for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
Parallel Translations
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for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
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whereof I am a messenger in bondes that therin I maye speake frely as it becommeth me to speake.
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Whereof I am the ambassadour in bonds, that therein I may speake boldely, as I ought to speake.
Cross-references (27)
Passages linked to Ephesians 6:20 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Corinthians 5:20 We are therefore ambassadors on behalf of Christ, as though God were entreating by us: we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
- Colossians 4:4 that I may reveal it as I ought to speak.
- 2 Timothy 2:9 in which I suffer hardship to the point of chains as a criminal. But God’s word isn’t chained.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:2 but having suffered before and been shamefully treated, as you know, at Philippi, we grew bold in our God to tell you the Good News of God in much conflict.
- Acts 26:29 Paul said, “I pray to God, that whether with little or with much, not only you, but also all that hear me today, might become such as I am, except for these bonds.”
- Philippians 1:7 It is even right for me to think this way on behalf of all of you, because I have you in my heart, because both in my bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the Good News, you all are partakers with me of grace.
- Philippians 1:20 according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will in no way be disappointed, but with all boldness, as always, now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.
- 1 John 3:16 By this we know love, because he laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
- Proverbs 13:17 A wicked messenger falls into trouble, but a trustworthy envoy gains healing.
- Acts 5:29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.
- Acts 28:20 For this cause therefore I asked to see you and to speak with you. For because of the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.”
- Acts 28:31 preaching God’s Kingdom, and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness, without hindrance.
- Ephesians 3:1 For this cause I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles,
- Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called,
- Ephesians 6:19 on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in opening my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the Good News,
- Philippians 1:13-14 so that it became evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my bonds are in Christ, and that most of the brothers in the Lord, being confident through my bonds, are more abundantly bold to speak the word of God without fear.
- 2 Timothy 1:16 May the Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain,
- Isaiah 58:1 “Cry aloud! Don’t spare! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Declare to my people their disobedience, and to the house of Jacob their sins.
- Jeremiah 1:7-8 But Yahweh said to me, “Don’t say, ‘I am a child;’ for you must go to whomever I send you, and you must say whatever I command you. Don’t be afraid because of them, for I am with you to rescue you,” says Yahweh.
- Ezekiel 2:4-7 The children are impudent and stiff-hearted. I am sending you to them, and you shall tell them, ‘This is what the Lord Yahweh says.’ They, whether they will hear, or whether they will refuse, for they are a rebellious house, yet they will know that there has been a prophet among them. You, son of man, don’t be afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you, and you dwell among scorpions. Don’t be afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house. You shall speak my words to them, whether they will hear, or whether they will refuse; for they are most rebellious.
- Matthew 10:27-28 What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in the ear, proclaim on the housetops. Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.
- Acts 21:33 Then the commanding officer came near, arrested him, commanded him to be bound with two chains, and inquired who he was and what he had done.
- Philemon 1:10 I beg you for my child, whom I have become the father of in my chains, Onesimus,
- Jude 1:3 Beloved, while I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I was constrained to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
- 2 Samuel 10:2-6 David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent by his servants to comfort him concerning his father. David’s servants came into the land of the children of Ammon. But the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think that David honors your father, in that he has sent comforters to you? Hasn’t David sent his servants to you to search the city, to spy it out, and to overthrow it?” So Hanun took David’s servants, shaved off one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away. When they told David this, he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. The king said, “Wait at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then return.” When the children of Ammon saw that they had become odious to David, the children of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Beth Rehob, and the Syrians of Zobah, twenty thousand footmen, and the king of Maacah with one thousand men, and the men of Tob twelve thousand men.
- Isaiah 33:7 Behold, their valiant ones cry outside; the ambassadors of peace weep bitterly.
- Jeremiah 1:17 “You therefore put your belt on your waist, arise, and say to them all that I command you. Don’t be dismayed at them, lest I dismay you before them.
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 20. As I ought to speak; meaning, that to…
20. As I ought to speak; meaning, that to proclaim the truth of the gospel as it ought to be proclaimed, is a high and rare attainment. Every word here deserves to be carefully weighed. Twice he uses the expression boldly, — “that I may open my mouth boldly,” “that therein I may speak boldly.” Fear hinders us from preaching Christ openly and fearlessly, while the absence of all restraint and disguise in confessing Christ is demanded from his ministers. Paul does not ask for himself the powers of an acute debater, or, I should rather say, of a dexterous sophist, that he might shield himself from his enemies by false pretences. It is, that I may open my mouth, to make a clear and strong confession; for when the mouth is half shut, the sounds which it utters are doubtful and confused. To open the mouth, therefore, is to speak with perfect freedom, without the smallest dread.
