And yet, in these circumstances of distress and danger, the apostle possessed his soul in patience, and prosecuted his labours with unabated activity and uninterrupted success. Even the rough soldiers, who guarded him, were struck with amazement in witnessing his calm self-possession, his heroic courage, and his untiring diligence in preaching the Gospel of the grace of God. While their profligate master was running a career of almost unexampled wickedness, and fast filling up the measure of his iniquity, yet not a few of his servants were persuaded to renounce their idols and their vices, and to become good soldiers of Jesus Christ.

It has been justly remarked that "history has few stranger contrasts than that, on the one hand, of the impious and profligate Nero seated on the throne of the Cæsars, and satiating his lust and cruelty without fear or restraint; and on the other hand, that of Paul the prisoner, chained in Nero's prætorium, keeping his body in subjection, calmly waiting his impending sentence, and labouring all day long to proclaim the glad tidings of salvation to all who would come to his house." At this time, "there were but two religions in the Roman world; the worship of the emperor, and the worship of the Saviour. The old superstitions had been long worn out; they had lost all hold on educated minds. There remained, to civilised heathens, no other worship possible but the worship

of power; and the incarnation of power which they chose was, very naturally, the sovereign of the world. These, then, were the ultimate results of the noble intuitions of Plato, the methodical reasoning of Aristotle, the pure morality of Socrates. All had failed for want of external sanction and Divine authority. There was left nothing but the sensual philosophy of Epicurus, and the debasing religion of Nero-worship. But a new doctrine had now been taught in Rome, and was believed even on the Palatine Hill. Over against the altars of Nero and Poppaa, the voice of a prisoner was daily heard for two whole years, and daily woke up in dead souls the consciousness of their Divine origin, and of their high duty and destiny as immortal beings. Men listened to him, and learned the way of salvation; and they came to know that self-sacrifice was better than self-indulgence, and that to suffer was nobler than to reign. They felt that the only religion which satisfied the needs of man was the religion of godly sorrow, the religion of self-devotion, the religion of the cross" ("Life and Epistles of St Paul," p. 533).

Even

This lesson the world still needs to learn. yet, in the full blaze of Gospel light, there is a strong tendency in many minds to walk in the sparks of their own kindling, and to revive the exploded philosophies of ancient times. Men, professing themselves to be wise, have become fools. How humbling to find, in

this nineteenth century, that men of high scientific attainments, in endeavouring to explain the creation. of the world, and deny its Creator, have dragged forth from its grave the theory of a heathen philosopher, and ascribed the origin of all things to a "fortuitous concourse of atoms.” Modern science

and philosophy are set up as far superior to God's revelation of His will, and far better suited to an age of progress and mental development. Many are losing their hold of Gospel truth, and are tossed on a sea of uncertainty as to its simplest principles. has been truly remarked that this backward tendency "might well surprise us did we not know that the progress of human reason, in the path of ethical or moral discovery, is merely the progress of a man in a treadmill, doomed for ever to retrace his own steps." True progress can only be realised by holding fast the truth as it is in Jesus, and taking His Word as a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. The Gospel which Paul preached has lost none of its power in the lapse of ages. It is the "everlasting Gospel," which shall yet be preached to all nations, and by which all nations shall yet be blessed. It is still as much suited to man's deepest wants, as it was in the days of Paul, and it is mighty, through God, in casting down the strongholds of sin and Satan in the human heart, and in bringing all its thoughts and affections into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

Let young men, therefore, prize this glorious Gospel, and never be ashamed of its precious and saving truths. Let them beware of being led away by prevailing errors, and of substituting the dim light of human reason for the clear and blessed light of revelation. Paul was not ashamed of the Gospel, and why? "Because it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." Let every young man embrace the Gospel with his whole heart for his personal salvation, and let him strive to maintain a life and conversation becoming the Gospel, and thus exhibit, in all his actings, the practical power of a living Christianity. And in imitation of the apostolic zeal and fervent devotedness of Paul, let all strive to diffuse the Gospel by works of faith and deeds of self-denial; and hasten the time when Christ's parting charge to his Church shall be fulfilled: "Preach the Gospel to every creature; and lo! I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."

In the next chapter, we shall refer to the labours of the apostle in the three closing years of his life, and to his martyrdom at Rome.

"I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness."-2 TIM. iv. 6-8.

T has been truly said that "as a man lives, so he dies." If during life he walks by faith, we may be sure that he will die in faith. Or if he lives in sin and unbelief, it is but too probable that he will die without God, and without hope. The grace of God no doubt is omnipotent, and it can save to the uttermost, and even at the latest hour of existence. But a deathbed repentance is a rare occurrence. There is only one instance of it recorded in Scripture that of the thief upon the cross; and while it teaches us that none should despair, it also teaches us that none should presume, or reckon too confidently on receiving at last that Divine mercy, which had been repeatedly offered, and as often refused. Now is the only "accepted time" that we can count upon; now