to use his own words, "stirred up among the elder | be better shown than in an extract from a letter students a more than common zeal for true piety; a which he addressed to his mother on reaching Halle:zeal that was followed by the most happy and lasting My most dearly beloved and honoured mother,effect upon many." A number of well-disposed young My filial affection and bounden duty have long been men belonging to the university, thus awakened to a urging me to spare a portion of time for particularly greater ardour in matters of religion, formed themselves addressing your pious spirit; and, as I cannot at present into an association for the diffusion among themselves, pour out my heart to you in person, I do it as well as and their connections, of a practical knowledge of the I am able by a letter. I enjoy the consoling assurance, Word of God. Bengel was gladly welcomed into their that our faithful God and Father in heaven continues to society; and during the four years he resided at Tu- keep up in you that desire after himself and his everbingen, he felt the utmost advantage from the counte- lasting mercy, which has long found its place in your nance and encouragement which he received in his heart; and that he will make it still stronger and more religious profession from the pious young men with ardent than ever. O yes, this one thing is that which whom he was thus associated. And not only was his piety strengthened by frequent intercourse with his fellow-students on serious topics; there were also some devotedly pious men, who at that time occupied the theological chairs at Tubingen, particularly Reuchlin and Hochstetter, and who delighted in promoting the spiritual as well as the scientific progress of their pupils. Under such able and enlightened men, Bengel made rapid improvement, both as a Christian and a man of learning. He was admired and respected, while at the same time he was warmly beloved, and the highest expectations were formed of his future eminence. Having completed his studies, he was set apart to the office of the holy ministry by the consistory of Stuttgart, in the commencement of 1707. He then left Tubingen, to enter upon a parochial charge as provisional curate of Metzingen. His employments in this situation were quite new to him; and as he was entrusted with the sole care of the parish, he was required to labour assiduously in preaching and catechising, besides managing the other concerns which devolved upon him in the important station which he occupied. "My first fortnight's residence," he says, "as curate of Metzingen, convinced me at once what a variety of qualifications a young clergyman ought to have, but, alas! seldom possesses, for such a situation as this. How totally different is it from the notions one had formed of it at the university!" Before he had spent a year in his country parish, Bengel was called to take the office of junior divinity tutor at Tubingen, and to officiate as curate to Dr Hochstetter at the city Church. This appointment, while it gave him an opportunity of continuing to exercise his gifts as a preacher, was at the same time favourable to his progress in learning; part of his duty being to assist pupils in the study of philology, philosophy, and divinity. At this period he kept a regular diary, which he found of the greatest benefit to the promotion of his religious advancement. In the course of three years, Bengel was transferred from the important situation which he held at Tubingen to a curacy at Stuttgart, where he continued to officiate with the utmost satisfaction for two years, when, in 1713, he was promoted to the head tutorship of a theological seminary newly set on foot at Denkendorf. To qualify him the better for this last office, he was permitted to travel, at the expense of government, through a considerable part of Germany. In prosecuting this journey, he visited the classical and theological schools, with the view of ascertaining and comparing the various methods of instruction. He kept accurate notes of every thing which was likely to advance his great object; but while he never lost sight of the design of his tour, he was desirous to render it available for his own religious interests. Hence he endeavoured, to use his own language, "to seek out especially those excellent men, who, though rich in wisdom and goodness, had never communicated their treasures by the press." A journey of seven months, conducted in such a spirit, could not fail to prove of the utmost advantage, both to his mind and heart; and its beneficial influence upon the religious tone of his feelings, cannot our soul longeth after,' in the present transitory state. The few days that may yet remain to us in this life, cannot be more happily spent than in seeking, with constant care and diligence, to become partakers of the heavenly inheritance. Great as this inheritance is, its attainment is secured, if we only heartily desire, accept, and lay hold of it. In ourselves we have neither strength nor worthiness for that purpose; nor can any prosper