and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles." On the prophet's saying these words, not only the companions of Paul, but likewise all the Christians present, were greatly troubled, and earnestly besought him that he would not go up to Jerusalem. To which Paul replied, 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."

When the disciples found that Paul's resolution was not to be shaken, they did not importune him any further; in consequence of which he and his companions left Cæsarea, and prosecuting their journey arrived safe at Jerusalem, where they were kindly and joyfully received by the Christians of that city.

The day after Paul and his companions arrived at Jerusalem, they went to the house of James the apostle, where the rest of the bishops and governors of the church were assembled together. After mutual salutations, Paul gave them a particular account of the success with which God had blessed his endeavors in propagating Christianity among the Gentiles, for which they all joined in glorifying God. Having done this, they told Paul that he was now come to a place in which there were many thousands of Jewish converts, who were all zealous for the law of Moses, and who had been informed that he taught the Jews whom he converted to renounce circumcision and the ceremonies of the law; that as soon as the multitude heard of his arrival they would all assemble together to see how he behaved himself in this matter; and therefore, to prevent any disturbance, they thought it. advisable for him to join himself with four men who were then going to discharge a vow; to perform the usual rites and ceremonies with them; to be at the charge of having their heads shaved; and to provide such sacrifices as the law directed: whereby it would appear that the reports spread of him were groundless, and that himself was an observer of the Mosaic institutions.

Paul readily agreed to follow the advice given him by his brethren; in consequence of which, taking with him the four persons who were to discharge their vows, he went into the temple, and told the priests, that, as the time of their vow was now expired and their purification regularly performed,

they were come to make their oblation according to law.

The time of offering these oblations was seven days, near the close of which certain Jews from Asia (who had there been strong. opposers to Paul's doctrine), finding him in the temple, began to raise a tumult, and, seizing on him, called to their brethren the Jews to assist them, declaring that he was the person who had preached doctrines derogatory to the Jewish nation, and destructive to the institutions of the law of Moses. This accusation, though absolutely false, occasioned such a universal disgust among the people to Paul, that they immediately fell on him and dragged him out of the temple, shutting the doors to prevent his returning into that holy place. After they had got him out of the temple they treated him with great indignity, and would certainly have killed him, had not Claudius Lysias, the commander of the Roman garrison in the castle of Antonia, come with a considerable force to his assistance. Lysias conducted him to the castle, in the way to which Paul begged permission to speak to him; but the governor (supposing him to be an Egyptian, who not many years before had raised a sedition in Judæa, and headed a party of four thousand profligate wretches) seemed to refuse him that favor, until Paul informed him that he was a Jew of Tarsus, and a freeman of a rich and honorable city, and therefore humbly hoped that he would not deny him the privilege of vindicating himself. The governor consenting to this request, Paul, standing upon the stairs that led into the castle, after making signs for the multitude to be silent, made a speech to them in the Hebrew language, the substance of which was to the following effect:

Listen, ye descendants of Jacob, to a person of your own religion, and like yourselves a child of Abraham; born in Tarsus, and brought up in this city, at the feet of Gamaliel, and fully instructed in the law delivered by Moses to our forefathers, and formerly as zealous for the temple worship as ye are at present.

Nay, I persecuted unto death all who I believed in Jesus, seizing on all I could find, both men and women, and casting them into prison.

"But as I was pursuing my journey to execute this commission, and was arrived near Damascus, there appeared, about mid

day, a light from heaven shining round to his death; I even kept the raiment of about me. those that slew him.' But the Lord replied, "Terrified at so awful an appearance, IDepart, for I will send thee far hence unto fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying the Gentiles.'

unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou The Jews had been very quiet, and paid me?' To which I answered, Who art great attention to Paul's speech till he came thou, Lord?' And the voice replied, I to this part of it: his mentioning the comam Jesus of Nazareth whom thou perse- mission he had received to preach the gospel cutest.' to the Gentiles, threw them into the most violent outrage, and they cried out with one voice, "Away with such a fellow from the earth; for it is not fit that he should live.” And, the more to express their indignation, they threw off their clothes and cast dust into the air, as though they intended that moment to stone him.

the members of the Sanhedrim, before whom | see, even as his father was before him, and he conducted Paul in order to undergo an that the great offence taken against him was examination by that tribunal.

