/iL. /. 0(0 ^ ■^^"^ ^^ SSsa, WMiAnm ^ %/: PRINCETON, N. J. ** % Presented bpr\'0'^7^a\\A\ n^CNV^^vaKo ^^^TX), ma34i Diuision Section V. ■,2 /<^' ''^^>\ It -: THE V/X. ,•>'■ BIBLE READERS' COMMEl^TARY. THE NEW TESTAMENT, m TWO YOLUMES. VOL. II. THE ACTS, THE EPISTLES, AND THE REVELATION. THE TEXT ARRANGED IN SECTIONS : "WITH BRIEF READINGS AND COMPLETE ANNOTATIONS, SELECTED FROM "THE CHOICE AND BEST OBSERVATIONS" OF MORE THAN THREE HUNDRED EMINENT CHRISTIAN THINKERS OF THE PAST .VND PRESENT. WITH ILLUSTRATIONS, MAPS, AND DIAGRAMS. PREPARED PY J. GLENTWORTH BUTLER, D. D. 80 they read in the book in the kw of God, distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading. — Nehemiah viii. 8. That form of -writing which in my judgment is of all others most rich and precious, is positive divinity, collected upon particular texts of Scriptures in brief observations; not dilated into commonplaces, not chasing after controversies, not re- duced into method of Art. . . . For I am persuaded that if the choice and best observations upon texts of Scripture which have been made dispersedly in sermons .... leaving out the largeness of exhortations and applications thereupon, had been set down in a continuance, it had been the best work upon divinity which had been made since the apostles' times. — Bacon, Advancement of Learning. NEW YORK : D. APPLETOI^ AXD COMPAjST, 549 AND 551 BROADWAY. 1879. CQPTEIGITT BT J. GLENTWORTH BUTLEE, 1879. Explanation of two slight changes made in this volume, 1. In the closer ("solid") setting of the lines in portions of the Text and of the Comment. In tlie Text, this has been done to indicate such paragraphs as may be passed over where for any reason — as in the daily household worship — brevity is desirable ; the subject-matter in these paragraphs containing less of vital instruction as well as of practical force. In the Cotn- ment, the purpose has been simply the abbreviation of space. As a general distinction, espe- cially in the Epistles and Revelation, the introductory, historical, and strictly exegetical matter is set in the " solid " form ; while the thoughtful exposition and spiritual suggestion, directly and vitally unfolding the truth, will be found in the open or "leaded" form, as exclusively used in the first volume. 2. In a variation, to some extent, from the initials of writers as found in the previous volume. This change is necessitated by the new and different sources from which the matter is drawn. INDEX OF CONTENTS. Acts of the Apostles 190-234 Romans 235-257 1 Corinthians . 2 Corinthians Galatians . Ephesians Philippians Colossians 1 Thessalonians 258-276 277-290 291-296 297-304 305-308 309-312 313-317 2 Thessalonians 318-320 1 Timothy 2 Timothy Titus . Philemon Hebrews James 1 Peter 321-326 327-330 331-333 334 335-349 350-355 356-361 2 Peter 362-364 1 John 2 John . 3 John Jnde Revelation Summarized Topics : Christ the Center of Christian Theology The Priesthood of Christ Christ the Center and Solution of Human History Christianity— as History, as Truth, and as Life Three Distinctive Features of Christianity . Christianity a Eeligion of Facts .... Three Opponents of Primitive Christianity The Spread and Achievements of Christianity Intimations of the Final Supremacy of Christianity The Inspiration of the Holy Scriptures . Faith and Kevelation . . . The Church Considerations Eespecting Christian Missions Authors Cited, and Key to Abbreviations . 365-369 370 371 372 373-386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 5 194 276 345 391 414 444 466 484 498 504 527 543 551 554 617 643 669 680 703 704 707 712 787 788 792 793 796 800 601 807 809 813 819 821 824 828- ILLUSTRATIONS, MAPS, AND DIAGRAMS. SECTION PAGE Frontispiece: Map for the Acts, Epistles, and Revelation. Eastern Seaboard of the Mediterranean. Map 204 61 Damascus. Illustration .... 204 62 Windows on the Wall — Damascus. Illustration 205 66 Modern Tarsus. Illustration . . , • . 205 67 Lydda — the Modern Village. Illustration 206 69 Jaffa — Ancient Joppa. Illustration 206 70 Ruins of Cesarea. Illustration 207 73 Ctrene. Illustration 209 80 Plan of Antioch 209 81 Modern Antioch. Illusti'ation 209 83 Paul's Gate. Distant View of Antioch. Illustrations 211 89 Island of Cyprus. Map 211 91 Ancient Alexandria. Ground-plan .......... 211 93 Provinces of Asia Minor. Map 212 94 Antioch in Pisidia. Illustration 212 99 Konieh — Ancient Iconium. Illustration 213 101 Ancient Lystra. Illustration 213 103 Northern Shores of the ^gean Sea. Map 21.5 112 Salonica — Ancient Thessalonica. Illustration 217 119 Athens — the Acropolis. Illustration 218 122 Plan of Athens, showing the Agora, Pnyx, Areopagus, Acropolis, and Museum . 218 123 The Areopagus and the Acropolis. Illustration 218 124 Ancient Altars. , Illustrations ........... 218 125 Greece Proper and Peloponnesus. Map 219 129 Corinth and the Acrocorinthus. Illustration 219 130 Site of Ephesus. Illustration 220 135 Coin of Ephesus. Illustration 221 139 View of the Theatre at Ephesus. Illustration 221 141 Troas, from Tenedos. Illustration 222 143 Interior of Oriental House. Ruins of Assos. Illustrations ..... 222 144 Ruins of Miletus. Illustration 223 146 Ruins of Tyre. Illustration 224 150 Ruins of Cesarea. Illustration 229 166 Stern Portion of Ancient Vessel. Illustration 231 174 Southwest Coast of Crete, and the Island Claud a. Coast-chart . . . . 231 176 Part of Island op Melita, with Course of Vessel, etc. Coast-chart . . . .231 179 St. Paul's Bay, Malta. Salmonetta in the distance. Illustration .... 232 181 From Melita to Rome. Map 233 185 Rome — the Forum. Illustration ... 234 187 Plan of Ancient Rome 234 188 CoLOSSE. Illustration 309 468 The Tabernacle and Inclosure. The Holt Places. Illustrations .... 343 587 Supposed Form of the Altar of Incense. Illustration 343 588 Altar of Burnt Offering, from Surenhusius's Mislma. Illustn-ation .... 344 592 Patmos. Illustration 374 720 Smyrna. Illustration 375 726 Pergamos. Illustration 376 729 Thyatira. Illustration 376 730 Ruins of Sardis. Illustration 377 732 Philadelphia. Illustration 377 734 Ruins of Laodicea. Illustration 377 735 THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. Section 190. I. Relation of the Acts and Epistles to the Gospels. The general effect of the manifestation which is made in the Gospels is such as almost necessitates further disclosures. One shining with the glory of the Only-Begotten of the Father, but clothed in the poverties and infirmities of man, has walked before us in power and weakness, in majesty and woe. He has come close to us, and drawn us close to him ; has touched every chord of our hearts ; has secured our implicit tri^t, and become the object of adora- tion and love : then he has hung upon a cross, has sunk into a grave, has risen, has ascended, and is gone. It was a brief dispensation, and is finished once for all. What did it mean? What has it done ? What are our relations with him now ? and in what way has this brief appearance affected our position before God and the state and destiny of the soul ? What is the nature of the redemption which he has wrought, of the salvation which he has brought, of the kingdom of God which he has opened to all believers? These were questions left for the disciples when Jesus was gone ; and, when the reader of the gospel story reaches its close, these questions remain for him. The doctrine delivered in the Gospels appears to need, and to promise, further explanations, combinations, and develop- ments. It has not the appearance of being final, and it explicitbj declares that it is not complete. When it was ended, it was to be followed by a new testimony from God, in order that many things might be spoken which had not been spoken then. The testimony came ; the things were spoken ; and in the apostolic writings we have their enduring rec- ord. In those writings we find the fulfillment of an expectation which the Gospels raised, and recog- nize the performance of a promise which the Gospels gave. T. D. B. II. The Book of Acts. The difference between the historical books of the Xew Testament consists in this, that while the four Gospels record the history of the revelation of the kingdom of heaven, and of its foundation in the person and the work of the Lord Jesus, the Book of Acts describes the royal administration of Christ as manifested in planting his kingdom in and for the world, by the power of the Holy Ghost working through the apostles. Lange. ** It is not the function of an historical record to work out expositions of doctrine, but such a book may be expected to present the general character which the doctrine bore, and to clear to our view the agencies and the stages by which it was matured. This is precisely what is done in the Book of Acts. It is the purpose of the book to do it ; a purpose which ought to be more fully recognized than it is. T. D. B. This '■'■ second treatise" or Book of Luke, records the descent of the Holy Ghost according to the promise of the Father, ami the resulting diffusion of the gospel among Jews and Gentiles. It traces the founding, early training, and the expansion of the Christian Church from Jerusalem, the capital of Judea, to Rome, the metropolis of the world. It covers the whole period of transition from the old dispensation to the new, and details those providential measures by which the infant company of believers attained its independent organization, was gradually released from the shackles of the past, was brought to a con- sciousness of its true character and mission, and was fairly embarked upon its new career, equipped for its work, and secure of its destiny. It is in form a sequel to the gospel written by the same author, who thus intimates the close connection between what is here narrated and the personal ministry of Christ. And it stands in almost perpetual relation with the epistles, upon whose occasion and design it sheds much welcome light, while receiving from them incidental corroboration of many of its state- ments, and important aid for the more exact under- standing of others. An. This book describes what Christ, the invisible head of the Church, ^^docs," or ^^ makes" by the visible instrumentality, or "actings" of apostles, who are his chief ministers. The title is " Actings of the Apostles," and two of the apostles are selected as specimens of the rest, and certain acts of theirs are chosen as specimens of their operations. The one, Peter, was called by Christ on earth ; the other, 6 SECTION 100.— rUE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. Paul, was called by Christ from heaven. One had denied Christ ; the other had persecuted Christ. One was an unlettered fisherman of Galilee ; the other a learned Pharisee, brought up at Jerusalem. Therefore, in the choice of Peter and Paul as spe- cial instruments for propagating the gospel of €hrist, his power is signally glorified. The plan, then, of this divine book is to enlarge our view of Christ's ministry ; to prevent us from confining it to his brief bodily sojourn on earth ; to reveal to us Christ sitting in heaven, not like one of the deities of the heathen world, indifferent to human affairs and con- trolled by destiny, but enthroned King of kings and Lord of lords, and ever ruling all things by his word, for the advancement of his gospel and the establishment of his kingdom. This book may be called the sum and substance of all Church History. In it we see the laws by which Christ, who is un- changeable, works ; in it we see what he has done, and from it we may infer what he will continue to do, even to the end. Thus this divine history is also a divine prophecy. Thence we learn that all persecutions without, and all perils within, the Church, will be overruled by the power of Christ for the tri- umph of the gospel ; that all things, however ad- verse, shall be made subservient to himself. There- fore, from reading this book, we may raise our eyes to heaven, and look for that blessed time when all things will be made subject to Christ, and then he wi# reign King of kings and Lord of lords. W. The history of the Christian Church under the apostles runs in two streams, one Jewish, the other Gentile. The Jewish stream for the most part fol- lows the track of the twelve apostles ; the Gentile, mainly that of Paul. The earlier part of the Book of Acts presents chiefly the one ; the latter, chief- ly the other. Religion now becomes, much more prominently than before, a dispensation of the Holy Spirit. It is by a divine power sent from heaven — by a baptism of the Holy Ghost — that men are drawn to God. It had always been so, indeed, and the later prophets had dwelt much on this subject ; but now the reality of spiritual agency becomes more obvious, and the third person of the Holy Trinity stands out more conspicuously before the Church, as the great agent in the conversion of men. W. G. B. The Acts of the Apostles, in a narrative all alive with graphic details, and written in a style of animated simplicity and natural ease, carries us through a period of human history of incalculable interest and importance : one in which the effects of the manifestation of the Son of God were de- veloped and tested ; in which the life which he had introduced among men disclosed its nature and power, and the truth which he had left connnenced its struggles and conquests ; in which the Christian Church was constituted, gradually detached from its Jewish integuments, and brought to the con- sciousness of its freedom and catholicity ; in which it verified its credentials, proved its arms, recog- nized its destinies, and commenced its victories ; in which impulses were given which would never cease to vibrate and precedents were cst.nblished to which distant ages would refer ; in which solemn and ex- citing scenes, marvels and miracles, saintly and heroic characters, their labors, their conflicts, their sufferings, their journoyings, their collisions with all classes of men, seem to force upon the historian a confusing multiplicity of materials. Yet through all this he makes his way straight in one direction, as a man guided by that instinct of selection which belongs to the ruling presence of a definite purpose. It is just this definiteness of purpose which is apt to pass unobserved. It is nowhere announced, and the unconstrained freedom of manner and easy in- artificial style suggest no thought of it. But we know Luke's inteUigent, inquiring mind, his opportunities of information, his " perfect un- derstanding of all things from the very first," his personal intercourse with those " who from the be- ginning had been eye-witnesses and ministers of the Word." We can not for a moment suppose that his acquaintance with the " Acts of the Apostles " was limited to the facts recorded in the book ; that lie knew nothing of the proceedings of John or James, or of the manifold movements and events which were going on by the side of those which he has related. In fact, there is not a book upon earth in which the principle of intentional selection is more evident to a careful observer. There is in- deed no reason given why one speech is reported and one event related at length, in preference to others which are passed over or slightly touched ; yet when we reach the conclusion we see the rea- sons in the result. We find that by an undeviating course we have followed the development of the true idea of the Church of Christ, in its relations first to the Jewish system, out of which it emerges, and then to the great world,'to which it opens it- self. When the words and deeds of Philip or Stephen, of Peter or Paul, are implicated with this progress of things, we find ourselves in their com- pany, but when we part from Peter without notice of his after-course, when we leave Paul abruptly at the commencement of his two years in Rome, we are given to understand that we have been reading, not their personal memoirs, but a higher histor}-, which certain portions of their careers serve to embody or to illustrate. T. D. B. The political condition of Palestine, at the time to which the New Testament narrative properly be- longs, was one curiously complicated and anoma- lous ; it underwent frequent changes, but retained through all of them certain peculiarities, which made the position of the country unique among the dependencies of Rome. The chief representative of the Roman power in the East — the President of Syria, the local governor, whether a Ilerod or a Ro- man procurator, and the High Priest, had each and all certain rights and a certain authority in the coun- try. A double system of taxation, a double adminis- tration of justice, and even in some degree a double military command, were the natural consequence ; while Jewish and Roman customs, Jewish and Roman words, were simultaneously in use, and a condition of things existed full of harsh contrasts, strange mixtures, and abrupt transitions. The New Testa- ment narrative, however, falls into no error in treat- ing of the period ; it marks, incidentally and with- out effort or pretension, the various changes in the civil 'government : the sole kingdom of Herod the Great ; the partition of his dominions among his sons ; the reduction of Judea to the condition of a Roman province, while Galilee, Iturca, and Tracho- nitis continued under native princes ; the restora- tion of the old kingdom of Palestine in the person of Agrippa the First, and the final reduction of the whole under Roman rtile, and reestablishment of procurators as the civil heads. Again, the New Testament narrative exhibits in the most remark- able way the mixture in the government — the occa- SECTIOF 191.— A GTS 1 : 1-13. sional power of the President of Sj'ria, as shown in Cyrenius's "taxing"; the ordinary division of au- thority between the high priest and the procurator ; the existence of two separate taxations — the civil and the ecclesiastical, the " census " and the " di- drachm " ; of two tribunals, two modes of capital punishment, two military forces, two methods of marking time ; at every turn it shows, even in such little matters as verbal expressions, the coexistence of Jewish with Koman ideas and practices in the country — a coexistence which (it must be remem- bered) came to an end within forty years of our Lord's crucifixion. G. R. The oldest known division of the Greek text of the Acts, by Euthalius, who lived in the sixth cen- tury, was into forty chapters. The present division into twenty-eight was made by Cardinal Hugo, in the thirteenth century, to facilitate the use of his Concordance to the Latin Vulgate, and was not adopted in the copies of the Greek text till the fifteenth century. The division into verses first ap- pears in the margin of Stephens's edition (1551), and is said to have been made by him during a journey between Paris and Lyons. The actual separation of the verses, by printing them in para- graphs, appears for the first time in Beza's edition (1565), and although discontinued in the latest pub- lications of the Greek text, still prevails in most editions of the English Bible and of other modern versions. The history of these divisions should be clearly understood, not only to prevent their being thought original, or even ancient, but also to de- prive them of an undue influence upon the exposi- tion of the text itself. The distinction of the chap- ters in this book is often injudicious and unskillful, and at best these conventional divisions are mere matters of mechanical convenience, like the para- graphs and pages of a modern book. J. A. A. The Book of Acts embraces the period from A. D. 31 to A. n. 64, in which there reigned as Ro- man emperors : (1) Tiberius (from 19th August, 14), until 16th March, 37; (2) Caligula, until 24th Janu- ary, 41 ; (3) Claudius, until 15th October, 54; (4) Nero, until 9th June, 68. The great conflagration of Rome under Nero broke out on 19th July, 64 (Tac. Ann. 15, 41), whereupon commenced the per- secution of the Christians. Meyer. It seems most probable that the book was writ- ten in Rome during the latter part of the imprison- ment of Paul, narrated in the closing chapter. B. Section 191. Acts i. 1-12. 1 The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesns began both to do and 2 teach, until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had 3 given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: to whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and 4 speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God : and, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the 5 promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with 6 water ; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time re- 7 store again the kingdom to Israel ? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the 8 times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judtea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up ; and a cloud 10 received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he 11 went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said. Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven ? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. 12 Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusa- lem a sabbath day's journey. The ascension of Christ is the great pledge and proof of our eternal state ; that our nature is for ever identified with his, so that as long as he is Man we must be happy, as one ivitli Him ; that the great value of this transcendent fact is, not merely that it is an example of our future ascension, but that it is our ascension hecjun — we in him having risen to heaven, we in him being at this time present before God, we in him being united with the eternal plans and procedures of heaven, so that we are for ever blended with Christ — his property — his purchased possession — the very members of his body ; insomuch that they who succor his suffering disciples in this world shall be pronounced to succor himself. And if this be so 8 SECTION 191.— ACTS 1:1-12. — if Christ Jesus has thus borne with him our nature into the inmost sanctuary of heaven, if he has not hesitated to wear the form that Adam wore, in that Holy of Holies where angels tremble as they gaze — what ought to be our feelings, as we reflect upon this astonishing transit ? How ought we to be animated, as we remember that a body spiritual indeed, but yet tangible and visible — a nature immaculate indeed, but yet human and ours — has been uplifted bythe energy of indwelling Godhead, and set in the center of the Paradise of God ! To know that it has happened mainly with a view to our own future exaltation ; that it is but the prologue of a drama which is to take in the whole blessed company of the redeemed ; that it is a prei)aratory measure which is to introduce an endless procession of future entrances like itself — saint after saint rising into the glory thus secured by this Captain of Salvation, and each met at the threshold by him who thus has scaled the skies that he might be there before us ! — to know this, and to believe it, is to awake to emotions that annihilate earth and open heaven already to the exulting soul ! W. A. B. 1 . With these words we enter on a new stage of history and of doctrine, and they are words which connect it with the past. The links of Scripture uniting one part to another, and assisting our sense of the continuity of the whole, are worthy of espe- cial notice. Thus does the Book of Acts at its open- ing attach itself to the preceding record ; throwing back our thoughts on " the former treatise of all that Jesus began both to do and teach," and then passing rapidly in review the last circumstances which connect the apostles with their Lord, as the instruments which he had chosen and prepared for the work which he had yet to do. Thus the history which follows is linked to, or welded with, the past ; and the founding of the Church in the earth is pre- sented as one continuous work, begun by the Lord in person, and perfected by the same Lord through the ministry of men. " The former treatise " de- livered to us, not all that Jesus did and taught, but " all that Jesus bcr/an both to do and teach, wiiil the day when he was taken up." The following writ- ings appear intended to give us, and do in fact pro- fess to give us, that which Jesus continued to do and teach after the day in which he was taken up. T. D. B. From the arrangement of these words in the original Greek, two things are plain which escape the English reader : First, there is an emphasis on the verb " bcffau " / secondly, there is none on the word " Jesus." The contrast is not that the former treatise related what Jcsm began, and this relates what some other person or persons continued ; but it is that the former treatise related what Jesus began to do and to teach ; and this relates what he, the same Jesus, continued to do and to teach, A. There was nothing then on the lips of the preachers of the gospel, but what had been " begun to be spoken " by its first preacher ; and in follow- ing to their utmost the words of the apostles we are still within the compass of the words of the Lord Jesus. T. D. B. Mark expands and explains this statement to refer to Christ's ministry, by the Spirit, through his witnessing disciples : " They went forth and preached everywhere, tfie Lord working with them, and con- Jirming the word with signs following." B. Tlie Lord working with them. Yes! in all his rest he is full of work, in all their toils he shares, in all their journeys his presence goes beside them. Whatever they do is his deed, and the help that is done upon the earth he doeth it all himself. This blessed conviction of Christ's continuous operation in and for his Church underlies the language of this introduction. The Gospel records the beginning ; the Book of the Acts the continuance ; it is one biog- raphy in two volumes. Everywhere " the Lord " is the true actor, the source of all the life which is in the Church, the arranger of all the providences which affect its progress. The Lord adds to the Church daily. His name works miracles. To the Lord believers are added. The Gentiles turn to the Lord because the hand of the Lord is with the preach- ers. The Lord calls Paul to carry the gospel to Macedonia. The Lord opens the heart of Lydia, and so throughout. Xot the Acts of the Apostles, but the Acts of the Lord in and by his servants, is the accurate title of this book. A. M. The kingdom of God was indeed first to be ex- hibited as a communion of men bound together by the same spirit, inspired by the same consciousness of God ; and this communion was to find its central point in Christ, its Kedeemer and King. As he himself ordered and directed all things in the first congregation of his disciplet^, so he was subsequently to inspire, rule, and cultivate this community of men by his law and by his Spirit. The revelation of the Spirit, shared by all its members, was all that was to distinguish it from the world, so called in the New Testament, that is, the common mass of man- kind, as alienated from God. And Christ was grad- ually, through this community, his organ and his royal dwelling-place, to establish his kingdom as a real one, more and more widely among men, and subdue the world to his dominion. N. 2. Through the Holy Ghost. A remark- able statement, as showing how, to the very end, it was through the Spirit that he did and said every- thing ; and this even after his resurrection. It was not as " God over all " that he instructed his apos- SECTION 191.— A CIS 1 : 1-12. ties, but as the man Christ Jesus, full of the Holy Ghost. As Prophet, Priest, and King, he was anointed by the Spirit ; and it was as one full of the Spirit, and on whom the Spirit rested (Isa. 11:2), that he came to discharge these his offices. As our Moses, our Aaron, our David, our Melchizedck, he was filled with the Iloly Spirit. Thus we see him full of the Spirit for us, dispensing that Spirit to us according to our need, that we may come behind in no gift, but receive from him grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Bonar. 3. He shewed himself alive by many infallible proofs. The resurrection of Christ was the great fact in proof of his divinity that the apostles were to preach. And the proof was ample to them. During forty days Jesus appeared ten or eleven times to one or many disciples, in various circumstances, for brief periods of time, when they could judge without excitement ; by words and acts simple and significant establishing in their minds such an absolute conviction of the fact, that it con- trolled their after-life, and led them through per- secution to death. B. This period of the forty days was full of the future. During it, his dis- courses were concerning the kingdom of God — that is, the Church of the future — her constitution and her fortunes. During it were uttered by him those commandments by which their future course was to be guided. A. 4. He commands them to tarry in Jerusalem for the Promised Spirit. — They were to remain in order that the miracle of the descent of the Holy Ghost upon them might be more striking and convincing, as wrought in the capital of Judea, and at the next great festival after the crucifixion, when strangers from all parts of the world would be gathered at Jerusalem, who would carry back the tidings of that manifestation into all lands ; and also that the Christian Law might go forth from Mount Zion (Isa. 2:3; Mic. 4 : 2) and so show its har- mony with the Levitical dispensation. W. The promise of the Father. Because it is the one sum and substance of all the Old Testament prom- ises, in that dispensation which was especially de- claratory of the Father's purpose and will: it is " the promise of the Father," as embracing in one all other promises, and as the inclusive blessing of the covenant, being no less than the entire renewal of man by the indwelling Spirit : a blessing un- known to the earlier dispensation, and by virtue of which the least under the latter covenant is greater than the greatest under the former one. This baptism by the Holy Ghost was to be the ful- fillment of that which the baptism of John only foreshadowed. 5. Not many days hence. Why was this especially the time for this indwelling of the Holy Ghost in our nature to begin ? John furnishes us with the answer, when he tells us (7 : 39), "the Holy Ghost was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified." On him, the inclusive head of our hu- manity, the Holy Spirit alighted in his baptism. To him the Spirit was given without measure. But the fullness of the outpouring of this Spirit from him over all flesh summed up in him, awaited the full acceptance of all our flesh in him, when he had by himself purged our sins and sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on High. It is this which so closely binds on the narrative of the Ascension to all that is to follow. It is this which makes the "not many days hence" so pregnant with deep meaning, as assigning to the greatest event in the Church's history its proper and only place. A. The time is indefinite of purpose. "Xot many days," says Chrysostom, " that they may hope, but he does not say hoio few, in order that they may watch." The interval was ten days. 6. The apostles' question about the kingdom was a strange one, yet it had a grand measure of faith in him in it. He was the Restorer/ They called him Lord, the same word used in the Greek Old Testament for Jehovah. But the question was all wrong in its meaning and spirit. It is at once the most affecting and conclusive pi'oof of their "slowness of heart to comprehend" the essential truths Christ had been gradually disclosing all the way to his betrayal. B. In spite of all that our Lord said and did during his lifetime, and even with the advantage of his second ministry, " speaking to them of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God," the apostles never advanced till after the as- cension to the understanding and apprehension of Chrisfs peculiar redemptive ivorl: Even after having followed the finger of the Master from scroll to scroll, and from page to page, as he showed to them what Avas written in the law, the psalms, and the prophets concerning himself, they do not seem, to have retained the meaning of the exposition. Their understandings though "opened" got closed again; and, instead of rising to the height of the great ar- gument and learning to preach " repentance and re- mission of sin to all nations," they sank down into mere expectants of secular glory and national de- liverance. This is evident from the fact that, on the very morning of the ascension, they actually proposed the question, " Lord, wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel ? " — thus still dream- ing about mere political ascendancy and national ad- vantage, when such pains had been taken, by his opening to them the meaning of the law and the prophets, to make them understand that which had been said, "I, if I be lifted up from the earth" (signifying by what death he should die), " will draw all men unto rne." T. B. 10 SECTION' 191.— ACTS 1:1-12. 7. One departmcut of knowledge, our Lord here teaches us, is kept by God within his own power, or, in other words, is reserved to himself, and not laid open before the eyes of mortals. The coming history of the world, the future life of every indi- vidual man lies beyond conjecture. Even the events which are to affect his own kingdom of grace God has kept in his own power. lie has disclosed a lit- tle, he has made the final winding up sure, but this is a region of knowledge where he reigns alone, and shares the particulars of the boundless plan with no other. T. D. W. If, from a prophetical text or two, we were able to count on our fingers how many years the world will last, such knowledge would puff up, and lead us to talk and speculate, instead of doing with our might W'hat our hand finds to do. It is not enough that we submit to leave the ages and epochs in the Father's hand, because we can not wrench them out of it ; we should be glad and grateful that he spares us such sights into the future as we should not be able to bear. It is the part of a dear child to read eagerly all that the Father reveals, and to trust implicitly wherever the Father indicates a de- sign to conceal. " Blessed are those servants whom the Lord, when he cometh, shall find " — not predict- ing, but — " watching." In removing the speculative inquiry, he placed a great practical work in their hands. Arnot. He did not reveal to them jjlainly the fall of the Mosaic dispensation, accompanied with the desti-uc- tion of the Jewish state, and scattering of the nation over the world for so many centuries. This was the breaking up of all that they clung to as patriots and Jewish believers. The whole founda- tion of their faith would be convulsed by the thought of it. It was only the unfolding of Christianity in its spiritual power, the fulfillment of types and sac- rifices in more glorious realities, the transference of -their affections to a higher fatherland, and the view of the heavenly beauty of the Jerusalem above, that could enable them to bear the loss of their gor- geous ritual, and the dispersion of their race. Ker. 8. How wisely kind is his answer ! No rebuke now for dullness. Our Lord intimates that there shall indeed be a restoration, though not in the way, nor with the results, they imagined. The final re- sults arc in the Father's ordering. But, ha says, turning to indicate the very way by which ultimate- ly his kingdom should be established, and really answering their question in an affirmative spirit, ye shall receive power from Ihe Holy Ghost ami shall be xntnesse.1 unto me in the vhole earth. " Strike in upon the work, and leave the issue with God" (Ar- not). You shall be qualified for the work. Power shall be imparted to you by the Holy Ghost. Of that " all power given imto me," shall He bestovir upon you, matching the gift always to your needs. Use the gifts bestowed in toiling to establish my kingdom in human hearts. And we know how, when Christ had ascended and the Holy Ghost had descended, they dropped out of thought for ever their old conceptions about rich rewards and lordly places in Israel's kingdom ; how, taught by the Holy Spirit, they linked together in a beautiful completeness all that Christ had taught about humiliation, serving, and suffering, as the way to the kingdom, and faith in Christ with the inward joy and peace of God the Holy Ghost, as itself the kingdom. B. Ye shall be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, and in all Judsea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. In these words we have a brief table of contents of the whole book. The testimony in Jerusalem occupies the history as far as the end of chapter 7 ; in chapter 8 it spreads to all Judea and Samaria ; in chapter 9 we have the preparation, by the conversion of the apostle to the Gentiles, for its being carried over all the world ; in chapter 11 we pass from Jerusalem to Antioch, thence over Asia Minor and into Greece, thence, finally, to the world's great capital, Rome. A. Mark the exactness with which he indicates the lines in which they should go on their journey of witness- bearing and service — the same which in their spirit bind all Christian sympathy and activity to the end of time. First, Jerusalem, their own city ; next, Judea, their own country ; then Samaria, their next neighbor, an enemy at that ; and finally, the whole earth. B. The charity that will convert the world is a charity that begins at home — hefjins, but does not end there. Unless our love be of such a kind as greatly to disturb a godless neighborhood at home, it will not set on fire a distant continent. We must go out to the uttermost parts with our message, but must let the men beside us feel the glow of our zeal as it passes by. The command of the Lord is still the rule for his people — beginning at Jerusalem, , but not ending till we reach the uttermost part of the earth. Arnot. There is for all of us also a "Jerusalem," a "Judea," a "Samaria," if not an "uttermost part of the earth" — some well-dressed city with its ragged fringe of want and wickedness, some coun- try district with its neglected and untrained fami- lies, some sophisticated brain that has gone astray from the old standards and home of the faith and set up its Gerizim rivalry — some that you can minister to by your charity and win back by your witnessing, if that witnessing is only as zealous as Peter's, and as patient as Paul's, and as loving as John's. F. D. H. 9-11. The Ascension and the AngcVs Messacfe. — His last words, " ye arc my witnesses," spoken — and what intense sismificance this fact carries to SECTIO:^ 191.— ACTS 1:1-W. 11 all disciples ! — ffe lifts his hands in bicssinff, and in the act of blessing rises. Of all that is sublime and tender in this beautiful and attractive life, no- thing surpasses in power over a true human heart this spectacle, upon which we still are looking. The last act, an abiding memory to us of blessing ; hands — once outstretched in cruel agony, shame, and death — now for ever outstretched with a bene- diction, from the living, I'isen, reigning Christ, of joy, of promised glory, and of everlasting life to every uplooking, fervid, trusting, hoping soul ! And we know that the bright cloud that has taken will restore him, in that blessed day when we shall rise with all believers to meet him in the air. This is the message to iis of the angels who spake from the hallowed spot on Olivet upon that bright day of Christ's ascension. B. 9. Our Lord after his resurrection seems to have done nothing like a common man. Whatever was natural to him before seems now miraculous ; what was before miraculous is now natural. On earth he had no longer any local residence ; his body re- quired neither food for its subsistence, nor a lodg- ing for its shelter and repose ; he was become the inhabitant of another region, from which he came occasionally to converse with his disciples ; his visi- ble ascension, at the end of forty days, being not the necessary means of his removal, but a token to his disciples that this was the last visit — an evi- dence to them that " the heavens had now received him," and that he was to be seen no more on earth " till the restitution of all things." Horsley. Taken up. They saw with them, as Master, Comforter, Consoler, and Protector, a man, such as they saw themselves. If they saw not something of this kind, they were fain to think him absent ; whereas he is everywhere present by his majesty. And it was needful that they should now begin to have spiritual views of him, as the Word of the Father, God with God, by whom all things were made ; and these the flesh, which they saw, suffered them not to have. It was therefore expedient for them to be confirmed in faith by his converse with them during forty days ; but it was more expedient for them that he should withdraw himself from their eyes, and that whereas upon earth he had been conversant with them as a brother, he should suc- cor them from heaven as God, and they should learn to think of him as God. They would not think of the God, until the man were removed from them and from their sight ; so that, when the familiar in- tercourse which they had had with the flesh was cut off, they might learn, even in the absence of the flesh, to think of his Godhead. Aug. If faith and spiritual affection are the life of the Church, it was for the advantage of the Church that Jesus, instead of remaining in the midst of her, should go ' away. Before the departure of Jesus Christ there is no Church, but there is one immediately after. Those men who, after a long residence with their Master, put questions to him, and start doubts which almost make us blush for them, are after his de- parture enlightened, intelligent, resolute men. This Church, in which he leaves only his remembrance, and in which the visible signs of his power lasted only a very short time, still subsists, and even now, amid the decline of all belief and the overthrow of all systems, is the only thing which has strength, life, and a future. A. V. Inasmuch as a cloud re- ceived him out of their sight, it was declared to them that the human form of the Lord which thus de- parted from among them has not disappeared into the air, but has entered heaven, the abode of God, and is there working and acting. But how ? Enter- ing heaven as the glorified King, it is concerning his kingdom that he is acting and working; but inasmuch as he is withdrawn from them, and no longer personally among them, it is not outwardly and visibly that he is thus working ; not concerning a visible earthly kingdom, but only by that out- pouring of the Spirit which he is gone up to receive, and concerning an inward and Spirit kingdom. A. There is among us, ever since that wondrous day, a power beyond all powers, a strength to nerve the feeble heart, an unction to anoint the sightless eye, an energy to revivify the spiritually dead. There is a secret, subtile, unseen power — mightier than all that fabling romance ever dreamed of its magic — it is near us if we will but know it, within us if we will but call it — this is the heritage of the believing world ever since that day of OUvet. W. A. B. What tongue of the highest archangel of heav- en can express the welcome of the King of Glory into those blessed regions of immortality? Sure- ly, the empyreal heaven never resounded with so much joy : " God ascended with jubilation, and the Lord with the sound of the trumpet." It is not for us, weak and finite creatures, to conceive those in- comprehensible, spiritual, divine gratulations that the glorious Trinity gave to the victorious and now glorified human nature. Certainly, if, " when he brought his Only-Begotten Son into the world, he said, Let all the angels worship him " ; much more now that he " ascends on high and hath led cap- tivity captive, hath he given him a name above all names, that at the name of JESUS all knees should bow." And, if the holy angels did so carol at his birth, in the very entrance into that estate of hu- miliation and infirmity, with what triumph did they receive him now, returning from the perfect achieve- ment of man's redemption ! Bp. H. We see humanity glorified when the Son of man thus mounts his Father's throne ; and not too high, assuredly, sounded the ancient vaunt of faith, 12 SECTION 191.— ACTS 1:1-12. " that our flesh is in the heaven." " To-day," so spoke the famed Ghrysostom, in the most ancient ascension sermon of the Christian Church which has been preserved for us — " to-day are we, who do not seem worthy of earth, taken up into heaven : we win the royal throne ; and tlic human race, who were driven by cherubim from paradise, take even a place above the cherubim." Van 0. 10. It is said that the apostles " looked stead- fastly toward heaven as he went up " ; methinks it is so that we also, as we read or hear this won- drous event, should fix eye and heart upon that heaven which he, the first-born, has preoccupied ; that we should feel that in him a portion of our- selves has departed thither, a sinless type of hu- manity, which keeps its place for the rest; and that our heart, in Christ, being already there, all else should struggle, with holy impatience, to fol- low. W. A. B. The final demonstration of his Messiahship is complete. Henceforth the Redemption of Jesus, his incarnation, his life, his redeeming death, his resurrection and ascension, enter as living truths, the most vital and grandest truths, into human his- tory. Roman falsehood, Jewish malice, Grecian skepticism, can never crush them out of human thought, or palsy their ennobling power over hu- man hearts. From soul to soul these eternal reali- ties pass into possession ; men feed upon them and grow pure and strong. The sphere of faith enlarges from generation to generation, and as it enlarges, new power, new joy, new hope exalts and strengthens man. S. W. F. Read in the gospels, repeated in sermons, faint- ly reflected in Christians, that matchless life is every day humanizing, stimulating, rebuking, consol- ing thousands ; impelling to deeds of generous self- sacrifice and difficult self-conquest, which he was himself the first to exhibit, and inspiring with hope those lovers of their race who would otherwise de- spair of mankind. The perfection of beauty, a full- orbed Sun of Righteousness, there he stands and will ever stand, history's great miracle and the world's great hope, a sign that is still spoken against, but a name which is continually making progress, and daily working miracles. And ever since over Bethany he spread forth his hands and blessed the men of Galilee, a balm has lingered in earth's atmosphere, which was not there before ; and we all feel that earth will never again be so bleak since Jesus has been here, nor the grave again so dark since Jesus has been there ; just as we feel that goodness has new charms since he showed us what it is, and that heaven has most nearness since he said, " I go to my Father," and " Lo, I am with you always." Hamilton. 11. He will come again ; but times and seasons which man can not number will ntervcne. These are times of witnessing for all the disciples of Christ. They must receive the Spirit ; they must be witnesses for Christ ; they must begin at Jerusalem ; they must reach the ends of the earth. After that shall the end be. The time seems long ; and yet it is approaching quickly. That fixed star seems fixed indeed to our eyes ; there it has stood in the deep of heaven, and glittered down on the upturned eyes of longing disciples these eighteen hundred years — the bright promise of his coming ; but though it seems to stand still, it is moving ; it is approach- ing. Be of good cheer, disciples, your redemption is nearer than when those Galileans first left their nets to follow Jesus. Arnot. The return of Christ is that ultimate and yet most proximate point to which the believer constantly looks, toward which is all his hope, and from which he receives constantly the deepest impulses and motives for purification and diligent labor. The grace of God, bringing salvation, Lath appeared — this is our sun- rise— teaching us to wait for the appearing of our great God and Saviour — this is our perfect, never- ending day. A. S. This question, " Why stand ye gazing up ? " is the first thing in the order of events, and in the Bible narrative, after the closing of Christ's earth- ly ministry. Only a little breathing space was to be given them first to gather up their energies, and even that was not to be an interval of idleness. They were to go at once to Jerusalem, as the chosen headquarters of the great warfare for the world's conversion, and their waiting there was to be like the waiting of the still midsummer elements, be- fore the mountain winds sweep down and the tongues of fire leap out — a busy waiting — a prepa- ration for this long campaign of many ages. They were to occupy the ten days fi'om Ascension to Pentecost, with its mighty wind and flame, in mak- ing ready incessantly for the coming of the Holy Spirit to inaugurate their work. They were to be earnest and constant in prayer and praise. They were to cease wasting their time on the empty cloud through which the Saviour's form had gone, that they rather might find and follow and possess for ever the living Saviour himself, in doing by faith the substantial service of his love, for his sake. F. D. H. SECTION 192.— ACTS 1:13-36. 13 Section 192. Acts i. 13-26. 13 AxD TNiien they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode botli Peter, and Jatues, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, 14 James the son of Alphseus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren. 16 And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of 16 names together were about an hundred and twenty,) Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before con- 17 cerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus. For he was nunabered with us, 18 and had obtained part of this ministry. Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity ; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed 19 out. And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem ; insomuch as that field is called 20 in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say. The field of blood. For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein : and his 21 bishoprick let another take. Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all 22 the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a wit- 23 ness with us of his resurrection. And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who 24 was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed, and said. Thou, Lord, which know- 25 est the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen, that he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might 26 go to his own place. And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias ; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. What an epoch of prayer was that ! So elevated are these ardent and consecrated souls toward heaven, so open toward God's spirit, so conscious that they have only to ask to receive, that devotion seems to have become an instinct, and they pray as they breathe. And M^hat followed ? The Church grew before men's eyes with such swiftness that a thousand converts were gathered in the time that it takes us to gather ten : in the short lifetime of a single generation the worship of Christ raised itself to power in the chief cities of three continents ; the swords of all the Herods and Caesars and their legions could not strike fast enough to cut down one Christian where twenty sprang up ; hundreds were baptized in a day; the times of refreshing had come ; the prediction was literally accomph shed; the windows of heaven were opened, and the blessing was so poured out that there was not room enough to receive it. These were the fruits. How can we fail to connect together the fruit with the seed — the glorious move- ment and the motive power — the Church pure in doctrine and victorious in converting the world with the multitude of her members not only standing full-clad in all the panoply of the Christian warfare, but praying always, with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit ? All along since the last of the twelve laid down his life, this rule has never had an exception — the Church has been both strong and pure, victorious abroad and peaceful with itself, just according to its spirit of supphcation, according to its devotional nearness to Christ. F. D. II. 13-36. From the parting with their ascended Lord, with the vision still in thought of those hands outstretched in blessing, the apostles returned to Jerusalem. In a large chamber in the upper story of a certain house, probably the room already hal- lowed by their last intercourse with the Master, they gather together, and many other disciples with them. For ten days this first assembly of the Christian Church remained in almost continuous prayer, and in perfect unison of feeling, calmly expecting the fulfillment of the Lord's many promises respecting the Holy Ghost. Luke's Gospel tells us that " they went to the Temple daily," at the usual hour of prayer. The whole number was one hundred and twenty, and they are distinguished into four groups : the apostles, the women who had followed Jesus, his mother Mary, and his brethren — Mary seen for the last time in the beautiful attitude of prayer with 14 SECTION 192.— ACTS 1:13-^ the other believers, sharing their spiritual aspira- tions and sympathizing in their trust and hope, and equally looking for and depending upon the Holy Spirit ; and fiis brethren, now also believing, rejoic- ing, expectant ; and, lastly, the larger assemblage of disciples. Peter now proposes that the vacancy in the apostleship be filled. After consideration as well as prayer, resort was had to the lot to determine the choice of Christ. This was their last confor- mity to a usage of the old' dispensation, for they were to have from henceforth a better guide to the will of God. Matthias was chosen and numbered with the apostles. Concerning him, as concerning several other apostles, we have no further definite information. This we know, they all fulfilled the mini.stry appointed them. Each had a history and performed a life-work whose record of fruitf ulness and blessing shall be gratefully traced in the studies of the redeemed. With singleness of expectation and absolute assurance of faith, every heart in perfect oneness with every other, asking, as He had bidden, in his name, they quietly awaited the time appointed for the advent of the Comforter. B. 14. There was perseverance in the prayer of the primitive Church — " they continued." There was unity in those early prayer-meetings — they prayed " with one accord." The prayers were not soon broken off, and were not hindered by disagree- ments among the suppliants. They ascended straight to heaven in a pillar of pure incense, and descended soon in showers of blessing — a great re- freshing from the presence of the Lord. Arnot. Mary. The Holy Spirit takes leave of her here, associated with the apostolic company of wor- shipers in the upper room at Jerusalem. She is oae of those who there continue steadfast in prayer. How unlike the spirit and language of the Holy Ghost is that will-worship which takes her out of that holy fellowship and makes her an object of adoration ! W. We see her to have been a devout Jewish maid- en, a faithful wife, a loving mother, illustrating in her life a true womanhood. Her faith, her study of the Scriptures, her humility, her modesty, her fidelity — all commend her as an example of the character produced by the grace of God. Not a single hint is given of her sinlessness, or that she differed in her nature from Elizabeth or Anna, or any of those devout and loving women who followed Christ to the cross and early visited his sepulchre. Her honor, her peculiar blessedness consisted in this, that she was chosen to be the mother of Jesus. As woman in Eve bore her part in the fall, so wo- man in Mary bore her part in giving birth to him who is the Redeemer of the world. To the Church she sustains no official relation whatever, Christ himself expressly disclaims all such human relation- ship in his kingdom. The moment he appears she retires. A few allusions, and she vanishes from the scene. The apostles never once allude to her. She is put as entirely aside as if she never had existed. To those inspired men she is utterly unknown in any other relation to the Church than that of a simple believer, saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. There is nothing in the early records, nothing in the early fathers of the Church for the first five cen- turies, which indicates that Mary was anything more than an honored member of the Church. S. W. F. John has nothing to say of her, or to report from her. If he had her with him even for years, speaking freely of what she knew, how many things could she have told him that we so much long to hear ! And yet the apostle, beginning his gospel far back in the solemn arcana of the Eternal Word, and passing directly over Mary to speak, fourteen verses after, of "the Word made flesh," gives not so much as a trace of mention concerning her ma- ternal place and office in the story. Making no re- port of her conversations, he is equally silent as regards her death ; telling never when she died, or how she died, or in what place she was buried. And it is well ; for there was even a much higher neces- sity in her case, than in that of Moses, that her burial-place should be hidden from mortal knowl- edge. Otherwise it would be the center of a vaster idolatry than the world has ever known. The di- vine wisdom somehow took her aside, with a set purpose not to let her mix her human-story prod- ucts, beautiful and graceful as they were, with Christ's immortal life-word from above. H. B. 15, It is the commencement of God's kingdom on which we gaze with quiet admiration, and it may be to us as though we stood beside the hidden source of a stream which thence speeds along to water re- gions vast beyond belief. These hundred and twenty persons, what a small beginning compared with the vigorous progress and the fair destiny ! Still the spiritual kingdom of God stands toward the unbe- lieving world as for ten days the humble upper chamber stood toward the powerful and magnificent Jerusalem ; yet it appears here, too, that the great question is not on what side is the majority to be found, but on what side is the truth. Van 0. 18, It is natural to suppose that Judas hanged himself on some tree growing out of a precipice ; and that the branch breaking, or whatever he hanged himself with, he fell down headlong, and dashed himself to pieces. M. Supposing this part of Hinnom to have been the scene of the sui- cide, it fits in exactly to the narrative in the Acts. There are places with overhanging trees of various kinds, at which the rugged rock rises sheer up to SECTION 193. -ACTS 2 : 1-11. 15 forty or fifty feet ; and supposing an individual to be suspended by the neck from a branch of one of those trees, there is nothing improbable in the branch breaking, in his falling body being torn by some jagged projecting stone as he descended, and in his- being dashed to pieces by the hard rock at the bot- tom. The potter's field, which was purchased with the thirty pieces of silver, is shown on the same eminence. We found its soil to be clayey as we walked over it ; and if you ask almost any potter in Jerusalem where he finds his material, he will direct you to this very Aceldama. A. TJio^nson. 1 felt, as I stood in the valley and looked up to the rocky terraces which overhang it, that the proposed ex- planation was a perfectly natural one. I was more than ever satisfied with it. Trees still flourish on the margin of these precipices, and in ancient times must have been more numerous. A rocky pave- ment exists, also, at the bottom of the ledges, and on that account, too, a person falling from above would be liable to be crushed and mangled, as well as killed. Hackett. 19. This verse should be included in a paren- thesis, and thus considered as conveying not the words of Peter but of the historian : which effectu- ally answers the objection from the fact having hap- pened but a few days before the speech was deliv- ered. This also accounts for his calling the Syriac, which was spoken by the Jews at that time, their language. D. 24. liOrd. This word, equivalent to the Je- hovah of the Old Testament, and correspondent to it in the Septuagint version, is constantly applied to Christ in the Acts, where it is found nearly a hun- dred times, and is like a sacred key-note of the whole ever sounding forth his divine Lordship in the ear of the world. It is " the Lord Jesus " who is said by Peter to have come in and gone out .among them. It is he who chooses Matthias ; he who sends the Holy Ghost ; he who adds believers daily to the Church ; he who works miracles by the hands of his apostles. To the Lord Jesus, Stephen, the first martyr, looks up and prays at the hour of death. It is he who calls to the persecuting Saul from heaven ; he sends Ananias to baptize ; he sends Peter to Cornelius. He (says Peter) is Lord of all. Thus the mind is elevated from earth to heaven, and from the acts of envoys to the majesty and glory of the universal Lord and King, sitting on his heavenly throne. W. It is not said, " Show whom thou wilt choose,''^ but " whom thou hc(^t chosen." There exists no more decisive proof of the absolute recog- nition of the divinity of our blessed Lord than this first prayer of his Church. That the prayer is made to him is undeniable. The very word in which he says (John 6 : 70), " Have not I chosen you twelve ? " is also used here : if he chose the twelve, his it was to choose the new apostle. And, the prayer being thus made to him, there is in it attributed to him knowledge of the hearts of all men, and that divine foreknowledge which, before all secondary agents, determines the destiny of men. A. 25. The style of the gospel is admirable in a thousand dif- ferent views ; and in this, among others, that we meet there with no invectives on the part of the his- torians against Judas or Pilate, nor against any of the enemies, or the very murderers of their Lord. Pmcal. To his own place. In the eternal world every man has his place, and it is his own. No other can make it, and no other can occupy it, for him. Whatever may be in it outwardly, its essence lies in his own soul and in the condition to which he has brought it. Here in the last issue consists his misery or joy, for only through his soul can his share be measured in the universe of God and in God himself. And God has made the man's own soul witness and judge over itself. This difference only shall exist between the present and the future, that then — confronted with the eternal laws of truth and justice — the witness shall have no power of false testimony, and the judge be unable to use favor or sophistry. Men shall take their own place in the spiritual universe as bodies take their place in the natural — by the power of gravitation which is in them — nearer God or farther from him, as they have impressed the character upon themselves, and in nearness will lie life and peace — in distance, death and misery. Ker. Section 193. Acts il. 1-11. 1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all ■rt'ith one accord in one 2 place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and 3 it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven 4 tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak witli other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, oat of every nation under 16 SECTION 193.— ACTS 2 : 1-11. 6 lieaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were con- 7 founded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak 8 Galila;ans ? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born ? 9 Parthiuns, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judfea, and 10 Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of 11 Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wondeiful works of God. jEsrs has ascended to his Father, but this other paraclete is to come and dwell in his people for ever. His office work is threefold : First, with reference to Christ's immediate disciples, he was the revcaler — Jesus had instructed and opened truth to their minds ; but their minds were weak, their memories treach- erous. This Holy Spirit comes to bring to mind his words, to strengthen memory, to fill them with the truth thus spoken in all its vividness and power, and open the true meaning of what was obscure and dark. Nor is this all. There were many things Jesus had for them, which they could not bear, were not able to receive, before his departure. These the Spirit should make known to them ; these things to come he should unfold to them. This promise is the foundation on which the whole New Testament rests as the inspired truth of God. They spake, they wrote the things pertaining to Christ and his kingdom, as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. The second office is that of the convictcr and regenerator. He is to convince the world of sin, of righteousness, of judgment ; and as he convinces and convicts he is to renew and lead them to Jesus. On the day of Pentecost he first demonstrated this divine power ; thou- sands were pricked in their hearts ; thousands believed in Jesus. Ever since that time his presence has heen revealed in conviction and conversion. Religion advances ; Jesus is received ; the gospel is victo- . rious only as he brings the truth home to dead hearts of men. The third office is that of quiclcencr, guide, and comforter. To the soul once penitent and believing, this blessed Spirit comes and quickens it to see and feel the fullness, and richness, and power of the truth as it is in Jesus ; stimulates it to sacrifice and labor, excites to prayer, strengthens against temptation, supports and comforts amid trial, sorrow, and death. Jesus sends this divine Spirit to work in his Church and through its members. This is his great promise, and this completes the cycle of redemption. The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, each in their office ministering life and salvation to the world. S. W. F. 1. The day of Pentecost. Pentecost is a (Greek) New Testament term, meaning ^//ie^/i, indi- cating the celebration of this feast on the fiftieth day from that of the Passover. This is called in the Old Testament the Feast of Harvest ; and also the Feast of Weeks, because it was seven weeks, or " a week of weeks," from the Passover. The Jews also called it "The Feast of the joy of the Law,"- as occurring, according to their tradition, on the very day when the Law was given from ilount Sinai, the fiftieth of the Exodus, from the night of the first Passover. And so this Feast of Pentecost associates the old covenant of the Law with the new covenant of the Gospel, the organization of the Old Testament Church under Moses with a partial ministry of the Spirit, with its reorganization under the apostles with the fullness of the Holy Ghost. In this we see the vital connection of the now covenant with the old. B. At the Feast of the Passover the lamb was slain — at the Feast of Pentecost the Law was given. Coincident with the slaying of the lamb was the death of Christ ; coincident with the giving of the Law was the descent of the Spirit. On the first Pentecost the Law was written on tables of stone ; on the last came the Spirit to write the Law on the living tables of the heart. Arnot. In the old dispensation there were three great annual festivals at which the sons of Abraham went up to Jerusalem — that of the Passover, which com- memorated and renewed their gladness over their deliverance from the Egyptian house of bondage ; that of the first fruits, when the earliest ripe sheaves gave joyous foretoken of the coming harvest ; and that of Tabernacles, when for a season their tent- life was renewed, and they blessed God for their settled enjoyment of the promised land. But what was temporary and occasional in the former econ- omy, is permanent under the gospel ; and the glad- ness of all these three festivals is united in the Christian life. The Pascal joy of deliverance — the Pentecostal gladness of first fruits in the possession of the earnest of the Spirit — and the Tabernacle re- joicing in the contemplation, from out the frail booth of the flesh, of " the city which hath founda- tions whose builder and maker is God " — these all combine to make the experience of the believer a SECTION 193.— ACTS 2:1-11. continuous feast, which is not the less real because it is internal and spiritual. W. M. T. All in one place. It is not of the apostles only that the whole history is related. Throughout the latter part of chapter 1 we are in presence of the assembled believers, the hundred and twenty names of verse 15. In verse 23, it is "they" who " appoint two " ; in verse 24, " they " who pray ; in verse 26, "they'' who give forth their lots; in chapter 2 : 1, "they" who are "all with one accord in one place " ; in verse 3, it is upon " each of them " that the fiery tongues rest. There is no change of subject throughout. And with this agree the words and acts of the twelve. A. Our Saviour Christ, who is Lord of the Sabbath, fulfilling the work of our redemption by his resur- rection upon the first day of the week, and by his mission of the Holy Ghost miraculously the first day of the week, and by the secret message of his Spirit to the apostles and the primitive Church, hath trans- lated the observation of the seventh day of the week to the first day of the week, which is our Christian Sabbath ; that as our Christian baptism succeeds the sacrament of circumcision, and as our Christian pascha, in the sacrament of the euchai'ist, succeeded the Jewish passover, so our Christian Sabbath, the first day of the week, succeeds the Sabbath of the seventh day of the week ; and that morality which was, by Almighty God, under that covenant, confined to the seventh day, is, by the example of Christ and his apostles to us Gentiles, transferred to the first day of the week. Hale. 2, 3. Suddenly came the fulfillment for which the disciples now, and the devout of their preceding generations, had waited. And in this his Pente- costal gift we find further evidence that Christ came to fulfill the long promise of the prophets. Two signs preceded, and one followed the immediate advent of the Holy Ghost : First, a sound, as of a rushing mighty wind, without a breath of movement in the air, a sound sweeping down through the still sky from the upper heaven, a sound, heard in its downward course by many in the immediate vicinity, taking the direction and entering into the very cham- ber where the disciples were sitting, and there ceas- ing. This was an expressive intimation to those who understood the symbolic use of the term wind, or breath, or spirit, as applied to the divine Spirit ; it was an advance sign from heaven of his coming. Next, in addition to the sound appealing to the ear, instantly followed a light, as of flame, appealing to the eye. An appearance it was, of a body of flame, disparted and distributed in the form of tongues, one resting upon the head of each disciple. A brightness as of fire or flame, but like the bush at Horeb there was no burning. This miraculous light, with its peculiar form, also bore an expressive inti- 2 mation, which we can as readily interpret. Spiritual light and spiritual energy, coming from the Holy Ghost into the heart, were the experience signified by the seeming flame. " The form of tongues sig- nified that the tongue, the word, or speech, con- trolled by the Holy Spirit, should communicate all that is heavenly. That such a tongue of light and fire descended upon each individual present, was an emblem of that fullness of the Spirit imparted to each individual as a permanent gift." Thus these signs, audible and visible, impressively indicated the power and the mode of working of the Holy Spirit. More than this, they were specific pledges of the conquering might of the divine Spirit that should attend the preaching of Christ crucified and risen. E. Tell it wherever there are ears to hear, tell it to the ends of the earth, God hath spoken ; man has not been forgotten ; there is a gospel, a " speech of God " ; questions affecting salvation are settled ; and our way to holy living and happy dying traced by the Hand which rules both worlds. In strict keep- ing with the spiritual stamp of Christianity was the symbol which, once for all, announced to the Church the advent of her conquering power. The symbol is a TONGUE, the only instrument of the grandest war ever waged : a tongue — man's speech to his fellow man ; a message in human words to human faculties, from the understanding to the under- standing, from the heart to the heart. A tongue of fire — man's voice, God's truth; man's speech, the Holy Spirit's inspiration ; a human organ, a su- perhuman power. Arthur. The truth revealed is the condition and the instrument of the Spirit's working. Hence, only when the revelation of God is complete by the message of his Sou, his life, death, resurrection, and ascension, was the full permanent gift of the Spirit possible, not to make new revelations, but to unfold all that lay in the Word spoken once for all, in whom the whole name of God is contained. A. M. 4. Immediately succeeding these miraculous manifestations is the advent of the Holy Ghost. Of this the simple sublime record is, They were all filed with the Holy Ghost. As of old " God was not in " this seeming of the " wind and the fire," but entered invisibly and inaudibly into the hearts of the disciples to breathe into them the fullness of spiritual life and light, to speak thereafter to them in " the still small voice," and to abide in them and with them for ever. Fullness and permanence char- acterize the influence and communication of the Holy Spirit from henceforth. Hitherto prophets and apostles, and all believers, had only received In lesser measure partial and limited foretastes of the divine working. B. As the Son was working in the world long before his incarnation, so did the Holy Ghost also act upon mankind long before his 18 SECTION 193.