11 And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme: and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities.

12 Whereupon, as I went to Damascus, with authority and commission from the chief priests,

13 At mid-day, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me, and them which journeyed with me.

14 And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

15 And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.

16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;

17 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,

18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light,

noted. Gave my voice against them] Not in the Sanhedrim, for he was not a member; but exerted his influence, and assisted in procuring their death.

11. Compelled them to blaspheme] To revile and curse Jesus and his religion, to apostatize, and abandon Christianity. I persecuted them even unto strange cities] So unrelenting was his bitterness that when they fled from Jerusalem, he even followed them to foreign cities. 12-15. (See Acts ix, 1-6.)

16-18. In this account of his conversion, Paul gives a succinct detail of the events of which, in the preceding chapters, he had related the circumstances more at large. He combines the information which he received directly from the Lord Jesus, and that which he received through the instrumentality of Ananias. (See Acts ix, 15, 16.) Of those things in which I will appear unto thee] Meaning, either that other truths should be afterward revealed by other miraculous appearings of Christ to him, Acts xviii, 9; xxii, 18; xxiii, 11; 1 Cor. ix, 1; or it may mean, In which I shall instruct thee hereafter; that is, he was to be a witness of what he had already seen, and of what should hereafter be made known to him.

17. Delivering thee from the people] The Jewish people.

18. To open their eyes] Spiritually, so that they might perceive the truth, or to enlighten their minds. Turn them from darkness to light] From spiritual ignorance to the knowledge of our Lord; from the

and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

19 Whereupon, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:

20 But showed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.

21 For these causes the Jews caught me in the temple, and went about to kill me.

22 Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should

come:

23 That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should show light unto the people, and to the Gentiles.

night of sin to the day of holiness. Luke i, 79; iv, 18; Col. i, 13; 2 Tim. ii, 16. From the power of Satan] From the dominion and victory of Satan to the liberty and obedience of the children of God, which course would secure the forgiveness of sin, and, in the end, a heavenly inheritance. By faith that is in me] By the same confiding faith in the redemption of Jesus Christ which I enjoy. Or the words may be properly transposed, and be considered as the language of Christ to him; reading thus: "To turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that by faith which is in me (by becoming believers in me) they may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them who are sanctified."

19. Whereupon] In consideration of this; immediately upon this. Unto the heavenly vision] The miraculous revelation of Jesus, and of his will concerning me.

20. But showed first] Made known, declared. Do works meet for repentance] Worthy of repentance; show by their acts the sincerity of their penitence.

22. Saying none other things] In becoming a Christian, he introduced no new religion, but held only, and witnessed to, the truth contained in Moses and the prophets. He preached the advent of the very Messiah whose coming they foretold, and in the very manner they prophesied.

That he should be

23. Should suffer] (See note on Acts xvii, 3.) the first that should rise from the dead] First, to rise to die no more; thus giving proof of a resurrection of the body, and of his power to accomplish it. Others had risen before, but died again, as did the son of

24 And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make

thee mad.

25 But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness.

26 For the king knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely. For I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner.

27 King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest.

the Shunamite, and as Jesus himself raised Lazarus; but Jesus rose for ever. Should show light] Light of the gospel, to both Jews and Gentiles. Often foretold by prophets. Isa. ix, 1, 2; xi, 10; xlii, 1, 6; liv, 3, &c.

24. Thou art beside thyself] Insane, mad. The solemn earnestness of the apostle to the Roman idolater could only be accounted for by supposing his reason affected. Much learning] Festus noticed the clearness of his argument, and his continued reference to books, and judged that his severe application to his studies had demented him, and diseased his brain. How unaccountable to the unconverted are the exercises of the truly pious! They are as one that mocketh; but wisdom is justified of her children. The unconverted are insane, if either; and they but begin to come to themselves when they say, I will arise, and go to my Father, and say, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight.

25. Truth and soberness] Not the ravings of an insane man, but rational truth and sober convictions.

26. The king knoweth of these things] The prophecies of the Old Testament Scriptures. The life and labors, and death and resurrection, of Jesus of Nazareth-all these things, as a Jew, and a resident of Palestine, Agrippa could not but be familiar with. This thing was not done in a corner] The miracles and teaching of Christ transpired publicly, and were widely spread abroad; he was crucified, and arose again in the midst of Jerusalem, when the city was crowded— all the prominent events of his life, and the truths of his gospel, were generally diffused and well known, and Agrippa could not but have heard them. By his silence, and by his answer, he admits the apostle's appeal.

