representecl the power of the world. He was B citizen of the kincr(!om which had "in it of the strength of iron" (Dan. ii. 41). He was B successor of an°other Roman who harl lBtely so.id, confidently enough, "Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, Bnd hove power to releo.se thee?" (John xix. 10). As a Roman ruler, he felt that he held 11, sw11oy over those around him, to which they could lay no claim ancl which they were unBble to disturb. Human power is: 1. Coveted by many thousands. 2. Within the reBch of very few; it is therefore continually sought and missed, and the failure to attain it is B source of a. large amount of human disappointment and unhappi- ness. 3. Much less enjoyed, when realized, than its possessor anticipated; for it proves to be limited Bnd checked by many things invisible from without, but pa.info! and irritatin.,. when discovered and endured. 4. Soon laid down again. The breath which makes c;n unmake; men are often giddy on the height and they stagger and fall; years of busy activity quickly pass, and then comes sovereign death which strikes down power beneath its feet. II. THE REPRESENTATIVE OF SPIRITUAL DEGENERACY. (Ver. 23.) Both brother and sister, Aarippa and Bernice, were instances of this. They " saw the better thing and approved; they followed the worse." They" believed the prophets" (eh. xxvi. 27); they knew the holy Law of God, but, instead of keeping it, instead of living before God and before the world in piety, in purity, in heavenly wisdom, they sacrificed everything to worldly advancement, to earthly honours, and even to unholy pleasure. How pitiable they seem to us now I That" great pomp" of theirs does but serve to make their moral littleness the more conspicuous. To rise in outward rank or wealth at the expense of character and by forfeiture of principle is: 1. Grievous in the sight of God. 2. Painful to all those whose judgment is worth regarding. 3. A most wretched mistake, as well as a sin. 4. An act, or series of acts, on which the agents will one day look back with deep and terrible remorse. III. THE REPRESENTATIVE OF CHRISTIAN CONSECRATION. "Paul was brought forth" (ver. 23), he "had committed nothing worthy of death" (ver. 25), but yet "all the multitude of the Jews" (ver. 24) were "crying out that he ought not to live any longer." By his attachment to the truth and his devotion to the cause of Jesus Christ, he had placed himself there in cBptivity, charged with a capital offence, the object of the most bitter resentment of his countrymen. He had done nothing to deserve this; he had only taught what he honestly and rightly believed to be the very truth of God. He accepted his position, as 11, persecuted witness for Christ, with perfect resignation; he would not, on 11,ny consideration, have changed places with that Roman judge or those J ewisb magnates. Christian consecration is : 1. An admirable thing, on which the minds of the worthiest will ever delight to dwell, lifting its subject far above the level of earthly power or worldly dignity. 2. Acceptable service in the estimation of Christ; to it the fullest Divine approval and the largest share of heavenly reward are attached.-C. Vere. 1-12.-Tenaeity in right. Paul is brought before a fresh judge. He defends the principles of duty and right in the same spirit as before, with perfect boldness, as the state of the matter demands, and at the same time with due respect to the office of the judge. I. CoNBTANOY IN THE DEFENCE 01' RIGHT. Let us view this in contrast: 1. To the audacity of the hypocrite. They brought many 11,nd heavy charges against Paul, which they were unable to prove. :Again, "the servant is as his Lord." The substance of the charges, too, ever the same: transgression of the Law, desecration of the temple, revolt against the emperor. Simple and sincere is the defence, in both cases (comp. ver. 8 with John xviii. 20, 21). 2. To the insolence of the knave. Paul refuses no legal investigation. He stands firmly on the constitution of the state, before the tribunal of Cresar. The "powers that be" he taught were divinely ordained for the repression of evil-doers and the defence of the righteous. 3. To the obstinacy of the C1Jntentioua man. He willingly subjects himself to any fair investigation and just decision of his case. II. THE APPEAL TO THE EMPEROR. Some general allegorical lessons may be derived from this. The Christian m11oy and should appeal: 1. From the sentence of the unjust m11on to the judgment of the just. 2. From the passions of the moment to the calm verdict of posterity. 8. From the o!)inions of the external world to the testimony of the inner world of consoience. ¼. From the human tribunal to the eternal ibrone. ACJT&--JI. 8 258 'l'HE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. (oR, XXV, 1-2'1.
And ll!I to the decision : " To Cmse.r thou she.It go I " It we.s partly Festus'e, partly Pe.ul'e, and e.bove e.ll, that of Providence. So in our own life-orises. 'l'here le a coinoidence of our own wishes with the externe.l decision of another. Below or above both is the di-rinity thnt shapes our ends, the hand of him who oe.uses all things w work together for good.-J.