THE CHURCH IN THE HOUSE.

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Koordistan, whose food often fails them altogether, or is carried away by their more powerful enemies. Deeds of charity are highly extolled in the Koran, and the value of such acts is more particularly felt where the rulers take no interest in works of public utility.-VAN LENNEP.

ROMANS XVI,

826.-A SUCCOURER OF MANY.

Romans xvi. 2,-" She hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also," Expository. The word in the original means a protectress, champion, patroness, and bespeaks that Phobe was a woman of substance, position, and, no doubt, of remarkable character and courage. Her journey alone to Rome, and her being entrusted with the epistle, marks her as no ordinary woman, and somewhat of a masculine turn of mind. - C. NEIL.

827. THE CHURCH IN THE HOUSE.

Romans xvi. 5.-"Likewise greet the church that is in their house." Illustrative.-Justin Martyr gives us a little insight into the gatherings of the early Christians :-"Where do you assemble?" said the Prefect. Justin replied, "Wherever it suits each one by preference and ability. You take for granted that we all meet in the same place; but it is not so, for the God of the Christians is not circumscribed to place, but, being invisible, fills heaven and earth, and is everywhere worshipped and glorified by the falthful." Rusticus then said: "Tell me where you meet together, or in what place you collect your disciples." Justin said: I am staying at the house of one Martinus, and I know no other place of meeting besides this, and if any one wished to come to me, I communicated to him the words of truth."-NEANDER.

An old servant of a respectable family, having been constrained to give herself to the public profession of the Gospel by commemorating with a Christian Church the dying love of Christ, said that she was first excited to give religion a serious attention by the habitual observance of family worship. Here her mind was prepared to receive those impressions which laid the foundation of permanent religious character. She felt the gracious influence of the "Church in the house."

Į CORINTHIANS Į

828.-CORINTH, "THE CITY OF THE TWO SEAS."
I Cor. 1. 12.-"Unto the Church of God which is at Corinth."

UCH was the designation given, in the time of the apostle Paul, to Corinth, the capital of the Roman province of Achaia, whose position on an isthmus between the Ægean and the Ionian Seas secured for it not only the merchandise of Asia and intercourse with Italy and Sicily, but also commanded the land traffic in Greece from north to south. It was thus a central point for trade and commerce; and became the common resort and universal market of the Greeks. "Her population and wealth were further augmented by the manufactures in metallurgy, dyeing, and porcelain, which grew up in connection with the import and export of goods."

The Isthmian games-probably alluded to in 1 Cor.

X. 24-27-were celebrated in the immediate vicinity of the

city, and contributed not a little to its opulence.

The stadium, where men strove for the prize of the foot-race, the "corruptible crown" of pine leaves, was probably in the apostle's mind when he wrote, " Know ye not that they which run in a stadium run all, but one obtaineth the prize."

Corinth was moreover distinguished for its sumptuous public edifices, its cultivation of the arts and sciences, and its schools of philosophy and rhetoric.

The city, however, was as remarkable for the profligacy and prodigality of its inhabitants as for its wealth and luxury, and it eventually became the most corrupt and effeminate of the cities of Greece. But Corinth

CORINTH, "THE CITY OF THE TWO SEAS."

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passed through many and sore trials, and at length shared the fate of other Greek towns by the devastations of Alaric the Goth. It is now a mass of ruins and a most complete picture of desolation. Time, tempest, war, have laid their ruthless hands upon it. Soldiers have played at draughts upon its choicest paintings, and its works of art have been scattered as dust before the wind.

Cenchrea, the eastern port, has fallen with the city. It was eight miles distant from Corinth. Its position is still pointed out by the modern Kikries, where some remains of the ancient town are visible. The road is described by Pausanias as leading from Corinth through an avenue of pine trees, and past many tombs, among which two of the most conspicuous were those of the cynic Diogenes and the profligate Thais. At one time Cenchrea was alive with commerce, but is now as little

frequented as the Piræus. Except in name and memory Cenchrea presents little worthy of notice. It was once the seat of a Christian church (Rom. xvi. 1); and is incidentally noticed in Acts xviii. 18.

