that the gospel was from God; and he was not reluctant to furnish any ingenuous mind with that evidence which had convinced himself. While, however, he would patiently and perseveringly fan the expiring flax, and gently and tenderly raise the head of the drooping reed, he loathed hypocrisy, and exposed and denounced it in the most honest and fearless manner. And knowing, as he did at this time, that Elymas, in his opposition, was actuated by the lowest and most unworthy motives, if not from a positive hatred of the truth, the apostle being filled with the Holy Ghost, fixed his eyes, flaming with holy indignation, upon the iniquitous wretch, and poured into his inmost soul this withering appeal: 'O, full of all subtilty and all mischief-child of the devil-enemy of all righteousness,-wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? And now, behold the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season!' This terrible calamity immediately fell upon Elymas; and he who, a short time before, rashly and wickedly set himself to stem the stream of gospel light, was now, through the judgment of the Author of that light, groping about, seking some. one to lead him by the hand. This terrible judgment tended to confirm the faith of the proconsul, for, when he saw what was done, he believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.'

Leaving Paphos and Cyprus, they directed their course northward, and the next place at which they arrived was Perga, a town of Pamphylia. Nothing is recorded of their proceedings here, excepting that John, their minister, and nephew of Barnabas, departed from them, and returned to Jerusalem. The cause of John's return is not stated; but, whether weakness of faith, or love of ease, or timidity, it furnishes us with a key to the obstacles with which the apostles had to contend. Their difficulties, of va

rious kinds, were evidently great, or, depend upon it, John, who would be exposed to them the least, would never have returned from the work.

From Perga they came to Antioch, in Pisidia; so called to distinguish it from the Syrian Antioch. On the Sabbath, as was their usual custom, Paul and his associate attended the synagogue of the Jews, where, after the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers, very courteously, and in accordance with the Jewish custom, sent to inquire if they had any word of exhortation to address to the people; and if so, to proceed. Paul, availing himself of this opportunity, rose, and waving his hand to secure the attention of the people, proceeded to deliver the discourse which is given in Acts xiii.

The effect of this discourse was great. They were taken completely by surprise; and it would seem that the Jewish part of the assembly separated in silence. The poor Gentiles, however, who were present on the occasion, heard such strange things uttered by Paul, that they lingered behind until the Jews had departed, to make further inquiries as to the truth of the doctrines they had heard. On that day the first inquirers' meeting was held at Antioch. Before Paul and the Gentiles separated, the latter earnestly besought him to preach the same sermon to them again the next Sabbath. A greater impression was made on the audience than appeared at first sight; and, although they dare not avow it in a public assembly, yet the truth had found its way into the hearts of many Jews and religious proselytes; and these did not go directly to their homes, but stood about within sight of the synagogue, watching for an opportunity to communicate their thoughts to the new teachers, or to ascertain, if possible, their place of abode. That day was a memorable one in Antioch. The poor Gentiles had never before heard so good

news, and their whole souls were filled with joy. The Jews, on whose mind the discourse of Paul had made a favourable impression, were few compared with the bulk; and if the same law was in operation there as was in Judea, that if any man should confess Jesus to be the Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue, we can easily conceive that these few would be exceedingly cautious in communicating their impressions to each other, lest they should incur suspicion, and be excommunicated. We will not say that the following scene actually occurred; but it is highly probable that something of the kind took place. When the sun had sunk in the western sky, and the shades of evening were fast spreading themselves over the town of Antioch, a Jew might be seen here and there, issuing from his home, and with anxious look and hurried step hasting through bye roads to a certain spot in the town. His mind is evidently agitated by conflicting emotions. He shuns all of his own race, and if perchance he comes into direct contact with one, and an inquiry be made as to the cause of his anxiety, his speed, and the place to which he is going, an evasive answer is returned, and onward he goes. At length he arrives close by the lodgings of Paul. He looks around to see if any eye upon him. Having ascertained that the way is clear, he asks for admittance. Within the house he hears other voices engaged in earnest conversation. With a palpitating heart he is introduced to those within. He is perplexed and confounded at the sight, until the courteousness and kindness of Paul, and the suavity of the son of consolation, and the fact of all present having come on the same errand, disarm his agitation, and he is able to communicate freely. Probably numbers of this character, and acting in this manner, might have been seen, in different parts of Antioch that night, all of whom were per

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suaded to continue in the grace of God.

During the week, the excitement which had been commenced in the synagogue, spread through the whole city, and on the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God. What a congregation! And how must it have cheered the heart of Paul! Unmixed joy is seldom if ever experienced, and, if experienced, it is only momentarily, in this world. This was the experience of Paul and Barnabas here; for they had scarcely begun to speak to the people, and to preach Christ and him crucified to this vast audience, when clouds, angry and envious clouds, were seen gathering over the countenances of the Jews, which soon burst in a torrent of invective, contradiction, and blasphemy.

Paul and his companion, however, were not the men to be silenced in this way. This opposition increased their courage. They waxed bold, and declared that, as they had delivered their message to them, and it was despised, they would turn to the Gentiles, and justified their conduct by an appeal to Isa. xlix. 6, I have set thee a light to the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation to the ends of the earth.' The effect of this declaration on the Gentiles was of the most animating kind. They were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord. The work of the Lord operated like leaven; it diffused itself over the whole region. The Jews, however, still persisted in their opposition; and the consequence was, that Paul and Barnabas were obliged to depart out of their coasts. In doing so, they obeyed the exhortation of Jesus, Mark vi. 11. They shook off the dust of their feet against them.

