"It is his angel :" they thought it was some heavenly messenger that had assumed his form to bring them some news about him.

As Peter continued knocking, they went and opened the door, and, to their astonishment, they saw' Peter himself, and he then told them how he had escaped.

When daylight came, Peter being missed from the prison, the soldiers were all in alarm; and Herod, on being told what had happened, was so enraged, that he ordered the poor soldiers to be put to death, or executed, as we say, for their negligence.

Herod now left Jerusalem, and went on a journey to Cesarea, a city about fifty-five miles from it. Here he was visited by some persons of importance, who were sent from the people of Tyre and Sidon, to reconcile him after some offence which he had taken, and on account of which they feared he would make war against them. This would have been ruin to them, for they lived by merchandise, which they could not then so extensively sell; and as they were not accustomed to the labors of the field, they were also "nourished by the king's country;" that is, received their food from it, especially their corn. Herod appointed a day to receive the supplicants, as

HEROD RECEIVING SUPPLICANTS.

he sat on his throne, and being very splendidly dressed with robes which Josephus, the Jewish historian, says were richly worked with silver, that sparkled brilliantly in the sun, he delivered a speech to the ambassadors of Tyre and Sidon, in the presence of a great multitude of people. The foolish people, in order to compli

moment the king, cried out, "It is the voice of

a god, and not of a man." The more foolish king was delighted with this praise, and instead of reproving them for their blasphemy, in so extolling a poor dying mortal

like themselves, he silently heard and rejoiced in their flattery. But God can punish kings that offend him, as well as poor men; and while this impious king was setting himself up for a god, an angel secretly smote him "because he gave not God the glory" in reproving the profane people, "and he was eaten of worms," and died.

The Travels, Sufferings, and Success of Paul and Barnabas.

ACTS XIII., XIV.

IN this chapter we find Barnabas and Paul travelling about together to

preach the gospel. They went to Seleucia, a city of Syria, and thence "they sailed to Cyprus," an island in the Mediterranean Sea. There they visited Salamis, a chief city of Cyprus; and thence they proceeded to Paphos, on the same island.

We are here told that Saul was also called Paul. It was common to have two names of these kinds; for Saul was the Hebrew name by which this apostle was known among the Jews, but Paul was his Roman name.

From Paphos they next "came to Perga, in Pamphylia," a country in Asia, of which Perga was the chief city; and from Perga "they came to Antioch in Pisidia," so called to distinguish it from Antioch in Syria. Here they went into the synagogue on the Sabbath-day, and were invited by the rulers to speak; and Paul preached a sermon to the people, the design of which was to show that Jesus was the Messiah, the anointed one of God, for whom the Jews had long looked; that he was of the seed of David, as foretold by the prophets; that though he had died, he had also risen again, and that now they were come to preach salvation in his name.

The people were so struck with this sermon that they wanted to have another on the next Sabbath; but the rulers would not allow of it, for they were jealous because the preacher had attracted so much attention. Then Paul and Barnabas told them that since they had refused to hear any more about Christ, they should carry the glad tidings to the Gentiles or heathen, which the heathen, at Antioch, were glad to learn; and many of them heard the holy preachers and believed.

The Jews then raised a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and got some women who had gained fame as devout women from their attention' to the laws of their religion, and who were also of rich families, to help them in driving these servants of Christ out of the city. So they shook the dust

off their feet, as Christ had told them to do if their message was not received in any place, as a sign of displeasure against it, and they "came unto Iconium," another place on the borders of the country.

At Iconium they again went into the Jews' synagogue, and "a great multitude," both of the Jews and also of the Greeks, believed their divine 'message.

But the Jews and Greeks were now greatly divided among themselves; some of them believed, and some of them did not believe, notwithstanding all the divine proofs of the heavenly message; and as parties rose very high, and it was determined by some that they would even stone Paul and Barnabas, they left the place, that they might carry the gospel elsewhere, where the hearts of many more would be ready to receive it.

