I know not how better to close this brief sketch of the life of St. John the Evangelist than by quoting here the words of that beautiful Collect which our Church uses on the day with which his memory is connected: “Merciful Lord, we beseech thee to cast thy bright beams of light upon thy church, that it, being instructed by the doctrine of thy blessed Apostle and Evangelist, St. John, may so walk in the light of thy truth, that it may at length attain to everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” “Praise, for the loved disciple, exile on Patmos’ shore; Praise for the faithful record he to thy Godhead bore; Praise for the mystic vision, through him to us revealed; May we, in patience waiting, with thine elect be sealed.” THE APOSTLE PAUL. It would require a large volume to consider fully and properly the character and work of this apostle. We have only space to take a hasty glance at the subject. But even this, it is hoped, may prove useful to those who read it. St. Paul spoke of himself as “the least of all the apostles.” I. Cor. xv: 9. It was natural and proper enough for him to think lowly of himself. But he stands alone in this opinion. Nobody agrees with him here. We all love to think and speak of him as—“the _great_ apostle of the Gentiles.” When first converted, he began his ministry by preaching to his own countrymen, the Jews. But finding their prejudices against “Jesus of Nazareth,” were so strong that they would not listen to him, he changed his course and turned to the Gentiles. And well he may be called—“the great apostle.” He was great in every view we can take of him. Let us notice now, as briefly as we can, some of the elements of greatness about this apostle. In the first place, he was _great in the natural talents_ that it pleased God to give him. He had a stronger, clearer mind than any other of the apostles. He could take hold of the greatest subjects brought before him and handle them and master them with wonderful power. He had great reasoning powers. He could argue and reason about anything in the grandest way. And then he had great powers as a speaker. He was marvellously eloquent. See what an illustration we have of this in his famous speech on the top of Mar’s Hill, in the city of Athens, as we read it in Acts xvii: 16-32. We have another illustration of this in his speech before Agrippa, in Acts, twenty-sixth chapter. I would gladly give anything I have in the world to have enjoyed the privilege of hearing Paul deliver that speech. When Agrippa interrupted him by saying, “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian;” only think how touching it must have been to see Paul lift up his chained hands towards heaven and say with the tenderest feeling—“I would to God, that not only _thou_, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am; except these bonds!” [Illustration: The Church of Jesus Christ