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letters to Damascus, to the synagogues; that if he found any of that way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem," Acts ix. 1. As Saul and his company drew near to the city, about mid-day, he was surprised by a light from heaven, surpassing the brightness of the sun, shining round about him, and those that journeyed with him; and so overpowering were the effects of this phoenomenon that Saul "fell to the earth as dead." While lying prostrate on the ground, he heard a voice thus accosting him: "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" And on his inquiring who the speaker was? it was answered, "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 those things which thou hast seen, and of those things in which I will appear unto thee; delivering thee from the people of the Jews, and from the Gentiles, unto whom I send thee, to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness unto 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 which is in me," Acts xxvi. 16. Thus was Saul "a chosen vessel to bear the name of Jesus before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel," Acts ix. 15.

It is incompatible with the limits of this Lecture to trace the apostle's history in minute detail from this period; we can only seize the more prominent features. Having received baptism at the hands of Ananias, "he straightway preached Christ in the synagogues of Damascus, that he is the Son of God." Acts ix. 20. After this, he spent two years in Arabia, and on his return proceeded to Jerusalem to see the apostle Peter, with whom he continued fifteen days, Gal. i. 18; and then quitting Jerusalem he retired to Tarsus his native city.

It seems to have been about this time that the Gospel was crowned with great success in the city of Antioch, the capital of Syria. This was one of the principal cities of the east, and to it the third place was assigned in civil affairs, being in size, opulence, and power, inferior only to Rome and Alexandria. Here the first church of Gentile converts was erected-here the disciples of Jesus were first called Christians, and here commenced the apostolic labours of Saul of Tarsus.

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The church at Jerusalem having heard of what had taken place at Antioch, and solicitous for the edification of the disciples, sent Barnabas thither, who, on his arrival, finding the necessities of the church more than a single individual was adequate unto, proceeded into Cilicia, in quest of Saul; and, having found him, brought him to Antioch. Here he continued a whole year, assembling with the church, and instructing much people, Acts xi. 26.

In process of time, when their labours in the church at Antioch could be dispensed with, Barnabas and Saul were, by divine direction, solemnly set apart by prayer and fasting, accompanied by the imposition of hands, for their apostolic mission among the Gentiles; and, taking their departure by way of Seleucia, they sailed for the island of Cyprus. This was the native country of Barnabas, and in Salamis, which is an ancient sea-port, the apostles found several synagogues, into which they entered, and preached the word of the Lord. Having gone through the island, they came to Paphos, where Sergius Paulus, a prudent man, then resided, in the capacity of Governor. The latter sent for Paul and Barnabas, and requested to hear from them the word of the Lord. There was with the governor one Elymas, a Jewish sorcerer, or false prophet, who withstood their doctrine, and sought to turn away the deputy from the faith. Saul, who from this time obtained the name of Paul, inflicted a temporary blindness on him, and the deputy, "when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord," Acts xiii. 1—12. This was Paul's first apostolic journey to the Gentiles his route was Antioch, Seleucia, Salamis, Paphos, and it was accomplished about the year of our Lord 44. It is bable that a Christian church was planted at both Salamis and Paphos, though we have no express mention of it. Leaving Paphos, they returned to Perga, in Pamphylia; where Mark, who had accompanied them on the mission, took his leave and returned to Jerusalem.

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Of the success of the apostle's ministry at Perga we have no record; but we know there were certain Jews from Pamphylia at Jerusalem, on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out in a miraculous manner, and three thousand were converted to the faith. It is not unreasonable to suppose

that some of the Pamphylian Jews were among the converts, and would carry the Gospel with them to Perga, on their return home, and lay the foundation of a Christian church. It seems that these missionaries did not stop at Perga on the first visit, but passed through it to Antioch, in Pisidia, and returned thither after a time, and there preached the word. See Acts xiv. 25.

Arriving at Antioch, in Pisidia, a city of the latter province, they found a synagogue of the Jews to which they resorted on the sabbath day, and, after the reading of the lessons, the rulers invited the strangers to speak unto the people. Paul accepted the invitation, and delivered that memorable sermon, the substance of which we have recorded, Acts xiii. 16-43. This was crowned with a harvest of converts, principally from among the idolatrous Gentiles, which so incensed the Jews that they contradicted and opposed what was spoken by Paul. The apostles, seeing the obstinate fury of the Jews, separated the believers and formed them into a church; and the new disciples were "filled with joy and, with the Holy Spirit," ver. 52.

