Chapter XXXIV: Part 34

This explanation will account for the circumstances related by Luke, as ensuing in Ephesus, on the success of Paul’s labors among the heathen, to whose conversion his exertions had been wholly devoted during the two last years of his stay in Ephesus. In converting the Ephesians from heathenism, he was guilty of no ordinary crime. He directly attacked a great source of profit to a large number of artizans in the city, who derived their whole support from the manufacture of those little objects of idolatry, which, of course, became of no value to those who believed Paul’s doctrine,――that “those were no gods which were made with hands.” This new doctrine therefore, attracted very invidious notice from those who thus found their dearest interests very immediately and unfortunately affected, by the progress made by its preacher in turning away the hearts of Ephesians from their ancient reverence for the shrines of Artemis; and they therefore listened with great readiness to Demetrius, one of their number, when he proposed to remedy the difficulty. He showed them in a very clear, though brief address, that “the craft was in danger,”――that warning cry which so often bestirs the bigoted in defence of the object of their regard; and after hearing his artful address, they all, full of wrath, with one accord raised a great outcry, in the usual form of commendation of the established idolatry of their city,――“Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” This noise being heard by others, and of course attracting attention, every one who distinguished the words, by a sort of patriotic impulse, was driven to join in the cry, and presently the whole city was in an uproar;――a most desirable condition of things, of course, for those who wished to derive advantage from a popular commotion. All bawling this senseless cry, with about as much idea of the occasion of the disturbance as could be expected from such a mob, the huddling multitudes learning the general fact, that the grand object of the tumult was to do some mischief to the Christians, and looking about for some proper person to be made the subject of public opinion, fell upon Gaius and Aristarchus of Macedonia, two traveling companions of Paul, who happened to be in the way, and dragged them to the theater, whither the whole mob rushed at once, as to a desirable scene for any act of confusion and folly which they might choose to commit. Paul, with a lion-like spirit, caring naught for the mob, proposed to go in and make a speech to them, but his friends, with far more prudence and cool sense than he,――knowing that an assembly of the people, roaring some popular outcry, is no more a subject of reason than so many raging wild beasts,――prevented him from going into the theater, where he would no doubt have been torn to pieces, before he could have opened his mouth. Some of the great magistrates of Asia, too, who were friendly to him, hearing of his rash intentions, sent to him a very urgent request, that he would not venture himself among the mob. Meanwhile the outcry continued,――the theater being crowded full,――and the whole city constantly pouring out to see what was the matter, and every soul joining in the religious and patriotic shout, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” And so they went on, every one, of course, according to the universal and everlasting practice on such occasions, making all the noise he could, but not one, except the rascally silversmiths, knowing what upon earth they were all bawling there for. Still this ignorance of the object of the assembly kept nobody still; but all, with undiminished fervor, kept plying their lungs to swell the general roar. As it is described in the very graphic and picturesque language of Luke,――“Some cried one thing, and some, another; for the whole assembly was confused;――and the more knew not wherefore they were come together,”――which last circumstance is a very common difficulty in such assemblies, in all ages. At last, searching for some other persons as proper subjects to exercise their religious zeal upon, they looked about upon the Jews, who were always a suspected class among the heathen, and seized one Alexander, who seems to have been one of the Christian converts, for the Jews thrust him forward as a kind of scapegoat for themselves. Alexander made the usual signs soliciting their attention to his words; but as soon as the people understood that he was a Jew, they all drowned his voice with the general cry, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” and this they kept up steadily for two whole hours, as it were with one voice. Matters having come to this pass, the recorder of the city came forward, and having hushed the people,――who had some reverence for the lawful authorities, that fortunately were not responsible to them,――and made them a very sensible speech, reminding them that since no one doubted the reverence of the Ephesians for the goddess Artemis, and for the DIOPETOS, there surely was no occasion for all this disturbance to demonstrate a fact that every body knew. He told them that the men against whom they were raising this disturbance had neither robbed their temples nor blasphemed the goddess; so that if Demetrius and his fellow-craft had anything justly against these men, as having injured their business, they had their proper remedy at law. He hinted to them also that they were all liable to be called to account for this manifest breach of Roman law, and this defiance of the majesty of the Roman government;――a hint which brought most of them to their senses; for all who had anything to lose, dreaded the thought of giving occasion to the awfully remorseless government of the province, to fine them, as they certainly would be glad to do on any valid excuse. They all dispersed, therefore, with no more words.

