themselves more deeply. The proverb has been expounded in the present instance as implying the inability of Saul to resist the grace of God within his heart, and thus giving countenance to the Augustinian doctrine of gratia irresistibilis. But the more probable view is, that it expresses the fruitlessness of objective opposition to the church of Christ. Rising from the ground in obedience to the heavenly vision, trembling, and blinded by its splendour, Saul was led helpless into Damascus. Passing through the gate which was to have opened to the proud and relentless Pharisee, flourishing the credentials of the Sanhedrim, he was led by the hand, like a little child, into the street called Straight, to the house of one Judas, his lodging. Three days were spent in solitude, and darkness, and fasting. The blindness under which he suffered, though his eyes were open, may have seemed to him an emblem of that moral and mental darkness in which he had lived, though believing himself to be high in the favour of God.t During these three dark days, his mind was probably the sphere of profound and painful conflict. All the hopes of his life were annihilated. His Pharisaism was scathed by the lightning-flash which had revealed to him Jesus. Every favourite theory was destroyed. The fabric of greatness which his ambition had reared was now a shattered ruin. He had been even fighting against God. Ever and anon his soul was haunted by the voice, "Why persecutest thou Me?" There could be no fellowship for him with the Christians of Damascus, no converse about the deep thoughts which stirred within his chastened heart. For three days the burden on his soul was so great that "he did neither eat nor drink." At length came relief; his own true position before God was revealed to him; and for the first time in his life he tasted of that gift which so often refreshes the combatant, he prayed. He had prayed before, but never in humbleness of heart; never in utter trustlessness of self. It had been the prayer of the Pharisee. It was now the Publican's prayer. The Lord's time came at last; and he saw in a vision a man named Ananias, (a cheering name "the Lord is gracious,") putting his hand upon him, that he might receive his sight. In the meantime the Lord appeared to Ananias, in a vision, directing him to one called Saul of Tarsus, and giving that unequivocal test of sincerity in the religious life, "Behold, he prayeth!" In this bringing together of Saul and Ananias the Rationalist discovers no trace of supernatural interference, but only one of those happy coincidences in which his system abounds. From Eichhorn it would appear that Saul and Ananias were previously acquainted, and that, when the former entered Damascus, in his altered circumstances, he longed to meet * So Tirinus, in Poole's Synopsis: Pupugi te stimulis miraculorum, prædicationis Stephani aliorumque, remorsibus conscientiæ et inspirationibus internis. Alios adhibebo stimulos, sed acriores et majori damno. + So Grotius in loc.:- Ea fuit imago Pauli qualis antehac fuerat, speciem habens hominis eruditi in lege, cum plane animo cæcus esset. with his old friend, to talk with him on the doctrines of Jesus, and to seek from him the exercise of that gift of healing with which he supposed all the Christians to be endowed. So fully did this desire possess the heart of Saul, that it pervaded his dreams; in one of which he saw Ananias coming to him, and restoring his sight. In the meantime Ananias had heard of Saul's strange adventure on the road, of his entrance into Damascus, of his longing desire to see him, and of his dream. So thoroughly was the mind of Ananias impressed, that he also dreamed his dream, and thus they were brought together! Kuinoel, in adopting this explanation, adds, somewhat naïvely: Neque, hâc interpretatione admissá, negatur Dei providentiam ad Sauli et rei Christianæ salutem rem omnem direxisse! The devout student, not reduced to the sorry shifts of Rationalism, will have no difficulty in discerning in these visions the direct agency of Providence, under whose wise superintendence a teacher was found for the unenlightened chamberlain of Ethiopia, and an Apostle of the Gospel of Christ was led to the devout Cornelius. Nothing further is known of Ananias, save that he was "a disciple," (Acts ix. 10,) and "a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt at Damascus." (xxii. 12.) Many traditions concerning him are extant, -as, for instance, that he was one of "the seventy;" that he was Bishop of Damascus; and that he suffered martyrdom: but they are not to be trusted. Perhaps there is some significancy in the fact, that the greatest among the Apostles owed his baptism to a man of whom the church knows nothing, save that he was devout. Plain, unknown, devout men are often the instruments of the sublimest purposes of God. In the day when God's faithful servants enter upon their reward, it will be seen how often the weak things of the world have confounded the mighty. When the word came to Ananias, he at first hesitated, because of the notorious character of Saul; but, yielding, he went his way, and entered the house of Judas. Little