given ; and
when Moses introduced the law he pointed forward to an
other prophet " like unto himself," who was to arise, and
exhorted that when he came he should be heard. "Like
unto himself ;" mark the words, for they describe not sim
ply resemblance in character, but rather and chiefly resem
blance in prophetical position, so that, as Moses differed
from all other servants of God in being the introducer of
a new economy, this coming one to whom he pointed, and
for whom he bespoke attention, would also be the inaugu-
rator of a new dispensation. The quotation of this predict

10 Paul- the Missionary.
tion effectually disposed of the accusation that he had blas
phemed Moses ; for it showed that he was in truth ren
dering the fullest obedience to the great law-giver in listen
ing to the prophet whereof he had spoken, while they were
stubbornly resisting his authority in refusing to accept the
spiritual system of the Messiah.
The third line of argument deals with the consciences of
his hearers, and was designed to show them that, in their re
jection of Jesus and his salvation, they were only following in
the footsteps of their fathers. It had been, alas ! a charac
teristic of their people almost from the beginning that they
had despised, resisted, and, when they could, even murdered
those whom God had chosen and appointed to be their lead
ers, instructors, or benefactors. The sons of Jacob, filled
with envy at the prophetic intimation of Joseph's exalta
tion over them, sold him into slavery, and yet they lived
to be beholden to him for their preservation from famine.
The Israelites in Egypt would not receive Moses when in
the prime and vigor of his manhood he offered to be their
champion against Pharaoh's oppression ; and even when,
forty years afterward, he came to lead them from their
house of bondage, they distressed him with their murmur
ings and disobedience, " thrusting him from them, and turn
ing back again to Egypt in their hearts." Even at the base
of Sinai they worshipped a golden calf, and, in the course
of their wanderings, they followed after other forms of idol-
latry, so that it might be said that they had always. resisted
the Holy Ghost. One cannot read the portion of the ad
dress which refers to Moses without feeling that throughout
it the speaker is running in his own mind a parallel be
tween the treatment which the great emancipator had re
ceived at the hands of his people, and that which the very
men then hearing him had given to the Lord Jesus. He
held the mirror up so faithfully before them that they could

Stephen. i?
not fail to see themselves in the sketch which he had given
of their fathers. And now the emotion which he had so
long repressed burst out all the more vehemently because
it had been so persistently held back; and clause after
clause of his terrible invective was sent out as with the
force of an old Roman catapult, and fell with terrible effect
upon their ears. Hear how it rolls its climactic thunder
out, his shining face the while supplying the lightning's
gleam. "Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and
ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost : as your fathers
did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers
persecuted ? and they have slain them which showed before
of the coming of the Just One ; of whom ye have been now
the betrayers and murderers : who have received the law by
the disposition of angels, and have not kept it."
Thus he, who stood at the bar of the council, arraigned
his judges and accusers alike at the bar of God ; and, know
ing the character of those whom he addressed, we do not
wonder at the effect which his words produced. Through
out his defence he had been steadily, one might almost say,
stealthily approaching the sore spot in their consciences,
and the moment he touched that with the smarting acid of
his searching speech, they rose in a rage and "gnashed upon
him with their teeth." There was an end now to all pre
tence of judicial soberness ; they hurried and hustled their
victim out of the council-hall, and took him away to the
common place of execution, that they might stone him to
death.* But their violence had no terror for him ; for in
* The fact that they thus assumed a right to -inflict capital punish
ment, which it is elsewhere said the Romans had taken away from them,
will be no difficulty to those who recognize that this was a lawless pro
ceeding, the end of which was precipitated by the outburst of the fury of
a mob. If, however, as Lewin (vol. i., p. 33) has supposed, the martyr
dom of Stephen occurred in the interval between the recall of Pilate and

1 8 Paul the Missionary.
the hour of his deepest extremity special support was given
to him, and he was calm in the consciousness of his Sav
iour's presence : " He, being full of the Holy Ghost, look
ed up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God,
and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said,
Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man
standing on the right hand of God." Upon this, his per
secutors, resembling therein the intolerant in a later gen
eration, drowned his voice with the noise which they made,
and went on with their deadly work. The witnesses, laying
aside their upper garments, and committing them to the
care of Saul of Tarsus, who seems to have been prominent
in the outrage, cast the first stones. These brought the
noble martyr to his knees, but no words of blame or of
malediction escaped his lips. Still was there before his
eyes that bright vision of Christ's loving interest in his ser
vant's welfare, and so,
" He heeded not reviling tones,
Nor sold his heart to idle moans, •
Tho' cursed and scorned, and bruised with stones :
But looking upward, full of grace,
He prayed, and from a happy place
God's glory smote him on the face."*
He prayed, saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit;" but
that nothing might be wanting to complete his likeness to
his Lord, he hastened to add, " Lay not this sin to their
charge;" and then, despite the storm of human passion
that was howling round him, he "fell asleep."
Thus, in the fiery chariot of martyrdom, this earliest suf
ferer of death for Jesus' sake went up to wear the crown
the appointment of his successor, while yet there was no procurator in
the province, that may explain why it was that they took it upon them
selves to put Stephen to death.
* Tennyson's "Two Voices."

Stephen.

19

foreshadowed in the name he bore,* while sorrowing dis
ciples gathered up his battered and blood-stained remains
and carried them to the grave, there to await the morning
of the resurrection. But an earlier resurrection was in store
for the principles which he taught; for though he knew
not of it at the moment, the mantle of the martyred deacon
fell upon the shoulders of the man of Tarsus, even as he
stood there guarding the -raiment of the witnesses. The
words which he had that day heard were the seeds out of
which his whole doctrine grew, and even till his latest days
there are indications in his letters that many of the expres
sions which Stephen had used were" indelibly engraven on
Paul's heart. Stephen's quotation of Isaiah's words, "The
Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands," was
evidently very fresh in Paul's memory when he spoke to the
men of Athens from Mars' hill.f The phrase "uncircum
cised in heart " reappears, with such expansion as frequent
meditation on it would produce, in the letter to the Ro-
mans,J and the final petition of the martyr for his mur
derers is almost the last recorded ejaculation of Paul : " I
pray God that it may not be laid to their charge."?
How the Pharisaic zealot became the Christian apostle,
and so was enabled to understand and appropriate the ut
terances of Stephen, will appear as we proceed ; meanwhile,
let us pause here for a season to gather up and carry with
us the lessons which this early chapter of Christian Church
history suggests.
Let us learn, in the first place, that fidelity to truth pro
vokes antagonism ; holiness and sin are mutually repel-
lant ; love and selfishness are the opposites of each other,
and sooner or later the followers of the one will come into

* Srf^avoc, a crown. t Acts xvii-> 24-
t Rom. ii., 29. § 2 Tim. iv., 16.

20 Paul the Missionary.
collision with the votaries of the other. Our Lord Jesus,
who was the incarnation of love, was crucified by those who
could not bear the rebuke of his matchless benevolence;
and in the proportion in which we manifest his spirit we
shall provoke the enmity with which he was assailed. Thus
it was with Stephen in the instance before us. He was so
like Christ in the meekness with which he was adorned ;
in the far-reaching spirituality -of the principles which he
taught, and in the world- embracing charity which he mani
fested, that they who had nailed the Lord to the cross were
impelled by similar malignity to stone him to death. In
these days, however, the world has changed the character of
its persecution. No longer, among us, at least, are men sent
to the dungeon or the scaffold for their religious faith, and
for so much let us be devoutly thankful. But let us not
suppose that the opposition of the selfish and sinful to the
Gospel of Christ has ceased. On the contrary, it is mani
fested in many bitter and insulting forms. We are not re
quired now to bear our testimony before councils and rulers,
or to show our attachment to Jesus by burning for him at
the stake ; but we have to stand up for him in our homes,
and in our workshops, and in our counting-rooms ; in the
life of business and of politics, and in the intercourse which
we cannot but carry on with the ungodly. Nor let any one
suppose that this is easy. It entails tribulation and antag
onism of a very real sort. It provokes ridicule and scorn.
It makes us the butt of many a bitter jest, and the object of
many a withering sarcasm. These things are as painful to
the spirit to-day, as the stones were to the martyr's body
\n the olden time. Yet, let us not complain or think that
any strange thing has happened to us, when we are thus as
sailed. The opposition of the ungodly is one of the seals
to the genuineness of our discipleship, and if we bear our
selves rightly under it, who can tell but that it may be the

Stephen. 2 1
occasion of blessing to multitudes ? Let us, therefore, take
it patiently in memory of him who said, "Woe unto you
when all men shall speak well of you," and who himself
"when he was reviled reviled not again." The banner
which hangs in idle folds round the flag-staff in the sultry
stillness of the summer noon, is fully unfurled by the wild
rudeness of the wintry wind ; and men may see in the latter
case the emblem and inscription which were invisible in the
former. Even so the antagonism of our spiritual adversa
ries is valuable, in that it brings forth to view those traits of
Christian character and points of Christian doctrine which
otherwise would have been unobserved. It will do this, how
ever, only when we keep faithful to our Lord, and determine
never to be ashamed either of him or of his cross. Let us,
therefore, animated by the example of this faithful martyr,
be " steadfast and unmovable, always abounding in the work
of the Lord, forasmuch as we know that our labor shall not
be in vain in the Lord."
Let us mark, in the second place, the deep interest which
the glorified Redeemer has in his suffering followers. The
Lord sendeth no man a warfare on his own charges ; and
when he has special work for any one to do, he gives him
special grace to enable him to do it. It was, therefore, in
perfect keeping with his faithful tenderness that he appear
ed to Stephen at the moment of his beginning his defence.
and then as he was in the article of dying. He keeps his
richest cordials for our sorest need ; and in the hour of our
deepest extremity he is ready with his greatest help. One
thing here all commentators on the Scriptures, from Chrys
ostom downward, have specially remarked. In all other por
tions of the Word of God the ascended Redeemer is repre
sented as " sitting " on the right hand of God. That is the
posture of dignity and authority. But Stephen says, " I see
the Son of man standing at the right hand of God "—as if

22 Paul the Missionary.
to indicate his eager interest in his persecuted servant, and
his readiness to welcome him to his reward. When " the
heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing," his
tranquillity is not disturbed by the wild uproar. " He who
sitteth in the heavens " only " laughs " at that. But when a
saint is suffering for his glory, he is moved indeed, and ap
pears to him as one " standing " to receive him. He can
not sit in such an emergency, for he is himself persecuted in
his dying disciple, and must go to soothe and sustain him.
What sight could be more transporting than that which thus
met the gaze of Stephen ! and it was little wonder that he
thought nothing of the manner of his dying, as he was thus
permitted to anticipate the consequences of his death.
But Jesus is one with all his people as really as he was
with Stephen. " In all their afflictions he is afflicted."
Whoso toucheth them toucheth the apple of his eye. Be
liever, is not this to thee at once a succor and a consolation
in thy time of trial ? There needs now no miraculous open
ing of the heavens, no special vision of the glorified Son
of man, to teach thee this blessed truth ; it is here reveal
ed most plainly in the open Book. Thy foes can strike
thee only through thy Saviour's heart. He is thy shield
and buckler, thy high tower and thy deliverer ; and if die
thou must, thy death is a departure to be with him.
Let us mark, in the third place, the peacefulness of the
believer's death. I question if there be anywhere in Script
ure a more suggestive contrast than that which is presented
in this narrative between the noisy rage of the persecuting
company, and the quiet tranquillity described in these words
" When he had said this, he fell asleep." What a beauti
ful description of dying ! " He fell asleep !" As you repeat
the phrase you think of some home scene, when, in the bos
om of his family, surrounded by comforts, and soothed with
every possible ministration of affection, some loved one

Stephen. 23
passes away ; but it seems out of keeping here, considering
the violence of which Stephen was the victim. It seems so,
but it is not really so, for it tells of the peace that was in
the martyr's heart. You cannot go to sleep with anxiety
fretting your spirit ; but when your mind is calm and undis
turbed, then the night angel comes to you with her gift of
forgetfulness and her ministry of restoration. So when we
read that Stephen " fell asleep " we see through the words
into the deep, unbroken quiet of his soul.
But this is not all ; ior such a mode of speech suggests a
future awakening. In few things has the influence of Chris
tianity been seen more than in the transformation which it
has wrought on the views and feelings of men in reference
to death. The ancient Romaris regarded it with dark and
hopeless dread; and as they put the ashes in the urn, the
mourners cried, " Farewell ! farewell ! eternally farewell !"
But now we Christians look forward to the resurrection with
faith and hope and joy, and call the graveyard appropriate
ly the cemetery, that is, the sleeping-place. More than a
quarter of a century ago, while I was a teacher in a Scottish
village, it was my custom at even-tide to wander down by a
river's side until I came to an ancient church-yard. There
I found a moss-covered stone, with its inscription all illegi
ble, until, like another Old Mortality, I had renewed each
letter with a nail, when I read these lines — doggerel enough,
but higher in their flight of faith than the loftiest poetic in
spiration of Greece or Rome did ever reach :
" I go to grave as to my bed,
Yet not there to remain ;
Awhile for to repose therein,
And then to rise again."
Immediately opposite that stone there were the roofless re
mains of an old church, part of which had been enclosed to

24 Paul the Missionary.
make the burial vault of the family of the Marquis of Hast
ings ; and over the door of that ancestral place of sepulture
was the Hastings coat of arms, with the motto, " I bide my
time !" So I learned to put the two together, and made out
of them the words of Job : " All the days of my appointed
time will I wait," i. e., my set time in the grave will I wait,
" till my change come. Thou shalt call, and I will answer
thee : thou wilt have a desire to the work of thy hands."*
The day is coming when the earth shall give up its dead.
The last enemy is already conquered by the risen Christ :
and when " the mystery of God " on earth is finished, then
the formal triumph shall be celebrated, and the dead in
Christ shall be raised incorruptible, and shall be glorified.
•
" 'Tis but a night, a long and moonless night,
We make the grave our bed, and then are gone.
Thus at the shut of eve the weary bird
Leaves the wide air, and in some lonely brake
Cowers down, and dozes till the dawn of day,
Then claps his well-fledged wings and bears away."
Finally, we may learn that words which seem to have been
in vain are not always fruitless. Stephen's defence was un
successful so far, at least, as securing the preservation of his
own life was concerned. But his argument was not lost ; for
when not long afterward the zealous Saul was converted on
the way to Damascus, this remarkable address, as I have
no doubt, came back upon him, and became the means
which, in the hands of the Holy Ghost, were used for his
enlightenment in the significance of the Gospel of Christ.
Augustine has said that if Stephen had not prayed, Saul
would not have been converted ; and we may perhaps con
clude that if the protomartyr had not taken the peculiar
'line of defence which he adopted, Saul might not have be
* job xiv., 14, 15.

' Stephen. 25
come the apostle of the Gentiles. As we shall see hereaf
ter, Paul, from his Pharisaic training, might have been pre
disposed, on becoming a Christian, to join the party of the
circumcision ; but this speech of Stephen before the coun
cil seems t6 have been at least one of the means which God
employed for leading him to the broad spiritual view of the
Gospel which he really adopted ; and, as we have already
pointed out, the careful student will find not only similarity
in many of Paul's expressions in his epistles to some, of
those used by Stephen, but also a very considerable resem
blance between the arguments which he employed with the
Judaizers, and those which the protomartyr used with the
council. Thus seeds which appear to fall by the way
side are not always devoured by the fowls of the air.
Thoughts once uttered are never entirely without result.
The persecutors could kill Stephen, but they could not
recall or arrest the progress of the words which he had
spoken ; they might as well have tried to stop an arrow in
its flight, or to bind the fleet coursers of the wind. The
moment they were uttered they were beyond all human con
trol ; and they produced results after he who had spoken
them had passed from earth. The seed grows, though the
sower dies and may not reap the crop. So Stephen's ad
dress fell into Paul's heart, and though it lay there dormant
for a season, yet when the life-giving Spirit watered it with
his heavenly influences, it sprung up and brought forth fruit
in the life and writings of the great apostle. What a com
fort that is to the man who fears that his words for God are
fruitless and forgotten ! Nay, a word is always a seed ;
and that which we have spoken in the ear may by-and-by
be proclaimed by some one mightier than we from the
house-top. But what a lesson, too, for the persecutor ! How vain his
efforts, ! Even when he seems to have succeeded, he is real-

26 Paul the Missionary.
ly vanquished ; for, though the man is murdered, the truth
which he spake cannot be killed. Here is the real Phoenix ;
for when its enemies have thought that they have burned it
in burning its preacher, it has risen from the flames with new
strength of wing to take a wider and a loftier flight. Thus
God maketh the wrath of man to praise him, and, by his in
finite wisdom, bringeth good out of evil.

II.
EARL V HISTOR Y AND CONVERSION OF PA UL.
Acts ix., 1-22.
TARSUS, the capital of the Roman province of Cilicia,
was situated on the river Cydnus, about twelve miles
from the sea, and on the plain which lies between the snowy
mountain range of Taurus and the Mediterranean. It
spread out on both banks of the river, which, though now
choked with mud and sand, was then widened into a harbor
and lined with spacious docks. From its communication
with the Levant, and its proximity to the passes over the
mountains into the interior, both on the north and east,* it
was a place of great commercial and military importance.
It was made a free city by Mark Anthony; and this privi
lege was confirmed by Augustus, probably as a reward for
some service which had been rendered to him by the inhab
itants. This entitled its citizens to be governed by their
own laws, and to be protected by their own soldiers, but it
did not carry with it the dignity of Roman citizenship ; and
it was not until long after the days of Paul, when Tarsus was
made a Roman colony, that imperial citizenship became the
birthright of its natives.
The prevailing influence in it at the time of which we are
to speak was Greek ; and from its schools of literature and
philosophy, which rivalled, and in the opinion of some even
* The pass on the north was called the Cilician Gates j that on the
south, the Syrian Gates.

28 Paul the Missionary.
'surpassed, those of Athens and Alexandria, many men had
gone to places of trust and honor throughout the Empire*
But though the great majority of the population was of
Greek extraction, there was a large number of Jewish resi
dents, who had originally settled in the city for purposes of
trade, and who maintained all their religious exclusiveness
by conforming in every respect to the Mosaic law. In the
home of such a Jewish family, in this Gentile city, some
where about the beginning of the Christian era — certainly
not later than its first decade — Saul, who was also called
Paul, was born. His parents belonged to the tribe of Ben
jamin, and were " Hebrews of the Hebrews,"t that is to say,
Jews who had not been contaminated by any intermarriages
with Gentiles in the line of their ancestry. They were also
Pharisees of the strictest sort, and therefore we may con
clude that in all social, educational, and religious things
they kept themselves aloof from the general movements of
the city. They named their son Saul, either after the first
King of Israel, who was the great man of their tribe, or be
cause he had been given to them in answer to prayer, for
Saul, like Samuel, means " asked." We know not how many
other children grew up within their dwelling ; but there was
at least one daughter, whose son, in after-days, was instru
mental in saving the life of Paul,t and we are therefore at
liberty to picture to ourselves the boy and girl growing up
with and into each other, sharing each other's sports and
labors, and helping each other by that unconscious training
of mutual influence which is always more formative than
mere abecedarian instruction. We catch no momentary
glimpse of the apostle's mother, and therefore we cannot

* See Lewin, vol. i., p. 7 ; Howson, vol. i., pp. 42, 115 ; Plumptre,"St
Paul in Asia Minor," pp. 17, 18.
t Phil, iii., 5 ; Acts xxiii., 6. J Acts xxiii., 16.

' ¦"' ' P 'i'i'i ! IB!

I / 1

j |l

«, ^ _ i'J ,_ '  '

1 I'll

!

Early History and Conversion of Paul. 29
speak definitely as to her character, or trace any of his pe
culiar traits to her home life and example ; but, Pharisees as
they were, we may conclude that his parents made him early
familiar with those delightful Scriptural stories which have
always been so attractive to the young, and which are not
more remarkable for their fascinating interest than for their
^educational power.
His father, as it would seem, was a Roman citizen,* though
how he obtained that distinction there is no evidence to
show. But the possession of it must have been always
a source of satisfaction to the members of his household.
In the years of his boyhood, the principal associates of
Paul would be young Jews like himself ; but he could not
grow up in a Grecian city without acquiring the language
spoken by its inhabitants, and receiving some impression
from the men and things around him ; and in these respects,
also, he was unconsciously, yet really, being prepared for the
great work of his later life. After a time* probably when he
was about thirteen years of age, he was sent to Jerusalem to
prosecute his studies there. His instructor was Gamaliel, t
who gave such cautious advice to the Sanhedrim when the
apostles were under accusation before it,$ and who is sup
posed by some to have been the son of the venerable Sim
eon, who received the infant Saviour in his arms.§ His
eminence was such that he was one of the seven teachers
who received the title " Rabban ;" and, though a Pharisee,
he was distinguished for breadth of culture and soundness
of judgment. The style of training to which youths under
the superintendence of such teachers as he were subjected,
may be understood and appreciated from the following de
scription, which may in all points be verified by references

* Acts xx., 28. t Acts xxii., 3.
J Acts v., 34-40. § Luke ii., 25.

30 • Paul the Missionary.
to trustworthy authorities.* The class was not unlike a de
bating society, with the professor as chairman and referee.
A passage of Holy Scripture was chosen, or a general sub
ject for discussion proposed. One student opened with an
exposition or dissertation which was opposed by some, and
defended by others. The most contradictory opinions were
allowed to be freely expressed and fully argued ; and so the
intellectual powers were sharpened, while all sides of a sub
ject were brought into prominence. This system tended
to make the young men familiar with the Old Testament ;
taught them to be quick in anticipating objections, and
acute in replying to them ; and gave them a readiness of
utterance and a rapidity of mental movement which could
scarcely have been so well developed otherwise. How
much it influenced the style of Paul's reasoning will be ap
parent to every one who marks the close-packed argumen
tation, the pointed interrogations, the ready answers to an
ticipated criticisms, and the perfervid energy for which his
writings are remarkable. Of Paul's fellow - students we
know little or nothing. There is a tradition that Barnabas
was one of them ; and he must have come more or less fa
miliarly into contact with Jesus and Simon, the sons of Ga
maliel, the former of whom was afterward high-priest, and
both of whom were probably in the council many years later,
when he was arraigned before it.
But among the Jews the learning of a trade was a part of
education. One of their rabbis has said, " He that teacheth
not his son a trade'doth the same as if he had taught him
to steal ;" and another has asked, " He that hath a trade in
his hand, to what is he like ? He is like a vineyard that is
fenced."t So, after finishing what we may call his colle-
* See Lewin, vol. i., pp. 10, 11 ; Conybeare and Howson, vol. i., pp.
63, 64 ; Kitto's " Cyclopasdia," art. Education.
t See Lewin as before, vol. i., p. 8.

Early History and Conversion of Paul. 31
giate course at Jerusalem, Paul seems to have returned to
Tarsus, where he learned the special trade of the city, which,
in a subsequent chapter of the Acts, is called tent-making*
It involved in it working with two sorts of materials — one a
species of cloth obtained by spinning and weaving the long
hair of the goats of that province, and thence called cili-
cium; and the other the skins of animals. This accounts
for the fact that Chrysostom calls Paul at one time " a tent-
stitcher,"t and at another a " leather-cutter. "t Sometimes,
in those days of toil, he might grumble a little over the
hardships which he had to endure ; but, though he knew it
not at the moment, he was " laying up in store against the
time to come ;" and just as the missionary Moffat, in the
course of his labors in Caffreland, many a time blessed the
memory of his grandmother, because in spite of his reluc
tance she insisted, while he was a boy, on his learning to do
a great number of out-of-the-way things, saying, " You do
not know what you may need in after - life ;" so, when in
Ephesus and Corinth Paul's hands ministered to his neces
sities, he would have a glow of honest satisfaction in the
reflection that he had persevered so thoroughly as to mas
ter the trade to which he had thus early been apprenticed.
Fjom Tarsus he returned, apparently while yet a youth,
to Jerusalem ; and it is an interesting question whether he
ever came in these days into contact with the Lord Jesus
Christ. There are no data in existence from which we can
give a reliable answer to such an inquiry. Some, indeed,
have interpreted his words, " We have known Christ after
the flesh,"§ as implying that he had actually seen and con
versed with him upon the earth in the days of his persona]
ministry ; and others, with perhaps greater probability, un
* Acts xvii., 3. t 'S.KitvapapipoQ.
X ZicvTora[w£. See Lewin, vol, i., p. 9. § 2 Cor. v., 16.

32 Paul the Missionary.
derstand them to refer to his former carnal ideas of the per
son and mission of the Messiah. But, however that may
have been, his Pharisaic training would naturally prejudice
him against some of the doctrines which Christ preached ;
and considering the impetuous ardor of his temperament, we
do not wonder at finding him among the fiercest antagonists
of the Gospel. His persecuting zeal, indeed, seems strange
ly inconsistent with the wise advice given by Gamaliel some
time before ; but we must not forget that when the great
rabbi counselled a policy of non-committal waiting, the apos
tles had not yet begun to speak of the abrogation of the
Mosaic law, or of the placing of the Gentiles on a footing of
equality with the Jews. So soon, however, as Stephen com
menced to hold his disputations with the Hellenists, and to
ventilate these doctrines, supporting his assertions with the
statements of the Old Testament itself, even the cautious
and, for a Pharisee, catholic-spirited Gamaliel* was roused
into animosity, and the fanaticism of his pupils flamed up
into intolerance. Naturally, in such a conflict as Ste
phen's words precipitated, Saul came into prominence. His
acuteness of intellect and intensity of character would in
evitably put him in the front. When, in his letter to the
Galatians, he says, " I profited above many of my contempo
raries in the Jews' religion,"! we understand him as imply
ing that he was a leader among his companions ; and we
can easily believe that .even then visions of literary and po
litical eminence were floating before his imagination. Some
have alleged, and with great show of probability on their
side, that he was thus early a member of the Sanhedrim :J
but whether or not we adopt that opinion, we are convinced
* Witness the prayer against Christian heretics which was composed
or sanctioned by him. It is quoted by Howson, vol. i., p. 62, note.
t Gal. i., 14.
t See Farrar's " Life and Work of St. Paul," vol. i., p. 169.

Early History and Conversion of Paul. 33
that he was already regarded as a rising man, who was des
tined to be one of the foremost leaders of his age.
He must have been about thirty-five years of age when
the persecution arose about Stephen. In the murder of the
protomartyr he was painfully prominent; and in. the cruel
treatment of the disciples of Christ, which drove so many of '
them from the Holy City, he took an earnest, we might say
even a ferocious, part- — dragging men and women to prison,
and manifesting such fury that he is described by the sacred
historian, in language appropriate to some savage monster,
" as breathing out threatenings and slaughter." Pressehse',
in his admirable work on the "Early Years of Christianity,"*
has attempted to account for this by supposing that the ar
guments of Stephen had . already produced a deep impres
sion on his mind, and that he flung himself with all his soul
into the work of the persecutor simply that he might drown
the doubts which had begun to trouble him. His morbid
excitement was thus, in the opinion of that writer, an evi
dence of his inner restlessness. It is an ingenious theory,
and, if accepted, it would help to take away somewhat from
what we commonly regard as the suddenness of the apos
tle's conversion. But, though there have been some in
stances in which the severity of one's assault on a system
has been only "the utterance of old convictions that thus
vainly hope to stay awhile the consciously felt current of
conversion " to it ;t yet there is no sufficient evidence that
this was the case with Paul. Such an opinion does not
seem to be confirmed by the references made by him to the
* P. 105. *
t Notably was this so in the strong language against Rome used by
Johrf Henry Newman in his work on " The Prophetical Office of the
Church," the publication of which preceded by but a brief interval his
secession to the Papal Church. See his own Apologia, and Princeton
Review, Sept., 1878, p. 625.

34 Paul the Missionary.
subject in his later life, but rather to be inconsistent with
them all ; for instead of hinting at any beginning of mis
giving, he declares in the most unqualified manner that
through all his career as a persecutor "he verily thought
that he was doing God service." We believe, therefore,
that he was, up to the moment of his conversion, a sincere
and unquestioning adherent of the Jewish religion, as inter
preted by the Pharisees ; and that he engaged in persecu
tion not to keep himself from brooding in doubt over what
Stephen had said, but because he had the strongest convic
tion that it was a sacred duty to put to death the disciples
of Jesus.* He went so far in this direction as to offer his
services to the high -priest, and even to suggest that he
might be sent to Damascus to bring back with him from
that city to Jerusalem, as prisoners, any whom he might
there find infected with what he accounted to be the dan
gerous heresy of faith in the Nazarene.
It may seem strange that, under a government so jealous
as that of the Roman Empire was, the Sanhedrim should
have had jurisdiction over those who lived at such a dis
tance as Damascus ; but by the decree of Julius Caesar,
confirmed at a subsequent date by Augustus, the Jews were
permitted everywhere to live under their own laws. Be
sides, at this particular time, the state of affairs in the East
ern provinces was such that apprehensions like those which
Saul proposed to make would attract little or no attention,
so long as the rights of Roman citizens were respected.
Nor must we forget that the authority of their high-priest
was recognized by Jews everywhere, much in the same way
as the supremacy of the Pope is acknowledged, in our own
day, by Roman Catholic churches in all lands.

* This is the view which first presents itself to a reader of the narra>
live, and it has been adopted by both Meyer and Baumgarten.

Early History and Conversion of Paul. 35
Damascus is about one hundred and forty miles from Je
rusalem. It is the oldest city in the world, and was, at the
date of which we speak, the capital of Syria. It lies in the
plain at the eastern base of the Antilibanus, and is watered
by the rivers Pharpar and Abana. It is pre-eminently the
jewel of the East ; and the view as the traveller approaches
it has been thus described : " The great city lies before him ;
and the outlines of several of its edifices can be dimly traced
beyond the thick foliage ; behind him towers the majestic
dome of Hermon with its furrows of snow, making it resem
ble the head of an old man; upon his right are the Hauran,
the two little parallel chains which enclose the lower course
of the Pharpar, and the tumuli of the region of the lakes ;
and upon his left are the outer spurs of the Antilibanus,
stretching out to join Mount Hermon."* For this city,
armed with the credentials which he had sought, Paul and
his companions set out on their persecuting errand. Six
days they had been journeying, and now the sun was ap
proaching his meridian height, as they neared their desti
nation. " The hush of Oriental noon " was over the scene ;
when " suddenly there shined round about him a light from
heaven, and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying
unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he
said, Who art thou, Lord ? And the Lord said, I am Jesus
whom thou persecutest ; it is hard for thee to kick against
the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord,
what wilt thou have me to do ? And the Lord said unto
him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee
what thou must do." His companions were speechless
with amazement. They saw the light, but did not dis
cern any individual figure ; they heard the voice of one
speaking, but could not distinguish the words that were
* Renan, "The Apostles," p. 170, Carleton's Translation.

36 Paul the Missionary.
spoken ;* and when, after all was over, they discovered that
he was blind, they led him by the hand into the city.
Why ? thou, me ? What ? thou, me ? It was all involved
in these two questions. The Lord appeared to Saul. He
was seen by him there as a living and reigning one, having
a right to lordship over him, and making a personal appeal
to him. For the moment there might have been no others
in the universe than these two ; and the matter to be set
tled between them was whether the sinner would accept the
Saviour as his sovereign, or would reject him as an usurper.
Paul was " apprehended of Christ Jesus ;" would he " ap
prehend that for which he was apprehended ?" That was
the matter he had now to settle. It was a crisis, short,
sharp, almost volcanic in its intensity, but yet thoroughly
decisive ; for he came out of it yielding himself unreservedly
to Jesus as he cried, '' Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?"
But the same is true of every conversion. When Christ
deals with a soul, he " takes it aside from the multitude."
He puts it face to face with himself. He compels it to con-
* So we find the principle of harmony between the account given by
the historian in chap. ix. and those given by Paul in his speeches at Je
rusalem and before Agrippa, chaps, xxii. and xxvi. Baumgarten (vol. i.,
p. 210) has found the true explanation, when he says that "we have here
an instance of a difference of sensibility in the different witnesses, with re
gard to the visibility of a heavenly phenomenon," and cites as parallel
cases the account of the vision given to Daniel by the side of the river
Hiddekel, and described Dan. x., 7 ; and the different explanations given
by different individuals of the celestial voice that spoke to Jesus, John
xii., 28, 29. The other discrepancy, which arises from the fact that in
one account it is affirmed that Paul's companions stood speechless,
and in another that they "were all fallen to the earth," will occasion
r.o perplexity to him who remembers that all the three accounts are fur
nished in one history by the same author, who was evidently unconscious
of any inconsistency between them ; or who pauses to think that the fall
ing and the standing may easily refer to different moments of the same
wondrous experience.

Early History and Conversion of Paul. 37
front the question, Why art thou opposed to me ? The gates
into the kingdom is thus like one of those turnstile wickets
through which each must -pass alone, and at which each
must be reckoned with for himself, and not for another.
Each must there declare that he takes Jesus for his Lord,
and is determined to hold himself exclusively for his ser
vice ; otherwise he cannot enter ; but when he has sin
cerely expressed that resolution, the very fact that he has
done so, is an evidence of the reality of his regeneration.
Behold the blind man led by the hand into the city!
How different this entrance from that which a short time
before he had anticipated ! Then he thought of being re
ceived with honor by the rulers of the synagogues, and
greeted by his countrymen as the champion of their faith.
Now his mind is turned in another direction, and the am
bition of his life is revolutionized. He who came to make
others prisoners, is himself taken captive by the Lord. He
who came to drag others with the cords of persecution, is
himself drawn by the power of the Redeemer's love. He
whose eyes aforetime were fixed and fascinated by earthly
objects, is now blind to all worldly glories ; but there shines
within him that " celestial light " by which he is enabled
" to see and tell of things invisible to mortal sight." Those
three days of darkness ! Who may attempt to speak of the
revelations which they made to him ? Now would come
back upon him with new meaning the words which had
fallen from Stephen in their eager discussions ; now, too,
he would understand that seraphic light that played upon
the martyr's face as he stood before the council, and that
ecstatic utterance which fell from him as they were leading
him out to death. And as the guilt of his own course stood
out before him in terrible distinctness, how gladly would he
recall the sufferer's prayer, " Lord lay not this sin to their
charge," and find in his conversion the answer to its entreaty J

38 Paul the Missionary,
At the close of these never-to-be-forgotten days, a Chris
tian named Ananias, who had been supernaturally prepared
for the discharge of the duty, was the means of restoring to
him his sight, and imparting to him the gift of the Holy
Ghost. With characteristic decision he obeyed the com
mand to be baptized, and after a short time he came forth
and publicly in the synagogues of the city preached the
faith which he once sought to destroy.
This interesting narrative may be viewed as the record
both of a personal experience and of a public event. In
the former light it is valuable as illustrating the means by
which conversion is produced ; in the latter it is important
as furnishing strong corroborative evidence of the divine
origin of the Gospel. It may seem, indeed, that the ex
traordinary nature of the incidents connected with it re
moves this conversion from the category of common occur
rences, and makes it unavailable as a director}' for others ;
but though there was miracle here, the miracle was not in
the conversion properly so called, but only in its accessories
and antecedents. In a certain sense, every conversion is
the result of supernatural agency ; but when we look into
this history attentively, we discover that the change in Saul's
heart and life was produced by the very same means which
accomplish such spiritual transformations among ourselves.
From the divine side it was produced by the power of the
Holy Ghost ; from the human it was the result of Paul's
own apprehension and acceptance of the truth as it is in
Jesus. Paul saw and believed that Jesus is alive, and that
sight and faith revolutionized his life. Up till this time he
had regarded Jesus of Nazareth as an ordinary man who
was dead ; but now he saw that he who had died upon the
cross is the Lord of Glory, living and reigning on the heav
enly throne. No doubt he was convinced of this by the
miraculous appearance of Christ ; but it was the being con

Early History and Conversion of Paul. 39
vinced of it that converted him. Like every other Chris
tian, he entered the kingdom through the belief of the truth.
The manner in which he was led to that belief was peculiar ;
but the effects of it were the same as they are in every con
vert, for it issued in unreserved transference of himself to
the service of Christ ; in earnest prayer ; in prompt confes
sion, and in the public bearing of his testimony in the syna
gogues of the city.
One thing, however, is conspicuous by its absence, as in
deed it is in all the conversions of which we have a detailed
account in the New Testament. Here was no long season
of awakening, such as many think to be indispensable to a
right change of heart. True, he was three days in blind
ness ; but, if I have read the history aright, the Rubicon
was crossed and the new life begun, when he said, " What
wilt thou have me to do ?" He had already given himself
to Christ before he passed through that mystic tunnel;
and the promptitude of his obedience to the Saviour's call
ought to be imitated by every one to whom the Gospel is
preached. Is there here any one who has hitherto been an antago
nist to Christ ? Let me proclaim to him the truth which
thus arrested and converted Saul: The Lord liveth! You
have not to do merely with one who died eighteen hundred
years ago, and is now no more to the world than one of the
philosophers of antiquity. You have to do with one who
is still living and working among us. Nor do you need any
miraculous vision to convince you that this is the case ; for
if you can read these gospels and yet remain an unbeliever
in the truth that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, then I
deliberately say neither would you be persuaded though he
were to smite you with his blinding light, as here he pros
trated the persecutor. Have you ever given even an hour's
patient consideration to the character of Jesus as it is here

40 Paul the Missionary.
portrayed, or to the solution of the question whence that
character came ? or how it is to be accounted for ? Have
you weighed well what he has done in the world during the
centuries that have intervened since the crucifixion ? Have
you pondered what he is doing to-day ? There are around
you on every hand evidences of his power and presence.
There are drunkards who have been made holy by his trans
forming spirit ; sensualists who have been made pure by his
cleansing grace ; selfish ones who have been made benevo
lent by the influence of his love ; whole communities that
have been shaken by his truth ; and nations that have been
raised from barbarism to civilization by the leverage of his
Gospel. There needs no miracle now, therefore, to prove
that he has risen from the dead. Why, then, will you still
stand against him ? What has he done to you that you
should resist him so ? He has given himself to death for
your deliverance from the bondage and bitterness of sin ;
he has followed you all through your life with his love ; he
is at this moment tenderly entreating you. to let him come
into your heart that he may bless you with his salvation.
He knocks for admission ; but, respecting your moral free
dom, he will not force an entrance. He waits for your invi
tation ! Let him not wait another moment ; but undo the
door now, saying, like the man of Tarsus, " Lord, what wilt
thou have me to do ?"
Viewed as a public event in the history of the Christian
Church, the conversion of Paul furnishes new and indepen
dent testimony to the divine origin of the Gospel. The story
is perfectly authenticated. Twice did the apostle himself
repeat it in detail before public tribunals ; and the book in
which we find it here recorded was written less than thirty
years after the events were said to have occurred. Nor
was it ever called in question by his contemporaries, as,
supposing it to have been false, it could easily have been,

Early History and Conversion of Paul. 41
by the agency of those who had been his companions on his
journey. Besides, a history like this is needed to account
for the change which passed on Saul. At one time you be
hold him a furious persecutor of the Gospel, at another its
earnest and impassioned preacher. These two things are
both as absolutely certain as any facts in history can be.
No one ever attempts to deny or controvert them. How
then shall we explain this marvellous transition? Admit
the truth of what is here recorded, and everything is ac
counted for ; deny it, and you are driven to believe in a
moral incongruity which is harder to accept than any mir
acle. For if this story be false, then Paul must either have
been the victim of deception, or he must have been a delib
erate deceiver. If he was the victim of deception, then he
was either imposed upon by others, or he was imposing on
himself. But he could not be imposed upon by others ; for,
allowing for a moment that he was a man likely to be'
easily duped, the early Christians, preaching as they did the
purest morality, would have scorned to attempt any such de
ception ; and even if they had attempted it, they would hard
ly have dreamed of trying it on one of their bitterest ene
mies. Besides, how could they have produced this blinding
light at noonday ? But, so far as we may read his charac-.
ter in his letters, we cannot believe that Paul was a person
likely to be thus imposed upon ; for, though he had an ar
dent temperament, he was at the same time endowed with
marvellous common-sense, and had a mental independence
that would not allow him to receive his opinions ready made
from others. If he was deceived by others, you must ac
count for his haying been so by alleging that he had not
sufficient intellectual discernment to detect the fraud, and
perhaps those who are strangers to his writings will believe
you; but all who have studied his matchless epistles will
scout your assertion as an absurdity. But if he was not im-

42 Paul the Missionary.
posed upon by others, was he imposing upon himself ? This
is equally inconceivable. There have, indeed, been instances
of fanaticism so working on a diseased imagination as to
lead the man to suppose that he had seen miraculous ap
pearances ; but these have been in the cases either of earnest
inquirers looking toward the truth, or of those who were al
ready convinced. Here, however, Saul was a vehement par
tisan against it ; and if there was any fanaticism about him,
it was that of an antagonist, and not of a devotee. More
over, he had a mind too well balanced to be the victim of
hallucinations ; and you have only to contrast the cautious
way in which he speaks of another vision at a later date,
when he says that he could not tell whether he was in the
body or not,* with the unqualified manner in which in the
present instance he affirms that he had seen the Lord, to
be convinced that he was not likely to be carried away
with his own fevered fancy.
There remains, therefore, only one alternative, if this
story be false, and that is, that Paul was a deliberate de
ceiver. But what motive could he have for taking such a
course ? What was he to gain by this wilful imposition ?
Gain ? So far from gaining anything, he lost all that the
. world holds dear by adhering to this testimony. His whole
after-life was the endurance of a series of persecutions which
would have ceased in a moment if he had confessed a fraud ;
yet never does he falter in the least degree. Through good
report and through evil report; before the Jews at Jerusa
lem ; before Felix, Festus, and Agrippa at Caesarea ; before
Nero at Rome, he had still the same story to tell, and still
the same appeal to make to the Lord that '' appeared unto
him in the way ;" and though at last he might have escaped
death by acknowledging that he had been a wilful impostor,
* 2 Cor. xii., 2.

Early History and Conversion of Paul. 43
he continued in the assertion of his integrity to the end.
But that is not the only difficulty in the case. Was Paul a
man likely to live a constant lie like this ? Read his epis
tles. See how exalted is the morality which he inculcates,
and how thorough is the conscientiousness which he en
forces. He commands his readers to " abstain from all ap
pearance of evil," and not to be "partakers of other men's
sins ;" he warns his followers " night and day with tears," to
keep themselves in truth and purity; he directs his most
withering scorn against those who, though they have named
the name of Christ, are yet characterized by falsehood and
dishonesty ; he does not hesitate to take the course which
he believes to be right, even though valued friends like Bar
nabas and Peter should seem to stand aloof from him; he
follows the truth for its own sake, or rather for Christ's
sake, clings to it as his soul's soul, in the face of every oppo
sition, and heedless though he stands alone ; yet this is the
man who, on the supposition I am now arguing, deliberate
ly deceives us in the story of his conversion. Believe that
who can ! I, at least, am not so credulous ; and I confront
those who speak of the physical impossibility of miracles,
with the moral impossibility of the falsehood of such testi
mony. It is the fashion, in these days, to decry the study of
the Christian evidences ; but my conviction is that now, in
a very special degree, the attention of inquirers ought to be
directed to it ; and in an age when sneering remarks con
cerning the credulity of Gospel believers are common, I am
rejoiced to have an opportunity of outlining thus before you
the argument for the credibility and divinity of the Gospel,
founded on the conversion of Paul. Lord Lyttelton, in his
essay on this subject, has given us the nearest approach
which moral evidence can make to a demonstration of the
truth of the whole history ; and I can well understand why
Dr. Samuel Johnson should have declared that " infidelity

44 Paul the Missionary.
has never been able to fabricate a specious reply to it ;"
and why Adolphe Monod should have said, " Next to the
resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the descent of the Holy
Ghost, the Gospel has no testimony which equals that of
the conversion of Saul of Tarsus."* "We have not follow
ed cunningly devised fables !" We are the disciples of one
who had a right to say, " I am the Truth !" I close this
summary of the incidents of Paul's early life with two re
marks. See, in the first place, the wisdom of God's providence.
Saul, as he himself tells us,t was " separated " from his
birth for the work of apostleship ; but though he was ad
vancing toward middle -age before he was actually con
verted, yet all his intervening history was in reality a prep
aration for the true labor of his life. His birth and boy
hood in a Greek city gave him familiarity with that lan
guage which he was to use in all his journeyings. His in
timate acquaintance with the system of the Pharisees, ac
quired in the school of Gamaliel, enabled him to cope with
those Judaizing adversaries with whom he had everywhere
to contend. His skill in handicraft gave him a sturdy inde
pendence in those great commercial cities where so many
of his years were spent ; and his Roman citizenship entitled
him to protection from wanton insult or cruel injustice
throughout the Empire. A " Hebrew of the Hebrews, yet
at the same time a native Hellenist and a Roman citizen,
he combined in himself," as Dr. Schaff has said, " the three
great nationalities of the ancient world, and was endowed
with all the natural qualifications for a universal apostle
ship. "t Thus He who girded Cyrus when he knew it not,
* " Saint Paul, Cinq Discours, par Adolphe Monod," p. 94.
t Gal. i., 15.
J "History of the Christian Church," by Philip Schaff, D.D., vol. i,
p. 68.

Early History and Conversion of Paul. 45
was also preparing Saul for his after work, and it is one of
the richest consolations of the Christian to know that his
life as a whole is under God's plan, and that even the ex
periences through which he has been brought before his
conversion are lifted up into, and utilized in, his higher and
nobler history as a disciple of Jesus.
But my final reference must be to the Lord himself. ' See
here the riches of the Redeemer's grace. Had the Chris
tians then in Jerusalem been asked to name the man who
was least likely to become a convert to the faith, they might
probably have specified Saul of Tarsus. Yet observe how
thoroughly he is changed, and how the transformation was
effected by the might of gentleness. Nothing is to me
more remarkable in the whole narrative than the tenderness
of the remonstrance which our Lord addressed to the per
secutor. If this had been a purely imaginary history, the
author, who thought of making Christ appear at all, would
have almost certainly represented him as coming with
"flaming thunder-bolt in his red right-hand," and made him
speak words of denunciation. But not thus did he show
himself ; he came in love ; he spoke in gentleness, and the
heart which might have been hardened by condemnation
was melted by mercy. Hence, as if overwhelmed with the
memory of this gracious tenderness, Paul said, long after,
"I obtained mercy, that in me first" (that is, not first in
time, but first in the degree of guilt) "Jesus Christ might
show forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to them which
should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting."* If,
therefore, Paul found mercy, who needs despair ? Sinner,
who art trembling at the remembrance of thy guilt, and
overwhelmed with a sense of thy danger, take heart from
such a history as this, and go to Christ in the fullest as-
* 1 Tim. i., 16.

46 Paul the Missionary.
surance that he will not cast thee out. Humble thyself be
fore him. Take him as thy Lord and Saviour. Cry, " What
wilt thou have me to do?" and he who led Paul through
darkness into light will guide thee also into safety, intc
happiness, and into usefulness.

III.
DAMASCUS.— ARABIA.— JER USALEM.
Acts ix., 19-30.
IN seeking to compress into one discourse a full presen
tation of the nature of Paul's conversion, and of its im
portance as a public event in the history of the Church,
we were compelled to make only the briefest reference to
the visit paid to the new disciple by Ananias. That visit,
however, was too significant to be thus slightly treated ; and
therefore we return to the history, that we may set it in
its proper light. Ananias is called by Luke "a certain
disciple ;" and he is described by Paul himself as " a de
vout man, according to the law, having a good report of all
the Jews which dwelt at Damascus."* Either, therefore,
he was one of those who had fled from the persecution
which had burst forth in Jerusalem, or, as is more probable,
he was an early adherent of the faith, who, though a stated
resident in Damascus, had been brought to a knowledge of
the truth, during -a visit made by him to Jerusalem at some
one of the annual festivals. Putting together the three nar
ratives which are incorporated in this one book of the Acts,
we learn that Ananias was commissioned in a vision to go
to a certain house in a certain street in Damascus, where
he would find Paul ; and that, when he expressed reluctance
on the ground of his knowledge of the intolerant errand on
* Acts ix., 10; xxii., 12.
3

48 Paul the Missionary.
which Paul had come, he was reassured by these words :
" Go thy way : for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear
my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of
Israel : for I will show him how great things he must suffer
for my name's sake."* It is further evident that, even be
fore Ananias had received that command, Paul had been, in
a vision, prepared for his appearance, and had already heard
from the Lord's own lips the forecast of his work among the
Gentiles which had been given to Ananias.f Thus provi
sion was made for a double authentication. Ananias, find
ing external things to be as God had described, was reas
sured in giving the spiritual commission ; and Paul, recog
nizing in Ananias the man whom he had seen in his vision,
had a new endorsement given to his apostleship.
Following implicitly the directions which he had received,
Ananias went along Straight Street — then a noble thorough
fare, a hundred feet in width, and divided by Corinthian
colonnades into three avenues, but now a narrow lanef —
to the house of Judas, where he found the man of Tarsus,
whose sight he was the means of restoring, to whom he im
parted the gift of the Holy Ghost, and whom he introduced
by baptism into the Church of Christ.
Now let us weigh well the import of all this : Ananias
was not the instrument of Paul's conversion ; for before he
appeared upon the scene Paul had been already converted.
Paul could not call any man his spiritual father; but he
could, and I have no doubt did, regard with peculiar ten
derness the disciple who first saluted him as a " brother "§
in the Lord ; and who not only baptized him with water,
but was also the human agent in administering unto him
the baptism of the Holy Ghost. He was to the apostle
* Acts ix., 15, t6. t Acts ix., 12 ; xxvi., 16-18.
t Lewin, vol. i., p. 69. § Acts ix., 17 ; xxii., 13.

Damascus. — Arabia. — Jerusalem. 49
what Peter and John had been to the Samaritans when, af
ter the conversion of that people through the preaching of
Philip, these apostles went down and " laid their hands on
them, and they received the Holy Ghost."* The spiritual
crisis was over before Ananias appeared, and he did noth
ing, therefore, to produce that ; but in administering to him
the ordinance of baptism, and securing for him a welcome
from the believers, he did contribute to the comfort and use
fulness of Paul. Nor let any one imagine that this was a
small service, or that there was little need for any supernat
ural agency to prepare him for rendering it. When one is
shunned by others, he is apt to develop into a defiant and
exclusive recluse ; and if Paul had not been met by the dis
ciples in a loving and trustful spirit, he might have become
cynical, angular, or suspicious. In this way an irreparable
injury might have been done to him in the very infancy of
his new life ; but the kindness of Ananias saved him from
that peril. Then, on the other side, it must be admitted
that there was ground for the exercise of caution ; and the
fact that, even after he had received the divine command to
go to Paul, Ananias hesitated until he obtained the strong
est assurance of his safety, is a proof that nothing short of
such a supernatural commission as that which was given td
him would have succeeded in removing his misgivings. The
careful student will see a close parallel between the details
connected with this visit of Ananias to Paul and those re
corded in relation to that of Peter to Cornelius. As Cor
nelius was directed to send for Peter, so Paul was prepared
for the arrival of Ananias ; and as the scruples of Peter
were banished by the vision on the house-top, so those of
Ananias were silenced by the Lord's declaration that Paul
was his chosen vessel to bear his name before the Gentiles ;
* Acts viii., 14-17.

50 Paul the Missionary.
while in both cases the baptism with the Holy Ghost pre
ceded the baptism with water; and from both alike we
learn that, while there is a preparation of the convert for
entering the Church, there is frequently no less needed by
the Church a preparation for his reception.
Soon after his baptism Paul preached in the synagogues
of Damascus, declaring that Messiah is the Son of God,
with such effect that his hearers were filled with amaze
ment, and said, " Is not this he that destroyed them which
called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that
intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief
priests ?" If we had no other record of his early Christian
experiences than that which Luke has given us, we might
have supposed that he continued this work among his coun
trymen until, being threatened with death, he was, as it were,
smuggled out of Damascus by the brethren, and that he
then went to Jerusalem. But in his letter to the Galatians*
he tells us that before he proceeded to Jerusalem, as Luke
has described, he went from Damascus into Arabia, and that
it was not till after three years (which, however, in the Jew
ish mode of reckoning, may be simply one full year and parts
of two others) that he went up to the Holy City. He does
not inform us either to what particular locality in Arabia he
withdrew, or what was the purpose of his seclusion. But, in
asmuch as, when Elijah was in Horeb, he was commanded
to return to Israel by way of Damascus — and we may thus
infer that the former locality was accessible from the latter
— and inasmuch as that whole district was associated with
some of the most stirring passages in the histories of Moses
and Elijah, we are at liberty to believe that like them PaulN
also was led to "the mount of God," there to receive the
highest of all training for his future work, in close and con-
* Gal.i., 17,18.

Damascus. — Arabia. — Jerusalem. 5T
stant fellowship with his Lord. He .was to be Christ's mes
senger to the Gentiles : it was, therefore, needful that he
should be withdrawn for a season from the sphere of those
Jewish influences which were so powerful in the mother
Church. He was to be an apostle equal in dignity and
authority to the others ; it was, therefore, essential that, alto
gether independently of them, or of any human agency, he
should be instructed in the facts of Gospel history ; and it
was at this time and in Arabia, as we believe, that he re
ceived those special communications to two of which he
refers in his first letter to the Corinthians, in connection
with his rehearsal of the institution of the Supper, and his
summary of the truths which he had preached among them*
There were thus in his Arabian retirement both negative
and positive advantages, which signally fitted him for the
service to which he had been appointed.
How long he remained in Arabia cannot now be certainly
determined ; but that he spent there the larger part of the
interval between his conversion and his visit to Jerusalem
seems to me probable, for these two reasons : first, because
such preaching as his would have been sure to bring the
antagonism of the Jews to a head in a much shorter time
than three years, even if we give the briefest interpretation
to that phrase ; and second, because, if he had been so long
a public preacher of the faith in Damascus, that fact, con
sidering the frequency of intercourse between the two cities,
and the prominence which belonged to him as the legate of
the high-priest, would certainly have become known to the
Christians in Jerusalem. So far from that being the case,
however, the believers there do not seem to have heard any
thing about him ; for when he came to them in person, they
viewed him with suspicion, and were very slow to receive
* 1 Cor. xi., 23 ; xv., 3.

52 Paul the Missionary.
him into their confidence. I am therefore disposed to be
lieve that, in the first instance, he abode with the brethren
at Damascus only a very short while after his conversion ;
that afterward he went, for probably eighteen months, into
Arabia, where he received from the Lord himself a revela
tion of the facts of his personal ministry; and that at the
end of this time of seclusion he returned to Damascus,
where he began anew to preach, this time with such added
power that his Jewish antagonists plotted to take away his
life. If this view be correct, then it will be most natural to put
his journey to Arabia, and sojourn in it, between the twenty-
first and twenty-second verses of Luke's history ;* and the
revelations made to him in his retirement will explain the
distinct advance in his preaching which seems to be indi
cated in the latter verse, as well as the greater intensity of
the result by which it was followed. At first he preached
" Christ, that he is the Son of God," setting himself, as I
judge the meaning to be, to prove that Messiah is a divine
person. That, however, might be done simply in the way of
exposition of the Old Testament Scriptures ; and, though
the doctrine sought to be established was one peculiar to
the Christians, we can easily imagine that Jews would listen
to its promulgation with at least the interest of curiosity, to
which would be added amazement that Paul should be its
advocate. But in the twenty - second verse it is affirmed
that "he proved that Jesus is very Christ." Now, to do that
effectively requires three things : namely, an acquaintance
with the Messianic prophecies ; a knowledge of the facts of
Jesus's life ; and a perception of the correspondence be
tween the two, so that the facts are seen to be the fulfilment
of the prophecies. But up till the time of his conversion, so
* Acts ix.

Damascus. — Arabia. — Jerusalem. 53
far as appears, Paul was- largely ignorant of the incidents
connected with the birth, baptism, and public ministry of
the Lord Jesus ; and as he was far removed from other
competent instructors, some such revelations from the Lord
as those which we have supposed that he received in Arabia
would be needed to make him familiar with them. Now,
if these revelations were actually given him at this particu
lar time, we have at once the explanation of this double de
scription of his preaching in the synagogues of Damascus.
To proclaim that *' Jesus is the very Messiah " was some
thing more than to declare that Messiah is the Son of God.
The latter is the major premise of a syllogism, of which the
former is the minor, and the conclusion from both is that
Jesus of Nazareth, as the Messiah, is the Son of God. The
exposition of the one would awaken astonishment ; the proof
of the other would create animosity ; and the conclusion
from both would rouse all the fury of the Jewish heart. To
hear his own Scriptures quoted in demonstration of the fact
that the Nazarene was the Son of God, was more than the
Pharisee could endure. It was wresting his very stronghold
from him ; and therefore, when he found that the argument
was against him, he took counsel to kill the reasoner. It is
always easier to use physical force than intellectual ; and
they who are most conscious of deficiency in the latter re
sort most readily to the former. He who, like John Locke,
" thinks himself more concerned to quit and renounce any
opinion of his own, than to oppose that of another, when
truth is against it,"* will welcome light when and whence
soever it comes ; but he who fears to face the day, or seeks
to evade discussion, does so either because he has some
consciousness of weakness, or because some party prejudice
is assailed or some selfish craft endangered. In any case,
* " Essay concerning Human Understanding," Epistle to the Reader.

54 Paul the Missionary.
to war against argument by force is as unavailing as it is
irrational ; for opinion is too impalpable to be pierced by
any sword of steel, and truth has a vitality as eternal as
God. When the disciples in Damascus became aware of Paul's
danger, and knew that the gates of the city were watched
night and day to prevent his escape, they took him to a
friend who lived in a house one of whose walls was at the
same time the wall of the city, and through a window which
looked out into the open country they let him down in a
basket like those which even yet are employed in these
parts for hoisting and lowering purposes. The details of
this adventure are thus given by Paul himself : " In Da
mascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of
the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me :
and through a window in a basket was I let down by the
wall, and escaped his hands."* But the very particularity of
this statement has occasioned considerable difficulty ; for in
no ancient history is there any record of Damascus having
been about this time under the power, or in the possession of
Aretas, who was King of Arabia Petra^a. When it came into
the hands of the Romans it was assigned to the province of
Syria ; and it does seem rather singular to find it spoken of
here as governed by an ethnarch under Aretas. But it ought
to be borne in mind that in all histories there are frequent
gaps which have to be filled in from other sources ; and
there are traces of the existence of such a hiatus here, with,
moreover, certain indications on both sides of it which render
it highly probable that Aretas did occupy Damascus about
this very date. Thus among extant coins of Damascus there
are some bearing the image of Augustus and others that of
Tiberius, and others again having that of Nero ; but none
* 2 Cor. xi., 32, 33.

WALL OF DAMASCUS.

Damascus. — Arabia. — Jerusalem. 55
have been discovered bearing the likeness of either of the in
tervening emperors, Caligula or Claudius.* Of course, this is
not in itself conclusive ; for coins with the likenesses of those
two emperors may have been in existence, though none have
been found ; and it would be as unsafe for us to reason
from their absence alone, as it is for the geologist to depend
entirely on what he calls " negative evidence." But if there
should be other circumstances which make it not improbable
that the city was, during part of those reigns, in other hands,
then this absence of the coins will come in as a confirma
tion. Now there are such circumstances ; for about this
time there was war between Aretas and that Herod whose
name is stained by the murder of John the Baptist. There
had been some dispute between them as to some matter of
boundary, and that had been aggravated by the fact that
Herod, who had been married to the daughter of Aretas,
had divorced her, in order to take Herodias, his own niece
and the wife of his brother Philip, as his paramour. In the
fortune of war the army of Herod had been defeated ; but
as he was a favorite with the emperor, Tiberius made the
quarrel his own, and ordered his general, Vitellius, to pro
ceed to his assistance and take Aretas either dead or alive.
Vitellius, however, had a personal grudge against Herod,
and made no great haste to obey the imperial commands.
He went, indeed-, very leisurely about the affair, and while
he was on his way, the news of the death of the emperor
(a.d. 37) reached him. Upon hearing this he immediately
suspended his march, and waited for orders from the suc
cessor of Tiberius. It is by no means improbable, there
fore, that, just at this juncture, Aretas having been relieved
from all opposition, took possession of Damascus, which lay
in the immediate neighborhood of his own territory, and

* Lewin, vol. i., p. 68.

56 Paul the Missionary.
was perhaps, at one time, included in it. Some, indeed, have
supposed that, as Aretas had been most shamefully used by
Herod, and as Vitellius was known to have no good-will to
the Jewish monarch, the Roman general took the opportu
nity, which the emperor's death afforded, of doing justice to
the one, and taking vengeance on the other, by giving to
Aretas the sovereignty of "Damascus. Others have thought
that, as the Emperor Caligula did in many instances reverse
the policy of Tiberius, especially in Eastern affairs, he may
have given Damascus to Aretas. Thus, then, stands the
case. There is no mention made by ancient historians of
this occupation of Damascus by Aretas ; but there is noth
ing said by them which makes such an occupation impossi
ble, while other circumstances recorded by them are such
as to leave room for it, and, indeed, to make it extremely
probable. But now let us follow the night-wrapped fugitive. He
took his way to Jerusalem, retracing his steps along that
road whereon he had been some time before confronted by
the Lord. Perhaps the contrast between the two journeys
forced itself upon his reflection. Then he was the leader
of an important expedition, trusted by the authorities of the
Jewish Church, and looking forward to some place of dis
tinction in the council of his nation ; now he is going forth
an outcast, disowned by his countrymen, and fleeing for his
life. Then he was surrounded by a band of ardent follow
ers and admirers, each of whom esteemed it an honor to
have a place under his command ; now he is alone and
friendless, with "none so poor as do him reverence."
Alone ? Friendless ? Nay, that is but to judge from ex
ternal appearance ; for, though invisible, his Lord is near,
filling the silence for him with his fellowship, and brighten
ing the darkness for him with the light of his countenance.
He has made what the world calls a tremendous sacrifice

Damascus. — Arabia. — Jerusalem. 57
Yet there are no misgivings in his heart ; no lingering looks
behind at that which he has left ; no vain regrets over what
" might have been ;" but he goes steadily forward, trusting
in the guidance and protection of Him " whose he is and
whom he serves."
His motive in going to Jerusalem at this time was, as he
tells the Galatians, " to see Peter."* He may have heard
much'about that ardent and illustrious apostle from the
brethren at Damascus ; and if, as we have conjectured, he
had received the facts of the Gospel narrative by revela
tion from the Lord himself in Arabia, there would be much
in them to awaken in him an eager desire to make the ac
quaintance of one who, in spite of waywardness and rash
ness, was still so tenderly beloved by the Master. But when
he arrived at the Holy City it seemed as if his purpose
would never be accomplished ; for though he attempted to
join himself to the disciples, they treated him with coldness
and suspicion. " They were afraid of him, and believed not
that he was a disciple." This conduct on their part was
natural, for they had not forgotten how " he had persecuted
the Church and wasted it ;" but it was neither brotherly nor
becoming. If Jesus, their Lord, had received him, who were
they that they should reject him ? Was it not the glory of
their Master that he was the friend of sinners ? Why then
should they turn away from the overtures of Paul ? Some
thing like such musings as these seems to have filled the
mind of Barnabas, for he took him by the hand and led him
to the apostles, dwelling much, in his introduction of him
to their notice, on the fact that the Lord had appeared unto
him, and on his boldness as a preacher in the synagogues
of Damascus. This opened up his way to their confidence,
and we may well believe that, on discovering Paul's real
* Gal, i.. 18.

58 Paul the Missionary.
character, the warm-hearted Peter, eager to make amends
for his former coldness, took him to his own home, and en
tertained him with the greatest hospitality. Thus, at the
very outset of his career, he who was to be the apostle of
the Gentiles was brought into closest fellowship with him
who was the apostle of the circumcision. Their paths,
though occasionally intersecting each other, were to be quite
distinct ; but they both intensely loved the Lord Jesus Ghrist,
and were eager to advance his cause. Sometimes they might
seem to be in antagonism ; but those days of pleasant fel
lowship, never to be forgotten by either, would enable them
to understand each other, and would give them implicit con
fidence in each other. The only other apostle whom Paul
saw at this time was James, the kinsman of the Lord ; but
it does not appear that the intimacy with him was so close
as it was with Peter, with whom he abode fifteen days.
It would be wrong to imagine, however, that Paul was
content with this private fellowship with Peter, and did no
public work in Jerusalem at this time. On the contrary, he
could not be idle ; and being a Hellenist himself, he found
his special sphere among that class, for we read that " he
disputed with the Grecians." The word " disputed " is the
same as that which is used to describe Stephen's labors. It
implies that he began to preach in a public place, and, like
our modern missionaries in the bazaars of Indian cities,
gave opportunity for discussion. But those who entered the
lists with him could not stand before him, and began to plot
against his life. This led to his departure from Jerusalem,
as a similar conspiracy against him had driven him from
Damascus. But he went away with reluctance. Perhaps he
had felt a little humiliated at the manner of his escape from
Damascus — as indeed his mention of it to the Corinthians
in immediate connection with infirmities* seems to suggest
* 2 Cor. xi., 30, 32, 33.

Damascus. — Arabia. — Jerusalem. 59
¦ — and he did not care to go through a similar experience
again. Perhaps there was a desire within him to prove his
zeal as a disciple in the very place in which his fury as a
persecutor had been most conspicuous. But for whatever
reason, it was not until he received a peremptory command
from the Lord that he consented to withdraw. This is evi
dent from his speech made long after to the mob from the
castle stairs of the same city, in which he says, "And it came
to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even
while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance ; and saw
him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out
of Jerusalem : for they will not receive thy testimony con
cerning me. And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned
and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee :
and when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also
was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept
the raiment of them that slew him. And he said unto me,
Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles."*
It thus appears that Paul at first did not wish to leave Jeru
salem, but was anxious to remain in it, that he might as far
as possible counteract the evil which he had formerly done
there. Probably, also, for he was a Jew with all the educa
tion of a strict Pharisee, there may have been within him an
unspoken reluctance to accept his mission among the Gen
tiles, and a desire to labor among the Jews. But all these
feelings, if they did exist, were rebuked by the brief and
peremptory order that would brook no parley, " Depart : for
I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles."
Some one may be ready to ask how these two accounts —
that in the history, and that in the speech just quoted-^can
possibly be consistent ? If. Paul went from Jerusalem be
cause the brethren there wished to send him away from
* Acts xxii., 17-21.

60 Paul the Missionary.
the danger which was menacing his life, how could he say
that he left the Holy City because the Lord commanded
him ? I answer by asking you to look narrowly at the two
narratives themselves. That in the ninth chapter tells us
what the brethren did, and why they did it. That in the
twenty-second chapter informs us why Paul consented to do
as they advised. He had been opposed to their suggestion.
He had been apparently so troubled by it as to make it a
subject of earnest prayer ; and he yielded only after he had
received the positive command of the Lord to do as they
had advised. So they accompanied him to Caesarea, where
he took ship for Tarsus, his native city, in which he abode
until, at the summons of Barnabas, he came to do the work
of the Lord in Antioch.
You must have observed that the materials for the con
nected history which I have this evening endeavored to put
before you have been drawn from different sections of the
book of The Acts, from the Epistle to the Galatians, and
from the Second Epistle to the Corinthians. Now, the re
lation of these several writings to each other and to the
narrative as a whole, and the proof which they incidentally
furnish of the credibility of the history itself, have been set
forth in the most masterly manner by Paley in his " Horse
Paulinas," and perhaps this may be the best opportunity
which may arise for drawing your attention to that admira
ble treatise. Its author, who has been followed in the same
line by Birks, in his " Horae Apostolicae," and by Blunt in
his " Scriptural Coincidences," sets himself to bring before
his readers what he has called " undesigned coincidences "
between the history of The Acts and the incidents referred
to, in passing, in the epistles, as also between the statements
in the different epistles themselves ; and he shows that these
can be accounted for only on the theory that Luke and Paul
wrote independently of each other, and were telling things

Damascus. — Arabia. — Jerusalem. 6i
which had actually happened. He does not build so much
upon the existence of coincidences as upon the incidental
and undesigned character of these coincidences. He proves,
first, that The Acts could not have been compiled by a forger
out of the details furnished by the epistles ; next, that the
epistles could not have been constructed by a deceiver out
of the particulars given in The Acts ; and finally, that the
epistles and The Acts could not have been both the work
of one writer, who had deliberately designed to make them
harmonize with each other. Then, by the minute exam
ination of each epistle as compared with The Acts and
with all the other epistles, he unfolds a number of most
striking and generally overlooked coincidences, which pro
duce on the mind of the reader an impression not unlike
that which is made on an intelligent jury, when the incident
al observation of one witness supplies a link which had been
felt to be wanting in the testimony of another. As Dr.
Kitto has well explained it : " In the leading narrative in
The Acts of the Apostles, Luke has left a chasm which he
has nowhere else supplied. But that chasm we are enabled
to fill up by the apostle himself, in letters which were written
without any design to complete the history of Luke. The
two accounts are therefore like the two parts of a tally — nei
ther is complete without the other ; and yet, being put to
gether, they so exactly fit into each other, as to show that
the one is precisely adjusted to and is the counterpart of
the other. And as these two parts are supplied by differ
ent persons, without the least design of adapting them to
each other, they show that the writers had formed no collu
sion or agreement to impose upon the world ; that they 'are
separate and independent witnesses ; that they were honest
men ; and that their narratives are true records."*

' Daily Bible Illustrations," vol. viii., pp. 160, l6l.

62 Paul the Missionary.
Let me give an illustration from the ground over whicl?
we have come to-night. In the matter of this journey to
Arabia, which is mentioned by Paul in writing to the Gala
tians, it is clear that there was no collusion between Luke
and Paul to deceive ; for, as Paley has put it, " If the narra
tive in The Acts had been made up from the epistles, it is
impossible that this journey should be passed over in si
lence ; if the epistle had been compiled out of what the
writer had read of Paul's history in The Acts, it is unac
countable that it should have been inserted."* Yet while
all design to enforce harmony between the two is thus elim
inated, notice the fact that in Gal. i., 17, Paul says, "I went
into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus." Now, in
his letter, Paul had not before mentioned Damascus. Its
name comes in here in the most incidental way. He had
no need, for the purpose of his argument, to refer to that
city at all ; yet when alluding to his journey into Arabia,
he is carried on most naturally to name the place to which
he returned from that country ; and he names the city
which corresponds to that mentioned in the history of his
conversion. A similar argument has been raised by Paley on the
brevity of Paul's sojourn at Jerusalem at this time. He
was there, as he tells us in the letter to the Galatians, only
fifteen days. Now hear our author : " The direct account of
the same journey in Acts ix., 28, determines nothing con
cerning the time of his continuance there ; or, rather, this
account taken by itself would lead us to suppose that Paul's
abode at Jerusalem had been longer than fifteen days. But
turn to the twenty-second chapter of The Acts, and you will
find a reference to this visit to Jerusalem, which plainly in
dicates that Paul's visit must have been of short duration :

* " Horae Paulina?,'7 chap, v., No, II.

Damascus. — Arabia. — Jerusalem. 63
And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jeru
salem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance ;
and saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee
quickly out of Jerusalem : for they will not receive thy tes
timony concerning me.' Here we have the general terms
of one text so explained by a distant text in the same book,
as to bring an indeterminate expression into close conformi
ty with a specification delivered in another book" ; a species
of consistency not, I think, usually found in fabulous rela
tions."* These are by no means the most striking results of the
application of Paley's principles to the investigation of the
book of The Acts of the Apostles in its relation to the epis
tles of Paul ; but if they will serve to turn your attention to
a valuable treatise, now, I fear, too much neglected, I shall
be greatly delighted. The youth who peruses it with care
will receive thereby one of the best lessons on testimony
which can be given him ; and, indeed, if I were asked by
one preparing for practice at the Bar to name the best work
known to me for fitting the mind to analyze and compare
different instalments of evidence, I would reply, without a
moment's hesitation, Paley's " Horae Paulinas." But, irre
spective altogether of its value in this subordinate depart
ment, it gives* the next thing to moral certainty as to the
credibility of the statements made both by Luke in his nar
rative and by Paul in his letters. It may require some pa
tient thought and diligent study to master it fully ; but when
it is mastered by a man, he will be forever proof against the
assaults of infidelity on the sacred histories.
I conclude with three practical reflections. Let us learn
here the minute care which God has over his people. He
gives to Ananias the street and the house in the great citj
* " Horas Paulina;,'' chap, v., No. VIII.

64 Paul the Missionary.
of Damascus where Paul is sitting in his blindness, and
sends him thither to his help. But though the commission
came to Ananias supernaturaSly, we must not imagine that
similar things — similar, I mean, in kind, though lower in de
gree — are not occurring now. Dr. Thomas Guthrie tells of
an old widow in his country parish suffering from paralysis,
whom he was led in a remarkable way to visit, just in time
to save her from being burnt to death, and he reasons in
this way about it: "By what law of nature was I moved
that day, instead of visiting other sick, to turn my steps to
the dell and cottage of this poor old woman ? By what law
of nature, when I lingered on the road, was I moved, without
the remotest idea of her danger, to cut short, against all my
inclinations, an interesting conversation, and hurry on to
the house, which I reached just at the very nick of time —
one or two minutes later the flames had caught her clothes,
and I had found her in a blaze of fire."* You could not
say that the eloquent minister was sent by a miraculous
message, and yet who but a materialist can doubt that some
how God moved him to do as he did ? And such things
are happening continually. So let the people of God take
comfort. Wherever they are, and whatever be their circum
stances, God knows everything about them ; and in some
way or other he will manifest his care for them. His let
ters are all accurately addressed, and none of them go
astray. We can see, also, in the second place, how God gives spe
cial training for special work. We have already observed
how, even in his unconverted life, Paul was undergoing prep
aration for his future career ; but all that was in a manner
external. An internal and spiritual fitness was still required,

* " Out of Harness, Sketches Narrative and Descriptive," by Thomas
Guthrie, D.D., p. 311.

Damascus. — Arabia. — Jerusalem. 65
and that was furnished, not only by his conversion, but also
by his communings with the Lord in Arabia. He who would
preach the Gospel with power must be himself a believer
in the Lord. The secret of true, heart-stirring eloquence
in the pulpit is, next after the power of the Holy Ghost, that
which the French Abbe has very happily called " the accent
of conviction " in the speaker. Behind every appeal that
Paul made to sinners, there was the memory of that won
derful experience through which he passed on his way to
Damascus; and therefore we are not surprised that he so
preached as either to secure men's faith or to rouse their
antagonism. But his conversion alone, without his Arabian
revelations, would not have made him the apostle he became.
In the desert he met his Lord, and received from him
many important spiritual communications. There, too, he
meditated on the truths revealed to him, and poured out his
heart in prayer for a thorough understanding of their mean
ing and a full realization of their power. Thus he came
back to Damascus, if not with a face glowing like that of
Moses when he descended from Sinai, at least with a heart
filled and fired with love to Him who had there unfolded to
him the mysteries of his Gospel. Now, what Paul thus re
ceived from the Lord has been given to us by evangelists
and apostles in the New Testament Scriptures."- Our Ara
bia, therefore, will be the study and the closet in which we
pore over these precious pages, and seek to comprehend
their many-sided significance, as well as to imbibe the spirit
by which they are pervaded. He who would preach to
others must be much alone with his Bible and his Lord ;
else, when he appears before his people, he will send them
to sleep with his pointless platitudes or starve them with
his empty conceits. Get you to Arabia, then, ye who would
become the instructors of your fellow-men ! Get you to the
closet and the study ! Give your days and nights to the in-

66 Paul the Missionary. *
vestigation of this Book; and let everything you produce
from it be made to glow with a white-heat in the forge of
your own heart, and be hammered on the anvil of your own
experience !
We may learn, in the last place, to give a cordial welcome
to new converts and new-comers in the Church. Ananias
went as soon as he was sent, and said, " Brother Saul." Oh
how these words must have thrilled the heart of the blinded
one ! And how much he would be pained when, on his first
appearance as a disciple at Jerusalem, the members of the
mother Church stood aloof from him, and treated him with
coldness. Blessings on thee, Barnabas, for taking him then
so warmly by the hand ! Thou wast always a son of con
solation, but never didst thou prove thy right to that name
more convincingly than when thou stood'st the friend of the
suspected and avoided Paul !
But is there not here an example for us? How many,
especially in our large cities, come and go to and from our
churches for weeks, it may be even for months, without any
one speaking to them a cheering word ! We may say, in
deed, that they ought to make themselves known, and intro
duce themselves through some of the evangelical associa
tions to its members ; and this, to some extent, is true ; but
the first advance should be made by the Church ; and it
seems to me that every congregation should have a Barna
bas committee, composed of some of its kindliest members,
who should undertake this Christ-like service. I fear that
not a few are annually lost by all our city churches for lack
of some one to take them lovingly by the hand and lead
them into those Christian circles, where they would be re
minded of the homes which they had left, and shielded from
the dangers to which they are exposed.
How often, too, when some one who has been prominent
ly connected with a denomination that is not generally con-

Damascus. — Arabia.— ^Jerusalem. 67
sidered evangelical comes out and declares himself for that
which is counted orthodox, he is met with freezing suspicion,
and kept at a distance by the picket-guard that is always
peering out for spies ; or if some, like Barnabas, should
put themselves beside him, they will be suspected along
with him, and draw down upon themselves abundant expos
tulation. "Wait," say these cautious ones, "until he has
been duly quarantined; let him prove his steadfastness,
and then we will receive him ;" not seeing that their cold re
serve is just the thing most calculated to send him back.
So, again, in dealing with young converts, how slow some
are to believe in the genuineness and thoroughness of God's
own work. It was not so with Barnabas, and it ought not
to be so with us. We knew a good Christian lady who went
to her pastor for the addresses of those who were received
from time to time into the Church, that she might personal
ly call upon them, and congratulate them on the stand which
they had made. There was a deaconess without the name !
— a true daughter of consolation ! and after her visits the
friends to whom she had spoken began to discover that
there was more in church fellowship than the mere sitting
down together at the communion-table. If there were more
like her in all our churches, these spiritual societies would
become more like "households of faith," and the coming
in of each new member would create a joy like that which
hails the advent of a new-born babe into every rightly con
stituted home. Where are ye, oh ye Barnabases ? Look
around, and see if there be not field enough to - night for
beginning operations.

IV,
A YEAR AT ANTIOCH.
Acts xi., 19; xiii., 3.
WE have no means of tracing definitely the movements
of Paul during the interval between his departure
from Caesarea, and his reception of that summons from Bar
nabas which brought him ultimately to Antioch. The only
reference which he makes to this portion of his history is in
these words : "Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria
and Cilicia ; and was unknown by face unto the churches of
Judea which were in Christ : but they had heard only, That
he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the
faith which once he destroyed."* From this statement it
has been conjectured that, making his head-quarters in Tar
sus, he labored not in that city alone, but in the principal
places of these two districts of Syria and Cilicia, which were
so closely identified with each other, that their joint names
appear in history, as Howson has alleged,t "almost as a
generic geographical term." It may be, therefore, that at
this time the apostle founded those churches, to which, as
well as to the Gentiles in Antioch, the first apostolic let
ter was addressed. $ Of one thing, however, we may be
sure, and that is that he was not idle. Perhaps, beginning
his work of ministry first in his own family, he was now

* Gal.i., 21-23.
\ "Life and Epistles of St. Paul," vol. i., p. 115.
% Acts xv., 23.

A Year at Antioch. 69
made a blessing to his sister. Perhaps he found a sphere
on the week-days in the tent -maker's shop in which he
wrought for his bread ; and on the Sabbath - days in the
synagogues, where his kinsmen according to the flesh were
wont to meet for prayer and the reading of the Scriptures.
But though we cannot certainly specify the methods which
he adopted, or the places which he visited, we may be very
confident that by work, by meditation, and by prayer, he was
not only meeting all the demands which the present made
upon him, but also "making himself," in the noblest fashion,
for the great future that was b'efore him.
Like many another man, he had to be content to labor
for a season in comparative obscurity, though conscious all
the time of the possibilities that were within him, and see
ing continually, in the dim and shadowy beyond, a vague
outline of the greatness which he was yet to attain. But,
though he longed for, a favorable opportunity of putting
forth all his powers for the benefit of his fellow-men and
the glory of his Lord, this interval of unrecognition neither
soured him at those who were already prominent in the
Church, nor disposed him to remit, in the least degree, the
exertions which he was making to fill the sphere in which
he was at the moment placed. As the servant of Christ, he
was equally ready to wait on his will, and to work at his
bidding ; and he was wise enough to understand that only
by doing the little that was now required of him could he
clear the way for the accomplishment of those great things
which the Lord had declared were yet to be achieved by
him through suffering. By showing himself faithful in that
which was least, at Tarsus, he .rose to the opportunity of
manifesting equal fidelity in the greater centres of Antioch,
Ephesus, and Rome.
Nor had he long to wait; for if the chronology of Dr.
Howson be correct, about five years after his departure

70 Paul the Missionary.
from Jerusalem, and in the year a.d. 44, his friend Barnabas
came to Tarsus with news which must have stirred his soul
to its depths, and with a request which must have roused
the noblest enthusiasm of his nature. He told Paul how,
in a singular way, Peter — the most unlikely among the
twelve to have done anything of the kind — had preached
to the Gentile Cornelius and his friends, and had received
them on the same* footing as Jews into the company of the
disciples. He described the dissatisfaction which had been
created at Jerusalem by that act, and recounted the expla
nation of his procedure which Peter made, and which so si
lenced the prejudices even of the most exclusive that they
had all " glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the
Gentiles granted repentance unto life." He informed him,
also, of the movements of certain disciples, who, fleeing from
Jerusalem on account of the persecution, had gone to Phe-
nice and Cyprus and Antioch, and had preached the Gospel
at first only to Jews, but at length, either led on by the di
rection of the Holy Ghost, or encouraged by hearing of
what Peter had done, had preached also to the Gentiles
with such evident divine endorsement that " a great number
believed and turned to the Lord." He further explained,
that when the brethren at Jerusalem had heard of these
things, they had held a conference at which he had been
appointed to go to Antioch and examine the movement, and
report upon it ; that he had fulfilled this mission, and had
been gladdened by everything which he had seen and heard ;
that he meant to return to Antioch himself, and assist in
carrying forward the good work which had been so singu
larly begun ; and that he very earnestly desired that Paul
should go with him and join him in the enterprise.
This was just the sort of opportunity for which Paul had
been waiting ; and its attraction for him would be increased
by the fact that it came to him through Barnabas. With-

A Year at Antioch. 71
out any assumed reluctance,.therefore, but in honest, manly,
hopeful joy, Paul once more bade adieu to Tarsus, and went
with his true yoke -fellow to begin that missionary work
among the Gentiles, in the prosecution of which the Church
emerged from its cradle, and walked forth, divested of the
swaddling-bands of Judaism, to benefit the world at large.
The city to which Paul now went was admirably adapted
for becoming the second centre of the Christian Church.
Situated on the river Orontes, somewhat less than twenty
miles by land, but more than forty by water, from its junc
tion with the Mediterranean, it stood almost in the angle
which the coast of Syria running northward makes with that
of Asia Minor running eastward, having behind it the valley
between the ranges of Taurus and Lebanon, through which
alone, for many leagues, the trade of the interior could find
its way to the coast. It was thus excellently placed for
commercial communication between the East and the West.
It was founded by Seleucus Nicator, who named it after his
father Antiochus ; and it was greatly enlarged by Antiochus
Epiphanes, who surrounded it with a wall, and beautified it
with a magnificent street, which was four miles in length
and adorned by double colonnades. When, about b.c. 65,
it fell before the Roman general, Pompey, it was made a
free city, and permitted to be governed by its own laws and
garrisoned by its own troops. Under the Empire, the suc
cessive wearers of the purple seem to have vied with each
other in contributing to its embellishment. Augustus,
through his minister, Agrippa, added a suburb ; Tiberius re
stored the walls ; and even the brutal Caligula sought the
favor of its citizens by constructing an aqueduct and baths.
Its population included many heterogeneous elements.
The upper classes, as we might call them, were mainly
Greeks, either by birth or by descent, and used that lan
guage which Plato has immortalized by his philosophy, and
4

yj Paul the Missionary.
Demosthenes by his eloquence. The imperial officials were
Romans, and spoke in the Latin tongue; and the masses,
as they would now be styled, were Syrians. But mingling
among these,yet preserving religiously their distinction from
them, were many Jews who had been attracted to Antioch,
not only by its facilities for commerce, but also by the fact
that its laws placed them on an equality with other citizens.
Hither they brought their sacred books, and as these were
now accessible to Gentiles in the Septuagint version, we
may conjecture that some of the more thoughtful heathens,
disgusted by the worn-out idolatries of their own people,
followed the example of " Nicolas, the proselyte of Anti
och,"* and adopted the pure monotheism of the Old Testa
ment. Added to these permanent residents of the city
were casual travellers, of whom some were always to be
found in its streets. Here the merchants from the far East
met their customers from the West, and exchanged com
modities with each other. "He who sits in our market
place," says a writer of the fourth century, " may study the
customs of all cities in the world ;" and such was its impor
tance as a centre of influence, that, though in point of pop
ulation only the third city in the Empire, it was frequent
ly referred to as a second Rome. In the days of Cicero
it was renowned for the culture of its inhabitants, among
whom were some men of genius and learning. But though
thus eminent for architecture, and literature, and commerce,
it was, like all the cities of pagan civilization, equally noto
rious for the luxury and lasciviousness of its people. In its
immediate neighborhood was Daphne, with its grove and
temple dedicated to Apollo and Artemis, which have been
so eloquently described by Gibbon,! and in which the
grossest and most debasing sin was committed under the
* Acts vi., 5. t "Decline and Fall," chap. xxiii.

ANTIOCH ON THE ORONTES.

A Year at Antioch. 73
guise of worship. In the adjacent fields, the races and
other games to which the Greeks were so devoted, were cel
ebrated, at first irregularly, but latterly at stated intervals,
with a magnificence unsurpassed on the plain of Olympia
itself. These occasions drew immense crowds to the city,
and were frequently marked by the most revolting revelry.
Indeed, we may affirm that everything which could be done
to gild the native hideousness of vice, and minister to the
seductiveness of pleasure, was done at Antioch. A revenue
of a hundred and fifty thousand dollars, derived from the
legacy of a wealthy Roman, was annually expended on the
public sports. Rewards were offered by opulent citizens to
the man who should import or invent a new luxury, and
the panders to pleasure of every kind flocked thither inces
santly.* '
Into this city, then, with its stir, and commerce, and lux
ury, and idolatry, and vice, these few disciples, driven from
Jerusalem by persecution, carried the Gospel of Christ; and
the first effects of their labors as seen by Barnabas, were so
marked, not only for their endorsement of that which was
behind, but also for the prophecy of that which was before,
that he went to Tarsus and brought Paul back with him
to assist in the enterprise to which they had both alike
consecrated their lives. And yet, even with Paul as one of
the laborers, how quixotic does that enterprise appear ! It
was, to merely human view, as if a few poor Chinamen should
come to-day into the midst of this city, with its conglomerate
of nationalities and its great dark spots of immorality and
intemperance, for the purpose of converting us all to the re
ligion of Confucius. But One unseen went with Barnabas
* See for the materials from which this paragraph has been construct
ed, Gibbon, ubi supra; Plumptre, " St. Paul in Asia Minor," pp. 35-44;
Lewin, vol. i., pp. 91, 96 ; Howson, vol. i., pp. 131-136.

74 Paul the Missionary.
and Paul ; for He who spoke the parable of the mustard-
seed was by their side, and the grain which they planted
soon sprung up into a glorious tree.
The immediate success which they were permitted to see
was great ; but, after the description which has just been
given of the Antioch to which Paul originally went, it may
help you to understand the sort of revolution which the
Gospel produced, if I put you down for a moment or two in
' the middle of the fourth century, and ask you to look at a
scene which was witnessed in its neighborhood about the
year a.d. 360. Even within the limits of the apostolic age,
Antioch was one of the strongholds of the Christian Church ;
from it, too, shortly after the beginning of the second cen
tury, the martyr Ignatius was taken to Rome by the orders
of the Emperor Trajan, and there devoured by wild beasts ;
but in the time of Julian so completely had the tide been
turned, that when the apostate emperor went to Antioch on
occasion of the annual heathen festival, and made every ef
fort to restore the ancient glory of the former idolatry, no of
fering was presented along with his own, on the altar of the
Daphnian Apollo, save " a single goose, provided at the ex
pense of a priest, the pale and solitary inhabitant of the de
cayed temple."* Such a contrast is most striking in itself ;
but it becomes more suggestive when we remember that die
change had been effected by no enginery of war, but by an
influence as quiet as that by which the iceberg, when float
ed down from the polar regions into warmer latitudes, falls
asunder and disappears. For the greater portion of the
interval between the days of Paul and those of Julian, the
Christians had been the objects of the bitterest persecution ;
and yet Christianity, by the force of the truth and love of
Which it is the embodiment, had conquered idolatry even
* Gibbon, ubi supra.

A Year at Antioch. 7g
in its strongest seats. A fact like that may well cheer us
amid discouragements, and give us patient faith while we
plod on at our unceasing work.
Paul's first sojourn in Antioch lasted " a whole year ;"
during which we are told that he and Barnabas " assembled
themselves with the church, and taught much people." We
have no record of the discourses which they delivered ; no
description of the plans which they followed ; no enumera
tion of the converts whom they made. But a most interest
ing indication of the central theme of their teachings, as
well as a most remarkable illustration of the stir they made,
is incidentally given us by the historian in the simple state
ment : "And the disciples were called Christians first in An
tioch;" for I cannot but conclude that this name was coined
and given to them by their heathen neighbors. Evidently
they did not choose it for themselves ; since, whenever they
had occasion to refer to one another, they used such words
as "brethren," "saints," "believers," "disciples," or such
a phrase as " those of that way," and the like ; but we never
find them calling each other Christians. Indeed, this term
is employed in only two Qther places in the New Testament,
and in both of these it so occurs as to suggest that its com
mon use originally was by heathens when they had occasion
to refer to the disciples of Jesus. Thus Agrippa said unto
Paul, " Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian ;"* and
Peter says, " if any man suffer as a Christian," that is, suffer
being styled a Christian. If, therefore, the usage of evan
gelists and apostles is any guide to us on such a subject, we
may certainly infer from that, in this case, that this name
did not originate with the disciples themselves.
Neither is it likely that it was given them by the Jews j
for the word Christ is the Greek equivalent for the Hebrew

* Acts xxvi., 28 ; I Peter iv., 16.

76 Paul the Missionary.
Messiah ; and therefore, if they had called the " brethren "
by this name, they would have been nominally, at least, ad
mitting that Jesus was the Messiah — a thing which they
were not likely to do.
Further, there is no evidence that this designation was
given to the disciples by direction of God ; for though the
Greek word here translated " were called " is frequently
used to describe the giving of a divine communication, it
is in these cases invariably connected with such phrases as
these : "of God," "of the angel," " in a dream," etc. Now,
in the narrative before us, there is no hint of any such su
pernatural message, and therefore we are not warranted in
believing that the name " Christian " is of divine origin.
There remains, therefore, only one other hypothesis,
namely, that it was given to the disciples by the heathen,
and much may be advanced in favor of that view of the case.
The reception of Gentiles into the Church, without their be
ing first required to become proselytes to the Jewish faith,
would convince on- lookers that the religion which Paul
preached was not a part of Judaism, and thus it would be
come necessary to adopt a name for its disciples which
would not confound them with Jews. To this considera
tion let it be added that, according to some ancient authors,
the inhabitants of Antioch were proverbial for inventing
nicknames ; and that the Greek termination of this particu
lar word indicates that it came from those to whom that lan
guage was vernacular ; and then it will be felt that we may
safely trace the origin of the term Christian to the heathen
population of this important city.
Now, if this opinion be accepted, the coinage and curren
cy of this new name is a proof, all the more powerful be
cause it is incidental, of the prominence into which already
the preachers of the new faith had come. Be it remember
ed that in those days there were no newspapers to chronicle

A Year at Antioch. 77
their movements or give publicity to their teachings. They
had to be content with meeting-piaces in obscure localities;
they had few opportunities of coming into contact with the
people save on the streets, in the market-place, or in private
houses ; yet in the face of all these difficulties they made
such progress as to force themselves on the attention of
the community, and draw upon themselves the derision for
which the inhabitants of the city were proverbial.
And the name itself was one which speaks volumes for
the kind of instruction which Paul and his companions gave.
The heathen did not call the disciples after Paul or Barna
bas, but after Christ. Why ? Because these early disciples
made so much of Christ. To him they sung their hymns
as to their God. His example was their pattern. His word
was their law. His atonement was their trust. His. cross
was their glory. He was the centre round which all else
for them revolved. He was the judge to whose final assize
they made their appeal, and the advocate to whom they
intrusted all their causes. He was the source of their hope,
the fountain of their strength, and the Lord of their lives.
In a word, he was to them the Gospel ; and if any one had
asked them where they were to go to learn its doctrines,
they would have replied substantially as Henry Martyn did,
when a Persian Sufi put the same question to him, " You
will find them all in Christ himself." The fact of incar
nation they saw in his person; the doctrine of atonement
they learned at his cross ; and as they repeated week by
week the story of his resurrection, they felt that by him "life
and immortality were brought to light." Thus it was not
wonderful that men styled them Christians ; for, as one has
quaintly said, " Because they so often called upon his name,
his name at length was called on them." Brethren, what is
Christ to us ? Let us face that question honestly, and an
swer it truly. Then shall we discover whether or not we

78 Paul the Missionary.
are the faithful representatives of those who were first des
ignated after him. This will test us as the acid tests the
gold ; and if in the discourses of the pulpit Christ is not
exalted, or in the lives of the hearers Christ is not seen to
be honored, then, no matter what we may call ourselves, we
are destitute of that which first attracted attention to be
lievers, and secured for them this distinctive appellation.
At the end of this year of happy labor in Antioch, the
Church in that city was visited by certain prophets from
Jerusalem. These were men who, by the laying on of the
apostles' hands, had received a gift by which they were en
abled to speak to others on behalf of God, either in the way
of foretelling future events, or of addressing to them need
ful exhortation. One of them, named Agabas, gave warning
of a famine which was soon to spread desolation over the
world ; and, believing his words, the disciples made a con
tribution for the brethren in Jerusalem, who seemed some
how always to be the first to feel the pressure of such sea
sons of scarcity, and the last to reap the benefits which
sprung out of commercial revival. With these gifts the
Christians of Antioch sent Barnabas and Paul to Jerusalem,
not only to insure their faithful presentation, but also to add
to them the warmer greeting of sympathy and love.
Luke tells us that this famine " came to pass in the days
of Claudius Caesar." Now, history mentions three famines
as having existed during the reign of that emperor, one con
nected more immediately with Greece, another with Rome,
and still another with Judaaa and its neighborhood. Jo
sephus mentions the last, and gives special praise to Hel
ena, the Queen of Adiabene, for the liberality which she
showed on the occasion. It is probable, therefore, that there
was, in the prediction of Agabas, a primary reference to
that time of scarcity ; yet, as he speaks of it as extending
" throughout all the world," it would be an unusual restric

A Year at Antioch.

79

tion of these universal terms to confine their meaning to
Palestine. This consideration has led some eminent inter
preters to regard his prophecy here as supplemental to that
of our Lord himself, in which he named " famines* in divers
places '' as among the indications of the approach of the de
struction of Jerusalem. Agabas may have been speaking
of the beginning of those calamities which, coming in many
forms and lasting for many years, culminated in the down
fall of the Holy City. Thus we can account both for the
wide sweep of the terms which he employs, and for the par
ticular application made of them by his hearers to the case
of their brethren in Jerusalem.!
When Barnabas and Paul reached Jerusalem at this time,
they found the Church there heaving with the after-swell of
that excitement which had been produced by the martyrdom
of James by Herod, and the imprisonment and escape of
Peter. Doubtless they were warmly welcomed by the breth
ren. Doubtless, also, the report of their labors was received
with delight, and the offering of their benevolence with grat
itude. But, in the circumstances, it might not be deemed
safe for them to stay long in the Jewish capital, while the
interesting state of matters in Antioch would tend to make
them impatient to return to their labors there. Thus we
account for the facts that no references to this visit to Je
rusalem are made by Paul in any of his letters, and that it
is passed over with so slight a record by the historian of
The Acts.
After they went back to Antioch, a distinct step in ad
vance was taken by the Church there. Among its members
who had been endowed with supernatural gifts of prophecy
and teaching were Simeon, also called Niger, or the black ;
* Matt, xxiv., 7.
t See Fairbairn's " Imperial Bible Dictionary," art. Agabas.
4*

So Paul the Missionary.
Lucius, a native of Cyrene — that African city from which
had come the Simeon who had borne the cross of Christ —
and Manaen, the foster-brother of that Herod who had been
tetrarch of Galilee when the Lord was crucified. As these
men, with Barnabas and Paul, and the brethren of the
Church, were engaged in the service of the Lord, with fast
ing and prayer, a special command was received from the
Holy Ghost to this effect : " Separate me Barnabas and
Paul for the work whereunto I have called them." In obe
dience to this injunction, " they laid their hands on Barna
bas and Paul, and sent them away."
Now, let us distinctly understand what this laying on of
hand's implied. It was not an impartation to them of the
Holy Spirit, for both of them had already received that
heavenly gift ; neither was it an ordination to the apostle
ship, for these brethren could not confer an office which
they did not possess themselves ; and Paul is very careful
in all his letters to let it be known that he had not received
his apostleship through any human agency. Still less was
it an ordination of them to the common ministry of the
Word, for they had both been exercising that ministry for
a considerable time ; but it was a formal designation of
them to that which we now commonly denominate the mis
sionary enterprise. They were set apart by the brethren
to the work of carrying the Gospel to other cities and to
other lands ; and the significance of the service was two
fold. On the one hand, by accepting this commission, the
brethren virtually placed themselves in the position of rep
resentatives of the Church ; and on the other, by consenting
to give this commission, the members of the Church in ef
fect pledged themselves to sustain and encourage the mis
sionaries in the arduous work on which they sent them
forth. Hence this was not an ordination in the ecclesias
tical sense of the word, but rather a special appointment of

A Year at Antioch. 8i
these' two noble men to a work on which they were to enter,
not as a private and personal venture of their own, but as
the accredited messengers of the Church,
They did not linger long on the threshold of their new
undertaking, but as soon as possible after the interesting
service at which they were set apart, Paul and Barnabas, ac
companied by John Mark, set out on that expedition which
is usually described as the first missionary journey of
our apostle.
Here, therefore, we shall meanwhile leave them, while we
pause to glean a few ears of practical suggestion from this
most interesting field.
Let us notice, then, in the first place, how earnest Chris
tian living attracts the attention and compels the admira
tion of those who are still outside of the Church. At first,
as I have supposed, the name " Christian" was given to the
followers of the Lord in derision, much as the modern ap
pellations, Lollard, Puritan, Methodist, and the like, have
been thrown at men of earnest spiritual convictions in the
history of English Protestantism. It said much for the ag
gressive character of their religion and the activity of their
exertions, that a nickname of any sort, was thought neces
sary for them. But see how, by their conduct in succeeding
years, they redeemed i^t from ridicule, and earned for it the
respect even of their enemies. I presume not, indeed, to say
that all who then bore this title were worthy of commenda
tion ; but simple justice will compel the investigator to de
clare that the great majority of them were distinguished for
their truthfulness, integrity, and benevolence toward man, no
less than for their devotion to Christ. They were not worse
in the ordinary relationships of life because they were follow
ers of Jesus ; but contrariwise, their love to him made them
better husbands and wives, better sons and daughters, bet
ter brpthers and sisters, better neighbors and friends, better

82 Paul the Missionary.
citizens and servants, than those around them. And in the
times when persecution raged most fiercely against them,
even a Roman governor* had to confess that he could find
none occasion against them, except it were in the matter of
their God ; while by the manner in which they met death —
calling upon Jesus and, Stephen-like, praying for those who
had condemned them to execution — they did much to ex
tort from the spectators the admission that " the Christian
is the highest style of man." In modern days, alas, we who
profess to belong to Christ are very far from resembling
him as thoroughly as we ought to do ; yet we may not forget
that the noblest epithet in our language, conferring as it
does the highest honor, and securing the fullest confidence,
is this of Christian.
How much better thus has it fared with this name, derived
by outsiders from the word Christ, than with that of Jesuit,
by which others have called themselves from the word Jesus.
If you wish to stigmatize a man as cunning, deceitful, and
untrustworthy, you call him Jesuitical. Why ? Because the
members of the Society of Jesus, since almost the very time
of its origin, have had the reputation of possessing these
despicable features. Devoted heart and soul to the designs
of their order, and believing thoroughly that the end sancti
fies the means, they have deemed no disguise too degrading
and no falsehood too great to be used by them in the at
tainment of their ends. Worming themselves into the se
crets of families and the councils of cabinets, wearing the
mask of servants while they were doing the work of spies,
feigning the meekest humility while they were pushing on
the proudest and most pernicious schemes — they have been
hated even in Roman Catholic countries, and have made
* See the letter of the Younger Pliny to the Emperor Trajan, as given
in " Pliny's Letters" in the series of ancient classics, pp. 152-154.

/ 30 Longitude East from Greenwich 35"

Paul's first missionary route.

A Year at Antioch. S3
their name an offence to all lovers of truth and liberty and
law.* Thus the designation by which they chose to call them
selves, and which they derived from Jesus, meaning it to be
a symbol of the highest honor, has come to be hated and
abhorred ; while that by which the early disciples were styled
by on-lookers, who derived it from Christ, has come to be
regarded as the worthiest which a man can bear. Surely
this contrast is not without its suggestive lesson. In each
case the character of the wearers of the name has given to
it its popular reputation ; and if we would not have the title
Christian become a reproach as great as it is now an honor,
we who bear it must maintain a conversation worthy of the
Gospel of the Lord. The first believers received it from
others; we, however, have chosen it for ourselves, and it
becomes us either to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy
of the reputation which now it bears, or to renounce it al
together. Let us justify our appropriation of it by a piety
as pure, an activity as aggressive, and a devotion to Christ
as marked, as those by which Paul and his associates were
distinguished. Like them, let us enthrone Christ in our
hearts, and serve him in our lives. Like them, let us keep
ourselves unspotted from the world, and cultivate the graces
of meekness, truth, and righteousness. Like them, let us be
filled with love to our fellow-men, and seek by every means
to save them from destruction. Like them, let us be " not
slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord."
Then this ancient and "-worthy name" by which we are
called will acquire new honor from our conduct, and they
who come after us will be stimulated by our example to
carry it to still higher renown. Let us never forget that

* See this contrast more fully stated in " Paul the Preacher," by John
Eadie, D.D., LL.D., pp. 47-49.

