England," "The Building of a Commonwealth," &c. Although a new departure in modern book-writing, the method itself is as old as the Bible. God, whenever great movements were to be inaugurated, and great advances to be made along the line of His kingdom, has always laid bare the powers behind such movements, and made clear the factors that have led to success. The present lesson is not an exception. In it are revealed the elements that gave Barnabas and Saul their success as the first Christian missionaries, and the power that sent them forth. The order of thought before us will be as follows: The Three Elements of Success in the First Christian Missionaries. I. These men were in earnest. It is no dead church on which we are permitted to look as the chapter opens before us. In the persecution that arose from the death of Stephen the followers of Jesus were scattered abroad and journeyed as far as Phenice, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the Gospel of Christ with such power and fervour that at Antioch a great number believed and turned unto the Lord. Hearing of this success of the Gospel, the Church at Jerusalem sent them, as their preacher, Barnabas, a "good man, full of faith' ""and the Holy Ghost." His ministry was crowned with marked results in gathering converts; and, wishing for help, he sought out Saul and brought him to Antioch. God gives no message to the lazy. II. These men were Spirit-commissioned. "The Holy Ghost said," &c. Sometimes in our Western mountains the traveller discovers a stream of sparkling water leaping from the bosom of the cliffs and making its way toward the plain below. As he follows its course it suddenly disappears beneath the surface, indicating its channel, if at all, by here and there a tree growing among the heaped-up boulders; miles below he finds a quiet pool edged with rushes and starred with lilies, and from its lower rim a river flowing to the sea, and the traveller comes to understand that the spring in the mountain, the clear lake in the dusty plain, and the river with its ceaseless current moving oceanward are all parts of one great nature-plan of God. So in the lesson before us, when the Holy Ghost said, "Separate me Barnabas and Saul," it was a step in the fulfilment of a Divine purpose toward which the Spirit had been moving for years with untiring power. The evangelists give the message in vary ing language. "Go, teach all nations," says Matthew. "Go into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature," says Mark. God's purpose, the Gospel for the whole world, through the preaching of Christ's followers. So while this Spiritcommission occupies but a single line of the chapter, it is the greatest factor in the preparation of the first missionaries. Having The III. These men were obedient. waited for direction from God the Church received it willingly, and because the communication had come in the midst of prayer they continued in prayer; because fasting had brought them nearer to God they fasted still, and, laying their hands on the chosen ones in token of blessing, sent them forth. As they departed, note the divinely human way in which they went about their work. exercise of common sense in religious matters is always a token of the presence of the Holy Ghost. They went directly to the nearest sea-port, Seleucia, and took ship for the nearest heathen island, Cyprus, and, hastily touching its most important cities, made directly for the mainland of Pamphylia, a place where the various races met and mingled. God always directs missionary effort to centres of dispersion or centres of power. With this wisdom of choice there was an intensely human element. This journey was a home-going. Cyprus was the home of Barnabas. Pamphylia bordered close on Paul's native land. The message spoken years before to another, "Go home and tell thy friends," re-echoed in this new revelation. In its simplest forms it is the impulse to help some one that is near and dear to us. In its missionary form it is the world-enlightening impulse of the kingdom of God, just as acquisition is the race impulse of the Anglo-Saxon. As they went forth, then, obedience was sanctioned by a victory over the powers of superstition. The work at Paphos, which occupies so large a part of the lesson text, is but an incident by the way in the great movement that, starting at Antioch, is to reach the ends of the world. Gospel earnestness and Gospel obedience came face to face with superstition, and the touch of the Spirit drove the pretender into disgrace. Such has been, and always will be, the history of normal missionary work. (M. F. Colburn.) PAUL'S FIRST MISSIONARY SERMON. ACTS xiii. 26-43. THIS is the first recorded sermon of the Apostle Paul. He had preached in Damascus before this, but what he said has not been preserved. This discourse was delivered in a synagogue in the city of Antioch in Pisidia. The study of the sermons of the Bible is interesting and profitable to preachers and laymen alike. They are models of how religious truth should be presented to the hearer. I. We cannot but admire the way in which Paul handled himself and his subject matter at that critical