“‘_Silver shrines_,’ verse 24. The heathens used to carry the
images of their gods in procession from one city to another.
This was done in a chariot which was solemnly consecrated for
that employment, and by the Romans styled _Thensa_, that is,
_the chariot of their gods_. But besides this, it was placed in
a box or shrine, called _Ferculum_. Accordingly, when the Romans
conferred divine honors on their great men, alive or dead, they
had the _Circen games_, and in them the _Thensa_ and _Ferculum_,
the _chariot_ and the _shrine_, bestowed on them; as it is
related of Julius Caesar. This Ferculum among the Romans did
not differ much from the Graecian Ναὸς, _a little chapel_,
representing the form of a temple, with an image in it, which,
being set upon an altar, or any other solemn place, having the
doors opened, the image was seen by the spectators either in
a standing or sitting posture. An old anonymous scholiast upon
Aristotle’s Rhetoric, lib. i. c. 15, has these words: Ναοποιοὶ
οἱ τοὺς ναοὺς ποιοῦσι, ἤτοι εἱκονοστάσια, τινα μικρὰ ξύλινα ἅ
πωλοῦσι, observing the ναοι here to be εικονοστάσια, _chaplets_,
with images in them, of wood, or metal, (as here of _silver_,)
which they made and sold, as in verse 25, they are supposed
to do. Athenaeus speaks of the καδισκος, ‘which,’ says he ‘is a
vessel wherein they place their images of Jupiter.’ The learned
Casaubon states, that ‘these images were put in cases, which
were made like chapels. (Deipnos. lib. ii. p. 500.) So St.
Chrysostom likens them to ‘little cases, or shrines.’ Dion says
of the Roman ensign, that it was a little temple, and in it a
golden eagle, (Ρωμαικ, lib. 40.) And in another place: ‘There
was a little chapel of Juno, set upon a table.’ Ρωμαικ, lib. 39.
This is the meaning of the tabernacle of Moloch, Acts vii. 43,
where by the σκηνη, _tabernacle_, is meant the chaplet, a shrine
of that false god. The same was also the סכות דנות _the tabernacle
of Benoth_, or _Venus_.” Hammond’s Annotations. [Williams on
Pearson, p. 55.]

_Robbers of temples._――Think of the miserable absurdity of the
common English translation in this passage, (Acts xix. 37,)
where the original ἱεροσυλοι is expressed by “robbers of
_churches_!” Now who ever thought of applying the English word
“_church_,” to anything whatever but a “_Christian_ assembly,”
or “_Christian_ place of assembly?” Why then is this phrase put
in the mouth of a heathen officer addressing a heathen assembly
about persons charged with violating the sanctity of _heathen_
places of worship? Such a building as a church, (εκκλησια,
_ecclesia_) devoted to the worship of the true God, was not
known till more than a century after this time; and the Greek
word ἱερον, (_hieron_, ) which enters into the composition of
the word in the sacred text, thus mistranslated, was _never_
applied to a _Christian_ place of worship.

FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS.

Paul’s residence in Ephesus is distinguished in his literary history, as the period in which he wrote that most eloquent and animated of his epistles,――“the first to the Corinthians.” It was written towards the close of his stay in Asia, about the time of the passover; according to established calculations, therefore, in the spring of the year of Christ 57. The more immediate occasion of his writing to the Corinthian Christians, was a letter which he had received from them, by the hands of Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus. Paul had previously written to them an epistle, (now lost,) in which he gave them some directions about their deportment, which they did not fully understand, and of which they desired an explanation in their letter. Many of these questions, which this epistle of the Corinthians contained, are given by Paul, in connection with his own answers to them; and from this source it is learned that they concerned several points of expediency and propriety about matrimony. These are answered by Paul, very distinctly and fully; but much of his epistle is taken up with instructions and reproofs on many points not referred to in their inquiries. The Corinthian church was made up of two very opposite constituent parts, so unlike in their character, as to render exceedingly complicated the difficulties of bringing all under one system of faith and practice; and the apostolic founder was, at one time, obliged to combat heathen licentiousness, and at another, Jewish bigotry and formalism. The church also, having been too soon left without the presence of a fully competent head, had been very loosely filled up with a great variety of improper persons,――some hypocrites, and some profligates,――a difficulty not altogether peculiar to the Corinthian church, nor to those of the apostolic age. But there were certainly some very extraordinary irregularities in the conduct of their members, some of whom were in the habit of getting absolutely drunk at the sacramental table; and others were guilty of great sins in respect to general purity of life. Another peculiar difficulty, which had arisen in the church of Corinth, during Paul’s absence, was the formation of sects and parties, each claiming some one of the great Christian teachers as its head; some of them claiming Paul as their only apostolic authority; some again preferring the doctrines of Apollos, who had been laboring among them while Paul was in Ephesus; and others again, referred to Peter as the true apostolic chief, while they wholly denied to Paul any authority whatever, as an apostle. There had, indeed, arisen a separate party, strongly opposed to Paul, headed by a prominent person, who had done a great deal to pervert the truth, and to lessen the character of Paul in various ways, which are alluded to by Paul in many passages of his epistle, in a very indignant tone. Other difficulties are described by him, and various excesses are reproved, as a scandal to the Christian character; such as an incestuous marriage among their members,――lawsuits before heathen magistrates,――dissolute conformity to the licentious worship of the Corinthian goddess, whose temple was so infamous for its scandalous rites and thousand priestesses. Some of the Corinthian Christians had been in the habit of visiting this and other heathen temples, and of participating in the scenes of feasting, riot and debauchery, which were carried on there as a part of the regular forms of idolatrous worship.