84 Paul the Missionary.
this appellation must be to us who bear it either our high
est honor or our deepest disgrace. Our highest honor, if
we are all that it really imports, but our deepest disgrace if
we are not possessed of the character which it so vividly
suggests. Finally, we may see here how the foreign missionary en
terprise was born. When Jesus left the earth, he said to
his disciples, " Go ye into all the world and preach the Gos
pel to every creature ;" but they were somewhat slow to act
upon his words. They were very earnest in Jerusalem and
Judasa ; but they organized no effort in the Jewish metrop
olis for the purpose of sending the Gospel to other lands.
This was owing in some degree to the exigencies of their
position, but more perhaps to the influence of their national
exclusiveness. The ritual of Moses, while not preventing
men of other races from becoming proselytes, did nothing
to invite them ; but rather built a wall around the chosen
people, which served to isolate them even in the days of
their dispersion from those among whom they were scat
tered. Now, the first disciples carried with them into the
Christian Church much of that spirit of separatism, and
carefully guarded - every avenue through which Gentiles
might come into their fellowship. This is apparent from
their procedure in regard to the preaching of Philip in Sa
maria, of Peter to Cornelius, and of the first evangelists in
Antioch. To use a modern term, the Jerusalem Church
was intensely " conservative ;" and had its members been
left to themselves, it does not appear that they would have
taken any steps to send the Gospel into foreign parts.
Hence that city never could have become the centre of a
world-embracing Church. But so soon as Gentiles came
into the ranks of the disciples without needing first to be
come Jewish proselytes, they took up, under the guidance of
the Holy Ghost, the case of the outlying heathen. They

A Year at Antioch. 85
knew the degradation of the old idolatries, and the hollow-
ness of the worn-out religions of the nations ; for they had
themselves come out of them. Therefore they were anxious
for the salvation of their fellow-Gentiles, and were prepared
to give prompt obedience to the command of the Holy
Ghost ; and I am confident that no day of more sacred joy
had as yet dawned upon the Church of Antioch than that on
which Barnabas and Paul were sent out to preach the Gos
pel in the cities of Cyprus. Hese, then, was something new
under the sun. Nothing like this had ever been done by the
Jews. Throughout the many centuries of their history — if
we except the typical and prophetic missions of Elisha and
Jonah — no one had ever left their borders to turn the Gen
tiles to the faith of Jehovah. Nothing like this had. ever
been seen among the Greek and Roman heathens them
selves. Never had one nation among them concerned itself
— from anything more than curiosity — with the spiritual
condition of another. Not till this vessel left the harbor
of Seleucia, had there been any organized effort by any men
for the purpose of conferring a new and beneficent religion
upon those of another race than their own. And when
these brethren did go forth, they went not with earthly weap
ons, or protected by the edict of emperor or governor, but
carrying only the truth, and eager only to tell the wondrous
story of redeeming love. It was an undertaking as heroic
as it was novel ; and it was at once the fruit of that grander
mission on which the Lord himself had come from heaven
to earth, and the evidence of its reality and power.
Let it be distinctly observed, too, that when the command
of the Holy Ghost came to them, these Christians of Antiooh
did not say, " Are there not heathen enough in Antioch to
preach to ? Let us convert them first, and then it will
be time to go to Cyprus." They simply did as they were
told, and they prospered for so doing. In our churches of

86 Paul the Missionary.
to-day, however, there are many who have the strongest
prejudices against foreign missions, and who are constantly
reminding us of the unconverted at our own doors. Now, of
course, I do not deny — alas ! who can deny ? — the existence
of heathenism in our own land, and I would be the last even
to attempt to discourage efforts for its evangelization ; but
what I do say is that we must not wait until that is accom
plished before we think of carrying the Gospel abroad. If
that principle had been acted upon at the first, it is doubt
ful if any country but Palestine would ever have heard of
Christ and his salvation. It is at least certain that, if the
Church of Antioch had followed that plan, Europe would
not have been blessed, as it ultimately was, by the labors of
Paul. But the apostle and his coadjutors were wiser than
our modern censors, for they went from place to place drop
ping the good seed of the Word, and leaving it to germinate
while they advanced yet farther into the regions of idolatry
and superstition. And if we were animated by a right
spirit, we would follow their example ; for the reflex influ
ence of success on the foreign field cannot but stimulate
the work at home. If it be true that missionary effort in
heathen lands is opposed to activity within our own bor
ders, then we might suppose that before the revival of the
foreign enterprise, at or about the beginning of the present
century, there would be great enthusiasm for the conversion
of the masses of our own population. Then there was noth
ing to divert the attention from domestic objects, or to di
vide the stream of liberality and effort ; and so of course all
these would go in the direction of home missions. But what
is the fact ? Do we find such great interest in the evangel
ization of the unconverted in our streets, as on this theory
we have a right to look for ? On the contrary, there were
in those days few Sunday-schools, no city missions, no Five
Points' Houses of Industry, no Water Street Missions, no

A Year at Antioch. 87
Scripture Readers' Associations, no mission churches — in
a word, none of those efforts which we now group under
the phrase "home evangelization." All these were the re
flex results of the very foreign enterprise which is now so
jealously regarded by many among us; or rather, perhaps,
we ought to say that the home and foreign efforts which
began some ninety years ago were the twin-born children
of a revived Christianity in the Church. These two fields
of labor are not antagonistic. They are both to be culti
vated by disciples of Jesus ; and the very life of a church
depends on its earnestness in both. The missionary enter
prise is the safety-valve of the Church ; and if you shut that
down you may look out for an explosion. The joy, the
peace, and the purity, whether of life or doctrine, of a
church depend on its activity for Christ at home and
abroad, and more abroad than at home ; for, from the obser
vation and experience of a ministry which has lasted now
for more than a quarter of a century, I say, without any hes
itation, that when interest in foreign missions is maintained
in a church to the normal point, all other activities and
agencies at home will go of themselves, and as things of
course ; while, if there be a lack of devotion to that noble
enterprise, nothing else will be prosecuted with either enthu
siasm or success. Wherefore, brethren beloved, when your
sympathies, efforts, and offerings are asked for this great
cause, let your minds go back to the day when Paul and
Barnabas set out from Antioch ; reckon up, if you can, all
that the world has owed to the work which was then inau
gurated, and respond accordingly.

Vo
CYPRUS.
Acts xiii., 4-13.
WHEN the members of the Church at Antioch desig
nated Paul and Barnabas for the work of inaugurat
ing the missionary enterprise, they laid of their very best
upon the altar of the Lord. They sent away these brethren
not because they had not succeeded, or because they could
be the most easily spared, but rather because they had been
so conspicuously wise and energetic in the services which
they had already rendered. Not without a consciousness
of sacrifice did they give them up ; and yet they were at the
same time glad of an opportunity of showing their love to
Jesus, and their interest in their fellow-men, even at such a
cost to themselves. But this cheerful acquiescence was not
all upon one side. Barnabas and Paul were as ready to be
offered on "the sacrifice and service " of the brethren's faith
as the brethren were to offer them. They gave no reluc
tant assent to the call which was addressed to them. They
said nothing of desiring to stay where they were. They ut
tered no words of regret ; and as on another memorable oc
casion, so on this it was true of our apostle that " he confer
red not with flesh and blood." When William Burns was
chosen by the English Presbyterian Synod, then in session
at Sunderland, to be its first missionary to China, and was
asked how soon he could set out, he replied, with prompt

Cyprus. 89
decision, " To-morrow !"* So here Barnabas and Paul, hold
ing themselves at the entire disposal of the Lord, gave in
stant obedience to his command. They recognized that
they were called, as indeed they were, to higher honor — if,
also, to greater danger — and they went forth rejoicing that
they had been counted worthy to receive such a commission
from their Lord.
Now this was as it always ought to b». When on the
battle-field, a movement requiring the highest strategic skill
and attended with unusual danger, is to be made, the gen
eral selects for its leader the most competent and coura
geous officer at his disposal, and he who is so chosen reckons
that he has received a mark of distinction. But why should
it be otherwise in that army whose conflicts are spiritual,
and whose victories are beneficent ? And if it be otherwise,
can we hope for the highest success in our efforts for the
conversion of the world? The Church will never rise to
the true ideal of aggressive excellence until she is willing to
give up her best men to the prosecution of the work of mis
sions, and until they are willing to regard a call to such
work as the highest honor that can be conferred upon them.
The " marching orders " given in the Saviour's last com
mand can. never be a matter of indifference to those who are
his disciples ; and the field on which Paul won his imper
ishable laurels cannot be beneath the ambition of the great
est among the soldiers of the cross.
The two friends took with them John, surnamed Mark,
the nephdw of Barnabas, and the author of the second Gos
pel. He is styled in the narrative " their minister ;" but it
is impossible to determine with precision the kind of ser
vice which he was expected to render them. Some suppose
that he was simply a personal attendant, as Elisha was upon
* " Memoir of the Rev. William C. Burns," p. 304.

90 Paul the Missionary.''
Elijah, or Gehazi upon Elisha. Others believe that he was
an assistant in their public duties — such as preaching and
the administration of baptism. To me it seems probable
that, as he was, in some sort, the precursor of Timothy, the
ministry of Mark was of a spiritual rather than a personal
kind, and that he was useful in bringing people into con
tact with his companions ; in supplementing their public in
structions by private conversations ; and in helping on the
organizisg of churches in the different places which were
visited. These, then, were the first foreign missionaries. They
left Antioch with no flourish of trumpets, but with the calm
earnestness of thoughtful men, who knew that they were haz
arding their lives for the name of the Lord Jesus, and who
believed in the assurance of their ascended Lord : " Lo, I
am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." After
a journey of about sixteen miles they came to Seleucia,
which was the port of Antioch, and was situated on the coast
of the Mediterranean, about five miles to the north of the
mouth of the Orontes. There to this day may be seen traces
of dock-works and engineering achievements which have not
been surpassed in modern times. Howson, condensing the
description of Colonel Chesney, says, " The position of the
ancient flood-gates, and the passage through which the ves
sels were moved from the inner to the outer harbor, can be
accurately marked. The very piers of the outer harbor are
still to be seen under the water. The stones are of great
size, some of them twenty feet long, five feet deep, and six
feet wide ; and they were fastened to each other with iron
cramps. The masonry is still so good that not long since
a Turkish pasha conceived the idea of clearing out and re
pairing the harbor."* We venerate that old haven in Hol-
* Conybeare and Howson, vol. i., p. 149.

Cyprus. qi
land from which, commended to God by their beloved pas
tor, the Pilgrim Fathers set out in the Mayflower to lay
the foundations of a new commonwealth, where they might
secure "freedom to worship God;" but to the Gentile
churches of every land this ancient harbor at Seleucia,
whose stones are still so firmly clamped together, is a place
yet more to be remembered, since from it went forth those
two apostles and their youthful minister with this for their
message and their motto : " Christ for all the world, and all
the world for Christ."
From this port they sailed directly to the island of Cy
prus. No reasons are assigned for their selection of this
particular field ; but they may have been influenced by the
fact that it was the birthplace of Barnabas* who would be
familiar with the habits of the people, and would naturally
be anxious for their evangelization. It is not to be forgot
ten, also, that some of those who had been instrumental in
founding the Church in Antioch were natives of Cyprus,t
and would therefore be pre-eminently interested in having
the Gospel carried to their immediate kinsmen. Moreover,
the island was easy of access from Seleucia, being, in fact,
only a few hours' sail from the main-land. It is situated in
the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Phoenicia and Ci
licia, and is about one hundred and forty -eight miles in
length, by about forty in breadth. It has been identified
through Citium, one of its ancient cities, with the Chittim of
the Old Testament, X and it was originally peopled by set
tlers from Phoenicia ; but to the descendants of these were
added a mixture of colonists from different parts of Greece.
Its name is derived from a plant § which grows in abun-
* Acts iv., 36. t Acts xi., 20.
t Cesnola, "J^yprus : its Ancient Cities, Tombs, and Temples," p, 2.
§ Henna — in Greek, Kvwpog ; in Hebrew, kopher.

92 Paul the Missionary.
dance within its borders, and which in ancient times was
made to produce a variety of oils and salves j but, as Cesno-
la tells us, its chief source of wealth was its copper-mines,
which yielded both a finer quality and a larger supply of
that metal than any other mines known to the ancients. In
fact, from its connection with this island, that mineral came
to be called Ms Cyprium, which, being shortened into Cy-
prum, has been anglicized into copper. Of these mines
Herod the Great long enjoyed a monopoly, keeping half of
the proceeds to himself, and taking charge of the other half
for Augustus ; and that fact may help to explain how it
came that there were so many Jews in the cities of Cyprus.*
The missionaries landed first at Salamis, which lies on
the eastern coast of the island a little to the north of the
modern city of Famagusta. It had a good harbor, and
though the seat of government had been transferred from it
to Paphos, it was still an important mercantile town. How
son describes it as being in the apostle's days " a large city
by the sea -shore," and Cesnola, in his recent interesting
book on Cyprus, speaks of it in these terms : " At present it
is nearly covered by sand drifted from the sea-shore, where
it lies to a depth of some ten feet. The harbor and that
portion of the wall fronting the sea are still easily traced.
I measured the length of the wall, and found it 6850 feet."t
Here they found Jews in such abundance that there were
more synagogues than one, and to them first they preached
the word of God, but with what results the historian does
not inform us.
From Salamis they journeyed across the island to Paphos,
which stood near its western extremity. The city thus named
was that known as New Paphos, and was about six miles to
* See Lewin, vol. i., p. 120 ; Josephus, " Ant.," xvi., pp. 4, 5 ; Cesnola,
p. 7. t Cesnola, p. 202.

Cyprus. 93
the north-west of the more ancient town. It still exists un
der the modernized appellation of Baffa. In the time of the
apostle it was the head-quarters of the worship of Venus,
or Aphrodite. Here, according to Greek mythology, that
goddess arose from the sea -foam ; and here was erected
one of the most splendid of her temples. Almost every
classic poet has sung of her as the Paphian Venus ; but it
would be a mistake to suppose that her worship here was
in alliance with Grecian art. On the contrary, imported
as it had been from the East rather than the West, it was re
volting and debasing in its coarseness. The road between
Old and New Paphos was often crowded with gay and prof
ligate processions ; strangers came constantly to visit the
shrine, and even Titus, on his way to prosecute the Jewish
war, made a pilgrimage to the temple of the goddess. Ces
nola has graphically described the influence of this abom
inable idolatry when he says, " To a great extent it decided
the character of public and private morality throughout the
island, and that the result was highly disgraceful may be
seen from numerous passages in the ancient writers. Every
one knows the description which Herodotus gives of the
custom of Babylonian women at the Temple of Mylitta, the
Assyrian counterpart of Aphrodite, and he adds that the
same thing prevailed in Cyprus. Later writers entirely con
firm what he says ; and the pictures which they draw of the
grand festivals to the goddess at Paphos leave little for the
imagination of man to invent, one would think, in the way
of gross indulgence."* Thus, as at Antioch, they had already
confronted the worship of Apollo in its chosen seat ; and as
afterward at Ephesus they unfurled the banner of the cross
under the shadow of Diana's temple, so here at Paphos they
brought the Gospel to the very citadel of that goddess
* Cesnola, ubi supra, p. 8.

94 Paul the Missionary.
whose homage was synonymous with the most degraded
and abominable vice. The negro servant advised his mas
ter, who was a minister, and who had received competing
calls to different churches, to " go where there was most
devil ;" arid that was precisely the principle on which these
apostolic missionaries proceeded. Like the European gen
eral, whose tactics consisted in pouring mass after mass
of troops on the centre of his enemy's position until he
had broken that, and then left the victory to spread itself
out to the extremities of the line, so the leaders of the
Christian army struck at idolatry in its strongest holds ; and
when these were destroyed it was comparatively easy to van
quish it elsewhere.
At Paphos the missionaries came, in a somewhat remark
able way, into contact with the representative of the Roman
Government, whose name was Sergius Paulus ; and in de
scribing him as " deputy," or, rather, as the word should be
technically rendered, "proconsul," the minute accuracy of
the sacred historian is admirably illustrated. Under the
Empire there were two classes of foreign provinces, called
respectively the imperial and the senatorial. The imperial
were those which required a military force, and which, for
that reason, the emperor kept in his own hands, because it
was important to him at least that the entire army should
always be under his personal control. The senatorial were
those which were at peace, and so gave little trouble to their
rulers. The governors of the imperial provinces were nom
inated by the emperor, and were called propraetors. The
governors of the senatorial were annually elected by the
senate, and were styled proconsuls. But if at any time dis
turbances broke out in a senatorial province, and it became
necessary to place it under military rule, it was transferred
to the emperor, and so it might happen that the same prov
ince was at one time under a proconsul, and at another un-

Cyprus. 95
der a propraetor. Something like this occurred in the case
of Cyprus. At first it was an imperial province governed
by a propraetor ; and so long as only that was known some
did not hesitate to say that Luke was in error here in call
ing Sergius Paulus a "proconsul." But further inquiry has
brought to light the fact that before the date of which the
evangelist is speaking the emperor had given back Cyprus
and Gallia Narbonensis to the Senate, and taken Dalmatia
in exchange for them ; and so the proper title of the gov
ernor of Cyprus just at this time was " proconsul." Con
temporary records name two proconsuls in the reign of
Claudius ; and Lewin* engraves an ancient coin struck in
the time of that emperor, which has on one side the head
and name of Claudius, and on the other the inscription " of
the Cypriotes " with the name Procus, and as his title the
very Greek word here used by Luke. Thus the correctness
of the evangelist's designation is confirmed ; but within the
last year General Cesnola has brought to light an inscrip
tion which seems to make mention of Sergius Paulus him
self under the title of proconsul. It is much mutilated,
and in some parts the meaning is uncertain ; but it gives a
date Eni nATAOY [ANe]YITATOY " in the proconsulship of
Paulus ;" and Cesnola says this is most probably the Ser
gius Paulus who is mentioned in The Acts of the Apostles,
affirming that instances of the suppression of one of two
names are not rare.t
It is interesting also to note that one Sergius Paulus is
named twice by Pliny among the Latin authors to whom he
was indebted for facts recorded in his "Natural History;"
and as that writer mentions one or two remarkable things*
regarding Cyprus, we may conjecture that these were fur
nished to him by this proconsul, who may have occupied
* Vol. i., p. 125. t Cesnola, as before, pp. 229, 425.
S

96 Paul the Missionary.
his leisure time when on the island in making notes of his
observations, much as General Cesnola himself did when
he represented America among its people.*
This governor is here described as a "prudent" rnan, or,
as it might be better rendered, "a man of intelligence."
But if that were really his character, one is disposed to ask
how he came to allow such a man as Bar-jesus, the sorcerer
and false prophet named in the narrative, to have any fel
lowship with him or influence over him. Yet a very slight
acquaintance with the state of religious opinion at this time
throughout the Roman Empire will enable us to explain
the apparent anomaly. The great mass of the ignorant
population were wedded to the existing idolatries ; and a
professed adherence to the old superstitions was given by
many others for no better reason than that their vicious
habits could be safely indulged under the cloak of devotion.
But in reality very few educated men could be found who
had any faith even in the simplest elements of natural re
ligion ; while amid the breaking up of the ancient systems,
and the rejection of the elements of truth which they all in
some degree contained, there was, as almost always hap
pens in such cases, a new development of credulity, and a
rich harvest was reaped by soothsayers and false prophets
of every sort. Those who were dissatisfied with all that
philosophy and the popular religion could offer for their
spiritual wants were at the same time anxious to examine
everything which offered itself as a new revelation from
Heaven, and so were often led astray by cunning craftiness
which was lying in wait for tlieir deception. The city ot
Rome was overrun with Oriental sorcerers who made a
living by pretending to foretell or to control the future ; and

* See an interesting article in the Contemporary Review for May, 1878,
by Bishop Lightfoot, on The Acts, illustrated by recent discoveries.

Cyprus. 97
in every important centre of population there was a plen
tiful crop of similar impostors. From Syria, from Chaldaea,
from Egypt, and from Phrygia these charlatans came ; but
the worst and most cunning of them all, because they had
fallen from the only divine religion of antiquity, were the
Jewish magicians, the more intellectual of whom obtained
ascendency even with thoughtful men. Now, the presence
of Bar-jesus at the court of Sergius may be thus accounted
for. The consul had cast off the old beliefs, but he had not
yet found anything better to take their place. His soul was
in a state of blank bewilderment as he cried, " Who will
show me any good?" The question, "What is truth?"
was not in him, as it was in Pilate, the flippant inquiry of a
scorner, but it was the sad and serious problem on which
he was continually pondering, but for which he could find no
adequate solution. In these circumstances he met with this
Bar-jesus, who belonged to the same class as Sceva and his
sons, whom Paul afterward* exposed at Ephesus, and who,
with whatever errors and false pretences he might accom
pany his statements, might yet bring before him the great
truths which were enshrined in the heart of Judaism, name
ly, the unity, spirituality, and omnipresence of God. For
the good things which he learned at his lips the proconsul
would be grateful ; though we may well believe that he knew
not what to make of the claims which Bar-jesus advanced,
and which, through his knowledge of occult science, he pro
fessed to sustain by miracles. This, we suppose, was the
state of matters with him when he heard of the preaching of
Barnabas and Paul ; and in the same spirit of inquiry which
impelled him to listen to Bar-jesus, he sent for them, desiring
to hear what they had to communicate, if by any means he
might attain to certainty on religious subjects.

* Acts xix., 13-16.

98 Paul the Missionary.
This procedure of his, however, was bitterly resented by
the Magian * He saw that his position and occupation
would be gone if the new doctrines were accepted by his
patron ; and therefore he put forth all his efforts to counter
act their teachers. The occasion was both solemn and im
portant — like that on which Peter confronted Simon Magus
— and the Spirit of the Lord came upon Paul, so that, in di
rect contradiction of the name Bar-jesus, a son of the Sav
iour, which he had chosen for himself, he calls the sorcerer
a " child of the devil ;" denounces him as " full of all subtil-
ty and mischief ;" stigmatizes him as an " enemy of all right
eousness ;" accuses him of "perverting the right ways of the
Lord ;" and declares that he should be " blind, not seeing
the sun for a season." He had scarcely spoken when a
mist and a darkness fell upon the deceiver, who went about
seeking some one to lead him by the hand ; and the effect
was not merely to break the spell of his influence over the
proconsul, but also to secure the faith of Paulus, " who was
astonished at the doctrine of the Lord."
In connection with the account of this miracle there are
some things which call for a little further elucidation. Thus
we have here for the first time introduced into the narrative
the name of Paul as the equivalent of Saul, which hence
forth drops entirely out of use. Now we cannot help ask
ing whether this change had any special connection with the
events which we have just been describing. Some would
answer that the apostle took the name Paul after Sergius
Paulus, the first convert of any great position in society,
whom he had been instrumental in making; but such an
idea is ridiculously inconsistent with all that we know of
the humility of Paul. Others, observing that from this
* That is the meaning of the Persian word Elymas, which is here em
ployed,

Cyprus. 99
point of the history onward Barnabas falls into the second
place, and marking, also, that special mention is made of
Paul's being "filled with the Holy Ghost," have supposed
that this was the occasion of his first public manifestation
as the apostle of the Gentiles. This critical juncture they
believe to be indicated by his triumph over an apostate Jew,
by the performance of his earliest miracle, and by the con
version of an official representative of Rome. Now, there
fore, was the time for the introduction of his apostolic title ;
and so they conclude that was the reason why from this day
forward he was always called Paul. But to me all such ex
planations seem to be too ingenious to be correct. The
simplest view of the matter is that from the first Saul had
two names — the one Hebrew in form and termination, and
the other Roman ; and that, as he was now for the first time
moving in Gentile society, his Roman name is now for the
first time employed. It was a common thing for Jews to
take a second name assimilated to those current in the
countries in which their lot was cast. Thus it had been
with Joseph in Egypt, with Daniel and his three friends in
Babylon, with Esther in Persia ; and so in Tarsus it would
be natural for a Jewish youth to have both a Jewish and a
Gentile name. Indeed, in the very chapter part of which
we have been considering to-night we have Simeon called
Niger; and elsewhere we have John Mark, Joses Barnabas,
Joseph Justus, Judas Barsabas, Silas Silvanus ; and after the
same analogy we have here " Saul, who also is called Paul."
Another thing calling for special remark in connection
with the record of this miracle is the appearance of the
phrase, " being filled with the Holy Ghost." This cannot
be meant to imply that only now for the first time did Paul
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, for we have already seen
that he was endowed with that, immediately after his con
version, through the agency of Ananias ; but it seems to me

ioo Paul the Missionary.
to indicate that a peculiar inspiration prompted him, at the
moment, to take the course which he adopted with Bar-
jesus. Apart from that divine impulse we have no warrant
to believe that any miracle would have been wrought in
connection with his words ; for there is a very perceptible
difference in this respect between our Lord and his apos
tles. The Saviour's supernatural power was in his own
will. He performed his miracles when, where, and how he
pleased. His ability to do such works was not a delegated
thing, but inherent in his own divine personality ; but it
was quite otherwise with his official representatives. They
wrought only at his suggestion ; and so the working of mir
acles by them was subservient not to their own pleasure,
but to his wisdom. Paul could perform supernatural signs
only when he was specially directed by the Holy Ghost to
do so. He had not the prerogative of doing such things
when he pleased. That would have been too great a thing
to intrust to any fallible man, and the Lord kept it entirely
in his own hands. While he was upon the earth, he exer
cised his own discretion as to working or refraining from
working miracles in certain places ; and after he had gone
to glory, he still controlled the movements of his apostles in
this regard by the Holy Ghost. So Paul and his brother
apostles wrought these mighty deeds only when, as in the
present instance, they were divinely directed to do so ; and
the occasions on which they were so directed were common
ly such as constituted their miracles " signs " which were as
much illustrations of the truth as confirmations of it. This
will account for some otherwise perplexing things in the
history of Paul. Thus he could heal the Governor of Malta
of his disease, but he could not remove from himself that
thorn in the flesh which so perplexed him ; he had to leave
Trophimus at Miletum sick ;* and he could not shorten the
* 2 Tim. iv., 20.

Cyprus. ioi
long and dangerous illness of Epaphroditus* So, again,
though he could foretell that no one of his fellow-passengers
in the ship would be drowned,t he could not forecast his own
future, or discover how it would go with him in the matter of
his appeal to Caesar. J These things are difficult to explain,
until, under the guidance of such phraseology as that which
Luke has here employed, we recognize that the ability to
work miracles was not a prerogative of Paul's own, to be
exercised by him just as he pleased, but was held by him at
the will of the Master himself, and used by him only on the
impulse of the Holy Ghost, at such times and in such cir
cumstances as divine wisdom determined to be appropriate.
The early Christians were not permitted, if I may so express
myself, to play with miracles ; for such a power in undirect
ed human hands might have proved like an edge-tool in the
grasp of an infant, and might have been detrimental both
to themselves and others ; but they held this gift of super
natural power subject to the special guidance of the Master
whose they were, and whom they served ; and therefore their
exercise of it was always salutary in its purpose and signifi
cant in its form.
It was particularly so in the present instance; for this
was a miracle of rebuke, and it took a most suggestive
shape. The wonderful works of the Lord Jesus were al
most all beneficent. Only on two occasions did his super
nal power go forth in judgment, and in both the bodies of
men were spared; for the one was the drowning of the
herd of swine, and the other was the blasting of the fig-tree.
The miracles of the apostles, also, were in the main works
of mercy ; yet one sign of judgment was wrought by eacrt
of those two who were acknowledged as leaders among
them. And it is not difficult to perceive the principle on
* Phil, ii., 26, 27. t Acts xxvii., 22. J Phil, ii., 23.

102 Paul the Missionary.
which these were performed, for the deaths of Ananias and
Sapphira were designed to be a warning against hypocritk
cai connection with the Church ; and the blindness of Bar-
jesus was meant to be a salutary caution to all those who
set themselves up in rivalry against the truth or in antago
nism to it. We must note also that this blindness was only
" for a season ;" and it may be that it became a means of
spiritual illumination to him on whom it was inflicted. We
cannot tell ; and though, where Scripture is silent, we are
forbidden to dogmatize, yet we are not compelled to despair
of the after conversion of this hitherto misguided man.
For the rest, we cannot fail to be impressed with the
symbolical nature of this miracle. This blindness was to
Bar-jesus an emblem of his own spirit and work. As one
has well said, " His moral sense was blunted ; and in at
tempting to sway Sergius Paulus, it was the blind leading
the blind, while he needed to be led himself. He might
profess to work by the finger of God, but the heavy hand
of God fell upon him, and its shadow extinguished his vi
sion. His sin might be read in his judgment. His boast
was of insight, but he was taught that he saw nothing."*
Or perhaps the significance of this judgment may be found
in its forecast of the doom of those who love the darkness
rather than the light. Bar-jesus would not open his eyes
to see the truth which Paul proclaimed, and God closed his
vision to the objects round him — a type of the sealing up
of the inner sight of those who perversely persist in resist
ing him who is " the light of the world." There is an ac
count given in ancient Roman history of one who had been
proscribed under the government of the Triumvirs, and who,
to save his life, disguised himself by wearing a black patch
over one eye. A good while after, when the danger was
* " Paul the Preacher," by John Eadie, D.D., LL.D., p. 62. >

Cyprus. 103
past, he took off the patch, but in vain, for the sight of
the eye was gone* Even so, if men stubbornly shut their
hearts against God's truth, their consciences will become
seared, their spirits will be hardened with insensibility, and
the light that is in them will become darkness. This is the
great law of the divine administration, " Unto every one that
hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance : but
from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which
he hath ;"t or, as the Lord has elsewhere expressed it,
" For judgment I am come into this world, that they which
see not might see ; and that they which see might be made
blind."$ Beloved brethren, be on your guard against this
danger ! See that you resist not the force of God's truth !
Let not the god of this world blind your minds, lest the
light of the glorious Gospel of Christ should shine unto
you ; for if you thus shut -out the truth from you, there is
nothing but perdition before you. While you have the light,
walk in the light ; for if you refuse to do so, the day will
come when a mist and a darkness shall fall upon you, and
you will vainly seek for one to lead you by the hand.
Therefore "give glory to the Lord your God, before he
cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark
mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the
shadow of death, and make it gross darkness. But if ye
will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your
pride ; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with
tears, because the Lord's flock is carried away captive."§
We cannot tell how long "Paul and his company" re
mained in Paphos, or what determined them to choose
Pamphylia and Pisidia as their next field of labor. Per-

* See " Memoirs of Archbishop Whately," vol. ii., p. 46.
t Matt, xxv., 29. X John ix., 39.
§ Jeremiah xiii., 16, 17. 5*

104 Paul the Missionary.
haps, however, when they came to the conclusion that the
time had arrived for their leaving Cyprus, their future des
tination might be settled by an apparently casual thing,
such as the opportune sailing of a vessel for Perga.
The district of Pamphylia lay between Lycia and Cilicia
along the shore of the Mediterranean, and was composed
of the territory enclosed between the mountain range of
Taurus and the sea. Perga, its capital, was situated on the
river Caestrus, about seven miles above its mouth, and was
as near to Paphos at the western extremity of Cyprus as
Seleucia was to Salamis at its eastern. A short sail, there
fore, would suffice to take the brethren thither ; and as they
landed they would see, crowning the hill behind the city,
the Temple of .Diana, to whose worship the inhabitants were
devoted. It does not appear, however, that the missionaries
made any evangelistic efforts here on this their first visit.
This may have been due either to the fact that, so far as ap
pears, there was no Jewish synagogue in the place, or to the
eagerness of the apostle to press forward into the inland re
gion behind Mount Taurus ; but it was more probably owing
to the disappointment occasioned by the defection of John
Mark, who at this point left the missionary band, and re
turned to Jerusalem ; for Paul had an exceedingly sensitive
temperament, and would be greatly disconcerted by Mark's
desertion. It may seem ungenerous, indeed, to give such
an explanation of his speedy departure from Perga, but
the better acquainted we become with him, the more natu
ral will this account of the matter appear ; and, blame it as
we may, we cannot wonder that, after Mark had gone from
them, both he and Barnabas should hasten away from a
city which the conduct of their companion had linked with
a most unpleasant association.
But how shall we explain Mark's departure from them ?
Perhaps he had not entered on the work in the right spirit,

Cyprus.

i°5

and so, having had a pleasant-trip through his mother's na
tive island, he withdrew from the dangers which he feared
would beset them in Pamphylia and Pisidia. Perhaps,
through his Jewish prejudices, he was not yet in full sym
pathy with the movement for the conversion of the Gentiles
and their reception, without regard to the Mosaic law, into
the Church. Perhaps he was displeased at the pre-emi
nence into which Paul had been advanced, and was jealous
for the honor of his uncle, who had apparently been put into
the second place ; or perhaps he was a little homesick, and
longed for a sight of the dear friends whom he had left in
Jerusalem. Probably there was a mingling of all these in
the motives by which he was actuated ; and though his con
duct may have been natural in a young man, it was coward
ly in fts character, and painful in its results. As we shall
afterward learn, he came to see his error, and ultimately re
gained the full confidence of Paul ; but not before his de
fection had been the occasion of the most painful episode
in the life of our apostle, when the contention between him
and Barnabas was so sharp "that they departed asunder
one from the other."*
It is not well to anticipate events which must come up
again for review ; nevertheless, I cannot conclude to-night
without addressing a few words of exhortation to young
Christians, founded on this false step of Mark, and its after-
results as I have just now briefly referred to them.
Let those who have entered the service of the Lord be
on their guard against allowing any influence to damp their
ardor or to cool their zeal. Having put their hands to the
plough, let them beware of looking back. He who enlists
into the army of Christ does so for life ; and no personal
pique or petty jealousy of others should move him to desert
* Acts xv., 39.

106 Paul the Missionary.
his colors. Not even the comforts of his home or the fel.
lowship of those of his own household ought to draw him
from his allegiance to his commander. The Lord is the
dwelling-place of his people, and in him they may have a
home in any place; while in the brotherhood of believers
they may have more than made up to them their loss of
fireside communion with their kindred. The Master him
self hath said, " Verily I say unto you, There is no man that
hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother,
or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's,
but he shall receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses,
and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and
lands, with persecutions ; and in the world to come eternal
life."* And he who has any true faith in God's omnipres
ence can sing :
" To me remains nor place nor time,
My country is in every clime ;
I can be calm and free from care
On any shore, since God is there."
But the defection of the young disciple, besides doing in
jury to himself, may, as in the instance before us, cause se
rious alienation between honored servants of Christ, and so
give occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. We
are often told that old members of the Church may prove
a stumbling-block to those who are entering on the Chris
tian life, by their inconsistencies ; but we do not hear young
disciples warned as frequently as they ought to be, that
their fickleness may create strife and contention between
those who otherwise would have been true yoke-fellows in
the Lord. Mark was the occasion of a quarrel between
Paul and Barnabas ; and in many a modern church the el
ders would be peaceful co-operators but for the vagaries of
* Mark x., 29, 30.

Cyprus.

107

some young and unstable novice, who, being related to an
influential Joses, becomes at once the occasion of unseemly
partisanship. Now, in such controversies there are usually
faults all round ; but the first fault is always in the vacilla
tion of the conceited youth, who should be emphatically told
so, and should be warned to be steadfast for the future. Not
for his own progress alone, therefore, but also for the peace
and prosperity of the Church, it is indispensable that the
convert should be unwavering in his perseverance. He
ought to think of something else than his own comfort or
convenience, or pre-eminence. He ought to remember that
the quiet and harmonious working of the Church as a
whole is far more important than he is ; and, lest some Paul
and Barnabas should be stirred into contention over him,
he should learn patiently to "endure hardness as a good
soldier of Jesus Christ."
But there is another side to this subject; and if there
should be any one here who has made a stumble on the
threshold of his spiritual life, let him not imagine that he is
beyond recovery. As we shall afterward sfie, Mark found
his way again to the front rank of the disciples, and regain
ed his place in the confidence of Paul. So it may be with
you. Why not then begin anew to-night ? He who restored
Peter will not cast out you. Think not that you have lost
your only opportunity. You have another now ; and though
some may object to put you back at once into your old
place as Paul did with Mark, do not interpret your Saviour
through their conduct. He is better even than the best of
his servants ; and is it not written of him, "A bruised reed
shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not
quench?" Paul could not endure the fitful flame which
Mark seemed to be emitting, and was for blowing it out
altogether ; but Jesus fanned it into a steady blaze. Paul
could not bear the harsh note which came from Mark, and

io8 Paul the Missionary.
was for breaking the bruised reed; but Jesus gently straight
ened it ou,t again, so that there came from it the sweet mu
sic of his praise. Doubt not, therefore, his reception of you.
Remember that the greatest of all sins you can commit is to
despair of his grace. Take hold of his hand again to-night,
and see how he will fulfil for you the promise that " he that
is feeble shall be as David."

VI.
THE FIRST RECORDED SERMON OF PAUL.
Acts xiii., 14-52.
FROM Perga Paul and Barnabas journeyed up across
the mountains, on to the high tabk-land which forms
the interior of Asia Minor, and made their first missionary
efforts in Antioch of Pisidia. Their way led through wild
passes, in which, at times, Alpine torrents ran with foaming
impetuosity ; and as the whole region was infested .with
brigands, this may have been one of the occasions on which
Paul was exposed to those " perils of rivers " and " perils of
robbers " to which he has referred in one of his letters.*
The city which now became the scene of his labors is to be
carefully distinguished from its more illustrious namesake
on the banks of the Orontes. It lay almost due North
from Perga, and was nearly a hundred miles from the sea
shore. It was built on the southern slope of the ridge
which formed the boundary between Phrygia and Pisidia, ,
so that it was referred to sometimes as belonging to the
one, and sometimes as forming part of the other. It was
founded by Seleucus Nicator, and after it came under the
Roman power it enjoyed the distinction of being, like Phi
lippi, a Roman colony. Its population was composed, in
its lowest stratum, of native Pisidians, who spoke in a patois
of their own. Its middle class consisted of Greek settlers,
* 2 Cor. xi., 26,

no Paul the Missionary.
who retained their mother - tongue ; and its upper stratum
of Roman colonists, who used the Latin language. Besides
these there were many Jews, who statedly met for worship
in a synagogue of their own. About forty years ago its
ruins were discovered by an English clergyman,* in the im
mediate neighborhood of the modern town of Yalobatch ;
and, judging from the fact that among them were found as
many as twenty arches which seem to have formed part of
an immense aqueduct, it must have been a place of consid
erable importance.
Here, following the plan which they invariably adopted,
Paul and Barnabas addressed themselves first to the Jews.
They probably had interviews with some of their fellow-
countrymen during the ordinary days of the week, and ex
plained to them the purpose of their mission and the nature
of their message. This would create a curiosity to hear
still further from them ; and accordingly, when they appear
ed in the synagogue on the Sabbath, they were publicly call
ed upon, after the reading of the law and the prophets, to
explain their errand. In response to this request, Paul de
livered the address of which a summary has been preserved
for us by the sacred historian.
A little thing, somewhat characteristic of the apostle, has
been brought to light by Bengel in connection with the re
lation of this discourse to the exercises by which it was pre
ceded. The synagogue lessons, like those of the Episcopal
Church among ourselves, were arranged to be read in stated
order, one from the law and one from the prophets. Now,
in the commencement of his address, Paul uses three Greek
words, partly rare, and partly peculiar to the Scriptures.f
* Rev. Mr. Arundell, then chaplain at Smyrna ; see Howson, vol. i.,
p. 182.
t These are iiipioaiv, exalted; irpoirotpopritni; suffered their manners;
and KaTvcXtipovo/itimv, divided by tot.

The First Recorded Sermon of Paul. hi
Of these the first is found in Isaiah i., 2, and the sec
ond and third in Deuteronomy i., 31, 38. It happens, too,
that these two chapters, the first of Deuteronomy and the
first of Isaiah, are read to this day on the same Sabbath
among the Jews; and therefore we may reasonably infer
that both were read in the service on that Sabbath in An
tioch ; and that, just as he afterward took the inscription on
the Athenian altar for the starting-point of his address on
Mars' Hill, so here Paul commenced his discourse with a
reference to the Scriptures which had only a few minutes
before been brought before them as the lessons for the day.*
We have here the first reported sermon of our apostle ;
and as it has in it the germs of those methods of presenting
and enforcing the truth which have given to all his doctri
nal epistles their peculiarity and power, it will amply repay
the most careful analysis.
The audience was composed of those who were Jews by
birth and those who are styled "religious proselytes,"t
and were addressed by Paul as " ye that fear God." These
last were not formally connected with the Jewish Church.
They were probably thoughtful Gentiles, who had renounced
polytheism and idolatry, and who, though they did not sub
mit themselves to the Mosaic ritual in everything, yet wor
shipped the one true God, joined in the services of the syn
agogue, and were commonly regarded by the Jews with a
friendly feeling, though they were still viewed by them as
Gentiles, with whom they could not eat. They had all the
knowledge of the Jews without their narrowness, and among
them generally were the first-fruits of the apostle's labors in
Gentile lands. $ Now, an audience composed of two such
* See "Bengelii Gnomon," in loc. • t Acts xiii., 43.
% Jacobs's "Ecclesiastical Polity of the New Testament," note on pp,
49. S°-

112 Paul the Missionary.
classes — one characterized by national exclusiveness, and the
other by an eager longing for the truth and a determination
to weigh with candor everything that would be said — was not
the easiest to handle ; yet, in the course which Paul pursued,
we see how he has already determined to become " all things
to all men, that he might by all means save some." He
had that to say which, if abruptly uttered, would have roused
all the bitterness of bigoted prejudice against him ; and so
he began in an easy, natural, and conciliatory manner, and
led his hearers gradually up to the truth which he desired
to put before them.
The discourse itself may be divided into four sections,
which may be styled respectively historical, apologetical,
doctrinal, and practical.
The historical section bears a considerable resemblance
to the address of Stephen before the council at Jerusalem,
and it is not improbable that the words of the protomartyr
were fresh in the memory of the apostle while he spoke.
Like his great forerunner, Paul sought to gain a hearing by
referring first to those subjects in 'regard to which he and
his Jewish kinsmen were agreed, while at the same time he
so constructed his historical review as to make it subserve
the purpose of argument. His summary is more brief and
general than that of Stephen ; because he was not put upon
his defence, and was required only to give a clear and pos
itive exposition of the truth which he had to communicate.
Hence he could choose his own ground ; and with the view
of showing that the system of Moses never was intended to
be God's final word to men, but was designed rather to be
a halting-place on the way toward the full manifestation of
God's purpose of mercy to mankind at large, he began with
the election of the patriarchs, and came down through the
Exodus, the settlement of the tribes in Canaan, and the rule
of the Judges, until the setting up of the monarchy under

The First Recorded Sermon of Paul. 113
David, in whose family the hopes of the people were cen
tred, as that from which the great deliverer was to arise.
Thus from the very beginning there had been a gradual ev
olution in their history, working toward that which was to
be its climax and culmination ; but that evolution had been
always under the guiding intelligence of their God. It was
no accidental thing, nor even any survival of the fittest in a
blind " struggle for existence ;" but instead the result of the
superintending wisdom of Jehovah ; for the most cursory
reader of this address cannot fail to note the prominence
which Paul gives throughout this portion of his discourse
to the sovereign agency of God. It was he who chose the
fathers ; it was he who brought the people out of Egypt and
led them through the wilderness ; it was he who destroyed
before them the nations of Canaan, and divided their land to
them by lot ; it was he who gave them the judges ; it was he
who rejected the dynasty of Saul, and selected that of Da
vid ; and equally it was he who from the seed of David had
raised up unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus. Now, as in all the
former instances the people's interest lay in accepting the
appointment of Jehovah, so Paul argues that their safety in
the present case also was to be secured by heartily receiv
ing the Saviour whom he proclaimed. His appeal thus
stated, or rather perhaps implied, was all the more power
ful because he left these facts to speak for themselves, with
out seeking at this stage of his address to point the warn
ing which they suggested, and because he as yet said noth
ing that could be construed into disparagement of that law
which, alas ! had now become to them almost as much a
snare as the brazen serpent was to their fathers in the days
of Hezekiah, when that monarch broke it in fragments, and
caUed it " a piece of brass." He had dealt thus far only
in statements which they could not controvert.
But when he spoke of Jesus as a Saviour out of the

ii4 Paul the Missionary.
House of David, the question must have started to their
minds, " Does he mean to allege that Jesus of Nazareth is
the promised Messiah ?" and in connection with that there
would be a desire to know what evidence he advanced in
behalf of the claim which he made for the Nazarene.
To meet that, Paul proceeds to what I have called the
apologetical portion of the address, and gives three distinct
proofs of the genuineness of the Messiahship of Jesus.
The first of these is derived from the testimony of John the
Baptist, who, when the people would have been delighted to
hail him as their deliverer, disclaimed the honor for himself,
but pointed them to Jesus, and considered his own course
fulfilled when he had introduced them to him.
The second is founded on the fact that by their very re
jection and crucifixion of Jesus, they that dwelt at Jerusa
lem and their rulers were fulfilling the prophecies which
went before concerning him. The historian here has not
specified the predictions to which Paul referred ; but doubt
less they would include the following: "When they knew
him not they realized the prediction, ' There is no form nor
comeliness that we should desire him.' In their condemn
ing him was verified the oracle, ' He was oppressed and he
was afflicted.' Their placing of his cross between those of
two thieves brought to pass that ' voice ' — ' and he was num
bered with the transgressors.' When he was laid in Jo
seph's grave the divine declaration was confirmed, ' and he
was with a rich man in his death.' "*
The third proof of the Messiahship of Jesus here ad
vanced was his resurrection from the dead, whereby he was
"declared to be the Son of God with power," and the pre
diction in the second Psalm, " Thou art my son, this day
have I begotten thee," was accomplished. Nor was this
* " Paul the Preacher," by John Eadie, D.D., LL.D., p. 79.

The First Recorded Sermon of Paul. 115
raising of Jesus from the dead a mere temporary thing,
like that of the widow's son by Elijah, or that of the Shu-
namite's child by Elisha, for they died again, and returned
to corruption; but Jesus rose to be the abiding recipient
of " the sacred promises once made sure to David."* He
came forth from the grave to have fulfilled in him the
prophecy made by Nathan to David, "Thine house and thy
kingdom shall be established forever before thee, thy throne
shall be established forever ;" and so he is the king of a
spiritual and enduring dominion which is to be universal.
This statement the apostle fortifies by a reference to the
words in the sixteenth Psalm, " Thou shalt not suffer thy
Holy One to see corruption^" which could not be inter
preted of David himself, since, after serving his generation
by the will of God, he fell asleep, and was laid unto his fa
thers and saw corruption ; and which therefore must refer to
his son and Lord whom God raised from the dead. Thus,
by the testimony of the Baptist regarding him, by the ful
filment of prophecy in his rejection and crucifixion by the
Jews, and by his resurrection from the dead, Paul proves
that Jesus of Nazareth is indeed the Messiah. And as in
the former part of his address we are reminded of the words
of Stephen, so in this we have vividly recalled to us those
of Peter on the Day of Pentecost, which refer to the same
Psalms of David, and draw the same inferences from them.
That, however, does not in the least invalidate the indepen
dence of Paul, or imply that he borrowed from his brother
apostle. It was natural that, in seeking to establish the
same conclusion, they should use similar arguments, espe
cially when they were reasoning with the same class of
hearers ; and we cannot help remarking that, if it had been
his special vocation to preach to the Jews, Paul, as is clear
* So we understand the words rd. oma Aaj3iS tA. -rrwra.

116 Paul the Missionary.
from this discourse, would have shown as much tact and
judgment in performing that duty as did the apostle of the
circumcision himself. For the rest, if we care to use our
reference Bibles with diligence, we may find in this section
of his address the outlines of some of those arguments
which he has more fully elaborated in his letters.
But, advancing now to the doctrinal portion of this ser
mon, we come upon thoughts which are distinctively Pauline,
and which, so far as we know, were here unfolded by him
for the first time. In an earlier part of his discourse he
had grouped the blessings of the Gospel of Christ under the
one generic word " salvation ;" but as he narrows in toward
his conclusion he becomes more specific, and proclaims to
his hearers through Christ " the forgiveness of sins." This
indeed had been already done among the Jews, almost in
the same terms, on many occasions by Peter ; but now Paul
proceeds to announce that doctrine with which his name
will be forever associated, as he says " by him," or rather
"in him all that believe are justified from all things, from
which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses." Thus
even at this early date, before the circumcision controversy
had arisen, we discover that he had attained to those views
of the law of Moses on the one hand, and of the Gospel of
Christ on the other, which he has so admirably expounded and
enforced in his epistles to the Galatians and to the Romans.
The importance of the subject itself, and its bearing on
the results which followed the delivery of this discourse,
make it imperative that we should dwell at somewhat great
er length upon the statement which he makes.
Here, then, is a new term introduced — " all that believe
art justified;" and again, "ye could not be justified by the
law of Moses." What meaning must we assign to this
word ? It is borrowed from the courts of law, and refers to
the issue of a charge brought against one who is accused.

The First Recorded Sermon of Paul. 117
As the result of a trial, such a one is either justified or con
demned ; that is, he is treated either as an innocent man or
as a guilty man. Observe, I have said " treated '_' as inno
cent or guilty. He may be really guilty, and yet, by some
means or other, he may be brought in not guilty, so that the
law discharges him as having nothing against him ; or he
may be really innocent, yet through the force of a suspicious
chain of circumstantial evidence, or from the absence of
some needed exculpatory testimony, he may be found guilty,
so that he is treated as a malefactor. The sentence of
the court does not simply in and of itself affect the man's
moral character. It only declares that, as a matter of fact,
the law has, or has not, unsatisfied claims against him.
Thus, then, justification is the declaring that an accused
person is right before the law ;* and when we speak of the
justification of a sinner by God, we mean that he is treated
by God as one who is right before the law, and on whom,
therefore, the law has no claim for punishment. It is more
than mere forgiveness, for the forgiven one is in some sort
dealt with as a sinner ; but the justified one is treated as
righteous. Of course, in the case of every sinner so justi
fied, there is also a change of heart produced by the pow
er of the Holy Spirit, so that these two things, justification
and regeneration, which is the beginning of sanctification,
always go together. They are, in fact, as inseparable as
light and heat are in the rays of the sun ; but they are two
things notwithstanding, and it is essential to a clear appre
hension of both that they be held as distinct.
* A curious illustration of an old forensic use of the word is furnished
in Walter Scott's " Waverley," when Evan Maccombich says to the judge,
pleading for his master, " that ony six o' the very best o' his clan will be
willing to be justified in his stead." Here the term means "hanged;" a
criminal being held to be set right with the law when he had suffered its
penalty. See " Waverley Novels," vol. ii., p. 390.

u8 Paul the Missionary.
Now, taking justification to mean God's treatment of the
sinner as righteous, the question arises, on what ground is
the sinner so treated ? This is answered by Paul in the
words before us, both negatively and positively. Negative
ly, he says, "Ye could not be justified by the law of Moses."
Here, however, it is needful to remove a slight ambiguity in
the English version of the sentence in which these words oc
cur. Paul does not mean to say, as a hasty reading of the
verse here would almost lead us to believe, that the law of
Moses could give justification from some things, but not
from others, and that from these others they could find re
lief alone in Christ. The order of the words in the orig
inal makes it evident that what he did say was this : "By
him, or in him, every one that believeth is justified from all
things ; an effect which the law is so far from being able
to produce that it justifies from nothing." This is a truth
which in the most impressive and unmistakable terms he
has repeated over and over again in his epistles ; and never
more tersely than in his words to Peter, as reported in his
letter to the Galatians, "By the works of .the law shall no
flesh be justified."*
But you ask, how can it be proved that justification can
not come from the law ? I answer, not because the law for
its own purposes was not valuable, but because the opera
tion of law, as such, can never be anything but condemna
tory. As one has very clearly put it: "If the law has not
been violated, then its operation is null and void ; but in no
case can its operation, if it operates, be other than that of
death. All are responsible to God ; none have discharged
their responsibilities; therefoie the law comes in as an
agent of death, and consequently from the law, as law, there
can be no hope of life."t This is not because it is a bad
* Gal. ii., 16.
t " The Witness of Paul to Christ," by Stanley Leathes, p. 82.

The First Recorded Sermon of Paul. 119
law, but simply because it is a law ; for it is matter even of
our own common experience that the law of the State is
never called into operation by us unless it be to punish us
for some violation of it ; or to condemn those who have
broken it by injuring us. We look to it for the infliction of
its penalty upon offenders. It does not operate at all on
those who keep it; but when it is broken then its arm is
uplifted against those who have infringed it. This is the
case with all law, whether human or divine, and the law
given by Moses was no exception. That law found men
sinners, and, so far as its own intrinsic efficacy was concern
ed, it left them sinners. Nay, its emphatic enforcement of
moral rectitude in the Ten Commandments, which, though
they are of permanent obligation, were yet incorporated in
it, only made their guilt more manifest. They were verily
guilty, and therefore the operation of the law, so far from
justifying, condemned them* But if all law in general, and
the law of Moses in particular, could not justify the sinner,
how can this blessing be obtained ? The apostle replies in
the positive part of this verse thus : " In him " — that is, in
this man, this Jesus — " all that believe are justified from all
-things." This is a general statement which we are sure Paul
would amplify for the instruction of his hearers ; and, from
the reasoning contained in his epistles, we are at no loss to
determine the method which he would pursue, and the points
which he would establish. Let me group round this text a
few passages taken almost at random from four of his letters.
To the Romansf he writes, " Being justified freely by his
grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus ; whom
* Paul does not enter here on the question, " Wherefore then serveth
the law?" as he does in his Epistle to the Galatians. But, to prevent
misapprehension, we refer our readers to that passage (Gal. iii., 19-29),
that they may see its educational value.
t Rom. iii., 24-26 ; v., 18, 19. 6

120 Paul the Missionary.
God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his
blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins
that are past, through the forbearance of God ; to declare, I
say, at this time his righteousness : that he might be just,
and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." And
again: "As by the offence of one judgment came upon, all
men to condemnation ; even so by the righteousness pf one
the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
For as byone man's disobedience many were made* signers,
so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous."
To the Corinthians* he speaks of Christ as "who of God is
made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification,
and redemption :" and again he writes, " He hath made him
to be sin for us who knew no sin ; that we might be made
the righteousness of God in him." So'also to the Galatiansf
he affirms that " Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of
the law, being made a curse for us : for it is written, Cursed
is every one that hangeth on a tree : that the blessing of
Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ;
that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through
faith." Now, from these quotations, and others which might
he abundantly added to them, the following things seem to
me very plainly deducible : namely, first, that God was willing
to deal with the Lord Jesus Christ in the room of sinners ;
second, that the Lord Jesus was equally willing to be reck
oned with for sinners ; third, that in so reckoning with the
Lord Jesus, God laid upon him the iniquities of us all, and
treated him as if he had been, what he really was not; a sin
ner; fourth, that this reckoning with Christ for sinners so
honored law that now God can, consistently with the recti
tude of his administration, treat sinners as if they were, what
they really are not, righteous ; fifth, that in order to a sin-
* I Cor. i., 30 ; 2 Cor. v., 21. t Gal. iii., 13, 14.

The First Recorded Sermon of Paul. 121
ner's being so treated, he must be "in Christ;" that is, iden
tified with him as a believer in him, and a consenting party
to his acting on his behalf; and sixth, that the justification
thus obtained by- the -believer in Christ: is- complete and
from "allr'thirigsi" It would ' be > quite possible to make a
long excursus: dn; each. ot. these, propositions, but I do not
know that I i could- make them thereby, any clearer in-them-
selves,or any more.apparently'the legitimate inferences from
the passages -which Lhave just quoted,than the simple state
ment rof them has done. I leave them, therefore, to stand
out before you in all the.baldness of this distinctness. Un
ion to the law secures no justification; union to Christ se
cures justification from all things ; and that union to Christ
is itself secured by believing in him. This is the great doc
trine which Luther called " the article of a standing or a
falling church." It is the keystone of the arch of the Chris
tian faith. May God help us both to understand its mean
ing and to make a right estimate of its importance !
After having presented to his hearers this great and fun--'
damental principle of the Gospel of Christ, Paul concluded
his discourse with a practical exhortation, which took the
form of earnest warning. Perhaps he had seen on some
faces an expression of cynicism or contempt, as if his words
were regarded as too absurd to be worth any further at
tention; so, recalling the doom which had fallen from the
lips of the Lord himself upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
because they had not recognized their "day," and had re
jected him, he solemnly set before them the danger which
they incurred by depising the message which he brought.
His warning was all the more effective because it was given*
in the shape of a. quotation from an oracle of Habakkuk,
which, -as originally uttered, was amercifulbut, alas ! also a
fruitless' admonition .that Jerusalem, would 'be destroyed^by
the Chaldeans, unless its people' returned unto the' Lord.

122 Paul the Missionary.
Nothing, therefore, could well have been more appropriate
than its application to the still more dreadful calamity which
was even then impending over them and their fellow-coun
trymen for their rejection of Christ. " Beware, therefore,
lest that come upon you which is spoken of in the proph
ets ; behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish : for I
work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise
believe, though a man declare it unto you."
The effects produced by this sermon were very striking.
In the English version it is made to appear that there was
a difference between the Jewish and Gentile portions of the
audience, and that it was only after the departure of the
former that the latter ventured to request that he should
speak to them on the same subject on the following Sab
bath. But the best Greek manuscripts read simply, "As
they were going out of the synagogue they besought him ;"
and that harmonizes with the statement made immediately
afterward that many of the Jews and religious proselytes
followed Paul and Barnabas, who, touched by their eager
ness, "persuaded them to continue in the grace of God;"
that is, to remain in the belief that salvation is of grace, and
not by the law.
It is not without a certain suggestive interest that we read
the account of the breaking up of this congregation. There
had been great attention to the preacher ; and his earnest
ness had stimulated them all — some, perhaps, to animosity,
but the larger number to inquiry. Nobody had remained
indifferent ; and now, as they move out into the street, in
stead of remarking on the dress of their fellow-worshippers,
or criticising the accents and manner and awkwardness of
the preacher, or commenting on the character of his style
and the quality of his illustrations, they are all full of the
subject which he had set before them. Much of this, no
doubt, was due to the concentration of purpose in Paul,

The First Recorded Sermon of Paul. 123
which held hirti to the presentation of one great theme, and
enabled him to keep himself in the background. Much of
it is to be traced also to the startling novelty of the doc
trine which he advanced ; but still, not a little of it is to
be attributed to the spirit of the hearers themselves. And
if it be desirable, as it unquestionably is, that ministers in
these days should imitate Paul alike in their choice of sub
jects and in their mode of handling them, it is no less to be
wished for that our modern hearers should listen with atten
tion and with candor ; and, as they retire from the sanctuary,
should engage their minds with the truths which have been
set before them, rather than with the idiosyncrasies of the
preacher, the characteristics of the audience as a whole, or
the mere externals of music or of ritual. It is a healthy
sign of a congregation when, as its members are leaving the
house of God, there are marks of thoughtful earnestness
upon their faces, and there is a desire in their hearts to hear
yet more concerning the matters that have been submitted
to them by their teacher.
In the case before us, some of the more eager followed
Paul and Barnabas to their homes, and obtained from them.
a promise to preach the same things on the next Sabbath.
When that day came the synagogue was crowded with hear
ers — "Almost the whole city came to hear the word of God."
The large proportion of the assembly were Gentiles, and
the very sight of them within their place of meeting so'filled
the Jews with envy that they vehemently interrupted Paul
by contradictions and evil accusations. This, however, only
intensified the boldness of the missionaries, who forthwith
deliberately turned to the Gentiles, and devoted the remain
der of their labors to them, justifying themselves by this dec
laration to the Jews, " It was necessary that the word of God
should first have been spoken to you ; but seeing ye put it
from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life,

124 Paul the Missionary.
lo,we turn to the Gentiles ! For so hath the Lord command
ed us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles,
that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the
earth." . This announcement very naturally gladdened the
Gentiles, many of whom glorified the word of the Lord and
believed. But just as naturally it exasperated the Jews, who
stirred up the proselytes, who were of high social position in
the city, and raised a persecution against the preachers so
formidable in its character that they departed from the city
and went forth to Iconium, not at all disheartened, but " fill
ed with joy and with the Holy Ghost."
Throughout the discourse of this evening we have been
engaged almost exclusively with doctrinal matters; and
now I will detain you but a few moments longer while I
seek to give emphasis to one or two practical inferences
from the narrative portion of our theme.
We have here, then, in the first place, a fresh illustration
of the effect which invariably follows the faithful preaching
of the Gospel. " Some believed, and some believed not."
It has always been so. The messenger of Christ is to some
the savor of life unto life, and to others the savor of death
unto death. His comfort is that his fidelity is always well
pleasing unto God. But what shall be said, of those who
reject the word of salvation which he proclaims? They
cannot be precisely as they were before they heard his
message. When the offer of everlasting life has been once
made to a man, his whole standing before God is altered.
Formerly he was a sinner under condemnation. If he ac
cept the glad tidings, and believe on him of whom they tell,
then he is forgiven and renewed ; but if he refuse to receive
the Gospel, then he adds to all his other unforgiven iniqui
ties this one more, that he has despised the grace of God.
Nay more, he has, by his resistance to the truth, made his
heart less sensitive than it was before ; so that, if the offer

The First Recorded Sermon of Paul. 125
of salvation should be repeated to him, he is in a worse po
sition for receiving it than he was at first. There are thus
few things more hardening in their influence than the con
tinued enjoyment of a faithful ministry/while the Gospel
itself is rejected by the hearer. The habit of resistance
is strengthened, and the man becomes accustomed to that
which at the first deeply moved him ; so that at length it
seems to him " like a tale told by an idiot, full bf sound and
fury, signifying nothing." Then comes the limit of God's
forbearance. The man hath "judged himself unworthy of
eternal life." The Lord turns to others, and leaves him to
the destiny he has deserved. Let us beware, friends, lest
we should repeat the folly of these Jews in Antioch ; for in
our modern times, though we may not think it, the regular
attendants upon ordinances are those who are in greatest
danger of falling after the same example of unbelief. The
Gospel is to us now very much what the law of Moses was
to them. We have been accustomed to it all our days, until
we have come to take it for granted that there is no fear of
us, just because we have had such privileges, and altogether
irrespective of the question whether or not we have accept
ed Christ. Others who are hearing it for the first time are
pressing into the kingdom on every hand, but we are prone
to be content with hearing only; not thinking that hearing
without doing is the very way to make our hearts at length
impenetrable. Unwarned by the history of God's ancient
people, we are, I fear, in danger of reproducing their guilt,
and reprovoking their doom. We are busily discussing the
question, "Are there few that be saved?" and forgetting that
we must ourselves "strive to enter in at the strait gate "'while
it remains open for our admission. We are arguing aha re
arguing about the possibility of a heathen's being saved with
out the Gospel, and neglecting to secure our own salva
tion through it. We are deeply interested in matters which

r26 Paul the Missionary.
are to us as unimportant as the mint and cummin of the
Pharisaic tithe ; and when the preacher sets before us this
great truth of salvation by free grace, and calls it justifica
tion by faith, we style it dogma, and say that we have out
grown all that, and that we do not want doctrine, but life.
But these same manifestations in the Jews were the precur
sors of their rejection by God : and in yielding to such in
fluences we are courting our own destruction. There is no
value in that doctrine that does not issue in life. That we
shall never deny : but there is no life of any value save in
union with doctrine ; and now is the time to give emphasis
to that truth. The whole religious life — I had almost said,
also, the whole political life — of the last three hundred years,
in Europe' and America, is the outgrowth of Luther's preach
ing of this old doctrine ; and if we reject it or despise it, we
are doing our best to cast reproach on him, and to bring
back the system from which he emancipated us. Nay more,
we are doing despite to Christ ; and we are flinging con
tempt upon the grace of God. And shall not God punish
for these things ? Truly it will be more tolerable for Tyre
and Sidon and Jerusalem in the day of judgment than for
us, if we, with our privileges and light, shut our hearts
against Jesus and his love, and ridicule die doctrine of his
grace. We have here, finally, an illustration of the triumph of the
Gospel in the face of persecution. The Jews expelled Paul
and Barnabas from their city, but they could not uproot the
good seed which they had sown ; and so we read that " The
word of the Lord was published throughout all that region."
The very enmity of their opponents made the wind that waft
ed the message of the apostles to the neighboring localities-;
and so their malice outwitted itself. But it is ever thus :
God maketh the very wrath of man to praise him. The
burning of Tyndale's Testaments at the cross of St. Paul's,

The First Recorded Sermon of Paul. 127
by order of the Bishop of London, gave the exiled translator
the means of carrying on his work with still greater vigor;
and next to the faithful labors of its own adherents, the Gos
pel has been most indebted for its progress to the blind an
tagonism of its adversaries. " Truth, like a torch, the more
it's shook, it shines ;" and the very fierceness of the storm
only carries the arrowy seed on its downy wings to a kindlier
and more fertile soil. After a revival, the next best thing
for the progress of God's truth is a persecution. Are not
these United States themselves a witness to the truth of my
words ? Was not the religious intolerance of the ruling pow
ers in the Old Country the occasion of the founding of the
New ? Thus even persecution and injustice have unwitting
ly done the work of God ; and, over and over again in his
tory, the crucified one has risen from the grave to new and
nobler life. The Atlantic mariner, any day, would sooner
have a storm than a fog; and better far, in my judgment,
than the misty vagueness of much of our modern theology
would be the antagonism that should compel us to define
what we mean, and reveal to us the dangers that may be just
ahead, but are now enshrouded in the dull, damp vapor. A
little antagonism now and then, depend upon it, is good not
only for the conservation, but also for the diffusion of the
truth ; and when it comes, if it should come, let us not be
dismayed. 6*

VII.
ICONIUM, LYSTRA, DERBE.
Acts xiv., 1-20.
FROM Antioch in Pisidia, Paul and Barnabas proceed
ed eastward over the barren uplands of that region,
and after a journey of some sixty miles* they arrived at
Iconium. This city, now known as Konieh, lies in a spa
cious valley near the foot of Mount Taurus. Toward the
east the plain stretches away to the horizon ; but behind
the city, on the west, it is hemmed in by a semicircle of
snow-capped hills,t and in the centre there is a spacious
lake, which adds to the beauty and fertility of the district.
By some ancient writers Iconium is spoken of as connected
with Phrygia, and by others it is ascribed to Lycaonia; but
Lewin has made it abundantly clear that, from the time of
Augustus till, that of Pliny, it formed the capital 'of a dis
tinct tetrarchy, which was composed of fourteen townships
carved out of Lycaonia, where it borders on Galatia.^ It
lay on the route between the Syrian Antioch and Ephesus ;
and that fact may help to account somewhat for its impor
tance. In later history it became famous as the capital of
the sultans of the Seljukan Turks, and it is rich in remains
of Moslem architecture ; but it has few relics of Greek or
* Lewin, vol. i., p. 145 ; but Kitto, " Bible Illustrations," vol. viii., p.
312, calls it ninety-three miles.
t See Alexander's " Kitto's Cyclopaedia," vol. ii., p. 359.
J Lewin, vol. i., p. 145.

Iconium, Lystra, Derbe. 129
Roman workmanship, save some inscribed stones and frag
ments of sculpture which have been built into the walls.
Its population to-day -is, estimated at thirty thousand, and
carpets, cotton, hides, and leather represent its manufactures
and products. In the' times of the apostles its residents
would be composed of the representatives "of the original
inhabitants of the district ; a number of Greeks lounging
through the market-place looking for news, and ready for
every sort of amusement ; a few imperial officials, cold and
stately in their pride ; and a colony of industrious, money-
loving, and money-making Jews.
These last had a synagogue, in which on Sabbath-days
they gathered for worship; and' in that sanctuary Paul and
Barnabas made their first public appearance in the city. It
was unhappily too true that, wherever they had gone, their
kinsmen 'according to the flesh had become their persecu
tors ; yet ' their hearts yearned for their conversion, and
even if they had "not been commanded to preach the Gospel
to the Jew first, their own impulse would still have been to
commence their labors among their Hebrew' brethren. In
the present case their efforts were not wholly fruitless ; for
" They so spake that a great multitude both' of the Jews and
also of the Greeks believed." These Greeks were doubtless
proselytes to the faith of Israel from among the Gentile
population of the city, who here, as in Antioch, were among
the readiest to receive the Gospel which the missionaries
proclaimed. The conversion of so many of their hearers was due to
the agency of the Holy Ghost, as all conversions are ; yet
we must not overlook the close connection which the in
spired historian has here established between the method
which the preachers followed, and the effects which result
ed from their labors. " They so spake that multitudes be
lieved." The adaptation of the instrumentality is, in its

130 Paul the Missionary.
own place, as important as the efficacy of the agency. The
temper and edge of the blade have something to do with the
dealing of the deadly stroke, as really as the strength of the
warrior's arm has its function and office in the production
of the same effect. It is, therefore, a mistake to suppose
that the style and method of the preacher are of no impor
tance, if only he speak with the power of the Holy Ghost.
The truth rather is, that the Divine Spirit will indicate his
presence and agency by setting the preacher to seek out
acceptable words which shall be suited to the character, in
telligence, and circumstances of his hearers. Some, indeed,
would ridicule all careful premeditation on the part of the
minister, and encourage him to rely entirely on the help of
the Holy Ghost ; but such a course, far from putting honor
on the Spirit, is in reality to mock him as thoroughly as they
mock God who pray to him for daily bread, and then ex
pect him to give them food altogether irrespective of their
own exertions. We need do no more than examine the dis
courses of Paul himself to perceive how admirably he al
ways spoke to the occasion, varying his method with the ca
pacity and position of his audience ; and he who most close
ly follows that example, even though it may demand of him
the deepest study of human nature, of general literature, and
of the Word of God, will, in the end, be, by the blessing of the
Spirit, the most successful in winning souls for Christ. ¦
In the narrative which Luke has given us, we have no re
port of the sermons delivered by Paul and his companion at
Iconium ; but we may be sure that their great theme would
be the person and work of Jesus Christ, viewed in connec
tion with Old Testament types and prophecy, and regard
ed as the author of eternal salvation to all that obey him.
They would reason with the Jews out of their own Script
ures ; they would assert the fact that Christ had risen from
the dead, establishing that with credible evidence, and draw-

Iconium, Lystra, Derbe. 131
ing from It those inferences for doctrine and for life which
we find in the epistles which were written at a later day;
they would set forth Christ before the eyes of their hearers
as evidently crucified among them ; and then, having dwelt
on the reality of his death, they would ascend to the climax
of highest assurance by a path like that in the familiar
words : " It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again,
who is ever at the right hand of God, who also maketh in
tercession for us." All these things they would speak of not
as mere matters of historical curiosity, or of vague specula
tion, but as subjects in which both they and their hearers
had a direct, immediate, and eternal interest; and therefore
we cannot wonder that the effects were so marked.
But the very things which produced strong conviction in
some awakened bitter antagonism in others. Your "inno
cent preachers," as one calls them, who deal- in pointless
platitudes, evoke neither attachment nor opposition; but
the earnest man always stimulates others to earnestness,
either of agreement or of enmity. Never yet has a great
work been done for Jesus without the provocation of many
adversaries; and when we read that multitudes believed,
we are quite prepared to find that " The unbelieving Jews
stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil affected
against the brethren." This was a different thing from
open violence, though ultimately it would appear that these
unscrupulous assailants were prepared even for that. At
first, however, they contented themselves with prejudicing
the minds of their Gentile fellow-citizens against the mis
sionaries, and it may be, as Hackett* suggests, that they did
so by insinuating that the preachers were dangerous men —
as disloyal to the empire, because they spoke of Jesus as
* " Commentary on Original Text of the Acts of the Apostles," bv
Horatio B. Hackett, D.D., p. 227.

132 Paul the Missionary.
their king. But whatever may have been the means which
these adversaries used, the fact that the characters of Paul
and Barnabas were attacked, determined them to remain
and'live down all aspersions by their conduct. If they had
been assailed at once with persecution, they would no doubt
have left Iconium immediately; but when unjust suspicions
regarding them were industriously fostered by their enemies,
they resolved to face them out, and prove them false. They
would allow no one to say that they fled from investiga
tion, and so pleaded guilty to the charges which were made
against them. Rather they became more bold as their an
tagonists became more bitter; and the course which they
followed had the approval of the Lord, for he gave "testi
mony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and
wonders to be done by their hands."
This last- expression is noteworthy as serving to confirm
the view which I have already advanced,* to the effect that
the power of working miracles was not- possessed by the
apostles as a constant and abiding thing which they could
exert at their own discretion — just as one uses the muscular
force of his arms — but was exercised by them only at the
suggestion of their Lord, and when he saw that supernatural
works would be of service either in proving the divine au
thority of their message, or in illustrating the nature of the
great salvation which it was their business to proclaim. But
even when wrought thus at the command and under the
discretion of the Lord, the miracles which were full of com
fort to those who had accepted the Gospel, were both irri
tating and hardening in their influence on those who reject
ed it. Just as the mighty works of Moses, which gave the
promise and the hope of emancipation to the enslaved Is
raelites only stiffened Pharaoh into a more defiant obstina-
* See ante, pp. 99-101.

Iconium, Lystra, Derbe. 133
cy, or as the raising, of Lazarus from the dead by Jesus.
which drew-his -friends- more closely rbund-him, only inten
sified theihatred ofth'etjewish rulers, arid hastened rthe, crisis
•of the. crucifixion," so in the in stance 'before, tis the; confirma
tion of. tPaul's 'preaching by signs and wonders polarized the
two parties which had "begun to form themselves, and accel
erated the conflict that was inevitable between them. The
preaohing of the missionaries became the talk of the city,
so that the inhabitants felt compelled to take sides ; and if
we may judge from the fact that those antagonistic to Paul
and Barnabas could not'venture to make an open attack
upon them, but had to resort to conspiracy, we may conclude
that the two opposing companies were nearly evenly bal
anced. But it was no. part of the apostles' work to' foster
animosity between man and man, and therefore, when they
learned. that there was a purpose* formed- by the Gentile
proselytes -and the Jews to stone them, they -withdrew from
Iconium, and. went", across a bleak and exposed country to
" Lystra and Derbe, cities of. Lycaonia,- and unto the region
that lieth round about: arid there they preached the Gos
pel-," The boundaries of Lycaonia were so different at different
times that it is now impossible to define !;them 'accurately ;
but in general we may say that it had Cappadocia on the
east, Galatia on the north, Pisidia on the west, and Cilicia
on the isouth.f The country is a table -land, the soil of
whrdi'rfs .impregnated with", salt, and there are several salt
lakesdn the district. The population, described by Plump-
trej as '^ half shepherds and ^balf. robbers," were rude and
impulsive. They could understand the Greek language
 *
* The term opprj- in this passage must be explained of the:mind, as a
purpose or determination. ;
t Fairbairn's "Imperial Bible Dictionary," art. Lycaonia.
t " St. Paul in Asia Minor," by Dr. Plumptre, p. 143.

134 Paul the Missionary.
when it was addressed to them ; but they spoke to each
other in a dialect of their own, which was not intelligible to
strangers. They resembled those who lived ninety or a
hundred years ago in the remoter parts of the Highlands of.
Scotland, and were strong in physical frame, harsh and gut
tural in speech, not over-particular about the observance of
the rights of property, somewhat superstitious in their be
liefs, and having that fervid temperament which is every
where characteristic' of the mountaineer. The sites of Lys
tra and Derbe cannot now be certainly identified ; but it is
supposed by those best acquainted with the region that they
lay not far from the base of a remarkable mountain called
Kara Dagh, or the. Black Mountain ;* and probably their
ruins may be among those now called Bin-bir-Kilisseh, or
the thousand and one churches. This part of Lycaonia did
not belong to a proconsular province, but had been given
by Caligula to Antiochus, King of Commagene;f and so
our two missionaries were leaving behind them the imperial
government, and the protection which almost everywhere
else a Roman citizen received from the State. Here, too,
they would miss the fellowship as well as the animosity of
Jews. No mention is made of a synagogue either in Lystra
or in Derbe ; and the fact that Lois and Eunice, who lived
in one or other of these towns, did not dare to bring up
the young Timothy as one outwardly under the covenant of
Abraham, is an incidental corroboration of the statement
which we have made. So now for the first time the Gospel
comes into direct and immediate contact and conflict with
heathenism. And, having no other convenient place of
* A parallel to this name may be found in Craig-dhu, the black moun
tain near Laggan, Inverness - shire, Scotland. We are not philologists
enough to say whether there is any other connection than that of similar
ity between the two, but they seem to us to have common radical letters,
t Plumptre, " St. Paul in Asia Minor,"' p. 144.

Iconium, Lystra, Deree. 135
meeting, we may suppose that Paul and Barnabas took their
station in the market-place or on the street, and proclaimed
the glad tidings with which they were intrusted to the
throng of listeners that gathered round them as they spoke.
On one such occasion there was, on the outskirts of the
crowd, a poor cripple, lame from his birth, sitting, perhaps,
at his accustomed begging-place, but forgetting his usual
occupation in the eager interest which he felt in the speak
er's words. It may be that at the moment Paul was dwell
ing on the mighty works performed by Jesus when he was
upon the earth, and " went about doing good." Perhaps he
was describing how he opened the eyes of the blind and the
ears of the deaf, how he healed the sick, and made the lame
to walk, and raised the dead to life. We cannot tell ; but,
whatever he was saying, his words so thrilled the heart of
the afflicted man that his whole soul stood in his eyes as he
gazed upon the preacher. In this unspoken manner — illus
trating very beautifully the meaning of that "looking unto
Jesus " of which we so often hear — the desire of the man's
heart became known to Paul, who, perceiving through the
revelation of the Spirit that he had faith to be healed, " said
with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped
and walked."
The sight of this cure performed in a moment, on one
whom they knew so well, produced a profound impression
on the spectators. They were persuaded that no collusion
between the parties was possible. They could not doubt
the evidence of their own senses ; therefore they believed
that a supernatural work had been performed. But that
conviction, grafting itself upon their heathen notions, pro
duced a singular result ; for they at once exclaimed, " The
gods are come down to us in the likeness of men," and they
identified Barnabas, as having the more imposing presence,
with Jupiter, and Paul, as being the chief speaker, with Mer-

136 Paul the Missionary.
cury. It thus appears that the effect of a miracle depends
upon the degree of knowledge possessed by the beholder,
as well as upon his moral disposition. A certain amount
of intelligence is needed before one can rightly interpret
such a work as that which God, at the word of Paul, per
formed on this lame man. A miracle is not an appeal to
ignorance, but to knowledge ; and an underlying faith of
some sort is presupposed in those to whom it is addressed.
As Bacon has said, " God never wrought miracles to con
vince atheism, because his ordinary works convince it."*
They presuppose a belief in the personal existence of God,
as proved, or at least attested, by his works. Therefore the
effect of a miracle on an atheist will be nothing. We must
begin farther back with him, and endeavor to bring him up
through the intuitions of his own nature to the admission of
that truth which is the great postulate of revelation, namely,
that God is. But, just as the effect of a miracle on an athe
ist will be nil, so its influence on those who believe in gods
many and lords many will be qualified and conditioned by
their polytheism. Therefore we must look for the expla
nation of the words of these Lycaonians to the kind of re
ligious belief which up till this time had been common
among them. They had the idea that the gods, who were
represented by their idols, sometimes came to earth, and
dwelt among men under an assumed disguise. This be
lief is frequently expressed by classic authors. Thus Ho
mer sings of the gods :
" They, curious oft of mortal actions, deign
In forms like these to roam the earth and main ;"
and Ovid, in telling a mythological story, the scene of which
was in this very region of Lycaonia, represents Jupiter as
* Bacon's " Essays, with Annotations by Archbishop Whately," p. 155.

Iconium, Lystra, Derbe. 137
saying, when rumors of human wickedness had reached
him, " I will descend, said I,
In hope to prove the loud complaints a lie.
Disguised in human shape, I travelled round
The world.and more than what I heard I found."
In like manner Jupiter and Mercury were of ten -associated ;
and there is a legend which tells that these -two deities
visited a province of which Lycaonia was one of the dis
tricts : "Jove with Hermes came, but in disguise
Of mortal men concealed their deities."*
Now, with such opinions deeply rooted among them, we can
see that it was not wonderful that these rude people, at the
sight of the miracle, did not ascend to the perception of the
unity and supremacy of God, but supposed that Paul and
Barnabas were the visible incarnations of Mercury and Ju
piter. And when they had adopted that conclusion, it was
just as natural, taking the stage of their religious devel
opment into consideration, that they should call upon the
priest of Jupiter to bring forth oxen and garlands, for the
purpose of offering sacrifices to those whom they regarded
as gods. Indeed, in this view of the case, their conduct
may well be a reproof to many among ourselves, even " to
those who, admitting that God came down in man's nature,
and laid aside the splendors of his Godhead, neglect or re
fuse to render to him the homage and service to which he
is entitled. These unsophisticated heathens acted faithful
ly up to their light ; but men with the Bible in '*their hands
— the great portrait in which is God incarnate— are strange-*
ly indifferentto its lessons and untrue to themselves." That
» See Lewin, vol. i., pp. 147, 148; also "Paul the Preacher," by John
Eadie, D.D., LL.D., p. 123.

138 Paul the Missionary.
priest who ' would have done sacrifice with the people ' is a
'swift witness' against such inconsistency."*
The exclamation of the people, as was natural in their
excitement, was made in their vernacular dialect, which Paul
and Barnabas did not understand; and therefore it was not
untii they saw the priest making preparations to offer sacri
fice unto them that they fully comprehended the situation ;
but so soon as they perceived the true state of the case, they
were filled with horror. They felt, as Plumptref has very
graphically put it, very much as Bishop Patteson might have
felt if he had seen some Milanesians preparing to hold a
cannibal feast in his honor — and, with a vehement agitation
which showed itself, in Oriental fashion, in the rending of
their garments, they ran in among the people, and sought to
dissuade them from the fulfilment of their purpose. When
quiet was so far restored that he could be heard and under
stood, Paul thus addressed the crowd : " Men of Lycaonia,
why do ye these things ? We also are men of like passions
with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from
these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and
earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein : who in
times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.
Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he
did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful sea
sons, filling our hearts with food and gladness."
With Jews Paul reasoned out of the Old Testament, for
to its inspiration and authority both he and they professed
to bow ; but with heathens he began farther back, and took
his stand on those intuitions, or first truths, which form
God's earliest revelation to the human mind, and which are
attested and confirmed by the works of nature and of prov-
* Eadie's " Paul the Preacher," pp. 124, 125.
t " St. Paul in Asia Minor," p. u6-

Iconium, Lystra, Deree. 139
idence. It is interesting, too, to mark how in this address,
struck out of him though it was by the urgency of the emer
gency that was upon him, we have the very same thoughts
which he has expressed in more elaborate discourses and
epistles — a fact which indicates that he was giving utter
ance to no hasty and ill-digested ideas, but rather speaking
of things on which he had often and profoundly meditated.
He calls the gods which the Lycaonians worshipped vain
or empty ; and in his First Epistle to the Corinthians, he
repeats this appellation with added emphasis, when he says,
" We know that an idol is nothing in the world ;"* while,
in writing to the Thessalonians, he uses almost the precise
words which he has here employed, reminding them how
they " turned to God from idols to serVe the living and true
God."t Again, in this address he affirms that " God in
past generations permitted the Gentiles to walk .in their
own ways ;" and we find that thought recurring in his speech
to the Athenians, when he says, " The times of this ignorance
God winked at,"t or rather "took no notice of;" moreover,
in his letter to the Romans the same idea reappears, when
he speaks of " the remission of sins that are past through,"
or in " the forbearance of God"§ — that is, of sins committed
under that which may be called the dispensation of God's
forbearance. Once more, when he says to these excited
idolaters that "God left not himself without a witness"
among them, we are vividly reminded of his argument in the
opening section of the Epistle to the Romans, when he says,
" The invisible things of him from the creation of the world
are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are
made, even his eternal power and Godhead ; so that they
are without excuse. "|| Thus, as we have already hinted,
* 1 Cor. viii., 4. t 1 Thess. i., 9. t Acts xvii., 30.
§ Rom. iii., 25. || Rom. i., 20.

140 Paul the Missionary.
the opinions and arguments here employed were not the
extempore, utterances of one who gave them forth without
thinking thoroughly round them; but they were the mature
expressions of views with which he I had been long familiar,
and which the; years of his ministry' only chiselled into deep
er distinctness as they passed.
But, leaving now these interesting coincidences between
this brief discourse and some portions of his epistles, let us
look at; the. points specially made in the expostulation ad
dressed to these rude idolaters. The apostle begins by dis
claiming all right to;be worshipped. He says of' himself
and Barnabas, " We are men. We have' the same flesh and
blood and passions as yourselves. We equally with you
need a sacrifice to be*made for' us ; therefore, be not guilty
of dishonoring the true God by worshipping us." There
was thus nothing of the trimmer or the temporizer about
Paul. Many would have been ready to say, "Let them
alone, we know not what good may come out of all this yet ;
and if we cross their wishes, we may provoke their enmity."
But our apostle would give no consideration to such sugges
tions as these. He could not permit the awful enormity of
offering sacrifice to him, no matter what might be the result.
How different his demeanor here from that of Herod, when,
as the multitude shouted, " It is the voice of a god, and not
of a man," he accepted the incense of their flattery, and
thereby drew down upon himself the shrivelling touch of
Jehovah's hand ! Ah, would that all those who are deifying
self among us, and not only accepting sacrifices from others
but offering oblations to themselves, might realize the mean
ing of these words : " We are men !" The dignity of man
hood Wight well keep us from the cringing sycophancy that
worships human greatness ; while the weakness and depend
ence of our nature ought to impel us to bow the knee to
God".

Iconium, Lystra, Derbe. 141
But in connection with his disclaimer of worship, Paul as
serts that there is one "living God," and affirms that the de
sign of his preaching the Gospel was to turn men from idola
try to the. service, of that great and omnipotent Jehovah. It
is to be observed that the apostle does not attempt,. by any
process of argument, to prove the existence andpersonality
of God. He takes his stand upon the intuitions of the hu
man soul, and;affirms that God is : sure of finding an assent
ing response in the heart of each of his hearers ; and point
ing in confirmation of his words to the physical universe
by which they were surrounded, and those stated operations
of nature by which they were supported. This is the only
true philosophical method. The works of Paley and oth
ers, which bring out the evidences of design in the material
world, have an undoubted and almost inestimable value, yet
the force of the arguments which they present depends on
the intuitive principle which is already in every man's soul,
and which is not the result of any process of reasoning, but
rather an immediate spiritual instinct, to the effect that there
must be a first cause of all things. I know, indeed, that some
modern philosophers of the positivist school attempt to stifle
this human cry after the living God, by alleging that the sci
entific man must deal only with phenomena, and that he has
nothing to do with the principle of causation ; but to this
the reply is easy ; for though it may be true that as scientific
he has to do only with the classification of appearances, yet
it is no less true that as man he cannot help pressing on to
inquire into causation. There is that in him which impels
him to ask, " Who made all these ?" and it is only by laying
a violent arrest upon that impulse that he can forbear from •
seeking for an answer. Now we- hold that the mere put
ting of this question by men as. men, everywhere and always,
is itself a proof that there, is a. Creator. There is something
somewhere that attracts the needle, else it would not keep

142 Paul the Missionary.
so true in its pointing to the north; and there must be some
where some primary and efficient personal cause of all the
physical phenomena which we see, else the souls of men in
all ages would not have cried so constantly, " Who made all
these ?" Thus, for the establishment of the personality of
God, we appeal not to the Bible, but to the human soul it
self ; and the philosophic atheism, which is attempting once
again to rear its head among us, can succeed only when it
has smothered the irrepressible instinct of humanity itself.
Associated with this postulating of God's existence by
Paul here, there is an implied assertion also of his unity ;
and the apostle affirms that one great reason for his preach
ing the Gospel was to turn men to him from the worship of
such vain deities as those whom the people of Lystra served.
God had now revealed himself to them in Christ, and there
fore he would have them bow before him. Thus he seeks
to correct the false by the teaching of the true, and pre
vents them from sacrificing to him and Barnabas, by telling
them of one who was the only sin-offering for the guilt of
men. Just here, however, he anticipates the objection, " Why
did God not reveal himself to men at a much earlier date ?"
and replies to it after this fashion : It is true that many
centuries had been allowed to pass before Christ came to
make God known to the human race ; but that was all in
furtherance of one great design. "God in times past left
all nations to walk in their own ways." He made no mi
raculous interference to correct their errors. He left them
to themselves because he wished to demonstrate their ina
bility to find their way back to him without his aid ; and so,
if we may supplement the argument of the apostle here by
his statement elsewhere,* it was only " after that, in the
* i Cor. i., 21. •

Iconium, Lystra, Derbe. 143
wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God," that
" it pleased God, by the foolishness of preaching " of Christ
crucified, " to save them that believe." But although he thus
withheld from specially interfering with the course of things
among the Gentile nations, it does not follow that he left
himself without a witness among them, or that they were en
tirely excusable for their iniquity. They will not have the
responsibility of those to whom a written revelation was
made ; but in the arrangement of the seasons, in the gift of
the rain, and in the general conduct of that which we now
call providence, he had given such indications of his exist
ence and agency as might have sufficed to keep alive their
faith in him if they had " liked to retain him in their knowl
edge." Thus Paul knew nothing of that modern idea which
would make all things evolve themselves from a primordial
germ, without any intelligent supervision of a presiding
mind, and simply by the force of an inherent energy, into
the cause of which it is no part of philosophy to investigate.
That is a dark, dreary, and unsatisfactory creed, foreign to
the deepest and holiest yearnings of the heart of man, and
as I think of it I am almost disposed to join Wordsworth
in his passionate outcry :
" Great God ! I'd rather be '
A pagan, suckled in a creed outworn,
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn,
Have sight of Proteus coming from the sea,
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn."
But we need not sigh after that fashion. What we require is
the devout Christian faith of Paul, who saw God's hand in
all things, and could sing with the Psalmist, " The eyes of all
wait upon thee ; and thou givest them their meat in due
season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire
of every living thing ;" adding to it his own doxology, " Of
7

144 Paul the Missionary.
him, and through him, and to him, are all things : to whom
be glory forever. Amen."* With such a faith, science be
comes one of the most interesting side-chapels in the great
cathedral of religion ; without it, science is for me deprived
of its truest greatness, and becomes only a utilitarian thing
to be prosecuted for the profit which it brings.
This vehement protest of Paul prevented, though not
without some difficulty, the intended sacrifice ; and not long
after there occurred one of those sudden revulsions of feel
ing which serve to show how foolish it is to put confidence
in men. Certain Jews, filled with malice, followed Paul all
the way from Antioch in Pisidia and Iconium to Lystra, and
so succeeded in stirring up the populace against him, that
they took him and dragged him out of the city and stoned
him, and left him for dead. Unable to get rid of the fact
that a miracle, or that which seemed to be a miracle, had
been wrought by his instrumentality, they probably insinu
ated that it was performed by him through some coalition
with the prince of darkness, and thus the superstition which
had been so near to worshipping him was stirred up to at
tempt his destruction. In the great mercy of God, however,
he revived, and the next day went to Derbe with Barnabas,
who, as being the less prominent of the two, seems to have
been almost entirely let alone.
We cannot close our historical review without reminding
you that Timothy, then a youth and in his teens, was most
probably a spectator of this attempt to murder Paul. In a
subsequent chapterf we learn that his mother was already
a Christian on Paul's third visit to Lystra. It is natural,
therefore, to suppose that she was converted on his first
visit, since his second^ was made not so much to the city
generally as to the believers who had been brought to Christ
* Psa. cxlv., 15, 16; Rom. xi., 36. t Acts xvi., 1. { Acts xiv.,21.

Iconium, Lystra, Derbe. 145
by his former labors. If that was the case, then the young
Timothy would be almost certainly present at this crisis
in Paul's career ; and this view is apparently confirmed by
the fact that, in his second letter to Timothy,* Paul says to
him," Thou hast fully known persecutions, afflictions which
came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra ; what per
secutions I endured : but out of them all the Lord delivered
me." Thus, as the great apostle was in a measure prepared
for his future trials by his presence at the martyrdom of
Stephen, so Timothy first learned what " hardness " must be
" endured" by " a good soldier of Jesus Christ " from seeing
Paul stoned at Lystra.
I have left myself but little time for practical application
to-night, yet I cannot let you go without giving point to two
inferences from this whole subject.
We may learn, then, in the first place, that if the heathen
are " without excuse," inasmuch as God has not left himself
without a witness among them, our guilt must be immensely
greater if, with the Bible in our hands, we reject Christ and
his salvation. They who have sinned without law shall be
judged also without law; and those who have never had
the Scriptures will not be condemned for disobeying them.
They will be measured by the standard of natural religion,
and condemned for not acting up to the light they had ; but
we will be judged by the standard of this Book, which we
have had in our hands from our earliest years, and with the
instructions of which we have long been familiar. It is an
awful thing to have a Bible. Improved, indeed, it will be
the means of leading us to glory ; but despised, it will be
the millstone round our neck to sink us deeper in perdi
tion. You may buy a New Testament at the Bible House
for five cents ; yet it may be to you at last the most costly
* 2 Tim, iii., 11.

146 Paul the Missionary.
possession you ever had ; for Michael Bruce was right when,
shortly before his death, he wrote these lines in the fly-leaf
of his copy of the Scriptures :
" 'Tis very vain in me to boast,
How small a price this Bible cost ;
The day of judgment will make clear
'Twas very cheap or very dear."
We may learn, in the second place, the emptiness of every
idol. Paul called Jupiter and Mercurius "these vanities;"
but if he were living now, he would use similar words about
the idols which are daily worshipped in New York. For
everything which the heart prefers to God, that for which a
man lives, and in which he finds his only joy, if it be other
than God, is an idol, and is as hollow and unreal as the im
age before which the heathen bows. Is it wealth? That
will not abide. Is it honor? That is deceitful and short
lived. Is it pleasure ? That is a bubble which bursts in the
hand that grasps it. Is it power ? That is a mocker ; for
often the mightiest have been, like Samson, in the hands
of the meanest. Think not, I beseech you, that the idola-
tors of to-day are to be found only in India and Africa.
There are hundreds, yea, thousands of them in this city.
There may be many in this congregation; and they are all
clinging to that which is "nothing in the world." They
have their anchor out, and think they are safe ; but alas ! it
has not grappled anything, and so, when the storm comes,
they are at their wits' end ! In time of peril, a man has
nothing but his God ; and if his god be nothing, woe's me
for his fate ! The day is coming, friends, when the terrible
crisis of death and judgment will be upon each of us. Let
us prepare for that now, by accepting as our God Jehovah-
Jesus, who is all and in all, lest at length we be driven into
the dark abyss shrieking as we go, " Ye have taken away my
god, and what have I more ?"

VIII.
CONFIRMING THE CHURCHES.
Acts xiv., 20-27.
AFTER the fury of the mob at Lystra had spent itseif
on Paul, and left him for dead outside of the city,
we read that " as the disciples stood round about him, he
rose up and came into the city.'' This restoration might
be miraculous, but in the absence of a distinct statement in
the narrative to that effect, we are not warranted to say that
there was anything supernatural in the case. The truth
probably was that he had been stunned by a violent blow
with a stone, and that, as no fatal injury had been received,
he was able for exertion so soon as his consciousness re
turned. We may be at least quite sure that there was none
of that counterfeiting of insensibility of which he has been
accused by some German expositors. The next day, follow
ing the rule which the Saviour had laid down, he and Bar
nabas departed from Lystra and came to Derbe, a city which
has not yet been identified by travellers, but which is sup
posed to have been a few miles east of Lystra. Here, as in
the other towns which they visited, they preached the Gos
pel, and, as our "version has it, " taught many," or, as it
might be more exactly rendered, " made disciples of many."
There is an important distinction between the two words in
the apostolic commission, which have both been translated
"teaching." "Go into all the world and teach all nations,
* * * teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I

148 Paul the Missionary.
commanded you."* The former term, which is literally
"make disciples of," refers to the conversion of men to
Christ ; the latter alludes to the instruction of those already
numbered among the followers of Jesus. Now, in the pres
ent instance, as the Gospel had not before been preached in
Derbe, it is clear that the meaning must be, as indeed that
of the original word is, that they prevailed upon many to
accept Christ as their Saviour and Teacher. Thus they had
considerable success; and as there is here no mention of
persecution, we may conclude that they were allowed to
prosecute their work without molestation. It is worthy of
remark, as bearing upon this point, that in writing to Tim
othy and referring to his tribulations at this stage of his
history, Paul mentions Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra as the
scenes of his perils, but says nothing whatever about Derbe ;
and this omission is pointed out by Paley in his "Horaa
Paulina? " as a striking illustration of his argument founded
on the undesigned coincidences between The Acts of the
Apostles and the Epistles of Paul.f
At Derbe our apostle was in the immediate neighborhood
of the famous pass, called the Cilician Gates, which leads
down from the central highlands of Asia Minor to Tarsus.
With great ease, therefore, he might have proceeded by that
route to his native city, and taken ship thence to Seleucia,
which was the port of Antioch, on the Orontes ; but his
thoughts were not then of his earthly home. Barnabas and
he were greatly concerned for those who through their in
strumentality had become interested in the Gospel, and had
professed their faith in Jesus in the cities which they had
already visited. Therefore, in spite of the dangers to which
they had been formerly exposed, they resolved to retrace
their steps through Lystra, Iconium, and the Pisidian An-
* Matt, xxviii., 19, 20. t " Horae Paulinas," chap, xii., No. t

Confirming the Churches. 149
tioch. Nor need we be surprised at this determination, as
if it had been either rash or inconsistent ; for in at least
one of these cities the uproar had been created by adver
saries who came from a distance, and in all of them the vi
olence of persecution had been too great to be of long du
ration. Besides, the design of the missionaries in returning
to these places was not to renew their labors among the
people as a whole, but rather to instruct and strengthen
those who had been already converted. In this way their
presence would not provoke such public antagonism as had
beeh formerly awakened, while much good would result to
the young disciples. That this was indeed the case, is evi
dent from the record of the historian : " They returned again
to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, confirming the souls
of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the
faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into
the kingdom of God. And when they, had ordained them
elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they
commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed."
Here are three things over which, as matters of interest
and importance, we may profitably linger for a little.
First, the missionaries set themselves to establish the new
converts in the faith ; they " confirmed the souls of the dis
ciples, and exhorted them to continue in the faith." These
two clauses are intimately connected. The confirmation
was sought through the exhortation ; and the effect of the
exhortation was that the disciples were confirmed. It is
important to remember this, since in modern ecclesiastical
phraseology the terms confirm and confirmation have come
to be almost exclusively employed in a ritual sense. Thus*
Johnson defines the word confirm, " To admit to the full
privileges of a Christian, by the imposition of hands ;" and
Webster gives the following as one of the principal mean
ings of the same term : " To administer the rite practised in

150 Paul the Missionary.
Episcopal churches by which a baptized person is admitted,
through the laying on of the hands of a bishop, to the full
privileges of the Church." Now, whatever may be said, in
general, in favor of having some special service for the ad
mission to full communion of the baptized children of the
Church — and I believe a great deal might be advanced in
support of such a service — yet it must be apparent to the
most cursory reader that the confirmation here was some
thing very different from any mere ritual observance. It
will be seen that the persons visited by Paul and Barnabas
were already disciples, and as fully members of the Church
when the missionaries came to them on this occasion as
they were at the time of their departure ; and it is yet fur
ther evident that there is no mention here of the laying
on of hands. We do, indeed, find that form practised by
the apostles ; but it was restricted by them to the imparta
tion of the miraculous endowments of the Holy Ghost, and to
the designation or ordination of certain individuals to office.
The confirmation here spoken of was not a form at all, but
rather the impartation of instruction by which the souls of
the believers were strengthened. Truth is the proper nu
triment of the soul, and intelligence gives stability to piety ;
therefore, that they might establish these young converts in
the faith, Paul and Barnabas led them up from the simpler
elements of the Gospel to its more imporfant doctrines.
This was a perfectly natural, and at the same time a pre
eminently wise proceeding on the part of the apostles.
These disciples had just come out of heathenism. They
had as yet only a slight acquaintance with the truths of the
Gospel. They had not received, indeed there was not yet in
existence, any written gospel or epistle like those which now
form the New Testament, by the study of which they might
" grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Sav
iour Jesus Christ." They were, besides, surrounded by ad-

Confirming the Churches. 151
versaries who could both sneer at and argue against their
new belief, and therefore it was of the greatest importance
that they should be able " to give an answer to every man
that asked them a reason of the hope that is in them, with
meekness and fear." Our two evangelists knew from per
sonal experience how severe such an ordeal was, and they
did a particularly prudent thing when they sought to have
these new disciples firmly grounded in the truth, through a
correct knowledge of its meaning, a clear understanding of
the evidence by which it was supported, and a constant
obedience of the precepts which it enjoined. They wished
to make them not only Christians, but also intelligent Chris
tians ; and we may be profitably instructed by their exam
ple. Conversion is of immense importance, is, indeed, es
sential, and we are far from seeking to underestimate its
value even in the smallest degree ; but it is not everything ;
and it would be a great mistake to leave young converts un-
guided or uninformed. The first aim of the minister, and
all who are engaged in evangelistic work, should be the con
version of their hearers ; but it would be perilous to rest
in the apparent attainment of that, as if nothing else needed
to be cared for. Our business with a soul is not ended
when it is converted by God's grace. We have then to'
confirm it by teaching, and establish it by training. We
must secure its progress, if we would not, after all, have to
mourn over its backsliding. It is not enough that we stand
at the wicket- gate, and hand men through as they enter
on their journey to the celestial city; but we must also
make up to them frequently in the course of their pilgrim
age, arid prepare them for the sights which they are to see
and the enemies whom they are to encounter by the way.
Leaving the first principles of the oracles of God, we must
seek to carry them on toward perfection *, for in the Chris
tian character and life it is pre-eminently true that where

152 Paul the Missionary.
growth ceases decay begins. Now all this is to be secured,
not by pompous ritualism in worship, or brief rose-watei
sermonettes in the pulpit, but by solid, substantial, and sys
tematic instruction out of this Book. This is the second
great aim of the Christian minister; and in the proportion
in which it is neglected by those who occupy the pulpit, or
slighted by those who occupy the pews, the life and strength
will depart out of our churches.
But a second object which Paul and Barnabas had before
them, in their conferences with these young disciples, was to
prepare them for the endurance of hardship and opposition.
They said unto them " that we must through much tribula
tion enter into the kingdom of God ;" that is, that the heav
enly home of the saints is to be reached only through con
flict and trial. For the " kingdom of God " here is evident
ly the kingdom of glory, and not, as in many other passages
it must be understood, the entire spiritual system founded
by Christ on earth, and including both believers here and
the redeemed in Paradise. These believers had already
entered into the kingdom in the latter sense, and therefore
the natural interpretation of the phrase here is that which
restricts it to the heavenly land. Paul and Barnabas were
already familiar with the great law that, as Messiah himself
had been made perfect through suffering, and had obtained
his throne as the reward of his tribulation, so, in their meas
ure, his people must pass through trial into triumph. It has
been true in all ages, that " they that will live godly must
suffer persecution ;" but that was especially the case in the
experience of the primitive Christians. Jewish intolerance
had already sought to eradicate them from the earth, and
ere long Roman arrogance would clamor for their destruc
tion. Therefore, that these converts might be prepared for
die ordeal before them, the apostles fairly and honestly fore
warned them of the dangers which were to be encountered

Confirming the Churches. 153
by them. Dealing frankly with them, they set fully before
them both sides of the account. While describing the
glory and blessedness of heaven, they did not keep out of
view the hardships of the way to it. While speaking in
glowing terms of the ' conqueror's crown that was in store
for each of them, they did not make light of the battle
through which it was to be won. They did not display
the Eshcol cluster of the promised land, without saying
a word of the Anakim who had to be met and over
come before that inheritance could be theirs. They told
not only the truth, but all the truth, in the case. They
did not hide the tribulation under an attempt to describe
the happiness of the redeemed ; but neither did they suffer
the hardship of the journey to overlay the glory of that
"city of habitation" which awaited them at last. They
told them to expect trial, and therefore they would not be
taken by surprise when it actually came. It is much to be
out of Egypt, and emancipated from its bondage ; but that
is not of itself an entrance into Canaan. Commonly, in
deed, there is a long interval between the two, and that in
terval is mainly filled with conflict. We have to do battle
with the idolatries, the murmurings, and the mutinies of our
own evil hearts. We have to contend with evil men and
seducers around us, who, like Amalek and Moab and Ba
shan, are set for our destruction. Therefore, we must be
on our guard. Antagonism and hardship will come, for the
white-robed throng around the throne are " they who have
come out of great tribulation."
But then there is a kingdom at the end ; and by that
"hope set before them" Paul seeks here to animate the
Christians of Lycaonia. This was, indeed, a favorite con
solation with the apostle. It was very precious to his own
soul, and therefore he took great delight in administering
it to others. Thus he says elsewhere, " I reckon that the

154 Paul the Missionary.
sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be com
pared with the glory -which shall be revealed in us." " Our
light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us
a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." "It
is a faithful saying : For if we be dead with him, we shall
also live with him ; if we suffer, we shall also reign with
him."* When he was contemplating his own death at the
hand of the Roman executioner, he solaced himself with
the assurance that the Lord would give him " a crown of
righteousness ;" and in every time of trial we are privileged
to take to ourselves the same precious consolation. After
the pain will come the peace ; after the conflict will come
the throne ; after the cross will come the crown ; after the
long, rough voyage will come the welcome into the haven of
heaven, and " When the shore is won at last,
Who will count the billows past?"
Amid the' bitterness of trial, let us anticipate the joys of the
better country, and then we shall say with Bunyan, " The
bitter comes before the sweet, and that doth make the sweet
the sweeter." " Beloved, think it not strange concerning
the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange
thing happened unto you : but rejoice inasmuch as ye are
partakers of Christ's sufferings ; that, when his glory shall
be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy."f
Moreover, we must not forget that there is divine support
available for the Christian while he is under tribulation ; for
we read that the apostles commended these Christians " to
the Lord in whom they believed." Even if there were no
help at our command, it would still be our duty, nay, our in
terest, in consideration of the paramount importance of the
* Rom. viii., 18; 2 Cor. iv., 17; 2 Tim. ii., 11, 12.
t 1 Peter iv., 12, 13.

Confirming the Churches. 155
life that is to come, to endure patiently everything that
comes upon us for Jesus' sake. But we may have, for die
asking, grace sufficient for us, and strength perfected in
weakness ; and Paul taught this lesson most efficiently to
his Lyeaonian disciples by leading them with him to the
mercy-seat. Tribulation cannot hurt us when we bear it
prayerfully ; and our conflict must end in victory when we
fight upon our knees. When Israel, led on by Joshua, en
countered Amalek in Rephidim, Moses went up to the top
of the rock and stretched forth his hands in prayer on their
behalf, so that Amalek was discomfited. And when we shall
fight against our spiritual adversaries with the courage of
Joshua, and supplicate God's grace with the earnestness of
Moses, the issue will not be doubtful.
" Satan trembles when he sees
The weakest saint upon his knees."
Paul taught these converts to pray for themselves, by pray
ing with them and for them ; and it is not less our privilege
than it is our duty, to remember at God's throne those young
disciples who have recently come to a knowledge of the
truth. Their strength as well as our own is in God ; and
with his spirit in our hearts, we shall all be " more than con
querors through him that loved us."
But a third important object which Barnabas and Paul
had in view in revisiting these cities, was to complete among
the disciples in each of them the organization of a Christian
Church. " When they had ordained them elders in every
church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them
to the Lord." It is not good for believers themselves ta
stand in isolation. There is such virtue in union that it
gives the stability of the whole to each of its members.
And so for the steadfastness of the individual it is impor
tant that he should come into fellowship with others. More-

156 Paul the Missionary.
over, the organization of a visible society was indispensable
to the perpetuation of the influence of Christ upon the earth.
One may be a Christian without connecting himself with
the external society called the Church ; but if you will ana
lyze the matter carefully, you will discover that he has been
somehow indebted to the Church for his knowledge of the
Gospel, and that it is only through the organization of such
a society that the truth of the Gospel has been preserved for
all these centuries in the world. But a society needs order ;
and there can be no order without some kind of office-bear
ers. Hence in the early Church we find mention of elders.
Indeed, a church was considered by our apostle to be in
complete if it had not these officials ; for when Titus was
left by him in Crete to ordain elders in every city, he was
commissioned to "set in order the things that are want
ing."* Now, as this is the first time we have come upon
the mention of this office, we may take the opportunity of
setting before you a brief summary of all that the New Tes
tament contains in regard to the position and duties of those
who held it.
In each Jewish synagogue there was a board of elders,
presided over by the ruler of the synagogue ; and perhaps
the idea of having a similar organization in the Christian
Church was, under the providence of the Holy Spirit, sug
gested by that circumstance to the first disciples at Jerusa
lem, from whom it spread wherever the Gospel was proclaim
ed. But, however we may account for the adoption of such
a system, the following things seem to me to be very clear
from a careful, and I trust also a candid, investigation of the
New Testament on this matter :
First, one and the same class of office-bearers is denoted
by the two words, elders and bishops. The term presbyter
* Titus i., 5.