— ACTS 2 : 1-11. effusion; as it was at the incarnation of the Son that the fullness of his life first manifested itself, so it was not until the effusion which took place on the day of Tcntccost that the Spirit poured forth all his power. Oh. The normal guidance of the apostles by their Lord was not occasional, but habitual, not through separate interventions, but through the Holy Ghost dwelling in them. So the promise ran that it should be ; and so in fact it was. The Day of Pentecost is the opening of the second period of the New Testa- ment dispensation. It stands alone, as does the day which now we call Christmas : the one the birthday of the Lord, the other the birthday of his Church ; the one proclaimed by pi'aises sung by hosts in heaven, the other by praises uttered in the various tongues of earth. That change is significant : for now the Spirit conveys the true knowledge of the wonderful works of God into the recesses of the human heart. A dispensation is begun, in which the mind of God has entered into mysterious com- bination with the mind of man, and henceforth the revealing light shines, not from without, but from within. God at that time not only stirred, but taught, the hearts of his faithful people, and sent to them not only the warmth but the light of his Holy Spirit. T. D. B. 5. In Christ's time one might have spoken with truth of the omnipresent Jew. " The Jews had made themselves homes in every country, from the Tiber to the Euphrates, from the pines of the Cau- casus to the spice-groves of happy Arabia." A mere catalogue of the cities where they had settled at that time — in the far East, in Egypt, in Syria, in Greece and her islands — is astonishing. With but few exceptions, they seem to have been everywhere a wealthy and, in general, an influential class. The decrees issued from time to time by the Roman Senate, favoring or honoring the Jews in the differ- ent cities of the empire, were very numerous, and throw much light upon their numbers, character, prosperity, and their civil and social relations and standing. Merrill. 6-11. Many of the more devout among these foreign Jews, under the then prevalent belief that the Messiah was about to appear, bad fixed their abode at Jerusalem, permanently or for a time. These, with others who came up to this feast, were providentially prepared as witnesses of this great miracle. Subsequently, as the subjects of the re- newing power and grace of the Holy Spirit, they were as providentially made bearers of the glad tid- ings to the nations among whom they dwelt, whose languages they had acquired from birth. 5Iany of them were now gathered in the vicinity of the temple, and heard the strange sound that had fallen from the sky. Among this multitude came the dis- ciples from the upper room, and, under the prompt- ing and guidance of this new divine inspiration, one and another attaches himself to some group of for- eigners, and accosts them in their own language with the wondrous message of the Holy Ghost concerning the crucified and risen Jesus. No wonder that " they were all amazed, and marveled " that Galilean peasants should " speak in their tongues the won- derful works of God " ! Here were representatives of all nations : eastward, " the Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and dwellers in Mesopotamia," from the heart of Asia ; northward, strangers from " Cappa- docia, Pontus, Phrygia, and Pamphylia," and the rest of Asia Minor ; southward, from " Egypt, Libya, and Arabia " ; and westward, " Cretes and Romans." B. Proselytes. After the captivity, the prose- lytes were for the most part willing adherents to the Jewish faith. With the conquests of Alexan- der, the wars between Egypt and Syria, the struggle under the Maccabees, the expansion of the Roman Empire, the Jews became more widely known, and their power to proselytize increased. The influence was sometimes obtained well, and exercised for good. In most of the great cities of the empire there were men who had been rescued from idolatry and its attendant debasements, and brought under the power of a higher moral law. The converts who were thus attracted joined, with varying strictness, in the worship of the Jews. They were present in their synagogues ; they came up as pilgrims to the great feasts at Jerusalem. S. These were the seed-vessels, now charged with precious seed, and then thrown back upon the countries whence they had come. Thus Christ was preached in many dis- tant countries very soon after his own ministry was closed. A great harvest sprang in many lands from the seed that these vorshipers found at Jeru- salem— a great flame of spiritual life was kin- dled far and wide by these fiery tongues of the Pen- tecost revival. Arnot. 11. The miracle of tongues, what is it but a significant intimation of the appointment of Chris- tianity to be the religion of the world ? The gospel must speak all languages, and can and shall do so one day, because its deepest marrow and essence, really divine, is also human; not from man, nor according to man, but still for man, for all men without exception, adapted to the deepest, the un- varying cravings of humanity, and alone fitted fully to satisfy them. Van 0. The signs, and that which followed them — the speaking with tongues — were but indications of the deeper and greater event itself, the being filled with the Holy Ghost. The rushing wind and the tongues of flame passed away in a few minutes, the speaking 8ECTI0X 1H.—ACTS 2:12-36. 19 with tongues in a few years : but the event of Pen- tecost remains in all its presence and all its power. The filling, teaching, indwelling Spirit is as much with us as he was with them. A. The condition of the descent of the Holy Ghost with converting power in the Church is ever the same as at his first coming. Oneness of heart, and united, believ- ing, persevering prayer on the part of Christ's banded disciples, will assuredly bring the largest blessing that is asked or desired. "For this I will be inquired of," is still the divine utterance, and the promise yet stands good, I will " increase with men like a flock." Prayers, unhindered by disa- greements, by lukewarmness of desire, by diversion of interest and purpose, by wavering faith, or for- getfulness of the objects, will never be denied ; they will be, must be answered, as God is true. B. Every accessory, every instnunent of usefulness, the Church has now in such a degree and of such excellence as was never known in any other age ; and we want but a supreme and glorious baptism of fire to exhibit to the world such a spectacle as would raise ten thousand hallelujahs to the glory of our King. Let but this baptism descend, and thou- sands who have been but commonplace or weak ministers would then become mighty. Prayer ear- nest, prayer united, and prayer persevering, these are the conditions ; and, these being fulfilled, we shall assuredly be "endued with power from on high." Arthur. Section 194. Acts ii. 12-36. 12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, "Wlaat meaneth 13 this? Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine. 14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them. Ye men of Judsea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, he this known unto you, and hearken to my 15 words : for these are not drunken, as ve suppose, seeing it is hut the third hour of the day. 16 But this is that Avhich was spoken by the prophet Joel ; and it shall come to pass in the last 17 days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh : and your sons and your daugh- ters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream 18 dreams: and on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my 19 Spirit; and they shall prophesy: and I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in 20 the earth beneath ; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke : the sun shall be turned into dark- 21 ness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come : and it 22 shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Kazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye your- 23 selves also know : him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge ot 24 God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain : whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden 25 of it. For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for 26 he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: therefore did my heart rejoice, and 27 my tongue was glad ; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope : because thou wilt not leave 28 my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made 29 known to me the ways of hfe; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and 30 buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and know- ing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the 31 flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne ; he seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. 32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right 33 hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he 34 hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. For David is not ascended into the 85 heavens : but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, until 36 I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucifled, both Lord and Christ. 20 SUCTIOI^ m.—ACTS 2 : 12-S6. From the moment when the apostles saw their Lord ascend, they were in full possession of all the external facts of which they were appointed to bear witness. But they were not in possession of the spiritual meaning, relations, and consequences of those facts, and therefore the hour of their testimony was not come, and the interval was passed not in preaching but in prayer. As soon as the promise is fulfilled, they lift up their voice and speak. Never were men so changed. Who does not note the acces- sion of boldness, faithfulness, and fervor ! Their clear, firm testimony rises in a moment before the world, never hesitating or wavering, never to sink or change again, only manifesting more fully, as time advances, the largeness of its compass and the definiteness of its announcements. Ever after they speak as men would do who were conscious of a ground of certainty which could not be questioned, who could say that things " seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to them " ; that their word was " not the word of man but the word of God " ; that it was " the Spirit that bore witness " ; that they " preached the gospel with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven " ; that they " had the mind of Christ." It is enough. The three testimonies concur — the testimony of him who gave the Spirit, the testimony of those who received it, and the testimony of the facts which ensued on its reception. Are we then at a loss to know what was the nature of the gift which the Holy Spirit brought for the purposes of the apostolic work ? Certainly it was vast and various — " a sevenfold gift " ; but its most essential part lay not in tongues and powers which witnessed to the gospel, not in the fervor and boldness which preached it, rather it ivas the Gospel itself. T. D. B. Tlie First Preaching of Christ. — Peter's address is bold and aggressive, not defensive, but his bold- ness is tempered with the " meekness of wisdom," And, alike in his courage, his gentleness, and his wisdom, we discern the clearest, surest proofs of the power of the Holy Ghost. Nothing less than divine energy could have enabled these timid fugi- tives of six weeks before to face a multitude of the very men from whom they had fled — nay, more, intrepidly to confess the Master whom they had deserted. For Peter, the change is marvelous indeed ! Not merely in the extreme of daring so soon suc- ceeding to cowardice, nor in the confession of Christ again after his craven denial, but in the subjection of that rough, impetuous, indiscreet temper to the quietness of spirit and admirable judgment mani- fest in this whole discourse. He is still foremost, indeed — he would not be natural otherwise — but he is not forward. He refutes the rude charge of drunkenness at the outset, but with what mildness of manner and modesty of argument ! And no- thing can be wiser, no form of argument can be con- ceived as combining a more excellent judgment and temper, than the whole course of this introductory preaching of a completed redemption. There is here no direct assault upon Judaism, no reference to its lapse from spiritual truth and life into the barrenness of superstitious form. On the contrary, the Jewish Scriptures furnish his start- ing-point, his constant resting-place and reference. There is a clear implication running through this sermon (and through all other discourses of the Acts) that the old dispensation was the foundation of the new, the Jewish of the Christian ; that the teachings, ceremonies, and events of the Jewish Church all bore with an intense significance upon the development of Christianity. And now, under the express inspiration of the Holy Ghost, Peter traces (and after him Stephen and Paul) these events which had wrought their wonder to the pre- vious prophecies, and then conclusively shows that Christ himself is the Messiah of these Scriptures. But in the midst and at the close of his reasoning he tells them, with perfect quietness and simplicity of utterance, that they have delivered up and cruci- fied this Jesus. 12, 13. A large number were simply astonished at these marvels, and in utter perplexity that they could not account for them. Another class scoffed and sneeringly said. These men are frenzied with strong drink. {Siveet wine is referred to, not new, made by soaking dried grapes in old wine and press- ing them a second time.) We see here, what was so often seen in Christ's own history, of how little avail are miracles in affecting a haidened will and an unbelieving heart. 14, 15. Peter affirms, for his companions and himself, that they are not drunken ; and only refers to the improbability of any one being intoxicated at so early an hour (before nine o'clock). For all knew it was a universal rule among the Jews, bad and good, not to eat or drink before morning prayer, which was at this hour. 16-18. He has said, This is not intoxication; now he asserts that it is inspiration. What you see and hear is nothing else than the fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel ; and then he cites the prophet's words. One well remarks here, "Even the illumi- nation of the Spirit can never render the written word superfluous. The apostle, when filled ■nith the Spirit, seeks a firm foundation in the word of prophecy " (2 Pet. 1:19). " The last days," referred to here, include the whole period of the Spirit's work- ing— the entire Christian dispensation now far ad- vanced. In this new dispensation, the prophecy SECTION 194.— ACTS 2:12-36. 21 notes as one point of advance that there shall be perfect equality in spiritual privileges. Not only shall the Spirit be poured out, far more largely and abundantly imparted, but in this outpouring of the Spirit all classes shall equally partake, without dis- tinction of sex, of age, of condition, or of race. There shall be no longer a Court of the Women, or of the Gentiles, or even of the Priests, but all par- tition walls shall be broken down, and the very Holy of Holies opened for evermore to " Jew and Greek," to " bond and free," to " male and female," since henceforth, inhabited by the same Spirit, "all are one in Christ Jesus." These predictions may have manifold applications throughout these " last days." Primarily, they refer to the near destruction of the Jewish state and nation. But they also apply to other nations, that serve not Christ and that hinder the progress of his gospel. And the symbols have in all cases the same meaning. The wonders and signs, of darkness and blood and fire and smoke, are portents of calamities that are familiar in the his- tory of the past, and will be repeated yet more sig- nally until the " great and notable day of the Lord shall come." But while the predictions of judgment are gen- eral and spoken of the mass, the promise of salva- tion is individual and personal, and, like all the promises of the Old Testament and New, it is with- out limitation or exception. One condition only, calling on the Lord, implying a conviction of fearful personal peril, a belief that the Lord can and will save, a simple trust in him, and reliance upon his faithfulness to his own voluntary promise. With this condition as a permanent inward experience. Christians of this day, and of the very latest days, like those who were saved (every one) from the awful slaughter in Jerusalem, shall be surely deliv- ered, and rejoice in the salvation of God. 22, 23. Peter has accounted for the miraculous sound and gift of tongues. Now he turns to the main point of his discourse, that Jesus of Nazareth, the man they had known and crucified, now risen and exalted into heaven, had " shed forth this which" they had seen and heard (verse 33), and that the same Jesus is Lord and Messiah (verse 36). In introducing tliis central theme of the gospel, the apostle elevates correspondingly the style of his address. Including all foreign and native Jews, under their highest title, Israel, he respectfully so- licits their attention, and lends dignity to the charge he lays plainly upon them. " Ye yourselves know," he said, " that Jesus was sufficiently accredited to you by the miracles he did, and the wonderful events that attended him." Precisely this had Christ himself said to them again and again, when claiming perfect unity with the Father in the power of working miracles. Then in the simplest but most explicit words, forbearing all irritating epi- thet, he declares that they, knowing these things, had apprehended and crucified him by heathen hands. They had done it, but God had determined the result, as Christ himself had affirmed, " The Son of man goeth as it was determined." So we learn, sir/nalh/, how man is guiltily free, because without compulsion save of his own evil passions, and yet God is holily sovereign. For we see in Christ's death, on the one hand, the free acting of voluntary human guilt, and on the other, a fulfilled decree of God for human redemption. But neither divine decree in the interest of mercy, nor Christ's willingness to suffer, changed their relation to their own murderous act, or relieved their consciences from thc^burdening guilt. B. The act is de- clared to be wicked, yet it is equally declared to be by the " determinate counsel of God " ; therefore, acts which are evil may be included in the plan of Providence. J. W. A. 24-28. Affirming of his own knowledge that God had raised this Jesus of Nazareth from death, he first assigns the essential reason, that the Lord of life could not be holden of death. So the pre- dictions of the Old Testament assured them. And in proof he cites from the 16th Psalm, and ex- pounds the words cited. David is speaking, not of himself — for in no sense could the words be ful- filled in his experience — but of Christ. B. It may be conceived that in David the dread of cor- ruption and of the dark valley of death awakened the longing desire of victory over it ; and this the prophetic Spirit led him to see realized in the per- son of the Messiah. Now, in Psalm 16, death is contemplated, first, in relation to the body, and secondly, to the soul. The body is represented as guarded against the last effect of death, viz., corruption, and the soul is described as behold- ing indeed the dark place of shades ("hell," or better, hades), but as speedily delivered from it and restored to the kingdom of light. The ex- actness with which these points were realized in the development of Christ's life makes the pre- diction one of the most remarkable in holy writ. ffackett. 29-31. To insure their conviction that David is here predicting the McssiaKs resurrection, the apostle reasons further, simply but conclusively from the death and burial of David, and from his faith in the covenant God had made concerning Christ. Thus the threefold conclusion is reached, the glorious substance of this first proclamation of the gospel : TJiis Jestis hath God rained up ; having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, He hath shed forth this, which ye see and hear; therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made this Jesus whom ye 22 SECTION 195.— ACTS 2:S7-lf[. have crucified hoth Lord and Christ ! (Versea 32, 33, 36.) B. One of the blessed fruits of the day of Pente- cost was that the Holj Spirit, who had spoken of old by the prophets and in the Psalms, now inter- prets their words by the apostles. On that day he founded in the Church a school of Scriptural herme- neutics. lie declared on his own divine authority that certain Scriptures which he expounded by the mouth of Peter, inspired by the divine Teacher the Comforter, refer to Christ. He teaches us how they apply to Christ, and has given us a key for unlocking other prophecies of like import. W. Here, too, we may see how the Old Testament, or Judaism in its purity, underlies Christianity, fur- nishing its foundation facts and proofs. Both are equally from God, and, of course, in harmony with each other. Each interprets the other. The new or Christian dispensation is the natural expansion of the old or Jewish. The principle of membership, faith, and the spirit of service and worship, are alike in both. The only difference is in the forms of obedience and devotion, and the extent of knowl- edge. B. 33. Witnesses, They knew that which they affirm. At first, in their anticipations of a visible kingdom, they would not believe that Christ would die. But they were compelled to believe the fact when it transpired. They did not believe that he would rise again ; they even doubted the first report of it ; they yielded at last to the direct, positive, visible fact, and, when thus convinced, they believed fully. Then it was they became witnesses of what their eyes had seen and their hands had handled ; and assured of its truth, as a living confirmation of the divine gospel, they devoted themselves to the proclamation of this truth among the nations. S. W. F. 33. The great gift of the Spirit at this eventful hour came before the universe as the Father's en- dorsement of the scheme of salvation to which the Son was fully committed. It testified that hence- forth the whole Deity — every perfection and power of the Triune God, Father, Son, and Spirit — are at one in working for this sublime consummation, the redemption of the world to Christ. H. C. This view of the operation of the Spirit, as the medium through which the Lord Jesus wrought and taught, is carried through the whole course of the history which follows. As in the promise, so in the history, " The Comforter will come unto you" — "/will come unto you" — are but two sides of one and the same fact. On critical occasions and at each onward step the hand of the Master is made distinctly visible. The first martyr dies for a testi- mony, which is felt to be an advance on what had been given before, being understood to imply that " this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and change the customs which Moses delivered us " ; and his words are sealed by the vision of his Lord in glory. The consignment of the gospel to the Ethiopian proselyte was another step in advance, and for this " the angel of the Lord spake unto Phihp." The preaching of the Word to Gentiles, and their admission into the Church, was a greater step ; and for this the Lord intervenes by the mis- sion of an angel to Cornelius, by a vision and a voice of the Spirit to Peter, and by a kind of second Pen- tecost to the converts themselves. But when the greatest step of all is to be taken in the onward course of the gospel, then most visibly does the great Head of the Church make manifest his per- sonal administration. A new apostle appears, not like him who was added before Pentecost, com- pleting the number of the original college, and losing his individuality in its ranks, but one stand- ing apart and in advance, under whose hand both the doctrines and the destinies of the gospel receive a development so extensive and so distinct that it seemed almost another gospel to many who wit- nessed it, and to some who study it seems so still. Thus does he, who at the commencement of the history was seen to pass into the heavens, continue to appear in person on the scene. Ilis apostles act, not only on his past commission, but under his pres- ent direction. He is not wholly concealed by the cloud which had received him out of their sight. Now his voice is heard, now his hand put forth, and now through a sudden rift the brightness of his presence shines. And these appearances, voices, and visions are not merely incidental favors ; they are, as we have seen, apportioned to the moments when they are wcmted, moments which determine the course which the gospel takes, and in which a manifestation of divine guidance proves the divine guidance of the whole. T. D. B. Section 195. Acts ii. 37-47. 37 Now when they heard this, they vrere pricked in their heart, and said nnto Peter and 38 to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do ? Then Peter said unto them, Eepent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remis- 39 sion of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall 40 call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from SECTION 195.— ACTS 2 : 37-47. 23 41 this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were haptized : and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. 42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking 43 of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul : and many wonders and signs 44 were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things com- 45 mon ; and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had 46 need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from 47 house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. The Christian faith is shown to us, in the Acts of the Apostles, working out its first simple develop- ments in human society. In that plain picture, we see how this new force, this divine idea, acted on the world of living men and women ; how it took possession of them, and organized them into a peculiar institution, which has lived on ever since — the Church. Christ's visible presence is withdrawn out of the world at his resurrection ; but thenceforth he appears to mankind in the living body of his Church, which, holding in its heart and its hand his Spirit and his Word, takes the place of his physical form. F. D. H. Doubtless the form in which spiritual life now appears, differs in many respects from what it was at first ; but in essence and principle it is the same, and all who arc now gathered into the Church of the redeemed are really akin to the first confessors of the gospel. It is a church consisting of such as shall be saved ; it is the spiritual body of Christ bom of the Holy Ghost. It is wholly our own fault if we are not members of it ; it is wholly the grace of the Lord if we are in truth brought into it. Van 0. Daily, ever since men were multiplied on the earth, have the saved streamed through the strait gate into life, and now a multitude whom no man can number inhabit the mansions of the Father's house. He added the saved to the Church : added them in the act of saviug, saved in the act of adding. He does not add a withered branch to the vine ; but in the act of inserting it, makes the withered branch live. " Daily " some are added : every day some ; but only while it is day this process goes on. The night Cometh wherein no man can work — not even the Son of man, Son of God. He is now about his Father's business : he is finishing the work given him to do. " To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts," for the day is wearing away, the day of grace. The night cometh, cometh — how stealthily it is creeping on ! — the night wherein not even this Great Worker can work any more. Amot. 37. Bffed of the First Preaching of Christ cru- cifed, with the Poioer of the Holy Ghost. — Peter has proved to them, according to the clear statements of their own Scriptures, that Jesus was their long- looked-for Messiah ; that they had rejected and slain him ; but that he had risen, ascended, and from the throne of heaven had sent forth the Holy Ghost to teach, to convince, and to quicken. And the proof of the Spirit's convincing power we be- hold in this his first work upon multitudes of the guiltiest among the then living — of those to whom pertained the guilt of crucifying their own Messiah. Pierced in the heart, their understandings convinced, their feelings deeply stirred, and their wills mightily influenced by the combined force of the truth and the Spirit, they ask the one question of conscious guilt, Wliat shall we do ? Utterly self-condemned, their consciences demanding relief from the tremen- dous pressure of such guilt, they turn to these very Galileans whom they had despised, and with an awakened gentleness of penitence, answer back the address of Peter, Men^ brethren ! tell us, what shall we do to be saved ? B. The divine Spirit may, and, for aught that ap- pears to the contrary, must use the instrument of Truth in this, his frst act, as well as in any and in every further operation. And lohen he speaks, he makes the deaf to hear, as well as the hearing to understand. " When they heard this, they were pricked in their heart," was the experience of the three thousand to whom Peter preached the gospel on the day of Pentecost, and whose hard hearts the Spirit pierced by what they heard. J. S. S. 38. Tlie One Counsel and Promise of the Gospel to those convinced of Unbelief and Guilt. — The coun- sel is twofold : Repent and be baptized ; likewise the promise, the remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Ghost. Christ, on the eve of his ascen- sion, had instructed them to preach repentance and remission of sins in his name, and Peter now uses, so far, his very words. The word " repentance " means simply " change of mind," the reversal of a man's controlling thoughts, feelings, and aims of life. Sorrow forms no part of the meaning, but sorrow is involved in and precedes it. More than this, " godly sorrow," sorrow toward God, " work- 24 SECTION 195.— ACTS 2 : 37-lf!. cth repentance," leads to a radical change of senti- ment, feeling, and purpose, with respect to man's relation and duty toward God. Repentance, then, is the turning of the whole soul from self to God, and involves the breaking off from a selfish, sinful course of life, and the entrance upon a life of obe- dience, trust, and supreme devotion to God. And this repentance, while it is man's own act, is not simply of his own unaided and spontaneous doing, and so meritorious ; but it is performed under the prompting and with the help of God himself. And so in this, as in all else, salvation is whoUy of grace. The cases before us admirably illustrate and im- press this meaning of the familiar gospel term. The additional outward requirement of baptism was designed as an expression of their faith in Jesus as Messiah and Saviour, and of their open consecration to his service. On God's part, it is his seal of acceptance and of his fulfillment of all the promises included in the covenant of grace. As Christ had commanded, baptism was adminis- tered in the name of the Three Divine Persons. Hence the expression here, in the name of Jesus Christ, signifies the recognition of his authority and the acceptance of his doctrine, his mediator- ship, and his service. Of the twofold promise, enforcing the counsel or exhortation, the remission or forgiveness of shis stands foremost. So it stands first in David's enun- ciation of mercies in that life-psalm of the grate- ful heart, the one hundred and third. It is first, not merely as it ministers quiet to conscience and heart, but as it changes the standing of the par- doned soul with reference to the law of God, and makes the further gifts of God consistent and meet. The gift of the Holy Ghost, next promised, refers not to any miraculous tokens such as they had heard that day, but to that indwelling and in- working of the divine Spirit which is given to every penitent believer in Jesus. 39. " The promise " is that of which he has been speaking (verses IT, 21), the quickening power of the Holy Ghost, and the " being saved " by Christ. To you and to your children this promise is given. To you, though you have crucified your Saviour. To your children, meaning, in the passage from Joel, and in similar passages in Isaiah and elsewhere, to your descendants or posterity. But the implication is clear, that children as children are also included. For from the first day of the cove- nant with Abraham, the children of every covenant- ing parent were distinctly recognized, and the recog- nition sealed by divine ordinance, as members of the Church and people of God. B. We are ex- pressly told that under Christ, in the New Testa- ment, the same covenant is renewed, only expanded and deepened. Throughout, the law of descent is carefully respected. The hereditary tie is recog- nized. Offspring, at birth, are supposed to be bound up in the same bond of Christian privileges and helps which encircles their believing progeni. tors. F. D. H. And to all afar off, is the simple widening of the hope and promise of the gospel to include Gentile with Jew. It is the plain intima- tion that the divine forgiveness and indwelling are in purpose designed, and in measure adequate, for the race of guilty men. 40. The Discoui'se prolonged but not reported, saoe in its Substance and Conclusion. — In keeping with the great essential truths already stated, he continued to testify and exhort. The order of these words, especially the dependence of exhortation upon testimony or instruction, is worthy of note. It in- timates that what is called " exhortation " is Scrip- tural and useful, when it follows and is strictly based upon Scripture truth. Peter's concluding ex- hortation is brief and to the point — " Save your- selves," or be saved, by separating yourselves from this perverse and gainsaying generation, and so es- caping its doom. 41. Tlie Result of that Day^s Ministry of the Gospel with the Holy Spirit. — " Greater works than mine shall ye do," said Christ, " because I go to the Father, and send upon you the Spirit." And now, at the very outset, closely following his ascension to the Father, three thousand souls gladly receive the glad tidings, are baptized, and enrolled as mem- bers of the infant Church of Christ. An amazing fulfillment, too, of the word of Christ to the fisher- man Peter, "From henceforth thou shalt catch men." 42. Four Essential Elements in the Christian Life of these Eirst Believers. — First, as most im- portant, they received needed instruction from the twelve, and perhaps from others. This was as the Master had directed. After making disciples, and baptizing, then teaching more fully all things I have commanded — so ran the commission. And this is still the only wise, true method. After receiving and enrolling disciples, then instruct fully. Stead- fast heed to instruction in God's Word was and is needed, not only for personal growth in the Chris- tian life, but for the great life-duty of every be- liever, of bearing witness concerning Christ. How well these early believers learned the spirit of Christ, we see from their continuance in fellowship. This means communication, not communion, and refers particularly to that self-sacrificing spirit of love to our neighbor and fellow which prompts to deeds of helpfulness, the actual communication of good in supply of his need. The idea is actualized in the facts stated in verses 44 and 45. The third particu- lar, the breaking of bread, refers to the Lord's Sup- per, which was naturally a divine means of deep 8EGTI02T 195.— ACTS 2 : 37-47. 25 and tender impression, a3 well as of confirming other instruction. Such is still its purpose, and may be, if rightly partaken, its increasingly happy effect. The last element of Christian life in the practice of which these first believers continued steadfast, was prayer. All other means and evi- dences of life or growth are vain where prayer, fervent, continuous, and expectant, is wanting. " Behold, he prayeth ! " was the offered and ac- cepted proof of Saul's conversion. And it is the surest, safest test of continued Christian life. 43. TTie Impression made upon the IfuUUude of Unbelievers. — " Fear came upon every soul ! " This shows how broad and deep was the impression wrought by the miracles and the preaching of those wonderful days. The great body of the people were subdued and awed. No voice of mocking was heard, no thought of persecution was cherished among them. Xot till the instigators and leading actors in the Crucifixion, the chief priests and rulers, were aroused by hearing of these wonderful effects, did persecution begin. B. 44. All things common. There was a spe- cial reason for this at Jerusalem, where converts to Christianity would be regarded by the Jews as rene- gades, and be cut off from domestic intercourse and from former means of subsistence. The need to be met was instant and special, and such as did not exist afterward among the churches formed among the heathen. K. 45. The Mutual Ahoundi/ig Helpfulness of these First Christians. — In this sharing and distri- bution of goods there was no surrender of per- sonal rights of property, as Peter's words to Ana- nias clearly show. There was no " community of goods," as each proprietor himself sold and distrib- uted such portion as he pleased. But as each one having possessions saw the needs of others, and felt the call and obligation to aid, he sold so much as his judgment prescribed, and " parted," distrib- uted to them relief. That is, a conscientious judg- ment was exercised in connection with charitable feeling. There was no compulsion of apostolic commandment, nor any improper self-impoverish- ment. What heart conscience and judgment to- gether dictated, they gave, according to the gospel principle of stewardship and trust (so thoroughly taught to and by the apostles). Alike in their worship, their helpfulness, their active ministry for Christ and for men, and in receiving their daily food, gladness and singleness of heart prompted them to blend, with all, the praises of God. How beautiful, yet natural, this conclusion of the briefly told story ! And how natural, too, the recorded re- sult of this harmonious, praying, self-denying, prais- ing, happy fellowship ! The accordant daily pray- ers and praises are heard and accepted. The sin- gle-hearted love to God and man, evinced in faithful word and helpful deed, deepens grateful devotion to the Lord of all grace. And as the blessed effect of answered prayer, accepted praise, and helpful word and deed, Christ, the Lord, adds to their number daily of the saved! And ever since, through the same instrumentality of human prayer and praise, of faithful, self-denying word and deed, the saved have been daily added to the blessed family of which Christ is the head ! B. 46. In the temple. The apostles and primi- tive disciples would not separate themselves from the Temple, but resorted habitually to it, that it might not be supposed that the gospel which they preached was at variance with the law of Moses, and that they might give a practical confirmation to their argument that Christ has been foretold by Moses and the Prophets, whose office it was to pre- pare the way for him. W. The first representatives of the Christian Church on earth were the disciples, of varied name and pursuit — men and women who first adhered to Christ with intelligent faith in him, as the Saviour of the world. The first local and particular church was that formed in Jerusalem, But there was in fact little of " forming " in the matter. It formed itself, as it were. It was a collection of believing men and women, who were baptized in testimony of their Christian belief. All the organization there was about it appears to have been as exigencies arose, necessities required, and proprieties prompted. What Christ enjoined was, that every creature should be- lieve on him as the personal Redeemer ; that all who believe on him should observe his ordinances, baptism, and the Lord's Supper, Nothing beyond this do we find in the record. Our Lord always indi- vidualizes men. Faith in the heart of the particu- lar man is the essential thing. All those who be- lieved on him after this manner, gravitating toward a common center, naturally and voluntarily associ- ated together, and so particular churches were formed and organized, by the election of their own officials and the administration of their own rules. So simply lies the whole matter in the New Testa- ment. W. A. 26 * SECTION 196.— ACTS 3:1-26. Section 196. Acts iii. 1-26. 1 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, leing the 2 ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered 3 into the temple ; who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms. 4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. And he gave heed 5 unto them, expecting to receive something of them. Then Peter said, Silver and gold have 6 I none ; but such as I have give I thee : In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up 7 and walk. And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up : and immediately his 8 feet and ancle bones received strength. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered 9 with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. And all the people 10 saw him walking and praising God : and they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple : and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that 11 which liad happened unto him. And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering. 12 And when Peter saw it^ he answered unto the people. Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this ? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we 13 had made this man to walk? The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus ; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the 14 presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Mm go. But ye denied the Holy One 15 and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you ; and killed the Prince of life, 16 whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know : yea, the faith which 17 is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. And now, 18 brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it^ as did also your rulers. But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. 19 Eepent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the 20 times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and he shall send Jesus 21 Christ, which before was preached unto you : w^hom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy 22 prophets since the world began. For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me ; him shall ye hear in 23 all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, 24 which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have 25 likewise foretold of these days. Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the 26 kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you fi-om his iniquities. The apostle enforces his exhortation to repent by an appeal to the final coming of Christ, not be- cause he would represent it as near in point of time, but because that event was always near to the feel- ings and consciousness of the first believers. It was the great consummation on which the strongest desires of their souls were fixed, to which their thoughts and hopes were habitually turned. They lived in expectation of it ; they labored to be prepared for it ; they were, in the expressive language of Peter, looking for and hasting unto it. It is then that Christ will reveal himself in glory, will raise the dead, invest the redeemed with an incorruptible body, and introduce them for the first time and for ever into the state of perfect hohness and happiness prepared for them in his kingdom. The apostles, the first SECTION 196.— ACTS 3:1-26. 27 Christians in general, comprehended the grandeur of that occasion ; it stood forth to their contemplation3 as the point of culminating interest in their own and the world's history, threw into comparative insig- nificance the present time, death, all intermediate events, and made them feel that the manifestation of Christ, with its consequences of indescribable moment to all true believers, was the grand object which they were to keep in view as the end of their toils, the commencement and perfection of their glorious immortality. In such a state of intimate sympathy with an event so habitually present to their thoughts, they derived their chief incentives to action from the prospect of that future glory ; they hold it up to the people of God to encourage them to fidelity, zeal, and perseverance, and appeal to it to warn the wicked, and impress upon them the necessity of preparation for the revelations of that day. Hackett. 1 . Strong as was the contrast in natural charac- ter and disposition between Peter and John, these ■were the two of all the twelve who finally drew clos- est together. The day of Pentecost wrought a great change upon them both, and by doing so linked them in still closer bonds. The grace was given them which enabled each to struggle successfully with his own original defects, and to find in fhe other that which he most wanted. It is truly singular, in reading the earlier chapters of the Acts of the Apostles, to notice how close the coalition between Peter and John became. W. H. Now and for a considerable period, they are joint leaders of the apostolic band, Peter the speaker, John the coun- selor and inspirer. While on their way to the afternoon service of daily worship in the temple, they are accosted. It should be borne in mind that the disciples had no command to withdraw at once from the Jewish worship. According to the universal law of God's acting, there were no sudden or extreme transitions directed by the Holy Spirit. Judaism was not to be overthrown and obliterated, but gradually trans- formed by the infusion into it of the spirit of Chris- tianity. Sacrifice and incense were to them merely symbols of the death now accomplished for sin, and the intercession now availing in the heavens. For a time, therefore, and with the purpose of using these ceremonials to impress the realities they shad- owed forth upon other minds, the disciples retained their relation to the Jewish church, and conformed to its pure temple worship. We shall find the illus- tration of this in the further history, 2, 3. A Lame Man asks Aid of Peter and John at the Temple Gate. — The parallel to this case is the impotent man at Bethesda (John 5). That man was thirty-eight years a wreck. This one had never walked, and for forty years had been recognized and known as a helpless dependent cripple. For a long time he had been carried every morning to the Beautiful Gate of the Temple, there to solicit help from the multitude of passers-by. As the name im- plies, this was the most magnificent and costly of the nine chief gates. Forming the eastern entrance to the Temple, it fronted the holy place or sanctuary, and was more frequented than any other. (Vol. I., p. 623.) 4-6. Peter^s Double Reply. — First, concentrat- ing his gaze, with that of John, upon the suppliant, he answers, " Look on us ! " They had learned the Master^s method, and were now practicing it. He, almost always, tarried to question, or to interpose some act which required delay. And his purpose was always the same ; to excite or deepen expecta- tion, faith, hope on the part of the helpless needy one. He always helped the spirit first; led it to trust, and then deepened the trust by rewarding it with healing. So the twain disciples stirred the man to expect some gift — how much, he knew not. Then followed Peter's response to the man's en- treaty : " Rise, walk, in the name of Jesus of Naza- reth ! " A stupendous, sublime faith in Christ's absolute Deity and Lordship stands out in these bold words ! To these disciples he is indeed the living reigning God. His own spirit of mercy toward mis- ery led them thus to invoke his willing might for deliverance of the wretched. Aiid it is the title of the Cross by which they invoke his presence and favor, the name by which he was lifted up, by which he was already known, and by which he would draw all men unto him. Surely the poor sufferer had heard and knew full well this name, and the sound stirred his heart to more than expectation, even to faith. For there was no doubt or hesitation. He obeyed so far as he could, in his will and heart. And this was faith, a dawning feeble but real faith ! 7, 8. 77ie Restoration, and its Effects upon the Healed Man. — Not only by Peter's expression of utter dependence upon the power of Christ, but also by his act in taking the man's hand and lift- ing him up, do we distinguish the disciple's miracle- working from the Master's. Christ spoke, some- times touched, but never used physical strength in connection with any miracle. This act of Peter has also significance, on one side, as proving his faith in his own bold command, to rise ; and on the other, as indicating that faith to the man, and so helping to excite the corresponding faith and effort in his soul. The restoration which instantly fol- lowed, apd the added miracle of instantaneous abil- ity to walk and leap (for one who had never walked), proved and justified the word and deed and faith of Peter. And the restored man's exclusive praise to 28 SECTION 196.— ACTS 3:1-26. God, in entire disregard ofsthe apostle for the time, as conclusively proved the reality of his faith, and of his recognition of Jesus Christ as Lord and God. So " his name, through faith in his name, made this man strong." Like many miracles of healing, this may be re- garded as a parable of redemption. It suggests these points : imperfection of a far deeper and more grievous kind as the universal birthright of the fallen soul; its helplessness and hopelessness of human cure ; the limit of friendly interest and help, bringing the soul in the arms of faith, and pleading with God the prayer of faith ; the sinner's respon- sive willingness, desire, and faith ; and the conse- quent healing and forgiveness in the name and by the Spirit of Christ. Obedience, -willing submission to God is the first act of a returning soul. This man obeyed in his will and heart, and in this he did all that he could. So let every soul seeking life obey the first felt duty, obey it by prayer, or act of consecration, but obey it in V}ill and heart. Then Christ's Spirit will give life. We may well believe that this man's soul was quickened to a peculiarly deep trust and conse- cration. In him, and in the many Christ had healed, apart from their natural joy and thankfulness for great restoration, there must have been wrought a depth and strength of conviction concerning his divine Messiahship that nothing could shake. " I, at least," each must have said and often repeated, " I, at least, know him to be my Saviour and my Lord!" And how large the ministry and effective the testimony for Christ, of this vast company of the physically and spiritually healed, none can ade- quately measure ! B. 9-11. Effect upon the People. — For years he must have been one of the persons best known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem ; and this tended further to magnify the miracle when he appeared at the hour of public prayer in the Temple, *' walk- ing, and leaping, and praising God." K. They saw him restored, heard him praising God for his restoration, and knew that it was the same whom they had long noticed lying helpless at the gate ; and they were filled with wonder and amazement. Isaiah's prophecy had been literally fulfilled before their eyes, " The lame man shall leap as a hart." Other wonders had the apostles performed during the now considerable interval since the Pentecost, but none so marked as this by the clearest proof of divine power. It was designed, we afterward sec, as an occasion of another great discourse, another immense ingathering of saved souls ; and also proved the immediate cause of the first hostile naovement of the priests and rulers. The tidings of the mira- cle rapidly spread through the city, and a multitude of people thronged into the Temple. They gathered in the wide space, beneath the lofty double-pillared portico on the eastern side, called Solomon's, because standing on a terrace which he had raised from the valley beneath. Here they found the healed man standing between Peter and John, holding a hand of each in token of his grateful affection to them, while still praising God for his restoring power. And with this visible, most affecting testimony be- fore them, Peter, as a fisher of men, seizes his op- portunity, and preaches again to the multitude Christ and him crucified. (Vol. I., p. 620.) 12. He answered, not to any uttered question, but as Christ so often is said to have answered, to the unspoken state or inquiry of the minds and hearts gathered around him. And as we have seen the power of Jesus' name in the healing of this one body and soul, so in the result of this second ser- mon we see it in the healing of thousands of souls. 13-15. Their God had glorified, hut they had denied and hilled Jesus, the Prince of Life. — It was no other than the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, their only, proudly acknowledged God, whose Son this Jesus was, whom they had just be- fore rejected, scorned, and murdered. This great crime is pressed upon them in its particular aggra- vations by sharp contrasts. Peter thus helps them to see themselves and their guilty deeds as the God of their fathers sees it. The Holy Spirit directs and uses the charge to convince of the sin of not believing in Christ — everywhere, in all generations, the sin of sins, set down as the only sin that brings condemnation. So the apostle tells them that when Pilate, an uncircumcised, untaught heathen, sought again and again to rescue and release this Son of their God, they, whose accepted Scriptures plainly revealed his divine Sonship, yet pushed their cruel murderous hate to the very end, and killed their own Prince and Saviour. Still more to press their consciences, he contrasts with this pure spot- less being, whose death they had demanded, the murderer Barabbas, whom they in their madness of unbelief had preferred and released from deserved death. " You spared," he says, " the destroyer, and doomed to destruction the Saviour of life ! " He concludes this clear, plain-spoken home-charge with the assertion, again, of the resurrection of Jesus, as a proof that he is the Prince of life. And he responds again to the Master's word, " We are uitncsses ! " IG. Chrisfs Name or Poiucr, exerted in Pe- sponse to Faith, had healed the Lame Man. — "Ye delivered him up, denied him, preferred a mur- derer, killed him, but he, the Prince of Life, risen again and ascended, hath wrought this soundness in the man before you, because of our faith, and his, in his divine willingness and might." B. The old carnal thoughts of his mission had been SECTION 196.— ACTS S : 1-26. 29 left ia his grave, and could never rise from it again. It was the " Prince of Life " who had risen from the dead ; it was the " King of Glory " who had passed into the heavens. And no less did these facts declare the spiritual consequences of his mani- festation, since they carried with them the impli- cation of those three corresponding gifts, which we celebrate for evermore, saying with solemn joy, " I believe .... the forgiveness of sins, the resurrec- tion of the body, and the life everlasting." Toward these topics the preaching of Christ in the Acts of the Apostles continually turns. T. D. B. 17, 18. Peter has spoken plainly. The truth of his charge made it severe. He sees the effect, and then practices another lesson he had learned from the Master. With gentleness and an excusing spirit he seeks to heal after wounding. So Christ had excused the three unwatchful disciples (Peter among them) during his agony, " The flesh is weak." And so had he pleaded on the Cross for his slayers, " They know not what they do ! " Now the disciple calls these murderers brethren^ and repeats in sub- stance that plea upon the Cross, " Through igno- rance ye did it " ; and still further goes his gentle, forgiving spirit (now so changed !), " as did your rulers." And, as Joseph to his brethren, " Ye meant it for evil, but God for good," Peter comforts them with the fact that their guilty deed God had over- ruled for (it might be) even their own salvation. All their prophets had announced this very deed of theirs as God's way of showing mercy to transgres- sors. He means to assure them that Christ's blood, though shed bi/ them, was also shed for them, for their forgiveness and cleansing. 19-24. Recall and fix the meaning of these words. JRepcnt is to change the mind, to reverse the current of thought, feeling, will, from self to God ; therefore the Scripture says repentance toward God. Be converted is to change the life, to corre- spond with the changed thought and feeling. One result of this double, entire change is the utter era- sure of the sin that our past life has set down in the Book of Account. So God says, " I have blotted out thy transgressions, and will not remember them any more for ever." The other result is figuratively intimated here. There are diversities of interpretation concerning the times here spoken of. It would seem that the "times of refreshing" referred to the fullness of blessings possessed under the dispensation of the Holy Ghost, until the " times of restitution," or res- toration. These latter times, and their consummate blessings, avowedly attend and characterize the sec- ond coming of Christ. To all these blessings, prom- ised by all the prophets, and especially by that prophet to whom Moses explicitly referred, by Christ him- self, to all the blessings that he has introduced with his first coming, and all that he shall bring at his second coming, the repenting, returning, forgiv- ing, believing soul has access now and hereafter. While from these " every soul who will not hear that prophet " shall be excluded. This is the sub- stance of Peter's earnest plea. It is made more effective with them, as it is based upon the declara- tions of Moses and all their own prophets. Com- pare Gen. 17 : 14 and Deut. 18 : 15-19. And now, in conclusion, he gathers and emphasizes the entire truth he has spoken, his charge of guilt, his excuse, his counsel and encouragement to repentance and faith in Christ. In the way of concentrated promise and appeal, 25, 26. He declares Jesus to he the Promised Seed of Abraham, the Son of God, se-nt to bless them, every One. — " Children of the prophets and of the covenant," he calls them ; those who have a hereditary interest and intimate connection with the prophecies and promises of God. Frankly Peter acknowledges their descent and their privi- leges, purposely classing himself among them to strengthen the force of his words that follow : " Unto you first," in the fulfillment of this long- continued covenant, God has sent this Jesus, his Son, to bless you. But plainly and faithfully he tells them, what as a people they had long been ignorant of, that the main blessing of this their old and long-trusted covenant first made with Abra- ham was tJie turning away ever^y one from his ini- quities. Not restored temporal power or national exaltation, which had been their dream for genera- tions, but the cleansing of their souls through the blood of Christ. And he intimates as clearly that without this saving from sin, through personal repen- tance and conversion, all the covenants and promises, through patriarchs and prophets, would be only oc- casions of a deeper condemnation. The discourse was rudely interrupted at this point, but not till it was completed. The effect is narrated in the next chapter. Two thousand more believed — 5,000 men in all. Summary of Leading Thoughts and Lessons. We discern a wonderful comprehensiveness and unity in the discourse. The substance of all reve- lation, the purpose of all the divine counsels and acts from the beginning, the subject of all divine predictions by the mouth of successive prophets, the theme of all divine promises, center in and upon the person, the suffering, the sacrifice of Christ, upon the incomparable spiritual and eternal bless- ings he has brought with his first coming, and will bring with his second appearing. John sums it all up in a single sentence at the close of the inspired canon : The testimony of Jesus is the sjnrit of prophecy ! 30 SECTION 197.— ACTS ^ : 1-3L The one purpose of Christ's coming is to bless every one in turning him from his iniquities. Faith in his name, trust in his blood, with personal re- pentance and conversion, are the conditions of re- newal by the Holy Ghost. And whatever period and blessedness are intended by the " times of re- freshing and restitution," this is clear, that it is only the repentant and believing, the forgiven and sanctified of all nations, who shall know and experi- ence all their meaning and reality. The Jew first — but the Jew as believer, not as Jew — and also the Gentile. Both discourses of Peter, with their effect, ad- mirably interpret and illustrate the Holy Spirit's office work as described by Christ (John 16 : 8-11). He convinces of the sin of sins, the not believing in Christ ; of the justifying righteousness wrought by Christ through his substituted sacrifice ; and of the judgment of God against the finally impenitent and unbelieving. B. These successive witness-bearings of Peter are all framed on one model, all strike the same note. In every one there is — 1st, a Scriptural argument. more or less full, identifying Jesus with the Mes- siah of the prophets ; 2d, a plain, piercing charge, laying the guilt of crucifying Christ to the door of his audience and judges ; and 3d, a tender and pressing offer of mercy, through the blood of Christ, to his murderers. Arnot. The hearers of these discourses had been among the multitude who had answered Pilate, " His blood be upon us and our children ! " That blood was upon all of them, upon the five thousand who be- lieved and repented for their justification and eter- nal life, and upon the unrepentant and unbelieving for their condemnation and eternal death. So has it ever been, so is it now ; in every individual case either the blood of forgiveness and blessing or of abiding wrath and curse. Whatever view be taken of Christ's second com- ing, let it be seriously considered that almost every page of the New Testament refers to the sublime fact and its consequences, in the way of appeal and motive to Christian practice and life, side by side with the fact and results of his first coming ! B. Section 197. Acts iv. 1-31. 1 And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the 2 Sadducees, came upon them, being grieved that they taught the people, and preached 3 through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them, and put 4 them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide. Howheit many of them which heard the word believed ; and the number of the men was about five thousand. 5 And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes, and Annas 6 the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kin- 7 dred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. And when they had set them in the midst, they asked. By what power, or by what name, have ye done this ? 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them. Ye rulers of the people, and 9 elders of Israel, if we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, 10 by what means he is made whole ; be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from 11 the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which 12 was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other : for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. 13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were un- learned and ignorant men, they marvelled ; and they took knowledge of them, that they 14 had been with Jesus. And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they 15 could say nothing against it. But when they had commanded them to go aside out of tlie 16 council, they conferred among themselves, saying, "What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jeru- 17 salem ; and we cannot deny it. But that it spread no further among the people, let us 18 straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. And they 19 called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to SECTION' 107.- ACTS 4:1-31. 31 20 hearken unto you more than unto God, Judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things 21 which we have seen and heard. So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people : for aU 7nen glori- 22 fied God for that which was done. For the man was above forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was shewed. 23 And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests 24 and elders had said unto them. And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, 25 and the sea, and all that in them is : who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, 26 "Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. 27 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and 28 Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, for to 29 do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. And now. Lord, behold their threatenings : and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may 30 speak thy word, by stretching forth thine hand to heal ; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus. 31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together ; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with bold- ness. There is no power but life-power. You can not move a dying world by speculation, by eloquence, by majestic thought, by argument, by persuasion, except it be kindled, inspired, and accompanied by the Holy Spirit, except it be set on fire of love. If we would speak of Jesus to others, we must have been with him ourselves. If we would speak of heaven to others, and of God, and of sin, and of hell, with the tone and power of reality, with the vividness and fire of one thoroughly in earnest, we must be much with Christ in secret. A Christian can no more be a fervent messenger for God, while running on his own errands, with heart and mind absorbed in the things of this world, than he can serve God and mammon. G. B. C. There is no way under heaven to be interested in Christ, but by believing. Jle that helieveth shall be saved, let his sins be ever so many or great ; and he that believeth Tioi shall be damned, let his sins be ever so little or few. Brooks. If men need not go to heaven by the Cross, but by some other way, then the Cross may become an old, worn, unused way ; no footfall of a traveler may cheer it, heaven may be filled through other avenues, and other songs than those of praise to the Lamb may echo through the arches of the upper Temple. If Christ is not the exclusive Saviour, then other Saviours could be made without the Cross, and the Cross is all an idle waste. We are lost men outside of God's kingdom. There is a way into it — Jesus Christ. There is a name, one name given whereby we can be saved. That name is Jesus. There has come from the sweet heavens over us no other. It is enough. We need no other. J. D. Peter's second address to the people, upon the miraculous restoration of the disabled man, was in- terrupted by the ofiicials of the Temple, who arrest- ed and imprisoned both apostles for the night. The next morning they were formally arraigned before the Sanhedrim, the supreme tribunal of the nation, consisting of the high priests Annas and Caiaphas and their kindred (of the same office), with the elders, or rulers, and scribes, to the number of sev- enty. These were the men who had tried and con- demned Christ. The reference (verse 2) to the resurrection recalls the singular fact that we hear nothing of the Pharisees after Christ's apprehen- sion, although up to that period they had been his leading opponents. At the trial and after it, the Sadducees assumed the chief direction and responsi- bility of the opposition and condemnation of Christ and the apostles. For to this sect belonged the chief priests and the more prominent of the rulers and scribes. B. 1. The captain. The officer of the priests and Levites who kept guard at the Temple — not a Roman functionary. The Romans do not appear, in the Acts, as persecutors of the apostles. The Saddncees. They said that there was no resur- rection. They foresaw that their own influence with the people would be impaired if the apostles suc- ceeded in convincing them of the truth of the resur- rection in Christ. Hence i/icir activity against the gospel after the resurrection. The high priest and many of his assessors and associates were Sad- ducees. W. We find the Sadducees established 32 SECTION 197.