spiritually, who have not known and felt the reality of their own wretchedness, misery, poverty, blindness, and unfitness for all good. But in Christ Jesus are freely bestowed, for our everlasting possession, the forgiveness of sins, the gift of righteousness, the peace of God, spiritual rest, consolation, joy, strength, life, fulness of content, and satisfaction; and we have only to prostrate ourselves before the throne, with such utterances of the heart as these: Heavenly Father, I am thy creature! Thou hast made me, that I might have the fruition, not of these transitory things of time, but of thine own everlasting blessedness! At present I live in this world, banished, with the rest of mankind, from thy house, on account of sin! In these ways of error have I suffered myself to wander farther and farther from thee, and have spent in vanity, indecision, and doubt, the time which I ought to have employed with all diligence in returning to thee as my Resting-place. I have gone astray like a sheep that is lost. Seek me, bring me back, and take me up! Teach me thyself the right way, and meet me in it; open mine eyes; withdraw not thy hand from me; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation! Pardon all my sin, and especially the inbred corruption of my nature. Forgive my every transgression, through the precious blood of thy dear Son! Send thy Holy Ghost, and shed abroad thy love in my heart, that so I may possess the blessed scriptural assurance, that I have verily found favour with thee. Keep also and preserve me, that amidst the sufferings of this present life I may possess my soul in peace, quietness, and tenderness, in constant spiritual watchfulness and sobriety; in contentment, meekness, joyfulness, love, and hope. Teach me perpetually to seek the one thing needful; to cleave to thee with purpose of heart; to find thy word my very joy; to hold perpetual communion with thee in secret prayer, and by inward prayer without ceasing; to lay up in myself a good foundation against the time to come. O God! be thou ever my God; that neither death nor life may be able to separate me from thy love." In the winter of 1713 the new institution at Denkendorf was opened, and Bengel entered upon his new employment with special prayer and self-dedication, which seems to have been attended with remarkable tokens of the divine favour. Hence we find him thus expressing himself:-" What passed between God and my soul the first night of my residence at Denkendorf, gave me good ground of encouragement for the whole period of my residence there." In commencing the duties of his office, the very first subject to which he called the attention of the students, shows the high tone of religious feeling by which he was uniformly characterized. Instead of launching out into high-sounding eulogiums upon mere human science, he makes it his first object to prove to them that "the diligent pursuit of piety is the surest method of attaining sound learning.' It were well for the advancement, even of secular knowledge, and for the training up of a generation of right-minded and right-hearted men of science, and literature, and sound information, were a spirit of genuine piety, like that of Bengel, to animate our professors, and tutors, and schoolmasters, throughout the length and breadth of the land. The forcible and unnatural separation, which is too often attempted in our systems of education, between secular knowledge and religious training, has had a withering influence both upon the intellectual habits and the moral feelings of the young. Bengel was too well aware of the intimate and indissoluble connection between the mind and the heart of man to fall into such flagrant errors as those which pervade many of the theories on the subject of edu'cation, put forth by superficial thinkers in our day. His favourite maxim was, that it ought to be the grand object of the teacher to form, rather than to inform, the pupil, not so much to teach him, as to train him to teach himself. The good effects of a system of education based on such principles were gratefully acknowledged by many of his pupils in after-life. Thus we find Dr Huber, Councillor of State, addressing his former tutor in terms of thankful acknowledgment: Truly, I can never be thankful enough to God for the great good I owe to you, to your amiable and valuable instruction, and to your many other expedients for my benefit. The good I thus gratefully acknowledge was not merely of à scientific kind; it was practical and moral. That 1 did not take proper care to retain such valuables after I left Denkendorf for Maulbronn, where I lived without God in the world, I now deeply regret, and confess my shame for it to the glory of God. How often, yes, how often still sounds in my ear your word of dismissal, which you always used to leave with us as your advice after prayer on Saturday evenings,- Compose your minds! At that time I did not enter into it, but now I do; yes, I know now what it means. But though I cannot yet say, I always compose my mind, my prayer is, Gather