time; and, examining first Paul's method, we call to mind the fact that this address was made to those who greatly differed from him. It was an attempt to overcome the prejudices and unbelief of an unsympathetic audience. He was a stranger and with a new truth. The problem was to make them friendly to himself and his message. Men of Israel, and ye that fear God." He assumed that they had a moral earnestness in accordance with a fear of God, even though he did not know them personally. He conciliated his hearers at the outset, and put them in a quiescent frame of mind. This we find to be a characteristic of most of the addresses of the Bible. May not missionaries find suggestions here as to how to deal with the other religions with which they come into contact? find out all in them that it is possible to accept; be eager to point out resemblances of these different faiths to Christianity; give credit to false religions for every bit of truth they contain. Another feature of Paul's method was that he used the channels for reaching the people already in existence. He began his preaching in the synagogue, a place held in honour and reverence by the Jews. He would not have the Jews think he was seeking to originate institutions or forms hostile to theirs. The ordinary channels for dispensing truth are so many in these days that rarely is there an excuse for opening new ones. II. Without dwelling longer upon the method of Paul's preaching in this particular instance, let us go on to examine the aim of this discourse. We notice the massing together of certain facts in the history of Israel, and at the point in the sermon where our lesson begins he was bringing forward events in the life of Jesus. The death and resurrection of the Lord were both emphasized with great force-a few distinctive particulars of each event being brought out. They were not treated doctrinally. Nothing was said about a doctrine of atonement and a doctrine of resurrection. He gathered the facts before he stated the truth he wished to get out of thein. That kind of doctrinal preaching is always acceptable, always powerful, and it is the truly scientific method of preaching. The matter of Paul's address was fresh and timely. It is one of the chief features in Biblical sermons that they deal with affairs relating to a present condition of things. Hence they are intensely practical. He used Scripture in such a way as to make it serve a present necessity. Paul teaches religious teachers a lesson by his devotion to the needs of his own time. He suggests that the Bible should be studied with reference to the social, civil, and religious crises of the present. The aim of Paul was to present a way of salvation. His message in some portions of it was destructive, for he did not hesitate to demolish the old teaching of justification by Moses' law. He opened a new way of salvation as soon as He closed the old way. To be sure he deals faithfully with the sins of the Jews; but the preaching of sin was not his main purpose, but the giving of glad messages of salvation. The entire address is hopeful. It was uttered as though Paul expected his hearers would accept what he said. All true preaching of the Gospel must bear the Gospel mark of hope. If the Gospel is good news, then the preaching of the Gospel must necessarily be cheerful and comforting. Great preachers of the world have been hopeful men. Their words have breathed forth among men the spirit of courage and trust. III. It remains now to notice briefly the result of Paul's preaching. Was it a success? Did he do any good? To ask these questions is to answer them. No such message as he gave was ever anything else than successful. The Scripture says concerning this sermon, "And as they went out they besought that these words might be spoken to them the next Sabbath," &c.-(Edward Sampson Tead). THE APOSTLES TURNING TO THE ACTS xiii. 44-xiv. 7. I. Such opposition is natural. Christianity necessarily causes divisions. "I came not to send peace, but a sword," said Christ. Christianity opposes the habits and beliefs of sinful man. It undertakes to reform society by correcting the evils of the past and leading men to a new and higher life. It is then by nature an iconoclast. It condemns the caste of the Hindus, the polygamy of the Indians, the taboo of the Sandwich Islanders, the fetish of the Africans, the ancestral worship of the Chinese, the money-loving of the Anglo-Saxons. It strikes straight for reform. It is determined to control, and it allows no compromises. "Ye cannot serve God and mammon." This is why Christianity has met with such bitter persecution from so many different religions. Other religions were willing to let it live, provided it would let them alone. The Gospel opposes selfishness. It forbids men to spend their lives in seeking their own pleasure. Much more, the faithful proclamation of the truths of Christianity excites opposition from the proud. Pride may not lead to positive persecution as certainly as selfishness does, but it is even more likely to stiffen one in opposition to the truth. In the case before us the Jews were made angry by the presence of Gentiles in their synagogues. They were not accustomed to such things in Antioch. But here was a new preacher. He had some startling things to say. He gave encouragement of salvation to others besides the Jews. Great interest was excited. The Jews did not like it at all. A similar pride to-day often hinders the acceptance of the Gospel or its faithful proclamation. In fact, the forms of pride which are likely to oppose the truth are innumerable. 