iho i reira. Na kia mohio ai koe, kihai

i Paora i korero ki a ratou i runga

. te pai te kino ranei o ta ratou pa,

nga whare, nga aha ranei, engari ra, i kau-

whautia e ia ki a ratou a Ihu me te aranga. I

panuitia e ia te Kai whakaora, ara ko Ihu,

me te panui nui hoki o te haeretanga mai o

te ra "E rongo ai i tona reo nga tangata

katoa i roto i nga urupa, a ka puta mai,

ko nga kai mahi o te pai ki te aranga o te

oranga; a ko nga kai mahi o te kino,

ki te aranga o te whakawakanga. " Hoani

5. 28, 29.

Engari ra e kore e pai nga tangata mohio

o tana takiwa ki aua tu korero. He mahi

ke te mahi o nga tangata whakaaro ki to te

Atua whakaaturanga, hei reira kua tuhia

enei kupu kia whakarere ai te tangata kino

i " tona ara " " i aua whakaaro; a kia hoki

mai ano ki a Ihowa a, ka aroha ia ki i ia;

ki to tatou Atua hoki, he nui rawa hoki

tona mahi tohu. Ihaia 55. 7.

Na, he kainga whakaako tangata a Atene

i tera wa. I reira ngo tohunga nui o ia tahi

o ia tahi o nga whakaaro tangata o te ao.

"Ta nga Kariki he rapu whakaaro nui, "

Engari e rapu ana ratou i nga mea i tua atu

i o ratou kaha te kite atu na te mea he mahi

tangata ratou motu ke i nga mea o te Atua

whakaatu. "Whakatakina atu e koe te

Atua, e kitea ano ranei e koe?" Ko wai

e kaha ki te whakaora ake i tona wairua ?

Na, ka rongo ratou i te korero a Paora

katahi ratou e ki na, "He aha tenei

tangata korerorero e mea nei ?" To

matou ia he kauwhau i a te Karaiti kua oti

nei te ripeka, te "kaha tenei o te Atua me te

whakaaro mohio o te Atua mo nga tangita

whakapono, engari, he mea kuware tera ki

ana tangata mohio o tenei ao.

E te kai korero! E aha hoki te Karaiti ki

a koe ? Te kaha me te mohio o te Atua ranei,

he mea kuware ranei? Ko tehea? Tena,

ka mea koe, ko te mea tuatahi maku, ka tika

to karanga, engari mehemea e ki ana koe,

ko te mea kei muri maku, ehara tera i te

mohio pai, no te mea kahore he oranga motu

ke i a te Karaiti kua oti nei te ripekatia.

Kua harea a Paora e. enei tohunga ki

Areopaka—te kooti nui tera o Atene A,

ka tu nga tangata mohio a taua wa i reira

ki te whakawakia i a ia. He ra nui tera.

unto them Jesus and the resurrection. He pro.

claimed a Saviour—Jesus, and the solemn

fact, that the day is coming when " all who

are in their graves shall hear his voice, and

come forth; they that have done good,

unto the resurrection of life; and they have

done evil, unto the resurrection of judge-

ment. "

But this did not suit the men of learning

of that day. Man's mind, for the most part,

runs counter to the revelation of God; hence

it reads, " his way" and "his thoughts"

are to be forsaken, " and let him return unto

the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him:

and to our God, for he will abundantly

pardon" (Isa lv. 6-8. )

Now Athens in those days was one of the

seats of learning. Philosophers of every

school were to be found there. "The

Greeks seek after wisdom; " and these poor

men were groping their way, in matters too

high for man to reach, apart from the lamp

of revelation; for who by searching can

find out God ? or who by working can save

his soul?

These men listened to Paul, an. d called

him a babbler, or chatterer. Now Christ

crucified is to the believer both the power of

God, and the wisdom of God; but to those

men of worldly wisdom it was foolishness.

Reader, what is Christ crucified to you ?

—the power of God, and the wisdom of

God? or foolishness? Which? If you say

the former, it is well; if the latter, it is

not well, for there is no salvation apart from

Christ, and Him crucified.

Paul is brought by these philosophers to

Areopagus, or Mars' Hill, the highest court

in Athens, and there he is confronted with

a large company of those who represented

the learning of the day. It was a solemn

and interesting moment, —human learning

pitted against the Gospel of God.

Paul discourses; the man of God is alone

in testimony for his Lord. Mark the heads

of his sermon. God—to them the unknown

God—God, and man in relation to Him as a

responsible being, form, as it were, the first

part.

Man's sin, and God's call to repentance,

with the assurance of forgiveness, form the

second.