The public worship of the Corinthian church had been disturbed also by various irregularities which Paul reprehends;――the abuse of the gift of tongues, and the affectation of an unusual dress in preaching, both by men and women. In the conclusion of his epistle he expatiates too, at great length, on the doctrine of the resurrection of the body, vehemently arguing against some Corinthian heretics, who had denied any but a spiritual existence beyond the grave. This argument may justly be pronounced the best specimen of Paul’s very peculiar style, reasoning as he does, with a kind of passion, and interrupting the regular series of logical demonstrations, by fiery bursts of enthusiasm, personal appeals, poetical quotations, illustrative similes, violent denunciations of error, and striking references to his own circumstances. All these nevertheless, point very directly and connectedly at the great object of the argument, and the whole train of reasoning swells and mounts, towards the conclusion, in a manner most remarkably effective, constituting one of the most sublime argumentative passages ever written. He then closes the epistle with some directions about the mode of collecting the contributions for the brethren in Jerusalem. He promises to visit them, and make a long stay among them, when he goes on his journey through Macedonia,――a route which, he assures them, he had now determined to take, as mentioned by Luke, in his account of the preliminary mission of Timothy and Erastus, before the time of the mob at Ephesus; but should not leave Ephesus until after Pentecost, because a great and effectual door was there opened to him, and there were many opposers. He speaks of Timothy as being then on the mission before mentioned, and exhorts them not to despise this young brother, if he should visit them, as they might expect. After several other personal references, he signs his ♦own name with a general salutation; and from the terms, in which he expresses this particular mark already alluded to in the second epistle to the Thessalonians, it is very reasonable to conclude, that he was not his own penman in any of these epistles, but used an amanuensis, authenticating the whole by his signature, with his own hand, only at the end; and this opinion of his method of carrying on his correspondence, is now commonly, perhaps universally, adopted by the learned.

♦ “ownn,ame” replaced with “own name”

“Chapter xvi. 10, 11. ‘Now, if Timotheus come, see that he may
be with you without fear; for he worketh the work of the Lord,
as I also do: let no man therefore despise him, but conduct him
forth in peace, that he may come unto me, for I look for him
with the brethren.’

“From the passage considered in the preceding number, it appears
that Timothy was sent to Corinth, either with the epistle, or
before it: ‘for this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus.’
From the passage now quoted, we infer that Timothy was not sent
_with_ the epistle; for had he been the bearer of the letter, or
accompanied it, would St. Paul in that letter have said, ‘_if_
Timothy come?’ Nor is the sequel consistent with the supposition
of his carrying the letter; for if Timothy was with the apostle
when he wrote the letter, could he say, as he does, ‘I look for
him with the brethren?’ I conclude, therefore, that Timothy had
left St. Paul to proceed upon his journey before the letter was
written. Further, the passage before us seems to imply, that
Timothy was not expected by St. Paul to arrive at Corinth, till
after they had received the letter. He gives them directions in
the letter how to treat him when he should arrive: ‘if he come,’
act towards him so and so. Lastly, the whole form of expression
is more naturally applicable to the supposition of Timothy’s
coming to Corinth, not directly from St. Paul, but from some
other quarter; and that his instructions had been, when he
should reach Corinth, to return. Now, how stands this matter
in the history? Turn to the nineteenth chapter and twenty-first
verse of the Acts, and you will find that Timothy did not,
when sent from Ephesus, where he left St. Paul, and where the
present epistle was written, proceed by a straight course to
Corinth, but that he went round through Macedonia. This clears
up everything; for, although Timothy was sent forth upon his
journey before the letter was written, yet he might not reach
Corinth till after the letter arrived there; and he would come
to Corinth, when he did come, not directly from St. Paul, at
Ephesus, but from some part of Macedonia. Here therefore is
a circumstantial and critical agreement, and unquestionably
without design; for neither of the two passages in the epistle
mentions Timothy’s journey into Macedonia at all, though nothing
but a circuit of that kind can explain and reconcile the
expressions which the writer uses.” (Paley’s Horae Paulinae,
1 Corinthians No. IV.)

“Chapter v. 7, 8. ‘For even Christ, our passover, is sacrificed
for us; therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven,
neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the
unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.’

“Dr. Benson tells us, that from this passage, compared with
chapter xvi. 8, it has been conjectured that this epistle was
written about the time of the Jewish passover; and to me the
conjecture appears to be very well founded. The passage to which
Dr. Benson refers us, is this: ‘I will tarry at Ephesus until
Pentecost.’ With this passage he ought to have joined another
in the same context: ‘And it may be that I will abide, yea,
and winter with you:’ for, from the two passages laid together,
it follows that the epistle was written before Pentecost, yet
after winter; which necessarily determines the date to the part
of the year, within which the passover falls. It was written
before Pentecost, because he says, ‘I will tarry at Ephesus
until Pentecost.’ It was written after winter, because he tells
them, ‘It may be that I may abide, yea, and winter with you.’
The winter which the apostle purposed to pass at Corinth, was
undoubtedly the winter next ensuing to the date of the epistle;
yet it was a winter subsequent to the ensuing Pentecost, because
he did not intend to set forwards upon his journey till after
the feast. The words, ‘let us keep the feast, not with old
leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but
with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth,’ look very
much like words suggested by the season; at least they have,
upon that supposition, a force and significancy which do not
belong to them upon any other; and it is not a little remarkable,
that the hints casually dropped in the epistle, concerning
particular parts of the year, should coincide with this
supposition.” (Paley’s Horae Paulinae. 1 Corinthians. No. XII.)

SECOND VOYAGE TO EUROPE.

