was not abruptly abolished, but "decayed and waxed old," as it were, of itself, until "at length it vanished away," sinking, as it were, through age, or giving way, like the dawn, to the gradual approach of day1: and St. Paul, who would on no account enforce the Jewish ritual on the Gentiles, yet observed it himself as a Jew, as we see again immediately afterwards. For, on his arrival at Ephesus, he entered into the synagogue as usual, to reason with the Jews, and was earnestly pressed to remain among them; but "he consented not, but bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh at Jerusalem, but I will return again unto you, if God will." And accordingly "he sailed from Ephesus."

E. What feast do you suppose this was, Mamma? M. Probably the Feast of the Passover; which all pious Jews made a great point of keeping at Jerusalem every year. Not that St. Paul had any need now to keep that Feast, knowing, as he did, that Christ the true Passover had been sacrificed for us, that the type had been succeeded by the substance. Perhaps St. Paul was anxious to keep this feast, not so much for his own sake, as for the sake of that great concourse of people that would meet at Jerusalem on this solemn occasion, to whom he would thus have an opportunity of preaching the Gospel of Christ. Of this visit to Jerusalem, which was then the head of Christendom, no further particulars are recorded. From thence St. Paul returned to Antioch, the place from which you know he had begun his mission, and where he had been first solemnly set apart to his present work.

1 Heb. viii. 13.

E. Did he stay there any time on this occasion? M. Yes, and was no doubt refreshed by the society of his early Christian friends, and prepared, by meditation and retirement, to resume his labours speedily again with fresh zeal and vigour. For the labours of St. Paul were never long interrupted. Next Sunday Evening we may hope to follow the great Apostle upon his third missionary journey.

See Acts xviii. 1-22.

TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY EVENING.

ST. PAUL AT EPHESUS.

E. Here is the map, dear Mamma, quite prepared for tracing St. Paul's third journey. What course did he now take? Was it the same as before, or in some new direction?

M. St. Luke speaks of his having commenced this journey by going through the upper coasts of Asia, that is to say, the inland regions of Asia Minor, or parts remote from the sea; for that is what we generally understand by upper or higher as applied to countries; the parts near the sea being called, as indeed they are, the lower parts.

E. I suppose then he must have visited Armenia, or Persia, or perhaps have gone further still to the East.

M. Scarcely I should think, as these countries are not in Asia Minor; by the upper coasts we must rather understand the countries to which you would

ascend from Ephesus, the higher parts of the country as compared with that city, to which St. Paul is said to have come from them', and to which we must now turn our attention. You know Ephesus very

well?

E. Here it is, Mamma, close upon the Mediter

ranean.

M. There it is no longer, Edward, being now only a heap of ruins; but here it once stood, a celebrated city of Ionia in Asia Minor, about forty-five miles south of Smyrna, chiefly famous, as we shall have occasion to observe in speaking of St. Paul, for its temple of Diana, one of the wonders of the ancient world. Ephesus, like Athens, was a strong-hold of idolatry; and, as such, a point of melancholy interest in the eye of a Christian Apostle. See too how favourably it stood as regarded communication with Asia, and by sea with Europe; there could scarcely have been a more convenient centre for the Apostle's labours. E. Would he find any disciples at Ephesus?

M. It seems that there were some persons there, who had been led by the preaching of a person called Apollos to believe in Jesus as the expected Messiah. Apollos was a Jew" "mighty in the Scriptures, and instructed in the way of the Lord, and, being fervent in spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord," but without fully embracing the Gospel as preached by the Apostles; for "as yet he knew only the baptism of John." At the time when he preached at Ephesus, he was unacquainted with all that had been done and commanded by our Lord for

the establishment of the kingdom of God in the world. His converts, therefore, could not be fully instructed yet in the way of the Lord, though that blessing was in store both for Apollos and them, according to the promise: "Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord'." Accordingly we find that, when Apollos was leaving Ephesus, " Aquila and Priscilla took him, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly ;" and afterwards, proceeding to Achaia, he became a great help to the Church there.

E. And the disciples he had made at Ephesus, Mamma! Did St. Paul instruct them more thoroughly?

M. As yet they were baptized only with the baptism of John, and had not received any of those wonderful gifts of the Holy Ghost, which, at the first preaching of the Gospel, accompanied Christian baptism. Indeed, so ignorant were they on this important subject, that when St. Paul said to them, " Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?" they replied, "We have not so much as heard, whether there be any Holy Ghost." But this their ignorance they could not help; and when St. Paul instructed them in the difference between John's baptism and that of Christ, they were gladly" baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Ghost came on them, and they spake with tongues and prophesied." The number of these men were twelve.

Such was the beginning of St. Paul's preaching at Ephesus, which he was about for a time to make the chief scene of his labours, and which became afterwards

1 Hos. vi. 3.

the seat of one of the chief Churches of Christendom, founded by St. Paul, and superintended at a later period by St. John, who is said to have resided in that city and to have died there, as well as the Virgin Mary. The first bishop of Ephesus was Timothy, appointed by St. Paul to that sacred office.

E. Now that you are again speaking of Ephesus, will you tell me a little more about it as a city?

M. Willingly. I told you that it was highly celebrated; so much so, that "the ancient writers in speaking of it are prodigal in epithets describing its glory and magnificence." They call it "the best and most glorious of cities, the great emporium of Asia Minor, one of the eyes of Asia, the most illustrious and the ornament of Asia." We know also that in ancient times it was the metropolis of Asia. But, as I said before, this great city was chiefly famous for its temple of Diana, the magnificence of which attracted a great number of strangers.

E. But did we not read the other day that this temple was burnt to the ground on the day that Alexander the Great was born?

M. We did, but we also read, if you remember, that it was rebuilt immediately, and that the work was very far advanced when Alexander visited it on his way into Asia, under the superintendence of a famous architect, called Dinocrates, who was afterwards employed by Alexander to build Alexandria in Egypt. I suppose then that the temple of Diana rose again in all its original magnificence; for do you not recollect what a proud and ambitious desire it gave rise to in the mind of that mighty conqueror?

E. Yes; he offered to take the whole expense of