up, O Lord, my whole soul into peaceful recollectedness and wisdom!" From his twenty-sixth to his fifty-fourth year Bengel was employed in his laborious and most successful avocations as a tutor. After this period, however, he began to feel that his strength was scarcely adequate to the discharge of his duties, and, by the kind arrangements of an all-wise Providence, he was raised to the honourable office of Prelate of Herbrechtingen, and Aulic Councillor. On the 24th of April 1741 accordingly, he closed his duties as tutor at Denkendorf with a Latin oration on the same subject as that which had, twenty-eight years before, been the topic of his introductory speech; "The beneficial influence of piety upon the studies of the rising generation;" thus showing that long experience had only served to confirm the truth of a sentiment, with the paramount importance of which he had been early impressed. Though actively employed for many years as a seminary tutor at Denkendorf, he was regularly engaged, during the whole of that time, in preaching, except for the last two years; and on his translation to the office of Prelate of Herbrechtingen it was part of his duty to preach statedly, unless when he was called to Stuttgart, to attend either the Synod or the Sessions of the Provincial Estates. The situation which he now held was one, however, of comparative ease and retirement; and having been accustomed to a life of activity and bustle, some time elapsed before he was fully reconciled to the change. He enjoyed more leisure for literary labour than he had ever before experienced, and he devoted himself assiduously to his ministerial duties. His ser mons which had always been plain, pious, and practical, now became more impressive, and, by the divine blessing, many people were roused to an eager inquiry after the knowledge of Christ and his salvation. To gratify the increased desire for the truth which arose in his congregation, he instituted regular meetings for edifica tion. His time was now fully occupied, for in addition to the arrangements connected with the spiritual concerns of his people, his advice was sought from all quarters on matters of general interest, and both by personal intercourse and correspondence he was always ready to clear up the doubts, to satisfy the scruples, or to relieve the perplexities of all who resorted to him for counsel or assistance. The learning and piety of Bengel, combined, as they were in his case, with no ordinary measure of wisdom and prudence, soon attracted the notice of all classes, and his services were demanded in the public assemblies of the nation. In 1747 he was chosen a member of the General Assembly of the Provincial Estates, and in the following year he was elected a member of their Special Board. In reference to the important duties which thus devolved upon him he writes: My call to the States Assembly was unsought, but when it came, I did not refuse it. May all who love me, lend me the support of their fraternal and affec tionate prayers! I have just passed the sixtieth year of my pilgrimage; and, having of late completed one work after another which God's providence had committed to me, I had thought to put my furniture into a narrower compass, and to set my house in order. But now I am brought unexpectedly into a wider circle of more arduous engagements than ever, having to learn what it is to watch over and assist in the welfare of a whole country, and of the Church comprised in it; and this not merely in a general way, but in a great variety of particular business. Still, He who is ever faithful and true, will carry me through this large range of difficult duties also.' In the course of another year, Bengel, whose fame spread rapidly far and wide, was honoured with the title of Doctor in Divinity by the University of Tübingen, elected Councillor of Consistory, and Prelate of Alpirsbach. This last appointment required him to leave Herbrechtingen and reside at Stuttgart. About this period he paid a visit to Tübingen, when an incident occurred, which, though apparently unimportant, shows the humility of this great and good man, amid all the honours which in his old age were heaped upon him. A simple peasant, anxious to see one of whom he had often heard, came up to him as he was leaving the town, and expressed his joy at having for once in his life got a sight of him. Bengel replied, "Well, my good friend, you have only seen one more poor sinner that depends entirely upon the mercy of God." Bengel inherited a weakly constitution, and was always of delicate health; and yet though visited with frequent attacks of sickness, and sometimes brought to the very gates of death, his valuable life was prolonged to an advanced age. In June 1752 he began to complain of loss of appetite, languor, debility, and a general tendency to decline. He still continued, however, to attend to business until the October following, when he was confined to bed. It was now evident that his end was rapidly approaching. He spoke little, but his words were full of power and