*

his belief of a future resurrection.. This declaration threw the whole court in confusion, by exciting the regard of the Pharisees, who favored the doctrine of the resurrection, and incurring the resentment of the Sadducees, who strongly opposed it.

The dissensions between these two sects on this occasion arose to such a violent degree, that Lysias, fearing lest Paul should be torn in pieces between them, commanded the soldiers to take him from the bar, and reconduct him to the castle. This was accordingly done, and to comfort him after all his frights and fears, God was pleased to appear

Paul was not in the least terrified at the sight of so considerable and powerful an assembly. Without waiting for any questions being asked him, looking earnestly at the council, he coolly said, "Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. But, how ever this expression might tend to show the true state of his mind, Ananias the highpriest was so offended at it that he commanded those who stood next him to strike him on the face; at which Paul replied, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall."† On this, some of the spectators, looking to him that night in a vision, encouraging sternly at Paul, cried out, "Revilest thou God's high-priest?" In answer to this, Paul told them he did not know that Ananias was high-priest, not supposing it possible that a person who would give such unjust orders could be invested with so sacred a character. But, since it was so, he confessed it was very wrong to revile him, God himself having commanded that " no man should speak evil of the rulers of the people.'

Paul, perceiving that the council consisted partly of Sadducees and partly of Pharisees (in order to elude the malice of his enemies), made open declaration that he was a Phari

* The apostle, by here using the words "a good ⚫conscience," does not mean a conscience void of all error and offence, because he owns himself to have been guilty of a great sin in persecuting the Church of Christ (1 Tim. i. 13). His meaning, therefore, is such a conscience as was consistent with the ideas he entertained at different periods of his life, namely, before and after his conversion. The sense, therefore, of this passage may be thus explained: "While I was persuaded that the Christian religion was false, I persecuted it with the utmost vigor; but, as soon as I came to perceive its divine institution, I declared for it, and have ever since maintained it, even to the hazard of my life. life. The religion of the Jews I did not forsake out of any hardships that it required, or any prejudice I had conceived against its precepts; nor did I embrace that of the Christians upon any other account than a full conviction of its truth and veracity. I was a good Jew, in short, as long as I thought it my duty to be so; and when I thought it my duty to be otherwise, I became a zealous Christian; in all which God knows the sincerity of my heart, and is witness of my uprightness."

"A whited wall" was a proverbial expression denoting a hypocrite of any kind, and the propriety of it appears in this: that as the wall had a fair outside, but dirt or stones within, so the highpriest had the outward appearance of a righteous

him to constancy and resolution, and assuring him that, as he had borne testimony to his cause at Jerusalem, so, in despite of all his enemies, he should live to do the like at Rome. Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome."

The next morning the Jews, whose envy and malice were increased against Paul by the dilatory proceedings of the Sanhedrim, determined to use a quicker method of putting a period to his life. In order to this, about forty of the most turbulent among them entered into a wicked conspiracy,

judge, sitting as one that would pass sentence according to law, and yet commanding him to be punished for speaking the truth, and so condemning the innocent, contrary to the law of nature, as well as that of Moses.

Ananias was the son of Nebedæus, succeeded Joseph son of Camydus, and preceded Ismael son of Phabi. He was nominated to the office by Herod king of Chalcis, in A. D. 48; and in A. D. 52 sent to Rome by the prefect Quadratus to answer before the Emperor Claudius a charge of oppression brought by the Samaritans. This circumstance led interpreters of an earlier period to believe that Ananias had on that occasion been deposed, and that, when Paul appeared before him, he was only temporarily administering the office, or possibly merely retained the honorary title of an ex-high-priest. But he pleaded his cause with entire success when he was in Rome, and then returned to Jerusalem, where he was, no doubt, allowed to retain his office without interruption. This is the opinion of recent writers. There are historical records which sustain the conclusion that Ananias was at that time the ruling high-priest, a fact indicated by the designation, high-priest, as given, Acts xxiii. 2, 4. He was deposed a short time before Felix left the province. At last he was assassinated by the Sicarii at the beginning of the last Jewish war. - Lange's Com. on Acts.

