from which he saw small chance of release. The silence of the night brought no peace, for in his soul lay deep depression. Yet he would remember past mercies; he would dwell upon the vision at Corinth when "the Lord spake to Paul in the night by a vision, 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" (xviii. 9, 10). He knew how often God had come to him in his last extremity; and even now, while he was musing in silent despondency, the gracious figure of Jesus Himself stood by his side-stood (éπioтàs) personally, as a true appearance and not a vision-to speak peace to his soul. There will be another appearance yet, on the stormy sea (xxvii. 23, 24).

"And the Lord said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome." How gratefully must these precious words have sunk into the innermost heart of Paul, and have been treasured in his memory against many a future day of trial and doubt, when the promise to speak for his Master at Rome seemed yet to be slipping away from him. "After I have been at Jerusalem, I must also see Rome." So he had said at Ephesus, not knowing how. Now he had the promise of God, and he would "write the vision and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth" (Hab. ii. 2).*

And so, with renewed assurance, and a calmer trust, Paul rested in Him "which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people" (Psalm lxv. 7).

But the Jews were maddened at the escape of their intended victim; and, exciting one another to violent acts

* Bengel here remarks, that if as much as this, or only half as much, had been said of Peter, how justly could the Romanists have boasted of Peter's Roman supremacy!

by the help of an impious oath "to taste nothing until they had slain Paul," they formed an accursed league. Such wicked oaths were lightly made and lightly broken, and absolution, if required at all, was easily obtainable. At any rate, we may be sure that those forty Jews, having failed of their purpose, still lived and ate the bread of men, and did not punish themselves with starvation for their failure. They were fanatics of that bitter and ferocious kind of whom our Lord had foretold: "Yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service" (John xvi. 2). With this proof of their great zeal in their mouths, the conspirators came to the elders, and revealed their plot to them,-which was entirely approved of by those hoary sinners,-to request the chief captain once more to bring down Paul before them from the castle, the very next morning, and while he was approaching down the steps or through the cloisters, with a small guard, they would rush out from an ambush, forty strong, and despatch him. But the Lord, Who is ever "mindful of His own," would not deliver His faithful servant into their hands. The cowardly conspirators, hatching plots in the dark, never hurt a hair of the Apostle's head.

WE

CHAPTER XXVI.

PAUL AND FELIX.

ACTS xxiii. 16-35, xxiv.

May A.D. 58-Rulers as before.

"Jesu, lover of my soul,

Let me to Thy bosom fly,

While the nearer waters roll,

While the tempest still is high!

Hide me, O my Saviour, hide,
Till the storm of life is past;

Safe into the haven guide;

Oh receive my soul at last!"

CHARLES WESLEY.

E have already discussed what little is known or conjectured about St. Paul's possible kindred (page 27). Here we have the only undoubted allusion to any near relation of the Apostle's: "But Paul's sister's son heard of their lying in wait, and he came and entered into the castle, and told Paul." But whether this sister lived in Jerusalem or out of it; or, if in the city, why Paul stayed with Mnason rather than with her, is not for us to know. She may not have sympathised with his great mission. She may have been an adherent to the Law of Moses. But the Holy Spirit has almost everywhere forborne to gratify human curiosity respecting the unessential conditions of the instruments of which He makes use, as if to fix our larger gaze without distraction on the greater matters at issue.

The miscreants who had plotted against Paul's life had

calculated badly in supposing that the popular sympathy lay wholly with themselves. In their easy security some knowledge of the murderous scheme oozed out and reached the attentive ears of St. Paul's young nephew. This mere youth was possessed of some of the characteristic wisdom and discretion of his uncle, and instead of losing his selfpossession and raising a distracted cry to the rescue, he kept his own counsel, and having ascertained that there was liberty of access to the prisoner, he obtained admission to his place of confinement, and communicated the important intelligence to his uncle. All would now depend upon prudence and secrecy. A precious life was to be preserved for the Master's use. A fanatic or an enthusiast would certainly have said, "I have my Lord's promise that He will keep me safe to arrive in Rome, and to be a witness for Him there. I place myself in His hands, I have no need to use any precautions. The Lord is my keeper,' and so on. This is not the language of a sober-minded Christian who knows that his Father has given him hands and brains to protect himself, and demands that he shall use them. The manly Christianity of St. Paul taught him this. Nor did the angelic assurance in the storm, that there should be no loss of life, exempt Paul from his own labour to save life.

Immediate measures must be taken. It was not yet night, the night after that of St. Paul's vision; and the vile plot has to take effect in the course of the next day. Therefore, Paul called to his side one of the ten centurions who constituted the staff of the garrison, and requested him to take this young man straight to the chief captain, as he had an important communication to make to him, He deemed this the most direct, as well as the safest

course.

It was done. The officer took the young man to the commandant with these words, "Paul, the prisoner, called

me unto him, and prayed me to bring this young man unto thee, who hath something to say unto thee."

His reception was most kind, genial, and reassuring. The youth may have shown timidity in the presence of the military officer of the highest rank in Jerusalem, and desiring to gain his confidence, Claudius Lysias took him with courteous action by the hand, led him aside, where none might watch or overhear, and asked him, "What is it that thou hast to tell me?”

It is well worth while to pause for a moment, to compare the prudence of a Christian man with that of this welltrained heathen. In Paul's action throughout these trials of extreme difficulty, we discover no vacillation, no uncertainty. He enjoys a clear view of his duty, and he has the courage to fulfil it, and to act with manly Christian resolution. The Lord leads him from stage to stage according to His eternal purpose; the supremacy of the Almighty Will in no way controlling or counteracting the freedom of the Apostle's action. But Claudius Lysias in his difficulties does not seem to be so clear-sighted, or so firm and resolute. He makes mistakes,-which, like other official men, he carefully disguises,—and were it not for his authority, he would scarcely be able to maintain his position. Still Paul depended on Lysias' discretion. To him he calmly left the care of his safety; well aware, in spirit at least, of the good maxim, "Never speak to the man at the helm."

*

Paul's nephew repeated his story. "The chief authorities of the Jews have agreed together to desire thee to bring down Paul again before them to-morrow, under pretence of further examination. But I beseech thee do not listen to them; they do not mean what they ask; for their intention is to set upon the guard and tear the * By the "Jews" is very generally meant the Council, the Sanhedrim or the principal authorities.