the stronger, join in what promises to be a certain victory. The Hebrews (the writer of the Book of Samuel did not deem them worthy to be called Israelites) who had deserted to the Philistines, or allowed themselves to be impressed to that service, turned upon their former masters, now they were defeated. So the Lord saved Israel that day, as Jonathan had hoped and trusted, ver. 6. The battle passed over unto Bethaven; see ver. 31, from Michmash to Aijalon,-the first place lay east, the second west of Michmash. Probably the Philistines were scattered in both directions. [What remarkable event happened at Ajalon? Josh. x. 12.]

SAUL'S RASH OATH.-V. 24—32. The king was laudably anxious to inflict upon the Philistines as crushing a defeat as possible. Moreover, his conscience smote him for his hasty dismissal of the priest. To stimulate the Israelites, and to appease his conscience, he bound himself and his subjects not to taste food that day, but to pursue the Philistines without rest or refreshment. It was a foolish Vow. Had Saul stopped to think, he would have seen that the people would soon grow weary with their exertions, and faint from want of meat. Thus they must fight the worse, and not the better, for the king's oath. So it happened; the people were distressed, ver. 24, 28. God would not accept Saul's voluntary promise in lieu of reverent, humble waiting for the revelation of His will. Note the selfishness and presumption of the speech: that I may be avenged on MINE enemies,-he forgot that God was avenging Himself on His. The king's rash oath resulted in two unhappy consequences. In the pursuit the people passed through a wood. Wild honey lay upon the ground. "Bees in the East are not, as in England, kept in hives; they are in a wild state. The forests literally flow with honey; large combs may be seen hanging in the trees as you pass along, full of honey. Hence this article is cheap and plentiful." Jonathan had not heard his father's vow. As he hurried hotly after the Philistines, he dipped his spear-handle into the honey, and ate. He was too eager in pursuit to stay to gather it with his hands.

His eyesight had begun to fail,-a common symptom of exhaustion. The honey revived him; the change was perceptible in his features. The people inform him of the adjuration; in reply, he shows the folly of Saul's vow, ver. 29, 30. In our next Lesson we shall read further of the consequences of Jonathan's tasting the honey. Evening had come; the vow was no longer binding; the people were ravenous with their strenuous efforts and long fasting. In their eagerness for food, they flew upon the spoil; killed the oxen, sheep, and calves, and ate either raw or only half-cooked. Their haste did not permit the blood to be drained from the slaughtered animals. the Israelites ate the blood, (see Portfolio,) which was distinctly forbidden, Lev. iii. 17; vii. 26, 27; xvii. 10; xix. 26.

Thus

REFLECTIONS.-1. We have a further manifestation of the character of Saul,his self-will, impatience, presumption.

2. Respect for the outward forms of religion may co-exist with little real reverence for it.-Saul had the ark and a priest with him; inquired of God; but did not wait for God's answer.

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3. God will not accept will-worship.By "will-worship," we mean offering to God something that He has not required, instead of something that He does demand; giving Him what we choose, instead of what He asks. To do more than our duty at one time does not atone for doing less than our duty at another. We cannot make for sin one day, by being "extra good' the next. Some persons think they excuse themselves for indulgence in some wickedness, by rigorously avoiding other wickedness, or by deeds and gifts of charity or self-denial. We may not reckon our good qualities as a set-off against our bad ones; e.g., a boy comforts himself when his conscience accuses him of angry passion, by the thought that he is not guilty of lying, like some other boy he knows.

4. Let us learn to keep a strict watch over our appetites.-Our bodies may be occasions of sin.

5. The narrative affords a warning against hasty words; but we leave that till our next Lesson.

For repetition,

INTRODUCTION.-Herod puts James to death, and imprisons Peter. The Church prays for him, and God delivers him. We have a palace, a prison, and a prayermeeting. Who is connected with the first? the second ?-the third? With attention thus quickened, the Lesson may be considered in detail.