Confirming the Churches. 157
or elder, in its etymological sense, had reference to the age
of the person usually selected for the office ; for, as the mul
titude of years is commonly associated with wisdom, a man
tolerably advanced in life would commonly be chosen for a
position which needed prudence. The term episcopos or
bishop, again, in its literal sense of overseer, had reference
to the duties which were required of those who held the of
fice; but both words belong to the same order of office
bearers, and are used in the New Testament interchange
ably. Thus Paul sent for the elders of the Church of Eph
esus to Miletus, and when they came he said, "Take heed to
all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you
overseers,"* or bishops. Peter, exhorting " elders," says,
" Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the
oversight thereof," for bishoping it. And Paul, after speci
fying to Titus the kind of persons who should be chosen as
elders, proceeds to give his reasons for naming certain qual
ifications thus : " For a bishop must be blameless. "t I need
not dwell on this, for it is now universally admitted that, in
the New Testament use of the words, presbyters and bish
ops refer to the same order of office-bearers.
Second, there was a plurality of elders in every church.
This fact is established by one of the verses before us to
night, in which it is said, " they ordained elders in every
church ;" by the statement that Paul " sent for the elders of
the church "§ at Ephesus ; and by the salutation of the epis
tle of the Church at Philippi, || in which the apostle address
es the bishops and deacons both in the plural. There does
not appear to have been any case in which there was only
one elder in a church.
Third, it seems that there were some of those elders wha
* Acts xx., 17-28. t 1 Peter v., 2. } Titus i., 7.
§ Acts xx., 17. II Phil, i., 1.

158 Paul the Missionary.
only ruled, and others of them who both taught and ruled.
This, I think, is a legitimate inference from the words, "Let
the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor,
especially they who labor in the word and doctrine."* Ev
idently in these words two sorts of elders are spoken of;
but whether the distinction between them was, like that in
the Presbyterian Church, a matter of designation from the
first, or whether they were all alike ordained to the one of
fice, and then, as an after-agreement of preference and ar
rangement among themselves, each took the department for
which he was best adapted — some shrinking from public
speaking, and others readily accepting the appointment to
it — we cannot now determine ; though, in my own opinion,
the latter is the more probable alternative. The rule which
they were to exercise was not so much that of authority as
of influence. It was moral rather than legal. They were
to feed or shepherd the flock, of God, not "as being lords
over God's heritage," but as " being ensamples to the flock."f
But their brethren were to "obey them that had the rule
over them, and submit themselves, because' they watched for
their souls as they that must give account."t
Fourth, these elders, while chosen by the members of the
church, were appointed or ordained by the apostles or evan
gelists. In the narrative which has been to-night before us,
you observe that, in connection with the appointment of these
elders, there was that which in our version is called " ordain
ing;'^ and then there were fasting and prayer. The ordi
nary reader, indeed, is apt to suppose that these were not
so much two different things, as two departments of one ser
vice. But the word here rendered " ordained " is that which
is used to signify voting in a public assembly by the uplifted

* 1 Tim. v., 17. t 1 Peter v., 3.
t Heb. xiii., 17. § Acts xiv., 23.

Confirming the Churches. ,59
hand.* The same term is employed by Paul in 2 Cor. viii.,
19, and has been translated there by the words " who was
chosen." And, taking it in the same sense here, we get this
version : "having chosen by vote elders in every church."
That was the election. The fasting and prayer constituted
the ordination, though there is here no mention of the lay
ing on of hands. Dean Alford, one of the most unbiassed
of expositors on all questions of Church polity, puts the gist
of the whole clause into these words : " The apostles or
dained the presbyters whom the churches elected." From
the consideration of all the circumstances, our conclusion
is that Paul and Barnabas recommended the churches to
choose their office-bearers, superintended the election itself,
and then by prayer and fasting set apart to their office those
who had been chosen by the free suffrages of their brethren.
Thus, as in the case of the deacons, the right of the Chris
tian people to the choice of their own office-bearers was
distinctly recognized, and all attempts to diminish or de
stroy that sacred enfranchisement by any influence what
ever, whether that of civil enactment or that of ecclesiasti
cal courts, are out of sympathy with the spirit of the apos
tles, and with the essentially popular constitution which they
gave to the churches which they planted at the first. No
doubt this liberty has its inconveniences ; but these are
small in comparison with the evils which are entailed by its
infringement ; and it is dearly bartered for any worldly ad
vantages. " The Church of Christ," as Ebenezer Erskine
said in that sermon which was the occasion of the first se
cession from the Scottish Establishment, " is the freest so
ciety in the world," and out of it have come in the directest
manner the civil liberties in which we rejoice.
* Robinson, s. v., defines it thus : " To stretch out the hand, to hold
up the hand as in voting ; hence, to vote ;'' and he would translate it in
this place by the words " to appoint by vote."

ioo Paul the Missionary.
I have not gone into these details regarding primitive
ecclesiastical polity in the interests of any one denomina
tion above another ; for I do not believe that any church
presently in existence among us conforms in every respect
to apostolic usage ; and if we were to attempt to bring oth
ers up in some favorite particular of ours to this ancient
form, we might discover that in certain other respects,
deemed by many most important, we are ourselves deficient.
But my purpose, in this comprehensive summary of the place
and functions of the New Testament elder, has been to show
you that the two poles of ecclesiastical organization are
these : liberty and order. However we may differ from
each other in minor matters, I take it that no church has
any claim to stand on a Scriptural foundation which does
not secure both of these. The order must not be enforced
by the destruction of the liberty ; but neither must the lib
erty be maintained by the sacrifice of .the order. These are
in ecclesiastical affairs what the centripetal and centrifugal
forces are in the solar system ; and the Church, by whatever
name it calls itself, which moves in the orbit where these
two forces are in equipoise, neither one infringing or im
pinging on the other, may fairly be said to be regulated by
the principles which underlie the organization of the primi
tive Church, even although it has not precisely copied the
details. Having taken a loving and prayerful farewell of the
brethren in each of these three inland cities, our two mis
sionaries retraced their steps down through Pisidia to Per
ga, where they landed formerly from Cyprus, and whence
Mark departed for Jerusalem. On the occasion of their
first visit they did not, so far as appears, stay to preach at
all ; but now they followed their usual custom, and pro
claimed " the glad tidings " to all who would listen to their
words. Nothing, however, is said as to their success.

Confirming the Churches. 161
From Perga they pushed on to Attalia, the seaport on the
Gulf of Pamphylia, which drew to itself the commerce both
of Syria and Egypt. Here they took ship, and after a brief
voyage they completed their first missionary circuit by re
turning through Seleucia to Antioch, in Syria, "from whence
they had been recommended to the grace of God for the
work which they fulfilled."
Immediately on their arrival at Antioch they gathered
the members of the Church together, and gave a detailed
report of their proceedings, telling their story in such a way
as to keep themselves in the background, and give all the
glory to God ; for " they rehearsed all that God had done
with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto
the Gentiles." Admirable humility ! Let us imitate their
example in our individual spheres, and seek evermore the
spirit which would say, " Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us,
but unto thy name give glory for thy mercy and thy truth's
sake." ,
I cannot conclude without pausing for a few moments over
the record of this first missionary meeting. What an in
terest there is for us in these days in this simple narrative !
But our delight in the history, great as it is, may not be
compared with the enthusiasm which the presence of Paul
and Barnabas would evoke at that assembly of the Church.
We may be sure that every member would be in his place
that day. Even as, years ago, the eloquence of Duff held
thousands on both sides of the Atlantic bound as by a spell,
and men listened in the Old Country to Williams and Mof
fat, and in America to Judson and his noble compeers, so
it would be then at Antioch. With what intense attention
would they follow Paul, as he told of confronting Elymas at
Paphos, and of his preaching in the synagogue of Antioch
in Pisidia ! And how tearfully would they listen to his re
cital of his maltreatment by the men of Lystra ; while, as the

1 62 Paul the Missionary.
great success which had followed the labors of Barnabas and
himself was set before them, they would break forth into
one long, loud anthem of praise to Him who had given such
testimony to the word of his grace, and had opened such
" a door of faith unto the Gentiles." It was the birth-hour
in them of a new joy. Now for the first time they became
partakers of the gladness of those celestial .ones, who rejoice
over " one sinner that repenteth." Now they learned the
meaning of the Saviour's words : " It is more blessed to give
than to receive." It was a new experience, and filled them
for the time with ecstasy. Let us hope, however, that it did
not die down among them so rapidly as I fear it has done
among ourselves. Audiences can be obtained for almost
any adventurer who chooses to visit our shores ; and even
Christian families will turn out in crowds to be amused by
some professional manufacturer of mirth ; but when a sim
ple-minded missionary, who has been laboring for years to
elevate and Christianize the heathen, is announced to preach,
there is "a beggarly array of empty benches." Something
of this, perhaps, may be due to the fact that many of these
brethren, when they come among us, set themselves to the
discussion of abstract questions, instead of " rehearsing all
that God has done with them." But more of it is owing to
our lack of interest in the glorious cause with which they
are identified ; for we do not seem to care much for mis
sionary intelligence, no matter how it is presented. Our
Missionary Heralds lie unread amid the piles of periodicals
that accumulate upon our tables ; our missionary meetings
are too generally counted the driest of all our services ; and
there are few among us who could give any very intelligent
account of the condition of the missionary enterprise in any
single field, not to speak of the world at large. Brethren,
these things ought not so to be ! The annals of history
contain nothing grander, as a manifestation of heroic self

Confirming the Churches. 163
sacrifice, than the deeds of our modern missionaries. Their
journals read almost like a continuation of this book of
The Acts of the Apostles ; and their success in many lands
is one of the most striking illustrations of the power of the
Gospel, and a much-needed counteractive to the material
istic unbelief that is seeking to make disciples among us.
There is no more honorable roll of names than that which
has upon it those of Buchanan and Carey, Judson and Mar-
tyn, Mills and Morison, Burns and Patteson, Williams and
Moffat ; and when, some years ago, the last named of these
— the father-in-law of Livingstone — after fifty years of ser
vice in Caffreland, giving the ordination charge to his son,
said, " I am homesick for Africa, I want to go back and la
bor for my beloved Caffres," I do not wonder that the au
dience was moved with an interest that was " too deep for
tears." Who does not feel himself reproved by such an
utterance from such a man ? Brethren, let us shake off our
indifference in this department of the Master's work ! Let
us keep our ears open for tidings from our missionaries !
Let us sustain them by our gifts and by our prayers ; and
when they come back among us to tell us what God has
done through them, let us hear no more the depreciating
whisper, as they ascend the pulpit, " It's only a mission
ary ;" but let us give them ovations more enthusiastic than
those which greet the warrior, for they are " men that have
hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Think not that, in speaking thus, I am forgetting the ur
gency of home. I know that there are heathen in our own
city as ignorant and degraded as those anywhere else.
They need our efforts too ; and on the evening of Thanks*
giving-day I counted it my privilege to go to the Water-
street Mission and do what I could, by my sympathy and
assistance, to strengthen the hands of those who are labor
ing there. That is a noble work; and God there' also is

164 Paul the Missionary.
giving testimony to the word of his grace by the conversion
of sinners. But this ought we to do, and not to leave the
other undone ; and he who is most earnestly interested in
the one will be most indefatigable also in helping on the
other. We are no true disciples of Christ if we fail to do
our utmost for both.

IX.
THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM.
Acts xv., 1-29; GAL.ii., 1-10.
SOME time after the return of Paul and Barnabas from
their first missionary circuit, and while they were labor
ing earnestly at Antioch, certain Jews who professed to be
lieve in the Lord Jesus came from Jerusalem to that city,
and proved the occasion of the first serious controversy in
the Christian Church by insisting on the circumcision of
the Gentile converts as a thing essential to their salvation.
Rightly to understand the merits of the question at issue,
and the importance of the principles involved, we must look
a little closely at the ground taken by each of the parties.
The Church at Jerusalem was composed almost entirely of
Jews, who, with their faith in Christ, combined a conscien
tious observance of the law of Moses. The rite of circum
cision had been enjoined on Abraham, in connection with
his reception of the promise, "In thee and in thy sfeed
shall all the families of the earth be blessed." This in
junction the Lord Jesus had nowhere expressly repealed. •
He had himself submitted to the law. He had chosen
his apostles from among those who had been marked with
the sign of the covenant; and no direct command had
been issued to the effect that any should be admitted to
the Church save through the gate of Judaism. No doubt
Cornelius had been baptized by Peter, but that was after
he had been authorized to administer the ordinance by a

166 Paul the Missionary.
heavenly vision ; and it might be said that such a case
was quite exceptional, and not to be regarded as a prec
edent except for occasions which were entirely parallel.
The Judaizers, therefore, to use the most convenient name
for them, were the conservative party in the early Church.
They stood by the ancient ritual, and would have no change
introduced without some divine and formal enactment.
When, therefore, they heard what Paul and Barnabas had
been doing at Antioch, they were greatly disturbed. It was
not with them a matter only of national pride, though that
might, and perhaps did, enter into their thoughts ; but it was
a thing of conscience. Believing that God required Chris
tians to be circumcised, they stood for obedience to his com
mand ; and because they regarded Paul as violating the
original condition of the covenant, they came down to An
tioch to make investigation. They represented— incorrect
ly, as it came out afterward — that they had come from the
apostle James ; and in his Galatian letter, which, as we hold,
refers to the same controversy and the same visit to Jeru
salem as the history here,* Paul describes them as certain
"false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily
to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that
they might bring us into bondage." We infer, therefore,
that they did not at once openly and frankly state their
views. They waited until, in an underhand and disingenu
ous manner, they had seen what was going on, and then,
• having obtained, as they thought, materials for an accusa
tion against Paul and Barnabas, they came out with the
assertion to the Gentile believers, " Except ye be circum
cised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved."
This allegation naturally roused all the fervor of Paul,
* For the reasons for our identification of the two visits in Acts xv.
and Gal. ii., see note at the end of this discourse.

The Council of Jerusalem. 167
for he belonged to the party of progress ; and while willing
to give the past whatever importance was its due, he was
more concerned to secure the interests of the future than
to perpetuate the customs of the former economy. He
saw that the question involved was virtually this : whether
Christianity was for humanity or for a nation ; whether the
Gospel was for Jews, and only for Gentiles when they be
came Jews, or for men as men; whether salvation* was by
grace through faith to all and sundry, or through Christ and
circumcision as being both equally indispensable. This, in
his judgment, was fundamental; and so he grappled with
his adversaries at once, and insisted on bringing the matter
to an issue. Had these strangers made request that, in
consideration of the feelings of the Jews and for the sake
of peace and brotherhood, certain concessions should mean
while be made by the Gentile believers, then he would have
complied with their wish ; for that was the course which he
followed at a later day in the circumcision of Timothy,* and
that was the principle which he enforced on the Corinthi
ans and Romans concerning meat which had been offered
to idols ;f but when the demand was made on the ground
that there could be no salvation unless it was complied with,
he would "give place by subjection, no not for an hour,"
that the truth of the gospel might be maintained. This
created no small dissension and disputation, and at length,
by the appointment of the Church, fortified in Paul's case
by a direct revelation to himself, t he and Barnabas were
sent " to Jerusalem, unto the apostles and elders, about this
question." The result was a vindication of Paul, and the establish
ment of the principle that the sanction of God, as clearly
* Acts xvi., 2. t 1 Cor. x., 14-33 1 Rom- xiv-> I_z3-
{ Gal. ii., 2. See note at the end of this lecture.
S

1 68 Paul the Missionary.
manifested by his Spirit and in his providence, may be
taken by the Church as an indication of his will, even with
out any special divine injunction verbally communicated.
No formal command of Christ was received by Christians
requiring them to discontinue the observance of the rites of
Moses ; yet when the neglect of these rites was clearly seen
to be approved by God in the ministrations of his servants,
the Church wisely accepted that as an intimation of his will,
and regulated her affairs accordingly. I am the more con
cerned to give definiteness to this aspect of the case, because
it applies to other things than circumcision — being, indeed,
a recognition of all development in the Church which is not
inconsistent with or a corruption of its fundamental prin
ciples. The change of the Sabbath from the seventh day
of the week to the first, may be indicated as an illustration
of the class of particulars to which I refer.
It may seem singular that Paul, who in some of his let
ters stands so strongly on his own apostolic authority and
independence, should have been willing to submit anything
to the apostles and elders at Jerusalem ; but in taking this
course he was studying " the things that make for peace."
It had been represented that these strangers had come from
James ; and the brotherly part was to inquire whether they
were really authorized by the Church at Jerusalem to speak
as they had done, and to consult whether some arrangement
satisfactory to both parties, yet preserving intact the prin
ciples of the Gospel, could not be reached. On the ques
tion whether circumcision was essential to salvation, Paul
would not have yielded even to an angel from heaven,* and
that he would not submit to the decision of any man ; but
he had no scruple about coming to an understanding with
Jewish believers as to how much was needed to satisfy their
* Gal. i., 8, 9.

The Council of Jerusalem. 169
consciences, and how far the Gentiles would be willing to
go in that direction. On the matter of doctrine he was firm ;
on that of policy he was inclined to be accommodating ; and
it was the policy, not the doctrine, that he went to Jerusalem
to settle.
When the delegates left Antioch, they were accompanied
for some distance on their way by the members of the
church, and at every place at which they halted on their
journey through Phenice and Samaria they were received
by brethren in Christ, whose hearts were gladdened by the
news which they brought of the conversion of the Gentiles
to the Lord. At Jerusalem they were welcomed in a man
ner worthy of their mission. First, according to the state
ment in the letter to the Galatians, there was a private in
terview between them and those who were of note in the
church,* at which Paul explained his manner of presenting
the Gospel to the Gentiles in a way so satisfactory that " the
pillars " — as James, Peter, and John seem to have been
called — recognized his apostolic position, and gave to him
and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, asking nothing
of them save that they should remember the poor. It was
thus apparent that in doctrinal matters they were in fullest
accord. After this preliminary conference there was a public as
sembly of the apostles and elders, at which the deputies or
commissioners from Antioch " declared all things that God
had done with them." But here dissension began to show
itself ; for those of the disciples who had been Pharisees
insisted " that it was needful to circumcise the Gentiles and
to command them to keep the law of Moses." Perhaps this
demand of theirs was prompted, or at least intensified by
the presence of Titus, a young Gentile convert whom Paul
* Gal. ii., 2.

170 Paul the Missionary.
and Barnabas had brought with them ;* and from what is
elsewhere said, it is likely that there was special reference
to him throughout the discussion. But the demand to cir
cumcise Titus was successfully resisted by Paul ;t and after
the delegates had an opportunity of stating the object of
their mission, a second public assembly was called to con
sider the whole matter.
So far as I can make out from the condensed narrative
before us, this meeting was, strictly speaking, composed of
the apostles and elders; that is to say, these office-bear
ers formed the deliberative body, and the discussion was
confined to them ; but the debate was public in the pres
ence of the brethren, or members of the church, or at least
as many of them as could be accommodated in the place of
assembly ; and when the decision was arrived at, they were
requested to indicate their concurrence in it, either by ex
press vote, or, in modern phrase, by acclamation, so that the
circular letter that was drawn up was written in the name of
" the apostles, and elders, and brethren."
In the early part of the deliberations there would seem
to have been much discussion, the importance of which was
not at all in proportion to its earnestness. Perhaps it was
then as it is now in synods, assemblies, councils, conven
tions, halls of legislation, and the like ; and the debate was
confined at first to the minor canons, whose artillery is al
ways more remarkable for the loudness of its report than
for the precision of its aim. Then, when the way had been
cleared by their disappearance, the weightier men, whose
judgment was mature, and whose character lent force to
their words, set forth their views. It is at least certain that,

* Gal. ii., 1, 3.
t The idea that Titus was circumcised has been adopted by Farrar,
but seems to us to be utterly inconsistent with Paul's language, Gal. ii., 3.

The Council of Jerusalem. 171
"after much disputing," Peter spoke ; and, according to his
manner, went to the heart of the subject at once. He re
minded his hearers of what had occurred at Caesarea in the
house of Cornelius, and how God there had put no differ
ence between the Jewish and Gentile believers, giving both
alike the Holy Ghost, and purifying the hearts of both alike
by faith. He was clear, therefore, for laying no restric
tions on the Gentiles from the law of Moses. That law
was a yoke which neither they nor their fathers had been
able to bear ; and if they had required to depend on their
obedience to it for salvation, not one of them could have
been saved. Their only hope, even as Jews, was in the
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ ; why, then, should they put
upon the Gentiles that which would do them no good, but
would only be a burden to them, unrelieved by any such
historical associations as those which made it interesting
and important to themselves ? Thus he took his stand
upon salvation by grace, and placed himself by the side of
Barnabas and Paul.
After such a statement from the apostle of the circum
cision, the assembly was all the better prepared to listen in
a dispassionate spirit to the deputies from Antioch, both of
whom now spoke, giving an account of their mission among
the Gentiles, and dwelling particularly on the miracles by
which God had endorsed their proceedings, as being spe
cially likely to produce an impression on the minds of their
hearers. When they ceased, James, who has been called —
but for no reason that I can discover — the President of the
Council, took the opportunity of declaring his opinion. He
was, as is generally believed, a near kinsman of our Lord
according to the flesh, and from his upright and holy life,
had gained the surname of " The Just." He spoke, there
fore, with the weight of character as well as of wisdom. He
recognized the force of all that had been said by Peter, and

172 Paul the Missionary.
acknowledged that all which had been advanced by the del
egates was in accordance with the nature of the Gospel, and
with the plan of God, as revealed through Amos in a pre
diction which he quoted. Thus he, too, endorsed the prin
ciples for which Paul contended ; but while conceding that
the law of Moses should not be laid upon the Gentiles as a
necessary thing, he recommended that, out of regard to the
feelings of the Jews, who were to be found in greater or
smaller numbers in all the churches, they should be asked
to abstain " from pollutions of idols, and from fornication,
and from things strangled, and from blood." His advice
thus differed in some respects from Peter's; but inasmuch
as it compromised no principle, while it conciliated the Jews
by enjoining abstinence from those things which were pe
culiarly shocking to them, the assembly adopted it, and it
was readily accepted by Paul and Barnabas.
In a matter of such importance, however, it would not do
to leave the decision merely to the recollection of those who
had been present. That might have led to misunderstand
ing, and so might have perpetuated the difficulty. There
fore, with exemplary wisdom, their judgment was put into
the form of a circular letter to the churches ; and then re
membering that sometimes a written document, though ever
so carefully worded, has a cold, stern aspect, they sent with
it two of the prophets of the Church of Jerusalem — Judas
and Silas, to wit — who might give such verbal accounts of
the meeting as would enable the brethren to comprehend its
meaning, while at the same time they would relieve Paul and
Barnabas from the necessity of expounding a decision in
reference to a controversy on one side of which they had
themselves been prominent leaders.
Now, out of this first recorded ecclesiastical procedure
certain important questions arise, to the consideration of
which I invite your attention for a few minutes longer. As

The Council of Jerusalem. 173
we read this decree, we are impelled to ask whether we are
to regard it as given by direct and immediate inspiration.
This may appear to be settled by the use in it of the phrase,
" it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us ;" and if any
one should prefer to adopt that view, I shall not enter into
very earnest debate with him on the subject ; but the follow
ing considerations lead me to a different conclusion. First,
there was a keen and animated discussion in the assembly,
all of which would have been unnecessary and out of place,
if, after all, the matter was to be settled directly by the
immediate authority of the Holy Ghost. Second, though
James and Peter thoroughly agreed in principle, yet there
was such a difference between the advice which they several
ly gave, as seems hardly compatible with the idea that they
were both speaking under the immediate inspiration of the
Divine Spirit. Third, the peculiar manner in which the
words " and to us " are appended to the phrase " it seemed
good to the Holy Ghost," rather indicates that the mind of
the Spirit, in this instance, was revealed, not through the
direct inspiration of any one member of the assembly, but
by the general consent of all who were present. The ques
tion was decided " by the use of means accessible to men in
general under the ordinary guidance of the Holy Spirit;" and
it is possible that the words, " it seemed good to the Holy
Ghost," may refer not so much to the guidance of the Spirit,
at the moment, as to the manifestation of his will, which was
given in the case of Cornelius, and by the signs and wonders
which he granted to be wrought by Paul at the very time
when he was receiving the Gentiles into the fellowship of
the Church. As Dr. Dick has said, " This ought not to be
considered as a claim of inspiration, but as a simple asser
tion that the sentence was not expressive of their private
opinion, hut of the mind of the Spirit, which they had col
lected from Scripture, and from his recent dispensations to

174 Paul the Missionary.
the Gentiles."* And it is this aspect of the matter which
makes the record before us a valuable precedent for every
after-time ; for if this controversy had been settled simply
by inspirational authority, there would have been in such an
arrangement no principles available for the guidance of the
Church in the cpming days when apostles and miraculous
gifts should have entirely passed away. But if the decision
was arrived at by Christian men in the exercise of a spirit
of brotherly forbearance, and seeking by the use of appro
priate means to discover the mind of the Spirit through his
word and providence, then we have here an example which
in all time of controversy we should seek prayerfully to
follow. We cannot hope to compose differences between
Christians or churches by some infallible arbiter: but we
may heal them by the same love, forbearance, and earnest
desire to do Christ's will, as animated the members of this
early assembly.
Another question suggested at this stage has respect to the
permanent obligation of this decree. Are we now placed un
der precisely the same restrictions as are here enumerated ?
or were these designed merely for the transitional age of the
primitive Church, to facilitate the emergence of Christianity
out of Judaism ? Now, before we can rightly answer these
inquiries, we must revert to the circumstances out of which

* " Lectures on The) Acts of the Apostles," by John Dick, D.D., p, 293.
So also Dr. David King has said, " The question was one regarding which
the Holy Ghost had already furnished grounds of judgment ; and the
apostles rested their case expressly on prior oracles and miraculous at
testations." And again, " The sum of the whole is, that the Spirit of
God allowed apostles and elders to defend truth already revealed and
attested, by arguments drawn from Scripture and providence ; and, for
the benefit of the churches, eventually sealed by his sanction the just con
clusions to which they came." — " The Presbyterian Form of Church Gov
ernment," by David King, LL.D., pp. 280, 281.

The Council of Jerusalem. 175
the controversy arose, and to the special reason assigned by
James for suggesting the compromise which was ultimately
adopted. The whole difficulty had its origin in the presence
of two conflicting elements in the Church. On the one hand
were the Jews, who, from association, education, and con
viction, were strict observers of the law of Moses. On the
other were the Gentiles, who, from national prejudice, were
apt to despise the Jews, and look with something like con
tempt upon their religious rites. Pharisaic exclusiveness
proyoked the retaliation of Gentile defiance; and James
made his appeal to the Gentiles on the ground that so many
Jews were in all the churches. He says, " Moses of old
time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in
the synagogues every sabbath day ;" and it was the presence
of those persons in the Church that rendered the observ
ance of these restrictions necessary for the sake of peace.
So soon as these circumstances changed, however, there
would be no further need of such concessions. When the
brethren who were then weak should have become strong
enough to see that the Jewish ritual had been intended from
the first to be merely temporary, or when the number of
Jews in the Church should have become so small that their
presence as a distinct party could not be recognized, then
there would be no longer any need for this sacrifice of
their liberty by the Gentiles. To me, therefore, this compro
mise reads like a special provision for a peculiar set of cir
cumstances ; and while the principles of mutual considera
tion and forbearance on which it is founded are binding on
every age, the things which it enjoins are, in my judgment,
matters of indifference, with the single exception of that one
of them which is forbidden by one of the precepts of the
Decalogue. It is true, indeed, that the contrary opinion is maintained
in the Greek Church, and is held by some estimable breth-
8*

176 Paul the Missionary.
ren among ourselves. They argue, for the perpetual obliga
tion of this decree, on two grounds : first, because the prohi
bition of blood as an article of food is not merely a Mosaic
enactment, but dates as early as the time of Noah ; and sec
ond, because in the decree there is forbidden an immoral
thing which is always and everywhere a sin ; so that it would
seem that the eating of things strangled is as bad as the
violation of -the seventh commandment.
Now, in answer to the first of these objections, we admit
that the passage in the ninth of Genesis is the strongest
which the Bible contains, for the prohibition of blood as an
article of food ; but we must not forget that the Noachian
dispensation was as distinctly preparatory and educational
in its character as the Mosaic. There were things enjoined
in them both which are not now recognized by us as bind
ing. Notably among these was the rite of animal sacrifice ;
and in the existence of that we have the reason for the
prohibition of blood. So long as the one lasted the other
was in force. The shedding of blood in sacrifice acquired a
new and sacred significance from the prohibition of blood as
food ; but when animal sacrifices were done away in Christ,
all the restrictions associated with them disappeared. Then
as to the other argument, founded on the mention in the de
cree of a positive sin, a simple and sufficient answer to that is
furnished in the low state of public opinion among the Gen
tiles, in regard to that vice, at the time when this decision
was promulgated. It was not reckoned by them as a sin at
all, but was viewed by them as a thing in which they allowed
themselves, but from which the Jews abstained, just as they
abstained from certain articles of food. Nay, it had even
connected itself with their heathen rites of worship, just as
the eating of meat offered to idols had done. Thus it occu
pied among them at this time a place like that of the other
things mentioned in the decree. Moreover, we are veiy

The Council of Jerusalem. 177
sure that our reprobation of that vice now is not at all de
rived from this ecclesiastical enactment, but rather from the
moral law as interpreted, vivified, and glorified by the Lord
Jesus Christ. Besides, if we are to put all the things men
tioned and forbidden here on a level with the violation of
the seventh commandment, we are entitled to ask, where are
the other nine precepts of the Decalogue ? If this decree is
to be the new law of the Christian Church for all time, and
if these are the only things necessary to be observed by
members of the Church, what becomes of the other branch
es of morality? He who reverences the moral law as such
does not require this decree to keep him from impurity ; but
he who is kept from uncleanness solely out of regard for
this enactment, has not yet acquired any thorough respect
for the moral law. Now, these Gentile converts were pre
cisely in this latter case. They had not yet fully learned
what Christian morality was ; and it was well to keep them
from debasing sin, even on the low ground of an ecclesias
tical decree, until they had become familiar with the purity
which the Saviour enjoins. So soon, however, as they had
mastered the principles of the Sermon on the Mount, this
decree would be for them superseded ; even as the go-cart
is laid aside when the child has learned to walk alone.
Thus the very fact that a positive sin is here included along
with things in themselves indifferent, is a proof that this
arrangement was meant to be only temporary.
I cannot pass from this point, however, without remark
ing that, as some Christian brethren regard the prohibition
of blood and of things strangled as still binding, we are
thereby furnished with an opportunity for acting on the
principle of forbearance, of which this decree furnishes an
illustration. It does not become us either to ridicule or
despise them. They claim our respect, and are entitled to
our affection.

178 Paul the Missionary.
A third question springing out of this history is whether
the composition of this assembly throws any light upon the
subject of church government. It has been commonly call
ed the first council of the Church, but that is a misnomer ;
for, so far as appears from the narrative, only two churches
were represented, and even the one of these had only two
delegates present, whereas the other was there in full force
of apostles, elders, and brethren. But a general council is
composed of a certain definite proportion of representatives
from all existing churches. The advocates of each form of
church government have tried to find the germ of their own
system in this primitive assembly ; but, so far as I can dis
cover, with no great success. Romanism can get nothing
out of it ; for the decree was not at all like a papal bull,
and Peter, whom its votaries represent as the first pope,
did not carry the council over to his views. Episcopacy
can get nothing out of it, for very evidently this was not an
assembly of bishops, presbyters, and laymen, sitting in two
houses, and voting in two divisions, clerical and lay. Pres
byterianism can get little out of it, for this was not a syn
od or a general assembly composed of representatives from
all the churches. Nor can Congregationalism get much
out of it, for here were apostles and elders of one church
sitting in a body, and only two delegates from another
church with them : so that this was very far from being a
mutual council ; and besides, elders were there, and they
have disappeared from almost all Congregational churches.
This was a reference by a mission church, through its
delegates, to the mother church, of a question which had
emerged in a heathen city, in consequence of the intrusive
interference of certain members of the mother church in
the affairs of the mission church. The two churches did
not agree to lay the matter before the representatives of
other churches whom they had mutually arranged to bring

The Council of Jerusalem. 179
together ; but with the utmost confidence in the strength of
their position, the members of the daughter church laid
the whole question before the mother church, to which
the offenders said they belonged. That is all ; and, being
all, there is not much there to indicate what the primitive
church polity really was. What we are taught here is not
so much to stickle for the divine right of any form of eccle
siastical govefnment, as to be zealous for the divine rule of
charity. But now, finally, we are confronted with the question,
what may we learn from this whole subject that may be of
service in our modern church life ? To this I answer, that
for one thing we are taught to be on our guard against in
troducing division into churches which are zealously doing
God's work. Never, surely, were men more intent on car
rying forward the triumphs of the Gospel than these Chris
tians at Antioch. Yet strangers from Jerusalem, more anx
ious about a matter of ritual observance than for spiritual
progress, did not hesitate to interrupt their activity and intro
duce controversy among them by raising the question of cir
cumcision. It was an unjustifiable, if not also a malicious,
proceeding. Missionary work was for the time suspended ;
and Paul and Barnabas, who might have been earnestly la
boring in some new field, were sent to Jerusalem, all be
cause these Judaizers insisted on the essential importance
of that which was really indifferent. But how often have
similar things been done in our existing churches ? A fool
ish question has been started by some one-ideaed enthusi
ast, who has pertinaciously kept it before the minds of the
brethren, and those who should have presented an unbroken
phalanx to the enemies of religion have turned their weap
ons against each other. A case of this kind occurred in
the early history of the United Presbyterian Church at Kil-
maurs, Scotland, over which my first settlement as a pastor

180 Paul the Missionary.
was ; and as I thus became familiar with its details, I may
use it here as an illustration in point. Its first minister,
the Rev. David Smyton, after forty-two years in the pastor
ate, partly under the influence of a narrow spirit, partly
also, perhaps, from the failing of his powers by old age, in
troduced an overture into the Synod to enjoin uniformity in
the mode of observing the Lord's Supper. It seems that
some ministers were in the habit of " lifting " toe bread be
fore they gave thanks, while others did not lift it until after
they had given thanks, and he wished that all should be
required to lift it first, as that was, in his judgment, essen
tial to the observance of the ordinance. The Synod wisely
decided to leave the matter to individual choice ; but this
did not satisfy the zealous old man, and, after troubling the
brethren with it for some time, he withdrew from the de
nomination because he could no longer have connection
with a church which would not insist on what he held to be
a right observance of the Supper. The result was a divis
ion in the congregation itself, a lawsuit about the property,
and the building of a new church by those who regarded
the matter as non-essential. All that was very sad ; but the
fitting, if also somewhat grotesque, commentaiy on the whole
affair is that, according to the tradition of certain old mem
bers of the church with whom I conversed, Mr. Smyton him
self forgot to "lift" the bread before giving thanks on the
first occasion of observing the Lord's Supper with his pe"o-
ple as a separate body !* We smile at such puerilities ;
and yet, though the history I have given is one of a hun
dred years ago, what better are the disputes to-day in the
Church of England about " the eastern position ?" what bet
ter the controversies about the communion wine, which have

* Full particulars of this singular case may be found in "Annals and
Statistics of the United Presbyterian Church " (Scotland), pp. 401, 402.

The Council of Jerusalem. 181
split many congregations into two ? what better the divis
ions about secret societies, psalmody, instrumental music,
pulpit robes, and the like, which have kept apart those who
else " like kindred drops had mingled into one." Friends,
let us set our faces against all discussion upon such micro
scopic matters as have no essential importance. The prog
ress of the Church as a whole is infinitely more to be con
sidered than the airing of the pet crotchet of any individ
ual, or even the advancement of that which we may reckon
the best form of worship.
Nor does this lesson hold only in the intercourse between
members of the same church or congregation. It is of force
also in the dealings of denominations with each other.
When, for example, a High -Church Anglican bishop goes
out to the Hawaiian Islands, which were evangelized by the
missionaries of the American Board, and seeks to divide
the newly -formed Christian community by questions of
apostolic succession, church government, and ritual, we can
not help being reminded of the doings of these early Juda
izers. And when in some small Western town one good
congregation, whether Episcopal, Presbyterian, Methodist,
or Congregational, is enough for the place, and is doing a
good work, what better is it for some other denomination to
go in and seek to divide it into two or more weak churches,
on the simple score of individual preference for a particu
lar kind of service ? We execrate the conduct of these Ju
daizers at Antioch, but let us take care lest we be found
repeating it ourselves in America.
Another thing which we ought to learn from this history
is, that our Christian liberty should be regulated by love,
We may have a right to do many things which yet, in pres-
ent circumstances, and out of regard to our brethren, we
should not do. No doubt if our brethren should demand
our abstinence from them as a thing essential to our salva-

182 Paul the Missionary.
tion, then we may resist, nay, for aught I can see, we must
resist until at least they have conceded our right ; but if,
our liberty being admitted, the brethren should ask us, out
of consideration either for themselves or for others, to for
bear exercising it, then we ought to put love higher than lib
erty, and accede to their request. That is precisely where
I stand, for example, in regard to the use of strong drink
as a beverage. If one should insist that abstinence from it
in every form and degree is essential to my soul's salvation,
I think I should take it just to assert my liberty, or, at any
rate, I should insist on my liberty being conceded ; but if,
that being fully recognized, I should be asked to forego it
because of the good that my influence may exert on those
who are in danger from it, or because of the scruples of cer
tain brethren regarding it, then the principle of this ancient
decree, and of Paul's argument in his letters to the Romans
and Corinthians, comes in. I should still say, "All things
are lawful for me ;" but I would add, " If meat make my
brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world stand-
eth. It is good neither to eat flesh nor to drink wine, nor
anything whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or
is made weak." The exercise of liberty is conditioned by
love ; yet even the love must insist on the recognition of
the liberty.
Finally, we may learn from this whole narrative to be very
zealous for the free grace of the Gospel. Paul would not
allow that anything was necessary to salvation but faith in
Christ. Over and over again he contended for justification
by faith without the deeds of law. That was to him the
glory of the Gospel. That is its glory still ; therefore, let
us keep that sacred. It is not, " Be circumcised, and thou
shalt be saved." It is not, " Be baptized," whether by an
apostolic clergyman or by the form of immersion, " and thou
shalt be saved." It is not, "Take the communion, and thou

The Council of Jerusalem. 183
shalt be saved." It is not, " Confess to a priest arid receive
absolution from him, and thou shalt be saved ;" but, " Be
lieve on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved and
thy house." " The just shall live by faith." Well might
the Christian poet sing,
" Oh, how unlike the complex works of man
Heaven's easy, artless, unencumbered plan !
No meretricious graces to beguile,
No clustering ornaments to clog the pile,
From ostentation as from weakness free
It stands like the cerulean arch we see
Majestic in its own simplicity ;
Inscribed above the portal, from afar
Conspicuous as the brightness of a star,
Legible only by the light they give,
Stand the soul-quickening words, ' Believe and Live.' "

Note on the identity of PauVs visit to Jerusaiem, mentioned Acts xv., 4,
with that referred to in Galatians ii., I.
In The Acts of the Apostles there is mention of five distinct visits
made by Paul, after his conversion, to the city of Jerusalem ; and pre
suming, as I think we may fairly do, that the visit referred to in the letter
to the Galatians was one of these, the question arises, which of them
was it ? We may at once dismiss the first, fourth, and fifth from the ac
count ; the first, because it was only three years after his conversion ;
the fourth, because Barnabas did not accompany him on it ; and the fifth,
because it was at the beginning of his long imprisonment. It remains,
therefore, that it must have been either the second, when Paul and Bar
nabas went up from Antioch with alms for the relief of the saints at Je
rusalem (Acts xi., 30), or the third, when they went up to consult the
apostles and elders in regard to circumcision. Some adopt the former
of these alternatives; and certainly, if we had only the epistle to guide
us, we should not have supposed that Paul had been at Jerusalem at all
between the time of his first visit after his conversion, and of this when
he went up (Gal. ii., 2) "by revelation." But, on the other hand, there
is nothing in the epistle which obliges us to believe that Paul had never
been at Jerusalem on any other occasion than the two which he has there

184 Paul the Missionary.
particularized ; for his purpose there is to establish his independent
apostolical authority, and therefore he is led to refer, not to his visits to
Jerusalem as such, but only to those of them during which he came intq
personal fellowship with the other apostles. Now, when he and Barna-,
bas went up with their alms, it does not appear that they met with any
of the apostles, for they were all probably at that time absent from the
city on account of the persecution of the Church by Herod (Acts xii.,
1-25) ; therefore it was not needful, for the purposes of his argument in
the epistle, that he should mention that visit at all.
It remains, therefore, that the visit in the epistle must be identified
with that described in Acts xv. This harmonizes better than any other
view with the best chronology of Paul's life ; and besides, the occasions
of the visits as described in The Acts and the epistle agree. " Both
times," says Alford, " the important question relative to the obligation of
Christians to the Mosaic law was discussed; both times the work of
Paul and Barnabas was discussed, and what need was there for this to
be twice done ?"* To all this, however, Paley and others make the fol
lowing objections : namely, that as described in the epistle, the journey
was made by revelation, whereas, according to The Acts, it was the re
sult of a determination of the Church at Antioch ; that in the epistle
Paul refers to a private conference with the chief apostles, saying nothing
of any public assembly, while in the history only the public meeting is
spoken of, and there is no hint of any private conference ; and that in the
epistle no mention is made of the decree of the assembly, though that
might have been expected if the visits were the same. But to the first
of these it may be replied, that the journey might be both by revelation
and by appointment of the Church ; since either the revelation might be
given directly to the Church, or it might be given to Paul himself after
the action of the Church, to remove any doubt which he might have as to
the expediency of his going. To the second we may answer that, though
the history contains no reference to any private interview between Paul
and the apostles, yet the course which the public meeting took was such
as to indicate that there had been some previous understanding between
the parties, of a kind like that which a preliminary conference would es
tablish. To the third, which makes so much account of the absence of
all reference to the decree in the epistle, Paley has himself given a satis
factory reply when he says.t " The epistle urges the argument on prin
ciple, and it is not, perhaps, more to be wondered at that in such an argu-
* Alford's " Greek Testament,'' vol. ii., Prolegomena, pp. 26, 27.
t Paley's " Horse Paulina;," chap, vi., section 10.

The Council of Jerusalem. 185
ment Paul should not cite the apostolic decree, than it would be that in
a discourse designed to prove the moral and religious duty of observing
the Sabbath, the writer should not quote the 13th Canon." The history
was designed to give that which was important for the Church, and
therefore we have in it the decree ; while nothing is said about the pri
vate conference. The epistle was intended for the Galatians, and was
meant to show that Paul was not a whit behind the chiefest apostles ;
therefore, in it the account of the private conference was important,
while the introduction of the decree would have been irrelevant.
These considerations may suffice for the general reader. Those who
wish to prosecute the subject farther may consult Conybeare and How
son, vol. i., pp. 244-252 ; Lightfoot's " St. Paul's Epistle to the Gala
tians," pp. 122-127, and the authorities there referred to ; also " The New
Testament History," edited by William Smith, LL.D., pp. 495-497.

X.
THE TWO CONTENTIONS.
Gal. ii., 11-21 ; Acts xv., 30-41.
IMMEDIATELY after the settlement of the question
which had been submitted by them to the apostles and
elders at Jerusalem, the delegates of the Church of Antioch
returned to the brethren in the latter city, and read the let
ter which the conference had drawn up. The decision was
received with great satisfaction, which was increased by the
conciliatory addresses of Judas and Silas, who explained
more fully the views and feelings of the council upon the
subject ; and who " tarried there a space, exhorting the
brethren with many words, and confirming them." After a
time, however, Judas went back to Jerusalem ; but Silas re
mained, and, as we shall presently see, became the compan
ion of Paul in his second missionary expedition. Mean
while, the even flow of the history is disturbed by two
personal misunderstandings which painfully remind us that
even the best of men are liable to err.
The first of these was Paul's dispute with Peter, which is
briefly described in the second chapter of the Epistle to the
Galatians.* It would appear that, after the holding of the
assembly at Jerusalem, Peter went down to Antioch. We
have no information concerning the motive by which he was
actuated in taking such a journey. Perhaps he wished to
* Gal. ii., 1 1-21.

The Two Contentions. 187
show that he, the apostle of the circumcision, was in per
fect accord with Paul, the apostle of the uncircumcision, in
regard to the principles involved in the recent controversy.
His first proceedings, at least, would seem to favor that
supposition ; for, in harmony with the opinion which he had
expressed in the debate, he mingled freely with the Gentiles,
and ate with them precisely as if they had been Jews.; but
after certain persons came from James (that is, from the
place where James was), " he withdrew, and separated him
self, fearing them that were of the circumcision." Some
have supposed that the fear here attributed to Peter was
not timidity, but rather an apprehension lest the Jews should
by his conduct be driven into apostasy. That, however,
seems to me to be an over-refinement. The simple truth
is, that the men from Jerusalem got round him, and wrought
upon«his fears. They represented, perhaps, that a great
outcry would be made against him by his friends in the
Holy City ; that he was taking a course which would seri
ously interfere with his future comfort and usefulness ; and
that, if he had any regard for his own happiness, he should
at once retrace his steps. Thus they produced what we may
term a panic in him, under the influence of which his calm
er judgment was for the time dethroned ; and he hastily
changed his front in the presence of this new enemy. All
this is quite in keeping with what we know from other
sources of the character and temperament of Peter. Ad
mirable as many of his qualities were, he was too much
swayed by impulse, and not unfrequently went from one ex
treme to another. He was always one of the first to see
and own the truth ; but sometimes, when he was trying to
act it out, he was turned aside by a temporary influence,
and ended by proving inconsistent with his professions. To
such an extent was this the case with him, that we might
almost regard the incidents connected with his walking on

188 Paul the Missionary.
the water to go to Jesus as symbolical of much in his dispo
sition and life. He was bold at first, and eager to go the
whole length of principle ; but as he trod upon the waves of
difficulty, his fears sometimes overmastered his faith, and he
began to sink. This vacillation, caused by a sudden access
of fear hard to explain in one generally so courageous,
might have been fraught with serious consequences both
to himself and others, save for the fact that he was always
ready to own his fault, and to do what he could to repair
the mischief which he had caused. He was, "take him for
all in all," a noble man ; but he was the very last of the
apostles to suggest the idea of infallibility ; for side by side
with the record of almost every signal manifestation by him
of zeal for Christ and loyalty to him which the sacred writers
have recorded, we have that also of some inconsistency which
involved him in humiliation, and subjected him to reproof.
He had scarcely said to the Redeemer, "Thou art the
Christ, the Son of the living God," and received the high
encomium which that confession of his faith evoked, be
fore he drew down upon his head the rebuke, "Get thee
behind me, Satan !" for presuming to stand between the
Master and the cross. He had hardly uttered the solemn
assertion, " Though I should die with thee, yet will I not
deny thee," before he timidly declared that he knew not
the man. And here again, but a short time after his
liberal speech at the council, he is found acting in such
a way as to play into the hands of those whom he was
then opposing. He did not mean to do anything wrong.
His error was not one of deliberate purpose. Perhaps, in
deed, his intention at the outset had been to go through
with the principle which he had professed to adopt. Just
as, with the exception of John, he was the only one of the
eleven who followed Jesus to the high-priest's palace, and
there met the temptation before which he fell, so here he

The Two Contentions. 189
was purposing to go farther than others in showing broth
erhood to the Gentiles, and thus brought upon himself such
an assault as he was unable to face. His courage was so
much greater than that of others as to take him where they
would not venture ; but it was not great enough to take him
through all the perils which he thus encountered, and so
he came back more humiliated than he would have been
if he had not dared so much. If he did sink, however, do
not let us forget that at the time he was trying to walk on
the waters.
But while we can understand how he came to act as he
did, we can see also how his conduct was distressing to
Paul. That apostle, indeed, calls it " dissimulation ;" but
we must not make the word mean more than it will bear.
Paul does not insinuate that Peter designed to impose upon
others. He does not impute motives. He simply says that
Peter's conduct conveyed to others a false impression as to
his personal convictions. He appeared to others to have
done what Paul knew he had not done. Peter had not
changed his opinions. He was as sound in the faith as he
had ever been. He was looking for salvation, not through
the observance of the law of Moses, but through faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ; and if any one had asked him
whether he regarded circumcision as essential to salvation,
he would at once, and emphatically, have disclaimed such a
doctrine. But what Paul complained of was that his change
of conduct at this particular time, and at the suggestion of
these Jews, was calculated to convey the impression that
he had altered his opinions. It looked as if he had gone
over to the side of the circumcisionists ; and appeared*to
give the sanction of his name and authority to views which
Paul knew that he did not hold. The influence of such an
example could not but be disastrous ; and in fact it cre
ated a current of reaction by which even Barnabas was for

190 Paul the Missionary.
the moment carried back. Paul felt, therefore, that some
thing should be done to counteract this evil, and the meth
od which he adopted was eminently manly and straightfor
ward. He did not go to and fro among the brethren, in
veighing against Peter in his absence, but he went directly
to the erring brother himself, and "withstood him to the
face." He publicly remonstrated with him for taking a
course which was liable to mislead those who did not know
his innermost convictions as thoroughly as his confidential
friends did. The expostulation addressed by him on this
occasion is a masterpiece. It presents the finest combina
tion of delicacy with faithfulness, and affection with firm
ness, and would amply repay minute consideration. But I
must content myself with presenting you, in the form of a
paraphrase, with the substance of the argument which it
contains. It is something like the following : " If you, who
are a Jew by birth, and have been brought up under the law
of Moses, feel yourself at liberty to disregard its prohibi
tions, and to live, as you were doing, after the manner of
the Gentiles, it is unreasonable to compel the Gentiles to
conform to all the requirements of the Jewish law. You do
not insist on this, indeed, in words. I believe that verbally
you would repudiate any attempt to Judaize the Gentiles —
even as you did in your address at the council ; but still
the natural inference from your present withdrawal from the
Gentile brethren is, that you have now come to believe that
circumcision is essential to salvation. For this is not a
case of conforming to the wishes of a weak brother who
concedes your liberty ; it is a submission to those who say,
' Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye
cannot be saved.' Now observe how your conduct affects
the fundamental principles of the Gospel. We, who are
Jews, having become convinced that we could not be justi
fied by the works of the law, have sought salvation through

The Two Contentions. 191
faith in Christ. But if, in so doing, we are, after all, found
to be sinners because we have wilfully neglected the law as
an appointed means of salvation, then it must follow that
Christ, who taught us to neglect it, in that relation, has been
to us the minister of sin. That is a conclusion from which
I know you will shrink with horror ; but you must be pre
pared to face it, or you must admit that by your present
conduct you have made yourself a transgressor. There is
transgression somewhere. If you were wrong before in eat
ing with the Gentiles, then, as you did that under the direct
sanction of Christ given you in your Joppa vision, he has
been to you the minister of sin. If you were right before,
then you are wrong now, and you are yourself the trans
gressor. There is no other alternative ; and I know you so
well as to be convinced that, when the case is thus put
before you, there will be no hesitation in your mind as to
which course you will adopt. But however it may be with
you, I have no misgivings on the matter. I declare that I
have nothing to do with the law of Moses for my justifica
tion. Through the law itself — that is, by its condemning
sentence — I died to the law. As soon as I saw myself in
the light of its precepts, I gave up all hope of being saved
by it. But I did not, therefore, repudiate all obligation ; for
then I came by faith into union with Christ ; and such was
the effect of that union, that, like him, I live unto God. I
am crucified with him, indeed, as condemned by the law ;
yet I live, though in strictest speech I should say that it is
no longer I that live, but Christ that lives in me, and the
life that I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son
of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. In this way
I do not make the grace of God unnecessary, as I certainly
should do if I were to go back to the law for salvation; for,
if it is possible to obtain righteousness by the law, then
there was no need for the death of Christ."
9

192 Paul the Missionary.
Nothing is said by Paul as to the manner in which Peter
received this brotherly expostulation; but, from what we
know of his disposition, we may conclude that he frankly
owned his error ; and we have evidence that it left no per
manent sting behind it in the fact that, long after, he wrote
of his opponent here as " our beloved brother Paul."
Now, before we go farther, we may learn the following
lessons from this personal contention between Paul and
Peter : In the first place, before we withstand a brother, let
us be quite sure that he is to be blamed, and that the oc
casion warrants our protest. Paul would not have cared
to interfere with Peter in any trivial matter ; nor would he
have felt constrained to move in the case but for the handle
which would be made of his peculiar vacillation just at that
time. No one had a fuller comprehension of what Chris
tian liberty involved than had Paul ; and no one was more
jealous of its infringement. If, therefore, he had not seen
that the fundamental principle of the Gospel was at stake,
he would not have said a word. The thing which Peter
had done was in itself indifferent ; but by doing it just then,
at the appearance of the Judaizers, he had compromised
that truth which was dearer to Paul than friendship, or even
than life, and therefore he could not be silent. If he could
have seen any possibility of explaining his brother's con
duct in a way that was consistent with his loyalty to the
Gospel and its Lord, he would have taken that, for he prac
tised his own charity, which " believeth all things." But
there was only one alternative here : either Peter had gone
quite over to the party of the Judaizers, or he was trying to
serve two masters. The first he could not believe, and he
accepted the latter only because he was shut up to it. But,
having accepted it, he founded on it the faithful and affec
tionate admonition which we have just had before us.
Now, let us learn from this example to withstand a broth-

The Two Contentions. 193
er only when we are thus constrained to do so by our alle
giance to the truth of the Gospel. If in any respect we
cannot approve his conduct, while yet it may be explained
in perfect harmony with his loyalty to Christ, let us give
him the benefit of the explanation, and be silent. But if
his procedure is such as seriously to compromise the purity
of the Church or the truth of the Gospel, then let us with
stand him. Nothing is more contemptible than to be al
ways putting ourselves on the opposition benches ; object
ing to everything that is proposed by some particular broth
er, and going to a church meeting with the motive of the
Scotchman for appearing in the debating society — "jist to
contradic a wee." But on the other hand, nothing ought to
be dearer to a Christian than " the glorious Gospel of the
blessed God, which is committed to his trust ;" and if a
brother is indulging in a liberty which would compromise
that truth, or insisting on a strictness which would make
the gate of life narrower than Christ has made it, then we
should earnestly yet lovingly withstand him ; but let us be
sure that he is to be blamed for some such worthy cause
before we expostulate with him.
Again, we may learn not to be deterred from opposing
wrong by the position of him who has committed it. Peter
was an apostle. He was, in fact, one of the greatest pillars
of the early Church ; but Paul was not prevented by any
such considerations as these from protesting against his in
judicious and unseemly vacillation. On the contrary, the
very prominence of Peter made it all the more important
that his inconsistency should be promptly and publicly dealt
with. Had he been an ordinary member of the Church,
moving only in private circles, Paul might have been dis
posed to pass his conduct by with a mild remonstrance ;
but his excellence as a man and his eminence as an apos
tle gave such importance to his example, that, if it remained

194 Paul the Missionary.
unchecked, much evil would have ensued. Therefore Paul
took the course which he adopted. No doubt it cost him a
great deal to do so ; but it would have cost him more to have
let things take their course, and allowed the liberty of the
Gospel, for the time, to be destroyed. It was not, therefore,
because he loved Peter less, but because he loved the truth
more, that he uttered this glowing and uncompromising ad
monition. But the same principles hold still; error or evil
is dangerous in any man, but it is far more so in a leader of
the people or a minister of the Gospel than in others ; and
when it appears in one in that position, then, however pain
ful it may be to take our stand, loyalty to Christ leaves us
no alternative. We ought lovingly, indeed, but firmly and
courageously, to oppose the evil and expostulate with the
evil-doer. Great eminence may command our respect, but
the truth is before all things else ; and nothing whatever
should be allowed by us to excuse treason to that. Nay,
the more prominent its assailant may be, there is only laid
upon us thereby the stronger obligation to withstand him.
The reputation of any man is of small consequence when
the truth of God's word or the purity of Christ's Church is
involved. Once more we may learn from Paul's conduct here that
when we withstand a brother, it should be to his face. He
did not go hither and thither among the elders, speaking
against Peter and complaining of his course, while at the
same time he kept unbroken silence concerning it to Peter
himself. He did not say in Peter's absence that which he
was afraid to utter before his face ; but he spoke out all
that was in his heart openly, and to Peter himself. Now, in
this also he has set us a valuable example. When we have
anything to say in condemnation of a brother's actions, let
us say it to himself. Too often, alas ! a contrary method
is pursued, both in the Church and in the world ; and men

The Two Contentions. 195
go round the whole circle of society, turning it into a great
" whispering gallery," in which they sibilate away the char
acter of one who has had no opportunity of vindicating him
self. "It is very sad, and you must not say that I spoke
to you on the subject, but he has done thus and so, and I
feel terribly aggrieved." Thus it passes on from one to an
other, gathering as it goes, until a thing which might at
first have been set right by a few kindly and faithful words
assumes a very formidable appearance, and perhaps ends in
the permanent estrangement of the persons more immediate
ly concerned, and the production of discord and heart-burn
ing in the whole district. If, therefore, we have anything to
say of a brother, let us say it first to himself, and the prob
ability is that we may never have occasion to mention it
again. Let us say nothing in his absence that we would not
utter in his presence ; and if we have not the courage to
speak to him, let us at least have the grace to be silent
about him.
Nor does this lesson concern the speaker only : it has a
bearing also on the hearer ; and when any one comes to us
with an evil report against his neighbor, let us refuse to lis
ten to him, unless he has assured us that he has already
told the person concerned all that he is going to say to us.
" Where no wood is, fire goeth out ;'' and if all to whom evil
gossip is carried were only to treat those who deal in it ac
cording to this rule, we should soon banish it from the midst
of us. Who would harbor an assassin in his house ? Yet
the man who strikes at a neighbor's character in his absence
is as bad as he who with stealthy stiletto stabs the unwary
traveller from behind. If we must withstand a man, there
fore, let us do it to his face.
From the conduct of Peter here, however, we may learn
the no less valuable lesson that when we are thus withstood
we should take it meekly, and, if we are in the wrong, should

196 Paul the Missionary.
frankly own our error, and retrace our steps as rapidly as
possible. I believe that Paul's appeal was not in vain.
He was too noble to include in his letter to the Galatians
anything which would seem to aggravate a brother; and
from what we know of Peter on other occasions, we may be
sure that on this also he was as ready in the confession of
his fault as he had been rash in its commission. Indeed,
the careful student of his epistles will discover that in this
very matter he uses language in them which is singularly
like that employed by Paul. Thus the one apostle has
said, "Ye have been called unto liberty; only use not lib
erty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one an
other ;" and in his first epistle the other has these words :
" As free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of mali
ciousness, but as the servants of God." We cannot doubt,
therefore, that he accepted Paul's rebuke in the spirit of
meekness. Now in all this there was a magnanimity which
is worthy of all praise. So far as appears, he did not be
come excited, and exclaim against Paul for presuming to
think that he could be wrong, but he did a more difficult
and a more manly thing : he acknowledged his fault. Now
here was a great triumph of grace. It may seem a paradox
to say it, but there are few things which test a man's real
Christianity more than reproof for that which is actually
blameworthy. It is comparatively easy to guard against
giving offence ; but it is exceeding hard to keep from tak
ing offence in such circumstances, arid to say with the
Psalmist, " Let the righteous smite me ; it shall be a kind
ness : and let him reprove me ; it shall be an excellent oil,
which shall not break my head." We all assent to Solo
mon's proverb, " Open rebuke is better than secret love ;"
but when the rebuke comes, most of us, on the whole, would
prefer the love ; and too frequently we are disposed to re
sent the faithfulness of the brother who should hint, even in

The Two Contentions. 197
the most delicate manner, that we have been in the wrong.
We cry out against the modern dogma of papal infallibility,
but we have all- too much belief in that of our own infalli
bility ; for our. tempers are roused, and our hearts are es
tranged by any exposure of our error or inconsistency. How
many personal alienations and ecclesiastical schisms might
have been prevented, if there had been on the one side the
honest frankness'of Paul, and on the other the manly meek
ness of Peter as these come out in this transaction !*
The other contention, of which Antioch was the scene,
was in its origin more painful, and in its immediate conse
quences more distressing, than that with Peter. It will be
remembered that when Paul and Barnabas were at Perga,
in the course of their first missionary journey, John Mark,
who had been till then their companion and fellow-laborer,
suddenly departed from them and returned to Jerusalem.
There he remained during all the time that the two evan
gelists were hazarding their lives in Pisidia and Lycaonia,
and, for anything that we know to the contrary, during the
years that intervened between their return to Antioch and
their delegation to the apostles and elders at Jerusalem. At
the close of the council, however, it would appear that, either
under the promptings of his own conscience or as the result
of his uncle's appeals, he returned with them to Antioch.
And when, eager tq be at work again, Paul proposed to Bar
nabas that they should revisit the brethren in every city
where they had preached the Gospel, his friend made it a
condition that Mark should accompany them. To this, how
ever, Paul would not consent. On the former occasion Mark
had disappointed his expectations. He had put his hand

* Some of the paragraphs in this discourse have already appeared in
the author's "Peter the Apostle;'' but they are retained here to give
completeness tp the treatment of the subject.

198 Paul the Missionary.
to the plough and looked back ; and therefore Paul would
not trust him again. He did not forbid him to work for
Christ, but he would not have him again under his auspices.
There was enough to contend with in the difficulties and
dangers which were inseparable from such an expedition as
they proposed, without burdening themselves with the care
of a timid and unreliable companion ; and therefore his de
cision was that Mark should be left behind. But Barnabas,
influenced by his affection for his nephew, and perhaps also
by his well-founded belief that Mark had profited by his
experience, insisted upon taking him, and the result was " a
sharp contention," or, as the word is, "paroxysm," between
them. They were both angry, and manifested unseemly
excitement. This little matter kindled a great fire ; and
these two noble men who had been indebted to each oth
er for so much, and who in their hearts loved each other
most sincerely, " departed asunder' one from the other."
Barnabas took Mark, and went to Cyprus ; Paul took Silas,
and went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches.
In connection with Paul's departure, a valedictory service
was held by the disciples at Antioch, and some have taken
that as indicating that their sympathies were with him rath
er than with Barnabas, to whom no such public farewell, in
which he was recommended to the grace of God, was given ;
but it is safer to let the fact stand as it is recorded, without
drawing any inference from it as to the feelings of the Church
in regard to the dispute between them. For the rest, it is
pleasant to discover that this personal separation did not
ultimately lessen the regard which Paul had for his friend ;
for there are evidences in his letters of the hold which the
"son of consolation" continued to keep upon his heart.
Thus in the Epistle to the Galatians,* written some time
* Gal. ii., 13.

The Two Contentions. 199
after this breach, we see how he speaks of "even Barnabas "
being carried away, as if he still held him in the highest es
teem. Again, in the First Epistle to the Corinthians* writ
ten five or six years after their separation, he says, " Or I
only and Barnabas, have not we power to forbear working ?"
an expression which looks as if the two were again compan
ions, and which, even if we do not adopt that view, clearly
indicates that Barnabas was remembered by Paul with affec
tion unmingled with the least element of bitterness. We
know too that he regained his respect for Mark. It comes
out incidentally in one of his letters, f that during his first
imprisonment at Rome, Mark was With him ; and it is with
a singular interest that we read his injunction to Timothy,
written shortly before his execution : " Take Mark, and
bring him with thee ; for he is profitable to me for the min
istry.":!: These allusions, after all that had occurred, are
equally creditable to both parties. They show that Mark
had grown steady and brave, and was not above ministering
to Paul ; and they prove that Paul was not so mean as to
keep up an old grudge, when all that caused it had been
perfectly removed.
And now what more can be said on this sad subject?
Luke, under divine inspiration, impartially narrates the his
tory; but he gives no apportionment of blame to either
party, and it would be dangerous for me to venture on such
invidious ground. Thus much, however, I may say without
fear of being accounted either presumptuous or censorious :
there were faults on b&th sides. Judging from what had
gone before, Paul cannot be condemned for refusing to be
again associated with Mark ; but judging from what fol
lowed, Barnabas was amply vindicated for desiring that he
should be taken with them. Though we must admit that

* 1 Cor. ix., 6. t Col. iv., 10. % 2 Tim. iv., 11.

200 Paul the Missionary.
Paul's sternness was one of the means which helped to dis
cipline Mark into strength, yet we cannot help feeling that
the great apostle was just a little too intolerant of weak
ness. Barnabas, again, may have allowed his relationship
to Mark unduly to influence his opinion. If the one was
too stern, the other may have been too indulgent. The
sternness of Paul, if it had not been softened by the tender
ness of Barnabas, might have driven Mark away from Chris
tian work altogether. The leniency of Barnabas, if it had
not been corrected by the sternness of Paul, might have
made Mark an utter weakling. But, as it happened, the
two wrought together under the providence of the • Holy
Spirit, and tempered him into strength.
But whatever may be said about their treatment of Mark,
we may affirm that there was no occasion for any angry
altercation about him. As we think of two such men thus
falling out with each other, it is difficult to say whether we
are more sorry or surprised. We mourn that these good
and great men should have been thus easily provoked. We
are surprised that -Paul should have for the moment forgot
ten the kindness of Barnabas to him when he introduced
him to the apostles at Jerusalem, and his brotherly appre
ciation of his ability, when, at a later day, he went to Tarsus
to secure his services as a helper in the Gospel. Nor are
we less astonished that Barnabas, the son of consolation,
should have been here so violent. Surely we have seen
"an end of all perfection," when such men thus sinfully
dispute. But, not to dwell on the dark side of the subject, let us
take note of some mitigating elements in this contention.
It will be observed, then, that the dispute arose from a dif
ference of opinion about the best means of carrying on
Christ's work. Had Paul cared less for Jesus and his cause,
he would not have been so vehement; and, on the other

The Two Contentions. 201
hand, if Barnabas had been less concerned for the spiritual
welfare of Mark, he would have been less persistent. There
fore, although there was sin in the quarrel, still the very
origin of the contention showed that it was the dispute of
Christian men.
Again, let it be remarked that they took ultimately the
best means of deciding the controversy. As when the herd-
men of Abram and Lot fell out, the agreement proposed by
the former was, " If thou wilt take the left hand, then I will
go to the right,"* so here Barnabas went with Mark to
Cyprus, and Paul proceeded with Silas to Cilicia.
Still further, we must not forget that this dispute did not
permanently estrange them from each other. Commonly,
indeed, it is with friendship as with crockery, which, when
broken, may be mended, but the crack remains ; and I am
not prepared to say that all evidence of the crack was re
moved even in this case ; but when the heat of the conten
tion was over, they acknowledged each other's excellence as
frankly as ever, and if the reputation of Barnabas had been
assailed, he would have found no more zealous defender
than Paul ; while, if Paul had been attacked, Barnabas would
have been among the first to stand up in his behalf.
It is easy to see, finally, how even this contention was
overruled for the furtherance of the Gospel, so that now
there were four laborers in the field instead of three. Thus,
" God maketh the wrath of man to praise him, and the re
mainder thereof he doth restrain."
In a- former discourse, while speaking of the defection of
Mark, I took occasion to warn young disciples against stum
bling on the threshold of their Christian career, lest their
instability should alienate older and better men from each
other ; and I pointed out the necessity of mingling gentle-
* Gen. xiii., 9.

202 Paul the Missionary.
ness with severity if we would win back the erring one to
the right path. To-night, therefore, I will content myself
with drawing one practical lesson from this painful chapter
of apostolic history ; and it shall be this : let us take care
lest differences in little things, involving personal prefer
ences, should cause angry altercations and painful separa
tions between valued friends. In the great discussion with
Peter, which had a bearing on the fundamental principle of
the Gospel, there was no paroxysm of passion ; but in this
little dispute about Mark between Paul and Barnabas, there
was. On public occasions of importance there is compara
tively little danger, for the gravity of the issue is then clear
ly seen, and men prepare themselves for the discussion by
prayer; while all through they hold themselves in, as it were,
"with bit and bridle." But in small personal encounters
the peril is immensely increased ; for then all parties are off
their guard, minor considerations of relationship or interest
come into operation, and, before the disputants are aware,
the debate becomes a wrangle, Satan is in the midst of them,
and sets them all by the ears. If I had my choice, I would
rather see a controversy spring up in a church about some
great central doctrine than about some question of paltry
detail of arrangement or of pitiful personality; for there
would be less likelihood in the one case than in the other
of an angry and acrimonious debate. " Little sticks kindle
great fires." The dame that would die out before it could
set fire to a log will easily ignite a chip, and that may have
strength enough to kindle a fagot that will at length set
the log in a blaze. Take care, therefore, especially in little
things, lest temper should explode, and make a painful sep
aration between you and your friend. Admirably has the
poet said : "Alas ! how light a cause may move
Dissension between those that love.

The Two Contentions. 203
Hearts that the world in vain had tried,
And sorrow but more closely tied ;
That stood the storm when waves were rough,
Yet in a sunny hour fall off,
Like ships that have gone down at sea
When heaven was all tranquillity.
A something light as air, a look,
A word unkind, or wrongly taken —
Oh ! love that tempests never shook,
A breath, a touch like this hath shaken !"
May God grant that none of us may ever in any way furnish
another illustration of these lines !

XI.
THE SECOND MISSIONARY BAND.
Acts xv., 41 ; xvi., 11.
ACCOMPANIED by Silas, Paul went from Antioch
through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches ev
erywhere by the publication of the Jerusalem decree, and
by seasonable instructions. We have no record of the
places which he visited at this time, but it is hardly likely
that Tarsus would be overlooked ; and we are permitted to
dwell in imagination on the pleasure with which he would
be received by the people among whom he had formerly
labored, in those days of unrecognition ere yet Barnabas
had come to carry him away to Antioch.
From Cilicia he passed up through the mountain range
of Taurus by the famous Gates, which was the name given
to a wild and rocky pathway resembling one of those Alpine
passes between Switzerland and Italy, over which annually
so many tourists travel with a strange commingling of as
tonishment, admiration, and terror. According to Howson,*
the journey by this route from Tarsus to Iconium is enough,
in modern times, to take up four laborious days ; and though
the road was probably more carefully maintained by the Ro
man Government than it is now, the number of days required
for its passage could never have been much smaller. On
his former visit to this central region, Paul went from Perga
to Antioch, and thence to Lycaonia. Then he approached
* Vol. i., 280.

PAUL'S SECOND MISSIONARY ROUTE.

The Second Missionary Band. 205
the district last named from the east, but now he came upon
it from the west ; and that is the reason why, in the narra
tive of this second journey, the towns visited are named in
the reverse order to that in which they were taken before.
In the fourteenth chapter we have first Iconium, then Lystra,
and then Derbe ; but now Derbe is first, then Lystra, and
then Iconium. No doubt the brethren in all these places
would have many questions to ask concerning Paul's own
experiences since he had been among them, concerning Bar
nabas, his former colleague, and concerning the controversy
in which he had been engaged, and the manner in which it
had been settled by the conference at Jerusalem. We may
be sure, also, that they were much refreshed by Paul's fel
lowship and exhortations, and by the cheering assurance
which Silas gave that they were regarded with brotherly
affection by the apostles and elders of the Jewish Church.
But none of these things are here narrated ; because this
journey, in its influence on the personal history of Paul, was
chiefly memorable for the fact that now for the first time
Timothy was associated with him in that tender and endear
ing companionship which continued, with but few and brief
interruptions, until the day when he passed through the flam
ing gate of martyrdom into the celestial city.
Here, therefore, it may be convenient to intermit for a
little the main history on the consideration of which we are
engaged, while we attempt to bring together all that the New
Testament gives of biographical detail concerning one who
was for so many years in such close fellowship with our be
loved apostle. He was already a disciple at the time of
this third visit made by Paul to Lycaonia ; and, as the apos
tle calls him elsewhere his "own son in the faith,"* we con
clude that on the occasion of his first visit to that region
* 1 Tim. i., 3.

206 Paul the Missionary.
Paul had been instrumental in his conversion. He was the
son of a Jewess named Eunice, who was also a convert to
Christianity, but his father was a Gentile. Some have sup
posed that his father was a proselyte to the Jewish faith,
while, from the silence of the historian regarding him, others
have conjectured that he had died before Paul came into
contact with his son. If he was alive, he certainly could
not have been a Jewish proselyte, or in any sense an ad
mirer of the Mosaic law, otherwise he would not have neg
lected the initiatory rite of Judaism in the case of his son.
I rather think that he was a careless Gentile, who had
no deep religious convictions of any sort, and who could
have, therefore, no very positive influence for good on the
training of his son ; but if that were true, his lack of service
was supplied by the piety of his wife. Judging, indeed, from
the fact that she had entered into one of those mixed mar
riages which were forbidden to the Jews, we are compelled
to acknowledge that in her maidenhood she had in some
degree fallen away from her allegiance to the God of her
fathers ; but the birth of her boy may have made her more
thoughtful on religious matters. Her motherhood, as in the
case of multitudes besides her, may have developed the spir
itual side of her nature, and for her son's sake she may have
begun to cultivate that personal religion which perhaps she
had too largely neglected for her own.
But however she was led to take an interest in, the instruc
tion of her son, she was effectually assisted in her efforts to
train him in the right path by her mother, Lois, who seems
to have lived with her; and there are few more charming
pictures of pious home life than that which is suggested to
our imaginations by the words of Paul long afterward to
Timothy,* " I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that
* 2 Tim. i., 5.

The Second Missionary Band. 207
is in thee; which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and
thy mother Eunice ; and I am persuaded that in thee also ;"
and again,* " From a child thou hast known the holy Script
ures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation." In
the chimney of the room where the little fragile Philip Dod
dridge usually sat with his mother, there was a series of
Dutch tiles representing the principal events of Scriptural
history. " In bright blue, on a ground of glistering white,
were pictures of the serpent in the tree, of Noah building
his great ship, of Elisha's bears devouring the youths, and
of all the outstanding incidents of holy writ ; and when
the frost made the fire burn clear, and the little Philip was
snug in the arm-chair beside his mother, it was endless joy
to hear the stories that lurked in the painted porcelain.
That mother could not foresee the outgoings of her early
lesson ; but when the little boy had become a famous divine,
and was publishing the ' Family Expositor,' he could not for
get the nursery Bible in the chimney tiles."t So I picture
to myself the boy Timothy standing by his grandmother's
knee, and looking up with eager eyes into her face as she
told him those matchless stories which seem to have been
preserved in this book for the very purpose of interesting
the young in its pages ; and which, besides the merit of their
unquestionable truth, fill and expand the imagination, con^
vey many valuable lessons, and give reality as well as gran
deur to a child's idea of God. The history of Joseph and
his brethren ; the finding of the baby Moses by the edge of
the Nile ; the dividing of the Red Sea ; the giving of the
law from Sinai ; the passage cf the Jordan ; the taking of
Jericho ; the boyhood of Samuel ; the duel between David
and Goliath ; Daniel's firmness and deliverance — these and

* 2 Tim. iii., 15.
t " Our Christian Classics," by James Hamilton, D.D., vol. iii., p. 365.

208 Paul the Missionary.
other narratives, as interesting as they are instructive, would
be told with reverence to this eager child ; and as she went
on, the very fact that she was now among the heathen, so
far from the land of her fathers and the temple of her God,
would fill her soul with such earnestness that her words
would take fire, and fall with kindling enthusiasm into the
heart of Timothy. Now and again both would turn and re
fer to the "house-mother" for some forgotten incident, or
some desired explanation; and thus the three would grow
into each other, and these lessons from the sacred oracles
would lay up memories that would be fragrant all through
their earthly lives — ay, memories that are fresh and holy
yet, as they are together before the eternal throne. That
mother and grandmother knew not all they were doing in
these sacred hours. Perhaps at times they were apt to
grow despondent; and, brooding over their isolation among
the heathen, they might often think that they were doing
little or nothing to purpose for the Lord; but they were pre
paring Timothy for his life-work as an evangelist, and now
the lustre of his crown reflects a glory upon their faces.
Nor is this a solitary case. The day alone will declare
how many who have done yeoman's service in the cause of
Christ have been thus prepared by a mother's influence for
their after triumphs ; and many a venerable Lois, while re
ceiving the filial kindness of a daughter, has been the means
of bringing priceless blessings to her grandchildren. The
very presence in a household of such a one, whose wisdom
is like a chapter of the Book of Proverbs, and whose weak
ness is a constant call for affection and self-sacrifice, is it
self a training of the highest order to the children. There
are few teachers more affectionate and influential than a
grandmother ; and in the Lois to whom Timothy was so
much indebted I see the prototype of many who have been
loving professors in that home seminary, where God has

The Second Missionary Band. 209
educated some of his most eminent servants. Over one of
these, taken from my own household, the grave closed but
two days ago ; and, with her memory so fresh within me, I
can the better appreciate the services of Lois here*
This mother and her daughter, then, were among those
spiritual Jews who were " waiting for the consolation of Is
rael." Like Simeon, and Anna, and the guileless Nathaniel,
they loved the law of the Lord. It was their study and their
delight ; and so they were in a measure prepared for the
Gospel before it was proclaimed to them. Thus they were
among the earliest of Paul's Lyeaonian converts. But dur
ing the interval between Paul's first and second missionary
journeys, Timothy seems to have come into some sort of
prominence among the brethren, for he was known not only
at Lystra, but also at Iconium.f The words of the historian
are, "which was well reported of " — literally " who was borne
witness to " — by the brethren ; and they may refer either
to the general testimony that was given to his character, or
to what Paul has called elsewhere,:? "the prophecies which
went before concerning him." I am disposed to regard the
latter as the true meaning. During Paul's absence, or per
haps at the very time of this third visit to Lystra, the breth
ren who had received the gift of prophecy did, by inspira
tion of the Holy Ghost, point out Timothy as one admirably
fitted for the work of the ministry. These testimonies deep
ly moved the heart of the apostle, who was longing for some
one who should be to him what Mark, if he had been stead
fast, might have become ; and so he determined to take
Timothy with him as his companion. He was not, indeed, a
man cast at all in the same mould as Paul. Brought up, as
* I leave these words as they were written, that they may be a per
manent memorial of one who dwelt under my roof for a score of happy
years. t Acts xvi., 2. X 1 Tim. i., 18.

210 Paul the Missionary.
we have seen he was, mainly by his mother and his grand
mother, his piety retained through life something of a fem
inine delicacy. He lacked the stern and rugged robustness
of the man of Tarsus. His nature was emotional rather
than intellectual ; and, far from being at home in such ex
citing scenes as those in which Paul so conspicuously shone,
he courted retirement, and sought to keep himself from thb
antagonism of others. But probably it was this very dis
similarity to himself that attracted Paul in Timothy. We
often see that friendship of the closest kind subsists be
tween those who are very unlike each other ; and the rea
son is, because the one finds in the other the qualities in
which he is himself defective. Now, somehow thus it must
have been with Paul and Timothy. They were bound to
each other by the fact that they supplemented each other —
that which was strongest in the one going to sustain that
which was weakest in the other. The aged apostle leaned
on the youth of the evangelist, and the young minister must
have drawn largely on the rich stores of Paul's experience
for guidance amid perplexities. The gentleness of Timothy
gave a shading to the sternness of Paul, even as the soft
lichens lend a beauty to the rock which they fringe. And
the unflinching fortitude of Paul gave courage to the soul
of Timothy when he was called to endure persecution ; even
as the oak holds up amid the storm the ivy which has twined
around its trunk. Beautiful exceedingly was their devotion
to each other. On the one hand, fatherly, I might almost
say motherly, solicitude, not only for the piety and minis
terial efficiency of Timothy, but also for his bodily health ;
on the other filial tenderness and affectionate reverence for
Paul, coupled with constancy even in the most dangerous
circumstances. They were never absent from each other
without longing for the time when they should be reunited ;
and history has no more touching story than that which tells

The Second Missionary Band. 211
of the aged prisoner at Rome writing to his young friend,
" Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me ;" and again,
"Do thy diligence to come before winter;"* or of the
young man hastening to the Imperial City to cheer the last
moments of his much-loved friend. Like the young Knox
attending on the martyr Wishart, Timothy was a minister
to Paul, all the more valuable because his lustre, therein
like that of the satellite that waits upon our earth, became
brightest in the hours of darkness.
Three things, however, Paul did with Timothy before he
took him formally as his companion. First : " he took and cir
cumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quar
ters : for they knew all that his father was a Greek."t At
first sight this action on the part of the apostle appears to
be inconsistent with the stand which he took at Jerusalem
and Antioch. "How is it," we are disposed to ask, "that
he refused to allow Titus to be circumcised, while he yields
in the case of Timothy?- Is there not here a vacillation
as great as that which he so emphatically condemned in
Peter ?" But when we look again, we discover that, though
the ritual act of circumcision is involved in both cases, the
circumstances of the two were entirely different. The con
troversy at Antioch turned on the question whether or not
Gentile believers should be required to submit to circum
cision as a thing essential to their salvation. There had
been no debate about the propriety of the Jews continuing to
observe the law of Moses, provided they did not seek to im
pose it upon others. Now Titus was a Gentile, and because
his circumcision was insisted upon as something necessary
to his salvation, Paul resisted that demand; but Timothy was
a Jew by the mother's side, and, according to the common
law of the time that the son followed the mother, he was re-
* 2 Tim. iv., 9, 21. t Acts xvi,, 3.

2r2 Paul the Missionary.
garded as virtually a Jew. Hence his circumcision was not
the yielding of any principle so far as the Gentiles were con
cerned, while it would remove the prejudices of Jews against
him, and open for him a wider door of usefulness than oth
erwise he could have entered. Again, the circumcision of
Titus had been demanded as an essential thing by the Ju-
daizing party ; that of Timothy, however, was not insisted
upon by anybody, but was done by Paul on his own respon
sibility, merely to remove a sentimental objection which Jews
might have to him, and which might prevent them from prof
iting by his ministrations. Thus we learn that the same
outward act may become either a wrong to he resisted, or a
matter of prudence to be performed, according to the cir
cumstances in which we are placed. Mark, however, that
this is true only of things which are in themselves indiffer
ent, and cannot hold of those which are either good or evil
in their own nature.
Second : Paul conferred on Timothy the miraculous gifts
of the Holy Ghost ; for he says to him, " Stir up the gift of
God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands."* This
was a personal benefit bestowed by the apostle on his com
panion by the will of God.
Third : this private endowment was followed by a public
service at which Timothy was ordained to the office of the
ministry : for, beyond all controversy, that is what Paul means
when he says,f " Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which
was given thee by prophecy" (that is, according to the
prophecy which pointed thee out for it), " with the laying on
of the hands of the presbytery " or company of elders. The
former gift was a personal possession. This was a public
and official recognition. Thus Paul did all things " decent-
Jy and in order." Apostle though he was, he did not take
* 2 Tim. i., 6. t i Tim. iv., 14.

The Second Missionary Band. 213
it upon himself to ordain Timothy ; but he let that act be
performed by the Church through its eldership ; and so,
wherever he went, Timothy carried within him the qualifica
tions 'imparted by the Holy Ghost, and upon him the sanc
tion given him by the Church. These are the two essen
tials to the office of the ministry. The disregard of the first
leads to inefficiency; the neglect of the second issues in
disorder ; in the union of the two will be found the best
safeguard for the purity of the pulpit, the effectiveness of
the ministry, and the permanence of the Church.
After having visited all the churches formerly planted
in this upland district of Lycaonia, Paul and Silas entered
upon new ground in Phrygia and Galatia. In the former
province, whose boundaries cannot now be easily defined,
the city of Colosse was situated, as also were those of Hi
erapolis and Laodicea. In each of these places mention is
made at a later date of flourishing churches; but they could
not have been founded by Paul, for in his letter to the Co
lossians he refers to the brethren in all these three cities
as not having seen his face in the flesh.* "We cannot, there
fore, agree with those who suppose that they were visited by
him on this occasion, although Pressensd'sf conjecture may
be correct that Epaphras may have come with him from An
tioch, and may have been detailed by him for the special
service of introducing the Gospel to these places.
The province of Galatia had in it some important cities,
of which the three principal were Pessinus, Ancyra, and Ta-
vium, in all of which it is likely that churches were at this
time formed. The population of this region was of a com
posite description. First, there were the descendants of the
Gauls, who somewhere about three hundred years before the
birth of Christ had invaded Asia Minor, and were at length
* Col. ii., 1. t " Early Years of Christianity," pp. 147, 14S.

214 Paul the Missionary.
overcome by Attalus of Pergamus, who hemmed them in
within the comparatively narrow limits of the province
which was called by their name. These retained the pecu
liarities which even till this day have kept such persistent
hold of all the branches of the Celtic race. Next there
were the genuine Phrygians, who were devoted to the idola
try of Bacchus and Cybele. Then came the Greek colonists,
who carried with them their language, their culture, and
their philosophy. To these must be added a large Jewish el
ement, of which a part may'have been descended from those
Jews whom Antiochus settled in Phrygia, and a part may
have been attracted by the facilities which Galatia afforded
for commercial enterprise. Each of these classes brought
its own deposit, and contributed it to the formation of the
national character ; but the dominating qualities were those
of the Gauls. The rugged external features of the half-bar
barous Europeans had yielded somewhat to the enervating
influences of the effeminate Phrygian climate ; but beneath
the surface they were Celtic still, and were distinguished by
eager restlessness, shallow vivacity, short-lived enthusiasm,
and that " unreliable fickleness " which Julius Cssar found
in his Gallic allies and antagonists. Indeed, one cannot read
Paul's letter to these churches without being reminded that
the Galatians were the kinsmen of those whom the great
Roman general has described as "fickle in taking up plans,
fond of innovating, and utterly untrustworthy." When Paul
visited them on this occasion he was suffering from some
severe bodily affliction — probably from an unusually acute
attack of that chronic malady which he has elsewhere called
his " thorn in the flesh ;"* for in his letter he speaks of
having preached to them at first " through infirmity of the
flesh."f But the effect of his weakness was to elicit the
* 2 Cor. xii., 7. t Gal. iv., 13.

The Second Missionary Band.

21S

sympathy and kindness of his hearers; for he repiesents
them as neither despising nor rejecting his trial, but as re
ceiving him as if he had been an angel of the Lord ; nay, as
if he had been Christ himself.* Such had been their eager
ness to help him, that he bears them record that, if it had
been possible, they would have plucked out their own eyes
and given them to him. His preaching among them had
been a setting forth before their eyes of Jesus Christ as
evidently crucified among them ;t and, as Lightfoot has said,
" If we picture to ourselves the apostle as he appeared be
fore the Galatians, a friendless outcast, writhing under the
tortures of a painful malady, yet instant in season and out
of season, by turns denouncing and entreating, appealing to
the agonies of a crucified Saviour, perhaps also, as at Lys
tra, enforcing this appeal by some striking miracle, we shall
be at no loss to conceive how the fervid temperament of the
Gaul might have been aroused, while yet only the surface of
his spiritual consciousness was ruffled. "t
From Galatia, Paul and his two companions wished to go
to the region of Asia properly so called, which consisted of
the provinces of Lycia, Mysia, and Caria ; but, either by some
prophetic utterance or by some providential hinderance,
they were kept from carrying out their desire. They turned,
therefore, to Bithynia ; but neither were they allowed to tar
ry there. So they went to Troas, where they were in the
very heart of that region which the father of poetry has
made classic by the " Iliad ;" but no notice is taken here of
that. The city was a port of departure for Europe, and their
coming to it may be taken as an indication that already
they had some idea of crossing the Archipelago, though it
had not yet taken definite shape within their souls. Not
* Gal. iv., 14, 15. t Gal. iii., 1.
X " Lightfoot-on the Epistle to the Galatians," p. 24.

216 Paul the Missionary.
long, however, were they suffered to remain in uncertainty;
for " a vision appeared to Paul in the night ; there stood a
man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into
Macedonia, and help us." This settled the matter ; and so
they took ship immediately, and running across the JEgean,
taking Samothracia in their course, they landed at Neapolis.
I call your attention to a change in the manner of the
narrator, in the tenth verse of this sixteenth chapter of his
history, which indicates that Luke, the author of this book,
first joined the company of the apostle at Troas. We read
as follows : "And after he had seen the vision, immediately
we endeavored to go into Macedonia." Heretofore he had
used the third personal pronoun ; but from this point on,
with certain short intervals which will be marked by us as
we come upon them, he employs the first, including himself
with those of whom he writes. From the peculiarity of his
name, Luke seems to have been a Gentile. Tradition has
alleged, but without any absolute authority,* that he was a
native of Antioch; and from the fact that he was a phy
sician, some have inferred that he was a freedman, since
among the Romans the study of medicine was generally left
to slaves, many of whom were very skilful. That he had
received a liberal education, is apparent from the style of
the original, both of his gospel and of this history. How he
came to connect himself with Paul, we are nowhere inform
ed. Probably they had met before at Antioch, and perhaps
Luke, pitying Paul's liability to illness, may have wished to
accompany him, and mitigate as far as he could the suffer
ings which his malady occasioned. We know, at least, that
he loved the Lord, and the servant for the Lord's sake ; and

* See on this point " Dissertation on the Life and Writings of St.
Luke," in " The Voyage and Shipwreck of St. Paul," by James Smith,
Esq., pp. 4-9.

The Second Missionary Band. 217
so became from this time on, with but two brief intervals,
the constant medical attendant of the great apostle. He
left a profession which was made by many, even then, a lu
crative one, to become the travelling companion of a man
who was poor in this world's goods, and whose great ambi
tion, alike in weakness and in strength, was to preach "the
glorious Gospel of the blessed God." Some would call him
a fool for his pains ; but see how, though he missed a fort
une, he is to - night, after the lapse of more than eighteen
centuries, working among us through this history, though
all save a very few of the more prominent men of the an
cient world have been forgotten. Nor let us forget that he
is now himself in the presence of his Lord, realizing the
blessedness of the reward enfolded in these words : " Inas
much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my
brethren, ye have done it unto me." How little men know
about their contemporaries ! and how falsely we conjecture
about each other's chances for perennial renown ! On the
imperial throne at this time one Claudius sat, and it might
have seemed that he was likely to be remembered longest ;
but now, for one who cares about Claudius, there are hun
dreds of thousands whose hearts respond to the bare men
tion of the name of Luke. And perhaps, of all who are
living now, he that will be most lovingly referred to a thou
sand years hence is to-night in some obscure locality, draw
ing ridicule upon his head because he chooses to minister
to Christ in the person of one of his afflicted servants. Of
this at least we may be sure, that the unknown becomes at
length the well-known when he works for Jesus.
These four, then — Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke — after
a brief voyage from Troas, landed at Neapolis ; and so the
first Christian apostle came to Europe. What food for
meditation have we here ! Consider what the Gospel has
done in that quarter of the globe in all these years ; yet we

218 Paul the Missionary.
trace all that back to its proximate source in the arrival of
these strangers at Neapolis. It was the beginning of a new
era, and there has been nothing precisely like it since, un
less we put beside it the voyage of Columbus across the
Atlantic, or that of the Pilgrim Fathers in the Mayflower.
But these expeditions, after all, were more or less selfish in
their motives, for the Spanish admiral went for fame, and
gold, and conquest, and the fathers went for "freedom to
worship God;" but Paul and his companions were on a
mission of purest benevolence, for they carried with them
the message of salvation. Their voyage, therefore, stands
out by itself, as unique as it is glorious. They went to
Europe, not for their own comfort, for in almost every city
they were opposed, and in some they were imprisoned ; not
for wealth, for they had to depend on their own hands for
their support, but for the good of their fellow-men. They
went to plant a seed from which have sprung liberty, law,
progress, and religion on that continent, and all the bless
ings which in this western land we now enjoy. They went
to begin a revolution, not bf anarchy and blood and battle,
but of slowly working principles, which are in operation still,
and which will continue to operate until " the earth shall be
filled with the knowledge of the Lord." The gigantic trees
in the Mariposa grove sprung each from a seed no bigger
than a grain of wheat, though it took them centuries to
grow. Here, in the landing of Paul with the Gospel at
Neapolis, we have the germ out of which European and
American Christianity has been developed. It has required
centuries for its production, yet what a marvel, far above
these giants of the forest, it is to-day. With all its imper
fections, it is the grandest thing this earth has ever seen ;
and as we look here at its beginning, and then around us
at its vigor and efficiency, we think of David's song : " There
shall be an handful of corn in the earth, upon the top of

The Second Missionary Band. 219
the mountains ; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon :
and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.
His name shall endure forever : his name shall be continued
as long as the sun ; and men shall be blessed in him : and
all nations shall call him blessed."
I conclude with two practical lessons.
In the first place, let us be reminded of the importance
of family religious training. Timothy was fitted for his
work as really by the pious and hidden ministry of his
mother and grandmother as by the public instructions of
Paul. Perhaps there is special need to emphasize this ex
ample now. For in this busy age, when men are wearied
and worried with business cares, and women are burdened
with domestic anxieties, I fear that we are apt to lose sight
of the importance of "the Church in the house." I have
no words but those of appreciation and gratitude for the
Sunday-school. I think that there are few more significant,
I had almost said, more sublime facts, in the history of our
generation, than this, that so many thousands of Christian
men and women have given systematically, continuously,
and gratuitously their services to the .Church for the relig
ious instruction of the young. Yet we must not allow the
Sunday-school to become a substitute for home instruction.
Whatever other agencies Christian parents call to their as
sistance, theirs must still be the superintendence of their
children's religious education. The Sabbath-school may do
much ; but still, father and mother ought to supervise and
direct, guarding against all error that may insidiously intro
duce itself, and watching against everything that may tend to
injure the characters of the children. In particular, it ought
to be their delight to introduce their little ones to a knowl
edge of the sacred Scriptures. The first remembrance a
child has of the word of God should be associated with one
or other or both of his parents. Its stories will come with

220 Paul the Missionary.
special interest from their lips. Its Psalms will have new
music as they sing them. Its parables will acquire a pe
culiar charm as they repeat them. The telling of some
Bible history ought to be granted to children as a reward
for any service or conduct worthy of commendation. But
never on any account ought such topics to be associated
with punishment, or the idea to be given them that the
Scriptures are so much task work to be portioned out piece
by piece in penal imposition. Let parents only begin and
carry on lovingly, wisely, and systematically with their chil
dren such a course of home training for years, not on the
Sabbaths alone, but on all days alike, and soon the Lord will
lay his hands in blessing on the heads of the little ones,
and make them the means of rendering effective service to
their generation in after- days. Is it so, my hearers, that
such parental instruction is a rare thing now? Is it so,
that the infant class in the Sunday-school has taken too
largely the place of such home lessons ? Surely it cannot
be. The infant class is a delightful institution, and I would
not desire to" see it do less than it is doing now ; but the
fact of its existence and the effect of its exercises ought to
make it all the more easy for you to supplement its instruc
tions, and to add the endorsement of your approval to the
emphasis of its teacher's words. Let me implore you, there
fore, Christian parents, whoever else may be engaged in the
religious training of your children, to give it also your per
sonal and pre-eminent attention. And when they begin to
read for themselves, keep a watchful eye on the sort of liter
ature they choose, for unless you do that, some pernicious in
fluence may enter their hearts, and the work of many years
may be endangered by the poisonous effect of some trashy
and sensational tale. Look for the conversion of your chil
dren not so much as the result of a pastor's sermons or
a teacher's lessons, as of your own prayers, and talks, and

The Second Missionary Band. 221
example ; and when it comes, greet it with a gladness great
er, if also more sacred, than that with which you hold a
birthday festival.
Finally, let us learn that the Gospel is the best help we
can bring to a man. The great root out of which all evils
spring is sin. Now, as the Gospel comes to proclaim de
liverance both from the guilt and power of sin, it follows
that it will ultimately mitigate and remove the miseries that
have emanated from it. When we dry up the source, the
streams will no longer flow. Thus it comes that for every
form of individual and social degradation the Gospel is the
certain remedy. How many there are in these days crying
for help ! We are meeting this man of Macedonia every
where ; and go where we may, his appeal, " Come over and
help us !" is ringing in our ears. The drunkard, the poor,
degraded victim of appetite, the discontented, the destitute,
the criminal, and the unfortunate — all are crying, each in
his own way, for our assistance ; and many are the expedi
ents which have been resorted to for their amelioration and
relief. They are all good, so far. They all do something ;
but none of them goes to the seat of the evil but the Gos
pel. All the others only " skim and film the ulcerous sore "
for the time ; the Gospel alone works out a permanent cure.
It is the heart that is wrong ; and only when that is renew
ed will the man become what he was designed by God to
be. Whatever else we do for the relief or reclamation of
our fellow-men, therefore, we must seek to give them the
Gospel, for that alone can meet their need ; and so (he
Christian Church, if she were what she ought to be, would
be the best social science association ; the best temperance
society ; the best restorer of the fallen ; the best antidote
to wild and communistic theories, that undermine the foun
dations of truth and righteousness ; the best peace society ;
the best international alliance ; in a word, the best righter

222 Paul the Missionary.
of the wrongs that make " the still sad music of humanity."
The Lord said in the synagogue of Nazareth, " The Spirit of
the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach
the gospel to the poor ; he hath sent me to heal the broken
hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recov
ering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are
'bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord."* To
that mission we have now succeeded, and we are stirred to
earnestness in its prosecution not more by the command,
" Go preach," that comes to us from the Master behind us,
than by the entreaty, " Come over and help us !" that rises
from the miserable before us. Let us, then, gird ourselves
for this honorable crusade ; for in the proportion in which
we succeed, sin and suffering will disappear from the midst
of us. * Luke iv., 18, 19.

XII.
PAUL AT PHILIPPI.
Acts xvi., 12-40.
NEAPOLIS, at which Paul and his companions first
landed on the shore of Europe, was a seaport on the
border of Thrace, and from the remains of paved military
roads, and of a great aqueduct yet existing in the neighbor
hood, it has been identified with the modern Cavallo. It
stood on a small promontory, jutting out into a bay nearly
opposite to, though about twelve miles distant from, the
island of Thasos. Between it and Philippi, which was only
eight miles off, the mountain ridge of Pangaus had to be
crossed by a pass which has been described as " a miniature.
Thermopylae."* The ascent begins almost as the traveller
leaves the town ; and when the summit is reached, an exten
sive sea-view is obtained ; but as he descends on the opposite
side he loses sight of the ^Egean, and there opens up before
him a vast plain, which has thus been described by the late
Dr. Dwight of the American Mission : " When we arrived at
the top of the mountain, the place where Paul must have
had the first glance of the plain, and the city where he was
to open the proclamation of the Gospel on European ground,
I turned round to see what impression the spectacle might
have made upon him, and truly a more inspiring prospect
cannot well be fancied. The road is broad enough, and the
hill so widening toward the plain, that a very large and rich

* Lewin, vol. i., p. 204

224 Paul the Missionary.
part of the latter becomes visible at once, and the direction
of the road is such as to throw the hill projecting, with the
Acropolis on its summit and the city of Philippi at»its base,
right into the centre of the picture."*
The minute accuracy of the historian is once more illus
trated by the words describing Philippi as "the first city
of that part of Macedonia, and a colony." I have preferred,
as you will* observe, the marginal rendering, " the first," to
the translation given in the text, " the chief ;" and I have
done so because the purpose of the narrator is to define the
geographical position, and not the political importance of
Philippi. He means to say that to one entering Macedonia
from the Thracian frontier in that district, Philippi is the
first city on his route. Thus he naturally accounts for the
fact that here, as the earliest Macedonian centre on which
Paul came, he began to respond to the cry .for help which
in his vision at Troas he had heard. The city itself was
originally called Krenides, or the fountains, because of the
number of springs in its vicinity. Subsequently it was
known as Datus, or Datum ; but when Philip of Macedon
conquered the Thractans, he built a fortress on the site of
its Acropolis, that he might have full command of the neigh
boring country, and called it after his own name, Philippi.
In course of time it came into the hands of the Romans,
and was brought into almost constant communication with
the Imperial City by its situation on the great Egnatian
road, whereby the East and the West were connected under
that military system which has always been regarded as the
perfection of organization. On the plain surrounding the
city was fought that battle between Brutus and Cassius on
the one side, and Anthony and Octavius on the other, which
sealed the fate of the Roman republic, and prepared the
* Quoted in Kitto's " Daily Bible Illustrations," vol. viii., p. 377.

Paul at Philippi.

225

way for the assumption by Octavius, under the name of Au
gustus, of imperial power. In consequence of the victory
then won by him, the city was greatly favored, and was made
a Roman colony ; but as that term had then a significance
entirely different from the meaning which now belongs to it,
we must be on our guard against falling into error regarding
it. Among us the word designates a company of settlers in
a new land, who still remain, in some sense, dependent on
the mother country; but among the Romans it denoted a
city which, though situated far away from Rome, was still
regarded as only an extension of the great metropolis. The
colonists, in the later days, were commonly either old sol
diers or freedmen, who went forth like an army, and chose
the site of their future abode, marking out its boundaries in
a spirit which was as much religious as military ; for the oc
casion was signalized by the observance of sacred rites as
well as by martial display. They kept their places, however,
on the roll of the citizens of Rome, were included in one or
other of the tribes into which the burgesses of the metropo
lis were divided, and had the right of voting in the elections
of its magistrates. In their new home they were under Ro
man law, and were governed by their own senate, and by
magistrates who were known as Duumvirs, and not by the
propraetor or proconsul of the province. The land on which
their city stood, however, was liable to taxation, unless it
were specially exempted, as Philippi was, by what was called
the Jus Italicum. The colonists had the rights of Roman
citizens, and had at all times the privilege of appeal from
their own magistrates to the emperor himself.
Now, one cannot read the narrative which is to engage
our attention in this discourse without perceiving that we
are introduced into a state of things corresponding in every
respect to that which I have just described. As Lightfoot
has succinctly put it, " The political atmosphere of the place

226 Paul the Missionary.
is wholly Roman. The chief magistrates, more strictly du
umvirs, arrogate to themselves the loftier title of praetors.
Their servants, like the attendant officers of .the highest
functionaries in Rome, bear the name of lictors. The pride
and privilege of Roman citizenship confront us at every turn.
This is the sentiment which stimulates the blind loyalty of
the people (Acts xvi., 21) ; this is the power which obtains
redress for the prisoners, and forces an apology from the
unwilling magistrates (Acts xvi., 37-39). Nor is this feature
entirely lost sight of when we turn from St. Luke's narra
tive to St. Paul's Epistle. Addressing a Roman colony from
the Roman metropolis, writing as a citizen to citizens, he re
curs to the political franchise as an apt symbol of the higher
privileges of their heavenly calling, to the political life as a
suggestive metaphor for the duties of their Christian pro
fession " (Phil, i., 27 ; iii., 20).*
In such a city, though the principal inhabitants were
originally Romans, the population would gradually become
mixed, as representatives of other nationalities gathered in
to enjoy the advantages which it possessed. But whatever
may have been the proportion of Greeks residing within its
walls, there could not have been many Jews, for there is no
mention of a synagogue. All that the descendants of Abra
ham were strong enough to sustain was what is called a
"proseucha,"or oratory, which was distinguished from more
important places of worship by the slightness of its struct
ure, and frequently, also, by the absence of a roof. That
referred to in the history before us was outside of the city,
probably for the purpose of securing retirement, and on the'
margin of a running stream named the Gangites, in which
ceremonial ablutions might conveniently be made. The
* St. Paul's "Epistle to the Philippians," by J. B. Lightfoot, D.D.,
pp.50, 51.

Paul at Philippi. 227
congregation which statedly assembled in it was very small,
consisting chiefly, if not indeed entirely, of women ; and
even of them all were not of Jewish birth, for she who is
specially mentioned was a proselytess. The absence of the
husbands and brothers may perhaps be accounted for from
their having become careless and remiss in their religious
duties, when they were away from the associations and re
straints of home ; as, alas ! is too frequently the case with
many who leave Christian abodes in the country for the
great city in our own days; or perhaps, like Eunice, the moth
er of Timothy, the women might be for the most part the
wives of Gentile husbands, who, though not interfering with
their religious worship, did not join them in their services.
According to his invariable practice of preaching to the
Jew first, Paul sought out this secluded spot, and though
he might, perhaps, have some little difficulty in finding it,*
yet when the Sabbath came he and his companions made
their way to the place. A lover of sensation or a craver
for popularity might have been disappointed at the small-
ness of the congregation, and might have been tempted to
give up all idea of preaching to such a handful of people.
But while no man could make more of a great opportunity
than the apostle Paul, none was ever less disposed to neg
lect what might seem to be a small one, and therefore he
and his companions, after the usual devotional exercises,
sat down and spake unto the women. At first all took part,
but by-and-by the interest centred in the words of Paul.
We are not told what he said, but we know full well what
would be the theme of his discourse. Here, as everywhere
else, Christ would be proclaimed by him not only as the
Messiah promised to the fathers, but also as the Saviour of
* Lightfoot, as above, p. 51, prefers, in verse 13th here, the reading
Which gives the translation " where we supposed there was a place of
prayer."