The first entrance of the gospel into this stronghold of vice is related in Acts xviii. Paul met with many discouragements at first, but he was assured that God meant to have a church there (1 Cor. ii. 3; Acts xviii. 9, 10), and he continued his labours for a year and a half, and was succeeded in his great work by Apollos (Acts xviii. 27, 28). "Thus a flourishing church was formed; teachers were set over them; and the ordinances of Christ were regularly observed. It appears, however, that ere long their peace was disturbed by certain individuals who sought

to engraft on the doctrines of Christ the refinements of human philosophy. The factious teachers attempted to depreciate the apostle, representing him as deficient in the graces of style and the arts of oratory, and even calling in question his apostolic authority: they also pleaded for a licentious manner of life, under pretence of Christian liberty. Hence arose divisions and irregularities; and the church was fast declining from its original faith, purity, and love."

The Epistles of Paul to the Corinthians were just adapted to the characteristics of the people, and there is more diversity in them than in any other of his writings. "More than any other they shed light on the state of the early church, and the evil tendencies against which the Gospel had to struggle, even among good men."

H. H.

829.-TESTING CHRISTIAN PROFESSION.

I Cor. i. 8.-"That ye may be blameless, in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." [R.V.] That ye be 1 unreprovable.

Illustrative. When Constantine was chosen Emperor, he found several Christians in office; and he issued an edict, requiring them to renounce their faith, or quit their places. Most of them gave up their offices to preserve their consciences; but some cringed, and renounced Christianity. When the Emperor had thus made full proof of their dispositions of character, he removed all those who thus basely complied with his supposed wishes, and retained the others; saying, that those who would desert or deny their Divine Master would desert him, and were not worthy of his confidence.

830.-APOLLOS.

I Cor. i. 12.-" And I of Apollos." See also Acts xviii. 24-28.

Expository. It appears that this eloquent man was a Hellenistic Greek, of the school of philosophical Judaism which flourished at that time at Alexandria, and was an admixture of the doctrines of the Platonic philosophy with those of the Jewish religion. It is possible that he may have been a disciple of the celebrated Alexandrian teacher Philo, who was contemporary with the apostles. Learned and zealous, he could not be confined within the bounds of any particular school, but diligently acquainted himself with all the movements which sprang up in the Jewish Church.-PROFESSOR LIAS,

THE AFRICAN PREA CHER.

831. THE POWER AND WISDOM OF GOD.

I Cor. i. 24.-" Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God."

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Illustrative.-Two of Dr. Priestley's followers, eminent men, once called on an old gentleman of the Society of Friends, to ask what was his opinion of the person of Christ. After a little consideration, he replied: "The apostle says, We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, because they expected a temporal Messiah; to the Greeks foolishness, because He was crucified as a malefactor; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Now, if you can separate the power of God from God, and the wisdom of God from God, I will come over to your opinions." They were both struck dumb, and did not attempt to utter a single word in reply.

832. HOPE FOR ALL.

I Cor. i. 26 "Not many noble are called."

Mustrative.—Lady Huntingdon used to say that she owed her salvation almost to the letter M. If it had been "not any wise, not any noble," she could not have been saved.

833. THE AFRICAN PREACHER.

I Cor. i. 27. "But God hath chosen1 the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty." [R.V.] "Chose; that He might put to shame them that are wise; 3 that He might put to shame the things that are strong."

Illustrative.-We copy from the Watchman of the South, one of the religious newspapers in the United States, the following anecdotes respecting an aged African preacher, deceased.

"His method of dealing with persons interested in the subject of religion, but who had not made a public profession, is worthy of attention. With such he never failed to deal honestly, faithfully, and judiciously. He had no other standard by which to judge in such cases than God's unerring Word. The Saviour's rule was his--' By their fruits ye shall know them.'

"On one occasion a lady of great respectability confessed to him that she believed herself to be a Christian, but at the same time avowed the purpose of not making a public profession of religion. At this he expressed great surprise, and said, 'Mistress, if you should suddenly get possession of a large sum of money, would you lock it up in your