1. There is the pride of opinion. It existed in these Grecian cities of Asia Minor. It is hard to confess that one has been mistaken, and when Christianity declares to a man that he has been in the wrong, and has been trusting to that which cannot help him, he is likely to be indignant rather than thankful for the warning. 2. Then there is pride of position. Those who opposed Paul were 7: women of honourable estate, and the chief men of the city." "Not many wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called." 3. And then there is pride of reputation. Who can bear to acknowledge himself to be overrated? Who likes to stand up before men and say, "My life has been a mistake?" 4. So, too, there is pride of independence. One who has all his life had charge of his own affairs and made a success of them, how can he bring himself in matters of religion to abandon his self-reliance and to put himself, a helpless dependent, into the hands of Christ? II. Opposition is helpful. Opposition attracts attention to Christian effort. Besides, opposition is an admirable influence in showing men where they stand, and whether or not they are followers of God. We can float on the popular current, especially when it is strong and full, and be well content with ourselves. The test comes when the influence is against us. After the tide turns the other way, have we still strength to press straight on? Opposition is often a revelation of character. So when the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia was filled with Greeks, and Paul was explaining to them the gracious truths of salvation, it was then that the Jews showed their true character. But opposition to Christian effort is not only a revelation of character, it is a development of character. It is often a grand thing for a man that he does not find his way through life an easy one. Great authors, like Homer and Milton, were blind, or, like Johnson and Goldsmith, contended with poverty. Great inventors, like Palissy the potter, and Goodyear, who perfected the manufacture of IndiaGreat rubber. struggled with adversity. explorers, like Livingstone and Stanley, in crossing unknown continents, endured the very horrors of death. Great statesmen, like Webster, Garfield, Lincoln, have fought their way up from a low station. The same law holds in religious matters. In order to purity among Christians, to consecration, to sincerity and devotion, to the highest types of heroism, a flavour of persecution is an excellent thing. The Church of to-day is too comfortable for its highest development and the best results of effort. III. How opposition should be met. The Apostles faced it with boldness. Opposition is not to be feared. To be sure it is not to be needlessly excited. We make a great mistake when we are willing to yield principle or conceal the truth to secure peace. There is always a tendency towards such a policy. Our desire to be charitable inclines us to it. No! the course which God commends is straightforward. But after there has been faithful effort to plant the good seed, it is entirely legitimate to cease effort that does not bring results and to seek more fertile soil. "It was necessary," said Paul and Barnabas, with startling plainness, 'that the word of God should first be spoken to you. Seeing ye thrust it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles." 66 IV. Opposition is sure to be overcome. Large results followed the efforts of Barnabas and Paul, even though they did meet serious difficulties in their labours. Opposition is overcome by the Divine presence and aid. It is said in this passage that the disciples were filled with the Holy Ghost. One thing more. It is possible, in spite of difficulties, to be filled with joy. This was the case with the disciples at Antioch.-(A. P. Foster.) THE SURVEY OF THOUGHT. ASSYRIOLOGY AND THE OLD TESTAMENT.-The distinguished German Assyriologist, Dr. Hugo Winckler, has just issued a collection of studies. and short notes on Old Testament history and difficult passages in the Hebrew Scriptures under the title, Old Testament Investigations, which contains, amidst a mass of novel opinions and daring emendations of the text, some suggestions which are well worthy of the consideration of students. Some of them have little to do with the cuneiform inscriptions, and therefore need not be mentioned in this notice; but others are mainly based on their evidence, and to a few of these we desire briefly to call attention. (1) "The land of the rustling of wings which is beyond the rivers of Cush" (Isa. xviii. 