228 Paul the Missionary.
men from the guilt and power of sin. Every exposition
of Scripture which he presented, every argument which he
prosecuted, every illustration which he used, every appeal
which he enforced, would lead up to him ; and, as at An
tioch, in Pisidia, he would sum up his message in the decla
ration that "through this man is preached unto you the for
giveness of sins ; and by him all that believe are justified
from all things, from which ye could not be justified by
the law of Moses."* We know not what the results were
in the case of all who heard him ; but one was there who
had occasion to remember that day through life, and who
now in heaven looks back upon it as the beginning of her
Christian life, for God touched and "opened her heart,"
that " she attended unto the things which were spoken of
Paul." She believed then and there, and having, with her
household, been baptized, she so pressed her hospitality
upon the strangers that, contrary to Paul's custom in other
places, they took up their abode in her house. This was
Lydia, a native not of Philippi, but of Thyatira, in Asia, and
engaged in Philippi in the sale of that purple for the pro
duction of which her nativecity was famous.
During his sojourn under her roof, Paul seems to have
been in the habit of frequenting the place where her con
version had occurred. Doubtless it afforded facilities for
reaching the Jewish population, and promised to give him a
basis of operations from which he might work with advan
tage upon the people as a whole. But his residence in the
city was cut short by the performance of a miracle of mercy
at his word. On his way to and from the place of prayer
he had been frequently met by a female slave, who was the
victim of demoniacal possession. She is here said to have
been possessed by a spirit of Python, which was one of the
* Acts xiii., 38, 39.

Paul at Philippi. 32g
§
names of the Apollo who had his shrine at Delphi, where
his priestess gave to those who made application for them
enigmatic responses, accompanied on her part with tearing
of the hair and other manifestations of frantic fury. The
historian employs the term current in the place ; but Paul,
as we shall see, treated it as a case of the same sort of pos
session as was so frequently met by the Saviour in his per
sonal ministry. She was afflicted with no mere physical
malady, like epilepsy or insanity ; but there was, indeed, in
her spirit an evil agent, one of the subordinates of. the Prince
of Darkness. As Trench has expressively described it, in
his exposition of one of the Saviour's miracles, " There was
a power in her which she, even in the moment of her suc
cumbing to it, felt to be the contradiction of her truest be
ing, but which yet forced itself upon her and possessed her,
that she must needs speak and act as its organ, however pres
ently her personal consciousness might reassert itself for a
moment ;" and again, "Another was ruling in the high places
of her soul, and had cast down the rightful Lord from his
seat, and she knew this."* It was a malady of a strangely
complex kind, having on one side of it some striking resem
blances to purely physical diseases, and on another seeming
to me to be (shall I dare to say it ?) the devil's caricature
and travesty of that indwelling of the Holy Ghost which is
the highest privilege of the devout believer. But, to borrow
again from Trench : " He who came to destroy the works of
the devil, as he showed himself lord over purely physical
evil, a healer of diseases of men and lord over purely spir
itual evil, a deliverer of men from their sins — manifested
himself also lord in these complex cases partaking of the
nature of either, ruler also in the border-land where these
two regions of evil join, and run so strangely and unaccount-
* "Trench on the Miracles," pp. 160, 162,

230 Paul the Missionary.
ably into each other."* In this case, that which was a ter
rible calamity to the woman had been turned into a means
of gain by her owners, who made a profit from her divina
tions as a fortune-teller. As in the days of the Redeemer's
flesh the evil spirits recognized him, and called him the Son
of the Most High God, so the demon in this poor slave be
came conscious of the relation of Paul to Christ, and kept
calling after him and his companions, " These men are the
servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way
of salvation." But the apostle, not wishing to have the
Gospel degraded by such testimony, and filled at once with
compassion for the slave and indignation at her masters,
being moreover divinely directed, turned and said to the
evil spirit, " I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to
come out of her," and immediately she was delivered from
her tormentor. But that which was to her a blessing was
a sore blow to her owners; "for now the hope of their
gains was gone," and so, raising a tumult, they laid hold of
Paul and Silas, dragged them into the forum before the mag
istrates, and brought this accusation against them : " These
men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, and teach
customs which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to
observe, being Romans."
We are struck with the selfishness of these men. They
had no joy at the relief of the slave from her oppressor, for
they were overwhelmed with grief at the loss of their divi
dends. So the rum- sellers anathematize all movements in
the direction of temperance. So the traders in heathen
lands denounce the missionaries. So the padrones curse
the men who take the poor Italian boys from their cruel
bondage. Touch a man's pocket, and very frequently you
touch the only sensitive spot he has about him.
* "Trench on the Miracles," p. 161.

Paul at Philippi. 231
But the cunning of these men was equal to their selfish
ness. They put in the fore-front of their accusation the
nationality of the missionaries — " these men, being Jews."
Why ? Because the Jew was everywhere looked down upon
for his exclusiveness, and hated for his commercial success.
Perhaps, also, because just at this time the Jews had fallen
into disgrace with Claudius, and had been banished from
the metropolis ; so that, in a colony like Philippi, which was
only a little Rome in Macedonia, they were likely to be very
summarily treated. Thus their adversaries brought the full
force of prejudice to bear upon the missionaries, and wished
to draw attention away from the merits of the case.
Moreover, it is impossible to shut one's eyes to their hy
pocrisy. They object to Paul and Silas because they taught
customs which it was not lawful for Roman citizens to re
ceive and observe ; but they said not a word about the heal
ing of their slave. Thus, often the alleged ground of of
fence with a man is different from the real one. In Eph
esus, when Paul was there, the silversmiths met in secret
conclave, and whispered one to another — for Demetrius only
spoke aloud what every one had already said or thought —
"Ye know that this our craft is in danger," and "by this
craft we have our wealth ;" but when they came out into the
theatre they made no reference to their gainful trade, but
shouted, " Great is Diana of the Ephesians !" And in our
own day we have seen immense professions of zeal for some
sacred duty, or for some department of benevolence, or for
the purity of public morals, made by those whose real motive
was to secure their own possession of some lucrative office.
-When a man is to be hunted down, it is usually not difficult
for his enemies to find a pretext for sending the blood-hounds
on his track; and those who on ordinary occasions care
nothing for religion, will become all at once very earnest in
its behalf when they imagine that thereby they can get rid

232 Paul the Missionary.
of an antagonist. Whenever you hear worldly men talk
largely about their concern for the honor of the Church, you
may expect to see them make one of the meanest and most
malignant attacks on some Christian man. "When the
serpent straightens itself," says the Spanish proverb, "it is
about to go into its hole ;" and when the selfish man begins
to speak about the necessity of benevolence, he is on the
way to the perfecting of some scheme for the advancement
of his own interests.
But the mob in every age has been easily led by the
plausible sayings of those who know how to manipulate it,
and the appeal made by the slave - masters to the people
so wrought upon their prejudices as to create an excite
ment before which all the forms of law were thrown down,
and the magistrates became themselves the ringleaders, for
" they rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat Paul
and Silas." Nay, not content with offering this violence,
they "cast them into prison, charging the jailer to .keep
them safely."
That functionary, willing to carry out his instructions
with the utmost rigor, thrust his prisoners into the inner
dungeon, and fastened their feet in an instrument which
was used only to torture the vilest malefactors. The cell
in which he confined them was not like that of one of our
modern jails, but resembled rather such a damp, dark dun
geon as we sometimes see among the ruins of a feudal
castle in the Old World. It was a pestilential place, from
which the light was excluded, and in which the chains rust
ed on the prisoners' limbs, while the nervus, or stocks, was
a frame made sometimes of wood, sometimes of iron, with'
holes into which the legs, and occasionally also the arms and
even the neck of the unfortunate victim, were stretched and
confined. Think, then, of these two noble men, with their
feet shackled, and their backs all bleeding from the blows

Paul at Philippi. 233
of the lictors' rods, consigned to a close, cold, dismal den,
fitter for a wild beast's lair than the abode of human be
ings, and you will have some idea of what Paul means when,
writing to the Thessalonians, he speaks of his "being shame
fully treated at Philippi."*
But they were not dejected or in despair. We could
have understood and made allowance for some little de
spondency in them, considering the trials to which they had
been subjected, but, so far from being dispirited, they ad
dressed themselves with calm cheerfulness to God. "At
midnight praying, they sang praises unto God," for so the
words are. Their prayers took the form of praises, or like
those of David, from whom their hymns were most probably
taken, their song, beginning in a minor key, swelled gradu
ally up to exulting praise.
" In that hour when night is calmest
Sang they from the Hebrew Psalmist."
What would we have given to know which odes they
chanted in that dreary place ? Did they console themselves
with such a strain as this : " The Lord looked down from
the height of his sanctuary ; from heaven did the Lord be
hold the earth; to hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose
those that are appointed to death. "t Or was it thus they
sung: "The Lord executeth judgment for the oppressed.
The Lord looseth the prisoners."^ Or did they call to mind
that beautiful section of the thanksgiving Psalm, " Such as
sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in
affliction and iron. . . . Then they cried unto the Lord in
their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses. He
brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and
brake their bands in sunder. Oh that men would praise the
* Thess. ii., 2. t Psa. cii., 19, 20. X Psa. cxlvi., 7.

234 Paul the Missionary.
Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the
children of men ! For he hath broken the gates of brass,
and cut the bars of iron in sunder."* We cannot tell.
We know only that while they were singing, and their fel
low-prisoners were listening to their psalm, an earthquake
caused the prison to shake, and every man's bands were
loosed. Startled by this terrible occurrence, the keeper
came to look after his charge, and, finding the doors open,
he forthwith concluded that the prisoners had escaped.
Had that been really the case, he would have been put to
death, and therefore, desiring to evade the disgrace of a
public execution, he was about to kill himself with his own
sword, when Paul cried out to him in a loud voice, " Do
thyself no harm, for we are all here." Then calling for a
light he sprang in, trembling and astonished, and fell at the
feet of the two men of God, saying, " Sirs, what must I do
to be saved ?"
Some have affirmed that the salvation of which he spoke
was merely deliverance from punishment at the hands of
the magistrates. But that cannot be, for he already knew
that all the prisoners were safe, and therefore he had noth
ing to fear from his earthly superiors. His words can re
fer only to that spiritual danger which he now saw before
him, and Paul, fully comprehending his meaning, made re
ply : " Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be
saved, and thy house." Perhaps he had already heard a
good deal about Jesus, either from the missionaries them
selves, or from the reports given by others of what they had
said. But if he had not, Paul would set Christ fully before
him, and preach the Gospel to him in such a form that he
could intelligently lay hold of it. Indeed, we are expressly
told that they spake the word of the Lord to all that were
* Psa. cvii., io, 13-16.

Paul at Philippi. 235
in his house ; and the result was that he and his believed
and were baptized, most probably at the fountain in the
court-yard of the prison, at which, also, he tenderly washed
the stripes of his now honored instructors. Then, bringing
them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced
with such heartiness that Paul and Silas for the time forgot
their sufferings in their discovery of the reason why God
had permitted such things to be inflicted on them.
When the morning came, the magistrates finding, after
the night's reflection, that they had been guilty of injustice,
and desiring to get out of a difficulty as quietly as possible,
sent to the jailer to let them go ; but Paul would not en
dure such indignity without protest. In the confusion of
the previous day, he had either not been able to declare that
he was a Roman citizen, or, owing to the tumult made in the
forum, his words had not been heard. Now, however, he
was minded to stand upon his prerogative. Therefore he
replied, " They have beaten us openly, uncondemned, being
Romans, and have cast us into prison ; and now do they
thrust us out privily ? nay verily ; but let them come them
selves and fetch us out." Every word here is emphatic,
and brings out some special aggravation in the outrage of
which the magistrates had been guilty. The sentence, as a
whole, is a most formidable indictment, and was well fitted
to strike terror into the hearts of the rulers. These magic
words, "I am a Roman citizen !" according to Cicero,
brought aid and safety even among barbarians in the re
motest parts of the world ; and there was nothing which was
more sacredly guarded throughout the empire than the priv
ileges which belonged to every one who had a right to Use
them. One of the most eloquent speeches of the great or
ator whom I have just named, was powerless to secure the
acquittal of a governor under whose administration these
rights had been infringed. We can understand, therefore,

236 Paul the Missionary. ,
how the words of Paul alarmed the Philippian magistrates,
and how in fawning politeness they came and besought him
and his companion to leave the city. The admission of their
error was all that the apostle in this case cared for; and
therefore, after having paid a hasty visit to Lydia, and given
some counsels and comforts to the brethren whom he had
been instrumental in leading to the Saviour, he left for Thes
salonica. His visit to Philippi had been brief, but the friendships
made there were among the truest and most delightful of
Paul's life ; for when we read his letter to the members of
the church in that city, written perhaps ten years later, we
shall find that he addresses them in more endearing terms
than he uses to any other correspondents. He could al
ways depend on their loyalty to him. They are his " dear
ly beloved, his joy and crown." He would receive nothing
from the men of Corinth or of Ephesus for his services, but
he prized the supplies which were sent to him from Phi
lippi. The Christians there lay nearest to his heart, and re
ceived his most sacred experiences in the confidence of his
affection. His tone to them is as kindly as it is to Timothy ;
nor need we wonder at all this, for the friendship which has
been cemented in the fire of trial endures through all other
emergencies. I have time for only one or two practical inferences from
this whole narrative.
We have here set before us, in the first place, the two agen
cies in conversion. On the human side we see the truth as
it is in Jesus presented to the mind, and attended to and be
lieved by the heart. This is the only means whereby a sin
ner can be saved. Error will not convert the soul. Neither
will the truth about other subjects than the Gospel regen
erate the heart. That which science teaches about the earth,
the heavenly bodies, and the various objects to which its at-

Paul at Philippi. 237
tention is directed, may be all true, and it is all-important
in its own place ; but its reception does not produce any
change upon the moral and spiritual nature of the man.
Nothing but " the truth as it is in Jesus " can do anything
like that ; and accordingly, in all the histories of conversion
which the Bible contains, we find that the preaching of the
Gospel in some form or other was the instrument by which
they were accomplished. On the Day of Pentecost Peter
proclaimed the forgiveness of sins through the crucified but
risen and reigning Christ. In the household of Cornelius
the same apostle told of Jesus and his work, in words where
by the centurion and his house were saved. Philip preach
ed the atonement to the Ethiopian treasurer, and here both
to Lydia and the jailer Paul rehearsed that which has now
become " the old, old story," but was- then the new and star
tling history " of Jesus and his love." Understand, there
fore, that it is only through the intelligent belief of the Gos
pel, not simply as a statement of facts, but also and especial
ly as good news having a direct and personal bearing on the
individual himself, that the soul is converted. Some four
years ago, as I was leaving this house on a Sabbath morn
ing after service, I was waited upon by a young man whom
I had known in the Old Country. He told me that he had
quarrelled with his father, and had come off here to be his
own master. He wanted guidance and assistance. I spoke
to him a few earnest words, and appointed him a day on
which he should come to my house, when I should see what
I could do for him. The day came and went, but he did
not make his appearance, and I began to fear that he had
fallen into evil company; but before the week was out he
called upon me, so changed in appearance that I hardly rec
ognized him. The despondency, mingled with defiance, had
gone out of his face, and he seemed bright and happy. I
asked why he had not kept his appointment, and he replied,

238 Paul the Missionary.
" Because I have a letter from my father forgiving me, and
beseeching me to return. I feel I must go back ; yet I want
ed to see Niagara first, and I ran up there knowing that I
could come to you again ; but I am going to sail to-morrow
for home, for I must go back, I must go back !" The youth
believed his father's word, and returned to his father's house.
So it is here. The Gospel is God's letter to the self-exiled
sinner entreating him to return, and promising him forgive
ness. When a sinner recognizes that the letter is addressed
to him personally, and goes back — that is a conversion. It
is taking God's word as addressed to you, counting it true,
and acting according. That is the human side.
But on the divine side God opens the heart to attend to
the Gospel. " The natural man receiveth not the things of
the spirit of God : neither can he know them, because they
are spiritually discerned." Therefore, in every conversion
there is a concurrence of the divine agency with the human
instrumentality. But when we ask how the spirit of God
thus operates directly on the heart, we find ourselves at
once in a region that is beyond our ken. All we know is
comprised in these statements, namely, that the work of
the Holy Ghost on the heart is not an object of its con
sciousness, as distinct from the ordinary operations of what
we call its own faculties ; that it does not reveal to the heart
any new truths not already in the Gospel ; that it does not
confer any new powers upon the soul ; and that it does no
violence to our own free agency, being exerted in a way
that is perfectly in harmony with the spiritual constitution
which God has given us. All these things are perfectly
clear from the two cases which have been to-night before
us, and they are attested by the experience of every believer
among us. But farther than this we cannot go. The up
shot of the whole matter may be given in the following
propositions : In the conversion of the soul God has his

Paul at Philippi. 239
work, and we have ours ; as we cannot do God's work, God
will not do ours ; therefore the necessity of the divine
agency does not absolve us from the responsibility of em
ploying the human ; and when we seek to do our part, we
shall find that God has already performed his. When, at
the bidding of Jesus, the man willed and attempted to stretch
out his withered arm, he found that the strength to do so
had already been imparted ; and when we will to believe in
the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall discover that the Lord has
anticipated us by the opening of our hearts. There is here,
therefore, no reason whatever for " waiting for the spirit,"
as many phrase it, but every reason for immediately com
plying with God's pressing and personal command. God
cannot save you unless you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ ;
and when you have believed, though you cannot unravel the
metaphysics of the case, you will yourself be the first to ac
knowledge that you have done so because the Lord opened
your heart.
We have here, in the second place, the federal unity of
the household in its head. We too frequently misquote
Paul's command to the jailer by leaving out the last three
words, "and thy house." But this ought not to be lost
sight of by us. It is customary to refer to the baptism of
these two households as confirmatory of the practice of in
fant baptism ; and unquestionably, whether there were in
fants in either of them or not, it has its weight in that par
ticular, though for myself I am more disposed to rest on
the identity of the Church of God through all the dispensa
tions— Abrahamic, Mosaic, and Christian — the sign of ini
tiation only being changed. But what I want to bring but
now is, that the household is dealt with as a unit on the faith
of its head. Jesus said to Zacchaeus, " This day is salva
tion come to this house ;" and Paul said, to the jailer, " Be-
lieve on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,

240 Paul the Missionary.
and thy house." The conversion of the head of a house
hold sanctifies the household, and must have, cannot but
have, an effect on all its members. It brings them in a very
true sense into the kingdom, for where the head of the house
hold goes he takes the household with him. When I was
called from Liverpool to take the pastorate of this church,
my acceptance of that call transferred my household to this
lanc| ; and, similarly, when a parent is effectually called by
God's spirit so that he enters the Church, he brings his
household with him. He is not really converted if he do
not. We all recognize that, whether we baptize infants or
not ; though to me infant baptism is a beautiful seal of the
family unity, and stands intimately related to the fact that
the family is regarded as God's ordinance for the training
of its members for Christ. I know our Baptist brethren ad
mit that as really as we do. Yet we are all too apt to forget
in practice what we assent to in tiieory, and I am therefore
disposed to emphasize, in connection with these conversions,
the importance of the household as a school for Christ. Has
salvation come through our faith to our families ? that is the
question which rises out of Paul's command to the jailer,
and I could wish to press it home to the heart of every par
ent in the audience ; for if our piety has no influence in the
household, it may be doubted whether it is piety at all.
Finally, we have here an illustration of the sustaining
power of faith in Jesus Christ. Paul and Silas sung at
midnight in the prison, though they were loaded with fetters
and writhing in pain. They had " meat to eat " of which their
adversaries knew not ; and the happiness of their hearts was
such that they could not choose but give it utterance in
praise. Nor is this a solitary instance in the history of the
Christian Church. I think of the gentle Anne Askew writ
ing, on the night before her execution, that exquisite lyric
in which these words occur :

Paul at Philippi. 241
" I am not she that list
- Her anchor to let fall
For every drizzling mist ;
My ship's substantial."
I think of the good Lord William Russell winding up his
watch for the last time on the eve of his execution, and say
ing, " There ! I have done with time ! now eternity comes."
I think of that scene in the life of the noble Argyle por
trayed on one of the frescoes in the corridor of the House
of Lords in London, and so graphically described by the
pen of Macaulay, when he lay in his last sleep as calm and
peaceful as a child, and by the very placidness of his repose
struck remorse into the heart of the traitor who had betrayed
him into the hands of his enemies ; and as I pass all these
in review before me, I am constrained to say, " The Word of
the Lord is tried.1" The promise that could bear the strain
of such trials is enough for me. The cable that stood the
storms to which these holy ones were exposed will not snap
in my extremity. The Lord, who was with them, will be with
me ; and what they have tested I may trust. So let us go
forth to-night with stronger confidence than ever in the
grand old promise, " Lo ! I am with you always, even unto
the end of the world."

XIII.
THESSALONICA AND BEREA.
Acts xvii., 1-14.
THE first thing to be noted in this section of the his
tory is, that we have here again a change in the per
sonal pronoun used by the writer. From the tenth verse of
the sixteenth chapter on to the fortieth, Luke includes him
self with Paul and his companions in the " we " which he
employs ; but now that the missionary band leave Philippi,
he returns to the third person " they ;" and it is not until
we come to the sixth verse of the twentieth chapter, when,
some years after, Paul was leaving Philippi for Troas on his
way to Jerusalem, that the first person is resumed. It is
possible, therefore, that the evangelist remained during the
entire interval at Philippi, though there is no absolute cer
tainty attainable in the matter; but if he did continue so
long there, then we can the better understand how, under
his influence, the Christians of that city came to be so
thoughtful of the comfort of the apostle.
Not less interesting to 'the intelligent student is the ac
curacy of the order in which Luke names the places passed
by the travellers in their journey from Philippi to Thessa
lonica. The route lay along the Egnatian way, to which we
have already referred, and in the ancient guide-books the
distances are given thus: Philippi to Amphipolis, thirty-three
miles ; Amphipolis to Apollonia, thirty miles ; Apollonia to
Thessalonica, thirty-seven miles. Perhaps the intervening

Thessalonica and Berea.

243

towns had no Jewish population among whom Paul could
find, as it were, a fulcrum for the lever which he loved to
use, and so he pushed on to Thessalonica. That city stood
at the head of the Thermaic Gulf. It was originally called
Therma, but being rebuilt and embellished by Cassander, it
was named by him Thessalonica, in honor of his wife, who
was a sister of Alexander the Great, and, in its corrupted
form Saloniki, that name continues till this day. Under
the Roman Republic it was the capital of one of the four
districts into which Macedonia was divided ; and after the
victory won by Anthony and Octavius at Philippi, it received
from the conquerors the privileges of a free city. From its
excellent maritime position, it was from the first an impor
tant seaport ; and in the days of the apostle it was a centre
in which men from many quarters met, as they do in Liv
erpool or New York, and from which, therefore, the Gospel
might radiate in almost all directions. Probably his percep
tion of this centrifugal influence was one of the things which.
led Paul to choose it at this time as a field of labor, and if
that was so, the result did not disappoint his expectations ;
for not long after his visit to the city we find him writing
to the converts whom he had left behind him there, " From
you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedo
nia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-
ward is spread abroad."*
Its commercial eminence attracted many Jews to its site,
and, indeed, at this day, out of a population of from 70^000
to 80,000, there are more than 50,000 Israelites. Naturally,
therefore, there would be many synagogues ; but there was
one of these, apparently, more prominent than the rest — for
in the original it is emphatically designated the synagogue
— and to that, according to his custom of preaching "to the

1 Thess. i., 8.

244 Paul the Missionary.
Jew first," Paul went and proclaimed the message which he
brought. We have had occasion already to remark how the apostle
adapted his presentation of the Gospel to the stand-point
occupied by his hearers. Among the heathen at Lystra,
he stood on the ground of what is commonly known as
natural religion, and reasoned up to "the living God, who
made heaven and earth and the sea, and all things that are
therein ;" and, as we shall see in our next discourse, he fol
lowed the same course when he was addressing the men of
Athens. But when he was in the synagogues of the Jews,
he reasoned with men out of the Old Testament Scriptures,
for those whom he there addressed already admitted the
inspiration and authority of the books of Moses and the
prophets. In every argument which we have with another
there must be some proposition laid down to which both
parties agree, else we never can come to a satisfactory con
clusion. In the language of logicians, this mutually admit
ted statement is called the major premise of the syllogism,
and the effort of the reasoner is put forth to show that the
conceding of that, to which both alike assent, involves in it
also the yielding up of the matter which is still in debate.
Now, from the description here given, we find that Paul took
it for granted that his Jewish hearers would accept what
could be fairly deduced from their own Scriptures. They
reverenced these writings equally with himself. They be
lieved, as truly as he did, that the prophets foretold the
coming of the Christ, and described the manner of his ap
pearance and the purpose of his advent. Hence, as the
foundation principle of his argument with them, we have al
ways this proposition implied : He who shall perfectly an
swer to the ancient prophecies concerning Messiah must be
accepted by us as the Messiah. Now, in proceeding along
this line, it was essential that he should expound what the

Thessalonica and Berea. 245
Messianic prophecies really meant; and in doing that he
was very particular to show that " the Christ "* is deline
ated in the Old Testament as one who was to " suffer and
rise again from the dead." That, indeed, was the very op
posite of the common Jewish notion ; for, unable to recon
cile the two apparently inconsistent descriptions of Messiah
which they found in their Scriptures, the one depicting a
mighty conqueror, and the other portraying " a man of sor
rows and acquainted with grief;" or perhaps taken up ex
clusively with the former of these, and enamored of its
brightness, they ignored altogether the latter, and expected
their deliverer as a temporal prince. For that reason Paul
gave prominence to the truth that in the Old Testament
the Christ is described as one who was to suffer, and to rise
from the grave. The first portion of his discourse, there
fore, would be expository, and would consist in a presenta
tion and explanation of the Messianic prophecies in the
Hebrew Scriptures. We are not told what those passages
were on which he laid the greatest stress, but, judging from
the line of remark which he adopted in Antioch of Pisidia,
we may suppose that he referred again to the sixteenth
Psalm, and showed that it could not be applied to David,
but must be regarded as pointing to one who should be laid
in the grave, and yet not allowed to see corruption ; or, tak
ing up the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, he might point out
how in the earlier portion of that marvellous section of
prophecy Messiah is spoken of as a sufferer, and in the
later he is portrayed as a conqueror, an order and mode of
delineation which is consistent only with a submission to
death, and a subsequent triumph over the grave. We who
have been so long accustomed to read the Old Testament

* The original has the article, and the meaning is better brought out
by rendering " the Christ," or " the Messiah."

246 Paul the Missionary.
in the light of the New can scarcely understand how any
mistake could have arisen among the Jews upon this sub
ject ; yet it is perfectly plain that they never for a moment
imagined that their Messiah was to be crucified. The cross
was their great stumbling-block; and it was so because
they read only one class of prophecies. They looked only
at one side of the shield. They were so dazzled with the
splendor of Messiah's royalty, that they lost sight both of
the spiritual nature of his kingdom, and of the terrible hu
miliation through which he was to pass to his throne. We
may be sure, therefore, that, with the rolls of the ancient
Scriptures spread out before him, and verifying from them
every statement which he made, Paul would spend much of
his strength cm this first portion of his address, wherein he
showed that the Christ was to be a sufferer, and was to rise
from the dead.
The second branch of his argument was historical, and
was designed to prove that the person and life and work of
Jesus of Nazareth fitted into and fulfilled the predictions
of the prophets concerning the Christ. Here it is proba
ble that he would dwell on the birthplace, lineage, and work
of Jesus, setting before his hearers that marvellous twofold-
ness in his history which corresponds so perfectly to the
mystic dualism — if I may call it so — which he had already
exhibited in the delineations of the Messiah given by the
prophets. Never were contrasts more startling in a life than those
which are to be found in that of the Son of Mary. He lay,
a helpless infant, on his mother's knee ; yet shepherds, hav
ing received an angelic message, came to worship him as
the Saviour, Christ — the Lord. He received gifts from the
Magi, who came from far to do him honor ; yet he was com
pelled to flee into a foreign land from the cruelty of Herod.
At his baptism a voice from the excellent glory greeted him

Thessalonica and Berea.

247

as God's beloved son, yet that was followed by a fierce
encounter with the Prince of Darkness. He fed the multi
tudes upon the mountain -side with heavenly bounty; yet
with a pathos which is tenderer than tears, he said, " Foxes
have holes, and birds of the air have nests ; but the Son of
man hath not where to lay his head." He died on a cross
of agony and shame, and was beholden to charity for a
grave ; yet, on the third day, he came forth from the sealed
and guarded sepulchre to say, with even stronger empha
sis than at the tomb of Lazarus, "I am the Resurrection
and the Life." " Now," we may suppose that Paul would
argue, " beware of committing the same mistake with this
history which you have committed with the prophecies which
foretold it. Take it as a whole. Regard it not as com-
.posed of two irreconcilable portions, one of which must be
conclusively set aside, but as a unit, and see the explanation
of the apparent enigma in the fact that he in whom these
contradictions met is the Messiah, the God-man, who came
to bear our sins and carry our sorrows ; and who, having
died for our offences, has risen again for our justification.
I have shown you that the Christ of prophecy must needs
suffer and rise. Here in history is Jesus of Nazareth, who
has suffered death and risen from the grave; must not,
therefore, your belief in the sacred oracles lead you to be
lief in him as the Messiah of God ?"
As the result of this argument, maintained in the syna
gogue for three consecutive Sabbaths, some believed, and
some believed not. Of the converts the greater number were
from the Greek proselytes, and some were women of distinc
tion in the city; but few of them, comparatively speaking,
were pure Jews. I infer this, not only from the contrast be
tween the "some," which refers to the Jews in the first clause
of the fourth verse, and " the great multitude," which refers
to the proselytes in the latter portion of the same verse, but

248 Paul the Missionary.
also from the distinction made between the Jews of Thessa
lonica and those of Berea in the eleventh verse ; and from
the fact that in the First Epistle to the Thessalonians the
Church is described as# so thoroughly Gentile in its char
acter, that, if we had known nothing further about it than
is there implied, we would hardly have supposed that any
Jews were among its members. Hence I come to the fur
ther conclusion that Paul was some little time longer in
Thessalonica than the three weeks of which alone mention
is made in the narrative of Luke ; and this seems to be
confirmed by many incidental references in the two letters
which he afterward sent to the Christians there. Finding,
as I suppose, that no marked success was to be had among
the Jews, he turned, as his custom was, unto the Gentiles,
and was rewarded by the conversion of many to the faith ;
for he says, " Our Gospel came not unto you in word only,
but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much as
surance ;"* and again, " For they themselves show of us what
manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned
to God from idols to serve the living and true God."t It
thus appears that a large proportion of the Thessalonian
converts had come directly from idolatry ; and therefore we
must conclude that Paul's labors were not limited to those
who frequented the synagogue. Further, we learn that his
success among them greatly touched his heart, and brought
out the full tenderness of his nature ; for he says, "We were
gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children :
so, being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to
have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only but also
our own souls, because ye were dear unto us ;" and again,
" Ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged ev
ery one of you, as a father doth his children. "t Perhaps,
* 1 Thess. i., 5. t 1 Thess. i.,9. J 1 Thess. ii., 7, 8, 11.

Thessalonica and Berea.

249

also, there is a reference to the antagonism which, after his
first interviews with them, the Jews manifested toward him
when he says, " We were bold in our God to speak unto you
the gospel of God with much contention."*
How much longer than the three weeks specified by Luke
he actually remained in this important city we cannot tell,
but he stayed long enough to receive two substantial gifts
which were sent by the brethren from Philippi ;t and in
connection with our mention of that fact we are reminded of
one feature of his self-sacrifice, which is again and again al
luded to in his letters, and must on no account be overlook
ed by us. I allude to the circumstance that he absolutely
refused to take anything from the Thessalonian converts for
his support. He did this, not because he had no proper
claim upon them, for he everywhere insists that he " that is
taught in the word should communicate to him that teach
eth in all good things ¦"% but because of certain peculiarities
in their case which in his view made it expedient for him to
forego that right. How, then, was he supported ? He shall
tell us himself : " Ye remember, brethren, our labor and
travail : for laboring night and day, because we would not
be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the
gospel of God ;" and again, " Yourselves know how ye ought
to follow us : for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among
you ; neither did we eat any man's bread for naught ; but
wrought with labor and travail night and. day, that we might
not be chargeable to any of you."§ We are to think, then,
of our apostle working all day in his missionary enterprise,
and then toiling far into the night making the tent-cloth for
which his native city was famous, in order that he might ob
tain food and raiment. Yet that he had no scruple about

* 1 Thess. ii., 2. f Phil, iv., 15, 16. % Gal. vi.
§ 1 Thess. ii., 9 ; 2 Thess. iii., 7, 8.

250 Paul the Missionary.
receiving from others, when he could do so without being
misunderstood, is evident from the fact that he regarded the
kindness of the Philippians to him at this very time with
gratitude, and spoke of it as "an odor of a sweet smell, a
sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God."*
How, then, shall we explain his rigid preservation of his
own independence among the Thessalonians ? The answer
to this inquiry seems to me to be suggested by himself in
the letters from which we have already so abundantly quoted ;
for we learn from them that there was among the converts
in Thessalonica a disposition to neglect their work and live
in idleness. Thus in one place he exhorts them to " study
to be quiet, and to do their own business, and to work with
their own hands ;" and in another, in special connection with
a reference to his own example, he says, "We made not our
selves chargeable unto you, to make ourselves an ensam-
ple unto you to follow us ; for even when we were with you,
this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither
should he eat. For we hear that there are some which walk
among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busy-bod
ies. Now them that are such we command and exhort by
our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat
their own bread."t For the sake, therefore, of these sinful
and misguided ones, and in order that, so far from encour
aging them by his apparent dependence on others, he might
sharply reprove them by his conduct, he wrought at his
trade for his support. What an insight does this give us
into the wisdom and self-sacrifice of our apostle ? His one
aim was to preach the Gospel ; and no labor was too ardu
ous, nor any self-denial too severe, if only he succeeded in
advancing that cause to which he had given his life. He
cared not for the world, or for the world's things. He could
* Phil, iv., 18. t 1 Thess. iv., 1 1 ; 2 Thess. iii., 9-1 1.

Thessalonica and Berea. 251
say to all his hearers, " I seek not yours, but you." The
only property he desired was property in human souls, saved
and sanctified through his instrumentality, and to acquire
that he would undergo any fatigue and endure any hard
ship. Like the good evangelist depicted by the immortal
dreamer, Paul appeared before the Thessalonians, "having
eyes lifted up to heaven, the best of books in his hand, the
law of truth written on his lips, the world behind his back,
and standing as if he pleaded with men."* Let every min
ister of Christ study this picture, and seek by God's grace to
reproduce his undying activity and ungrudging self-sacrifice.
The great success which attended his labors among the
Gentiles naturally exasperated the Jews, and, like their kins
men in the Pisidian Antioch, they roused against him the
violence of persecution. Leaguing themselves with the
loungers in the market-place, and that low element of the
population which in all large cities is* at any moment ready
for mischief, they gathered a mob, assaulted the house of
Jason, in which Paul and Silas seem to have lodged, and
sought to drag them out into the streets. But, baffled in
their efforts to get hold of the missionaries, they took Jason
and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, saying,
"These that have turned the world upside down are come
hither also, and they all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar,
saying that there is another king— one Jesus." Thus again,
as at Philippi, another than the real cause of enmity is al
leged by those who drag the servants of God to the judg
ment-seat. It was nothing wonderful that slave-masters in
a Roman colony should have been zealous for Roman law,
but that Jews should affect loyalty to Caesar, and be con
cerned for the maintenance of his authority, was almost too
ridiculous. Yet, because that was the sole ground on which
 ,  ,
* Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress," ;

252 Paul the Missionary.
they could ask for the interference of the magistrates in a
free city, they did not scruple to take it. The rulers seem
to have understood pretty well how the matter lay; for,
though they could not ignore such a charge, they showed
their suspicion that it was not seriously made by being con
tent to take bail of Jason and of the others, and then letting
them go. This security, however, was not given for the
production of Paul and Silas, nor even for the after-appear
ance of Jason and his companions before them, but either
for their abstaining from everything that might seem to be
treasonable, or for the peaceable conveyance of the strangers
out of the city. At all events, under the cloud of night they
did send away the two missionaries, who journeyed on to
Berea. This town was fifty-one miles to the south-west of
Thessalonica, and stood on low ground at the base of Mount
Bermius, which was a part of the Olympian range. It was
probably chosen by Paul at this time because it was not on
the line of the Egnatian road, and so not quite so likely to
be visited by those adversaries who had risen against them
in Thessalonica.* But even here they were followed by
the implacable enmity of their Jewish antagonists, though
before they were interfered with they had the satisfaction
of being useful to many souls ; for, entering as usual into
the Jewish synagogue on the Sabbath, they found their kins
men characterized by unwonted candor, and disposed to
make earnest inquiry into the Scriptural foundation for the
views which Paul advanced concerning the person, history,
* Lewin (vol. i., p. 236) quotes from Cicero a passage which is rather
remarkable for its coincidences, as well as for its contrasts with the nar
rative of Luke. The orator is inveighing against Piso, whose base prac
tices would not allow him to face the people, and he says, " You came to
Thessalonica without the knowledge of any, and by night ; and when you
could not endure the laments of the mourners and the storm of complaints,
you stole away to the secluded town of Berea."

Thessalonica and Berea.

253

and work of the Messiah. As the result of their examina
tion, many of them believed, and, along with these Jews, a
large number of proselytes, both male and female, were con
verted. It was a pleasant oasis for Paul and Silas ; but they
were not long permitted to enjoy its cooling waters and its
palmy shade, for soon their Thessalonian enemies appeared,
and, as Paul was the special object of their malice, the breth
ren sent him off to go, as it were, by the sea, keeping Timo
thy and Silas a little longer with themselves. While, there
fore, the great apostle is proceeding to Athens, there to en
counter human philosophy on its loftiest seat, let us pause
for a time, and glean the lessons which this chapter of his
history is calculated to enforce.
We are reminded, in the first place, that we must not
abandon our work because of difficulties in its prosecution.
I have wondered much, as I have gone over these two chap
ters of apostolic history, at the unfaltering courage and un
failing faith of Paul. Recall that vision which he beheld
at Troas, when a man of Macedonia stood before him and
prayed him, saying, " Come over into Macedonia, and help
us ;" then observe how, from the time he came into Mace
donia, he has been opposed and " shamefully entreated."
At Philippi he was scourged and imprisoned, and his feet
put into the stocks ; at Thessalonica he was mobbed, and
had to be secretly and by night conveyed out of the city ;
and again at Berea he was assailed by a rabble, instigated
by those who had accused him in Thessalonica ; yet there
is no record of any questioning on his part of the wisdom
or Tightness of his course. We do not hear him saying,
" Can it be that the Lord has sent me to this land, when I
am driven thus from city to city ? Would it not be better
for me to return to those churches on the Asiatic shore,
whose members were so devotedly attached to me." There
were no such misgivings in his heart; there were no such

254 Paul the Missionary.
backward looks from his eyes. He had put his hand to
the plough, and he would go through with the furrow. He
would take no steps backward ; and so, in spite of the an
tagonism which he had to encounter, he "bated not one
jot of heart or hope, but still bore up, and steered right on
ward." He did not give up his commission because he had
to fight ; but he held on at his work, and even in the midst
of his trials he did much that lived in permanent result.
The Philippian Church had for many years a history of
honor ; and of Thessalonica it has been said by Howson
that " No city which we have yet had occasion to describe
has had so distinguished a Christian history, with the single
exception of the Syrian Antioch. ... It was the bulwark of
Constantinople in the shock of the barbarians ; and it held
up the torch of truth to the successive tribes who over
spread the country between the Danube and the ^Egean —
the Goths and the Sclaves, and the Bulgarians of the Greek
Church, and the Wallachians, whose language still seems to
connect them with Philippi and the Roman colonies. Thus
in the mediaeval chroniclers it has received the name of ' the
orthodox city.' "* Let us learn from all this not to be dis
couraged in our work for Christ by any series of conflicts
like those which came upon Paul in his first visit to Europe.
Let us go on sowing the seed, if it should be on a battle
field. The Lord will take care of it, and make it spring up,
and bring forth fruit which may be blessed for the support
of those who shall come after us.
We are reminded, in the second place, that even the en
emies of Christ's cause can hardly speak of it without sug
gesting valuable truth. When those who wagged their heads
at the dying Redeemer as he hung upon the cross, said, " He
saved others, himself he cannot save," they thought not of
* Howson's " Life and Epistles," etc., vol. i., p. 347.

Thessalonica and Berea.

255

the blessed love which their words immediately bring be
fore our thoughts, and from the strength of which within him
alone it was true that he could not save himself. Similarly,
when these Thessalonian Jews affirmed before the heathen
magistrates that the Christians "had turned the world upside
down," we cannot help feeling that, though there was exag
geration in the expression, yet it did bear testimony to the
reality of the power which the Gospel had even then begun
to exert, and to the nature of the influence which it was
even then putting forth. They recognized that it was rev
olutionary in its character, and though they were wrong in
imputing to its preachers treason against the government
then existing in the empire, they were right in regarding it
as calculated to transform human society, and change the
character of the world as a whole. So far as selfishness, and
slavery, and cruelty, and dishonesty, and impurity, and every
other kind of iniquity are concerned, the Gospel is both rad
ical and revolutionary. It lays the axe to the root of the
tree of evil. It attacks the seat of the malady with which
the race is afflicted. Its very purpose is to turn the world
upside down, because by reason of human depravity the
world is too largely wrong-side up. Hence, if we would re
form family life, or regenerate society, or purify the nation,
the great instrument for the accomplishment of these ends
is the Gospel proclaimed by earnest, courageous, and self-
sacrificing men.
Again, these Jews alleged that Paul and his companions
did " contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is
another King, one Jesus ;" and in this case also, while false
in the meaning which they were intended to convey, their
words suggest to us thoughts of which they did not dream.
Paul, as indeed we may gather from the tenor of his letters
to the Thessalonians, had been speaking, doubtless, of Mes
siah as king, and of his coming again in his glory to take

256 Paul the Missionary.
vengeance on them who know not God; but with that liter
alism and externalism which were too characteristic of the
Jews, they inferred that he was describing an earthly royal
ty, whereas he was depicting a spiritual sovereignty over the
hearts and minds and consciences of men. In their igno
rance or malice they accused him of disloyalty to the em
peror ; yet one may adopt their words, and spread over them
other thoughts than they had in their minds. " There is
another king, one Jesus." Monarchs reign, but their do
minion is merely external. They do not and cannot enter
into the realm of the soul ; but " there is another king, one
Jesus," whose right it is to sit enthroned in every heart, to
direct every conscience, and to have dominion over every
thought and action. Have you given him the sovereignty
of yourself ?
Sin reigns, and that king, alas ! holds sway in many — I
ought to say, in the vast majority of human souls. But he
is an usurper; for " there is another king, one Jesus," who is
the rightful Lord of the heart. Under which king are you ?
He who repudiates the royalty of Jesus over him is guilty of
treason against the majesty of Heaven, and is but courting
his destruction.
Death reigns, and day by day he is sweeping in new mul
titudes into his silent realm. The mightiest and the mean
est alike must yield to him who is the terror of kings, no
less than he is the king of terrors. At one time he rides
on the hurricane, and dashes the laboring vessel and the
freighted souls within her on the roaring reef; at another,
he drives through the city streets riding on his pestilential
car, and spreads desolation round him. Now he careers
upon the boiling flood, and sweeps whole villages before him
into swift destruction ; and again he leaps in the lightning
flash upon some devoted building, and kindles a conflagra
tion that burns many in its flames. He laughs at men's ef-

Thessalonica and Berea. 257
forts to elude his grasp ; and as we look upon the settled
countenance of the loved one whom we are preparing to lay
in the grave we are almost compelled to own him conqueror.
But no! "there is another king, one Jesus," who is "the
Resurrection and the Life," and " who hath abolished death,
and brought life and immortality to light by the Gospel."
Let us, then, be undismayed by this last enemy. He is a
vanquished foe. Our Lord Jesus has gone into his do
main, and having conquered him there, has brought him
back with him to his palace, to be there the page who opens
the door for his friends into the chamber of his presence.
Yes! as we stand by the remains of our Christian dead,
and under the influence of sight are moved to speak of
Death as king, we recall in another sense than they were
meant, but in a sense which faith recognizes as true, the
words, " There is another king, one Jesus."
But we are reminded, finally, that the success of the Chris
tian minister depends, under God, upon the spirit of his
hearers, as really as upon the manner in which he presents
the Gospel to them. It was the same Paul who preached in
Thessalonica and Berea ; yet only a few Jews were convert
ed in the one city, and many were converted in the other.
How shall we account for this difference in his success?
The history explains it by the difference in the disposition
of his hearers. The Thessalonians were prejudiced. The
Bereans were ready to listen, and were willing to give due
weight to that which was addressed to them. Above all, the
Thessalonians were wedded to their old traditional interpre
tations of the Scriptures ; but the Bereans were after the
truth, and they searched the Old Testament daily to dis
cover whether Paul's statements as to their contents were
correct. "Therefore," says the inspired narrator, "many
of them believed." Now, let us be instructed by the great
power which lies in that " therefore." If we desire conver-

258 Paul the Missionary.
sions in our congregations, we must not only have ministers
like Paul, but also hearers like the Bereans. The preacher
should put himself behind the Bible, seeking simply and only
to make its meaning plain. He should unfold its signifi
cance, and then point that straight at the consciences of his
auditors, making them feel that it is not so much with him
as with God who gave the Bible that they have to do ; and
the hearers should be stimulated and encouraged to test his
statements by the Scriptures. The pulpit differs from the
platform of the Lyceum in this, that it has the open Bible ly
ing upon it, in token that the Scriptures are accepted as the
ultimate standard of appeal, and that everything said is to
be weighed in that "balance of the sanctuary." The preach
er comes not to dilate on science, or to discourse on litera
ture, or to declaim on politics, or to discuss the latest novel
ty in philosophy. His work in the pulpit is to preach Christ
by the faithful exposition of the Word of God ; and not un
til his people become imbued with his love of the Bible,
and are led by his suggestive utterances to examine it for
themselves and test his sayings by its standard, can he hope
for results that shall be at once encouraging and permanent.
This is what I live for among you ; and if I shall accom
plish nothing else, I shall be thankful to have it said truly
concerning me at last, " He gave us new reverence for the
Bible ; he taught us how to understand its meaning, and how
to apply its principles to our common lives ; he brought it
home to our hearts, and gave us a new relish for its study."
The man of one book is always formidable ; but when that
one book is the Bible, he is irresistible.

XIV.
ATHENS.
Acts xvii., 16-34.
IN consequence of the appearance of the Thessalonian
Jews at Berea, the new converts there persuaded Paul
to go to the shore, and take ship thence to Athens ; so that
now for the first time in his missionary travels he was with
out human companionship. Silas remained at Berea, but,
from a statement made in the first letter to the Thessaloni
ans,* we gather that Timothy had been sent back to Thes
salonica to " establish the brethren there, and comfort them
concerning their faith." For the time, therefore, the evan
gelistic band was broken up into units. Luke was at Phi
lippi, Timothy at Thessalonica, and Silas at Berea, while Paul
was going forward alone to Athens, to come there into direct
and immediate conflict with human philosophy, even in its
central stronghold. Perhaps no portion of apostolic his
tory is more interesting to the intelligent reader than that
which lies before us this evening for exposition.; and wheth
er we consider the place, the parties, the interview, or the
results which followed from the conference, we shall find
abundant matter for profitable reflection.
The place was Athens — the intellectual metropolis of the
ancient world — the "mother of arts and eloquence." Beau
tiful for situation, that fair city stood on a plain hemmed in
behind by a battlement of hills. In the middle of the plain,
* 1 Thess. iii., 2.

260 Paul the Missionary.
and in the city itself, a ragged rock rose sheer and high.
This rock was the Acropolis, which was crowned with the
famous temples of the Parthenon and Erechtheum, and had
on a site between these a colossal image of Minerva in full
armor, the helmet and spear of which were ever the first ob
jects visible to the mariner as he approached on the ^Egean.
West of that was a smaller eminence, on the top of which
the Council met, and where the steps by which its members
ascended, and the benches, hewn out of the virgin rock, on
which they sat, may still be seen. This was called Areop
agus, or Mar's Hill, from a temple to Mars which was built
upon it. To the south of the Areopagus was the hill of
the Muses, and to its west was that called Pnyx, on which
the popular assemblies, in the great days of the republic,
used to be held, and where Demosthenes spoke those noble
orations which " Fulmin'd over Greece
To Macedon and Artaxerxes' throne."
In the space between these hills was the Agora, or market
place. " The original city was built, for security, on the
Acropolis, and the country people used to bring their prod
ucts for sale to the foot of the rock on the western side,
where was the ascent. This undercliff, accordingly, became
the market. But in course of time, as the city grew, the
population flowed over from the heights into the plain be
low, and streets began to be formed there. The part first
occupied was called the market, and hence the new town
was itself called the Agora, or market. Eventually the whole
hollow between the Acropolis and the Areopagus on the
north, the Pnyx on the west, and the hill of the Muses on
the south, became populous, and was all known by the
name of Agora."* * Lewin, vol. i., pp. 243, 244.

ATHENS RESTORED, AS SEEN FROM THE PNYX.

Athens. 261
Perhaps on no other area of similar extent on the surface
of the world have so many objects of interest ever been col
lected as were to be seen of old on that Athenian plain.
Wherever one might look, the finest productions of the
painter's and the sculptor's art were challenging admiration
and awakening delight; and not unfrequently some stir
ring historical association added its own peculiar heart-
thrill to the pleasure felt by the spectator in the contem
plation of the beautiful. Statues to its worthiest sons had
been erected in all quarters of the city ; paintings illustrat
ing the most memorable victories in Athenian history were
to be seen in many of the public porticoes ; and the finest
architectural effects were produced by the multitudinous
temples which surrounded the beholder.
Here, too, was the home of philosophy. In these streets
Socrates, "whom, well-inspired, the oracle pronounced wisest
of men," had been a daily teacher throughout his life, and
on yonder Areopagus he was condemned to die. In that
olive grove, by the banks of the Cephissus, Plato founded
his Academy ; while in the Lyceum, near the murmuring
Ilissus, the immortal Stagirite inaugurated his Peripatetic
School. There was the garden in which Epicurus met his
followers ; and there the painted porch where Zeno and his
disciples used to carry on their' disputations. Here were
the very highest places of human wisdom ; the very perfec
tion of human art ; the very centre of human culture ; and
yet, after all, how little those material splendors and that
mental training seemed to affect the moral and spiritual
condition of the people ! for they were sunk in superstition
and impurity. " It must be acknowledged," says one who
may be accepted as an impartial witness, " with whatever re
luctance, by all who will not play fast and loose with facts,
that a baser side of literature and of life has often been
turned toward us in the very centres of ancient and modern

262 Paul the Missionary.
civilization. In the most brilliant period of Athenian great
ness, when art had reached its acme of noble simplicity,
when poetry and oratory shed over the public life a glowing
atmosphere of grace and beauty, when intellect, unrivalled
in force and subtlety, discussed questions which men are
debating still, evils which are not so much as named among
ourselves- were sapping the very foundations of social order,
and were made by men whose own personal purity is above
suspicion the subject of jest and witticism."* Men tell us
that the world is to be elevated by culture, and turn away
from the Gospel as a vulgar thing ; but let them look below
the surface of the Athens which Paul visited, or the Rome
which Nero ruled ; let them study the Italy of Leo X. and
the France of Louis XIV., and they will find that art, litera
ture, philosophy, aesthetics, may all be cultivated to the high
est extent, while morally the heart is a cage of unclean
beasts, and socially the community is reeking with rotten
ness. So true it is that " the world by wisdom knows not
God." It was a bold thing for Paul to go into such a place as
Athens ; but he was there in God's providence, and he
could depend on his help. It almost seems, indeed, as if it
had formed no part of his original plan to labor there. His
eye was fixed on Corinth", as being, by its central position
and commercial eminence, a more available place for his
purpose ; and perhaps, also, he might suppose that the spirit
of the Athenians was not quite sorfavorable for the recep
tion of the Gospel as was that of those who made fewer pre
tensions to intellectual wisdom. But whatever had been his
intentions, he did not begin his work immediately on his ar
rival. Before he spoke to the people he thought it wise
to study them, and, if possible, to understand them. As he
* " St. Paul at Athens," by Charles Shakspeare, B.A., p. 38.

Athens. 263
passed from street to street, the one thing which most pro
foundly moved him was the evidence of the prevalence of
idolatry Which met' him at every turning. I do not suppose,
indeed, that the apostle was destitute of the sense of hear
ty, but in him that was subordinated both to the good and
the true ; and his knowledge of the evils with which much
of the sculpture round him was associated, as well as his
loyalty to those two truths which Judaism alone had con
served in the world — namely, the unity and spirituality of
God — kept him from losing sight of the degradation of
which, splendid as they were, these works of art were but
the symptoms. The city was in truth " full of idols." This
is no mere rhetorical exaggeration, but literal fact. One
ancient writer has said, " On every side there are idols, im
ages, and temples ;" and a wit, in the degenerate days of the
city, somewhat caustically remarked, that "at Athens it was
easier to find a god than a man." We need not wonder,
therefore, that at the sight of all this Paul was unable to
keep from preaching Christ, though at first he appears to
have resolved to remain silent. Depressed, perhaps, by his
solitude — for he was keenly alive to the influence of com
panionship upon him — or possibly a little discouraged by
the persecutions to which he had-been recently exposed, he
might be saying within himself, like Jeremiah, " I will not
make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name ;"
but when he saw the condition of the city, he felt like the
same prophet when he declared, " His word was in mine
heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary
with forbearing, and I could not stay."*
Ah ! how like Athens are our modern cities ; and yet how
quietly we take it ! Multitudes are bowing at the shrine
of the golden calf, making money the chief end they seek.
* Jer. xx., 9.
12

26^ Paul the Missionary.
Many are doing homage in the temple of Fame, accounting
a niche in that the highest glory of existence'; thousands
more are wallowing in the mire of sensuality, whose worship
to-day is as degrading as was that of the ancient Astarte;
while at every street corner there is a fane erected to Bac
chus, whose devotees are as noisy and debased as those
who followed the mythic Silenus astride upon his wine-skin.
But where are the Pauls ? where are the spirits stirred into
activity by the sight of the wretchedness that reigns around ?
Let us thank God there are some, and, as it seems to me,
their number is increasing ; but there are too many among
us, calling themselves, too, by the name of Christ, who let
the black tide of sin and misery roll past them without one
thought of rescuing a single victim from the waves, or doing
anything to dry up the waters.
True to his general principle of action, Paul began in
Athens with his Jewish kinsmen. He made his way to- the
synagogue, and entered into earnest argument with those
who worshipped in it; but as nothing is said of results,
the probability is that he had no great success. So, turn
ing from his countrymen, he went into the Agora, and dis
puted with those whom he found loitering there. For such
street colloquies the Athenians, as a people, had partic
ular liking. It was through such public discussions that
their great philosophers had' come into prominence ; and,
having abundant leisure on their hands, the citizens gener
ally found both occupation and excitement in listening to
or taking part in the debates which were thus carried on.
For this kind of thing, too, Paul was admirably fitted. In
Tarsus, as the seat of a Greek university, he must have
come in contact with many inquirers similar to those whom
he now encountered at Athens ; and we may see, from the
ready responses to objections, the rapid transitions, the
quick turns of thought, the argumentative fire, and vivid

Athens. 265
flashes of eloquence in which his letters abound, how thor
oughly furnished he was for this Socratic sort of discourse.
Among those whom he thus encountered were certain of
the Epicureans and Stoics. The former of these schools
derived their name from Epicurus, who lived and taught in
Athens for thirty years, beginning with the . date B.C. 306,*
and whose philosophy bears a striking resemblance to much
that is taught under the same name to-day. He held that
the great end of life was the pursuit of happiness, and though
in his own idea and example that happiness was sought for,
not in animal indulgence, but in the practice of virtue and
the possession of moral excellence, yet he made the man
a centre to himself, and turned his thoughts upon his own
enjoyment. The result was that, in the vast majority of
instances, this doctrine led to the grossest kind of sensual
gratification. Thus, as Mr. Lecky has put it, " It is impos
sible to doubt that Epicureanism was logically compatible
with a very high degree of virtue. It is equally impossible
to doubt that its practical tendency is to vice." Commonly,
the ultimate significance that comes to be associated with
a word is a clear indication of the character and tendency
of the thing which it denotes ; and therefore the ideas which
the term Epicurean now suggests are the very strongest
condemnation of the system which it designates.
This selfishness in morals was connected with a theory
of the universe which was virtually materialistic. Borrow
ing from earlier teachers, Epicurus held that the universe is
the result of " a fortuitous combination of atoms." He knew
nothing of creation or a Creator; and though he did not deny
the national gods, he virtually ignored them. There was no
place in his system for the causation and superintendence
* Mr. Shakspeare, in his work already quoted, dates the coming of
Epicurus to Athens at B.C. 323.

266 Paul the Missionary.
of spirit ; and so, while not caring to defy public sentiment
so far as to declare himself an atheist, he yet took back with
one hand what he gave with the other; for he represent
ed these deities as dwelling apart in serene indifference,
having no influence on the guidance of the universe, even as
they had no hand in its origin. As in his system there was
no Creator, so there was no moral governor ; and all ideas
of retribution or judgment to come were inconsistent with
his creed. Denying «11 immortality, his followers said, " Let
us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die." How closely al
lied these opinions are to some modern speculations must
be patent to every one who is familiar with the currents
of modern thought. The perception of this resemblance is
fitted to humble human pride, inasmuch as it shows that, in
spite of the boasted scientific progress of these days, they
who reject the Scriptures among us are, in so far as the
great central problems are concerned, no farther advanced
than men were in Athens twenty-one hundred years ago ;
but it is calculated also to encourage Christian hearts ; for
the Gospel, which so long ago met and overturned these
systems, fe as mighty still, and will surely overcome at the
last. The Stoics were the followers of Zeno, who lived about
the same date as Epicurus, and who taught his followers in
a painted porch (whence the name Stoics) in the immediate
vicinity of the Agora. The moral system of Zeno was the
very opposite of that of Epicurus. The latter centred the
man in himself ; but the former bade the man look out to
the order of which he was a part, and seek his happiness
in conforming to that. The watchword of Zeno was that
we should " live agreeably to nature." He taught, to bor
row again from Mr. Lecky, " that our reason reveals to us a
certain law of nature, and that a desire to conform to this
law, irrespectively of all considerations of reward or pun-

Athens. 267
ishment, of happiness or the reverse, is a possible and suffi
cient motive of virtue." The Epicureans sought to avoid
all pain ; the Stoics sought to live in an atmosphere which
despised it ; and it is impossible to withhold our admiration
from many of the unbending and heroic men connected with
this school, who, simply for the sake of the right and the
true, braved the fiercest persecution without a quiver.
But though their system of morals was thus superior to
that of the Epicureans, their theory of the universe was
not much nobler. They were substantially pantheistic, and
spoke of God as the Spirit or Reason of the universe. The
universe was itself a rational soul, producing all things out
of itself, and resuming them all to itself again. Matter was
inseparable from deity. The human soul was corporeal, and
at death it would be absorbed in God. Their -system thus
culminated morally in that unnatural sternness which is now
everywhere associated with their very name, and theological
ly in a pantheism which was not easily distinguishable from
materialism. Besides these philosophical sects, Paul met with others
not connected with any school, but moved only by the spirit
of curiosity, which was so characteristic of the Athenians
that their greatest orator reproved his hearers sharply for
indulging in it, even when the darkest danger was menacing
the State. Seeking for news, they lounged about the Agora,
and very naturally joined themselves to the throng of dis
putants that gathered round the apostle.
These three parties then — the Epicureans, the Stoics, and
the curious — brought Paul to the Areopagus, saying, " May
we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is ?
For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears : we
would know, therefore, what these things mean." He had
been proclaiming the truth as it is in Jesus in special con
nection with the resurrection of the dead ; and though it

268 Paul the Missionary.
seemed to some that he was but a babbler, they wished to
learn all he had to teach. The Council of Areopagus was
accounted the most august tribunal in the city. Here Soc
rates had been condemned to death ; and it has been sup
posed that Paul was brought to it to be put upon his de
fence for a like accusation to that which was made against
the great philosopher ; but I cannot gather from the narra
tive that there was any purpose of putting Paul upon his
trial. He was asked only to expound more fully and for
mally the doctrines which he had broached in fragmentary
conversations on the streets ; and as he stood forth to com
ply with the request, we marvel anew at the calm confidence
of^ the man of God. " Never," says an eloquent writer,
"did orator stand up to address an audience under greater
disadvantages. Everything almost of an outward kind was
against him. His being a foreigner was against him ; for
the Athenians, who boasted that they had sprung from the
soil of Attica, looked upon all other nations with contempt,
and spoke of them as barbarians. His speech was against
him ; for to the fine ears of the Athenians, accustomed to
hear their exquisite language uttered with the nicest atten
tion to pronunciation and accent, it must have been well-
nigh intolerable to hear it spoken by one whose speech was,
by his own confession, contemptible, even in the esteem of
the less fastidious Corinthians. His personal appearance
was against him ; for he was of diminutive stature, and his
bodily presence was feeble ; while around him were the
graceful forms and noble countenances of the most perfect
ly developed race the world has ever seen. His subject was
against him ; for he stood there to denounce the religious
beliefs and usages of the Hellenic nations in the very cen
tre of the Hellenic worship, in the midst of a people enthu
siastically devoted to their national superstitions to assail
the time-honored prejudices of the haughtiest and most self-

Athens. 269
confident of peoples, and in a city full of idols, and swarm
ing with philosophers, to prove idolatry a wicked absurdity,
and philosophy such as they had it ^ delusion and a snare."*
But, trusting in the help which his Master had promised for
just such occasions, the apostle Was equal to the hour ; and
his address is one of the masterpieces of eloquence, whose
excellence is acknowledged even by those who are not in
sympathy with the thoughts which it expresses.
Listen to the courtesy with which he commences : " Men
of Athens " (so all their orators began their speeches), " I
perceive that in all things you pay more than usual atten
tion to religion." Such is the true force of the words he
uses. He does not begin with a broad condemnation, but
rather with a delicately conciliatory mode of address ; yet
he says no more than the truth, for a poet of their own has
remarked, " If there be any land which knows how to rev
erence and honor the gods, this surpasses in that." But,
while admitting the justness of the claim thus made on their
behalf, the apostle proceeds to show that where they thought
themselves strongest they were in reality weak. Mark with
what wisdom he turns his observation of their city to ac
count as he continues, with a clear reference to the asser
tion, he seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods; "for,
as I passed by and beheld the objects which you worship, I
found also an altar on which had been inscribed, To an un
known God ; whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him de
clare I unto you." A less skilful man would have denounced
their idolatry at once ; but Paul had learned to look at the
various forms of heathenism as but the gropings of men in
the dark after truth. Therefore, instead of crying down the
error which he saw, he went first beneath it, to that spirit-

* " St. Paul at Athens," by William Lindsay Alexander, D.D., pp.
38-40-

270 Paul the Missionary.
ual craving from which it all sprung, and the existence of
which, as strong as ever, in spite of all that had been done
to satisfy it, was indicated by the inscription to which he
called their attention. " You still want God," as if he had
said, " notwithstanding your idols, and that God I am come
to make known to you."
Observe now, their attention having been secured, how
he declares to his hearers the truth of theism, as opposed
to the materialism of the philosophers on the one hand, and
the polytheism of the multitude on the other. " God that
made the cosmos, and all things therein." There are cre
ation and a Creator, in direct contradiction to Stoics and
Epicureans alike. But more marvellous things are to come.
" Seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not
in temples made with hands, neither is worshipped with
men's hands, as though he needed anything ;" there are the
spirituality and the immensity of God. " Seeing he giveth
to all life, and breath, and all things;" there is providence, as
opposed alike to the indifference with which the Epicureans
clothed their deities, and to the blind fate which, according
to the Stoics, held everything in the inexorable chain of an
iron necessity. "And hath made of one blood all nations
of men for to dwell on the face of the earth;" there are
the common origin and brotherhood of men ; and by speak
ing thus, Paul, by implication, condemned the foolish pride
of the Athenians for believing that they were nobler than
all others because they sprung from the soil of their own
land. "And hath determined the times before appointed,
and the bounds of their habitation ;" there, again, is provi-'
dence. God gave to Greece her place among the nations,
and gave each tribe its place in Greece. As really as he
gave Palestine under Joshua by lot to the tribes of Israel,
so he has placed each people on its own heritage the world
over. We may talk as we please of diplomacy, and say, " The

Athens, 271
treaty of Vienna settled this ;" "the treaty of Paris approved
that;" and "the Congress of Berlin appointed something
else ;" but there is one higher than all human autocrats,
and he has given to each nation its own position and mis
sion. "That they should seek the Lord, if haply they
might feel after him, and find him." The design of Provi
dence is thus subordinated to the purpose of grace : and all
settlements of boundaries or fixing of habitations, whatever
men may think of them at the time, are, in God's own way,
made to advance the accomplishment of that " one increas
ing purpose," which is running through the ages, to wit, that
men may seek and find the Lord. And yet men are not
blameless for not having found him, for "he is not far from
every one of us ; for in him we live, and move, and have our
being ; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we
are also his offspring." God had not left himself without a
witness among men. They might and ought to have discov
ered him ; for, in the ordering of the universe, and in the su
pervision of his providence, he is not far from each of us ;
and though perhaps the poets Aratus and Cleanthes had
written in a pantheistic sense, the Christian apostle does not
scruple to quote their words, and make them point to the
true God. But let us proceed. " Forasmuch then as we are
the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the God
head is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and
man's device." Here, again, is God's spirituality ; and we
cannot but admire the cogency of the argument by which it
is enforced, as well as the tenderness of the words in which
it is expressed. We, being God's offspring, must be in God's
likeness. But what are we ? Not bodies merely. These*are
ours, not we. That " I myself, I," which exists in each of
us, is something different from the body, something which
no sculptured image of the body can adequately" represent ;
something spiritual and intangible. But if the offspring be

272 ,Paul the Missionary.
such, such also must be the Father ; and therefore the very
thought of likening God to a gold, or silver, or marble im
age is absurd.
The apostle adds, " And the times of this ignorance God
overlooked." The rendering, "winked at," is objectionable
as liable to be misunderstood ; because among us now the
expression is equivalent to " connived at." Strictly speak
ing, God overlooks nothing. Everything comes under his
eye, and he never can approve of or be indifferent to any
thing that dishonors his name. But Paul does not allege
that he either approved or was indifferent to the conduct
of men during those times of culpable ignorance when they
were guilty of idolatry. What he means is, that throughout
those ages he used no direct and immediate means to rem
edy the evil. He simply let it alone, and left it to develop
itself to the utmost. Thus Paul is only repeating here in
another form what he said to the men of Lystra, that God,
"in times past, suffered all nations to walk in their own
ways ;" and though we may not dogmatize concerning the
Divine motive, we may perhaps discover it in the suggestive
words of our apostle in another place, " after that, in the wis
dom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God." He let
men alone, that it might be clearly demonstrated that when
left to themselves they are helpless to find their way to Him.
But now, that having been fully proved, he has come with
a direct and immediate interference in the person of Jesus
Christ. He has ushered in a new era. He calls now on
all men everywhere to repent : and he does so " because he
hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world
by that man whom he hath ordained ; whereof he hath given
assurance unto all men in that he hath raised him from the
dead." Here is the doctrine of retribution confirmed by
a reference' to the miracle of the Redeemer's resurrectionr
and both are employed as motives to repentance.

Athens. 273
Thus every clause of this address has in it something
that met the state of his hearers at the time, and its full
and elaborate exposition would lead one to-day into the deep
things of Christian doctrine, while at the same time- it would
bring him into immediate conflict with many of the most
popular forms of philosophic speculation. Into neither of
these, however, do I choose to enter now, not because I have
any fear for the truth, or any indisposition on a fitting oc
casion to stand forth in its defence, but because my purpose
this evening has been to give you a comprehensive summa
ry of the oration as a whole, and to show you at what points
it assailed the opinions of those to whom it was addressed.
Those who wish to look at the topics in detail may consult
with profit " St. Paul at Athens," by Dr. W. Lindsay Alex
ander, of Edinburgh, and a little work under the same title
by an English clergyman named Charles Shakspeare, which
has lately issued from the press. But, though I do not now
enter the lists with modern antagonists, I cannot forbear
saying that, when I think of what the Gospel preached by
Paul accomplished in the face of a philosophy which was
at the very least as subtle and as acute as that of to-day, I
lose all fear for its future progress. Let us only be as wise
as Paul was, and take the very admissions of philosophy as
finger-posts that point to something higher than itself, and in
the end, like him, too, we shall succeed. There was indeed
very little that was like success at first ; for when he spoke
of the resurrection of Christ from the dead, he was greeted
with such an outburst of derisive laughter that it was in
vain to think of going farther. Some mocked, and some,
more polite, but not less opposed to his doctrines, said, "We
will hear thee again." Yet not altogether in vain had he
sown his handful of seed, for " certain men clave unto him,
and believed, among whom were Dionysius the Areopagite,"
a member of the court in whose precincts the apostle spake,

274 Paul the Missionary.
' r " and a woman named Damaris, and others with them."
Mockers ! procrastinators ! converts ! So it was then. So
it is still every time the Gospel is faithfully proclaimed.
The nature of the result in each case was closely connected
with the spirit in which they came at first. The philoso
phers, we may suppose, were the mockers, for the notion of
a resurrection of the dead was utterly at variance with all
their theories, and neither the Epicureans nor Stoics had
any faith in the immortality of the soul, to say nothing of
the rising of the body from the grave. The curious ones
may have furnished the procrastinators, for they might not
yet have exhausted the newsiness of the doctrines to the
exposition of which they had just listened. And perhaps
from each of the two classes some of the converts may have
come to prove that the Gospel is the power of God unto
salvation to any one that believeth.
So in almost every audience to-day we have the same ele
ments and the same results. There may be lovers of pleas
ure here to-night who have their prototypes in these old Ep
icureans. There may be self-righteous ones, characterized
by intellectual pride, and a stern, cold, defiant morality,
skilled withal, perhaps, in the speculations which men have
based on the discoveries of modern science, talking oracu
larly about development, and natural selection, and the sur
vival of the fittest, and bowing Moses and his Lord alike out
of court. These will both be sure to mock, unmindful of the
fact that while physical theories of the universe have made
no progress since the days of Lucretius, the Gospel which
Paul preached has elevated everything it has touched, and
purified and ennobled every community which has received
it into its bosom. And, on the other hand, there may be
here, too, the sensation - loving hearer, who wants to know
" what the babbler will say," or who, perhaps, having come
to the city on a tour of pleasure, wishes to pander to the

Athens. 275
curiosity of others, and at the same time help to defray the
expenses of his journey, by writing sketches of some of its
preachers for the newspaper of his provincial town. To this
class also belong the floating drift-wood of all religious audi
ences, who go where the current carries them, leaving noth
ing behind them, and alas ! taking no real benefit with them ;
but saying, as they go, " Rather interesting preacher* that!
I must hear him again ;" just as if the minister had been
seeking only to display his own attractions, and not labor
ing for their instruction and salvation ! How like, after all,
the human nature of New York to-day is to that of Athens
eighteen hundred years ago !
Such, then, was the first conflict between human philoso
phy and the Gospel of Christ. It looks almost, on the first
blush of the matter, as if it had been a defeat for Christian
ity. Buf no ; in these converts, few though they were, its
power was made manifest ; and before three centuries had
passed away, it was discovered that the only way in which
philosophy could flourish was by grafting itself in some form
or other on the Gospel. It was defeated in its own high
places. Then it sought to enter the Church,'and there it
did more damage by its alliance than it had done before by
its enmity. In the recurring cycle of things, however, it has
passed once more into open conflict; and our wisdom will
be to go below the intellectual to the spiritual, and show
that all that philosophy aims after is given by Christianity
in a more perfect form. That is the great lesson for us,
from this address of Paul to the Athenians ; and if we choose
to seek for them, we shall find inscriptions on the altars of
philosophy in abundance, which, fairly interpreted, do imply,
and honestly followed would lead up to, the fundamental
principles of Christianity.
And now, as I conclude, let me ask what you have to say
to the things set forth here by the apostle. Observe, every

276 Paul the Missionary.
position is made by him to lead up to and depend on the
fact that Jesus is risen from the dead. Has Christ risen ?
Yea or nay? That settles the whole matter. If he has not
risen, then it makes little difference whether we be Stoic,
Epicurean, Peripatetic, or Academic in our views ; for when
death comes there is an end of us. But if he has risen, then
there is a judgment-day, and an eternity of happiness or mis
ery before every one of us. If he has risen ? I challenge in
fidelity to do its utmost to prove that he has not. Nay, I go
farther, and affirm, with Thomas Arnold,* that no one fact
in the history of our race is proved by fuller and more con
vincing evidence of every sort than this, that Jesus died and
rose again from the dead ; and I fearlessly stake the truth
of the whole Gospel on that one fact. If, then, he has risen,
there is a judgment-day, and you and I will be there to give
account of the deeds done in the body; to be judged in
righteousness, and to receive the award of eternal life or
everlasting punishment. Can any questions, therefore, be
more important than these : How shall I stand in that great
day ? and how now shall I prepare for its dreadful ordeal ?
Here is the answer : Repent ; return unto God ; receive
Christ by faith into your heart ; and on the ground of his
atonement, your sins will be forgiven, your soul will be re
newed, and you will be openly acknowledged and acquitted
by him who sits upon the great white throne.
" Great God ! what do I see and hear ?
The end of things created ;
The Judge of mankind doth appear
On clouds of glory seated.
Low at his cross, I view the day
When heaven and earth shall pass away,
And thus prepare to meet him."
* " Sermons on Christian Life," pp. 15, 16.

THE FIRST-FRUITS OF ACHAIA.
Acts xviii., 1-17.
TO the south of Macedonia, and forming part of the
province of Achaia, was the famous peninsula called,
from its fancied resemblance to a mulberry leaf, the Morea,
and known also in classic history as the Peloponnesus. It
was connected with the continent by a rocky neck of land,
known as the Isthmus, which was from three to seven miles
wide, and about eight miles long. Near the southern ex
tremity of this narrow strip, and having a harbor in each
of the seas between which it stood, was the ancient city of
Corinth. Immediately behind the town rose a perpendic
ular rock to a height of two thousand feet. This was the
Acrocorinthus, from the summit of which, crowned as it was
by the famous temple of Venus, one might see the Acropo
lis of Athens, which was forty-five miles away. From its
geographical position as the key to the peninsula, its natu
ral strength as an almost impregnable fortress, and its com
mercial eminence, Corinth was a place of great importance
throughout the history of Greece; and in its immediate
neighborhood, on a lofty table-land, having an enclosure
sacred to Poseidon, those games were held which took their
name from the Isthmus, and vied in grandeur with the, con
tests of Olympus.
When, however, Greece fell under the Roman yoke, Cor
inth was attached to the Achasan league, and, having joined
in the Achaean revolt, it was taken by the Consul Mummius

278 Paul the Missionary.
and utterly destroyed. That was in the year-B.c. 146, and
for a whole century it lay in ruins. But with that skill in
the perception of the possibilities of a place alike for mili
tary and commercial purposes which seems to have been a
part of his genius, Julius Csesar chose to plant a young Ro
man colony on the ancient site ; and such was the rapidity
with which it grew, that in the time of our apostle the city
had risen to its former eminence. It commanded all the
traffic between the main-land and the Morea, and the larger
portion of the trade between the eastern and western parts
of the Roman empire passed across the isthmus on which it
stood. In those days of primitive navigation the rounding
of the Malea — the most southerly promontory of the Grecian
peninsula — was attended with as much of danger and delay
as the doubling of Cape Horn is in modern times ; and
therefore ship-owners preferred that their vessels should go
to Lecheum on the west, or to Cenchrea on the east, and
have their cargoes carried across the isthmus, and reship-
ped in other crafts. Repeated attempts were made to form
a canal which should unite both seas, but these had always
failed ; and the most that was accomplished was the con
struction of a road — named Diolkos — to a cradle on which
ships of moderate tonnage might be lifted without disturb
ing their cargoes, and so transferred to the opposite port
and relaunched within a day. The position of Corinth rela
tive to the ancient world was thus not unlike that occupied
now by Alexandria, as between England and India, or by
Panama, as between the trade of the Atlantic and Pacific
oceans. Naturally, therefore, it drew to itself men from all
quarters of the empire, and came to be one of the wealthiest
cities of antiquity.
But riches drew in their train their too frequent attendants
— luxury and vice. The worship of the city was that of Venus
in its grossest form, and its wickedness had passed into

CORINTH RESTORED. AS VIEWED FROM THE ACROCORINTHUS.

The First-Fruits of Achaia. 279
a proverb; so that, when a man was said to "Corinthian-
ize," the implication was that he hadentered upon a career
of uttermost debauchery. But the same reasons which had
led the apostle to give so much time to Antioch and Thes
salonica determined him to put forth every effort for the
planting of the Gospel in Corinth ; and it is to-day a signifi
cant fact that, while almost every vestige of the ancient city
has disappeared, the doctrine of "Jesus Christ and him cru
cified " which Paul there proclaimed is as mighty as ever in
the salvation of every one that believeth. " Except seven
Doric columns, which mark the site of an ancient temple,
and a few masses of Roman masonry, there is nothing left
of the great city in which Paul preached. The great rock
flings its mighty shadow in the morning over the bare site
of the departed town, and in the evening backward across
the isthmus ; but there are none now to rejoice in its shel
ter. Its fortress is abandoned and tenantless ; the platform
at its foot, which has twice been the site of a noble city, has
now but a few scattered houses upon it, and itself remains
in its loneliness, the shadow of a great rock in a weary
land."* But he who when he entered it was little regarded,
and whose labors in it brought upon him the bitter enmity
of some and the cynical contempt of others, has gjven it un
dying interest ; for it is remembered now for its association
with him more than for all the other episodes in its history
put together.
Paul came to Corinth direct from Athens. We cannot
tell whether he came by land or sea, but he was still alone ;
for Silas had not come from Berea, and Timothy had not
yet returned from the confidential mission to Thessalonica
on which he had been sent. Thus, as at Athens, the apos
tle was unaccompanied save by his invisible Master, when
* " St. Paul in Greece," by Rev. G. S. Davies, M.A., pp. 168, 169.

280 Paul the Missionary.
first he passed through the streets of this luxurious and dis
solute city. His earliest care was to secure a lodging and
the means of earning his daily bread. Naturally, therefore,
he went to the locality in which those engaged in tent-mak
ing dwelt, and there God had prepared a home for him, for
a time at least, in the house of a Jewish couple who had
themselves only recently arrived from Rome. There was,
indeed, in Corinth, as in other great commercial centres, a
large permanent JeVish population ; but just at this junc
ture that element had been increased, because, by a decree
of the Emperor Claudius, every Jew had been banished from
Rome. This decree, incidentally mentioned by Luke, is referred
to by the Roman historian Suetonius, who says, " The Jews,
who were in constant tumult, Chrestus being their leader, he
banished from Rome."* Most scholars believe that Chres
tus in that passage is a corruption for Christus ; and they
argue that already the Gospel was known in the Imperial
City, and that, as in other places, the Jews, being fiercely op
posed to it, rose up against the early converts. This caused
disturbances similar to those which we have seen already in
Thessalonica and Berea, and as in the course of these out
breaks the name Christus would be often mentioned, it came
to be regarded as that of a leader among them; but not
caring to enter into their religious disputes, or to have the
peace of the city endangered by them, the emperor banished
the Jews in a body from the capital.
Among those who came under the sweep of this decree
were Aquila and Priscilla, who, originally from Pontus, had
been prosecuting their business in Rome, and had now found

* Suetonius ; Claudius, c. 25. See the passage quoted and commented
on by Plumptre in Ellicott's " New Testament Commentary for English
Readers," vol. ii., p. 120.

The. First-fruits of Achaia. 281
a temporary resting-place in Corinth. Aquila was a tent
maker, and the apostle finding employment in the same call
ing, was received by him into his house, the result being that
a close and life-long friendship sprung up between them.
We shall afterward find that they were in Ephesus at the
time of the apostle's sojourn there. From other incidental
allusions to them, we discover that they were back in Rome
when he wrote his letter to the Christians in the metropolis.
Again, when he dictated his last letter to Timothy, we learn
that they were then once more in Ephesus. It does not ap
pear whether when the apostle first made their acquaintance
Aquila and Priscilla were Christians or not. They had come
from Rome ; and as there were already many disciples in
that city, it is not impossible that they were converted there.
Had that been the case, however, we might have expected
that they would have been described here as adherents to
the faith. On the other hand, if their conversion had oc
curred after Paul had come to know them, and in conse
quence of his dealings with them, we might have supposed
that such a fact would have been recorded, and that he
would have somewhere spoken of them as his children in
the faith, or have numbered them, as he did others, among
"the first-fruits of Achaia unto Christ." On the whole,
therefore, I am disposed to conclude that they were already
Christians, and that Paul found in that the reason which
determined him to take up his abode with them.
At his first arrival in Corinth, Paul was thrown entirely
on his own resources for his temporal support; and all
through his residence there he refused to accept anything
from any of the converts in acknowledgment of his spiritu
al services. He did this, not because he had any hesitation
about the principle that he that is taught in the word ought
to communicate to him that teacheth in all good things, but
rather because, as at Thessalonica, there was some local rea-

282 Paul the Missionary.
son why he considered it inexpedient that he should not
insist upon his right ; and in his letters to them he is care
ful to let it be known that his conduct in this matter with
them was exceptional — that it was, in a sense, a wrong which
he had done to them, and that it was not to be construed
into a precedent binding churches and preachers general
ly. Yet it must have cost him much to carry out this pur
pose, since just then, as we learn from his first letter to the
church which he was now founding, the state of his health
was far from good, for he says that he was with them " in
weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling."* As he pros
ecuted his work, we cannot but believe that he would find
some way of turning the thoughts of his fellow-craftsmen
in the direction of Christ. Perhaps the larger number of
those among whom he labored, were Jews, and that would
give them a deeper interest in his eyes ; but the great occa
sions for his evangelistic exertions were on the Sabbaths,
when he met in the synagogue his kinsmen according to
the flesh, and such Greeks as, without having become pros
elytes, had so far abjured polytheism as to number them
selves among the worshippers of the one God. Thus he
continued, for a time, working during the other days, and
preaching on the Sabbaths, until his two companions came
from Macedonia, bringing him news from his friends at Be
rea, and an account of the state of matters at Thessalonica.
The effect of this intelligence on his heart is detailed by
him in his first letter to the Thessalonians, which belongs
to this date, and is the earliest of all his epistles. He says,
" When Timothy came from you unto us, and brought us
good tidings of your faith and charity, and that ye have
good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us.
as we also to see you : therefore, brethren, we were comfort-
* 1 Cor. ii., 3.

The First-Fruits of Achaia. 283
ed over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith :
for now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord."* It appears,
however, that the Thessalonians had either misunderstood
or misapplied certain things which he had said, during his
visit to their city, on the subject of the Lord's second com
ing. They imagined that his advent was to be immediate,
and some of them went so far as to give up all work, that
they might do nothing but wait for his appearing; while
others, thinking that only those who were living in the body
at the time would share in the glory and blessedness of his
coming, were greatly distressed at the death of their Chris
tian relatives. Therefore he wrote to them that letter, from
which I have just quoted, in which he assures his readers
that the dead in Christ, so far from being deprived of the
blessedness connected with the second advent, should be
raised by Christ first, before the living should be changed,
and should be partakers equally with the living in that state
of felicity which he thus sums up: "So shall we be ever
with the Lord."t
The second letter to the Thessalonians belongs to this^ame
residence in Corinth, and may perhaps be here most conven
iently characterized. The first epistle had done some good ;
but after they had received it, some one wishing — for what
purpose does not appear — to work upon their feelings and
fears, wrote a letter in the apostle's name,t in which it was
alleged that the coming of the Lord was close upon them.
This caused great consternation among them, so that many
were walking disorderly, and a panic was created. When
Paul heard of these things he sent his second epistle, sup
plementing the teachings of his first by a prophetic forecast
of certain things which were to take place before the coming
of the Lord, and alleging that not until there had occurred

* 1 Thess. iii., 6-8. t I Thess. iv., 13-18. X 2 Thess. ii., 2.

284 Paul the Missionary. •
some great apostasy, under influences which he has personi
fied as the man of sin, would the Lord appear.
It has often been alleged that the statements of these two
epistles are inconsistent with each other on the subject of
the second coming; and that the fact that Christ has not
yet come seems to falsify the assertions which they contain,
and so to invalidate the claim that is made for the inspi
ration of the apostle. I have never seen these objections
so clearly and fully met as in the following sentences from
Dean Alford, which I quote as much for their own intrinsic
importance as because of the interest which has been re
cently awakened in this old topic: "The time of our Lord's
coming was hidden from all created beings — nay, in the mys
tery of his mediatorial office, from the Son himself (Mark
xiii., 32). Even after his resurrection, when questioned by
the apostles as to the time of his restoring the kingdom to
Israel, his reply is still that it is not for them to know the
times and the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own
power (Acts i., 7). Here, then, is a plain indication, which
has not, I think, been sufficiently made use of in judging of
the epistles. The Spirit was to testify of Christ, to take of
the things of Christ and show them unto the apostles. So
that, however much that Spirit, in his infinite wisdom, might
be pleased to impart to them of the details and accompany
ing circumstances of the Lord's appearing, we may be sure
that the truth spoken by the Lord, 'Of that day and hour
knoweth no man,' would hold good with regard to them,
and be traced in their writings. If they were true men,
and their words and epistles the genuine production of in
spiration in them by that Spirit of Truth, we may expect to
find in such speeches and writings tokens of their appoint
ed uncertainty of day and hour: expectations true in ex
pression, and fully justified by appearance, yet corrected as
God's purposes were manifested by advancing experience

The First-Fruits of Achaia. 285
and larger effusions of the spirit of prophecy. If then I
find, in the course of Paul's epistles, that expressions which
occur in the earlier ones, and seem to indicate expectation
of the Lord's almost immediate coming, are gradually modi
fied — disappear altogether in the epistles of the imprison
ment — and are succeeded by others speaking in a very dif
ferent strain of dissolving and being with Christ, and pass
ing through death and resurrection in the latest epistles, I
regard it not as a strange thing, not as a circumstance which
I must explain away for fear of weakening the authority of
the epistles, but as exactly that which I should expect to
find as the very strongest testimony that these epistles were
written by one who was left in uncertainty — not by one
who wished to make it appear that inspiration had rendered
him omniscient. And in this, the earliest of those epistles,
I do find exactly that which I might expect on this head.
While every word and every detail respecting the Lord's
coming is a perpetual inheritance for the Church, while we
continue to comfort one another with the glorious and heart-
stirring sentences which he utters to us ' in the word of the
Lord,' no candid eye can help seeing in the epistle how the
uncertainty of 'the day and the hour' has tinged all these
passages with a hue of near anticipation — how natural it was
that the Thessalonians, receiving this epistle, should have
allowed that anticipation to be brought even yet nearer,
and have imagined the day to be actually at hand."*
The arrival of Silas and Timothy tended to cheer Paul,
not only because they brought good news, but also because
of the influence of their fellowship and co-operation on him.
He became at once more animated and earnest. He was
"pressed in the spirit;" or, as another and better reading
has it, "in word." The term rendered "pressed" is very
* Alford's " How to Study the New Testament," vol. ii., pp. 38-40.

286 Paul the Missionary.
strong. It is the same as that employed by Jesus whei^
speaking of his baptism of blood, he says, " How am I
straitened till it be accomplished !"* and it is used by Paul
himself m that remarkable passage in which, vindicating
himself from the accusation of being beside himself, he says,
"For the love of Christ constraineth me."f Literally it
means " he was held together ;" that is to say, he was con
centrated, soul, body, and spirit, upon the one great object of
his mission — the proclamation of the Gospel of Christ. The
first effect of this outburst of earnestness was that his Jew
ish antagonists were provoked to more bitter opposition ;
and when they blasphemed and rejected Jesus, he depart
ed from them, saying, with the symbolic accompaniment of
the shaking of his raiment, " Your blood be upon your own
heads ; I am clean : from henceforth I will go unto the
Gentiles." After that he ceased to enter the synagogue ;
but the house adjoining it, which belonged to a proselyte
named Justus, was placed at his disposal, and there he stat
edly met all who chose to wait upon his ministry. The
Lord again " gave testimony to the word of his grace,"
and many were converted; Foremost among these was the
household of Stephanas, whom he calls " the first-fruits of
Achaia,"t to Christ; and Epenetus, who is similarly spoken
of in the Epistle to the Romans. § Nor must we forget
Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, and Gaius, who on his
subsequent visit to Corinth entertained him in his house. ||
All these, with the exception of Epenetus, the apostle, con
trary to his custom, baptized with his own hand ; and after
the appearance of division among the members of the Co
rinthian Church, we find him recording his thanks that he
had baptized none others there ; for his object was not tc
* Luke xii., 50. t 2 Cor. v., 14. } 1 Cor. xvi., i§.
§ Rom. xvi., 5. || Rom. xvi., 23.

The First-Fruits of Achaia. 287
found a sect of Paulites, but to bring men to Christ ; not to
baptize — so little did he reckon of that ordinance which has
been made an occasion of disunion in modern times — but
to preach the Gospel.*
Besides those whom we have named, and who seem to
have been' persons of note, we are told that many of the Co
rinthians hearing, believed, and were baptized ; and of these
some at least had been deeply aggravated sinners, for thus
he writes to them :f " Be not deceived : neither fornicators,
nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers
of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor
drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the
kingdom of God. And such were some of you : but ye are
washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the
name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." But
in spite of, nay, perhaps just because of these trophies of
the Gospel's power, greater trials were before him; and
God, who " sendeth no man a warfare on his own charges,"
prepared him, by a special manifestation of his grace, to
meet and overcome them. The Lord stood by him in a
vision, saying, " 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." On the
strength of that assurance he held on at his work for eigh
teen months, instructing the converted, convincing the in
quiring, and silencing the gainsaying ; but at the end of
that time an attempt was made to put an end to his labors
through the intervention of a new proconsul, who had just
come to take the oversight of the province. His name was
originally Junius Annaeus Novatus; but he took that of
Gallio when he was adopted into the family of Junius Gal
lio, the rhetorician ; and by that he is known both here and
* 1 Cor. i., 14-17. t 1 Cor. vi., 9-1 1.
*3

288 Paul the Missionary.
in profane history. He was the brother of Seneca, the fa
mous Roman philosopher, who speaks of him with great af
fection, and describes him as a man of integrity, who gained
the regard of all with whom he came into contact by his
amiable temper and winning manners. Presuming, perhaps,
on his easy good-nature, the enemies of Paul made the ar
rival of this man at Corinth the occasion for dragging the
apostle before him on the accusation of " persuading men
to worship God contrary to the law." But they had reck
oned without their host ; for, fresh from the disturbances in
Rome, and not wishing to be mixed up with what he re
garded as a Jewish dispute, above all recognizing the limits
of his office which had to do with civil and not religious
matters, he said, " If it were a matter of wrong or wicked
lewdness, O ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with
you : but if it be a question of words and names, and of your
law, look ye to it ; for I will be no judge of such matters.
And he drave them from the judgment seat." Seeing that
the Jews were not sustained by the proconsul, the Gentiles,
who were always glad of an opportunity of showing their
animosity to the Israelites, took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of
the synagogue — either the successor of Crispus or the pres
ident of another synagogue — and beat him severely, while
Gallio, winking hard, took no notice of the outrage, and was
probably secretly enjoying this new illustration of " the biter
bit ;" for " he cared for none of these things." Thus there
is something to be blamed as well as to be praised in the
conduct of the proconsul. He was right in refusing to be
come a judge in religious affairs. He was right in declin
ing to put Paul down by the force of the civil power; and it
would have been well for the world if rulers had been wise
enough in all ages and nations to act upon this principle.
But he was wrong in allowing any outrage to be perpetrated
on Sosthenes. The Greeks had as little right to maltreat

The First-Fruits of Achaia. 289
him, as Sosthenes had to interfere with Paul ; and Gallio, as
the impartial dispenser of justice, while declining to take
any action in the case of Paul, should have protected Sos
thenes, and insisted on the preservation of the public peace.
So far, therefore, he was to be condemned ; but the phrase,
" He cared for none of these things," must not be inter
preted as if he had no regard for truth, or was personally in
different to religion. That may or may not have been the
case. But in justice we must protest against making these
words of Luke's narrative imply that he was a thorough ag
nostic, with no principles strong enough to make him either
one thing or another. They simply mean that he was in
different to the tumult which resulted in the beating of
Sosthenes. It is a little remarkable that a person named Sosthenes
is associated with Paul in the salutation of the first of the
two letters to the Corinthians, and it may be that he was
the same person that is mentioned in the history of this
riot. But as the name was far from an uncommon one, it
is perhaps more natural to suppose that the reference is to
two different men.
After this tumult Paul remained " a good while " longer
at Corinth ; but here we must meanwhile leave him, while
we gather up a few practical lessons from this portion of
his history.
And, in the first place, we have suggested to us the digni
ty of labor. It may be strange to us now, with our modern
notions of the clergy, to think of the apostle as handling
the commonplace tools of a tent -maker; yet, when occa
sion called for it, he did not hesitate to work, at that humble
craft. Nor was he ashamed of his toil. He felt that he
was serving Christ as really in the prosecution of that sort
of manual labor as in the preaching of the Gospel ; and we
may be sure that he endeavored to do his best in both. It

2Q0 Paul the Missionary.
was said of a humble seamstress that "she put her con
science into every stitch;" and I am confident that our apos
tle would do everything that was required of him with all
his heart. He would think not merely of his human em
ployer, but also and especially of his Divine Master, and
the love which he bore to his Lord would show itself in the
excellence of the work he did. Before men, his ability to
labor for his own support gave him a noble independence ;
before God, it furnished him an opportunity of showing his
fidelity even in that which was least.
But if he was not ashamed of his manual labor, neither
was he afraid, while engaged in his work, to let his Chris
tian character come out, and seek the good of his fellow-
craftsmen. Indeed, it would seem that as one result of
such efforts the workshop of Aquila became a Christian
church ; and in this we have another illustration of the ef
fectiveness of that close personal dealing with men, one by
one, which, alas ! is too frequently neglected by those who
are ambitious of addressing some great congregation. Now,
what an example have we in all this for the Christian arti
sans of our modern times ? Let them not be ashamed of
their handicraft. An honest man supporting himself and
his family by his faithful labor, no matter how lowly the
trade at which he works may be, is one of the noblest sights
the sun looks down upon on earth. When we remember
that the hands of the Lord Jesus were familiar with the im
plements of the carpenter, and that those of Paul often min
istered to his necessities, we must feel that there is a dig
nity in manual labor which is far above that which is con
ferred by any patent of nobility, or any trappings of wealth.
I never go into a joiner's shop and hear the " whish " of the
plane, or the rasp of the saw, or the stroke of the hammer
without thinking of my Lord at Nazareth, and honoring
the woikman for the Saviour's sake. No man can be dis-

The First-Fruits of AchaIa. 291
graced by doing what he did ; and if our working-men who
are Christians would only imitate him, and seek, like Paul,
while not neglecting the work before them, to use their op
portunities for publishing the truth as it is in Jesus, they
would be the noblest of home missionaries, and would com
pel their employers to hold them in honor. We have heard
much of late of the relations between capital and labor, and
many advices have been given for the prevention of those
misunderstandings which have given birth to strikes and
the various forms of socialism — fraught with so much mis
chief to the commonwealth — but never until employers
and employes alike become the disciples of Christ, and
learn thus to honor each other, will there be any permanent
improvement. Christ is the great peace -maker between
man and man, even as he is the only mediator between God
and man. He alone, who shed his blood for sinners, can
truly teach us to "honor all men," and to do to others as
we would that they should do to us; and these unseemly
controversies shall cease only when masters and workmen
alike shall own allegiance to him. That is a delightful
scene described in the sweet pastoral of the Book of Ruth,
when, as Boaz went out to the field wherein his servants
were reaping, he said to them, " The Lord be with you ;"
and they answered him, " The Lord bless thee." There was
piety combined with industry, and, as the result, mutual
courtesy and consideration. Now, when the same spirit
of reverence for God shall possess alike employers and em
ployed, the same respect for each other shall be cherished
by them. The fault is not merely that the principles of po
litical economy are so little understood, though much might
be accomplished through the diffusion of a knowledge of
that science ; but also and especially that neither of the
two classes more immediately interested has yet begun to
comprehend or act upon the far-reaching principles of the

292 Paul the Missionary.
Gospel of Christ. The only remedy that will effectually ar
rest the evil, to which so many are looking with dismay, is
home evangelization ; and even as an insurance premium
against such a cataclysm as Paris witnessed a few years
ago, it would be well for those who are numbered among
the capitalists of our country to give liberal support to all
agencies that are 'seeking wisely the conversion of the peo
ple in our tenement houses and on our wharves.
But, in the second place, we have in this narrative a
beautiful example of conjugal co-operation in the Gospel
of Christ. To-night, for the first time, we come into contact
with that excellent couple who were so helpful to Paul and
so beloved by him — Priscilla and Aquila. It is remarkable
that they are always mentioned together as being of one
heart and mind in religious things ; and it is further note
worthy that wherever they were, their house was opened as
a meeting-place for the believers. Thus in Ephesus, whither
they accompanied Paul from Corinth, we find* that there
was a church in their house ; and at Rome, whither they
went from Ephesus, we discovert that there also they main
tained their former habit, while the expressions used con
cerning them by the apostle when he says that they had laid
down their own necks for his sake, and that not only he, but
also all the Gentile churches gave them thanks, are such as
to indicate that they had both risked their lives for his pres
ervation and rendered him great assistance in his work.
Now, what a delightful picture of Christian unity does the
combination of these different features present? William
Arnot has compared the conjugal union in some cases to
that of two ships at sea bound 10 each other by short, strong
chains. They are not so identified as to be one, and yet
they are not so apart as to be separated. So it happens
* 1 Cor. xvi., 19. t Rom. xvi., 3.

The First-Fruits of Achaia. 293
that when a storm rises they have separate and independent
motion, while yet they are chained together; and thus " they
will rasp each other's sides off, and tear open each other's
hearts, and go down together."* This, alas ! is only too vivid
an illustration of what sometimes happens in that relation
ship which ought to be the sweetest and most helpful' of hu
man life. The husband and the wife oppose each other.
She would be ready to do much in the service of the Lord,
but he prevents her, if not by positive antagonism, at least
with that negative obstructiveness which is equally effective
in securing its purpose. Or he would become an active
member of the Church, and a leader in all good works, but
she regards everything of the sort with dislike, and therefore
he does nothing. An old proverb says that " a man can be
no richer than his wife will let him ;" and that holds of the
riches of faith and of good works as well as of the vulgar
wealth of earth ; while, again, it is just as true that the wife
can do little or nothing against the influence of the hus
band. Therefore, let those who are knit together in that sa
cred union seek to be truly one in this the highest and no
blest of all co-operation — the fellowship of the Gospel. Let
them strengthen each other's hands in God, and let their
home be opened to any faithful Paul or any eloquent Apol
los whom God in his providence may send them. There
are no more touching chapters in this history than those
which tell of the friendship between this couple and our
noble apostle ; and the tender tone in which he always con
nects Priscilla with her husband is a convincing proof of
the falsehood of that modern libel that Paul was deficient
in his appreciation of womanhood.
We are reminded, in the third place, that increased ear-
* " Laws from Heaven for Life on Earth," by William Arnot, First
Series, p. 136.

294 Paul the Missionary.
nestness in the service of God provokes increased opposi
tion from its enemies. When the apostle came to Corinth,
he was probably in feeble health, and he was certainly some
what depressed in spirit. He was, more than perhaps we
think, a man of moods ; and he had, besides, an extremely
sensitive disposition. Added to these characteristics was
a tenderness of attachment to those whom he really loved,
which made him long for them greatly when he happened to
be absent from them. Now, when we take all these things
into account, and remember that Silas and Timothy were
not with him when he entered Corinth, we can understand
why he had little " liberty " in his first ministrations there.
But when his fellow -evangelists came to him with good
tidings, his joy of heart returned, and with that his energy
for his work came back again. His earnestness unified his
purpose, and led him to concentrate his efforts on the proc
lamation of one central truth. As we learn from his epis
tles, he " delivered unto them first of all that which he also
received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures ; and that he was buried, and that he rose again
from the dead according to the Scriptures." He determined
" not to know anything among them but Jesus Christ and
him crucified." He proclaimed that " God was in Christ
reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their tres
passes unto them."* This increased fervor of concentration
on his work of preaching the simple Gospel produced at
once new antagonism. The Jews were indignant at the
universal terms in which his message was expressed. The
Greeks ridiculed the very idea of salvation through faith in
one who had been crucified. To the former the cross was
a stumbling-block; to the latter it- was foolishness : yet the
preacher held on ; and the result in the conversion of many
of the vilest in that vile city amply repaid his efforts.
* I Cor. xv., 3 ; ii., 2 ; 2 Cor. v., 19.

The First-Fruits of Achaia. 295
Now, from this experience of his, let us learn not to be
distressed'by antagonism. That is only the testimony borne
to our earnestness by our opponents. If we were feeble in
our advocacy of truth, or in our assaults on error, the world
would let us alone. But so soon as we put forth our efforts
like men who are "pressed in spirit," enemies will assail
us with all their force. If they see in us the spirit of com
promise they will not trouble themselves about us ; but if
they perceive that, like Paul, we have loyalty to conscience
and to Christ, they will endeavor by all means in their pow
er to get rid of us. Still, they cannot do always what they
wish, for God had promised to take care of Paul, and he
will protect us. No longer now, indeed, have we such vis
ible manifestations of his presence as those which Paul
enjoyed ; but every candid reader of the lives of such men
as William Tyndale, Martin Luther, John Knox, and John
Bunyan will discover that God was with them in their times
of extremity just as really as he was here with the apostle.
Nay, are there not some among ourselves who can say that
he has protected us, and who from our own experience can
encourage those who, it may be, are now in conflict ? De
spair not, ye who are contending with many and malicious
adversaries. You may be surrounded with earthly antag
onists, but between you and them there is an inner rampart
which one who knew its impregnability has thus described :
" The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that
fear him, and delivereth them." Go then, and be this your
song, " Though a host should encamp against me, my heart
shall not fear : though war should rise against me, in this
will I be confident. For in the time of trouble he shall hide
me in his pavilion : in the secret of his tabernacle shall he
hide me ; he shall set me up upon a rock."*

Psa. xxxiv., 7 ; xxvii., 3, 5.

,3*

XVI.
EPHESUS.
Acts xviii., 18 ; xix., 20.
AFTER the failure of the Jews to bring Paul under the
ban of the Roman proconsul at Corinth, the apostle
remained for a considerable time longer in the city, and was
permitted to carry on his work without molestation or in
terference from any quarter. But it was not his particu
lar mission to settle permanently in any place, however im
portant or central it might be. He seems rather to have
been fired with the noble ambition of beginning the work
of the Lord in many such cities, and leaving those who
were the earliest converts to the faith to prosecute the en
terprise as best they might, while he commended them to
the guidance of the Holy Ghost, and continued, as his let
ters attest, to take himself a loving and watchful interest in
their welfare. In this way the churches even in apostolic
days were trained for the time when the apostles should be
no longer on the earth; for they were left very much to
their own resources, and only when something called for
rectification among them was apostolical authority exer
cised over them. So Paul did not remain altogether at
Corinth, but, after a formal leave-taking of the brethren,
he went to Cenchrea, the eastern port of the city, and took
ship for Syria. But before embarking he performed a cere
monial act which calls for some attention from us, though
when we have said all that can be said about it we shall still
be left in much uncertainty. Luke says he "took his leave

Ephesus. 297
of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him
Priscilla and Aquila ; having shorn his head at Cenchrea :
for he had a vow." Some have cut the knot by alleging
that the act thus described must be understood as Aquila's,
and not as Paul's. Now, it is true that in the original the
participle " having shorn " may be read in connection with
Aquila as the person last named; but still the natural and
obvious reference of the word is to Paul, as being the prin
cipal subject of the sentence. The very next clause refers
to him as distinguished from Aquila ; and, as Alford has ob
served, there are in the paragraph from the eighteenth to the
end of the twenty-third verse no fewer than nine participles,
of which eight undeniably refer to Paul ; and that affords a
very strong presumption, amounting almost to a decisive
proof, that the ninth one, which is the case in dispute, must
be connected with him too .* Moreover, the shaving or shear
ing of the head involved in it a visit as soon as possible af
terward to Jerusalem ; but Aquila, as we shall find, went no
farther than Ephesus, while the apostle hastened forward to
the Holy City. Besides, it will not do to turn away from
that which is the first view that is suggested to us by the
words, simply because we think that the action which they
describe is one which is inconsistent with what the apostle
has elsewhere said. There is nothing wrong, in itself con
sidered, in making a vow, provided that to which we bind
ourselves be not in its own nature sinful. Jacob vowed a
vow before the Mosaic law came into existence ; and Paul
is not necessarily to be blamed for doing the same thing,
even though he has affirmed that obedience to that law is
not essential to salvation. He was a Jew, and as such he
may have continued by preference to practise the customs
of his nation, even though he refused to make them obliga-
* See Alford's "Greek Testament," in loco.

