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The point of this gracious and comforting manifestation of God to his servant is that it came at a time of much perplexity, anxiety, and depression. It told of the Divine care of the earnest and faithful apostle, and gave him the restful assurance that, however men might oppose and trouble him, God accepted his service, and would surely guard him from all evil until his work in that city was complete. We may compare the proverbial assurance which has often brought comfort to our hearts, "Man is immortal till his work is done." It was one of the marked peculiarities of the Divine dealing with St. Paul, that at the great crises of his life special visions were granted to him. At the time of his conversion, he had seen and heard the Lord (Acts 9:4-6). When in a trance at Jerusalem, he heard the same voice and saw the same form (Acts 22:17). When on the ship, during the great storm, an angel form appeared to him with a gracious and assuring message (Acts 27:23, 24). When called to appear before his judge, he seems to have had an unusual sense of Christ's nearness, for he says, "Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me" (2 Timothy 4:17). And he gives a full account of his remarkable uplifting to see unspeakable things in 2 Corinthians 12:1-7. But all who are so sensitively toned as to have such seasons of spiritual elevation are singularly liable to answering moods of depression. They who can thus rise high can also sink low; and St. Paul did but tell of actual and painful experiences when he said, "Without were fightings and within were fears." At Corinth circumstances greatly troubled him. Some measure of success attended his preaching, but he seemed to make more and worse enemies than ever; he separated the Christian disciples from the synagogue in the hope of getting some quietness and peace, but the prejudiced Jews of the synagogue continued their persecutions, until St. Paul's spirit was well-nigh broken, and he had almost made up his mind to leave Corinth, and seek for other and more hopeful spheres. And yet he felt that this would be running away from his work, and forcing God's providence, seeing that no directions for his removal from Corinth had been given to him. It was just at this period of anxiety and depression that the comforting message came to him. Illustration of similar moods of feeling, in other servants of God, may be found in Elijah (1 Kings 19:4-14); in Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:6-8; Jeremiah 15:15-21); and in John the Baptist's sending from his prison to Jesus, asking, "Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?" Having this incident and its surrounding circumstances well before us, we may consider two things:

(1) what the incident tells us of St. Paul; and

(2) what the incident tells us of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I. WHAT THE INCIDENT TELLS US OF ST. PAUL. It intimates:

1. That he suffered from bodily frailty. A burden of physical weakness constantly oppressed him and affected his spirits. Compare Richard Baxter or Robert Hall, men whose holy labors were a continual triumph of will and of heart over pain and weakness. Show the subtle connections between bodily conditions and apprehensions of Divine truth. It is most comforting to be assured that God "knoweth our frame, and remembereth that we are dust,"

2. That he was naturally of a most sensitive and nervous constitution, so that he felt everything most keenly. Such natures yearn for love with an intense passion, and they feel slights and unkindness, and seeming failure and unfaithfulness, in those they trust, with a passion equally intense. They have altogether higher joys than most men can know, but they have answering sorrows deeper than most men can sound. To such natures alone can spiritual visions come: they gain the truth by power of insight; and, often at the cost of extreme personal suffering and distress, they become the great thought-leaders and teachers of the age. Such men are amongst us still, and they need the tenderest consideration and sympathy. They will reward us by thoughts and views of Christ and of truth such as never can be won by mere study. Their love and faith alone can sound the deep things of God.

II. WHAT THE INCIDENT TELLS US OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.

1. The first thing is the assurance it gives of Christ's actual presence with his servants. He may not always be felt, but he is always present.

2. He is never failing in his gracious and tender interest in their doings, and in them.

3. He is ready to make manifestations of himself, and of his will, to his servants, in exact adaptation to their needs.

4. He may show his nearness, and assure his servants of his sympathy and help in unique ways. The point of all our Lord's manifestations to his people is the need for keeping up in their souls the conviction that he is really with them. All comfort, strength, and security for Christian workers come with this conviction. So St. Paul elsewhere declares, "I can do all things through him that strengtheneth me." We may learn:

1. That times of depression are no unusual experience for God's people.

2. That they may even come in the very midst of our work.

3. That they are under the gracious watching of the Master whom we serve.

4. And that they are only the sides of weakness that belong to natures endowed with special capacities for special work. - R.T.

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KJV: Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace:

WEB: The Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, "Don't be afraid, but speak and don't be silent;