— ACTS 4:1-31. in the highest oflBce of the priesthood, and possessed of the greatest powers in the Sanhedrim : and yet they did not believe in any future state, nor in any spiritual existence independent of the body. They do not appear to have held doctrines which are com- monly called licentious or immoral. On the con- trary, they adhered strictly to the moral tenets of the law, as opposed to its mere formal technicalities. They did not overload the sacred books with tradi- tions, or encumber the duties of life with a multitude of minute observances. They were the disciples of reason without enthusiasm — they made few prose- lytes— their numbers were not great, and they were confined principally to the richer members of the nation. H. 6. Annas. Annas is here called the high priest, and placed before Caiaphas, who was the high priest. The reason seems to be, that though Caiaphas was high priest de facto^ being intruded into the office by the civil power of Rome, yet Annas was high priest de jure, and was regarded as such ecclesiastically. Ilence our Lord was taken to Annas first (John 18 : 13). Annas was the head of the Jewish hierarchy. The nominee of Rome, Caiaphas, had, as such, a subordinate place. W. Pontiffs aiid priests, scribes and Pharisees, Herod and Pilate, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, condemned the Truth ; they crucified and buried it ; but it rose from the tomb and conquered them all, sending forth in its stead twelve preachers of the Word. Huss. 8-12. Feier^s Good Confession of Christ, and Daring Impeachment of the Chief Priests and Rulers. — This judicial investigation gave Peter the opportunity which he boldly and faithfully used, while standing in the very place of his Master, of proclaiming Christ crucified as the only Saviour of men. Mark these particulars : Christ's promise that the Spirit should speak in them when they were brought before councils, was here fulfilled. Peter was filed ivith the Holy Ghost. He speaks respectfully and with dignity, recognizes their right- ful authority in the terms of his address. He an- swers directly to their question, declaring that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth — using again to them the title of the Cross — the man stood be- fore them whole. More than this, standing where his Master had stood when he had denied Him, the now rocl--like apostle fearlessly charges home upon the very murderers the crime of Christ's crucifixion, and reasserts the offensive doctrine of his resurrec- tion by the God of Israel. And to both the charge and the assertion they were silent. The crucifixion they could not deny, and concerning the resurrec- tion they dared not now repeat their own previous falsehood that the disciples had stolen the body of Jesus by night. But the brave and faithful preacher of Christ goes further still. He has asserted the facts of Christ's death and resurrection. Now he empha- sizes the central truth of their own Scriptures, and asserts it to be the central truth of all divine revela- tion. This Christ, he tells them, the Son of God, whom they, the representatives of God himself in the nation and so the builders of God's spiritual house, had rejected, was himself the corner-stone of that spiritual fabric. So their own Scriptures de- clared. And then, plainly interpreting the figure as Jesus had done (Mat. 21), the apostle, under the in- spiration of the Holy Ghost, declares to all the race of sinning men the one supreme disclosure of heaven, that there is salvatioyi in Christ, and in none other ! The whole scene is deeply impressive — a repro- duction in many points of the Master's trial ! Ar- raigned before the same judges, the disciple also arraigns and by their own Scriptures convicts them of that crime of the deepest dye — the killing of the Son of God. Nay, he goes further, he preaches sal- vation through that very Cross to them by whom it had been raised, and, plainly as the Master, utters words of warning to the men before whose bar he stands ! B. 10, 11. The way in which the apostles re- ferred to Christ is precisely the way in which he referred to himself. They do not profess to teach simply what he taught ; they do not confine them- selves to ideas which he put into words. These were not, in their estimation — valuable as they might be in other respects — the one thing needful, the saving truth, the unspeakable gift, the source and means of immortal life. No ; it was not what Jesus had said that they dwelt upon, but what he was — what he had done. They preached Him — they spoke of what he had " accomplished," and spoke of it in such a way as to show that he, perso7ially, was the life of the world and the light of men, and not that he had simply taught or revealed it. T. B. 13. Belter, " when they beheld the freedom of speech of Peter and John, having also previously known, etc. : and they recognized them, that they had been with Jesus." A. Effect of this Bold Address upon the Sanhedrim. — They wondered at the boldness of Peter and John, and well they might, for these unknown Gali- lean peasants, in the presence of the highest in the nation, had dared to turn defense into accusation. With no token of mere fanatics, but with respectful manner and manifest sincerity of conviction, they had spoken and acted. The council wondered too at the knowledge of the men, at their familiarity with and understanding of the Scriptures. And while thus marveling they remembered that this boldness and knowledge had been even more signal- ly evinced by him whom they had crucified, and this likeness of the disciples to the Master led to the SECTION 197.— ACTS Jt : 1-31. 33 further recollection that they had seen Peter and John with Jesus. 14. They could do no more than marvel. They could make no reply, for there stood the man they had so long noticed and known ; his very posture a proof, his silent gratitude and eager interest a fur- ther confirmation of the miracle. 15-18, Confuted and silenced, they confer to- gether, and seek to quench the Spirit with the Truth hy silencing the Human Agents. — The people, to whom Peter had twice preached, convinced of their guilt in crucifying Christ, had asked of the disciples. What shall we do for ourselves ? But these proud priests and rulers, untouched in heart and will how- ever convinced in understanding, ask of each other. What shall we do tvith these men? Gladly would they have stoned them, as soon afterward, when grown a little bolder through increasing malignancy and passion, they stoned Stephen. But now they dared do no more than forbid to preach, or even speak, the name of Jesus. So they forbade Peter and John to continue their work of witnessing for Christ. Mark here, that they said nothing about the further working of miracles. It was not the effect of miracles so much as the word that was preached in explanation of the miracle, the facts of Chrisfs death and resurrection, attested as the Son of God and Saviour of men by the miracle. So it has been ever since. The word about Christ, con- vincing of sin and offering mercy, this is the only influence under heaven which leads to repentance and faith, or which hardens the hard soul and stimu- lates the malignancy of the determinedly malignant. 19, 20. The Brave and Noble Answer of the Two Apostles. — Instantly, tarrying for no confer- ence, of one mind and soul, yet with all respect to the tribunal, they first appeal the question back for further consideration and judgment by assert- ing this prohibition to be contrary to God's com- mand ; and then calmly say that they must speak that which God hath bidden. And, with all their previous knowledge of Christ, with the power of his character and words, with the events of his agony, betrayal, death, resurrection, and ascension, impressed in all their vividness of reality and sub- limity of meaning by the Holy Ghost, how could these first heralds of the Cross and ambassadors of the Crucified fail to stand, in this crisis, for God and for the gospel ! B. They had seen and heard such things of and from Christ, they had re- ceived such a commission to proclaim him to the world, that it was morally impossible for them to obey the commands of the Sadducees. The courage to obey God rather than man proceeded from what had come under their own experience, from Christ's words, from his works, his life, his resurrection. But this outward experience could have inspired 3 them with no such boldness, if it had not aroused an inward experience ; if it had not attached them to Christ as a Friend, a Master, a Saviour, and a King. The influences of things seen and heard within their souls and in their lives created their strength to endure, to resist, to hope on amid dis- couragements, to believe in the efiicacy and the tri- umph of the gospel. T. D. W. Here, at its outset, Christianity recognizes the full liberty of the individual conscience, and in so doing puts responsibility solely upon the individual. Thus it establishes the right and the duty of pri- vate judgment. B. Bearing in mind the fact that a right to preach the gospel involved a right to organize churches, and through them carry on a systematic effort to change the religious life of the whole people, it is safe to conclude from these re- plies that neither civil nor ecclesiastical rulers are authorized to determine what forms of religion may be taught among the people. In obvious harmony with the apostles' language to the Jewish Sanhedrim was their conduct ever after. They acted on the assumption that religious truth should be laid before the mind of every man, in order that he might ac- cept or reject it freely. Hovey. 21, 22. With Further Threats, the Sanhedrim direct the Release of Peter and John. — The manly appeal of the apostles is disregarded. It can not be answered or turned aside with reason. Afraid to go further with persecution, they resort to the persecutor's first and feeblest argument, threaten- ing. 23-30. The First Recorded Prayer of the Christian Chiirch. — Naturally, on their release, the two apostles sought their companions in the faith, the body of believers, and told their story. Then uprose from the hearts of the gathered disciples a simple Scriptural prayer, an appeal based upon what God had revealed of his own power and of his purposed redemption by Christ. All their preach- ing and prayer are confessedly based upon the very Word of God, apprehended and believed. No- tice here, that it is to great truths rather than to special promises they refer. They rest their faith and appeal upon the sovereign might of God, and the certain accomplishment of his plan in the face of all opposition, (The quotations are from Psalm 146 and Psalm 2, and are made clearer by the whole context.) This prophecy of David concerning Christ had been first and most emphatically fulfilled by Herod, representing " the kings " ; by Pilate, " the rulers " ; by the Koman soldiers, " the heathen " ; and the Jews, "the people." But it has had con- tinuous fulfillment in the continuous conflict of Christianity with its foes. The point upon which they rest in this portion of the prayer is the same Peter brought out in his 34 SECTION 19S.—ACTS 4:32-37 ; 5:1-11. discourses. They here believingly recognize that this combined agency of rulers and people against Jesus only accomplished the merciful purpose of God, and laid foundations for the establishment and spread of his gracious salvation in all the earth. And with this basis of faith in God's overruling power bringing to pass his purposed redemption, how simply unselfish and manly is the spirit and substance of their prayer! '■'■Now, Lord, behold their thrcatcnings ! " No word or thought of ven- geance against these malignant murderers and per- secutors. Only, behold thou, and interpose as thou wilt, and when thou wilt 1 And for themselves, they ask no immunity from further persecution or dan- ger, only that their faith and courage may not fail, that they may hold on in their work of testifying for Christ and preaching the Word. Not for the destruction of their enemies and the removal of ob- stacles, but for steadfastness to endure persecution, boldness to face and strength to surmount difficul- ties. They do indeed ask for God's miraculous interposition, but not for their help or comfort. Stretch forth thy hand in healing to give assurance that the Word is thine, and that Jesus is Lord and Christ. There is a wonderful simplicity and con- centration of faith in God's Word and Christ's work embodied in this first prayer of the infant Church 1 And the faith was regarded in the instant answer. B. We see here a Church that prays, and just by this gives incontestable evidence of awakened in- ward life. Here is, moreover, a Church that prays for her servants. Although we may pray for our- selves, who among us pray for others ? Especially what amount of personal and social prayer ascends from us in behalf of the ministers of the Word, from whom so much is required, who are so severely criticised, so often with or without cause condemned, and who must first receive before they can impart to others ? Van 0. 31. The Sublime Effect torought outwardly by Miracle and inwardly by the Holy Ghost, in He- sponse to their Prayer. — They had appealed to the might of God, and that appeal was responded to by the palpable interposition of his power in the shak- ing of the place where they were gathered. They had besought help to obey Christ's last word of direction, faithfully to witness for him, and the Pentecostal power was communicated afresh to them : they were all filled with the Holy Ghost. Their one personal request was that they might, with steadfast, undaunted spirit, stand in the front of peril and declare the word given them to utter. And the answer is recorded in the very terms of their asking : " And they spake the Word of God with boldness." B. A congregation shows itself here which unites fervent prayer with unanimous work. They do not leave the work entirely to the apostles, but co- operate with them ; and, as though reanimated by this awakened life in the Church, these last soon with greater boldness bear witness to the resurrec- tion of the Lord. What think ye ? Should no greater blessing be expected on such unanimous prayer and labor and struggle, than on the endless lamentations over both the friends and foes of the Lord, in which so many appear inexhaustible ? Van 0. Section 198. Acts iv. 32-37 ; v. 1-11. 33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus : 82 and great grace was upon them all. And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul : neither said any of them that ought of the things which he pos- 34 sessed was his own ; but they had all things common. Neither was there any among thera that lacked : for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the 35 prices of the things that were sold, and laid them, down at the apostles' feet : and distribu- tion was made unto every man according as he had need. 36 And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The 37 son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it, and 1 brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet. But a certain man named Ananias, 2 with Sappliira his wife, sold a possession, and kept back part of the price, his wife also being 3 privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep backj9«r« 4 of the price of the land ? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own ? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power ? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart ? thou SECTION 198.— ACTS ^ ; 32-37; 5 : 1-11. 35 5 hast not lied unto men, but unto God. And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and 6 gave up the ghost : and great fear came on all them that heard these things. And the 7 young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him. And it was about 8 the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. And Peter answered unto her. Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much ? And she said, 9 Yea, for so much. Then Peter said unto her. How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord ? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are 10 at tlie door, and shall carry thee out. Tljen fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost : and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her 11 forth, buried Aer by her husband. And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things. Ihe same Peter, who in Christ's name had spoken so gently, and even escusingly, to the very crucifiers of Christ, here, in the same name, denounces the most fearful judgment of God against professed followers of Jesus. Thus the Gospel repeats the declaration of the Law, that God will by no means clear the guilty ; while the injunction is sharply emphasized, "Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity."' And the chief danger to the Church to-day arises not from outward assailants, but from in- ward corruption or unfaithfulness ; from the false vows of counterfeit members or hypocrites ; and from the incomplete vows or partial consecration of true members. Still Christ's word needs to be heeded by all, Take heed and beware of hypocrisy ! Still the Holy Ghost exhorts, Pay unto the Lord thy vows, and Lift up holy hands ! Without honest service, sincere, hearty giving as well as praying, let there be no guise of service, of charity or worship, for a Pharisaic show or reputation ! Nothing in human character is so valuable, so beautiful, so Christlike, and therefore so all-essential as truthfulness. Regarded from a merely human aspect, it is the cementing force and safeguard of society. Falsehood, of word or act, is destructive of the order and peace of human fellowship, vitiates the currents of intercourse in the family, in traffic, in social hfe, and undermines the very foundation of the Church. And God's hatred of hypocrisy and regard of truth, read upon every page of his revelation, may be summed up in two or three statements : Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord ; but they that deal truly are his delight f Of the dweller in God's holy hill it is said with a singular emphasis, He speakelh ihe truth in his heart ! And the girdle of the Christian armor, that which binds and holds together the entire panoply, is truth ! Then let every disciple of Christ, and every partaker of human fellowship, by word and by life, unweariedly emphasize the supreme worth, and exemplify the inherent beauty of truthfulness ! B. " Jews and proselytes " had come up to the Fes- tival of Pentecost from the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates, of the Nile and of the Tiber, from the provinces of Asia Minor, from the desert of Arabia, and from the islands of the Greek Sea ; and when they returned to their homes, they carried with them news which prepared the way for the glad tidings about to issue from Mount Zion to " the uttermost parts of the earth." But as yet the gospel lingered on the holy hill. The first acts of the apostles were " prayer and supplication " in the " upper room " ; breaking of bread " from house to house " ; miracles in the Temple ; gatherings of the people in Solomon's cloister, and the bearing of testimony in the coimcil chamber of the Sanhedrim. H. 33-35, The Beautiful Picture reproduced, of j the Unity, Mutual Sympathy, and Helpfulness of the [ First Christian Disciples. — We would read verse 33 first, and then 32, 34, 35 together. While all were filled whh the Holy Ghost, and spake the word, the apostles, as ordained leaders and witnesses of the resurrection, were specially endued with power to impress the truth, and when necessary to work mira- cles in confirmation of the word. But as in all faith was working actively by love, so great grace, the marked favor of God, was upon and with thon all. Then, as a token and evidence of this grace, the story of their oneness of spirit, of their true sympathy one with another, evinced by acts of self-sacrifice, by the sharing of their means with those who had any need, is here told again. It is repeated, we infer, partly because it ia inherently so beautiful and effective as an example for all coming ages, and partly to introduce the two persons, Joses and Ananias, and to contrast their spirit and actions respecting this practical matter of consecrating possessions. B. This is a picture of what every Christian Church ought to be, and what every Christian Church will probably be, when the fullness of the Spirit shall be poured out in the last days. Here we meet with no factions or divisions on the part of the people, no jealousy, no party spirit. No desire of distinction disturbed the harmony of the primitive Church. 36 SECTION 198.— ACTS 4:32-37; 5:1-11. The first law of their divine Master was fulfilled : mutual and holy love was the sacred bond of their union, the ruling principle of their life and actions. G. T. They regarded themselves as one family, with one heart and one soul, with common needs and common joys and common sufferings. This is the perfection of that unity in his Church for which Christ prayed, and it showed as in a pattern what all should aim to realize in spirit. W. The elements of prosperity in a family or church of Christ are these : Christ preached, as God incar- nate, crucified, risen and reigning ; living in the Church and working through the Holy Ghost ; and oneness of heart evinced in prayer and in mutual helpfulness. Where these are found, faith appro- priates Christ's person and work, effectually pleads his power and promise, and " zvorks by love." There- by all essential conditions of life and prosperity are met. B. 33. With the apostles, especially in the Pente- costal period, the i-esurrection is the palmary proof, the invincible assertion of the truth of Christianity. That Jesus was literally risen was for the apostles a fact resting upon distinct evidence of their senses. Their first effort was to publish this fact, and so to let it do its proper work in the understandings and the consciences of men. When therefore the au- thor of the Acts of the Apostles is describing the missionary action of the earliest Church, he tells us that " with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus." H. P. L. Everywhere they preach a " Christ that died, yc«, rather, that is risen again." This event is presented by them not simply as the seal of his teaching, or more generally (to use the poor and shrunken phrase of later times) as the proof of his divine mission, but as itself the cause and the commencement of that eternal life which was consciously the hope of man. T. D. B. As they looked with the eye of faith upon the interests of eternity, the relations and interests of time dwindled into insignificance, and with fearlessness, with simplicity, and with great power, gave they witness to the central and incon- trovertible fact of the resurrection of Christ, and to the freeness and preciousness of the salvation that is in him, and left the event with God. Pursuing this course, Christianity was aggressive and tri- umphant. M. H. This is our testimony still — a testimony concerning the risen Christ. This is the very core and kernel of our preaching. Our glad tidings are, " The Lord is risen." It is a risen Lord that we follow. It is to a risen Lord that we are conformed — a risen Prophet — a risen Priest — a risen King ! Bonar. 34, 35. With reference to the sale and sharing of their possessions, all that can properly be inferred is that there was a voluntary disposing of a portion only by the rich, and a distribution in accordance with the actual need of the poor. There was no community of goods, no giving up of all he had by any one. Neither example nor precept of such fatu- ity have we in the Acts or Epistles. But the grand principle is inculcated here most impressively — a principle that should characterize the disciples of Christ and the spirit of church fellowship in all time — that the strong should aid the weak, " espe- cially those who are of the household of faith." The spirit of the Master and of his gospel lays a tax, proportional and voluntary, upon the worldly goods, as well as the personal sympathies and counsels, of more gifted believers in the interest of those less en- dowed. No other subject is more fully unfolded by Christ and the apostles than this of consecrated earthly possessions, and the teaching has been but imperfectly learned thus far. The summing up we read in the words of the final award, " Inasmuch as ye did it, or did it not, to these ! " It is to be noted that the largeness of the gifts referred to here grew out of the peculiar circum- stances of the case. Jewish prejudices would at once cast out the poorer behevers from all customary employments, and so leave many entirely destitute. This was the case for many years, as we know from Paul's " gatherings for the poor Saints at Jerusalem " in almost every foreign city. And the same circum- stances produce like effects in heathen lands to-day. 36, 37. TJie True Spirit and the True Gift of Barnabas. — Joses, afterward called Barnabas, the first named convert from the priestly tribe of Levi (whose conversion was soon followed by that of "many priests," ch. 6), begins his long and useful career by the willing, glad consecration of a portion, it might have been all, of his possessions. His surname, " Son of Consolation," may have referred in part to this giving of his whole estate in help of the destitute, or to the special magnetism of his sympathy and wisdom of his comforting counsel. And, we remember, Barnabas it was who brought Paul to the apostles, and who was associated with him in his early missionary journey. 1-11. The beautiful picture of church fellow- ship is now to be sadly marred. The native evil of the heart shows itself even among the little band of Christ's proscribed followers. And, as through- out the Old Testament, the fact is shown, by way of contrast and comparison, in the history. We have had Barnabas with his attractive character and his true-hearted sacrifice. Now we have Ananias and Sapphira (with names only significant of "grace'" and "beauty") illustrating falsehood in its most daring and impious form, a counterfeit offering to God himself. And the teaching by comparison goes further. It presents the two Personal Beings, the respective sources and inspircrs of truth and false- SECTION 198.— ACTS 4 : 3S-37 ; 5:1-11. 37 hood, the Holy Ghost of God, and Satan, the unholy spirit of evil. The Holy Ghost //& the heart of the true disciples ; Satan " fills the heart " of these two false professors. The timing of Satan's appearance, at the out- start of the infant Christian Church upon its wit- nessing mission, was in exact accordance with his previous methods. As he came to Adam and Eve in the garden ; to Cain, the first born man ; to Nadab and Abihu at the commencement of Israel's national life, and afterward to Achan in the first establish- ment of Israel's power in Canaan ; and above all, as without effect he came to Christ at the very outset of his personal ministry ; so now and here, " when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, Satan came also among them." He would fain use the time of inexperience and feeble faith to detach one and another, and so undermine the power and destroy the life of the Church of Christ. Concerning this signal judgment of God, let two facts be borne in mind : 1. Many miracles of mercy had already been wrought, and many more were sub- sequently done during the ministry of the apostles. This is the one only miracle of judgment. So was it even under the Law of Moses as ministered by himself and the prophets. The many miracles were of mercy. Only at long intervals were single tokens of judgment. While in the personal ministry of Christ himself, we find none but miracles of mercy to men. His only direct judgment was against a fruitless, senseless tree. 2. The one manifest pur- pose of every direct judgment of God, in the Old and New Testament times, was to impart needful knowl- edge and warning lolien it was most needed, and so impressively that it would be heeded. Therefore it was in the critical time of inexperience and weak- ness, the very time when Satan was busiest, that the clear manifestation of God's authority and might were most necessary as a warning to counteract the temptations of Satan. For this reason, the first Sabbath-breaker was stoned (Num. 15:36); the first breach of a special commandment after Israel had taken possession of their inheritance, the con- cealed sacrilegious theft of Achan, was visited with death upon himself and his family ; and now, the first impious deception and falsehood, under the guise of piety and worship, in the new-born Church, was thus decisively adjudged and punished. These and other cases of flagrant impiety demanded and received the open and palpable judgments of God, that his people might be warned, and the guilty taught, that he saw sin in the heart and would as- suredly punish the sinner. No other means than those direct severe personal visitations could so well have wrought this necessary knowledge and convic- tion in their minds. 1-6. TJie Sin, the Judc/ment, and the Doom of Ananias. — His sin was not the bringing " a certain part of the price," for this he might rightly have done if he had done it avowedly. As Peter said, it was in his own power, subject to any disposition he pleased, after the money was received. But while — for scJjish motives of some kind, we knoiv — keep- ing back part of the money, he professed to have devoted all that he received. And this transaction was a public one, nay, was a part of worship in which all were associated, nay, further still, on his part it was an act of professed devotion to God him- self. And he knew it was a lie. He was deliber- ately mocking God under pretense of worshiping him ! Peter knew it too. By extraordinary gift of the Holy Ghost he saw into the very heart of Ana- nias, knew the whole transaction ; and by the im- pulse of the same Spirit he opens the whole to the assembled body of disciples by these successive burn- ing questions, ending with the terrible affirmation, " Thou hast not lied to men, but unto God.'''' Without a word Ananias fell to the ground dead. He was not prostrated by the shame of exposure, nor the sharpened sting of an aroused and terrified conscience, overwhelming as their force might be ; but the direct fiat of God adjudged him to this in- stant doom. Not by any word or purpose of Peter, but solely by the act of God was the fiat executed. For this once, in the New Testament Christian his- tory, " sentence against an evil work was executed speedily." And the lesson was heeded. Great fear, fear of God, an intelligent fear of his searching vis- ion and unerring sure judgment, and a dread con- viction of the deadliness of sin, " came upon all them that heard these things." In an orderly manner, and in accordance with the usual custom of burial on the day of death, the younger men then bore the body of Ananias to the place of interment outside the city. During their absence, for three hours, it would seem that the body of disciples remained together. At their re- turn it was that Sapphira, ignorant of what had oc- curred, and doubtless supposing that the fraud upon which they had agreed had been successfully achieved, came in to the assembly. 7-11. TJie Falsehood and the Doom of Sap- phira.— Peter gave her no time or opportunity to learn what had transpired. Instantly he asks the plain direct question as to the sum received for the land. And as instantly, unhesitatingly, she re- affirms in words the acted falsehood of her now dead husband. To this, her last utterance, Peter responds by stating the aggravation of their guilt, in their deliberate agreement to deceive and defraud the Spirit of God, and then prophetically announces her like fearful doom and burial with her husband. Speechless, also, she falls and dies ! By the same hands her body is laid beside her husband. The 38 SEGTI02T 199.— ACTS 5 : 12-4& bodies lie together in the tomb — the spirits together in the realm of eternal doom. Again the record declares, that great fear came upon all that heard as well as witnessed those things. Deep indeed would be the impression and long the memory of so awful a judgment of the manifest God ! And thus was the infant Church taught and warned and guarded in her time of greatest weak- ness and need against corruption from within, es- pecially against " that leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy," an evil always greater and more de- moralizing than persecution from without ! Some Leading TnitJis. — While personal influence, even to the xcorking in human hearts, is ascribed to Satan, yet his power is only that of temptation, and is resistible. It is the man that sins^ by his own uncontrolled act of yielding to the temptation. Hence the helpful injunction, " Resist the devil, and he will flee." Every human heart is under the influence of the Holy Spirit or of Satan, but under compulsion of neither. AVhat the Holy Ghost has aimed to do in the saving of all that have been saved, he still seeks to do in behalf of the lost and imperilled. And what Satan has done to destroy, what he succeeded in accomplishing by his influence with Saul, Ahith- ophel, Judas, and now with Ananias and Sapphira, he seeks novj, as earnestly, to do with every one. In this fearful twofold judgment we have God's protest and refutation respecting the false tenet or behef, that because he is infinitely merciful and long-suffering, he will clear the guilty and transform hell into heaven. The voice of this judgment is. Be not deceived, God is not mocked ; whatsoever a man sowcfh that shall he reap : In no ivise shall enter they who make a lie : For our God is a consaming fire. B. No matter whether the miracle happens once or every day. It is simply the type of a law inevitable and universal. Whether the outer stroke should ever be repeated or not, it was only the visible sign of a thing that is always going on while the world stands — unrighteousness blasted, lying exposed, the cheating man and the cheating woman, in spite of their skill in concealment, sent down at last to mis- ery. F. D. H. Section 199. Acts v. 12-42. 13 Ajtd of the rest durst no man join himself to them : but the people magnified thera. 12 And they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch. And by the hands of the apostles 15 were many signs and wonders wrought among the people ; insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the 16 shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them. There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were 14 vexed with unclean spirits : and they were healed every one. And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women. 17 Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, ("which is the sect of the 18 Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation, and laid their hands on the apostles, and 19 put them in the common prison. But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison 20 doors, and brought thera forth, and said. Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people 21 all the words of this life. And when they heard that, they entered into the temple early in the morning, and taught. But the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council together, and all the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the 22 prison to have them brought. But when the ofiicers came, and found them not in the 23 prison, they returned, and told, saying, The prison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing without before the doors: but when we had opened, we found no man 24 within. Now Avhen the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests 25 heard these things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow. Then came one and told them, saying. Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and 26 teaching the people. Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without 27 violence : for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned. And when they 28 had brought them, they set them before the council : and the high priest asked them, say- ing. Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us. SECTION 199.— ACTS 5 : 12-J^. 39 29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than 30 men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Ilim 31 hath God exalted with his right hand to le a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to 32 Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses of these things ; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him. 33 "When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them. Then 34 stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a httle space ; 35 and said unto them. Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as 36 touching these men. For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be some- body ; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves : who was slain ; 37 and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought. After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him : 38 he also perished ; and all, ct^?;- as many as obeyed him, were dispersed. And now I say un- to you. Refrain from these men, and let them alone : for if this counsel or this work be of 39 men, it will come to nought : but if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it ; lest haply ye be 40 found even to fight against God. And to him they agreed : and when they had called the apostles, and beaten the7n, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted 42 worthy to suffer shame for his name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. " They ceased not to teach and preach Jesus the Christ." Similar expressions continually recur in the Acts. No such announcements are heard in the Gospels. The preaching spoken of there is not of the person, but of the kinnJom. In the Acts the two expressions are sometimes united, as when the Samari- tans "believed Philip, preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of the Lord Jesus " : and yet again, with more evident purpose, in the closing verse of the book, which describes the two years' continuous ministry by the words " preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ." The two expressions are combined to show that the preaching of the kingdom and the preaching of Christ are one. All is founded upon the old Jewish expectation of a kingdom of God ; but it is now explained how that expectation is fulfilled in the person of Jesus ; and the account of its realization consists in the unfolding of the truth concerning him, " the things concern- ing Jesus." The manifestation of Christ being finished, the kingdom is already begun. Those who re- ceive him enter into it. Having overcome the sharpness of death, he has opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. Those, therefore, who w^ere once to " tell no man that he was Christ," are now to make " all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus, whom they had crucified, both Lord and Christ " ; yea, they are to proclaim that fact to every nation under heaven. Through the blessed ordinance of a written word they have not ceased to do so now. To us they preach him still ; a Christ " who died for our sins and rose again for our justification" ; a Christ who saves without the Law, yet one who is witnessed by the Law and the Prophets. So they preach, and so we beheve. This was the beginning of the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope to the Church at its birth, and this begin- ning it will hold firm unto the end. It is for us to see that we bear our part in the long history of the faith, finding its reality in the joy of our own salvation, and transmitting its testimony to the generation to come. T. D. B. 12-16. Effects wrought among the People by the Apostles' Preaching and Healing in the Name of Jesus. — These- verses cover a considerable period of undisturbed ministry. The most appropriate order would probably be this : verse 13; the last sentence in verse 12; the first sentence in the same verse, attached to verses 15 and 16 ; and verse 14. Read thus, without any parenthesis, the meaning is clear and the narrative orderly and progressive. The rest, the multitude without, had been so impressed by the miraculous judgment upon Ananias that they stood in awe of the apostles as divine mes- sengers, and none ventured to join the company cf believers unless drawn by a true faith and honest confession. Nevertheless they " magnified," in their hearts honored, the character and work of the apos- tles. They had learned at least the difference be- tween false pi-etense and true service. Solomon's porch was now the daily meeting and preaching place of the apostles. No other place was large enough for the concourse of believers and peo- ple. (Vol. L, p. 620.) 40 SECTION 199.— ACTS 5 : 12-4£. The account given in verses 15 and IG recalls similar statements respecting great periods and wide circuits of Christ's ministry in Galilee. Everywhere from within Jerusalem itself, and from the numerous cities adjacent, the sick and the possessed with un- clean spirits were brought by multitudes to the apos- tles. And the result is told in the old language of the gospels, "they were healed every one." Not, we suppose, that any one was healed by the length- ened shadow of Peter's person, as he returned to- ward sunset from the crowded evening service in Solomon's porch. Yet we know that the sick were afterward healed by the touch of aprons and handker- chiefs that had been in contact with the person of Paul ; and we remember how one was healed by the touch of a garment-hem. There may have been such faith, as these cases showed, in the placing of the sick within the line of the apostle's shadow, and if there was, God may have healed in like con- descension to human ignorance and infirmity. But the text does not furnish any inference that there was such faith, or that healing was wrought by this means. The fact is stated to show the extent and pervasive character of the influence which had al- ready gone forth from these few illiterate fishermen, within the city and outside of it. The " many signs and wonders " now " wrought among the people " were in answer to the first prayer of the Church. They were designed to honor the apostles in the sight, and so with the favor, of the people ; that the people might interpose, as they did, to protect them against the assaults of the rulers. But, chiefly, their miracles of healing were wrought, like their Master's, to show how much God's mercy delighted to rejoice against his judgment, how much more willing were his helpful, gracious, loving purposes and acts, than his enforced strange deeds of judgment. And all these ends of miracle, we read, were accomplished. 14. Believers were the more added* This is the natural close to this whole statement. Even the terrible judgment combined with the multitude of healing mercies, in connection with the preaching of Jesun, produced far more faith than fear. Of the vast numbers who had been outwardly convinced by miraculous demonstration, many were inwardly touched by the truth concerning Jesus impressed by the present mighty Spirit of God. Multitudes both of men and women were added to the Lord ! — to Christ, not to the roll of the Church. Here, as before, the Lord, i. e., Christ, added to the Church the saved ! but frst — then, now, and ever — added to the Lord ! as branches to the vine, by the principle and through the divine implanting of a spiritual life : living branches, and fruitful if living, in the living vine — these only are " the saved," these only make up the roll of the true Church, visible or invisible ! B. 17-19. The apostles are brought forward to preach before the Sanhedrim the doctrine of the resurrection, by the agency of the Sadducees who denied it. The Sadducees imprison the apostles ; but the angel of the Lord opens the prison doors. Thus Christ overrules the designs of the Sadducees, who denied the existence of angels, and makes the Sadducees themselves to be the means of showing to the world that his angels are ministering spirits, encamping about his Church. W. As their hate increased, their malignity gave them increased cour- age to seize and imprison the apostles. While these imprisoned men are filled with the Holy Ghost, and leave all things quietly with God, their persecutors — into whose hearts we are continually permitted to see — are filled with Satan, and undertake themselves to carry out the devices he has inspired. But S This is a divine " but," which deranges all their plans. The excess, or " remainder," of men's wrath over what may be needful in the execu- tion of hh plans, God easily restrains, and generally by his usual methods of providence. Here, for the same purpose that he wrought by miracle, he sends an angel to release his first " ambassadors " to the world. Silently, and unnoticed by the slumbering guard, the prison doors are opened, and the rescued, newly animated disciples are bidden to resume their work for the Master. Go, as heralds go, not seek- ing safety in concealment, but before the face of the people. Utter the message of life — all of it — ^faith- fully to all the people ! It was a reaffirmation of the commission from their risen Lord, uttered under circumstances of implied approval, encouragement, and yet larger promise. And there was no hesita- tion or wavering in their response. Early in the morning, soon as the temple gates were opened, they gathered in Solomon's porch and taught the throng- ing crowds. B. The Lord sent his angel and set his servants free. He showed the persecutors that they had no power over these men, " except it were given them from above." But having done this, the Master left the witnesses in their enemies' hands. His will was, that his servants should neither flee nor fight ; that they should preach the Cross, and bear it ; that they should overcome as he had over- come— by enduring. Arnot. 21-26. Then came the specially called meet- ing of the great Sanhedrim, showing how exasper- ated the priestly party were and how determined now 'utterly to destroy these teachers of Christ. " All the senate," i. e., all the elders of the nation, were called in to give counsel and add weight to the judgment of the Sanhedrim. The officers were sent to the prison, and excitedly returned with the won- derful story of an empty ward and carefully guard- ed doors and building. The meaning was, that there was full proof of divine interposition in the SECTION 199.— ACTS 5:12-42. 41 escape. And while the assembly were amazed and wondering what would come out of these mar- vels, one came with the intelligetice that the men who had mysteriously disappeared out of their prison were boldly preaching again in the temple. At the instance of the high priest, the captain of the temple — the custodian of the sacred house — then went with his own band and quietly summoned the apostles into the presence of the assembled council. The obedient response of the apostles prevented any outbreak among the people. The strongly favorable feeling of the people in behalf of these persecuted disciples is the instruc- tive and cheering fact of this portion of the narra- tive. Many causes combined — all of them noble and grand — to produce this feeling. These lowly but bold disciples had dared to come right from the prison to the sanctuary and stronghold of their own and their Master's persecutors, instead of fleeing from them. They spake with like boldness as they acted ; repeating in calm and serious words the of- fensive doctrines. Here were evidences of their own truthfulness, of their belief in the word they preached, and of a wonderful strength of personal trust in the Christ they proclaimed and urged upon others. And their forbearance equaled their cour- age and truth. Though their release showed that superhuman power was theirs, yet they did not seek to employ it in opposition to the high priest and elders. Not to resist the rulers, not to smite with judgment-might the men who had accumulated a vaster amount of even more aggravated guilt than the false Ananias, but to heal the sick and suffer- ing they used the might of miracle. And perhaps the "signs" most wonderful and powerful with the people were the signs of their Christlike spii'it — their utterly unselfish lives and ministry — the avo^ved purpose of their preaching as well as the manifest ultimate object of their miracles, to save the lost soul! In palpable contrast to these " signs and wonders " of Christlike spirit and living, had been life-long presented before their eyes the selfish greed and rapacity, the open hypocrisy, and especially the utter lack of sympathy or care for others, which characterized the priests and rulers of that day above any other time even in Jewish his- tory. Multitudes, therefore, of the common people heard these true-hearted apostles, also, gladly! They heard the words and read the life, and the Holy Ghost impressed his own truth in both forms, and wrought miracles of deliverance for multitudes of penitent, believing souls, more wondrous far than the angel's release of the imprisoned bodies of the apostles ! 27, 28. If we needed proof of the superior in- telligence and shrewdness of these foremost priests and rulers, we have it in their discriminating appre- ciation of the preaching and doctrine concerning Jesus as the source of the apostles' power, and of their own consequent danger. These men of the Sanhedrim cared nothing for mere miracles. They did not want to know, they wished not to know, how the apostles escaped from the prison ; and passed that matter over in silence. But when the known companions of Jesus jo?-mc/i a spiritual religion, and declare a salvation of grace, when their preaching is attested not only by numerous and stupendous mira- cles, but by an unselfish, true, pure, and helpful life, when the religion they preach and practice stands forth in striking contrast with the teaching and life of authoritative Jewish teachers, and when, for all these reasons, multitudes from city and country are drawn to seek heahng and find repentance in the name of Christ, no wonder these false hypocritical leaders take alarm, and seek to silence and destroy the apostles. But the charge they make of a design " to bring this man^s blood" (purposely throwing contempt upon the name that the apostles had exalted) " upon them" is surprising, when we remember that these very rulers had led in that answering cry to Pilate, " His blood be on us and on our children." But they had an object in saying this now ; they wished to create an impression among the people that the apostles were actuated by revengeful and hostile feelings in making the charge. B. 29-32. Critics have noticed the structure of Peter's brief defense as one of the finest specimens of pleading on record. It is a proof that the prom- ise, "It shall be given you in that hour what ye shall speak," was amply fulfilled. It is clear and cogent ; it is very short, but it is long enough. The speaker says all that is needful, and stops when he is done. In this short space he defends himself, confounds his adversaries, and commends Christ to the bystanders. Arnot. Taking no notice of their attempt to create odium against himself and his companions, with manly boldness he repeats the main points of his previous address. Again he reverses the position of the parties, becomes himself the accuser of his judges, and preaches the gospel plainly to them. So did Stephen afterward, before that very same tri- bunal. 29. First, he declares directly, not as before in the way of appeal to their judgment, that God must be obeyed rather than men. In saying this, he boldly implies that they are commanding things con- trary to God ; and he justifies the disregard of their injunction solely on the ground of obedience to the liigher authority of God himself. He does not deny the allegiance properly due to these rulers as the highest human authority in the nation. He claims and attempts no right of open opposition or organ- 42 SECTION 190.— A CTS 5 : 12-J^. ized resistance. But he must speak the word, and so obey the supreme command of God. B. How much the world owes to the word that Peter uttered before the Sanhedrim that day ! It is the foundation of all the true liberty that exists in the world. On this rock — ^thc word that the Holy Spirit spake by Peter's lips — has the liberty of the Church been built, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Leaning on this, human liberty has been able to maintain a footing on the world during the dark centuries that are past ; and that liberty, Mhercwith the Son has made his people free, is waxing apace, as the dawn advances into day. Freedom of conscience — the subjection of a human spirit to God, and its emancipation therefore from all inferior control — is deposited here in the ground as a living seed. Thence it has sprung and spread ; thence it will spring and spread until all superstition and tyranny shall be swept away. Arnot. 30. Next Peter reasserts the offensive doctrine of the resurrection of Jesus, carefully naming him whom they would not name. Still speaking as him- self a Jew and to them as Jews, he declares that their God had " raised up Jesus," and unqualifiedly to their faces reaffirms the charge that they had slain him by crucifixion. It was true that Christ's blood was upon them. No words could be more direct or pointed; yet he instantly follows them with other words of promise and hope. 31. The same God, their God, had exalted this Jesus, who is already a Prince and Saviour — names well known to them as applied by Isaiah to the Mes- siah— ^by him to give repentance and forgiveness to Israel ! The statement was very plain and the mean- ing very clear to them. All the facta of Christ's life — his character, his wondrous deeds and yet more wonderful words, his death and rising again — all ac- corded perfectly with the known and accepted teach- ing of their prophets. Even the outpouring of the Holy Spirit was distinctly promised. In all this Peter was speaking no enigmas to them. 32. In further asserting that the apostles are tvitnesses of all those things respecting Christ, Peter still refers them back to Isaiah (43 : 10, 12, and 44 : 6, 8), where the Lord the Saviour, Israel's King and Deliverer, utters these very words. Repeated by this Lord himself, after his resurrection, in the ears of the disciples, Peter now triumphantly responds to them, and affirms that thei/ are his witnesses ! And then, in support of their merely human testi- mony, and in conclusive proof of all these things re- specting Christ, he refers to a divine witness, the long-promised and now received Spirit of God. 27ds witness, the Holy Ghost, with his internal convincing testimony, he declares to these heartless, disobedient priests of the Temple, God will give to them that obey him. Thus calmly, without sign of personal feeling, save earnest, faithful kindness, in the very spirit of the Master, this brave apostle preached to the San- hedrim the whole doctrine of Christ and the Holy Ghost ; to them he offers salvation by repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, through the inworking of the Holy Spirit. 33-40. The Cowiscl of Gamaliel, and the Final Judgment of the Sanhedrim. — The same excessive madness of rage and hate that filled them against the Master was now excited toward the disciples. Under the first impulse, they would have done with these what they had done with him. But at this crisis God interposed for his people's sake, and raised up a helper in the person of the most influ- ential and least moved of their number. Gamaliel, here referred to as one of the council or Sanhedrim, a Pharisee, a teacher of the law, and of high repute among the people, is said by the Talmud to have been the grandson of Hillel, the founder of the then leading Rabbinical school. They say further that he was the second and last who " obtained the name of Rabban, a title of the highest eminency and note of any among their doc- tors." Apparently he is the only one unmoved, and therefore apprehends the peril of murdering the apostles, and certainly, though unconsciously, he is actuated by a divine impulse in his interposition. But he shows masterly skill and judgment in reach- ing his object. He removes these hated men out of sight, and so takes away one stimulus and supply of their excited feeling. He tells his colleagues of their peril in undertaking this murderous scheme. He recalls two well-known instances, of many simi- lar ones in the history of the time, where insurgent leaders had taken advantage of strong Jewish ex- pectation and feeling, and undertaken the overthrow of the Roman dominion, but had been themselves slain and their bands dispersed. With the designed intimation that such would be the issue with the movement begun by the apostles, he counsels that these men be let alone. And then he enforces all by stating a fact and using it as a basis for a prin- ciple— the fact that man's plan or work can not stand as against God's ; and the principle that one should wait for the actual issue to determine wheth- er a work is God's or man's. From this method and reasoning of Gamaliel wc may take this one bare grain of wisdom out of a full measure of folly and mistake. It is wise and right to deal tolerantly with errorists in sentiment ; and intolerance with supposed error is always un- justifiable and wrong. In conclusive proof of this, we have Christ's spirit, his words, and his acts. But Gamaliel's principle, his main argument witli his fellow-councillors, is essentially and most hurt- fully wrong. It is conspicuously untrue, as applied SECTIOIT 200.— ACTS 6 : 1-15. 43 to present results, in time, that all which fails to succeed is not of God. For many true churches of God in every age, and other beneficent Christian institutions, have been suffered to languish and be- come extinct. And we need not speak of unnum- bered personal sacrifices of possessioqf and life for Christ and the truth. Only as applied to ulti- mate and eternal issues is it true that failure is God's condemnation. And as obviously, for similar reasons, it is untrue that seeming success and con- tinuance in this life is certainly of God. David's teaching, as well as that of David's Lord, is clear and abundant upon this point. Nothing short of or prior to the final plaudit at the judgment is decisive of God's purpose and part in any life suc- cess. Further, Gamaliel's counsel is fatally defective in this, that not only as responsible men, but espe- cially as accredited teachers of a divine religion, as the ministers of a divinely ordained worship, they were bound to ascertain if these men were not really on God's side, and if they were, to side with them. They had God's "counsel" in their Scrip- tures, and could compare it with the words and works of "these men." Xay more, as we have seen, Peter had expressly referred them to these Scriptures throughout. And all the facts of Christ's career and of the Pentecost, to which he had also referred them, were open to their knowledge, and abundant for their conviction of the truth. For these reasons their obhgation was to inquire and to act according to their best knowledge, not to ig- nore the matter as of no concern to them. Perhaps they appreciated the counsel. Perhaps they did not feel quite strong enough to kill so many men in face of the protest of a friendly peo- ple. But they did not entirely " refrain " ; for they severely scourged the apostles before they let them go. This scourging gave trifling relief to their wrath as well as their offended dignity ; it served to show the people that they had not made so much stir without cause ; and it would operate as a warn- ing, if not to the apostles, to deter persons of feeble will and timid spirit from joining them. 41, 43. The Joy and Unchanged Fidelity of the Apostles. — Thus far they had encountered threats, imprisonment, and scourging, but none of these things moved them except to joyfulness, that thus the force of their testimony might be strengthened. It is a beautiful expression, evincing a depth of humility and strength of devotion that is marvel- ous in such weak men as they had been : " rejoic- ing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name." The lesson of the Passion and the Cross, from which they had shrunk, was now fully learned ! Released once more, they went again " to their own company" and to their appointed wcrk of preaching Jesus Christ. This they did daily, in the Temple at the hours of concourse for worship, and in every house where they were welcomed. Christ had delivered them, in order that they might con- tinue in the fulfillment of his commission. And for a considerable period again they had rest, while believers continued to multiply under faithful teach- ing, with the power of the Holy Ghost. Christ is Prince and Saviour. He rules in all whom he saves, and saves all in whom he rules. Christ rules among his enemies and protects his friends. His Church will abide against " the gates of hell," and his kingdom shall come. "The exten- sion of this kingdom depends on the counsel of God and the work of man." Let us loyally look for the counsel and the needed grace, and faithfully do the work assigned ! B. The Christian, if at least he is a genuine believer, can not constantly remain silent concernii^g Christ ! The same thing which we see here in the apostles, the experience of every really living Christian con- firms. To speak of the Lord may often be difficult ; to be continually silent regarding him is impossible. Our privilege is too great for us to be silent ; our vocation is too exalted for us to leave the testimony regarding Christ to others, since we are personally destined each in his own circle to be the fight and the salt of the earth. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh ; out of the animated word the life speaketh ; and life alone is able to awaken life. Van 0. Section 200. Acts vi. 1-15. 1 AsTD in those days, when the number of the disciples vras multiplied, there arose a mur- muring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the 2 daily ministration. Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and 3 said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and 44 SECTION 200.— ACTS 6:1-15. 4 wisdom, wliom we may appoint over tMs business. But we will give ourselves continually 5 to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Pro- 6 chorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte of Antioch : whom they set before the apostles : and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them. 7 And the word of God increased; and the number of ^he disciples multiplied in Jerusalem 8 gi'eatly ; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith. And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. 9 Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Liber- tines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with 10 Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake. 11 Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against 12 Moses, and against God. And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, 13 and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council, and set up false wit- nesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy 14 place, and the law: for we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy 15 this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us. And all that sat in the council, looking steadfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel. The transfiguration of Stephen is always a thing of the present, filled with a fresh life which touches our deepest nature whenever we look on it. Material scenes of the highest grandeur live only in the pages of history ; and they become dimmer as distance intervenes. But spiritual greatness is everlast- ingly new, and we can be as closely in its presence as when it first appeared in the world. As time tests it and brings out its reality, we see and feel more of its ever-during power. Of this kind are all the moral evidences of the truth of the gospel, all the signs of the higher life which then entered the world, which never become old with years, but renew themselves in us as we open our souls to them. To this the form of Stephen belongs ; not the angelic face alone, but the angelic spirit of which it was the index, a thing which never appeared in the world till Christ was heard of, and which true Christianity alone can reproduce. The canvas of that picture never decays, the dust of time does not gather on the features. It is no picture, for we may come and feel the life in it while we look, and share it as we gaze on the great object of his view. So true is it that we are come even now " to spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of the New Covenant." Ker. The things within affect the outward appearance, and find there perpetual expression. Facial bright- ness, if you have it — and you may have it with any kind of features — what is it but an overflowing from the light of God within } Calmness on the countenance is index to peace in the soul. Benignity appear- ing in the features is the flushing out of indwelling love. Keep soul-brightness, and the smile will some way ripple through. Keep soul-peace, and fear or misery will not settle on your face. Steel your heart with heroic purpose, and you will never go with bloodless lips and coward eye. Love God with heart and soul and strength and mind, and your neighbor as yourself, and you will never need to think of putting up a face-advertisement of what will be found within. The poor will bless you, and the fallen will look up in your face, as they looked in the face of Christ, and see pity and help written there. Be a Christian man through and through, in belief and practice, among fellow-disciples, among worldly people, and the Lord your God will put his " beauty " on you, in one or other of its many forms ; and in some supreme moments of life, in suffering, in trial, in death, may give your friends beholding you the privilege and joy of looking as it were upon the face of an angel. A. R. 1. Hebrews. The Jews of Palestine and Syria, with those who lived on the Tigris and Euphrates, interpreted the Scriptures through the Chaldee paraphrases, and spoke kindred dialects of the language of Aram : and hence they were called Aramcean Jews. Grecians. Of the other part of the nation dispersed through those countries where Greek was spoken, Alexandria was the capi- tal. They used the Septuagint translation of the Bible ; and they were commonly called Hellenists, or Jews of the Grecian speech. The mere difference of language would account in some degree for the mutual dislike with which we know that these two sections of the Jewish race regarded one another. We can not be surprised that, even in the deep peace and charity of the Church's earliest days, this SECTION 200.— ACTS 6 : 1-15. 45 inveterate division reappeared, and that the old jealousy between the Aramaic and Ilellenistic Jews reappeared. A murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, or of the Hebrews against the Gre- cians, had been a common occurrence for at least two centuries; and, notwithstanding the power of the divine Spirit, none will wonder that it broke out again even among those who had become obe- dient to the doctrine of Christ. H. Differences of feeling found expression in con- nection with the ministration to the poorer disciples. The complaint made by the foreign Jews that the widows of their number were neglected was proba- bly just. But there is no implication of ill feeling or intentional injustice on the part of the native Jews who had charge of the daily ministration. These persons could not know the circumstances of the foreign widows, and the latter would not, natu- rally, press the statement upon them. 2-4. The apostles took prompt measures to i-emove the trou- ble. Their plan was to put definite respomihility for this special work upon men of conscience, heart, and eminent godliness. A division of labor was demand- ed at this point, and a new ofiBce grew out of this necessity, as every true office only can grow, or after- wai'd subsist. We note, in passing, an indication here of the advance of the New Testament Church or dispensation over the Old. In the New, measures of administration are planned and set in operation as called for by actual occasion. In the Old, divine laws and ordinances are devised and published in anticipation of both ignorance and need. B. The apostolic institution of the office of deacon seemed to grow naturally out of a providential occasion. That occasion illustrated what was likely to be a common and permanent want of the Church, a want clearly foreseen, no doubt, by those inspired men. It was simply the need of a systematic arrangement for distributing the Church's alms among her needy members equitably and satisfactorily. The apostles intended to secure such provision for needy Chris- tians, in such a way as to relieve themselves of at- tention to it. They were called to the deaconry of the word, and would remit the deaconry of tables to other hands. These phrases illustrate the greater expressiveness of the original, in which one term is applied to both kinds of ministration. Nelson. The method of accomplishing their plan also accorded with the simplicity of the Christian sys- tem, and with the principle of equal personal right everywhere embodied in the gospel. The body of the members were bidden to make the choice of men for the new office, men of good reputation as well as good character, actually held in esteem as wise and true men, indicated as such by the mani- fest Spirit of God in their words and life ; and, fur- ther, qualified by sound practical judgment. In a word, they were to select seven godly men for their aptness in administering these temporal affairs, and for their heart and skill in blending spiritual counsel with help. They were to choose, the apostles to put in place ; how, we shall see. For themselves, the apostles, as ambassadors of Christ, concentrate all the purposes of their self- consecration in these two : prayer, and preaching of the Word. It is the ministry of the Word that God employs to save and sanctify. But it is through prayer, through the actual dependence of the man of God upon God in his actual preparation and utter- ance of the Word, it is through such an unceasing spirit of trusting request, that the minister of the Word receives the guidance and help which are vital to success in his ministering. 5-7. TJie Seven chosen and ordained. Still Greater Expansion of the Church. — Of five of these seven men we know nothing save this record. The names are all Greek. Some, a majority certainly, were " Grecian " or Hellenist Jews ; so that they knew and could help the foreign widows. But some, we infer, were native Jews, since Greek names were also common among these. The " appointing " by the apostles was, in its accompanying worship and in its outward form, simple and significant. There was a recognition of God in the call and appoint- ment, and a resting upon his communicated grace and benediction to make the proposed service effec- tual ; this was the meaning and design of the pray- er. And there was a formal indication of setting apart to office in the name and by the authority of Christ; this was the meaning and design of the laying on of hands. And this is New Testament ordination. Perfect harmony was now restored, and, as be- fore, the power of the Spirit and the Word was more widely exerted. As ever it had been, an earnest, harmonious, praying, and working Church, with a fervent active ministry, rejoiced in a great develop- ment of spiritual life, and in a large increase of disciples. And, as a signal proof of divine con- verting grace, many priests were obedient to the faith ; men whose prejudices against the Christian doctrine were most intense, and who forfeited their birthright position and living upon the avowal of their belief in Christ. This was the culminating point of popularity and power with the primitive Church at Jerusalem. The Sadducees of the San- hedrim had suspended their open persecution — the priesthood and the people were being gradually brought to respect the apostles' influence and to heed their teachings. But, in God's purpose, through men's evil de- sign, there came an assault from the old enemies of Christ, the Pharisees, who since his apprehension had withdrawn from the leadership of the opposi- 46 SECTION' 300.