A BAD MAN AND A BAD DEED.-V. 1-3. These circumstances occurred before the arrival of Paul and Barnabas at Jerusalem; for the famine did not break out in Judæa until after the death of Herod Agrippa. There are three Herods mentioned in the New Testament, all bad: Herod the Great, Matt. ii. 16; Herod Antipas, Matt. xiv. 3, Luke xxiii. 8-11; and Herod Agrippa, the Herod of this Lesson, grandson to the first, and nephew to the second. Jerusalem proceeds in the work of disenfranchising herself as the centre of the new kingdom of Messiah. Her priests began the work in the crucifixion of Jesus, Matt. xxvii. 1; her people continued it in the martyrdom of Stephen, Acts vi. 12, etc.; her king finishes it by the martyrdom of James. Hitherto, the circle of the twelve had been secure, probably through a sacred awe attaching to their persons, Acts v. 17-19. Now it is violated. Of James, little is known, save that he was one of the three whom our Lord selected for special honour, Matt. xvii. 1; Luke viii. 51; Mark xiv. 33. The prayer of an ambitious mother, (Matt. xx. 22, 23,) and the ready words of her ardent sons, were approaching a fulfilment. Without accusation, without trial, James is hurried off to prison, and beheaded with the sword,-a mode of death reckoned disgraceful by the Jews. The narrative implies that he drank his Master's cup in his Master's spirit. PETER IN PRISON.-V. 4, 5. angel-visit for James; no rescue, as in ch. v. 19; no glorious spectacle of dying, as with Stephen, ch. vii. 59, 60. The Apostles are but men with whose lives a despotic king may trifle at pleasure; so it appears to Herod. He

No

verses 10, 11.

seizes a second Apostle. Who? He shall be made a public spectacle. But the feast of Pentecost has commenced; the Rabbis say that feast should not be stained by death: so to please the Jews again he keeps Peter in prison for seven days, until the feast is over. Every precaution taken; a quarternion consisted of four soldiers and

a petty officer. The prisoner was fastened by chains to two of these; a third kept guard near the chamberdoor; the fourth outside the main entrance of the prison, ver. 10. What of the Church? ver. 5. They pray to King Jesus against King Herod.

To

PETER DELIVERED.-V. 6-11. The last day of the feast has gone. morrow, trial, condemnation, death; yet Peter sleeps! Now his own words are fulfilled, Luke xxii. 33. A strange light shines in the prison; then around the awakened eyes of Peter. What caused it? Peter must have leisure enough to put on robe and sandal; he departs, leaving not a shred behind! ver. 8. What did Peter think of it all? To himself, he was still asleep; dreaming, O, such a beautiful dream! and as in dreams, gates unbolt, and doors open without hands, lo! the iron gate which connects the prison with the city, opens. What a beautiful dream for a chained Apostle! But the light ceases; the angel disappears. Peter pauses and thinks; the old stars, the bright moon, familiar houses; the dream is a fact; Peter is free!

PETER DISTURBS A PRAYER-MEETING. -V. 12-19. What question would arise in Peter's mind? It is now near the break of day, for the narrative suggests that the deliverance took place during the last watch, three to six o'clock, A.M. The believers pray perhaps for Peter's courage to be sustained; perhaps that circumstances may be overruled for his acquittal. But they do not expect an answer to their prayer just then. God does for them more than they "ask or think," Eph. iii. 20. What makes Rhoda rise and run? The excited girl, in the reaction from

deceived by both! Now for the final scene, ver. 21-23. Display, flattery, impiety, are further characteristics of the worldly spirit; whilst the fearful end of Herod teaches us how severely in the long run God will punish the sin.

THE ORIGIN OF MISSIONS.-Ch. xii. 24, 25; xiii. 1-3. This paragraph is connected with the Christianity of England to-day. Every one knows something about missionaries, missionary meetings, missionary societies, and missionary collecting. May is the missionary month. Where did all this begin? More than eighteen hundred years ago, with good men and God. These good men were men of foreign sympathies; Barnabas, see ch. iv. 36; Simeon, called Niger, the dark man, a Jew, perhaps of complexion darkened by residence in a tropical climate; Lucius, or Luke, from Cyrene, Tripoli, in Africa; Manaen, who had been foster-brother with that Herod who put John the Baptist to death, (Luke iii. 1,) and so brought into connection with the manners, language, and vices of Romanised Jews; Saul, last, and for the present least, having the inward call of the Spirit, (Acts ix. 15, 16,) humbly waiting for the outward call of the Church. England and America, countries which have the largest foreign connections, are the missionary centres of the world. These men were devout, how does this appear? God gave them guidance, Separate Me NOW. So still when the Church prays, God finds the men.

A MISSION-FIELD.-V. 4-12. Seleucia was the port of Antioch: it could be reached by the river Orontes in a course of about forty-one miles, or by land sixteen miles. Westward Ho! went the river; westward, the language to the isles and mainland of Greece. Westward, ships and sailors to the many ports of Southern Europe; westward, soldiers, generals, consuls to that heart of power, Rome; so westward also went the missionaries. Thus since: language, the introduction of Methodism into America; commerce, the West Indian Islands; power, India. When the missionaries sailed out of Seleucia, if the day were fine, a beautiful island would be in view. What? Why should they go there? From the days when Andrew found Peter, (John