After the disturbances connected with the mob raised by Demetrius had wholly ceased, and public attention was no longer directed to the motions of the preachers of the Christian doctrine, Paul determined to execute the plan, which he had for some time contemplated, of going over his European fields of labor again, according to his universal and established custom of revisiting and confirming his work, within a moderately brief period after first opening the ground for evangelization. Assembling the disciples about him, he bade them farewell, and turning northward, came to Troas, whence, six or seven years before, he had set out on his first voyage to Macedonia. The plan of his journey, as he first arranged it, had been to sail from the shores of Asia Minor directly for Corinth. He had resolved however, not to go to that city, until the very disagreeable difficulties which had there arisen in the church, had been entirely removed, according to the directions given in the epistle which he had written to them from Ephesus; because he did not desire, after an absence of years, to visit them in such circumstances, when his Corinthian converts were divided among themselves, and against him,――and when his first duties would necessarily be those of a rigid censor. He therefore waited at Troas, with great impatience, for a message from them, announcing the settlement of all difficulties. This he expected to receive through Titus, a person now first mentioned in the apostle’s history. Waiting with great impatience for this beloved brother, he found no rest in his spirit, and though a door was evidently opened by the Lord for the preaching of the gospel in Troas, he had no spirit for the good work there; and desiring to be as near the great object of his anxieties as possible, he accordingly took leave of the brethren at Troas, and crossed the Aegean into Macedonia, by his former route. Here he remained in great distress of mind, until his soul was at last comforted by the long expected arrival of Titus. Luke only says, that he went over those parts and gave them much exhortation. But though his route is not given, his apostolic labors are known to have extended to the borders of Illyricum. At this time also, he made another important contribution to the list of the apostolic writings.

THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS.

There is no part of the New Testament canon, about the date of which all authorities are so well agreed, as on the place and time, at which Paul wrote his second epistle to the Corinthians. All authorities, ancient and modern, decide that it was written during the second visit of Paul to Macedonia; although as to the exact year in which this took place, they are not entirely unanimous. The passages in the epistle itself, which refer to Macedonia as the region in which the apostle then was, are so numerous indeed, that there can be no evasion of their evidence. A great topic of interest with him, at the time of writing this epistle, was the collecting of the contributions proposed for the relief of the Christian brethren in Jerusalem; and upon this he enlarges much, informing the Corinthians of the great progress he was making in Macedonia in this benevolent undertaking, and what high hopes he had entertained and expressed to the Macedonians, of the zeal and ability of those in Achaia, about the contributions. This matter had been noticed and arranged by him, in his former epistle to them, as already noticed, and he now proposed to send forward Titus and another person, (who is commonly supposed to be Luke,) to take charge of these funds, thus collected. He speaks of coming also himself, after a little time, and makes some allusions to the difficulties which had constituted the subject of the great part of his former epistle. Of their amendment in the particulars then so severely censured, he had received a full account through Titus, when that beloved brother came on from Corinth, to join Paul in Macedonia. Paul assures the Corinthians of the very great joy caused in him, by the good news of their moral and spiritual improvement, and renews his ardent protestations of deep affection for them. The incestuous person, whom they had excommunicated, in conformity with the denunciatory directions given in the former epistle, he now forgives; and as the offender has since appeared to be truly penitent, he now urges his restoration to the consolations of Christian fellowship, lest he should be swallowed up with too much sorrow. He defends his apostolic character for prudence and decision, against those who considered his change of plans about coming directly from Ephesus to Corinth, as an exhibition of lightness and unsettled purpose. His real object in this delay and change of purpose, as he tells them, was, that they might have time to profit by the reproofs contained in his former epistle, so that by the removal of the evils of which he so bitterly complained, he might finally be enabled to come to them, not in sorrow, nor in heaviness for their sins, but in joy for their reformation. This fervent hope had been fulfilled by the coming of Titus to Macedonia, for whom he had waited in vain, with so much anxiety at Troas, as the expected messenger of these tidings of their spiritual condition; and he was now therefore prepared to pass on to them from Macedonia, to which region he tells them he had gone from Troas, instead of to Corinth, because he had been disappointed about meeting Titus on the eastern side of the Aegean. With the exception of these things, the epistle is taken up with a very ample and eloquent exhibition of his true powers and office as an apostle; and in the course of this argument, so necessary for the re-establishment of his authority among those who had lately been disposed to contemn it, he makes many very interesting allusions to his own personal history. The date of the epistle is commonly supposed, and with good reason, to be A. D. 58, the fifth of Nero’s reign, and one year after the preceding epistle.

Illustration: MILETUS. Acts xx. 15‒17.

“Chapter ii. 12, 13. ‘When I came to Troas to preach Christ’s
gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord, I had no rest
in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother; but taking
my leave of them, I went from thence into Macedonia.’

“To establish a conformity between this passage and the history,
nothing more is necessary to be presumed, than that St. Paul
proceeded from Ephesus to Macedonia, upon the same course by
which he came back from Macedonia to Ephesus, or rather to
Miletus in the neighborhood of Ephesus; in other words, that,
in his journey to the peninsula of Greece, he went and returned
the same way. St. Paul is now in Macedonia, where he had lately
arrived from Ephesus. Our quotation imports that in his journey
he had stopped at Troas. Of this, the history says nothing,
leaving us only the short account, ‘that Paul departed from
Ephesus, for to go into Macedonia.’ But the history says, that
in his _return_ from Macedonia to Ephesus, ‘Paul sailed from
Philippi to _Troas_; and that, when the disciples came together
on the first day of the week, to break bread, Paul preached
unto them all night; that from Troas he went by land to Assos;
from Assos, taking ship and coasting along the front of Asia
Minor, he came by Mitylene to Miletus.’ Which account proves,
first, that Troas lay in the way by which St. Paul passed
between Ephesus and Macedonia; secondly, that he had disciples
there. In one journey between these two places, the epistle, and
in another journey between the same places, the history makes
him stop at this city. Of the first journey he is made to say,
‘that a door was in that city opened unto him of the Lord;’ in
the second, we find disciples there collected around him, and
the apostle exercising his ministry, with, what was even in him,
more than ordinary zeal and labor. The epistle, therefore, is
in this instance confirmed, if not by the terms, at least by
the probability of the history; a species of confirmation by
no means to be despised, because, as far as it reaches, it is
evidently uncontrived.