— ACTS 6 : 1-15. tion. The Sadducees had been compelled to cease .their persecution, because the Pharisees had really sided with the apostles in the question at issue — the fact of a resurrection. But the old Pharisaic spirit began to be stirred by the plain preaching of the disciples ; and, mainly through the bold fidelity of Stephen, speaking as his Master had done, a bitter intolerance and hatred grew up afresh among the Pharisees. And again, we shall see, the predomi- nant influence of this sect with the people was suc- cessfully exerted to bring about the killing of the first martyr to Christ and his Cross. 8-10. Skphcn maintains the Faith of Christ against opposing Pharisees. — Brief but beautiful is the story of Stephen ; beautiful because so eminently Christlike in temper, in self-forgetting fidelity to truth and to God, in clear reasoning upon the Old Testament Scriptures, in boldness of warning and directness of accusation, and in the final issue of trial before the same tribunal. Rapidly maturing under the tuition of the Holy Ghost, first, the out- ward gifts of miracle-working are added to his qual- ifications as servitor to the poorer saints, to keep pace with the expanding inward forces of faith and love; then, without formal indication of transfer, the Holy Ghost advanced him to the higher office of ministering the Word, as afterward Philip was simi- larly advanced. The fullness of the power of the Holy Ghost is shown in his discriminating and thor- ough exposition of the Christian doctrines of grace, in comparison with the Old Testament teachings, and in sharp contrast with gross and destructive Pharisaic errors. In his discussions, referred to here, with the men of the synagogues, as in his subsequent defence before the Sanhedrim, he lays down in outline and substance the doctrinal scheme afterward so sublimely expanded and applied by Paul. As a Hellenist or foreign Jew, Stephen was ad- mitted to the synagogues mentioned in verse 9, of one of which he was probably a member. Of the synagogues in Jerusalem, some were established by the foreign Jews for their own use and for that of their sons, sent thither to complete their education at the schools and colleges which in most instances were attached to the synagogues. With the young men of these schools as well as the older members of the synagogues Stephen was thus brought into contact. And it was his decisive and irresistible preaching of Christ crucified and risen that awak- ened such intense hostility on the part of both older and younger adherents of the Pharisaic doctrines, and led to their determined and organized persecu- tion against him. To one of these synagogues, that of the Cilician Jews, the young Saul of Tarsus then belonged ; and the inference is strong, that he was a listener at least to these unrecorded words of Ste- phen, as he almost certainly must have been to the martyr's noble defense before the Sanhedrim. 11-15. The Arrest, Arraignment, and Charge against Stephen. — Failing to find accusing testimony in his words or acts, as they had done with his Mas- ter, these malignant Pharisees sought false witness against him. By circulating the old charge of blas- phemy against Moses and against God, they wakened afresh the hostile feeling of the bigoted people, who instantly joined the elders and scribes (the Pharisaic party) in seizing Stephen and hurrying him tumultu- ously before the Sanhedrim. B. It is evident, from the vivid expression which is quoted from the accusers' mouths — '■'■tliis place^'' " this holy place''' — that the meeting of the Sanhedrim took place in the close neighborhood of the Temple. Their ancient and solemn room of assembly was the hall Gazith, or the " Stone-Chamber," partly within the Temple court and partly without it. The presi- dent sat in the less sacred portion, and around him, in a semicircle, were the rest of the seventy judges. H. (Vol. I., p. 623.) There the charge is repeated and amplified by particulars which serve to unite all classes, Pharisees and Sadducees, rulers and people, in the common purpose of destroying the disciples as they had de- stroyed the Master. Perverting Stephen's language respecting Christ, as before they had perverted Christ's words respecting the Temple, they charge him with speaking against their holy Temple and Law, and with some truth they add, predicting the overthrow of their national customs and worship by " this Jesus of Nazareth." Thus, in the person of Stephen, the issue is joined for the first time but finally between the people, hitherto favorable and friendly to the apostles, and the infant Church or company of believers in Jesus. From thenceforth the great commission takes on its broader terms, and those who bear it know that they who have be- gun its execution in Jerusalem must go forth into neighboring and distant regions. But for the central object of this malignant throng, the arraigned disciple before the already prejudging, condemning tribunal, for him who stands in the Master's place, environed by all the Master's peril, surely destined to the Master's doom, stands he as the Master stood, calm, unflinching, with the Master's promised peace in the heart and manifest upon the countenance ? The record answers : They saw his face as it had hcen the face of an angel! He stood before them seemingly transfigured with a re- flected glory, with the brightness of a seeming pre- ternatural light. And yet, was it other light or halo than came from the inner soul of an already tri- umphant faith and hope in the near prospect of that fulfilled Christ-longing prayer, breathed forth at the moment of his heavenward flight ? B, . SECTION SOL— A CTS 7 : 1-53. 47 Section 201. Acts vii. 1-53. 1 Thex said the high priest, Are these tilings so ? And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, 2 hearken ; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopo- 3 tamia, before he dwelt in Charran, and said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and 4 from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall sliew thee. Then came lie out of the land of the Chaldasans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was 5 dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell. And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give 6 it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child. And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land ; and that they 7 should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years. And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God : and after that shall they come 8 forth, and serve me in this place. And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day ; and Isaac tegat Jacob ; and 9 Jacob tegat the twelve patriarchs. And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into 10 Egypt: but God was with him, and delivered him out of all his aflflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. 11 Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Chanaan, and great affliction : 12 and our fatliers found no sustenance. But vrhen Jacob heard that there was corn in 13 Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. And at the second time Joseph was made known to 14 his brethren ; and Joseph's kindred was made known unto Pharaoh. Then sent Joseph, 15 and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls. So 16 Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, be, and our fathers, and were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of 17 Emmor the father of Sychem. But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God 18 had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt, till another king arose, 19 which knew not Joseph. The same dealt subtilly with our kindred, and evil entreated 20 our fathers, so that they cast out their young children, to the end they might not live. In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father's house 21 three months : and when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son. 22 And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words 23 and in deeds. And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his 24 brethren the children of Israel. And seeing one of them sufler wrong, he defended him^ 25 and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian : for he supposed his breth- ren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them : but they under- 26 stood not.^ And the next day he shewed himself unto them as they strove, and would have set them *at one again, saying. Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another? 27 But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying, "Who made thee a ruler and a 28 judge over us? Wilt thou kill me, as thou didst the Egyptian yesterday? Then fled Moses 29 at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons. And 30 when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an 31 angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush. When Moses saw it, he wondered at the 32 sight: and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came unto him, saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and tiie God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 33 Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold. Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy 34 shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground. I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and 35 am come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send thee into Egypt. This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to 36 Ite a ruler and a delivei-er by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush. He brought them out, after that he had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years. 37 This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A Prophet shall the Lord your 38 God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear. This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, 39 and icith our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us: to whom our fathers 48 SECTION 201.— ACTS 7 : 1-53. ■would not obey, but tlirust liim from them, {md in tlieir hearts turned back again into 40 Egypt, saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us : for as for this Moses, which 41 brought us out of the hmd of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. And they made a calf in those days, and oftered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their 42 own hands. Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven ; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye ottered to me slain 43 beasts and sacrifices ly the space of forty years in the wilderness ? Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them : and I will carry you away beyond Babylon. 44 Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as he had appointed, speak- 45 ing unto Mo'ses, that he should make it accoi'ding to the fashion that he had seen. Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, 46 whom God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David ; who found 47 favour before God, and desired to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob. But Solomon built 48 him an house. Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith 49 the prophet, Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool : what house will ye build me? 50 saith the Lord : or what is the place of my rest? Hath not my hand made all these things? 51 Ye stifinecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost : 52 as your fathers /s, verse 19 — he tells us (Gal. 1 : 17) that he went into Arabia and returned again to Damascus. The interval spent in Arabia comprised nearly the whole of the three years (Gal. 1 : 18) between his conversion and his first visit to Jerusalem. This interval is indi- cated in verse 23 by many or sufficient days. B. As used by Paul (Gal. 1 : 17), Arabia does not ne- cessarily mean the wilderness of Arabia, commonly so called. Early Christian writers assign Damascus itself to Arabia ; and the region of Auranitis, on the south of Damascus, is reckoned by Roman wri- ters as belonging to Arabia. Luke passes over an interval of three years. And it is observable that " many days " are equivalent to three years in 1 K. 2 : 38. W. ■Windows on the Wall — Damascus. Like Moses and Elijah, he seems to have been led into the quiet of the wilderness for a period of needful thought and prayer. Thought upon the Old Testament Scriptures in their new light, upon his own previous career, upon the heavenly vision, the Christ of prophecy now disclosed to him in the person of Jesus of Nazareth ; and prayer for guid- ance, for qualification to serve and teach, for needed inward discipline and training of spirit to do and bear. And gradually, as others are, was he guided by the Holy Spirit into truth. Not by any direct or independent revelation, but in connection with the studied Scriptures and the known facts of Christ's incarnate career. Visions indeed he had, at inter- vals and in emergencies of his after-life. But here he was led to the right apprehension and full mean- ing of the written word, and of the teachings of Christ. The Spirit took of the things of Christ and showed them unto him. Yet let it be remembered that to the three days of blindness, and the three years of thoughtful study and prayer, five years of practice are added before he is fully charged with his great commission. God takes time to prepare those whom he specially employs. 33 -25 • SauVs Escape from Damascus. — Returned again, he goes straightway to the synagogue. With even stronger faith and zeal, as his views of truth were wider, his skill in argument and force of state- ment were such that his old opponents could not meet or refute his teachings. And, since he thor- oughly knew them and their views, his refutation of their errors would be especially pointed and effec- tive. Naturally, therefore, Saul's former associates became his most implacable foes. They conspired with the governor of Damascus to kill him (2 Cor. 11 : 32, 33). But, from the overhanging window of a house upon an unguarded part of the wall, the disciples let him down into the open country, and he made good his first escape from persecuting Jews. The Lord has already begun to show him how great things he niust suffer. 26-29. Brief Visit and Ministry at Jerusa- lem.— Paul's own account of this visit we find in Gal. 1 : 11-18. His chief motive was to see Peter and James. But even these leaders of the apos- tles (and he sought "and saw none besides these two) doubted his sincerity. They would not receive him until Barnabas — who was from Cyprus, not far from Tarsus — who had learned the facts of Saul's conversion, probably from himself, took the new convert to the two, and told them his marvelous story. For only fifteen days the three remained to- gether. B. The first meeting of the fisherman of Galilee and the tent-maker of Tarsus, the chosen companion of Jesus on earth and the chosen Pharisee who saw Jesus in the heavens, the apostle of the circum- cision and the apostle of the Gentiles, is passed over in Scripture in a few words. The divine record does not linger in dramatic description on those passages, which a mere human writing would labor to embellish. What took place in the intercourse of these two saints, what was said of Jesus of Naza- reth, who suffered, died, and was buried, and of Jesus, the glorified Lord, who had risen and as- cended, and become " Head over all things to the Church," what was felt of Christian love and devo- tion, what was learned under the Spirit's teaching of Christian truth, has not been revealed and can not be known. H. SECTIOX 206.— ACTS 9 : 31-1 67 Boldly and effectively he proved his divine mis- sion in presence of these veteran apostles. Boldly he entered the very synagogue of the Grecians where Stephen had taught, and effectively preached the same Jesus of Nazareth, conclusively refuting all opposing argument. And again, as their only way of silencing, they seek to slay him ! 30. Sent to his Native City. — Not merely the Modern Tarsus. counsel of the two apostles, but a positive command of Christ (Acts 22 : 18-21), led Saul to leave Jeru- salem and go to his own home. Another long inter- val in Saul's history here occurs, during which we only know that he remained in comparative retire- ment, preaching simply as other disciples did, without special appointment or formal ordination, as occa- sion called or the leading of the Spirit prompted. B. The early chapters of the Acts are like the nar- ratives in the Gospels. It is often hardly possible to learn how far the events related were contempo- rary or consecutive. It is impossible to determine the relations of time which subsist between Paul's retirement into Arabia and Peter's visit to the con- verted Samaritans, or between the journey of one apostle from Joppa to Cesarea and the journey of the other from Jerusalem to Tarsus. H. The interval of uncertain length, which he spent in Cilicia and Syria, after his flight from Jerusalem to Tarsus, is a blank in the story of the Acts ; but some refer to this period the chief part at least of the perils and sufferings which he recounts to the Corinthians, including two Roman and five Jewish scourgings and three shipwrecks. At all events, we may safely regard this as the great probationary period of the apostle's ministry, in which, laboring alone and unaided by man, he was specially pre- pared for the wide field to which he was called when Barnabas came to Tarsus to seek his aid for the work at Antioch. S. Section 206. Acts ix. 31-43. 81 Then had the churches rest throughout all Judsea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edi- fied ; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were mul- tiplied. 32 And it came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all quarters, he came down also to the 33 saints which dwelt at Lydda. And there he found a certain man named ^neas, which had 34 kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy. And Peter said unto him, ^neas, Jesus 68 SECTION S06.—ACTS 9 : 31-43. 35 Christ maketh thee whole : arise, and make thy bed. And he arose immediately. And all that dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him, and turned to the Lord. 36 Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is 37 called Dorcas : this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did. And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died : whom when they had washed, they 88 laid her in au upper chamber. And forasmuch as Lydda was nigh to Joppa, and the disci- ples had heard that Peter was there, they sent unto him two men, desiring him that he 89 would not delay to come to them. Then Peter arose and went with them. "When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber : and all the widows stood by him weeping, 40 and shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them. But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed ; and turning hijn to the body said, 41 Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes : and when she saw Peter, she sat up. And he gave her his hand, and lifted her up, and when he had called the saints and widows, 42 presented her alive. And it was known throughout all Joppa ; and many believed in the 43 Lord. And it came to pass, that he tarried many days in Joppa with one Simon a tanner. " Tabitha was not a fashion-plate, but a model for every Christian female." She " looked echo on the things of others" helped to bear the burdens of others, and " so fulfilled the law of Christ." Her methods were appropriate and womanly, as her spirit was Christlike. By this record not only, but by manifold or- ganizations and bands that have wrought a similar work of love in every Christian age and nation, Dorcas being dead hath spoken and yet speaketh. She is one of three women (Mk. 12 : 44 ; 14 : 9) whose self- consecration was shown in their gifts and deeds, and whose memorial and eulogy have gone wheresoever the gospel has been preached. B. Dorcas died regretted ; she was worth regretting, she was worth being restored, she had not lived in vain because she had not lived for herself. The end of life is not a thought, but an action — action for others. But you, why should you be regretted ? Have you discovered spiritual truth like Paul ? Have you been brave and true in defending it, like Peter ; or cheered desolate hearts, like Ananias ; or visited the widow and the fatherless in their affliction, like Dorcas ? If you have, your life will leave a trace which will not soon be effaced from the earth. But, if not, what is your worthless self-absorbed existence good for but to be swept away and forgotten as soon as possible ? You will leave no record of yourself on earth except a date of birth and a date of death, with an awfully significant blank between. F. W. R. 31. 77ie Upbuilding and Inci'ease of the Church in the Three Provinces. — This verse is a point of transition in the history. After brief statement of Saul's conversion and early ministry, Luke's narra- tive returns for two or three chapters to further incidents in Peter's career. No points of time are given in either case, as they were not needful to the purpose of the revelation. This purpose (and it should be carefully noted) was to show, by these few specific incidents, in lohat manner, and how rapidly, and widely, the gospel was carried through the land, how effectively it ivas preached, and with what won- derfid results in the conversion of men and the for- mation of churches. Many " had gone everywhere preaching the word," and founding communities of believers. So we find churches in Judca, Samaria, and even in far Galilee — this in spite of persecution, and as its indirect effect in scattering abroad disci- ples filled with the Holy Ghost. The " rest," or interval of freedom from perse- cution, here referred to, grew out of an intense excitement, which for a considerable period ab- sorbed the whole thought of the Jewish rulers and people. B. About this time a more urgent and immediate danger than the progress of Christianity occupied the mind of the Jewish people. The very existence of their religion was threatened, for the frantic Caligula had issued orders to place his statue in the Temple at Jerusalem. The historian of the Jews must relate the negotiations, the petitions, the artful and humane delays interposed by the prefect Petronius, and all the incidents which show how deeply and universally the nation was absorbed by this appalling subject. It caused, no doubt, a diver- sion in favor of the Christians ; and the temporary peace enjoyed by the churches is attributed, with great probability, rather to the fears of the Jews for their own religious independence, than to the relaxation of their hostility against the Christians. This peace was not disturbed for about three years. The apostles pursued their office of disseminating the gospel in every part of Judea until Herod Agrippa took possession of the hereditary domin- ions. Milman. SECTION 206.— ACTS 9 : 31-1 60 ^ And so, through the providence of God, his peo- ple had needed quiet. The result of quiet is two- fold. They were edified, or built up ; referring to the inward life, not the outward organization. Ad- vanced and strengthened internally, they ravi^Q prog- ress in spiritual life and its fruits. And they were multiplied, increased in the number of the saved. Mark the conditions of this increase ! The walking, or going on and forward, actively meeting daily du- ties. Walking in the fear of the Lord, with filial reverence and obedience at heart. And walking in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, in the soul's resting upon the helpful interposition of the Iloly Spirit at every needful point — this is the meaning of " com- fort," as it is of " comforter " (the same word), ap- plied by Christ to the Holy Ghost. These condi- tions fulfilled, inwardly strengthen, advance, and make fruitful the Church ; they increase the vital force, they expand the graces, and make larger and richer the fruitage of the heliever''s life. 32-35. The 3firaculous Healing of Eneas at Lydda, and its Blessed Results. — Peter's visit at Lydda and stay at Joppa (see map, p. 61) probably oc- curred while Saul was at Tarsus. Nothing like apostolic circuits or visitations seems to be even hinted at in the Acts until we reach Paul's history, Lydda— the Modern Village. and that is purely exceptional in this matter, grow- ing out of his exclusive appointment and work as the apostle to the Gentiles. As a body the apostles remained at Jerusalem controlling and guiding the general movements of the new Christian body or church. So Christ had ordained. But individual apostles, like other individual disciples, went as they were called by the Holy Ghost, upon specific mis- sions. In such a mission Peter was now engaged, and in his journeying arrives at Lydda, an inland village a few (six) miles from Joppa. There he seeks the saints— a, Scriptural term, and therefore a proper one if properly employed — signifying the holy ; and descriptive of believers, all of whom are called to he saints. Among them — the connection implies — he finds a man for eight years crippled with palsy. There is here no testing or prompting of faith, as in the case of unbelievers, by question or address (Acts 3 : 4). But, addressing him as one who alreadv be- lieves, he simply announces a gracious, joyful fact : Jesics Christ makeih thee lohole ! For proof of this, the command is added : " Arise, and make thy bed." The doing for himself what for eight years had been done for him was conclusive evidence that his infirmity was gone and his strength restored. The widespread results of this miraculous heal- ing furnish yet further verification of Christ's words (John 14 : 12), that greater works than His should be done in his name. Not only in Lydda, but over the broad, fertile, and beautiful plain of Sharon — reaching from Cesarea to Joppa — the tidings of the cure and the name of Jesus the healer were spread by grateful believing disciples, and many of the multitudes that dwelt in that vast re- gion received Christ and were enrolled as his disci- ples. 36-42. The Character, Death, and raising to Life of Dorcas, and the Result wrought in Joppa. — Joppa (" beautiful "), on a high hill of the Mediter- ranean coast, distant forty miles from Jerusalem, was its seaport from the time of Solomon. This disciple of Christlike spirit was called Tabitha in the Aramaic tongue, used by the Jews, and Dorcas by the Greeks. The name signifies " gazelle," and, as an image of peculiar attractiveness, was often appropriated as a proper name for females. Though nothing is said of her faith, she had faith, for she was a true disciple. More and better, she proved faith's possession by its u'orJcs. Her life was actively employed in helping disciples and oth- ers. She wrought with her hands, and gave from 70 SECTION 201.— ACTS 10 : 1-23. her store for the supply of poor and needy ; espe- cially for toidoics, who in that period and country were in peculiar need. That her motive was utter- ly single and unselfish, we know from the common high sentiment concerning her. When she died, this sentiment was at once manifest. All the Chris- tian fellowship was moved to the deepest grief. In their yearning for comfort, and if possible for help in some unknown way from God, they instantly send to Peter, six miles oif, asking that he hasten to do what he can in their grief and need. As they de- sired, Peter came at once, arriving before the inter- ment, which ordinarily takes place on the day of death in the East. The body lay in an upper chamber, and was sur- rounded by " saints and widows," that is, by fellow disciples and by those she had helped. With a natural and tender touch, Luke tells how these Jaffa— Ancient Joppa. grieving but grateful beneficiaries recited her me- morial. But Peter puts them all forth. He would be alone with God, especially when he had so great a request to urge, so mighty a boon to obtain. Kneeling down, he prayed ! The spirit of the pray- er, its intense fervor and its energy of faith, and the motive which he urged, the greater glory of Christ, we may know by the assurance given to Peter by the Holy Ghost — that inward assurance by which he was prompted to say, " Tabitha, arise." His faith was in the divine power, and his word was guided by the divine spirit. In response to his faith, im- mediately upon the utterance of his word, " she opened her eyes," and her spirit came again. To those who mourned her dead, " saints and widows, he presented her alive." And joy takes the place of mourning. In all this, not Peter, but Peter's Lord, is glorified. Therefore it was that, when the people of Joppa heard of this restored life of Dorcas, many heeded the preaching of Jesus the Restorer, and be- lieved in him unto a higher, even an everlasting life. 43. Simon Peter tarries in the House of the Taii- ner Simon. — " Many days," indicating a sufficient period for tlie work to be done, in connection with his stay there. The tanner's business — that of pre- paring skins for different uses — was an unclean one, and therefore dishonorable in Jewish estimation, because it required contact with dead animals. But Peter's Judaism is already so much modified, and his apprehension of Christ's exposures of Pharisaic interpretation so clear, that he is willing to risk the unclcanness and the dishonor, by sharing the home and table of his namesake, the hospitable Christian tanner. B. Section 207. Acts x. 1-23. 1 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the 2 Italian land, a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much 3 alms to the people, and i)rayed to God alway. He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God toming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. 4 And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, Wliat is it, Lord ? And he said unto 5 him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. And now send 6 men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: he lodgetli with one Simon SECTION 207.— ACTS 10:1-23. 71 7 a tanner, whose house is by the sea side : he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do. And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household 8 servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually ; and when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa. 9 On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went 10 up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: and he became very hungry, and would 11 have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, and saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, 12 and let down to the earth: wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and 13 wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him, 14 Else, Peter ; kill, and eat. But Peter said. Not so. Lord ; for I have never eaten any thing 15 that is common or unclean. And the voice spa^e unto him again the second time, What 16 God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. This was done thrice: and the vessel was 17 received up again into heaven. Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made en- 18 quiry for Simon's house, and stood before the gate, and called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there. 19 While Peter thought on the vision, the Spii'it said unto him. Behold, three men seek thee. 20 Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing : for I have sent 21 them." Then Peter went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius; and 22 said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek: what is the cause wherefore ye are come? And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all tlie nation of the Jews, was warned from God by an holy angel to send for thee 23 into his house, and to hear words of thee. Then called he them in, and lodged them. And on the morrow Peter went away with them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him. Alms and prayers are branches from a common stem, -which binds them together. That stem is the moral law of God ; that law to which, though it be not the covenant under which (as Christian men) we live, we must yet be conformed as a rule of life. The law branches out into two great precepts — supreme and mibounded love to God, and love to our neighbor as to ourselves. Now, the man who really and habit- ually prays, the man who lives in tlie spirit of prayer, fulfills the first great branch of duty. True spirit- ual prayer — " the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man," such as was that of Cornelius — is the outcome and expression of a man's duty to God. Such prayer is called in Scripture " incense " ; partly from its reaching the throne of grace, even as incense when kindled soars up to the sky ; partly from its spiritual fragrance and acceptability. " Let my prayer be set forth in thy sight as the incense.'^ And the man who gives alms, in the true spirit of almsgiving, is equally fulfilling the second great branch of duty. Devout almsgiving — such as was that of Cornelius, who " gave much alms to the people " — is the outcome and expression of a man's duty to his neighbor. Yet think not that the act passes no further than to our neighbor. It too, no less than prayer, comes up before God as a memorial. It too, no less than prayer, finds in the fragrant, soaring incense its Scriptural emblem and type. E. M. G. Not only was God's covenant made with the Jew- ish nation, not only did he intrust that nation with his word and ordinances of worship, not only was Christ a Jew, and as he affirmed, " salvation was of the Jews," but the frst Christian disciples^ and the entire membership of the first Chrhtian Church up to this period, were members of the Jewish Church, by descent or adoption. They were all imbued with the prevalent Jewish belief, respecting the essential importance of the leading Mosaic rites. They were filled with the Jewish feeling of their immense su- periority as God's people over all other nations. It seemed natural to them, therefore, when Christianity was to be introduced among the Gentiles (and they knew that all nations were to receive the gospel), that it should be introduced under Jewish auspices and in connection with long venerated Jewish forms. The apostles, with others, were still imbued with these conceits and prejudices. Before God's work among the Gentijes can be begun, these teachers must be taught ; their narrow, erroneous notions removed. First and emphatically they must Icnoio that in Christ Jesus the Gentile is equal to, is one with the Jew : " a fellow-heir, of the 72 SECTION 207.— ACTS 10 : 1-23. same body, and partaker of the same promise by the gospel." And this is the lesson conveyed by the vision to Peter, the man strongest in feeling and pre- judice, the foremost, most energetic, whole-souled in active obedience, among the body of apostles. More fully afterward, and frequently, the same needed lesson was taught. It is conveyed to Peter in the first act of transi- tion in the ministry of the gospel, from the Jew to the Gentile. A period this of marked significance, as a" turning-point in the history of the Christian Church. And because so necessary, at this eminent juncture, to prepare the body of apostles and disci- ples for right ministry among the Gentiles, God added supernatural means to the natural. He con- nected a miraculous vision with many providences. As respects the latter, it is interesting to note how events are linked in with each other by God's plan and providence. Lydda was nigh to Joppa, so Peter was called from Lydda. . Now, Joppa is so nigh to Cesarea that he is called from Joppa. Yet it is the Lord and the Lord's work that call. So God ever marshals providences in the way and for the dis- charge of our duty. Another point worthy of note is the analogy be- tween this bringing together of Peter and Cornelius and that of Saul and Ananias. Each was prefaced with a double and responsive vision, and with in- struction, from God ; and a hindering difficulty re- moved from the minds of Ananias and Peter. 1} 2. The Posilioii and Character of Cornelius. — Cesarea, on the Mediterranean coast, about thirty •miles north of Joppa and sixty northwest from Je- rusalem, was lavishly built by Ilerod the Great, and made his residence and the civil and military capital of Judea. Now, it was the seat of the Roman pro- curators or governors, as is frequently intimated in the Acts. 13. The gospel made its first conquest over heathenism in this large city, named from the Roman Caesar, a military stronghold and naval ar- senal of the Roman power. And it made that con- quest over a soldier called Cornelius, one of the noblest of Roman names — an officer of the Italic band — a cohort of Roman blood. In his conversion we may see a prophetic intimation of the submission of the great Fourth Monarchy to the mild yoke of the gospel. Devout. A worshiper of one God, in contradistinction to polytheists and idolators. In the providence of God, the military successes of the Macedonian and Roman monarchies had impaired the local reverence for national deities, and had cleared the ground for the planting of a purer faith. The diffusion of the Hebrew Scriptures and the de- composition of paganism had tended to produce a class of persons in all parts of the world who may bo said to have been the seminary of the Gentile ■ Church. These were " the devout," or God-fearing, of the Acts. Tired of polytheism, and yet unwilling to subject themselves to the ceremonial law, these " God-fearing " men received with joy the tidings of the gospel ; they recognized in Christianity a religion which satisfied the wants of their nature, the re- quirements of their reason, and the yearnings of their hearts, without impairing any of the reverence with which they had learned to regard the God of the Old Testament, but rather, and much more, en- larging the ideas they had already conceived of his merciful purposes and glorious atti'ibutes. The apostles everywhere in their journeys met with this class of proselytes. W. Three centurions of the New Testament are re- ferred to as favoring the truth, either in the person of Christ — as the centurion of Capernaum, and the witness of the crucifixion — or, as in this case, under such forms as the truth bad been brought to his knowledge. The character here given him is spe- cially attractive when we consider that he was only a ti'uth-loving and -seeking man, looking for and tak- ing it where he could find it, and voluntarily finding and accepting enough from the Jewish Scriptures and worship to make him devout — that is, to lead him to the true and filial fear and personal worship of God. Such a man we have here. Like Abraham, he influenced his household by imparting his own convictions of duty and worship. To God's poor or to God's call, he consecrated a portion of God's in- trusted gifts. And in all, in the ordering of his own life, in the guidance of his household, and in his helpful alms, he looked upward (?bntinually for divine direction, acceptance, and blessing. All this is conveyed by the statement of inspiration. Only partially is he taught, but he heartily receives and faithfully acts out all he had learned of God and his will. And how many the evidences in all mission- ary history that God prepares heathen hearts for his gospel, and that with but little of truth and without specific human instrumentality he takes possession of many such hearts ! 3-6. Cornelius is instructed by an Angel o/ God, in a Vision. — At the afternoon hour of prayer, or three o'clock, while himself at prayer, there ap- peared coming in to him a human form, marked in some manner intelligibly to him as a messenger from another world. To the certain sight and to the audi- ble call of this supernatural' being, the alarmed cen- turion uttered the briefest question in response. . Two things are conveyed in the angel's message. Both intimate a superhuman knowledge : one in re- gard to the internal acting of the mind of God, the other in regard to God's will respecting the two men, Cornelius and Peter. First he says, God has heard thy prayers and beheld thy gifts, and he remembers both. Tins direct assurance, for the encouragement and greater trust of the centurion, none other than SECTION 207.— ACTS 10 : 1-23. 73 a heavenly messenger could give. Next, he directs Cornehus to send for Peter as his instructor, merely using his own superior knowledge to inform the cen- turion where the apostle was to be found. But, be- sides the simple encouraging assurance, the angel teaches him nothing. He is only a celestial guide to a human teacher! Because the occasion is so great and prophetic, the first opening of the fold-door to the " other sheep " of the great Good Shepherd, or the first breaking down of the middle wall of parti- tion between Jew and Gentile, therefore it is sig- nalized by the sending of this messenger from heaven. But even God's angels, while they joyfully and triumphantly herald the advent, redemption, and glory of the Incarnate Son, have no part in the direct ministry of the gospel. For this ministry he exclusively uses and honors a human instrumentality. 7, 8. Obedient to the Vision, Cornelius sends Three Messengers to Peter. — Gladly and instantly he obeys the divine direction. He selects and sum- mons two household servants and a soldier of his band, all in sjTnpathy with his devout feeling and life, to whom he could therefore fully 'infold the vision and intelligently commit the peculiar errand and message. And on the same afternoon, the three men start for Joppa, arriving on the next day soon after noon. B. Cornelius was in Cesarea and Peter in Joppa — the Roman soldier in the modern city, which was built and named in the Emperor's honor — the Jew- ish apostle in the ancient seaport which associates its name with the early passages of Hebrew history — with the voyage of Jonah, the building of the Temple, the wars of the Maccabees. All the splen- dor of Cesarea, its buildings and its ships, and the Temple of Rome and the Emperor, which the sailors saw far out at sea, all has long since vanit-hcd. Herod's magnificent city is a wreck on the shore. A few ruins are all that remain of the harbor. Joppa lingers on, like the Jewish people, dejected but not destroyed. Cesarea has perished, like the Roman Empire which called it into existence. H. Ruins of Cesarea. (From the north.) 9-16. What Peter sav> while in a Trance. — On the next day at noon, within half an hour of the arrival of the centurion's messengers, Peter sought the secluded house-top, to lift his vision and heart heavenward, as he was wont. After his prayer, it would seem, while waiting the call to the noonday meal and craving food, the trance, or supernatural absorption of mind upon themes supernaturally suggested, took place. He saw heaven open — not, as Stephen, the heavens — but that bound of the visible upper sky which we call heaven, and above which we place the region of God's dwelling-place. Within the immense folds of a vast seemingly woven fabric, knit together by four suspending cords, and rapidly lowered from the cleft sky to the level of Peter's vision, he saw all manner of clean and unclean animals. And he heard a voice sum- moning him to kill and eat. To his respectful but distinct demur, that he could not partake that which v.-as ceremonially unclean, the voice sharply forbade him call that unclean which God had made clean. No instruction by symbol could possibly be clearer, more decisive than this. The very method of it, the suddenness, swiftness, and repetition in the descent and ascent of this vast sheeted fabric with its strange contents, and the shortness and sharpness of the command and reproof, all were admirably suited to Peter's strong nature. More than the other apostles, and for them, he needed just such plain teaching. And he could neither mis- understand nor forget it, when the immediate event made its interpretation clear, and even lent after- force to the vision itself. B. There was then a distinction between clean and unclean, indicated by the calling of Abjaham, but more explicitly by the Levitical rites and laws ; yet appointed from the beginning, for we read of it in the time of Noah ; a distinction applicable to men, to food, to dwellings, to land, to animals. This dis- 74 SECTION 207.— ACTS 10 : 1-23. tinction was made by God for special ends, but at Christ's death the distinction had served its purpose. God interposed, and threw down the middle wall of partition ; not rejecting the Jew, yet accepting the Gentile ; not obliterating national distinctions, but making these no longer of any importance, and at- taching to them no spiritual or religious privilege. Without lowering the Jew, he lifted up the Gentile ; not making the Jew unclean, but the Gentile clean ; so that from that time there should be (so far as access to God was concerned) " neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free." In the vision or trance, Peter was taught that the Gentile was now made as clean as the Jew ; that God had done it, and that even he, though the apostle of the circumcision, must at once accept the verdict. Bonar. 17-20. The Ilessengers arrive, and the Spirit inst}~ucts Peter. — While he pondered the vision, the three men from Cornelius stand at Simon's door asking for Peter. This the apostle learns not from any human summons, but from the intimation of the same Divine Spirit who had previously produced the audible voice. The vision is thus linked with the three visitors and their errand. And the connection is confirmed by the positive Divine direction, that Peter should return with these men whither they went, and the conclusive assurance that the Holy Ghost had sent them on this errand. No explana- tion of the vision has been offered. But Peter is bidden to obey certain directions, to do something, and in the doing all his questions about the vision were to be resolved. Here is the same principle we meet at every step in the histories of the Old and New Testaments. It is that obedience leads to knowledge. " We shcdl know if we follow on.^^ If any one wills to do God's will, he shall knoiv. In what follows we find this principle again verified. Both Peter and Cornelius, in their implicit following of the Spirit's directions, learn that which they desire to know, and with knowledge receive larger grace. B. Points of Usefid Thought. — We miss very much devotional joy, by the neglect oi fragmentary prayer. In the intervals which separate periodical seasons of devotion, we need a habit of offering up brief ejacu- latory expressions of devout feeling. The morning and the evening sacrifice depend very much upon these interspersed offerings, as these in return are dependent on those. Communion with God in both is assisted by linking the " set times " together by a chain of heavenward thoughts and aspirations, in the breaks which occur in our labors and amusements. Nothing else can do this so naturally as the habit of ejaculatory prayer. The spirit of prayer may run along the line of such a habit through a lifetime. So one may live in a state of prayer, " a devout man that prays always." A. P. The eyes which run through the whole earth be- hold also the searching soul struggling for life and light which it can not procure for itself. To the up- right there ariseth light in the darkness ; yet by de- grees, through the use of means, only and alone through the preaching of a full and free gospel, of which Christ is the center, peace the basis, and grace the glad" tidings. This man who fears God and worketh righteousness is pleasing to him, not in order that he may remain what he is, but that by the way of faith and repentance he may be re- ceived into the kingdom of God, without which there is no safety for those who in themselves are lost. Van 0. Cornelius was recompensed for his prayers and alms by the visit of an angel, by the visit of an apostle, by the glad tidings of the gospel, and, to crown all, by the gift of the Holy Ghost. How striking an instance of the large and munificent scale on which God responds to the desires and ef- forts which his own free grace has prompted — of his "giving more" (as is his wont) "than either we desire or deserve " ! How wonderful a fulfill- ment of the promise made by our Lord both to secret alms and secret prayers — " Thy Father, which seeth in secret, himself shall reward thee openly." E. M. G. Beneficence or almsgiving is always remembered of God, and ranks in his estimate with prayer or direct worship. It is counted a vital part of that obedience which is worship in act or life. It comes from the heart equally with that worship which finds expression in uttered prayer and praise. Prayer and alms equally show the presence of an operative faith and a living active love. The diversity of God's methods and the special adaptation of each to his particular purpose are il- lustrated in this case of Cornelius as compared with that of Saul. An obscure disciple baptized and re- ceived into the Church the great apostle to the Gentiles ; and this because God would have his ministry from the first free from all human depen- dence. But this first pagan disciple, a purely Gentile member of the Christian Church, was received into Church fellowship, not even by Philip the evangelist who lived at Cesarea, but by the foremost of the apostles ; and this because God would throw around an event so signal, prophetic, and glorious — the re- ceiving of this first-fruit of a world harvest — all that could give it impressiveness and significance ! B. Douhting nothing ! That is the secret of liberty, of efficiency, of success in every work which is un- dertaken by men: a confidence in the practicability, in the value of the work, in the Divine authority which imposes it upon us as an obligatory work, and in the Divine providence and power which will bring it to a successful performance. R. S. Si SECTION ms.— ACTS 10: 2Jf-li8. ■ 75 Section 208. Acts x. 24-48. 24 And the morrow after they entered into Ceesarea, And Cornelius waited for them, and 25 had called together his kinsmen and near friends. And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius 2G met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped Jiim. But Peter took him up, saying, 27 Stand up ; I myself also am a man. And as he talked with him, he went in, and found 28 many that were come together. And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlaw- ful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation ; 29 hut God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean. Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for: I ask therefore for what 30 intent ye have sent for me? And Cornelius said. Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in 31 bright clothing, and said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remem- 32 brance in the sight of God. Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose sur- name is Peter; he is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the sea side: who, when 33 he Cometh, shall speak unto thee. Immediately therefore I sent to thee ; and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God. 34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of 35 persons : but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted 36 with him. The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus 37 Christ: (he is Lord of all:) that word ye know, which was published throughout all 38 Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached ; how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power : who went about doing good, and 39 healing all that were oppressed of the devil ; for God was with him. And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem ; whom they slew 40 and hanged on a tree : him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly ; not to 41 all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink 42 with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to ie the Judge of quick and dead. 43 To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. 44 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell an all them which heard the 45 word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. 46 For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can 47 any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy 48 Ghost as well as we ? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days. Truth and mercy and self-devotion in men are greater than all miracles, and have the very essence of God in them. Therefore we are bound to thank him for every disinterested act performed by any man, for every generous and heroic deed, for the search after truth, simply because it is truth, by those great minds that seek her as hid treasure, for unpaid devotion to the cause of suffering and want, for the blessed feet that seek out shame and sin, and the lips that plead with them to bring them home contrite and forgiven. These are all testimonies to the greatness of the soul of man, and therefore to the being of God. Those footsteps are echoes of the feet of him who went about doing good, and help us to believe that he once walked our earth, /ler. In every nation, now that Jesus Christ has come, there is an equal access to the open door for every tongue and tribe and people. Under this new and heavenly reign of light and love which has been set up, all are free citizens. There are no external disqualifications. There are no internal incapabilities for 76 SECTION 20S.—AGTS 10 : U-J18. being saved. All this Peter had just found out in a peculiar way, the vision of the four-cornered sheet three times let down from heaven, to show him that the ceremonial distinctions of things to be lawfully eaten, symbols of all other natural disqualifications, were abolished. The Gentile world which God has now liberated from its long neglect, " call not thou common." But go to it, preach to it, respect and love human nature in Cesarca just as much as in Jerusalem or Bethany : there is no difference. The gospel is no respecter of persons. Christ died for all. F. 11. D. 24-33. After the narrative of the first Christian Pentecost, the second book of Luke scarcely contains a picture which in beauty and interest can be placed above that of the reception into the Church of Cor- nelius and his household. It is the history of the Gentile day of Pentecost. Moment worthy of eter- nal remembrance, when the first Gentile threshold was crossed for the first time by the feet of them who published peace, and the earliest beam of light- dawned on the land of the shadow of death ! Van 0. The three messengers from Cornelius tarried over night in tho house of Simon at Joppa. On the next morning Peter departed with them for Cesarea, a distance of thirty Roman miles. Six Jewish Chris- tians of Joppa voluntarily accompanied him. The journey required a day and a half ; so that they reached Cesarea the day following, or the fourth day after the vision of Cornelius. The centurion, anticipating the time of their ar- rival, had called together a considerable company, from his own and other friendly Gentile households. Whatever blessing is to come, he would extend its effects to as many as he could reach. Regarding Peter as one directly and especially sent of God, his mind ingrained with the Roman notion of deifying such ambassadors from heaven, the centurion would have rendered divine honors to the apostle upon his entrance. But instantly Peter checked his purpose, gave him his hand, and bade him stand ; assuring him that he himself was only a man. After a mo- ment's friendly converse, Peter went in to the gath- ered company. Without further reference to Cor- nelius, he first accounts for his — to them strange — presence, a Jew among Gentiles, by frankly declar- ing that God had taken away his Jewish prejudice ; had taught him that all nations were equally accept- able to Him. Ue then asks why they have sum- moned him. To this question Cornelius replies by reciting his vision of the fourth afternoon before — the direction he had received, and his obedience to it — and then expresses the readiness of all present to hear all things commanded of God for Peter's ut- terance. 34, 35, Peter^s Introduction: all Men and Na- tions alike before God. — The singular coincidence of the two miraculous visions, and the manifest spirit and desire of this company of Gentile souls, at once deepened into strong settled assurance the^new view God had taught him of the relation of the Gentiles to the Gospel. And this conviction naturally first finds utterance, " I have thoroughly learned this, that God looks favorably upon Gentile and Jew alike, and on the single condition of filial fear in the heart, and integrity in the life." But Peter stops not here. His new knowledge of something that had always been true could not help Cortielius. If he had no more to say he need not have come. For if alms and prayers, with a devout and beneficent life, were sufficient for a man's justification before God, then this man and his company need no " words " of Peter " telling them how they may be saved." If Cornelius himself (not merely his pray- ers and alms) had been already accepted by God, then neither vision nor angel, neither Peter nor his gospel of Christ, neither divine nor human baptism would have been necessary or appropriate. But Peter saw in this " fearing God and working right- eousness " only the indications that God had been preparing these devout hearts for the further es- sential knowledge of Christ, in his sacrificing life and death, his resurrection and exaltation ; and for the instant glad acceptance of this justifying Saviour. And this is the " Word " he proceeds to preach. 3G, 37. Substance of the Word preached, cmd the Sphere of its Proclamation thus far. — That Word God had sent to the children of Israel, and it had been published from the Baptist's coming in all the coun- try of the Jews. These general facts they knew. But the substance of that Woj-d, which they did not know, he here frsf sums up, in a clause and an included parenthesis : preaching peace by Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all). No single word expresses so well and winningly the very heart of the gospel, in its design and effect upon human souls, as this word '^^ peace." It is God's peace, for there is no other. And the giver is God, in the person of Jesus Christ his Son. There is no other giver, for He is Lord over all souls. And this proclamation of peace provided and prof- fered to men in their disquiet — disquiet because of sin and its consequent misery — fully meets, and it alone meets, the deepest most vital craving of the disturbed heart. How winning, how blessed then this divine gospel, with this its great disclosure — Christ, God over all, in good-will to men, bringiiig peace upon earth! 38-43. The Particulars of this Published Divine Gospel, the Facts of Chrid's Incarnate Career, here testified to by Peter, and referred back to Previous SECTIOX 20S.—ACTS 10 : 2it-JiS. Ti Testimony by (he Prophets. — The same facts that he ha^s heretofore preached to Jews of every degree, he declares to this first audience of Gentiles. While he asserts Christ's Lordship over men, and his ordina- tion as Judge of quick and dead in the great and final assize, he yet declares His humanity by the name Jesus of Nazareth, and tells of His ignomini- ous death by hanging on a tree. By His anointment " with the Holy Ghost and with power," the apostle intimates Christ's three- fold functions as God's appointed prophet, priest, and king for men, for only these three were anoint- ed among men. His beneficent and blessed ministry is summed up in the simple but sublime record : He icent about doing good! To all his marvels of divine power in healing and in casting out devils, to (dl his deeds of mercy and help, the apostle here interjects the fact that he himself was witness. Also His death upon the Cross, and His resurrec- tion upon the third day, Peter declares. And here again he refers to his own personal witness and knowledge. He states a fact that thoughtful read- ers of the Gospel history have noticed, but which is nowhere stated in that history. It is that the risen Saviour showed himself only to disciples, never to unbelievers. The single object of the showing was to secure ivitnesses enough and of sucB a charac- ter as could testify and as leould be credited. Such witnesses could not be found among unbelievers. They could only be found among honest disciples, and that after testimony strong and conclusive enough to overbear their previous honest doubt and unbelief. And the witnesses of Christ's beautiful and blessed life, they who had companied with him during the brief period of his ministry to men, who had known of his condemnation and death by the Cross, who had beheld him arisen and saw him as- cend to heaven, these chosen witnesses (of whom Peter was one of the foremost) Christ had commis- sioned to speak unto all people that uhieh they knew, and to testify that they had seen ; and to declare that He, the ascended Redeemer, should finally reappear as the Judge of the quick and dead. Lastly, to complete, confirm, and crown these details of Christ's oSice-work on earth and in heaven, the apostle de- clares the sublime end and object of all : that whoso- ever lelieveth in Him sJiall receive remission of sins. This, he affirms, is the witness of the prophets to Christ, thereby asserting that this is the ultimate supreme fact of the Old and New Testament Gospel. Tlie same Being wlio is Lord a7id Judge of all is the Saviour of all that trust in Him. This Lord and Saviour — in his incarnate life of love, his death of shame, and his glorious resurrection and ascension, already often preached to Jewish rulers and people — by express command of God Peter now preached to this first-gathered company of Gentiles. And similar are the results which ensue. 44-48. Gentiles receive the Holy Ghost and are baptized, tchile Believing Jews stand amazed. — The prayers of Cornelius find now abundant answer. In the preaching of Christ all is revealed that he sought to know and receive. And not the centurion alone; but the whole Gentile company gathered at his call, listened, heeded, believed, and received the of- fered Saviour. And now, as of ttiraes before upon Jewish multitudes, upon these first-fruits of the Gentiles descended the fullness of the power of the Holy Ghost, quickening, converting, and endowing with limited supernatural gifts. It was the Pentecost of the Gentiles, and they also spake with tongues, and magnified the grace of God in their salvation. This outpouring of the Spirit upon pagan hearers is the significant fact emphasized in the whole nar- rative. All the previous occurrences by miracle and providence had been definitely arranged to give the utmost pi'ominence and significance to the introduc- tion of the Gentiles into the Christian Church. And this mainly to make the deepest impression upon the minds of cdl Jewish disciples, apostles and Church members alike ; to produce an unquestioniig con- viction that from henceforth the middle wall of par- tition between Jew and Gentile was, by God's own purpose and hand, for ever broken down. How much needed was this lesson and how hard it was to learn, striking as it did directly at the heart of a prejudice incorporated for ages in the very fabric of the Jewish mind, we may gather from the entire after-history of the Acts, and from large portions of Paul's leading epistles. The lesson was this : That Judaism %vas not the way of entrance to Chris- tianity ; that the ceremonial rites of the Jewish law were not in any wise conditions of admission to the Chnstian Church ; nay more, that the Mosaic ritual teas, in its two chief features, now replaced by two unbloody and simple sacramental symbols, whose sig- nificance better suited the new relations of the Church to Christ. Peter learned this now as the lesson of his vision at Joppa, and at once acted upon it. Taking ad- vantage of the amazement and conviction of the Jewish disciples from Joppa, he puts to them the conclusive question of verse 47. " Uncircumcised as they are," he says, " they have received the bap- tism of God. Shall we refuse them the baptism of man, as appointed by Christ ? " And, by the ordi- nance then administered at his command, Peter there declared, and afterward, upon his recital of the facts, the body of the apostles reaffirmed the declaration, that Gentile believers henceforth were to be received through the simple Christian symbol of baptism alone, and were entitled to fidl, equal right and privilege in Christian Church membership. B. 78 SECTION 209.— ACTS 11 : 1-30. Suggested Thoughts.— The scale of God's plans is large, and the fulfillment gradual and slow. For fifteen hundred years the Jewish people were the chosen recipients of his special regard and favors. But never for themselves alone. Instruments, fa- vored indeed, but only instruments they were, trained by instruction and discipline, to .testify of the one Jehovah, to receive and distribute his Word of Life. Yet, in the later centuries, God had also been training two other nations to take part in the great crisis of human history. Now that the Jew- ish nation has fulfilled its appointed function, all that is special in God's dealing ceases. Now that Greek and Koman are prepared for God's working in their behalf, above all, now that the time for hu- manity's divine redemption has fully come, and the work of that redemption is complete, now the prom- ise and the salvation of God takes a breadth and reach that includes all nations. And it is this wide transfer of divine blessings, it is the universal proc lamation of the redemption in Christ Jesus, that we read in the occurrence narrated here. Two expressions, found in this story in different connections, seem to be wonderfully adapted for in- scriptions in our churches ; one on either side-wall, where they may be read from pulpit and pew : We are all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God ! Every word is emphatic and quickeningly suggestive. And the other is equally profitable : Who (i. e., God's preach- er) shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved! Words that are spirit and life, words from Christ, about Christ, for Christ: words from the Word of Life, accompanied by the living Spirit, which are able to make wise unto sal- vation. Here we find the design, the sure, the only subject-matter, and right temper of preaching and hearing ! Peter's first sermon to Gentiles may be beauti- fully and effectively summed up in its first and last expressions : Peace by Jesus Christ, Lord of all ! Through his name every one who believeth shall receive remission of sins ! Peace by pardon — re- demption by faith ! Now, too, the world, of Jews as well as Gentiles, in heart are craving the message of peace by Jesus Christ, and remission of sins by faith in his name. Now, too, individual souls — and many — like Corne- lius arc desiring, praying ! Shall we not send far and wide the living voice with the living gospel ? B. Section 209. Acts xi. 1-30. 1 And the apostles and brethren that were in Judfea heard that the Gentiles had also re- 2 ceived the word of God. And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, tliey that were of 3 the circumcision contended with him, saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and 4 didst eat with them. But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and expounded 5 it by order unto them, saying, I was in the city of Joppa praying : and in a trance I saw a vision, A certain vessel descend, as it had been a great sheet, let down from heaven by four 6 corners ; and it came even to me : upon the which when I had fastened mine eyes, I con- sidered, and saw fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and 7 fowls of the air. And I heard a voice saying unto me. Arise, Peter ; slay and eat. But I said, 8 Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hatli at anytime entered into my mouth. 9 But tlie voice answered me again from heaven. What God hath cleansed, that call not thou 10 common. And this was done three times: and all were drawn up again into heaven. And, 11 behold, immediately there were three men already come unto the house where I was, sent 12 from Csesarea unto me. And the spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. More- 13 over these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man's house : and he shewed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men 14 to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter; who shall tell thee words, whereby 15 thou and all thy house shall be saved. And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on 16 them, as on us at the beginning. Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye sliall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. 17 Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord 18 Jesus Christ ; what was I, that I could withstand God ? When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying. Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted rei)entanco unto life. 19 Now tliey which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto 20 the Jews only. And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they 21 were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord. I SECTION 209.— ACTS 11 : 1-30. Y9 23 Then tidings of these tilings came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem : 23 and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch. Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart 21 they would cleave unto the Lord. For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and 25 of faith : and much people was added unto the Lord. .Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, 26 for to seek Saul: and when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch, 27 And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch. And there stood up one 28 of them named Agabus, and signified by the spirit that there should be great dearth 29 throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Cajsar. Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren 30 which dwelt in Judaea : which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Bar- nabas and Saul. By cleaving unto Jesus is meant that we hold fast to his religion, abhorring the thought of apostasy — that we adhere to him as the Kevealer of truth, avoiding every heresy and error — that we rest upon hira by faith as our atoning Priest — that we kneel to him as our King — that we cling to his example — that we keep near him as the source of all spiritual, sanctifying influence — and that we abide in him as our ever- lasting portion and ultimate good. Abiding in Christ is abiding in his service, walking in his will, doing that which shall please him, and living to his glory. And this derives new force from the consideration that holiness, whether of heart or conduct — in other words, cleaving to the Lord in duty — can by no means be secured, except by cleaving to him in acts of personal faith and affection. J. W. A. Let the central flame of Christian love burn in yom' hearts with an undying constancy and purcness. Let your sweet charity and patience and peace breathe as a fragrance throughout the society of believers. Let the sustaining and heavenly hope which comes through Christ impart its beauty to your character always, and shine with clear celestial luster throughout your life. Let your self-devoted labors for others reach out to them, and bring both them and us a blessing. Take what of influence from the spheres un- seen you here may meet, and make it felt throughout the circles which you affect. Seek first of all in yourselves, at all times, the richest, brightest, most abounding experience of all that which the Spirit of God will work, through the gospel, in the hearts and minds of those who receive him ; of all which study, prayer, and effort, beneficent action and the wisest self-discipline, can bring to the soul through Christ its Lord ; of all which God imparts in his grace to those whom he chooses for his own. And then let this be spontaneously revealed, in endurance and in action, in your life and on your lips, in all the circumstances in which you may be placed, E. S. S, 1-18. Thia event was the crown and consumma- tion of Peter's ministry. He who had first preached the resurrection to the Jews, baptized the first con- verts, and confirmed the Samaritans, now, without the advice or cooperation of any of his colleagues, under direct communication from heaven, first estab- lished principles which issued in the complete fusion of the Hebrew and Gentile elements in the Church. It was no mere acquiescence in a positive command, but the development of a spirit full of generous impulses, which found utterance in the words spo- ken by Peter on that occasion, both in presence of Cornelius and afterward at Jerusalem. But the Church at Jerusalem was slow to learn the lesson involved in the tidings that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. When Peter returned to Jerusalem, he was accused by " those of the circum- cision" because he had eaten with the uncircum- cised. But his plain narrative of the whole trans- action, crowned by the argument that, in the out- pouring of the Holy Ghost, he had recognized that same baptism of the Spirit which Christ had prom- ised as the sign of his presence with the apostles themselves, silenced every objection, and opened every mouth in praise to God for the great revela- tion which marks this epoch in the history of the Church : " T/icn hath God also to the Gentiles f/ranU ed repentance nnto lifej'^ S. We note, here and throughout the Acts, in the record of personal contentions and church divisions, the same ingenuous frankness in telling the story of their own weaknesses and sins, that we read so often and plainly in the gospels. The bearing of this honesty of the sacred writers upon the truth of their writings is obvious. 19-21. The Gospel widely diffused through Per- secution. Its first Great Triumph among Gentiles at Antioch. — The work of Christ thus far had only reached the limit of Palestine. As bidden at his ascension, the disciples had begun at Jerusalem, and 80 SECTIOy 209.— ACTS 11 : 1-30. [Cyrene was the principal city of that district of northern Africa lying between Carthage and Egypt. It lies on a table-land with descending terraces to the sea. It was a Greek city, with a large settlenaent of Jews. B.] thence gone into Judea, Samaria, and Galilee. Now a signal step in advance is taken ; an earnest vital movement is begun among the Gentiles. I uke recurs (v. 19) to the fact previously stated (8 : 4), only specifying regions where the scattered believers went, and the single class of persons (Jews) to whom they preached the Word. The time is indefinite and considerably prolonged. Phenicia, here referred to, was a province of Syria on the Syro-Palestinian coast of the Mediterranean, extend- ing northward from Mount Carmel one hundred and thirty miles in a strip of land bounded by the Leba- non range. It included Tyre, Sidon, Barytus (Beirut), and other cities. Cyprus is the large island, distant sixty miles from the Phenician coast, noted at that period for its productions and commerce, and for the luxury of its inhabitants. (See map, p. 61.) After the dispersion of the disciples at Stephen's death those two populous regions were ultimately reached, and the gospel preached to the Jews. But we learn (v. 20) that some of these preaching dis- ciples, natives of Cyprus and of Cyrene in Lybian Africa, were moved by the Spirit to go to Antioch ■ and there to preach to Greeks. They were prompt- ed, we can hardly doubt, by tidings of what had oc- curred in Cesarea; for their movement followed close upon Peter's ministry in the house of Corne- lius. The method employed was the preaching of a personal Saviour, telling the story of Christ. Peter and Stephen to the Jerusalem Jews, Philip to the Samaritans and the Ethiopian, Peter to the Gentile company of Cornelius, and now these un- named disciples to the Greeks of Antioch, alike dwelt upon the facts of Christ's person and history. They unfolded the truths of salvation incarnated in his serving life, his suffering death, and his trium- phant resurrection and ascension. And as before, so now, " the arm of the Lord is revealed " as di- recting and energizing this ministry of men ; so that " a great number believed and turned unto the Lord." Ilere we see the one only method of bring- ing truth and salvation effectually to men : man preaches peace by Jesus Christ, but God inspires and guides the preaching, and makes the truth preached quickening and sanctifying ! B. Hence we learn how much was accomplished in the first Christian propagandism by the easy, natu- ral, and spontaneous influence of laymen. The first successes of Christianity in foreign parts were on this wise. Individual believers, dispersed abroad in the providence of God, imparted to others those glad tidings with which their own souls were glad- dened. In those passages in the Evangelists and the Acts which relate to the promulgation of the Gospel, we find three several words, all of which are translated into our English word preacJi. The SECTION 209.— ACTS 11 : 1-30. 81 original word in verse 19 is the very word we should have employed to describe simple conversation. Their hearts were full of Christ, and so they talked everywhere concerning him. It was with them as when the news of some joyful event is abroad in the city ; it spreads in advance of all messengers, throbbing along amid high-wrought enthusiasm, re- flected from the countenance and repeated from the mouth of all you meet. W. A. 22< Impression made upon the 3fother Church in Jerusalem by the Tidings from Antioch. — They had learned that God had also given to the Gentiles repentance unto life. Here God summoned them to behold a great and marvelous work. He put upon them a new and vast responsibility. For An- tioch was then one of the three or four greatest cities of the civilized world. Lying on the river Orontes, about twenty miles back from the north- eastern angle of the Mediterranean Sea, inclosed by the Taurus mountain range on the north and Leba- non on the east, by its harbor of Seleucia inviting the trade of the great sea, and through the open country beyond Lebanon accessible to the caravans of the East, it had every advantage to attract mul- titudes of all classes from every portion of the woi-ld. It was now the residence of the Roman governors, as it had been the capital of the Syrian kings, from whom it had received grandeur and name. Of great size, with immense and costly pub- lic and private structures, with temples, groves, and gardens, attractive with statues and works of art, almost rivaling Rome in extent and variety of its population, and surpassing it in the luxurious aban- donment and worthless character of the people, An- tioch was at once the most brilliant and the most debased, the greatest and the worst of the Oriental Greek cities under the wide Roman rule. Many Jews had originally settled here, because unmolested in their religion. Under the pressure of their responsibility for helping on the movement of God's Spirit in this great and wicked metropolis, the mother Church at once sent Barnabas thither. We remember him, first as Joses (Acts 4 : 36), and next as the endorser of Saul to Peter and James. As a native of Cyprus and familiar with Antioch, himself also of Greek Plan of Antioch. 82 SECTION 209. —ACTS 11 : 1-80. origin, with a transparently beautiful character and high natural and spiritual endowments, the selection and trust were eminently wise. Note here, however, that it is the Church body that sends, not the apostles ; and that an unofficial Church member, not an apostle, is sent. From hence- forth the apostles act as such only upon certain oc- casions which call for the exercise of their special commission from Christ. Thus it appears that the offices in the Church by Christ's appointment are limited to specific purposes, and always subordi- nated to the interests of the body of beUevers. 23, 34. What Barnabas saw, fell, and did at Aniioch, and what ensued. — He saw that which he had spiritual vision to discern, and spiritual desire to look upon. He saw the fruits of the grace of God, in a multitude of souls " turned to the Lord," that is, converted. And spiritual vision and desire, through sympathy, naturally begat spiritual joy: ITe was glad. Yet further, his quick, glad, deep sympathy seeks and finds its true relief in active helpfulness. He enters at once upon a ministry of instructive exhortation. Only the key-note and sub- stance of that exhortation is given us here. But it is very rich and full in its instruction. Earnestly Barnabas counsels those who had turned unto the Lord to cleave unto Him with full consecration (so the word purpose implies) of heart. Cleaving or holding fast is only a keeping turned unto the Lord. Christ is the vital center of trust and of life; and through the heart's cleaving, or close living union, to Him, the soul's attachment and consecration is made firm and enduring. It is the old and always beautiful figure of the vine and its branches. Faith in the living Christ turns the heart to Him ; and a grafting of the believer's life into His life holds fast the once-turned heart. But let it be always remembered that, as the graft con- tinues to live by the unceasing transmission of sap from the nourishing stem, so the believer's life is maintained by unbroken communion with Christ. Personal love to a personal Saviour is made living and fruit f id by continuous personal communion tvilh Him ! This is the one essential truth declared by Christ and by all these primitive preachers in preach- ing Jesus. The Christlike character of this " Son of Conso- lation " is here happily embodied in three particu- lars : his goodness of heart and life ; the principle from which that goodness proceeded, faith ; and the Divine agent who wrought the inward principle and actuated the outward life — who " worked in him to will and to do." Thus earnestly he taught the newly converted, and his inwrought faith and excel- lence confirmed his teaching. But the good eS;ects were not limited to disciples. The same truths, so enforced by his manifest character through the Holy Ghost, reached and converted multitudes be- sides. 25, 26. A Year of Ministry in Aniioch by Bar- nabas and Said. — The hope and prospect of a yet larger ingathering, and the promise of a great and permanent prosperity for the growing Church of Christ, prompted Barnabas to seek help. Naturally he turns to Saul. He had recognized a Divine pur- pose in Saul's conversion, and he, better than others, appreciated Saul's qualifications for effective minis- try. Under divine impulse, therefore, and without conference with the apostles, he sought Saul in his home at Tarsus. Together they return to Antioch, and together minister to the increasing Church for " a whole year." Thus gradually still, and by no appointment of men, is Saul brought into prominence. For not yet has he been specially commissioned by the Holy Ghost and ordained to his world-wide work. And thus simply, by the labors of two unordained disci- ples, was the mother Church of the Gentiles found- ed. Thus quietly, without notice or knowledge of men, was established a new and second center around which the great movements of the Church were to circulate. Thenceforth the Church of An- tioch held the same relation to Gentile Christianity as that at Jerusalem held to Jewish Christianity. Disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. — As a natural consequence, as soon as they were seen to be characterized by something distinctive, as compared with other sects or parties among the Jews, they received a name taken from their pecu- liar doctrines and practices. And since the faith, the love, and the hope of this body of believers was concentrated upon the person and worl^ of Christ, it was especially appropriate that they should be called Christians. The name, doubtless, originated with the Gentiles, and was distinctive only, given neither in mockery nor opprobrium. B. This much at least is evident, that they who called themselves His disciples must in a conspicuous manner have sepa- rated themselves from those who did not believe the gospel ; that not only their regard for Jesus and their assent to his commands, but their confession of the Christ as their Lord and King, was the cause of their receiving such a name. Va7i 0. So from the world the Church received its best descriptive name ; from heathen, in a heathen city, believers received their most appropriate and honor- able title. "A Latin derivative from the Greek term* for the Messiah, it is connected with the office, not the name, of our Lord." The term is derived not from Jesus, the Saviour, but from Christ, the anointed of God, referring to His appointed and ac- cepted work. So believers are fellow-workers, not fellow-saviours, with him; Christians not Jesuits. For t](.eir work they " have an unction (anointing) SECTION 209.— ACTS 11 : ISO. 83 Modern Antioclu from the Holy One." B. Derived from the three- fold ofiBce of Christ, the Anointed One of God, to be Prophet, Priest, and King of the world, the name in- timates the obligation of those who bear it to faith in him, to worship through him, and to obedience to him as the Christ, and it also declares their partici- pation in his unction. The name Christian is also a protest against all religious titles derived from human leaders. This name was not given at Jeru- salem, but at Antioch, a Gentile city — an intimation of the future diffusion of Christianity throughout the heathen world. W. Before this, they were called by the Jews Nazarenes^ or Galileans ; and by each other, disciples, believers, brethren, or saints- But they now assumed the name of their great Leader. D. 27-30. The Predicted Dearth, and the Christian Charity of the First Gentile Church to their Needy Jewish Brethren. — The prophets here referred to were simply men specially inspired with helpful messages of various kinds. This message was a prediction but its purpose was obviously helpful. The matter of verses 27 and 28 is introduced here only to set forth the charity of the Gentile Church that fol. lowed. In that charity, kindred with previous simi- lar acts of the Jewish believers at Jerusalem, we see the unity of the Christian spirit. And what was in the beginning has been, is now, and shall be until need and relief become obsolete terms. Here, each was willing to give, and gave what he could. Judg- ment and conscience determined the measure of ob- ligation, and each gave heartily ; and the combined gift, the first evidence of their fraternal affection, was sent by their teachers, Barnabas and Saul, to Jerusalem. B. One of the two events in the life of Paul which give us sure marks of time, is his journey from Anti- och to Jerusalem with Barnabas, on the occasion of the great famine under Claudius, about the time of the death of Herod Agrippa I. — an event which we can fiy with certainty to a. d. 44 ; and the visit itself could not be later than a. d. 45. S. They carried from Antioch a contribution to sustain the Christians of Jewish origin at Jerusalem through the famine. From Jerusalem, and from Jews, came forth the spiritual things wherewith the Gentiles at Antioch were enriched ; they only obey a law of the king- dom when they load the returning train with tem- poral gifts for Christian Jews in Jerusalem. Such reciprocal charities were eminently fitted to break down the partition walls and blend all believers into one. Arnot. 30. Elders. Hitherto Luke had applied the word to the elders of the Jews ; henceforth the El- ders are oflBcers recognized in the Church. Thus the Church almost insensibly succeeds to the Synagogue, and supplies its place. W. The office of presby- ter, or elder, was the only permanent essential ofiSce of the Jewish church, and as such was retained under the new organization, without any formal in- stitution, and therefore without any distinct men- tion in the history, such as we find afterward in ref- erence to the organization of the Gentile church- es, where the office had no previous existence, and must therefore be created by the act of ordination. J. A. A. 84 SECTION 210.— ACTS IS : I-S4. Section 210. Acts xii. 1-24. 1 Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the 2 church. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw 3 it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of un- 4 leavened bread.) And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him ; intending after Easter to bring him forth 5 to the people. Peter therefore was kept in prison : but prayer was made without ceasing 6 of the church unto God for him. And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keep- 7 ers before the door kept the prison. And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison : and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, 8 Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from Tiis hands. And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him. Cast thy 9 garment about thee, and follow me. And he went out, and followed him ; and wist not 10 that it was true which was done by the angel ; but thought he saw a vision. When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city ; which opened to them of his own accord : and they went out, and passed on through 11 one street; and forthwith the angel departed from hiin. And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath de- livered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the 12 Jews. And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother 13 of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying. And 14 as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda. And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told 15 how Peter stood before the gate. And they said unto her. Thou art mad. But she con- 16 stantly afBrmed that it was even so. Then said they. It is his angel. But Peter continued 17 knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished. But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said. Go shew these things unto James, and to the brethren. And he departed, and went into another place. 18 Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become 19 of Peter. And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judsea 20 to CsBsarea, and there abode. And Herod was highly displeased witli them of Tyre and Sidon : but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king's cham- berlain their friend, desired peace ; because their country was nourished by the king's 21 country. And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and 22 made an oration unto them. And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, 23 and not of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory : and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost. 24 But the word of God grew and multiplied. The kingdom of God on earth is in real, vital connection with his kingdom in heaven ; so that there is — shall we say ? — a sympathy between them ; so that when a saint is smitten on earth, there is a sensa-1 tion conveyed to the upper sky. The Lord of saints and angels says, " Saul, why pcrsecutcsf. thou me ? " a strange expression of the union of the " King of Glory " and his humble mortal friends ! The mighty spirits that he has on high in his service take their share of interest in his kingdom below. Throughout the Scriptures we see them prompt to come down, in aid and in avcngemcnt of his oppressed saints. There will be a time when wc shall have to go out from the prison-house of mortality, and from the world itself. And let us seriously think what previous course, what habits, what spirit prevailing through our life, will be likely to terminate in our finding such a messenger appointed to be with us at that hour — appointed to be with us, and not to leave us — to accompany us in an immense and amazing journey ; that, SECTION 210.— ACTS 12:1-24. 85 whereas Peter came to be delightedly and collectedly sensible of the grand intervention when he found himself alone in the street, tve may become sensible of the wondrous reality of it, by finding ourselves in the presence of saints, and angels, and their supreme Lord ! J. F. 1,2. The Murder of James bij Herod Agrippa I. — The three striking incidents of this chapter break for a moment the thread of the history. The connection is restored in the last verse. The killing of James and the taking of Peter occurred in Jeru- salem about the time of the journey thither of Bar- nabas and Saul from Antioch. The closing verse records their return from Jerusalem to Antioch, after fulfilling their ministry as bearers of the first Gentile benefactions. James, the older brother of John and son of Zebedee, was one of the three admitted into the closest intimacy with Christ. Yet concerning him we have scarcely anything distinctive ; no record whatever except in connection with his younger brother. And as his life, so his death is entirely unmarked by special record. Like John the Bap- tist, he was suddenly beheaded by an arbitrary king- ly will, to gratify others. In each case the royal murderer was a Herod, son and grandson of the great Herod who slaughtered many children in a vain effort to destroy Christ. James was the first martyr among the apostles. He drank of the Mas- ter's cup, and was baptized with his baptism of blood, as Christ had declared ; and was the first re- stored to Christ's abiding fellowship. B. Herod Agrippa L (here only referred to) was the Bon of Aristobulus and Berenice, and grandson of Herod the Great. He was sent to Rome on his father's execution, and was brought up with Drusus the son of Tiberius. On the death of Drusus, he found himself excluded from the emperor's presence, and was besides overwhelmed with debt. Returning to Palestine, he obtained through his sister Herodias the protection of Herod Antipas, who made him governor of Tiberias. But a quarrel soon took place, and, after strange vicissitudes and adventures, Agrippa returned to Italy. He attached himself to the young Caius (Caligula), and having been over- heai'd to express a hope for his friend's speedy suc- cession, he was thrown into prison by Tiberius, where he remained till the accession of Caligula, a. d. 37. The new emperor gave him the governments formerly held by the tetrarchs Philip and Lysanias, and bestowed on him the ensigns of royalty and other marks of favor, and he arrived in Palestine in the following year, after visiting Alexandria. The jealousy of Herod Antipas and his wife Herodias was excited by these distinctions, and they sailed to Rome in the hope of supplanting Agrippa in the emperor's favor. Agrippa was aware of their design, and anticipated it by a countercharge against An- tipas of treasonable correspondence with the Par- thians. Antipas failed to answer the accusation, and was banished to Gaul (a. d. 39), and his domin- ions were added to those already held by Agrippa. During the brief wild reign of Caligula, Agrippa continued his faithful friend, and used his influence on behalf of the Jews. Having paid the last honors to his patron's remains, he smoothed the path of his successor to the throne by his activity and discretion in carrying messages between the senate and the praetorian camp. Claudius rewarded him with the kingdom of Judea and Samaria, in addition to his tetrarchy, and thus the dominions of Herod the Great were reunited under his grandson (a. d. 41). S. Herod Agrippa had courted the favor of the Jews. He had done much for them, and was pre- paring to do more. Josephus tells us that " he had begun to encompass Jerusalem with a wall, which, had it been brought to perfection, would have made it impracticable for the Romans to take it by siege ; but his death, which happened at Cesarea, before he had raised the walls to their due height, prevented him." That part of the city, which this boundary was intended to inclose, was a suburb when Paul was converted. The work was not completed till the Jews were preparing for their final struggle with the Romans. H. He was the only Hnr/ after the Great Herod, and the last one that reigned in Jerusalem. His son Agrip- pa received only a limited and qualified sovereignty. In this persecution of the Church at Jerusalem, Herod simply sought popularity aS a means of power. To please the Jews, and aid his own plans, he directed the murder of James. And for the same reason he proceeded to take Peter also. B. In his recollection of James, no such idea obtruded itself in his mind, as that the martyred apostle had ascended as a " swift witness " against him to the throne of Heaven. Whither he might suppose the departed saint did go, we can not conjecture ; but he thought he might send another the same road with- out danger of ever hearing of it again, except in the demoniac applauses of his mob. Peter would be easily found, and taken. He had not absconded from affright at the fate of his fellow apostle. Cowardice in behalf of his Lord had been shown once before ; but that was the last time. The death of his great Master, and the love manifested toward Peter after he rose again, had devoted Peter to die for him, whenever fidelity to his cause should re- quire the sacrifice. J. F. 3-5. Imprisonment of Peter and Prayer of 86 SECTION 210.— ACTS 12 : 1-i the Church. — The arrest occurred early in the week following the paschal supper, during which only un- leavened bread was eaten. By Jewish rules crimi- nals could not be executed upon days of festival. Therefore Ilerod, intending a public execution, kept him until after the Passover feast was concluded. A quaternion was a detachment of four soldiers, con- stituting a watch. As there were four night-watches of three hours each, four quaternions were required. In the actual guard two were stationed at the gates, and two in the apartment with the prisoner. In Peter's case, a chain from either arm was linked to a soldier on either side. So securely "Peter was kept in prison." "But prayer was made without ceasing of the Church unto God for him." This fact is thus prom- inently set over against the other. Peter's rescue was humanly impossible, as the disciples knew. But they also knew that nothing was impossible with God, and that Peter's danger grew out of his faithful ministry for God. And they believed there- fore that God would somehow answer the prayer he had bidden them to offer. So they prayed, earnest- ly, importunately ; desisting not day by day through those remaining days of the trying of their faith. And God, who had delayed both the extreme peril and deliverance of Peter, thus gave the Church oppor- tunity to intercede, and, in the result, occasion to know the efficacy of prayer. The sudden killing of James prevented such intercession for him. The deferring of Peter's death was taken full advantage of, and in the only method of help or hope available to them. 6-11. Feter^s Miraculous Release, and his Cor- rect Judgment concerning it. — The time of this re- lease is to be carefully noted. It was not only the night before Herod's proposed public murder, but it was in the fourth watch or during the last three hours of that night. This we know from the fact that the escape was not discovered until the morning, when the fourth watch was relieved. But last night, as it was known to be by Peter, with no outlook of human hope for the morrow, he had laid him down between the two soldiers, and was enjoying the peaceful sleep of God's beloved. Once he had heard the word : " What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter." With Christ's doing, whatever it should be, he was content. While thus quietly sleeping the sleep of faith, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared beside him, and a supernatural light shone within the room. With strong grasp Peter is awaked and lifted to his feet, while his chains fall silently to the ground. Then, as bidden, he fastens his girdle, binds on his sandals, puts on his cloak or outer garment, and in half stupor follows the angel out. Between the first guard (of sleeping soldiers) and the second, and then through the outer iron gate, without human touch noiselessly opening before them, they pass. Onward through one street the silent angel accompanies the bewildered apostle, then suddenly disappears. By the fresh night air aroused from his bewil- derment, Peter at once discerns the divine hand and purpose in his deliverance. His trusted Lord had sent a releasing angel, and thus foiled the purpose of Herod and disappointed the murderous spirit of the Jews. For reasons which we may conjecture, he determines, before concealing himself from Her- od's pursuit, to acquaint the disciples with the fact of his miraculous rescue. With this purpose he seeks the house of Mary, Mark's mother, one of the homes where Christian believers were wont to as- semble for private worship. The Mark here referred to is the author of the second gospel, and son in the faith to Peter. 13-17. How Peter ivas received by the Gathered Disciples. — Far as it was into the night, these wrest- ling seekers were praying still. It was the last night and their last opportunity to pray. For many days and nights their pleas had been ascending, and no answer had come. But not content with asking and seeking, they continued, almost against hope, in knocking at the door of divine mercy, with their urgent entreaty for help. And now while they are still speaking, God's answer, in the person of the released apostle, stands knocking at their house door. Yet, strange to say, when first they are told this by the maid who had responded to the summons and heard Peter's voice, they did not, could not be- lieve. It seemed to them too marvelous to be true. They knew not of the miracle, and expected none ; but they knew that nothing save miracle could avail. In their amazement they fell back upon an old pop- ular notion, and said it must be Peter's guardian angel assuming his guise. But God's answer, Peter himself, continued knocking. So in a body, passing through the court to the gate, they open the small door and are amazed to behold the apostle. But he, instantly quieting their outburst of gladness, simply tells the story of his deliverance by the Lord, and they learn how their fervent intercessions have been answered. Their hearts are comforted, and their faith and patience ' strengthened. Thenceforth more earnestly they can pray ; more faithfully labor or trustingly endure for a Lord so mighty and gracious. With a message to James, our Lord's own broth- er, acquainting him with what occurred, Peter takes leave of these disciples, and, because he knows it is God's will, goes to some place of concealment. And it may be added that Peter now retires finally from whatever prominence he had previously had, while this James presides over the councils of the remain- ing apostles. B. Peter's work is not ended. He will still labor SECTION 210.— ACTS 12 : l-2Jf. 8Y much, till his last and fruitful labor of martyrdom ; but since he has given to the evangelization of the world an impulse which will never be arrested, his part is no longer the same. If henceforth anything distinguishes him, if any preeminence can be claimed for him, it is that of humility. Who can read, who has ever read the letters of this holy apostle, with- out being struck with this character above all others ? Where is the impetuous Simon who strikes the high priest's servant ? Where the presumptuous Simon who dares to say to his Lord, " Though all should deny thee, yet will not I deny thee " ? Where also is the Simon who denied his Master and his Friend ? I now find only a man emptied of himself, and wholly full of his Saviour; a grave, meek, pious, modest servant of God and man ; an admirable model of humility and candor. A. V. He has achieved much — exactly that for which he was fitted. He has stood bravely in the front, and has both led and inspirited the band of disciples in their aggressive work for the Master. But now his special mission is done. Another, more broadly qualified by nature and training, Christ will nov? take up, to do for Ilim another larger and as brave a work. B. 20-23. In the fourth year of his reign over the whole of Judea (a. d. 44) Agrippa celebrated some games at Cesarea in honor of the emperor. When he appeared in the theatre on the second day in a royal robe made entirely of silver stuff, which shone in the morning light, his flatterers saluted him as a god ; and suddenly he was seized with terrible pains, and being carried from the theatre to the palace, died after five days' agony a loathsome death, like those of the great persecutors Antiochus Epiphanes and his own grandfather. The miraculous and ju- dicial character of his death is distinctly affirmed by the sacred historian : " Immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the ghry.^'' The Greeks of Sebaste and Cesarea, with his own soldiers, showed brutal exultation at his death, and the censure which the riot brought down from Claudius upon the Roman soldiers embittered their feelings toward the Jews to such a degree, that Josephus regards this as one of the chief causes of the Jewish war. S. After his sudden and miser- able death, his whole kingdom was again made a Roman province, ruled by procurators, two of whom, Claudius Felix and Porcius Festus, figure in the Acts of the Apostles. The last procurator was Gessius Flo- rus, under whom the tragical fate of the Jewish na- tion, so long in preparation, was finally decided. P. S. 23. The angel of the Lord led forth Peter ; the angel of the Lord struck Herod. That both acts were done by angels, mortals saw not ; it was known only to the saints. Beng, Luke, as a physician, was qualified to scrutinize natural causes, and was not at all likely to be credulous. He among the evangelists who was least likely to be carried away by a superstitious belief in supernatural agency, has been employed more than any other sacred writer to reveal to us the operations of invisible beings in the history of the Church. W. 24. The death of Herod relieved the Christians from persecution. But in their turn the Jews were troubled. The brief conciliatory rule of Herod was then finally exchanged for the rigorous tyranny of Roman governors. And the Jewish historian notes tins providence in Herod's sudden death : that the third wall, which as planned by him would have made Jerusalem almost impregnable to the Roman assault, was left incomplete. So God 7-ules ! Peter lives and Herod dies. And the persecuted Church, delivered from the persecutor, again finds rest and prosperity. The Word of God grew and multiplied/ Suggested Thoughts. — Christ directs all events in the interest of his people. Neither human nor Satanic scheme or endeavor can avail to thwart his purpose or shake his "all power in earth." So all things must work together for good both to the trusting believer and the praying Church. Yet he has his own way in actually bringing good to pass, and uses various vjays. Not always one way, or the way that seems to us the wise and suitable way. For he suffers a John Baptist, a Stephen, and a James to be murdered that human malice may be gratified, while he interposes to rescue a Peter and Paul. Yet how clearly do we see that his high and only blessed purpose is equally accomplished by the martyrdom of those and the deliverance of these ! And throughout the history of the Christian believer and Church, we read the single sure lesson : that his non-interference or his interference with human schemes is controlled by an unerring wisdom and an unfailing love. An effective practical exposition have we here of Christ's teaching, that men should pray and not faint. Only one other prayer-meeting like this, in the importunity and persistence of the pleaders, do we find in this whole history. That one preceded and helped to bring the Pentecostal baptism. This one secured the very blessing they so fervently and continuously besought. And can any doubt that God hears and answers such prayer from every seek- ing and knocking tivo or three gathered in his name ? An assuring truth is beautifully suggested in this prison-visit of the angel to the sleeping apostle. Not indeed by conscious spirit-ministers, but by providential interpositions and spiritual suggestions, does every child of God partake his personal watch and guard, and experience many wonderful deliver- ances. At the end, rather in the beginning of the true life, we shall read his doings now unknown, and adoringly praise his always rescuing and finally delivering grace I B. 88 SECTION 211.— ACTS IS : 25; 13 : 1-13. Section 211. Acts xii. 25 ; xiii. 1-13. 25 And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark. 1 Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Gyrene, and Manaen, which 2 had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said. Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I 3 have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. 4 So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence 5 they sailed to Cyprus. And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God 6 in the synagogues of the Jews : and they had also John to their minister. And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, 7 whose name was Bar-jesus: which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man ; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to 9 turn away the deputy from the faith. Then Saul, (who also m called Paul,) filled with the 10 Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, and said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways 11 of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord w upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a 12 darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand. Then the deputy, 13 when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord. Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia : and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem. We enter upon the second great division of the Acts. The first (chs. 1-12) described the advent of the Holy Ghost ; and, under his inspiration, the founding of the Christian Church among the Jews of Jerusalem and Judea, and the extension of Chris- tianity into Samaria and among the nearer Gentiles. The chief result among the heathen was the found- ing of a second prominent Christian Church among the Gentiles of Antioch in Syria. This had been mainly the work of Barnabas and Saul. The second division of the Acts recounts the chief features of the fuller, more distinctive introduction of the gospel among the Gentiles of Asia Minor, Greece, and Rome. It follows, therefore, mainly the career of P.aul, Christ's special messenger to these Gentile nations. By comparing with this his- tory of Luke Paul's own statements in his epistles, that incomparably signal career may be fully under- Btood. This second half of the book also divides itself naturally into the twelve years of Paul's active missionarg work, and his five years of labor in cap- tivity. The twelve years of liberty include his Three Missionary Journeys. Times and periods •should be definitely marked as a basis for an intelli- ,gent study of these Journeys. The periods and in- tervals referred to cover a duration of years, where the brief fragmentary accounts seem to indicate months. The First Journey (chs. 12 and 14) prob- ably extended over a period of two years. Then succeeded an interval of two years or longer, spent mainly with the mother Church of the Gentiles at Antioch. Toward the end of this interval occurred the council at Jerusalem, where the great question of the relation of Gentile Christianity to Judaism was decided (ch. 15). The Second Journey (chs. 16-18) occupied about three years ; and the Third (chs. 19, 20) almost four years. These are the most probable periods. But it should be remembered that the Book of Acts furnishes no basis for a detailed chronology. The principal dates are largely hypothetical. Paul's conversion is set down by scholars all the way from 33 to 41 A. D. The dates 35 or 37 a. d. are most largely accepted. The interval between his conver- sion and his setting apart for labor among the Gen- tiles is also variously estimated. Assuming 46 a. d. as the latter date, this interval, spent in preparation for his great life-work, extended nearly or beyond ten years. B. Not Jerusalem, but Antioch, not the Holy City of God's ancient people, but the pro- SECTION 211.— ACTS 12 : 25; 13 : 1-13. 89 fane city of the Greeks and Romans, is the place to which the student of sacred history is now directed. During the remainder of the xVcts of the Apostles our attention is at least divided between Jerusalem and Antioch, until at last, after following Paul's many journeys, we come with him to Rome. 11. The relation of Paul to the two great Churches, the Jewish Christian of Jerusa- lem and the Gentile Christian of Antioch, should be care- fully borne in mind. While his personal connection and his labors are exclusively with the Gentile Church, while Antioch is his point of de- parture and return, yet after every journey he goes also to Jerusalem, and recounts to the mother Church and its leaders the progress of the Divine work. Thus keeping up a close intercourse between the two great centers, he was him- self a bond of union to the entire Christian Church. 1-3. The Call and Send- ing of the First Foreign Ilissionaries.^Antioch (in Syria), situated at the northeastern angle of the Mediterranean shore, long a flourishing city with a large mixed population, was now the eastern head- Antioch. There was everything in the situation and circumstances of this city to make it a place of concourse for all classes and kinds of people. By its harbor of Seleucia it was in communication with all the trade of the Mediterranean ; and, through the open country behind the Lebanon, it Distant View of Antioch, from the Aleppo Eoad. quarters of Imperial Rome. B. Antioch was founded by Seleucus, and called after his father's name. He is said to have built in all nine Seleu- cias, sixteen Antiochs, and six Laodiceas. But by far the most famous of these cities was the Syrian Paul's Gate, from the Interior. (The road from Antioch to Aleppo passes through the ancient gate now called Bab Paulos, or Paul's Gate.) was conveniently approached by the caravans from Mesopotamia and Arabia. It was almost an Oriental Rome, in which all the forms of the civilized life of the empire found some representative. Through the first two centuries of the Christian era, it was what Con- stantinople became afterward, "the Gate of the East." H. As we have already learned, this great mart of the nations had readily received the gos- pel, and organized a strong, distinctively Gentile Church; the only one that compared in vigor and cfiicicncy with the mother (Jewish) Church at Je- rusalem. Naturally this Gen- tile Church at Antioch became the starting-point of mission- ary effort among the Gen- tiles. The s£?/-development (of course under Divine influ- ence) of this new movement appears in the simple account. B. We now hear, not of the mother Church only, but of churches in other parts. And in this multiplication of churches, let us not fail to observe how the Spirit, in his manifold gifts and strength, asserts his independence of mere official cooperation of men. The founding and 90 SECTION Sll.—ACTS 13 : 25; 13 : 1-13. ruling of the Church, the orderly assembly of be- lievers, is bound to the appointed offices and officers in the Church ; but the spread of the gospel from heart to heart, from the living voice to the pricking conscience, is not thus bound. Every Christian is not a church officer ; but every Christian is a witness of Christ, and, if need so be, a missionary of Christ to his brethren. A. It is while the Church and its leaders are en- gaged in worship and fasting for some special object, that the direction of the Holy Ghost comes to them. Christ's great commission they must often have pon- dered. The missionary spirit of the gospel, exem- plified by the Church at Jerusalem, must have been begotten among them. Their new name of Chris- tians must have impressed a new sense of responsi- bility for extending the truth and power of Christ among their own peoples. In a word, they must have reached a pondering, questioning state respect- ing their duty in this matter ; and this great ques- tion may have been that which engaged them now in special worship and fasting, when the summons of the Holy Ghost was received. How the will of the divine Spirit was made known, does not appear. But it tvas distinctly communicated. A specific work is referred to, and definite persons are designated as divinely appointed agents in this work. Obedient to the direction, the Church at Antioch, in connection with another service of prayer and fasting, laid their hands on Barnabas and Saul, and sent them forth upon the first divinely organized mission to the Gentiles. Of the five persons mentioned in the first verse, one, Manaen, is noted by Luke as having been in childhood the foster-brother of Herod Antipas, the murderer of the Baptist, and the mocker at the ar- raigned and bound Christ. Herod was now a de- throned, wretched exile upon the banks of the Rhone. The note is appended seemingly to empha- size the contrast in character, life, and destiny be- tween the two foster-fellows — one a despiscr, the other a disciple, of Christ. In reference to the transaction narrated in the second and third verses, two things are to be care- fully observed : 1. This was not Paul's call to the aposllcship, but his summons by the Holy Ghost to the exercise of the gifts and functions of that office. The Scrip- tural facts pertaining to the apostolatc of Paul and of the Twelve are strikingly similar. Christ person- ally called the Twelve, as by miraculous personal manifestation he called Paul. lie trained and ex- ercised the Twelve in a preliminary period of in- struction and of itinerant practice in preaching, as he similarly trained and practiced Paul. Not until the Twelve were specially endowed with the gifts of the Holy Ghost, and were called by Him, did they enter upon the exercise of apostolic functions. And not until Paul was now similarly endowed and called by the Holy Ghost did his work as an apostle begin. Thus Paul's experience corresponds precisely with that of the Twelve. Only his natural gifts and ac- quired culture were superior, and his special train- ing during his retirement and early ministry occu- pied a longer period. So that his whole preparation was more thorough and complete, as demanded by the higher, broader work with which he was intrust- ed by the Master. 2. In this transaction we see also the agency of the Church at Antioch joined icith that of the Holy Ghost. This double agency, the human with the Divine, is employed simply and only in connection with a icork. This action of the Church had refer- ence to a work to be done by those previously ap- pointed of God to the office. The act of laying on of hands was designed not to confer the Spirit nor to impart authority, but was a sign in recognition of the Spirit's appointment and of his designation to this mission. And for the wisest reasons, the same combined agencies are always demanded in the actual sending forth to the ministry of the gospel. A brotherhood of believers, either directly or through their official leaders and representatives, must have reasonable assurance of a Divine call to the office, before they can properly set apart and send forth any to actual service in the ministry of Christ. And none may rightly go forth to such' ministry except through the warrant of such double sending of the Spirit and the Church. So it is said here, that the Church sent them away ; yet it is im- mediately added, " they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed." 4, 5. Their Jlissionary Ministry is begun at Salamis in the Island of Cyprus. — From Seleucia, fifteen miles distant from Antioch, Barnabas and Saul sailed to Cyprus, landing at Salamis, a chief city on the eastern side. B. As Antioch had been chosen as the second resting-place of the Church because of its Gentile character, it was natural that the missionaries should be guided by the Holy Ghost, not eastward, to the land of primi- tive histoi'y and of the springs of Judaism, but to the west, where lay the Gentile world with its intel- lect, and its arts, and its arms, to be won for the gospel of Christ. Westward — but whither? As they stood on the coast looking seaward, the native island of Barnabas lifted its blue hills in the hori- zon. The guidance of the Spirit fell in with the yearnings of the apostle's heart, and Salamis in Cyprus witnessed the opening of the first missionary teaching. A. Cyprus lay in a through route to Asia Minor, which was the nearest unvisitcd sphere of mission- ary labor, and therefore the next in order according SECTION 211.— ACTS 12 : 25; 13 : 1-13. 91 to Christ's command. Cyprus itself had long before, probably soon after Pentecost, received the gospel ; and Christian disciples were there. Hence no note occurs of any stay or success there on the part of the two missionaries. Of necessity they passed through the island on their way to the mainland, and they labored as they went. They preached ex- clusively in the synagogues on this island. And everywhere it was Paul's custom to go first to these Jewish centers, and to stay there until his message was openly rejected. Two reasons he had for this course. There were the Jews, ever the objects of m I K^ f^ C /y '***»'^s„ -PTphos_ Isbnd of Cyprus. (About 140 miles long, with a breadth of 40 miles for its greater portion.) God's first choice and care, and still, by Christ's command, the first recipients of the glad tidings. And in the synagogues were the Gentile proselytes : men who had renounced heathen notions and prac- tices, and were seeking a knowledge of the true God. These proselytes formed a needed link for a ready transmission of the gospel to the Gentiles. For these reasons, the synagogues afforded the most suitable places and the best opportunities for their Christian ministry. 6-13. The Judgment -upon Elymas the Sorcerer, and its Effect upon the Roman Deputy. — Paphos, on the western end of Cyprus, the city where Venus is fabled to have risen from thp sea, and noted throughout Greek history as the templed center of her infamous worship, was now the residence of the Roman deputy, or proconsul. Here, and through this chief man, was opened the first door of access to the Gentile world. Luke's accuracy in the use of the differing titles of the Roman provincial governors is instructive. In consolidating his imperial rule, Augustus, that he might leave some semblance of the old republican authority and yet retain exclusive control of the army, divided the numerous provinces into two classes. The government of one class — the provin- ces where a peaceful administration could be secured without soldiery — he relinquished to the Senate and people. In the title of the governors of these Sena- torial provinces. Proconsul, was reproduced the name of Consul, which had long represented the Senate'a administrative power. The second class of provin- ces was known as the Imperial, and of these Cesar retained absolute control. In these were quartered bodies of military under the command of Cesar's governor. As the Emperor's representative, this governor was called Propraetor, from a name (Prae- tor) long the symbol of supreme personal authority and of military command. He was also called in the larger provinces (as in Syria) the Legate, or commissioner of the Emperor ; and in subordinate districts (as in Judea) the Procurator, or high stew- ard. All these distinctions are accurately noted by Luke in both " treatises." Here the term used indi- cates a proconsul of a senatorial province. And we learn that in 27 b. c. Cyprus had been relinquished by Augustus to the control of the Senate. This Sergius Paulus is characterized as a man of intelligence. Yet, like many of the Roman patri- cians of his time, he was credulous because bred in superstition. Reaching out on every side for a lar- ger knowledge of hidden things, he encouraged pre- tenders to occult learning and professors of the magic arts. Such a one is introduced to us here, a renegade Jew and an impostor, falsely claiming su- perhuman inspiration and the power of magical working. From him the deputy turns away to these new teachers, in his unsatisfied thirst for a fuller disclosure of truth. Seeing how strongly the pro- consul is impressed by the words of the apostles, this Bar-jesus (in the Arabic form, Elymas), the magian or wise man (rather than sorcm-er), inter- posed with sophistries and denials to counteract the effect of truth from heaven. But this form of op- position, like that of violent persecution, is also overruled by God as a means of greater good. Where truth and falsehood are in open conflict, as here, the result is never doubtful ; for truth is God's, and He will maintain its supremacy. An issue so sharply made, between the two re- spective agents of the Evil Spirit and of the Holy Ghost, needs at this important juncture an instant and decisive settlement. Therefore, by inspiration, Paul in the presence of the governor at once de- nounces this Bar-jesus, or son of the Saviour, as the child of the devil. This apostate Jew, who was ac- counted by cultured yet deceived Romans as a re- vealing seer and sage, the apostle charges with an excess of deceit and mischief ; declaring that he is an enemy and perverter of all truth and righteous- ness. And he pronounces God's instant judgment upon his daring impiety in withstanding the truth. The fulfillment of this judgment of temporary blindness followed. So the evil spirit in the person of Elymas was vanquished by the good through the agency of Paul. And the punishment so suited to 92 SECTIOy 211.— ACTS 12 : 25; 13 : 1-1 the offense — the seeking to blind others — suited too to the reformation of the offender, was also adapted to impress and convince the lookers-on. It so af- fected the governor that he received the word of Paul as the word of life. Whether he became a personal convert and Christian disciple, we are not informed ; but the inference that he did so acknowl- edge Christ is a reasonable one. The fad, merely, of the apostle's change of name, from Saul to Paul, is here stated. So long as restricted to labor among the Jews, he retained the Hebrew name, Saul. Throughout his apostolic min- istry to the Gentiles, he was known under the Latin and Hellenistic equivalent name of Paul. The change is noted here at the turning-point of his life and work, in direct connection with the first promi- nent Gentile convert. As double names are com- mon in the New Testament among Jewish disciples, both names may have been his from infancy. But from thenceforth onward, upon the name and min- istry of Paul is concentrated the deepest thought, the highest, most grateful appreciation of Christian believers in every age. 13. From Cyprus to Pcrga. Return of John Mark. — From the island home of Barnabas they sailed northward to the mainland of Asia Minor; up the river Cestrus seven miles to Perga, in the dis- trict or province of Pamphylia. This region ad- joined Cilicia, in whose chief city Paul was born ; and in the principal portions of which he had previ- ously labored among the Jews. It is no longer Bar- nabas and Saul, but Paul and his company, or those around him ; intimating his new central position and prominence, which continued to the end of his career. John, whose surname was Mark (the author of the gospel), had accompanied Barnabas and Saul on their return from Jerusalem to Antioch. As their assistant he had gone with them through Cyprus and as far as Perga. Now he leaves them for his moth- er's home at Jerusalem. Whether discouraged at the prospect of privation and peril, or dissatisfied with the transfer of leadership from his uncle, Bar- nabas, to the younger Paul, or whether the double attraction of an older and stronger attachment, to his mother and to Peter Vx'S, father in the faith, drew him back to Jerusalem, can not be determined. That Barnabas justified his departure, while Paul re- garded it as unjustifiable, we learn from the subse- quent quarrel and separation of these two mission- aries, occasioned by Mark's withdrawal. The inci- dent with its sequel illustrates the old lesson of hu- man infirmity as characterizing the best of C/.ristian men. It is pleasant to know that afterward Mark worked so heartily with Paul that, at the close of his ministry, this apostle expressed his highest esteem for the evangelist, and the warmest appreci- ation of his helpfulness. B. Summary of Historical Facts bearing upon the Missionary Career of Paul. 1. Oreek Element in the Providential Prepara- tion.— Two of the monarchical lines, descended from Alexander's generals, were the Ptolemies, or the Greek kings of Egypt, and the Seleucidaj, or the Greek kings of Syria. Their respective capitals, Alexandria and Antioch, became the metropolitan centers of commercial and civilized life in the East. Both became the residences of Roman governors, and both were patriarchates of the primitive Church. But before they had received either the Roman dis- cipline or the Christian doctrine, they had served their appointed purpose of spreading the Greek lan- guage and habits, of creating new lines of commer- cial intercourse by laud and sea, and of centralizing in themselves the mercantile lite of the Levant. The Acts of the Apostles remind us of the traffic of An- tioch with Cyprus and the neighboring coasts, and of the sailing of Alexandrian corn-ships to the more distant harbors of Malta aud Puteoli. Of all the Greek elements which the cities of An- tioch and Alexandria were the means of circulating, the spread of the language is the most important. That language, which is the richest and most deli- cate that the world has seen, became the language of theology. The Greek tongue became to the Chris- tian more than it had been to the Roman or the Jew. H. Those remains which have come down to us are especially rich in the expressions of spirit- ual truth, and in terms which are adapted to illus- trate the Bible, so that, though the doctrines of the gospel are new and divine, hardly a term required to be modified in order to adapt this language to the purpose of expressing them. In the time of Christ whatever was written in Greek became accessible to all who, by their religion (as the Jews), or their in- telligence (as the Greeks), or their power (as the Romans), gave character to their age, or conferred distinction on their nation. J. A. 2. The Roman Element. — Rome's dominion was not a pervading influence exerted by a restless and intellectual people, but it was the grasping power of an external government. The idea of law had grown up with the growth of the Romans; and wherever they went they carried it with them. Wherever their armies were marching or encamp- ing, there always attended them, like a mysterious presence, the spirit of the city of Rome. Univer- sal conquest and permanent occupation were the ends at which they aimed. Strength and organiza- tion were the characteristics of their sway. Greek science and commerce were wafted by irregular winds from coast to coast ; but Roman legions, gov- ernors, and judges advanced along Roman roads, which pursued their undeviating course over plains and mountains, and bound the city to the farthest extremities of the provinces. When all parts of the civilized world were bound together in one empire — when one common organization pervaded the whole — when channels of communication were ev- erywhere opened — when new facilities of traveling were provided — then the Messiah came. The Greek language had already been prepared as a medium for preserving and transmitting the doctrine ; the Roman Government was now prepared to help the progress even of that religion which it perse- cuted. The manner in which it spread through the provinces is well exemplified in the life of Paul : his right of citizenship rescued him in Judea and in Macedonia; he converted one governor in Cyprus, SFCTIOy 211.— ACTS 12 : 25; 13 : 1-13. 93 was protected by another in Achaia, and was sent from Jerusalem to Rome by a third. 3. The Jewish Element: The Dispersion. — As the intellectual civilization of the Greeks and the organizing civilization of the Romans had, through a long series of remarkable events, been brought in contact with the religious civilization of the He- brews, so the dispersion of the Jewish people made this contact almost universal in every part of the empire. Their dispersion began early, though early and late their attachment to Judea has always been the same. The first scattering of the Jews was com- pulsory, and began with the Assyrian exile, when, about the time of the building of Rome, natives of Galilee and Samaria were carried away by the East- ern monarchs ; and this was followed by the Baby- lonian exile, when the tribes of Judah and Benja- min were removed at different epochs. H. In Babylon and the neighboring region a multitude of them had remained after the close of the captivity. A colony of them had been planted at Alexandria by its founder, and there they became so numerous as to occupy two out of the five sections of the city, but were not confined to these quarters. In Egypt, in the first century of our era, there were not less than a million of Jews, constituting an eighth part of the population of the country. In the flourishing city of Cyrene they formed a large portion of the inhabitants. Nowhere, outside of Palestine, was the Jewish population more numerous than in Syria and Asia Elinor. At Antioch they constituted a power- ful body, and enjoyed there privileges analogous to those of their brethren at Alexandria. From Syria they passed over into Asia Minor, forming settle- ments in all the principal towns. Besides the natu- ral emigration from Syria, Antiochus the Great had transplanted to that region two thousand Jewish families from Mesopotamia. Among other places, Ephesus and Tarsus were noted scats of Jewish communities. In Crete, Cyprus, and other islands, there were synagogues crowded with worshipers. From Asia the Jews had found their way into the cities of Macedonia and Greece. Athens, Corinth, Thcssalonica, Philippi, are among the places where were Jewish settlements. Jews were found in Illy- ricum, and early penetrated to the northern coasts of the Black Sea. The Jewish prisoners brought by Pompey to Rome afterward received their freedom. The district across the Tiber was principally occu- pied by them. An embassy of Herod to Augustus is said to have been accompanied by eight thousand Jewish residents of Rome. Among other towns of Italy, Caprea, and especially Puteoli, are known to have had a Jewish population. Apart from perma- nent residents of Hebrew extraction, Jewish mer- chants made their way to every place in the Roman Empire where there was any hope of profit from trade. Thus the Palestinian community, though still the religious center of all the Jews, comprised within its limits only a portion of this ubiquitous nation. Capable of making a home for himself anywhere, the Jew was specially adapted to the state " which was to be built on the ruins of a hun- dred living polities." G. P. F. 94: SECTION 212.— ACTS 13:11^52. Proviiices of Asia Minor. (There are twelve divisions of Asia Minor commonly recognized. Three were on its southern coast, Cilicia, Pamphylia, Lycia ; three on its western, Caria, Lydia, Mysia ; three on its northern, Bithynia, Paph- lagonia, Pontus ; and three in the interior, Cappadocia, Galatia, Phrygia. Caria, Lydia, and Mysia consti- tuted the Roman province of Asia, and it is in this limited sense that the word Asia is used in the New Testament — e. g.. Acts 2:9; 16 : 6, 7. The seven churches in Asia (Rev. 1 : 4) accordingly were in this region, viz. : Ephesus, Smyrna, Pcrgamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodlcea, though the last named was in Phrygia, and therefore farther inland than the rest. W. H. G. After the Roman pro- vincial system was established in Asia Minor, the boundaries of the provinces were variable. The two districts^ Pisidia and Lycaonia, mentioned Acts 13 and 14, were politically attached to one or other of the contiguous provinces. Yet each had its chief town, which had been its capital : Antioch in Pisidia, and Iconium in Lycaonia. B.) Section 212. Acts xiii. 14-52. 14 But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the 15 synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down. And after the reading of the hiw and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye 16 have any word of exhortation for the people, say on. Then Paul stood up, and beckoning 17 with his hand said. Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience. The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in 18 the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he them out of it. And about the time of 19 forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness. And when he had destroyed seven 20 nations in the land of Chanaan, he divided their land to them by lot. And after that lie gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the 21 prophet. And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son ot 22 Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years. And when he had re- SECTION 212.— ACTS 13:11^52. 95 moved him, he raised up unto them David to be their king ; to whom also he gave testi- mony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which 23 shall fulfil all my will. Of this man's seed hath God according to Ms promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus : 24 When John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the 25 people of Israel. And as Jolin fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? I am not he. But, behold, there cometh one after me, whose shoes of his feet I am not 26 worthy to loose. Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever 27 among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent. For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the propliets 28 which are read every sabbath day, they have fulHlled them in condemning him. And though they found no cause of death in him^ yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain. 29 And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, 30 and laid him in a sepulchre. But God raised him from the dead : and he was seen many 31 days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses 32 unto the people. And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that tlie promise which was 33 made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again ; as it is also written in the second psalm. Thou art my Son, this day 34 have I begotten thee. And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. 35 Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see cor- 36 ruption. For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on 37 sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption : but he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption. 38 Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached 39 unto you the forgiveness of sins : and by him all that believe are justified from all things, 40 from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. Beware therefore, lest that 41 come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets ; behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish : for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though 42 a man declare it unto you. And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gen- 43 tiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath. Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. 44 And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. 45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those 46 things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. Then Paul and Barna- bas waxed bold, and said. It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlast- 47 ing life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of 48 the earth. And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of 49 the Lord : and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. And the word of the 50 Lord was published throughout all the region. But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and 51 Barnabas, and expelled them out of tlieir coasts. But they shook off the dust of their feet 52 against them, and came unto Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost. The promise goes beyond "pardon," and proclaims "justification" as the portion of every man who believes. When "justified " as well as " pardoned," we are taken up to the level of the unfallen and sin- less ; nay, we are treated according to the character and deservings of Ilim through whom the justifica- tion comes. We are made to stand where he stands, and to receive the righteous favor which he receives. Yes ; we are justified from all thirigs. Our whole person is accepted ; and everything, great or small, that was against us is taken out of the way. All this simply in believing ! Not working, nor feeling, nor striving, nor wrestling, but simple believing. It is our believing that introduces us into the condition of justified men ; it is this believing that God acknowledges ; it is this believing that the conscience responds to ; for that which we believe is the one justifying thing, the one thing which is well-pleasing to God, and which pacifies the conscience. We have to do with a propitiation completed on the Cross. In credit- ing God''s testimony to that propitiation, we have pardon ; and in accepting the promise annexed to the testimony, we know that we have it ; because God is true. Bonar. SECTION 212.— ACTS 13 : U-52. 