342 The NEW and COMPLETE LIFE of our BLESSED LORD On feeing this awful appearance, we all fell to the earth ; and I heard a voice, which faid to me in the Hebrew langurige, Saul, Saul, whyperfecutell thou me? It is hardfor thee to kick againfi the pricks? Towhich I anfwered, Who art thou Lord? And he replied, I am 3efus, whom thou perfecuteft: but be not terrified, arife from the earth; for I have appeared unto thee, that thou mighteft be both a witnefs of the things thou haft Feen, and allo of others which I will hereafter reveal unto thee : my power ¡hall deliver thee from the Jews and Gentiles, to whom now I fend thee to preach the gofpel ; towithdraw the veil of darknefs and ignorance, to turn them from falfhood unto truth, and from the tower of Satan unto God. " Hereupon, king Agrippa, I readily obeyed the heavenlyvifion ; I preached the gofpel firff to the inhabitants of Damafcus, then to thofe of Jerufalem, and Judea, and afterwards to the Gentiles ; perfuading them to forfake their iniquities, and turn to the living God, by fincere repentance. " The Jews, being exafperated at thefe endeavours to fave the fouls of frnful mor- tals, caught me in the temple, and entered into a confpiracy to deftroy me : but, by the help of Omnipotence, I ffill remain a witnefs to all the human race, preaching nothing but what Mofes and all the pro- phets foretold; namely, that the Meffiah fhould fuller, be the firft that Ihould rife from the chambers of the grave, and publifh, both to the Jews and Gentiles, the glad-tidings of falvation." After the apoftle had thus pleaded for himfelf, Feftus cried out, " Paul, thou art mad ; too much Rudy hath deprived thee of thy reafon." But Paul anfwered, " I ans far, molt noble Feftus, from being tranfported with idle and diffraEfed ideas; the words I fpeak are diEtated by truth and fobriety : and I am perfuaded that king Agrippa himfelf is not ignorant of there things ; for they were tranfaéfed openly before the world. I am confident, king Agrippa, that thoubelievefi the, pro- phets ; and, therefore, muff know that all their prediaions were fulfilled in CHRIST." To which Agrippa anfwered, " Thou haft almoft perfuaded me to embrace the Chriftian faith," And Paul replied, " I fincerely with, that not only thou, but alto all that hear me, were not almoff, but altogether the fame as I myfelf, ex- cept being prifoners." After Paul had thus fpoken, the king and the governor, with the ref of the council, withdrew to confer privately to- gether ; and finding, by the accufations brought againft him, that he was not guilty by the Roman law of any capital offence, nor even offilch as deferved imprifonment, Agrippa told Feftus, that he might have been fet at liberty if he had not appealed unto Cxfar ; but an appeal being once made, the judge had no longer any power either to abfolve or condemn, the caufe being entirely referved to the cognizance of that fuperior, to whom the prifoner had appealed, for his own juftification. As it was now finally determined that Paul ¡hould be fent to Rome, he, with feveral other prifoners ofconfequence,were committed to the care of Julius, com- mander of a company belonging to the legion ofAuguflus ; and was accompanied in this voyage by St. Luke, Arifiarchus, Trophimus, and fomeothers not mentioned by the facred penman. In the month of September 56, or, ac- cording to others, 57, they embarked on board a. fhip of Adramyttium, and failed to Sidon, where the centurion courteoufly gave the apoftle leave to go on fhoe to vifit his friends, and refrefh himfelf. After a fhort flay they failed for Cyprus, and arrived oppofite the Fair Havens, a place near Myra, a city of Lycia. Here the fea- fon being far advanced, and Paul forefee- ing it would be a dangerous voyage, per- fuaded them to put in and winter there: but the Roman centurion preferring the opinion of the matter of the fhip, and the harbour being at the fame time incommo- dious, refolved, if poffible, to reach Phcenice,
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