“Grotius, I know, refers the arrival at Troas, to which the
epistle alludes, to a different period, but I think very
improbably; for nothing appears to me more certain, than that
the meeting with Titus, which St. Paul expected at Troas,
was the same meeting which took place in Macedonia, viz. upon
Titus’s coming out of Greece. In the quotation before us, he
tells the Corinthians, ‘When I came to Troas, I had no rest in
my spirit, because I found not Titus, my brother; but, taking my
leave of them, I went from thence into Macedonia.’ Then in the
seventh chapter he writes, ‘When we were come into Macedonia,
our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side;
without were fightings, within were fears; nevertheless, God,
that comforteth them that are cast down, comforted us by the
coming of Titus.’ These two passages plainly relate to the
same journey of Titus, in meeting with whom St. Paul had been
disappointed at Troas, and rejoiced in Macedonia. And amongst
other reasons which fix the former passage to the coming of
Titus out of Greece, is the consideration, that it was nothing
to the Corinthians that St. Paul did not meet with Titus at
Troas, were it not that he was to bring intelligence from
Corinth. The mention of the disappointment in this place, upon
any other supposition, is irrelative.” (Paley’s Horae Paulinae.
2 Corinthians No. VIII.)

SECOND JOURNEY TO CORINTH.

Among his companions in Macedonia, was Timothy, his ever zealous and affectionate assistant in the apostolic ministry, who had been sent thither before him to prepare the way, and had been laboring in that region ever since, as plainly appears from the fact, that he is joined with Paul in the opening address of the second epistle to the Corinthians,――a circumstance in itself sufficient to overthrow a very common supposition of the critics,――that Timothy returned to Asia; that Paul at that time “left him in Ephesus,” and at this time wrote his first epistle to Timothy from Macedonia. It is also most probable that Timothy was the personal companion of Paul, not only during the whole period of his second ministration in Macedonia, but also accompanied him from that province to Corinth; because Timothy is distinctly mentioned by Luke, among those who went with Paul from Macedonia to Asia, after his brief second residence in that city. No particulars whatever are given by Luke of the labors of Paul in Corinth. From his epistles, however, it is learned that he was at this time occupied in part, in receiving the contributions made throughout Achaia for the church of Jerusalem, to which city he was now preparing to go. The difficulties, of which so much mention had been made in his epistles, were now entirely removed, and his work there doubtless went on without any of that opposition which had arisen after his first departure. There is however, one very important fact in his literary history, which took place in Corinth, during his residence there.

THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

From the very earliest period of apostolic labor, after the ascension, there appear to have been in Rome, some Jews who professed the faith of Jesus. Among the visitors in Jerusalem at the Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit first descended, were some from Rome, who sharing in the gifts of that remarkable effusion, and returning to their home in the imperial city, would there in themselves constitute the rudiment of a Christian church. It is perfectly certain that they had never been blessed in their own city with the personal presence of an apostle and all their associated action as a Christian church, must therefore have been entirely the result of a voluntary organization, suggested by the natural desire to keep up and to spread the doctrines which they had first received in Jerusalem, under such remarkable circumstances. Yet the members of the church would not be merely those who were converted at the Pentecost; for there was a constant influx of Jews from all parts of the world to Rome, and among these there would naturally be some who had participated in the light of the gospel, now so widely diffused throughout the eastern section of the world. There is moreover distinct information of certain persons of high qualifications, as Christian teachers, who had at Rome labored in the cause of the gospel, and had no doubt been among the most efficient means of that advancement of the Roman church, which seems to be implied in the communication now first made to them by Paul. Aquilas and Priscilla, who had been the intimate friends of Paul at Corinth, and who had been already so active and distinguished as laborers in the gospel cause, both in that city and in Ephesus, had returned to Rome on the death of Claudius, when that emperor’s foolish decree of banishment, against the Jews, expired along with its author, in the year of Christ, 54. These, on re-establishing their residence in Rome, made their own house a place of assembly for a part of the Christians in the capital, ――probably for such as resided in their own immediate neighborhood, while others sought different places, according as suited their convenience in this particular. Many other persons are mentioned by Paul at the close of this epistle, as having been active in the work of the gospel at Rome;――among whom Andronicus and Junias are particularly noticed with respect, as having highly distinguished themselves in apostolic labors. From all these evangelizing efforts, the church of Rome attained great importance, and was now in great need of the counsels and presence of an apostle, to confirm it, and impart to its members spiritual gifts. It had long been an object of attention and interest to Paul, and he had already expressed a determination to visit the imperial city, in the remarks which he made to the brethren at Ephesus, when he was making arrangements to go into Macedonia and Achaia. The way was afterwards opened for this visit, by a very peculiar providence, which he does not seem to have then anticipated; but while residing in Corinth, his attention being very particularly called to their spiritual condition, he could not wait till he should have an opportunity to see them personally, to counsel them; but wrote to them this very copious and elaborate epistle, which seems to have been the subject of more comment among dogmatic theologians, than almost any other portion of his writings, on account of its being supposed to furnish different polemic writers with the most important arguments for the peculiar dogmas of one or another, according to the fancy of each. It undoubtedly is the most doctrinal and didactic of all Paul’s epistles, alluding very little to local circumstances, which are the theme of so large a part of most of his writings, but attacking directly certain general errors entertained by the Jews, on the subject of justification, predestination, election, and many peculiar privileges which they attributed to themselves as the descendants of Abraham.