But does not Paul discover unbelief, when he entertains doubts as to his own stedfastness, and implores the intercession of others? No. He does not, like unbelievers, seek a remedy which is contrary to the will of God, or inconsistent with his word. The only aids on which he relies are those which he knows to be sanctioned by the Divine promise and approbation. It is the command of God, that believers shall pray for one another. How consoling then must it be to each of them to learn that the care of his salvation is enjoined on all the rest, and to be informed by God himself that the prayers of others on his behalf are not poured out in vain! Would it be lawful to refuse what the Lord himself has offered? Each believer, no doubt, ought to have been satisfied with the Divine assurance, that as often as he prayed he would be heard. But if, in addition to all the other manifestations of his kindness, God were pleased to declare that he will listen to the prayers of others in our behalf, would it be proper that this bounty should be slighted, or rather, ought we not to embrace it with open arms?
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Let us therefore remember that Paul, when he resorted to the intercessions of his brethren, was influenced by no distrust or hesitation. His eagerness to obtain them arose from his resolution that no privilege which the Lord had given him should be overlooked. How absurdly then do Papists conclude from Paul’s example, that we ought to pray to the dead! Paul was writing to the Ephesians, to whom he had it in his power to communicate his sentintents. But what intercourse have we with the dead? As well might they argue that we ought to invite angels to our feasts and entertainments, because among men friendship is promoted by such kind offices.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds:…
20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
Ver. 20. I am an ambassador] Venerable for mine age and authority, as the word πρεσβευω signifieth. The ancient and the honourable are usually employed as ambassadors. Cognata sunt γηρας and γερας. Old age and honour are akin in the Greek tongue.
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In bonds] Gr. In a chain; instead of a chain of gold (worn commonly by ambassadors), and far more glorious, I bear about my bonds (saith Ignatius in his Epistle likewise to the Ephesians), as so many spiritual jewels or ensigns of honour. {a} Oh, said Alice Driver, here is a goodly neckerchief, blessed be God for it, when the chain was put about her neck.
That therein I may speak boldly] He saith not that I may be freed from my chain, but that I may do my office well in my chain. Let God serve himself upon us, and then no matter what becomes of us. Martinas decumbens, Domine, dixit, si adhuc populo tuo sum necessarius, non recuso laborem. (Sever. Epist. iii.)
{a} τα δεσμα περιφερω τους πνευματικους μαργαριτας
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain For which I am an ambassador in bonds; for…
For which I am an ambassador in bonds; for which gospel I still continue, though a prisoner, in the embassy committed to me by Christ.
That therein I may speak boldly; this may imply not only free speaking, but free acting in all things whereby the gospel may be propagated.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain For which I am an ambassador in bonds,.... The…
For which I am an ambassador in bonds,.... The character the apostle bore was that of an ambassador; and he was an ambassador from and for Christ, in his room and stead; he represented him, he was sent by him, and entrusted by him with the Gospel; he gave him it, and a commission to preach it, and furnished him with qualifications for it; such as knowledge and faithfulness wisdom and prudence, courage and greatness of mind; and made his embassy successful: and he was chiefly an ambassador to the Gentiles, which showed great condescension in Christ to send him to them, and base ingratitude in the despisers and rejecters of the Gospel, for which he was an ambassador; for the embassy Christ's ministers are sent on, is the embassy of the Gospel of peace: their business is to declare that men by nature are enemies to God; that peace is made by the blood of Christ for such; by which means they are made useful to conciliate the minds of men to God's way of salvation and to bring them to submit to his government and laws: and when he adds, "in bonds", or "in a chain", he means, that he was in such circumstances, not for any crime, but for the Gospel, for which he was an ambassador; and therefore was not ashamed of his bonds, or chain, but rather gloried in them; and he makes mention of them to engage persons to a regard to him as an ambassador, and to his embassy; for an ambassador, especially an ambassador of Christ, that comes with his Gospel, and more especially that is suffering for it, ought to be received, heard, and honoured.
That therein I may speak boldly as I ought to speak; that is, the apostle beseeches the saints to pray for him, that since he was an ambassador for the Gospel, and in bonds, that he might speak in it, or rather of it boldly and freely; that he might have both liberty from his bonds, and liberty in his soul, and freedom of speech; and that he might use boldness in delivering his message, as became an ambassador of Jesus Christ.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain An ambassador in bonds - The ambassadors of men…
An ambassador in bonds - The ambassadors of men usually appear in great pomp. How differently does the ambassador of Christ appear!