298 Paul the Missionary.
tory on others. Nay, on a subsequent occasion in his his
tory, when he paid his last visit to Jerusalem, we actually,
and without any possibility of controversy regarding it, find
him counselled by the brethren to take part with others in
the observance of the ritual appointed for those who had
taken a vow upon them, and it is recorded that " Paul took
the men, and the next day, purifying himself with them, en
tered into the Temple, to signify the accomplishment of the
days of purification, until that an offering should be offered
for every one of them."* Now, in the light of that state
ment, we have no hesitation whatever in referring the vow
and the shearing of the head at Cenchrea specified in the
narrative before us, not to Aquila, but to Paul.
When, however, we go on to ask what was the nature of this
vow, and what was its relation to the Jewish law, we have a
little more difficulty in coming to a decision. The law con
cerning the vow of the Nazarite was that the person who
made it was to abstain from wine and strong drink, and was
to allow no razor to come upon his head until the time ap
pointed had expired. If accidentally he should defile him
self by coming into contact with a dead body, he was to
shave his head, offer certain prescribed sacrifices, and begin
anew, counting nothing for the time which had elapsed ; but
if nothing interfered, then at the end of the days he was to
offer sacrifices after an appointed form ; and it is added in
the statute, " The Nazarite shall shave the head of his sep
aration at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation,
and shall take the hair of his separation and put it in the
fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace offering."t
From this it appears that the shaving of the head marked
either the contracting of ceremonial uncleanness by a man
who was under a vow, or the terminaion of the time for
* Acts xxi. 26. t Numb, vi., 1-21.

Ephesus.

299

which the vow Was taken. In the case before us, the latter
seems to me to have been the occasion of the shearing of
Paul's hair ; but the law provided that it should be con
nected with the offering of sacrifice ; and as that could be
done only at Jerusalem, we may find therein the reason for
Paul's urgency to visit the Holy City at this particular time,
for he said to the Ephesian Jews, " I must by all means
keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem."
But why should he be making a vow at all ? Some would
reply that he desired simply to conciliate his kinsmen ac
cording to the flesh by letting them see that, though he was
uncompromising in his contending for the liberty of the Gen
tiles, he was himself quite willing to conform to the law of
Moses as a Jew, and no doubt this was one of the instances
in which he became as a Jew to the Jews. But there must
have been some special occasion for his manifestation of
this conformity ; and perhaps Josephus may help us to dis
cover what that was when he says that " it was customary
for those who had been afflicted with any distemper, or had
labored under any other difficulties, to make a vow th^t for
thirty days before they offered sacrifice they will abstain
from wine, and will at the expiration of that time shave their
heads." Now we know that Paul had been afflicted with
great bodily weakness at Corinth, and we further know that
he had been in considerable danger from his enemies, for
God would not have favored him with so encouraging a
vision as that referred to in our last lecture if he had not
felt himself encompassed with adversaries. It is probable,
therefore, that his vow was in connection with his recovery
from illness, or with his deliverance from his enemies when
they dragged him before Gallio's tribunal.
He was accompanied on his voyage by Aquila and Pris
cilla; and probably also by Timothy and Silas. Perhaps
Gaius and Aristarchus, who are afterward found at Ephe-

300 Paul the Missionary.
sus, and are called his " companions in travel,"* were also
fellow -passengers with him. The sail to Ephesus some
times required ten or eleven days ;t but at the season of the
year when Paul was travelling, it might be accomplished in
a much shorter time. At Ephesus he landed either to take
another vessel, or to spend a day or two in the city, while
that in which he came took in more cargo before proceed
ing to Caesarea. One of the days so spent was the Sab
bath ; and ever on the outlook for an opportunity of use
fulness, he entered into the Jewish synagogue and reasoned
with his fellow-countrymen, after his manner, out of the
Scriptures. His hearers were deeply interested in his state
ments, and eagerly desired that he would remain among
them ; but he was bent on reaching Jerusalem for the feast
— either the Passover or the Pentecost — which was then ap
proaching ; and promising to return to them, if God would
permit, he left Aquila and Priscilla with them, and proceed
ed on his voyage.
On his arrival at Caesarea he went direct to Jerusalem,
and having saluted the church there, on this his fourth visit
since his conversion, he left Silas with his friends, and, ac
companied by Timothy, proceeded to Antioch, thus com
pleting his second missionary circuit.
After spending some time happily there with his former
friends, and enjoying a brief season of respite from anxiety
and peril, he set forth on his third missionary journey, tak
ing his way through the cities of Galatia and Phrygia in
. order, and strengthening all the disciples. In the churches
of the former province it would appear that some evil influ
ence had been at work, for he found it necessary to denounce
every one who had preached to them another gospel than
that which he proclaimed, while at the same time he told
* Acts xix., 29. t Conybeare and Howson, vol. i., p. 454.

PAUL S THIRD MISSIONARY ROUTE,

Ephesus.

301

them some unpalatable truth, for which they counted him as
their enemy* We know next to nothing of what was said
or done by him on this occasion, but it is likely that he
passed on to Phrygia in the hope that he had re-established
the Galatians in the faith. In the province last named were
the cities of Laodicea, Hierapolis, Colosse, and Iconium, and
in the neighboring district were Antioch of Pisidia and the
cities of Lycaonia ; but we cannot tell precisely what course
the apostle followed, and it is nearly certain that some of
the Phrygian cities had not been visited by him before he
wrote his letter to the Colossians. All we know is that after
he had passed through this high-lying district he repaired
to Ephesus, there to begin those labors which he prosecuted
night and day " by the space of three years."
Before he reached that city, however, Aquila and Priscilla
were instrumental in preparing the way for his labors, and
the historian pauses for a moment and introduces a brief
digression that we may the better understand what is to fol
low. There came to Ephesus, during Paul's prosecution of
his missionary work in upper Asia, a Jew named Apollos,
from Alexandria, that celebrated city where the three great
streams of influence — the Oriental, the Jewish, and the Gre
cian — came together and produced such important results
for good and evil, not upon the world alone, but also on the
Christian Church. It was the home of Philo, the Jewish
teacher, whose allegorical interpretation of the Old Testa
ment has in it so much in common with the Epistle to the
Hebrews, and whose doctrine of the Logos, though essen
tially different from that of the fourth evangelist, has not
a little that is apparently in affinity with it.f We cannpt

* Gal. i., 9; iv., 16.
t See on this whole subject " History of the Apostolic Church," by
Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D., pp. 178-182.

302 Paul the Missionary.
doubt, therefore, that Apollos must have come in some de
gree under the fascination which this mixture of Greek Pla
tonism with Jewish mysticism had for so many minds ; but
he appears to have been a genuine truth-seeker, eager to
welcome everything that came to him duly authenticated,
and therefore, having heard of John the Baptist and his
proclamation of the coming Messiah, and having been con
vinced of the divinity of his commission, he had not hesi
tated to enroll himself among his followers ; but he had
apparently not yet heard of the Christ as already come.
Still, with the zeal of one who feels that he has something
to communicate, he taught boldly in the synagogue all the
things of the Lord which he knew, and there he was heard
by Aquila and Priscilla. They saw at once the hopefulness
of his position, and with great wisdom they took him to
their home and privately "expounded to him the way of
God more perfectly." Had they openly controverted him,
or in any way seemed to put him on his defence^ the result
might have been disastrous ; but, as it was, the effect was
most satisfactory, for he became a Christian ; and when he
wished to go to Corinth, the disciples at Ephesus gave him
letters of commendation to the brethren of that city. There
he was blessed to the strengthening of the disciples, and the
conviction and conversion of many Jews. He was thus a
most successful waterer of the field which Paul had planted.
It is true, indeed, that his winning eloquence and perhaps
also his peculiar manner of presenting the Gospel, which
could not fail to have in it some trace of his early training,
disposed a party in the church at Corinth to call them
selves by his name, and repudiate the authority of Paul ; but
such a movement had no encouragement from him, for Paul
speaks of him always as a beloved colleague, and had so
much confidence in him as to urge him to return to Corinth,
even after the beginning of the divisions there. On the

Ephesus.

•3°3

other hand — not to be outdone in the spirit of brother
hood — Apollos would not consent to go, lest his presence
might be the occasion of stirring up new strife. His name
is mentioned' only once in the New Testament apart from
his connection with Corinth and Aquila, so that we know
nothing whatever with certainty of his after-history. Many,
following Luther, have conjectured that he was the author
of the Epistle to the Hebrews ; but if the Pauline author
ship of that treatise is to be given up — which I for one am
not yet disposed to admit — it would seem to me that a much
stronger case could be made out for Luke than for Apollos.
But however Apollos was engaged, we may be sure, from the
few glimpses we have had of him at Ephesus and Corinth,
that he was indefatigable and persistent in the Redeemer's
cause. Returning now to Paul, we find him, after his visit to Ga
latia and Phrygia, taking up his abode at Ephesus. That
city was at this time the capital of the Roman province of
Asia, and the seat of the proconsular government. One of
the chief commercial centres of Asia Minor, it stood upon
the south of a plain whose extent was five miles from east
to west by three from north to south, and through which
the river Cayster ran almost diagonally from the north-east
to the south-west. This plain, open to the sea on its west
ern side, was hemmed in on every other by precipitous
mountains. As the voyager sailed up the river from the
Mediterranean, he entered at length a spacious natural ba
sin, which stretched away toward the right, and formed a
magnificent harbor. This was called the Panormus, and
was the great source of the city's prosperity ; for commerce
of all kinds was attracted to its waters, and men of all na
tionalities met in its stirring streets. The city itself had
been founded originally by a colony of Greeks ; but the in
habitants had become to a large extent Orientalized both

304 Paul the Missionary.
in habits and religion. The great object of worship among
them was the goddess Diana, whose magnificent temple was
justly accounted one of the wonders of the world.* But
though called by a Greek name, we must not confound this
Diana with " the huntress chaste and fair " of classic poetry.
The idol which was enshrined in the midst of such grandeur
was an ugly figure, resembling some of those found in our
own days in India. It had a striking likeness in outline to
an Egyptian mummy ; but as, according to the popular le
gend, it had fallen just as it was from heaven, it was an ob
ject of the greatest veneration. It was evidently designed
at first as a symbol of the productive powers of nature.
and was more nearly allied to the Oriental Astarte than to
the Grecian Artemis. All that now remains of the temple
are the arches on which the raised platform on which it
stood was reared ; but it is said that eight of the pillars
may still be seen in the Mosque of St. Sophia at Constan
tinople. So complete is now the desolation of the city, that no hu
man being lives within the circle of the ancient walls. The
basin which formed the harbor has become a pestilential
marsh; and though the remains of some of its ancient splen
dor have been brought to light by Mr. Wood in his recent
excavations, there is nothing now save the bleating of the
goat or the croak of the raven to break the awesome silence
of the place which once resounded with the frantic shout:
" Great is Diana of the Ephesians."
It is probable that here again Paul took up his abode
with Aquila and Priscilla, for they are mentioned as saluting
* It was a perfect specimen of the Ionic style, and had the following
proportions : length, 425 feet ; breadth, 220 feet ; columns, 120, of which
seven were the gifts of kings. It replaced that which was set on fire by
Herostratus on the night on which Alexander the Great was born ; and
220 years were occupied in its erection.

EPHESUS FROM THE THEATRE.

Ephesus.

3^5

the Corinthians in the first epistle, which is commonly be
lieved to have been written from this place. We may, there
fore, conclude that he wrought with them at his trade, for
here too his hands ministered to his necessities.
On his first arrival, he came into contact with certain per
sons whose peculiar stage of attainment in knowledge and
experience it is difficult exactly to define. They are called
"disciples," and are said to have "believed." They were
thus Christians, and farther advanced than Apollos was
when he was found by Aquila, for they, believed Jesus to
be the Messiah. But when they were asked whether they
had received the Holy Ghost, they replied that they did not
know whether or not the Holy Ghost had been yet given ;
and to the inquiry, "Unto what then were ye baptized ?" they
answered, " Unto John's baptism." They were thus in the
position in which a believing disciple of Jesus would have
been if he had never heard of the events of the Day of Pen
tecost, or come into contact with one who could bestow upon
him the gift of the Spirit. But as the baptism of John was
quite different in many respects from Christian baptism, and
was in the main connected with faith in the Messiah who
was to come, Paul gave them such instruction as led them
to see it to be their duty to be baptized into the name of
the Lord Jesus ; and in connection with the administration
of that ordinance he laid his hands upon them and impart
ed to them the Holy Ghost, so that they spoke with tongues
and prophesied. This was, as it were, a supplementary Pen
tecost — a bestowment on these twelve disciples of those
gifts which the ascended Christ sent down on the hundred
and twenty in the upper room — and so a lifting of them up
to the level of those who had already been endowed with
"power from on high."
The whole story of these Johannine Christians, as we may
call them, is involved in obscurity. We cannot tell how

306 Paul the Missionary.
they came to know so much without knowing more. We
have no information as to the circumstances which led to
their being at Ephesus at this particular time, and we do not
hear a word of them in after-days ; but the record is useful
as establishing a clear distinction between John's baptism
and that of Christ, and between baptism with water and
the baptism of the Holy Ghost ; while it illustrates the
truth that those who are walking up to the light they have
are always the most ready to welcome more light when it
appears. According to his invariable habit, Paul went first to the
Jews in Ephesus. On his former hurried visit, he had
awakened their interest greatly in the matters which he sub
mitted to them, and we may believe that at first they were
eager to hear his discourses. Thus encouraged, he labored
among them exclusively for three months ; but at the end
of that time, when those who had resisted his appeals began
to be hardened and to blaspheme the Gospel, he withdrew
from the synagogue, and began to teach daily in the school
of one Tyrannus. We know neither who this man was
nor what was the nature of the philosophy which he taught.
We cannot tell either how he came to give the apostle the
use of his premises. Perhaps he had himself become a dis
ciple ; or he may have been prevailed on by some friend who
was a disciple to show this courtesy to Paul ; or he may sim
ply have hired his hall to the apostle during the hours when
it was not needed by himself.
It is interesting to note that here for a part of every day
— unless when he was absent from the city — the apostle
taught for two years ; and we may have some idea of the
ardor of his devotion to his work when we remember that
he was also supporting himself by his handicraft, and that
very often his pastoral labors extended far into the night ;
for he could say that he " ceased not to warn every one

Ephesus. 307
night and day with tears."* Nor must we imagine that the
sphere of his influence was bounded by the city walls. Dur
ing these years the greater number of the seven churches,
to whom through the Patmos prophet those celestial epistles
were sent by the ascended Christ, were founded either by
the personal labors of Paul or by the efforts of those whom
he had been instrumental in converting. Unnoticed by the
wealthy merchants of the city ; unhonored by the learned
among its citizens ; sneered at, perhaps, by the haughty
priests of the adjacent temple, our apostle commenced and
carried on his work. It was the day of small things ; but
he held resolutely on. He did not care to be seen : he
did not work for show. He was a great moral and spiritual
sapper ; and every day he taught he was, by the presentation
of positive truth, undermining the foundations of idolatry,
superstition, and iniquity. Nothing so excites our admiration
about him as this quiet, humble, yet indomitable pertinacity.
Nothing seems to put him out. Nothing elates him. But
he keeps on working until both Asia and Europe come un
der the sweep of the influence of the Gospel.
In Ephesus he was especially blessed with the power of
working miracles. I have, on former occasions, observed
that this " gift " was not one which the apostles had under
their own absolute control ; but that only when by the di
rection of the Holy Ghost they were prompted to exercise
it, were they warranted in seeking to perform a supernatural
work.t Wherever, therefore, they wrought miracles, we may
conclude that some special object was to be secured by such
a manifestation of the divine power. Now in the case be
fore us we may find, in the superstition prevalent in Ephesias
at this time, a particular reason, not only for the working of
miracles by Paul but also for the very unusual form which

Acts xx., 31. t See ante, pp. 99-101, 132.

30S Paul the Missionary.
these miracles assumed. The historian tells us that from
Paul's " body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or
aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil
spirits went out of them." We need not wonder at miracles
being performed through such means as handkerchiefs or
aprons, for the power that works a miracle is always that of
God, and it is all the same to him whether he puts it forth
in connection with the word or touch of an apostle, or in
connection with the passing of his shadow as in the case of
Peter, or with articles of dress as here, or with the touching
of the garment as sometimes in the history of Jesus him
self. What is more to the purpose here, is to observe the
rebuke which was addressed to Ephesian idolatry and super
stition by the doing of such wonders. In no city then on
the surface of the earth was sorcery so much practised as in
Ephesus. The worship of Diana and the pursuit of magic
were closely, almost indissolubly, associated. Mysterious
symbols, called " Ephesian letters," were said to be en
graved on the crown and girdle and feet of the image of
the goddess. These letters, of which a specimen has been
given by Lewin* and repeated by Kitto,t were not unlike
the gibberish indulged in by modern professed conjurers.
When pronounced, they were regarded as a charm, and
were to be used by those who were under the power of evil
spirits ; when written, they were carried about as amulets.
Howson mentions some curious stories regarding them ; in
particular, that Croesus repeated the mystic syllables on his
funeral pile, and that an Ephesian wrestler is said to have
always thrown his antagonist until he lost the scroll which
had been before like a talisman. $ Now from these state-

* Lewin, vol. i., p. 334.
t Kitto's " Daily Bible Illustrations," vol. viii., p. 443.
X Conybeare and Howson, vol. ii., pp. 13, 14.

Ephesus. 309
ments we can see how it was that the miracles of Paul here
took the shape which they assumed. As Moses did with
the magicians of Egypt, he contended with the sorcerers on
their own domain, in order that in the end it might be shown
to all that they were impostors, and he the servant of the
living and true God. They professed to do certain things
through their charms ; but wherever they were successful,
their success was due not to the charm, but to their knowl
edge of occult science and their practice of sleight-of-hand.
But greater things than they attempted were done through
the instrumentality of handkerchiefs and aprons that had
touched the body of Paul. This arrested the attention of
the sorcerers. They thought at first that he was simply a
brother of their own craft ; and so Sceva, a Jewish exorcist,
and his seven sons, conceiving the name of Jesus to be a
spell like that used by themselves, tried it on an evil spirit
with the words, " We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preach-
eth ;" but the possessed man leaped upon them and assault
ed them, so that they fled naked and terrified. Thus the
contrast between them and Paul was clearly brought out,
and the magicians themselves were constrained to acknowl
edge that the power accompanying him was divine. Con
sternation and alarm filled them all ; and such was the ef
fect that those even among the believers in Christ who had
been secretly indulging in magic came and confessed their
evil-doings, and many of those who were sorcerers by pro
fession brought their books on curious arts, which were
both expensive and magnificent, and burnt them before the
people. Nor was this an offering that cost them nothing ;
for when they reckoned the price of them, they found it
equal to about ten thousand dollars of our money. " So,"
adds the historian, " mightily grew the word of God and
prevailed." The narrative over which we have come this evening is

310 Paul the Missionary.
rich in practical suggestiveness ; but I restrict myself to one
phase of its instruction. It brings before us four distinct
classes of Gospel hearers, and shows us that the effects pro
duced on each were determined by the disposition which
they manifested.
We have first the case of partially instructed disciples, who
eagerly welcomed greater light and were rewarded by a spe
cial benediction. Neither Apollos nor these Johannine dis
ciples remained contentedly where they were when they had
heard only the baptism of John. But when the former was
informed of the real state of the case by Aquila, and the
latter were enlightened by Paul, they gladly received the
truth as it is in Jesus, and were baptized not only with water
but with the Holy Ghost. Now, this readiness to accept
new light ought to be cultivated by every student of the
Scriptures. Whatever is brought out of these oracles by
fair interpretation, or deduced from them by legitimate in
ference, we ought to receive and hold equally with that
which we have already derived from them. It is often said,
indeed, that theology is a finished science, and that no prog
ress in it is now possible ; but it seems to me that those
who hold that opinion confound the source of theology with
that which men have drawn from it. The Scriptures are
complete. We are not to expect any addition to them ; and
if one came to us claiming to speak with the authority of
inspiration, we should refuse to listen to him. We cannot
look for additions to the sacred volume ; but is it not right,
and ought we not to look for an increase in our understand
ing of its meaning ? Is not theology, in this sense, just as
progressive as any other of the sciences ? The stars have
been in the sky from the day when first before the view of
Adam, "Bathed in the rays of the great setting flame,
Hesperus and the hosts of heaven came."

Ephesus. 311
But what progress has been made since then in astronomy ?
So, again, the rocks beneath us have been just as they are
now for many millenniums, yet what advancement have these
last years seen among us in the science of geology? And
in the same way, though the Bible is complete, and has been
so for many centuries, may we not hope that the diligent stu
dent may still find something more in it than those who went
before him have discovered ? For there is sometimes an in
terpretation given by the very character of an age which nat
urally escaped those who lived before that age began ; and
the simultaneousness with which in many lands the doctrines
of the Reformation flashed upon the minds of independent
inquirers, analogous as it is to the fact that in physical sci
ence the same discoveries have been made by individuals in
different countries almost at the same time, may help us to
understand how new truths in theology may yet be found
even in the already well-searched field of the sacred Script
ures. The pastor of the Pilgrim Fathers showed the spirit
of a true Christian philosopher when he expressed his con
viction that God " had yet more light to break forth out of
his Word ;" and though his words have been used by many
when they advocated opinions for which I at least can find
no foundation in the Bible, yet that must not keep me from
acknowledging the soundness of the principle which they
embody. We ought to be ready to welcome everything, even
if it be a new thing, that is brought fairly out of this book.
Let us not cry for novelty for its own sake ; neither let us
resist the new, simply because it is new. But if anything
different from or in addition to our present interpretation
of the Scriptures should be put before us, let us examine
it candidly, and if it commend itself to us as revealed in the
Bible or consistent with it, let us heartily accept it. None
of us knows so much but that he may yet have the way
of God more perfectly expounded to him ; and true rever-
14

312 Paul the Missionary.
ence for the Bible will teach us all to seek to learn more
from it.
But in the case of the Ephesian Jews we have an illustra
tion of the blinding influence of prejudice in the hearing
of the truth. They were at first very willing to listen to
Paul ; but as he went on with his expositions of their sa
cred books, so as to show that Jesus of Nazareth was the
promised Messiah, and that the blessings of salvation
through him were not to be restricted to any nation, they
were hardened, and believed not. Therefore he departed
from them, and left them to their bigotry and intolerance.
In the Johannine disciples we have an illustration of the
law, " To him that hath shall more be given ;" but in these
Jews we see fulfilled the words, " From him that hath not
shall be taken even that he hath." They who stubbornly
refuse the salvation of Christ are in danger of being them
selves put beyond the possibility of being saved by Christ.
It is an awful thought, on which the preacher never delights
to dwell ; but it needs to be proclaimed, lest haply some
one who is in fearful danger may go unwarned. Remember
what is said of the barren fig-tree in the parable. It was
placed in circumstances favorable for the bringing forth of
fruit. Everything was done for it that could be done, and
yet no fruit appeared, so that the command went forth,
" Cut it down ; why cumbereth it the ground ?" For a time
the execution of that order was delayed at the vine-dresser's
intercession, but at length the axe-stroke fell ; and now, as
one looks at Jerusalem, he sees but a poor blackened root,
where once a stately tree covered the land with its shadow.
My hearer, who despisest the mercy of the Lord, and reject-
est the Saviour whom he reveals, take warning from such a
case. As the good Leighton has it, " God may be taking his
axe, as it were, and fetching his stroke at you, and you know
not how soon it may light, and you be cut down, and cut

Ephesus.

3i3

off from all hopes forever, never to see a day of grace more,
nor to hear a sermon more ; cut down and cast into the fire
to burn, and that never to end. Oh, for some soul to be
rescued, were it even now ! Oh, to-day ! 'To-day if ye will
hear his voice, harden not your hearts.' "*
In those vagabond exorcists who sought to turn to ac
count, as a worldly speculation, the little knowledge of the
Gospel which they had, we have another kind of hearers.
They saw Paul casting out evil spirits, and immediately,
after the fashion of Simon Magus with Peter, they came to
the conclusion that if they could add the apostle's gift to
their magical mummeries they would increase their gains.
But the result only covered them with confusion. So have
we seen it again and again in human history. When the
Church wandered from the faith, and they who should have
been its ornaments and defenders used their exalted posi
tion for purposes of personal aggrandizement, selling par
dons for gold, and hawking indulgences through the streets,
see how this incident repeated itself in a new form, and the
people rose against their religious rulers much as this poor
possessed one leaped on Sceva and his sons ! This will
always be the case, sooner or later, when the Church seeks
to make gain for individuals out of the gifts which she has
freely received from the Lord. For this is the law : " Freely
ye have received, freely give ;" and when the privileges of
God's house are sold for gold, we may look ere long for ter
rible disaster.
But it is equally bad when men come to hear the Gospel
just to see how much money they can make out of it. When, ,
for example, they attend upon ordinances in a certain place
solely because it will add to their position in society, or give
them respectability in the neighborhood, or improve their
* " Works of Robert Leighton, D.D., Archbishop of Glasgow," p. 547.

314 Paul the Missionary.
business connection. All that is simony as really as is the
selling of the cure of souls for gold ; and in the day when
the Lord comes to his temple, he will drive out all who are
guilty of it with a scourge of cords. Avaunt, therefore, all
ye who would make a gain of godliness ! your hollow nam
ing of "Jesus whom Paul preacheth" is an offence unto
God ; and even as you repeat the words there comes this
voice from the very devil whom you serve, as if he were him
self ashamed of you : " Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but
who are you ?" Ah ! is it not because so many to-day are
trying to cast out devils for their own gain that they fail so
egregiously in their efforts? The evils of our times will
not recede before your Sceva mammon - worshippers and
their like-minded sons; but only before the Pauls whose
hands are clean, whose hearts are pure, and whose weapons
are spiritual, and therefore mighty. It is not by a cabalis
tic name that we are to exorcise the evils of our times ; but
by holy characters moulded after the image of Christ, and
animated by his Spirit.
Finally, we have in the Ephesian magicians an illustration
of earnest, believing, and sincere hearing of the Gospel. I
like to read about these men. They heard ; they believed ;
they confessed ; they repented. And their repentance was
not of that cheap sort that spends itself only in tears. It
was like that of the woman who, when she had heard a ser
mon on false measures, went straight home and burnt the
bushel ! These men did not care what it cost them. They
were determined to be done with their evil calling, and they
destroyed everything that might tempt them back to it again.
They not only crossed the river, but they burnt the boats
behind them, and so made their return impossible. They
did not stand debating what shall we do ? They did not
say, Let us wait and see whether God will open up an honest
way of life for us. They did not try to sell to others that

Ephesus.

3i5

which they felt it was wrong for them to keep ; but they
utterly destroyed their books, and left God to take* care of
themselves. Now, my hearer, have you nothing to burn ?
There comes to my memory now a story; very graphic and
characteristic, told by Mr. Arthur in his memoir of " Samuel
Budgett, the Successful Merchant." Like other grocers of
his time and neighborhood, he had been in the habit of adul
terating his pepper by some sort of preparation — innocent
enough, but not pepper, and not so valuable as pepper —
which he kept in a little barrel labelled P. D. — pepper dust.
But as he grew in Christian intelligence his conscience
troubled him about this matter. It haunted him day and
night, until one night he rose from his bed, went to his store,
took the little barrel with him out to an old quarry, and
there knocked in the ends of it and left it. In the morn
ing, thinking he had been just a little wasteful, he went back,
picked up the staves, and carried them away for other use ;
but that was the last of P. D. for him. Is there no P. D.
about you ? Nothing of which your conscience accuses you
as inconsistent with loyalty to Christ ? If there be, take it
out as Budgett did, and knock it on the head. Bring it forth
as these Ephesians did, and burn it before the Lord. Never
mind the cost. That is nothing to your peace; your purity,
your salvation. Therefore burn it ; and then in your heart
and in your home the word of God will grow mightily and
prevail.

XVII.
THE UPROAR AT EPHESUS.
Acts xix., 21-41.
DURING Paul's sojourn at' Ephesus he made many
new friends, and received visits from some old ones.
Here first he became acquainted with Onesiphorus, of whose
kindness, both now and during his last imprisonment at •
Rome, he makes such grateful mention to Timothy, and for
whom he offers the brief but comprehensive prayer, " The
Lord grant that he may obtain mercy of the Lord in that
day."* Here, too, it is probable that he became instru
mental in the conversion of Philemon and Epaphras, both
of whom belonged to the neighboring city of Colosse. It is
certain, also, that he wrote here his first Epistle to the Co
rinthians. . Alford, on what seem to me, however, to be too
slender grounds, has affirmed that some time during his three
years and six months' residence at Ephesus, Paul made a
hasty visit to Corinth, of which nothing is said in the Book
of The Acts ; but in any case it is clear that his first epis
tle to the church there was called forth by the arrival at
Ephesus of Stephanas, Fortunatus, Achaicus, and certain of
the household of Chloe, who brought with them a sad report
of divisions and abuses in the infant society, and asked his
advice on sundry matters of practical difficulty. In his let
ter he deals very plainly and powerfully with all the ques
tions which had been submitted to him. He reproves the
* 2 Tim. i., 18.

The Uproar at Ephesus.. 317
Corinthians sternly for their partisanship for different preach
ers ; shows them the inconsistency of the gross immorality
which had been permitted among them ; condemns them for
going to law with brethren before heathen magistrates ; gives
them directions as to their intercourse with their unconvert
ed neighbors ; rebukes them for their irreverence at the
Lord's table, and the confusion which characterized their
public services; bids them above all other things cultivate
love ; exposes the hollowness of the argument of those who
alleged that the resurrection was past already.; and exhorts
them to systematic benevolence, so that he might receive
from them a handsome collection for the poor saints at Je
rusalem. It is truly a glorious epistle, standing before us
in its mingled majesty and simplicity, like some Alpine
range whose peaks seem to pierce the sky, while round its
base the pine-forest waves in the breeze, and the wild flow
ers exhale their fragrance. There is the rugged sternness
of reproof, shaded and softened by the verdure of affection.
Broad and stable as the foundations of the everlasting hills
are the principles on which his practical exhortations are
based ; and now and again, as when he speaks as if even he
himself might be a castaway, he seems to put us on the edge
of a fearful precipice, over which we gaze,- as it were, into a
bottomless abyss; while his hymn on charity and his ar
gument on the resurrection are like great sunlit pinnacles
rising up in purity and repose, and seeming to belong more
to heaven than earth.
After he had written that letter he was most anxious to
know the effect which it had produced on those for whom
it was intended; and so he was very desirous to revisit
Corinth. This is the point at which we resume the narra
tive to-night. We . read,* " After these things were ended,

* Acts xix., 21.

318 Paul the Missionary.
Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through
Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After 1
have been there, I must also see Rome." His desire to go
into Achaia was prompted by his solicitude for the Corin
thians ; his motive for visiting Jerusalem was that he might
carry thither the offerings of the Gentile Christians for the
relief of their Jewish brethren ; and his wish to see Rome
was not out of mere curiosity, but was in perfect harmony
with the great principle which he had followed in his mis
sionary work. Already from the three great centres, An
tioch, Corinth, and Ephesus, he had sought to work upon
the Greek-speaking portion of the Roman Empire, and it
was natural that he should now long to commence in Rome
itself, operations whose influence might ultimately radiate
out into those western regions where the Latin language
was spoken. Twice in his letter to the Romans has Paul
referred to this deeply-cherished purpose ; and that in such
a way as to prove that, while the history in The Acts and
the statements in the letter must have been written inde
pendently of each other, they are yet in perfect harmony.
Let me read both passages to you, and then give you the
substance of Paley's comment on them in connection with
the history before us, as another specimen .of the clearness
and cogency of the argument of the " Horae Paulinae." The
first passage is as follows :* " Now I would not have you
ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto
you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit
among you also, even as among other Gentiles." The sec
ond runs thus :f " But now having no more place in these
parts, and having a great desire these many years to come
unto you ; whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will
come to you : for I trust to see you in my journey, and to
* Rom. i., 13. t Rom. xv., 23-28.

The Uproar at Ephesus. 319
be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I be some
what filled with your company. But now I go unto Jerusa
lem to minister unto the saints. . . . When, therefore, I have
performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will
come by you into Spain." Now, argues Paley, the con
formity between the history and the epistle is perfect. In
the first passage of the epistle we find that a design of visit
ing Rome had long dwelt in the apostle's mind ; and here
in The Acts we discover that design expressed a considera
ble time before the letter was written. In the history we
observe that Paul's plan was to go first through Macedonia
and Achaia, after that to go to Jerusalem, and then to pro
ceed to Rome. When the epistle was written, as we know
it was from Corinth, he had already filled in that outline
so far as Macedonia and Achaia were concerned, and was
preparing to go to Jerusalem. But while thus the history
and epistle are in perfect harmony, it is also perfectly clear
that the one could not be made up from the other; for if
the passage in" the epistle was taken from the history, why
was any mention of Spain made in it ? and if the passage in
the history was taken from the letter, how comes it that all
reference to Spain was left out ? Very clearly no impostor
could have concocted those things, and the simplest expla
nation of them is their truth.*
Pending his own departure for Europe, the apostle sent
Timothy and Erastus into Macedonia. The latter of these
appears in the history here for the first time. There was
an Erastus, chamberlain of the city of Corinth ; and a per
son of the same name, very likely the same person, is spo
ken of in the Second Epistle to Timothy ;f but we have no
means of determining whether he is the individual referred
* Paley's " Horae Paulinse," chap, ii., No. 3.
1 Rom. xvi. 23 ; 2 Tim. iv., 20.
14*

320 Paul the Missionary. »
to here. Paul despatched these brethren before him, in or
der, perhaps, to expedite the collection which he was making
for the poor Jews from the European churches, so that he
might be able to take it with him on his next visit to Jeru
salem. He, however, remained a little longer in Ephesus
himself, and his reason for doing so is given in these words :*
" I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost. For a great door
and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adver
saries." That is to say, he saw some great public oppor
tunity of usefulness before him, and he stayed to take ad
vantage of that, even though it might require him to face
many adversaries ; nay, all the more because it was all but
certain that it would. Now, as the nature of this oppor
tunity thus alluded to will help to explain the tumult of
which an account is given in the history of Luke, it will be
proper to set it clearly before you. Pentecost came seven
weeks after the Passover ; and so, as the Passover occurred
in the end of March or beginning of April, seven weeks
after that would include the larger part of the month of
May. But that month was in Ephesus one of peculiar sanc
tity and splendor, and multitudes from all the cities of Asia
crowded into it, to behold the spectacles and participate in
the worship with which they were connected. What the
Passover was in Jerusalem, or rather, perhaps, what the Car
nival is now in Rome, that the month of May was in Ephe
sus. It was called Artemision, or Diana's month ; and ev
erything that ingenuity could devise was done to make it a
season of pleasure and enjoyment, as well as a time of spe
cial adoration of the goddess. Ten men, called Asiarchs
— or, as our version has rendered the word, " the chief of
Asia" — were chosen annually from the principal Asiatic
cities for the purpose of presiding over the games which
* i Cor. xvi., 8, 9.

The Uproar at Ephesus. 321
were held during the month. They were generally selected
" for their eminence as citizens, and their known wealth and
liberality. They had to bear the entire expenses of the fete,
and such was the drain on their resources made thereby,
that if a man had a family of five children he could claim
exemption from the office ; and no one could be compelled
to fill it twice. In these circumstances we can understand
how Ephesus would, during the sacred month, be thronged
with strangers, and how Paul, always eager for the dissem
ination of the Gospel, determined to make it a sowing time
among the people. He went to work, we may be sure, pru
dently as well as zealously ; but the effects of his exertions
were such as to rouse against him the opposition of one of
the most important guilds in the city.
Under the shadow of Diana's temple, which was visited
by worshippers from all the surrounding region, there had
sprung up a brisk manufacture of silver models of the shrine
of the goddess, which were sold to be worn as charms or
set'up in chambers, much in the same way as in some Ro
man Catholic places of pilgrimage, metallic representations
of the Virgin, or of the saint more immediately honored,
are disposed of to superstitious purchasers. These " silver
shrines " were on sale all the year round ; but the special
harvest of the craftsmen was reaped in the month of May,
when visitors came to the city from afar, and each was ea
ger to take with him as a memorial of his visit, or as a gift
to some infirm relative, a medallion which the priests had
blessed. On this occasion, however, the demand was by
no means so large as usual ; and on investigation into the
causes of the falling off in their trade, one of the leading
manufacturers, Demetrius by name, was compelled to trace
it to the labors of Paul. As soon as he came to that con
clusion, he called his fellow-craftsmen — the first trades-union
meeting of which we have any record — and in a few vigor-

322 Paul, the Missionary.
ous words he contrived to arouse their devotion for Diana
to a pitch of wild enthusiasm by an appeal to their self-in
terest. He reminded them that they depended on the mak
ing of shrines for their prosperity ; pointed out to them that
the doctrines which "this Paul" preached undermined the
worship of Diana, and declared that if they ever came to
prevail, the temple would be destroyed, and they themselves
reduced to beggary. Thus identifying their pecuniary inter
ests with their religious devotion, he so excited them on be
half of the goddess that they shouted, " Gr^eat is Diana of the
Ephesians /" The noise thus produced speedily gathered a
crowd ; for nothing is more easy than to collect a mob, but
nothing more difficult than to control one. On the pres
ent occasion the design of Demetrius evidently was to se
cure, by popular and irresponsible violence, a result which
would, in his view, be for his own interest and that of his
guild. Under the Roman government the murder or mal
treatment of a Roman citizen would be sure to be investi- «
gated, if that were at all practicable ; but if the evil were the
result of an emeute, and could not be traced to any individual
in particular, no one would be endangered. So the crafts
men left the mob to do their work, only indicating that Paul
Was to be assailed. It is probable that they went at once
to the home of Aquila and Priscilla to seek him ; and if we
adopt that view, then it may have been on this occasion
that these dear friends of the apostle risked their lives, or,
as he phrases it, " laid down their own necks " on his be
half.* Not finding Paul, they caught Gaius and Aristarchus,
who were known to be his friends and fellow-travellers, and
hurried them off to the theatre, which, though constructed
chiefly for gladiatorial exhibitions and dramatic entertain
ments, was the favorite place for public assemblies of all
* Rom. xvi., 4.

The Uproar at Ephesus. 323
sorts. Large as that enclosure was — capable, as Mr. Wood,
the most recent investigator, assures us, of holding twenty-
five thousand people — its stone benches were rapidly filled
by a tumultuous assemblage, of which the larger part could
not tell why they were there, but were themselves increasing
the confusion by continually shouting. Every one who has
witnessed an excited public meeting composed of fiery spir
its who are determined to refuse every speaker a hearing,
and at which the densely packed multitude sways to and
fro like the waves of ocean in a storm, while a continuous
• babel of sounds, earthly and unearthly, composed of cat
calls, cock-crowings, groanings, howlings, shriekings, and the
like, is kept up, may form an accurate conception of what
took place that day in the Ephesian theatre ; for a mob is
the same in all ages and in all countries.
When Paul heard what was going on, his first impulse
prompted him to go at once and take his place beside his
friends, that they might not suffer in his stead ; but the dis
ciples around him, anxious for his personal safety, sought
to dissuade him. It is questionable, however, whether they
would have succeeded in that, if it had not been for the ad
vice of some of the Asiarchs that were friendly to him. It
speaks well for Paul, and not ill for them, that these men,
who were at once the furnishers and rulers of the festival,
were kindly disposed toward him. Either they had been
convinced by his arguments " that they be no gods which
are made with hands," but, Nicodemus - like, were unwill
ing to declare themselves ; or on simply personal grounds
they were interested in him, and sought to keep him from
danger ; or perhaps they wanted only to prevent a breash
of the peace. But their entreaty prevailed, and he did not
go to the theatre. Meanwhile, as the tumult went on, the
Jews who resided in Ephesus being afraid that they might
be blamed for the whole affair, although they were as much

324 Paul the Missionary.
opposed to Paul as Demetrius was, put forward one called
Alexander — supposed by some to be the coppersmith al
luded to in the letter to Timothy — that he might exonerate
them. But beckon as he might, the multitude would not
listen to him ; nay, as they recognized his Jewish features,
they became more furious than ever, and kept up their
shouting for two hours on end, " Great is Diana of the
Ephesians !" Of course that could not go on forever.
Men's throats are not of brass, neither their lungs of leath
er; so at length there came a lull, when one of the magis
trates of the city took the opportunity of speaking a few
quieting sentences. He is called in our version " the town-
clerk ;" but although he kept the records of the city, his
office in other respects was liker that of mayor among us
than town-clerk. He was the proper president of all their
popular assemblies, and indeed, under the proconsul, the
chief magistrate of the city. This will account at once for
the respect with which he was listened to, and the authority
with which he spoke. His address was exceedingly adroit,
and shows that he well knew how to deal with a multitude
of excited citizens. He began with a compliment to .their
goddess, whose image fell from heaven, and of whose tem
ple the city to which they belonged was the willing and de
voted "sacristan."* Then, having gained their attention by
this apparent concession to their enthusiasm, he bade them
be on their guard against rashly making accusations which
they could not substantiate by legal evidence. He affirmed
that the men whom they had dragged into the theatre had
not been guilty of anything which they could construe into
sacrilege, and had not been heard to speak against their
favorite goddess. Then, referring to the ringleader of the
riot, he alleged that if he had anything to complain of in

* In the original vcioKopov ; literally, " temple-sweeper.'

The Uproar at Ephesus. 325
the matter of his craft, the right redress was to be had in
the courts of law presided over by the proconsul, and for
the holding of which regular days were appointed. But be
neath the velvet glove thus ostentatiously held out there
was an iron hand, of which one little squeeze was given as
a gentle reminder that they were under the inflexible Ro
man power. He told them that the proper place for dis
cussing public matters was the lawful assembly ; and with
a reference to the lawlessness of their present gathering,
which was sufficient to make them prudent at least, if not
afraid lest they should be called in question, he dismissed
them to their homes.
Now, here two things call for. attention. In the first
place, we are struck with the testimony borne by the mayor
to the wisdom with which Paul had prosecuted his work
at Ephesus. He had not made any quixotic attack on the
special idolatry of the place, but had contented himself with
enforcing the positive truth about the spirituality and om
nipresence of God. He had neither said nor done any
thing which, even in the estimation of the idolaters, could
be construed into sacrilege or blasphemy of Diana. Rather
he had here, as at Athens, viewed the idolatry of the people
as a finger-post pointing to something higher, nobler, purer
than itself. Doubtless, if he had cared to pry into the mys
teries of the temple, he might have found some terrible
abuses ; hut the exposure of these would only have irritated
and aggravated the people, while still the central evil would
have been untouched. Therefore, with consummate wisdom
he let Diana alone, and contented himself with preaching
the truth as it is in Jesus, leaving that to filter its way intp
the minds of his hearers, sure that in the end they would
turn from " lying vanities to serve the living and true God."
This example is full of significance for all who are called to
act as missionaries, either in heathen lands or in countries

326 Paul the Missionary.
where a corrupt form of Christianity prevails. Controversy,
indeed, is not without its uses; but it tends for the most
part to stiffen each of the debaters in his own opinion, and
it excites antagonism fully more frequently than it produces
conviction. While the storms beat about the traveller, in
the old story, he drew his cloak more tightly round him ;
but when the sun shone strongly on him, he threw the man
tle aside. So if we can introduce the truth without contro
versy, we may rely that it will expel the error, just as the
admission of the sunlight into our chamber dissipates the
darkness which formerly reigned within it. The statement
made by the Lord to the woman, " God is a Spirit, and they
that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth,"
makes no direct attack on any concrete form of heathenism,
and yet its acceptance makes idolatry for the individual im
possible. In like manner, the presentation of the doctrine
of justification by faith makes no controversial assault upon
the ritual of Romanism ; but yet, wherever that doctrine is
believed, penance and the mass immediately lose their hold
upon the heart. He who assails the worship of the Virgin
in a Roman Catholic country may be — very likely will be —
silenced at once ; but he who exalts Christ as the only Sav
iour may be permitted to go on long enough to lodge truths
in the hearts of the people which shall become mighty forces
among them in after-days. It is easy to denounce and ex
pose evil, and an immediate notoriety will be sure to reward
him who enters upon such a course ; but, after all, that does
not reform it. Nothing but the introduction of positive
truth will avail for that ; and therefore he is the wise propa
gandist who keeps himself mainly to that. There will be a
stir at length ; but then the stir will be made by the truth,
not by the man, and there is an immense difference between
these two effects. The one is transient, the other is endur
ing. The one awakens reproach, the other secures vindica-

The Uproar at Ephesus. 327
tion even from men who, like the Ephesian recorder, are
themselves, nominally at least, on the side of error.
The second thing to be noted here is the exact corre
spondence between the representations made in the narra
tive before us, and the inscriptions which have been recent
ly brought to light by the excavations of Mr. Wood. First,
as regards Diana : This goddess appears on these inscrip
tions as "the great goddess Artemis;" and sometimes as
"the supremely great goddess." She has her priestesses,
her temple curators, her divines, her choristers, and the like.
Her birthday is again and again mentioned. She is seen
and heard everywhere ; so that there is no exaggeration
whatever in the picture which Luke has painted.
Next, as to the theatre : That appears from Mr. Wood's
inscriptions to have been the recognized place of public as
sembly. There edicts were proclaimed, and decrees record
ed. There, too, were memorials on every hand of the great
ness of the goddess, so that, as Canon Lightfoot has said,
" If the town-clerk had desired to make good his assertion,
' What man is there that knoweth not that the city of Eph
esus is sacristan of the great goddess Diana ?' he had only
to point to the inscriptions which lined the theatre for con
firmation. The very stones would have cried out from the
walls in response to his appeal."*
Again, as to the name temple-keeper, or sacristan, given
here (vtunopov) to the city of Ephesus, we find in these in
scriptions for the first time a direct use of the same term in
the same application ; for on one of the newly-discovered
stones the city of Ephesus is described as "twice sacristan
of the Augusti, according to the decrees of the senate, and
sacristan of Diana." In like manner, the use of the term

* See article in Contemporary Review for May, 1878, on "The Acts,
illustrated by Recent Discoveries," by Canon, now Bishop, Lightfoot. '

328 Paul the Missionary.
sacrilege here is explained by an inscription found in the
theatre, though not yet set up at the time when the recorder
spoke, in which these words occur, "Let it be regarded as
sacrilege and impiety." It thus appears that certain of
fences were treated as constructive sacrilege against the
goddess. The same correspondence appears in the political refer
ences. Three distinct officers are mentioned in the narrative
of Luke, namely, the proconsul, or " deputy," as it is in our
version; the recorder, or "town-clerk;" and the Asiarchs, or
" the chief of Asia." Now all these appear, as we are told
by Lightfoot, again and again, in the newly-discovered in
scriptions. " Sometimes two of the three magistracies will
be mentioned on the same stone. Sometimes the same per
son will unite in himself the two offices of recorder and
Asiarch, either simultaneously or not. The mention of the
recorder is especially frequent. His name is employed to
authenticate every decree, and to fix every date."* So,
again, the meaning of the term, " a lawful assembly," as de
noting one of those held on stated days already specified
by the law, in contradistinction to those called on special
emergencies out of the ordinary course, is illustrated by an
inscription found in the theatre, providing that a certain sil
ver image of Athene should be brought and " set at every
lawful assembly, above the bench where the boys sit." Thus
the most recent discoveries of the excavator at Ephesus, as
at Cyprus, confirm in all respects the truthfulness of the
sacred narrative. Nay, we may go farther still, and affirm
with the learned canon, to whom already I have been so
largely beholden, that " ancient literature has no picture of
the Ephesus of imperial times — the Ephesus which has been
unearthed by the sagacity and perseverance of Mr. Wood —
* Lightfoot's article, as before.

The Uproar at Ephesus. 329
comparable, for its lifelike truthfulness, to the narrative of
Paul's sojourn there in The Acts."*
But now, leaving the mere antiquities of our theme, let us
seek to carry away with us some of its valuable lessons.
And, in the first place, let us note how self-interest tends
to pervert the judgment. The great Scottish poet has said,
"When self the wavering balance shakes,
It's rarely richt adjusted."
And an acquaintance with our own hearts, as well as the
observation of the actions of others, will amply confirm his
words. "A gift blindeth the eyes;" but the same influence
is no less powerfully exerted by the prejudices engendered
by one's trade or profession. We can scarcely expect that
the holder of a comfortable sinecure or of a government
office will become an ardent advocate for retrenchment or
civil service reform. The self-interest of the employer is
apt to prevent him from being perfectly just to the employ
ed ; and the workmen, on the other hand, are hindered by
class influences and combinations from fully realizing the
position of the master. It would require a great stretch of
candor in one who is a dignitary of a State church to see
any advantages in disestablishment; and the minister of
the Gospel who is liberally supported by his own people
can scarcely give an unbiassed opinion on the arguments of
those who maintain that there should be no paid pastors.
Observe, I am not now saying a word as to the truth or
falsehood of the different opinions on such questions. I
am only remarking on the difficulty which those who are
pecuniarily interested in their settlement must have in com
ing to a thoroughly unprejudiced decision regarding them.
This difficulty is recognized in all civil trials by the exclu-
* Lightfoot's article, as before.

330 Paul the Missionary.
sion from the jury-box of those who are personally interest
ed in the verdict that must be given, and we must all admit
that we are in danger of being thus biassed. We cannot
call each other bad names about it, for we are all alike.
But we cannot deny, either, that self-love is as really a
principle of our nature as benevolence or justice. What
the Word of God insists on is, not that it should be de
stroyed, but that it should be enlightened. It must not be
blind to the rights of others ; nor must it have respect to
the body, or money, or this world merely. It must take in
the wide range of spiritual matters, and weigh everything in
the balance of eternity. The corrective which the Gospel
administers to it is in that pregnant question of the Lord,
" What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world,
and lose his own soul ? or what shall a man give in exchange
for his soul ?" Now, taking eternity and the immutable
principles of truth and righteousness into account, what the
world calls selfishness inflicts the greatest injury on him
who practises it; while that which it styles self-sacrifice is
only a larger thoughtfulness and the truest self-love. The
Saviour's paradox is indubitably true : " He that loveth his
life shall lose it ; and he that hateth his life in this world
shall keep it unto life eternal."* But, notwithstanding this,
the great majority among us prefer the present to the fut
ure, the temporal to the eternal. A genuine truth-seeker —
a real truth-follower, who cleaves to it whithersoever it may
lead him, is about the rarest as well as the noblest of men ;
and the most striking testimony which in this mammon-wor
shipping age a man can give of his sincerity, is to resign a
large pecuniary benefit rather than keep it against the pro
test of his conscience. Yet, after all, there is no loyalty to
God where one prefers his interest to his duty, and lets a

* Tohn xii., 25.

The Uproar at Ephesus. 331
piece of gold hide from him the truth over which it is laid.
Let us, therefore, cultivate devotion to truth in our alle
giance to Him who said," I am the Truth;" and when we
feel tempted, like Demetrius, to let worldly profits come be
tween us and it, let us widen our view, and take eternity
into the account. So shall we attain a right estimate of
temporal things, and rise into the clear, dry light of unprej
udiced inquiry. When the natural philosopher would be
precise in his experiments, he performs them beneath the
exhausted receiver of an air-pump, so that the atmosphere
may have no influence ; and in like manner, when we would
prosecute our inquiries in the great department of moral
and spiritual truth, we ought to conduct them beneath —
shall I call it — the exhausted receiver of the Word of God,
away from the pressure of the world's atmosphere, and as
matters between ourselves and Jehovah.
But we may see, in the second place, that it speaks ill for
a trade when its prosperity is destroyed by the progress of
the Gospel. Many trades have been quickened by the con
version of communities to Christ. The progress of our mis
sionaries in some parts of central Turkey has caused quite
a demand for American ploughs ; and the Christianization
of heathen tribes always increases their trade with civilized
nations ; so that for every dollar expended in foreign mis
sions the country gets at least ten back in increased com
merce. But there are some trades that cannot thrive where
the Gospel succeeds, and hereby we are furnished with a
clear and well-defined test, which every, man can apply for
himself, and by the application of which he may discover
whether or not he is in a lawful calling. If, while I am
praying for success in my business, I have the clearest evi
dence that it can succeed only by retarding the progress of
the Gospel, then my duty is clear, and at whatever sacrifice
I must leave that trade. If, while I am praying " Thy king

332 Paul the Missionary.
dom come," I have the conviction that it can only come by
crippling and ultimately destroying my business, then sure
ly there can be no hesitation in coming to the conclusion
that I ought to leave off that business. There are only two
ways of it. Such a trade will either smother the Christian
ity of the man, or his Christianity will destroy his trade, and
lead him to give it up. The two will not hold together.
Now there are such trades. I do not need to name them.
You have already mentioned them within your hearts, and
if you are in one of them, get out of it at once.
We may see here, thirdly, that a time of excitement is
not favorable for determining duty. These Ephesians were
suffering from temporary madness ; and any conclusion
which they might then come to would be dangerous. The
"town -clerk," therefore, gave them good advice when he
said, " Ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly."
Now we need not be above taking the counsel of this hea
then magistrate. When we are in a passion, which we should
be as seldom as possible, we ought to defer deciding on the
matter which has provoked us until our calmness has re
turned. It is always a good rule to hold over a thing of
that sort. Let the irritation subside ; let reason, which is
for the moment dethroned, resume its sway; let God's for
giveness be asked, and his direction sought in earnest prayer,
then gravely, deliberately, and soberly let us do as he may
indicate. Never decide on any course when you are excited
by anger. If something have occurred to destroy your equi
librium, and you feel you cannot restrain your wrath, then
sit down and write a letter to him who has been the cause
of your anger, put into it all that you feel, make it hot and
strong, so that your soul is thoroughly relieved by telling
him thus a piece of your mind, then fling it aside until the
next day. When you open your desk in the morning, read it
and see what a fool you were ; then put it into the fire, and

The Uproar at Ephesus. 333
let it and your wrath both burn together. After that, decide
what you shall do, and you will acknowledge the truth of the
old proverb, " There's luck in leisure." The captain who
insists on going to sea in the midst of a hurricane is fool
hardy; but he is equally demented who insists upon de
ciding important questions when he is in a, passion. For
one, I desire to express my indebtedness to this Ephesian
town-clerk for the valuable advice he gave. I have never
followed it without advantage, and it .would have been bet
ter for me if I had followed it more frequently. When you
are in danger of letting your temper overmaster your judg
ment, call to mind this history, take counsel with the town-
clerk of Ephesus, and " do nothing rashly."
Finally, we may see here what calmness is secured by him
who possesses conscious rectitude and faith in God. In
this terrible tumult the apostle continued to be thoroughly
composed. He seems the least excited man among them
all. He was ready to brave the danger, if need were ; but
he was calm enough also to see the wisdom of the advice
given by his friends. Now, how shall we account for this
inner peace in the midst of such outward riot ? Simply by
the fact that he had a conscience void of offence toward
God and toward man, and was well assured that, living or
dying, he was the Lord's. There was One beside him,
mightier than the mob, and he was sure of his protection ;
for to be on the side of God is also to have God on our
side. I cannot but think, too, that he was sustained and
soothed by his faith in the glorious immortality that was be
fore him. You may remember how, in his sublime argument
on the resurrection, he says, "If after the manner of men I*
have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it
me, if the dead rise not ?" and though, as we have seen, the
letter in which these words occur was sent from Ephesus
before this riot, and there could, therefore, be no reference

334 Paul the Missionary.
in it to this particular tumult, yet the truth which sustained
him on former occasions, and specially on that — whatever
it was — which he calls a fighting with beasts, would sustain
him now. The most they could do with him was to kill him,
and that would only introduce him into the immediate pres
ence of his Lord. Thus their worst was his best ; and when
we realize that, we see in a moment the secret of his calm
ness. Now, cannot we secure this same peace by loyalty
to conscience and faith in Jesus ? Oh, it gives a manly
erectness to the soul when one can hold up his head thus
above the threatenings and opposition of the multitude, and
say with our apostle, "With me it is a small matter to
be judged of you, or of man's judgment, yea, I judge not
mine own self; there is one that judgeth me, even God;"
nay, humanity does then " show likest God " when, firm in
the consciousness of rectitude, and strong in confidence in
Christ, it stands unmoved amid the tumults of the people,
bidding them calm defiance, and realizing the picture of the
poet: " As some tall cliff that lifts its awful form,
Swells from the vale and midway leaves the storm,
Though round its breast the rolling clouds are spread,
Eternal sunshine settles on its head."
Seek to have this purity of conscience and this firmness of
faith ; for he may well confront the howling multitude, or
brave the dungeon and the stake, who is assured of these
three possessions — a good God, a good conscience, and at
good cause.

XVIII.
THE DOCTRINAL EPISTLES.
Acts xx., i-i6.
IN the opening verses of the twentieth chapter of the
Book of The Acts we have a condensed summary of the
journeyings of Paul during a period of about twelve months.
But by a diligent use of the materials incidentally furnished
in some of his epistles, we are able to fill in very largely
the interesting details over which the historian passes with
out either specification or remark. As we have already
seen,* Paul had three things in his purpose : first, to go
through Macedonia and Achaia ; second, to go to Jerusalem ;
and third, to visit Rome. When, therefore, he left Ephesus,
it was not in consequence of the uproar, or because he was
afraid of his life, but simply in fulfilment of his design. His
departure was neither hasty nor stealthy; but as formerly,
at Corinth, he called the brethren together, and addressed
and embraced them before he set out. About the same time,
also, we may infer that Aquila and Priscilla left Ephesus
and went to Rome ; for they were in that city when, nine or
ten months later, the Epistle to the Romans was written. "f
According to the statement of the historian, the apostle,
before the occurrence of the Ephesian riot, J had sent on
Timothy and Erastus to Macedonia in advance of himself ;
and, as we conclude from a passage which we shall present
ly quote, Titus had been despatched direct to Corinth some
* Acts xix., 21. t Rom. xvi., 3. X Acts xix., 22.
IS

336 Paul the Missionary.
time previously, that he might learn what effect the First Epis
tle to the Corinthians had produced, and bring back a report
to Paul. The company which left Ephesus with the apostle,
therefore, would probably comprise Gaius and Aristarchus,
who belonged to Macedonia, and Tychicus and Trophi
mus, who were natives or at least residents of Ephesus.*
They did not proceed to Neapolis direct by sea, but made
for Troas, the place hallowed to Paul by his vision of the
man of Macedonia, who cried, " Come over and help us !"
Our information concerning this visit is derived from a pas
sage in the Second Epistle to the Corinthians,t which is to
the following effect : " Furthermore, when I came to Troas
to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened unto me
of the Lord, I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not
Titus my brother ; but taking my leave of them, I went from
thence into Macedonia."
Now here some very instructive and some very touching
things come out. In the first place, we note with interest
that Paul found a promising field of usefulness at Troas ;
and he must have cultivated it with diligence, for, on his
return to the place some months later, we find a large and
eager congregation waiting on his ministrations. To one
familiar, as perhaps we may suppose that Paul was, with
those grand old Homeric ballads that " tell the tale of Troy
divine," there would be many things of antiquarian interest
in that locality; but all these were secondary, and subordi
nate to the great object which the apostle had before him.
To him a living man was of more importance than a buried
city ; and his absorbing work was to preach Christ to the
perishing. But, though everything at Troas was encouraging, we are
rather surprised to find that Paul was restless in spirit, and
* Compare Acts xx., 4, with xix., 29. t 2 Cor. ii., 12, 13.

The Doctrinal Epistles. 337
had little heart to stay. One reason for that was, because
his mind was greatly exercised about the state of the Co
rinthian church, concerning which he was tempted to fear the
worst, because Titus had not yet returned, as had been ar
ranged, to inform him of the effect which his letter had pro
duced. We should err, however, if we supposed that his de
pression of spirit was caused by anxiety for that one church.
On the contrary, he saw in the divisions of Corinth, taken in
connection with the controversy which had arisen former
ly at Antioch, and the state of things which had developed
among the churches of Galatia, the great coming danger of
the Church of Christ. The question, as Howson has well
remarked, was rapidly becoming this : " Is the Church of
Christ to degenerate into a mere Jewish sect ? or is it to be
a spiritual and universal society, open to every one who be
lieves in Jesus ?"* and as the apostle saw his ritualistic ad
versaries following him everywhere, and sowing the seeds
of discord and of error, we may understand his distress.
" What !" does some one say, " Paul burdened with anxiety,
and made restless by suspense !" Yes, it is even so ; for,
though he wrote " Be careful for nothing ; but in everything
by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your re
quests be made known unto God. And the peace of God,
which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus ;" he was not a perfect saint,
and did not always act upon his own exhortation, or live up
to his high privilege. But in justice to him, let it be mark
ed that his restlessness of spirit was not about himself, but
about the Church. Like Eli, he " trembled for the ark of
God;" and though the source of fretting and worry is al
ways unbelief, yet it is a nobler thing to be concerned for
the purity of the Church than for one's own safety.
* Conybeare and Howson, vol. ii., p. 91.

338 Paul the Missionary.
It is to be remembered, too, that in Paul's case, there
were physical as well as spiritual causes for his desponden
cy. He had been uninterruptedly engaged for three years,
almost night and day, in Ephesus, in wearing and fatiguing
work ; and all who know what mental toil is, especially when,
as in the pastorate, there are constant demands made upon
the sympathies, will admit that his physical constitution
must have been considerably unstrung. Add to this the
fact that he had just passed through a very severe illness ;
for he writes,* " We would not, brethren, have you ignorant
of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were press
ed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we de
spaired even of life." Now, whatever that illness was, it had
been evidently very alarming ; and when we take that into
consideration, and remember the strain to which he had
been subjected in connection with the Ephesian uproar, we
shall more readily comprehend how he came to be in such
distress. But, however we may explain his restlessness of spirit, we
must add that it was sorely rebuked by the result ; for, as
we shall presently see, when Titus did meet him in Mace
donia, he brought such a report as at once relieved his mind
and gladdened his heart. Thus Paul had been all the while
tormenting himself, so far as the Corinthians were concern
ed, about that which never occurred ! But who among us is
guiltless of the same sin, or may righteously cast a stone at
him for his weakness ? We are all prone to anticipate evils,
and to vex ourselves needlessly about things which either
may not happen or will not happen. We make crosses for
ourselves by meeting things before we come to them ; and
more than half of our perplexities we manufacture for our
selves out of presentiments that are never realized. We go
* 2 Cor. i., 8.

The Doctrinal Epistles. 339
through the gray dawn of the morning, saying, like the wom
en on the way to the sepulchre, "Who shall roll us away the
stone ?" and when we come up to it, we find that it has been
already removed. We are continually disquieting ourselves
as to how we shall cross the river; and when we reach it,
we find a ford or a ferry, or perhaps even a bridge. Ah,
how God reproves our faithlessness and our fear, by letting
us see that he has arranged all things for us beforehand, so
that they work together for our good ! Whosoever among
you, therefore, is troubled or perplexed, let him trust in the
Lord. Let him, in the expressive language of the Hebrew
prophet, " stay upon his God." Worry is not only useless,
but it is needless and unbelieving ; for the Lord careth for
us, and would have us be without carefulness. Why, then,
should we torment ourselves even with present troubles, to
say nothing of those which have not yet made their appear
ance ? Beautifully has one sung :
" O Lord, how happy we should be,
Could we but cast our care on thee,
If we from self could rest !
If we could feel that One above,
In perfect wisdom, perfect love,
Is working for the best."
Unable to rest at Troas, Paul pushed forward to Mace
donia, judging that Titus would return from Corinth by that
route. As before, he would sail over to Neapolis, and then
proceed to Philippi ; and we may easily imagine with what
feelings of gratitude and affection he would greet the breth
ren who had repeatedly cheered him by ministering in*"a
most substantial manner to his wants. But in spite of the
fellowship of these friends, his anxiety remained ; for he
says, in the letter already quoted from, " When we were come
into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled

340 Paul the Missionary.
on every side ; without were fightings, within were fears."*
Poor Paul! why should he have had these "fears within?"
He was not perfect, after all. In the loftiest attributes of
his character, he so towers above us that we despair of
reaching the altitude which he attained ; but in his moments
of weakness he comes very near us, and we love him in the
latter just as much as we admire him in the former.
At length, however, Titus arrived, and brought with him
the report that the members of the Corinthian church had
manifested, on the whole, a Christian spirit ; had cast out the
impure person from their fellowship ; and had given Titus
himself such a welcome as to show that the great majority
of the converts were still heartily attached to Paul, and to
the doctrines which he had taught. These tidings lifted
at once the load from the heart of the apostle. His spirits
recovered their wonted cheerfulness, and his step regained
its elasticity, so that he could write, " God that comforteth
those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of
Titus ; and not by his coming only, but by the consolation
. wherewith he was comforted in you, when he told us your
earnest desire, your mourning, your fervent mind toward
me ; so that I rejoiced the more."f But Titus brought
also the information that there was still a small minority in
the church who resisted Paul's authority and repudiated his
teachings. It would seem that this party was composed
chiefly of Jews ; for in referring to them the apostle says,
" Are they Hebrews ? so am I ;"t and it is likely that they
were ranged under a particular leader ;«f or in at least one
passage Paul speaks as if with pointed reference to some
well-known individual^ This heresiarch was probably a
man of commanding presence and eloquent utterance, who

* 2 Cor. vii., 5. t 2 Cor. vii., 6, 7.
X 2 Cor. xi., 22. § 2 Cor. xi., 3.

The Doctrinal Epistles. 341
set himself by every means in his power to undermine the
influence of the apostle, and was not above turning to ac
count for that purpose the insignificant appearance and hes
itating speech of Paul* It would appear, also, that he went
so far as to deny the apostleship of Paul. In these circum
stances, though he was glad to hear the report which Titus
brought concerning the condition of the church as a whole,
he felt that he could not visit it personally until he had given
a full exposition and vindication of the position which he
held. Hence he wrote, probably from Philippi, the Second
Epistle to the Corinthians, in which we have so many inter
esting autobiographical details, and by which he has irref-
ragably demonstrated his apostolic authority.
It consists of two portions easily distinguishable from
each other. The one is addressed to the humble, docile,
and penitent members of the church. The other is direct
ed to those who sought to undermine his influence and over
throw his doctrines. In the former we have a manifesta
tion of his gentleness, as he labors with almost tearful itera
tion to remove any painful misunderstanding which Inight
have been produced by his former letter. In the latter we
have a specimen of his sternness, as with scathing irony -
and withering logic he exposes the insinuations and demol
ishes the arguments of his antagonists. The epistle thus
presents two opposite aspects of the apostle's character —
to wit, his affectionate yearning over those whom he recog
nized as the friends of the Lord Jesus, and his uncompro
mising antagonism to those in whose enmity to himself he
saw only the development of their hostility to Christ. With
this two-sidedness, it resembles a mountain, which in the
one direction slopes gradually down into a lovely valley, fur
nishing pleasant pasture for the " nibbling flocks ;" and in
* 2 Cor. x., 10, 11.

342 Paul the Missionary.
the other is a sheer basaltic precipice rising in rugged ab
ruptness from the deep defile, and frowning like a fortress
on every beholder. It gives more details of his spiritual
experience, and more particulars of his missionary advent
ures than any other of his epistles, and crowns the list of
personal allusions with that description of his mysterious
elevation to paradise, and its equally mysterious sequel —
the thorn in the flesh — which have exercised and baffled
the ingenuity of interpreters in every age. It lacks the sys
tematic arrangement of his more doctrinal letters ; but in
the eager nervousness of its appeals there is something
that is suggestive of the earnest solicitude and painful sus
pense out of which it was produced ; and no one can read
it without feeling his heart go out in loving response to its
author. With this letter he sent Titus,* and two deputies whose
names are not mentioned, but who are thus alluded to :t
" We have sent with him the brother, whose praise is in the
gospel throughout all the churches; and not that only, but
who was also chosen of the churches to travel with us with
this grace, which is administered by us to the glory of the
same Lord, and declaration of your ready mind. . . . And
we have sent with them our brother, whom we have often
times proved diligent in many things, but now much more
diligent, upon the great confidence which I have in you."
The motive for his sending these brethren, however, was not
simply that they should be the bearers of his letter, but also
that they might expedite the collection which he was desir
ous of making among the Corinthians for the poor saints
at Jerusalem. And as this is perhaps the most appropriate
opportunity which we shall have of adverting to that sub
ject, we shall devote a few minutes to its consideration.
* 2 Cor. viii., 16-18. t 2 Cor. viii., 18, 19, 22.

The Doctrinal Epistles. 343
At the meeting of the apostles and elders at Jerusalem,
after the settlement for the time of the circumcision contro
versy, the " pillars "* requested Paul to remember the poor ;
and though he had always been forward to attend to them,
his heart was now specially set on carrying a generous con
tribution from the Gentile churches to the destitute mem
bers of the church at Jerusalem. Probably there was at
this time particular need for such assistance ; for, like In
dia and China to-day, Palestine was liable to famines from
drought, causing wide-spread suffering both in want and dis
ease. But, altogether irrespective of considerations of mere
humanity, Paul wished by this gift to do something which
might produce a better feeling between the Jewish and non-
Jewish elements of the primitive church. He saw, with pro
found sorrow, the breach which was daily widening between
the two ; and though, for the truth's sake, he was constrain
ed to oppose the Judaizers, yet he wished, in some tangible
and effective manner, to show his own love for his kinsmen
according to the flesh, and to manifest the interest which
the Gentile converts felt in their brethren at Jerusalem.
This could be best done by a pecuniary offering to the ne
cessitous among them, and therefore he stirred up his friends
in the cities of Asia, Macedonia, and Achaia to make con
tributions on their behalf. Judging from the references in
his letters to this subject, and from the names of those who
went with him to represent the Gentiles in Jerusalem, we
infer that the scheme was taken up by the brethren in Phi
lippi, Berea, Thessalonica, Derbe, Ephesus, and Corinth.
The mode in which he advocated this collection, and the
measures which he took to secure that there should be nei
ther suspicion nor dissatisfaction in the case, are alike re
markable, It wa§ to be a voluntary offering ; but to induce

P Gal. ii., 9, 10.
*5*

344 Paul the Missionary.
them to give more liberally, he >begs the Corinthians to re
member that " God loveth a cheerful giver;" that "he that
soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully;" and that,
since God had sent them spiritual blessings through the
Jews, it was meet that they should in return minister to the
Jews in temporal things; yet though he refers in glowing
terms of unqualified universality to the benefits which their
sincere liberality would secure to them, he is careful to put
uppermost the great, all - dominating Christian motive in
these words : " For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he be
came poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich."*
The manner in which he wished the collection to be made
was that of weekly storing. As he has said, " Upon the first
day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as
God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when
I come."t This was a plan which would make their benev
olence, as Howson$ admirably observes, "equally remote
from the excitement of mere popular appeals, and the mere
impulse " of instinct. It suggested that each member of the
church should have a private storing-place, into which, every
Lord's-day, out of love to Him whose resurrection that day
commemorated, he should put a sum according " as God
had prospered him ;" and that when Paul came these should
all be brought out and given to certain persons approved
by the church, who should accompany him to Jerusalem
and hand them over to the elders there. This method,
therefore, was not precisely that which is usually called the
weekly offering among us ; for it was not a public giving in
connection with the services of the church, but a private
storing at home ; and I cannot help observing that if each
of us were to have in his closet a benevolent fund, to which
* 2 Cor. viii., 9. t 1 Cor. xvi., 2. J Vol. ii., p. 123.

The Doctrinal Epistles. 345
he added a portion every Lord's-day, and the whole of which
he regarded as God's, while he accepted for himself only
the responsibility of dividing the entire amount among the
various objects brought before him, we should all know far
more than we do now of the luxury of giving.
The measures which Paul took for the administration of
these funds were the following : Each church was to choose
one or more deputies into whose hands the contributions
were to be placed, and the whole company of these dele
gates were to go with Paul to Jerusalem. The apostle was
exceedingly guarded in this matter. It was not enough that
he should not be accused of any malfeasance ; it was indis
pensable that he should not be even suspected, and so, as
far as appears, he never touched the smallest coin that was
collected ; for thus he writes :* " Whomsoever ye shall apr
prove by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberal
ity unto Jerusalem." Accordingly, in the names mentioned
in the section of history now before us,f we have represent
ative men from many churches ; while Luke, who joined the
band again on the return of Paul from Corinth to Philippi,
was most probably the deputy from Philippi.
These details are something more than interesting. They
are exceedingly instructive, and furnish us with an example
of benevolence, of system, and of wisdom, which we may
profitably follow.
But, returning from this digression, and resuming the his
tory of the apostle, we find that after Titus had gone to
Corinth with the second epistle, Paul went — so we read in
Acts xx., 2 — " over those parts and gave them much exhor
tation ;" that is to say, he visited once more Thessalonica
and Berea, and exhorted the churches in these cities. But
he also widened his sphere of operations, so as to include
* 1 Cor. xvi., 3. t Acts xx., 4.

346 Paul the Missionary.
places which he had never before visited. We infer so
much from a statement made by him a few months later, in
his Epistle to the Romans,* to the effect that " from Jeru
salem, and round about unto Illyricum, he had fully preach
ed the gospel of Christ." Now, Illyricum was the province
next to Macedonia ; and the only opportunity he had of en
tering that district prior to his writing of the letter in which
the above statement occurs, was that of the interval between
his landing in Macedonia and visiting Greece as here re
corded. After this tour, having allowed, perhaps, three months to
elapse from the date of his second letter to the Christians
there, he went to Corinth. He anticipated some little un
pleasantness on his arrival, and was prepared to deal firm
ly and faithfully, if need be also sternly, with the disaffected
party ; but we are not anywhere informed of the issue, and
cannot tell whether his presentiment was verified or falsi
fied by the results. If, however, we may take the letter of
Clement, written many years after, as giving an accurate de
scription of the state of the church at this time, we may be
lieve that the wise fortitude and Christian tact of the apos
tle were of great service in restoring its peace and main
taining its purity. These are Clement's words : " Who that
visited you did not admire your sober and gentle piety in
Christ ? for ye did all things without respect of persons,
and walked in the laws of God, obeying those who were set '
over you ; and ye were all humble-minded, subjecting your
selves rather than subjecting others. Thus a deep and
blessed calm was diffused over all, and an insatiable long
ing for well-doing, and a plentiful outpouring of the Holy
Spirit. All faction and all schism was detestable in your
sight." * Rom. xv., 19.

The Doctrinal Epistles. 347
But, however Paul might be engaged with the Corinthians,
it was, according to the belief of the best critics in their
city, and at this time, that he wrote two of his most impor
tant letters. Messengers came to him from Galatia detail
ing to him the grievous condition of the churches in that
province, torn as they were by dissensions caused by the
same Judaizing emissaries who had troubled Corinth, and
he at once transmitted to them that epistle with which we
are all so familiar.
Struck out of him by his discovery of the fact that every
where the enemies of the Gospel were on his track seeking
to undo his work, this letter has a vehemence which is pe
culiar to itself. Beginning with an autobiographic vindica
tion of his apostolic position, he passes on through the his
tory of his contention with Peter to a close and compact
argument designed to prove that, by the deeds of the law,
no flesh living can be justified. Then he proceeds to un
fold the way of salvation through Jesus Christ. He de
clares that, inasmuch as the Gospel was virtually preached
to Abraham, the law of Moses could not annul it ; and he
concludes with a series of pertinent, practical appeals. As
we can trace the marks of volcanic fires on the rocks which
some great convulsion has upheaved, so we can clearly dis
cern the effects of Paul's inner feelings in the style and ar
gument which he has here employed. Indignation at the
troublers ; sorrow, surprise, and displeasure at the conduct
of his old friends ; yearnings after their return, interblended
with dissatisfaction at their departure from the faith ; scorn
at the accusations which had been brought against himself,
and deepest anguish at the dishonor which had been done
to Christ— all these emotions were simultaneously at work
within him, and we can see the traces of them all in the
letter itself. The " arrows of its thoughts " are " headed
and winged with flame." It is characterized by passionate

348 Paul the Missionary.
energy, scathing invective, rapid movement, parental ten
derness, and condensed power. It is logic on fire, and its
arguments scorch those who refuse to be convinced. As
Douglas of Cavers has said, " The mind of Paul [in it] is
rapid as the lightning, and yet strikes, by its zigzag impetu
osity, every projecting point that approaches its path ; and,
still undelayed by these deflections, attains instantaneously
the goal."* The sternness of its reproof, however, as many
of its passages attest, is but the other side of love ; and even
its personal references are to be accounted for by his long
ing for the return of those who had gone back, by his zeal
for the purity of the Gospel, and by his enthusiastic devo
tion to the cause of Christian liberty.
About the same time he wrote the Epistle to the Romans,
whose origin may be thus accounted for. He found in the
neighboring church of Cenchrea a devout woman — Phoebe
by name — who was about to proceed to Rome on some busi
ness of her own ;f and he availed himself of the opportunity
to send with her a letter to the Christians of that city. It
is true that he had not himself founded the church in the
metropolis, and indeed had not, up till this time, visited it ;
but, as we may see from the numerous salutations with which
the epistle concludes, he had many friends among its mem
bers, and we need not wonder that, after the news which he
had just heard from Galatia, he was exceedingly desirous to
save them from the danger of being imposed on by the ad
versaries who had wrought such havoc elsewhere. Accord
ingly he sent them that letter, wherein argument and expe
rience, instruction and exhortation, doxology and benedic
tion, are so admirably interblended. It may be regarded as
the elaboration of the argument which is briefly epitomized
* Quoted by Dr. John Brown, in his " Discourses on the Epistle to the
Galatians," p. 10. t Rom. xvi., I.

The Doctrinal Epistles. 349
in the Epistle to the Galatians. As Lightfoot has express
ed it in his own clear - cut fashion, " In the Galatians the
apostle flashes out in indignant remonstrance the first eager
thoughts kindled by his zeal for the Gospel, striking sudden
ly against a stubborn form of Judaism. To the Romans he
writes at leisure, under no pressure of circumstances, in the
face of no direct antagonism, explaining, completing, extend
ing the teachings of the earlier letter, by giving it a double
edge against Jew and Gentile alike."* It is not so much a
letter as a treatise ; and if we may compare inspired pro
ductions after such a fashion, we may say that it is the most
original and massive of the apostolic epistles. It has at
once the solidity and the completeness of a pyramid. Look
ed at from afar, it seems to be smooth and inaccessible in
its outline ; but when we approach it, we discover a series
of successive steps up which we may climb with a little
effort, and after we have reached the summit a whole land
scape of truth is unfolded to our gaze. Its logic is relent
less, as it concludes all men under sin ; but its love is lim
itless, as it declares that we are justified freely by God's
grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. What
a depth of experience does the seventh chapter describe
as we hear him cry, " O wretched man that I am, who shall
deliver me from the body of this death ?" How like the
lark, again, he ascends in the eighth chapter, singing as
he soars until he reaches the very gate of heaven ! What
wisdom he evinces in the handling of the deep things of
God's government ! And what a blending of love with
faithfulness there is in the manifold exhortations with which
he concludes ! Truly a marvellous and unique epistle, to
be compared to no other literary production, but standing
out in solitary grandeur like some Gibraltar rock, with its
* Lightfoot, on " The Epistle to the Galatians," p, 49.

35°

Paul the Missionary.

galleries and batteries fortified for the defence of a whole
continent of truth.
After three months' labors in Achaia, and just on the eve
of the Jewish passover, Paul prepared to leave Corinth ; but
learning that a plot had been concocted to take away his
life, he changed his route at the eleventh hour, and instead
of going directly by sea to Syria, he went round through
Macedonia to Philippi, whence he sent his companions for
ward to Troas, but he himself stayed with Luke for a few
days longer. Then, taking with him "the beloved physician "
— from whom henceforth he was scarcely separated until
his death — he took ship, and after a tedious voyage of five
days he joined his friends at Troas. Here he remained for
seven days, the last of which was the first day of the week,
hallowed by its association with the resurrection of the Lord.
Even at that early date, the custom had begun for believers
to assemble on that day for the observance of the Lord's-
supper ; and on this occasion Paul preached. We know
his theme would centre in Christ, but the circumstance that
his discourse was a parting one filled his heart with tender
ness and affection, and he felt as if he could not leave off.
He " continued his speech until midnight ;" and out of that
came an accident which might have had a fatal termination.
The congregation was assembled in an upper room. There
was a large company, and there were many lamps. This
made it needful to open the windows, or lattices, for ventila
tion. On the sill of one of these windows, which was not
much higher than the floor of the room, a young man named
Eutychus sat. Under the influence of the glare of the lights
and the poison in the atmosphere, he went to sleep, and fell
into the court from the third loft, or story, of the house.
When they lifted him up he seemed dead ; and my impres
sion from the narrative is that he was actually dead. But
Paul went down, stretched himself upon the body after the

The Doctrinal Epistles. 351
manner of Elijah, and declared that his life was in him ;
then, returning to the upper room, he resumed his discourse,
which continued till daybreak.
In the morning his companions took ship, and, rounding
a promontory, came to Assos ; but Paul, wishing perhaps a
lonely walk, that he might commune with his own heart and
have fellowship with his Lord, went the twenty-three miles
on foot ; and being taken on board by his friends again,
he coasted along first to Mitylene, and thence by Samos to
Miletus, where for the present we must leave him.
Reviewing, for practical purposes, the course of our ex
position this evening, we note, in the first place, Paul's con
cern for the simplicity of the Gospel of Christ. He would
let nothing interfere with that. He proclaimed salvation
through faith in the Lord Jesus, and pronounced in his
Galatian letter a solemn anathema on all who should at
tempt to overlay, or tamper with, or destroy the precious
doctrine of justification by faith. Now, the danger in our
days, unless I greatly misread the signs of the times, is of a
similar sort. In our zeal for liberality we are becoming lat-
itudinarian, and forgetting that there is a point where, para
doxical as it may sound, intolerance is necessary even in the
interests of freedom. Paul's letters to the Galatians and
the Romans were written for the preservation of liberty; for
in one of them he says, " Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty
wherewith Christ hath made us free ;" and yet, for the very
purpose of maintaining that liberty, he hurled his anathemas
at the Judaizers' heads. Let us not forget that the Gospel
has its intolerance as well as its toleration. We may, and
we should, exercise the fullest forbearance in minor matter!,
but there must be no toleration of treason to the Cross, for
the toleration of such treason is always treachery. I say
not, indeed, that all such errors should be put down by force
— God forbid ; but I do say that they should be denounced

352 Paul the Missionary.
by every loyal servant of the Lord, and that the Church
should absolve itself from all complicity with the errorists.
And though there are many who would cry out against such
a course as bigoted, I would rather, even in the interests of
freedom itself, have — if you choose to call it so — the bigot
ry of Paul than the indifference of him who counts nothing
essential, and who is everything by turns and nothing long.
Luther was no foe to freedom, but indeed its greatest mod
ern pioneer ; and in the proportion in which, like him, we
are intolerant of everything that compromises the honor of
Christ or the doctrine of his cross, we shall conserve and
widen the liberty which he did so much to secure. So, let
us raise anew the shout of Paul, making it our motto, not
for the moment of our brief enthusiasm merely, but for all
our lives, "God forbid that I should glory save in the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified
unto me, and I unto the world."
But we note, secondly, Paul's zeal for the purity of the
Christian life. At first sight it might appear that the doc
trine of salvation by grace through faith without the deeds
of the law would loosen the bonds of morality ; and, indeed,
as we may see from the argument in the letter to the Romans,
it had been alleged that his teachings would lead men to
say, " Let us sin, that grace may abound." But such a per
version of his instructions is warmly repudiated by the apos
tle, and he shows most clearly, not only by the argument of
his sixth and seventh chapters in that letter, but also by his
dealings with the Corinthians concerning one who had been
guilty of an abominable offence, and by the practical pre
cepts in which all his epistles abound, that he is not opposed
to good works, but indeed an ardent advocate for them when
they are put in their right place. He insists, however, that
their right place is not the meritorious ground of our ac
ceptance with God, but the grateful outcome of our love

The Doctrinal Epistles. 353
to God, who has already accepted us for Christ's sake. So
regarded, he is " zealous of good works," and uses every
proper motive to stimulate us in the performance of them.
He declares that we are to be justified by faith alone ; but
then he is careful to bring out that the faith which justifies
is a faith which worketh by love. And in this we have the
principle of harmony between him and James. Luther, in
deed, could never be persuaded to accept the epistle of
James as inspired, because it seemed to him to run counter
to the doctrine of Paul ; and he called it, therefore, an epis
tle of straw. But that was because the valiant reformer
did not go quite round the subject ; for had he done so, he
would have seen that, while Paul dwells mainly on the ground
of the sinner's justification, and affirms that works can never
furnish that, James is arguing on the nature of faith, and al
leges that the faith which justifies is not a mere make-be
lieve, but a living thing whose vitality is shown by its works.
Paul says we are justified by faith, and James contends that
the faith which justifies must not be a dead thing — a faith
without works — but a faith shown by works ; and for that,
as we have seen, Paul is as zealous as James. In short, to
borrow the admirable illustration of Arnot, the two apostles
are contending with different antagonists. They are like
two men set upon at once by assailants from opposite di
rections. Thus they stand back to back, and strike out in
opposite ways, but they are themselves in perfect harmony ;
and the Church is safe only when she teaches with Paul,
and works with James. So let us be earnest in our cultiva
tion of holiness, that we may show forth the praises of Him
who hath called us out of darkness into his marvellous light!
Finally, we cannot help touching on Paul's earnestness
in the development of liberality. He was not ashamed to
speak about a contribution, and he brought the highest mo
tives and the shrewdest wisdom to bear upon this matter.
Would that he were among us again, to instil into us *Un

354 Paul the Missionary.
great principles concerning giving which he has laid down
in his letters ; for the Church has never yet developed, to
any proper extent, its money power, and its failure in that
respect helps very largely to account for the comparatively
small progress it has made in the evangelization of the
world. In this city alone there are every year expended on
the single article of strong drink somewhere about fifty mill
ions of dollars — a sum which is far in excess of the aggre
gate annual income of all the great missionary societies in
the land ; and yet when an appeal is made for contributions
in our churches, the members count it an affliction instead
of a privilege, and give too often grumblingly and by con
straint. Now, this would not be the case if we had a suffi
cient realization of our obligation to Christ for our person
al salvation, and if we adopted some system for the regu
lation of our gifts. We look upon the whole matter of
making contributions as if it were a merely optional thing ;
whereas in truth it is required of us by the most sacred ob
ligations, and ought to be regarded by us as one of the reg
ular and normal forms of Christian activity. Nay, more, we
cannot forget that throughout the letters to which this even
ing I have been referring, Paul speaks of the contribution
to the Jewish saints precisely as he speaks of the Lord's-
supper — as a communion. It ranks thus, in his regard, as
on a level with the highest form of Christian worship ; and
they who disregard it are dishonoring Christ, while at the
same time they are depriving themselves of one of the great
est privileges, for " it is more blessed to give than to receive."
Brethren, let us think on these things, and so long as we
are receiving, let us be willing to communicate, remember
ing these verses of accumulated universalities : " God is able
to make all grace abound toward you ; that ye, always hav
ing all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good
work. . . . Being enriched in everything to all bountifulness,
which causeth through us thanksgiving to God."

XIX.
THE PARTING ADDRESS.
Acts xx., 17-38.
MILETUS, once the capital of Ionia, was situated on
the Latmian Gulf, opposite to, and in a direction due
west from the mouth of the winding Meander. It was about
thirty - six miles from Ephesus ; and though the filling up
of its harbor by the soil washed down by the river had
greatly interfered with its commerce, it was still, in the apos
tle's day, a place of some importance. As he coasted along
from Chios to Trogyllium, and passed the mouth of the
Cayster, it was impossible for Paul to forget the friends
whom he had left in Ephesus ; but he could not stay to
visit them then, for he had resolved to reach Jerusalem be
fore Pentecost. Finding, however, that the ship had to re
main at Miletus for a few days, he sent to Ephesus and re
quested the elders of the church there to come to him.
They gladly responded to his invitation, and when they had
come, he delivered to them the address which is to form
the subject for exposition this evening. Luke seems to
have preserved it for us in the very words in which it was
originally given ; for we find in it turns of expression and
modes of thought which we frequently come upon in the
apostle's letters. But, altogether apart from such coinci-'
dences with his other productions, it has a quality which is
peculiar to itself. For depth of pathos and fervor of appeal,
it seems to me to be well-nigh unrivalled even in Holy Writ.
It quivers all through with emotion. There is love in every

356 Paul the Missionary.
sentence, and a tear in every tone. We cannot read it with
out a choking utterance and a moistened eye ; and when we
reach its conclusion, we do not wonder that those to whom
it was first addressed "wept sore, and fell upon his neck
and kissed him." Indeed, such is our appreciation of its
exquisite tenderness, that it seems to us to be almost too
sacred for exposition ; and we fear to say anything in illus
tration or enforcement of its meaning, lest we should de
stroy the impression which the mere perusal of it must al
ways produce. But the topics which it suggests are so im
portant, and the example which it gives is so sublime, that
we are constrained, even at the hazard which we have men
tioned, to enter somewhat fully on its consideration.
It may be arranged under four divisions, namely, a retro
spect of his own labors at Ephesus ; a prospect of the trials
and difficulties that lay before him ; an exhortation to the
elders in regard both to themselves and to the church un
der their care ; and a commendation of them to God and
to the word of his grace. But though these divisions are
clearly enough marked, they are not thoroughly maintained.
You cannot confine emotion between any methodical lines.
It is not like a canal which is capable of embankment, and
may be carried forward in straight lines along a carefully
surveyed route, but rather like a river which runs now with
rapid current, now with deep and noiseless flow, and which
ever and anon turns back upon itself in meandering "links,"
while yet its course in the main is onward. It will not be
possible, therefore, while observing the order of topics which
I have announced, to take the verses in their original se
quence; yet I may be able so to present to you the sub
stance of the discourse itself, that you may see very deeply
into the heart of him who spoke it.
Let us take then, first of all, his retrospect of his Ephe
sian ministry ; and here I place in the fore-front his refer-

The Parting Address. 357
ences to the character of his teachings. They are such as
these : " I have gone among you preaching the kingdom of
God ;" " I have taught you publicly, testifying to the Jews
and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith
toward our Lord Jesus Christ." And in speaking of the
great design of his ministry, he sums it up as consisting in
this : "To testify the gospel of the grace of God." Thus he
declared the good news of God's love as righteously shown
to sinners through the Lord Jesus Christ; he proclaimed
that men should change their minds toward God, and in or
der to move them to that, he set before them the evidence
of God's love to them, in the gift of his Son for their salva
tion. In this way, by bringing them to faith toward our
Lord Jesus Christ, he led them also to repentance toward
God ; and when they thus returned to him, he taught them
that they entered into that kingdom of which he is the
head, and which is " not meat nor drink, but righteousness
and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost." These were the
truths the preaching of which, being accompanied by the
" demonstration of the Spirit and of power," effected such
results that sorcerers burnt their books of magic, and re
nounced their deeds of deceit ; and gave such a blow to
idolatry as filled Demetrius and his craftsmen with alarm.
I do not mean to allege, indeed, that for three years his dis
courses were nothing but a continuous repetition of the fact
that salvation comes to men through faith in Him who hath
redeemed us with his precious blood, but rather that he
sought always to unfold the principles which underlie the
Cross of Christ, and to apply them to the circumstances of
his hearers. He did not restrict himself to certain conven
tional forms of speech, or ring the changes on some recog
nized formula? of doctrine ; but whatever he touched, he
touched with the Cross, and so connected it with Him who
died thereon, as to bring his love as a constraining motive,

358 Paul the Missionary.
either for its repudiation as dishonoring to him, or for its
observance as tending to his glory. Thus the doctrinal
and the practical were inseparably interblended ; and the
Christ whom he preached was the Life and the Light of
men. In this presentation of the Saviour the apostle was con
spicuous for his tenderness. He served the Lord among
the Ephesians " with many tears ;" and again, " he ceased
not to warn every one night and day with tears." Dauntless
hero as he was when he needed to stand forth as the cham
pion of the truth, his heart was yet full of compassion for
the ignorant and them that were out of the way. But his
tenderness was no mere sentiment, for it was the result of
his faith ; and having learned the value of his own soul, he
was eager to keep others from that shipwreck from which
there is no salvage. Thus his very love to men stimulated
him to be faithful with them. Hear him again : " I kept
back nothing that was profitable unto you." " I take you
to record this day that I am pure from the blood of all men.
For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel
of God." " I ceased not to warn every one." To a super
ficial observer it might seem that fidelity and tenderness are
incompatible with each other ; but when we go deeper down
we discover that in the noblest natures the one is the root
out of which the other springs, and when the two exist to
gether, the combination is as beautiful as it is effective.
With most of us it is either all tenderness or all sternness ;
but when the most awful denunciations of sin come from
one who is known to be gentle and affectionate in his char
acter, there is a power in them which no trick of elocution
can simulate ; and when the kindest expressions come from
one whose uncompromising principle will not let him sacri
fice truth to amiability, there is a genuineness about them
which lifts them as high above the conventionalities of po-

The Parting Address. 359
liteness as heaven is above earth. But with these apparently
opposite qualities there was combined in our apostle a deep
humility; for he tells these elders that he "served the Lord
with all humility of mind." He did not work for his own
glory. He sought no honor or place or preferment for him
self. There was in his heart no jealousy of others ; nor could
any one charge him with seeking to depreciate any of his
fellow-laborers, or grudging them the recognition that was
their due. Of course the man who said to Titus, " Let no
man despise thee," would not allow others to trample upon
himself. But he never set up the honor of men as an end
in itself ; and he was not always looking after his dignity.
He never cared to speak about himself save when his own
vindication was essential for the defence of the truth ; for
that with him was uppermost, and everything was subordi
nated by him to his service of the Lord.
Again, we must not fail to note the industry of the apos
tle's Ephesian pastorate. He " ceased not to warn every
one night and day with tears." He taught them not only
publicly, but " from house to house." He studied the case
of each individual, and went to each with words in season.
Without intermission and without reluctance he labored on
for the space of three years, that he might keep himself pure
from the blood of them all. Thus his love for souls was the
mainspring of his assiduity; as it was also of his faithfulness ;
and as we read the record of this incessant toil, we are con
strained to say how rarely we have seen on earth a ministry
— I will not say equal to, but worthy to be put in compari
son with this of Paul at Ephesus. Now and then we come
upon a Chrysostom, a Bernard, a Calvin, or a Baxter, who
may almost bear to be placed beside the great apostle ; but
the majority even of the most eminent pastors are put to
shame by the record of this ministry. " Therefore watch,
and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not
16

360 Paul the Missionary.
to warn every one night and day with tears." Well says
the good Adolphe Monod, " I read this verse again and
again. I am never weary of recurring to it. In these tears
of love I see the Christian to the very centre of his being ;
I perceive the apostle to the very end of his career. ' By
the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one of
you night and day with tears.' What a description ! There
is not a feature in it which does not tell. ' Three years,
without losing even one of the days which he had spent at
Ephesus from the beginning of his sojourn until the end — so
much for the time ! ' Night and day,' refreshed or fatigued,
in safety or in peril, in season or out of season — so much for
opportunities ! ' I ceased not ;' without relaxation or inter
ruption — so much for perseverance ! ' Every one,' not only
of the elders of the church at Ephesus, but of its members —
so much for persons ! ' With tears ' — so much for charity !"*
As we linger thus over the touching details, may the Holy
Spirit quicken us, and dispose us to the same unreserved
consecration of our lives to the work of Christ ! Oh for the
living fire from the altar, that we may have enkindled with
in us the zeal of Paul and of his nobler Lord, who said, " I
must work the works of him that sent me while it is day :
the night cometh when no man can work."
But we must not lose sight of the heroism of the apostle's
ministry. He had "trials which befell him by the lying
in wait of the Jews." He labored constantly with his life
in peril. Repeatedly have we seen how he was assailed by
the enemies of the Cross of Christ; and the graphic account
which Luke has given us of the Ephesian riot enables us
to understand the reference which he has here made to the
dangers to which he was exposed. Besides, we must not
forget that it was during his residence in Ephesus that he
* " St. Paul," by Adolphe Monod, as before, pp. 58, 59.

The Parting Address. 361
wrote the letter in which these words occur : " Why stand
we in jeopardy every hour ?" " I die daily ;" and again,
"After the manner of men I have fought with beasts at
Ephesus."* Now, whether we understand this fighting with
beasts literally, or take it as a figurative description- of the
conflicts with adversaries in which he was engaged, there is
enough in it to indicate the sort of antagonism which he was
called to meet. Nor was it only from open attacks like that
which Demetrius headed that he was in danger. The Jews
were plotting against him after their stealthy fashion, and
he knew not when or where they might spring a mine for
his destruction ; yet he held on at his work, not needlessly
provoking his adversaries, nor timidly neglecting his duties
on their account, but calmly prosecuting his steady round
of labor, not quite as if they were not there, but rather in
the consciousness that there was with him One who was
mightier by far than all they that were against him, and in
the faith that there was before him a "crown of righteous
ness that fadeth not away."
Once more, we mark the disinterestedness of Paul's pas
torate. He sought no earthly property or worldly gain
from all his labors. His own hands during these years had
ministered to his necessities, and he could say, " I have cov
eted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel." To the Ephe
sians as to the Corinthians he might have written, " I seek
not yours but you ;" and the only wealth he cared for was
that which has been finely called "property in souls."f He
had the right, as he is careful to let the Corinthians know,
to receive from those whom he taught in the Word a suit
able maintenance while he labored among them, but for cer
tain local and temporary reasons he chose to forego that

* I Cor. xv., 30-32.
t See " Sermons on Living Subjects," by Horace Bushnell, D.D.

362 Paul the Missionary.
claim at Ephesus, as he had done before at Thessalonica and
Corinth ; and so, throughout those three years, he support
ed himself by his trade as a tent-maker. Now, if to all his
pastoral labors we a'dd his toil at his craft, we shall stand
amazed at the magnitude of the work he did, and marvel
how one body — and that, too, frail and feeble at the best —
could endure it all. He did break down, as we saw in our
last discourse, under its weight ; and for so much of his toil
as contravened the laws of his physical nature, he is not to
be commended, but rather to be blamed, for overwork is just
as wrong in a Christian apostle as in an ambitious merchant,
or a brain-burdened editor, or a benevolent physician. Yet
we may not forget that Paul's self-sacrifice was for the high
est interests of others, and not in any sense for his own ag
grandizement ; and there seems little danger in these days
that many should hurt themselves in imitating him. In
any case, the bare contemplation of such a devoted, disinter
ested, and industrious life puts us all to the blush. May it
also quicken us to renewed energy, that at the last we, too
may be able to take men to record that we are " pure from
their blood."
But we must now look at Paul's prospect of the trials and
difficulties that were before him, and the expression which
he gives in this address to his feelings in reference to them.
He describes himself as going " bound in the spirit unto
Jerusalem;" and though it is uncertain whether his words
refer to the Holy Ghost or to his own spirit, yet the meaning
in either case must be that his present journey was made
under a sense of duty so strong that no influence whatever
could induce him to give it up. He was firmly convinced
that it would be wrong for him not to go at this time to Je
rusalem ; and so, without conferring " with flesh and blood,"
he held on his course. And yet, from sundry intimations
made to him, he was led to anticipate the coming upon him

The Parting Address. 363
of some calamity, for he adds, " Not knowing the things
that shall befall me there : save that the Holy Ghost wit
nessed! in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide
me." Certain things had been told him by the prophets
in some of the churches which he had lately visited, even as
we shall find that similar warnings were given him in Tyre
and Caesarea ; but they were vague and indeterminate, spec
ifying only that he should be imprisoned. They did not
particularize that he was to be two years detained at Caes
area ; that he was to be almost the whole of another year
in making a voyage to Rome ; and that for two years more
he was to be in bonds in the imperial city. Enough was
told him to put him on his guard ; but in mercy to him God
did not permit him to know all, lest peradventure he might
have been discouraged. As it was, there was no misgivkig
in his soul, for he says, " None of these things move me,
neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might fin
ish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have re
ceived of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel' of the grace
of God." Sublime words, these ! the native force of which
would only be marred by any attempt on my part to make
them plainer than they are. The sneering Satan once said,
" Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his
life ;" and some have done him the honor to say that when
he so spoke he told the truth for once. But they are wrong.
He has found out very frequently since that there are some
men who cannot be measured by his bushel. Even Job
would not purchase his life by cursing God ; and the three
Hebrew youths who braved the furnace of Nebuchadnezzar
subordinated their love of life to their allegiance to Jehovah.
Daniel, also, counted not his own life dear unto him, that
he might enjoy the privilege of prayer ; and to this illustri
ous roll must be added the names of Peter and John and
Stephen and Paul, and "the noble army of martyrs " in every

364' Paul the Missionary.
generation. These all recognized that there is something
grander and more glorious by far than the life of the body,
and were content to let their earthly existence go that they
might keep their loyalty to their Lord.
Let it be noted, too, that this declaration of Paul comes
out, as it were, incidentally. It has no special emphasis
given to it, as though it was exceptional. In point of fact,
it was not out of the common course of his utterances. He
was always on the altar ; and this was no mere phosphores
cence which shone for a moment and went out into the dark
ness, but rather the steady flame of that fire of consecra
tion which was constantly burning within him. This was no
mere brilliant rhetoric struck out of him by the excitement
of the hour, and characterized by exaggeration. Rather it
was but the reading off to the Ephesian elders of that pur
pose which had been long graven on his heart, and the sin
cerity of which was proved by the events of his after-his
tory. But now, passing from Paul himself, let us consider the
counsels which he tenders to the Ephesian elders. He bids
them take heed to their personal character and to their pub
lic duties. Spiritual efficiency in the ministry depends to a
large extent on what the minister is himself; and so his
first duty is to " take heed " to himself. The power of a
man's words is determined by what the man is, a great deal
more than by the manner in which he says them. Even a
heathen philosopher declared that the first requisite for an
orator is that he should be a good man ; and the noblest
eloquence in the pulpit is the efflorescence of the life of the
preacher. Rhetoric without holiness is but tinsel ; but where
holiness is, it may be safely left to itself to find its own ex
pression, and in that, whatever it be, there will be power.
Besides, it is not to be forgotten that the life of the preach
er is itself a sermon. He is in some sort a representative

The Parting Address. 365
man, and both in the church and out of it others regulate
themselves by his conduct ; therefore he should be specially
on his guard. It may not be of much consequence that the
light of an ordinary chamber window is darkened ; but if
the lamps in yonder twin-towers upon the Highlands should
be unlit even for a single night, some dreadful shipwreck
may be the consequence. Like such a tower, the minister
occupies a public and exalted position. He is set, like his
Master, for the fall and rising of many ; and he ought to
show himself an example of meekness, humility, purity, and
integrity. Blessed is that church whose pastor, after saying,
like Paul, "Whatsoever things are true, honest, just, pure,
loveLy, and of good report, think on these things," can add,
like him also, " Those things which ye have both learned,
and received, and heard, and seen in me, do : and the God
of peace shall be with you."*
The official counsels tendereH to these elders are con
tained in the phrases, " take heed to all the flock," "feed
the church," "watch," "warn;" "so laboring, ye ought to
support the weak ;" and they all point to the fact that every
individual in the church was to be appropriately cared for.
The rich were not to be attended to while the poor were
neglected ; the young were not to be instructed and the
aged forgotten ; the sick were not to be visited while the
healthy were ignored ; but each was to be personally known
and dealt with according to his character and necessity.
Those who were going dangerously near the world were to
be warned in love and faithfulness ; those who were insub
ordinate were to be reproved; those who had been back
sliding were to be gone after and, if possible, reclaimed";
those who had been overtaken in a fault were to be restored
in the spirit of meekness ;' those who were weak were to be
* Phil, iv., 8, 9.

366 Paul the Missionary.
strengthened ; and those who were suffering from want were
to be provided for, out of regard to Him who said, " It is
more blessed to give than to receive."
Very suggestive is it, also, to note the motives by which
these exhortations are enforced. They are such as these:
because they had been made overseers by the Holy Ghost ;
because those over whom they had been set had been pur
chased by the Lord* with his own blood ; and because spe
cial dangers were even then. threatening their charge. "I
know this," says Paul, " that after my departing shall griev
ous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also
of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things,
to draw away disciples after them." Subsequent eyents
clearly showed that the apostle's fears were not unfounded ;
for he warned Timothy, when at a later date he was at Eph
esus, of certain men " who spake lies in hypocrisy, and had
their consciences seared with a hot iron ; forbade to marry,
and commanded to abstain from meats which God had cre
ated to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe
and know the truth."f In the same letter mention is made
of Hymeneus and Alexander, t whom Paul had delivered
unto Satan that they might learn not to blaspheme. In
after- years, § Cerinthus, supposed to be from Alexandria,
promulgated his heresies even before the face of the apostle
John ; and in the epistle to the Church of Ephesus, which
is incorporated in the Book of Revelation, its members are
exhorted to return to their first love, and warned against
the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which was declared to be
abhorrent to the heart of Christ. || The fear lest these
* The reading, " the Church of the Lord," is preferred by most crit
ics ; though there are weighty arguments in favor of " the Church of
God." t I Tim. iv., 2, 3. J 1 Tim. i., 20.
§ See " Paul the Preacher," by Rev. John Eadie, D.D., LL.D., p.337.
B Rev. ii., 1-7.