This epistle, like most of the rest, was written by an amanuensis, who is herein particularly named, as Tertius,――a word of Roman origin; but beyond this nothing else is known of him. It was carried to Rome by Phebe, an active female member of the church at Cenchreae, the port of Corinth, who happened to be journeying to Rome for some other purposes, and is earnestly recommended by Paul to the friendly regard of the church there.

RETURN TO ASIA.

After passing three months in Corinth, he took his departure from that city, on his pre-determined voyage to the east, the direction of which was somewhat changed by the information that the Jews of the place where he then was, were plotting some mischief against him, which he thought best to avoid by taking a different route from that before planned, which was a direct voyage to Syria. To escape the danger prepared for him by them, at his expected place of embarkation, he first turned northward by land, through Macedonia to Philippi, and thence sailed by the now familiar track over the Aegean to Troas. On this journey, he was accompanied by quite a retinue of apostolic assistants,――not only his faithful disciple and companion Timothy, but also Sosipater of Beroea, Aristarchus and Secundus of Thessalonica, Gaius, or Caius of Derbe, and Luke also, who now carries on the apostolic narrative in the first person, thus showing that he was himself a sharer in the adventures which he narrates. Besides these immediate companions, two brethren from Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus, took the direct route from Corinth to Troas, at which place they waited for the rest of the apostolic company, who took the circuitous route through Macedonia. The date of the departure of Paul is very exactly fixed by his companion Luke, who states that they left Philippi at the time of the passover, which was in the middle of March; and other circumstances have enabled modern critics to fix the occurrence in the year of Christ 59. After a five days’ voyage, arriving at Troas on Saturday, they made a stay of seven days in that place; and on the first day of the week, the Christians of that place having assembled for the communion usual on the Lord’s day, Paul preached to them: and as it was the last day of his stay, he grew very earnest in his discourse and protracted it very late, speaking two whole hours to the company, who were met in the great upper hall, where, in all Jewish houses, these festal entertainments and social meetings were always held. It was, of course, the evening, when the assembly met, for this was the usual time for a social party, and there were many lights in the room, which, with the number of people, must have made the air very warm, and had the not very surprising effect of causing drowsiness, in at least one of Paul’s hearers, a young man named ♦Eutychus, whose interest in what was said, could not keep his attention alive against the pressure of drowsiness. He fell asleep; and the occurrence must appear so very natural, (more particularly to any one, who has ever been so unfortunate as to be sleepy at an evening meeting, and knows what a painful sensation it is, though the drowsiness is wholly beyond the control of the reason,) that it can hardly be thought worth while to take pains, as some venerable commentators do, to suppose that the devil was very specially concerned in producing the sleep of Eutychus, and that the consequences which ensued, were an exhibition of divine wrath against the sleepy youth, for slumbering under the preaching of Paul. If the supposition holds equally good in all similar cases, the devil must be very busy on warm Sunday afternoons; and many a comfortable nap would be disturbed by unpleasant dreams, if the dozer could be made to think that his drowsiness was the particular work of the great adversary of souls, or that he was liable to suffer any such accident as Eutychus did, who, falling into a deeper sleep, and losing all muscular control and consciousness, sunk down from his seat, and slipping over the side of the gallery, in the third loft, fell into the court below, where he was taken up lifeless. But Paul hearing of the accident, stopped his discourse, and going down to the young man, fell on him and embraced him, saying, “Trouble not yourselves, for the life is in him.” And his words were verified by the result; for they soon brought him up alive, and were not a little comforted. Paul, certain of his recovery, did not suffer the accident to mar the enjoyment of the social farewell meeting; but going up and breaking bread with them all, talked with them a long time, passing the whole night in this pleasant way, and did not leave them till day-break, when he started to go by land over to Assos, about twenty-four miles south-east of Troas, on the Adramyttian gulf, which sets up between the north side of the island of Lesbos and the mainland. His companions, coming around by water, through the mouth of the gulf, took Paul on board at Assos, according to his plan; and then instead of turning back, and sailing out into the open sea, around the outside of Lesbos, ran up the gulf to the eastern end of the north coast of the island, where there is an other outlet to the gulf between the eastern shore of Lesbos and the continent. Sailing southward through this passage, after a course of between thirty and forty miles, they came to Mitylene, on the southeastern side of the island. Thence passing out of the strait, they sailed southwestwards, coming between Chios and the main-land, and arrived the next day at Trogyllium, at the southwest corner of Samos. Then turning their course towards the continent, they came in one day to Miletus, near the mouth of the ♠Meander, about forty miles south of Ephesus.