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i. 41,) and Jesus was the Guest of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, Christianity has sanctioned the claims of kinship. In 1769, Mr. Wesley asked in the Conference at Leeds, "We have a pressing call from our brethren at New York, to come over and help them. Who is willing to go?" Two were sent. Thence American Methodism. Salamis was on the eastern side of the island. To whom did the missionaries first preach? No success amongst the Jews; so often disappointment amongst ungodly Englishmen settled in foreign lands. Two other persons mentioned. Who? where ? This was on the western side of the island. These two were representatives of two classes of persons with whom missionaries still meet, inquirers and opponents. Sergius Paulus, like most educated heathens of his time, disgusted with popular idolatry, yet longing for the knowledge of a religion in which there was really something of the Divine, passed from unbelief to superstition; so fell under the influence of a sorcerer, who made a show of supernatural wisdom. Still restless, the Deputy, hearing of the new comers, sends for them, and in their words finds rest. Elymas was the type of the self-interested priests of heathenism everywhere; they also withstand the missionaries, and seek to turn away inquirers from the Lord. How was Elymas punished? What words suggest that his punishment was only temporary? Paul would remember his own blindness, ch. ix. 8, 9, 17, 18. There is nothing to forbid the hope that with Elymas, as with Saul, the physical and spiritual blindness passed away together. We may hope that the blindness of heathen priests will give way after a season. in which God's power to save shall have been made manifest. From this time, the Apostle of the Gentiles assumes another name. What? Most likely it had been his second name in his home at Tarsus, for it was common for Jews in foreign lands to have one name current amongst their countrymen, another amongst their Gentile neighbours; so Barnabas, ch. iv. 36. The conversion of a heathen Paul in the person of the Deputy, probably suggested the change to the Apostle. He cuts even this link of connection with Judaism: sent to the Gentiles,

he will be known amongst them by a Gentile name.

QUESTIONS.-What led Herod to make a great public display at Cæsarea? What happened to him? why? Where do we find Saul

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and Barnabas? Who were with them there? What command was given to the Church? To what island did the two missionaries go? why? To whom did they first preach? Whom did they find at Paphos ? What happened there? What name did Saul now assume? why?

MISSIONARY JOURNEYS.-V. 13, 14. The two missionaries and their companion have now passed through Cyprus. Where next? God works by seeming accidents. Many years after, Paul joined by "accident" the vessel in which he was shipwrecked, ch. xxvii. 5, 6; see also ch. xxviii. 11-13. So probably the presence of a ship at Salamis bound for the opposite coast decided the missionaries. At what place did they disembark? There, one circumstance occurred which grieved St. Paul very much; one of their company forsook the work. Who? Compare Acts xv. 38. "Either he did not like the work, or he wanted to go and see his mother."- M. Henry. The country behind Perga to the north was very mountainous; infested with robbers, and liable to dangerous river-floods when the snow upon the mountains melted at the return of spring; the very time when the missionaries penetrated it. Why enter it at all? "Accident" again! With the return of open weather, the dwellers in the plain, with flocks, herds, and tents, betook themselves to the hills. Up there in the mountains was a second Antioch, Antioch in Pisidia, a large town upon a highway made by the Romans, from Smyrna and Ephesus to Northern Syria and Mesopotamia; a suitable place for a missionary centre. So in

spite of "perils of robbers" and "perils of waters," the missionaries pushed their way, in company with groups of migrating people, to Antioch, and reached it.

THE SYNAGOGUE. V. 14, 15. A Jewish synagogue was a building not unlike a chapel without pews; a gallery for the women, separate; perhaps one end partitioned off for them, where they sit behind a screen of latticework. Seats are provided all round the room for the male worshippers. In the middle of the space, a pulpit or desk; by the side nearest to Jerusalem, a box or "Ark," containing, on parchment scrolls, the Law and the Prophets. Service commences; prayers are read in the language of the neighbourhood, probably Greek in this case. A servant of the synagogue hands out the scroll to the minister at the desk, who reads, in Hebrew, a portion, first from the Law or historical portion of the Old Testament, then from the Prophets. But many people there do not understand Hebrew, so the reader gives a version or explanation in Greek. Then the manuscript is rolled up and returned to the ark. A pause follows, during which learned men address the people at the request of the minister. The congregation, especially in a place like Pisidian Antioch, would consist of well known persons. On this occasion two strangers have entered, and devoutly taken part in the worship. The reader has been looking at them; who are they? Some one conveys the reader's message to them. What was it? Now one of them speaks. Who?

A MISSIONARY SERMON TO THE JEWS. -V. 16-41. Perhaps Paul had heard Peter's sermon, Acts ii. 14-40; most probably, Stephen's address before the Council, Acts vii. 2-53; and this sermon deals with the same facts and

in the same way. Those parchments