PAUL THE PREACHER.

I-SAUL AT DAMASCUS.

HIS FIRST APPEARANCE AS A PREACHER.

ACTS ix. 19-25; GAL. i. 17; 2 Cor. xi. 32, 33.

A PROFOUND and permanent change had suddenly passed over Saul in the immediate vicinity of Damascus. The Saviour had shown Himself in glory, and spoken a few words of gracious power to him. The brightness of the vision had dazzled him into blindness, and with a smitten heart and faltering step he was led by his companions through the gate into the city. He had hoped to make the old Syrian capital the field of new triumphs, as he beat down the rising faith, and punished with merciless rigour the adherents of Jesus of Nazareth. But "it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps." The sunny landscapes through which he was passing suddenly lost their charm for the sightless traveller, and his mind's eye was turned inward on his own heart and history; the noise of so many rills" streams from Lebanon "-dancing and singing through the gardens that surround Damascus, must have fallen faintly upon his ear, for there still rung in it a louder voice-" Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me;"

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and that was the knell of his previous life. As he moved along with all that awkwardness which one so suddenly bereft of vision must have exhibited, even though “the men which journeyed with him" guided his steps, his rapt spirit could be but little disturbed by the hum of the streets and the clamour of the bazaars. The scene

of his fancied victories had in a moment become the scene of deepest anguish and self-prostration. Christ had waylaid him, and a brief challenge from His lips had at once arrested the present enterprise. For, it is only when Christ speaks that conversion really takes place; it is only when the soul apprehends His glory that it bows to His will, and feels the checks and impulses of His grace. Ananias was induced to overcome his natural scruples and visit Saul at his lodgings, in the street called "Straight;" and the first Christian face which Saul looked upon with complacency, was that of the "disciple" at whose bidding his blindness departed, and by baptism at whose hands he was formally admitted into the church. He had seen the serenity of Stephen's countenance when it beamed like that of an angel, but his rage had been whetted by his victim's composure. Now his eyes suddenly opened on a visitor, who had styled him "Brother Saul," and it must have been a troubled and mysterious gaze which he cast upon him as he heard him repeat the words-"Jesus who appeared unto thee by the way."

Saul had not been "forsaken," though he had been "cast down;" the three days of his soul's agony were to issue in peace. His spiritual life, like that of plant and flower, had germinated in darkness, and had been watered by

FIRST THROB OF LIFE.

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tears and prayers; but it was soon to welcome the light, and be trained to a healthful activity and expansion. "Light is sweet," and ere the scales had fallen from his eyes, his inner vision had been blessed with a glimpse of the truth-"the light of the glorious gospel of Christ" had shined in his heart. He had undergone in an instant the mightiest of all changes the soul of man can pass through, and which, in general experience, is often as sudden as with him whom Christ had thus surprised. There may be meditations and resolves and deep searchings of spirit-a succession of those terrible pangs which make the heart stand still, or of those perilous balancings of probable destiny, when the soul sends itself forward to the judgment, and strives to realize it; there may be these anxious flutterings about the boundary, but still on this side of it-till in a moment the line is crossed, and "old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." As there is a first throb of the heart in the implantation of physical life, so is there a first pulsation of the soul through the energy of spiritual existence. This phenomenon is no mental novelty. There is an instant in which one is frequently conscious of renouncing one opinion and entertaining another, preceded, it may be, by scepticism, struggle, and oscillation, the results of conflicting proofs. Conviction may work its way slowly, and up to a certain point, though in the end the conclusion is suddenly gained; the words may linger long on the tongue, till, by an impulse quick as thought, they are at length pronounced. Amidst the mysteries of the will, this palpable fact is often disclosed-that while one may take

long to make up his mind, his mind is finally made up by one effort and in that second of time when preference loses its passive character, and inducement ceasing to be a potential becomes an efficient motive. The instant in which Saul heard Jesus name him was that of a total and immediate revolution, for the truth rushed at once upon him that Jesus was true and divine, dwelling in glory, and possessed of sovereign power. The miracle lay not in the change itself, but in the way in which it was effected; the ordinary agencies of argument and remonstrance being superseded by the vision, which, from its very nature, created instantaneous impression and belief.

Still unrelieved of all his astonishment, and, perhaps, scarcely able at times to believe or realize the change which had come over him, Saul "was certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus." What mingled sensations must have been felt on both sides—a wolf among the flock; he, scarcely able to identify himself in the midst of the new associates whom he had travelled all the way from Jerusalem to devour; and they with difficulty regarding him as a brother, at whose threatened approach they had been so terrified. What Charles IX. would have been to a trembling company of Huguenots after the blood and panic of St. Bartholomew, had he avowed himself a protestant, and, lowering his sceptre, besought their forgiveness and fellowship; what Laud would have been to a secret assembly of Puritans, had he owned himself a convert, and flinging his mitre to the ground, asked with tears to be admitted to their communion; what Claverhouse would have been to a nocturnal

SURPRISE AT DAMASCUS AND JERUSALEM.

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meeting of Covenanters, had he suddenly burst in among them, protesting that now he was one of them, and claiming, as he tossed his sword from him, their commiseration and prayers—that must Paul have been to the disciples at Antioch. The whole scene was so strange, that they must have been somewhat bewildered, while "they rejoiced for the deliverance." Where were now the letters and the commission from the inquisitors in Jerusalem? Where now the terror produced by the well-known project to bind all that call on Thy name?" The thunder-cloud had dissolved as it approached.

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On the other hand, there must have been in Jerusalem no little anxiety for intelligence of Saul's doings at Damascus, with high anticipations of his success. It must have been felt by his employers, that whatever ardour and an unflinching sense of duty could do, would be done by him. The business was felt to be safe in the experienced hands of him of Tarsus. But no tidings came-no roll of persons arraigned, imprisoned, or tortured. or tortured. What then? Probably flying rumours preceded-strange whispers, the origin of which could not be traced; and yet each member of the Sanhedrim might, in his perplexity, be asking his neighbour if he had heard them. Something unusual must have occurred-something that could not well be explained. At last there burst upon them the news that Saul had turned renegade; that their trusted and favourite agent had betrayed them; nay, that he had actually gone over to the enemy, and was openly preaching the hated faith. The council would scarcely credit such a rumour, but it was soon and amply confirmed. No doubt they