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council, said at once, that they found no evil in him. This led to a dispute between them and the Sadducees; and, between them both, Paul came near being injured. The chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and to take him by force from among them, and to put him into the castle.

It is reasonable to suppose, that in the midst of all these trials and discouragements, and dangers, Paul needed more than ordinary consolation. The next night, the Lord Jesus appeared to him, and said to him, "Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so thou must bear witness of me also at Rome." This, at least, assured Paul that he should at that time escape the malice of the Jews.

Bigotry and revenge are never satisfied but with the ruin or destruction of the object against which they are levelled. As Paul had not been condemned by the council, and as he was under the guard of the Roman soldiers, his enemies found that they could not openly, and under the pretence of law, take

away his life. But what they could not do in one way, they purposed to accomplish in another. As early as day-light the next day, about forty of the Jews met together privately, and bound themselves by a curse, that they would not eat until they had killed Paul. This most wicked conspiracy against his life was very artfully planned, and the men obtained the sanction of the chief priests and elders. The plan which they proposed, was this: they advised, that the next day the council should request the chief captain to bring Paul once more before them for examination; and their object was to fall upon him and kill him suddenly, between the stairs which led down from the castle and the room in which the council was to be assembled. This wicked design, God saw fit to disappoint; for by his providence, it so happened that their plans were overheard by the son of Paul's sister. This young man went immediately into the castle, and informed Paul, who requested one of the centurions to take him to the chief captain. There he was examined privately, and Lysias putting full credit in his story, dismissed him, with a caution to say

nothing about it. As soon as the young man had gone, Lysias ordered two centurions to get ready a guard of two hundred soldiers, and two hundred spearmen, and seventy horsemen, and to be ready at nine o'clock that night. Thus God made this captain careful to preserve the life of Paul, by sending him to Cesarea under so strong a guard, that it was impossible for him to be molested. In order to explain the matter, Lysias wrote the following letter to Felix, the governor, and sent it with the party who went as a guard: "Claudius Lysias, unto the most excellent governor Felix, sendeth greeting. This man

was taken of the Jews, and should have been killed of them: then came I with an army, and rescued him, having understood that he was a Roman. And when I would have known the cause wherefore they accused him, I brought him forth into their council: whom I perceived to be accused of questions of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death, or of bonds. And when it was told me how that the Jews laid wait for the man, I sent straightway to thee, and gave commandment to his accusers also,

to say before thee what they had against him. Farewell." At the time appointed, viz. nine o'clock at night, the soldiers took Paul, as they had been commanded, and under this strong guard, they travelled all night; and before they stopped, reached a place called Antipatris, about forty-two miles from Jerusalem, and twenty-six from Cesarea. From this place, the soldiers were sent back, and Paul travelled the rest of the distance under the guard of the horsemen only; for they knew that it would be impossible for the Jews to follow them quick enough to do any mischief. When the party reached Cesarea, Paul was immediately delivered up to the governor Felix, and he was kept in custody, in a place called Herod's judgment-hall. Felix summoned the accusers of Paul to come down to Cesarea, where he would try the cause himself. How wonderful does the providence of God appear, in thus, time after time, rescuing Paul out of the hands of his persecutors. The trial and defence of Paul will form the interesting subject of another chapter.

CHAPTER XVI.

Paul's Defence before Felix.

FIVE days after the summons, Ananias and the elders, with a lawyer whom they had employed, named Tertullus, and who appears to have been distinguished for his ingenuity and eloquence, came down to Cesarea, and opened the cause against Paul in a way which was calculated at once to prejudice the Governor in his own favour, and against Paul. No honest man, however, could have taken the course which Tertullus did, for he told the most abominable falsehoods, just to flatter the vanity of Felix. Felix was notorious for his wickedness, and his bad administration of the government; besides this, he had, a little while before, murdered the high priest Jonathan; and yet Tertullus could be so vile, as to flatter him about the very worthy deeds which he had done in favour of the nation, and thank him for his goodness. As Tertullus had said so many flattering things to the Governor, he did not

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