unction. He seemed to be almost constantly engaged in prayer. He had intended to partake of the Lord's Supper with his family once more in the collegiate church, but his illness was too far advanced to allow him that gratification. It was suggested the day before his death, that the ordinance might be dispensed in his sick-chamber-a practice not unusual among members of the Lutheran communion. The proposal delighted the dying man, and the following day, which was his last on earth, he joined his family in commemorating the dying love of the Redeemer. The following account of the solemn occasion may be interesting to our readers: "When the family were assembled on the occasion, Bengel, who at other times could hardly utter a few words connectedly, now, to the surprise of all present, poured forth such a full confession of his faith, accompanied with expressions of humiliation and prayer, as occupied quite half an hour; and such was its coherence and power of language, that it seemed quite extraordinary, nor could it seem anything less. Every one in the room was touched by it to the heart in no common degree; and the recollection of it will be a comfort to them as long as they live. They only regretted their inability at the time to note down, for their own and others' benefit, those last words of this heavenly-minded man; such precious things were they which he then uttered, as one who had become very ripe in acquaintance with God. He seemed to forget nothing that was worth remembering. The prince, with his illustrious house, and then all the various departments of the government, were severally and affectionately commended by him to God, with thanksgiving for the blessings enjoyed by their means. Next, he prayed for the church; then, for his beloved country, and the provincial estates of the realm; then, descending to more private matters, he mentioned first the faithful partner of his life, then his children, grandchildren, sons-in-law, and all other relatives; then, those who were in union of spirit with him; then all mankind. These were thankfully, tenderly, paternally, and affectionately commended by him to the grace and blessing of God. Nor did he forget the minister who officially attended him; and into whose heart he trusted God had put some word of life which should benefit him in his last moments. When he had thus delivered the pious thoughts and wishes of his soul, he was responded to by all with a hearty Amen. Then some verses were sung from the hymn which begins, O Jesu Christ, my purest light,' &c., (from the Old Würtemberg Church Hymn-book.) The confessions of the other communicants were next heard, and consolations administered from the Word of God. The consecrated elements were delivered first to the dying father, then to his almost heart-broken wife, to their sons, daughters, and other relatives, in succession. After this, two appropriate verses were sung from the hymn, Who knows how near my end may be!' and so the solemn service was concluded. The whole scene was composing, and yet most affecting; it appeared also very seasonably providential. A few hours afterwards the fever returned to its height, with much oppression of breath, and his spirit was forced back into its former stillness. In this state he remained supported by the Word of God to the last moment; enjoying the prayers uttered beside him by his beloved sons-in-law and by his own children. On one occasion, however, he made the following remark: We have not earned a stock of grace, but it is given out for our use as we want it. As for those who think they earn it, God is able to make them often feel very empty; and he means them no harm by it." The last moments of Bengel were in complete harmony with the calmness, and serenity, and composure which had marked the whole of his last illness. "At the point of his departure, the following words were pronounced over him:‘ Lord Jesus, to thee I live; to thee I suffer; to thee I die; thine I am, in death and in life; save and bless me, O Saviour, for ever and ever; Amen.' Upon hearing the words, 'Thine I am,' he laid his right hand upon his heart, evidently signifying his full assent; and so he fell asleep in Jesus, on Thursday, the 2d of November 1752, between the hours of one and two in the morning," in the sixty-sixth year of his age, We have thought it unnecessary, in this brief sketch of one of the most eminent divines of the last century in Germany, to refer to his valuable writings, although upon these, no less than upon the piety and sterling worth of his character, rests the fame of Bengel. Besides his new editions of various ancient authors, he wrote nearly thirty original works, distinguished by the most extensive and elaborate research. In biblical criticism and expository theology he holds a high repu tation, even to this day. It has been our object, however, to exhibit this illustrious man as a Christian rather than as an author, and to such of our readers as are desirous of having a full and accurate analysis of his works, we would recommend the excellent