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From Antioch Paul and Barnabus proceeded to Iconium, where their ministry was blessed to the conversion of a multitude, both Jews and Greeks. Here they resided a considerable time, preaching Christ crucified, and confirming their doctrine by miracles. Finding persecution grow hot, they fled to Lystra and Derbe, two cities in the province of Lycaonia. At the former place, the stupid populace took them for heathen deities, calling Barnabas Jupiter, and Paul Mercury; and even offered to sacrifice to them as unto gods. In a little time, however, they altered their opinion of them, and allowed some Jews, who had come from Antioch and Iconium, to stone Paul till he was apparently dead, and then to drag him out of the city, where they left him. After a short absence at Derbe, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, with the view of confirming the souls of the disciples, and setting the churches in order, with their elders and deacons; after which they passed through Pisidia, Pamphylia, and Attalia, and so returned to Antioch, whence they set out, Acts xiv. 26.

Interesting and important as their first missionary tour was, the second is much more so. After making the church at Antioch acquainted with all that God had done by their means,

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they continued a considerable time with the disciples there, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord. At length, quitting Antioch, they proceeded through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches. Thence they returned to Derbe and Lystra, and, taking Timothy with them, they proceeded to Mysia, intending to go into Bithynia; but, being supernaturally warned in a vision, they altered their course and came to Troas. Obedient to the divine intimation, they proceeded to Philippi, which had been colonized by the Romans, and was at this time the chief city of Macedonia. Finding a Jewish synagogue here, or house of prayer, they resorted to it on the sabbath day, and addressed themselves to some females who had come to worship. One of them, whose name was Lydia, a dealer in purple, and who had come from Thyatira, had her attention arrested by what they said to her, "and the Lord opened her heart to attend to the things that were spoken by Paul: " the consequence was, that Lydia was baptized and her domestics also. The apostles were afterwards imprisoned for expelling a demon from a young woman, and this led to the conversion of the jailer and his household; and with these things commenced the church at Philippi, one of the most renowned of the apostolic churches. Acts xvi.

We are now arrived at that particular point in the present Lecture which appeared to me the most proper place for directing your attention to the apostolic method of propagating Christianity among the Jews; and the subject is of sufficient importance to justify me in suspending the narrative, while I offer a few observations upon it.

Before the Saviour left the earth, he directed his apostles to tarry at Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on high”—and at the same time intimated his will," that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem," Luke xxiv. 47, 49. Now it deserves your notice how scrupulously attentive the apostles were to their Lord's command in this matter. From his ascension into heaven to the day of Pentecost was an interval of fifty days, during which the apostles continued at Jerusalem, assembling for the worship of God with the 120 disciples, waiting the fulfilment of his promise. At length the day of Pentecost arrrived, and the Holy Spirit descended upon them in

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all his miraculous gifts, as you have it recorded, Acts. ii. No sooner had this taken place than Peter preached the Gospel to an assembled multitude, of whom three thousand were converted to the faith, baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and added to the church.

In the next chapter we have an account of the same apostle addressing the unbelieving Jews on the same subject, the Messiahship of Jesus, in the following terms:-"Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, ‘And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.' Unto you, first, God having raised up his son Jesus sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities," ch. iii. 25, 26. And this shows us how "repentance and remission of sins" began to be preached first at Jerusalem, the place of his crucifixion, and among his very murderers. It is of importance to you to observe that the very same order was attended to by the apostle Paul and his associates when carrying the Gospel among the Gentiles. Into whatever city the providence of God directed their steps, if there were in it a Jewish synagogue, they invariably resorted to it at the time of worship, for the purpose of testifying among them that the Messiah had actually appeared, and that Jesus of Nazareth was the identical person. In proof of this you may consult, Acts xvii. 1-4. These verses present us with an interesting view of the subject matter, and also of the manner, in which the apostles propagated the Gospel at the beginning. Obedient to their Lord's injunction we find them first having recourse to the people of their own nation, to whom they declared that they brought with them no new doctrine -they said “none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come, viz. that Christ, or the Messiah, should suffer, and that he should be the first to rise from the dead, and should show light to the people of Israel and to the Gentiles," Acts xxvi. 22. And thus Paul reasoned with the Jews at Thessalonica out of the writings of the prophets, " opening and alleging that the Messiah," whoever he were, “must of necessity be a suffering person-that he must die and rise again from the dead---and that Jesus of Nazareth, whom he preached, was the Messiah."

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