disposed him to accept their faith at once. He took them to his home, attended to the wounds the rods had made, and, ere morning, he and his were baptized Christians.

By morning, the Duumvirs had come to the perception that they had acted on a mere cry got up by the baffled slave-owners, and had maltreated two peaceable men, without inquiry, so they hoped to hush the matter up by releasing them. Paul, however, knew that to submit quietly to such usage would peril his teaching elsewhere. So he made answer that in his person, and that of Silas, the dignity of Roman citizens had been insulted, by being publicly beaten without trial, and that as compensation the magistrates must come themselves and fetch them out. It was in their power as Romans to lodge a complaint with the higher powers, and the magistrates in much alarm came and made all the amends in their power, entreating them however to leave the city quietly, and to this they yielded after having gone to Lydia's house to assure the brethren of their safety, and to arrange apparently that Timothy and Luke should remain and continue the instruction of the Philippians.

LESSON XLI.

THE PREACHING AT THESSALONICA.

A.D. 52.-ACTS xvii. 1-9.

Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:

And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures,

Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, Christ.

And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.

But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.

And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;

Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Cæsar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.

And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things.

And when they had taken security of Jason, and of the other, they let them go.

COMMENT.-The Apostle Paul and his companion Silas proceeded by the Roman road to Amphipolis, then, passing Apollonia, reached Thessalonica, the capital of that part of Macedonia, and where there was a considerable synagogue.

Here, as usual, he preached on three successive Sabbaths from the Scriptures, proving from them that JESUS of Nazareth is the Messiah. There were few Jewish believers, but many of the Greeks, who were already proselytes, and thus had already come near the road to the truth, without having the prejudices of born Jews. Such were usually St. Paul's best converts, for they had already seen the perfection of the Mosaic law, and laid hold of the glorious hopes of the prophecies. He tells us how he taught in the letter he wrote to these Thessalonians about a year later (1 Thess. ii. 5—10) :—

For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness :

Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ.

But 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.

For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail : for labouring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God.

Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe :

As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children,

That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.

But the unbelieving of the synagogue were St. Paul's bitterest foes, and, like many and many a foe of the Church since their time, they were not ashamed to seek the help of the mob-those "lewd fellows of the baser sort"-who are always ready to hunt down all who set forth a higher rule.

St. Paul was lodging with one Jason. This Greek name was sometimes used as an equivalent for Joshua, and it is not easy to tell whether Jason were Jew or Greek. At any rate, the mob of Thessalonica, led by the Jews, assaulted his house, and tried to find the Apostle; but failing in this, they seized Jason, and brought him before the magistrates, charging him with receiving men who were proclaiming "One JESUS as their king," and thus subverting Cæsar's authority. It was, in fact, the idea of the Second Advent as King that most deeply impressed the Thessalonians. The magistrates-Greeks, who were allowed by the Romans some authority—seem to have been unwilling to admit this vague charge, and they did the wisest thing in their power by taking security from Jason for the peaceable conduct of his inmates, after which they discharged him. This was a Jewish persecution, whereas that at Philippi had been a Gentile one. Again, in the Epistle, he describes this persecution :—

For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judæa are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews:

Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men : Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.

But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face with great desire.

Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.

For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?

For ye are our glory and joy.

LESSON XLII.

THE PREACHING AT BEREA.

A.D. 52.-ACTS xvii. 10-15.

And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.

These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.

But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people.

And then immediately the brethren sent away Paul to go as it were to the sea but Silas and Timotheus abode there still.

And they that conducted Paul brought him unto Athens and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timotheus for to come to him with all speed, they departed.

COMMENT. In spite of the security that Jason had given, it was not safe for St. Paul to remain there, for the rulers of the Synagogue detested him as a most distinguished person on the Christian side. Therefore he went on at night with Silas to Berea, a small city sixty miles off, not lying on the main Roman road, but large enough to contain a synagogue, where as usual St. Paul preached. He found more noble and less narrow-minded hearers than those at Thessalonica; and they gave an intelligent hearing, daily studying the Old Testament to find whether what he told them of JESUS of Nazareth agreed with the prophecies of Christ. Here are two types of believers, the Philippian jailor, who accepted the faith at once when his heart was touched, and the noble Jews of Berea, who proved the doctrine by the word of God. We must, according to our intellectual powers or education, belong to one or the other type.

But while large numbers were thus being gathered in, the tidings reached Thessalonica, and the Jews who had before raised the mob to drive out St. Paul, came down upon him so that he was

again "in peril by his own countrymen." Finding their own synagogue friendly to him, these wretched persecutors again stirred up the heathen populace, so that there was no alternative but to send away the Apostle himself by night, while Silas and Timothy remained behind to make arrangements for the growing Church of Berea. Some of the new brethren went with him to guard his flight, which took him beyond the bounds of Macedonia, into the southern Greek province of Achaia, the great Athens. There it was thought he might safely wait, while the Jews lost his track, and he could be joined there by the companions whom he had left behind at Berea, while Timothy had been sent back to Thessalonica (1 Thess. iii. I, 2) :—

Wherefore when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone;

And sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith.

Athens, once the greatest, wisest, and most beautiful city of all antiquity, had sunk in power and true wisdom, till now it was entirely under Roman rule, and though still beautiful, both from its situation and its old buildings, and still learned in all kinds of philosophy, poetry and science, all was like the hollow shell of past times. It was thronged with temples to the gods. but the chief scholars laughed secretly at the fancies connected with them; and it was adorned with numerous schools of philosophy-mostly beautiful pillared porticoes, standing in gardens and groves, where learned men discoursed on speculations about the nature and end of man. Once these philosophers had been in full earnest, and some had gone as near the truth as man can ever do alone; but that time was long gone by, and the chief work of these philosophers was to hold disputations, to which their scholars listened. The city was a sort of university town, where young Roman gentlemen were sent to perfect themselves in Greek literature, to study rhetoric, and to become acquainted with the various systems of philosophy, which were now thought a needful ornament of education, rather than the yearning of the penitent soul after truth and light.