Memoir of Bengel, by his great-grandson Dr Burk, of which a translation has recently been published in London, and from which we have gleaned the materials of the present article. THE PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCE OF A SEAMAN. In the spring of 1834 a number of vessels, which had A schooner, the Star of Dundee, was unable to contend with the raging elements, and to reach the Sound of Hoy, the only approach to the harbour of Stromness from the west. Owing to the unabated severity of the storm she became ungovernable, and the unhappy crew had no alternative but to submit to be driven against a ridge of rocks about a hundred feet high, where the bark became a total wreck. A number of men from the neighbourhood, who witnessed the perilous situation of the vessel and the perishing crew, from the top of a hill, on the side of the rocks on which she foundered, strove in vain to afford them relief. The shipwreck happening at our very door, produced a deep impression upon the minds of our people, which was greatly heightened from being observed by many men who felt deeply for the fate of their fellows, but whose exertions to afford them assistance were utterly unavailing. Upon my own mind the impression was vivid and affecting. Only the day before the unfortunate schooner sailed, I had celebrated a marriage, at which the captain was present, gay and cheerful; alas! he little thought that before another week passed he was to meet a watery grave. On the following Sabbath I felt it to be my duty to improve this most melancholy dispensation, which had thrown a gloom over every countenance, and filled every feeling heart with sorrow. I was induced to do this, both on account of many of my flock being connected with the sea, and likewise from the conviction that there would be a number of captains, as well as seamen, in church. Choosing for my subject the interesting narrative of the storm, contained in the eighth chapter of Matthew; after a simple exposition of the narrative, I deduced these two practical inferences, let seamen learn their danger and their safetyendeavouring to apply the subject as impressively and powerfully as I was able to seamen who, with the late mournful dispensation before their minds, and uncertain to impress his mind with gratitude to his God, for protracting his life and rescuing him from peril so great; and indifferent must he have been to his best interests if he could ever forget his merciful Deliverer. May this simple narrative, of a dispensation so striking and impressive, be blessed in reviving those feelings and resolutions which have been awakened in the minds of seamen, by the dangers to which they have been exposed, and in disposing that interesting, but long neglected, portion of the community to embrace the Lord Jesus, and submit themselves to His authority who has all power both in heaven and on earth, whose commands all the elements of nature obey, and who can say to the troubled ocean, in the beautiful language of Scripture," Peace, be still!" THE CHARGE BROUGHT AGAINST PAUL, CONSIDERED: when the same fate might be theirs, listened with great | wonderful manifestation of providence was well fitted attention. In proceeding to the pulpit in the afternoon, two farmers, from the immediate neighbourhood where the shipwreck happened, came and told me that one of the crew was saved. I could not help in prayer giving thanks to God in his behalf, for, after knowing all the circumstances of the shipwreck, which took place on the Wednesday before, he was viewed as one alive from the dead. I felt exceedingly anxious to learn from himself the manner in which he was preserved, which to many appeared miraculous. Accordingly, I waited on him in Stromness, to which he was removed the following morning. He was much exhausted, as was to be expected, from the privations he had suffered. I learned from him the following account of his wonderful preservation: After the schooner had become unmanageable, he gave up all hope of being saved, and sat down upon the binnacle to await the termination of his earthly sufferings. In the providence of God, whose way is in the sea, whose paths are in the great waters, and whose footsteps are not known, he was driven into the only cave which is to be found in the ridge of rocks on which the schooner was dashed to pieces. In coming to his recollection, he felt hungry, and the God who had preserved him, and who giveth food to the ravens when they cry unto Him, supplied him with what was necessary for his support. In groping around him, he was no less surprised than gratified to find a small cask of red herrings, part of the vessel's cargo, of which he availed himself, and satisfied his hunger. But no sooner was this appetite subdued, than thirst, as keen and powerful, was experienced. A tin oil can came also within his reach, which he emptied, and filled with water dripping from the rocks. Upon this did he subsist from the Wednesday till Sabbath morning. The effects of the storm he still experienced, both in the difficulty