The Parting Address. 367
things, of which perhaps Paul had already seen the germs
among them, should gain strength, and choke the true life
of the Church, made him earnest in enforcing the counsels
which he now addressed to the elders, yet how delicately
and affectionately he puts them on their guard ! Indeed,
his own dealing with them here was itself a pattern of the
kind of pastorate which he wished them to aim after, having
in it all those elements of warning and instruction, tender
ness and fidelity, precept and example, which he desired
them to cultivate ; and often, during his long imprisonment,
they would recall his words, and animate each other anew
by a rehearsal of their conference with him at Miletus.
But now the time drew near when they must part ; and as
there was no place so appropriate for the saying of farewell
as the mercy-seat, and no act so fitting in connection with
it as that of prayer, " he kneeled down and prayed with them
all." We have no record of the supplications which he of
fered, but they would be without doubt an expansion of the
touching adieu (in the literal sense of the term) expressed
in the words, " And now, brethren, I commend you to God,
and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up,
and to give you an inheritance among all them which are
sanctified." As they felt depressed by the weight of the
responsibilities which had been laid upon them, he would
seek for them the help of the Lord ; and as they sorrowed
" most of all for the words which he spake, that they should
see his face no more," he would seek for them all a happy
reunion in that heavenly home where they should all be
partakers of " the inheritance of the saints in light." Then,
the prayer ended, they " accompanied him unto the ship,"
and as the vessel bore away they gazed with wistful eyes
after it until it was lost to sight on the far horizon.
I cannot conclude without seeking to give point to two
practical lessons suggested by some things in this narrative.
16*

368 Paul the Missionary.
In the first place, we may learn that we ought, at every
sacrifice, to prosecute the work which Christ has given us
to do. Paul's highest ambition was that he might finish his
course with joy, and the ministry which he had received of
the Lord, " to testify the gospel of the grace of God." Now,
it is true that in the fullest sense of the word he was call
ed to an apostleship ; but the humblest among us, in some
department or other, may witness for Christ. The Son of
man has given "to every man his work." There is enough
for us all, and there is a special sphere for each. One
may find his place in the Sunday-school; another in the
mission field ; another, like Harlan Page, in Christian corre
spondence ; another in the home ; and another in the pulpit ;
while we are all called everywhere to bear to him the po
tent testimony of a holy life. But whatever our individual
" course " may be, our aim should be " to finish " it " with
joy ;" and nothing should be permitted to move us from our
obedience to our living Lord, so that at last, like our apos
tle, we may be able to say, " I have fought a good fight, I
have finished my course, I have kept the faith : henceforth
there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the
Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day : and
not to me only, but unto all them also that love his ap
pearing." Let us not imagine, however, that this can be done with
out conflict or sacrifice. Paul had to encounter many dan
gers, to endure many hardships, and to do battle with many
adversaries ; and we may not look for exemption from such
things any more than he. We are ignorant of the future ;
and we have to say every day of our lives that we know not
what shall befall us, yet we may be sure that obstacles of
some kind must be met and overcome by us. They may
not be such bonds and afflictions as awaited Paul in Pales
tine and Rome ; yet it is written for us as well as for others,

The Parting Address. 369
" In the world ye shall have tribulation ;" and again, " All
that will live godly must suffer persecution." In some way
or other, therefore, we shall be made to know Christ " in the
fellowship of his sufferings." So let us prepare to meet an
tagonism with the same calm courage with which Paul con
templated the conflicts that were now before him. We serve
the same Master as he did ; we may rely on the same help
as he received ; and the same glorious reward as he is now
enjoying, is in reserve for us. For though, perhaps, he was
peculiar in the nature and degree of his trials, he is by no
means singular in his experience of the grace of the Lord
Jesus Christ. He is, in fact, but one of a whole multitude
who have testified to the faithfulness of Jesus in the keep
ing of his promise to succor his followers in the hour of
need. I have spoken of the thrilling nobleness of that sub
lime utterance, " None of these things move me, neither count
I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course
with joy ;" but the records of Christian history have other
sayings not unworthy to be put side by side even with that.
When William Tyndale — name ever to be held in honor by
all who read our English Bible — was told that the bishops
had publicly burnt all the copies of his New Testament on
which they Could lay their hands, he calmly wrote, with a
too sure presage of his after-fate, "In burning the New Tes
tament they did none other things than I looked for ; nor
more shall they do if they burn me also, if it be God's will
it shall be so ;" and that he was prepared for that was am
ply proved that day atVilvorde, when, standing at the stake,
he cried, " O Lord, open the eyes of the King of England !"
So, too, when John Calvin — whose intellect was so pre-emi
nent that we are apt to lose, sight of his devotion to Christ,
and enthusiasm in his cause — was menaced with violence, he
grandly said, " If this is what we have deserved at the hands
of men whom we have struggled to benefit — namely, to be

37° Paul the Missionary.
loaded with calumny and stung with ingratitude — then this
is my voice, ' Ply your fagots !' but we warn you that even in
death we shall become the conquerors, not simply because
we shall find, even through the fagots, a sure passage to
that upper and better life, but because our blood shall ger
minate like precious seed, and propagate that eternal truth
of God which is now so scorned and rejected by the world."
And, lest you should imagine that these cases also are ex
ceptional, because of the prominence of the work which was
done by those noble men, I would remind you of others in
more recent days. The records of the Indian Mutiny con
tain many instances of native Christians, and of English
soldiers — some of them hardly out of their boyhood — who
could not be moved to abjure Christ by the most exquisite
tortures which savagism could devise ; while the story of the
Madagascar Church, as told by Mr. Ellis, has chapters in
it which, in point of Christian heroism, raise this nineteenth
century to a level with the first. Nor is this all". There
are among ourselves martyrs in humble life who are daily
exposed to sacrificial flames of which no one knows fully
but Jesus ; youths who brave all manner of insults rather
than renounce their allegiance to their Lord; wives who
bear meekly the bitterest taunts rather than be disloyal to
Christ ; husbands who carry in secret the weight of living
crosses, whose burden is all the heavier, and whose nails are
all the sharper because of their love to those who form
them ; workmen who face continually a whole battery of
scorn rather than do what their divine Master has forbid
den. Blessed be God, the spirit of Paul is living yet ! be
cause the Lord of Paul still lives to make strength " perfect
in weakness." Hold fast, ye tempted, struggling, and afflict
ed ones ! the victory is already yours. You have a happi
ness unknown to your antagonists ; and louder than the
noise of your assailants, you may hear you?" great Captain's

The Parting Address. 371
words as they come floating down to you from the throne on
which he sits, " Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give
thee a crown of life." Ah ! if we had that crown more fully
in the view of our faith-eye, we should all find it easy to say
with Paul, " None of these things move me ; neither count I
my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course
with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord
Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God."
But we may learn from this whole scene, in the second
place, that believers should at critical times commend their
friends to the fostering care of God. When Paul parted
from these elders, he felt that the best thing he could do
for them was to commit them to the word of God's grace.
Now, it would be -well for us, in similar circumstances, to
follow this example. When we are in sorrow ourselves, let
us lift up our hearts unto God ; and when we know that oth
ers are in distress, then is the time to bespeak God's favor
for them. Especially is this true of those manifold part
ings from friends over which hangs the shadowy uncertain
ty that we may see their faces on earth no more. When,
for example, the lad leaves his father's house and is about
to proceed to a distance to prosecute his studies, or to en
ter upon business in the midst of many temptations, what
can be more appropriate than for his father or his mother
to take him to some place apart, and there commend him
" to God and the word of his grace ?" When, again, we
tread the deck of the vessel, and are about to embrace for
the last time the loved ones who are going for long years
to a foreign land, and we know not if we shall ever meet
them again on earth, what can be more consoling both to
us and to them than to whisper, if our sobs will let us, this
tender adieu, " I commend you to God and the word of his
grace !" When some'dear friend is in deep waters, and we
feel our impotence to help him, because a crushing weight

372 Paul the Missionary.
is lying on his heart which no other man can touch, what
a relief to us, and what a benison to him it is to be able to
say, " I commend you to God and the word of his grace !"
It is impossible to tell what comfort and strength may come
to the tried and stricken one through the oft-recurring re
membrance of words like these fitly spoken. When Thomas
M'Crie, the biographer of John Knox, was setting out as a
lad from his country home for Edinburgh, there to enter
upon his first session of university life, his mother went with
him for a portion of the way; and when at length they came
to the place where they had to part, she took him into a field
by the wayside, knelt down with him behind a stock* of stand
ing corn-sheaves— for it was the time of harvest — and fer
vently besought for him the blessing of the Lord. His son
tells us that he never forgot that prayer ; and that its influ
ence for inspiration and for strength was with him through
his life. And if I may be permitted to refer to my own his
tory, I recall with peculiar vividness at this moment the last
evening at my father's fireside before I set out for college
life. I had never been away from home for any length of
time before ; a great city like Glasgow was, to a boy brought
up in a provincial town, full of perils ; and so a strange
commingling of joy and trepidation was in my heart. After
family worship my father took me with him into his own
place for secret prayer ; and as we knelt together, he put
his hand upon my shoulder, and poured out his heart for
me before his God. I think I feel that hand upon my shoul
der now ; and looking back through the years of the past, I
can remember many times when the memory of that prayer
was a solace, a stimulus, a support. It has been better to
me than would have been the legacy of a millionnaire ; and
if some similar home-scene should by my words be brought
* Scottice, "stools."

The Parting Address. 373
even now before any of you who are yet " strangers from the
commonwealth of promise," let that plead with you to-night
to bring you to the Lord ! Never, be sure, did these Ephe
sian elders forget the supplication with which Paul con
cluded this beautiful address. Never will your boy forget
the prayer which you breathe beside him when he is going
out into the. world; and as the loved native land fades out
of sight, the lonely voyager, as he paces the deck of the ship,
will still keep in his heart the remembrance of that latest
cry you addressed to God on his behalf. He will live on it
through years of separation ; and wherever he is, there will
hover over him that bright inheritance among all them that
are sanctified, cheering him on, and beckoning him upward.
What a blessing it is to be the means of thus encouraging
the feeble ! What a comfort it is, when we are feeble, to be
thus encouraged ! And when the last parting time draws
on, when death comes to steal our senses and to shut our
sight, and we know that we are going the way whence we
shall not return, it will be enough if some one near will
whisper these words of Paul, " I commend you to God and
to the word of his grace, which is able to give you an inher
itance among all them that are sanctified." Oh the glory
and the gladness of that ecstatic moment, when, seeing face
to face, we shall be satisfied in God's own likeness ! For
you and for myself, dear friends, may there be such an en
trance ministered abundantly into " the everlasting kingdom
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."

XX.
MILETUS TO JERUSALEM.
Acts xxi.
LEAVING Miletus, the apostle and his fellow -voya
gers made direct for Coos, or Cos, an island about
twenty -one miles in length and six in breadth, which lay
along the coast of Caria. Its chief town was about forty
miles due south of Miletus, and the vessel arrived there in
the evening. The next day they reached the island of
Rhodes, which, as Kitto has quaintly put it, " looks like a
large piece broken off from the south-west corner of Asia
Minor, and lying only nine miles from the nearest point of
its coast."* It was anciently celebrated for its schools, for
the flourishing state of the arts and sciences in it, for its
commerce, and for its ship-building. A colossal statue of
Apollo, reared over its harbor — not bestriding it, according
to the popular but erroneous idea — was long regarded as
one of the wonders of the world ; but before the date of
which we are now speaking, it had been overthrown by an
earthquake, and " the legs only, as high as the knees, re
tained their upright position, while the rest of the gigantic
mass lay extended along the margin of the port."t The
maritime importance of the place may be inferred from the
fact that it lay on the verge of the two basins of the Medi
terranean, and became an intermediate point for the eastern
* Kitto's " Daily Bible Illustrations," Evening Series, vol. iv., p. 457.
t Lewin, vol. ii., p. 99.

Miletus to Jerusalem. 375
and western trade* The next port at which they arrived
was Patara, at the mouth of the river Xanthus, where was a
famous temple of Apollo. Here, either because the ship in
which they had come thus far was going no farther, or be
cause it was chartered for another destination than that to
which they were bound, the apostle and his companions left
it, and embarked in another vessel which was just about to
sail direct for Tyre. Their course lay across the Gulf of
Tarsus, requiring them, when they sighted Cyprus, to keep it
on the left, and with ordinarily favorable weather they might
and probably did, make the passage in little more than for
ty-eight hours. The city of Tyre was at this time " in the
condition in which it had been left by the successors of Al
exander the Great — the island which once held the city be
ing joined to the main-land by a causeway, with a harbor on
the north and another on the south."t As the ship had to
discharge her cargo at this place, there was a delay of seven
days ; and Paul, ever on the alert for opportunities of use
fulness, employed this interval in seeking outt the Christian
disciples of the city and laboring for their good. The
prophets among them repeated the warnings which he had
elsewhere received of the dangers which were before him,
and sought to dissuade him from his purpose of going up
to Jerusalem. But he was inexorable ; and therefore, with
tearful affection, they accompanied him to the shore, where
they knelt with him in prayer, while, as before at Miletus,
with the elders of Ephesus, he commended them " to God
and to the word of his grace."
From Tyre the vessel went to Ptolemais, which is to-day
one of the most ancient seaports in the world. It is the

* Conybeare and Howson, vol. ii., p. 229. t Ibid., vol. ii., p. 235.
X The term rendered "finding," in Acts xxi., 4, literally means "find
ing after diligent search."

376 Paul the Missionary.
Accho of the Book of Judges ;* the Ptolemais of classical
antiquity ; the St. Jean D'Acre of the Crusaders ; and the
Acre which, garrisoned in 1799 by Sir Sydney Smith, suc
cessfully resisted .the assault of Napoleon ; but in its long
history, we do not find anything more interesting to the
Christian than Paul's landing here just before that final
visit to Jerusalem, which ultimately opened the way for his
going to Rome, although not quite in the manner that he had
at one time expected. After one brief day spent with the
brethren in that even then venerable city, the apostle went
with his friends overland to Caesarea, a distance of some
thirty miles. Here, having still some time to spare before
the feast of the Pentecost, he remained for a few days, that
he might renew his fellowship with the Christians of the
city, and probably, also, that he might send forward tidings
of his arrival to the brethren of Jerusalem. He found a
home, for the time, in the house of Philip, one of the seven
who had been chosen to the deacon's office, but now better
known as the Evangelist. This man had been instrumental
in producing that great spiritual uprising in Samaria, of
which we read in one of the early chapters of The Acts, and
he had been commissioned by the Holy Ghost to instruct
the Ethiopian treasurer ; but, as seems to me probable from
a reference made in the record to which I have just alluded,
his permanent abode was at Caesarea.t At this time his
four unmarried daughters,^ who were possessed of the gift
of prophecy, were living under his roof ; and though it is
not said in so many words that they foretold what was to
happen to the apostle, yet it seems likely that they also re
newed the warnings which he had already so frequently re-

* Judg. i., 31. t Acts viii., 40.
X There seems no foundation whatever for the notion ofPlumptre that
they were under a vow.

Miletus to Jerusalem. 377
ceived. But whether they did so or not, we know that Paul
had once more to face the tears and entreaties of his friends ;
for during his sojourn at Cassarea, Agabas, the Jerusalem
prophet, who had formerly predicted the approach of fam
ine,* came down from the metropolis, and in a very striking
and impressive manner foreshadowed to the apostle the
perils which were before him. Using a symbol, after the
frequent practice of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, he took
Paul's girdle, and bound with it his own hands and feet, say
ing, " Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jeru
salem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver
him into the hands of the Gentiles." This was a much more
specific and alarming announcement than any which had yet
been made, indicating as it did that he should be handed
over to the Roman power ; and therefore, now for the first
time apparently, Luke and Trophimus and Aristarchus, and
the rest of his fellow-travellers, added their entreaties to those
which had come from the Christians in other places, as they
came now from the brethren in Caesarea, with the view of in
ducing him to reconsider and if possible recall his resolution.
But he was still firm, and said, " What mean ye to weep and
to break mine heart ? for I am ready not to be bound only,
but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus."
Now, it may seem that in all this Paul was going in direct
antagonism to the will of God ; and in particular, that sup
port is given to that opinion by the record concerning the
disciples at Tyre, " who said to Paul through the Spirit, that
he should not go up to Jerusalem."t But that and the
other warnings which he had received — this of Agabas no
less than the rest — could not have been understood by the
apostle as distinct and positive prohibitions of his visit to
Jerusalem ; for, had he taken them in that sense, he cer-
* Acts xi., 28. t Acts xxi., 4.

378 Paul the Missionary.
tainly would never have gone to the Holy City on this occa
sion. It was sufficient for him at any time to have a clear
indication of the will of God, for that always insured his fol
lowing it. The state of the case, however, was this. His
friends, through the revelation of the Spirit, had learned
that dangers were before their beloved teacher ; and, natu
rally enough, their affection for him impelled them to do
all they could to keep him from going where the danger
was. The Spirit did not say one thing in him and another
in them. In him there was the conviction clear and strong
— indeed, unalterable — that it was his duty to go. So much
the Spirit had made plain to him. In them there was the
belief, produced by the revelation of the Holy Ghost, that he
would be imprisoned and given over to the Roman power if
he went ; and the sum of the two communications was an
intimation to the apostle that he was not to go unless he
was prepared for hardship, imprisonment, and possibly also
martyrdom. But he was prepared for any or all of these
things; and so, when his weeping friends heard his unfalter
ing words of determination, they recognized the purpose of
God in the matter, and said, " The will of the Lord be done."
At Cassarea, Paul made the acquaintance of one Mnason,
who had been a disciple from the early days of the Church,
and whose residence was at Jerusalem. It was forthwith
arranged, therefore, for the purpose of securing his comfort,
and perhaps also his safety, that Paul should lodge at his
house ; and thus it came that he accompanied the pilgrim
band in their journey between the two Jewish capitals.
But the journey was performed in no such aristocratic man
ner as the average English reader is apt to suppose ; for
the words in our translation, " After those days we took up
our carriages, and went up to Jerusalem,"* are the antique
* Acts xxi., 15.

Miletus to Jerusalem. 379,
rendering of terms which would now be anglicized after
this fashion : " We took up our baggage,* and went up to
Jerusalem." Paul was gladly received by the brethren whom he met;
and on the day after his arrival, he had an opportunity of
describing in detail to James and all the elders the things
which God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.
They listened with deep interest to his statement, and glo
rified God on his behalf. But, as we have repeatedly seen
already in this history, there were two parties in the Jewish
Church. The one was liberal in its principles, and desired
to lay no unnecessary burden on the Gentile converts. The
other was narrow in its character, ajad inclined to put the
greatest possible stress on obedience to the Mosaic law.
The members of this latter section, indeed, received Jesus
as the Messiah, but they were as much Jews as ever in their
ceremonial observances, and were likely to be greatly scan
dalized by any neglect of their national ritual. Now, they
had heard exaggerated reports of Paul's doings among the
Gentiles. It had been said that he taught all the Jews
which were among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying
that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to
walk after the customs; but very evidently that was an
overstatement, for Paul had been as a Jew to the Jews. He
had himself conformed to their law. He had circumcised
Timothy, and in connection with his vow at Cenchrea, he
had shaved his head ; and so far from having taught that
believing Jews should cease to observe Jewish customs, he
had laid it down as a principle that every man, circumcised
or uncircumcised, should abide in his calling, and accept his
position with its attendant responsibilities.t The terms of
* One of the old English versions has it, " We trussed up our fardels."
t * Cor. vii., 18-20.

380 Paul the Missionary.
the report, therefore, which were spread abroad regarding
him were false ; and yet we can easily understand how such
things had been laid to his charge ; for he had always un
equivocally declared that circumcision was of no merit as
a ground of acceptance with God, and that Jews and Gen
tiles stood precisely on the same level as far as that was
concerned. He allowed the Jews to do as they pleased
about their observance of the customs ; but he would not
consent to have these things imposed as essential to salva
tion upon the Gentiles. He taught that, in themselves con
sidered, they were of no importance ; and that not through
circumcision or through uncircumcision were men to be
saved, but only through " faith which worketh by love."
Now, the ultimate tendency of such doctrines was undeni
ably to do away with all Jewish observances among believ
ers in Christ ; for if they had no essential value, they would
continue to be practised only through old habit, or for the
sake of avoiding the giving of offence to weak consciences ;
and so soon as the habit lost its power, or the consciences
of believers generally became stronger, all Jewish customs
would disappear out of the Church. As a matter of fact,
this was precisely what did happen; and perhaps the fa
natical Jews, seeing the inevitable result of Paul's doc
trines, went so far as to charge him with having actually
recommended that which certainly was the logical outcome
of his teachings ; but in that transition time the apostle was
very careful of his words. He had never said such things
as had been reported of him. James and the elders did not
believe that he had. They knew precisely where he stood ;
and so, to allay suspicion and ward off danger, they made a
proposal to him, which he at once accepted. On his former
visit Paul had been himself under a vow, and his observ
ance of the rites prescribed by Moses for the formal termi
nation of the season over which such a pledge extended

Miletus to Jerusalem. 381
had been greatly appreciated by the members of the Jewish
church. Accordingly, it was suggested to him by James and
the elders that something of the same kind might be done
by him now. He could not precisely repeat the former proc
ess, for the shortest period for the Nazarite vow was thirty
days, and as, in his own intention, his visit to Jerusalem
at this time was to be brief, he never thought of taking
any such obligation upon himself. But there was a middle
course, by the taking of which every good object sought by
James would be secured. He might attach himself to a
company of Nazarites, join with them in the services con
nected with their purification, shave his head along with
them, and bear all the expenses connected with their sacri
ficial offerings. This was always regarded as a pious and
generous act; and Josephus mentions it to the credit of
the elder Agrippa, that when he retufned to Jerusalem a
crowned monarch, after many narrow escapes of his life, he
showed his gratitude by taking upon himself the charges of
a great number of Nazarites.* Now it happened that there
were in Jerusalem at this time four Jewish believers who
had such a vow upon them; and the officials of the church
suggested that Paul should join with them in the final ser
vices of their purification, which required only seven days,
and should bear their charges.
They did not insist on this as a thing essential to his be
ing recognized as a Christian brother, but simply as a mat
ter of expediency, and for the sake of harmony. They had
no wish to resile from the articles of agreement which had
been determined on, many years before, in connection with
the reference from Antioch, and they are careful to reaffirm
their adherence to them in their conference with Paul. But
at such a festival time many thousands of Jewish disciples
* Josephus, " Wars," ii., 15, 1.

382 Paul the Missionary.
would be in the city ; they would be sure to hear that he
was there, and owing to the reports which had been circu
lated about him, there would be a crowd continually observ
ing him. It would, therefore, be greatly for the interests
of peace, and not at all disloyal to principle, if he would in
some such way as they had indicated let it be seen that,
so far as his personal habits were concerned, he did not
despise the law.
Now, we cannot wonder that Paul consented to this pro
posal. He had already circumcised Timothy in precisely
similar circumstances ; and the arguments which he had
so recently enforced in his First Epistle to the Corinthians
and his Epistle to the Romans, fairly applied to the case
which James and the elders put before him, pointed to his
conformity to their requests as the true line of duty. With
out any hesitation, 'therefore, he did as they suggested;
and the week of ceremonial service was almost ended, when
an incident occurred which changed the whole aspect of
affairs, and resulted in his imprisonment in the Castle of
Antonia. To understand the case thoroughly, we must bear in
mind that the political condition of the Jews at this time
was exceedingly unsettled. Felix was the Roman procura
tor, and his cruel and determined conduct had driven the
Jews to the verge of insurrection. In the year before the
apostle's arrival, the high-priest who had firmly expostulated
with Felix on the nation's behalf was slain, with the gov
ernor's connivance as was supposed, in the Temple. About
the same time, also, an Egyptian adventurer claiming to be
the Messiah, and promising to restore the kingdom to Ju
dah, had gone out into the wilderness with four thousand
sicarii, around whom a force had collected of some thirty
thousand men, with whom he" threatened to attack the troops
by whom Jerusalem was garrisoned. This impostor was

Miletus to Jerusalem. 383
defeated, and his followers dispersed ; but as he had him
self escaped, there was a natural anticipation that he might
speedily reappear, and so even a closer watch than usual
was kept by the Romans over the movements of the Jews.
A knowledge of these facts enables us at once to under
stand the vigilance and energy displayed by the Roman
officer on the very outbreak of the riot which is here de
scribed. The apostle had gone into the Temple for some ritual
purpose, when some Jews, perhaps from Ephesus, certainly
from the province of Asia, recognized him, and immediate
ly raised an uproar against him, crying, " Men of Israel,
help : This is the man that teacheth all men everywhere
against the people, and the law, and this place : and further
brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this
holy place." If Paul had done what they laid to his charge,
he was guilty of a disrespect for the worship of Jehovah in
the Jewish Temple, which he had not shown for that of Di
ana in the Temple of Ephesus. But he could not have done
anything of the kind ; and even if he had attempted it, the
prudence of his companions would have kept them from
going with him ; for beyond the middle wall which divided
the court of the strangers from that of the Jews, no man of
another nation was permitted to pass, and every means was
taken to warn visitors of the danger which they incurred in
disregarding that prohibition. The recent excavations of
the Palestine Exploration Society have brought to light
a slab with an inscription, discovered and deciphered by
M. Clermont Ganneau, which illustrates the horror with
which the Jews looked on such a profanation. Its contents
show that it must have formed a part of the low wall just
mentioned. "No man of alien race is to enter within the
balustrade and fence that goes round the Temple. If any one
is taken in the act, let him know that he has himself to blame
17

384 Paul the Missionary.
for the penalty of death that follows."* It is hardly likely,
therefore, that with such an inscription before their eyes,
either Paul or his companions would have been so foolhardy
as to attempt that with which they were charged ; but the
terms of the exclamation indicate sufficiently the purpose of
those who made the accusation. They wished to have Paul
summarily put to death, for a crime in regard to which the
Romans would not be likely to interfere. But he had not
been guilty of that of which he was accused. The whole
thing was founded on a mistake. The Asiatic Jews had
seen Trophimus and Paul together on the street, and they
supposed that he had taken him with him into the forbidden
precinct. But no time was given him for explanation or
vindication. The cry of the men of Asia had gathered a
crowd. That crowd heard Paul accused — by those who
seemed to know whereof they affirmed — of bringing Gen
tiles into the Holy Place, and teaching the people every
where against the law, and so they immediately attacked
him, with the view of putting him to death. One wonders
whether, in this exciting moment, the apostle remarked the
similarity of the charges brought against him to those which
had been advanced against Stephen. We cannot tell. We
only know that his sublime words, "None of these things
move me," were now nobly verified; for he did not betake
himself to flight, but calmly awaited the issue, whatever that
might be. The fact that he was in the Holy Place secured
a few moments' delay, for the scrupulous Jews would not
defile its pavement with his blood ; and they had to take
time to drag him out of the inner court and shut its gates
against him. That punctiliousness of theirs saved his life ;
for by the time that they had brought him into the outer
place, and were just beginning to lay violent hands upon

* " New Testament Commentary for English Readers," vol. ii., p. 149.

Miletus to Jerusalem. 385
him, the castle guard was on the spot, and took him under
its protection.
The Tower of Antonia, which was garrisoned by imperial
troops, was situated at the north-west corner of the Temple
area ; and as it was carried up to such a height as to over
top the spacious courts of the sacred enclosure, the senti
nel, who at all the great feasts was stationed on its summit,
could see when any disorder occurred, and give an imme
diate alarm. On the present occasion, for the reasons al
ready indicated, he was remarkably active ; and before any
serious injury was inflicted on the apostle, the troops were
already on the scene under the command of Claudius Ly
sias. This officer, seeing that Paul was somehow the occa
sion of the outbreak, commanded that he should be bound
with two chains, and after he 'had been thus secured, he
asked who he was, and what he had done. But in the con
fusion created by the mob, he could get no satisfactory an
swers to his questions, and therefore he ordered him to be
taken into the tower. As the soldiers were obeying this
command, the crowd became so infuriated that they had
actually to carry their prisoner in their arms ; and as they
bore him away the mob hooted, at him and followed him
with execrations. But amid all this tumult Paul was self-
possessed ; and when he reached the castle stairs, he asked
permission to speak to the commandant. In making his re
quest, he used the Greek language, which so surprised Ly
sias that he said, " Canst thou speak Greek ? Art not thou
that Egyptian, which before these days madest an uproar,
and leddest out into the wilderness four thousand men?"
But on hearing from the apostle that he was a Jew from
Tarsus, and that he wished to speak to the people, he cheer
fully granted that liberty to address the multitude which
had been so courteously requested.
Here, however, we must for the present conclude, leaving

386 Paul the Missionary.
the speech which Paul delivered on this occasion for future
consideration, while we seek to glean for ourselves some
profitable lessons from the field over which we have been
passing. And in the first place, we may find a stimulus to our
flagging zeal in the contemplation of the apostle's activity
in seeking for and improving opportunities of usefulness.
Throughout this journey he had one principal end in view,
namely, the reaching of Jerusalem before the Day of Pente
cost. Neither the entreaties nor the tears of friends could
divert him from that purpose. But mark, also, how, while
moving steadily forward, and losing no means of conveyance
that offered, he yet filled in every interval of travel with la
bors for the welfare of his fellow-men and the glory of his
master. At Troas he finished a week's evangelistic work,
by preaching till long past midnight on the evening of the
Lord's-day. At Miletus, when there was not time for him to
go to Ephesus, he sent for the elders of the church there to
come to him, and held with them that service which stands
out as the most touching and memorable in his recorded
history. At Tyre he made diligent search for disciples,
among whom he labored for seven days with such results
that when he left they hung around him with tears and ben
edictions. At Acre he gave the one day of his sojourn to
the salutation of the brethren. Men speak with enthusiasm
of the devotion to literary pursuits of such a one as Julius
Csesar, because on his rapid military journeys he contrived
to write by the way his well-known commentaries ; they eu
logize the ardor of Cicero, who, amid the multiplicity of his
judicial and political engagements, arranged to find time for
the composition of some of the most philosophical treatises
in the Latin language ; and the younger Pliny tells with
glowing admiration of the marvellous industry of his uncle,
who dedicated every fragment of his time to those studies

Miletus to Jerusalem. 387
of which his books were the ripened results ; but have we
not here in Paul a devotion to work which was not a whit
less remarkable ? Well might he have excused himself, if,
after the exciting scenes through which he had just passed,
he had spent the pauses of his journeyings at this time in
taking rest ! But he filled every available interval with the
service of his generation. Is he, then, the less worthy of ad
miration because in him the love of souls took the place of
that love of literature which was the mainspring of the activ
ity of those others to whom I have alluded ? Nay, verily, but
only the more ; for the ambition which was behind his toil
was not that which seeks personal honor or distinction, but
that which desires the welfare, both temporal and eternal, of
the human race ; and the works which he produced were not
mere books — though even in that respect, if we have "regard
to quality as well as quantity, he is not behind the chiefest
authors of antiquity — but institutions which have conserved
and propagated even until this day, all the principles that
lead to civil and religious freedom, as well as to personal
holiness and universal brotherhood among men. Nor ought
we to be content with giving him our admiration. He de
serves our imitation ; and we may be well assured that we
shall reap success like that which he enjoyed only when we
manifest such self-forgetting industry as he displayed. Look
back over this journey, and you will cease to marvel that in
one brief life he accomplished so much for Christ and for
the world. Take that inflexible firmness which held him to
what he believed to be right ; add to that his quickness to
perceive an opportunity of usefulness and his readiness to
improve it to the utmost; then let these be vitalized and
sustained by an intense love of Christ as a living, though
unseen, Saviour and friend, and it becomes easy to account
for his untiring perseverance and unparalleled success.
Give us more of these principles, so unified and sustained

388 Paul the Missionary.
among the pastors and Christians of to-day, and we shall
begin to understand what Paul meant when he said, " To
me to live is Christ," while the wonderful results which fol
lowed his ministrations will be renewed among ourselves.
In the second place, we have unfolded to us in this his
tory the true source of moral courage. When Luke and his
companions, together with the disciples at Caesarea, implored
Paul not to go to Jerusalem, he said, " What mean ye to
weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be
bound only, but to die also at Jerusalem for the name of the
Lord Jesus ;" and that these were not idle words, is made
evident from the calm self-possession which he maintained
when he was assaulted in the Temple and carried by the
soldiers to the stairs of the castle. Now, it would be easy
to eulogize this noble resolution, and we might pile epithet
upon epithet in attempting to characterize it ; but it will do
us more good to inquire what the root was from which this
courage grew. Was it a merely physical thing ? There is
such a courage as is only, or at least mainly, muscular ; and
in speaking of it thus I do not wish to disparage it in the
very least. It is a very desirable thing. In its own place,
it is a very good thing ; yet, after all, it is mainly involuntary
and instinctive. It costs no effort. He who possesses it is
brave in the presence of danger, because he is not sensible
that there is anything of which to be afraid. This is a sort
of indifference; but it is quite otherwise with him who is
of a sensitive, high-strung, delicately-nervous temperament.
His tendency, rather, is to fear physical danger ; and there is
need of an effort of will, and besides that — as sustaining his
will — there is need of enthusiasm for some sublime cause to
rouse such a one to brave some deadly peril. The soldier
who feels fear on the battle-field, but who holds himself at
his post by a supreme devotion to duty or an ardent love of
country, is a more courageous man by far than he who, with

Miletus to Jerusalem. 389
an instinct like that of the war-horse," mocketh at fear, and is
not affrighted." In the one there is little more than a phys
ical quality ; in the other there is a moral strength triumph
ing over a bodily shrinking. Now, the latter, as it seems to
me, was the case of Paul. Unless I have misread his his
tory, or misunderstood his temperament, he was not natu
rally endowed with physical courage, but rather weak, ner
vous, and shrinking. He had, as I think, all the fear of pain
which is felt by persons of the most sensitive organization ;
and therefore I judge that it was not so easy for him to
confront danger as it would be for those who are differently
constituted. But he had two principles within him which
lifted him above all considerations of fear, and made him
ready to brave any danger.
The first was loye to Jesus Christ. We know what great
things love for a fellow-mortal will defy. The mother will
rush through the most appalling danger to save her child;
the wife will become heroic in seeking to shield her hus
band from peril; and in the same way the love of Christ,
when it fills the heart, will fire the man with an enthusiasm
which will sustain him — because itself is sustained by the
Holy Ghost — through the fiercest opposition and the dead
liest peril. Now it was this love that inspired Paul. He
was ready to suffer anything "for the name of the Lord
Jesus;" and no matter how naturally shrinking and timid
we may be, that love will give us fortitude. With his back
to the Cross, the Christian may stand unflinchingly before
every adversary.
The second principle that upheld Paul was confidence in
God. Like Moses, " he endured, as seeing him that is in
visible." Like Elisha, he saw with his faith-eye the hosts
of the Lord encamping round him. He knew that he was
doing God's work, and he had the most implicit trust that
God would uphold him till his work was done. If it were

390 Paul the Missionary.
the Father's will that he should perish at Jerusalem, then
he would only be the sooner with the Christ he loved so
well ; and so that alternative had no dread for him. If it
were the will of God, on the other hand, that he should Tes
tify to the Lord Jesus, in prisons and in judgment-halls, be
fore the tribunals of procurators and emperors, then God
would give him grace to act well his part, and so that alter
native had no terror in it. Thus he possessed his soul in
peace, in spite of his natural susceptibility, because he had
strong faith ; and we may learn from his example how to
meet the lesser trials of our lives, and the hour of death it
self. With the love of Christ dwelling within us, and faith
in God firmly cherished by us, courage and calmness will
come, through the grace of the Holy Ghost, almost natural
ly and of course ; and when both are strong, we may ascend
with ease the several steps in that climax of assurance with
which the apostle concludes one of his grandest arguments :
" I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels,
nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things
to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other creature, shall
be able to separate us from the love of God which is in
Christ Jesus our Lord."
Finally, we may learn here how man proposes, but God
disposes. We cannot but admire the spirit manifested by
both parties in the conference between Paul and James.
It was an example of faithful adherence to conscientious
conviction in reference to essential matters, combined with
forbearance and mutual concession in regard to things of
minor importance. It would seem, too, that the course sug
gested by James and followed by Paul was admirably adapt
ed to conciliate all parties in the Mother-Church. But see
how it was all frustrated through this riot in the Temple.
Truly, as the French diplomatist has put it in his famous
epigram, " it is the unexpected that happens." In spite of

Miletus to Jerusalem. 391
all their efforts at conciliation — nay, in consequence, one
might almost say of the very making of these efforts — some
thing occurred which had never entered into their calcula
tions, and which to a large extent defeated the end they
had in view. No doubt division in the Church might be
obviated, but there was no enthusiasm created for Paul ; for
I must confess that I see little indication of interest in his
after-fate on the part of the brethren in Jerusalem. But
what I wish to make prominent is the fact that Paul's safe
ty was imperilled through his following of that course of
conduct which had been suggested to him at once for his
security and for the good of the Church. What, then ? Was
it wrong for Paul to yield to James ? Nay ; for he was in
that only following out his own principles of Christian broth
erhood. But more was to come out of his imprisonment for
the great cause of the Gentiles than could have been accom
plished by his freedom, and so he was, under God, permitted
to be apprehended, that through his apprehension the liberty
of the Christian might be put upon a surer basis, and a way
might be opened for his visit to Rome. Here, then, is the
lesson. Let us take it with us and live on it in our common
affairs, for we shall probably not get through to - morrow
without having occasion to make some application of it.
The most carefully framed plans may be unexpectedly upset
by the occurrence of something which we had not foreseen,
and could not have foreseen ; but, when they are thus frus
trated, we may be sure that God has a higher purpose than
our own, and is working through our disappointment toward
an end that shall be alike satisfactory to ourselves and hon
oring to him. 17*

XXL
FROM JERUSALEM TO CAESAREA.
Acts xxii., xxiii.
HAVING received permission from the chief captain
to address the multitude, Paul turned upon the castle
stairs, and beckoning with his hand, as well as the chain
that hung from it would permit, he commenced to speak to
them in their vernacular tongue. When they heard that,
they became instantly silent, and listened intently to his dis
course, while he gave a brief summary of his personal his
tory and experience. He began with a reference to his
birth at Tarsus, and his education at Jerusalem at the feet
of Gamaliel ; and then, after an allusion to his zeal for the
law of their fathers, as shown by his persecution of the dis
ciples of Jesus, he went on to tell the wonderful story of his
conversion ; and was proceeding to explain how by the Lord
himself he was commanded to leave Jerusalem and go to.
the Gentiles, when he was interrupted by an outburst of
rage and execration like that which preceded the martyr
dom of Stephen.
We have altogether three separate narratives of these
events in this Book of The Acts of the Apostles. The first
is given by the historian himself, in the ninth chapter; the
second is that which is contained in the address now before
us ; and the third is that embodied in the apostle's defence
before Agrippa. Now it is interesting to mark how, while
agreeing in all material respects, these statements are varied

From Jerusalem to Cesarea. 393
in certain details ; and an explanation of the differences is
furnished by the consideration of the object which in each
address the apostle had in view. The record in the ninth
chapter is but an outline of the main facts of the case ; and
on the two occasions on which he was put upon his defence,
Paul, drawing upon his own recollection, gave prominence to
such points as in his judgment seemed to him to be most
likely to meet the emergency of the moment. Thus, in the
present instance, his design very obviously was to conciliate
the Jews by showing them that, so far from being estranged
from them after his conversion, his great desire had been to
remain in Jerusalem and labor there, and that it was only
after he had been peremptorily commanded by the Lord in
a vision to leave the city and go to the Gentiles, that he
was reconciled to his departure. So he sets in the fore
front of his address his education under Gamaliel and his
zeal as a persecutor, appealing in proof of both to the high-
priest and the elders. With the same object in view, we
find him referring to Ananias here not as a brother disciple,
but as " a devout man according to the law, having a good
report of all the Jews which dwelt at Damascus ;" for, though
it was true that he was both, it was more important at this
time to bring out the latter, in order that his hearers might
see that, having been baptized by such a man, he was not
likely to be inflamed with bigoted animosity against the Jews.
In a similar way we account for the fact that, while in his
speech before Agrippa he affirms that the Lord himself, at
the time of his conversion, gave him a commission to the
Gentiles, and in Luke's narrative it is alleged that a similar
announcement was made to Ananias when he was sent to
baptize the new convert, there is no mention made of either
of these here. They were both true, but the apostle wished
his hearers to understand, what was also true, that notwith
standing both of these intimations of the divine will regard-

394

Paul the Missionary.

ing him, he still clung to the desire to abide in Jerusalem,
and if possible undo there the mischief which he had done
by taking part in the shedding of the blood of Stephen, and
that nothing but the positive command of the Lord could
have induced him to go to the Gentiles.
But, however persuasively constructed Paul's discourse
was, it failed to conciliate the crowd. That it held the mul
titude so long as it did, was no small proof of its excellence ;
but at the very mention of the Gentiles, the people became
frantic ; and, with the noise and gesticulations for which
excited Orientals are proverbial, they cried, " Away with
such a fellow from the earth : for it is not fit that he should
live !" For the present, however, he was not in their power.
He was now the prisoner of Claudius Lysias, the chief cap
tain, who, though he did not know what to make of the riot,
was not minded to give him up to popular fury. Ignorant
as he was of the Aramaic dialect, he had not understood
what Paul had said ; but, as he could not help observing
that some of the apostle's words had caused this new ex
citement, he commanded the centurion to examine him by
scourging. This required that the accused person should
be fastened to a stake, and that he should be lashed with a
whip in the intervals between the questions which were put
to him. It was supposed that thus he would be induced to
make a truthful confession ; but surely no expectation could
be vainer in ordinary cases than that; for as one has re
marked, "A person in pain cannot be supposed to be master
of his own thoughts, and may be induced to make any dec
laration which shall procure immediate relief from his suf-
' ferings."* Paul, however, allowed himself to be stripped
and bound, and then, when he had permitted the captain,
centurion, and soldiers to commit themselves so far, he
* " Lectures on The Acts of the Apostles," by John Dick, D.D., p. 388,

From Jerusalem to Cesarea. 395
quietly asked the officer, " Is it lawful for you to scourge a
man that is a Roman, and uncondemned?" The effect was
immediate. The centurion never thought of doubting what
the apostle said, for it was a capital crime for one who was
not entitled to it to claim the right of citizenship, and so he
hastened to Claudius and said to him, "Take heed what
thou doest, for this man is a Roman." The moment he
heard that, the chief captain went to the apostle, and asked,
" Art thou a Roman ?" and receiving an affirmative reply, he
said, as if amazed to find one whose bodily presence was so
mean invested with such a dignity, " With a great sum ob
tained I this freedom." Paul answered, with perhaps a par
donable pride in his tone, " But I was free born." It thus
appears that his citizenship was not the consequence of his
having been born at Tarsus, but came to him by right of in
heritance from his father; for the chief captain had been
already informed that he was a native of Tarsus,* and if
that had been enough to make him a Roman, he would not
have given orders that he should be scourged. But now he
felt that he had already gone too far, and was grateful that
the revelation had been made before he had committed any
greater indignity. At once all idea of putting him to the
torture was abandoned, and one may see, I think, from this
point on, that Lysias took particular care that no harm
should come to Paul, as if he were trying to wipe out the
remembrance of the outrage which he had all but perpe
trated. The next day, desiring to understand clearly the nature
of the disturbance which had -taken place, and the substance
of the charges which were preferred against Paul, Claudius
loosed him from his bonds, and sent him to appear before
the Jewish council of seventy whom he had specially sutn-
* Acts xxi., 39.

396 Paul the Missionary.
moned for the occasion. The usual meeting-place of this
body was the hall Gazith, which was separated from the
stairs of the castle by but a narrow space ; but, as it was
within the sacred precinct, no Gentile could enter it; and
therefore we are of opinion that in this instance the San
hedrim met in another apartment. But, however that may
have been, Paul could not confront that assembly without
peculiar emotions. A little more than twenty years be
fore, he had been himself, as some believe, a member of that
august tribunal ; and, in any case, he had been familiar with
the appearance and characteristics of most of those who
then belonged to it. Perhaps there were still some of his
classmates at the school of Gamaliel among them, possibly,
even some of his companions in the persecution of the first
disciples. This may account for the peculiar phrase with
which his first expression before them is here prefaced :
" Paul earnestly beholding the council." He eagerly scan
ned the company before him, to discover what its compo
sition was, and whether any of his former associates were
there. Or perhaps there may be here an allusion to that
infirmity of vision with which some suppose he was afflicted,
and the words may describe that sort of intent and forward
inspection with which one who is near-sighted seeks to
make himself acquainted with the distant objects and per
sons in a large apartment.
He spoke as a Jew to Jews, as an equal to equals — " Men
and brethren" — and boldly asserted his consciousness of
rectitude in all his conduct. " I have lived in all good con
science before God until this day." This was deemed an
insult by Ananias, the high -priest, who commanded them
that stood by to smite him on the mouth, whereupon, with
impassioned indignation, the apostle exclaimed, " God shall
smite thee, thou whited wall : for sittest thou to judge me
after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to

From Jerusalem to CjESarea. 397
the law ?" Different opinions have been entertained about
this expression. Some consider that it was uttered in pro
phetic fervor, and remind us that the prediction was terri
bly fulfilled, when this haughty prelate, after having been
removed from the high - priesthood, was murdered by the
sicarii in the Jewish war.* Others, with whom we are dis
posed to agree, regard the words as an outburst of temper
in a moment of extreme provocation. Paul was a man of
like passions with ourselves. He had, as I have already
said, a peculiarly sensitive organization ; and we cannot
wonder if, under the wanton insult which had been offered
to him, he. lost his self-control. It is not given to many
to preserve in all circumstances the unbroken meekness
of Him who was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and who
was dumb as a sheep before the shearers. Even the great
est of the apostles fell short of the perfection of the Mas
ter, and is to be followed only so far as he followed Christ,
so that, as Alford has remarked, this answer of Paul " may
go far to excuse a like fervid reply in a Christian, or minis
ter of the Gospel, but must never be used to justify it : it
may serve for an apology, but never for an example."")"
But the apostle was not long in recovering himself, for
when the by-standers said, " Revilest thou God's high-priest ?"
he replied, " I wist not, brethren, that he was the high-priest :
for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy
people." Of this answer, also, different explanations have
been given. Those who believe that the apostle spoke of
Ananias as a whited wall not in hastiness of temper, but in
righteous indignation, would interpret this rejoinder some
how thus : " rdid not know, and do not know now, that he
is God's high-priest. I know that the office of high-priest

* Josephus, " Wars," ii., 17, 2-9.
\ Alford's " Greek Testament," in loco.

398 Paul the Missionary.
among you exists only in name, and that very soon that
too will be done away, so as to leave no vestige of that
ancient dignity, which I could not have reviled without a
flagrant violation of the law, ' Thou shalt not speak evil of
the ruler of thy people.' " This interpretation, though very
ably advocated by the late Dr. Addison Alexander, of Prince
ton, is, in my judgment, a little far-fetched and unsatisfacto
ry ; nor would it have been resorted to but for the fact that
its author felt himself compelled to take a view of the Sav
iour's promise to his followers, which seems to me to make it
amount to a guarantee for their personal infallibility when
ever they should be placed before an earthly tribunal. I
am disposed, therefore, to take the words in their natural
meaning, as an expression of the fact that the apostle did
not really know that the person who had given the com
mand to smite him was the high-priest. And if I am asked
for an explanation of this ignorance of Paul, I find it in one
or other of three suppositions : either the high-priest did not
wear the official robes by which usually he was distinguish
ed, an omission which, if the meeting was not held in the ac
customed place within the Temple, may be easily accounted
for ; or he was not at this time the president of the council,
and so did not occupy the place in which the apostle would
naturally have looked for him ; or more simply still, the
near-sightedness of the apostle prevented him from recog-,
nizing the official dignity of the man who spoke so roughly. '
Thus regarded, the wor4s of Paul are an explanation of his
former expression, and a frank, courteous, and gentlemanly '
apology for the impropriety of his hasty speech.
But whatever view may be taken of this reply, the inter
ruption with which it was connected made it abundantly
plain to the apostle that he need not look for impartial
treatment at the hands of the council ; and, therefore, he re
solved to take such measures as might divert the energy of

From Jerusalem to Caesarea. 399
his adversaries into another direction. Remembering well
the bitterness of the old debates between the Pharisees and
the Sadducees, and having now, as a Christian, stronger con
victions than ever as to the immortality of the soul and the
resurrection of the body, he cried out, " Men and brethren,
I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee : of the hope and
resurrection of the dead I am called in question." The
Sadducees were the broad school of the Jewish Church, and
rejected the doctrine of the existence of angels or spirit,
while they treated the idea of the resurrection of the dead
with ridicule and scorn. The Pharisees, on the other hand,
were orthodox Jews, and contended earnestly for the things
which the Sadducees denied. Now, the resurrection of the
dead had been assured to Paul by the rising of Christ from
the grave ; and the resurrection of Christ was the cardinal .
fact in the Gospel history. In referring to it here, there
fore, we may suppose that his main purpose was to meet the
Pharisees on that which was common ground both to him
and them. As in Lycaonia, he took his hearers first on the
lower level of natural religion, in order the better thereby to
lead them to Christ ; and as in Athens he began his address
to the philosophers with the quotation of an inscription from
one of their own altars, so now he proclaims his agreement
with the Pharisees in the more important parts of their
creed, with the view, if the opportunity offered, of leading
them up to that Saviour wnose resurrection had forever set
tled the question which was in dispute between them and
the Sadducees. Thus he lifts the council above all paltry
questions about himself, and fixes the attention of its mem
bers upon the most momentous subjects that can occupy
the minds of men.
Perhaps, also, he had the conviction that, even if he could
not thus gain the Pharisees for Christ, he would at least di
vide the ranks of his hearers, and so set them against each

400 Paul the Missionary.
other that they would forget their animosity to him. In
either case the result would be advantageous, and therefore
he flung among them this lighted brand, and waited to see
whether it would kindle them into inquiry, or set them on
fire with controversial zeal. The latter was the effect pro
duced. On the one part, the Sadducees were bitter in their
antagonism ; on the other, the Pharisees were ardent in their
support. Consistency constrained the latter to admit that
he might be right. They said, " He told us yesterday of a
vision which he had in the Temple, and for all you say to
the contrary, O ye Sadducees, it is possible that a spirit or
an angel did speak unto him. Now, if that were indeed the
case, then in fighting against him ye are fighting against
God." Curious, is it not, that they came so near the truth ?
Yet this frank admission of the possibilities of the case was
owing more to their desire to silence their old adversaries,
than to any intelligent conviction which they had of the
correctness of Paul's doctrines. They did not care for him
save only as a means of humbling them ; and thus the meet
ing degenerated into a wrangle over him, in which he was
in danger of being pulled in pieces between them. This,
however, the chief captain could not permit. The life of a
Roman citizen was in peril, and therefore he sent his sol
diers to bring the apostle back into the castle.
And now that he was left alone, the heart of Paul might
begin to sink within him. Was this, indeed, the result of
his fondly-cherished purpose to visit Rome ? Hardly had
he set foot in Jerusalem before he was in bonds ; and this to
one of his active habits, and eager as he was to be useful to
his fellow-men, would be a great affliction. He would feel
himself to be held back from the great labor and joy of his
life, and would be in danger of falling into despondency.
But God came timely to his aid. In the night he had a
vision, in which the Lord said to him, " Be of good cheer,

From Jerusalem to Caesarea. 401
Paul : for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must
thou bear witness also at Rome ;" and with that gracious
assurance he was satisfied. He did not distress himself
about the manner of his going : he was content with the
pledge that he should go, and he left the rest to God, de
termined only to wait and watch for the development of the
purpose of his Lord concerning him.
The following day a formidable conspiracy was organized
for his destruction. Forty men bound themselves with an
oath that they would neither eat nor drink until they had
slain him, and they asked the chief priests and elders to
lend themselves to their scheme. They proposed that the
council should request the captain to send Paul down to
them once more on the pretence that they wished to make
some fuller inquiry into his case, and they promised that
they would make away with him before he could reach the
place of meeting. It was adroitly planned ; and the men,
whose predecessors in office did not scruple to give money
for the betrayal of Jesus, would not hesitate about accept
ing this proposal for the murder of his disciple. But God
had otherwise determined ; and he is never at a loss for in
struments to carry out his designs. By some means, not
known to us, and yet not to be wondered at by us — for a
secret cannot long be a secret that is known to forty men —
the existence of the plot became known to Paul's nephew,
who was then in Jerusalem, and who, with exemplary pru
dence, at once informed his uncle of the pit that had been
dug for him. The apostle immediately procured for him
an audience with the chief captain, who heard the story
with all the courtesy of an educated Roman ; and after
cautioning his informant to tell no one that he had spoken
with him, he took instant measures to frustrate the designs
of the cpnspirators. He ordered a contingent of men, both
cavalry and infantry, to be ready to proceed to Cassarea

4C2 Paul the Missionary.
that night at nine o'clock ; and when that hour arrived, he
sent Paul with them on horseback, with a relay of horses,
that there might be no delay by the way. He gave them
also a letter to Felix, the governor, whose official residence
was at Cassarea. This letter, which I think Luke must have
seen and copied, is given here in full, and is an interesting
specimen of the official correspondence of the period. It
gives a fair account of the circumstances of the case, except
in one particular, in regard to which Claudius screens him
self by a deviation from the truth. He makes it appear that
his first interference on Paul's behalf was in consequence
of his having discovered that he was a Roman citizen;
whereas he did not find out that fact until the centurion,
by his orders, was in the act of preparing to examine him
by scourging. But, unhappily, this indifference to truth,
when personal interests are involved, was far from uncom
mon among the Romans, even as it is not utterly unknown
among ourselves.
Guarded by his military convoy, Paul went by night to
Antipatris, a distance of about forty-two miles from Jerusa
lem. Here the foot-soldiers were sent back to the castle of
Antonia, and the remainder of the journey — some twenty-six
miles — was made by him with the cavalry escort alone. On
the arrival of the party at Cassarea, the officer in charge took
Paul at once to Felix, and delivered the letter with which
Claudius had intrusted him. When the governor had read
that, he simply asked to what province the apostle belonged ;
and when he learned that he was from Cilicia, he signified
his intention of hearing his case, when, according to the ar
rangement made by Lysias, his accusers should appear.
Then he ordered that he should be kept in Herod's palace,
of which he was at the time himself an occupant. Here,
however, it will be convenient for us to suspend this inter
esting history, that we may give point to some of the les-

From Jerusalem to Caesarea. 403
sons which we may learn from the record over which we
have come.
We are taught, then, in the first place, that prudence as
well as courage is needful in the service of the Lord Jesus.
We cannot read the address of our apostle from the castle
stairs, or the account of his bearing in the presence of the
council, without marvelling at the sagacity which he showed
on both occasions. He was as far removed from rashness
as from cowardice ; and he had in him nothing of that fool
ish eagerness for martyrdom which is seen in many Chris
tians of the early centuries. Everything which without com
promising conscience or sacrificing principle he could do,
either for the conciliation of others or for his own safety,
was cheerfully done by him. Thus, in his defence before
the people, he took pains so to arrange his words as to be
speak their attention ; and it was not until, by the necessity
of his position, he had to refer to his mission to the Gen
tiles, that he uttered that sentence by which they were en
raged. In the same way, when the ignominy of scourging
was about to be inflicted on him, he was not above stand
ing on his undoubted right as a Roman citizen. And when
he was before the council, he so put his case as to gain at
least the sympathy of some of his hearers, and divide his
antagonists into two contending parties. Now, in all this
he has set us an example which we may profitably follow.
Just before the disruption of the Scottish Church, the
great philosopher, Sir William Hamilton, who was then a
professor in the University of Edinburgh, issued an appeal
to the party which was led by Dr. Chalmers, bearing these
words as its title, " Be not martyrs by mistake." Now?
though his application of that advice to the case in point
was open to question — was, in my judgment, inappropriate,
and indeed inaccurate — yet the advice itself, taken as a
general maxim, is full of wisdom. We are not to elevate a

404 Paul the Missionary.
minor scruple to the height of an essential doctrine of the
faith, and make enemies for ourselves by the manner of our
advocacy of something which is not worth disputing about.
Neither are we to throw our lives away, when by the slight
est exercise of prudence they may be preserved for further
service in the Master's cause. This, indeed, so far as I can
understand them, is the meaning of the preacher's words,
" Be not righteous overmuch : why shouldest thou destroy
thyself ?"* and if we examine the records of church history,
we shall find that many who shed their blood apparently for
Christ have really been martyrs either to their own folly,
which would not use perfectly allowable means for their de
liverance, or to their own pride, which would not let them
yield what without any disloyalty to the Great Master they
might very well have conceded. When we take a stand,
therefore, let us be sure that we are taking it from a regard
to Christ, and not simply from self-conceit. And when we
are called to suffer as Paul was here, let us be sure that
we have done everything short of giving up principle, to
prevent such an issue. If men are offended, let us take
care that it is at the truth, and not at anything that is con
nected simply with ourselves. With all the prudence we
can exercise, we may lay our account with frequent failures.
We shall not always succeed in gaining our adversaries for
Christ, or in securing our own safety ; but then, when we
have taken all precautions, we shall be perfectly clear that
we are suffering for Christ, and so we shall have a claim
upon his presence and assistance. How many young min
isters have destroyed their happiness for the time, and per
haps also impaired their usefulness for life, by the lack of
just such wisdom — or call it rather common-sense — as Paul
was continually manifesting ! They will not study men.
* Eccles. vii., id

From Jerusalem to C^sarea. 405
They will not endeavor in any degree to become, even in
things indifferent, " all things to all men." They are for
ever taking their position on some little thing of no conse
quence whatever, and saying regarding it, " By this I stand
or fall ;" and of course they fall, and they fall covered not
with the glory of Christian martyrdom, but with the dis
grace of ignorance and self-conceit. Whosoever you are,
therefore, who are professing to work for Christ, see that it
is for Christ you are working, and go to work wisely. Do
not alienate from you, by your extreme views or your cut
ting criticisms, those who are in the Church. Look for that
which is best in everybody, and address yourselves to that
in recognition and love. Above all, consider well what shall
be the probable results of your conduct in a given case.
Remember that no one is perfect — not even yourselves ;
and seek as far as practicable, without sacrificing principle,
to adapt yourselves to the imperfections of those with whom
you have to work. Do not burn down the church simply
that you may. warm your hands at the blaze ; for if you do,
you will find that you are yourselves so scarred by the
flames, that men will keep their distance from you for the
rest of your lives. How often, alas, a man runs madly
against a pillar expecting to be called a martyr to some
great principle, and finds, in his sorrowful retrospect, that
he has been a " martyr by mistake !"
We are taught, in the second place, by this history, that
when we are in the greatest extremity God will come to us
with his richest consolation. What a good Master Paul
served ! Who can read without emotion the account of the
vision with which he was favored on the first night of hit
imprisonment, ere yet he had become accustomed to his
chain, when he was in danger of sinking into despondency,
and was beginning to fear lest his cherished visit to the
great imperial metropolis would never be accomplished ?

406 Paul the Missionary.
" Be of good cheer, Paul : for as thou hast testified of me
in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome."
Truly it is written, "A bruised reed shall he not break, and
the smoking flax shall he not quench." When we review the
accounts of the doings and sufferings of the people of God
in other days, we are sometimes apt to say within ourselves
that, if we had been in their circumstances, we should sure
ly have given way, and brought dishonor on the Christian
name, and we begin to suspect that we are not Christians
at all. But we forget. God fitted them by his special grace
for their special work ; and if ever again similar demarids
shall be made upon his servants, he will similarly endow
them to meet them. So, again, when we peruse the records
of the experiences of believers on their death -beds with
which Christian biography abounds, we may be apt to think
that we could not be like them in the hour and article of
dying, and we begin to question the genuineness of our faith.
But here, too, we forget ; for what mean these words, " At
evening time it shall be light ;" and again, " My strength is
made perfect in weakness " ? It is good to be in Christ — in
deed, indispensable to be in Christ — and so to be always
ready for death ; but that is a different thing from always
feeling ready to die ; and I have never recognized the ques
tion, " Are you ready to die?" as a true or proper test where
with to try a man's spiritual condition. When a Christian
is to die, God will give him the feeling of readiness to die.
In the good old-fashioned phrase, " he will give dying grace
for a dying hour," just as here he gave Paul peculiar help
for a peculiar necessity. Courage, then, my brother ! ¦ Do
the work that is at thy hand for Christ's sake, and out of
love to him. Leave everything else to him. Do not meet
difficulties until they come; for when they come he will give
thee strength to overcome them. Do not trouble thyself,
either, about dying. God does not wish the pathway of thy

From Jerusalem to Oesarea. 407
life to be forever darkened with the shadow of death. Go
forward, and when thou comest to the river thou shalt find
the ark of the covenant already in it, and thou shalt pass
over dry-shod— ay, though it should be the time of harvest,
when usually the floods are but !
Finally, we may learn from this chapter of Paul's history,
that though God's promise is apparently unqualified, it does
not absolve us from the prompt and energetic use of means.
The Lord assured Paul that he should bear witness of him
at Rome ; yet when the apostle heard of the conspiracy of
the Jews to take away his life, he did not fall back upon
that promise with folded hands, and take no measures to in
sure his safety. On the contrary — and here again we see
his admirable common-sense — he sent his nephew at once
to the chief captain, and did all that was in his power to
baffle the designs of the conspirators. Now, it is the same
with all the promises which God has given. They are ful
filled through the co-operation of human agency with the
divine, and both are needful to gain the end. That is not
faith, therefore, but presumption, which ignores all means,
and expects that the blessing will come. The offering of a
prayer binds us to the use of means for the securing" of its
answer. The trusting of a promise will bring only disap
pointment to us unless, like Paul here, we take measures —
such at least as are in our own power — to secure its fulfil
ment. God promises us the victory, but it is in connection
with the command, " Fight the good fight of faith." God
promises us a harvest ; but it is after this fashion, " Be not
weary in well-doing : for in due season we shall reap, if we
faint not." There is no reaping assured to isolated effort,
or to fitful, spasmodic labor ; but only to a sustained course
of perseverance in well-doing. God promises the crown of
life, but it is on this" wise : " Be thou faithful unto death, and
I will give thee a crown of life." So in regard to temporal
18

408 Paul the Missionary.
blessings. It is the hand of the diligent that maketh rich ;
and if we go down upon our knees and cry for bread, while
yet we take no measures to obtain the labor by which we
may earn it, we are insulting God, even when we are seem
ing most to trust him. Effort without prayer is impiety;
prayer without effort is mockery. In the union of the two
is the highest wisdom.

XXII.
PAUL BEFORE FELIX: FELIX BEFORE PAUL.
Acts xxiv.
BEFORE entering upon the details of Paul's trial at the
bar of Felix, we must interpolate a brief summary of
some leading events in Jewish history, together with a short
description of the characters of those persons who now, for
the first time, make their appearance in our narrative.
When Herod Agrippa, the King of the Jews, expired at
Caesarea, under the circumstances described in the twelfth
chapter of The Acts, he left four children — one son, Agrippa
the younger, who will soon come before us as the guest of
Festus, and three daughters, Bernice, Mariamne, and Dru
silla. The Roman Emperor, Claudius, had promised the
youthful Agrippa that he should sit upon his father's throne ;
but under the influence of Agrippina, the empress, he kept
the Jewish prince at Rome on the plea that he was too
young to bear the burden of royalty, and sent Cuspius Fa
dus out to be the governor of Judaea, which thus relapsed
into a Roman province. After two years, this man was su
perseded by Tiberius Alexander, a renegade Jew, who had
turned heathen to advance his worldly interests. In two
years more he too was displaced, and succeeded by Ven-
tidius Ciimanus, whose term of office was characterized by so
many tumults and enormities that he was sent to Rome to
give an account of his stewardship before the emperor, the
result being that he was banished, and Antonius Felix was

410 Paul the Missionary.
appointed in his room. This man, originally a slave, was
the brother of Pallas, one of the freedmen of the Emperor,
and at this time his particular favorite. To the influence
of Pallas, seconded by that of the Empress Agrippina, and
supported also, in an evil hour for himself, by the Jewish
high-priest Jonathan, Felix owed his elevation to the gov
ernment of Judasa. His character has been thus described
by the historian Tacitus : " In the practice of all kinds of
cruelty and lust, he exercised the power of a king with the
temper of a slave ;" and again : " He did not think it need
ful to put any restraint on his desires, but considered his
connection with the emperor's favorite as a license for the
worst of crimes."* His period of office was full of troubles
and seditions, but he had a ready and unscrupulous prompt
itude which succeeded in stamping out rebellion for the
time by the use of the harshest measures. When Jonathan,
the high-priest, expostulated with him for his conduct, it was
generally believed that he hired assassins, who slew the prel
ate within the very precincts of the Temple ; and to his ad
ministration we may apply, with even greater pertinence,
the words which Milman has used with reference to that of
Cumanus, and say that in it " the low and sullen murmurs
which announced the approaching eruption of the dark vol
cano, now gathering in Palestine, became more distinct."t
In private life he was equally reprehensible, for he allowed
no considerations of justice or morality to stand between
him and the gratification of his wishes. Becoming enam
ored of Drusilla, sister of Agrippa, and one of the greatest
beauties of her time, he employed the Cyprian soothsayer,
Simon — by some supposed to have been identical with Si
mon Magus — to persuade her to elope to him from her hus-

* Tacitus, " Ann.," xii., 54 ; " History," v., 9.
t " History of the Jews," vol. ii., p. 174.

Paul before Felix: Felix before Paul. 411
band, Azizus, King of Emesa ; and at the time to which our
history belongs, these two were living at Caesarea in adul
terous alliance. Such was the judge at whose bar the apos
tle was now to stand. Let us see how the proceedings were
conducted. It was an understood regulation in the Roman courts,
Jhat a prisoner was to be brought up for trial as soon as
possible after his apprehension ; therefore, five days after
Paul's removal from Jerusalem to Caesarea, the Jews made
their appearance in the palace hall to prosecute their case.
They were headed by Ananias, the high-priest, and accom
panied by a barrister named Tertullus. Judging from his
name, this lawyer was probably a Roman ; and we know
that it was not uncommon at that date for young advocates
to leave the metropolis for a time, and, in the wake of some
newly -appointed governor, go out to one or other of the
provinces, so that by practising in the courts abroad they
might the better fit themselves for rising to eminence in the
Forum at home. It fell upon Tertullus here, as counsel for
the prosecution, to open the case. He began, as was cus
tomary", with a compliment to the judge ; but in the very
framing of that, he must have felt himself considerably em
barrassed. Felix was neither a good governor nor a respect
able man ; moreover, he was heartily hated by the Jews. If,
therefore, the orator had praised him overmuch, he would
have offended his clients ; but, on the other hand, if he had
refrained from all eulogy, he might have displeased Felix,
and thus lost his cause. Therefore, with a tact which is as
creditable to his ingenuity as to his honesty, he fixed upon
the only thing that was praiseworthy in the government o'f
the procurator, and made honorable mention of the energy
and success with which he had repressed freebooters . and
rebels in the land, and thereby preserved something like or
der among the people. This done, he went on to prefer his

412 Paul the Missionary.
accusation against Paul, speaking, of course, from the brief
with which he had been furnished. Luke has given us only
the heads of the indictment, but he has said enough to let
us clearly understand the object which the adversaries of
the apostle had in view. Tertullus accused him of three
things : first, of being a mover of sedition among the Jews
throughout the empire ; second, of being a ringleader in the
sect of the Nazarenes ; and third, of having profaned the
Temple of Jerusalem. The first of these charges was an
offence against Roman law, and amounted to an accusation
of treason against the emperor ; but there was evidently no
intention of pressing that. The other two were violations
of the Jewish law; and there can be no doubt that the de
sign of Tertullus, as instructed by the Jews, was to get the
governor to send the case back to the council at Jerusalem,
as being one that more properly belonged to its jurisdiction.
If he had done that, then the Jews would have had Paul
completely in their power, and would have made short work
with his execution. I do not suppose that they told Tertul
lus all that was in their minds, or that he was in any sense
a partner in their plot; but that he meant, if possible, to have
Paul sent back to Jerusalem, is evident from the fact that
he attempted to convey the impression that Lysias had, with
great violence, removed the apostle from the council when
he was actually standing before its tribunal. Tertullus put
the case, no doubt, as it had been represented to him ; but
we know how untrue that representation was. We have
seen how, so far from seeking to judge Paul according to
their law, they would once and again have torn him in
pieces without any show of trial, but for the interference
of the chief captain. We have seen, too, that his appear
ance before the council at all was at the instance of the
captain, that he might learn something more concerning
him, and that consequently Paul had never been a criminaj

Paul before Felix .• Felix before Paul. 413
before it's bar. But they wanted to have him back, that
they might destroy him ; and so they gave to Tertullus this
version of the story, which he set forth in the court with all
the added attractiveness of eloquence, and then, with a ref
erence to the number and respectability of his witnesses, he
resumed his seat.
When he had ceased, his clients signified their approval
of all that he had advanced on their behalf, and then the
governor asked what Paul had to say for himself. Very
quietly the apostle commences his reply, and as he pro
ceeds, we note the courtesy, the calmness, the dignity, and
the cogency of his answer. He, too, has a word of respect
for the judge ; for, though the character of the man was des
picable, the dignity of the office was honorable, therefore
he congratulates himself that he is arraigned before one
whose long residence in the country had given him some
acquaintance with the peculiarities of the people and of
their religion. Then, beginning at his arrival in Jerusalem
to keep the feast of Pentecost, he took up and disposed of
the accusations of Tertullus in regular order. He had been
no mover of sedition, for, only twelve days before, he had
gone up to the Holy City to take alms to the poor of his
nation, and neither then nor on any former occasion, neither
in the Temple, nor in the synagogues, nor in the street, had
he entered into dispute with any man, or in any way at
tempted to disturb the peace. It was, therefore, impossible
for his adversaries to prove any of the assertions which, on
that head, they had made. Then, as to his being one of the
Nazarenes, it was certainly true that, after the way which
they called a sect, he worshipped the God of his fathers ;
but it was still the God of his fathers whom he worship
ped. He believed, as thoroughly as his accusers professed
to do, all the things which were written in the law and in
the prophets ; and if it were allowable to have sects of

414 Paul the Missionary.
Pharisees and Sadducees among the Jews, he did not see
anything illegal in the existence of that of the Nazarenes,
especially as the great hope which he cherished was one
which he held in common with the Pharisees, this, namely,
" that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the
just and the unjust." Nor did he hold that hope in con
junction with an unrighteous life ; for he steadfastly exer
cised himself " to have always a conscience void of offence
toward God and toward men." Further, as touching their
allegation about the profanation of the Temple, it was false
from beginning to end. He had, indeed, gone into the Tem
ple with offerings, and while he was there he had been as
saulted by certain Jews from Asia ; but he was there in the
discharge of a sacred duty, and he had made no tumult,
neither had he taken Gentiles with him into the forbidden
court. Let them prove the contrary if they could. Where
were those Jews from Asia who had first created prejudice
against him ? It was strange that they had not been called
to give their testimony. Had they been spirited away be
cause it had been discovered that they could not substan
tiate their assertions ? But even failing them, let those pres
ent stand forth and declare whether they had found any evil-
doing in him save that to which he had already referred,
namely, that he had said, " Touching the resurrection of the
dead am I called in question this day."
Felix saw at once that the statement of Paul was more in
harmony with the letter of the chief captain than was that
of Tertullus ; but in the mention of those alms which the
apostle spoke of he scented gold, and, with an eye to a bribe,
he remanded the prisoner, openly professing that he would
inquire thoroughly into the case when Claudius Lysias
should come down, but inwardly desiring to give an oppor
tunity for the offer of money. With the same object in
view, he did not send Paul to the common prison, but com-

Paul before Felix: Felix before Paul. 415
mitted him to a centurion, that he might be kept in military
custody— that is to say, chained by his right arm to a sol
dier's left — but having permission to enjoy the fullest fel
lowship with his friends.
Thus commenced that long captivity which lasted for at
least two years after Paul's arrival at Rome, and yet the
heart of the apostle was not unduly depressed. He had
within him the comfort of the Holy Ghost, and his loneli
ness was brightened for him by the society .of Christian
brethren. Philip, the evangelist, lived at Caesarea, and there
also were many other disciples who would consider it an
honor to be permitted to minister to him. Besides, as Luke
and Aristarchus are found setting out with him on his voy
age to Rome two years later, it is likely that they were with
him all the while, and perhaps it was during this time that
Luke wrote at Paul's suggestion, and after diligent inquiry
of his own, that beautiful gospel which has so refreshed
the Church of Christ in every age. If that were indeed
the case, then what a blessed result has accrued to us
from this seemingly untoward, and really unjust, confine
ment !
But the Christians in Caesarea were not the only ones in
terested in the noble prisoner. Drusilla had heard his story,
probably from Felix himself, and we may perhaps conclude
that it was at her request that the governor " sent for Paul,
and heard from him concerning the faith of Christ." An
inferior man might have been tempted to avail himself pf
such an opportunity for pleading his own cause; and a
timid man might have been frightened into a guilty silence
regarding the sins of which his hearers had been guilty, par
ticularly if he remembered the fate of Jonathan, the high-
priest ; but with Paul Christ was ever uppermost, and the
desire to save souls the ruling passion ; and therefore, with
out any cautious balancing of probabilities or any calcula-
18*

416 Paul the Missionary.
tion of the effect which his words might have upon his own
prospects, he preached fully, faithfully, and we must add
also, appropriately. We do not know the precise course
which he followed ; but it seems natural to conclude that
he began with a statement of the facts regarding Christ ;
that, remembering that Drusilla was a Jewess, he went on
to show how in these the prophecies of the Old Testament
were fulfilled ; and that, by way of application, he proceed
ed to show how men needed to be saved from their sins,
and how Jesus wrought out in them the deliverance they
required. Probably it was in this last connection that he
reasoned of righteousness so necessary in all men, but es
pecially in a judge ; of continence or chastity, in regard to
which his hearers had been such scandalous offenders ; and
of that judgment to come, which is before every man, and at
which we must all give account of the deeds done in the
body, whether they have been good or whether they have
been evil. But whatever was the method which he adopt
ed, his word was with power, for " Felix trembled." As he
was confronted alike with the past and with the future, and
made to feel almost as if he were already at the bar of God,
he shuddered like the Chaldean monarch when he saw
" the dread handwriting on the wall." But his emotion did
not lead him to repentance, and so he only said, " Go thy
way for this time ; when I have a convenient season, I will
call for thee." As for Drusilla, it does not appear that any
very great impression was produced on her. Haply — for
your guilty ones are always purists, at least by affectation —
she might go away complaining that Paul was a vulgar and
indelicate fellow ; but whatever she thought then, one would
like to know whether any lingering echo of the apostle's
words was sounding in her secret ear, on that dreadful day
so graphically described by the younger Pliny in one of his
letters to the historian Tacitus, when she and her son per

Paul before Felix: Felix before Paul. 417
ished so suddenly in the eruption of Vesuvius, which buried
Herculaneum and Pompeii beneath its ashes.
Often after this Felix sent for Paul with the secret hope
of having the offer of a bribe made to him, but never again
was he so moved about the concerns of his soul ; and so,
when, two years later, he was recalled to Rome, under accu
sation from the Jews at Caesarea, he left Paul bound, think
ing thereby to propitiate his enemies and prevent them
from proceeding to extremities against him.
The central point of the history over which to-night we
have come is the interview between Paul and Felix, at
which, for the time, the parties seemed to have changed
places, and the prisoner laid down the law before the judge,
while the judge trembled before the prisoner. There is
here much material for practical reflection. I select only a
few particulars.
Notice, then, in the first place, the twofold power of con
science as here indicated. I enter not now into any meta
physical analysis of that which we call conscience. Let it
suffice to say that it is that within us which gives us the
distinction between right and wrong, along with the feeling
of obligation to do the one and to refrain from doing the
other. It lays down the law to the soul. It deals in the
words "ought" and "ought not;" and by its decisions it
lays claim to that which Bishop Butler calls " supremacy,"
while it answers to the description of it given by the same
author as " that superior principle in every man which dis
tinguishes between the internal principles of his heart as
well as his external actions ; which passes judgment upon
himself and them ; pronounces determinately some actions
to be in themselves just, right, good ; others to be in them
selves evil, wrong, unjust ; which, without being consulted,
without being advised with, magisterially exerts itself, and
approves or condemns him the doer of them, accordingly ;

418 Paul the Missionary.
and which, if not forcibly stopped, naturally and always, of
course, goes on to anticipate a higher and more effectual
sentence, which shall hereafter second and affirm its own."*
Its phenomena are familiar to every man who communes
much with his own heart, and they are to me inexplicable
unless they are understood as pointing directly and imme
diately to Him who is the source of all law. They are not
wrong, therefore, in my judgment, who speak of it as God's
vicegerent in the soul, or as the God within the breast.
This is the law written on the heart, of which Paul makes
mention in one of his letters, and to which he refers when he
says, " When the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nat
ure the things contained in the law, these, having not the law,
are a law unto themselves." No doubt the depravity of the
heart has in many well-nigh effaced the writing, yet enough
remains to witness for the right and to condemn the wrong.
Now see what a force this inner principle possesses, as il
lustrated by the contrast which the history before us pre
sents. On the one hand, when the apostle is accused, and
is called to answer for himself, he is calm and courageous;
on the other, when Felix hears Paul's irrefutable reasoning
about judgment to come, he is alarmed, and trembles. Why
this difference between the two ? The answer is easy. Paul
had exercised himself " to have always a conscience void of
offence toward God and toward men." He knew that the
things laid to his charge by his accusers were untrue. He
had done, in regard to them, no wrong ; and as before God
he had the assurance that his sins were forgiven for the
sake of Christ, and had the witness in himself that he was
following the guidance of him whose he was and whom he
served, he had a good conscience, and that made him a hero.

* " Sermons on Human Nature," by Rt. Rev. Joseph Butler, D.D.
) Sermon II.).

Paul before Felix : Felix before Paul. 419
But Felix was haunted by the remembrance of his unjust
decisions, his robberies, his cruelties, and his impurities.
He could not vindicate himself to himself. How then could
he stand before the bar of God ? He had an evil con
science, and that made him a coward. My hearer, what
does your conscience say about you ? Does it give you
boldness at the thought of the day of judgment ? or does it
fill you with dismay at the idea of your being " naked and
open before the eyes of Him with whom you have to do ?"
Do not forget that there is a judgment to come, the awards
of which shall be unerring and eternal. As you would pre
pare for that ordeal, I entreat you now to anticipate it ; and
if your own heart condemns you, and is even- now forecast
ing' its doom, I implore you, while yet your day of grace
lasts, to betake yourself to Jesus, that he may cleanse your
conscience from guilt, and may purge it from dead works
to serve the living God.
Notice, in the second place, the danger of stifling convic
tions. Felix did not allow his feeling of the guilt of sin to
ripen into conversion, but overlaid it with the pleasures and
the ambitions of his daily life. He sent no more for Paul
to renew his reasonings before him ; and as we learn from
history, he was recalled to Rome, where he would have suf
fered the penalty due to his atrocities, had not his brother
prevailed upon the emperor to spare his life. Thus he
never again was stirred to the depths of his soul by the
truth, and. never, so far as we know, even desired to amend
his life, but died as he had lived, the votary of appetite and
the slave of sin. Not every one who trembles under the
faithful presentation of God's truth is converted. Perhaps
there are some here to-night who can recall the time when,
by the solemn and earnest proclamation of the law, they
were cut to the heart, and as they passed out of the house
of prayer they said within themselves, " Yes, it is all true !

420 Paul the Missionary.
I must live another life ;" but when the morrow came, they
put the impression away from them, and they went their
way to their business and their merchandise, determined to
banish all spiritual subjects from their minds. It may be
that this description of their case has moved Jhem again,
and that even as I speak they are sorely disturbed. Friends,
will you be on your guard against repeating your former
folly ? Po not stifle your convictions ! Do not choke down
the cry which is even now seeking to find expression from
your lips ! Let it come out clear, sharp, and decisive, " Lord
save me, I perish!" and let the feeling of this moment stiffen
into a principle for life. Break away from every sin, and
henceforth live not unto yourselves, but unto Him who died
for you and rose again. They who attempt to overlay the
reproaches of their consciences are only increasing their
ultimate misery. They remind me of the janitor of the
academy at which I was educated, who, when he was told
one day that the chimney of the fire which warmed the
building had ignited, and that the building itself would soon
be in flames, went and deliberately put more coal into the
furnace. It smothered the flame for a few moments, but
by-and-by it intensified the fire. So, the more men cover up
their convictions the worse shall be the issue. While I was
a minister in Liverpool, there came into the river Mersey
a cotton-laden ship which for the last ten days of her voy
age had been on fire. By dint of skill and energy on the
part of the captain and crew in battening down the hatches
and excluding all external air, the danger had been kept
down. At length, however, when she was brought to anch
or, the hold was opened up, and then the flames leaped
out apparently all the more furiously from their long con
finement, and she burnt to the water's edge. So, my hearer,
you may go through life covering up the hatchways of your
conscience and keeping down its flames, and you may sue-

Paul before Felix: Felix before Paul. 421
ceed for the time ; but when you come to life's end, God
himself will lay your bosom bare, and then its hidden fires
of remorse will burst forth "fierce as ten furies, terrible
as hell," yea, hell itself; arfd who shall be able to deliver
you? Notice, again, the hypocrisy of procrastination. Felix put
Paul off nominally only for that time ; but he never meant
to call for him on the same business again. That " conven
ient season " never came. Still, somehow he flattered him
self into the belief that he had not directly refused to do as
God required, but had only delayed. He forgot that delay
is refusal for the time. If, therefore, your refusal is rooted,
as that of Felix was here, in a determination to remain in
the practice of your sins, do not bid Christ or his messenger
depart "for this time," and allege that it is only a conven
ient season you are waiting for. That is a sham, a mockery
— in plain speech, a .lie. Face the question thoroughly.
Has Christ any right to you ? Yes ? or, No ? If he has,
then yield yourself to him at once ; if he has not, then think
no more about him. If Baal be God, follow him ; but if
Jehovah, then follow him. But do not prevaricate. Do not
say one thing when you mean another, or make a promise
which you have no intention whatever of keeping ?
But suppose I admit that your procrastination is not a
make-believe, and is pure dilatoriness, then reflect who it is
that you are putting off after this fashion. It is not the
preacher — it is not even an apostle — it is the Lord Jesus
Christ himself; and who are you that you should presume
to keep him waiting your convenience ? Reflect again on
the uncertainties in the case : you are calculating on the
future. But whose is the future ? Whose is to - morrow ?
What is to-morrow ? It is, so says the proverb, " the day
when the idle man works, and the fool reforms." It is, says
another, " a period nowhere to be found in all the hoary

¦422 Paul the Missionary.
registers of time, save perchance in the fool's calendar." It
promises blessings which, if only you had eyes to see them,
are already furnished by to-day, and which, if you neglect
them now, you may never hav* another opportunity of ac
quiring. I have no Gospel for to-morrow. My commission
is only for to-day. It is utterly uncertain whether we shall
see to-morrow ; and therefore it is the height of folly for any
one to defer till then the settlement of the momentous mat
ter of his soul's salvation. Besides, even if it were certain
that we should see and enjoy the morrow, it will not be any
easier then to break away from sin than it is to-day. In
deed, it will not be so easy ; for the longer you continue in
a course of sin, of whatever sort it may be, whether intem
perance, or sensuality, or deceit, or covetousness, it will be
the harder for you to give it up. The cords of habit, which
at first are light as the spider's airy gossamer, grow thicker
and thicker the longer it is indulged in ; and each new act
of conformity puts another coil of the cord, so thickened,
round you ; therefore, that which might have been snapped
asunder at first as easily as Samson broke the withes, can,
after years, be severed only, if severed at all, by agony and
effort. The ivy, in its early creepings up the house side, may
be cut down with ease ; but if you let it alone long enough,
it will so grow into the walls that you cannot remove it
without taking down the building. Like it, a habit, if long-
continued, will so grow into the soul that, when you try to
tear it out, it will be like breaking your very heart-strings ;
and the longer it is practised, it will be the worse. If, there
fore, you would not become helpless in the bondage of sin
— if you would not add needlessly to the striving which, in
any case, is required to enter in at the strait gate, then begin
at once. Rise in the might of God's Holy Ghost, and put
forth one sincere, believing, sustained and prayerful effort,
and then the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus will set

Paul before Felix : Felix before Paul. 423
you free from the law of sin and death which heretofore has
ruled within you. " To-day, if you will hear his voice, hard
en not your hearts."
Notice, in the last place, the fettering influence of sin as
here illustrated. This was probably the crisis of the life of
Felix. I do not believe that in all his earthly existence
there was another occasion so important to him, or so
fraught with possibilities of everlasting good to him, as this
interview with Paul. I think I can see, too, that such better
nature as he had was on the apostle's side. His mind was
convinced by the reasoning of Paul. He knew he ought to
do as the faithful and affectionate preacher had said, but he
did not ; and the reason why he did not gives the true ex
planation of his procrastination, and is full of warning to us
all. He was held fast by the cords of his own sins. The
things which he had done in his past life, and the connec
tion into which he had entered with her who was sitting by
his side, handicapped him so completely that, though he
might otherwise have won the race, he could not even leave
the starting-post. Will you think of that, you who are now
indulging in sin, under the pleasing delusion that you may
break away from it at any time and return to God ? What
know you but that when the decision has to be made, for
good and all, you may be just as Felix was here — clogged
by an encumbering past which will not let you move ? You
are making or unmaking yourself in daily conduct for the
critical eras of your life — those narrow places " where there
is no turning to the right hand or to the left." Yes ! and
those times may come — commonly do come— when you are
not. thinking of them ; but when they come, if you have been
living all along in sin, you may find yourself as powerless
to meet the responsibilities of the moment, as the Laocoon
were to extricate themselves from the folds of the serpent.
Now, therefore, while you have the desire — now while God's

424 Paul the Missionary.
Spirit is striving with you — break away from the snares in,
which Satan would entangle you, lest when the call rouses
you to exertion, you may discover, like Samson, that the
Lord has departed from you ; or, like Felix, that you can
not — and cannot because you do not choose to — break away
from Drusilla even for the sake of Christ.

XXIII.
DEFENCE BEFORE AGRIPPA.
Acts xxv., xxvi.
CONCERNING Porcius Festus, by whom Felix was suc
ceeded, we know little more than can be gathered or
inferred from the sacred narrative. He seems to have pos
sessed those characteristics which were peculiar to the better
class of the educated Romans of his day. A cynic in phi
losophy, and a sceptic in religion, he was yet, probably, free
from those debasing vices which disgraced his predecessor.
As a judge, it is evident that he desired to do right, though
in the beginning of his administration the wish to conciliate
the people over whom he was to rule was sometimes, as in
the case of Paul, permitted by him to override his better
judgment; and he was ready to make concessions which
were not in the interests of justice. But, after all qualifica
tions have been made, he was a vast improvement on the
mean, mercenary, cruel, and unscrupulous Felix. At a later
date, he was not by any means so well-disposed toward
the Jews as he appears in the narrative of Luke here ; for
when Agrippa had offended the inhabitants of Jerusalem by
building a splendid dining-room, the window of which over
looked the Temple, and they had erected a wall to shut ouf
his view, Festus took part with Agrippa, and ordered the
wall to be pulled down. Against that command, the priests
appealed to Nero, and under the influence of the vile Pop-
paga, who sought to atone for her vices by a profession of

426 Paul the Missionary.
interest in religion, they were sustained.* Festus did not
long survive this imperial slight ; for in the second year of
his administration he died in his province.
When first he arrived at Caesarea, he would very likely
make a public entry into the city ; and we may form some
notion of the earnest purpose which he had to govern with
discretion, from the fact that, after so brief an interval as
three days, he went up to Jerusalem, in order that he might
become acquainted with the ecclesiastical customs and dig
nitaries of the people. He remained there for a little over
ten days, during which, among other requests presented to
him, he received a petition from the high -priest and the
chief men of the council to the effect that he would send
Paul for trial to Jerusalem. Behold the undying enmity of
these men ! A new high-priest now wore the mitre, for An
anias, as we learn from Josephus, had by this time been re
placed by Ishmael ; a new governor had come to Caesarea ;
but there was no change in the disposition of his adversa
ries toward Paul, save that their antagonism seems to have
increased in intensity as the months rolled past. For their
desire was not for justice ; and if the governor had yielded
to their entreaty, there would have been no trial of the apos
tle before any earthly tribunal whatever, since the conspira
tors, who two years before had sworn to assassinate him,
were ready still to put him to the dagger. It is not certain
that Festus saw through their plot, but he gave a reply, part
of which is repeated by him in his conversation with Agrip-
pa,f and part of which is recorded by Luke in his own nar
rative. % Putting both together, we have the substance of
his answer in the following statement : " It is not the man
ner of the Romans to deliver any man to die, before that

* Josephus, Ant, xx., viii., 11. t Acts xxv., 15, 16.
X Acts xxv., 5.

Defence before Agrippa. 427
he which is accused have the accusers face to face, and
have license to answer for himself concerning the crime laid
against him ; therefore Paul shall be kept at Caesarea, and
I shall myself depart shortly thither, when the principal men
among you may accompany me and accuse the prisoner, if
there be any wickedness in him." It is possible that in so
deciding, Festus merely wished to consult his own conven
ience ; but it is not improbable that he had found out that
Paul was a Roman citizen, and considering that he had
been sent from Jerusalem to Caesarea at first, he might be
led to infer that some underhand design was connected with
the request of the high -priest. But whatever his motive
was, he resisted the proposal of the Jewish magnates with
the quiet determination of a man who was not accustomed
to have his will opposed.
But he did not allow any time to be lost, and, so far as
appears, he had no such mercenary disposition as that which
moved Felix to delay, but was anxious to bring the case to
a speedy and righteous issue. On the very next day after
his return to Caesarea, therefore, he held a court for the trial
of Paul. As on the former occasion before Felix, the ac
cusers of the apostle charged him with three several of
fences, namely, heresy, in following the sect of the Naza
renes ; sacrilege, in profaning the Jewish Temple ; and trea
son, in speaking against Caesar. But he met all their asser
tions with a firm denial, saying, " Neither against the law of
the Jews, neither against the temple, nor yet against Cassar,
have I offended anything at all." The effect produced on
the mind of Festus was one of. perplexity. He had expect
ed to hear some civil crimes laid to the charge of the pris
oner ; but instead, to borrow his own words, " they raised
certain questions against him of their own superstition, and
of one Jesus, which was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be
alive." This unlooked-for turn of the case disposed Fes-

428 Paul the Missionary.
tus to seek for light from the Jews themselves ; and so, not
more, perhaps, to show favor to them than to get some fur
ther information for himself, he proposed that Paul should
go to Jerusalem and there be judged by the Sanhedrim, but
with the safeguard of his presence. This was yielding to the
Jews all they wished, and at the same time exposing Paul to
the attack of the assassin ; therefore, seeing no hope of any
other outlet from his perplexity, and perhaps, also, for the
first time, perceiving the door opening for his long-wished-
for visit to Rome, he said, " I stand at Caesar's judgment
seat, where I ought to be judged : to the Jews have I done
no wrong, as thou very well knowest. For if I be an offend
er, or have committed anything worthy of death, I refuse not
to die : but if there be none of these things whereof these
accuse me, no man may deliver me unto thefh. I appeal
unto Cesar."
Under the Roman Empire all the checks and balances
which in the republic existed against individual authority
were concentrated in the Emperor ; hence, while in former
days the people had the right of appeal to the tribunes for
protection against patrician injustice, they had now the right
of appeal to the emperor. Whatever influence was exerted
under the republic by the pontifex maximus, or the censor,
was now possessed by the emperor ; and so, by a most in
genious device, all the safeguards which had been erected
against tyranny in the republic were made the buttresses of
autocracy under the empire. But though, in the majority of
instances, the effect of all this was bad, and as a whole it
tended to that centralization which is the perfection of im
perialism, and the best means for the exercise of tyranny,
yet in the case of Paul the result was beneficial. It re
moved his trial from the neighborhood of partisanship and
intolerance, and insured that he would be carried to Rome
under the protection of the imperial power. Yet, as no de-

Defence before Agrippa. 429
cision had been pronounced on his case, there could not be,
and there was not, an appeal in the modern sense of the
term. The language employed by Festus, " Wilt thou go
up to Jerusalem and there be judged ?" implied that an ac
cused citizen had the right of being tried either by the pro
vincial magistrate or by the emperor; and since Festus
seemed to be willing to share his jurisdiction with the Jew
ish council, Paul wisely preferred to have the whole ques
tion referred to Rome. In the case of such appeals the
governor had a discretionary power, more or less elastic ;
and in all accusations of piracy or robbery, where the pris
oners had been taken in the act, he might proceed to pass
and execute sentence despite the appeal. So we read that
Festus conferred with his council before he announced his
decision, which he did at length, in these words : " Hast thou
appealed unto Caesar? unto Caesar shalt thou go." One
hears a tone of wounded dignity or offended pride in this
utterance, as if Paul had done him wrong in supposing that
he had any improper motive in asking whether he would go
to Jerusalem ; but if he had known all the circumstances as
Paul knew them, then he would have earnestly withstood
the demands of the Jews, and set Paul free, or he would
have been heartily glad to get rid of a case which was
fraught with mischief, however it might have been decided
by him. But, whatever his feelings might be, he could not
refuse to give effect to the appeal of the apostle ; and, there
fore, he had nothing further to do in the matter than to
make out the necessary papers, and send them and Paul as
speedily as possible to Rome.
But he had great difficulty in the preparation of these
documents ; for the whole case related to questions con
cerning which he had no knowledge, and for which he had
a supreme contempt. He could not specify the crimes laid
to the charge of Paul; neither could he send the depositions

430 Paul the Missionary.
of any witnesses ; and altogether he was greatly perplexed
While he was in this state of mind, Agrippa, the young King
of Chalcis, accompanied by his sister Bernice, came to pay
him a complimentary visit, on the occasion of his arrival in
his province, and in the course of his conferences with his
royal guest, knowing that he was acquainted with the laws
and customs of the Jews, he took occasion to submit the
whole case to him for advice. On learning the particulars,
Agrippa expressed a desire to hear Paul himself; and so,
on the very next day, at the summons of Festus, a brilliant
company convened in the court-room to listen to the vener
able apostle.
But before we give a summary of his defence on this
memorable occasion, it may be well to indicate the charac
ters of those two royal personages who were the principal
auditors, and for whose gratification especially the court was
held. Agrippa, as we have said in our last lecture, was the
son of that Herod who took such a prominent part in the
persecution of the early Church, and who, in the midst of
his pomp and pride, was smitten by the disease of which
he died. When that event occurred, Agrippa' was at Rome
basking in the sunshine of imperial favor; but though
Claudius had promised him his father's kingdom, he ex
cused himself from keeping his word on the score of Agrip-
pa's youth, and sent a procurator to take charge of Judaea,
which thus relapsed into a province. Herod remained four
years more at the imperial court, living the life of a volup
tuary, and then, on the death of his uncle, he received the
little province of Chalcis, with the right of superintending
the Temple at Jerusalem and appointing the high -priest.
At a still later date, he obtained the tetrarchies of Galilee
and Abylene, with the title of king. At first he was some
what popular among the Jews, because of his occasional in
tercession on their behalf at Rome ; but latterly he acted in

Defence before Agrippa. 431
such a way as grievously offended them. His character has
nothing in it that evokes our admiration ; and even heathen
satirists made frequent and scathing references to the scan
dals which were connected with his name. As for his sister
Bernice, she was one of the most dissolute of women ; and
her history, to borrow the words of Plumptre, " reads like a
horrible romance, or a page from the chronicles of the Bor-
gias."* She was the eldest daughter of Agrippa I., and was
married, while little more than a girl, to her uncle Herod, of
Chalcis. After his death, she came and lived, under circum
stances of the foulest suspicion, with her brother. She was
subsequently married to Polemon, King of Cilicia ; but she
left him and returned to her brother. Then, long after the
events narrated in this chapter, we find her at Rome, sus
taining an infamous relation to the Emperor Titus, which
the public opinion even of that age would not tolerate, and
so he was reluctantly compelled to dismiss her. Such were
the principal personages before whom Paul was now called
to plead. They were among the last of the Herodian race,
and they had all the characteristics of the family to which
they belonged ; for though they possessed more than the
average of mental ability, they were utterly godless, unprin
cipled, licentious and profane.
But, besides these royal personages, there was a large
and brilliant assemblage. By their side was the procurator,
probably in some official uniform ; the principal inhabitants
of the city were present in great numbers ; magistrates, in
their " furred gowns and flowing robes,"t and military offi
cers, in all the glitter of their martial accoutrements, were
there. Great was the blaz?e of glory and the pageantry of
parade. And yet the noblest man in all that throng was
* "Commentary for English Readers," edited by .Bishop Ellicott, vol.
ii., p. 164. 1 Lewin, vol. ii., p. 175.
19

432 Paul the Missionary.
the meanest-looking in the crowd ; for yonder, chained to a
Roman soldier, the apostle is led in. As he enters, every
eye is turned upon him, and remarks are freely made re
garding him, so that a loud hum of general conversation
rises from the multitude. But hush ! the procurator speaks.
He states the case with simple and comprehensive brevity;
intimating that the Jews had cried that Paul ought not to
live any longer, but that he himself had not found in him
anything worthy of death, and expressing the hope that,
from the hearing of that day, something definite might come
out which he might transmit with the prisoner to the em
peror, to whom he had appealed.
As Paul heard the words, " I found that he had commit
ted nothing worthy of death," I can imagine how his heart
thrilled with satisfaction at the discovery, now made by him
for the first time, that Festus was convinced of his inno
cence ; and when Agrippa said to him, " Thou art permitted
to speak for thyself," he was already in that rapturous and
excited mood out of which all true eloquence is born. Trust
ing in the help which never failed him, he rose magnificent
ly to the occasion, and delivered that address which, for dig
nity and grace, for simplicity and sublimity, for calmness
and cogency, for manliness and courtesy, is almost unrival
led in the annals of oratory. He alludes with undissembled
politeness to Agrippa's familiarity with Jewish matters ; re
fers anew to his early life as a Pharisee, and declares again,
as he did both at Jerusalem and before Felix, that he is now
put upon his trial for his faith in that which had all along
been the hope of the Jewish nation. Then, passing to the
great central fact of the Gospel — the resurrection of Christ —
he says, with admirable rhetorical abruptness, " Why should
it be thought a thing incredible with you that God should
raise the dead ?" and proceeds to give testimony to the real
ity of Christ's resurrection by repeating the story of his own

Defence before Agrippa. 433
conversion, in a manner which, though varying apparently
in some particulars, is in substantial harmony with the other
records that have been preserved. Then he sums up the
years of his life since that memorable day at Damascus, in
these words : " Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not dis
obedient unto the heavenly vision : but showed first unto
them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all
the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they
should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for re
pentance. For these causes the Jews caught me in the
temple, and went about to kill me. Having therefore ob
tained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both
to small and great, saying none other things than those
which the prophets and Moses did say should come : that
Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that
should rise from the dead, and should show light unto the
people, and to the Gentiles." At the mention of the resur
rection, the scepticism of Festus got the better of his good-
manners, and with a sneer he spoke thus, in a loud voice :
" Paul, thou art beside thyself ; much learning doth make
thee mad." He had heard the apostle refer to writings,
and probably it had been told him that he was a diligent
student, always busy at his parchments ; so, as the very idea
of a resurrection of the body was to him no better than a
hallucination, he concluded that the close application of the
prisoner had affected his brain. That was not the last oc
casion, by any means, on which the earnestness of faith in
well-attested truth has been stigmatized as lunacy. Even
to the Saviour himself it was said, " Thou hast a devil and
art mad ;" and the reproach which fell on him need not be a
shock to us.
The apostle answered with noble calmness, saying, in the
very language of philosophy itself, " I am not mad, most
noble Festus ; but speak forth the words of truth and sober-

434 Paul the Missionary.
ness." Then, referring to the king's own knowledge in cor
roboration of his assertions, he exclaims, " The king know
eth of these things, before whom also I speak freely : for I
am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from
him ; for this thing was not done in a corner." As if he had
said, " I have not invented these things. They are matters
of public notoriety. The king knows that they are, and he
knows, too, that the prophets say such things as those to
which I have referred. King Agrippa, believest thou the
prophets ? I know that thou believest." As he paused for
a reply, the monarch answered, " In a little, or with a little,
thou persuadest me to be a Christian." There is a differ
ence of opinion as to how these words are to be understood.
Our translators, interpreting the phrase to mean "within
a little," have rendered it by the one word "almost," and
have taken it as the sincere expression of Agrippa's all
but adherence to Christianity. Others, however, with great
er grammatical accuracy, regard the whole utterance as sar-
castical. The king uses the newly-coined word " Christian "
with all its associations of scorn and contempt, and virtual
ly, so they suppose, says something like this : " You make
but a little matter of persuading me to be a Christian, but
you will find it a harder thing than you seem to imagine."
But whatever was the spirit of Agrippa's words, there is no
possibility of mistaking the drift of the apostle, when, with a
boldness and courtesy seldom seen combined in such large
proportion, he said, " I would to God, that both in a little
and in much, not only thou, but also all that hear me this
day, were such as I am ;" then, glancing at the chain which
bound him, and not wishing to include that in his desire for
them, he lovingly added, " except these bonds." By much
labor or by little, with great effort or with small, at the ex
penditure of longer time or shorter — that was of no matter
to him ; but it was his earnest desire that, anyhow, they

Defence before Agrippa. 435
should all be as he was, lifted up above the fear of death,
set free from the penalty of sin, delivered from the power of
iniquity, and possessed of the fullest assurance of immortal
glory. It was a noble utterance ; and we do not envy the man
who can even read it without emotion. But what must it
have been to hear it, as the speaker's face became radiant
with the light of, love, and the chain by which he was bound
was pressed into his service, and made by him to clank its
appeal to his hearer's hearts. We do not wonder at the ex
citement of Festus, or at the haste with which Agrippa dis
missed the assembly. We marvel rather that the impres
sions made should have been so evanescent. But Agrip
pa and his friends were the real prisoners, and Paul the
true freeman ; and for my part, I had rather have the apos
tle's manacle of iron than that royal chain of pride and
power, and gold and sin, with which these others were held
bound. After a brief consultation with each other, it was agreed
between Festus and Agrippa that Paul might have been set
at liberty ; but since he had appealed unto Caesar, they had
no alternative, and must send him on to Rome as expedi
tiously as possible. How it fared with him on his voyage
thither will appear in our next lecture. Meanwhile, let us
gather up a few of the things profitable for doctrine and
instruction in righteousness which may be found in these
intensely interesting chapters.
Observe, then, in the first place, what is the central truth
of the Christian system. It is a very suggestive fact that
Festus had got hold of the kernel of the whole subject,
as we see in his conversation with Agrippa, when he said,
"Against whom, when the accusers stood up, they brought
none accusations of such things as I supposed : but had
certain questions against him of their own superstition, and

436 Paul the Missionary.
of one Jesus, which was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be
alive." Now, this can be accounted for only on the sup
position that Paul had given special prominence to the
resurrection of Christ. Nor is it at all surprising that he
acted on that principle, for he was only following therein
the example of the Lord himself. If we gather together all
the references which Jesus made to his death and resurrec
tion, we shall discover that his coming forth from the tomb
of Joseph is not one proof merely, but a whole cluster of
proofs attesting the deity of his person, the authority of his
instructions, and the atoning efficacy of his death.* It is
put forth by him as a sort of crucial test by which his claims
were to be tried. He perilled his Deity upon it ; and so,
when he arose on the world's first Easter morn, that great
miracle threw back its authenticating light on everything he
had said and done during his earthly ministry. Now, ap
pealing to a Jewish audience only thirty-one years after the
event, and while yet it was feasible, if it had been possible,
to disprove it, Paul refers to it as a thing of notoriety, and
uses it to vindicate himself for becoming a Christian, and to
authenticate the doctrines of Christianity. It was, and is, in
fact, the very key-stone of the arch, and everything else de
pends on it. This is clear from the manner in which, in his
speeches, discourses, and epistles, Paul constantly refers to
it. Thus, does he proclaim that Jesus is the Son of God ?
then he affirms that he was " declared to be the Son of God
with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the res
urrection from the dead."t Does he assert that God hath
appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in
righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained ? then
he adds,:f " whereof he hath given assurance unto all men
* See John ii., 18 ; Matt, xii., 40 ; xvi., 21 ; xvii., 22 ; John x., 17, 18 ;
Matt, xx., 19. f Rom. i., 4. J Acts xvii., 31.

