to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Which thing I also did at Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them. And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and, being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities. Whereupon, as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, at midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me. And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, to open their eyes, and to turn them

from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision but shewed first unto them at Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance. For these causes the Jews caught me in the temple, and went about to kill me. Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come: that Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles." And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, " Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad." But he said, "I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness. For the king knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for

this thing was not done in a corner. King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest."

Agrippa was so struck with this noble defence that he exclaimed, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian!" to which the apostle replied, "I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds." Paul's innocence was now clearly established, and he would most probably have been set at liberty but for his own appeal to the imperial tribunal. A ship was soon afterwards obtained, and he was sent to Italy. He was wrecked on the voyage near the little island of Melita, which some have supposed to be the same as Malta, but, by the gracious protection of Providence, the crew and all the passengers escaped to the shore.

After their escape, Paul kindled a fire, and a viper, animated by the heat, fastened upon his hand. The inhabitants of the island supposed that this new danger was a punishment for guilt, but, when Paul shook off the venomous reptile into the flames without suffering any hurt, they changed their minds, and began to think he was a god.

The remainder of the journey to Rome was per

When Paul reached

formed without any accident. the city, he went to the Jewish synagogue which had been long established there, and preached to his brethren the glorious name of Jesus. God blessed his efforts; a flourishing Christian church was established in Rome, and thus the malice of the Jews led to the establishment of the religion of the gospel in the capital of the empire.

Though St. Paul, as he himself tells us, laboured more abundantly than all the other apostles, yet their exertions for the diffusion of the gospel were great and strenuous. They were exposed to frequent and bitter persecutions from the inveterate hatred of the Jews, and, when Herod Antipas wished to please that people, his first act was to put James, the brother of John, to death. But these persecutions, instead of weakening the church, greatly strengthened it; the noble example of the martyrs who died for the truth led many to meditate on the value of a religion which enabled men to triumph over the terrors of death, and many of those who witnessed the constancy of the faith displayed by the sufferers became converts. At the same time those who fled from the heat of persecution carried the glad tidings of the gospel into distant lands, so that in less than

half a century after our Lord's resurrection his religion had been preached throughout every part of the Roman empire.

CHAPTER XXIII.

THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM.

OUR blessed Lord, shortly before his death, foretold, as has already been mentioned, the complete destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion of the Jews over the face of the earth as a punishment for their incredulity and hardness of heart. When his disciples asked what should be the signs of approaching ruin, he replied, "Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom : and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows."

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