of breathing, when the waves almost filled the cave and obstructed the air from entering it, and in the friction of the stones on his legs by their violent commotion. His preserving God also brought to his relief two other fragments of the wreck, one of which he used for a bed, and the other for the protection of his feet. Thus, in a manner which we might almost regard miraculous, did the Almighty, in his providence, preserve one of bis creatures during four days in a cave where it could be scarcely credited that a human being could have lived. On the morning of the Sabbath he thought on his family, and believing that the rest of the crew were saved, and dreading that they would communicate his melancholy death to his wife, he was led to make a desperate effort to climb the ridge of rocks adjoining the cave; he succeeded in the attempt, and was seen by two boys who directed him to a house in the neighbourhood, where he was kindly received, and hospitably treated. After recruiting for some weeks in the town of Stromness, where he experienced much attention and kindness, and receiving a considerable sum of money which there and in Kirkwall had been contributed, he was enabled in health and strength to proceed to his home. During his stay in this parish I repeatedly saw him, prayed with him, and used every possible means to impress upon his heart the marvellous preservation of which he was the object; telling him, with serious affection, that unless he improved his Bible, had recourse to Jesus, "the hiding-place from the wind, and the covert from the tempest," was faithful in the use of all the opportunities of grace he enjoyed, and manifested, by a life of holiness, that he had benefited by this providence, he would regret, throughout eternity, that he did not meet the same untimely end as his shipmates. Whether or not this signal deliverance was instrumental in bringing this shipwrecked seaman to the knowledge of the Saviour, and issued in his conversion, I have not been able to ascertain, But surely such a BY THE REV. JOHN BALFOUr, "Then Agrippa said unto Festus, I would also hear the THESE, as the narrative bears, were the words of King Agrippa, to Festus the Roman governor, concerning the prisoner Paul. This distinguished apostle, now in bonds, was one of those servants of Christ, who were to verify their Lord's own declaration, that they should be made to stand before kings and rulers for His name's sake. By his fervid, but well regulated and principled zeal, this eminent individual was, in the hand of his great Master, a ready instrument, to advance the interest, and promote the extension of the infant establishment he was called to superintend and direct; and by the energy of his character, and the decision of his counsels, he was a pillar of strength, admirably adapted to uphold the stability, and maintain the glory of the rising Church. He was rich too in point of external privilege; a distinction much looked to, and valued in those days. Of the stock of Abraham, a Hebrew of Hebrews, of the tribe of Benjamin, a citizen of no mean city, and a denizen or free man of Rome. But the purest and most precious gem in his crown, was that divine favour which rested on his head, and which cast around him a light and a lustre discriminating and bright. He was a child of grace; one whom God had accounted faithful to be put in trust with the ministry, a vessel sanctified, and made meet for his Master's use. These fine endowments, however, both of a natural cast and spiritual character, which qualified him for a course of brilliant exertion, and a life of extensive usefulness, he was not permitted to put forth and exercise in peace. He had given offence, it would appear, to some of the leading characters of the day, and had fallen particularly under the ban, the displeasure, of the Jewish priesthood. Persecution, therefore, with her many hands, and him. He was held forth to public reprobation as mean artifices, was up, and in active pursuit of a troubler of Israel, as one who turned the world upside down, and the weight and redundance of whose extensive and varied learning had so en-salem, to be tried upon the principles, and accordfeebled and bewildered his reason, as to lead him ing to the usages of the Jewish law. Their juristo talk in the style of a babbler, that is, in an in- diction, however, Paul declined, and, availing himcoherent and disjointed strain; and to act with the self of his privilege of Roman citizenship, appealed simplicity and obstinacy of one reckless of the dan- to the Emperor Cæsar Augustus. ger which, from his conduct, might arise to his personal safety, though, in the ear and the estimation of every unprejudiced and thinking man, he spake forth the words of truth and soberness. And prosecution, treading hard on the heels of persecution, had brought him at last before a Roman tribunal, at the instance of those whose intolerant principles he had formerly advocated, and whose persecuting designs he had but too successfully forwarded, in support of another cause. Here, then, we