27. Believest thou the prophets?] The interruption of Festus had broken in upon the thread of his argument. Paul was referring to the testimony of the prophets; and having answered Festus's charge of madness, by an elegant and impressive turn in his discourse, he resumes his argument by interrogating King Agrippa as to his faith

28 Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.

29 And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds.

30 And when he had thus spoken, the king rose up, and the governor, and Bernice, and they that sat with them:

31 And when they were gone aside, they talked between themselves, saying, This man doeth nothing worthy of death, or of bonds. 32 Then said Agrippa unto Festus, This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto Cæsar.

in the sacred books, and anticipates his answer. It was an appeal direct to the conscience of the king, and was exceedingly effective, as the result shows. The way was then open to present Jesus as the Messiah.

28. Almost thou persuadest me, &c.] Some have supposed Agrippa said this in ridicule; but it has every mark of a different spirit. Probably a momentary impression was made upon the mind of this volatile king by the impassioned manner and solemn truths of the apostle; but it was not lasting. The impression was soon effaced, and he turned thoughtlessly to his worldly luxuries and sins. "How often, alas! does the heart refuse to follow the convictions of the understanding! and how mournful to be not quite a Christian! Such a man will not quite reach heaven."-RIPLEY.

29. I would to God] It is my heart's desire; I could entreat God for this; or, I now pray for this. Except these bonds] The fetters that bound him, or his present imprisonment. How noble! how magnaminous! He wished them to enjoy his blessed, comforting religion; but though his enemies are there, he desired none of them to share his bonds.

30. The king rose up] The exhortation was becoming too personal, and, perhaps, to cover the emotions that were rising in his heart by this affectionate appeal, he rises from the tribunal, signifying that enough had been said.

32. If he had not appealed unto Cæsar] After a prisoner had appealed to the emperor, it was entirely out of the power of the inferior magistrate to release or condemn him. It may seem unfortunate that Paul was now in this dilemma when he apparently would have been declared innocent at this time, and have been liberated; but if he had not appealed, he would probably have been again given up to the Jews, who might have destroyed him. There is a divine Providence in all these events-they all work together for good, however mysterious they appear to our human vision.

CHAPTER XXVII.

1. Paul sails for Rome. 10. Foretells the danger of the voyage, but is not believed. 14. A tempest falls upon them. 21. They suffer shipwreck. 23. Paul's vision, and assurance of their safety. 44. All come safe to the shore.

AND when it was determined, that we should sail into Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners unto one named Julius, a centurion of Augustus' band.

2 And entering into a ship of Adramyttium, we launched, meaning to sail by the coasts of Asia, one Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us.

3 And the next day we touched at Sidon. And Julius courteously entreated Paul, and gave him liberty to go unto his friends to refresh himself.

1. That we should sail] From this it appears that Luke now voluntarily, and from tender regard for the apostle, accompanied him on his perilous voyage to Rome. Into Italy] Of which Rome was the capital city. A centurion of Augustus' band] The Augustan cohort or legion. A legion, bearing this title, had probably been on duty in the army then in Syria, and to the charge of a centurion of this band Paul was now committed.

2. A ship of Adramyttium] A vessel belonging to this seaport. Adramyttium was situated in the province of Mysia, and the ship was bound hither. We launched] Set sail. Meaning to sail by the coasts of Asia] To sail along the coast; either, this being a merchant ship, to land and receive merchandise at different ports, or to avoid strong opposing winds, or through the great fear of losing sight of land in those days, before the invention of the mariner's compass, they crept along close to the coast, although the length of the passage was much increased thereby. The centurion embarked his prisoners on board this ship, expecting, in some of the seaports of Asia Minor, to find a vessel sailing to Italy, on board of which he might embark the prisoners; and this proved to be the case at Myra, in Lycia. One Aristarchus] Who was also, with Luke, an affectionate companion of Paul in his present bonds; he became his fellowprisoner in Rome. Col. iv, 10.

3. Sidon] (See Acts xii, 20.) Now called Saide, formerly a seaport of considerable importance. Courteously entreated Paul] Treated him kindly, giving him every permissible liberty. To go unto his friends to refresh himself] He permitted him to visit his Christian acquaintances in Sidon, and to receive their kind attentions.