Many of those also who had been engaged in the devices of exorcism, conjuration and magic, brought their books, in which were prescribed the various forms of incantation, and spontaneously set fire to them in the presence of all the people; and they computed their value, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver, equal to seven thousand five hundred pounds sterling. An amazing effect of the prevalence of divine truth over all the powers of darkness.

Yet notwithstanding the success of his ministry, Paul had many adversaries at Ephesus. A number of the inhabitants enriched themselves by manufacturing representations in miniature of the temple of Diana, and of the image that was said to have fallen down from Jupiter; by means of which they amassed considerable riches. Perceiving that if Paul's doctrine was suffered to spread, their trade would be ruined, they convened a meeting of all that were of the same occupation, and very gravely deliberated what was best to be done, in order to check the growing evil: "Sirs," said one of them, "ye know that by this craft we have our wealth. It is evident, moreover, that not only at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath turned away much people, saying that they are no gods which are made with hands; so that not only our trade is in danger of being destroyed, but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana will be despised, and her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth." Interest is a powerful stimulus to the passions of men; and on this occasion the speech of Demetrius, which was founded upon it, produced the desired effect; for "when they heard these things, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians." The utmost confusion ensued throughout the city,― the artificers ran about the streets, spreading the alarm to the multitude; and seizing two of Paul's companions, viz. Gaius and Aristarchus, they ran with one accord into the theatre, intending, probably, to cast them to the wild beasts usually kept there. The apostle would himself have also entered, but his friends dissuaded him. Anarchy had now reached its highest pitch,- some exclaimed one thing, and some another, the multitude was confounded, and the greater

part knew not the cause of their coming together, they continued, however, for the space of two hours, crying out, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians." The rage of the rioters became at length exhausted; the proconsul's secretary ap, peased the people, and addressed them to the following effect, "Ye men of Ephesus, who is there that knows not that the city of the Ephesians worshippeth the great goddess Diana; since this is evident, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly. For ye haye brought hither these men, whom ye have not yet proved to be either spoilers of temples, or blasphemers of the goddess; if therefore Demetrius and his craftsmen have any thing to alledge against them, the courts of law are open, where the matter may be fairly tried; reminding them at the same time, that they were in danger of being called to account by the Romans for the riot they had raised, there being no justifiable cause for it." On saying which, he liberated Gaius and Aristarchus, and dismissed the assembly.

During Paul's stay at Ephesus, a church had not only been gathered, but set in order with its bishops and deacons.* By means of his preaching, multitudes had been converted to the Christian faith, amongst whom were "certain of the chief of Asia," supposed to have been priests of the temple of Diana, who had the care of the games celebrated in honour of that goddess. These, the apostle having called together, after the uproar, embraced them, and then taking his leave, departed for Macedonia. Haying visited the churches in that country, and given them much exhortation, he went into Greece, and there continued about three months; after which he went down to Troas, a place he had formerly visited, and where he preached with great success.§

The disciples of Christ being at this period reduced to great straits in Judea, Paul had written to the Gentile churches in Macedonia and Greece to assist them by a general contribution, and during his abode among them at this time, he received the various collections which those churches had

*Acts xx. 17, 28. + Acts xvi, 8.

+ See Whitby on Acts xix. 31.

2 Cor. ii. 12, 13.

made for their relief. Having accomplished this, he sailed for Syria, and landed at the port of Tyre, from whence "passing by Ptolemais, and thence to Cæsarea, he arrived at Jerusalem, where he delivered the contributions, and was most cordially received of the brethren,

SECTION V.

THE SUBJECT CONTINUED

From Paul's arrival at Jerusalem with the contributions from Asia, to the period of his death.

We are now arrived at a period in the life of the great apostle of the Gentiles, when a circumstance arose which has occasioned no little perplexity to Commentators, and drawn from many of them either unmerited reproaches or needless apologies.