1, margin of R. V.), which is usually believed to be a country in Africa, is identified with South Babylonia, or Chaldea, on the supposition that, in this passage, the Hebrew "Cush" corresponds to the Cassu (or Cassites) of the cuneiform inscriptions, who constituted an important element in the Babylonian population. This identification is supported by the contention that "the rivers of Cush" is an expression which could be used with propriety of Babylonia, with its many natural and artificial streams, but not of the African Cush, which had only one river, the Nile. "The vessels of papyrus (or 'reed')" may be the round boats of reed which are still in use on the Euphrates. "The sea," it is argued, is the sea literally, and not a large river. (2) In the very obscure passage, Jer. xv. 11, &c., it is suggested that, instead of jobb, which, with needless vehemence, is pronounced nonsense, we ought to read, 1, iron of Baal-Zephon," that place situated in Anti-Lebanon, being mentioned in the Annals of Sargon as a mining district. In the following clause, 7, the first word of verse 13 is connected (after the LXX.) with the preceding verse, and is treated as a proper name—" and brass of Chilak." Chilak is supposed to be Chalcis, to the west of Damascus, also in the AntiLebanon. (3) The statement in 2 Kings vii. 6, that the panic-stricken Syrians supposed that the king of Israel had hired against them the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians, is very startling in the light of recent research. Dr. Winckler proposes to remove the difficulty in a very ingenious and plausible way. The Assyrian equivalents for are " Mutsri" and "Mitsri." But Mutsri has sometimes another signification. In some passages it describes a state in Northern Syria and the neighbourhood. In the time of Shalmaneser II., that is, in the very period to which this narrative refers, it was a comparatively small kingdom near Cilicia. Is it not possible, or even probable, that the Hebrew in this passage refers to the Syrian Mutsri, and not to that in Africa? On the former supposition there is NO. VI.-VOL. II.-THE THINKER. HH nothing remarkable in the mention of the Hittites in this connection. Both the peoples (the Mutsri and the Hittim) dwelt in Northern Syria, and both were vassals of Damascus, who were probably ever ready to throw off their allegiance. Dr. Winckler adds that this Syrian Mutsri may be referred to also in the passage about Solomon's purchase of horses (1 Kings x. 28). The Asiatic Mutsri was more likely than the African to be able to export horses in considerable quantities. (4) In discussing the chronology of the Old Testament, Dr. Winckler points out that there were two methods of marking time current among the Babylonians. In the earlier ages they indicated in a general way the time of an occurrence by connecting it with some other event, such as the conquest of a certain city, or the dedication of a throne. In later ages they employed the far more serviceable plan of naming the year of a monarch's reign. The former of these methods is clearly shown to have been in use amongst the ancient Hebrews. One example is cited from Amos: "two years before the earthquake" (i. 1); and as many as three examples are given from Isaiah: "In the year when king Uzziah died" (vi. 1); "In the year when king Ahaz died" (xiv. 28); and, "In the year that Tartan went against Ashdod" (xx. 1). When, however, he maintains that this was the only method in use before the Exile, and that the Jewish writers of history learnt the later and better plan from their closer connection with Babylonia, Dr. Winckler goes beyond the evidence adduced. SOUND DOCTRINE. By Rev. DONALD FRASER, D.D. (Publication Committee of the Presbyterian Church of England.)-In May, 1890, the Synod of the Presbyterian Church of England adopted unanimously a series of articles, twenty-four in number, which had been carefully prepared to express the living belief of the Church on fundamental points of Christian doctrine. These articles are believed by those who compiled them to be in substantial accord both with the teaching of the Westminster Standards accepted in that Church, and also with the general system of doctrine which finds expression in the Reformed Confessions drawn up in the course of the sixteenth century. On some doctrines, such as the Trinity and the Person of Christ, they claim to be in harmony with the Ecumenical Councils of the ancient undivided Church in the East and West. In their views of sin and grace they are frankly Augustinian. These articles, together with a commentary upon them by the late Dr. Fraser, have been published in a small book bearing the above title. In the Introduction Dr. Fraser gives a spirited defence of "dogma," against which we are accustomed to hear so many protests. "Most of the tirades," he says, "which we hear against creeds and confessions are mere outcries against definiteness in theological convictions. Is it to be gravely maintained that, in religion, nothing is ever to be discovered or known as certainly true, or that a thing so discovered and known may not be set down in words, lest it should forestall further and independent inquiry? If there be anything in theology at all, it is worthy of study; and in this, as in other branches of knowledge, students ought to help each other; but how |