Defence before Agrippa. 437
in that he hath raised him from the dead." Does he pro
claim that there shall be a resurrection of the dead ? then he
affirms that " Christ is risen from the dead, and become the
first-fruits of them that slept."* Nay, he goes so far as to
allege to the Corinthians that if Christ is not risen their
faith was vain, and they were yet in their sins.t Now, with
such views of the resurrection of Christ, we can understand
how Paul came to make so much of it that even Festus could
not mistake his meaning, but understood that he affirmed
that Jesus is alive ; and it would be well if we in these days
realized how much depends on preserving our faith in that
great fact. Take the last chapter out of the Gospel, and you
leave nothing behind that is then worth the keeping. Some,
indeed, would persuade us that we may give up our faith in
miracles, and in this one of the»resurrection among the rest,
while yet we can retain our faith . in Christ ; but that is a
delusion. We may have faith then in some one whom we
continue to call Jesus Christ ; but he is no longer the Christ
of the New Testament, of whom alone it is said that " he
is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto
God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for
them.":}: Others tell us that we may give up the fact of the
resurrection, and yet retain a hold on the spiritual teachings
of Christ ; but that, too, is impossible, for then these teach
ings will lose their hold on us. If Christ did not rise, then
there is no Christ alive now ; and so we sever the bond of
connection between the present and that far-off past which
these gospels describe. It makes no matter how far the
machine is from the engine that drives it, if only you have a
connecting rod long enough to communicate the motion of
the one to the other ; but if there be no such rod, or if that
rod be broken, the machine remains at rest despite the
* 1 Cor. xv., 20. t I Cor. xv., 17. X Heb. vii., 25.

438 Paul the Missionary.
power of the engine. Now, similarly, the living Christ is
to-day the rod of connection between me and the work
which was done on Calvary ; if I am united to him, the
motive-power from that Cross will come into me, and stir
me up to activity in obeying his commands, and carrying
out the spirit of his teachings. But if he never rose from
the dead, then his death stirs me no more than that of Soc
rates, and I cannot call him my Saviour any more than I
can Plato. So let us see what we give up when we give
up the resurrection of Christ. No resurrection, means no
living Christ ; no living Christ, means no new life in my soul
from Christ ; and that means no hope, no salvation, and
no heaven. But "the Lord is risen!" The very existence
of the Christian Church, with its weekly Easter service,
through the years of eighteen centuries and a half, is itself
a proof that he is risen. Now, therefore, let us rise with
him, and " seek those things which are above, where he sit
teth at the right hand of God."
Observe, in the second place, what is the normal type of
the Christian man. Agrippa, in his reply to Paul's appeal,
had used the newly -coined word, Christian, probably in
scorn ; but in his answer Paul paraphrases it into " such as
I am." Let us, therefore, seek to get at the peculiarities of
Paul, and we may thus bring out the distinctive features of
the Christian life. These peculiarities were many ; but for
the present it may suffice if we make them all rotate round
one — his faith. That faith had a peculiar object. It was
not the cold abstraction of a creed that he believed, but the
living, loving Christ that he trusted. He held doctrines, in
deed — no man more firmly ; but they were not to him the
dead things they have often become in the hands of theolo
gians, for they were vitalized by their connection with Christ.
The truth to him was " the truth as it is in Jesus ;" and the
firmness with which he held it sprung out of the love he

Defence before Agrippa. 439
bore his Lord. The Gospel to him was not what a system
of philosophy is to the philosopher — a wrestling-ground for
intellectual exercise — but it was a thing of personal convic
tion and attachment centring in Jesus. The Gospel, in his
view, was no mere beautiful but lifeless statue : it was the
living Christ. The Cross to him was no mere gilded cruci
fix, which one may wear for ornament or kiss for supersti
tion ; but it was the altar whereon Christ offered himself to
God for him, and whereon, also, if need were, he was willing
to offer himself to God for Christ.
But Paul's faith had also a peculiar influence. He was
not one of those — of whom there are so many now — who
seek to divorce religion from life. Nay, rather, his re
ligion was his life, and his life was his religion. The two
things interpenetrated each other. They were not so much
two things as one ; and you could no more separate the one
from the other, than you can take the heart out of a living
man and yet have life in either. Religion was the very at
mosphere in which he lived and moved and had his being ;
and his faith regulated even the minutest details of his con
duct. His faith was thorough, and sought everywhere, no
matter at what sacrifice, to work itself out in every depart
ment of his nature. This thoroughness it was which had
brought on him these bonds ; it carried him to Rome ; it
made him resolute and unbending in the assertion of God's
truth ; it entailed on him a martyr's death, and secured for
him a martyr's crown.
Now, behold in these two peculiarities of Paul's faith
what it is to be a Christian. It is to have faith in the liv
ing, personal Saviour, Jesus Christ, and to have that faith
itself a living thing pervading the conduct. Wherever these
two things are, there you have "such a one as Paul ;" where-
ever these two things are not, no matter what else of form
and show you may have, there is really nothing worthy of
19*

440 Paul the Missionary.
the Christian name. Tried by these tests, my hearer, what
are you ?
Observe, in the third place, the gate of entrance into
the Christian life. This is illustrated both in Paul and in
Agrippa. When the Lord appeared unto the apostle in the
way to Damascus, he showed to him his glory, and gave to
him a commission ; but it was still possible for Paul to resist
and disobey. He was " apprehended of God." But that
was not all that was needed ; he had also " to apprehend
that for which he was apprehended ;" and how he did that,
he describes in this address, when he says, "Whereupon I
was not disobedient to the heavenly vision." That means
that he promptly and unreservedly obeyed. But now look
at Agrippa. In Paul's appeal a heavenly vision has been
given to him also. He is exhorted to repent and be con
verted. He is urged to accept Jesus and his salvation ; but
he is disobedient, and resists the appeal, either with disdain
or with a twinge of conscience which makes him feel that
he is doing violence to his better nature. Anyhow — and
this is the main point — he is not persuaded to become a
Christian. This, then, is the strait gate through which each
must pass into the narrow way : the being persuaded to be
a Christian; the submission of the will to Christ; the ren
dering of obedience to the heavenly vision. The will is the
rudder of the soul, and turneth it whithersoever it listeth ;
and when that will chooses to give in and give up to Christ,
the man becomes a Christian. Thus, in a very solemn sense,
God has placed our everlasting destiny in our own choice.
If we receive life from Christ, it is because we will to come
to him ; and if we die eternally, it is because we will to die.
No man becomes a Christian against his will; it is by will
ing to be so that he becomes a Christian, and it is over this
willing that the whole battle of conversion has to be fought.
There is no one here who may not be saved, if he wilL

Defence before Agrippa. 441
That if he will is the Thermopylae of the whole conflict, the
narrow and intense hinge on which the whole matter turns
—the gate into the Christian life. If a man is not a Chris
tian, it is not because Christ's work has not been perfectly
performed, or because his own sins are too great, or because
the help of God's Spirit has been denied him, or because
God has in sovereignty passed him by ; but it is, on the tes
timony of the Lord himself, because " he will not come unto
him for life." I know that the Holy Spirit's agency is
needed ; but that will never be withheld from him who seeks
it. And in any case He cannot will for us. He cannot
turn for us. He cannot obey for us. He works for a man
by working in him and through him ; and just as in the case
of the poor paralytic no cure could have been performed if
he had refused at Christ's bidding to arise, so no salvation
can be enjoyed by any one who is disobedient to the heav
enly vision. There is a divine agency, and there is a hu
man agency ; but the necessity of the divine does not ab
solve us from the obligation to perform the human, while we
have no responsibility whatever for the divine. So, again, I
come back to the assertion that there is no one here who
may not become a Christian if he will. Oh, that dread
power of will which God has conferred upon us ! and how
inconceivably awful the thought that eternity of weal or
woe, of heaven or hell, depends upon our volition! We.
cannot rid ourselves of this responsibility; you cannot
choose for me, nor I for you, and Eternity depends upon it.
There it hangs, O sinner, trembling in the balance of thy
choice ! to which shall it preponderate ?
Observe, finally, that short of this gate of entrance, no
matter whether we be far or near from it, there is no salva
tion. I cannot tell whether Agrippa was sarcastic or sin
cere in his utterance ; God knoweth : but if he was sarcas
tic, he was a long way from the gate ; while if he was sin-

4.42 Paul the Missionary.
cere, he was standing at its very side ; and as the nearer
includes the more remote, we may point the lesson for both
by saying that " almost saved," if it be no more, is in the
end altogether lost, and that in the most melancholy circum
stances. Many years ago, on a Saturday morning, while I
sat in my Liverpool study preparing my sermon for the fol
lowing day, a telegram was put into my hand announcing the
wreck of the ship Royal Charter in Moelfra Bay, on the coast
of Wales, and asking me to go and break the news of her
husband's death by drowning to the wife of the first officer.
The ship had gone almost round the globe. She had been
to Australia, and had been telegraphed as arrived at Queens-
town on the previous night ; so that she was anxiously ex
pected that day in the Mersey. But during the early morn
ing a furious gale — which I might rather call a terrible hur
ricane — sprung up, and she was driven to destruction on that
fearful shore, with a loss of over four hundred lives. As I
entered the house of my parishioner, I was met by her little
boy, who came dancing to me, and shouted, " Papa's com
ing ! papa's coming !" When I went into the parlor, I found
the table spread in expectation of the arrival of him who
would never cross the threshold again. I cannot tell how
I performed my mission ; but after I had told the heavy
news, the woman seemed almost stricken into marble. Her
grief was too deep for tears ; and I can never forget how,
as she seized my hand, the first words that came gasping
out were these, " So near home, and yet lost !" I never saw
human anguish like that. But oh ! that is nothing to the
agony that must wring the soul of him who is at last com
pelled to say, " Once I was at the very gate of life, and had
almost entered in ; but now I am in hell." Oh, may God
grant that such a soliloquy may never be uttered by any
one of us ! and to that end let us imitate Saul at Damascus,
rather than Agrippa at Caesarea.

XXIV.
THE VOYAGE AND SHIPWRECK.
Acts xxvii.
A VOYAGE from Csesarea to Rome was, in the apostle's
days, a very formidable affair, because there were no
regular and direct means of communication between Judaea
and Italy. We have already seen that in his journey from
Philippi to Jerusalem Paul had to take one ship from Neap
olis to Patara, and another from Patara to Phenicia;* and
even the greatest personages of the empire had sometimes
to depend on such casual opportunities of transit as com
merce might furnish. Thus, when Vespasian went to Rome,
leaving Titus to prosecute the siege of Jerusalem, we are
told that he sailed from Alexandria to Rhodes, and went
thence through Greece to the Adriatic, which he crossed,
and then passed through Italy overland to the capital.
Again, when Titus hastened to rejoin his father, he also
took passage in a merchant-ship, and touched, as Paul did,
both at Rhegium and Puteoli.f We need not be surprised,
therefore, to find that, when state prisoners had to be trans
mitted to the imperial capital, they were sent first a part of
the way, in the hope that at an intervening port they migh^
meet with some other ship by which they might be carried
forward another stage toward their destination. Thus it
was in the instance before us. Along with some other pris-
* Acts xx., 6 ; xxi., 2. t Conybeare and Howson, vol. ii., p. 218.

444 Paul the Missionary.
oners, concerning whom we have no information, Paul was
intrusted to the care of a military escort belonging to the
cohort of Augustus, and commanded by a centurion named
Julius, who seems to have been characterized by amiability
as well as determination, and who did much to promote the
comfort of the apostle. Among the passengers were two
men, who accompanied Paul, perhaps by the special favor
of Festus, and who were moved by affection to go with him
and minister to his wants. These were Aristarchus of Mac
edonia, whom we have met before at Ephesus, and Luke, the
beloved physician, whose presence is modestly indicated,
as usual, by his employment of the first personal pronoun
throughout this portion of his narrative.
The ship in which they embarked was bound for Adra-
myttium, a seaport of Mysia, in Asia Minor, opposite to the
island of Lesbos, and about a hundred miles due north of
Smyrna. It was probably chosen because it was the inten
tion of the centurion to go by the coasts of proconsular
Asia, in one or other of the important seaports of which he
felt certain of finding some vessel bound westward. On the
first day they came to Sidon, where there were some Chris
tian disciples ; and where the centurion, already, as it would
seem, favorably disposed toward Paul, allowed him to go on
shore — accompanied, of course, by his military guard— and
visit some friends, by whose fellowship he was refreshed.
From Sidon they set sail with the purpose of making
straight across the north-eastern angle of the Levant, south
of Cyprus to the corner of Asia Minor ; but as the wind
was adverse, they were compelled to sail under the lee of
Cyprus — that is, to the north of it, and not to the south, as
in more favorable circumstances they would have done —
that being the more direct course. At length they came to
Myra, a town of Lysia, not very far to the east of Patara,
where they found a corn-ship from Alexandria, bound for

lHa»icii

The Voyage and Shipwreck. 445
Italy, and into that the soldiers and their prisoners, with the
other passengers, were transferred. " Myra was almost due
north from Alexandria; and it is not improbable that the
same winds which forced the Adramyttian ship to the east
(and north of Cyprus) drove the Alexandrian ship to Myra.
The usual course from Alexandria to Italy was by the south
of Crete ; but when this was impracticable, vessels sailing
from that port were accustomed to stand north till they
reached the coast of Asia Minor, and then proceed to Italy
through the southern part of the ^Egean."* Thus this ves
sel was not out of her course at Myra, even if she had no
call to be there for the purposes of commerce. She was
also of larger tonnage than those unacquainted with ancient
navigation would suppose ; for she had a bulky cargo, and
ultimately there were in all two hundred and seventy -six
souls on board. From these facts we may conclude that
she was of considerable burden. Indeed, the ships engaged
in this corn trade between Egypt, the granary of the empire,
and Rome, the great centre of consumption, were commonly
of great size. In the very next chapter of this history we
read of one which, in addition to her own crew and any
passengers which she might be carrying, could and did, with
out inconvenience, accommodate the whole two hundred and
seventy-six persons who had been shipwrecked on the coast
of Melita ; and Josephus tells us that there were more than
six hundred people in the vessel in which he was wrecked.
But perhaps the clearest idea of the size and appearance of
such a ship may be obtained from the following description
by Lucian of one which put into the Piraeus wind-bound.
We give the translation as made by Lewin :J " But what a
ship it was ! The carpenter said it was one hundred and
* H. B. Hackett, D.D., "Commentary on the Original Text of The
Acts of the Apostles," p. 415. t Vol. ii., p. 188.

446 Paul the Missionary.
eighty feet long and forty-five feet wide, and from the deck
down to the pump at the bottom of the hold forty-five and a
half feet. And for the rest — what a mast it had ! and what a
yard it carried ! and with what a cable was it sustained ! and
how gracefully the stern was rounded off, and was surmount
ed with a golden goose — the sign of a corn-ship ! and at the
other end how gallantly the prow sprung forward, carrying
on either side the goddess after whom the ship was named !
And all the rest of the ornament — the painting and the
flaming pennants, and above all the anchors, and the cap
stans, and the windlasses, and the cabin next the stern — all
appeared to me perfectly marvellous ! and the multitude
of sailors one might compare to a little army ! and it was
said to carry corn enough to suffice for a year's consump
tion for all Attica ! and this unwieldy bulk was all managed
by that little, shrivelled old gentleman with a bald pate, who
sat at the helm, twisting about, with a bit of a handle, those
two monstrous oars on each side which served as rudders."
On the whole, therefore, taking into consideration the trade
in which she was engaged, and the number whom she ac
commodated, we may not be far wrong if we set down the
ship in which Paul embarked at Myra as about fifteen hun
dred tons burden.
Leaving Myra, they sailed away slowly, for the wind was
so contrary that it was with difficulty they came over against
Cnidus. Probably the wind was blowing from the north
west — a direction which during certain months of the year
it very frequently takes in that region ; still, by keeping
close to the shore, they could, by the help of the current
and the land-breeze, bear up to Cnidus. That was a prom
ontory between the islands of Coos and Rhodes ; and so
long as they were under its lee all was well ; but the mo
ment they attempted to round the cape, the full force of the
north-west wind would come upon them. Here, therefore,

The Voyage and Shipwreck. 447
they put about ; and, steering in a south-westerly direction,
they with a great effort made and rounded the Cape of Sal-
mone, the most easterly point of Crete. After that, sailing
in the lee of the island of Crete, they came to Fair Havens,
where they cast anchor. This name was given to two bays
adjoining each other on the south coast of Crete, and a few
miles east of Cape Matala, the most southerly point in the
island. They were near a city named Lasea,* and though
open to other points of the compass, they were sheltered
from the wind against which the mariners were now con
tending. If they had attempted to double the promontory
of Matala, their old enemy, the north-west wind, would have
come directly down upon them, and blown right in their
teeth; and so they lay in the Fair Havens waiting for favor
ing gales. After some delay, however, no change occurring
in the wind, a council was held. The fast was past — that is
to say, the great Day of Atonement in the Jewish calendar
was over. It was now, therefore, about the date of the au
tumnal equinox ; and the season during which, in that age,
navigation in the Mediterranean was considered practicable
was closed ; so that they gave up all hope of reaching Italy
that year, and came to the determination to winter some
where. Paul advised that they should remain where they
were. He had had considerable seafaring experience, since
even before this voyage he had been three times ship
wrecked ;t and his judgment as an intelligent observer was
that, if they attempted to go farther, they would endanger
both the ship, the cargo, and the lives of the passengers and
crew. As it turned out, this was very wise counsel ; but the
* The ruins of this city were discovered just east of Fair Havens, by
the Rev. George Brown, in Mr. Tennant's yacht St. Ursula, Jan. 16th,
1856. See " The Voyage and Shipwreck of St, Paul," by James Smith,
Esq., of Jordan-hill, p. 82, and Appendix, No. 1.
t 2 Cor. xi., 25.

448 Paul the Missionary.
centurion, in whose power it seems to have been to settle the
question, allowed himself to be swayed by the pilot and the
owner, and gave his decision in favor of seeking for winter-
quarters elsewhere, so soon as a good opportunity presented
itself. There was a favorite harbor just on the other side of
the promontory, and only a few hours' sail from where they
were. It was then called Phoenix, or Phenice, and has been
identified with the modern Lutro. For that, therefore, as
soon as the weather moderated, and while the south wind
was blowing softly, they set sail ; and in the fulness of their
assurance of reaching it with ease, they did not think it
needful to take the little boat on board, but were content to
tow it astern. When, however, they reached the point, there
arose — not " against it," meaning the ship, as we have it in
our version, but "down from it," meaning the promontory,
or the island — a furious gale, blowing — as Mr. Smith, of Jor
dan-hill, in his admirable monograph on this chapter, has
conclusively proved — from the east-north-east, and called
Euro-aquilo.* Caught by such a sudden and violent storm,
the vessel — so the phrase is, referring, perhaps, to the fact
that an eye was very commonly painted on the bow — "could
not look at the wind ;" and therefore they let her scud be
fore it, and ran under the lee of a small island called then
Clauda, but now known as Gozzo. Here, taking advantage
of the comparatively smooth water, they did three very need
ful things. First, as furnishing a means of escape if they
should be cast on some shore, they took on board the lit
tle boat which all this while had been in tow. This was a
* Smith, following Tischendorf, Lachmann, Tregelles, and others,
adopts, as sanctioned by the best MSS., the reading EvpaKvXiav, Euro-
aquilo, an east-north-east wind, instead of EvpoKkvduv, anglicized in our
version Euroclydon. This view has been accepted by Alford and How
son in their later editions, and apparently also by Plumptre in Ellicott's
" New Testament Commentary for English Readers," in loco.

The Voyage and Shipwreck. 449
work of some difficulty, not only from the violence of the
storm, but also because the boat itself must by that time
have been either swamped, or at least nearly full of water.
Second, they undergirded, or, in modern phrase, "trapped,"
the ship. This was done by passing strong cables under
neath the keel, and coiling them round and round the hull ;
and the purpose was to keep the vessel from straining, and
so from springing a leak — a danger which specially beset
ancient ships, since, in general, they had only one huge mast,
which necessarily strained severely the middle of the ves
sel. Third, "they strake sail;" but, as Smith and Alford
have shown, this clause might be more intelligently render
ed, " they lowered the gear " — meaning that they made all
" snug." Their object in this was to keep themselves from
being driven before the wind on to the Greater Syrtis — a
quicksand on the African coast ; and so we understand that,
in modern phrase, they "lay to," keeping her as close to
the wind as possible, and putting her on what is called " the
starboard tack ;" that is, with her right side to the gale.
This procedure, supposing the wind to be north-east, or
more correctly east-north-east, would give as the direction
of her drift west by north ; and, taking the rate of her drift
at thirty-six miles in the twenty-four hours — an average rate
in similar circumstances, as Howson has affirmed, and many
practical seamen have assured me — then, allowing that all
the thirteen days the wind blew from the same quarter, we
have for thirteen days a distance run of four hundred and
sixty-eight miles, which, curiously enough, is within a few
miles of the actual distance of St. Paul's Bay, in Malta,
west by north from the island of Clauda. But I must not
anticipate. On the second day the tempest continued, and probably,
in spite of all their precautions, a leak had sprung; for
they lightened the ship of everything that could be spared.

450 Paul the Missionary.
On the third day matters became worse ; and it is said they
" cast out with their own hands the tackling of the ship."
The word rendered "tackling" is explained by Smith to
mean the "main-yard," an immense spar nearly as long as
the ship, which it would require the united efforts of passen
gers and crew to launch overboard. He adds that " the
relief which a ship would experience by this would be of
the same kind as in a modern man-of-war when the guns
are thrown overboard." Even this, however, does not seem
to have very much improved their situation ; for the storm
still raged, and the uncertainty of their position was in
creased by the fact that, owing to the cloudiness of the sky,
they could see neither the sun by day nor the stars by night.
Add to this that the water seems to have been gaining on
them all the while, and you will have a vivid idea of the dis
mal circumstances in which they were placed, and will not
wonder that there was much abstinence, for there would be
little opportunity and less inclination to have anything like
regular meals.
In this season of utter hopelessness, Paul stood forward
with calm self-possession and noble Christian faith, and
made an announcement which must have comforted and
reassured his fellow-voyagers. He referred to the advice
which he had given at Fair Havens, not so much, however,
to taunt them for rejecting it, as to secure their confidence
in that which he was now about to say. He bade them be
of good cheer; for he was persuaded that, though it would
be impossible to save either the ship or the cargo, there
would yet be no loss of life among them ; and he gave, as
the foundation on which this conviction rested, the fact that
the angel of Him whose he was and whom he served had
appeared unto him, and declared not only that he himself
should stand before Caesar, but also that the lives of all who
were with him had been given to his entreaty. "Wherefore,

The Voyage and Shipwreck. 451
sirs," he adds, with happy cheerfulness and simple trust, " be
of good cheer : for I believe God, that it shall be even as
it was told me. Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain
island." At length, after having been driven — not " up and down,"
as we have it in our version, but — through the Mediterra
nean for thirteen days, on the fourteenth night, about mid
night, the sailors " deemed that they drew near to some
country." We are not told what the indications were which
led them to this conclusion ; but, taking into consideration
the darkness in which they were, we may believe that they
heard the sound of breakers. If this were so, it is an inter
esting coincidence that in approaching St. Paul's Bay, the
traditional site of the shipwreck, from the east, the voyager
must pass near the point of Koura, where the land is " too
low to be seen on a stormy night, but where the breakers
can be heard at a considerable distance, and in a north
easterly gale are so violent as to form on charts the dis
tinctive feature of that headland. On the 10th of August,
18 10, the British frigate Lively fell upon these breakers in a
dark night, and was lost. The quartermaster, who first ob
served them, stated in his evidence at the court-martial, that
at the distance of a quarter of a mile the land could not
be seen, but that he saw the surf on the shore."* Imme
diately on their suspecting that land was near, the sailors,
who exhibited good seamanship all through, heaved the
lead, and found a depth of twenty fathoms ; then, taking a
second sounding shortly after, they found fifteen. They
judged, therefore, that they were rapidly approaching some
shore, and took prompt measures to avoid destruction by

* H. B. Hackett, D.D., "Commentary on the Original Text of The
Acts of the Apostles," pp. 434, 435. The same evidence is referred to
by Smith, pp. 130, 131.

4S2 Paul the Missionary.
casting four anchors out of the stern. This has been re
garded as so unnatural, that some have ridiculed the state
ment as absurd. But though among the ancients, as among
ourselves, the common practice was to anchor from the bow,
yet provision was made in their ship for doing just what is
here described; for among the paintings in Pompeii one has
been found of a vessel having hawse-holes in the stern, and
Howson assures us that even in the present day we may
see in the Golden Horn, at Constantinople, ships anchored
in this peculiar way. It is a well-known fact that, at the
Battle of Copenhagen, Nelson, who had been reading this
chapter of The Acts that very morning, ordered that all the
line-of-battle ships should be anchored by the stern ; and I
have myself been informed by an experienced ship-master
that in the Chinese seas this course is frequently adopted.
In the instance before us, there were good reasons for tak
ing such a plan. Remember, these sailors had no idea where
they were. For anything they knew, they might be so near
the rocks that if they allowed the ship to swing round by the
bow, she might have grounded at once. Besides, their only
hope, when the morning should dawn, was to run her ashore
at some safe place, and by anchoring in this way they could
more speedily bring her under control when they should cut
the cables and make that last attempt for their lives. All
this, as we shall afterward find, they did.
But, immediately after the anchors had been cast, a new
danger threatened, in the selfish attempt made by the sail
ors to save themselves by taking to the boat, and leaving
the passengers to their fate. They were in the act of low
ering the boat on the pretence of taking another anchor out
of the bow, when the apostle, divining their purpose, direct
ed the attention of the centurion to their conduct, saying,
" Except these men abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved."
At once he commanded the soldiers to cut the ropes by

The Voyage and Shipwreck. 453
which the boat was suspended, and, much to the mortifica
tion of the seamen, it was allowed to go adrift.
As the morning was drawing near, Paul stood forth once
more as a counsellor and comforter. He tenderly referred
to the privations through which they had passed, and, as
suring them of their ultimate safety, besought them to eat
while they had the opportunity, and thereby strengthen
themselves for what was still before them. Then, having
taken bread in his own hands, he gave thanks to God in
the presence of them all, and began to eat. The effect of
this was excellent. It raised the spirits of the company,
and prepared them for the hardships of the next few hours.
But what a scene it must have been ! If I had the skill of
an artist, I should like to paint it as I see it all before the
eye of my imagination now — these two hundred and seven
ty-five persons, all pale and careworn, standing round the
calm apostle in the darkness, amid the pelting rain, while he
lifts his voice above the roaring of the wind and the boom
of the breakers, and gives thanks to God. The hardy sail
ors are lost in wonderment at his behavior ; the stern sol
diers are hushed into silent reverence by his deportment;
the passengers know not what to make of his words, and
there are only Luke and Aristarchus to say Amen at his
giving of thanks. But the influence of that act of his is
living yet. It was a little thing to do. The neglect or
omission of it might never have been observed ; but the
doing of it was to these forlorn passengers at the time, and
has been to most readers of the story since, a sermon on
Christian gratitude more eloquent than the appeal of the
orator, and more convincing than the reasoning of the lo
gician. Refreshed by this extempore meal, the sailors took new
means to insure their safety by casting the cargo out of the
hold. Perhaps it had shifted in the gale ; and, in any case,

454 Paul the Missionary.
as their purpose was to run ashore, it was important to make
the ship as light as possible. At length, when the morning
dawned amid a down -pour of rain, the shore was clearly
seen, but the sailors did not recognize the land. Nor need
we be surprised at that ; for St. Paul's Bay is on the north
shore of Malta, which was out of the usual course of ships,
and therefore not likely tq be known from the sea, though
as soon as they landed they discovered that they were on
Melita. After they descried the land, their first care was to
look for a place at which they might run the vessel aground;
and they very soon made choice of a certain " creek with a
shore," that is, " with a sandy or pebbly beach." In mak
ing for that, they did three things, which, though they are
separately described, must have been performed simultane
ously. First, " they took up the anchors " — or, rather, as it
is in the margin, " they cut away, or cut round the hawsers
that held the anchors, leaving the latter in the sea ;" second,
" they loosed the rudder bands " — that is, they dropped into
the water the steering paddles, which had been trussed up
out of the way of the anchor cables, and so brought the ves
sel at once under control ; third, they hoisted What is here
called " the main-sail," but what corresponded rather to the
foresail among us, the object being to give the ship greater
way, and thus at once increase the power of the steering
gear, and carry the vessel with more impetus upon the
beach. Thus, then, they made for the shore, and ran aground in
a place where two seas or currents met The explanation
of these currents is to be found in the fact that, just at the
extremity of St. Paul's Bay, there is a small island (Salmo-
netta), which, from the point where the ship was anchored,
would seem to be a part of the main -land of Malta, but
which, as they came nearer the shore, would be seen to be
an island. Through the strait, between this island and the

The Voyage and Shipwreck. 455
shore, a strong current swept ; and that, meeting the swell
which the storm had created, made the bay a place where
two seas came into collision. When the vessel grounded,
" the forepart stuck fast, and remained unmovable, but the
hinder part was broken with the violence of the waves." Of
this Mr. Smith gives the following lucid explanation : " The
rocks of Malta disintegrate into very minute particles of
sand and clay, which, when acted upon by the currents, or
by a surface agitation, form a deposit of tenacious clay ; but
in still water, where these causes do not act, mud is formed.
It is only, however, in the creeks where there are no cur
rents, and at such a depth as to be undisturbed by the
waves, that mud occurs. In Admiral Smyth's chart of the
bay, the nearest soundings to the mud indicate a depth of
about three fathoms, which is about what a large ship would
draw. A ship, therefore, impelled by the force of a gale
into a creek with a bottom such as that laid down in the
chart, would strike a bottom of mud graduating into tena
cious clay, into which the forepart would fix itself and be
held fast, while the stern [would be] exposed to the force of
the waves."*
At this point the soldiers, remembering that they were an
swerable for their prisoners with their lives, advised the cen
turion to kill them all; and in these unscrupulous times
their counsel might have prevailed, but for the fact that
the commanding officer, conscious of the obligations under
which Paul had laid them, and drawn to him also, perhaps,
by some personal regard, determined to save his life. So
he gave command that those who could swim should save
themselves, and that the rest should float ashore by the
help of " boards and broken pieces of the ship. And so it
came to pass that they escaped all safe to land."
* "The Voyage and Shipwreck of St. Paul," fourth edition, p. 144.
20

456 Paul the Missionary.
Thus ends this deeply interesting story of storm and
shipwreck. I have given a connected view of the narrative,
without breaking in upon the continuity with any practical
reflections, because I wish you to get a clear conviction of
its value as furnishing, in itself, a very cogent proof of the
genuineness and authenticity of the history of which it forms
a part. Two things are patent to every reader. First, it is
the production of an eye-witness who tells what he saw ; and
it reads as naturally as does the deposition before a court
of inquiry, of some survivor from shipwreck in our own
times. Second, it is the work of one who was himself a
landsman, and therefore it is unprofessional and free from
all technical terms. But this avoidance of sea-phrases only
enables the writer to describe with more artless truthfulness
all that passed before his eyes. As one has said, " It is
just where a landsman makes the most ridiculous exposure
of his ignorance, that the historian has ventured on details
as minute as those of a Marryat or a Cooper."* Now,
with these two things in mind, let any one take up the work
on " The Voyage and Shipwreck of St. Paul," by Mr. Smith,
of Jordan-hill, and observe how that painstaking investigat
or, sailing repeatedly over the same waters, has verified the
statements of Luke in every particular, and he will obtain
the conviction out of which nothing will be able to shake
him, that this whole narrative was written by one who speaks
the simple and unvarnished truth. A landsman who was
trying to forge a story could not have so accurately de
scribed the manoeuvring of a ship ; and if a seaman had
undertaken to give an account of it, he" would have done it
in a very different manner. Thus we have in this chapter
another incidental argument for the credibility of Luke's
narrative as a whole. The estimate which I have of its
* " The New Testament History," by William Smith, LL.D., p. 559.

The Voyage and Shipwreck. 457
value in this regard has impelled me to go somewhat
minutely into its consideration ; and I have failed where
I was most anxious to succeed, if I have not made you
sharers with me in the conviction which I have just ex
pressed. But, though I have detained you thus long on the expo
sition of the story, I cannot let you go without pointing out
to you a few of the lessons in which it is so rich.
We are reminded, then, in the first place, of the consola
tory truth which has passed into one of our common prov
erbs, that " man's extremity is God's opportunity." It was
after "all hope that they should be saved had been taken
away " that the angel of the Lord appeared unto Paul, and
gave him the assurance that no life should be lost. On
several other occasions in the history of the apostle a celes
tial messenger came to him with comforting words, and each
time the consolation was imparted when alL^man help
seemed impotent. God delays long enough to let our help
lessness become apparent, and then he comes in such a way
as to leave no doubt in our minds that the relief is divine.
Admirably has this truth been brought out in that psalm*
of God's loving-kindness which has become so precious to
us as the traveller's hymn. To the wanderers in the desert,
to the prisoners in the dungeon, to the sailors on the deep,
he came only when, constrained by their extremity, they
cried to him for succor ; and as we have been reviewing this
chapter in the apostle's history, we cannot but have had
recalled to our memories that graphic description, " They
mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths -.
their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and
fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits'
end. Then they cry unto the Lord," and forthwith —
* Psa. cvii.

458 Paul the Missionary.
" The storm is changed into a calm
At his command and will,
So that the waves, which raged before,
Now quiet are and still."
In the present instance, indeed, it is not said in so many
words that Paul prayed unto the Lord ; but in the angel's
words to him, " Lo, God hath given thee all them that sail
with thee," there is an implication that he had asked this
great favor from his Master ; and in any case the whole his
tory teaches us that when we are clearly on God's business,
he will take care of us, and in the time of our greatest peril
will send us his richest help. "A man is immortal till his
work is done;" and if God wishes us to bear testimony
for him in Rome, he will find the means of taking us thith
er ; while if our course on earth is finished, he will receive
us to himself. What strength there is in that consideration
to all who are engaged in the service of Christ ! God him
self will be our shield so long as he requires us to labor for
him on earth; and neither the conspiracies of malignant
men, nor the fury of the elements, can harm us until our
work is finished. While he needs us we bear charmed lives ;
and then, when we are no longer required, he will be our
support in death.
We are reminded, in the second place, that faith is the
root of courage. I do not know that there is, in the whole
compass of the Word of God, a more beautiful or a more
simple example of the nature and results of faith, than that
furnished by Paul when he says, " Wherefore, sirs, be of
good cheer : for I believe God, that it shall be even as it
was told me." If any one wishes to learn what it is lo
have faith in Christ, we can give him no better answer than
this : " It is to believe the Lord Jesus that it shall be even
as he has told us, when he has said, ' Thy sins be forgiven
thee ; go in peace.' " Then — as to the effect produced by

The Voyage and Shipwreck. 459
this faith — observe how calm, how cheerful, how courageous
Paul was. He was in perfect peace because his mind was
stayed on God ; and when our souls confide in the divine as
surances, we too shall be at rest. No doubt Paul's calmness
here is to be traced to the angel's message ; but yet, though
there had been no pledge given him that no life should be
lost, he would, from what we know of him, have been just as
tranquil. The man who could look forward to martyrdom
and say, " I am now ready to be offered," would not have
been dismayed at the thought of being drowned ; and often,
in the history of modern commerce, we have had most mov
ing instances of the power of divine grace in supporting
men and women in the moment of death by shipwreck.
Away back some thirty or more years ago, when the Pegasus,
on her voyage from Leith to London, went down, the Rev.
Morell Mackenzie, one of the passengers, was seen stand
ing forth to the very last, preaching the Gospel to his fel
low-passengers, and he went down with the message of sal
vation on his lips. Nor can I forget the impression made
upon me when I heard of the venerable Dr. Burns, of Glas
gow — an old man of more than fourscore years — who* when
the steamer Orion went down upon the Scottish coast5 was
last seen by the survivor who described the wreck to me,
kneeling, with his head uncovered, beside the smoke-stack ;
and thus, commending himself into the hands of God, sunk
into the deep. In more recent times all Christendom was
stirred by the account given by one of the survivors from the
steamship City of London, of the Rev. Daniel Baker, a Meth
odist clergyman from Australia, who, just before the ship
went down, gave out in the midst of the passengers in the
cabin, and led in the singing of the hymn, "Jesus, Lover of
my Soul" — a hymn which I rarely read now without think
ing of that scene, which hangs in my imagination a compan
ion picture to that of Paul as to-night I have described him.

460 Paul the Missionary.
And, to mention no more, who among us has forgotten the
touching descriptions which came some five years ago from
the survivors of the Ville du Havre 1 I saw a letter, writ
ten by a mother concerning one of her daughters, from
which I select the following words : " Lallie threw her arms
around me, and said, ' Forgive me, mamma, if I have ever
done wrong.' (We started in haste for the other side of the
ship) — water all about us.) 'Don't be frightened, mamma and
Helen ; it will only be a moment's struggle, and then we will
be in heaven together.' " Could anything more satisfacto
rily demonstrate the value of faith in Christ than such in
cidents as these? Oh, my friends, get that; for it is an
anchor that shall never start. Get it now, for it is as valu
able amid the storms of temptation on land as it is amid
the dangers of the sea.
We are reminded, thirdly, that God's promise does not
absolve us from the necessity of using means. Though the
Lord had assured Paul that no life would be lost, the apos
tle would not allow the sailors to leave, but said, " Except
these men abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved ;" and in
the after events we see how necessary they were for the
beaching of the vessel. Now that incident throws consid
erable light on some dark passages of the New Testament.
It helps to explain to us how, though Paul said, " Nothing
shall be able to separate us from the love of God," he also
said, " 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."* It assists us to understand
how, though there is an eternal election of men to salva
tion, there is need for personal faith and vigilance if we
wish to be saved; and it is a stern rebuke to those who
fold their hands in idleness, and say, " If I am to be saved,
* Rom. viii., 39 ; 1 Cor. ix., 27.

The Voyage and Shipwreck. 461
I shall be saved." Paul believed in God's purposes and
promises, but he was no blind fatalist for all that ; for he
held as earnestly by the necessity of human activity as he
did by the reality of the divine foreordination. He did
not run away with one-half of the truth, and maintain that
he had got the whole truth; but, looking on the subject in
the light of God, he saw both sides of it, and held them
both with equal tenacity.
Finally, we are reminded how good it is to be in the com
pany of Christian men. The crew and passengers of this
ship were saved for Paul's sake. Every clergyman who
has ever made a voyage of any length knows how the sail
ors banter him about being unlucky, and speak of him and
his brethren as Jonahs ; but always, when I have been so
assailed, I have brought up this case of Paul, and then the
laugh has been on the other side ; for here the sailors do
not show to the best advantage. One Paul saved this
whole company. Ten righteous men would have saved
Sodom ; and it is the Christian men in New York to-day
who are preserving it from putrefaction. They are the salt '
of the city ; and so long as they keep their savor, there is
little to fear ; but if the salt shall lose its savor, the end
will be near. Here, then, I take my stand for my final ap
peal to-night. I ask you to become more positive, more
aggressive, more upright, more earnest in your Christianity,
that you may lift the city up to a nobler moral elevation,
and may keep the ship of the State from peril. Act so
that your fellow-citizens may "learn by experience" that
God is with you, and is blessing them for your sakes. Re
member that the Christianity of the land is its only true
conservative influence. This is our safeguard ; and so, as
patriots no less than as men of piety, as citizens no less
than as Christians, I beseech you to conduct yourselves in
such a way that you may raise the whole moral tone of the

462 Paul the Missionary.
community, and make politics a branch of Christian ethics.
A few Pauls among us would do the work. Give us men
_who believe God — that it shall be as he has told us, in the
high places of our government, in our chairs of office, and in
our halls of legislature, and that will insure us a prosperity
which no storm of selfishness or whirlwind of partisanship
shall ever imperil.

XXV.
MALTA, PUTEOLI, AND APPII FORUM.
Acts xxviii., 1-15.
RESCUED from the perils of shipwreck, the first care
of Paul and his fellows was to discover where they
were ; and very soon, as the result either of direct inquiries
of the inhabitants or of investigation by the sailors, they
found that they had been cast on the shore of Melita. As
we intimated in our last discourse, almost all scholars are
now of opinion that this name designates our modern Malta,
and the point may be considered as having been conclu
sively settled by the exhaustive researches of Mr. Smith.
No doubt, in the northern portion of the Gulf of Venice
there is an island which was anciently called Meleda ; and
some, among whom we are surprised to find one so eminent
as Coleridge, have contended that we must look there for
the scene of the events with which we are now concerned.
But — not to say that it seems unaccountable that a vessel,
caught in a gale which made the sailors afraid lest they
should be driven southward on to the Syrtis, should yet
drift away seven hundred miles to the north, nor to insist
on the fact that such a place was altogether out of the usual
course of Alexandrian corn-ships, so that the wintering in
it of a vessel like the Castor and Pollux was most unlikely
— the positive grounds in behalf of the identification cf Me
lita with Malta are irresistible.
In the first place, tr-adition has all along connected that
island, with the shipwreck Qf the apostle ; and though, in the
26)*

464* Paul the Missionary.
absence of all other proofs, we could not depend on that
evidence alone, yet when we find other arguments converg
ing toward the same conclusion, we are warranted in re
ferring to it as corroborative. Further, Malta answers all
the requirements of the narrative. It lies from Clauda
precisely in the direction in which a vessel, handled as we
described last Sabbath evening, would drift ; and its dis
tance from Clauda corresponds to that over which such a
ship would pass when "laid -to" for thirteen days; while
the locality of St. Paul's Bay not only fits the description
here given, but actually enables us to understand it more
clearly. We have the lowland first heralded by breakers;
we have to this day the soundings as here given ; we have
the place where two seas meet, and the creek with a sandy
beach ; and so everything agrees with what is here deline
ated. Moreover, the island of Malta is in the direct line
of ships sailing from Alexandria to Italy ; and so we do not
wonder at finding another corn-ship wintering there. True,
it may be said, that this consideration tells also against Mal
ta, inasmuch as the sailors might have been presumed to
know any part of the coast of that island ; but in answer to
that it must not be forgotten that St. Paul's Bay is on the
northern side of Malta, and hence would not be seen by
them on ordinary occasions.
The objections which have been raised against this view
are quite untenable. It has been said, for example, that
Malta is in the Mediterranean and not in the Adriatic ; and
no doubt, in the modern sense of the term Adriatic, this is
true ; but in Roman literature the name Adria was frequent
ly used in such a way as to include a large portion of the
Mediterranean. Again, it has been said that there are now
no snakes in Malta, and so the presence of the viper here
must be held as conclusive evidence that it cannot have
been Melita; but to that it is answered that in proportion

S3

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MAP OF "ST. PAUL'S BAY," ON THE ISLAND OF MALTA.

Malta, Puteoli, and Appii Forum. 465
as the density of population in a place increases, the wild
beasts diminish in numbers, and ultimately disappear alto
gether. Now, Malta is remarkable to-day for the density
of its population ; for, except in some of our own large cities
or in the manufacturing districts o^ England, we shall scarce
ly find anywhere so many people within so small an area
as there are there. Finally, it is alleged that in the apos
tle's days the inhabitants of Malta were in an advanced
state of civilization, whereas in this narrative they are styled
" barbarous people." But to that it is only necessary to re
ply that the term " barbarous " here refers to the language
of the people and not to the absence of civilization from
the island. To a Greek, every man who could not speak
his polished language was a barbarian ; and by a Roman,
every one who could not understand Latin was called by
the same name. If proof of this be required, we have it in
the fact that, when in his Epistle to the Corinthians Paul is
reasoning concerning tongues, he says, " If I know not the
meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a
barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto
me."* I have been thus particular on a matter of mere lo
cality, not because it has any great intrinsic importance, but
because, in these days, when European travel is so popular,
some of you may have the opportunity of visiting Malta,
and I wish that it may have in your minds an abiding in
terest as the indubitable scene of the incidents which are
here recorded.
The conduct of the inhabitants of Malta on the occasion
"before us was in the highest degree praiseworthy. Unlike
those wreckers that have sometimes been met with on the
chores of nominally Christian lands, these heathens proved
•heir humanity by showing kindness in a rough-and-ready,
* 1 Cor. xiv., 11.

466 Paul the Missionary.
but yet also in a serviceable and substantial manner. See
ing the shipwrecked ones shivering in the cold and rain,
they kindled a fire for them and received them every one, i. e.,
they took them at once to their hearts. But even here Paul
was a leading spirit among his companions ; and by a lit
tle thing he showed at once the active energy and kindly
thoughtfulness of his character. He gathered a bundle of
sticks and laid them on the fire. Hardly had he done this,
however, when a venomous serpent, which had probably been
lying torpid among the brushwood, but was roused into en
ergy by the heat, leaped up and fastened on his hand. By
this, however, he was not disturbed, for he quietly shook the
reptile off into the fire, and felt no harm. Here was a clear
miracle. True, it is not said in so many words that he was
bitten, and that he was kept from death by the special agen
cy of God, but all that is implied in the condensed narra
tive of the historian ; and, with Dean Alford, we can only
characterize as disingenuous shifts the statements of ration
alists and semi-rationalists who will have us to believe either
that the reptile did not bite or that it was not venomous.*
There can be no doubt, I think, that Luke brings this for
ward as one of the signs and wonders by which Jesus had
promised to confirm the word of his apostles, and as fur
nishing a specimen of the fulfilment of the Saviour's assur
ance : " In my name shall they cast out devils ; they shall
speak with new tongues ; they shall take up serpents ; and
if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them ; they
shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."")" The
natives of Malta were deeply impressed with what they saw ;
and we have here an interesting description of the different
phases of astonishment through which they passed, and the
different conclusions at which they arrived as they looked
* Alford's " Greek Testament," in loc. t Mark xvi., 17, 18.

Malta, Puteoli, and Appii Forum. 467
on. First, they supposed that Paul must have been a sin
ner of the deepest dye, most probably a murderer ; and that
though he had escaped the sea, the great goddess Justice
would not suffer him to live. So they continued to watch
him intently, expecting every moment to see him die, but to
their amazement, after a great while, they marked no change
upon him; and then swinging at once to the. other extreme,
they inferred that he was a god.
In all this there was a curious mixture of truth and error,
showing us into what mistakes men are liable to fall with
out the rectifying and illuminating influence of revelation.
Clearly there was in the minds of these people a strong
belief in the great principle of retribution. The word ren
dered "vengeance" rather signifies justice; and as it has
the article before it, we most naturally read it as a proper
name, and refer it to the goddess, so called, of Justice, whose
special office, in the ancient mythology, was to visit iniquity
with righteous retribution. Now, though there was in this
manner of speech all the corruption of idolatry, and though
there had been nothing in Paul to make their words in any
degree appropriate to him, yet do not fail to observe that
there was a clear acknowledgment of the truth that wrong
doing ought to be punished, and that, in the world generally,
it does meet with its requital. In other words, they recog
nized the moral element in the government of the world.
This is an important fact, as furnishing evidence that even
' the uninstructed human conscience does intuitively assent
to the doctrines of responsibility and retribution.
But with that substratum of truth there was mingled the^
error that special calamity invariably indicates special guilt.
Nor need we wonder at the existence of this mistake among
them when we find it among others who apparently possess
ed far higher advantages. Thus, the friends of Job took up
the same position in their debate with him ; the Jews who

468 Paul the Missionary.
came to Jesus telling him of those whose blood Pilate min
gled with their sacrifices held, apparently, the same view ;
and even the disciples of the Lord Jesus seem to have been
tainted with the same heresy, when they asked concerning
the blind man, " Master, who did sin, this man, or his par
ents, that he was born blind ?" It is not surprising, therefore,
that these Maltese heathens should have fallen into this er
ror. But let us be warned by their mistake. We must not
judge the character of others from the sufferings through
which they are called to pass. God has more purposes than
one for the affliction of his people to subserve, and it
may be that he designs to show his own glory through them
rather than to mark his displeasure at any special guilt.
Thus it was in Job's case. There, as here, the serpent fast
ened on the man of God, and sought to poison him with
his venom, so that he should curse God and die ; but the
saint with quiet patience shook him off and felt no harm.
We must not condemn a man, therefore, because he seems
to be peculiarly afflicted. If Paul was on that ground once
taken for a murderer, we may sometimes falsely reckon a
humble saint to be a godless hypocrite.
From one extreme the heathens ran to another; so that he
whom they viewed as a murderer they regarded a short time
after as a god. Here, again, there was a mixture of truth
and error. There was truth in their belief that a miracle
had been performed, and that the direct agency of God had
been at work ; but there was error in the conclusion which ¦
they drew, to the effect that Paul himself was a god. The
truth had its root in the intuitive tendency of the human
mind to find an adequate cause for every effect ; the error
arose from the corrupting mythology of their heathen faith,
which taught that the gods were men exalted, and, so to say,
exaggerated and intensified. The great attribute of God
head, in their view, was power ; and men who showed that

Malta, Puteoli, and Appii Forum. 469
in any marked degree were deified. Still, in rejecting the
error which they held, let us give prominence to the truth
which they acknowledged. Their error was the exaggera
tion and distortion of a truth ; for though they were wrong
in accounting Paul a god, they were right in ascribing to
divine agency his preservation from death, and herein they
were greatly in advance of those modern writers who, hav
ing refined away the personality of God into a dreamy pan
theism, deny the possibility of miracles, and sneer at all be
lief in them as credulity or superstition. We must not fol
low these Maltese into either of the extremes into which
they ran, but we are bound to recognize the element of
truth which there was in both, all the more that in these
days both have been elaborately repudiated by philosophers,
who, in their devotion to scientific pursuits without them,
have neglected the intuitions of the mind within them.
But this incident of the viper was not the only miracle
connected with Paul's sojourn in Malta. In the neighbor
hood of the spot where the shipwreck occurred the chief
man or governor of the island lived. Under the empire,
Malta was an appanage to the province of Sicily, and was
governed by a lieutenant appointed by the Sicilian praetor.
This official, as appears not only from the words of Luke
here, but also from certain inscriptions which have been
discovered in the island, had the title of " the first of the
Maltese." At the time of the apostle's shipwreck, the gov
ernor was one Publius, " who courteously entreated " some
of the sufferers, and lodged them in his own house for three
days. In so doing he " entertained" at least one " angel un
awares," and discovered the quality of his guest only when,
by prayer and the laying on of his hands, Paul raised up his
father from a severe and dangerous attack of dysentery.
Such a work, not only from its miraculous character, but
also from the exalted station of him who was cured by it,

47 o Paul the Missionary.
would soon be noised abroad among the people, and as a
natural consequence " others also, which had diseases in the
island, came, and were healed." We do not read that the
apostle preached the Gospel here, but we may be sure that
he embraced every opportunity of commending the Lord
Jesus to his fellow -men as their Saviour and guide; and
that he did so with great success we may conclude from the
fact that, when he and his fellow-voyagers left the island,
the inhabitants loaded them with gifts.
For three months Paul sojourned in this place ; and as
the shipwreck occurred shortly after the autumnal equinox,
we may infer that he left it about the month of January fol
lowing. A corn-ship from Alexandria, whose sign was Cas
tor and Pollux — favorite deities with sailors — had spent the
winter in the harbor of the island; and in it accommoda
tion was found for the shipwrecked passengers and crew.
Setting out from the port, they sailed northward, along the
coast of Sicily, calling at Syracuse, where they spent three
days, and where, as there were many Jews residing in the
city, Paul perhaps contrived to say something concerning
the Gospel to his kinsmen according to the flesh. Thence,
tacking, that they might make the most of an unfavorable
wind, they came to Rhegium, on the Italian coast. There
they remained for one day, and then, catching a southern
breeze, they set sail again, making the harbor of Puteoli
within twenty-four hours.
This place was situated in the northern part of that bay
(of Naples) which is perhaps the most celebrated in the
world. It was the haven into which all the Alexandrian
corn-ships put, and was one of the most important harbors
of ancient Italy. From the particulars furnished by classi
cal writers, we may form a tolerably accurate idea of the
animated scene which marked the arrival of Paul and his
companions.

Malta, Puteoli, and Appii Forum. 47 1
Rounding the promontory of Minerva, and keeping on
the left the island of Capreae — still loathsome from its asso
ciation with the impurities and cruelties of Tiberius — the
full sweep of the magnificent bay would open up to the de
lighted gaze of the apostle. There in the very centre of the
picture rose Vesuvius — not as we know it now, surmounted
with its pillar of smoke by day and fire by night, but cov
ered to its very summit with vineyards ; while at its base to
the right stretched away the beautiful streets of Pompeii,
and to the left rose the proud villas of Herculaneum. Who
could then have foreseen that within a few years that moun
tain of beauty would burst forth with the desolating fury of
a mad volcano, and bury those queenly cities beneath a heap
of ashes ! Farther along, beyond Herculaneum, and in a
beautiful bend of the coast, was Neapolis, now Naples ;
then beyond, in another minor bay, separated from Naples
by a small headland, now called Posilippo, was Puteoli ;
then, on the opposite side of this little bay, was Baiae — the
watering-place of Rome, combining in itself the medicinal
springs of Saratoga with the maritime advantages of New
port ; while still farther along was Cape Misenum, with the
imperial fleet riding at anchor beside it, waiting the orders
of its admiral.
At Puteoli an immense pier or mole had been erected,
consisting of twenty-five arches, of which the ruins of thir
teen yet remain ; and along-side of this the vessels came to
discharge their passengers and cargo. On this pier, too,
great crowds commonly assembled at the arrival of these
Egyptian vessels. Seneca, in one of his letters, has given a
vivid description of the scene. Thus he writes : " Sudden
ly to-day Alexandrian vessels, which are wont to be sent
forward to herald the arrival of a fleet, appeared. They
call them letter-carriers or packets, and the sight of them is
welcome to all Campania. All the crowd collects upon tha

472 Paul the Missionary.
mole of Puteoli and recognizes Alexandrian corn -vessels
from a whole fleet of others by their sails — for they alone
are permitted to enter the harbor with their top-sail set. So
soon as they come between Capreae and the promontory of
Minerva others are ordered to be content with the lower
sail ; the top-sail is the mark of an Alexandrian ship;"* and
then he goes on to tell of the multitude hurrying to the har
bor, of their discourse by the way, and his own reflections
thereon. Now, it was most likely into the midst of such a
throng that Paul first stepped when he landed on Italian
soil, his prisoner's chain clanking the while at his hand,
and his heart throbbing with emotion at the thought that
at length he was to enter Rome.
At Puteoli they remained seven days, probably while Ju
lius sent on his despatches to the capital, and waited for
orders from head-quarters ; and during this interval Paul
had pleasant fellowship with the Christians whom he found
there. Then setting forth for Rome, he went' first along the
Campanian road to Capua, and thence along the famous Ap
pian Way until he came to Appii Forum. This was a town
at the Roman extremity of the canal which had been formed
across the Pontine marshes, and which ran almost narallel
with the road, so that travellers had their choice whether to
go by the ordinary vehicles or by the track-boat. We can
not tell how the apostle did ; but it was at Appii Forum
that the barge was left for the road by those who were go
ing to the city, and the place was therefore very rough and
disagreeable. Horace, in his humorous account of his jour
ney to Brindusium, speaks of it as "crammed jvith barge
men and knavish innkeepers." So in itself it could have
little interest for Paul ; but it was then, and would be ever
afterward, to him a spot of endearment, because there,
* Seneca, " Epis.," 77, quoted in Latin by both Lewin and Howson.

MOLE OF PUTEOLI,

Malta, Puteoli, and Appii Forum. 473
forty- three miles from their home, certain Christians had
come from Rome to meet him. Nor was this all. At the
next stage in his journey, at a place called the Three Tav
erns, ten miles nearer the city, he found others awaiting him,
and the effect on his mind was of the most cheering descrip
tion. We know not who these brethren were. Perhaps
Aquila was there, and Epenetus, and Andronicus, and Am-
plias, and Urbane, and Stachys, and Apelles, and Hero-
dion, his kinsmen, and others whose names are given in the
chapter of Salutations to the Church at Rome. We cannot
tell ; but whoever they were, their names are in the Book
of Life, and they will be remembered in the day when a cup
of cold water given to a disciple in the name of a disciple
shall in no wise lose its reward. For, indeed, as cold water
to a thirsty soul, so were the salutations of these brethren
to the apostle now. After many perils and long delays, he
had set his foot on the Italian shore. Now at length he
was to enter that city toward which for so many years his
eyes had turned with earnest longing ; but alas ! he was to
enter it as a prisoner, and he did not know in what light the
brethren of the Roman Church might regard him when they
beheld his chain. Hence we may not wonder if, human
as he was, his heart was oppressed with suspense, and his
spirit darkened by the shadow which seemed to overhang
the future. But " God, that comforteth those who are cast
down," comforted him by the coming of these brethren.
The sight of them was to him almost as if Jesus himself
had again appeared to him. The friendship of the dis
ciples, valuable in itself, was doubly prized, as assuring him
of the presence and the help of the Master. It was like the
breaking of a rift in the cloud, through which sunshine came
streaming down upon his head. The weight was lifted from
his heart, the shadow was taken from his path; and, prisoner
though he was, he went forward with a firmer step and with

474 Paul the Missionary.
a stronger trust. It was one of those times when a man
feels himself standing as it were on some narrow isthmus,
with the past on one side and the future on the other, and
has fully before him all that both involve. Away behind
him were those manifold experiences through which Christ
had led him, from that eventful day when he was blinded
by the heavenly light on the way to Damascus. His mis
sionary journeys, his perils more recently at Ephesus and
Jerusalem, his long imprisonment at Caesarea, his voyage
and shipwreck — all were vividly recalled to him by the com
ing of these friends, and were so irradiated by the sunshine
which they brought that his heart brimmed over with grati
tude and he " thanked God." Then before him lay the fut
ure — his entrance into Rome, his uncertainty as to the field
which might open to him there, the possibility that his ap
peal might not be sustained, and that he might be condemn
ed to die, the certain danger of the great enterprise in which
he was engaged, and the probability that Nero might some
how cut short his career — all were set in array before him —
yet such was the influence on him of the kindness of these
friends, that the bitterness was taken out of them all ; for
it assured him that God was with him. So " he took cour
age," and said again, with perhaps stronger emphasis than
before, " As much as in me is, I am ready to preach the
gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I am not
ashamed of the gospel of Christ : for it is the power of God
unto salvation to every one that believeth ; to the Jew first,
and also to the Greek."
Leaving the apostle to enjoy the Christian fellowship of
these brethren, let us as usual glean a few lessons from the
theme of our exposition.
See here, then, in the first place, how royally God repays
kindness to his servants. Publius received Paul and his
companions heartily, and lodged them courteously for three

Malta, Puteoli, and Appii Forum. 475
days; and, as a return, his father was healed of a danger
ous disease. The people of the island generally showed no
little kindness to the shipwrecked voyagers, and so " others
also which had diseases came and were healed." God never
leaves unacknowledged the deeds of beneficence which are
done to his people. If Rahab entertains the spies, her life
and the lives of all her kinsmen are preserved amid the de
struction of Jericho. If the "great woman" of Shunem pre
pares a table for Elisha, God lays a little one in her bosom,
and when he is stricken down in death restores him to her
arms. If the Master borrows Peter's boat to make it a
temporary pulpit, he shows his appreciation of the favor by
giving the large draught of fishes ; and if he finds a home
in the abode of Martha and Mary, he gives his reward in
the resurrection of Lazarus. It would be mercenary in us
to offer our gifts out of regard to these or similar returns '•
but it would be ungrateful in us when such returns are
made not to recognize and acknowledge them. No man is
ever a loser in the long-run by what he does for Christ and
his servants. Everything we offer to him comes back to
us in one form or another with added interest of blessing.
If it do not come in the shape of temporal mercy, it will
surely appear in richer measure of that grace by which the
roots of our spiritual life are " mellowed and fed," and we
are strengthened for the day that is upon us. Let us, there
fore, always esteem it as a privilege when we are called to
do anything for the Lord, or to receive a disciple in the
name of a disciple ; for when we do that we entertain not
an angel only, but the Lord himself, since he hath said, " He
that receiveth you, receiveth me ; and he that receiveth me,
receiveth him that sent me. And whosoever shall give to
drink unto one of these little ones, a cup of cold water only
in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in
no wise lose his reward."

476 Paul the Missionary.
Mark, in the second place, how singularly God works but
the purposes of his providence, and fulfils the desires of his
servants. " So we went toward Rome." This was the ac
complishment of a long-cherished design on the part of the
apostle. From an early date in his ministry his heart had
been set on visiting the imperial city. Three years before
he set foot on the mole at Puteoli, when he was writing to
the Romans from Corinth, he could say that " he had a
great desire these many years to come unto him ;" that
" oftentimes he had purposed to visit them, and that the
longing of his spirit had expressed itself in habitual prayer
that he might have a prosperous journey unto them." It
was not that he had a mere curiosity to look upon the great
metropolis, or gaze upon the faces of its prominent men.
But his ambition was that he might comfort and strengthen
the little company of believers in Jesus who had establish
ed themselves there, and that through them and with them
he might work upon that great centre of influence, so that
at length the Word of Life might radiate from it in every
direction. He knew that from the golden mile-stone in its
Forum highways ran to the utmost borders of the empire on
every side. He was aware that the statesmen in its senate
were the men who as pragtors and proconsuls would be sent
out in course of years to guide the affairs of the most dis
tant provinces. He had seen the soldiers of the Italian
legions in the streets of Jerusalem ; and he felt that he
might meet at Rome men who might carry the seed of the
Gospel with them to Britain on the west, or to Parthia on
the east. So he desired to preach the Gospel there. This
was the root of his longing to visit the imperial city. He
sought nothing for himself, but he was eager to take the en
tire world for Christ; and as the nearest way to that he
wished to establish himself in the metropolis.
And yet I scarcely think that when he formed that pur-

Malta, Puteoli, and Appii Forum. 477
pose he imagined that he should go thither as a prisoner.
But so it was. When he went at last he went in a situ
ation which, humanly speaking, seemed to render it impos
sible to do anything very effective for the cause to which
he had devoted his life. Strangely enough, however, as we
shall see in our next lecture, he was constrained to say that
his very bonds had fallen out to the furtherance of the Gos
pel ; and by using his opportunity, such as it was, he intro
duced the leaven of the Gospel into the two least likely
places in the city for its reception, namely, the palace of the
Caesars and the guard-room of the pretorian troops.
Now, there is much in all this to comfort and sustain us
in our work for Christ. I may not say, indeed, that every
purpose which we form is as sure of being carried out by us
as this darling object of Paul's desire was realized by him.
God has nowhere promised us anything of that kind ; and
if we are anxious for our own honor or our own advan
tage we shall very likely be disappointed. But if our long
ing is for usefulness, and if like our apostle we are always
careful not to let our hope of doing great things in the fut
ure keep us from doing the little things which are possible
in the present, I think that we may cherish the assurance
that in the end he will give us our heart's desire. In this
matter of usefulness God has encouraged us both to attempt
great things and to expect great things. He has shown us
the little grain of mustard-seed springing up into a tree, on
whose branches the birds may sit and sing. He has let us
see the leaven hid in the meal working its way out until the
whole is leavened. And by his own miracle on the moun
tain-side he has prompted us to bring to him our few loaves
and tiny fishes, that he may multiply them to the feeding
of thousands. It may be long, indeed, before we reach the
point at which we aim. Years may intervene between the
formation of the purpose and its accomplishment; and

478 Paul the Missionary.
things may occur to imprison us and keep us from its at
tainment ; but let us lose neither heart nor hope, and in the
end God will be glorified by our success. As I muse on
this subject I think of Wilberforce and Clarkson, laboring
on in the face of obstacles of every sort till slavery was
doomed. I think of Carey, waiting and working in the
teeth of bitter opposition until he set his foot on India's
" coral strand." I think of Henderson, toiling on through
poverty and discouragement for years, until he became the
very ideal of a medical missionary. Take heart, then, my
brother : he who has put the purpose within you, and ripen
ed it until it has become an habitual prayer, has given you
therein the prophecy of your success. No matter what may
be the Rome on which you have set your desire, if it be
but to bless and benefit your fellows and to honor Christ,
be sure that for you, too, there will come a day when you
will be able to sympathize with Luke and Paul when they
said, " So we went toward Rome."
But it may not come just as you expect it now. You may
get something with it of which at first you had not dreamed,
and that something will be of a kind to humble you, and
send you back with absolute and entire dependence upon
God. When you reach the goal you may find that in some
way you are, like Paul, a prisoner. But if you make a right
use of your bonds they will even increase your usefulness ;
for it is through such things that God fits us for doing ser
vice when we come to our proper sphere. Take them, then,
not as discouragements but as preparatives. Carry them to
God in prayer, and he will transmute them into the instru
ments of your after-power. They are, rightly improved, the
forerunners of success, and not its foes. So when you come
to your sphere and find yourself, like Paul, bound by some
chain, do not be cast down. That also is part of the divine
plan regarding you. Think not that the opportunity is

Malta, Puteoli, and Appii Forum. 479
worth nothing because you come to it as a prisoner. The
restraint itself, as you will by-and-by see, is a part of your
opportunity ; and if you use it rightly, God will make even
your bonds turn out to the furtherance of his cause.
Finally, see how much a little kindness may do in the
strengthening and encouragement of a good man. Was it
not worth more than the forty miles' journey which these
brethren took to be the means of so cheering the venerable
apostle ? And is there not much in the conduct of these
Roman believers to instruct and benefit us ? A kindly word
spoken or a benevolent act done to a disciple will frequent
ly inspirit and revive a timid and desponding heart; and
nothing so tends to uplift the soul of the minister, or so
gives him elasticity and energy for labor, as the manifesta
tion by his people of interest in his work and attachment to
himself. His sphere is pre-eminently that of affection ; if he
do not get his people's love, he gets nothing that is worth
possessing; but every indication which they give of kind
consideration for his welfare, gilds for him the past with
glory, and fills the future with hope. The weariness falls off
his spirit, his labor becomes less a work and more a joy,
because the love of his people is to him the foretaste and
earnest of his Master's affection, in that coming day, when
he shall hear those words which shall overpay him for all
his efforts : " Well done, good and faithful servant, enter
thou into the joy of thy Lord." It was a little thing these
believers did, when looked at from their point of view ; but
it was a great thing to Paul, and a great thing also to Paul's
Lord. Oh, how much sunshine we might throw around us !
how many souls we might fill with gratitude! how many
hearts we might tone up to courage by little attentions !
They are so little that we think them scarcely worth be
stowing; yet the sunshine is composed of single rays, and
the rain falls out in single drops, and what a mighty result

480 Paul the Missionary.
does their amalgamation produce ! Be ye, therefore, "kind
ly affectioned one toward another;" come out of your re
serve ; salute each other with the cordial greeting of Chris
tian brotherhood ; show kindness ; go about doing good. It
may be that your love shall be to some devoted Christian
what the meeting of these believers was to Paul; and you
may hear of it again when the Master says, " Inasmuch as
ye did it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye did
it unto me."

XXVI. ROME.
Acts xxviii., 15-31.
I ATTEMPT no description of the panorama which lay
before the eyes of Paul when first he looked on Rome.
It may be well, however, to set a few things distinctly be
fore you, in order that you may be the better able to under
stand the surroundings in the midst of which the apostle
found himself during his first residence as a prisoner under
the shadow of the imperial palace.
At this date — the spring of the year a.d. 61 — Rome was
very much as it had been left by Augustus ; for the fire,
which during the reign of Nero furnished the opportunity
for reconstructing the city, had not yet occurred. It had
long outgrown its mural limits, and must be conceived of as
a huge, irregular agglomeration of buildings which covered
an immense area, having a circuit of twelve miles. One
could hardly tell, as he journeyed toward it, where the coun
try ended and the city began. From a distance its appear
ance was not very imposing ; for there was little either in
its site or in its edifices to call forth admiration. We read
much, indeed, about its seven hills, but these were neither
lofty nor attractive at first ; and when covered, as they ulti
mately were, with streets, they would be as little thought of
as the hills of London, concerning which it may be said
that, but for the names which the localities bear, one would
scarcely recognize that there was any elevation about them.
Then, as to the buildings — though it must be admitted that

482 Paul the Missionary.
there were among the temples some splendid specimens of
architecture — it must not be forgotten that, as Howson has
said, " there was neither dome nor campanile," and there
was an entire absence of " those spires which give life to all
the landscapes of Northern Christendom."* There were
throughout the city many open spaces, like the Forum;
and the Campus Martius — a beautiful plain stretching along
the bank of the Tiber, and now forming a part of the site
of the modern city — was then just beginning to be fringed
with the villas of the more wealthy citizens. But the streets
generally were narrow and winding, and were frequently
lined on both sides by densely -crowded lodging-houses
(called insula?), which rose to a great height, and may be
compared to our own lofty tenement-houses, or those many-
storied " lands " which make so remarkable a feature in the
old town of Edinburgh. The population at this date has
been variously estimated by historians, but may be safely
put in the neighborhood of a million and a half. Of these
perhaps one - half were slaves ; and of the remainder the
larger proportion was composed of "pauper citizens, sup
ported in idleness by the miserable system of public gratu
ities."')" There seems to have been no middle class com
posed of free, industrious artisans. All the trades were
given over to the slaves, and there was a comparatively
small body of wealthy patricians, whose luxury and profli
gacy have been held up to scorn by the satirists of their
own generation. The rest of the people " hung around "
as loafers, waiting now for the bread of public charity, and
now for the games which were provided for them at the
national expense, t
The emperor was Nero, now twenty -four years of age,

* Vol. ii., p. 371. t Smith's " Dictionary," sub voce, Rome.
t " Panem et Circenses."

Rome. 483
and just beginning that course of madness and cruelty
which has made posterity alternately laugh at him as a fool
and abhor him as a tyrant. His name originally was Lu
cius Domitius Ahenobarbus, and he was the son of Domi-
tius Ahenobarbus and Agrippina. On the marriage of his
mother to the Emperor Claudius, he was adopted by that
monarch, and his name was changed to Nero Claudius Cas-
sar Drusus Germanicus. He was educated somewhat care
fully by the philosopher Seneca; and when Claudius was
poisoned by Agrippina, she managed at the same time to
secure the throne for her son, whose first care was to get
rid by poison of Germanicus, the son of Claudius, and so
put out of the way the rival who might dispute his right to
the purple. For a few years he managed affairs with some
discretion, under the advice of his tutor Seneca and his pre
fect Burrus ; but in the year 59 he contrived the murder of
his mother Agrippina, and from that time forward the rec
ord of his reign consists mainly of a catalogue of follies,
cruelties, and vices. After divorcing and putting to death
Octavia, his wife, he formed an alliance with the worthless
Poppaea, a vile woman, who tried to hide her enormities un
der a veil of piety, which took the form of proselytism to
the Jewish faith. Burrus, his faithful servant, died broken
hearted ; Seneca, disgusted with the licentiousness of the
court, quitted the capital ; and then, unrestrained by any
wholesome advisers, the emperor went from bad to worse,
until his name became a synonym for all that is debasing
and unnatural. He is a fearful illustration of that ruin
which must inevitably ensue when a man without moral
principle is placed in an irresponsible position, and has*
command of all the resources of luxury and wealth and
power. The superficial accomplishments of life had in his
estimation taken the place of the more important things of
character and morals. He was more ambitious to excel.in

484 Paul the Missionary.
driving a chariot, or to obtain the applause of the frequent
ers of the theatre for playing on a guitar, or singing a song,
than he was to study the welfare of the people, or provide
for the good government of his subjects. He could criti
cise music, painting, and sculpture with the skill of a con
noisseur, and could quote largely, appreciatively, and appro
priately from the poets. Even in the last hours of his life,
as one has said, " his reflections were like a continuous dis
charge of classical quotations, mixed with heavy pleasant
ries ; for every circumstance he had some apt literary rem
iniscence, some unmeaning antithesis."* He frequented
the studios of his time, and got up the art cant of his day ;
yet so little did this culture tend to produce in him the
"sweetness and light" which a modern author assures us
are its constant fruits, that he did not scruple to commit
the most heinous crimes, and positively revelled in the per
petration of the most abominable cruelties, and in the in
dulgence of the most degrading passions. To serve him
with a fidelity which preferred his interests to his inclina
tions was the sure way to incur his vengeance ; and when
it suited his purpose and tended to divert suspicion from
himself, he did not hesitate to accuse the inoffensive Chris
tians of having set Rome on fire. Nor did he consider it
improper to cover over their bodies with pitch and set them
up in blazing rows along the walks of his gardens for the
amusement of the multitude.
Such then was the city at which, after the longing of
years, Paul had arrived ; and such was the emperor before
whom he had been sent to prosecute his appeal. As he
approached the metropolis by the Appian Way, lined with
sepulchres on either side, he would enter by the Porta Ca-

* Kenan's " Antichrist," p. 309, quoted in Edinburgh Review for Oc
tober, 1874.

Rome. 485
pena, at the foot of the Ccelian Hill, and pass below the
arch which was always dripping with water percolating from
the aqueduct which passed over it. Thence his road lay
between the Ccelian Mount on. the right and the Palatine
on the left, over the site now occupied by the Arch of Titus,
and down the Via Sacra, until he reached the golden mile
stone at the head of the Forum. On the left rose the im
perial palace, and close to that was the barrack of the pre-
torian guard, where Julius probably delivered up his prison
ers to the prefect, to wait their trial before the emperor.*
The prefect into whose hands Paul was given is generally
identified with Burrus, to whom I have already referred ; but
whoever he was, he treated the apostle with great leniency.
Either from the account which Festus had given in the offi
cial papers — if these had not been lost in the shipwreck —
or from the good report given by the centurion who had
been with him every day for months, the mind of the pre
fect seems to have been favorable to Paul, for he allowed
him to dwell by himself, on the simple condition that he
should always be chained to one of the pretorian guards.
At first he took up his abode in a lodging; but latterly,
when it became apparent that his cause was to be delayed,
he hired a house for himself, where he was permitted to re
ceive all that came unto him.
The earliest use which Paul made of this indulgence was
to seek an interview with the chief men of the Jews at Rome.
And here let me say in a parenthesis that there had been
for many years a Jewish colony in the metropolis, occupying
a particular quarter on the opposite bank of the Tiber to
that which was covered by the main portion of the city. As
early as the year B.C. 63, after the conquest of Palestine by
Pompey, several thousands of Jews had been sold as slaves
* See Fairbairn's " Imperial Bible Dictionary," sub voce, Rome.
21*

486 Paul the Missionary.
in the markets of Rome ; but, with that indomitable energy
which has always characterized the children of Abraham in
foreign lands, they had speedily risen to stations of influ
ence and trust. Meanwhile, others of the same nationality,
drawn by the magnet of business, had gone to Rome of their
own accord, and plied their trades with industry and success.
The Jewish portion of the population thus consisted of two
classes — namely, slaves, retainers, or clients of the patrician
households ; and artisans or tradesmen, who lived in their
own quarter, on the other side of the Tiber. For some rea
son or other, Julius Cassar showed them what was, for him,
unusual kindness. Augustus, following in his great kins
man's footsteps, allowed them the free exercise of their re
ligion, and permitted them to take their share with the citi
zens in the largesses of corn, for which, if the distribution
happened to be made on their Sabbath, they might come on
the following day. But, in spite of these favors, they were
regarded as a turbulent and dangerous element of the pop
ulation ; for Tiberius in the early part of his reign banish
ed a large number of them from the city, though in his later
days he treated them more leniently. Claudius also, as we
have seen, banished them all from Italy on account of dis
putes among them regarding the Messiah; but that decree
could not have been long in force, since Aquila and Pris
cilla, who had gone to Asia in consequence of it, are found
in Rome again at a date three years before the arrival of
Paul. We need not be surprised, therefore, at finding the
Jews again a numerous and prosperous community there.
For the chief men of this section of the population, then
— that is, as I judge, for the rulers and elders of their syna
gogues — Paul sent, that he might inform them" of the posi
tion in which he stood, and disabuse them of any prejudices
which they might have concerning him. He told them that
he had come to Rome in consequence of his having ap-

Rome. 487
pealed to the emperor, but he wished them to understand
that he had taken that step simply as a matter of self-
defence, and not because he had brought any accusation
against his nation or its rulers. He was not seeking the
punishment of any one, but only using the last resource
which was left him to save himself from injustice or vio
lence. He could assure them that he had done nothing
against his people or the customs of their religion ; and
that the Roman governors by whom he had been examined
found nothing worthy of death in him. The truth was that
the Jews spake against him so that, in order to preserve him
self from their enmity, he was constrained to appeal to the
emperor; and the reason why his countrymen were so bit
ter against him was, that he had allied himself to those who
believed that the hope of Israel centred in Jesus of Naza
reth as the Messiah promised to the fathers.
To this they replied with great courtesy, but with still
greater caution. They affirmed that they had neither re
ceived letters out of Judaea concerning him, nor had any
of their brethren who had come from Palestine shown or
spoken any harm of him. And there is no reason to sup
pose that in speaking thus they were dealing either in false
hood or in prevarication. They might have heard of Paul's
doings in other places; but of the things to which he had
specially referred they had received no intelligence ; for, up
to the very moment of his appearance before Festus, there
had been no probability that the apostle's case would go
farther than the provincial court, and no Jew would think it
worth while to make allusion to him in writing to Rome.
Then, after he had taken his appeal, he had been sent so
speedily to Italy that no one could have anticipated his ar
rival there, either by letter or by personal travel. The ship
in which he had come to Puteoli was among the first, if not
the first of the season ; and that in which he had left Cass-

488 Paul the Missionary.
area was among the last, if not the last of the preceding
season ; so that the earliest news of his case would come
with himself.
They added to their assertion the expression of their de
sire to hear what he had to say upon the subject of Jesus;
for, as concerning the sect pi his disciples, they knew that
it was everywhere spoken against. We cannot but mark
the prudence of these men. They will not, for the moment,
commit themselves to anything. They had not forgotten
the edict of Claudius, and they did not wish to provoke
another of- the same sort from Nero. Moreover, they had
heard Paul say that the Roman governor had pronounced
him guiltless. They saw, too, that he was treated with great
favor as a prisoner ; and so they judged it safer to say as
little as they could. Still they were willing, nay, desirous, to
give him a hearing. Therefore, he appointed a day on which
many came to him, and to them he expounded and testified
the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus both
out of the law and out of the prophets. The conference last
ed " from morning until evening ;" and the result was that
some believed and some believed not the things which were
spoken. Thus they went away " not agreed among them
selves ;" but not before Paul had reminded them, in the
words of Isaiah, of the hardening influence of resisting the
proclamation of the truth, and had intimated that, hav
ing now discharged his obligations unto them, he would
preach the Gospel unto the Gentiles, and they would hear
it gladly.After this Paul remained for two years in Rome, waiting
for the emperor's decision in his case, which had been de
layed either by the non-arrival of some necessary witnesses,
or by the dilatoriness for which in matters of public business
Nero was proverbial. But though he was under restraint,
the apostle was not idle; for his home became a centre from

Rome. 489
which influences went out which carried blessing and guid
ance to the churches of the Gentiles of his own day, and
which are yet working for good wherever the New Testa
ment is read. The beloved physician Luke has carried his
history no farther, his design evidently being to bring up his
narrative to that point at which, in the person of its chiefest
apostle, the power of God in the Gospel was brought into
contact with the power of the world in its strongest seat.
But from the letters to Philemon, the Colossians, the Ephe
sians, and the Philippians, which were written during Paul's
residence in Rome at this time, we may glean many inter
esting particulars which may help to set before us the work
in which he was engaged, and the friends by whom he was
surrounded. In one of these* he tells us that his imprisonment "had
fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the Gospel ; so that
his bonds in Christ were manifest in all the palace, and in
all other places." Now, as Dr. Lightfoot has, I think, con
clusively shown that the term here translated " palace "f is
a collective noun denoting the whole body of the pretorian
guards, rather than any locality, we have thereby a flood of
light thrown upon the kind of influence by which the effect
described was produced. From that regiment the compa
nies were drafted off, whose individual members took each
his turn in guarding the apostle. In this way as the months
rolled round a goodly number of the soldiers would be
brought into direct contact with him, and he would lead
them by his earnest conversations up to that Gospel with
which he was so identified. Moreover they had opportuni
ties of learning his doctrines and observing his life such as

* Phil, i., 12, 13.
t In the original, vpaiT&puf. See "Lightfoot on the Philippians,"
pp. 97-102.

49° Paul the Missionary.
none others ever enjoyed. They heard his familiar talks
with the friends who frequented his abode ; they listened
while he dictated, sometimes with tears, those letters which
are so remarkable for the combination of the richest doc
trinal statements with the wisest practical exhortations ;
and, after all others had withdrawn from him, the soldier at
the other end of his chain would be a witness of those fer
vent prayers to which he has so frequently referred in his
epistles. All this would awaken remark in the guard-room
of the barrack ; then it would stimulate curiosity and bring
others to examine and verify the reports they heard; and
then it would produce in many hearts the conviction that he
was speaking truth, and so lead them to the Lord. Nor can
we well over-estimate the value of such a result as a factor
in the evangelization of the Roman Empire. These sol
diers were always in communication with distant places ;
they were liable to be sent on important missions to far
away provinces, and, converted themselves, they would be
come in the most natural, way missionaries of the Gospel
of Christ wherever they went. This was the putting of the
leaven into the meal ; and when, more than a century later,
Tertullian made his famous defence, in which he refers to
the number of Christians in the army, we see how effectively
it wrought. But the presence of Paul at Rome, even though he was a
prisoner, was valuable in another way, for he says : " Many
of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds,
are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Some
indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife ; and some
also of good-will : the one preach Christ of contention, not
sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds : but the
other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the
gospel. What then ? notwithstanding, every way, whether
in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached ; and I therein

Rome. 491
do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice."* Now, to understand the
meaning of these verses we must remember that in the
church at Rome, as in the other Gentile churches, there were
two parties. Its origin had been, most probably, in the con
version on the Day of Pentecost of those "strangers of
Rome, Jews, and proselytes," who are mentioned in the sec
ond chapter of The Acts of the Apostles. Naturally, there
fore, these persons would retain their Jewish predilections
and prejudices, and would be grieved at the reports which
from time to time they heard of Paul's doings in the cities
of the East. But, in process of time, to the company of Jews
and proselytes who had first embraced the Gospel would be
added others who, like Aquila and Priscilla, and those men
tioned in the salutations in the sixteenth chapter of The
Romans, were thoroughly in sympathy with the teachings of
our apostle. Thus there were here also the Judaistic and
the liberal elements ; and no one can read the Epistle to
the Romans without feeling that the numerical majority
was on the Judaistic side. I think, too, that his knowledge
of that fact had something to do with causing Paul's anx
iety when he landed at Puteoli ; even as it was the appear
ance of some of the members of the church at Appii Forum
that dispelled his gloom. But though on his first appear
ance the disaffection of the Jewish party in the church to
ward him might not assert itself, it would be sure to come
out afterward ; and there seems to me to be an indication
that it did, in these words to the Colossians :f " Aristarchus
my fellow-prisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister's son to
Barnabas, and Jesus, which is called Justus, who are of the
circumcision. These only are my fellow-workers unto the'
kingdom of God, which have been a comfort unto me."
We are obliged to infer from this statement that, though

* Phil, i., 14-18. t Col. iv., 10, 11.

492 Paul the Missionary.
there were some of the circumcision party — Jesus Justus
and Mark, to wit — who were a comfort to him, working in
harmony with him, and loyally carrying out the principles
on which the compromise of the Jerusalem council had been
constructed, all the rest of that Judaistic wing were moved
with envy toward him, and had been anything but a comfort
to him. They were stirred up by the spirit of contention to
preach Christ in their own limited fashion, in order that they
might, if possible, aggravate his sufferings. But they did not
know Paul. He could distinguish between things that dif
fered. In that great heathen city the question raised by
their preaching was not what it had been when they carried
their doctrines into churches already formed under his min
istry. In the latter case the choice was between the bond
age of ritualism and the liberty of the Gospel ; but in the
former it was between an imperfect presentation of the Gos
pel to the heathen and no presentation of it at all ; and so,
as Christ was preached, however unworthily, both in manner
and in motive, he rejoiced.
But the friends of Paul were stimulated by his presence,
even more than were his enemies. They saw how lenient,
on the whole, his imprisonment was ; and so their dread of
the consequences of preaching openly the Gospel was less
ened, while the example of the apostle himself was, if I may
so express it, wholesomely contagious ; for as they saw his
meekness, patience, and activity, they caught somewhat of
his spirit. Thus they " waxed confident " by his bonds.'
The influence of Paul's residence in Rome was felt even
in the imperial household; for in his letter to the Philip
pians he says, " All the saints salute you, chiefly they that
are of Caesar's household."* It is not improbable that
there were in the palace some slaves or freedmen who had,

* Phil, iv., 22.

Rome. 493
before his coming, been converted to the faith, and they
would come like others under the inspiration of his pres
ence, and be quickened thereby to new earnestness. We
have very slender materials supplied by secular historians
wherewith to illustrate this branch of the apostle's work.
Some, indeed, from what appear to me to be very slight ma
terials, have attempted to prove that the noble Roman lady
Pomponia Graecina, the wife of Aulus Plautius, who conquer
ed Britain, was a convert to Christianity. She was tried by
her husband in a.d. 57 or 58, before Paul reached the city,
for " foreign superstition ;" but there is no evidence to show
that the "superstition" describes the Gospel of Christ; and
in any case she could not have been one of Paul's spirit
ual children. A similar attempt to identify the Pudens and
Claudia in Paul's Second Epistle to Timothy with persons
of distinction in the city, rests upon suppositions rather than
well-attested facts. But however it may have been at the
time, the effect of Paul's labors showed itself in the next
generation in certain members of the imperial family itself ;
for Flavius Clemens and his wife, Flavia Domitilla, both
cousins of the Emperor Domitian, were accused of atheism
and Jewish manners, and condemned by the emperor. Even
Gibbon admits that this singular association of ideas which
involved disbelief in the prevalent idolatry, combined with
the practice of a pure morality, cannot be with any propriety
applied except to the Christians ; and so we may perhaps
conclude that they were numbered among the noble army
of martyrs to the Gospel. But for the rest we may say with
Merivale that " over Paul's intercourse with ' those of Cae
sar's household ' a cloud rests which we can never hope to
penetrate."* * " St. Paul at Rome," by the Rev. Charles Merivale, D.D., Dean of
Ely, p. 115.

494 Paul the Missionary.
We are on safer ground, by far, when we complete our
delineation of the apostle at this time by placing him in the
midst of the friends who made his house their common place
of resort. Foremost among these was Luke, the compan
ion of his voyage, and the devoted medical attendant, who
gave up the gains of his profession that he might wait on
the apostle and become the chronicler of the life, death, and
resurrection of the Lord, and of the early history of the
Church under the ministry of the Spirit. Next was Aris
tarchus of Thessalonica, who had also been a fellow-passen
ger with him from Caesarea, and who, some years earlier,
had risked his life with him at Ephesus. Next was Timothy,
his well-beloved son in the faith, who, if we may judge from
the presence of his name in the opening salutations of three
out of the four letters which were written at this time, seems
to have been with Paul for a portion at least of these two
years. Tychicus was there for a time from Ephesus ; Epaph
roditus from Philippi ; Epaphras from Colosse. There, also,
were those two with histories so singularly similar in one
particular — Demas and Mark. Let us hope that before the
death of the former the resemblance was completed, and
that he too returned to his first love with more earnest con
secration than before. To these we must add Jesus Justus,
one of the circumcision, who as we have seen was a comfort
to Paul ; and Onesimus, the runaway slave whom the apos
tle had begotten in his bonds, and whom he was soon to
send to his former master, not now as a slave but as a broth
er beloved. I wonder that no Christian artist has tried to
put upon the canvas some delineation of Paul surrounded
by these companions, and chained to " the soldier that kept
him." It would make a most remarkable group. I have
seen paintings of warriors with their generals ; of presidents
and prime-ministers with their cabinets ; and of authors with
their literary friends. But what were the greatest of these

Rome. 495
in comparison with those who used to meet thus in the hired
house of the apostle on the Palatine Hill ? In this little
group we have three of the writers of the New Testament,
who were the human instruments of giving us at least two-
thirds of its contents. Behold the irony of history ! The
words of the Roman literati of that era are mostly lost,
and those that remain are known and read by but a few
scholars ; whereas the writings of these men, who were
sneered at by Tacitus as the votaries of a "wretched su
perstition," are enthroned in the hearts of myriads.
But we are not to suppose that these friends were there
merely to cheer and comfort Paul by their fellowship. They
did that, but they did far more than that ; for they were
there principally that they might consult him on matters
pertaining to the welfare of the churches, and that they
might furnish him with the means of communicating with
the churches. Some of them were what we may call the
letter-carriers of the apostle. Onesimus was the bearer of
the Epistle to Philemon ; Epaphroditus carried that which
was addressed to the Philippians ; and Tychicus was the
messenger to the Colossians and Ephesians. There were
probably other epistles written then, of which now we have
no trace ; but even if these were all, they show us that Paul
was still, though chained, the centre of a large system of
effort, from which, like the life-blood from the heart, pul
sations of strength and wisdom went out to the remotest
churches of the Gentiles.
The circumstances in connection with which these letters
were written may be so fully learned from the statements
which they contain, and the principles which they enforce
have such abiding importance, that we shall be well repaid
'± we endeavor to find out the history of their production
and to give an analysis of their contents. For these studies,
nowever, another lecture will be required. Meanwhile, lei:

496 Paul the Missionary.
us take with us something of present, practical assistance
suggested by the narrative on which we have been engaged.
We are reminded, then, in, the first place, that each of us
has his own chain.* I said last Lord's-day evening that,
very commonly when we reach the goal on which we had
set our hearts, we get with it something that seems, at first
sight, to fetter us in its enjoyment or improvement. But
now I generalize the statement and affirm that each has
his own bonds. There is not one of us who does not
feel himself fettered somewhere or somehow; so that he
cannot quite accomplish all that he desires to do. Contin
ually we discover that the accomplishment of our purposes
is prevented by the fact that we cannot pass beyond the
limit of our chain. " We could have done so much better,
or so much more," so we often say, " if some unavoidable
or hampering influence had not hindered us." Thus we
are each carrying about a chain, of which, so long as we are
working within its limits, we may be largely unconscious,
but which brings us to a stand the moment we have gone
to its farthest extent. The business man, if he is to serve
God in his daily pursuits, must look after them ; and so he
is bound to his counting-house by a cord which neither his
God nor his conscience will allow him to break. The pro
fessional man is hemmed in by his engagements as really as
the prisoner is by the walls of his dungeon — with this differ
ence, that in the latter case the restraints are external and
physical, while in the former they are internal and spiritual.
The invalid is held down to her couch as truly by weakness
as the galley-slave was fixed to his seat by his chains ; and
her devoted nurse is kept continually at her bedside by a
bond which is not the less real because it is invisible, or

* Several paragraphs in this discourse have already appeared in the
volume entitled "The Limitations of Life, and other Sermons."

Rome. 497
the less powerful because its strands are made of love. The
mother is for the most part bound to her home, so that wher
ever she goes she feels tugging at her heart the silken string
that ties her to the cradle and its inmate. The minister is
held to his pulpit and its immediate sphere. The poor man
is hampered by his poverty, and he who is the servant of
another has his service of God in some sort conditioned and
qualified by the duties which he owes to his earthly master.
Thus every man, like Paul, has his chain.
But that we may not be discouraged by that, let us re
member, in the second place, that such a chain is no dis
grace to us. Paul was not a prisoner because of any evil
he had done. Rather his chain was put upon him because
he would neither do what was wrong nor suffer others to
inflict injustice upon him. His chain was a trophy of prin
ciple ; and though others might be ashamed of his bonds,
he never hung his head on their account. Now, it is quite
similar with those Providential limitations of our service of
God and of our generation to which I have compared Paul's
chain. There is no disgrace in poverty or in sickness, pro
vided only we have not brought it upon ourselves by our
sin. The business man has no need to be ashamed of his
attention to his counting-house ; nay, rather, the shame and
sin would be if through neglect he should let himself drift
into ruin. The mother cannot think that she is disgraced
by the little ones that fill the nursery with their glee and
take so much of her care. Disgraced ! nay, rather she is
highly favored among women ; for is it not written, " Lo !
children are an heritage of the Lord ?" And if there be
anywhere the human likeness of that angel who ministered
to our Lord in his Gethsemane anguish, it is to be found in
the devoted nurse who tends the fevered sufferer through
his midnight tossings. Let us not make misery for our
selves, therefore, by imagining that these chains of ours are

498 Paul the Missionary.
things for which we ourselves are to be blamed. They have
come in the providence of God. They have been put upon
us because we have refused to desert the post of present
and immediate duty; and though they may seem to keep us
from doing all that we should wish to accomplish for the
Lord, we need not blush because of them.
Moreover, finally, we may take comfort in the thought
here suggested to us, that these chains need not really pre
vent our usefulness. I doubt not — for Paul was very hu
man — that he was sometimes saddened by the thought that
his long imprisonment had kept him from that missionary
work on which his heart was set ; yet, as we have seen, by
the quiet persistence of his efforts with those who came
within the range of his chain, he succeeded in doing a great
missionary work among the soldiers; while in the epistles
to which I have referred he is even now preaching to Chris
tians everywhere. Thus he was laid aside from his usual
work for a time, in order that through these letters he
might work for all time. How much the business man
might accomplish for the Lord, if he were only to do with
those who are brought into immediate contact with him what
Paul did with his military guards ! And is there anywhere
on earth a sanctuary so blessed as the sick - chamber, in
which the pulpit is a couch of suffering, and the preacher
is a patient, loving, gentle one, who tries to bear all for the
sake of Christ? It may seem a great hardship to the
mother that she is kept by family cares from joining in the
work which used to be her joy; but let her wait awhile until
that bright-eyed boy at her knee has grown up to be a god
ly man, it may be to become an earnest minister, and then
she will have the satisfaction of knowing that her influence
is telling through him on all whom he benefits. The min
ister is chained to his pulpit, and when he reads the stirring
story of some noble man who has quickened thousands by

Rome.

499

his words, he is apt to think, " Alas ! I am but a poor pris
oner here ; it is little that I can do for my Lord;" but there
happens to be in his congregation for the day — men would
say by accident ; I prefer to say in the providence of God —
a youth who is going out West to begin life for himself; a
man of business, just about to set sail for a heathen city
in the far East; and perhaps, also, a missionary soon to re
turn to his work among the sons of Africa. The preacher
all unconscious of their presence, seeks to do his best for
the souls of his hearers, and some word falls into each of
these three hearts, so that each goes forth with new inspira
tion to labor for the Lord. By-and-by a Young Men's Chris
tian Association springs up in the new settlement in the
West ; a demand comes for Bibles from the heathen city ;
and tidings of a revival of religion are wafted home from
the mission station within the tropics ; and as the minister
hears of these things traced by each of these workers to his
words — where now is the imprisonment ? and of how little
consequence is now the chain ! We do not know — and it is
'well for us that we do not know — how far-reaching are our
deeds and words. If we did, pride would soon take the
place of humility, and that would unfit us for our work. So
God keeps us down to keep us useful ; but among the many
pleasant surprises which he has reserved for us when we
enter heaven will be the discovery, that efforts put forth by
us, and which we supposed to be restricted to a very limited
area, have been, under God, the germs from which rich har
vests of blessing have been reaped by multitudes whom we
have never seen till then. Do not, therefore, undervalue
your position, but use it, bonds and all, for Christ. We
may be in bonds, but Christ is free ; and the little which
we put into his hands may find its way, through him, to
those from whom we are kept by the hampering limitations
of our earthly lot.

XXVII.
THE EPISTLES OF THE IMPRISONMENT.
AN examination of the salutations and personal allu
sions in the Epistles to the Colossians, Philemon, the
Ephesians, and the Philippians* leads us to conclude that
they were all written about the same date ; while the refer
ences made in all of them to his "bonds" render it abso
lutely certain that their author was, at the time, a prisoner.!
They must have been sent, therefore, either from Caesarea,
where Paul was kept for two years by Felix, or from Rome,
where he was held under Nero for a similar term, and where
Luke leaves him, as he closes his narrative of The Acts of
the Apostles. Up till a very recent date the all but unani
mous verdict of scholars was given in favor of the opinion
that they were transmitted from Rome ; but latterly certain
German criticst have advanced some arguments, more in
genious and elaborate than convincing, in support of the
view that they were written at Caesarea. To me, however,
these reasonings are outweighed by the mention of " Cae
sar's household "in the letter to the Philippians, since that
phrase cannot by any stretch of exegesis be made to desig
nate any establishment, however important, in a Palestinian
city. Therefore, without the slightest misgiving, I rest in
the generally received opinion,, believing that it not only

* Eph. vi., 21, 22 ; Col. iv., 7-9 ; Col. iv., 10-14 » Philem. 9, 23, 24.
1 Eph. iii., 1 ; iv., I; vi.,20; Phil, i., 7, 13, 14, 16 ; Col. iv., 3, 18.
X Meyer, Schenkel, and Schultz may be named.

The Epistles of the Imprisonment. 501
harmonizes with all the details which the letters contain,
but also throws a clearer light on the drift and purpose of
the letters themselves.
Of these four epistles the earliest* appears to have been
that to the members of the church at Colosse, which was a
city of Phrygia, on the river Lycus, and was famous for its
woollen manufactures and the skill to which its merchants
had attained in the art of dyeing. The fact that this let
ter was addressed to the Christians there, is evidence that
a church existed, as early as the year a.d. 61, in that city;
but we have no information that enables us to tell when or
by whom it was founded. Mention is made in The Acts of
the Apostles of two journeys taken by Paul through Phryg
ia ; the firstf to introduce the Gospel into that region, and
the secondt to confirm those who, on the former occasion,
had become disciples ; but in neither case is there any allu
sion to Colosse. Indeed, from an expression in the letter
itself § it is all but certain that the Colossian Christians had
not, up till that date, seen Paul's face in the flesh, and so
we cannot speak of him as having been personally the
founder of their church. But there is no reason to doubt
that it sprung indirectly out of his labors. During his three
years' residence in Ephesus he must have been brought into
contact with visitors from various cities in Asia, and it is
possible that through them the Gospel was introduced into
their several places of abode; or the members of the church
of Ephesus may have sent agents out to these important
centres charged with the duty of preaching the Gospel to
their inhabitants.
The same messenger who took the letter to the Colos-

* But it is not certain which of the two— Colossians or Ephesians—
was first composed.
t Acts xvi., 6. X Acts xviii., 23. § Col. ii., 1.
22

502 Paul the Missionary.
sians was the bearer of that to the Ephesians ;* and in the
Epistle to the Colossians there is tender allusion to the
churches in Laodicea and Hierapolis.f There must, there
fore, have been a very close communion between the Chris
tians of these four cities, and that gives ground for the be
lief that the churches of Colosse, Laodicea, and Hierapolis
were the daughters of that at Ephesus. If that were indeed
the case, they would be very dear to Paul ; and as he would
be constantly referred to by their instructors, they would
naturally apply to him for direction in all matters of diffi
culty or disputation. In this way it is easy to account for
the facts that Epaphras described to the apostle the state
of things in Colosse, and that, in consequence of his having
received such an account concerning them, Paul wrote the
letter which is now associated with the name of the Chris
tians of that city. Whether Epaphras had been deputed to
the apostle by the Church, or merely took advantage of his
providential meeting with him at Rome for the purpose of
consulting him, does not clearly appear. In his letter to
Philemon, Paul calls him his " fellow-prisoner ;"J but that
may mean only that he was a voluntary sharer with him of
the restraint under which he was held by his chain. It is
possible, however, that he was sent to Rome from Colosse,
just as Paul had been sent from Caesarea, and that he availed
himself of the opportunity of reporting to Paul the critical
condition of the church of which he was the " faithful min
ister." So far as we can infer from the contents of the epistle,
three tendencies had developed themselves among the mem
bers of the Colossian church, namely, first, toward a vain
philosophy which affected special acquaintance with spirit-

* Col. iv., 7; Eph. vi., 21, 22. t Col. ii., i; iv., 13, 16.
X Philem. 23.

The Epistles of the Imprisonment. 503
ual things, and indulged in useless and unwarrantable spec
ulations regarding angels; second, toward the observance,
as of prime importance, of Jewish ordinances "in meat, or
in drink, or in respect of a holy day, or of the new moon,
or of the sabbath days;" and third, toward the practices of
an asceticism which, as Paul affirmed, had " a show of wis
dom in will -worship, and humility, and neglecting of the
body; not in any honor."* These tendencies were appar
ently connected with the labors among them of one man,f
who was probably an Alexandrian Jew, combining in him
self a regard for the customs of the law or Moses, with a
belief in that element of Oriental philosophy which regard
ed matter as essentially evil, and which recommended as
cetic practices as the necessary means for emancipating the
soul from the slavery of the flesh.
To meet these evils Paul, guided by the inspiring Spirit,
sets himself in his epistle, and it is at once interesting and
instructive to observe how he repels them all by dwelling
on the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. He con
fronts the darkness with the light, and thereby he most ef
fectually dispels it. He reminds those who were contin
ually boasting of the fulness of their knowledge that "it
had pleased the Father that in Christ should all fulness
dwell." He removes all pretext for the worship of angels
by insisting on the pre-eminence of Him " who is before
all things and by whom all things consist." And he vindi
cates the liberty of Christian disciples by enlarging on the
perfection of the work of Christ on their behalf, and by re
minding them that they were "complete in him." Like the
letter to the Galatians, this to the Colossians was evoked*
by a special occasion ; and though there is less of vehement
indignation and affectionate appeal in it, he carries here
* Col. ii., 8, 16, 23. t Col. ii., 8, 18.

504 P-aul the Missionary.
also his readers to the central cross, and makes that the
test of every opinion and practice. He did not waste his
strength by entering upon a lengthened and minute argu
ment against every individual error; but he contented him
self with setting forth positively the pre-eminence of Christ's
personal dignity, the perfection of his work, and the fulness
of that salvation which he has wrought out for all who choose
to accept of it by faith. The one figure which stands out in
bold relief in this epistle is that of Christ. The absorbing
ambition of its author is to preserve intact for him that ex
clusive supremacy which of right belongs to him, and to vin
dicate the liberty which he has conferred upon his believing
people. Paradoxical as it may seem, these two things al
ways go together. Where Christ is owned as the sole sov
ereign, there his service is perfect freedom ; but where his
supremacy is either ignored or given to another, there comes
the slavery of superstition, or the tyranny of priestcraft, or
the cold domination of philosophy, and it is hard to say
which of these is the most degrading. The same tenden
cies as existed and operated in Colosse are working among
us to-day. Let us learn how to meet them from the study
of this noble letter, and instead of fighting philosophy with
philosophy, or science, falsely so - called, by other science,
let us be only the more diligent in the full and positive pres
entation of the truth as it is in Jesus. Let us exalt him
" in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowl
edge," because "in him dwelleth the fulness of the God
head bodily," and then before him all error will disappear
even as the mists of the morning are scattered by the rising
sun. Along with Tychicus, who carried this letter to the Co
lossians, there went Onesimus, who was the bearer of an
epistle to Philemon, one of the members of the same church.
His story is thrilling in its interest; and the letter which he

The Epistles of the Imprisonment. 505
carried, though the shortest of those generally ascribed to
Paul, is one of the most remarkable of them all. In the
household of Philemon at Colosse, Onesimus was originally
a slave ; but, yielding to some pressing temptation, or com
ing under some evil influence, he stole some of his master's
property and ran away from bondage. It was no easy mat
ter, then, to elude the vigilance, of those who were always
on the outlook for making gain by the restoration of slaves
to their owners ; but, with that criminal instinct which impels
a fugitive to seek his securest hiding-place in the largest city,
he went to Rome. There it is likely that he became the
associate of the lowest of the inhabitants, and as he lounged
about the streets of the metropolis he was probably met
and recognized by Epaphras, through whose instrumentality
he may have been brought to Paul. This seems to me to
be the most natural explanation of the manner in which
they came together; but, in whatever way, Onesimus did
come into contact with Paul, and was by him led to the
Lord Jesus Christ; so that he became a humble and do
cile disciple. The singular history of the man perhaps led
the apostle to take more than common interest in his wel
fare, and under his instructions he developed so rapidly,
both intellectually, and spiritually, that Paul actually cher
ished the idea of keeping him beside himself as an assistant
in his work. But the nature of the relationship between
Onesimus and Philemon, taken in connection, on the one
hand, with the jealousy with which the Roman law guard
ed the property claimed by a master in his slave, and, on
the other, with the personal friendship existing between
Philemon and himself, determined Paul to take a different
course. He sent Onesimus back to Philemon ; and with
him transmitted the epistle with which we are all so famil
iar, and in which he pleads for the reception of the runaway,
"not now as a slave but as a brother beloved," and engages

506 Paul the Missionary.
to make good, out of his own resources, any loss which had
been caused by the dishonesty of the fugitive. Every reader
of this brief note — for it is little more — must be struck with
the writer's piety, in that, while using the common forms of
correspondence then customary among men, he pours into
them the new fervor of Christian love ; his courtesy, in that
while making delicate allusion to the spiritual attainments
of Philemon, he asks from him, as a gift of love, a favor to
his old age, and a concession to his " bonds," that which he
might well enough have enjoined as a duty; his consum
mate tact, in that after having presented his petition he pro
ceeds upon the assumption that it is already granted, and
dwells upon the change in the character of Onesimus, while
before he concludes he, as it were, invites himself to be a
guest in the home of his friend, when, as he hopes soon to
do, he shall visit Colosse ; his sterling honesty, in that while
promising to refund the loss which Onesimus had occasion
ed, he gives evidence of his sincerity, and leaves no room for
doubt as to his intention, by taking the pen from his aman
uensis and inscribing these words : " I Paul have written it
with mine own hand, I will repay it ;" his humor, in that,
playing on the meaning of the word Onesimus, which signi
fies profitable, he says — and I think I can see the twinkle
in his eye as he looked at Onesimus while he dictated the
clause — " Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but
now profitable to thee and to me ;" and finally, his far-see
ing wisdom, in that while sending a fugitive slave back to
his master he does so in such a dignified and manly spirit,
and with such an assertion of the rights of Christian broth
erhood, as cut at the root of all slavery and introduced the
leaven of emancipation into the Roman Empire. It is a
wonderful letter, showing how greatness can dignify a com
mon subject, how holiness can consecrate a matter of busi
ness, and how Christian statesmanship can make an appar

The Epistles of the Imprisonment. 507
ently trivial thing the occasion for the utterance of princi
ples of perennial importance and enduring influence.
There are yet existing two letters from that fascinating
correspondent, the younger Pliny, to his friend Sabinianus,
the one entreating pardon for a freedman who had offended
him, and the other acknowledging gratefully the granting of
the request. They are thus contrasted, by so candid a critic
as the late Dean Alford, with Paul's Epistle to Philemon :
" The letters are models of courtesy, humanity, good-feeling.
But to a Christian mind the comparison with this of Paul is
most instructive. They lack just that in which this is emi
nent. Pliny conjures his friend by motives of pity, of self-
respect, even of self-indulgence; for, says he, anger must
be a torment to a man of your disposition. Nay, he puts
another motive still : if you spare him now, you will have
more excuse for anger with him in case he offends hereaf
ter. Paul writes to his friend far otherwise. There is no
mere appeal to pity, no mirror held up to self-esteem, no
after- thoughts admitting and justifying inconsistency; all
comes warm from the loving heart, and all the heart's love
is kindled by the love of Christ."*
Tychicus, the companion of Onesimus, carried with him
also a letter to the members of the church of Ephesus,
among whom, as we have seen, Paul spent three years of
active service, and over whom, therefore, he yearned with
most affectionate solicitude. There was not, indeed, among
them any special emergency to be met, or any local heresy
to be exposed and refuted, and, therefore, he does not ad
dress himself to any particular object in which they were
more interested than others ; but as his epistle to the Co
lossians was written about the same time, and his mind was

* " How to Study the New Testament," by Dean Alford, vol. ii., pp.
241, 242.