♦ “Entychus” replaced with “Eutychus”

♠ “Maeander” replaced with “Meander”

Landing here, and desiring much to see some of his Ephesian brethren before his departure to Jerusalem, he sent to the elders of the church in that city, and on their arrival poured out his whole soul to them in a parting address, which for pathetic earnestness and touching beauty, is certainly, beyond any doubt, the most splendid passage that all the records of ancient eloquence can furnish. No force can be added to it by a new version, nor can any recapitulation of its substance do justice to its beauty. At the close, took place a most affecting farewell. In the simple and forcible description of Luke, (who was himself present at the moving scene, seeing and hearing all he narrates,)――“When Paul had thus spoken, he kneeled down and prayed with them all.” The subjects of this prayer were the guardians of that little flock which he, amid perils and death, had gathered from the heathen waste of Ionic Asia, to the fold of Christ. When he left it last, the raging wolves of persecution and wrath,――the wild beasts of Ephesus,――were howling death and destruction to the devoted believers of Christ, and they were still environed with temptations and dangers, that threatened to overwhelm these feeble ones, left thus early without the fostering care of their apostolic shepherd. Passing on his way to the great scene of his coming trials, he could not venture among them to give them his parting counsels, and could now only intrust to their constituted guardians, this dear charge, with renewed exhortations to them to be faithful, as in the presence of their God, to those objects of his labors, his cares, his prayers, and his daily tears. Amid the sorrows of that long farewell, arose on the prophetic vision of the apostle some gloomy foreshadowings of future woes to fall on that Ephesian charge, and this deepened the melancholy feeling of his heart almost to agony. This no doubt was the burden of his last prayer, when with their elders, and for them, he kneeled down on the shore and sent up in earnest petition to God, that voice which they were doomed to hear no more forever.

Such passages as this in the life and words of Paul, constitute a noble addition to the reader’s idea of his character. They show how nobly were intermingled in the varied frame of his spirit, the affectionate, the soft, and the winning traits, with the high, the stern, and the bitter feelings that so often were called out by the unparalleled trials of his situation. They show ♦that he truly felt and acted out, to the life, that divine principle of Christian love which inspired the most eloquent effort of his pen;――and that he trusted not to the wonder-working powers that moved his lips, as with the eloquence of men and angels,――not to the martyr-spirit, that, sacrificing all earthly substance, devoted itself to the raging flames of persecution, in the cause of God,――not to the genius whose discursive glance searched all the mysteries of human and divine knowledge,――but to that pure, exalted and exalting spirit of ardent love for those for whom he lived like his Savior, and for whom he was ready to die like him, also. This was the inspiration of his words, his writings, and his actions,――the motive and spirit of his devotion,――the energy of his being. Wherever he went and whatever he did,――in spite of the frequent passionate outbreaks of his rougher nature, this honest, fervent, animated spirit of charity, ――glowing not to inflame, but to melt,――softened the austerities of his character, and kindled in all who truly knew him, a deep and lasting affection for him, like that which was so strikingly manifested on this occasion. Who can wonder that to a man thus constituted, the lingering Ephesians still clung with such enthusiastic attachment? In the fervid action of that oriental clime, they fell on his neck and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the words which he said,――that they should see his face no more. Still loth to take their last look at one so loved, they accompanied him to the ship, which bore him away from them, to perils, sufferings and chains.

♦ duplicate word “that” removed

“_Assos_ was a sea-port town, situated on the south-west part
of the province of Troas, and over against the island Lesbos.
By land it is much nearer Troas than by sea, because of a
promontory that runs a great way into the sea, and must be
doubled to come to Assos, which was perhaps the reason that
the apostle chose rather to walk it.” (Wells’s Geography and
Calmet’s Commentary.)

Illustration: MYTELENE. Acts xx. 14.

“_Mitylene_, (chapter xx. verse 14,) was one of the principal
cities in the island of Lesbos, situated on a peninsula with a
commodious haven on each side; the whole island was also called
by that name, as well as Pentapolis, from the five cities in it,
viz. Issa or Antissa, Pyrrhe, Eressos, Arisba, and Mitylene. It
is at present called Metelin. The island is one of the largest
in the Archipelago, and was renowned for the many eminent
persons it produced; such as Sappho, the inventress of Sapphic
verses,――Alcaeus, a famous lyric poet,――Pittacus, one of the
seven wise men of Greece,――Theophrastus, the noble physician and
philosopher,――and Arion, the celebrated musician. It is now in
the possession of the Turks. As mentioned by St. Luke, it may
be understood either the island or the city itself.” (Wells’s
Geography and Whitby’s Table.)

“_Chios_, (verse 15,) was an island in the Archipelago, next
to Lesbos, both as to situation and size. It lies over against
Smyrna, and is not above four leagues distant from the Asiatic
continent. Horace and Martial celebrate it for the wine and figs
that it produced. It is now renowned for producing the best
mastic in the world.

“Sir Paul Ricaut, in his ‘Present State of the Greek Church,’
tells us, that there is no place in the Turkish dominions where
Christians enjoy more freedom in their religion and estates
than in this island, to which they are entitled by an ancient
capitulation made with Sultan Mahomet II.” (Wells’s Geography.)

“_Samos_, (verse 15,) was another island of the Archipelago,
lying south-east of Chios, and about five miles from the Asiatic
continent. It was famous among heathen writers for the worship
of Juno; for one of the Sibyls called Sibylla Samiana; for
Pherecydes, who foretold an earthquake that happened there, by
drinking of the waters; and more especially for the birth of
Pythagoras. It was formerly a free commonwealth; at present, the
Turks have reduced it to a mean and depopulated condition; so
that ever since the year 1676, no Turk has ventured to live on
it on account of its being frequented by pirates, who carry all
whom they take into captivity.” (Wells’s Geography and Whitby’s
Table.)