14. The Pisidian Antioch lay a hundred miles north of Perga, on the central table-land. Like the Syrian Antioch, it was founded by Seleucus Nicator, one of the four successors to Alexander's divided kingdom, and named after his father, Antiochus. It was a considerable city, and had been made by Au- gustus a Roman colony. Its previous history, and the added distinction conferred upon it by the em- peror, together with its connections with the east and west, rendered it a point of great importance in the extension and establishment of the Christian Church. Here, as in every considerable place in the Roman Empire, Jews formed part of the popu- lation, with Greeks, Romans, and natives. And, though few (as indicated by their sinr/le synagogue), they possessed great influence, and had made many proselytes, especially among Gentile women. This marked influence of the Jews appears in all the events of Paul's missionary career. On the first Sab- bath in Antioch the Christian missionaries, as usual, first sought the synagogue. B. 15, 16. There are certain traditional peculiari- ties whicii have doubtless united together by a com- mon resemblance the Jewish synagogues of all ages and countries. The arrangement for the women's places in a separate gallery, or behind a partition of lattice-work ; the desk in the center, where the read- er, like Ezra, may " open the book in the sight of all the people " ; the carefully closed Ark (on the side of the building nearest to Jerusalem) for the preservation of the rolls or manuscripts of the law ; the seats all round the building, whence " the eyes of all them that are in the synagogue " may be " fastened " on him who speaks ; the " chief seats," which were appropriated to the " ruler " or "rulers" of the synagogue, according as its organization might be more or less complete — these are some of the features of a synagogue, which agree at once with the notices of Scripture, the descriptions in the Tal- mud, and the practice of modern Judaism. On their entrance into the building, the four-cornered Tal- lith was first placed like a veil over the head, or like a scarf over the shoulders. The prayers were then recited by an officer called the " Angel " or " Apostle " of the assembly. The sacred roll of manuscript was handed from the Ark to the Read- er by the Chazan, or " minister," and then certain portions were read according to a fixed cycle, first from the Law and then from the Prophets. The Reader stood while thus employed, and all the con- gregation sat around. The manuscript was rolled up and returned to the Chazan. Then followed a pause, during which strangers or learned men who had " any word of consolation " or exhortation rose and addressed the meeting. And thus, after a pa- thetic enumeration of the sufferings of the chosen people or an allegorical exposition of some dark passage of Holy Writ, the worship was closed with a benediction and a solemn " Amen." To such a worship in such a building a congre- gation came together at Antioch in Pisidia on the Sabbath which immediately succeeded the arrival of Paul and Barnabas. Proselytes came and seated themselves with the Jews ; and among the Jewesses behind the lattice were " honorable women " of the colony. The two strangers entered the synagogue. and, wearing the Tallith, which was the badge of an Israelite, " sat down " with the rest. The prayers were recited, the extracts from " the Law and the Prophets " were read, the " Book " returned to the " Minister," and then we are told that " the rulers of the synagogue " sent to the new-comers, on whom many eyes had already been fixed, and invited them to address the assembly, if they had words of comfort or instruction to speak to their fellow Is- raelites. The very attitude of Paul, as he answered the invitation, is described to us. He "rose" from his seat, and, with the animated and emphatic ges- ture which he used on other occasions, " beckoned with his hand." II. 17-39. In its method, this first recorded dis- course of Paul resembled that of Peter at Pente- cost, and the defense of Stephen. Each of the three speaks as a Jew to Jews ; takes the Jewish history and Scriptures as the basis of the doctrines advanced ; specially refers to God's choice and con- duct and care of Israel, and to the prophetic revela- tion of a Messiah to come and to suffer ; and each declares that the Messiah has come, in the person of Jesus of Nazareth ; that he has suffered death and has risen again through the power of God. Paul here outlines the history until David's reign ; then abruptly turns from it because he has reached his theme, God's crowning mercy and promise to David, (he actual advent of Messiah. He cites the Baptist's testimony (as one well known and accred- ited by all Jews as a prophet) to Christ's true and sole Messiahship. Then he preaches Jesus and the resurrection, and adds a clear announcement of the central doctrine of Christianity, justificidion by failh. More sharply than either Peter or Stephen, he contrasts the latter with justification by law. 26-37. " llie Word of Salvation " includes the Crucifixion and Resurrection of the 3Iessiah, Jesus. — To you the saving word is sent, he says emphati- cally, for your sacred prophecies, being exactly ful- filled in his death and resurrection, demonstrate that Jesus is indeed the long-desired Messiah and Redeemer. Yet, he adds with reference to both the crucifiers and the friendly buriers of Christ, unwit- tingly they fulfilled all that was written of him ; and this although the words of the prophets were heard by them every Sabbath. He docs not excuse the rulers' guilt, neither does he sharply denounce it. His aim seems to be to press upon his hearers their deeper responsibility in now receiving this knowl- edge which, Christ's crucifiers did not so clearly possess. With the statement of the two facts (of cruci- fixion and the resurrection as disclosed in their Scriptures), he proceeds with a broader sweep of thought and in warmer tones of personal feeling to press this word of salvation, or these glad tidings, upon them. Not only was this the tenor of pro- phetic disclosure, but the sacrificial death and the resurrection, the eternal life and reign of Jesus SECTION 212.— ACTS 13:14-52. 97 comprised the ve^-y snhstance and complete fulJiUment of God's original and oft-repeated promise to the fathers. This grand point Peter and Stephen had made. From first to last Paul insists upon it. By sacrifice and ceremonial, by prophecy and promise, in history and psalm, through symbol and fact, through dark saying and plain, the entire Old Tes- tament revelation comprises, as its one only theme, Messiah, the Son of God and Son of man, the self- moved offerer, the divinely appointed and accepted offering for the sin of man. Ilis voluntary death, His self-resurrection, His quickening power and eter- nal sovereignty — these are included in the promise of mercy first to Adam, afterward to Abraham and his descendants, emphatically to David ; these com- prise the substance of all ancient revelation. They are the facts upon which we rest, and which make the Old Testament o?ie promise of glad tidings, still of vital force and value to all who receive the Christ of God. So Paul teaches here, and so we must be- lieve. In verses 33 to 37, referring to prophetic prom- ises in the psalms seemingly made to David and con- cerning him, he shows their higher reference to the resurrection of David's Lord and Son. As matching his own purpose here, in citing from the second psalm (v. 33), we may take Paul's assertion that Christ was " declared to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection of the dead." He shows from further passages that after resurrection Christ shall never die again (as David died and saw cor- ruption), but will live and reign eternally. And in the light of this Messiah's unchangeableness of being, he illustrates the certainty of the mercies promised through him. In all these citations and statements, Paul is only adding to and enforcing the Scriptural proofs of Christ's resurrection and abid- ing life, because this was the main fact to be sub- stantiated ; first, as having been foretold, and next, as having been fulfilled. Upon this, as Paul else- where plainly asserts, hangs the entire truth of Christianity, and the sole hope of guilty man. 38, 39. Remission of Sins and Complete Justifi- cation from the Condemning Hold of Law, the Sure Result of Faith in this Crucified, Risen, and Reigning Redeemer. — In these and the previous verses we find the germ thoughts of the Epistles to the Ro- mans and the Galatians. The manner in which Paul introduces this root doctrine of justification by faith is in keeping with its vital character. He uses a form of bold and earnest proclamation. He assumes the fact of their sinfulness. He says no- thing directly of the way of forgiveness and justifi- cation. This he has distinctly hinted at in announc- ing Christ's death and resurrection as glad tidings, and as the fulfillment of God's great promise of mercy. But he emphasizes the fact that there is re- 7 mission of sin, and deliverance from the law's con- demnation, in Christ, through His achieved re- demption. Forgiveness and remission of sins " through this one " (not this man) had been already preached by Peter and others. But they had said nothing about being justified, about a sinner's being accounted right- eous, or treated by God as though he were righteous. Righteousness was the great text and theme of the Pharisees. But until this convert from their ranks uttered these words (v. 39), the true relation of a sinner to the law of perfect righteousness had not been expressly stated by any Christian teacher. Scholars are agreed in changing a translation (v. 39) which seems to teach that the law does justify from some things, and Christ makes up the deficiency. Contrary to this, Paul says : " From all [sins], from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses, by Him every one ivho believes is justi- fied.''^ The law justifies from none ! Christ justi- fies the believer from all ! Therefore all effort to keep the law as a mean^ of divine acceptance is both useless and evil. Faith, which Christ calls a work, " the work of God " (or that God commands), a sim- ple utter reliance upon His mercy in Christ, this is our part and our only part in the supreme matter of being accounted righteous and so treated by Him. And this grand vital principle of justification by the heart's faith, now first clearly proclaimed, really gave to the sacrificial system of Moses all its meaning and utility. The sin-offering, prescribed and presented under the law to expiate even the smaller offenses, implied as the condition of its efii- cacy an underlying sorrow for the offense, and a reliance upon the mercy that accepted a substitute- sufferer in the offender's place. So, strictly speak- ing and most truly, the laiv of itself could do no- thing for forgiveness or justification. The lav:giver's act alone accepted a substitute for the offender. Thus the Old Testament and the New are in accord ujion this vital matter. The Jew, standing upon the ceremonial law of Moses, finds there the New Testa- ment principle of forgiveness through a substituted sacrifice. Only in the ancient offering the victim was a typical one, and a true spiritual deliverance lay in the offerer^s faith that God would provide a real and sufficient sacrifice. Thus far in this first discourse (of which we have at least a complete outline) Paul proves the facts of the gospel from their familiar Scriptures. Ear- nestly he proclaims Christ's sacrificial death, resur- rection, and eternal life, as God's fulf lied promise of grace, and therefore as glad tidings. And he urges their acceptance of this word of salvation, their personal trust in Christ, in order that they may be delivered from the law's condemning power. Jesus Christ, he says, is the Messiah of ancient promise. 98 SECTION 212.— ACTS 13 : U-52. In exact fulfillment of your inspired prophecies, He lived and died, He rose and lives for ever ! Then, believe in Him ! Or, if you will not hclievc^ then be- ware! His closing word of warning, which, like Peter, he foreknows will be needful, is taken from Hab. 1 : 5. The original prediction had been ful- filled by the Chaldees upon their fathers. He uses it again, thus strongly enforced by one fulfillment, to impress the tremendous peril impending over them. In little more than twenty years its second fulfillment came upon the whole Jewish people, for they renewed their rejection of God's mercy in the person and saving work of His own incarnate, risen, and reigning son. 43, 43. The Earnest Request and the Private Conference that followed PauVs First Discourse. — According to the better reading, all who had heard (as they were leaving the synagogue) besought him to repeat his teaching on the next Sabbath. This request showed an intense interest on the part of the body of Jews and Gentile proselytes in the new doctrine of Paul. In many of both classes, so strong was their instantaneous faith, that they fol- lowed Paul and Barnabas to their tarrying-place, in order to receive further instruction. At once recog- nizing the grace of God that had wrought the faith, the missionaries simply but fervently exhorted these infant converts to continue trusting in and looking for the same Divine grace. This phrase, " grace of God," is here fi7-st presented in the large sense of reconcihation and redemption by Christ's saving work. In connection with a reliance upon this gi'ace, the converts were also counseled to dis- trust and avoid self-righteous attempts at legal obedience. And the whole exhortation was in ac- cordance with the great truths of Paul's discourse. 44, 45. 27ie Immense Gathering of Pagan Gentiles, and the Consequent Envy and Malice of the Jews. — The intervening week had been one of gen- eral discussion of the strange doctrines, by all classes in the city. So, when the next Sabbath caftie, the apostles were greeted with an immense multi- tude of pagans anxious simply to hear the wonder- ful toords which had been reported. They hungered for truth — " to hear the word of God " ; for no men- tion is made of a single miracle, by which they might have been attracted. And this moving of al- most a whole city was the effect of a single sermon, and of its widespread report by Gentile proselytes. Was not this ample assurance that God's time had come, and His purpose in the conversion of the Gen- tiles was now to be fulfilled ? But the Gentile multitudes, whose presence re- jqiced the hearts of the missionaries and their true disciples, only stirred the Jews to envy. B. Their spiritual pride and exclusive bigotry was im- mediately roused. They could not endure the notion of others being freely admitted to the same religious privileges with themselves. This was always the sin of the Jewish people. Instead of realizing their position in the world as the prophetic nation for the good of the whole earth, they indulged the self-exalting opinion, that God's highest blessings were only for themselves. H. And yet their own prophets had declared that the Messiah, " the glory of his people Israel," was also "a light to lighten the Gentiles." Now, inflamed by jealous envy and arrogance, with passionate violence of speech, they railed at and so blasphemed " the word of God spoken by Paul." 46, 47. The First Plain Announcement of God's New " Election " of the Gentiles. — The apostles meet the calumnies and blasphemies of the fanatical Jews with bold and sharp reply. " This Messiah whom you reject," say they, " bade us first utter the word of salvation to you. But since you will not receive it, since by your own act in deliberately re- jecting it, you count yourselves unworthy of eternal life, He bids us turn to those who are now heeding his call." The words of self-pronounced verdict have only the simple but terrible severity of truth. They do but anticipate the self-conviction of all once enlightened but finally lost souls in the day of final judgment. They have judged themselves un- xvorthy of everlasting life ! Paul and Barnabas turned from the Jews to the Gentiles in Antioch. And in many other places, this turning was subsequently repeated, and similar scenes were enacted. And now, for more than eigh- teen hundred years, God's covenant people have turned from their own Messiah, and " through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles." Yet we know that God hath not utterly " cast away his people" (Rom. 11). They shall be restored to the faith and joy of God, and be incorporated into the grand spiritual kingdom of Messiah on the earth. And, as in the earlier ages they were chosen as the medium of conveying God's light and promises to the world, so in the later ages their conversion shall furnish a sure testimony to the consummation of all prophecy and promise, in the latter-day glory of Messiah as King over all peoples. 48, 49. This Antioch, also, became the center of a widespread and mighty Christian movement under the joint labors of the two apostles and their new disciples. " Throvghout all that region the icord of the Lord ivas published.''^ By so extended and successful a work among the Gentiles, first in the city, and afterward in the country around Antioch, did the Holy Ghost honor the very outset of their mission. »" As many as were ordained to eternall life believed. The word here employed signifiesj more than mere disposition or preference. It in-J SECTION 212.— ACTS 13 : U-52. 99 eludes the idea of determination. And the passive form of the word shows that this determination is exercised upon the subject by another. That other can only be, clearly is, God, who " worketh in" the believer " to will and to do." The fact here asserted is the divine disposing of these Gentile believers to eternal life. In this, as in other fuller and more explicit teachings, the intimation is conveyed that all things pertaining to salvation, like all provi- dences bearing upon the earthly life, are ordered and arranged according to the purpose and by the power of God. Believing, then, is the effect of no accident or whim of man, of no pur- pose originating with man, unmoved from without. " No man can come to me," said Christ, "except the Father draw him." Rightly appre- hended and gratefully re- ceived, this is a most in- spiriting and comforting truth. But the connected truth, indicated in the injunction "Work out your own salvation," though not re- ferred to here by Luke, always finds place in the exposition of God's working in us. For it intimates that the divine ordering neither annuls nor directly counteracts man's own agency in the matter of sal- vation, any more than in providences affecting the outward life. Every believer knows that he was won, not arbitrarily forced, to submission to the wiser, better will of God. Except the power of di- vine grace had first persuasively drawn his heart, he never would have submitted ; so that gratitude was blended with gladness in his blessed experience of being " made willing." Both truths — God's de- termining or working in us, and our yielding yet working out our own salvation — are clearly revealed ; the one to impress the supremacy of divine grace, the other to enforce the sense of human responsi- bility. And the opposite results, of faith and unbe- lief, may be thus summed up : God's determination, with which man's will is in unison, admits to the everlasting kingdom ; while man's own sole inclina- tion and decision excludes from the kingdom. And the personal consideration may be added, that though we can not harmonize the two revealed facts, of God's ordination to life and man's uncontrolled choice of life or death, yet any and every one may practically reconcile them by believing ! 50-52. Persecution, instigated by the Jeivs of Antioch, led the Tim Missionaries to leonium. — This first great success aroused great opposition. So it was ever afterward. " A wide door and many ad- versaries," is Paul's terse statement of a uniform fact in his entire experience. The chief cause of offense, in this and subse- quent persecutions, was not the preaching of the Cross and the Resurrection. It was the extension, directly and without any condition, to the Gentiles of the divine privileges and promises exclusively claimed by the Jews. This enraged both Jews and Antioch in Pisidid. proselytes, when they saw the Christian movement spreading widely and the Christian doctrine taking root among the people. It was easy to stir up the female proselytes, and natural to incite them to em- ploy their great influence with the leading men to oppose this new and hated religion. And this fact, often repeated in Paul's history, finds singular cor- roboration in the statement of a writer (Strabo) familiar with the region of western Asia. He ex- pressly states that in religious opinions the influence of the women was controlling with the men. From the systematic persecution thus brought against the apostles, they retired to Iconium, on the western border of Lyconia, and on the confines of Pisidia, Galatia, and Phrygia. Not through fear, but in accordance with the express instructions of Christ, they withdrew, in companionship with their invisible Lord. But the pereecution that compelled them to flee did not harm the Church they had planted. The same Lord who went with the rejoic- ing apostles to Iconium, remained with the new dis- ciples at Antioch ; so that they, too, were filled with joy in the Holy Ghost. Persecution can not injure the cause or set back the course of truth. The periods of sorest trial have often been those of greatest progress to the Church. Opposition stimulates true Christian prin- ciple ; it nerves courage and strengthens faith by evoking the prayer that brings the power of the Holy Ghost. B. 100 SECTION 213.— ACTS U : 1-28. Section 213. Acts xiv. 1-2S. 1 And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks be- 2 lieved. But the unbeUeving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil aflFected 3 against the brethren. Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by 4 their hands. But the multitude of the city was divided : and part held with the Jews, and 5 part with the apostles. And when there was an assault made both of the Gentiles, and also 6 of the Jews with their rulers, to use them, despitefully, and to stone them, they were ware of it^ and iled unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and unto the reigion that lieth 7 round about : and there they preached the gospel. 8 And there sat a c6rtam man at Lystra, impotent in Lis feet, being a cripple from his 9 mother's womb, who never had walked : the same heard Paul speak : who stedfastly behold- 10 ing him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, Stand upright 11 on thy feet. And he leaped and walked. And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to 12 us in the likeness of men. And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, be- 13 cause he was the chief speaker. Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people. 14 Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard q/, they rent their clothes, and ran in 15 among the people, crying out, and saying. Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are 16 therein: who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways. Nevertheless he 17 left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and 18 fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. And with these sayings scarce re- strained they the people, that they had not done sacrifice unto them. 19 And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the peo- ^0 pie, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. How- beit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the 21 next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and 22 Antioch, confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the 23 faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. And ■when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they 24 commended them to the Lord, on whonl they believed. And after they had passed through- 25 out Pisidia, they came to Paraphylia. And when they had preached the word in Perga, 26 they went down into Attalia: and thence sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been 27 recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled. And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with 28 them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles. And there they abode long time with the disciples. Still, as at first, through much tribulation we must enter into the kingdom of heaven. To that end i even our glorious Leader, the Captain of our salvation, is "made perfect," not in the infinite and eternal perfection of his nature, but in the perfcctness of bis condescending incarnation and mediatorial sympa- thy— made perfect " through suffering." SubHme mystery of God ! Gracious wonder of our redemption ! I Why should we complain of the sorrow that we ourselves, by our disobedience, have created ? of the sor- row that ends, not begins, our real misery ? the sorrow that is as much the needed pathway and natural 1 preparation of the joy of immortality with our Lord — joy that no eye hath seen, nor ear heard, nor heart conceived — as the night is the needed preparation of the morning, or hardship the natural path from the j wilderness of the far country to the peace of the Father's house ? F. D. H. SECTION' 213.— ACTS U : 1-38. 101 1-4. The district of Lycaonia extends from the ridges of Mount Taurus and the borders of Cilicia on the south to the Cappadocian hills on the north. It is a bare and dreary region. Of the whole dis- trict, leonium was properly the capital ; and the plain round Iconium may be reckoned as its great central space, situated midway between Cihcia and Cappadocia. This plain is spoken of as the largest in Asia Minor. H. leonium was a populous city on the western border of Lycaonia, on a main line of communication between east and west. It has had a signal history since, and still exists as Konieh. Its extended connections and intrinsic importance led the apostles to remain for some months, until driven away by the persecuting Jews. (See map, p. 94.) As at Antioch, the missionaries preached for a " long time " in the synagogue at Iconium. By the grace of Christ (here and throughout the Acts re- ferred to as the Lord), they were enabled so to speak that a g}-eat multitude believed. More than this, the Konieh— Ancient Iconium. same Lord, in testimony of his presence, confirmed their words by miracles "done by their hands." Only here, and some years after at Ephesus, was this special confirmation of mant/ miracles granted to Paul's ministry. In each of these cases, as in every single miracle, there was special call and fit- ness. 5-7. The wide division of sentiment among the entire population, which followed the long-continued faithful preaching of the apostles, shows what great results that preaching had wrought. Here the Jews succeeded in engaging the rulers and influential Gen- tiles in the persecution of Paul and Barnabas. Warned of the purpose to assault and stone them, the apostles fled to Lystra, in the interior wilds of Lycaonia. They fled, not from fear, but in obedience to their Lord's direction to continue their work else- where. But the seed was largely sown in Iconium. In some hearts it was left to grow ; in others, the very persecution that drove the apostles away led to questionings and stirrings of conscience. So oppo- sition helps, as well as hinders, a good cause. At Lystra, and afterward in Derbe, where were no Jews (therefore no synagogue), and but few of the more cultivated Greeks, " they preached the Gospel " for another considerable period. (See map, p. 94.) 8-10. Healing of the Life-long Crijjple at Lys- tra.— Like the man at the Temple gate, similarly healed by Peter, this one had never walked. Aside upon some thoroughfare, he was sitting — not beg- ging, for he asked no alms. At that point, among others, Paul chanced to preach. The man not only heard, but his heart was opened, like Lydia's, to receive the words spoken by Paul. This the apostle saw, when his attention was drawn by the man's in- tent gaze. And it was in response to the faith hi Christ which he discerned in the man's soul, that Paul, in the very spirit and manner of the Blaster, and under His inspiration, bade him test his faith by the attempt to stand upright. The test was sus- tained, and the man not only stood, but leaped and walked. The miracle was twofold: The withered members were made perfect, and without any pre- vious practice he instantly put them to their highest exercise and use. So the man's faith led to the healing of the body, in addition to the saving of the soul. It was one of Christ's own familiar works, only done invisibly, through the instrumentality of his honored apostle. 11-13. Worship offered to Paul and Barnabas. — Besides the beneficent effects of the miracle upon the man himself, and in the assurance afforded to the new disciples, it greatly excited the rude super- stitious people. Their gods were only deified men ; and Jupiter, the mightiest among them, was the tutelary or protecting deity of their city. As was 102 8ECTI02T 213.— ACTS U : 1-2S. customary, they had honored him by erecting cither temple or statue, or both, outside but near the main gate. Mercury was the frequent companion of Jupi- ter in his expeditions to the earth. According to a then current legend (given at length by Ovid), these two divinities had visited in disguise Lycaon, from whom the name of the district was derived. It was natural, therefore, that this people should think that Jupiter and llercury had come again to them in the likeness, or disguised forms, of Barnabas and Paul. 14-18. The Missionaries' Interne Repulsion of such Worship, and PauVs Fervid Address. — Rend- ing their garments, as the strongest, most convinc- ing expression of grief and horror, they ran in among priests and people. Then, as soon as atten- tion was gained, Paul first earnestly expostulates, and then preaches such a gospel as they could un- derstand. " We, too, are but men like yourselves, subject to all manner of suffering and disease, and to death! We come not here to receive divine honor, but to tell you of the true God!" From their unreal gods — "their vanities " — he turns their thoughts to the one Jehovah To these ignorant, uncultured heathen, who deified certain forces of nature, or counted as gods imperfect men, he de- clares a personal God. This God he reveals as liv- ing and life-giving — the architect and builder of the visible universe, the patient ruler and wise disposer of nations, the gracious author of providence, the giver of every good gift. Nature and providence " witness " to the being, the working, and the bounty of such a personal, creative God. This, as Paul afterward wrote (Rom. 1 : 18-21), left them without excuse for their atheism. To no further statement or appeal were they susceptible. No knowledge had they of the Jewish Scriptures. Nor with these rude people could Paul's reasoning upon the facts of nat- ural religion take even that broader grasp with which afterward he sought to reach the more cul- tured Athenians. Yet, with all that the apostles did and said, they with difficulty checked the pro- posed offering of sacrifice. 19, 20. 7'he Stonirtg of Paul and the Depar- ture from Lystra. — The same Jews who had driven the missionaries out of Antioch and Iconium, hear- ing of their successes, followed them to Lystra. Here they accomplished what they had failed in doing before. Easily persuading these credulous and fickle Lycaonians that the apostles were deceiv- ers, and thus securing their participation, these Jew- ish emissaries stoned Paul in the streets of Lystra, dragged his supposed lifeless body through the city gate, and cast it forth without the walls. At Ico- nium, where many miracles were wrought in confir- mation of their teaching, they were protected from stoning. Here the one miracle, which had occa- sioned the paying of divine honors, was followed by this dishonoring treatment, as if to stamp a deeper conviction of the mere humanity of the man they would have worshiped. They stoned Paul — not Barnabas. Signally is the controlling spirit and fervid zeal of the great Apostle manifest in this exclusive direction of tlie Jews' fury against Paul. In that affecting summary of his experiences (2 Cor. 11 ; 25) he includes this: Once was I stoned ! B. Once he stoned another, and once he was stoned himself. What a crowd of memories must have rushed up when he felt his spirit swooning away under the stone shower ! This would seem the echo of his own dread act. Ste- phen's heroic death must have left its mark deep on the heart of the converted Paul. Arnot. As the disciples gathered, in grief and doubt, about his ruthlessly handled body, Paul rose up; and, for their confirmation in faith and courage, went with them again into the midst of his foes. That this was a merely natural recovery from so severe a stoning, is scarcely credible. Only God's special shielding protected that frail body from many a vital stroke. And only a supernatural restoration could instantly give back their use to the fearfully bruised members. In this word, disciples, we liave the first mention of converts in Lystra. Among these disciples, and probably one of Paul's converts at this visit, was Timothy. This we learn by comparing Acts 16:1 with 2 Tim. 3 : 10, 11, and 1 Tim. 1 : 2. 21-24. Conclusion of the First Missionary Jour- ney.— Derbe, whither they went from Lystra, was the farthest eastern point they visited. Here they rested long, and preached in peace. And Paul's reference in 2 Tim. 3 agrees with the absence of any note by Luke of persecution in Derbe. After making many disciples, they returned homeward on the identical route of their previous journey as far as Perga. They could have taken the direct and much shorter route into the low plain of Cilicia, de- scending through the pass known as the " Cilician Gates," and have sailed from Tarsus to the Syrian Antioch. But the new disciples needed instruction, comfort, encouragement, and especially organiza- tion. Therefore they retrace their steps, and go again to the scenes of their persecution, to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch (in Pisidia). B. Their specific task this time was different. They set themselves on this occasion to confirm the souls of the converts, and exhort them as to their subsecfucnt course. The Christians in those places were al- ready born, but they needed to be nourished into strength. The first necessity is to see that they are in Christ, and the next to see that they grow strong in the Lord. Corresponding with their specific ob- ject, the burden of the missionaries' preaching this time is, " Continue in the faith." And for the rest. SECTION 213.— ACTS U : 1-i 103 the warning word rings clearly out, " We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." Arnot. This return journey through Pisidia and Pam- phj-lia is memorable for the first record of the ap- pointment of permanent officers, here called Elders, for the teaching and guidance, the comfort and gov- ernment, of the churches. We have already had an incidental mention of such officers, even in the churches of Judea. Much more did the newly planted churches which Paul and Barnabas were leaving to themselves need to have the means of edi- fication and order complete within themselves ; and so they ordained them Elders in every church. S. 104 SECTION ^11— ACTS 15: 1-29. Thus the young disciples were not left long without institutions and order. For edification, dis- cipline, and defense, each community was consti- tuted a corporation, and in each corporation elders were ordained. It was on the second visit of the missionaries that this was done. An interval was permitted to elapse that the fittest men might emerge ; and already the rule, " Lay hands suddenly on no man," was practiced before it was prescribed. Arnoi. 25-27. After tarrying also at Perga, to " preach the word," they sailed from the seaport Attalia, at the mouth of the Oestrus, direct for Antioch, their point of departure. Between two and three years had been occupied in this first missionary tour. Only some of the prominent events, enough to show the character and details of the entire work, are re- corded in these two brief chapters. The breadth and depth of the sowing, and the reach and force of the results directly and ultimately achieved, can not be gathered from this mere outline. The mother Gentile Church, now comprising sev- eral churches, was convened to hear " all that God had done with ' its missionaries,' and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles." This was the first missionary meeting. And the ivJiole Church had concern enough to come together and hear the new and marvelous story. Their interest was intensified by the fact that it was their own venture, as well as. the first that had been undertaken among the Gen- tiles, and that it was a saving effort in behalf of their own peoples. Both the commission of Christ and the call of the Holy Ghost still make the mis- sionary enterprise the cause of the Church, and still put its efficient support upon the conscience and heart of all Christian disciples. The rehearsal of the missionary's work has lost none of its interest to a true-hearted believer or Church. As the Divine agent who supervises and gives success to missions, the Holy Spirit still opens the door of faith unto all peoples to whom He sends preachers of the truth. 28. In Antioch, Paul and Barnabas returned to their old ministry, and remained quietly at their toil for about two years. B. Section 214. Acts xv. 1-29. 1 And certain men which came down from Judfea tanght the brethren, and said, Except ye 2 be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and 3 elders about this question. And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles : and they caused great joy unto all the brethren. 4 And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the 5 apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them. But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to 6 circumcise them, and to command theyn to keep the law of Moses. And the apostles and 7 elders came together for to consider of this matter. And when there had been much dis- puting, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word 8 of the gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving 9 them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us ; and put no diflFerence between us and them, 10 purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the 11 neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe 12 that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they. Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what mira- cles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them. 13 And after tliey had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken 14 unto me : Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of 15 them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets ; as it is written, 16 After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; 17 and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up : that the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, 18 wiio doeth all these tilings. Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the 19 world. Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gen- SECTION 214.— ACTS 15 : 1-29. 105 20 tiles are turned to God : but that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of 21 idols, a.n&jrom fornication, a.\\(\.from thinjis strangled, and from blood. For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day. 22 Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas ; namely^ Judas surnamed Barsabas, 23 and Silas, chief men among the brethren : and they wrote letters by them after this man- ner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the 24 Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia : forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Te 25 must be circumcised, and keep the law : to whom we gave no such commandment : it seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with 26 our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our 27 Lord Jesus Christ, ^Ye have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same 28 things by mouth. For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no 29 greater burden than these necessary things ; That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and fi'om fornication : from which if ye keep your- selves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well. I, 2* The issue raised, first at Antioch (v. 1) and afterward at Jerusalem (v. 5), was vital to Chris- tian faith and experience. Its correct decision in- volved the very continuance of Christianity in the world. The conflict here begun has never ceased through the ages. Whether salvation is of grace alone, or of grace and human works combined, was, has always been, still is, the question at issue. The result in the one case is spiritual liberty and peace ; in the other, bondage to a formal hfeless ritual, and disquiet in self-righteous working. The issue was rightly decided here ; but sixteen centuries later it had to be decided again, through the apostolic Re- formers. Antioch was the center and life-spring of the evangelical movement among the Gentiles. The form of the question, here first raised, pertained to the relation of these Gentiles to the ancient Jewish ritual. Especially it turned upon the necessity of their circumcision, as the initial rite of admission into the kingdom of God. The parties, who at An- tioch made the broad and positive assertion that this rite was an essential condition of salvation, were fake brethren ; so Paul declares (Gal. 2). Professed members of the Christian flock, they were yet actu- ated by nothing higher or other than the baleful spirit of Jewish proselytism. All the way from Jeru- salem to Antioch they had come on a self-prompted mission, not to preach the gospel to those who had it not, nor to rejoice with those already rejoicing in the Christian hope, but to counteract the effects of a gospel faithfully preached. Instantly and sharply Paul (Gal. 2) resisted the intrusion and antagonized the efforts of these false brethren. As fearlessly as before he had encountered the assaults of Jews without, he now meets this new attack from Jews within the fold. He knew that the Jewish believers might properly continue for a time to honor the rite of circumcision as a long fa- miliar obligation ; but that it never had been designed for and could not now be imposed upon Gentile be- lievers. He knew, moreover, that this particular demand was a mere introduction to a larger claim — even the whole cumbrous ceremonial of the law of Moses. To accept this ritual law would be to per- petuate the old covenant upon the ruin of the new. Christ, he knew, had declared the old to be outworn and useless, not to be patched upon with the new and living. The old yoke and burden of ceremonial, Christ had replaced u'ith fresh, glad, living t)~uth, to be learned of Him. By this truth, He had said, the receiving soul would be made free and find rest in Him ! These Judaizing proselyters would take away this freedom and rest. They would despoil the gospel of Christ of all that made it a gospel — a proclamation of glad tidings. They would subvert the foundation of the Christian scheme, by denying the sufiiciency of faith in Christ as the sole com- plete condition of salvation. And Paul further knew that the perpetuation of the Jewish spirit of exclusivism, by making Gentile believers into Jews, would continue to foster among all, Jews and Gen- tiles, the pride and arrogance which had for centuries cursed and destroyed God's ancient people. So much at least, as to the first raising of this question at Antioch, we may gather from Paul's own narrative to the Galatians. He sought no coun- sel, for he needed none to instruct him, and took small part in the after conference. But the ques- tion had a vital concern to all believers, then and thenceforth. Many of the Syrian Christians were troubled and unsettled by these persistent Judaizing 106 SECTI02T 21Jf.—ACTS 15 : 1-29. teachers. For their comfort, nay more, for the fu- ture being, not merely the well-being and peace, of the Church in that aad in every age, a wise and authoritative decision was essential. So the Church at Antioch and its two great leaders obeyed a spe- cial Divine direction to seek such decision from the apostles and the mother Church of the Jews at Jerusalem. 3, 4. A deputation, including Paul and Barna- bas, was cordially received at Jerusalem, and the story of the two missionaries rehearsed. This was the first personal interview of the apostles (except Peter and James, Gal. 1 : 18, 19) with Paul, although fourteen years or more had elapsed since his con- version. He speaks (Gal. 2 : 9) of a private inter- view, in which the great leaders, Peter, John, and James, gave to Barnabas and himself the right hand of fellowship. At this interview, doubtless, Paul narrated for their information the efforts of the Judaizers at Antioch, and how he had success- fully opposed them. 5,6. Very soon the same question was formally presented to the apostolic body. This second tirae it was brought forward and more broadly stated by comparatively honest Pharisaic believers. " It was essential," they claimed, " that the obligation to ob- serve all the ceremonial law of Moses should be enforced upon all Christian believers. Gentile and Jew." At once the apostles met the issue as one demanding careful and solemn consideration. They assumed no reliance upon their infallibility as apostles, but invited the whole body of Jewish be- lievers to confer with them upon the matter. Only thus could the deliberation be thorough, the decision unanimous and effective. 7-9. Much discussion followed the statement of the question. The sincere JewisV> objectors to Paul's free reception of the Gentiles could make this strong case : " God had appointed the ceremo- nial institutes of Moses, especially circumcision, as a sign of covenant with himself and a seal of ad- mission into his kingdom. He had never repealed these ordinances. Nor had Christ formally abro- gated them. Nay, in his person and his teaching he had recognized and honored them." To these points, mainly true, the sufficient answer would be this : " God's appointment of the Mosaic ritual was exclu- sively for the nation he had chosen, not for the Gen- tiles. The ceremonial observances were designed ex- clusively to teach and influence that people, to make Himself known and his saving purpose in Christ, to lead them to obedience and worship, and so fit them for earth and heaven. This he would do by these special symbols, for introductory and temporary use. But, through the misleading blindness and long disobedience of that people, that which he had devised for good they had perverted to evil. All this Christ had abundantly affirmed, and so em- phatically implied the repeal of these misused, now actually useless, ceremonies. More than this. He had declared that the truth should make them free from the yoke of ordinances ; that true worship was heart worship, without reference to the Temple. And, as a final chief point, the whole law of sacrifice was abrogated by its fulfillment in the death of Christ." Such might have been the main points of argu- ment presented on either side in the protracted dis- cussion which preceded the address of Peter. With- out any assumption of superiority, Peter clearly pre- sents three fads as the unanswerable grounds of a right decision in the matter. The first was that God himself had " a good while ago " introduced the innovation complained of. Fourteen years be- fore, in connection with Peter's special ministry to Cornelius and his company, God, who knew the hearts of those Roman Gentiles, in response to the simple faith he saw in their hearts, had given them the Holy Ghost, his very Pentecostal gift to Jewish believers. He had thus disregarded and so broken down the dividing wall of long effete and meaning- less ordinances. Nay, more, to show that God him- self had substituted faith for circumcision, Peter affirms that God ha.6i purified their hearts hy faith ; had taken away (without circumcision and by faith) that uncleanness whose taking away had been be- fore only symboli7,ed by circumcision. 10. The second fact (based upon the first), Peter asserts under the form of a direct charge against the Jewish objectors. " You are tempting God, in seeking to put this yoke, which neither you nor your fathers could bear, upon these Gentile dis- ciples, to whom it has never been commanded. Not merely undirected and useless work is this, but by it you are hindering and imperiling, instead of aid- ing, their salvation." They and their fathers had long felt the law of Moses to be an intolerable bur- den. Its ceremonials were wearisome and meaning- less, and in its moral precepts broken and sanctions incurred they could find no relief for a guilty con- science, no hope of eternal life. The law — they knew by experience — could give the knowledge of sin, but not the knowledge of salvation. 1 1 . With the third fact, he completes their over- throw. Simply, faithfully, as taught by the Spiriti of Christ, he declares that for them as Jews, as well as for the Gentiles, the grace of the Lord JesuSi Christ is the only thing sufficient, and it alone is suf- ficient for salvation and eternal life. Thus Peter reaches Paul's conclusion. He too affirms that thej Jewish rites, though appointed and long honored oij God, are now not essential, not longer binding ever; upon the Jew. Nay, they are hindering and hurt- ful ; impediments in the way of the gospel. SECTIOy 214.— ACTS 15 : 1-29. 107 12. The simple narration of Barnabas and Paul i follows the unanswerable facts and appeal of Peter. Paul entered into no argument, nor did he directly touch the question at issue. He only told what wonders of grace God had wrought among the Gen- tiles, at their hands — how his Spirit had been poured forth — what multitudes had believed, and proved their faith to be divine. And this statement of the effects following upon the simple testimony to the crucified, risen, and reigning Jesus, without word of Temple or sacrifice, of ablution or circumcision, or of any outward ordinance of the Hebrew econ- omy, this was all the part that Paul took in the great Conference at Jerusalem. But his fervent words were intently heeded, and wrought a deep im- pression upon "the multitude." 13-21. James, "the Lord's brother" (Gal. 1 : 19), to whom Christ specially disclosed himself after his resurrection, closed the discussion. B. From this time he appears as the head of the Church at Jerusalem, having virtually the character and standing of an apostle. G. P. F. His high re- pute for wisdom and excellence had long given him a foremost place in the Church of Jerusalem ; while the austere tone of his piety and his strong sympa- thy with Jewish legalism and prejudice gave him the gi'eatest weight with the Christian Pharisees. His address accords with these peculiarities of char- acter. He refers to Peter by his Hebrew name, and to the testimony of the Old Testament prophets upon the question before them. Appealing particu. larly to the prophecy of Amos, he confirms by the ■word of God the facts of God's working, narrated by Peter and Paul. The passage cited speaks of the typical kingdom ^f David, and the once stately temple structure as now fallen ; and of the spiritual kingdom and Church of the " greater David " that shall rise upon the ruins. It declares that a world- wide, all-inclusive, permanent Christianity shall suc- ceed to the narrow, temporary Jewish system ; and so implies that the Jewish is only the preparation for the Christian. And God, the foreknowing and foreplanning, had ordained this from the beginning. His ultimate plan included a Church in which Gentile as well as Jew should receive salvation by faith in the name of his Christ. So, infers James, it is in accordance with this purpose declared by the proph- ets, that God is now " taking out of the Gentiles a people for his name." Therefore, he concludes, we may not interfere with His work among the Gen- tiles, by troubling them with ceremonials that He has laid aside. Thus, in harmony with Peter, James conclusively advocates the exemption of the Gentile Christians from the ritual burdens of the Mosaic law. Only upon certain matters bearing upon educated preju- dices and unrecognized sin, he recommends a frank expression of opinion ; and this in aid both of Jew- ish and Gentile believers. The result, embodied in the letter, was the fruit of honest and thorough con- sideration of the working and the w-ord of God, by good and inspired men. The conference was con- ducted in the fear of God, without bigotry or as- sumption on the part of any, but with the simple desire of all to ascertain and declare the mind of God. 22-29. Points in the Letter to the Gentile Churches. — This first written document of the New- Testament was necessary, in order that the judg- ment of the Apostolic Church upon so vital a mat- ter might be accurately conveyed to the entire Gen- tile world. It was borne by trustworthy messengers — Silas (called Silvanus by Paul) and Judas Barsa- bas. It was addressed to the Gentile Christians of Syria and Cilicia. The introduction — much the longest portion — expresses a strong judgment respecting the original parties to the issue now decided by the apostles and brethren. The Pharisaic opponents of Paul and Barnabas are characterized as troublers and subvert- ers of soids — thus sustaining all that Paul says of them to the Galatians. Their demand of circum- cision and other legal observances as essential to salvation is declared to be soul-dest)~uctive, and their mission wholly unauthorized. For Barnabas and Paul the letter expresses only warm affection, and a deep appreciation of the suffering and self-sacrifice in which they were the pioneers of the great mis- sionary host of Christ. The 28th and 29th verses contain the formal decision of the question sub- mitted. B. The decision of the Holy Spirit, given them as leaders of the Church, is laid down as the primary and decisive determination on the matter ; and their own formal decision follows, as giving utterance and scope to his will and command. A. The apos- tles, and those joining with them in this act, claim for their own decision a divine authority, as having been suggested or inspired by tbe Holy Ghost. J. A. A.— ^ — By this decision, the apostles and Church at Jerusalem — the natural guardians of whatever it might have been right to preserve in the ancient dispensation — gave their solemn and final approval to that version of the gospel which Paul had preached by the revelation given to him. The emancipation of the Gentile converts from Jewish rites involved far more than their personal liberty. It abolished that separation of the race of Israel from the other nations, of which circumcision was the sign and seal ; and, in place of the divine favor of which they boasted as the sons of Abraham, ac- ceptance with God was offered to Jew and Gentile in common through the new spiritual bond of faith in Christ. And, as the speech of Peter declares, 108 SECTION 215.— ACTS 15 : 30^41; 16 : 1-12. tliis view of the gospel was of no less vital moment to the Jew than to the Gentile. If the Jewish be- lievers were thrown back on the Jewish law, and gave up the free and absolute grace of God, the Law became a mere burden, just as heavy to the Jew as it would be to the Gentile. The only hope for the Jew was in a Saviour who must be the Saviour of mankind. S. Four things they recommend the Gentile Chris- tians to abstain from. Three of these touched merely the law of charity and kindness as between Gentile and Jew. They were; the use of meats that had been offered in sacrifice to idols; the blood of slaughtered animals, often used at idol feasts ; and things strangled, or cattle that had not been slaughtered but suffocated in their blood. There were two reasons for the prohibition of these things, which in themselves were not sinful. First and chiefly, out of proper regard to the educated prejudices of the Jews, who detested and were scan- dalized by these idol sacrifices and methods of pre- paring them. Secondly, the restrictions were great- ly helpful to the Gentiles also. They aided in disentangling them from the old connections of heathenism, and in breaking the force of life-long idolatrous customs. The fourth prohibition respects a positive sin, yet is here classed with things indif- ferent. No more striking proof than this do we find of the ntier lapse of morality itself out of the heathen systems of religion. For no form of per- sonal impurity was in these systems counted a sin. Obviously upon this point there was necessity for the instruction of Gentile believers, and the awa- kening of a conscience of sin respecting this matter of " fornication." And proper deference to the Jews also required this restriction, for they were scrupulously sensitive to the crime of unchastity. B. This letter is a model of Christian toleration. It is not weighted with anathemas : it does not even use the tone of command : it is not the promulga- tion of a decree. After explaining the cause of the disputation, it goes no further than to tell the churches they would do well to conform to the reso- lutions passed at Jerusalem. The letter recognizes the inspiration of the Holy Spirit as shared by all who took part in the council. De P. Section 215. Acts xv. 30-41 ; xvi. 1-12. 30 So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch : and when they had gathered the 31 multitude together, they delivered the epistle : which when they had read, they rejoiced for 32 the consolation. And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted the breth- 33 ren with many words, and confirmed them. And after they had tarried thei'e a space, they 34 were let go in peace from the brethren unto the apostles. Notwithstanding it pleased Silas 35 to abide there still. Paul also and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also. • 36 And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in 37 every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do. And 38 Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not 39 with them to the work. And the contention was so sharp between them, that they de- parted asunder one from the other : and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus ; 40 and Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of 41 God. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches. 1 Then came he to Derbe and Lystra : and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, wliich was a Jewess, and believed; but his father 2 teas a Greek : which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconiura. 3 Him would Paul have to go forth with him ; and took and circumcised him because of the 4 Jews which were in those quarters : for they knew all that his father was a Greek. And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were 5 ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem. And so were the churches : established in the faith, and increased in number daily. 6 Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were for- 7 hidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, after they were come to Mysia, they 8 assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit snifered them not. And they passing by Mysiai 9 came down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night ; There stood a man of' SECTION 215.— ACTS 15 : 30-41; 16 : 1-12. 109 10 Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and iielp us. And after he had seen tiie vision, immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering 11 that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them. Therefore loosing from 12 Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis ; and from thence to Phihppi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony : and we were in that city abiding certain days. The collision of natural affection in Barnabas with the somewhat unchastened, untempered zeal of Paul produced a contention between them. Sharp words passed and mutual recriminations, and the feel- ings of both parties were exasperated — alas ! so much so that they found it impossible to work together ; they must henceforth choose different spheres of duty. How ? Are these apostles ? Are these two of God's most eminent saints? Are these two eminent pillars of the Church of Christ? Yes, apostles, and saints, and pillars, not as our fancy portrays them, nor as they are now, in the calm and deep repose of Paradise, but as they were in the struggles and collisions of daily life. E. M. G. Since this inci- dent did occur, it is good that it is recorded ; since, if it gives us much to lament, it gives us not a little to learn. It humbles us to perceive the relatively small, but not the less disfiguring, blemish on such re- vered countenances. Frequently the best men are sadly inconsistent ; and, even in the most eminent Christian, nature at times is stronger than education ! And this first dispute of which we read in the an- nals of God's kingdom, by what a countless number of others has it been followed in later ages, fre- quently from causes yet more trifling. Van 0. 30; 3 1 . 27ie Reading of iJie Letter, and its Happij Effects upon the Gentile Christians. — It was not the requisitions of the apostolical epistle that excited joy at Antioch, but the comforting assurance that their faith was not vain, or their souls in jeopardy. J. A. A. The Gentiles were confirmed in their free- dom from the ceremonial law ; and the yoke of that law was broken for the Jewish believers. Unity and peace were established between Jew and Gen- tile ; and both were indoctrinated anew, with fresh authority from the Holy Ghost, in the blessed sim- plicity and pure spirituality of the Gospel of Christ. Thus, once and for all time, was decided the question of spiritual liberty or bondage, of grace or works. The full points and reasonings of the de- cision are found in Paul's matchless Epistles to the Romans, the Corinthians, and the Galatians. And the world has needed them. For centuries without them, it relapsed into a civilized idolatry and bar- barism. Brought again into the light at the Refor- mation, they have proved their power afresh for these three hundred years. And they are needed, above all needs of humanity beside, in all their blessed power to-day ! 35. Returning from Jerusalem with Silas and Judas, Paul and Barnabas resumed for a short pe- riod their customary labors in Antioch and the ad- jacent region of Syria. Gal. 2:11-31. Peter's Temporary Wealcness and Defection at Antioch. — During this interval, ac- cording to the order of Paul's narrative, occurred that strange conduct of Peter, for which Paul felt constrained publicly to rebuke the older apostle. With the thrice-uttered monitory question and sol- emn charge of his risen Lord graven on his soul, with all the special help and continuous inworking of the Holy Ghost, and even after many years of unflinching boldness under the severest tests of fidelity, yet here, for a very brief period, we find Peter enacting over again the old cowardice and dissimulation. This he did by disowning his own recent intense protest in the Council ; by trampling under foot the Gospel principles respecting social intercourse with Gentiles, which he had so long and so signally illustrated in his practice. On his first arrival at Antioch he fellowshipped freely with Gen- tile believers. But to gratify certain brethren by complying with their strong Jewish prejudices — and this out of mere deference to their high position in the Church at Jerusalem — Peter withdrew from the society of the Gentiles. There was here no question of a wise expediency, or of proper consideration for tender consciences, respecting things non-essential. As it had been long years before, his yielding was prompted solely by a weak fear of man. And not only did he withdraw, but he led others, including even Barnabas, to withdraw with him ; and Paul charges them all with "playing the hypocrite" in the matter. Such conduct was peculiarly reprehen- sible, as promoting a divisive influence at this most critical period in the introduction'of Christianity. It was a positive sanction, by one who had long been the foremost of the Apostles, of the very heresy that the Jewish council had just condemned ; viz. : that circumcision, and not faith, was essential to salva- tion. And this heresy was noiv, in every place, assault- ing and endangering the life of the infant Church. While Paul's rebuke was personal, it went argu- 110 SECTION 215.— ACTS 15 : 30-Jfl ; 16 : 1-12. mentatively to the very heart of the question at issue. In its complete statement of the essential principles of the Gospel as compared with the Law, it presents a grand epitome of his chief Epistles. That the rebuke was rightly received, and was effec- tual in rcenforcing Peter's courage and faith, and so restoring him to fidelity, is evident. For in one of his own letters he refers to " the Epistles of oior beloved brother Paul,'' "Epistles in one page of which his own censure is recorded." But, tempo- rary as was this defection of one so thoroughly taught and tried, it is a strange sad story. It im- presses a fact and points a warning that may well be pondered by the best, the strongest, and most active Christian soul ! 36-39. The Quarrel between Paul and Barna- bas.— This second painful occurrence followed not long after. It was a sharp personal discussion, in which each had some reason on his side, yet both were faulty. They only proved that they were, as they had said to the Lystrans, men of like passions as others. The plain story of imperfection indi- cates an authentic and honest record. It suggests a strong presumption of the truth of the narrative, as well as the genuine earnestness and positive con- victions of the men. Good men they were ; both set apart by the Holy Ghost ; old friends and long work-fellows in eminent service, signally honored and prospered of God. Yet, in connection with the proposed renewal of this very work for God and man, they quarreled — nay, more, they finally parted asunder. It was a matter bearing upon personal peculiari- ties that led to the quarrel. Paul's ever unyielding principle could make no allowance for what seemed to be, ^nd probably was, weakness in John Mark. I'arnabas, who had just before himself yielded to Peter's wrong example, could more readily overlook Mark's weakness. His love, too, to his young kins- man, who had now returned from Jerusalem ready for toil, and his strong desire to have Mark per- manently engaged in Christian work, joined possibly with some remaining vigor of the old nature, led him to persist to the point of entire separation from Paul. But God overruled the result to double the work and the workmen. Instead of tioo went forth yb7/r ; and into two fields of labor, instead of one. And no bitterness was left behind, for we find Paul after- ward speaking of Barnabas as his equal in active and successful toil ; and of Mark as his " fellow- laborer," " profitable to the ministry," and a " com- fort" to himself. We may add, that good men as well as earnest missionaries have differed ever since. And, as here, God has forborne with their imperfec- tions, and in many cases He has wrought a greater good out of their personal differences. While we have no record of the labors of Bar- nabas and Mark in Cyprus (as we have none of the many other laborers — apostles and disciples), the ultimate marked success of the gospel in Cyprus may justly be attributed in great part to their faith- ful and efficient ministry. 40, 41. The Second Missionary Journey of Paul. — More than two years had elapsed since his return from the First Journey. The Second was begun A.n. 51, and occupied between three and four years, including eighteen months at Corinth, until A. D. 54. The account is included in chapters 15 : 40, 41 to 18 : 22. The 41st verse, with the first twelve verses of chapter 16, merely outline a very long course of travel and labor, covering many months. With Silas, he goes through the provinces of Syria (in part) and Cilicia, Phrygia and Galatia, visiting their chief cities, and tarrying again in Derbe, Lys- tra, Iconium, and the neighboring Antioch. At length, from Troas, on the coast, he crosses to Eu- rope, and preaches first at Philippi in Macedonia. A fact of special interest, to be noted here, is that Paul had no further thought in starting out than to visit the churches already established, in the field previously visited by Barnabas and himself. From place to place, and definitely from Asia to Europe, he was led by the Holy Spirit ; and, as he was di- rected, he went. B. 41. Syria and Cilicia. In consequence of the range of Mount Taurus, the Eastern (or " Flat ") Cilicia has a greater geographical affinity with Syria than with Asia Minor. Hence " Sip-ia and Cllkia " appears in history almost as a generic geographical term, the more important district being mentioned first. Within the limits of this region Saul's activi- ties were first exercised in studying and in teaching at Tarsus, and in founding those Churches which were afterward greeted in the Apostolic letter from Jerusalem as the brethren " in Antioch, and Syria, and Cilicia," and which Paul himself confirmed after : his separation from Barnabas, traveling through " Syria and Cilicia." H. (See map, p. 94.) 1-5. Timothy ordained and joined to PauPs Missionary Company. — Paul had reached the famil- iar region of Derbe, Lystra, and Iconium, ascend' ing into Lycaonia from Cilicia through the pass known as the Cilician Gates, a great fissure in the Taurus Kangc, extending eighty miles north andi south. Living in Lystra, Timothy had probably been converted under the ministry of Paul, four op five years before. From his mother and grand- mother he had received impressions of truth in ear liest childhood. And since his conversion to Christ- he had specially commended himself to the brethren in the three cities of Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch (2 Tim. 2 : 10, 11). This "good report from those without" (1 Tim. 3 : T), together with Paul's owr SECTION 215.— ACTS 15 : 30-41; 16 : 1-12. Ill impression of bis Christian character, and of his fitness for ministry in the Gospel, led the apostle, under divine guidance, to impress him into Christ's service. Gladly and gratefully Timothy gave him- self to missionary toil, and, " after he had made a good confession before many witnesses," was sol- emnly set apart by the laying on of the hands of Paul and of the elders in those churches. And from thenceforth the relation between the apostle and this youthful disciple was most intimate and tender. A son, indeed, in the depth and constancy of Paul's affection, as well as " in the faith," was this earnest, single-hearted Timothy accounted by the apostle ; as many touching passages in his two Let- ters amply prove. Paul had two sufficient reasons for circun^cising Timothy, before inducting him into the ministry: the chief one was that as an uncireumcised Jew Tim- othy could not be admitted into the synagogues, nor listened to with respect by the unconverted Jews. Besides this positive necessity, no principle was compromised in the case of Timothy. Further, Paul was willing to avail himself of this opportuni- ty (as he did of one other. Acts 21) practically to correct certain misrepresentations that his enemies had made against him — the same that had been made against the Master : that he bad despised and blasphemed the law of Moses. And it is to be noted that Paul's refusal to circumcise Titus, while at Jerusalem (Gal. 2 : 3-5), was perfectly consistent with his action here. For Titus was a Greek — a heathen born; with no claim to the Jewish rite or privilege. Those who demanded his circumcision did it upon the express grounds that the Gentiles must become Jews before they could become Chris- tians ; that the burden of ceremonials must be as- sumed, and especially circumcision, as an essential condition of salvation. All this was in direct con- tradiction of the principles affirmed by the Council : that the Gentiles were free from the yoke of the Mosaic Law ; and that faith, not circumcision, was the only essential to salvation. In the case of Titus, Paul was intolerant in defense of vital principles. In the case of Timothy, he was tolerant of mere prejudices, that he might help the more effectual- ly to remove them ; that unconverted Jews might not be repelled from the Christian teacher and the Christian truth. In this case, he " became unto the Jews as a Jew, that he might gain the Jerts." And that no inconsistency was thought of or recognized m this action we know by the statement immedi- ately followimr, respecting the decrees of the Coun- cil. 6-8. After preaching throughout the Region of Phrygia and Galatia, they pass ovej' Asia to Troas. — Under the names of Phrygia and Galatia, whose boundaries are entirely indefinite, the central table- land region of Asia Minor is here referred to. At this time Paul must have planted the churches of Galatia, though Luke makes no record here. For these churches are referred to as confirmed by Paul in his next succeeding journey (Acts 18 : 23). B. Luke makes no mention of any of Paul's Epis- tles, or even of the fact that he wrote a single Epis- tle ; and yet, in dictating the Acts by the agency of Luke, the Holy Spirit appears to have his divine eye on what had been already given, or would be here- after given, by himself to the world in those Epis- tles by the hand of Paul. Here is the ground of the argument handled by Dr. Paley in his " Hora; Paulinae." The Acts and the Epistles are from one Spirit. No wonder that there is a beautiful har- mony among them, more deeply felt because not the result of effort and art, but of oneness of origin from the Spirit of truth. W. How they were forbidden by the Spirit of Christ to preach in Asia — the Roman province bordering upon the .