painful as are the sacrifices which they are required to make, and formidable as are the difficulties which they must encounter, they can scarcely be compared, except in a few rare instances, with those of the great apostle. One of the most striking of these exceptions is, perhaps, the illustrious Livingstone, who in his large-heartedness, seems to approach nearest to the high standard of Paul. Among his last words, as recorded in his journal, is this memorable utterance : "The spirit of missions is the spirit of our Master— the very genius of His religion. A diffusive philanthropy is Christianity itself. It requires perpetual propagation to attest its genuineness." And how impressive and touching are the words, which he wrote, in reference to slavery, a year before his death, and which are now inscribed on the tablet erected to his memory beside his grave: "All I can add in my loneliness is, may Heaven's rich blessing come down on every one, American, English, or Turk, who will help to heal the open sore of the world." This was genuine largeness of heart, and it well deserves our highest admiration. But, excepting cases like these, the average missionary in modern times, when he goes forth among the heathen, leaves behind him many Christian friends who are deeply interested in his progress and success, who sustain him with their counsel and prayers, and who will gladly welcome him on his return. Such encouragements, however, were

in a great measure denied to Paul; and he was often left alone in his arduous struggles. When a prisoner at Rome, "Demas," he said, "hath forsaken me, having loved this present world." And when he was brought before the emperor, to be tried for his life, he had reason to say, "At my first answer, no man stood with me; but all men forsook me.” Even his own countrymen were his greatest enemies; and he found them, in every city he visited, to be the ringleaders in almost every persecution which he endured. There was no earthly protector to whom he could look, and the Saviour, whom he preached, was "a stumblingblock to the Jews," and "foolishness to the Greeks.” The obstacles which he had to contend with, in the jealousy of despotic rulers, in the pride of self-sufficient philosophers, in the bigotry of interested priests, and in the ignorance and superstition of a licentious and bloodthirsty populace, were such as would have made an ordinary man's courage quail, and caused the most hopeful to renounce his calling in despair. What elevation of soul, then, must he have possessed, to enable him to bear up, and persevere, amid such overwhelming difficulties. As has been truly said by the preacher just referred to, "it required a soul raised to a high pitch, not by sudden impressions and the force of a heated imagination, but by enlightened and steady principles; a soul wound up in all its faculties, intellectual and moral; regulated, balanced,

sustained, and furnished with a spring which could bear the severest pressure, which would not wear itself away by its own motion, nor suffer derangement from the changes of external circumstances; a soul exalted above the world, and all those worldly motives by which men are ordinarily actuated, attracted, or impelled; and disengaged from all selfishness, effeminacy, envy, illiberality, and those narrow prejudices which are founded on the distinction of nations, classes, and conditions in life; a soul filled with supreme love to God, and ardent love to man, fired with heavenly ambition to advance the Divine glory in the highest, and promote the eternal welfare of mankind; and which, in pursuing this noble object, was prepared to make all sacrifices, sustain all fatigues, run all hazards, endure all sufferings. And such was the soul of Paul. At the call of God, he went forth into the world, bearing (it was all his armour) the name of the Lord Jesus,not knowing whither he went, but prepared to go wherever Providence pointed the way, to the north, the south, the east, or the west; and not knowing what would befall him, nor moved by the warnings which he received, in every city, that bonds and imprisonments awaited him. His heart was enlarged to all the world, and he trusted to his Master to open before him the door of faith, and to preserve him as long as He had services for him to perform." What a noble model is this for our young men ! teaching them

not only to begin great and good works, but to go through with them, and to do them with all their might. Instead of growing weary in well-doing, let them be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. For "no man having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God;" but "the righteous shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger."

3. In his generous treatment of offenders.-Of this we have one remarkable proof, in that fervent unquenchable love, which he bore towards his own unbelieving countrymen, notwithstanding their persistent enmity to him, and their repeated attempts upon his life. It is hard to love our bitterest enemies, and harder still to return good for evil; and nothing but grace, in a large measure, can enable any man to do it. But Paul did it, even to the last, heaping coals of fire upon their heads, and repaying their curses with blessings, and their persecutions with prayers. He had "great heaviness and continual sorrow in his heart," on account of the sad spiritual condition of Israel; and he could even have wished himself to be "separated from Christ," if that would have saved his brethren; so that he could say, as in the sight of the great Searcher of hearts, "My heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved."

But not to dwell upon this obvious proof of his

large-heartedness, look at his generous treatment of offenders in the Christian Church. His large heart could take in the concerns of "all the churches which he had planted." "Who is weak," he said," and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?" Read his two epistles to the Corinthian church, which owed its existence, under God, to his ministry, and which was indebted to him for all its Christian privileges and hopes; but which, yielding to the influence of false teachers, was soon estranged from its benefactor, and embracing fatal errors and falling into gross sins, required the rod of painful discipline, and sharp rebuke, to heal their backslidings. But in all his rebukes of their sins, how tender and intense was his love to their souls. And when his rebukes had produced the designed effect of leading them to repentance, how readily and frankly did he forgive them for all their unkind thoughts, and ungenerous suspicions of himself; and how completely and joyfully did he take them back into his friendship and confidence. During the interval between his first and second epistles, he purposely remained for a time at Ephesus, on the opposite shore of the Egean Sea, lest his personal presence at that time should add fuel to the flame of contention at Corinth. At length, in his perplexity and anxiety, he moved northward to Troas, hoping to meet Titus there, and to hear tidings of the Corinthian church. But though "a door was opened