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 20. An ambassador in bonds] An ambassador being…
Verse 20. An ambassador in bonds] An ambassador being the representative of his king, his person was in all civilized countries held sacred. Contrary to the rights of nations, this ambassador of the King of heaven was put in chains! He had however the opportunity of defending himself, and of vindicating the honour of his Master. See above.
As I ought to speak.] As becomes the dignity and the importance of the subject.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain For which I am an ambassador in bonds -…
For which I am an ambassador in bonds - In chains (see the margin); or in confinement. There is something especially touching in this. He was “an ambassador” - sent to proclaim peace to a lost world. But he was now in chains. An ambassador is a sacred character. No greater affront can be given to a nation than to put its ambassadors to death, or even to throw them into prison. But Paul says here that the unusual spectacle was witnessed of an ambassador seized, bound, confined, imprisoned; an ambassador who ought to have the privileges conceded to all such people, and to be permitted to go everywhere publishing the terms of mercy and salvation. See the word “ambassador” explained in the notes on 2Co 5:20.
That therein - Margin, or “thereof.” Greek, ἐν αὐτῷ en autō - “in it;” that is, says Rosenmuller, in the gospel. It means that in speaking the gospel he might be bold.
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I may speak boldly - Openly, plainly, without fear; see the notes on Act 4:13; Act 9:27, note; Act 13:46, note; Act 14:3, note; Act 18:26, note; Act 19:8, note; Act 26:26, note.
As I ought to speak - Whether in bonds or at large. Paul felt that the gospel ought always to be Spoken with plainness, and without the fear of man. It is remarkable that he did not ask them to pray that he might be released. “Why” he did not we do not know; but perhaps the desire of release did not lie so near his heart as the duty of speaking the gospel with boldness It may be of much more importance that we perform our duty aright when we are afflicted, or are in trouble, than that we should be released.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain For--Greek, as in Eph 6:19, "On behalf of which."
For--Greek, as in Eph 6:19, "On behalf of which."
an ambassador in bonds--a paradox. Ambassadors were held inviolable by the law of nations, and could not, without outrage to every sacred right, be put in chains. Yet Christ's "ambassador is in a chain!" The Greek is singular. The Romans used to bind a prisoner to a soldier by a single chain, in a kind of free custody. So Act 28:16, Act 28:20, "I am bound with this chain." The term, "bonds" (plural), on the other hand, is used when the prisoner's hands or feet were bound together (Act 26:29); compare Act 12:6, where the plural marks the distinction. The singular is only used of the particular kind of custody described above; an undesigned coincidence [PALEY].
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 20. For which—Namely, the mystery of the gospel, the…
20. For which—Namely, the mystery of the gospel, the revealed offer of peace to men.
In bonds—Literally, in a chain. Alluding, perhaps, to the single chain by which he was connected to a Roman soldier. An ambassador, not in robes, but in bonds. His insignia a chain, his retinue a Roman sentinel, his residence a prison; yet a palace, made a palace by the visitations of his Master, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. The apostle means the noble antithesis. He is asserting his own official dignity, not courting sympathy. Hence Wetstein’s note, quoted so often with admiration by commentators, (as Meyer, Eadie, Braune,) “usually ambassadors are by the law of nations sacred and inviolable, and cannot be held in chains,” is below the apostle’s strain. He is by his chain honoured and exalted above all earthly ambassadors. It was language like this that inspired the heroic and martyr spirit in the Church; and caused it, not only to glow so brightly, but to rise to such a height that Christian prudence was obliged to check its sometimes too earthly enthusiasm. It was in the rare character of Paul, “the apostle in a basket,” (Act_9:25,) the ambassador in a chain, to raise humiliations into sublimities. He is indeed an ambassador, but from what court? From the throne of Christ. To what court? Not to the court of Rome, as one commentator suggests; but to the human race, whose head is Adam. What is his mission? To unfold the mystery of the gospel, in which are terms of reconciliation to the sons of Adam now engaged in the rebellion of Satan.
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Ought—A term of self-assertion; yet not as a self, but as an apostle and ambassador.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 20. for which] On behalf of which, in the…
20. for which] On behalf of which, in the interests of which. The Gospel is, so to speak, the Power whose envoy he is. Cp. 2Co_5:20 for the same phrase and image with express mention of the Sovereign, Christ, represented by His envoys.
an ambassador] Cp. 2 Cor. just quoted. And see Phm_1:8, where Bp Lightfoot renders (and so R. V. margin) “an ambassador, and now also a prisoner, of Jesus Christ;” giving this passage, so closely parallel and exactly contemporary, as a main reason for the rendering. See his note there. This is not the place to discuss the question.
