the wonk In faith of his disinterestedness in praise of the former chawctor c;l' tLe end of tho truth 1of his gospel, nnrl so he Corinthians, that they wore then ~liwv rocommonds tha elclers of the Church to fol- 11111&11-ru ~ l-..aµfl&vov-r,r, But he probably had low bis example, But the word here is uu8,- it from the Acts of the Ap0stles, as had 1106v-rw11, and &u8,11,i11 o.nd &ue,,,,l,. mther the author of the 'Apostol. Constitut.' (iv. suggest the idea of bodily woo.knees (Matt. 3, I). Similar apophthegms are quoted from xxv. 36: x. 8, eto.: Luke v. 15, etc.), and the heathen writers, as those cited by Kuinoel: words of the Lord Jesus which follow suggest A"'piiu8a, ,ea.I B,B&va, ,cpii-r-rov ~ l-..e&µ./3a.v<if olmsgiving to the needy. So that it is (Artemidor., • Onirocr.,' 4, 3): Ma.u&v Mn hotter to understand the word of the weakly -rou /l-..,v8lpov -rb B,Mvcu oh Be,, ¾ l-..aµ./3&11,w ond poor, those unable to work for them- 1!8,11 6,, (Arist., 'Nicom.,' 4, 1), "It is more selves. Doubtless St. Paul, out of his scanty becoming to a free man to give to whom he earnings, found something to give to the ought to give, than to receive from whom sick and needy. The sentiment in our text he ought to receive." is thus exactly analogous to the precept in Ver. 38.-The ioord iohick h.e had spolcen Eph. iv. 28. The very word there used, for the ioord, iohich he spake, A.V.; beholtl x•pul11, recalls the ,./ x•ipu ,.e,,.a., of ver. 34. for see, A.V.: brought him on his way for To remember the words of the Lord J'esu1, accompanied him, A.V. Brought him on This is a solitary instance of a saying of om his way j 1rpoh,µ.1rov, as eh. xv. 3; :xxi. 5. Lord's, not recorded in the Gospels, being So too 1 Cor. xvi. 6, 11 : 2 Cor. i. 16: Titus referred to in Scripture. There are many iii. 13; 3 John 6. • But the rendering accom- alleged sayings of Christ recorded in apo- panied gives the meaning of the two last cryphal Gospels or in the writings of Fathers passages in the Acts better than that of the as Papias and others (Routh, 'Il.eliq. Sao.,' i. B. V. It is impossible to part with this 9, 10, 12), some of which mw.y be authentic: most touching narrative, of such exquisite but this alone is warranted by Scripture. simplicity and beauty, without a parting How it came to St. Paul's knowledge, word of admiration and thankfulness to Gou and that of the Ephesian elders to whom he for having preserved to his Chureh this seems to have to.ken for granted that it was record of apostolic wisdom and faithfulness familiar, it is impossible to say. But it on the one hand, and of loving devotion seems likely that, in those very early days, of the clergy to their great chief on the some of the Lord's unwritten words may have other. As long as the stones of the Church floated in the memory of men, and been pre- a.re bound together by such strong mortar, served by word of mouth. Clement (1 Cor. it can defy the attacks of it1 enemies from ii.) eeema to refer to the saying when he writes without.
HOMILETICS. Vere. 1-12.-"In la~ours more abundant." The rapid succession and the unbroken continuance of St. Paul's labours is truly marvellous. Rest or recreation seem to be things unknown to him. 'l'he tension of spirit caused by imminent and pressing danger seems not to have produced in him, as it does in most men, the need of breathing- time to recover their usual tone. His one idea of the use of life, and of the various facul- ties of mind and body with which his life was equipped, was apparently to preach Jesus Christ to those who knew him not, and to confirm and establish those who kne\V him in the faith of the gospel. His energy never fla.(J'(J'ed and his courage never quailed. Most men's nerves would have been shaken by the t~~ible riot at Ephesus, when he had been "pressed out of measure, above strength," and had despaired of life. But no sooner was the uproar ceased than St. Paul started upon a new course of labour and danger. He went back to Philippi, where he had been before "shamefully entreated," stripped, scourged, cast into a dungeon, and made fast in the stocks ; to the other cities of Macedonia, from whence he had been forced to escape by night for fear of the violenco of the Jews; to Corinth, where he had been dragged before the judgment-seat of Ga!! io, and where the bigotry of the Jews was ready to commence fresh plots against his life. And wherever he went, heart and mind, tongue and pen, were kept at full stretch iu preaching and teaching the things concerning Jesus Christ. Such activity of mind and body is indeed wo!lderful. We see the same untiring spirit, the same inexhaustiblo )ave for souls, in th.e midnight pt iaching at 'l'roas. Other men, on the eve of a long Journey, would have sought repose. Not so St. Paul. 'fhe comfort and stability of the Church at Troas, the growth in grace and knowledge of the disciplea there, were hi~ oue ]50 'l'IlE ACTS OF 'l'HE APOSTLES. [on. x.x. 1-38. ------ - ------------------·--------- consideration. Here ,ras an opportunity offreaching Christ to them, of advancing their spir!tual life, of imp~\1-ting t.o them more o the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Clmst-an opportunity that might never recur, r.ud so he would make tho most of it. Hen?e tho_ whole night given to prayer and proachiug and breahiug of bread, to com- muruon with God and fellowship with his saints. Such an example ought to ho studied by e'l"ery minister of the w·ord of God, with a view to followiug the npostle as he followed Christ. Indolence, self-indulgence, and indifference to the growth of tho Church of God, must surely be put to shame in the presence of such abund:1nce of labour. And every man's faith must be strengthened, and his love for Christ nnd for souls kindled into a flame, as he catches the warmth of the glowing love of this mighty worker in the kingdom of God.