is recorded of the interview; but we can imagine the feelings of both. The first word of Ananias opens wide the door of Christian fellowship, -" Brother Saul!" It was a new word, and a new thought. There was no brotherhood in Pharisaisın. It was followed by words as startling, -" receive thy sight!" And immediately there fell from his eyes, as it had been scales (ὡσεὶ λεπίδες). Ananias then announced to the wondering Saul, that God had chosen him to be the witness of the Just One, whom he had seen, unto all men. But, although thus miraculously called, the future Apostle was commanded to submit to God's institution, and "be baptized, calling on the name of the Lord." The purposes of God are thus carried into effect by human agency, and the appointed means of grace are not superseded by the most august manifestations and endowments. No man is ever elevated to such a height in the favour of God as to rise superior to God's ordinances. Even Paul, a called Apostle, not by the will of man, but of God, must submit to the sacrament of baptism, which in this instance receives an additional sanction. So 25 VOL. III.-FIFTH SERIES. Augustine: Cogitemus ipsum Paulum, licet coelesti voce prostratum et instructum, ad hominem tamen missum esse, ut sacramenta perciperet. For a few days he preached in the synagogues of Damascus that Jesus was the Son of God. The astonished Jews heard, from the lips of the High Priest's agent of persecution, the Gospel of reconciliation. But this was not long tolerated; for we learn from Galatians i. 17, that Paul left Damascus, and went into Arabia. His residence in that country must have spread over a period of three years. The only reason that can be given for the omission of these three years by the historian, is, that they belonged, in all probability, to the personal rather than the ministerial work of Paul. How these years were employed, it is impossible to decide; though, as St. Paul in his Epistles enjoins that novices are not to teach, it does not seem likely that he entered at once upon the active duties of the apostolate. Perhaps it is right to conclude, that, in order to qualify himself for his mighty work, he sought retirement in Arabia, and gave himself to holy contemplation and communion with God. His amazing views of the scheme of redemption were not inspired by men; and it is reasonable to suppose that, as the disciples of the Lord spent three years in their Master's company, learning from His lips the lessons of life, so Paul, designated for noble enterprise in the aggressive and controversial departments of the service of Christ, passed three years in devout and uninterrupted communion with the Spirit of Truth. Such retirement would have been in harmony with the example of his Master, who, before entering upon His ministry, "returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness." It remains only to inquire into the reality and momentous import of the conversion of Saul. Men who have no sympathy with Bible Christianity have been accustomed to ascribe the marvellous revolution in his life either to some deep scheme of self-interest, or to downright fanaticism. But it would be difficult to show how any ideas of low self-interest could influence one who had to surrender the proud theories of a life-study, to give up the hopes of an ambitious nature, to abandon all prospect of wealth and position, and to enter upon a course which, he knew, must involve contempt and peril, the loss of all things, bonds, and death. Equally difficult would it be to discern traces of fanaticism in the subsequent history of Paul. His sobriety, his calm wisdom, his prudence, and his genuine humility, all gainsay the charge of delusive enthusiasm. The unprejudiced mind must acknowledge the work of the Holy Spirit, the magnitude and importance of which will be more fully estimated when we consider that there could have been no psychological preparation in the heart of the convert. Though some have supposed that he was under the influence of wise and liberal counsels propounded by Gamaliel, and of impressions received from the dying words and aspect of Stephen, the history distinctly negatives such supposition: for, while he is represented as taking positive pleasure in the death of Stephen, (συνευδοκῶν,) other words (ἔτι ἐμπνέων) seem to imply that this kind of complacency had, become the habitual temper of his mind, and was displayed in every phase. of life. If any fact may be gathered more clearly than another from th narrative, it is this, that his conversion to the Faith of Christ was not grounded on any preparation; but that his conviction of sin was as sudden as the flashing light which smote him to the ground. He was stopped suddenly in the very midst of a headstrong career. Bengel says well: In summo fervore peccandi ereptus est et conversus. (So also Chrysostom, in Hom. xix. in Act.: Καθάπερ ἰατρὸς ἄριστος, ἀκμάζοντος ἔτι τοῦ πυρετου, τὸ βοήθημα ἀυτῷ ἐπήγαγεν ὁ Χριστὸς. The nature of Paul required some such sudden and violent manifestation; "for upon such heroic, proud natures the Spirit of God comes, not in the still, gentle breeze, but in the earthquake, the