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in bonds] Lit., in a chain. The Gr. word occurs elsewhere in St Paul’s speech or writings, Act_28:20; 2Ti_1:16.—Prisoners detained upon appeal to the Emperor, as was St Paul, were sometimes “coupled by a slight chain round the right wrist to the left of a soldier, and, thus shackled … if they could afford it, were at liberty to hire a lodging for themselves without the walls, but within the prescribed limits” (Lewin, Life, &c., of St Paul, ii. 236. See too Bp Lightfoot, Philippians, p. 8). Cp. Josephus, Antiquities, xviii. c. 6, for similar custody (though not upon appeal) in the case of Agrippa, the Herod of Acts 12, in his earlier life in Italy in the reign of Tiberius. For St Paul’s allusions to the “bonds” of this Roman imprisonment, see Php_1:7; Php_1:13-14; Php_1:16; Col_4:18; Phm_1:10; Phm_1:13; and above, Eph_3:1, Eph_4:1.
Wetstein calls attention here to the paradox; “an ambassador in chains.”
therein] I.e., in “the mystery of the Gospel.” This was the field or sphere of his speech. The Gr. makes it plain that the reference is to this, and not to the “bonds.”
speak boldly] The verb is cognate to the noun in Eph_6:19. See note above on “boldly” there. The tense is aorist, and suggests that he prays for grace to take, as it were, a “new departure” in outspoken testimony and exposition.
I ought] under the holy obligation of my commission. Cp. 1Co_9:16.
speak] The Gr. verb indicates specially the wording of the message. He prays for grace to be perfectly explicit in terms.—The tense is aorist; see last note but one.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (20) In bonds.—Rightly, as in the margin, in a…
(20) In bonds.—Rightly, as in the margin, in a chain. The word is the same which is used in Act_28:20, “For the hope of Israel I am bound in this chain.” It occurs also in Mar_5:4, Luk_8:29, where it is distinguished from a “fetter” properly so called, as binding the feet, and therefore obviously signifies a “manacle” binding the hand. Both are included (see Luk_8:29) in the general word “bonds.” The allusion is undoubtedly to the custom of chaining the prisoner by the hand to the soldier who kept him. Thus in Act_12:6 we read that Peter “was sleeping between two soldiers,” and therefore “bound with two manacles;” and in Act_21:33 that a similar precaution was used on the first apprehension of St. Paul. Here the singular number is probably to be understood literally. St. Paul was free except for the one chain, which the soldier was responsible for holding, and perhaps did not always think it needful to hold. That chain he seems to speak of as the badge of his ambassadorial dignity. To ambassadors, indeed, it belongs to be safe from imprisonment; but it was his greater glory to wear the chain for Christ.
That therein . . .—This is simply an enforcement of the previous phrase, in “plainness of speech.” The same word is used, and with the same signification of simplicity, as well as boldness, which (St. Paul here adds) alone befits his office.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain For which I am an ambassador in chains. Thereby…
For which I am an ambassador in chains. Thereby not only physically helpless, but in danger of being subdued into tameness, the ordinary effect of captivity, and thus reduced to a spirit not befitting the bearer of a great message from the King of kings. That in it i.e., in the matter of it, of the gospel I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain I may speak boldly,
Eph_6:20
I may speak boldly,
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Bold preaching
1.
A bold preaching of the gospel is needed, because of what the gospel is in itself. It is nothing short of this: Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace, goodwill towards men. Now, such a message cannot be, and should not be, delivered with doubt and hesitation. The preacher who stands up to preach the gospel timidly and apologetically, we often feel almost it were better he did not preach it at all.
2. Bold preaching of the gospel is needed, because of the tendency of the times. From all quarters the cry comes, Speak to us smooth things, and prophesy deceit.
3. Boldness is needed, because of the opposition that is offered. In proportion to the zeal and earnestness with which the gospel is proclaimed, we may conclude that the virulence of the opposition will increase. The whole world wilt soon be divided into two camps. It will be manifested in which of the two God is. (J. B. Forrest.)
Boldness of faithful preachers
I. Faithful ministers feel that they ought to preach the gospel boldly.
1. This will appear, if we consider that they really believe the gospel is true.
2. Their knowledge, as well as belief of the gospel, carries conviction to their minds that they ought to preach it boldly.
3. Faithful ministers feel the sacred obligation of their sacred office, to preach the gospel boldly.
II. Why they desire Christians to pray for them that they may preach the gospel boldly as they feel in conscience bound to preach it.