^Jgean Sea — and how hindered from going northeastward into the larger province of Bithynia, wo are not informed. The curiosity that desires to investigate such a question is wholly ungratified by the Scripture. Paul was made to understand the mind of the Spirit, and — the only real point of ra- tional interest — he obeyed it! And, to every one cherishing the same obedient spirit, the mind of God will in some assured way be made known. ^Vhy their proposed movements were thus divinely hedged round on every side save that of the sea, is clearly intimated in the summons that so soon followed : to cross the sea, and enter Europe ! So plainly it ap- pears that the Gospel's first marked entrance into Europe was definitely directed by the Lord Christ. 9, 10. PauVs Vision at Troas. — Alexandria Troas, this seaport and free city, upon or near the site of ancient Troy, had been named. B. Nearly four centuries had passed since the Macedonian con- queror crossed the narrow strait of the Hellespont, to overthrow the great despotism that enthralled Asia ; and now, near that plain of Troy, on which Alexan- der stayed to indulge the dream of rivaling the fame of his ancestor, Achilles, at the very city named in the conqueror's honor, Paul beheld in vision another " man of Macedonia," uttering the cry of the west- ern world suffering beneath the despotism of sin, and calling to the soldiers of the Cross, " Come over and help us." The power which had led Europe to the armed conquest of Asia was the first to invite conquest from the spiritual force of which Asia had been the primeval cradle. S. This vision is still perpetuated. The cry of humanity in its sense of need — its guilt and wretchedness, its helpless, hope- less despair — is still sounding now from East to West, as then from "West to East. It comes from every heathen continent, and from the many islands. 112 SECTION 215.— ACTS 13 : 30-41; 16 : 1-12. Northern Shores of the Mg^^&n Sea. (Note Troas, in the province of Asia; the seaport Neapolis, at the head of the Stry- monic Gulf; Philippl, on the Via Egnatia; Thessalonica, at the head of the Thenuaic Gulf; and Berea.) to the Church of every region, and to the Christian of every name. B. And it has been abundantly shown that it is death to a Church or a Christian either not to hear this cry, or, having heard it, not to heed it. Riddle. Luke, " the beloved physician " and " the broth- er whose praise is in all the Churches," who, in his native place, Antioch, had labored with Paul, joined the three missionaries at Troas. Although the his-, torian of all these events, and the companion of Paul in a large part of his journeying, he nowhere alludes to his presence otherwise than by the words " we " and " us " in the narrative. 11, 13. From Troas across the ^gcan to Neap- olis and Philippi. — Paul's " immediate endeavor to go into Macedonia " was succeeded by finding a ves- sel about to sail for Neapolis. B. And these four men go on board the vessel — Paul, with his fervent soul and his strong intellect ; Silas, with his zeal and his prophetic gifts ; Luke, with his scholar- ly culture and professional accomplishments ; and Timothy, with his youthful earnestness and as yet undeveloped powers for work. 77ic.se four men, guided by the Divine Spirit, come to Europe ! And that ship has in it the seeds of all that is to be de- veloped in the religion and learning, the philosophy, legislation, art, science, and everything else that has made European nations the acknowledged regal masters of the world. T. B. The very elements prospered this outward voyage ; so that their course was direct, by Tenedos, Imbros, and Samothracia ; and the eighty miles was accomplished in two days. Macedonia was previously a prominent kingdom of ancient Greece, now a Roman province. It had been a military kingdom, and its cities had not re- ceived the culture of Athens, nor shared the com- mercial prosperity of Corinth. The truth, there- fore, had a readier reception, and found fewer ob- stacles than afterward in those cities. From Neapolis, a Macedonian harbor on the Strymonic Gulf, they followed for ten miles one of the great Roman roads, over a lofty ridge extending from Mount Pangceum, and then descending into the plain of Philippi. Upon this plain, b. c. 42, An- thony and Augustus (afterward emperor), in a final, decisive battle, had defeated Brutus and Cassius. As a monument of that signal victory, Augustus had planted a Roman colony upon, or near, the site of the older Macedonian city. Of the border-tract of Eastern Macedonia, which formed the barrier against Thrace with its barbarous hordes, Philippi was the cjiief city. As a colony, settled with freed- men and veteran soldiers, organized as to its govern- ment, laws and social customs on the model of im- perial Rome, and as a frontier defensive post, its privileges and its distinction were great. B. And now a Jewish apostle came to the same place, to win a greater victory than that of Philippi, and to found a more durable empire than that of Au- gustus. H. SECTION 216.— ACTS 16 : IS-Jfi. II3 Section 216. Acts xvi. 13-40. 13 Akd on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to 14 be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither. And a cer- tain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were 15 spoken of Paul. And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us. 16 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of 17 divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: the same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which 18 shew unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of 19 her. And he came out the same hour. And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew tliem into the marketplace unto the 20 rulers, and brought them to the magistrates, saying. These men, being Jews, do exceedingly 21 trouble our city, and teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to ob- 22 serve, being Eomans. And the multitude rose up together against them : and the magis- 23 trates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many 24 stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to Iseep them safely : who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. 25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God : and the prisoners 26 heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken : and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands 27 were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the pris- 28 oners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm : for we 29 are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down 30 before Paul and Silas, and brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. 32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he 33 took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes ; and was baptized, he and 34 all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. 35 And when it was day, the magistrates sent the Serjeants, saying. Let those men go. And 36 the keeper of the prison told this saying to Paul, The magistrates have sent to let you go: 37 now therefore depart, and go in peace. But Paul said unto them. They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison ; and now do they thrust 38 us out privily ? nay verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out. And the Ser- jeants told these words unto the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they 39 were Romans. And they came and besought them, and brought them out, and desired them 40 to depart out of the city. And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed. On the same page of Scripture there is the record of two most remarkable conversions, as different from each other as any two processes of mind, leading to the same result, can by possibility be. Lydia, the purple-seller of Thyatira, became a Christian through the gentle opening of the heart, as by the quiet river-side she attended to the things which were spoken of Paul. The Philippian jailer is converted, on the other hand, in a manner such as mi.a;ht be expected from the previous habits of ignorance and vice in which, we may reasonably suppose, he had been sunk. The critical, all-important question for all of us 114 SECTION 216.— ACTS 16 : 13-40. 13, whether we be indeed Christ's at present, and are following the lead of his Spirit ; if so, how we were brought to Ilim, whether by the quiet drawings of gratitude and love, or by the gradual growth of reflectiveness and our experience of life's hollowness, or by the trepidations of alarm, is but of little moment. E. M. G. Strike from the world's history what has been done for Jesus' sake — go back along the track of time, and erase the deeds that have been wrought, the self-denials undergone, the books written, the Uves lived, the martyrdoms endured, the stern missions begun and prosecuted, and how poor would the world be ! Strike out the love to Jesus that human souls have felt, and all that it has prompted them to do, and what a waste would the past eighteen centuries present ! The blackest pages of human history have been illumined by some deeds of true glory that love to Jesus has begotten. When wickedness has been most rampant, there have ever been some who have sung their songs in the night, irradiated the moral gloom with their light, and been ready to seal their affection by their blood. J. D. 13. In Europe, as in Asia, Paul preaches chiefly in the cities and large towns, that a deeper and broader impression may be made at the first, and the truth scattered more widely afterward. For, in ancient as in modern times, the populous centers exercised a controlling influence over social and reli- gious customs. But the first announcement of the gospel in Europe — in Philippi — was remarkable both as to the place and the hearers. Nothing could have been more simple and unassuming. In the city was no synagogue. Nbr did Paul find an open- ing for highway preaching. But out of the city, by a still river-side, in a spot where a few godly women, Jewish proselytes, were accustomed to meet 9nd pray together on the Sabbath, the apostle began his work in Europe. It was only a quiet talk about Christ, while speaker and hearers sat together in a little group. But, like the Master at Jacob's well, Paul throws into this simple ministry as much ear- nestness of purpose and thoroughness of instruction as afterward he employed in addressing the vast multitude of cultured Athenians. And this unre- ported conversation produced a rich harvest, while the grand discourse at Athens was almost barren of fruit. 14, A woman was Paul's first European con- vert; from Thyiitira, a city in the province of " Asia." So that the first convert in Greece is from the very province in Asia Minor where the Spirit had forbidden them to preach. And the Lord opened her heai't ; the same Lord that had sent his ambassadors from Asia into Europe. The process of her conversion seems also very natural and sim- ple. Her heart, once closed, is now opened ; not by force, but in a way suited to a free intelligent na- ture. For it was opened to truth, which contained only high, pure, divine, blessed motive. It was opened to hear, to heed, to receive gladly with all the grasp of intellect and heart, with all the energy of will in self-consecration, the truths of life, "the things spoken of Paul." B. The Lord had laid words on Paul's lips suited to find entrance to her heart; lie has bestowed on her the listening ear to receive the voice of truth, the opened eye to see its light. And where now the last doubt gives way, and it is given her by grace to believe in Christ, how completely is sketched forth the blessed change which has had place first in her mind, but thereafter in her whole life and destiny! Van 0. 15. Then followed the confession of her new faith, her baptism, and her grateful offer of hospi- tality and Christian service. Altogether the story is an attractive and instructive Christian idyl. B. With the baptism of Lydia that of her " household " was associated. Whether we are to understand by this term her children, her slaves, or workpeople, or all these collectively, can not easily be decided. But we have here an example of that family/ religion to which Paul often alludes in his Epistles. The " connections of Chloe," the " household of Stepha- nas," the "church in the house" of Aquila and Priscilla, are parallel cases. H. Christianity adopted and shared the distinguish- ing characteristic of Judaism as a family religion. The children of Jews were accounted heirs of the covenant. And it would seem that, if Jewish Chris- tians had been denied this same relation, they would have demanded it, and a great controversy must then have arisen. Whether there were or not in- fants in any of the several baptized households can not certainly be determined. But the unexplained and unqualified mention of households surely implies that infants were included. B. Who can believe that not one infant was found in all these families, and that Jews, accustomed to the circumcision, and Gentiles, accustomed to the lustration of infants, should not have also brought them to baptism? Bcng. The practice of infant baptism does not rest on inference but on the continuit>j and identity of the covenant of grace to Jew and Christian, the sign onhj of admission being altered. A. And we have here the first example of that Chris- tian hospitality which was so emphatically enjoined, and so lovingly practiced, in the Apostolic Church. The scenes by the river-side, and in the house of Lydia, are beautiful prophecies of the holy influence SECTION 216.~A CTS 16 : 13-40. 115 which women, elevated by Christianity to their true position, and enabled by divine grace to wear " the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit," have now for centuries exerted over domestic happiness and the growth of piety and peace. H. 16-21. For the first time in Paul's experience opposition and persecution came directly and ex- clusively from the Gentiles. The motive, too, was entirely disconnected with his religious teaching. It came from human hate produced by disappointed selfishness ; and this was occasioned by a humane action. B. A poor bond-girl, possessed with a spirit which was supposed to inspire oracles like those uttered by the Pythoness at Delphi, drove a gainful trade for her masters in the oracles which she vended, probably to the wild natives who fre- quented the market outside the city walls. As Paul and his companions went out to the place of prayer, she followed them with the continued cry, " Those men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation." S. Repeat- ing this for many days, her words must have become known throughout the city. At length Paul, in the very spirit of the Master (of compassion for the possessed and of indignation toward the Satanic possessor) and after Ilis manner, under His inspira- tion and in His name, commanded the evil spirit to come out of her. The whole account — Paul's spirit and words, and Luke's statement of the consequent fact (that " he came out the same hour ") — shows that she was a demoniac, or " one possessed with a devil." Though the evil spirit in her, whether by constraint or with malicious purpose, gave true testi- mony to the missionaries, yet the source whence it came would taint the testimony itself. Therefore Paul, like his Master, would none of it. B. The whole history of the Acts shows that the direct agency of the Evil Spirit is made subservient to the cause of Christ, In the case of Ananias (5 : 3-5) he is made to preach to the world a per- petual warning against the sin of sacrilege ; in the case of Simon Magus (8 : 20), against the sin of simony. In the case of Elymas at Paphos (13 : 10- 12), Satan is defeated and Christ is glorified. Satan meets the apostle in Fhilippi, and flatters him by the mouth of her whom he had possessed. But his adulations are rejected, and he is cast out, and the Gentile world is taught that the spirit in their divination and oracles is a spirit of darkness. 19. The hope of their gains \ras gone. A clew to the powerful motive of persecutions against Christianity. Both the persecutions from Heathenism, mentioned in the Acts, are from this source. ■ In the account of both, the word craft occurs; here, and in 19:24, 2.5. As Blunt re- marks : " The Priesthood, in all its branches, con- templated the advance of Christianity with dismay. It emptied their temples, curtailed their sacrifices reduced their profits, exposed their frauds." 20. Being Jews. Christianity was hated as Judaism by the heathens, and as worse than heathenism by the Jews. It had to contend against Judaism and Heathenism, and it triumphed over both. \V. The owners' investment had lost its value, and the law had no remedy to meet the case. Caring nothing for their own souls, they cared not for this one now released from such terrible thraldom. Their gains were their supreme thought and care. Since these were hopelessly gone, in their rage they sought revenge by stirring up the ignorant populace, who had a superstitious interest in the girl's sooth- saying, to assault the strangers and drag them into the forum. There, before the magistrates (the Duumviri, or prators), concealing the facts, they cunningly resort to another charge. Picferring to Paul and Silas only as Jews, they accuse them of in- troducing customs not lawful for Romans to receive. Their charge had a color of reason in the laws which prohibited Romans from forsaking their re- ligion. But its chief force and its success with the magistrates lay in the facts : that the Jews had been just then expelled from Rome, and that Philippi, a Roman colony — i. e., a Rome in miniature — may and, ought to imitate the metropolis. This race- prejudice, and just enacted example of intolerance, instantly won the magistrates to an illegal and in- iquitous compliance with the will of the mob. 22-24. The Scourging and Imprisonment of Paul and Silas. — By command of the two magis- trates, the lictors rent oif with violence the gar- ments so that the flesh was bare, and laid many stripes upon them. B. It is difficult for us to estimate the severity of this punishment. The vic- tim was beaten on the naked flesh with thick rods by trained professional executioners. The, insignia of a Roman ruler consisted of a bunch of rods tied together like a sheaf, and an axe protruding from the end of theljundle. The rods symbolized second- ary, and the axe capital, punishment. Arnot. No inquiry was instituted, no time or means of defense afforded ; not even the opportunity to plead their Roman citizenship. This fact Paul would not now thrust upon them for many good reasons ; all of them for tlie furtherance of the gospel, as we hereafter see. One may be referred to here. Paul, like his Lord, opened not his mouth before these persecutors. " As seeing Him who is invisible," he endured that severe Roman scourging that he might illustrate to those believers, and to all thereafter, the spirit of self-sacrifice and the force of trust under the fire of suffering. At Corinth, not long after, writing to the Thessalonians, he recalls this cruel experience, " how we were shamefully en- treated at Philippi." 116 SECTION 216.— ACTS 16 : 13-40. Then, with their backs lacerated, they are thrown into prison ; and, as if more dangerous and guilty than other criminals, their feet are painfully dis- tended and shut up immovably in "the stocks." By this unrelieved position of constraint and dis- tention the pain of their bruised bodies is in- tensified. Yet through the afternoon, and up to the midnight hour, their faith and fortitude held firm. 25, 26. T/ieir Praying Song in the Night, and (he Consequent Earthquake. — They prayed in song to God. Their song was prayer, their prayer was song. What they sang we may infer. For David's trustful utterances would well suit their needs and their hearts. Yet not these alone ; for theirs was a larger knowledge, a richer experience of a realized Lord and Comforter. And out of that revealed ex- perience, how readily their souls could pour them- selves out in trustful rejoicing and fervent interces- sion ! Their praising prayer was a sermon, too, to a strange congregation; for the prisoners heard. What was its ultimate effect, we know not. But none of those listeners used the opportunity for es- cape, when unnaturally the earth was shaken, and supernaturally the doors were opened and their chains loosed. They must have felt what ice knoio : that there was a connection between these marvels and the sublime utterances of praise and supplica- tion that preceded them. Eight well are ice, here and in this, assured that God is the hearer and answerer of prayer. 27, 28. 7%e Priso7i-Iieeper^s Suicide hindered hy Paul. — By the steVn Roman law, death was the penalty of a jailer's unwatchfulness and the escape of his prisoners. Finding the doors wide open and inferring that the prisoners had fled, in his proud Koman despair he was about to take his own life, as the only honorable alternative for retrieving the disgrace. Suicide, among the Romans, was accounted not only lawful, but under irretrievable misfortune was regarded as a virtue. B. And this very city, Philippi, had been famous in the annals of suicide. Here Cassius, unable to survive defeat, cov- ered his face in the empty tent, and ordered his frecdmen to strike the blow. Here Brutus bade adieu to his friends, exckiming, " Certainly we must fly, yet not with the feet, but with the hands." And many of their adherents ended their last struggle for the republic by sell-inflicted death. H. The same prison lamps that revealed to the keeper the open doors would, through those doors, reveal the jailer to Paul, and his purpose would be conjectured by the drawing of his sword. And now the eager sympathy of the apostle's heart on the instant cooperated with God's purpose in the earth- quake and the supernaturally opened doors. That purpose was not the release of the prisoners, but the awakening of the jailer's conscience so that a sav- ing impression might be made upon his hardened heart. Paul's loud, impassioned cry was but the seconding of God's saving purpose toward the man. And with what sublime emphasis did that cry, forced out of Paul's Christlike, loving heart. Do thyself no harm. ! sum up the supreme design of Christ's in- finite love, as expressed in his redemption and re- vealed through his gospel. 29-32. The Keeper^s Question and PauVs An- swer. The Word pressed home upon Opened Hearts. — The instant revulsion of feeling consequent upon such an appeal, enforced by the assurance that none had fled, joined with the earthquake shock and the evidences of miraculous visitation — all combined to arouse in his conscience a new and overwhelming fear. It was not a dread of temporal danger ; for all was quiet now, and his armed assistants were at his side. It was the kindling of sensibility, through a fear wrought in his callous spiritual nature by these startling tokens of a Divine presence and an unseen world. Impelled by this fear, out of the depths of his aroused soul, as he cast himself at the feet of Paul and Silas, came the intense yearn- ing cry, " What must I do to he saved ? " Those oft-repeated and widely-reported words of the fren- zied girl must have left an impression upon his ig- norant, superstitious nature. He now felt, in his confused, amazed terror, " These men must be ser- vants of the most high God, to shoio the way of sal- vation." And so the question forms itself to the inward craving of his consciously lost soul : " To be saved, what must I do?" That this was his condition and this his meaning, the answer of the faithful men of God clearly shows. Sirs, or Lords, he had called them, as in his heathen thought he prostrated himself in almost worship before them. Believe, is their answer, not in us, but in the one only Lord, Jesus Christ ! and thou shall be saved! They saw, in his trembling and in his despairing cry, his strong conviction of sin, his craving for deliverance, his yearning to know and willingness to do what was demanded of him ; and they said all that could be said to any wretched, sinful soul of man. They put into their answer the whole gospel. They declared all that is essential to human salvation. They demand no " doing " of the man save faith, or trust : faith in the Perso7i of Christ — trust in His redeeming work. And who this Christ was, what saving work He had done, what it was to trust this Saviour and to re- ceive Him, Paul instantly went on to tell this eager- ly listening man, and the members of his household who were now gathered around them. There was no magical suddenness in these conversions. From this summary text, the Word of the Lord — about the Lord — was clearly spoken to all ; and they, like SECTION 217.— ACTS 17 : 1-15. 117 Lydia, with hearts now opened by the Lord, heard and heeded, believed and rejoiced. 33, 34. The Good Works that follow the Trans- formed Kceper^s Faith. — The rude, harsh, almost brutal nature becomes at once tender and sympa- thetic. Before they apply the baptismal water, to seal by outward sign his sacramentum or oath of allegiance to his new spiritual Lord, he washes their wounds left by the scourge. Then in humble, thank- ful gladness of spirit he makes them welcome guests at his table and in his home. And this change from previous reckless inhumanity to kind treatment and •renerous hospitality gave full assurance of the in- ward change wrought in his heart. These first- offering duties fulfilled, were the fruit and proof of that faith which worketh by love. 35-40. The Release of the Missionaries, and their Departure from Philippi. — Early the next morning the magistrates — as the result either of reflection upon their hasty and illegal procedure or of relapse into indifference about the matter — sent a message, in careless or contemptuous tone, dismissing the prisoners. This message was joyfully communica- ted by the keeper to Paul. But now the Christian principle, properly se//'-respecting and mindful of the ends of human justice, stands manfully for the vindication of outraged personal rights. Yet not merely for their own sake. For Christ's sake they had silently borne the suffering ; but for Christian- ity's sake they make the protest against the infrac- tion of law by its appointed administrators. Paul's main object was to honor and help Christianity ; to secure respect and protection for the Christian be- lievers in Philippi. These believers he would en- courage and embolden to fidelity. Upon the magis- trates and people he would impress a higher esti- mate and respect for the Christian movement. All this he effectually accomplished by proclaiming their Roman citizenship ; by denouncing the injustice of a punishment without trial and condemnation ; and by demanding an acknowledgment of the inflicted wrong as open, and a release as public, as had been their arrest and imprisonment. Very willing were these now alarmed magistrates to humble themselves by coming to the prison ; and publicly to confess their own injustice by personally entreating these Roman citizens to come forth to liberty. For Roman law, so harsh to others, was very partial to the interests and jealous for the rights of Roman citizens. And that law, under penalty of death to the magistrate infringing it absolutely forbade the application of the scourge tc the person of a Roman, and that a Roman should be punished without trial and judgment. Thus the Christian leaders were justified before all ; and in their persons Christianity was honored. Through these occurrences and the apostle's gener- ous forbearance in declining all appeal to Rome against the magistrates, the infant Church at Phi- lippi started upon high vantage-ground in the com- pelled respect of the rulers and people. Beginning with these two households — of Lydia and the name- less prison-keeper — it seems to have well maintained the spirit and teaching of the great Apostle. Going from the prison as innocent men, for their own dignity's sake as well as to leave parting words of instruction and comfort with the new disciples, they tarried awhile at the house of Lydia. Then, leaving these first Macedonian converts to the care of Luke (and, perhaps, Timothy), Paul and Silas set forth on their journey. B. We do not see Luke again in the Apostle's company till the third mis- sionary journey and the second visit to Macedonia. At this exact point of separation, we observe that he drops the style of an eye-witness and resumes that of a historian, until the second time of meeting, after which he writes as an eye-witness till the ar- rival at Rome and the very close of the Acts. He appears again on a voyage from Philippi to Troas (Acts 20 : 56), as now he has appeared on a voyage from Troas to Philippi. H. Of all the churches which Paul founded, the Philippians seem to have been the most free from fault, and the most attached to him,self. In the Epistle which he wrote to them we find no censure and much praise ; and so zealous was their love for Paul, that they alone (of all the churches which he founded) forced him from the very beginning to ac- cept their contributions for his support. We might suppose from this that they were a wealthy church ; yet Paul tells us that " in the heavy trial which had proved their steadfastness, the fullness of their joy had overflowed out of the depth of their poverty, in the richness of their liberality." C. Section 217. Acts xvii. 1-15. 1 Now when they had passed through Araphipohs and Apollonia, they came to Thessalo- 2 nica, where was a synagogue of the Jews : and Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, 3 and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, opening and alleging. lis SECTION' 217.— ACTS 11 : 1-15. that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead ; and that this Jesus, 4 whom I preach unto you, is Clirist. And some of them beUeved, and consorted with Paul and Silas- and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few. 5 But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted 6 the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. And when they found tliem not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the citv, crying, These 7 that have turned the world upside down are come hither also : whom Jason hath received : and these all do contrary to the decrees of Cajsar, saying that there is another king, one 8 Jesus. And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they heard these 9 things. And when they had taken security of Jason, and of the other, they let them go. 10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea : who com- 11 ing fMther went into the synagogue of the Jews, These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the 12 scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore many of them believed ; also of 13 honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few. But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preaclied of Paul at Berea, they 14 came thither also, and stirred up the people. And then immediately the brethren sent 15 away Paul to go as it were to the sea: but Silas and Timotheus abode there still. And they that conducted Paul brought him unto Athens: and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timotheus for to come to him with all speed, they departed. What true nobleness is and how it manifests itself, according to God's estimate, is here disclosed by the Holy Ghost. It is that open-heartedness that sem-chcs, and ponders, and receives Cod's own loord of in- struction and direction. It is that childlike receptivencss of heart that not only believes and trusts in God, but AaJiitoa% delights in bis truth and tests his promises. The truth of God is adapted to the whole spiritual being, and is the only thing that meets and satisfies all its needs. As its reception is necessary to the knowledge of God, so the heart-appropriation of its promises is essential to their actual experience. Therefore, of all searching and study, this in itself best rewards the soul ; while it alone, through an in- wrought faith and hope, insures the rich return of God's continual blessing. B. I believe that the Bible is to be understood and received in the plain and obvious meaning of its pas- san'es ; since I can not persuade myself that a book intended for tlie instruction and conversion of the whole world should cover its true meaning in such mystery and doubt that none but critics and philoso- phers can discover it ; and that he is the most accomplished Christian scholar who hath been educated at the feet of Jesus. Daniel Webster. The vast territory subject to Rome was covered with a network of magnificent roads, which moved in straight lines, crossing mountains and bridging rivers, binding together the most remote cities, and connecting them all with the capital. The deep ruts, worn in the hard, basaltic pavement, and still visible even in places far from the metropolis, show to what extent they were used. Five main lines went out from Rome to the extremities of the em- pire. These, with their branches running in what- ever direction public convenience required, were connected at the seaports with the routes of mari- time travel. A journey might have been made upon Roman highways, interrupted only by brief trips upon the sea, from Alexandria to Carthage, thence through Spain and France, and northward to the Scottish border ; then back through Leyden, Co- logne, Milan, eastward by land to Constantinople and Antioch, and thence to Alexandria ; and the dis- tance traversed would have exceeded seven thousand miles. The traveler could measure his progress by the mile-stones along all these roads. G. P. F. 1-4. At Thessalonica Paul preaches Christ and founds a Church. — From Philippi to Thessalonica — one hundred miles a little south of west — Paul traversed one of the gi'eat Roman roads. The Via Egnatia extended across Macedonia nearly east and west, five hundred miles, from the Adriatic to the river Ilcbrus in Thrace. Thessalonica was about midway between these points. Amphipolis, an his- toric city, thirty-three miles from Philippi and Apollonia, a further thirty miles, were convenient tarrying places on the three days' journey ; the third bringing them thirty-seven miles to Thessa- lonica. (See map, p. 112.) Thessalonica, at the head of the Thermaic Gulf, was then the capital and chief city of the Roman province of Macedonia. Originally called Thermae, SECTIOIf 217.— ACTS 11 : 1-15. 119 it was renamed by Cassander, who rebuilt it in honor of his wife Thessalonica, the sister of Alex- ander the Great. This name had been given her by Philip as a memorial of a signal victory in Thessaly. Fronting the sea, built in successive tiers upon a steep, rocky ascent, it was a beautiful city ; and, under the Eomans, a populous and wealthy com- mercial center. B. Before the founding of Con- stantinople, it shared the trade of the .^gean with Ephesus and Corinth. Through the middle ages, it never ceased to be important ; and it is at the pres- ent day, under the name Salonica, the second city in European Turkey. The reason of this continued preeminence is found in its geographical position : Salonica — Ancient Thessalonica. (See map, p. 112.) on the inner bend of the Thermaic Gulf; on the sea-margin of a vast plain watered by several rivers ; and at the entrance of the pass which commands the approach to the other great Macedonian level. We see at once how appropriate a place it was for one of the starting-points of the Gospel in Europe ; and we can appreciate the force of Paul's expression a few months later, when he says that from them " the word of the Lord had sounded forth like a trumpet, ni^ only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place." H. Attracted by the great advan- tages for trade, the number of Jews was large; and it has remained so until the present day, when it is estimated at nearly one third in a population of seventy thousand. Into their synagogue, " as his manner, or cus- tom, was," Paul went upon the first Sabbath after his arrival. His theme was Christ — a suffering Mes- siah— and one risen from the dead. His sole au- thority, his only ground both of argument and appeal, was the Jewish Scriptures. As at Antioch (ch. 13) so here — and everywhere — always "out of the Scriptures^'' he " opens " or explains, and " al- leges " or proclaims, " Christ crucified, the power of God and the wisdom of God unto salvation to every one that believcth.'.' His basis of statement, like Eis Master's, is, " It is ivAden." And responsive to the rise7i Master's expression to the two disciples on the road, " Ought not Christ to have suffered ? " is this of Paul, " that Christ must needs have suif ered ! " Doubtless, too, responsive to the Master's proof from " Moses and the Prophets " was Paul's unfolding of the Christ ; in the types, the sacrifices, the promises and the prophecies of the old covenant. The mean- ing of the ought and the must needs, as applied to Christ's suffering, was explained, as he has reasoned it in his Epistles : tltat God might be just and yet the justifier of the sinner, penitent and believing in Jesus. Three weeks he continued his ministry in the synagogue. Then, although a few of the Jews be- lieved, the greater number arrayed themselves against Paul. Compelled to desist from preaching in their synagogue, he remained for a considerable period — at least three or four months — laboring among the Gentiles, and with great success. Besides the few Jews, " a great multitude " of Greek proselytes, and many of the " chief women," believed, and were divinely led to cast in their lot with Paul and Silas. In so comparatively brief a period was created and organized that Church of the Thessalonians to whom not long after Paul addressed his two Epistles. As we learn from these Epistles, a chief topic of his 120 SECTION 217.— ACTS 17 : 1-15. preaching at this time had been the second coming of Christ in regal majesty. It is not, therefore, surprising that the unbelieving Jews (who had listened to purpose) should instigate the mob to accuse these Christians of setting up another king, one Jesus.. 5-9. Jason and Other Disciples dragged before the Rulers and accused, but released on Bail. — The Jews were again the persecutors, and from the same cause as at Antioch — envy that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs to the promises of God. Yet their pride neither disdained nor scrupled to employ the worst elements of the populace, the vagabond and vile idlers around the market-place. This rabble they stirred up to gather at the house of Jason and demand the surrender of Paul and Silas. When these could not be discovered, they seized the dis- ciples found in the house and dragged them before the rulers. Their exaggerated statement respecting Paul and Silas, in the introduction to their charge against Jason and the rest, affords striking evidence of the widespread and deep impression made by the Gospel in the few years of Paul's ministry. " These men have turned the world upside down ! " is the testimony by which, while designing to calumniate and injure these preachers of Jesus, they only prove their fidelity and success. The charge is the old one against Christ — of disloyalty to Caesar. Yet the loyalty of these accusing Jews, like those before Pilate, was only a cloak and pretense. The charge had a peculiar significance in Thes- salonica. For it was, by special favor of the Romati emperors, a free city, with elective magistrates and a representative legislature. And these high privi- leges of self-government were conditioned upon strict fidelity to Rome. Hence the charge of com- mitting or inciting treason would be jealously heed- ed by magistrates and people. But unlike the magistrates (praetors) of Philippi, who yielded to the mob's demands, these rulers, ov jwUtarcJis (a term meaning " governors of the citizens," also accurate- ly used by Luke, and a title still existing in an in- scription upon an entrance archway), acted as be- came their judicial character. Either they received the explanation that Christ had given Pilate of His kingship over the empire of truth with the heart as the sphere of his rule, or they were satisfied that no treason was intended. For they released Jason and his companions, after receiving security for their pledge that no more trouble should ensue. Partly in compliance with this pledge, but chiefly for the safety of Paul and Pilat, and the prosperity of the infant Church, " the brethren immediately sent them away by night to Berea." 10-12. The Berean Jews compare the ApostWs Preaching with the Word of God. Their Consequent Faith. — In Berea Paul keeps up " his manner " of going first to the synagogue, notwithstanding his discouraging reception by the Thessalonian Jews. This city, forty-five miles southwest of Thessalonica, still remains under the name of Verria, with a pop- ulation of eighteen or twenty thousand. The record of the Jews of Berea — a considerable body — is most honorable. The mass of the nation, especially the highest in office and culture, had everywhere before rejected the claims of Christ without investigation, through contempt and pride. These Bereans were characterized by a far different temper and a nobler spirit. What Christ had vainly urged upon the Jews at Jerusalem (John 5 : 39), they did ; and as a body for the first time was this " searching " done in the spirit of candid and ear- nest inquiry. Their nobleness — so is their spirit char- acterized by the Holy Ghost — was evinced in a mind attent to hear and awake to perceive, and a heart willing to receive the new truths and thoroughly to investigate their authority and their claims. There- fore, day by day, as Paul taught, they tested his teaching by its agreement with the Scriptures to which he appealed. Thus going to the divine source, without any bias of prejudice or partisanship, they honestly sought for truth, applied their minds to its test, and formed their own judgment upon the evidence divinely furnished. So they most honored the Word, and best seconded the efforts of its preach- ers. And so searching, as Christ commanded, they found, as Christ had promised : they believed! Would that all thoughtful souls were thus noble I Would that preachers in the study and the pulpit, hearers in the pew, and readers in the home, were all free from the unconscious trammels of preconceived opinions, of educated prejudice or trained partisan- ship, respecting the truths of the Divine Word ! Would that all were habituated to simple, honest, earnest, prayerful search to know nothing but the mind of God, as disclosed in the Scriptures He has given us by inspiration. 13, 14, Paul sent away from Berea, because of Persecution stirred up by Jeius from Tlicssalonica. — Only a few weeks, at the most, did he probably re- main in Berea. During this period he sought, but was unable, to revisit Thessalonica (1 Thes. 2 : 18). With the same spirit and purpose as in his First Journey he was pursued to Lystra, the envious, hating Jews sought to break up his good work in Berea. And they employed their usual method, of instigat- ing the people to mob violence. But the " brethren " anticipated their plans by sending away Paul. Many of them escorted him (not " as it were," but) even doivn to the sea, as the quicker and safer way of es- cape, and the more direct and expeditious route to some place of destination. Some went with him as far as Athens, and returned with his message to Silas and Timothy. B. SECTION 218.— ACTS 17 : 16-34. 121 That the apostle had no deliberate purpose of I to the conflict with Greek pMlosophy and Roman going to Athens seems clear from the statement force. S. that the brethren at Berea sent him away to go to Of the future of this Berean church we are not the sea ; and then his conductors, guided no doubt informed. Silas remained with it for a considerable by circumstances, such as what vessels happened to be sailing, brought him to Athens. The distinctive divine call which appointed him the Apostle of the Gentiles is made all the clearer from the slowness, not to say reluctance, with which he is urged on from Jerusalem to Cilicia and Syria, from Asia Minor to Europe, from the Jewish settlements in Macedonia to Athens and Corinth, as if the voice were repeated at every step, " BepaH ! for / ivill send thee far hence unto the Gentiles." Paul was no rash adventurer, rushing forward in his own strength period longer. And Timothy took part in tis care of it, until Paul sent the youthful evangelist (in his stead) to exhort and confirm in their faith the Thes- salonian believers. But the noble character of its members, their remarkable freedom from prejudice, and their instant hearty acceptance of the Word, seem to authorize the belief that theirs was an un- usually attractive history ; developing no peculiar- ities of doctrine or practice that required a dis- tinctive epistle from their great Christian foun- der. B. Section 218. Acts xvii. 16-34. 16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw 17 the city wholly given to idolatry. Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, 18 and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him. Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoics, encountered him. And some said, Wliat will this babbler say ? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange 19 gods : because he preaclied unto them Jesus, and the resurrection. And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof 20 thou speakest, is? For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know 21 therefore what these things mean. (For all the Atlienians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.) 22 Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that 23 in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye 24 ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with 25 hands; neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he 26 giveth to all life, and breath, and all things ; and hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, 27 and the bounds of their habitation ; that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might 28 feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: for in him we live, and move, and have our being ; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we 29 are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's de- 30 vice. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men 31 every where to repent: because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assur- ance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. 32 And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked : and others said, 33 "We will hear thee again of this matter. So Paul departed from among them. Howbeit 34 certain men clave unto him, and believed : among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them. 122 SEGTIOX 218.— ACTS 17 : 16-34. By no means so strange to the ear of the ancient world was the doctrine of the future life, and of the resurrection of the body, as was this doctrine, That Truth is every man's concernment, every man's ri^ht and every man's most necessary possession. The apostolic voice, sounding throughout the ancient world and callin'^ upon "all men everywhere to repent, and to believe the gospel," besides its direct re- lit^ious import, carried an inevitable, though latent inference, which has effected the greatest of all the revolutions that have marked the intellectual condition of mankind. This challenge to repent and to believe awakened in every bosom a sense of responsibility altogether new, putting as it did every human bcin" in a position of direct relationship to God, the Judge of all, and fixing in the minds of all a deep conviction tliat the difference between truth and error is of infinite consequence to men individually. Never until it was proclaimed by the apostles, had it been surmised, either by Greek or Jew, that Truth, sacred Truth, the brightest daughter of the skies, might be vulgarized, and offered to the acceptance of the mass of mankind. In the ancient world. Truth, whether theological or physical, was, like the costly perfumes of the East, an exquisite luxury, which should be found only within marble palaces. But in the modern world, and this vast change is attributable mainly to the spread of Christianity, truth has become, like the very breezes of heaven, common property, and is everywhere sweet, salutary, free. I. T. The order and course of Paul's Second Journey is easily remembered by noting its three geographi- cal divisions — -^he first including Asia Minor; the second, Macedonia, with the cities of Philippi, Thes- salonica, and Berea ; the third (upon which we now enter), Greece, then called Achaia. Athens and Cor- inth were its principal cities. (See map, p. 129.) IG, 17. Athens, forty-six miles east of Corinth, was situated three to four miles from the coast of the Saronic Gulf, though connected by a wall-inclos- ure with its seaport, Piraeus. It had long been dis- tinguished above other ancient cities in art and phi- losophy, in learning and culture ; noted, too, for its statesmen and warriors. Even in its subject and Athens — the Acropolis. declining condition under the Romans, it was still outwardly magnificent — still famous for its trophies of art, its schools of science and philosophy. It was still the university of the world, and its people retained all their pride of knowledge and culture. There were mainly _^i'c great centers of public at- traction, centers of renowned historic transactions. 1. The Agora, or marl-et, upon a low level in a cen- tral locality — a place of concourse for traffic, for worship, and for public discourse or discussion. 2. The Museum, upon a hill (south of the Agora). 3. The Pnyx, an inclosed rocky eminence (on the west of the Agora) where political assemblages met. 4. The Acropolis, a towering temple-crowned height on the east, with a table summit (1,000 by 500 feet), long appropriated to the structures and offices of worship. 5. Another separate rocky eminence (on the north of the Agora, between the Pnyx and the Acropolis), the Areopagus, or Mars Hill — so called from the legendary trial of that god. A flight of sixteen steps, cut in the stone, led up from the Agora to the Areopagus. Here was the seat of the supreme tribunal, which sentenced eminent State criminals, and adjudicated upon questions of religion. No other place was so ap- propriate for the proposed theme of Paul's discourse. All these five centers of popular interest were still great sanctuaries of art, religion, and history. They were still resplendent with temple - structures, porti- coes, and altars ; edifices of the rarest architectural beauty, consecrated to the gods and to the glory of the nation. They were filled with the master-pieces of statuary, by Phidias and his creative succes- sors, representing all mythical and imaginary divin- ities, and all memorable persons and events in the long brilliant history of this widely known and famous city. But all this glory of art and history was perverted to the uses and corrupting effects of SECTION SIS.— ACTS 17 : 16-34. 123 idolatrous worship. Appreciating, as Paul could, the grandeur and beauty of its architecture and sculptures, the high culture and renowned deeds rep- resented in its monumental statuary, his heart was yet profoundly saddened by the waste and misuse of these prod- ucts of genius in their subservi- ence to a worsliip which was the medium of all seltish and vile gratification. Destitute of all knowledge of God and of sin, without any high aim or object in living, their religious senti- ments, beliefs, and ceremonies of worship, nay more, the very min- istry of art, taste, and culture, encouraged and wrought only a shameless profligacy. The popu- lar estimate of the character of their gods was such that Seneca said, " that no other effect could possibly be produced, but that all shame on account of sin must be taken away from men, if they be- lieve in such gods." Beholding the multitude of idols, to which such a character was attributed and such worship rendered, no wonder that Paul's spirit was stirred within him. No wonder that with the Jews in the synagogue, and with the Greeks in the Agora or market, he reasoned (not disptited), aqd preached his old theme — Jesus and the Eesurrection. 18-21. Here, first, Christianity came in contact with human philosophy : especially with the two systems most at variance with its pure and elevating principles. Daily, for many days, he entered this new arena, where men congregated for worship or gossip, for trade or discussion ; and in temple, bazaar, or cloister, boldly avowed and pressed home the Christian truth upon all of every creed and class who would listen. Of the four great schools of phi- losophy, which had their origin and seat in the city of Socrates, only the representatives of two seem to have here encountered Paul. No reference is made to disciples of the two more distinguished philoso- phers, Plato and Aristotle ; the former, as pupil of Socrates, founder of the Lyceum, and the latter of the Academy. B. It is observable that no men- tion is here made of the Peripatetics, Academics, or Plaionists, whose doctrines were not so much op- posed to Christianity as those of the Stoics and Epicureans. Indeed, they may be said to have in some degree prepared the better part of the world for the reception of the gospel. W. In a remarkable conception respecting the Teach- er from heaven whom the world needs, occurs this prophetic utterance of Plato: "This just person must be poor, and void of all qualifications but those of virtue alone. A wicked world will not bear his instructions and reproofs ; and therefore, within three or four years after he begins to preach, Plan of Athens, showing the Agora, or Market, the Pnyx, the Areopag-us, the Acropolis, and the Museum. he should be persecuted, imprisoned, scourged, and at last be put to death." B. Epicureans, or Philosophers of the Garden, owed their name to Epicurus, who died at Athens in b. c. 270, leaving his house and garden to be the constant seat of his philosophy ; which was accordingly main- tained there till the time of which wc are now read- ing. Ue taught that the highest good and great end of existence was serene enjoyment, which his fol- lowers interpreted as meaning pleasure, and that often of the grossest kind. He ascribed the crea- tion of the world to chance ; and, although he ac- knowledged the existence of the gods, described them as indifferent to human interests and human conduct. The Stoics, or Philosophers of the Porch, were so called from the Stoa Fcecih, or Painted Porch, adjoining one of the Athenian squares or markets, where their founder taught at the same time with Epicurus. The Stoics acknowledged the supremacy of moral good, and even affected to deny the difference between pain and pleasure. They also acknowledged a supreme God and a providence ; but the former confounded with the world or uni- verse, the latter governed by a fatal necessity. In later times, the Epicurean system was a favorite with the Greeks, and the. Stoical with the Romans, as suiting their national characters respectively ; but each had adherents in both races. J. A. A. In Epicureanism, it was man's sensual nature which arrayed itself against the claims of the gospel ; in Stoicism, it was his self-righteousness and pride of 124 SECTION 218.— ACTS 17 : 16-34. intellect ; and it is difficult to say wliicli of the two systems rendered its votaries the more indisposed to embrace the truth. Hackett. With mixed curiosity and scorn, Paul was heard by these disciples of Epicurus and Zeno. Some called him "babbler," literally, a bird that picks up seeds ; then, a scrap-beggar about the market- place; and last, a reporter of idle tales picked up anywhere. Others, according to the Greek notion of peopling all worlds with spiritual powers or demons, said. He is telling us of new demons or dei- ties. Still they were so much interested in Paul's teaching that they asked him to address them more formally and at length, from the inclosure of the Areopagus adjoining, and led him up the stony steps to a rock-hewn platform. B. He had brought the new truth, to proclaim it in this capital of men's intellectual life. In his per- son, on his landing at the Piraeus, the morning light of the new age rose on a second continent. Yet everything about him was appallingly bleak, every face was unfriendly. Any courage less valiant than that of the Son of God in his heart must have quailed before the overpowering splendor and des- potism of the old heathenism, in the very strong- hold of its dominion. Athens was the brain of the world. The apostle had come to it, as fearless of its sophistries and arrogance as he had been of the swords and dungeons of Syria. He had come to say: "You classic Greeks, artists, poets, philoso- phers, are seeking after wisdom ; but the foolish- ness of God is wiser than the wisest of you. One The Areopagus and the Acropolis. God made you ; one Saviour died for you. Your Olympus is a fiction. I preach unto you Christ, and him crucified, the wisdom of God and the power of God; your Saviour, if you will be saved." How right that this should have been spoken from the Athenian Areopagus, the hill-top of that luminous center of the old pagan civilization: where Stoics and Epicureans and soldiers — philosophy and pleas- ure and power — Alexandria and Corinth and Rome, and the three continents, could hear ! F. D. H. Not only in Athens, but no doubt often in his circuit through Greece and its colonies, he stood surrounded by the sarcastic curiosity of Stoics, Epi- cureans, and Academicians. He knew, on such oc- casions, in what spirit he was listened to, as a busy and babbling zealot of the Jewish superstition. He could penetrate — nay, he could feel a sympathy with the erudite scorn of his auditors : he understood the sentiment with which men of high culture give ear, for a moment, to a tale of wonder which they have condemned as absurd before it is commenced. In the oblique glance of the half-closed eye, in the SECTION 218.— ACTS 17:16-34. 125 sneer that played on the lip, he read the mind and the malice of every sophist. He could mentally change positions with his auditors, and at the mo- ment while uttering the "strange things" of the gospel could feel as they felt — the harsh and ab- horrent character both of the principles and of the facts which he had to announce — Jesus, the Gali- lean teacher — crucified — raised to life — constituted Lord and Judge of men, and now giving repentance for remission of sins. This was his burden, at An- tioch, at Ephesus, at Nicopolis, at Corinth, and at Athens ! I. T. 32, 23. The Introduction and Theme of PauVs Discourse on Mars Hill. — The outlook upon the city from the memorable rocky height upon which he stood, the character of his audience, and the special purpose for which they were now gathered about him, help us to some just appreciation of the courage of the man, and of his wonderful skill in shaping bis discourse. In it we find a rare combi- nation of prudence and courtesy, of wisdom, fidelity, and boldness. Never was Paul's own counsel to Timothy (2 Tim. 2 ; 24), especially its one particular, apt to teach., more signally illustrated than in this introduction and in the plan of his address. He does not (as our translation unhappily expresses it) charge them with being " superstitious " or with "ignorantly" worshiping. He simply speaks of their exceeding devoutness or reverence for their gods ; and characterizes their worship by borrowing the very term inscribed on their altar. As a wise and model reformer, he knows that truth expels er- ror as light banishes darkness. He seizes his oppor- tunity, not to de- li nounce heathen priestcraft and impure worship, but to proclaim the true God and explain true wor- ship. With a di- vine guidance he j^^ masters the peril of his position by turning its very difficulties into a means of educa- tion and of con- viction. As often before, in the manner of Christ, he uses things familiar to the Athenians to teach them great and sublime truths they had never appre- hended. With this purpose and in this spirit he re- fers to the multitude of altars (not devotions, but objects of devotion), and takes his theme from an in- scription upon one : (literally) To God uxknowable. This God, whom they unknowingly worshiped, and whom they thought to be unknowable, Paul pro- Ancient Altars : 1, 2. Egyptian. 3, 5. As- syrian. 4. Babylonian. claims to them. And he addresses them as men of intelligence, and of capable judgment, in all things showing them proper respect and courtesy. B. The religion of the Greek had in it a kind of at- tractiveness, but it took all the grandeur out of the universe. Instead of seeing the supreme God and Father everywhere and in all things — shining in the beauty, dazzling in the glory, giving in the fruitful- ness, speaking in the truth — he saw himself imaged there. It was man's universe, not Jehovah's. He humanized the clouds, the forests, the rivers, the seas; peopled them with deities and haK deities, with satyrs and fauns, with muses and nymphs, each of which represented some side of man's nature. He set upon everything his own image and super- scription. If there was any real and mighty God, any power irresistibly making for righteousness and yet overflowing with love, the Greek had pushed him afar ofif and out. At best there remained but a horrible dream of God in his conception of all- comprehending and relentless fate. The altar " to the unknown God" became the only Greek altar which was in any sense an altar to the true God. D. S. G. Paul declared the unknown God, whom the Athenians ignorantly worshiped, to be the great Creator of the world, in whom and by whom all things were made, and exist. From the visible proofs of his providence, in his government of the world, he leads them to the consideration of his spiritual nature ; and thus condemns the idolatrous worship of the Athenians, while he gradually un- folds to his philosophical audience the important truths of their accountableness and immortality, which were demonstrated by the fact of Christ's resurrection from the dead. G. T. 24, 25. God, the Creator, Ruler, and life of the Universe needeth no Service of Jilen's Hands. — The independent, unlimited, absolute source and controller of all manifest existences is separate from and superior to all. In this implied statement, without directly controverting the polytheism of the Greeks, or particular notions of Epicurean or Stoic, Paul yet overturns the main points of all their sys- tems. For he announces a personal God, against the Greek belief in material deities; he declares " the unity of the Godhead, against Polytheism ; the creation of all things by him, against the Epicurean theory of a fortuitous concourse of atoms ; of his government of the world, against the Stoical doc- trine of Fate and the Epicurean notion of indiffer- ence " ( Wordsworth). With temples on every side, majestic and beauti- ful, but structures of human hands, he yet boldly asserts (as Stephen before him to the Jews) that in hand-made temples the Lord — the Master — of heav- en and earth does not dwell ; to them he is not con- fined. Nay, more, with thousands of altars smoking 126 SECTIOy 218.— ACTS 17 : 16^4. with offerings, and ten thousand idol-shrines laden with costly gifts and with food and drink, from those who thus supplied their dependent deities' needs, Paul as boldly announces the new and elevat- ing truth, that the Maker and Giver of all needs no rciuistry of those He has made. And amid innu- merable forms of idol gods, wrought in gold and silver and stone with every ingenious device of finest human art, he hesitates not to tell them that the Godhead is not to be conceived of or symbolized under such graven or chiseled forms. So boldly and wisely Paul disclosed the positive and fundamental conceptions relating to the one only living and true God. Having thus declared the unity of God, with his creatorship and control of the universe, he turns to consider the corresponding unity of man, and his place and work in God's plan. B. Up to a certain point in this high view of the Supreme Being, the Philosopher of the Garden, as well as of the Porch, might listen with wonder and admiration. It soared, indeed, high above the vulgar religion ; but in the lofty and serene Deity, who dis- dained to dwell in the earthly temple, and needed nothing from the hand of man, the Epicurean might almost suppose that he heard the language of his own teacher. But the next sentence, which asserted the providence of God as the active, creative energy — as the conservative, the ruling, the ordaining prin- ciple— annihilated at once the atomic theory, and the government of blind chance, to which Epicurus ascribed the origin and preservation of the universe. Milman. And when the Stoic hea-rd the apostle say that we ought to rise to the contemplation of the Deity without the intervention of earthly objects, and that we live and move and have our being in him — it might have seemed like an echo of his own thought — until the proud philosopher learned that it was no pantheistic diffusion of power and order of which the apostle spoke, but a living center of government and love — that the world was ruled, not by the iron necessity of Fate, but by the providence of a personal God — and that from the proudest philosopher repentance and meek submission were sternly exacted. H. 26-29> ManMncl one in Nature, limited and controlled as to Time and Place ; yet Children of God, supplied by his Providence, and designed for his Companionship. — Heathenism had never at- tained the conception of unify in the origin or in the history of the race. According, to the common belief, different races or nations had a different ori- gin, and each its independent mission and history. Humanity had no common tics of interest, associa- tion, and destiny. This erroneous belief, which suggested and fostered the idea of many gods, Paul corrects by the assertion that God had made all na- tions of one blood. Especially he cuts up by the root the conceit of the Athenians that they came of an aboriginal stock, and were thus distinct from and superior to all others. B. The Greeks were a fine race of men ; and they knew it. They trusted in themselves that they were intellectually aud physically beautiful, and despised others. Mankind were divided in their conception into two great sec- tions— Greeks and Barbarians. They would not ad- mit a community of race with other peoples. Arnot. Paul tells them that they belong to the one race, made and controlled by the one God; that this God is not far from them ; that he can be sought and found by them ; nay, more, that he has made them in order that they might seek his fellow- ship, and so find that supreme good for which their souls had long been craving and unconsciously grop- ing. B. Till Christ came, this majestic fact in our condi- tion, that our little human tent here is overarched by an infinite heaven of light and love which really opens and pours down a living influence upon us, scarcely anywhere broke through the pagan shad- ows. Here and there, in some half-awakened soul, there was a religious dream or guess — some glim- mer of the light that was to rise on rich and poor alike — some Athenian thinker, such as Paul found " feeling after God, if haply he might find him " — some solitary flash like the Stoic maxim, " Deny thy- self and aspire," almost worthy of the Son of man — some morning-star like the reason of Plato. But these harbingers of the day only cast slender streaks on a few hill-tops, showing how broad and deep the darkness lay on all the lands below, F. D. H. Not far from any one of us. Paul pur- posely calls this to mind in addressing the men of Athens, who were accustomed to represent their gods as in Olympic rest and self-satisfaction, thron- ing it high above earth and her puny inhabitants. He was really within reach of their hand ; they had not to climb to the height of heaven, or to descend into the depths of earth, but merely to look within their own bosoms, in order to discover unmistakable traces of him. Van 0. Then he advances to the idea of the fatherhood of God. To conciliate their minds toward this grand truth, he cites one of the many vague con- ceptions of this fatherly relation (of Jove), found in passages of the Greek mythical poetry. The words quoted are found in an astronomical poem of Ara- tus, a native of Soli in Paul's own province of Cili- cia ; and also in a hymn to Jupiter by Ckanthes of Lycia, The point which Paul makes (v. 29) of our child- ship to God, as proving image-worship to be irra- tional, is presented in the same conciliatory spirit. " As we are the offspring of God, ive ought not to think," etc. But he puts his point clearly and SECTI02T 218.— ACTS 17 : 16-3 4. 127 strongly. If we, possessing such intellectual and spiritual forces, are sprung from Him, we must con- ceive of God as something other and higher than a mere metal or stone image. This human spirit can not proceed from the stone or metal forms which human hands have shaped. Human hands can not create the Creator of this breathing, moving, living fabric of body and soul. 30, 31. llieir Past Ignorance God had over- looked; hut now, in the Light from the Incarnation, the Cross, and the Resurrection of Christ, all are en- joined to Repentance and Trust ; and Disobedience must encounter only Stern Condemnation. — Two fur- ther instances of Paul's moderation and forbear- ance occur in the simple phrase, " the times of this ignorance." One, that the weightiest charge he makes against corrupt heathenism is its ignorance. The other, that he does not make even this a per- sonal charge against his listeners ; he only includes them in a general way with the cultured heathen of many centuries. Yet, though so courteous and con- ciliatory, he is faithful. For he does charge these intelligent and polished Athenians with ignorance. And, while intimating that God forbore with {not "winked at" — a figure the word will not bear) the ignorance of past generations, suffering it to pass without special interference of his grace or reproof, sending no messengers to them as he did to the Jews, yet, in God's name, he now commands their repentance, as sharing the common guilt of men. In his previous daily preaching, the apostle had taught some of them about repentance and faith in the crucified and risen Christ. Now he presses the obligation upon all to confess and turn from sin ; and enforces God's command by the great, de- cisive fact that they, with all mankind, must stand before Christ in an appointed day of judgment. And, in completion of his appeal, he adds, that Christ, novj impliedly the Saviour, is proven by the resurrection to be then the Judge ! B. There is a day appointed wherein the Son of man will appear in sensible glory, and exercise his judicial power upon angels and men. He is now "seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high," and the celestial spheres are under his feet : uni- versal nature feels the power of his scepter : he reigns in the hearts of the saints by his Word and Spirit, and restrains the fury of his enemies in what degrees he pleases : but still his servants are in dis- tress, and his rebellious enemies insolently break his laws; and the curtains of heaven conceal his glory from us : therefore a time is prefixed when in the face of the world he will make an eternal dif- ference by rewards and punishments between the righteous and the wicked, and his government shall have its complete and glorious issue. Bates. 