“_Trogyllium_, (verse 15,) is a promontory at the foot of Mount
Mycale, opposite to, and five miles from Samos: there was also a
town there of the same name, mentioned by Pliny, Lib. v, c. 29.
p. 295.” (Whitby’s Table.)

“_Miletus_, (verse 15,) a sea-port town on the continent of Asia
Minor, and in the province of Caria, memorable for being the
birth-place of Thales, one of the seven wise men of Greece, and
father of the Ionic philosophy; of Anaximander, his scholar;
Timotheus, the musician; and Anaximenes, the philosopher. It
is called now, by the Turks, Melas; and not far distant from it
is the true Meander.” (Whitby’s Table and Wells’s Geography.)
[Williams on Pearson. pp. 66, 67.]

Tearing himself thus from the embraces of his Ephesian brethren, Paul sailed off to the southward, hurrying on to Jerusalem, in order to reach there if possible, before the Pentecost. After leaving Miletus, the apostolic company made a straight course to Coos, and then rounding the great northwestern angle of Asia Minor, turned eastwardly to Rhodes, and passing probably through the strait, between that island and the continent, landed at Patara, a town on the coast of Lycia, which was the destination of their first vessel. They therefore at this place engaged a passage in a vessel bound to Tyre, and holding on southeastward, came next in sight of Cyprus, which they passed, leaving it on the left, and then steering straight for the Syrian coast, landed at Tyre, where their vessel was to unlade; so that they were detained here for a whole week, which they passed in the company of some Christian brethren who constituted a church there. These Tyrian disciples hearing of Paul’s plan to visit Jerusalem, and knowing the dangers to which he would there be exposed by the deadly hate of the Jews, were very urgent with him against his journey; but he still resolutely held on his course, as soon as a passage could be procured, and bade them farewell, with prayer on the shore, to which the brethren accompanied him with their women and children. Standing off from the shore, they then sailed on south, to Ptolemais, where they spent a day with the Christians in that place, and then re-embarking, and passing round the promontory of Carmel, reached Caesarea, where their sea-voyage terminated. Here they passed several days in the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the seven deacons, who had four daughters that were prophetesses. While they were resting themselves in this truly religious family, from the fatigues of their long voyage, they were visited by Agabus, a prophet from Jerusalem,――the same who had formerly visited Antioch when Paul was there, and who had then foretold the coming famine, which threatened all the world. This remarkable man predicted to Paul the misfortunes which awaited him in Jerusalem. In the solemnly impressive dramatic action of the ancient prophets, he took Paul’s girdle, and binding his own hands with it, said――“Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem, bind the man that owns this girdle, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles.’” On hearing this melancholy announcement, all the companions of Paul and the Christians of Caesarea, united in beseeching Paul to give up his purpose of visiting Jerusalem. But he, resolute against all entreaty, declared himself ready not only to be bound, but to die in Jerusalem for the Lord Jesus. And when they found that he would not be persuaded, they all ceased to harass him with their supplications, and resigned him to Providence, saying,――“The will of the Lord be done.” They then all took carriages, and rode up to Jerusalem, accompanied by some brethren from Caesarea, and by Mnason, an old believer, formerly of Cyprus, but now of Jerusalem, who had engaged them as his guests in that city.

“_Coos_, (chapter xxi. verse 1,) an island in the Aegean or
Icarian sea, near Mnydos and Cnidus, which had a city of the
same name, from which Hippocrates, the celebrated physician, and
Apelles, the famous painter, were called Coi. Here was a large
temple of Aesculapius, and another of Juno. It abounded in
rich wines, and is very often mentioned by the classic poets.”
(Whitby’s Alphabetic Table.)

Witsius very absurdly defines the situation of this island
by saying that it is “_near Crete_.”――“Coos, quae maris
Mediterranei insula est _prope Cretam_.” It is in the Aegean sea
properly, and _not_ in the Mediterranean; and can not be less
than one hundred and twenty miles from Crete, much farther
off from it than is Rhodes,――the next island in Paul’s route,
and there are many islands between Coos and Crete, so that the
statement gives no just idea of the situation of the island. It
would be as proper to say that Barbadoes is _near Cuba_, or the
isle of Man _near France_.

“_Rhodes_, (verse 1,) an island, supposed to have taken its name
απο των Ροδων from the many roses which were known to grow there.
It lies south of the province of Caria, and it is accounted next
to Cyprus and Lesbos, for its dignity among the Asiatic islands.
It was remarkable among the ancients for the expertness of
its inhabitants in navigation; for a college, in which the
students were eminent for eloquence and mathematics; and for the
clearness of its air, insomuch that there was not a day in which
the sun did not shine upon it; and more especially celebrated
for its prodigious statue of brass, consecrated especially to
the sun, and called his Colossus. This statue was seventy cubits
high, and every finger as large as an ordinary sized man, and
as it stood astride over the mouth of the harbor, ships passed
under its legs.” (Whitby’s Table and Wells’s Geography.)
[Williams on Pearson, pp. 67, 68.]

LAST VISIT TO JERUSALEM.