508 Paul the Missionary.
full of the topics with which it is concerned, he very natu
rally discourses of these to the Ephesians. There is, in fact,
between these two letters just that sort of resemblance which
you find in thought and language between letters written
on the same subject and about the same date by the same
author. And yet there is a distinctive difference between
'the two. The one is particular, the other general; the one is
fragmentary, the other systematic; and, whether it were writ
ten after the other or not, the Epistle to the Ephesians is the
development of the principles which are insisted on in that
to the Colossians. In the former he amplifies and elabo
rates the views which he could only touch on in the latter,
because of the eagerness with which he sought to contro
vert the evils that had appeared among those to whom it
was sent. This explains how it comes that, with so many
verbal resemblances between the two, the one is so distinct
from the other in what I may call the polarization of its
thoughts. In the letter to the Colossians the leading topic
is the person of Christ, because in that he found the anti
dote to all the errors which he wished them to refute. In
that to the Ephesians the method seems to be determined
by the great facts of redemption; and he enlarges on the
electing, redeeming, and sanctifying grace of God. "The
origin of the Church in the will of the Father ; the course
of the Church by the satisfaction of the Son; the scope
and aim of the Church in its life in the Spirit; these," says
Dean Alford, " run through the whole, dividing the epistle
first into three larger portions, and then in these portions
carrying out the same order in every paragraph. The whole
is a magnificent apostolic comment on the doctrine of the
Holy Trinity, as the divine persons are concerned in the
work of our redemption."* Two of its illustrations are spe-
* " How to Study the New Testament," vol. ii., p. 256.

The Epistles of the Imprisonment. 509
cially interesting, the one from its appropriateness to the
Ephesians themselves, the other from its connection with the
circumstances of the apostle when he wrote. The Ephe
sians dwelt in a city whose noblest ornament was the Tem
ple of Diana, reputedly the most splendid specimen of Ionic
architecture which the ancient world contained ; and there
can be little doubt that Paul was thinking of that imposing
structure when he wrote these words : "Ye are built upon the
foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ him
self being the chief corner stone ; in whom all the building
fitly framed together groweth unto a holy temple in the
Lord ; in whom ye also are builded together for an habita
tion of God through the Spirit."* Again, when the apostle
wrote or dictated this letter, he had been for probably more
than three years in daily contact with Roman soldiers. For
two years at Caesarea he had been kept in military custody.
During his voyage he had been on an intimate footing with
the centurion Julius, and after his arrival at Rome he had
made many friends among the pretorian guards. Now,
though, as we have seen, he embraced the opportunity thus
furnished him for teaching the Gospel to the soldiers, we are
sure that he also availed himself of the facility thus afford
ed him for acquiring information concerning military ac
coutrements and discipline, and the use to which he turned
that knowledge is apparent in these verses : " Wherefore
take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able
to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and
having on the breastplate of righteousness ; and your feet
shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace ; above all,
taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to
quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the hel-

* Eph. ii., 20-22.

510 Paul the Missionary.
met of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the
word of God."* Thus, like his Master, Paul drew his illus
trations from the objects that were before the eyes of his
readers, and from the experiences through which he was
daily passing; and so his words were full of the liveliest
interest as giving distinctness to his thought, and making
it memorable. The last of the epistles of the imprisonment that remain
to us was that to the Philippians, which must be dated near
the close of the two years' residence at Rome to which Luke
refers.f This is evident from the references which it makes
to Epaphroditus, as well as from those which it contains to
the results of Paul's labors in the imperial city. It appears
that Epaphroditus had come to Rome from Philippi bearing
a present, probably of money, from the brethren there to the
apostle. It is further evident that while he was at Rome
Epaphroditus was prostrated by an illness which, for a time,
filled the heart of Paul with anxiety. Now, as the apostle
speaks of this beloved brother as having been "full of heav
iness," because the Philippians had heard of his sickness,:-:
it follows that some communication had gone from Rome
to Philippi concerning him, and also that some report had
been brought back again from Philippi to Rome. But, in
those days of comparatively slow travel, that would require
some months ; and so, if we allow that Epaphroditus first
came to Rome near the end of the first year of Paul's im
prisonment, then the second year must have been consid
erably advanced before he set out on his return with this
letter. Again, the effects from Paul's efforts among the
* Eph. vi., 13-17.
t Farrar, following Lightfoot, makes the letter to the Philippians the
earliest of the four ; but his arguments do not shake the position taken
by others like Alford, Ellicott, and Meyer.
X Phil, ii., 26.

The Epistles of the Imprisonment. 511
soldiers were such as needed time for their development.
From the nature of the case they could not have been im
mediate, for they were the consequence of patient, plodding
perseverance from day to day in dealing, not with large au
diences but with individual men. So we are constrained to
date this letter as near as possible to the end of the second
year of Paul's imprisonment. And when we have arrived
at that conclusion we have at once an explanation of the
uncertain manner in which he refers in it to the issue of
his appeal. In writing to the Colossians and Ephesians
he says that he has sent Tychicus to them that he might
"comfort their hearts." That meant that he could cheer
them by telling them of his comparative welfare, and of his
hope of release. But in this letter to the Philippians he is
not sure whether Christ is to be magnified in his body by
life or by death.* Now, when we remember that Burrus,
the good prefect, died about the end of the second year of
his imprisonment, t and that Nero was just then under the
influence of Poppaea, who had become a Jewish proselyte,
and had already favored the Jews so far as to plead for
them against Agrippa, we may understand this change in
the apostle's forecast of the immediate future, and how it
came that his hopes as to the result of his case began to
sink, and he found himself in that singular dilemma, in a
strait betwixt two, yet having a desire to depart and be
with Christ. But although there is such uncertainty as to
the issue of his appeal, there is no abatement of his joy of
heart in Christ, nor any shrinking in his spirit from the or
deal of martyrdom. This is at once the tenderest and the
cheeriest of his letters. He loved the Philippians very ear
nestly. They had been very kind to him. They had, in the
* Phil, i., 21.
t Lewin puts the death of Burrus in a.d. 62. See Lewin, ii., 361.

512 Paul the Missionary.
main, walked after his ensample. No teacher of error had
obtained a foothold among them, and so his words to them
are mostly those of commendation ; or if he does refer to
the fact that there were some even among them who were
" enemies of the cross of Christ," he does so with tears and
in a spirit of gentleness.* For the rest, all he can say to
them is "stand fast;" nay, that is not all, for again and
again he bids them " rejoice ;" and when he assures them
that " the peace of God will keep their hearts and minds "
as the result of simple, prayerful, and grateful trust in God,
we cannot doubt that he is reading to them from the record
of his own experience. The sunshine of God's favor illu
minates every page of this precious letter ; and if, in addi
tion to its doctrinal importance, that to the Galatians is spe
cially valuable for the information which it furnishes in re
gard to the external facts of the apostle's life, this is un
speakably dear to us for the glimpses which it gives us into
his heart.
Thus have I sought to set before you some particulars
of interest in regard to each of these four letters. I have
put them in their true biographic setting, without attempt
ing anything like a formal analysis, far less a running expo
sition of their contents ; but yet knowing full well that an
acquaintance with the facts which I have mentioned will
enable you more clearly to understand and more thoroughly
to appreciate the treasures of wisdom which they contain.
And now, before we part, let me give expression to one or
two thoughts of a practical sort, suggested by our subject
for this evening.
Observe, then, in the first place, the converging of circum
stances which, under the providence of God, brought Onesi
mus and Paul together in Rome. The apostle had most
* Phil, iii., 18.

The Epistles of the Imprisonment. 513
probably known Philemon as a visitor to him when he was
living at Ephesus, and had then learned to take an interest
in him and in the church in his house ; but we cannot tell
whether or not he then came into contact with Onesimus.
We may be sure, however, that whether the slave ever saw
Paul or not, he would be permitted and encouraged to at
tend on the religious services which were regularly held un
der his master's roof. Yet he was not converted then. On
the contrary, he grew worse, and to escape the consequences
of theft he made his way to Rome. There he fell, some
how, into the hands of Paul, and through him was convert
ed. Now, how frequently similar cases have occurred ! I
am reminded especially of the conversion of Augustine.
He had gone astray into vicious indulgence and ruinous
error, and pierced the heart of his mother with many a sor
row. But she continued to pray for him ; and learning that
he was about to leave Carthage, she extracted a promise
from him that he would not go. That pledge, however,
being dishonestly given, was speedily broken, and he went
to Rome, greatly to her distress, since her main hope for
him lay in her influence over him. Still she continued to
make supplication for him, and at length, passing from
Rome to Milan, he was there converted to the faith. So,
not seldom, one running away from restraint is met by the
grace of the Lord Jesus and sent back a new creature. It
maybe that there is here to-night— who can tell? God know-.
eth — some poor runaway, who, in a freak of adventure, or
fit of temper, or under the influence of some sudden temp
tation, has fled from his father's house and come to this
great city. Let the history of Onesimus come home to him
now. Ah ! you cannot run away from God. He has over
taken you here ; and the wonderful thing is, that he is here
in mercy and not in judgment, in love and not in punish
ment. Will you open your heart to him now, and, trans-

514 Paul the Missionary.
formed by the renewing of your mind, will you not go back
to your earthly home, to gladden it with the evidence that
you have been born again ?
Observe, in the second place, the wisdom with which Paul
managed this difficult case. He sent back Onesimus, but
he did so in such a way as to give no sanction to slavery;
for he asked that he should be received as a brother — nay,
as Philemon would have received the apostle himself. That
last qualification carried in it a condemnation of the whole
system of slavery; while the sending of him back at all
saved Paul from coming into collision with the Roman law.
If he had directly opposed slavery he would have provoked
the bondsmen to rebellion, and brought his own usefulness
at once to an end; for just at the date at which he was
writing Pedanius Secundus was killed by one of his slaves,
and in accordance with the law the whole number of slaves
belonging to him, amounting to a vast multitude, and includ
ing many women and children, were put to death, although .
they were confessedly innocent of all participation in the
crime.* Now, a fact like that shows the state of the law
and the temper of the times in regard to slavery; and
therefore Paul, viewing it as a result of something behind
itself, endeavored to deal with the cause, confident that
when that was removed the effect would cease. But is he
on that account to be regarded as a partisan of slavery?
Nay, verily. He did here as in other cases. He dealt in
positive principles, and left them to make their own way.
He did not denounce slavery, but he enforced Christian
brotherhood, and that was the most effectual means of ex
pelling slavery. He did not grasp at paltry results because
they were near and immediate; but he put the leaven of
Christian love into the mass, heedless of the fact that it
* See Howson, vol. ii., p. 390, note.

The Epistles of the Imprisonment. 515
was hidden there for the time, but confident also that it
would work its way out until every slave on earth shall be
set free. In a similar spirit let us endeavor to counteract
the evils of our times. That which seems the shortest way
to a reform is oftentimes the longest in the end ; and the
surest means of success will be found in the wise enforce
ment of those great principles of love, and liberty, and ho
liness which centre in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Finally, we may observe here how much the grace of the
Lord can do to sustain his servants in tribulation. Paul
was a prisoner, yet his heart was full of peace ; and the joy
which he commended to others was constantly experienced
by himself. There is no" whimpering in these letters, but in
stead the calm assurance of one who knew that for him " to
live " was " Christ," and "to die" was "gain." Nor was it
his gift of miraculous inspiration that held him up. He was
supported by that gracious aid which is offered to us as
freely as it was to him, and which may be possessed by us
as fully as it was by him. To show you that this is indeed
the case, let me place before you a specimen of what I may
call the prison literature of the Christian Church. I pass
over the age of the first persecutions and begin my search
at the era immediately preceding the Reformation. The
noble Savonarola, whose name has given to Florence a
grander lustre than the glory of the Medicis, during his
month of imprisonment before his execution wrote his com
mentaries on the thirty- first and fifty -first psalms, which
show that, though he had much spiritual conflict, neither
his faith nor his comfort yielded.* The gentle Anne As
kew, who was burnt at Smithfield for holding that in the
Lord's Supper the bread after consecration remained bread,
»* Mackenzie's " Imperial Dictionary of Universal Biography," vol. iii.,
P- 729-

516 Paul the Missionary.
wrote, on the night before she suffered, that beautiful poem
which contains these lines :*
" Like as an armed knight
Appointed to the field,
With this world will I fight,
And faith shall be my shield.
" Faith is that weapon strong
Which will not fail at need ;
My foes therefore among
Therewith will I proceed.
" I now rejoice in heart,
And hope bids me do so,
That Christ will take my part
And ease me of my woe."
The valiant William Tyndale, to whom more than any other
one man we owe our English Bible, wrote, during his im
prisonment at Vilvorde, to the governor of the castle, asking
for some articles of dress, in a style that reminds us of
Paul's request that Timothy should bring his cloak from
Troas ; and then goes on to say, " But above all I entreat
and beseech your clemency to be urgent with the procureur
that he may kindly permit me to have my Hebrew Bible,
Hebrew Grammar, and Hebrew Dictionary, that I may spend
my time with my study."t Thus to the last he upheld him
self by the performance of the work to which he had dedi
cated his life, and the Bible that we read to-day was in great
part the fruit of his imprisonment. Ridley, who stood at
the stake with Latimer, wrote, in the interval between his
condemnation and execution, a long "farewell to all his true

* " Our Christian Classics," by Dr. James Hamilton, vol. i., pp. 45, 46.
t " Life of Tyndale," by Demaus, p. 476. Eadie's " The English
Bible," vol. i., 211.

The Epistles of the Imprisonment. 517
and noble friends in God," which contains these sentences :
" I warn you all, my well-beloved kinsfolk and countrymen,
that ye be not amazed or astonished at the kind of my de
parture or dissolution, for I assure you I think it is the
greatest honor that ever I was called unto in all my life.
For you know I no more doubt but that the causes where
fore I am put to death are God's causes and the causes of
truth, than I doubt that the gospel which John wrote is the
Gospel of Christ, or that Paul's epistles are the very Word
of God."* And only a short time before, the Lady Jane
Grey, in sending, on the eve of her execution, her Greek
Testament to her sister, wrote : " I am assured that I shall
for the losing of a mortal life find an immortal felicity, the
which I pray God grant you and enable you of his grace to
live in his fear and die in the true Christian faith, from the
which, in God's name, I exhort you that you never swerve,
neither for hope of life nor fear of death."t The well-known
hymn beginning " Jerusalem, my happy home," was, in one
of its many versions, composed by Francis Baker while a
prisoner in the Tower of London ;% and in the same fortress,
in a cell which is still shown to visitors, Sir Walter Raleigh
composed his " History of the World," and wrote some
poems, of which the following lines may be taken as a spec
imen :§ " Rise, O my soul, with thy desires, to heaven,
And with divinest contemplation use
Thy time, where time's eternity is given.
And let vain thoughts no more thy thoughts abuse,
But down in midnight darkness let them lie ;
So live thy better, let thy worse thoughts die.

* " Our Christian Classics," vol.i., p. 63.
t Ibid., vol. 1., p. 49.
X " Hymn-writers and their Hymns," by S. W. Christophers, p. 118.
§ " Evenings with the Sacred Poets," by Frederick Saunders, p. 223.

518 Paul the Missionary.
" And thou, my soul, inspired with holy flame,
View and review, with most regardful eye,
That holy Cross, whence thy salvation came ;
On which thy Saviour and thy sin did die ;
For in that sacred object is much pleasure,
And in that Saviour is thy life, thy treasure."
Everybody knows that John Bunyan's " Pilgrim's Progress "
was the fruit of his labors in Bedford jail; and as the joy-
bells of the New Jerusalem kept ringing in his ears he for
got the vileness of the " cage " wherein he was confined.
Not so well known, at least on this side of the Atlantic, are
the letters of Samuel Rutherford, so unique for their " unc
tion and holy rapture, breathing a spirit of such devotion
as if he had been a seraph incarnate, and filled with such
transport as if he had been caught up to the third heaven."
Yet many of them were written from Aberdeen, to which
city he had been confined by the Court of High Commis
sion. George Wither, the Puritan poet, whose quaint motto
was, " I grow and wither, both together," had a checkered
career, and many of his best pieces were composed while
he was in prison. One of them, entitled " A Prison Medi
tation," has preserved his experiences for us. I give only
two stanzas from it :
" While here I bide, though I unworthy be,
Do thou provide all needful things for me ;
And though friends grow unkind in my distress,
Yet leave not thou thy servant comfortless.
" So, though in thrall my body must remain,
In mind I shall some freedom still retain ;
And wiser made by this restraint shall be
Than if I had, until my death, been free."*
Who has not heard of the hymns of Madame Guyon in sim-
* " Hymn-writers and their Hymns," p. 129.

The Epistles of the Imprisonment. eIfj
ilar circumstances ? or who, having once read, can ever for
get these thrilling lines :
" My cage confines me round,
Abroad I cannot fly ;
But though my wing is closely bound,
My heart's at liberty.
My prison walls cannot control
The flight, the freedom of the soul."
James Montgomery, whose hymns have often borne our
hearts in loving devotion up to God, wrote a whole volume of
"Prison Amusements " while he was confined in York Castle,
the victim of political injustice; and the hymn beginning
" Spirit, leave thy house of clay," was composed by him in
the same place, on the occasion of the death of one of his
fellow prisoners, who with seven others had suffered the loss
of all worldly goods, for conscience' sake. And, to men
tion no more, what an interesting record is that of the im
prisonment in Burmah of the sainted Judson for two years,
during which he solaced himself with Christian songs, and
composed the beautiful paraphrase of the Lord's Prayer
commencing " Our Father God, who art in heaven !"
Now, I have not brought these instances before you mere
ly as a matter of literary interest, but I wish you to take
note of the cheerful tone which pervades them all; and
then, when you have done that, I will ask you to read the
melancholy lines written by the Roman poet Ovid during
his banishment; and the letters of Cicero during his exile.
Of these last one of the biographers of the great Roman
orator says it would have been better for his reputation if
they had been burnt ; and another avers that they show
a " pusillanimity which it is humiliating to contemplate."*
The same thing has come out in the prison experiences of

* See Forsyth's " Life of Cicero," vol. i., pp. 240-248.

520 Paul the Missionary.
many others in modern times who, being " without God,"
were also •' without hope " in the world. Now, how shall
we account for this difference ? Simply by the sustaining
grace of the Lord Jesus. There is no other adequate ex
planation. One of the greatest triumphs of modern horol
ogy is the construction of a chronometer with a compen
sation balance which keeps it moving at the same rate in
every temperature. What that balance is to the timepiece
the grace of God is to the believer's heart. It gives him
equanimity in all experiences. It makes prosperity safe,
and adversity salutary for him. It puts for him a rainbow
into every cloud. It opens for him a fountain in every wil
derness. It gives to him a song for every night. Why,
then, should we refuse the blessing which it brings ?

XXVIII.
THE PASTORAL EPISTLES.— SECOND IMPRIS
ONMENT AND MARTYRDOM.
THE letters to Timothy and Titus have many things
in common. They were called forth by the imperfectly
organized condition of the first Christian societies, and were
addressed by Paul to those whom he had associated with
him in the work of planting and training the early churches.
They belong to the same stage of ecclesiastical develop
ment; there is great similarity of style between them; and
there is a recurrence in them all of the same forms of ex
pression. These things combine to make it morally certain
that they were all produced about the same date ; and as
the references to his approaching martyrdom contained in
the Second Epistle to Timothy fix the writing of that near
the close of his career, it follows that all the three must be
regarded as belonging to the last stage of the apostle's his
tory. But when we come to the question when his career
did close, we encounter the difficult problem of the second
imprisonment, to which it is indispensable that we give some
attention. It is universally admitted that Paul was put to death at
Rome as the result of a judicial trial before Nero. But it
is contended by some that his execution was the conse
quence of his appeal from Caesarea. These critics hold
that, although in the early part of his imprisonment he was
treated with great leniency, yet he was afterward condemn
ed without having had any opportunity of leaving the city

522 Paul the Missionary.
from the time of his first arrival in it till that of his mar
tyrdom. Others, however, believe that at the end of the
two years referred to by Luke* the apostle was set at liber
ty, and that, after some time spent in travelling and preach
ing both in the East and in the West, he was again appre
hended under some plausible charge, taken to Rome, con
demned and executed, near the close of the reign of Nero.
After patient investigation of the arguments on both sides
I have adopted the last-mentioned opinion, and I will try to
set before you now, as clearly and briefly as possible, the
reasons which have mainly led me to this determination.
They are connected with particular statements in the let
ters to which to-night our attention is to be directed ; and
you will have the best conception of their importance if we
take them in order.
Turn with me, then, to the first chapter of First Timothy,
and at the third verse you will read, " As I besought thee to
abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia " — a
clause which implies that, shortly before this letter was writ
ten, Paul and Timothy had been together at Ephesus, and
that Paul, having to leave for Macedonia, besought Timothy
to remain behind him for a special purpose. Where, then,
can we put this simultaneous presence of Paul and Timothy
in Ephesus, followed by the departure of Paul into Mace
donia, and the continued sojourn of Timothy at Ephesus ?
Very clearly we find no place for it in the history recorded
in the nineteenth chapter of The Acts ; for though we read
there of Paul's leaving Ephesus for Macedonia, he then
sent Timothy on before him,f " but he himself stayed in
Asia for a season." It is supposed by some, indeed, that
after Paul had arrived in Macedonia he sent Timothy back
to Ephesus ; but, not to insist on the obvious fact that send-
* Acts xxviii., 30. t Acts xix., 22.

Second Imprisonment and Martyrdom. 523
ing him back to the city is different from beseeching him
to abide still in it, there is evidence that Timothy was with
Paul all through his journeyings in Greece and Macedonia
at that time, for he is mentioned in the salutation of the
Second Epistle to the Corinthians, which was written then ;
and he is expressly named among those who accompanied
him on his voyage from Greece to Caesarea.* We cannot,
therefore, put this request to Timothy to remain in Ephesus
into the history covered by Luke's nineteenth chapter of
The Acts. Moreover, it is exceedingly improbable that it
could have been made before the date of Paul's interview
with the Ephesian elders at Miletus. Two considerations
lead us to that conclusion : first, the fact that the apostle's
address on that occasion contains no allusion to the labors
of Timothy at Ephesus, as it would almost certainly have
done if they had been performed before that date; and
second, the important item that the condition of the church
of Ephesus, described in the Epistle to Timothy, is very
different from that indicated in the discourse at Miletus.
In the latter, indeed, the apostle refers to troubles ; but
they were troubles that would arise, and not heresies and
immoralities that had arisen. In the former, however, we
are made to feel that the great reason for Timothy's abiding
in Ephesus was that he might counteract evils that had
recently developed themselves among the disciples there.
That which was prophecy in the address had become his
tory before the letter was written ; and so we are constrain
ed to date the time when Paul left Timothy behind him in
Ephesus after the meeting with the elders at Miletus. But
if we put it after that interview, there is no place for it at all,
unless we find one for it in the era after his two years' im
prisonment at Rome. For from Miletus he went to Jerusa-

* Acts xx., 4.

524 Paul the Missionary.
lem, whence he was taken as a prisoner to Caesarea, in which
for two years he was held by Felix, and from which he was
forwarded to Rome. Clearly, therefore, we must infer that
if he ever visited Ephesus subsequently to his interview
with the elders at Miletus, such a visit must have been
made after his two years in Rome.
There are only two objections to this view which have
importance enough to justify allusion to them. The first is
founded on the apostle's strong language at Miletus : " Now,
behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preach
ing the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more ;"* which,
it is alleged, furnishes conclusive evidence that he never
afterward visited Ephesus. But that may be taken merely
as the expression of a dark presentiment; and, if it be so
regarded, there is no difficulty in supposing that it was fal
sified by the event. In any case we have another saying,
equally strong, in his letter to the Philippians, on the other
side, which must have been falsified if he was never set at
liberty, for thus he writes : " And having this confidence, I
know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your
furtherance and joy of faith."t We have thus a choice be
tween the two ; or rather the two balance each other, and
leave us to settle the question entirely on other grounds.
The second objection springs from the fact that, in the first
letter to Timothy, Paul speaks of his son in the faith as still
a young man — so young a man, indeed, that there was need
of the exhortation, " Let no man despise thy youth;" where
as if these words were not written till the year 67 or 68, Tim
othy must have been thirty-four or thirty-five years of age.J
But to this we reply that youth is a relative term ; and that,
considering the work with which he was intrusted, Timothy
even at thirty-five could not but be regarded as young. He
* Acts xx., 25. t Phil, i., 25. J See Howson, vol. ii., p. 552.

Second Imprisonment and Martyrdom. 525
was to exercise control over the elders and superintend the
election and ordination of new office-bearers; and all who
know, or have had experience of the jealousy with which,
alike in Church and State, those are still regarded who are
simply guilty of what Pitt once sarcastically called "the
atrocious crime of being a young man," will quite under
stand the pertinence of Paul's words to Timothy, even if
we admit that he had attained the age of thirty-five.
There is not much, therefore, in either of these objec
tions ; and the evidence in behalf of the view we have
adopted is vastly increased when we open the Second Epis
tle to Timothy. By common consent that is regarded as
the latest of Paul's letters. When he wrote it he had been
already once before the imperial court, and had been ac
quitted on the first charge brought against him ; but he had
no expectation of being ultimately set free, and was daily
looking martyrdom in the face. Now, we have in it refer
ences to journeys as then recent, which we cannot identify
with any of his travels before his apprehension at Jerusa
lem. Look, for example, at these words :* " The cloak that
I left at Troas with Carpus, bring with thee, and the books,
but especially the parchments." Now, if this was sent dur
ing an imprisonment which lasted from his seizure at Jeru
salem until his execution at Rome, then it is easy to show
that Paul had not been in Troas for at least six years before
the date at which he was writing, and as, during that inter
val, many of his friends with whom he was in constant com
munication had been going to and fro between Europe and
Asia, it is marvellous that he should not have received these
articles long before. If, however, we suppose that he was
released from imprisonment, and then went to Philippi,
Troas, Colosse, and Ephesus, as from many hints let fall

* 2 Tim. iv., 13.
23

526 Paul the Missionary.
in his letters, considered by us in our last lecture, he evi
dently meant to do ; and if he was again apprehended after
that journey and carried to Rome, the whole thing becomes
natural. Look, also, at these words:* "Erastus abode at Corinth:
but Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick." Now, if he
wrote thus, during that imprisonment of which we have the
beginning in the book of The Acts, then it becomes impos
sible to reconcile the statement here made with the account
which Luke has given of his travels ; for the last time Paul
was at Miletus before his apprehension at Jerusalem was
when he met the elders of Ephesus there ; and though Troph
imus was certainly present on that occasion, he was not left
behind him sick, but went up along with him to the Holy
City; for it was the sight of him with Paul in the city which
made the Jews suppose that he had taken Gentiles into the
Temple, and provoked the riot which was put down only by
the intervention of the chief captain of the castle.f Hence
the time when Paul left Trophimus at Miletum sick must
have been distinct from, and subsequent to, that when he
met the Ephesian elders there ; and if so, it must be placed
after his release from Rome, since it cannot be put anywhere
between his farewell to the elders and his arrival at Rome.
The arguments drawn from these definite statements in
the letters to Timothy are greatly strengthened when we
look at the condition of things in the churches which they
indicate. It is clear that a great change had come over the
Asiatic Christians as regarded their feelings toward the
apostle, for he says,t " This thou knowest, that all they which
are in Asia be turned away from me." Now, if his impris
onment continued unbroken, and no visit was paid by him
to Asia after he wrote his letters to the Colossians and
* 2 Tim. iv., 20. t Acts xxi., 29. { 2 Tim. i., 15.

Second Imprisonment and Martyrdom. 527
Ephesians, it becomes impossible to account for this altera
tion or rather alienation. But if, on visiting these churches,
he found false doctrines promulgated, and immoral practices
indulged in, by prominent individuals among them; and if
he sternly rebuked those who were guilty of such disloyalty
to Christ, we can easily understand how it came that Phy-
gellus, Hermogenes, and the rest had turned away from
him. It is to be remembered, also, that such a visit to Asia
seems to have been contemplated by him when he wrote
the epistles, of the imprisonment. Thus he says to Phile
mon,* " But withal prepare me also a lodging : for I trust
that through your prayers I shall be given unto you " and
to the Philippians,t "But I trust in the Lord that I also
myself shall come shortly." It thus appears that it was his
intention to visit the cities of Asia after he was released ;
and that in these churches, as described in the epistles to
Timothy, there were such changes as such a visit alone could
account for, so that we are led to the conclusion that he was
released, and carried out the purpose which he had formed
regarding them.
The same inference is suggested by the passage in Titus
i., 5, " For this cause left I thee in Crete." Thus Paul
writes to Titus in Crete shortly after he himself had been
with his coadjutor there. Now, remembering that this letter
confessedly belongs to the latest stage of the apostle's his
tory, we ask with confidence where we can find a place for
this visit to Crete, unless we believe that it was made after
his release from imprisonment, and before he was again ap
prehended ? So, without regard to tradition, and solely on
the ground of the evidence which may be distilled from the
pastoral epistles themselves, I have adopted the view that,
shortly after the time at which Luke's narrative in The Acts

* Philem. 22. t Phil, ii., 24.

528 Paul the Missionary.
concludes, Paul was set at liberty by Nero; and that after
an interval of four or five years' duration he was again car
ried to Rome as a prisoner and put to death.
As to the doings of the apostle in this interval between
these two imprisonments we have to rely entirely on the
hints which we get from the letters to Timothy and Titus;
and any theory regarding them must be mainly conjectural ;
but the view of Dean Alford commends itself to me as
exceedingly probable. That painstaking investigator says,
"We suppose the apostle on his hearing and liberation,
which cannot have taken place before the spring of the year
a.d. 63, to have journeyed eastward, visiting perhaps Philip
pi, which lay on the great Egnatian Road to the east, and
passing into Asia. There, in accordance with his former
desires and intentions, he would give Colosse and Laodicea
and Hierapolis the benefits of his apostolic counsel, and
confirm the brethren in the faith ; and there perhaps, as
before, he would fix his head-quarters at Ephesus." Other
journeys — among them, perhaps, that to Spain — seem to
have occupied three or four years. From Ephesus, leaving
Timotheus there, he went into Macedonia, where some think
the First Epistle to Timothy was written ; " but the words,
' I besought thee to remain in Ephesus, as I went into Mace
donia,' seem to show that the sojourn in Macedonia was
over, and that he was now elsewhere — where we cannot pre
sume to say. In some place, evidently,* where he was like
ly to be detained beyond his expectations, which circum
stance strengthened his desire to send this letter of warning
and exhortation and direction to his son in the faith. "t
On this epistle it is not necessary for me to enter at any

* I Tim. iii., 14, 15.
t Al ford's "Greek Testament," vol. iii.; "Prolegomena," p. 95;
' How to Study the New Testament," vol. iii., p. 38.

Second Imprisonment and Martyrdom. 529
length. Paul writes in it throughout as an old man. We do
not find in it the passionate intensity which there is in that
to the Galatians, or the systematic arrangement which char
acterizes those to the Romans and Ephesians ; but he writes
with informal earnestness about those matters in which he
was most deeply interested, and which he had committed to
the care of Timothy. His allusion to his past history are
not numerous, but they are just such as we should expect a
man verging toward the limit of threescore years and ten
to make. What, for example, could be more touching than
the references in the first chapter to his early life, and the
mercy shown him in his conversion to Christ ? or what more
suggestive of his paternal care over Timothy than his coun
sels to him in the matter of his health ? Every thoughtful
reader will note in it the tender affection of Paul for Timo
thy; the earnest solicitude which he felt for the welfare
of the Church of Christ upon the earth ; the jealous watch
which he kept over the great central truths of the Gospel ;
the signal wisdom which he manifested in the advice which
he gives to Timothy alike for the regulation of his own per
sonal conduct and for the guidance of the Church ; and the
solemn iteration with which before God and the Lord Jesus
he charged the young evangelist to observe everything which
he enjoined. No young man can peruse it without coming
into contact with great principles which are as important to
day as when they were first expressed ; and no minister of
the Gospel can neglect it, without depriving himself of much
that is invaluable for the right discharge of the duties to
which he has been set apart. Nay, in an age when charity
in the faith is in danger of degenerating into latitudinarian-
ism, and liberty in the Church seems by many to be devel
oped into license, we may all learn valuable lessons from
this pre-eminently practical and plain-spoken letter.
Somewhere about the time at which this First Epistle to

53° Paul the Missionary.
Timothy was written Paul seems to have made a visit to
Crete in company with Titus. Judging of his character from
the tenor of Paul's letter to him, Titus would appear to have
been one of the shrewdest and most trusted of Paul's fel
low-laborers ; but it is somewhat surprising that we should
have so little direct information concerning one who stood
so high in the confidence of the apostle. We hear of him
first at Jerusalem ;* the next time he comes into prominence
he is the messenger of Paul to Corinth at a critical junc
ture in the history of the Church in that city/f and now he
is referred to as intrusted by the apostle with the perfecting
of the organization of the churches there by the ordination
of elders in every city. In the Second Epistle to Timothyt
he is mentioned as having left Paul ; and as his name with
those of others occurs in connection with the mention of
Demas, it is supposed by some that he deserted the apostle,
and is blamed by them accordingly. I cannot bring myself
to adopt any such view. He had not, perhaps, the tender
ness of heart which so endeared Timothy to Paul, but he
had a more self-reliant spirit, and was apparently well-fitted
for the work which Paul had left him in Crete to perform.
The churches there must have been in an embryonic, if not
also a chaotic state ; and the letter of Paul to Titus contains
instructions for their complete arrangement, and directions
for his own conduct, as well as a thorough condemnation of
the errors in doctrine and evils in practice which had made
their appearance among the converts to whom he minis
tered. It is nervous in style, slightly rugged and abrupt in
expression, and signally decided in tone. It is, besides, com
prehensive in its scope ; for, brief though it be, it contains
maxims of importance for all ages, and abounds in epi
grammatic phrases as pungent as they are wise. It is like
* Gal, ii., 3. t 2 Cor. ii., 13 ; xii., 6. J 2 Tim. iv., 10.

Second Imprisonment and Martyrdom. 531
all Paul's letters in the prominence which it gives to the
Cross of Christ; and if any one imagines that zeal for doc
trine is fatal to good works, we commend to him the study
of this pithy epistle.
It was probably written from some place in Asia Minor ;
but, in any case, when Paul despatched it he intended to go
to Nicopolis* for the winter. There were many cities of
that name in the ancient world; but the general opinion is
that Paul refers to that in Epirus, which was founded by
Augustus in commemoration of his victory at Actium. It
may be said to have arisen out of the ruins of the surround
ing cities, whose inhabitants were compelled to migrate to
the new capital. It was made a Roman colony; and so, as
a citizen of Rome, the, apostle would be more secure from
violence there than he would have been in some other
places, though, just because it was a colony, he would be
also more open to direct hostile assault from parties plot
ting against him in the metropolis.
Here, as it seems to me, we must put the Epistle to the
Hebrews, if we adopt the opinion — to which I own I am in
clined — that it was written by Paul. It is anonymous, and
has been ascribed to Luke, to Apollos, and to Barnabas as
well as to Paul. The question is not one of pre-eminent
importance, because the canonical authority of the letter is
generally conceded even by those who are inclined to disbe
lieve that it was written by Paul ; and all are ready to ad
mit that its spirit and arguments are distinctively Pauline,
so that, as Howson has put it, " it represented the views, and
was impregnated by the influence, of the great apostle."t
It must be granted that in some respects it is very different
from the acknowledged writings of Paul ; but then, on the
other hand', it is evident to every student that in the struct-

* Titus iii., 12. t Howson, vol. ii., p. 515.

532 Paul the Missionary.
ure of its main argument; in the manner in which the writer
reasons from the Old Testament; and in the importance
which he attaches to the grace of faith, it is nearly akin to
some of Paul's well-accredited letters, notably to that to the
Galatians. I do not undertake to dogmatize on a question
on each side of which great and -worthy names are arrayed ;
but, taking it for granted that the epistle is the work of Paul,
I may give a simple summary of its contents. It is address
ed to Hebrew Christians who, under the pressure of perse
cution — which, however, had not yet been unto death — were
tempted to apostatize from the Gospel and go back to Ju
daism. To show them the folly of such a course, the writer
dwells on the superiority of Jesus to the angels, through
whose instrumentality the law was given ; to Moses, who was
the mediator of the old covenant; and to Aaron, who was the
high-priest of the former dispensation. Under the last of
these heads he demonstrates the pre-eminence of the priest
hood of Christ, from the consideration of the order to which
it belonged; the sanctuary in which it is exercised; the
victim which it offered ; and the perpetuity by which it is
distinguished. Then, having thus fortified his position, he
enlarges on the folly and danger of going back from the
real to the typical, and after an eloquent historical illustra
tion of the nature and effects of faith, and a consolatory
chapter on the benefits of affliction, he concludes with a
series of pertinent practical exhortations. The letter gives
us the key for the unlocking of the meaning of the ancient
ritual, and shows us how Christ came not to destroy the law
but to fulfil it; while the passage on faith forms a beau
tiful companion to that on love in the First Epistle to the
Corinthians, and that on hope in the eighth chapter of the
Romans ; so that, taken together, they bring before us the
three abiding graces of the Christian character.
But now we approach the last chapter in the great apos-

Second Imprisonment and Martyrdom. 533
tie's life, and we find him again a prisoner in Rome ; but he
is in closer custody than before, for by this time the Chris
tians had fallen on evil days and evil tongues in the impe
rial city. The members of the new sect were no longer
confounded, as at first, with the Jews, for through the un-
scrupulousness of Nero a terrible distinctness had been
given to them in the popular mind. In the summer of
a.d. 64 a fearful conflagration, which lasted for days togeth
er, destroyed a large part of the metropolis, and Nero, who
had been accused of having set fire to the city, threw the
whole blame of it upon the Christians. The whole story is
told by Tacitus, who says : " But neither these religious cere
monies, nor the liberal donations of the prince, could efface
from the minds of men the prevailing opinion that Rome
was set on fire by his own orders. The infamy of that hor
rible transaction still adhered to him. In order, if possible,
to remove the imputation he determined to transfer the guilt
to others. For this purpose he punished with exquisite tor
ture a race of men detestable for their evil practices, by
vulgar appellation called Christians." Then after a state
ment about Christianity which shows how little its charac
ter was known as yet by the cultured Romans, he contin
ues: "Nero proceeded with his usual artifice. He found a
set of profligate and abandoned wretches, who were induced
to confess themselves guilty; and on the evidence of these
men a number of Christians were convicted, not, indeed,
upon clear evidence of their having set fire to the city, but
rather on account of their sullen hatred of the whole hu
man race. They were put to death with exquisite cruelty;
and to their sufferings Nero added mockery and derision.
Some were covered with the skins of wild beasts and left
to be devoured by dogs. Others were nailed to the cross ;
numbers were burnt alive; and many, covered over with
inflammable substances, were lighted up when the day de-
23*

534 Paul the Missionary.
clined to serve as torches during the night. For the con
venience of seeing this tragic spectacle the emperor lent
his own gardens. He added the sports of the circus and
assisted in person, sometimes driving a curricle, and occa
sionally mixing with the rabble in a coachman's dress. At
length the cruelty of these proceedings filled every breast
with compassion. Humanity relented against the Chris
tians ; for it was evident that they fell a sacrifice not for the
good of mankind, but to glut the rage of one man alone."*
These barbarities had been perpetrated some considerable
time before Paul went to Nicopolis; but still, even then,
as a leader of a sect which had been accused of such a
crime as the burning of Rome, he would be most obnoxious
to those in authority, and any pretext would be sufficient
for his apprehension. We cannot tell where he was seized,
or for what : we only know that when he wrote his second
letter to Timothy he was again a prisoner — this time, how
ever, under accusation as an evil-doer,f and under cir
cumstances of greater hardship than before. So rigid, in
deed, was his seclusion, that it was only after diligent search
that Onesiphorus was able to discover him ;t and so bitter
was the cold to which he was exposed in his place of con
finement — said by tradition to be the Mamertine — that he
earnestly desired the cloak which he had left in the warmer
climate of Troas. § Most of his companions were away.
Demas had deserted him on some personal and worldly
errand. Crescens and Titus had gone on urgent missions,
the one to Thessalonica and the other to Dalmatia. Tychi
cus had been sent to Ephesus. Only the ever-true and ten
der Luke || was with him. Timothy was in Asia Minor, and

* Murphy's " Tacitus, Annals," ch. xv., p. 44.
f 2 Tim. ii., 9. ( 2 Tim. i., 16, 17.
§ 2 Tim. iv., 13. || 2 Tim. iv., 10, II.

Second Imprisonment and -Martyrdom. 535
the heart of the venerable man of God went out in longing
after him, so that he wrote this touching letter, urging him to
come to him as soon as possible. And yet, even as he made
that request, it was doubtful to him whether his dear son in
the faith would reach the city in time to see him. Already
he had been before the court on the first accusation which
had been brought against him ; alone, he had stood before
the bar — and yet not alone, for, unseen by mortal eyes, his
Lord was with him, and strengthened him so that he was
delivered for that time. But he had no hope of ultimate
release; and so he pours out his heart to his much-loved
correspondent in a strain of tenderness rising evermore to
one of transport. The letter was written on the threshold
of the unseen — on the border-land of the life that is beyond
— and though it has in it the same prominence of Jesus
and his Cross, the same prudence in counsel, and the same
uncompromising thoroughness in the condemnation of evil
which we find in all his epistles, it is especially noteworthy
for the references which it contains to his feelings under
the circumstances in which he was placed. Let me quote a
few of these : " For the which cause I also suffer these things :
nevertheless I am not ashamed ; for I know whom I have
believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that
which I have committed unto him against that day. There
fore I endure all things for the elect's sake,that they may
also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eter
nal glory. It is a faithful saying : For if we be dead with
him, we shall also live with him : if we suffer, we shall also
reign with him. I am now ready to be offered, and the
time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good
fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith :
henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous juqge, shall give me at that
day : and not to me only, but unto all them also that love

536 Paul the Missionary.
his appearing. The Lord shall deliver me from every evil
work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to
whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."* Comment on
these words would only mar their force. Let them stand
alone, in the sunlight of their own glorious trust !
We know not whether Timothy reached Rome in time to
cheer the last hours of the apostle ; but before many weeks
had passed he was led out beyond the city walls on the road
to Ostia; and there, within sight of that monumental pyra
mid which still stands to the memory of Caius Cestus, he
fell before the headsman's sword. The dust of no nobler
Christian hero sleeps beneath the sod. Time, that effaces
from the records of humanity the names of other men, has
only chiselled his into deeper relief; and the older the
world grows, its inhabitants grow only more earnest and
appreciative in their admiration of his character and work.
In the systematizing of Christian doctrine, and the organ
izing of the Christian Church, he did, under the guidance of
God's Spirit, more than all others — with the possible excep
tion, so far as doctrine is concerned, of the Apostle John ;
and after his divine Master's, no influence has been more
powerful than his in making and moulding the history of
the Christian centuries. Uniting in himself on earth the
apostle, the prophet, and the martyr,t he is now in heaven
one of the leaders of that trinity among the redeemed — the
glorious company, the goodly fellowship, and the noble army
— who praise God in his temple. But why should I utter
another word in this strain? What can my feeble "well
done " add to the renown of him who, eighteen hundred
years ago, received his commendation warm and living
from the lips of his ascended Lord ?
* 2 Tim.i., 12; ii., 10-12; iv.,6-8, 18.
t See Howson, vol. ii., p. 505.

Second Imprisonment and Martyrdom. 537
I have time now for little more than the mention of one
• or two reflections suggested by certain things which have
come out in the course of our investigations this evening.
And, in the first place, a comparison of the state of things
in the Asiatic churches, as indicated in the epistles to Tim
othy, with that described in the letters to the Ephesians and
Colossians, will shew how error entering in through the door
of curious and useless speculation ultimately degenerates
into immorality. They tell us in many quarters to-day that
doctrinal soundness has no connection with practical holi
ness; but the study of these epistles will convince every
candid reader that in religious declension one of two things
is sure to happen. Either false doctrine will deteriorate
character, or impure conduct will make shipwreck of the
faith. They act and react on each other. Faith is the
substratum of life; so that a man will be as he believes,
and will believe as he lives. A disobedient life will ulti
mately undermine even a sound creed; for when a good
conscience is put away, men will make shipwreck concern
ing the faith.* There is no security for us, therefore, save
in humble faith in that which Christ has revealed to us,
and cheerful obedience to that which he has commanded
us. If the root of the tree die, then very soon every branch
on it will wither; but on the other hand when even the
topmost boughs begin to decay, that is evidence that the
root is already affected with disease. Similar is the rela
tion between doctrine and life ; they are not so much two
things as one, and both are influenced by that which viti
ates either.
Again, the contrast between Onesiphorus, who sought*
Pa-al very diligently until he found him, and was not
ashamed of his chain, f and the Asiatics generally, who had
* 1 Tim. i., 19. t 2 Tim. i., 16, 17.

538 Paul the Missionary.
turned away from him * reminds us that adversity is the
real test of friendship. When honors are flowing in upon
us, and we have little need of kindness, many will make
protestations of regard for us ; but when the tide has gone
down, and things are at the ebb with us, we shall discover
that most of these professions have been forgotten, and
that we are forsaken and almost alone. The men who, like
swallows, come twittering round us in the summer of our
prosperity, will mostly leave us in the winter of our afflic
tion. But all are not of this fair-weather sort. Some, like
Luke and Onesiphorus, will be faithful to the very last, and
will .come only closer to us because of our chain. These
are friends indeed, because they are friends in need. Noth
ing winnows our friendships like a gusty trial ; but blessed
be God it is the chaff that is blown away. The wheat re
mains, to be to us the type and similitude of Him who is
a "friend that sticketh closer than a brother."
For, finally, we may learn from Paul's last letter how true
the Saviour is in our times of adversity. " At my first an
swer," says Paul,'" no man stood with me, but all men forsook
me : notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strength
ened me."f He is never so near his people as when they
are suffering for his sake ; and the severer our hardships are
the stronger always is his consolation. Behold how the ex
perience of years gave an accumulated residuum of strength
to the apostle's faith. When he journeyed to Damascus
he cried, " Who art thou, Lord ?" but when he was about to
die, he exclaimed, " I know whom I have believed !" What
a history lies between these two utterances ! A certain de
gree of knowledge is needed to the exercise of intelligent
faith ; but then, the life of faith steadfastly maintained in
creases the knowledge, and that again gives ground for yet
* 2 Tim. i., 15. 1 2 Tim. iv., 16, 17.

Second Imprisonment and Martyrdom. 539
stronger confidence. Paul proved the Lord at Damascus,
and that gave him courage at Jerusalem ; then he passed up
and up through the Lystra assault, and the Ephesian riot, and
the Caesarea imprisonment, and the Maltese shipwreck, and
his first experiences at Rome, until he reached that lofty
landing-place whereon he contemplated martyrdom without
a quiver. Not all at once, by one spasmodic and emotional
bound, did he attain the serene altitude of this sublime as
surance : he reached it after the climbing of a lifetime ; and
he reasoned that He who had been with him through thirty
years of life, with their hardships and dangers, would not
desert him in death. " I know whom I have believed !"
Oh, it is a grand thing to know Christ well before we come
to die, for then the last enemy is unstinged. Do you know
him ? If not, come now and acquaint yourself with him.
Trust him from this good hour, that you may have daily ex
perience of his grace, and the more of such experience you
have the stronger will be your assurance in the end.

XXIX.
SUCH A ONE AS PAUL.
" Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ." — I Cor. xi., I.
PAUL has repeatedly affirmed in his writings that he
preached not himself, but Christ Jesus the Lord ; and
some may suppose that the injunction which I have just
read is inconsistent with that assertion. But when we look
narrowly into the words we discover that it is not to himself,
so much as to the relation which he bore to his Master, that
he here directs attention. Others may imagine that, as we
have in Christ himself a perfect pattern, we need not con
cern ourselves with any lower ensample. But such an opin
ion betrays a shallow philosophy, and a meagre knowledge
of human nature ; for we require not only to have a perfect
model, but also to be shown how we are to set about its
imitation. Moreover, valuable as the example of Christ is,
both from its perfection and its many-sidedness, it must not
be forgotten that there are Christian experiences which find
no precise parallel in any chapter of his history, and in which,
therefore, we need just the kind of help which comes from
the disciple, rather than from the Lord ; or, to put it more
correctly, which comes from the Lord through the disciple.
Thus, there was nothing in Jesus corresponding to the great
change which we call conversion ; neither was there in him
anything approaching to that inward struggle between the
new man and the old, with which every believer is familiar.
Now, it is here that the value of such "an example as that of

Such a One as Paul. 541
Paul comes conspicuously into view ; and we are not to be
accused of putting the Master into the shade, while in this
department we look at the servant. If we were to confine
our attention to the servant, indeed, we should dwarf our
spiritual growth ; but, on the other hand, if we were to look
at the Master, without reference to his servants and their
strivings after his holiness, I fear that we might soon be
overwhelmed with humiliation, or sink into despair. Look
ing at them both, however, we find that the necessities of
our nature are fully met. Jin Christ we behold the perfect
plan of the character which we have to build ; in Paul we
see the workman in the act of rearing it. In Christ we
have the finished statue, with its exquisite proportions and
its delicate lines of beauty ; in Paul we have the sculptor
hewing at the rude block of his daily life in the noble effort
to reproduce its excellence. In Christ we have perfection ;
in Paul we have imperfection striving, J>y the help of God's
Spirit, after the perfect. Hence, in looking at the servant
we are in no danger of forgetting the Master, because the
one great feature in the servant was the steadfastness with
which he looked to the Master, and the earnestness with
which he sought ever to attain " the measure of the stature
of the fulness of Christ."
Let us, then, bearing these things in mind, bring this
series of discourses to a close, with an attempt to gather
into one view the prominent qualities of Paul's character.
I do not undertake to give you an outside portrait of the
man, by describing to you his personal appearance, because,
with all deference to those who think differently, I believe
that there are no particulars certainly known about that. «
Neither do I seek now to analyze his intellectual abilities;
since, in my descriptions of his addresses and epistles, I •
have already endeavored to set these before you with dis
tinctness. But my concern at present is with his moral

542 Paul the Missionary.
qualities ; and my aim will be to give such prominence to
the chief of these as will help us at once to understand
and imitate his greatness.
First of all, as lying largely at the root of his pre-emi
nence, I name his conscientiousness. Even before his con
version to Christianity this was the controlling principle of
his character. "He reverenced his conscience as his king."
When he believed that he ought to do anything, he went
forthwith and did it. If you wanted to enlist him in any
cause, all you had to do was to convince him that it was his
duty to identify himself with it, and then his conscience car
ried him over to it. When he "persecuted the church of
God and wasted it," he did so, not to glut any personal
cruelty, or to gratify any private revenge, but because he
verily believed he was doing God service.* When, again,
he was convinced by the appearance of Jesus to him on the
way to Damascus that he was fighting against God, he gave
up in a moment his commission from the chief priests, and
transferred his allegiance to Christ.f And all through his
Christian career he acted invariably on the same principle.
His was no vain boast when he said to the members of the
Jewish council, " Men and brethren, I have lived in all good
conscience before God until this day;"t and again, to Fe
lix, " Herein do I exercise myself, to have always a con
science void of offence toward God and toward men."§ In
the same spirit he wrote to the Corinthians, " Our rejoicing
is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity
and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the
grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world,
and more abundantly to you-ward. "|| And in his latest let
ter he says, " I thank God, whom I serve from my forefa-
* Acts xxvi., 9-1 1. t Acts ix., 1-9. X Acts xxiii., 1.
§ Acts xxiv., 16. || 2 Cor. i., 12.

Such a One as Paul. 543
thers with a pure conscience."* Thus from first to last he
acted from principle. He did always and only that which
in his conscience he believed to be right. Nor was this ac
complished by him without effort. He "exercised" him
self to do it. The word is very strong. It is that which is
employed to describe the exertions of the athlete to gain
the prize; and its full force is, that he trained himself and
strained himself with all his might to keep his conduct al
ways abreast of his convictions. No matter what it cost him
in the way either of effort or of sacrifice, he would hold a
good conscience. Whether he lost a post of conspicuous
political importance or was thrown into prison was, in his
estimation, of small moment, in comparison with " the tes
timony of a good conscience."
Now, in all this he is worthy of our earnest imitation.
The temptation of these days is to play fast and loose with
conscience, and to act from motives of self-interest or self-
indulgence, or on the extemporaneous impulse of emotion,
rather than from moral conviction. There are, of course,
both noble and numerous exceptions; but the tendency, I
fear, is to sneer at the conscientious man as a tight-laced
stickler, and to hold him in derision as a fool, if not to de
spise him as a narrow-minded bigot. The consequences of
such a state of opinion are sure to be disastrous; for there
is more to be feared from the dethroning of conscience in
the hearts of the people, than from the setting up of some
external evil in the midst of them. And, on the other hand,
there is more hope of the man who is acting from convic
tion, even if he should be in the wrong, than there is of the
unprincipled libertine. Ue is " not far from the kingdom *
of God ;" and, acting up to the light which he enjoys, he will
obtain more light. The horizon will widen as he ascends
* 2 Tim. i., 3.

544 Paul the Missionary.
the hill, and he will become clearer and more comprehen
sive in his views. The new revelation may not always
come with such suddenness as it burst upon the apostle,
but it will come; for if but the "eye" be "single," the
whole body will ultimately be "full of light." Let this,
then, be the first lesson we learn from Paul — always to be
loyal to conscience. Let the deciding question on every
occasion be with us, not will it pay ? or will it please ? or
will it be safe ? or will it bring honor ? but is it right ? " To
the upright light ariseth in darkness;" and "if any man
be willing to do God's will, he shall know of the doctrine
whether it be of God."
As a second quality of Paul's character, I name courage.
But I do not mean by that term the physical bravery which
is born with many men, and for which they are no more
to be commended than for the color of their complexion:
I mean, rather, the moral heroism which confronts all the
consequences of doing right. Need I remind you of the
many manifestations of that which we have seen in the life
of our apostle ? Immediately after his conversion he went
into the Jewish synagogue to preach Christ; and, after a
brief interval in Arabia, he returned from Damascus to Je
rusalem, which was at the moment the very hot-bed of the
persecution of which he had been himself an agent. He
never paused to think what would become of himself before
he entered upon the course which the Lord commanded
him to take. When he was exposed to -violent assault at
Lycaonia, or to imprisonment at Philippi, or to the fury of
the mob at Ephesus, he never attempted to purchase safety
by a policy of trimming; and whether he stood before the
Jewish council or the Roman governor, the effeminate
Agrippa or the brutal Nero, he was always valiant for the
truth. He did not care for consequences when he felt that
he was right ; and the claims of friendship or the appeals of

Such a One as Paul. 54c
affection were as powerless to change his purpose as were
the chains of imprisonment or the terrors of martyrdom.
Listen to these ringing words to the Ephesian elders:
"None of these things move me, neither count I my life
dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy,
and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord."* It
was true of him, as of Moses, that " he endured as seeing
him who is invisible." He counted the cause of Christ,
with all its reproach, as of infinitely more importance than
his own safety ; and, never conferring with flesh and blood,
he cared not what became of his body so that Christ was
magnified. And yet there was nothing of rashness or bravado about
his bearing. He was prudent as well as bold. He was
cautious as well as courageous. He would not wantonly sac
rifice himself ; and once and again he stood upon his right
of civil citizenship to save himself from outrage. He did
not recklessly rush into needless danger; neither did he
run into peril for display, that he might show how he could
bear himself through it, as one makes an exhibition of his
walking over the rope of wire that is stretched over the
roaring cataract. If beyond the danger there was a work
of love to be performed, which he could reach only by pass
ing through the peril, then he did not hesitate for a mo
ment. But he did not brave danger for the mere sake of
braving it. He would not throw his life away for nothing,
but kept his offering for the occasion on which such a sac
rifice was necessary for the world and the Church; and when
that occasion came, he met it calmly, saying, " I am now
ready to be offered."
Here, again, we have an example worthy of our study and
imitation. But in order to follow it fully we must get at

* Acts xx., 24.

546 Paul the Missionary.
the secret of that by which it was inspired ; and, when we
go deep enough, we find that in his faith. He had the firm
persuasion that the Lord, though unseen, was always with
him ; and he believed that when his earthly life was over,
he would be with his Lord. He lived for Christ, and there
fore he was determined to lay himself out to the best ad
vantage for his Lord. His death would be a departure to
be with Christ; and therefore the world could not terrify
him by threatening him with that. When you take in the
full meaning of these statements, you will cease to wonder
at Paul's courage; and perhaps also it will cease to be a
marvel to you that you have so little of the hero about your
self, for faith is the germ of courage ; and until we give the
unseen preponderance over the visible, and the eternal su
premacy over the temporal, we must be timid, vacillating
and unreliable, the sport of every cunning one who knows
how to work upon our fears.
But, as another distinctive feature of Paul's character,
I name concentration of purpose and energy. Like him
whose first recorded saying was, " Wist ye not that I must
be about my Father's business ?"* and whose life motto
might have been, " I must work the works of him that sent
me, while it is day: the night cometh when no man can
work,"f Paul kept one aim steadily and clearly before him.
In his personal conduct his absorbing ambition was to reach
forward " toward the mark for the prize of the high call
ing of God in Christ Jesus ¦"% in his preaching his deter
mination was to know nothing among men "save Jesus
Christ, and him crucified ;"§ and in his public life his one
desire was to "finish his course with joy, and the ministry,
which he had received of the Lord."|| If we might select
* Luke ii., 49. t John ix., 4. X Ph''- "'¦> r4-
§ 1 Cor. ii., 2. || Acts xx., 24.

Such a One as Paul. , 547
from his own writings a fitting inscription for his memorial,
we should find it in the combination of these two expres
sions : " To me to live is Christ," and " This one thing I
do."* From the moment of his conversion till that of his
death "one increasing purpose" ran through his career,
gathering volume and force as it ran; this, namely, that he
might serve Christ, know Christ, and become like Christ;
and everything which stood in the way of his attaining that
was joyfully sacrificed. We have frequently seen this ex
emplified in his actions, and therefore I refer now to one or
two illustrations of it which come out in his writings. Thus,
drawing a parallel between himself and the competitors in
the ancient games, he says, " 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."f Again,
he repels the charge of fanaticism thus : " Whether we be
beside ourselves, it is to God : or whether we be sober, it is
for your cause. For the love of Christ constraineth us ; be
cause we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all
dead : and that he died for all, that they which live should
not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died
for them, and rose again. "t Very expressive is that word
" constraineth." Literally the Greek term means " holdeth
together;" and the idea is that the motive-power of love to
Christ gathered all his energies together for and kept them
at this, as the great engrossing aim of his being — the living
to him who died for him and rose again. For this he gave
up his Jewish preferences and privileges ; for this he sacri
ficed all hope of worldly honor and political preferment; for
this he left home, country, friends, and went from city to
city preaching the Gospel of the kingdom of God ; for this
he cheerfully endured his bonds and imprisonments, his

* Phil, i., 21 ; iii., 13. t r Cor. ix-., 27. t 2 Cor. v., 13-15.

548 Paul the Missionary.
perils on land and his dangers on the deep, his stripes at
Philippi and his martyrdom at Rome. Christ burnt at
the glowing centre of his heart, and the radiance illumined
the outermost circumference of his life. What gravitation
is in the physical universe, holding everything in its place,
that the love of Jesus was in his soul, regulating the lowli
est as well as the loftiest of his actions ; and as the mech
anist, in the construction of a watch, fits every smallest por
tion of the works, so that when all are combined each may
contribute its own share to the great design of the whole
in measuring and making manifest the time, so our apostle
made the thoughts of his intellect, the emotions of his heart,
and the efforts of life, subservient to " the furtherance of
the gospel," both in himself and in the world. If ever man
was in earnest, he was in earnest. Everything about him
was intense. Festus might sneer at him as " mad," and
his Corinthian antagonists might despise him as one "be
side himself;" but his was the madness of a holy and intel
ligent zeal, the insanity of a benevolent and healthy enthu
siasm. He saw within the veil, and spoke and wrote and
acted accordingly.
Now here, again, he is to be held up for the mitation of
modern Christians ; for there is reason to fear that there is
a great lack among us of this earnestness of concentrated
enthusiasm. We scatter ourselves into little streamlets of
effort after many objects, instead of gathering ourselves into
one rushing river of energy in the following of Christ. We
wish to be great in other departments than that of holiness.
We seek to shine in learning, or business, or art, or science,
or the like ; and when the object of our ambition conflicts
with the claims of Christ upon us, we leave following him,
that we may secure it, much as if the runner in the course
should stop to pick up some glittering pebble, and so lose
the victor's crown. If you wish to kindle anything by the

Such a One as Paul. 549
rays of the sun, you must first collect them by the aid of a
lens into a fiery point; and if you would have your Chris
tian character glow with an ardor that will burn its way in
the face of all resistance, you must first focus, by the power
of love, your whole soul on the following of Christ. The
late Mr. Arnot, of Edinburgh, tells that once while he was
standing on the platform of a Scottish railway-station, wait
ing for the train — which had been at rest for a long while
— to start, he overheard the following colloquy between a
farmer and the conductor : " What are you waiting here so
long for? Have you no water?" "Oh, yes," was the re
ply, "we have plenty of water, but it's no boiling."* Is
not that a tolerably accurate description of the churches
of to-day ? We have abundance of intelligence. We have
splendid machinery for carrying on our operations. We
have large congregations listening to the proclamation of
the truth. What lack we yet ? We lack this intense, boil
ing earnestness which inspired the enthusiasm of Paul. We
lack a new baptism of fire. Let us labor and pray more for
that; for in the measure in which we secure it we shall be
"followers of Paul, even as he also was of Christ."
But, as a fourth feature of Paul's character, I name that
interblending of faithfulness in the reproof of evil with gen
tleness in the treatment of the evil-doer by which he was
distinguished. You see how, in his letter to the Galatians,
the indignation of his soul comes out against those who
would tamper with the Cross of Christ, while at the same
time he "travails in birth again" for his dear children, who
were in danger of being injured by their efforts. f You
remember also how, in writing to the Philippians, he de
nounces, but with tears, those among them who were the

* " This Present World : Sketches from Nature and Art," by William
Arnot, p. 83. t Gal. iv., 19.
24

550 Paul the Missionary.
enemies of the Cross of Christ;* and you cannot have for
gotten how he warned the Ephesians " night and day with
tears."f So, again, he says that among the Thessalonians
he was gentle as a nurse cherishing her children ;% while in
his letter to the Philippians his heart wells up with tender
ness as he styles his friends " dearly beloved and longed
for."§ He followed his own precept, and had "no fellow
ship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather re
proved them;|| yet in his rebuke he was affectionate to those
who had erred, and anxious lest they " should be swallowed
up with overmuch sorrow."1T How considerate also he was
for the weak brethren, lest they should be injured by lack
of thoughtfulness on the part of those who were strong!**
Now, here we have a rare combination of qualities appar
ently inconsistent; and, if we had more men so endowed
in the churches to-day, the effect of their presence would
immediately appear in an increase of their purity, their
progress, their peace. We are too apt to bite and devour
one another. We reprove sin so as to drive away the of
fender, rather than bring him back to Jesus ; and in the as
sertion of our own liberty we become forgetful of the weak
ness of others, so that their hearts are wounded and their
spirits crushed. But these things ought not so to be. Let
us study more than ever Paul's lyric on love, and, under the
inspiration of his example, let us imbibe its spirit, so that
we too may crown charity as the queen of the graces, not
simply in the Church without, but in the heart within. " I
had as lief," said Richard Baxter, " be a martyr for love's
sake as for truth's ;" and there was real magnanimity in his
words. But we need not be disloyal to truth in order to
keep allegiance to love. All that is required is that we
_ * Phil, iii., 18. t Acts xx., 31. { 1 Thess. ii., 7.
§ Phil, iv., 1. || Eph. v., II. f 2 Cor. ii., 7.
** Rom. xiv. : 1 Cor. x.

Such a One as Paul. 551
recognize the difference between truth and opinion, and be
careful not to elevate a personal preference to a level with
an eternal verity. There are many among us who will fight
for crotchets and argue for prejudices; but how few are
willing to be silent about such things for lovef What does
it matter how a man pronounces Shibboleth? Is he not a
man by simple virtue of his speech ? What does it signify
how or whom a man baptizes ? Does not his baptism into
Christ betoken his desire to be loyal to the Lord ? And so
with other minor matters of difference. Things are better
in this respect among us than they were even a very few
years ago, but there is room for improvement still ; and that
improvement will come when we take in the full significance
of the apostle's words : " Now abideth faith, hope, love, these
three; but the greatest of these is love."*
But, passing on, I name as a prominent characteristic of
Paul his devout humility. He never sought his own glory.
On several occasions, indeed, he stood, as one may say, upon
his dignity, and declared that he was " not a whit behind
the very chiefest apostles ;"t but he did so at these times
because the purity of the Gospel and the liberty of the
Church, as well as the supremacy of the Lord Jesus, were
all assailed through an attack on his apostolical authority.
His adversaries sought to stab the truth through his per
sonal position ; and therefore, painful as it was, he felt com
pelled to assert his equality with any of those who had been
the companions of the Lord. Usually, however, he kept
himself in the background ; and, like John the Baptist, he
was willing to decrease, if only thereby Christ should in
crease. It is interesting, also, to mark how his humility
seems to have grown as he advanced in life. Thus, in his
first letter to the Corinthians, which was written from Eph-

* 1 Cor. xiii., 13. t 2 Cor. xi., 5 I xii., 11.

552 Paul the Missionary.
esus, he calls himself "the least of the apostles;"* in that to
the Ephesians, which was produced some six years later, dur
ing his first imprisonment, he speaks of himself as "less
than the least of all saints ;"t and in his first letter to Tim
othy, which belongs to the last stage of his earthly history, he
uses these words : " Christ Jesus came into the world to save
sinners; of whom I am chief."}: Thus, as his character grew
in other respects, it grew also in humility. As he advanced
in holiness he advanced in that constituent element of holi
ness which we distinguish as humility. . As he increased in
his knowledge of Christ he increased in his hatred of sin ;
and so the evil that remained within him, though it was less
absolutely than before, was felt more keenly by him than the
greater evil of former years had been. The tree that grows
the tallest sends its roots most deeply into the soil. The
bird that soars the highest builds on the ground its lowly
nest. The flower of sweetest fragrance is the modest violet
that blooms beneath the hedge. So the holiest saint is also
the humblest. Let us learn, then, in this particular, of Paul,
even as he learned of his Lord. " 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 : who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery
to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation,
and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in
the likeness of men : and being found in fashion as a man,
he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross." " Be clothed with humility : for
God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble." §
* i Cor. xv., 9. f Eph. iii., 8. \ iTim. i.,15.
§ Phil, ii., 3-8; 1 Pet. v., 5.

Such a One as Paul. SS3
I might have dwelt, as a further characteristic of Paul, on
his prayerfulness; but I content myself with the mere men
tion of a spirit which was common to him with all his breth
ren. Very noticeable, however, as an indication of his kind
liness of disposition,^ the wide scope of his intercessions
for others, as these come out in his epistles .* When one
stands in the operating-room of the Western Union Tele
graph Company he is at a centre from which he can com
municate almost with the extremities of the earth; and in a
similar manner, but by a subtler agency than electricity, the
apostle's closet was the head-quarters from which unseen
influences went, by way of the mercy-seat, to his friends in
Palestine or Italy, in Greece or Asia Minor; and one secret
of his success as a preacher was in the fervor and particu
larity of these prayers.
The same affection ateness of heart is evinced in the sal
utations to his friends in which his epistles abound. He
never forgot a kindness; and the fact that throughout his
first imprisonment he was ministered to by so many loving
friends is a proof that he possessed that tender love which
is the truest magnetism.- Was there ever more touching de
votion shown by one man to another than that of Luke to
Paul ? And what a tribute to the apostle's gentleness it is
that a man like Luke should have given up his earthly am
bitions for the one purpose of serving Christ by attending
on him ! Again, that Paul could inspire and maintain such
attachment as that shown to him by Timothy, is an evidence
that he was as great and as winning in the little things of
daily life as he was in the more important matters connect
ed with the organization of the Christian Church. The
proverb says that " no man is a hero to his valet ;" but

* See Rom. i., 9; 1 Thes. iii., 10; Eph. i., 16., iii., 14-21; Phil, i., 4;
Col. i., 9 ; Philem. 4.

554 Paul the Missionary.
those who were nearest Paul and knew him best had the
most exalted estimate of his heroism; and they might have
said, perhaps, that he was nowhere so great as in the geni
al, confidential abandon of his fellowship with his familiar
friends. It needs to be added that, exalted as Paul was, he was,
after all, what he described himself to the inhabitants of Ly
caonia — " a man of like passions with ourselves."* He had
his faults, some of which, like those of Peter, were in the
near neighborhood of his excellences. There was about him
a certain fiery vehemence of temper — akin to that manifest
ed by Moses in his early days — which flashed out occa
sionally with lightning-like rapidity and effect. He had
also a kind of intolerant scorn of anything like moral cow
ardice, which kept him sometimes from sympathizing, as he
might otherwise have done, with the weak and backsliding;
though he was always ready to acknowledge the first symp
toms of penitence in them. He was, withal, extremely sen
sitive ; and so he was as much wounded by a slight as he
was gratified by a kindness. But, take him for all in all, he
was a noble man; and if we compare the world as it was
when he was converted with the state in which he left it at
his martyrdom, and then reflect how much his writings have
had to do with the progress which we can trace through the
past eighteen centuries, we shall see reason to affirm that
no one mere man has done so much for the world and
the Church — or rather, perhaps, I ought to say, for the world
through the Church — as Paul.
But now we must tear ourselves away from that theme,
which for so many months has grown in interest under our
hands; and if I may measure the profit of my hearers by
the benefit which I have myself derived from the prepara-
* Acts xiv., 15.

Such a One as Paul. 555
tion of these discourses, we shall all have reason to rejoice.
In the memoir of Dr. Andrew Reed, famous throughout
Great Britain, and not unknown in America, for his noble
efforts in founding institutions for the care of idiots, orphans,
incurables, and others similarly afflicted, there is a touching
section which tells how, when he was a little boy, he was
taken by one of his parents to St. Paul's Cathedral and
shown the statue of John Howard, the great philanthropist,
which had then been only recently erected. His mother
made the visit instructive by telling him the story of the
man who travelled through Europe visiting the prisons of its
different countries, and gave his life at last a sacrifice for
the benefit of those who were immured within their cells.
Young Reed never forgot that visit. The seed of truth
sown by his mother's explanation of that marble memorial
of the prisoner's friend sprung up at length, and bore fruit
in those splendid charities with which his name will always
be associated. During the months of this ecclesiastical
year I have been leading you through the cathedral of Paul's
life. I have shown you the memorial, more enduring than
marble or bronze, reared in the Book of God to his worth.
I have tried to communicate to you my own enthusiasm in
the study of his character. May God grant that some of
this seed also may drop into your hearts, and become the
germ in you of earnest effort for the glory of God and the
welfare of men in connection with the Gospel ! And if, in
after-time, some who now hear me, or have listened to this
series of discourses, shall trace the beginning of new life,
or the broadening and deepening of Christian character in
them to our study of the experience, work, and writings of
the great apostle, I shall be abundantly rewarded. The
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

INDEX.

Acre, 376.
Acts of the Apostles, design of the Book of the, 7 ; different accounts
of Paul's conversion in, harmonized, 36, 392 ; Paley's argument from,
in connection with the Pauline Epistles, 60-63.
Adiabene, Queen of, 78.
Agabas, prediction of famine by, 78 ; prediction of calamity to Paul by,
377-
Alexander, Rev. J. A., D.D., referred to, 398.
¦  , Rev. W. L., D.D., "St. Paul at Athens," quoted from, 269;
edition of Kitto's " Cyclopaedia" by, quoted from, 30, 128.
Alexandria, 301 ; corn-ship of, described by Lucian, 445.
Alexandrians, Synagogue of, at Jerusalem, 9.
Alford, Dean, quoted from or referred to, 159, 184, 284, 297, 397, 448,
466, 507, 508, 528.
Ananias sent to Paul, 38 ; directions given to, 47.
Ancyra, 213.
Antagonism provoked by fidelity to the truth, 19.
Antioch on the Orontes, description of, 71 ; Paul labors a whole year
at, 75 ; disciples first called Christians at, 75 ; departure of Paul from,
on first missionary journey, 90 ; return of Paul to, 161 ; controversy
regarding circumcision at, 165 ; departure of Paul from, for second
missionary journey, 204 ; return of Paul to, 300 ; third missionary
journey from, 300.
 in Pisidia, position of, 109 ; Paul's sermon in synagogue of, 111-
121 ; Paul driven from, 124 ; Paul returns to, 149.
Appeal to the Emperor, effect of, 428.
Appii Forum, 472.
Apollo, temple of, at Antioch, 72 ; at Patara, 375.
Apollos, account of, 301.
Aquila and Priscilla, 280 ; an example of conjugal co-operation in tlje
Gospel, 292 ; accompany Paul from Corinth to Ephesus, 299 ; labors
of, at Ephesus, 301.
Arabia, journey of Paul to, 50 ; benefit of sojourn in, to Paul, 51 ; pre
cise place of Paul's journey to, in the history, 52 ; lessons from Paul's
sojourn in, 65.
24*

558 Index.
Aretas, King of Arabia Petraea, 54.
Argyle, Marquis of, 241.
Aristarchus, 444, 494.
Arnold, Dr. Thomas, referred to, 276.
Arnot, Rev. Williarn, quoted from, 292, 353.
Artemision, 320.
Arundell, Rev. Mr., discovery by, no.
Asiarchs, 320.
Askew, Anne, 240, 516.
Asleep in Jesus, 23.
Assos, 351.
Athens, 259, 261 ; idolatry in, 263 ; Paul's address on Mars Hill ana.
lyzed, 269 ; court of Areopagus in, 268.
Attalia, 161.
Attalus of Pergamus, 214.
Azizus, King of Emesa, 411.
Bacon's "Essays," quoted from, 136.
Baker, Rev. Daniel, on board the ship City of London, 459.
 , Francis, version of "Jerusalem, my Happy Home," by, 517.
Baptism, infant, intimately related to the unity of the household, 240.
Bar-jesus, the sorcerer, 96, 98.
Barnabas, perhaps a fellow-student of Paul, 30 ; kindness of, to Paul at
Jerusalem, 57, 66 ; goes from Antioch to Tarsus to seek Paul, 70 ;
goes to Jerusalem with Paul, 79 ; designated with Paul as a mission
ary, 80 ; in Cyprus with Paul, 91 ; goes with Paul to Perga, 104 ; and
to Antioch in Pisidia, 109 ; at Iconium, 128 ; in Lycaonia, 133 ; taken
by the people there for Jupiter, 135 ; inconsistency of, with Peter at
Antioch, 189 ; controversy of, with Paul concerning Mark, 197.
Baumgarten, quoted from or referred to, 34, 36.
Bengel, John A., quoted from, no.
Berea, 252 ; Jews in, more noble than those in Thessalonica, 252 ; les
sons from the candor of hearers in, 257 ; revisited by Paul, 345.
Bernice, 409, 430, 431.
Bible, responsibility of men who have the, 145 ; lines of Michael Bruce
on the, 146 ; stories in the, valuable for the training of children, 207.
Bin-bir-Kilisseh, 134.
Bishop, meaning of, in the early Church, 156.
Blair, Robert, quotation from " The Grave," by, 24.
Brown, Rev. George, discovers ruins of Lasea, 447.
 , Rev. John, D.D., quoted from, 348.
Bruce, Michael, lines by, on the Bible, 146.
Budgett, Samuel, story of, 315.
Bunyan, John, 251, 295, 518.
Burns, Robert, quotation from, 329.

Index. 559
Burns, Rev. W. C, anecdote of, 88.
Business and Religion, 331.
Butler, Bishop, quoted from, 417.
Cesar, appeal to, effect of, 428.
 , Claudius, famine in reign of, 78 ; decree of, concerning the
Jews, 280 ; promise of, to Agrippa the younger, 430 ; referred to.
217.
 , Julius, opinion of, concerning the Gauls, 214.
Augustus, 224, 225.

Caesarea, 300, 376, 386, 402.
Calvin, John, quoted from, 369.
Cenchrea, Paul's shaving of his head at, 297.
Cesnola's "Cyprus," quoted from, 91, 93, 95.
Cestus, Caius, pyramid of, 536.
Christ, though glorified, is deeply interested in his suffering people, 21 ;
true to his people in adversity, 538.
 —a King, 255-257.
Christian, first use of the name, 75 ; inferences from its employment by
the people of Antioch, 77, 78, 81 ; normal type of the, 438.
 people, right of the, to choose their own office-bearers, 159.
Christophers, S. W., "Hymn-writers and their Hymns," 517, 518.
Church, the Christian, position of its first members in Jerusalem, 8 ; or
ganization of a, 155.
Cicero, 386 ; quotation from, 252 ; despondency of, in exile, 519.
Circumcision, controversy of the, 166.
Citizenship, Roman, 29, 235, 395.
Clauda, island of, 448.
Claudius, Lysias, 385, 395 ; letter of, to Felix, 402.
Cnidus, 446.
Coleridge, S. T., on Melita, 463.
Colony, meaning of, under the Romans, 225.
Colosse, 213, 300.
Colossians, Epistle to the, 501.
Confirmation of the churches, 150.
Congregation, dismissal of, at Antioch in Pisidia, 122.
Conybeare. See Howson.
Conscience, definition of, by Butler, 417 ; twofold power of, 417.
Contribution for poor saints at Jerusalem, 343-345-
Conviction, danger of stifling, 419.
Conversion, two agencies in, 236 ; turning-point in, 36, 440.
 of Paul an argument for Christianity, 40 ; different accounts
of, explained and harmonized, 36, 392.
Converts new, should be kindly welcomed into the Church, 66 ; should
be carefully instructed, 151 ; should be prepared for hardships, 152.

560 Index.
Coos, or Cos, 374.
Copper, derivation of the name, 92.
Corinth, description of, 277-279 ; arrival of Paul at, 279 ; Paul writes to
the Thessalonians from, 282 ; Paul labors in, 286 ; First Epistle to
Church of, 316 ; Second Epistle to Church of, 341 ; return of Paul
to, 346 ; departure of Paul from, 350.
Corn-ship, description of, by Lucian, 445.
Council of Jerusalem, occasion of, 165-167 ; meeting of, 169-172 ; de
cree of, 172 ; bearing of, on the subject of church government, 178 ;
permanent lessons from, 179-183.
Courage, physical and moral, 388 ; rooted in faith, 458, 544-
Cowper, William, quotation from, 183.
Craig-Dhu, 134.
Crete, 447.
Damascus, description of, 35 ; Straight Street in, 48 ; preaching of Paul
at> 5°> 52 ; departure of Paul from, 54.
Davies, Rev. G. S., M.A., "St. Paul in Greece," quoted from, 279.
Deacons, choice of, 10.
Death of a believer, peacefulness of, 22.
Decree of Council of Jerusalem, 172 ; whether permanent in obligation,
178.
Demas, 494.
Demetrius and the craftsmen at Ephesus, 321.
Derbe, 133, 147, 205.
Diana, festival of, at Ephesus, 320.
 , temple of, at Perga, 104 ; at Ephesus, 304.
Dick, Rev. John, D.D., "Lectures on the Acts," quoted from or re
ferred to, 174, 394.
Doctrine and life, connection between, 537.
Doddridge, Philip, D.D., scene from early life of, 207.
Douglas of Cavers, description by, of Paul's style in Epistle to the Ga
latians, 348.
Drusilla, 410 ; death of, 417.
Dwight, Dr., American missionary, quotation from, 223.
Eadie, Rev. John, D.D., " Paul the Preacher," quoted from or referred
to, 83, 102, 114, 137, 138, 366.
Ecclesiastical polity, requisites for a Scriptural, 160.
Egnatian road, 224, 242, 252.
Elders, place and office of, in the primitive Church, 156 ; plurality of, in
each church, 157; had two functions, 158; were chosen by the mem
bers of the churches, 158 ; of Ephesus, sent for by Paul to Miletus, 355.
Elymas, 98 ; struck with blindness, 101, 102.
Epaphras, 494.

Index.

56i

Epaphroditus, 494.
Ephesian letters, 308.
Ephesians, Epistle to the, 507.
Ephesus, Paul's first visit to, 300 ; return of Paul to, 303 ; description
of, 303 ; Temple of Diana at, 304 ; burning of books of magic at,
309 ; festival of Diana at, 320 ; manufacture of silver shrines at, 320 ;
uproar at, 322 ; theatre of, 322 ; sacristan of the Temple of Diana,
324 ; mayor of, 324 ; discoveries of Mr. Wood at, 323, 327, 328 ;
good advice of mayor of, 332 ; departure of Paul from, 336 ; Paul
sends for ekleis. oft to Miletus, 355 ; address to elders of, by Paul,
356-367 ; troubles in Church of, foretold by Paul, 366 ; Johannine
Christians at, 305.
Epicurus, doctrines of, 265.
Epistle to the Colossians, described, 501.
 to the Corinthians, First, described, 316.
 to the Corinthians, Second, described, 341.
¦  to the Ephesians, described, 507.
 to the Galatians, described, 347.
—  to the Hebrews, 531.
 to Philemon, described, 502.
 to the Philippians, described, 510.
— :  to the Romans, described, 348.
 to Titus, 530.
Epistles to the Thessalonians, 282.
 to Timothy, 528, 535.
Erskine, Ebenezer, quotation from, 159.
Eunice, mother of Timothy, 134, 206.
Eutychus, incident concerning, 350.
Fair Havens, 447.
Fairbaim's "Imperial Bible Dictionary," quoted from or referred to,
79, 133, 485-
Faith, power of, to sustain the soul, 240, 458.
Famagusta, 92.
Family, religious training in the, importance of, 207, 219.
Farrar, Canon, D.D. , "Life and Work of St. Paul, "quoted from or re
ferred to, 32, 170, 510.
Felix, Antonius, Governor of Judsea, 382 ; character of, 410 ; Paul be
fore, 411; emotions of, under Paul's appeals, 416; leaves Paul a
prisoner, 417.
Festus, Porcius, Governor of Judsea, 425 ; answer of, to the Jews re
quest concerning Paul, 426 ; visit of Agrippa the younger to, 430 ;
speech of Paul before, 432 ; declares that Paul is mad, 433 ; answer
of Paul to, 433-
Flabius, Clemens, 493.

562 Index.
Forsyth's "Life of Cicero," quoted from, 519.
Galatia, province of, described, 213 ; visit of Paul to, 214 ; again vis
ited by Paul, 300.
Galatians, characteristics of the, 214 ; first reception of Paul by the, 215 ;
revisited by Paul, 300 ; Epistle to the, 347.
Gallio, 287 ; conduct of, as a judge, 288.
Gamaliel, " Rabban," 8, 29 ; sons of, 30.
Gangites, 226.
Ganneau, M. Clermont, discovery by, in excavations at Jerusalem, 383.
Gauls, invasion of Asia Minor by the, 214 ; Julius Caesar's description
of the, 214.
Gibbon, Edward, " History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Em
pire," quoted from or referred to, 72-74.
God, existence of, postulated by Paul in his address at Lycaonia, 141 ;
gives richest help when we are most in need, 407, 515.
Goldsmith, Oliver, quotation from, 334.
Gozzo, island of, 448.
Grey, Lady Jane, 517.
Guyon, Madame, 518.
Guthrie, Rev. Thomas, D.D., quoted, 64.
Hackett, H. B., D.D., quoted from or referred to, 131, 445, 451.
Hamilton, Rev. James, D.D., "Our Christian Classics," quoted from,
207, 517.
 , Sir William, advice by, 403.
Harmony of Paul and James on justification, 353.
 of accounts of Paul's conversion, 36, 392.
Hastings, Marquis of, burial-place of, 24.
Hebrews, Epistle to the, 531.
Hellenists, complaints of the, against the Apostles, g.
Herod Agrippa I., 409.
— — Agrippa II. , offends the Jews, 425 ; visits Festus, 430 ; character
of, 430 ; speech of Paul before, 432 ; reply of, to Paul's appeal, 434.
Homer, quotation from, 136.
" Horse Paulince," argument of, explained and exemplified, 60-63 I quo
tations from, 184, 318.
Howard, John, influence of his history, 555.
Household, unity of the, in its head, 239.
Howson, Dean, "Life and Epistles of St. Paul," quoted from or referred
to, 28, 30, 32, 68, 73, 90, no, 185, 254, 300, 308, 337, 344, 375, 443,
448, 449, 472, 482, 524, 531.
Iconium, 128, 301.
Idol, emptiness of an, 146.

Index.

S63

Idolatry, evidence of, at Athens, 263.
Illyricum, 346.
Imprisonment, question of Paul's second, discussed, 521 ; Epistles of the,
500.
Jacobs's "Ecclesiastical Polity of the New Testament," quoted from,
in.
James, harmony of, with Paul on justification, 353.
 , speech of, at Jerusalem Council, 171.
Jerusalem, synagogues of foreign-born Jews in, 9 ; meeting of Council
at, 169-174 ; decree of Council of, 173-177 ; lessons from the Coun
cil of, 179 ; contributions for poor saints of, 343 ; apprehension of
Paul at, 385 ; visits of Paul to, after his conversion, 183.
"Jerusalem, my Happy Home," version of, by Francis Baker, referred
to, 517.
Jesuit, contrast between, and the name Christian, 81.
Jews, right of, to inflict capital punishment, 17.
Johannine Christians at Ephesus, 305.
Johnson, Dr. Samuel, on Lyttelton's Essay on the conversion of Paul, 44.
Josephus, quoted from or referred to, 92, 381, 397, 426, 445.
Judaizers, visit of, to Antioch, 186 ; influence of, on Gentile churches,
343-
Judgment perverted by self-interest, 329.
Judson, Adoniram, prison life of, 519.
Jupiter, Barnabas taken for, at Lystra, 137.
Justification, Paul's doctrine of, 116-121.
"Justify," old Scotch sense of, 117.
Kara Dagh, 134.
King, Rev. David, LL.D., quoted from, 174.
Kitto's "Cyclopaedia," edited by Dr. W. L. Alexander, quoted from, 30,
128.
 "Daily Bible Illustrations," quoted from, 61, 224, 308, 373.
Koura, point of, 451.
Krenides, 224.
Labor, dignity of, 289.
Laodicea, 213, 301.
Lasea, 447.
Laying on of hands, meaning of, 80.
Leathes, Rev. Stanley, quoted from, 118.
Lee Rev. William, D.D., " Lectures on the Inspiration of Holy Script
ure," referred to, 13.
Leighton, Archbishop, quoted from, 313.
Lewin, Thomas, Esq., "Life and Epistles of St. Paul," quoted from or

564 Index.
referred to, 11, 17, 28, 30, 31, 48, 55, 73, 92, 95, 128, 137, 223, 252,
260, 308, 374, 431, 445, 472, 511.
Liberality commended and enforced by Paul, 353.
Libertines, synagogue of the, at Jerusalem, 9.
Liberty dependent on adherence to truth, 351.
Life and doctrine, connection between, 537.
Lightfoot, Bishop, quoted from or referred to, 96, 185, 215, 226, 227,
327, 328, 329, 349, 488, 510.
Locke, John, quotation from, 53.
Lois, grandmother of Timothy, 134, 206.
Love and liberty in the Christian life, 181.
Lucian, description of a corn-ship, 445.
Luke, minute historical accuracy of, verified, 95, 223, 242, 456, 469 ;
first appearance of, in the narrative, 216 ; early history of, 216 ; prob
able sojourn of, at Philippi, 243 ; with Paul at Troas, 350 ; accom
panies Paul on his voyage, 444 ; is with Paul at Rome, 494.
Lutro, 448.
Lycaonia, 133 ; Paul's address to men of, 138.
Lydia, conversion of, 228 ; receives Paul into her house, 228.
Lystra, 133, 205.
Lyttelton, Lord, Essay of, on the conversion of Paul, 43.
M'Crie, Rev. Thomas, D.D., anecdote of, 372.
Macedonia, vision of the man of, by Paul, 216, 221.
Mackenzie, Rev. Morell, shipwreck of, 459.
Mackenzie's " Dictionary of Biography," quoted from, 515.
Madagascar martyrs, 370.
Mark, John, taken by Barnabas and Paul on their first missionary jour
ney, 89 ; leaves them at Perga, 104 ; probable reasons for his con
duct, 105 ; lessons from his going back, 105 ; with Paul again at
Rome, 494.
Martyn, Henry, answer of, to a Persian Sufi, 77.
May, sacred month at Ephesus, 320.
" Meditation, a Prison," by George Wither, 518.
Melita, reasons for identifying with Malta, 464.
Mercury, Paul taken for the god, at Lystra, 137.
Merivale, Rev. Dean, D.D., quoted from, 493.
Messiahship of Jesus proved by Paul, 114.
Meyer, view of, regarding Paul's conversion, 34 ; on the Epistles of the
Imprisonment, 500.
Miletus, description of, 355 ; Paul sends for Ephesian elders to, 355 ;
address of Paul to Ephesian elders at, 356-367 ; parting of Ephesian
elders with Paul at, 367.
Milman, Dean, D.D., " History of the Jews," quoted from, 410.
Minuteness of God's care over his people, 63, 512.

Index.

5<55

Miracle, effect of, depends on the degree of knowledge, and previous
religious belief of the beholder, 136, 467.
Miracles of the Apostles, peculiarity concerning, 99-103, 133, 307.
Missionary enterprise, the inauguration of, 80, 84 ; essential to the life
"of the Church, 86, 89.
 meeting, the first, 161.
Missions, Home and Foreign, not antagonistic, 86, 87.
Mnason, 378.
Moffat, Rev. Robert, African missionary, anecdote of, 31 ; saying of, 163.
Monod, Adolphe, quoted from or referred to, 44, 360.
Montgomery, James, " Prison Amusements " of, 519.
Morea, the, 277.
Mutiny, Indian, 370.
Myra, 445.
Naples, Bay of, 471.
Neapolis, 216, 217, 223.
Nelson, Admiral, at battle of Copenhagen, 452.
Nero, character of, 482-484 ; burning of Rome by, 533 ; cruelty of, to
Christians, 533.
• Newman, John Henry, referred to, 33.
Nicopolis, 531.
Ovid, quotations from, 136, 137.
Onesimus, with Paul at Rome, 494 ; story of, 505 ; letter of Paul to Phi
lemon concerning, 506.
Onesiphorus finds Paul at Rome, 534, 537.
Page, Harlan, 368.
Paley's "Horae Paulinse,'- argument of, described and exemplified, 60-
63 ; quoted from or referred to, 184, 318.
Pamphylia, 103.
Pangaeus, 223.
Paphos, 92. ,
Patara, 375.
Paul, first appearance of, in the sacred narrative, 18 ; parents of, 28 ;
education of, 29, 30 I trade of,- 31 ; early feelings of, in reference to
Christ, 32 ; obtains a commission to Damascus, 34 ; conversion of,
36 ; arguments from, 40-43 ; reflections on, 36-40, 45 ; visited by
Ananias, 47 ; baptized, 48 ; preaches in Damascus, 50 ; goes to Ara
bia, 50 ;' returns to Damascus, 51 ; flight of, from Damascus, 54 ;
goes to Jerusalem, 57 ; first meeting of, with Peter, 57 ; labors of, at
Jerusalem, 59 ; leaves Jerusalem for Tarsus, 60 ; obscurity concern
ing movements of, at Tarsus, 68 ; brought by Barnabas to Antioch,
70 ; labors at Antioch a whole year, 75 ; goes to Jerusalem with Bar-

566 Index.
nabas, 79 ; designated with Barnabas as a missionary, 80 ; sails from
Seleucia, 90 ; at Cyprus, 91 ; two names of, 99 ; goes to Perga, 104 ;
to Antioch in Pisidia, 109 ; first reported sermon of, in ; at Ico
nium, 128 ; in Lycaonia, 133 ; people seek to worship, as Mercury,
135 ; address of, to the Lycaonians, 138 ; attempt to murder, 144;
goes to Derbe, 147 ; returns through Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch,
148-160 ; arrives at Perga, 160 ; at Attalia, 161 ; returns to the Syr
ian Antioch, 161 ; circumcision controversy at Antioch, 166, 167 ;
goes to Jerusalem to the Council, 169 ; visits of, to Jerasalem, 183 ;
contention of, with Peter at Antioch, 186-190; lessons from contro
versy of, with Peter, 192-195 ; contention of, with Barnabas, 197 ;
leaves Antioch for Cilicia, 204 ; revisits Iconium, 204 ; takes Timo
thy for his companion, 209 ; ordains Timothy, 212 ; visits Galatia,
213 ; lands in Europe, 217 ; visits Philippi, 224 ; in prison with Silas,
232 ; delivered by an earthquake, 234 ; pleads his right as a Roman
citizen, 235 ; visits Thessalonica, 243 ; discourse in synagogue of
Thessalonica, 244-246 ; at Berea, 252 ; goes to Athens, 259 ; preach
es in synagogue of Athens, 259 ; addresses the Athenians on Areop
agus, 269 ; goes to Corinth, 279 ; illness of, 282 ; labors in Corinth
with great zeal, 286 ; is taken before Gallio, 287 ; leaves for Syria,
297 ; vow of, at Cenchrea, 297 ; visits Ephesus, 300 ; goes to Jeru
salem, 300 ; revisits Phrygia and Galatia, 301, 303 ; at Ephesus, 303 ;
special miracles by, at Ephesus, 307 ; uproar concerning, at Ephe
sus, 322 ; departure of, from Ephesus, 336 ; at Troas, 336 ; goes to
Macedonia, 339 ; meets Titus in Macedonia, 340 ; writes the Second
Epistle to the Corinthians there, 341 ; revisits Corinth, 346 ; writes
Epistle to the Galatians, 347 ; writes Epistle to the Romans, 348 ;
goes through Macedonia to Troas, 350 ; and from Troas to Miletus,
351 ; sends for elders of Ephesus, 355 ; addresses the elders of Eph
esus, 356-367 ; character of teachings of, 357 ; tenderness of, 358 ;
industry of, 359 ; heroism of, 360 ; disinterestedness of, 361 ; trials
of, 362 ; at Patara, 375 ; at Tyre, 375 ; at Ptolemais, 375 ; at Caes
area, 376 ; at Jerusalem, 377 ; advised by James, 380 ; attacked in
the Temple, 383 ; rescued by the chief captain, 385 ; addresses the
mob from' the castle stairs, 393 ; pleads his Roman citizenship, 395 ;
before the Council at Jerusalem, 396 ; conspiracy against, 401 ; sent
to Caesarea, 402; arraigned before Felix, 411; replies to Tertullus,
413 ; reasons before Felix and Drusilla, 415 ; defends himself before
Festus, 427 ; appeals to Caesar, 428 ; speech of, before Agrippa, 432 ;
sent to Rome, 443 ; shipwrecked at Melita, 453 ; leaves Melita for
Italy, 470 ; lands at Puteoli, 470 ; met by friends at Appii Forum,
472 ; at Three Taverns, 473 ; arrives in Rome, 484 ; meets the Jews
at Rome, 485 ; writes the Epistles of the Imprisonment, 500 ; second
imprisonment of, question of, discussed, 521 ; writes First Epistle to
Timothy, 528 ; writes Epistle to Titus, 530 ; writes Second Epistle

Index.

S°7

to Timothy, 534 ; a pattern to Christians, 540 ; conscientiousness of,
542 ; courage of, 544 ; concentration of purpose and energy in, 546 ;
faithfulness, blended with tenderness, in, 549; humility of, 551 J
prayerfulness of, 553 ; faults of, 554 ; death of, 536.
Pedanius Secundus, slaves of, killed at his death, 514.
Perga, 104.
Persecution a vain thing, 25, 126.
Pessinus, 213.
Peter, place of, in the early chapters of the Acts, 7; first meeting of Paul
witn> 57 ! speech of, at Jerasalem Council, 171 ; contention of Paul
with, at Antioch, 186 ; character of, 187 ; conduct of, at Antioch,
189 ; address of Paul to, 190 ; lessons from controversy of Paul with,
195.
Philemon, Epistle of Paul to, 507.
Philip the Evangelist, 376.
Philippi, 224 ; a Roman colony, 225 ; place of prayer near, 226 ; con
version of Lydia at, 228 ; imprisonment of Paul at, 232.
Philippians, Epistle of Paul to the, 510.
Philo, 301.
Philosophy and the Gospel, 275.
Phoenix or Phcenice, 448.
Phrygia, 301, 303.
Pilgrim Fathers, 91, 218.
Pisidia, 109.
Pliny the elder, 386 ; Natural History referred to, 95.
 the younger, letters of, referred to, 82, 386, 416, 507.
Plumptre, Rev. Dr., quoted from or referred to, 28, 73, 133, 134, 138,
280, 370, 384, 431, 448.
Poppaea, 428.
Praetorium, meaning of, 489.
Preaching, necessity for study in order to, 130 ; success of, depends on
the spirit of the hearers as well as on the preacher, 257.
Prejudice, blinding influence of, 312.
Pressense, Rev. E., quoted from or referred to, 33, 213.
Princeton Review, quoted from, 33.
Priscilla and Aquila, 280 ; an example of conjugal co-operation in the
Gospel of Christ, 292 ; accompany Paul to Ephesus, 299.
Prison literature of the Church, 515-519.
Proconsul, meaning of, 94, 95.
Procrastination, hypocrisy of, 312.
Proselytes, religious, in.
Providence in Paul's early history, 44.
Provinces, distinction between imperial and senatorial, 94.
Ptolemais, 375.
Purity of the Christian life, Paul's zeal for, 352.

568 Index.
Raleigh, Sir Walter, 517.
Reed, Dr. Andrew, story of, 552.
Renan, E., quoted from or referred to, 35, 484.
Resurrection of Christ, the corner-stone of the Christian system, 435.
 of the dead, mocked at by the Athenians, 273.
Rhodes, 374.
Ridley, the martyr, 516.
Robinson, Edward, D.D., quoted from, 159.
Romans, Epistle to the, 348.
Rome, description of, at the time of Paul's arrival in, 481 ; Paul confers
with the Jews at, 485 ; Paul's success in, 489.
Royal Charter, incident connected with the loss of, 442.
Russell, Lord William, 241.
Rutherford, Samuel, 518.
Sadducees, opinions of the, 92, 399.
Salamis, 92.
Saunders, Frederick, " Evenings with the Sacred Poets," quoted from,
517.
Savonarola, in prison, 515.
Sceva, and his seven sons at Ephesus, 309 ; lessons from the case of, 313.
Schaff, Philip, D.D., quoted from, 44, 301.
Science, a side chapel in the cathedral of religion, 144.
Scott, Sir Walter, quotation from, 117.
Seleucia, 90.
Self-interest perverts the judgment, .329.
Seneca, brother of Gallio, 288.
Sergius Paulus, 94.
Sermon of Paul at Antioch in Pisidia, III.
Shakspeare, Rev. Charles, " St. Paul at Athens," quoted from, 262, 265,
Shipwreck of Paul, 454.
Silas, 204.
Silver shrines, manufacture of, at Ephesus, 321.
Simplicity of the Gospel, Paul's zeal for, 351.
Sin, fettering influence of, 423.
Slavery, wisdom of Paul's dealing with, 514.
Smith's " Dictionary of the Bible," quoted from or referred to, 10, 482.
Smith, James, Esq. , of Jordan-hill, ' ' Dissertation on the Voyage and
Shipwreck of St. Paul," quoted from or referred to, 216, 447, 448,
455-
 .William, "New Testament History," by, quoted from or re
ferred to, 185, 456.
Smyth, Admiral, 455.
Smyton, Rev. David, and the " Bread-lifting" controversy in Scotland,
180.

Index. 569
Stanley, Rev. A. P., Dean of Westminster, quoted from, 10.
Stephen, character of, 10 ; charges made against, n ; defence of, before
the Council, 12-17 ', martyrdom of, 18 ; name of, 19.
Stoics, doctrines of the, 266.
Suetonius, quotation from, 280.
Sunday-school must not be made a substitute for family training, 219.
Synagogue Lessons, arrangement of, no.
Syrian Gates, 27.
Tacitus, 410, 534.
Tarsus, description of, 27; Paul goes to, after his conversion, 69 ; prob
able -visit of Paul to, later, 204.
Tavium, 213.
Temple of Apollo, at Antioch, 72.
 of Diana, at Ephesus, 304.
-, at Perga, 104.

• of Jerusalem, regulations concerning, 383.
• of Venus, at Paphos, 93.

Tennyson, Alfred, quoted from, 18.
Tertullus, a Roman barrister, 411; address of, as accusing Paul, 412.
Thasos, 223.
Theology, in what sense progressive, 310.
Thessalonians, Epistles to, 282, 285.
Thessalonica, 243 ; Paul's cause in the synagogue of, 244 ; length of
Paul's sojourn in, 248 ; labors in, for his own support, 249 ; revisited
by Paul, 345.
Three Taverns, 473.
Timothy, 134 ; present at the assault on Paul in Lycaonia, 144 ; par.
entage of, 206 ; early training of, 207 ; calling of, to the ministry,
209 ; character of, 210 ; relation of, to Paul, 210 ; circumcision of,
211 ; receives miraculous gifts, 212 ; ordained to the ministry, 212;
sent by Paul from Ephesus to Macedonia, 319 ; with Paul at Rome,
494 ; First Epistle of Paul to, 528 ; Second Epistle of Paul to, 535.
Titus, distinction between, and Timothy, in the matter of circumcision
170, 211 ; sent to Corinth by Paul, 335 ; meets Paul in Macedonia
340 ; sent to Corinth with second Epistle, 342 ; with Paul in Crete
530 ; Epistle of Paul to, 530.
 , Emperor, voyage of, to Rome, 443.
Tower of London, prisoners in the, 517.
Training, special, given by God for special work, 64.
Trench, Archbishop, quoted from, 229, 230.
Troas, 215, 336 ; preaching of Paul at, 350.
Trophimus, 383.
Tychicus, with Paul at Rome, 494.
Tyndale, William, 126, 295 309, 51°.

57° Index.
Tyrannus, school of, at Ephesus, 306.
Tyre, 375.
Venus, Temple and worship of, at Paphos, 93.
Vespasian, voyage of, to Rome, 443.
Vessels, anchoring of, by the stern, 452.
Ville du Havre, sinking of the, incident connected with, 460.
Vitellius, 55.
Vow of Paul, and shaving of his head, at Cenchrea, 297-299.
Voyage and shipwreck of Paul, 443.
Weekly storing, 344.
Whately, Archbishop, quoted from, 103.
Wither, George, " Prison Meditation" by, 518.
Wood's discoveries at Ephesus, 323, 327, 328.
Words not always so fruitless as they seem, 24.
Wordsworth, William, quotation from, 143.
Work not to be abandoned because of difficulties, 253.
Yalobatch, no.
Zeno, founder of the Stoics, doctrines of, 266.

THE END.

4583