have the novel spectacle of a Christian minister arraigned before a heathen tribunal, his accusers being, at the same time, professors of the Jewish faith. Not altogether novel | either, when we recollect that Paul's Master, the minister of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man, stood in a court of the same description, and before a similar judge, to answer for his life. Our investigation into the apostle's case commences during the proconsulate of Felix, the governor of the province of Judea. Ananias, the high-priest, under the impulse of resentful feelings or misguided zeal, flushed with power, and in all the pomp of judicial form, descended with his retinue from Jerusalem to Cesarea, to the Roman judgment hall; and with him came Tertullus the orator, in all the confidence of overpowering talent and successful pleading, to accuse, in the name of his employers, and to call for a sentence of condemnation against this apparently unprotected minister of Christ. But the servant of Jesus came up too with his guards, not of men indeed, but strong in the goodness of his cause, and attended by an invisible band of mightier name than the proconsular spearmen, who stood around the seat where justice professedly was to preside, but where persons were stationed to prompt and direct-a band, whose Captain was the Lord of Hosts. For though, in the presence of all this parade and array, all men, as he himself expresses it, forsook him and fled, the Lord stood with him and strengthened him. Paul was arraigned in due form, and put upon his defence, but no decision respecting him was at that time given. Forensic eloquence was of no avail. The long arm of ecclesiastical power was paralysed for the moment. The strong arm of secular authority was arrested. But Felix, upon quitting his office, willing to show the Jews a pleasure, left Paul bound. Porcius Festus succeeded to the government, and a second hearing before the new proconsul was soon and easily obtained. Articles of accusation were re-exhibited against the apostle, and Paul was again permitted to speak for himself. But Porcius, like his wily predecessor wishing to oblige the Jews, proposed to transfer the prisoner to the Sanhedrim at Jeru About this time Agrippa came into the province to salute Festus on his accession to his new government, and Festus took an opportunity of stating Paul's case to the king. He was now perhaps at a loss how to proceed, and was anxious, it may be, to have the opinion of his guest, as to the manner in which he should conduct himself in the further progress of this matter. Agrippa was by birth a Roman, but in religious principle a Jew. He was, however, a man of sense and discernment, a calm and reflecting man; one not likely to allow his judgment to be biassed by weak and ignorant prejudices, or blinded by the fumes arising from sudden gusts of impetuous and angry passionss-a man of candour-and, moreover, one expert in all customs and questions which were among the Jews. It was a happy circumstance for Paul, that he was to have such a man for his judge; for from the outlines of character just exhibited, he had every thing to expect from him which a mind imbued with candour, and a love of truth and justice, could devise-a fair and impartial trial, and a sound and equitable decision. So disinterested was the king in this matter, and so entirely devoid of all undue and partial leaning, that he would give no opinion on any second-hand representation of Paul's case, however faithful the reporter might be, and however correct the report. The defence of the accused must proceed from his own lips in his presence. "I also," said he, "would hear the man myself." To this wish of the king, the governor readily assented: "To-morrow," rejoined he, "thou shalt hear him." On the present occasion I intend to consider the charge that was brought against the apostle, reserving for future discussion his masterly and powerful defence. And before I advance further, I must premise, that the case of Paul was clearly a case of conscience. He was upon Christ's errand, when he was arrested by the hand of power; in the peaceable execution of the high commission with which he was invested by Him, to proclaim to the perishing Jew, and to the benighted Gentile, the glad tidings of his salvation; and no man, nor set of men, with worldly views, and acting upon worldly principles, had a right to dictate to him, what he was to say on Christ's behalf, and when acting under the authority of his commission; or to interrupt and disturb him in the exercise of his spiritual duties, and the discharge of his apostolical functions, so long as he did not interfere with the civil polity of the country, or teach doctrines subversive of the quiet and good order of society, and manifested a due respect for, and submission to, the laws. This right, however, was usurped by his enemies upon false pretences. It was his strict and conscientious adherence to the sacred truths that were revealed to him, and the instructions that were given him, for his di |