From Antioch they came to Iconium, a considerable city in Lycaonia, (now called Konich, and situated southeast of Antioch.) Here the success of their preaching was great.

'A

great multitude, both of the Jews, and also of the Greeks, believed.' This success was achieved amidst a violent storm of persecution, which threatening their destruction, they eventually, in accordance with the command of the Saviour, Matt. x. 23, fled to Lystra, another city of Lycaonia. Paul, here, miraculously healing a cripple who had been lame from his birth, the inhabitants imagined that the gods had paid them a visit in the likeness of men, and proceeded to pay them divine honours. Among the ancient heathen, as now, there was an opinion generally prevailing that the gods were accustomed at times to descend from heaven to earth, especially Jupiter and Mercury; and there was a tradition among the Lycaonians, that these two gods had at one time been entertained in the palace of Lycaon, from whom Lycaonia derived its name. It is not, therefore, very wonderful that these poor credulous idolaters, should look upon Paul and his companion as Gods. Mercury was the god of eloquence, and, on account of Paul being the chief speaker, the Lycaonians thought he must be Mercury; and Barnabas they called Jupiter. But, however flattering to human nature might be the deference and homage paid to them, the apostles protested against their worship-exposed the vanity of their imaginary deities, and directed them to the one living and true God. It was, however, with great difficulty that they restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them.

Who would conceive that these persons would ever lift up a hand against such benefactors of the human race? Yet such is the perversity and fickleness of human nature, that these identical people, who were about to worship Paul and Barnabas, in a short time after, being influenced by certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, stoned Paul, and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. What a contrast ! One

day they were elevated as gods and the priests, in their sacerdotal attireconducted to them victims adorned with garlands, and would have offered sacrifice to them, as to the thundering Jupiter, and the eloquent Mercury. A short time after, Paul was stoned, and dragged out of the city, as a worthless dog. Can any good thing come out of Lystra? O, yes. In the midst of all this contradiction, uproar, and cruelty, there was a delicate youth noticing most minutely the conduct and trials of the apostle. A good and lasting impression was made upon his mind, and he afterwards became one of the companions, the bosom friends of Paul, and one of the brightest ornaments of the christian church. This was Timothy, who seems to have been a native of Lystra, and converted by Paul at this time.

Paul, however, was not dead; for, as the disciples stood around him, and mourning over their loss, he showed signs of life, and at length rose up, and went into the city. There is every reason to conclude that a miracle was performed in the restoration of Paul's health; otherwise, we cannot understand how, after such treatment, he could rise up, go into the city, and the next day proceed to Derbe.

Having preached the gospel in Derbe, and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch. Their object in visiting these places again was to confirm or establish the young converts in the faith, and to appoint elders to watch over them, and to take the oversight of them in the Lord. This they did by fasting and prayer, commending them to the Lord, in whom they believed.

After this, they passed through Pisidia, and descended to Pamphylia

-once

more visited Perga, and, having preached the word there, they departed for Attalia, and from thence took shipping for Antioch in Syria, from whence they at first started. It

is thought that this journey occupied about two years. The experience of Paul during it must have been varied. The scenes through which he passed made an indelible impression on his

9

mind: hence we find him referring to them years afterwards as if they had but recently occurred. (See 2 Tim. iii. 10, 11.)

On the evening of one thirty-first of December I had been cherishing the humiliating and solemn reflections which are peculiarly suitable to the close of the year, and endeavouring to bring my mind to that view of the past best calculated to influence the future. I had attempted to recall the prominent incidents of the twelve months which had elapsed; and in this endeavour I was led frequently to regret how little my memory could retain even of that most important to be remembered. I could not avoid, at such a period, looking forwards as well as backwards, and anticipating that fearful tribunal at which no occurrence shall be forgotten; whilst my imagination penetrated into the distant destinies which shall be dependent on its decisions. At my usual hour I retired to rest; but the train of meditation I had pursued was so important, that imagination continued it after sense had slumbered. In thoughts, from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon man,' I was mentally concerned in the following scene of interest :-I imagined myself still adding link after link to the chain of reflections the progress of which the time of repose had scarcely interrupted; and whilst thus engaged, I was aware that there remained but a few moments to complete the day. I heard the clock as it tolled the knell of another year; and as it rung slowly the appointed number, each stroke was followed by a sting of conscience, bitterly reproaching me for my negIect of precious time. The last tone was ringing in my ear, painful as the VOL. 9.-N. S.

C

groan announcing the departure of a valuable friend, when, notwithstanding the meditative posture in which I was sitting, I perceived that the dimness of the apartment became lighter, and, on lifting up my eyes to discover the cause, I was terrified at perceiving that another being was with me in my seclusion: I saw one before me whose form indeed was human, but the bright, burning glance of his eye, and the splendour which beamed forth from every part of his beautiful-proportioned form, convinced me at a glance that it was no mortal being that I saw. The elevation of his brow gave dignity of the highest order to his countenance; the most acute observation was indicated by his piercing eye; and inexorable justice was imprinted on his majestic features. A glittering phylactery encircled his head, upon which was written, as in letters of fire, The Faithful One.' Under one arm he bore two volumes; in his hand he held a pen. I instantly knew the recording angel-the secretary of the terrible tribunal of heaven. With a trembling which convulsed my frame, I heard his unearthly accents. Mortal,' he said, 'thou wast longing to recall the events of the past year; thou art permitted to gaze upon the record of the Book of God; peruse, and be wise.' As he spoke thus, he opened before me one of the volumes which he had brought. In fearful apprehension I read in it my own name, and recognized the history of my own life during the past year, with all its most minute particulars. Burning words were those which that