WORSHIPPING JUPITER

They now "fled unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia," at no great distance, "and there they preached the gospel."

Here a man, who was born a cripple, was sitting to hear a discourse, when the apostle Paul, perceiving that he had

faith in the truth of his message, addressed him before all the people, and "said, with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy fect; and he leaped and

walked."

that they said,

They thought They knew no

The heathen people were so astonished and delighted, "The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men." there were many gods, and that these were two of them. better, not having the Scriptures; and they took Barnabas for Jupiter, one of their gods, and Paul for Mercury, another of them; and according to

their custom of worshipping and honoring their deities, the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people, that is, have sacrificed the oxen to Paul and Barnabas; but the apostles rent their clothes, as the Jews did when they heard blasphemy, and showed what horror they felt, that the people should make such a mistake. They then declared they were only men, and exhorted them to cast off their false gods, and believe in "the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein." The people were, however, even then with difficulty prevented from worshipping the apostles. Yet notwithstanding this servile adoration of them, when, soon after, some Jews arrived in the city from Antioch and Iconium, who told them how the apostles had been driven from those places, and spoke against them-these same people who had seen the miracle performed on the lame man, and would then have adored the apostles, now were persuaded to stone Paul, so fickle were they; and they hurt him so much that he appeared to be dead, and his body was dragged by them out of the city. He must have been dreadfully injured by this treatment; but God left the people without excuse for future punishment, in thus treating his servant, and tried the boldness of Paul in his cause; and when he was left for dead, he wonderfully restored him, so that he was immediately able to pursue his journey to another place; "and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe," a city of Lycaonia, as mentioned in the sixth verse, and there they made many disciples; and then they revisited Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, to instruct, comfort, and establish the minds of those that had believed, that they might not be frightened at their persecutions.

Here the Christians now formed themselves into churches, congregations of faithful men; and the apostles having taught them and prayed with them, set them in order, and appointed proper persons from among them to manage the worship of God, and for other Christian purposes.

Then they passed through Pisidia, the country where Antioch was, and came to Pamphylia, in Asia, and preached at Perga in that country, and thence went into Attalia, a sea-coast town on the borders of the Mediterranean Sea. Then they took shipping and sailed to the other Antioch, which was in Syria, and delighted the Christians there by telling them of their travels, and of the great success which, notwithstanding all opposition, had attended their preaching of the gospel of Christ-"And there they abode a long time with the disciples."

Disputes among the Christians at Jerusalem settled by the Apostles.

ACTS XV., XVI.

HILE Paul and Barnabas were at Antioch, in Syria, some persons

WHI

from Jerusalem came to Antioch, and raised a dispute. Paul and Barnabas, therefore, went to Jerusalem, to settle the question.

The affair being quietly settled, Paul and Barnabas now resolved on revisiting all the places where they had preached the gospel; and Barnabas wished John, whose surname was Mark, to accompany them; but he having been their companion on a former occasion, and left them to bear their labors and dangers alone, in a manner that did not quite please Paul, who perhaps thought him timid, or not sufficiently zealous, Paul did not wish to have his help. This caused a misunderstanding between Paul and Barnabas, and so they parted company. Barnabas, taking Mark with him, sailed to Cyprus, an island in the Mediterranean Sea, and, as we learn in the latter part of the fourth chapter, the native place of Barnabas. Paul, accompanied by Silas, took another route, and went through Syria and Cilicia, which was his native country, and visited the churches or assemblies of Christians, whom he had before brought, through his preaching, to receive the religion of Christ.

Among the places visited again by the apostle Paul were Derbe and Lystra. At the latter place he found a young disciple named Timotheus,

spirit, but as the Jews would not have allowed him to speak in the synagogues unless he had been circumcised, Paul therefore "took and circumcised him, because of the Jews which were in those quarters; " who, knowing that