It seems that previously to the apostle's arrival in Judea, a report had got into circulation, that he was in the practice of teaching the Jews who were dispersed throughout the Gentile countries, "to forsake the law of Moses, and not to circumcise their children, nor to walk after the Jewish customs."* This was an unfounded representation of his conduct in regard to this matter. He indeed taught the Gentiles that they should observe none of these things, but he well knew that the time which God had appointed for putting an end to the political constitution of the Jews, was not yet arrived. He, therefore, conformed to the rites of Judaism, himself, though aware that the whole of that typical dispensation had been virtually abolished by the death of Christ, and he instructed his jewish brethren to do the same, until, by the destruction of their temple and city, the providence of God should co-operate with his word in rendering it impossible for them any longer to adhere to Moses. It was, therefore, necessary that the Jews in Jerusalem should be undeceived in this matter; and, in order to this, it was * Acts xxi. 21.

recommended to him by James the apostle, and the elders of the church, to give a proof to all his jewish brethren that what they had heard of him was incorrect, by joining himself to four men who were under a vow, and subjecting himself to the charges that were necessary to the performance of it, "that all might know that the things which they had heard concerning him were nothing, but that he himself walked orderly and kept the law." Paul complied with this advice, and the following day, purifying himself with them, he entered into the temple to signify to the priest their resolution to accomplish the seven days of their purification. But before these were ended, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up all the people against him, and apprehending him by violence, cried out, "Men of Israel help; this is the man that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place, and hath polluted this holy temple by bringing Greeks into it." By these means an universal ferment was excited throughout Jerusalem, for the people ran together and took Paul, and drew him out of the temple and closed the doors, being resolved, it would seem, to put him to death. At this critical moment, when they were actually engaged in beating him, Claudius Lysias, the commander of the Roman garrison, interposed with a band of soldiers, and rescued Paul, demanding to know who he was and what he had done. Finding it impossible, how ́ever, from the contrariety of their reports, to arrive at any certainty in the affair, he ordered the soldiers to take him into the castle, whither he was pursued by the multitude, crying out, "away with him."

Halting at the top of the stairs, Paul asked permission of the chief captain to address them; which being granted, he beckoned to them with his hand, and having obtained silence, accosted them in the Hebrew tongue, recapitulating the most material circumstances of his history, and particularly of his conversion to the Christian faith; appealing to the high priest and elders for the truth of what he said; and closing the narrative with stating the commission he had received from Jesus Christ, to go and preach the gospel to the Gentiles. The very mention of this was enough for these Jews; hitherto

they had listened to him with patience; but no sooner had he spoken of his commission to the Gentiles, than they became outrageous, exclaiming, "Away with such a fellow from the earth; it is not fit that he should live;" on saying which, they rent off their clothes and threw dust into the air.

Lysias, in all probability, understood nothing of what Paul had spoken in Hebrew; but seeing the effects which his oration had produced upon the Jews, and that they were driven to frenzy by it, he concluded that certainly he must be some notorious malefactor, and, therefore, commanding him to be brought into the castle, he was preparing to have recourse to the Roman custom of extorting a confession from his own lips, by means of torture,-one method of which was by binding the person to a pillar and severely scourging him.†

When the soldiers had stripped Paul, and were extending his arms to the utmost stretch, that they might bind him with thongs to the pillar, he asked the centurion, whether it was lawful for him to scourge a freeman of Rome, before he was convicted of any crime? The officer, upon receiving a hint that the apostle was a Roman, desisted from his purpose, and apprised the chief captain of the fact, who interrogating Paul, and finding that he was free born, began to regret what he had done, and liberated him from his bonds.

On the following day the apostle was brought before the Jewish Sanhedrim, with the view of having his conduct investigated before that great council of the nation. When placed in the midst, he surveyed the assembly with earnestness and composure, and was proceeding to renew his vindication before them, when the first sentence he uttered provoked the high priest, who commanded the by-standers to smite him on the mouth. Paul complained of this as an unjust procedure on the part of his judges: probably he was not aware from whence the order to smite him originated; at any rate, he was not apprised that it came from the high priest, whose office was then become quite a marketable commodity, and, in which the Romans were of course making

* Acts xxii. 1-22.

+ See Suetonius' Life of Augustus, ch. 19. Tacit. Annals, b. 15. ch. 56, 57. Joseph. Antiq. b. 16. ch. 10. § 2—5.