turned the water into wine is exerted every day in causing the bud to grow, to put forth its leaves, in ripening the grapes, and in that process that turns the grapes into wine. That same power that turned the water into wine by a word, is exerted in turning earth, and dews, and rains, and sunshine into grapes every day in every country of Europe; is the very same power that changed the heart of Saul the persecutor into the heart of Paul the Christian and the preacher; and is exerted every day in regenerating the hearts, enlightening the minds, and sanctifying the nature of all that truly believe. It was not a different power that turned five loaves and two fishes into food for thousands from that which is put forth in turning the blade into the stalk, and the stalk into the ear, and the ear into the bread that is placed upon our table. It is the same power differently developed: exerted in the one case amid all the splendour of what we call a miracle; exerted in the other in the quiet, silent, but no less supernatural process of every-day vegetation. So now, in the change of a human heart, it is the very same power, but not exerted with the same concomitants of supernatural pomp and grandeur, that changes the human heart, and turns every natural man in the nineteenth century into a son of God, and into an heir of glory. What is needed at the present day is the inspiration of the Spirit of God. And why is not that more general? Because men do not feel profoundly their need of it, and do not fervently pray for their possession of it. "For if ye being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will my Father who is in heaven give his Holy Spirit unto them that ask him."

CHAPTER XXIII.

CONTROVERSY IS DUTY-ERROR NOT ALTERED BY SINCERITY-DECISION -PAUL'S APPEAL-THE HIGH-PRIEST'S INJUSTICE-PAUL'S PREDICTION OF HIS DEATH-THE HIGH-PRIEST AT THIS TIME-PAUL'S CENSURE OF THE HIGH-PRIEST-PAUL'S SETTING SADDUCEE AND PHARISEE AT ISSUE-PERSECUTION-THE PAGAN SUPERIOR TO THE PHARISEE.

THE very first thought that would strike an extremely latitudinarian reader of the chapter-not liberal, for that is right, but latitudinarian—would be some such thought as this: "What a pity that any man upon earth should have so disturbed the peace and quiet of society, set Jerusalem in an uproar, put the Sadducees against the Pharisees, and the Sanhedrim against the state, and troubled men all about a mere matter of opinion. What a pity," they would naturally say, "to raise such a controversy, in order to inculcate a dogma, however important that may be." Just in the same manner as they say in present times: "Why cannot you let every man go to heaven in his own way? Why disturb him in his conscientious and sincere convictions? What a pity to enter into controversy, and talk with great earnestness, and even with violence apparently, in order to convince men, who do not seem willing to be convinced, that you are right, and who conscientiously believe that their own way is the best." If Paul had listened to such remonstrances as these,

Jerusalem had not heard the Gospel as it did; Rome had not been blessed with the presence of so illustrious an ambassador of peace. And if it be true that the footsteps of Paul so far consecrated the shores of England, we might not, perhaps, have heard of those glorious truths which it is our privilege now alike to understand, to propagate, and to rejoice in. The fact is, that, if what Paul preached was essential to the salvation of souls, it became his duty, his solemn duty, at all places, on all occasions, and in spite of a world turned upside down, to preach and press those truths, that his Master might be honoured, and that souls might be saved.

That man who lives in the belief of error is not safe because he sincerely believes his error to be truth. The sincerity with which a man holds to an error makes me entertain the greatest respect for the man, for he is no · hypocrite; but it makes me no less detest the error, or less earnestly endeavour to undeceive him. You must never confound these two things, and suppose that a man is safe just because he is sincere, or that error ceases to be error the moment it receives for an ally sincerity in him that holds it. If you apply it to physical things, you find such a principle fail. If a man drinks prussic-acid, believing it to be tea, he is not the less poisoned because he sincerely believed it to be wholesome. And so he that imbibes error is not the less injured by the error, nor is the error in the least affected by his mistake; for he feels all the consequences of the error whether he be sincere or not in accepting that error. Because a man is a sincere and a conscientious worshipper of the Virgin Mary, I will respect him-I will love him; but because he is living

in the practice of gross idolatry, I will do my best to teach him a more excellent way. But you say, Is it not a pity to make such a noise about it? Is it not possible to keep one's sentiments, or to speak them so quietly that men will not be disturbed, agitated, and convulsed by it? I do not believe that this can be so with Christianity, from the very nature of the thing. We are made to love and to hate; some things we ought to hate; some things we ought supremely to love. I can see no medium between hating Christianity as the most scandalous imposture that ever was palmed upon mankind, or loving it with all our hearts as the very wisdom of God, and the power of God unto salvation. I do respect the enthusiastic infidel, who leaves no stone unturned to destroy the Gospel: I understand him-I deplore his awful career; but I see he is truly convinced, and I see him acting most consistently with his deep and fixed convictions. I respect the out-andout Christian, who leaves no stone unturned that is lawful to spread this Gospel, to exhibit its influence, and to make men acquainted with all its blessed results. But the man who is neither cold nor hot, who has not the manliness to be a sceptic, and has not the grace to be a Christian, is like salt that has lost its savour; he is only fit to be cast out and to be trodden under foot; his career is inconsistent, his position is a huge and criminal inconsistency.

When Paul was a persecutor, he was out-and-out a persecutor; when Paul became a Christian, he was a thorough Christian. He had all the fervour of a deep conviction; and while that conviction lasted—and it lasted through life-that Jesus is the only Saviour, and men perishing without him, he spent and was

spent, and in good report and bad report essayed to spread that blessed Gospel, which to the Jew was a stumbling-block and to the Greek foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, the wisdom of God, and the power of God unto salvation.

It is this that explains the excitement recorded in this episode in the history and life of the apostle. He was called by the chief captain, when accused and abused, to make the best apology or defence that he could. He did so. The expression, "earnestly beholding," is extremely intense in the original. Some have thought that it implies that the apostle was extremely near-sighted, almost blind-a tradition that does exist, but, whether true or not, it is difficult to say; but, at all events, the word here means looking with intensity -concentrating his eyesight, as it were, upon the council. He addressed them and said—" Men and brethren "-fellow-men and brothers, of the same country, and originally of the same creed-"I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day." But what did he mean by that? "When I persecuted the Christians I believed I was doing God service; and now, when I preach Christianity, I believe the same. So that whether I be right or wrong, you can testify that whatever I did, I did it from the very heart, from the best of motives, and for the sincerest of ends." Well, the moment that the high-priest heard this, he perpetrated an atrocious act, so inconsistent with the dignity of a judge, with the justice of a court, with fair play to the accused; "he commanded them that stood by to smite him on the mouth." "Then Paul said unto him, God shall smite thee”—not a a curse, but a prediction, and a prediction that was