us; but, "_He was wounded for our
transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities_." And yet that was
not the end. The life which had thus ended in shame had begun again in
glory: the cross had led on to the crown. And as thus he unfolded the
first great principles of the Christian faith, Philip would press home
on the eunuch's awakened conscience that they had a vital meaning for
him. "_Repent_," can we not imagine him pleading as Peter had pleaded
before, "_and be baptised . . . in the name of Jesus Christ unto the
remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy
Ghost_" (Acts ii. 38). The eunuch's heart was touched, and he asked
that he might be baptized. Satisfied that he was in earnest, Philip
agreed to his request. And when they came to a certain water, "_they
both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he
baptized him_." Thus "the Ethiopian changed his skin," and "_went on
his way rejoicing_" to his distant home, to declare in his turn to his
countrymen the tidings of great joy.

There are many points of view from which we might regard this beautiful
incident, but it is with it in its bearing on the person and character
of Philip that we are alone at present concerned. And in considering
it further in this light, it may be well to confine ourselves to
noticing in what way it gained for Philip his distinctive title of
"_the Evangelist_," and consequently what it has to teach us still
regarding all evangelistic and missionary work.

I.

The Evangelist.

With regard to the evangelist himself, one truth stands out clearly
from the whole narrative, his work is _given_ to him to do. He is
first and foremost a missionary, one sent.

It is a pity, perhaps, that in our ordinary speech, we have come to
limit the name "missionary" so much to the man who carries the gospel
abroad. No doubt he is a missionary in the highest sense of the word;
but still the fundamental idea in every minister or evangelist's
position is the idea of one sent--sent for a particular purpose, with a
particular message to proclaim wherever God may place him. He has no
power, no authority of his own. All that he has comes from Him whose
servant he is, and whose truth he has to announce.

You remember--to appeal at once to the highest example--how
ever-present this thought of His mission was to the mind of our Lord
and Master. His meat, so He told His disciples, was to do the will of
Him th