A. B.

which they ratified with an imprecation | treated him, and conspired against his life never to eat or drink until they had killed that the measures he had taken were dePaul. Having formed this inhuman resolu- signed to secure him from the violence of tion, they went to the Sanhedrim and acquainted them with their design, to effect which they advised, that some of the members should solicit Lysias to bring Paul again before them, under pretence of inquiring more accurately into his case, and that, before he reached the court, they would not fail to waylay and despatch him.

CHAPTER X.

PAULS DEFENCE. IS SENT TO'ROME. HIS SHIPWRECK.

AFTER Paul had been confined five days | tumultuous assembly. It was therefore neat Cæsarea, by order of Felix, there came cessary that these Jews should have been thither Ananias the high-priest, and several here, if they had any thing to allege against other members of the Sanhedrim, together me. Nay, I appeal to those of the Sanhewith Tertullus, a man of great elocution, drim here present, if any thing has been laid and an inveterate enemy to Paul. Being to my charge, except the objections of the all assembled before Felix, Tertullus made a Sadducees, who violently opposed me for long speech, in which he made use of all asserting the doctrine of the resurrection.' the insinuating arts that could arise from human invention to prepossess the governor in his own favor; having done which he accused Paul "of being a seditious person, and a disturber of the public peace, who had set himself at the head of the sect of Nazarenes, and made no manner of scruple to profane even the temple itself." This accusation was altogether false, notwithstanding which it was confirmed by all the members of the Sanhedrim, who had come from Jerusalem on this occasion.

Tertullus having finished his accusation against Paul, Felix told him that he was now at liberty to make his defence; upon which Paul addressed himself to the court in words to this effect:

I answer this charge of the Jews with the greater satisfaction before thee, because thou hast for many years been a judge of this nation. About twelve days since, I repaired to Jerusalem to worship the God of Jacob. But I neither disputed with any man, or endeavored to stir the people in the synagogues or the city. Nor can they prove the charge they have brought against me.

"This, however, I readily confess, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, and according to this faith, I am careful to maintain a clear and quiet conscience, both toward God and man.

"After I had spent some years in distant 'countries, I repaired to Jerusalem, with the alms I had collected in other provinces, for the poor of mine own nation, and offerings to the God of Jacob. And while I was performing the duties of religion, certain Asiatic Jews found me in the temple, purified according to law; but neither attended with a multitude of followers, or the least

Felix, having thus heard both parties, refused to make any final determination till he had more fully advised about it, and consulted Lysias, the governor of the castle, who was the most proper person to give an account of the cause of the controversy In the mean time, Felix gave orders that, though Paul should be kept under a guard, yet his confinement should be so free and easy, that none of his friends should be hindered from visiting, or doing him any offices of kindness.

A few days after this, Felix, being desir ous that his wife Drusilla (who had been a Jewess) should hear Paul, he ordered him to be brought before them, and gave him permission to speak freely concerning the doctrines of Christianity. In his discourse he particularly pointed out the great obligation which the laws of Christ laid on mankind to preserve justice and righteousness, sobriety and chastity, both toward themselves and others, more especially from this consideration, namely, the strict and impartial account that must be given, in the day of judgment, of all the actions of their past lives, and the consequences that would inevitably follow, either to be rewarded or eternally punished.

This discourse had such an effect on Felix, that he could not help trembling as he sat on his throne; and as soon as he had a little recovered his spirits, he abruptly interrupted Paul, by saying, "Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee."

Felix, no doubt, had sufficient reason to tremble, and his conscience to be sensibly alarmed at Paul's discourse; for he was a man notoriously infamous for rapine and violence. He made his own will the law of