fire, and the storm." There may have been some link between the martyrdom of Stephen and the conversion of Saul; but, if any, it is that which Augustine most beautifully suggests: "If Stephen had not prayed, the church would have had no Paul." (Si Stephanus non orâsset, ecclesia Paulum non haberet.) The conversion of Paul attests that Christianity is Divine. It illustrates one of the most precious features of redeeming love, the forbearance and mercy of God; who chose to endow a persecutor of His church not only with the Spirit, but with the high honour of the apostleship of the Gospel unto the nations. And it indicates, further, the marvellous fellowships to which, in earth and heaven, the love of Christ leads. Little thought Stephen, as he kneeled in the stone-storm, while a young man named Saul looked on,-little thought the Christians who were hunted from city to city by the relentless agent of the Sanhedrim,-that the day would come when Stephen and Saul should sit down together in the kingdom of God. But the day did coine; and days of equally strange fellowships shall come to others. Such a hope as this inspired the last words of Sir Thomas More to his Judges: "This farther only have I to say, my lords, that like as the blessed Apostle St. Paul was present and consenting to the death of the proto-martyr St. Stephen, keeping their clothes that stoned him to death, and yet they be now twain holy saints in heaven, and there shall continue friends together for ever; so I verily trust, and shall therer fore heartily pray, that though your lordships have been on earth my judges to condemnation, yet that we may hereafter meet in heaven merrily together to our everlasting salvation." THE PHENICIAN INSCRIPTION ON THE SARCOPHAGUS OF ESHMUNAZAR, KING OF THE SIDONIANS. THE Bible is the grandest monument of antiquity. Other remains of the ancient world owe their interest chiefly to the light which the Bible sheds upon them, or to the illustrations which they afford of the genuineness and authenticity of the Divinely inspired narrative. This remark applies equally to an inscription recently discovered at Sidon in Phœnicia, as to the temples and tombs of Egypt, and the sculptured marbles of Nineveh and Babylon. The inscription to which reference is made is found on the lid of a sarcophagus of black basalt, which contained the bones of Eshmunazar, King of Sidon; who is said to have reigned in the fourth century before the Christian era, about the time of the conquests of Alexander the Great. It is the longest inscription that has yet been found in the Phœnician language: it consists of twenty-two lines, and contains nearly one thousand characters. The sarcophagus is in the form of an Egyptian mummy-case, of massive size. On the lid is a likeness of the deceased King sculptured with great care and skill, with a large head-dress of hair, and a neatly plaited beard, the portrait being supported on each side by the figure of the head of the sacred hawk. Within the sarcophagus there were found among the dust a tooth, another osseous fragment, and a human jaw-bone. This relic of antiquity was discovered within two miles south of Sidon, the most ancient city of Phoenicia, by the agent of the French Consul, while engaged in forming trenches in search of treasure which tradition asserts to be concealed in that locality; and was found carefully embedded in a place prepared for its reception in a mass of living rock. At first sight we may care little for a Heathen King's epitaph upon himself; but the epitaph of Eshmunazar, King of the Sidonians, presents an inscription sculptured on imperishable stone, in the most ancient characters of the Hebrew language, and in the very words and phraseology of that language as found in the inspired writings of the Old Testament. It repeats, more than once, the scriptural figure which compares human life to the flowing away of water; and discovers a zealous devotion to the ancient Canaanitish idolatry which was denounced by Moses and the Prophets. It also introduces to our knowledge a race of Kings of Phœnicia not previously known to history; having intercourse with Egypt, as evidenced by the Egyptian style and sculpture of the sarcophagus. We imay therefore claim for it from every reader of the Bible a more than antiquarian interest. The following English version has been made after carefully writing over the original as published in fac-simile, by the French Academy, and comparing it with the Hebrew, Latin, and French versions of the Duc de Luynes, and of the Abbé Bargès, two eminent Orientalists, who have the sarcophagus itself to view and examine at their leisure in the Louvre at Paris, whither it was conveyed with great care from Sidon soon after its discovery. The memoir from which my information has been derived was published in Paris in 1856, and has been lent to me from the library of the Royal Asiatic Society in London. The characters forming the words " Eshmunazar Melec Tsidonim," or, "Eshmunazar, King of the Sidonians," afford a fair specimen of this most ancient mode of alphabetical writing, which, like the common Hebrew, is to be read from right to left. |