1. Here the first reason that occurs is, because they are sensible of their own insufficiency to surmount the difficulties that they expect to find in their way of preaching the gospel with Christian freedom and confidence.
2. They desire Christians to pray for them because they feel their own insufficiency to preach the gospel successfully. Though they should preach the truth plainly and boldly as they ought to preach it, yet they cannot command success. They can only speak to the ear; they cannot speak to the conscience or to the heart.
(1) Though the success of the apostles was partly owing to their preaching boldly, yet their preaching boldly must be ascribed partly to the Christians who perpetually prayed for them, that a Divine blessing might accompany their bold and faithful exertions.
(2) This subject teaches Christians that they may do a great deal to assist their ministers in their laborious and arduous work.
(3) Since faithful ministers need as well as desire the prayers of their fellow Christians, it is their privilege as well as duty to pray for them.
(4) Since faithful ministers desire and request the professors of religion to pray for them, they must be extremely ungrateful and inconsistent if, instead of complying with such a reasonable desire and request, they complain of them for preaching boldly as they ought to preach. (N. Emmons, D. D.)
Ministerial boldness
A minister, without boldness, is like a smooth file, a knife without an edge, a sentinel that is afraid to let off his gun. If men will be bold in sin, ministers must be bold to reprove. (W. Gurnall, M. A.)
Zeal in preaching Christ
When liberty was offered to John Bunyan, then in prison, on condition of abstaining from preaching, he constantly replied, If you let me out today I shall preach again tomorrow.
Zeal in rebuke
While Augustine acted as a presbyter at Hippo, under Valerius, his bishop, he was appointed by him to preach to the people, in order to reclaim them from riotous feasting on solemn days. He opened the Scriptures, and read to them the most vehement rebukes. He besought them, by the ignominy and sorrow which they brought upon themselves, and by the blood of Christ, not to destroy themselves, to pity him who spake to them with so much affection, and to show some regard to their venerable old bishop, who, out of tenderness to them, had charged him to instruct them in the truth. I did not make them weep, says he, by first weeping over them, but while I was preaching their tears prevented mine. Then I own I could not restrain myself. After we had wept together I began to entertain great hope of their amendment. He now varied from the discourse he had prepared, because the present softness of their minds seemed to require something different. In fine, he had the satisfaction to find the evil redressed from that very day. (Milner.)
Bold preaching
On one occasion the Rev. Frederick Robertson had been asked to preach at a church where the congregation was chiefly composed of those whom Pope describes as passing from a youth of frolics to an old age of cards. His text was, Love not the world, nor the things of the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. The sermon was most impressive and eloquent, and bold in its denunciation. Returning home, he asked a gentleman if he thought he was right in preaching it. The gentleman replied, It was very truthful, but, considering the character of the clergyman whose pulpit you occupied by courtesy, and the character of the congregation, not a discreet sermon. It might have been as truthful without apparently setting both minister and people at defiance. You are quite right, he answered; but the truth was this: I took two sermons with me into the pulpit, uncertain which to preach; but just as I had fixed upon the other, something seemed to say to me, Robertson, you are a craven, you dare not speak here what you believe; and I immediately pulled out the sermon that you heard, and preached it as you heard it.
Ambassador
John Basilowitz, the Czar of Russia, perceiving Sir Jeremy Bowes, the ambassador of Queen Elizabeth, with his hat on in his presence, thus rebuked him: Have you not heard, sir, of the person I have punished for such an insult? He had, in fact, punished him very savagely, by causing his hat to be nailed to his head. Sir Jeremy answered, Yes, sir; but I am the Queen of Englands ambassador, who never yet stood bareheaded to any prince whatever. Her I represent, and on her justice I depend to do me right if I am insulted. A brave fellow this, replied the Czar, to his nobles, a brave fellow this, who dares thus to act and talk for his sovereigns honour. Which of you would do so for me? (G. Ramsay.)
A courageous missionary
Some of the Indian chiefs having become the open enemies of the gospel, Mr. Elliot, sometimes called the Apostle of the American Indians, when in the wilderness, without the company of any other Englishman, was at various times treated in a threatening and barbarous manner by some of those men; yet his Almighty Protector inspired him with such resolution that he said, I am about the work of the Great God, and my God is with me; so that I fear neither you nor all the Sachims (or chiefs) in the country. I will go on, and do you touch me if you dare. They heard him, and shrank away. (Baxendales Anecdotes.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 20. For which. The gospel. An ambassador in bonds.…
20. For which. The gospel. An ambassador in bonds. As an ambassador is sent to a foreign court to declare the will of the king, so Paul, though in chains, was Christ's ambassador sent to Rome to declare the will of his King.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.