38-34. Results of PauVs Discourse to the as- sembled Athenians. — Wise, forbearing, and concilia- tory as was his address, the indirect preaching of personal guilt, accountability, and condemnation to the haughty self-righteous Stoic and the pleasure- seeking Epicurean, and especially the mention of a resurrection — counted by all classes an impossible absurdity — at once broke up the audience, and " Paul departed from among them." B. Paul rightly divided that day the Word of Truth, and the Word divided the hearers into distinct and well-defined groups: into mockers, hesitators, and cleaving believers. The mockers, whether socially higher or lower, were in spirit the hardest and cold- est of the company. They were fast and free livers.* They enjoyed life, and kept the thought of death away. They went away laughing at the truth of God and the God of truth. The hesitators, con- vinced in their consciences that the testimony of the apostle had all the air of truth, did not dare to scoff ; but, wedded to their own ease and pleas- ure, they were not willing to take up the cross and follow Christ. Accordingly they made a re- spectful apology to the preacher and went away. The third class cleaved to him and believed ; that is, while this man's lips were the channel through which the Word of Life reached them, the ultimate longing of their hearts — their ultimate grasp — reached and rested on Christ crucified, whom Paul preached. They cleaved to Paul, but they believed in Christ. Arnot. A few converts were gained ; but one of the large and intelligent class whom he had aimed to reach. With his name is intimated his membership of that most ancient Athenian tribunal comprising only men of the highest integrity and greatest dis- tinction. The lesson of this failure was of great value to Paul ; and he has written it in full in the first three of his Epistles. Among communities of the ignorant, the hardened, and even the wealthy and profligate, as in Asia Minor and Macedonia, and afterward in Corinth and Ephesus, the gospel found ready and abundant entrance. But in this city, which represented the highest attainments in human wisdom and genius, it could obtain no foothold. Paul's utter failure here to found a church of Christ not only showed that " the world by wisdom knew not God," but that mere human wisdom is the mightiest hindrance to the introduction of the knowledge of God, and to the acceptance of a gracious salvation. In every age, the same two states of mind com- prise the chief hindrances to the entrance and con- verting energy of the truth of God. On the one hand, a worldly heart and the love of pleasure, ex- emplified by the Sadducees among the Jews and the 128 SECTION 219.— ACTS 18 : 1-22. Epicureans among the Greeks. On the other, the pride of reason and of self-righteousness, exempli- fied by the Pharisees and the Stoics. Behind these two hindering states of mind and helping to produce them, were the two leading heresies of ancient and modem times: one — the doctrine of the Stoics — that confounds God with his entire creation, or pan- thdsm ; the other — that of the Epicureans — which denies a God in creation, or materialism. B, God can dwell only in himself, where he was be- fore he made the world. He is Himself his temple. Nevertheless, he has built as many temples for him- self as there are living hearts that love him ; in these he desires to dwell, to be known, and to be adored. Aug. In every age, those who in any measure realize the force of truth are to be classified as were Paul's hearers in Athens : those who dare deride it ; those who hesitate and put off obedience to its demands ; and those who take it to their hearts. B. Section 219. Acts xviii. 1-22. 1 After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth ; and found a cer- 2 tain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (be- cause that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Kome:) and came unto them. 3 And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought : for by their 4 occupation tliey were tentmakers. And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and 5 persuaded the Jews and the Greeks. And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. 6 And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood le upon your own heads; I am clean : from henceforth I wiU go unto the Gentiles. 7 And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man's house, named Justus, one that 8 worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue. And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house ; and many of the Corinthians 9 hearing believed, and were baptized. Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, 10 Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace : for I am with thee, and no man shall set 11 on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city. And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. 12 And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord 13 against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat, saying. This felloic persuadeth men to 14 worship God contrary to the law. And when Paul was now about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If it were a matter of wrong or Wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, 15 reason would that I should bear with you: but if it be a question of words and names, and 16 of your law, look ye to it ; for I will be no judge of such matters. And he drave them 17 from the judgment seat. Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the syna- gogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. And Gallio cared for none of those things. 18 And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the breth- ren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila ; having shorn his head 19 in Cenchrea: for he had a vow. And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he 20 himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews. "When they desired him 21 to tarry longer time with them, he consented not; but bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem : but I will return again unto you, if 22 God will. And he sailed from Ephesus. And when he had landed at Ciesarea, and gone up, and saluted the church, he went down to Antioch. Papl does not forget, even when he is living for the higher aim, the care meanwhile necessary for the things of this world. Faith in the earthly task, not less than in the heavenly calling, is here shown in its true nature and in its high significance. The preacher of the gospel and the tent-maker are not two dis- tinct persons, but one and the same ; in a higher and lower sphere, animated by the same principle, and with the question on his lips: "Lord, what wilt Thou have mc to do?" He shuns not to declare the SECTION 219.— ACTS 18 : 1-i 129 whole counsel of God ; but there is in Corinth no more faithful, honest, conscientious artisan than he. Van 0. The having a trade, besides enabling him to present an example of quiet industry to his con- verts, gave him scope for the exercise of self-denial and almsgiving. The extra work and weariness which the trade entailed was a means of keeping under his body and bringing it into subjection ; while the money which it brought in to him was employed in relieving the wants of others as well as his own ; for he says to the elders of Ephesus : " Ye yourselves know that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. I have showed you all things, how that so laboring ye ought to support the weak." E. M. G. Let none be ashamed who follow a trade ; but only let those be ashamed who live to no purpose, and are idle. The souls of those who are always at work are purer and stronger ; for the idler speaks and does many vain things. But he who labors aright does not easily allow anything useless, either in work, word, or thought, for his soul is always directed to a life of labor. For we are the disciples of the fisher- men, of the publicans, of the tent-makers, of Him who was brought up in the carpenter's house. Chri/s. 1 . Faul finally withdraws from A thens and goes to Corhdh. — After his brief work and its scanty re- sults, he goes from intellectual but idle Athens, with nothing living but its memories of past eminence, to busy, bustling, crowded Corinth. Forty-five miles apart, both cities were in Greece, or the Roman province of Achaia. This province comprised the mainland south of Macedonia, and the peninsula called Peloponnesus, or island of Pelops. A neck of land, itself a barren plain, about four miles across at the narrowest part, joined the penin- sula with the mainland. Called the Isthmus (after- ward giving a name to similar strips of connecting land), it was washed on the western side by the Greece Proper and Peloponnesus. (Note the positions of Athens and Corinth ; the Saronic Gulf, between the two cities • the Gulf of Corinth, west and north of Corinth ; and the Isthmus, between the two Gulfs ) 9 130 SECTION 210.— ACTS 18 : 1-22. Gulf of Corinth, flowing in from the Adriatic Sea ;. and on the eastern by the Saronic Gulf, a great in- let of the ^gean Sea. Across the northern end of the Isthmus ran a mountain ridge, having only three defiles, or passes. The southern end was also pro- tected by a ridge (on the east and middle), and by a lofty rock-citadel rising abruptly to a height of two thousand feet, called the Acrocorinthus. Be- tween the ridge and the rocky height was a ravine, and on either gulf side a level place. At the base of the northern slope of the Acrocorinthus, "just within the Isthmus, on a table-land descending in terraces to the low plain," lay the city of Corinth. By two seaports — Lechceum on the Western Sea, and Cenchrea on the Eastern — it could send forth its ships westward and eastward into all waters, and to all the ports of the known then world.. And to save time and avoid peril, vessels from either port were borne over the narrow Isthmus, thus affording larger opportunity for interchange of commodities in the transit and tarry. The ancient city, i. e., the Grecian Corinth, had had a memorable history. It had colonized the shores of the Ionian and Jilgeau Seas with noted cities. It had established an early historic fame for success in arts and arms, and in manufacture, as well as for commercial greatness and prosperity. But the (rrcc^ Corinth lasted only until b. c. 146. B. In that year, by an insult to the ambassadors of Rome, it drew down that terrible destruction which Cicero describes as the extinction of the " light of Greece." Excepting the temples and the buildings on the Acrocorinthus, the city lay in ruins for a century, till it was rebuilt by Julius Cesar in B, c. 46, and the new Colonia Julia Corinthus was made the capital of the Roman province of Achaiaj Corinth and the Acrocorinthus. and the residence of the proconsul. Rapidly re- covering its ancient wealth, as a place of great com- mercial and manufacturing enterprise, it regained also its infamous celebrity as the most dissolute of Greek cities, and a chief seat of the worship of Aphrodite; while at the same time it was second only to Athens in intellectual activity. S. It is now an inconsiderable town of two thousand inhabi- tants, with few remnants of the splendid buildings which gave name to the Corinthian order of archi- tecture. J. A. A. Not only by its intense activity and its world-ex- tended commerce was Corinth fitted to be a Chris- tian center, but its people comprised the three main elements upon whom the apostle sought to impress the truths of the gospel. There were in largea numbers the native Greeks of every class and de gree of culture. As a Roman colony, there werd also a great number of Romans, as is intimated bj the Latin names in Rom. 16, that epistle being written from Corinth during Paul's second visit And that a chief settlement of Jcios was at Corintl we know from its commercial distinction, and thci) universal prominence as world-traders, and fron Paul's Epistles to the Corinthians. And at thii time many had been banished from Rome by Claul dius. For these reasons, Paul was guided in th^ selection of Corinth as the first great center of Eu ropean Christianity. B. Corinth claims a con spicuous distinction as the residence of the apostlfl SECTION S19.—ACTS 18 : 1-22. 131 during his most critical contests, both with Jews and Greeks, in defense of the very essence of the gospel ; as the place whence he wrote his first apos- tohc letters — the two Epistles to the Thessalonians ; as the Church to which he addressed those other two epistles, which not only contain the fullest directions on matters of Christian faith and practice, but which reiterate, in terms unequaled in human language for simplicity and force, the one great central truth of the whole gospel — Jesus Christ and Him Crucified. S. From Corinth also, upon his second visit (and third journey), he wrote his most elaborate and in- structive Epistle to the Romans. 3, 3. Takes up his Abode with Aquila and Prls- cUla. — Though natives of Pontus in Northeast- em Asia Minor, these Jews had resided in Rome, until recently expelled thence with others by Clau- dius, the fourth Roman emperor. But we find a kind Providence in that edict of Claudius that drove these childless, well-to-do tent-makers with their sjTnpathetic, refined natures from Rome to Corinth. This was God's care of Paul's personal comfort, and his arrangement for the missionary's self-supporting toil. Thus, during the most effective and trying period of his whole career, with the " open door " for the gospel and the " many adversaries," Paul had a home, congenial fellowship, and what he also greatly needed then, a means of invigorating, physi- cal toil and of independent subsistence. Tent-making he had been taught as a trade in early life, in accordance with universal Jewish usage. This was based upon the idea that without some means of honest livelihood the temptation might arise to knavery or theft. " Teach thy son the law, and teach him a trade ! " was the Talmudic instruc- tion to fathers. The latter custom still obtains in the East, and to some extent in Germany and Rus- sia. We may add that the use of tents was and still is very great in those regions ; and tent-making has always been a large and important business. The material — still largely used — was a cloth of goat's hair, which was obtained chiefly from Paul's native province of Cilicia. From the fact that Aquila had a house in Corinth, and afterward another in Ephesus (1 Cor. 16 : 19), and one also in Rome (Rom. 16 : 3- 5), it would seem that he conducted an extended and prosperous business, at the same time laboring with his own hands. So that his example, as well as that of Paul, affords a signal illustration of the precept: Not slothful in business ; fervent in spirit ; serving the Lord ! They showed that daily labor, hand-toil or brain-toil (both equally honorable), con- sists perfectly with and helps to promote spirituality of mind and consecration of heart. It is further to be noted that Paul had other and special reasons in laboring for his own support among the Greeks of Corinth and Achaia. It was not a pride of personal independence that led him to forego in his own behalf the Christian law of ministerial support upon which he so earnestly insists in writing to these very Corinthians (1 Cor. 9 : 7-14). But he "would not be burdensome to them " ; nor would he give opportunity to selfish, sharp-eyed Greeks, in or out of the Church, to charge him with seeking theirs and not them. Lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ, summed up his assigned reasons for declining support from the feeble, partially instructed Corinthian Church. 4-6. His Brief Ministry in the Synagogue, and hoio brought to a Close. — Until the arrival of Silas and Timothy — probably for some weeks — he wrought daily through the week, and on the Sabbath earnestly preached in the synagogue to Jews and Greeks. During this period, until after the encouraging vision and words of Christ (vs. 9, 10), Paul seems to have passed through something like Elijah's one experi- ence of excited depression, though without any cor- responding act of defection. Speaking of this period, he tells the Corinthians that he was with them in weakness, and in fear, and in much trem- bling ; while the tone of both Epistles implies his in- tensely moved yet depressed frame of mind at this time. And the occurrence in the synagogue, with the special manifestation of Christ immediately fol- lowing, confirms an impression derived from these Epistles, that the whole of this first Corinthian visit was a time of ordeal and crisis, a period the most active, trying, and decisive in his entire apostolic career. Yet this depressed state of mind did not arise from personal timidity, for of this, like Elijah, he had none. But his utter failure in Athens, the vast- ness of that brilliant but most flagrant corruption in the midst of which he stood alone for God, his deep sense of impotence to cope with such tremen- dous forces of evil, the hardened perversity of the Jews agamst the truth and their virulent hatred against himself, and his own felt desolation and utter loneliness although naturally so self-reliant — these combined causes stirred all his soul within him. In this excited yet depressed condition Silas and Timothy found him ; and, while relieving his loneliness with their human sympathy and spiritual fellowship, they stimulated his spirit the more by their encouraging news from the Churches of Thcs- salonica and Berea. As Christ was straitened till his baptism of suf- fering was accomplished, so Paul, under this state of unworldly excitation, was straitened in his work of testimony for Christ. And this intense pressure of spirit wrought itself out in direct fervent appeals to the Jews — to God's own people, who ought to have heeded. But almost as one man, with only a single known exception, they opposed Paul and blasphemed 132 SECTION 219.— ACTS 18:1-^ their own Messiah, Jesus. And, under the same intense sense of crisis, the apostle symbolically pro- tests, as their prophets were wont to do, by shaking his raiment ; emphatically asserts his own clearance from the guilt of their destruction ; and, with warn- ing solemnity, places that guilt upon themselves. 7, 8. Forsakes the Synagogue, and preaches in the Court of Justus's House. — As before, at Antioch of Pisidia, Paul departs from the Jewish house of worship. But he goes not far, and with him goes the synagogue's chief ruler as a Christian disciple. In an adjoining house, gladly opened to him by an- other convert to Christ — a Roman proselyte named Justus — he resumes his fervent faithful ministry. In this new preaching-place, accessible to all of every race and creed and station, many Corinthians were drawn in to hear the truth ; and many, besides Cris- pus and Justus, believed, and confessed Christ in their baptism. B. From this, as well as several other passages, we find that, when the parents, or heads of households, became Christian believers, so did their children. All were baptized together. So, in one place, we read of " the church which is in the house of Nymphas " ; showing that such a group of believers, comprising parents and their children, might constitute a church of itself. How much beauty and sanctity there would be in such a spec- tacle— a church in each house — and how mightily the world would gain in Christian order, purity, and power, if it were generally realized ! F. D. H. 9, 10. The Manifestation and E7icouraging Charge of Christ. — This vision and the subsequent prosecution before Gallio seem to have occurred very soon after Paul's departure from the syna- gogue ; and while he was still " in weakness and fear and much trembling." Discerning this state of His apostle's heart and the sense of insufficiency that was enfeebling his faith, and foreknowing the greatness of his labor and conflict in the protracted ministry before him, Christ, by this miraculous ap- pearance and word, forearms while forewarning Paul. B. " I have much people in this city " — serving now at heathen altars, slaves now of the grossest vices, nevertheless they are my people ; and here you are to abide, from these vile dust-heaps to gather out my jewels — they have not chosen me, but I have chosen them ; not for their merits, but out of my mercy chosen them before the foundation of Corinth, or of the world itself. If God's ways are equal, unless there was one rule for the sinners of Corinth and another for us, none are chosen from regard to their merits, or saved through their own ability — salvation being all of grace, pure and un- deserved. T. G. Enough for this single-hearted worker and trust- ful disciple were the two simple clear declarations of his Master : / am with thee, and / have much peo- ple in this city ! No longer could he fear, or would he hold his peace. We believe and therefore speak ! were among his after words to this very people (2 Cor. 4 : V-13), verified beforehand in his present large and blessed experience among them. And his Lord's assurance of abundant success was with him only a stronger stimulus to persistent exertion. 11. Summary of Eighteen Months' Ministry in Corinth. — His labor was great, his encouragements and discouragements were many and signal. A large church was formed in Corinth, and smaller ones in Cenchrea and at other points in Achaia ; for here, as everywhere, his ministry reached to many of the places accessible from the capital. Meanwhile Paul failed not to keep up communica- tion with the infant churches of Macedonia. During this period, too, were written the Two Epistles to THE Thessalonians. Thesc were the first written -Epistles; and the first of Paul's nine Letters to Churches, though the last in the order of our New Testament. Of these two Epistles, the first was prepared and sent soon after Timothy's arrival at Corinth with encouraging intelligence from the church at Thessalonica. Some months later, after receiving further information, the apostle sent the Second Letter to emphasize and confirm the instruc- tions of the First. These Epistles furnish hints of his state of mind : his zealous absorption and suc- cess in his labors, his determination of self-support, and his keen sensitiveness to the hostile spirit of the Jews. B. It is notorious that the order of the Epistles in the New Testament is not their real or chronological order. The mere placing of them in their true sequence throws considerable light upon the history ; and, happily, the time of the composition of the more important Epistles can be stated with sufficient certainty. S. 12-17. Prosecution of Paul before Gcdlio. — This immediately followed the night-vision and promise of Christ ; and in the result that promise was veri- fied. The Jews were the persecutors. They assault- ed Paul and brought him to the judgment seat of the proconsul Gallio. The accusation was the same for which Paul and Silas had been illegally scourged and imprisoned at Philippi. But Gallio (the brother of Seneca) had intelligence to discern the truth of the case, and courage to declare an independent judgment upon it. Like Lysias and Festus after- ward, he refused to adjudicate upon religious ques- tions outside of their bearing upon Roman law. In his decision, he ruled out the charge which the Jews had made. Not only this, but Paul's accusers were disgracefully driven from the judgment-seat. Even further than this, when the Greeks present immedi- ately turned upon these accusing Jews and beat their leader Sosthenes, the new ruler of the syna- gogue, Gallio suffered it to be done in his presence. SECTION 2W.—AGTS 18 : S3-S8 ; 19 : ISO. 133 And so, as Christ had said, " no man set on Paul to hurt him." His work went on not only without hindrance, but the influence of Greeks and Ro- mans thus indirectly favored the Church and its teacher. 18-23. Conclusion of the Second Missionary Jwirney. — His work in Corinth for the time was done. Having entered the city alone, after eighteen months of bold, fervent toil, he left it with many converts and an organized church. Another organ- ization in Cenchrea, and congregations of disciples at other points in Achaia, were additional fruits of his labor. B. . Much importance should not be attached to the fact, incidentally mentioned here, that he had his head shorn in Cenchrea, before embarking, on ac- count of a vow. Paul's idea of liberty under the gospel did not go the length of forbidding liberty. He bore witness that those who made any of these observances their righteousness before God, shut themselves out from Christ ; but, when any one was justified through faith in the Redeemer, Paul and his fellow-apostles allowed the convert unlimited liberty to observe or not observe the Jewish ceremonial. Arnot. With the Greeks it was usual only for slaves to wear the hair cut short ; and to have ap- peared with it cut short at Corinth among the Greek Christians might have exposed him to ridicule and his preaching to contempt. He acted with prudence, therefore, in not cutting off his hair till he was on the point of quitting Greece. W. From the eastern harbor of Corinth, by the great route of commerce, he crossed over the .(Egean to Ephesus, the emporium of the Asian coast. Here a few days' preaching proved so acceptable to the Jews that they prayed him to tarry. But he prom- ised to return to them; and, leaving Aquila and Priscilla in Ephesus, sailed to Cesarea. After a brief visit to Jerusalem, a greeting and report to the apostles and the Church, Paul returned for the last time to Antioch. About three years, from a. d. 51 to 54, this Second Journey had extended. B. Section 220. Acts xviii. 23-28; xix. 1-20. 23 And after he had spent some time there, he departed, and went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples. 24 And a certain Jew named Apollos, horn at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in 25 the scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man was instructed in the way of the Lord ; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing 26 only the baptism of John. And he hegan to speak boldly in the synagogue : whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way 27 of God more perfectly. And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him : who, when he was come, helped them much which 28 had believed through grace : for he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shew- ing by the Scriptures that Jesus was Christ. 1 And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the 2 upper coasts came to Ephesus : and finding certain disciples, he said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much 3 as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost, And he said unto them, Unto what then were 4 ye baptized? And they said. Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him 5 which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were 6 baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, 7 the Holy Ghost came on them ; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. And all the 8 men were about twelve. And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space 9 of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God. But when divers were hardened, and believed not, hut spake evil of that way before the multi- tude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of 10 one Tyrannus. And this continued by the space of two years ; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. 11 And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul : so that from his body were 12 brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and. 134: SECTION 230.— ACTS 18:23-28; 19:1-20. 13 the evil spirits went out of them. Then certain of the vagahond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, sayiug, We 14 adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, 15 and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I linow, 16 and Paul I Icnow • but who are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house 17 naked and wounded. And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephe- 18 sus • and fear fell on them all, and the name of tlie Lord Jesus was magnified. And many 19 that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds. Many of them also which used curious arts brought their boolvs together, and burned them before all men : and they counted 20 the price of them, and found it fifty thousand ^^eces of silver. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed. The surface of our reading has immensely enlarged, but not the limits of human life. Our morning newspaper must be scanned ; we must sweep the whole horizon, and be posted in the world's news. And then the race is working out great problems ; thinkers are flinging their thoughts to the winds for the revolving arms of the printing press, and we must keep pace with the march of advanced thought. Many of the books are professedly religious, and so corameud themselves to our consciences, and so piquant and palatable as to commend themselves to our taste. Thus, all unwittingly, while we believe in the Bible, praise it, we only read it by snatches. We fail to feed upon it with the keenness of relish and thorough- ness of digestion essential to our highest profit. Hence arises a generation eloquent about the Scriptures, but not mighty in them. An. The great question which we should be anxious to be able to answer in the affirmative is this, "Are we receiving the Holy Ghost since we believed ? " Have we been ever since, and are we still, receiving the Holy Ghost ? 0 blessed above all blessedness, if we can say that this is true of us ! 0 blessed with a blessedness most complete, if we only do not too entirely abandon ourselves to enjoy it ! Elect of God ; holy and beloved ; justified and sanctified ; there is nothing in all the world that could impair or destroy such happiness, except we ourselves, in evil hour, believed it to be out of the reach of danger. T. A. 23. Commencement of PauVs Third Missionary Journey. — Recall the chief periods of Paul's apos- tolic career thus far ; The First Journey of two years or more in Asia Minor ; an interval of more than two years in Autioch and Syria ; the Second Journey of three years or more through Asia Minor, Mace- donia, and Achaia ; and an interval of a few months :at Antioch. Now he undertakes his Third and last Missionary Journey ; again through Asia Minor, tar- rying only among the churches in Phrygia and Ga- .latia, abiding in Ephesus, and then visiting Mace- donia and Achaia. The period of this final circuit (recorded Acts 18 : 23 to 21 : 17) covered about /owr years, from the summer or fall of a. d. 54 onward. During this period Paul wrote the Epistles to the Corinthians, to the Galatians, and to the Romans. 24-28. An Episode concerning Apollos. — With a few glimpses, Luke here introduces a remarkably fine natural and Christian character, and a history though brief yet rich in instructive suggestions. ApoUog, like Paul, was chosen by Christ for his great and special work. He was taken out of the very region where, and from the class by whom, the Old Testament Scriptures had been translated three centuries before into the now world-language. Taught all the learning and trained in the culture of the schools of Alexandria, he had applied all his ac- quired resources with his great natural gifts to the study of his own Scriptures. Through some undis- closed teacher, the testimony of the Baptist to Christ and some of the leading facts of Christ's life and ministry had been brought to his knowledge. Enough he had heard to trace the correspondences of that Life with the Old Testament prophecy and promise ; and to produce a conviction that Jesus of Nazareth was the expected Messiah. Though unin- formed of the eventful issue of that Life, and of the marvels of Pentecost that followed the Ascension, his faith yet fastened itself, like Abraham's, to a dimly revealed Deliverer. To this Redeemer he con- secrated himself and all his culture. Under divine prompting, he became a self-appointed evangelist of the Messiah ; telling in fervent words all the gospel he knew, the gospel of the Prophets as fulfdlcd. While Paul is traversing the provinces of Phry- gia and Galatia, Apollos is led by the same Spirit to Ephesus, where Aquila and Priscilla had been some time abiding. No wonder that these tent-makers were intensely stirred when this man of bright intel- lect and burning zeal suddenly appeared in the syna- gogue at Ephesus ; and, like another John, seemed by his eloquence and might of Scriptural truth to be preparing the way of the Lord. For, partially taught as he was, note Luke's description (vs. 24, 25) of his qualifications and his spirit. An eloquent man — one who could understand his subject and his occasion ; SECTIOX 220.— ACTS 18 : 23-28; 19 : 1-20. 135 who could grasp and use his points of argument and appeal with clearness, force, and fervor ; mighly in the Scriptures, in the substance and spirit, not in the letter, of the truth of God ; instructed in the loay of the Lord, so instructed only by the Lord's own Spirit ; fervent in the spirit, with a soul kindled and ever aglow with a Godlike love for God and man; he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord — in private and public, without weariness or ceasing, unfolding and impressing the Scriptures of truth, those Old Testament Scriptures which Paul after- ward affirmed, " are able to make wise unto salva- . tion." These particulars may well be pondered, if we would learn the true secret of an evangelist's success. Quick to discern these divine gifts and the missionary spirit of Apollos, yet perceiving how de- fective was his knowledge of the gospel, the tent- makers sought to instruct him in the fullness of the truth which theyha.d received from Paul. They rec- ognized as their vocation, if not to preach, to teach more perfectly this divinely called preacher. Again, by this teaching, as often before in this apostolic age, God honors the common priesthood of behevers. While the apostles, and after them other appointed ministers, had due honor and a definite vocation, yet, in emergencies and for special pur- poses, unordained disciples ministered the Word and the ordinances. So, after Stephen's martyrdom, the scattered members of the infant Church went every- where preaching the Word. So an obscure believer was Christ's messenger to Saul, to declare the truth and admit to the Christian fellowship. And in this case of Apollos, two simple disciples, and one a wo- Site of Ephesus. man, were guided to this needed ministry of instruc- tion by the Spirit of Christ. The manner in which their joint ministry of help and guidance was accepted and acted upon by Apol- los furnishes yet further evidence of the grace of God as magnified in his thorough and beautiful Christian spirit. And if we trace through his sub- sequent history, and read all that Paul wrote con- cerning him, we find an absence of self-assertion, a retiring modesty, a spirit of humble, earnest helpful- ness, blended with boldness and intense fervor. Watering that which Paul had planted, building upon Paul's foundation in Corinth, yet, when a party would form itself around himself as a Christian leader distinct from Paul, he withdraws to Ephesus, and toils thenceforth under the counsel and guidance of the veteran apostle. Simply but clearly are the two chief functions of the gospel preacher intimated in connection with the work of Apollos at Corinth (vs. 27, 28). He helped them much which had believed through grace ; and he mightily convinced those that loere unbelieving. \, At the End of a Considerable Journey, Paul settles down in Ephesus. — Timothy seems to have accompanied Paul throughout this Third Circuit; Titus in the earlier, and Luke in the later part. The route from Antioch was, as in the previous jour- ney, over the Cilician plain, through the " Gates," the noted pass of the Taurus Range, into the high table-land of Lycaonia ; thence through Cappado- cia into Galatia, and then through Phrygia to the JEgQwa. coast. Besides confirming and strengthen- ing the churches everywhere throughout this jour- ney, as specially charged by the apostles and breth- ren in Jerusalem he took order for future collec- tions in behalf of the poorer Christians in Judea. Paul declares that he was " forward to do " this, that the helpfulness of Gentile to Jewish Christians might promote a closer spiritual unity and fel- lowship between them. To Ephesus Paul now comes, in accord- ance with his previous promise (18: 21). And Ephesus proved to be his zvorling - center during the greater portion of this Third missionary tour, as Corinth had been during the larger / ^t "I %^^B"'-i ^"^^I^j:^ ^^^^ ^^ *^® Second. For ^ <" '' C ^w45^^'^%-* Ephesus, like Corinth, was a great world-cen- ter of commerce, popu- lation, and influence. These two cities shared the highest position of prominence and power with Rome and Antioch. And in all these world-centers Paul planted an effective and aggressive Christi- anity. B. From the frontier of Phrygia a tract of country 136 SECTION 220.— ACTS 18 : 23-28; 19 : 1-20. extends to the -^gean, which is watered by two of the long western rivers, the HeiTnus and the Mean- der, and which is celebrated through an extended period of classical history, and is sacred to us as the scene of the churches of the Apocalypse. Laodicea is in the basin of the Meander ; Smyrna, Thyatira, Sardis, and Philadelphia are in that of the Hermus ; Percamus is further to the north, on the Caicus. Between the Hermus and the Meander is a smaller river, named the Cayster. And here, in the level valley of the Cayster, in a situation preeminent among tlie excellent positions which the lonians chose for their cities, Ephesus was built, on some hills near the sea. H. (See map, p. 94.) Originally the royal city of the kings of Ionia, it passed successively under the control of Persia and Lydia, until b. c. 129, when under the Roman rule it was made the capital of the province of Asia. Upon the great line of commerce east and west, the meeting place of vessels from all points of the Mediterranean, connected by great roads with the interior markets of the East, the most central point between east and west, it naturally drew together Jew and Greek, Eoman and Oriental. It was, more- over, a free city, though the mass of its population was Oriental in origin and in worship. Reason enough we discern why Paul should tarry so long and toil so arduously here ! 3-7. The Holy Ghost falls upon Twelve Disci- ples of John the Baptist. — Christian disciples they were, for the word is only used of such, and because Paul recognizes them as believers. Like Apollos, these men had not heard of the descent of the Holy Ghost. To Paul's question, " Did ye receive the Holy Ghost ? " (referring not to the rc(jenerating power, but to the extraordinary gifts which then so frequently followed conversion), they replied : " We did not even hear whether the Holy Ghost is," i. e., is given; whether these miraculous gifts have ap- peared. They had understood and practiced repen- tance toward God, and some vague yet real faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; but they had not heard Christ's disclosures about " another Comforter, the Holy Ghost," nor had they experienced his special Pentecostal gifts. John had taught Christ's true Messiahship. This was his central truth : Behold the Lamb of God ! So much these men knew, when they were initiated by baptism into the reli- gion which John taught. That religion included as its two main doctrines repentance or reformation of heart and life, and trust in that Lamb of God of whom John was the forerunner and herald. After brief colloquy with these believers in the Messiah, Paul made clear what was vague, and fully unfolded Christ's career to His Ascension, and the sending of the Holy Ghost ten days thereafter. And now, with vastly enlarged vision of spiritual truth, and with deepened faith, " they were baptized into " (as better representing the chief idea of in- corporation) " the name of the Lord Jesus." Again, as before, the laying on of the apostle's hands was followed with the miraculous gifts (the speaking with other tongues, and by special inspiration, i. e., " prophesying ") of the Holy Ghost. And upon these twelve disciples Paul laid the foundation of the great Church of the Ephesians. This singular incident (we note in passing), as well as the similar history of Apollos, shows how slowly the knowledge of the essential facts of Chris- tianity was spread abroad. It further indicates the depth and force of the impression made upon the whole Jewish people by the brief yet powerful min- istry of the Baptist. Nearly thirty years had now elapsed since his beheading by Herod, yet at two widely separated points we find so rich and precious fruit of his faithful testimony. B. The incident is also important as showing that those who are in a truly believing state of mind believe more or less of Christian truth according to their opportunities of knowledge. Abraham's faith was probably as strong as that of Paul, but not so extensive. This gives us great hope for those who are ignorant, but not for those who reject the truth when made known. If one has " faith " he will hold " the faith " as soon as he can properly discover it ; with- out " faith," holding " the faith " is a dead ortho- doxy. Riddle. 8-10. Three Months in the Synagogue on the Sabbath, then Two Years in the School of Tyrannus daily, Paul jjr caches the Word of the Lord Jesiis. — Though Aquila and Priscilla are not mentioned here, we have seen them so lately instructing Apollos, and we find them so soon again sending salutations to Cor- inth in the apostle's letter from Ephesus (1 Cor. 16), that we can not but believe he met his old associates. It is even probable that he again worked with them at the same trade : for in the address to the Ephe- sian elders (20 : 34) he stated that "his own hands had ministered to his necessities " ; and in writing to the Corinthians he says (1 Cor. 4:11, 12) that such toil had continued even "to that hour." H. First, three months in the synagogue he spal^e boldly. His theme, as at Thessalonica, was that of the Baptist. It was that doctrine of the kingdom of God which was the key to Christ's whole ministry. To the Jews, who were still looking for a visible world-empire, he faithfully declared a.j\d pressed home the truth respecting " the kingdom of God within them," as the condition of entrance into the final glory of the everlasting kingdom. But his bold fidelity was offensive because his truth was un- welcome. They hardened themselves against his appeals by willfully refusing to believe. Nay, fur- ther, they dared jiublicly revile the truth of God SECTION' 220.— ACTS 18 : 23-28; 19 : 1-20. 137 and to belie the Christian xoay of believing and living. Thereupon, as at Corinth, Paul withdrew his disciples from among them. As the house of Justus at Corinth, so here the school of Tyrannus became — and for two years continued — the daily meeting- place of the Christians and the chief preaching-place of Paul. (From the lack of any note of the man, it would seem that this was a hired room where pre- viously a Greek philosopher of that name had been wont to teach.) And for yet nine months longer, making three full years (20 : 31), in this great cen- tral city Paul maintained his sublime work of pub- lishing the Christian truths. Doubtless he made many brief tours into the interior, and possibly crossed the Jilgean to Corinth ; for of such move- ments we find some indications. So it was that all the inhabitants of pro-consular Asia "heard the word of the Lord Jesus " ; a fact confirmed even by heathen writers. And during this period most, if not all, of the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse may have been planted. Of four congregations in that province, those of Ephesus, Colosse, Laodicea, and Hierapolis, Paul speaks definitely in Col. 1 and 4. 11, 13. PauVs Work for God attested by Spe- cially Adapted Miracles. — For a second time, and the last, in Paul's history we read of many miracles wrought in connection with his ministry. The oc- casion— always the same — is some specially de- manded attestation of God's presence, speaking and working through him. As in the case of Moses be- fore Pharaoh, and as in Paul's own previous expe- rience before the deputy in Cyprus, an issue was raised here between the antagonistic powers of light and darkness. On the one side were numerous sor- cerers, pretended exorcists, and magic-workers, apos- tles of falsehood and impurity with whom Ephesus was teeming, from all lands ; and on the other, Christ's apostle of truth and purity. To give sharp- ness and force to the decision of this issue, an un- questioned and signal manifestation of Divine power was essential at this juncture in this infested city. Hence, besides the miracles wrought by the hands of Paul, God wrought special wonders in connection with him, yet without his direct intervention. Not the relics of a dead saint, but aprons and handker- chiefs used by a living one in his honest, hallowed, daily toil, were made means of imparting a healing power, like that of Christ's garment-hem to the suf- fering woman's touch. Those who sought them for this purpose had faith in the application, and God condescended to meet and reward the faith. But only for the time and occasion. There was no sec- ond-hand use, for there was no second-hand faith of superstition. The unusual form of these miracles — therefore called special — was adapted to meet the leading su- perstition of Ephesus. These very supernatural effects, so publicly wrought and so conclusively real, were designed to confute and triumphantly confuted all professed magical or talismanic claims. Especi- ally did they challenge comparison in their effects with the charms and amulets constituted by the ut- terance or transcription of the famous mystic sym- bols or sentences known as the Ephesian Letters, thrice graven upon Diana's image. In connection with these admirably adapted miracles — which have no parallel in apostolic or other subsequent times — Luke is careful to note (17) that it was the name of the Lord Jesus, not that of Paul, that was magnified. B. Eustathius says that the mysterious symbols called "Ephesian Letters" were engraved on the crown, the girdle, and the feet of the goddess. When pronounced, they were regarded as a charm ; and were directed to be used, especially by those who were in the power of evil spirits. When writ- ten, they were carried about as amulets. The study of these symbols was an elaborate science : and books, both numerous and costly, were compiled by its professors. H. 13-16. So conclusively real and certainly Divine were the " special miracles " wrought in connection with Paul's preaching, that " certain wandering Jew- ish exorcists undertook to name over them who had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul preacheth." This blasphemous appeal was not only damaging as its utter failure showed them to be counterfeits and pretenders ; it involved the absurdity of a feebler evil agent, with a means confessedly not understood, much less controlled, attempting to dispossess a stronger. In these words, too, the sons of Sceva prac- tically confessed that they had no faith in and stood in no personal relation to Christ ; that they were not warranted therefore in such a use of His name; that their own claim to supernatural power was false; that, unlike them and all other sorcerers, Paul was a true man, successfully engaged in a work helpful to man and so honoring to God ; and that in this work he was in living alliance with Di- vine power. Furthermore, this wicked, absurd, and humiliating appeal brought out another demoniac attestation to the truth of Paul's mission and the conquering might of Christ. "Jesus I acknovd- edge" as Ruler over the world of evil and good, "and Paul I know," as Eis minister, "but who are ye ? " promptly answered back the kindred spirit whom they could not exorcise. And assaulting two of the seven brothers, he rent off their clothes and drove them wounded from the house. 17-20. Effect of the Word and its Accompany- ing Miracles, and of the Overthrow of the Jewish Exorcists, upon Believers in Magic and Dealeis in SECTION 221.— ACTS 19 : 21-41. Sorcery. — To all the dwellers in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, Paul's faithful preaching of Jesus, the special marvels connected with him, and the dis- comfiture of the sons of Sceva, had become known. Through this knowledge Christ's name was magni- fied and multitudes believed. Luke notes the special effects of the strikingly exhibited superiority of the divine miracles over the human counterfeits. On the one hand, many who had previously believed (18), and yet had not thrown off the early superstitious faith in magic arts, now formally confessed their folly and renounced all connection with sorcerous practices. And on the other, many of the sorcerers, of those " who practiced magical arts," openly brought to- gether and burned the parchment rolls, transcribed laboriously and at great cost with the secret formulae and mystic symbols of the magic art, accumulated through previous ages. That these became also Christian believers is evident from the cost and completeness of their voluntary sacrifice. They did not make gain of that which they now knew to be only evil ; but showed their sincerity of repentance by utterly and openly destroying the books that might have been sold for a great sum. The money- value thus deliberately sacrificed by constraint of Christian principle amounted to many thousand dol- lars. Thus, as always, a genuine faith wrought an honest purpose ; a purpose that will sacrifice at any cost and hazard every hindrance in the way of obe- dience to God and helpfulness to man. A sharp lesson, not only upon sacrifice but upon sincerity, these converted sorcerers of Ephesus convey to many professedly converted men and women in their business dealings. In this connection the 20th verse presents a remarkable summary of Paul's work in Ephesus: So mightily greio the Word of God, and prevailed ! The breadth of the sowing of truth, the depth of its rooting, its vital force in the heart and its rich fruitage in the life, are here referred to. Of these great and wide results, the submission and sacrifice of the sorcerers, just alluded to, afford signal examples. The opposite, selfish course of Demetrius and his workmen present as signal exceptions. B. Section 221. Acts xix. 21-41. 22 23 21 After these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have' been there, I must also see Eome. So he sent into Macedonia two of them that ministered unto him, Timotheus and Erastus ; hut he himself stayed in Asia for a season. And the same time there arose no small stir about that way. For a certain man named 24 Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, hrought no small gain unto 25 the craftsmen; whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, 26 Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth. Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, hut almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned 27 away much people, saying that they he no gods, which are made with hands : so that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought ; hut also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia 28 and the world worshippeth. And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, 29 and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians. And the whole city was fiUed with confusion : and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's companions 30 in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theatre. And when Paul would have en- 31 tered in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not. And certain of the chief of Asia, which were his friends, sent unto him, desiring him that he would not adventure himself 32 into the theatre. Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was 33 confused; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together. And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander beckoned 84 with the hand, and would have made his defence unto the people. But when they knew that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana 35 of the Ephesians. And when the townclerk had appeased the people, he said, Te men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a wor- 36 shipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter? See- SECTION 221.—AGT8 19 : SI-4I. 139 ing then that these things cannot be spoken against, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing 37 rashly. For ye have brouglit hither these men, which are neither robbers of churches, nor 38 yet blasphemers of your goddess. Wherefore if Demetrius, and the craftsmen which are with him, have a matter against any man, the law is open, and there are deputies: let them 39 implead one another. But if ye enquire any thing concerning other matters, it shall be de- 40 termined in a lawful assembly. For we are in danger to be called in question for this day's 41 uproar, there being no cause whereby we may give an account of this concourse. And when he had thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly. Conceive the apostles of Jesus Christ, the tent-maker or the fisherman, entering, as strangers, into one of the splendid cities of Syria, Asia Minor, or Greece. Everywhere they behold temples on which the utmost extravagance of expenditure has been lavished by succeeding generations ; idols of the most exqui- site workmanship, to which, even if the religious feeling of adoration is enfeebled, the people are strongly attached by national or local vanity. They meet processions, in which the idle find perpetual occupation, the young excitement, the voluptuous a continual stimulant to their passions. They pass a magnificent theatre, on the splendor and success of which the popularity of the existing authorities mainly depends, and in which the serious exhibitions are essentially religious, the lighter as intimately connected with the indulgence of the baser passions. They behold another public building, where even worse feelings — the cruel and the sanguinary — are pampered by the animating contests of wild beasts and of gladiators. They encounter, likewise, itinerant jugglers, diviners, magicians, who impose upon the credulous, and excite the contempt of the enlightened. Such must have been among the overpowering difficulties they contemned and defied. Milman. 21, 22. The Ultimate Plan of PauVs Further Journey. Timothy and Erastus sent before. — In 2 Cor. 1 : 15, 16, a slightly differing plan is referred to. He had intended to pass through Corinth " to Macedonia and to come again out of Macedonia unto Corinth " ; that is, to give them a second benefit in this journey. But this purpose was changed, to spare them, that he might not grieve them, or come to them in sorrow or severity (2 Cor. 1 : 12 ; 2 : 10). The First Epistle explains all. Sad intelligence reached him in Ephesus of divisions and contentions in the Corinthian Church, of uncensured gross im- moralities, and of the scandalous profanation of the Lord's Supper. Instead of the sharp rebuke, which he would have personally administered had he gone first to Corinth, he remains still longer in the prov- ince of Asia, and from Ephesus (1 Cor. 16:8) writes the admonitory words of his First Epistle to the Co- rinthian Church. B. While arranging his plans 80 as to give his disciples at Corinth a space for re- pentance before his arrival, he stimulated them to that repentance, and gave directions for that refor- mation of their disorders which would prepare for his coming to them in joy and peace, by writing this letter. Its contents give decisive indications of its date and place : it was written after Paul's second visit to Galatia ; after the mission of Timothy, and Erastus; and after the change in the apostle's plans. Paul alludes to his being still in Asia, and at Ephesus, whence he was contemplating his de- parture at the ensuing Pentecost ; circumstances which fix the date to the spring of his last year's residence at Ephesus (a. d. 57). S. After thjjt, he decides to delay still further and to go first to Macedonia, that he might learn the effect of his First Letter. While in Macedonia he receives grat- ifying tidings, to which he refers and responds in his Second Epistle to the Corinthians, written from Macedonia. Then he goes to Corinth, and after win- tering there is brought on his return journey to Je- rusalem. Luke, writing here after the event, sim- ply narrates Paul's actual journey. The tarrying " in Asia " (in Ephesus) covered another period of nine months, which completes the three years of chapter 20 : 31. During these latter months oc- curred the events that follow in this chapter. 23-28. Demetrius, a Manufacturer in Silver, craftily excites the Workmen to Riotous Demonstra- tions against the Christian Movement and its Lead- ers.— Again, this movement is characterized as " that way " ; meaning the Christian way of believing and living. Some knowledge of the temple, the image Coin of Ephesus, exhibiting the head of Nero and the Tem- ple of Diana. and the worship of Diana, the tutelary deity of Ephesus, is essential to a clear understanding of the appeal of Demetrius and the resulting commo- tion. B. uo SECTION 221.— ACTS 19 : 21-41. One building at Ephesus surpassed all the rest in magnificence and in fame. This was the Temple of Artemis or Diana, which glittered in brilliant beauty at the head of the harbor, and was reckoned by the ancients as one of the wonders of the world. The sun, it was said, saw nothing in his course more magnificent than Diana's Temple. It consisted es- sentially in horizontal entablatures resting on verti- cal columns. These colonnades were erected as sub- sidiary decorations round the cell which contained the idol, and were, through a great part of their space, open to the sky. The Temple was 425 feet in length and 220 in breadth, and the columns were 60 feet high. The number of columns was 127, each of them the gift of a king; and 36 of them were enriched with ornament and color. All the Greek cities contributed to the structure. The national pride in the sanctuary was so great that, when Alex- ander offered the spoils of his eastern campaign if he might inscribe his name on the building, the honor was declined. The value and fame of the Temple were enhanced by its being the treasury, in which a large portion of the wealth of Western Asia was stored up. If the Temple of Diana at Ephesus was magnif- icent, the Image enshrined within the sumptuous inclosure was primitive and rude. It resembled an Indian idol rather than the beautiful forms which crowded the Acropolis of Athens. The figure, which assumed an emblematic form above, representing the life of all animated beings as fed and supported by nature, was terminated below in a shapeless block. The material was wood. A bar of metal ■was in each hand. The dress was covered with mystic devices ; and the small shrine, where it stood within the Temple, was concealed by a curtain in front. Yet, rude as the image was, it was the ob- ject of the utmost veneration. Like the Palladium of Troy — like the most ancient Minerva of the Athenian Acropolis — like the Paphian Venus or Cybele of Pessinus — like the Ceres in Sicily — it was believed to have " fallen down from the sky " (v. 35). One of the idolatrous customs of the ancient world was the use of portable images or shrmes, which were little models of the more celebrated ob- jects of devotion. They were carried in processions, on journeys and military expeditions, and set up as household gods in private houses. H. Such were the " silver shrines for Diana," largely manufactured by Demetrius ; small portable models of the Tem- ple, and containing a figure of the goddess. These shrines were in great demand, not only in Ephesus and the province of Asia, but among all nations and in all countries ; and hence the business of their manufacture was extensive and lucrative. The great annual festival of Diana, the patron deity of Ephesus, took place in her own month of May ; when the rude wooden image of the goddess was exhibited to the multitude, and, in her honor, games and dramas were publicly celebrated. Of this opportune occasion Demetrius took advantage to stir up the idle and excitable Greek populace. Yet with all his shrewdness he is constrained to confess the immense power and success of the Word, in the very facts upon which he bases his inflamma- tory appeals. That the craftsmen in image* mold- ing and carving were out of work he declares to result from the preaching of this Paul. By him, " much people in Ephesus and throughout all Asia" (that is, the broad strip of the western seaboard of Asia Minor, the province of Asia) have been turned away from Diana's worship, and led to disbelieve in gods made with hands. He further praises the true character, methods, and effects of the Gospel, shows where the real power of its preacher lies, and how God honors that power, by the words : Tliis Paul hath persuaded much people ! To reason and motive they have intelligently and voluntarily re- sponded with faith. And that these are undeniable facts, he appeals to the workmen : Ye see and hear all this ! Naturally his first argument based upon such facts touches the selfish side. " This craft of ours — the making of these silver temple-models — by which we get our living, is in danger of being done away. Nay more, in time our occupation will become ab- surd and be accounted disgraceful." Next he ap- peals to the religious and national feeling of the gathering townspeople, as well as of the workmen. He warns them that the success of the Christian teaching means the decline and overthrow of the Diana-worship, and of the supremacy of their regal city Ephesus. Arguments so artfully set forth, having so much foundation in fact, and touching his hearers at every personal and practical point, appealing to their im- periled living, to their religious faith, such as it was, and to their patriotic feeling, could not but suc- ceed in inflaming their wrath to the utmost. With a mighty outcry, which expressed all the substance of their superstitious faith and patriotic devotion, Great ! Diana of the Ephesians ! the surging crowd of artisans and people that had gathered at the speech of Demetrius went turaultuously through the streets, increasing as they went, until they poured, a vast throng, into the great theatre. 29-41. Proceedings in the Theatre.— This is be- lieved to have been the largest open-air structure of its kind ever constructed by the Greeks — capable of seating 50,000 persons in its many semicircular tiers of stone seats, rising from the stage floor. The still visible remains show its vast dimensions. Two of Paul's Macedonian disciples, companions SECTION 221.— ACTS 19:21-41. 141 in travel, were seized by the mob on the way, and borne into the theatre. Paul was kept back from entering by some " of the chief of Asia," or Asi- archs. B. These were men (ten in number) an- nually elected from the wealthiest, most distin- guished and influential citizens of the whole prov- ince, to conduct the sacrificial worship and to preside over the games of the Artemi- sian festival, to pro- vide the necessary ex- penses, and to see that due order was main- tained. They held for the time a kind of sa- cerdotal position ; and when, robed in man- tles of purple and crowned with gar- lands, they assumed the duty of regulating the great gymnastic contests, and control- ling the tumultuary crowd in the theatre, they might literally be called the "chief of A?ia." H. Some of the men honored with this high office at this festival were so friendly to Paul, if not to the Christian teachings, that they be- sought him not to expose himself to unnecessa,ry peril by venturing into the excited and turbulent throng. Confusion and uproar filled the vast amphi- theatre. Probably by Alexander the coppersmith (2 Tim. 4 : 14), the Jews sought to clear themselves of the odium and charge against the Christians. But the angry, blinded crowd recognized no distinc- tion and would hear no defense. For two hours they filled the air with their senseless shout, Great is Diana of the Ephesians ! Then came among them their highest magistrate, a secretary, or recorder, who kept the archives, and prepared and published all state papers ; and who, in various other ways, officially represented the people of the free city of Ephesus. This officer was chosen by themselves, his presence was familiar, and his judgment trusted. B. The speech is a pattern of candid argument and judicious tact. He first allays the fanatical passions of his listeners by a simple appeal. Then he bids them remember that Paul and his companions had not been guilty of profaning the Temple, or of ca- lumnious expressions against the goddess. Then he points out that the remedy for any injustice was amply provided by the assizes, or by an appeal to the proconsul. And he reminds them that such an uproar exposed the city to the displeasure of the Romans ; for, however great the liberties allowed to an ancient and loyal city, a tumultuous meeting which endangered the public peace would never be tolerated. So he tranquilized the multitude, and formally dismissed the assembly. Thus God used View of the Theatre at Ephesus. the eloquence of a Greek magistrate to protect his servant, as he had used the right of Roman citizen- ship at Philippi, and the justice of a Roman gov- ernor at Corinth. And, as in those cases, the nar- rative here concludes with the notice of a deliberate and affectionate farewell. H. The town clerk said, " These men are neither rob- bers of churches nor blasphemers of your goddess." It would appear from this that Paul had proceeded at Ephesus with the same caution which he had dis- played at Athens. He effectually undermined all idolatry by preaching Christ ; but he did not fly in the face of what his audience considered sacred. His argument was always grave and considerate. He would not needlessly trample on the prejudices of the heathen. Arnot. Nothing more hinders men from going to or going from an opinion than the interest they have by holding it. Men do not care so much for the opinions they hold as for what they hold by their opinions. Many a man thinks what Demetrius said : *' This craft, by which we have all our wealth, is like to be set at naught." Hence they begin to fly in the face of truth, and oppose it with outrageous rage, so dearly sweet, and sweetly dear, is their dar- ling gain. When once the copyhold of gain and honor is touched, men begin to look about them, and will never call godliness gain, because gain is their godliness. V. 142 SECTION 222.— ACTS 20 : 1-16. Section 222. AoTS XX. 1-16. 1 And after the uproar was ceased, Paul called unto Mm the disciples, and embraced them, 2 and departed for to go into Macedonia. And when lie had gone over those parts, and had 3 given them much exhortation, he came into Greece, and tliere abode three months. And when the Jews laid wait for him, as he was about to sail into Syria, he purposed to return 4 through Macedonia. And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea ; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus ; and Gains of Derbe, and Tiraotheus ; and of Asia, 5 Tychicus and Trophimus. These going before tarried for us at Troas. And we sailed away 6 from PhUippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days. 7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on tlie morrow ; and continued his speech until 8 midnight. And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered 9 together. And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep : and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down 10 from the third loft, and was taken up dead. And Paul went down, and fell on him, and 11 embracing ?dm said. Trouble not yourselves ; for his Hfe is in him. When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of 12 day, so he departed. And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little com- forted. 13 And we went before to ship, and sailed unto Assos, there intending to take in Paul: for 14 so had he appointed, minding himself to go afoot. And when he met with us at Assos, we 15 took him in, and came to Mitylene. And we sailed thence, and came the next day over against Chios ; and the next day we arrived at Samos, and tarried at Trogyllium ; and the 16 next day we came to Miletus. For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia : for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jeru- salem the day of Pentecost. Three years of faithful labor had been given to Ephesus and the accessible regions of the interior country. Many churches had been planted, includ- ing some or all of the seven addressed in the Apoc- alypse. The First Epistle to the Corinthian Church had been written. Timothy had been sent into Ma- cedonia, and Titus to Corinth : both to superintend the great work of gathering contribution? from the Gentile churches for the Christian poor of Judea. Titus had also been charged with a report to Paul of the reception given to his First Epistle by the Church of Corinth. 1-6. In these six verses is compressed the story of ten months' journeying and tarry : from Ephesus to Macedonia and Greece, and back to Troas. Three Epistles — the Second to the Corinthians, and those to the Galatians and the Romans — largely supplement Luke's brief record here. They detail many inci- dents, and fully disclose Paul's state of mind ; the causes of his anxiety, the special objects and aims of his toil, and the sources of his comfort. They further show that, intellectually, this was the most active period of his career. From 2 Cor. 2 : 12 wo learn that, after leavincr Ephesus, he first tarried at Troas, preaching for some weeks to welcome ears the glad tidings, while anxiously waiting the return of Titus from Corinth. Titus failing to come, Paul sailed for Macedonia, landing as before at Neapolis, and crossing the mountains to Philippi. Here he was rejoined by Timothy ; and very soon after was comforted by the news brought by Titus fi'om the Church at Corinth. Under mingled emotions awakened by this intelli- gence, in conjunction with Timothy, he then wrote The Second Epistle to the Churches of Cor- inth and of the province of Achaia, and sent it by the hands of Titus, who was charged with complet- ing the collection successfully begun. This time and place of writing are intimated by the following facts : B. It was written after the troubles that had be- fallen the apostle in Asia ; after his preaching and disappointment at Troas, his arrival in Macedonia, and the consolation received there by his meeting with Titus ; while he was engaged in making the collection for the poor at Jerusalem ; and in antici- pation of a renewed visit to Corinth. This Epistle reveals to us what manner of man Paul was when the fountains of his heart were stirred to their in- SECTION 222.-~AGTS 20 : 1-16. U3 most depths. Every reader may perceive that, on passing from the First Epistle to the Second, the scene is almost entirely changed. In the First, the faults and difficulties of the Corinthian Church are before us. The apostle writes of these, with spirit indeed and emotion, as he always does, but without passion or disturbance. He calmly asserts his own authority over the Church, and threatens to deal severely with offenders. In the Second, he writes as one whose personal relations with those whom he addresses have undergone a most painful shock. The acute pain given by former tidings — the com- fort yielded by the account which Titus brought — the vexation of a sensitive mind at the necessity of self-assertion — contend together for utterance. The highly wrought personal sensitiveness, the ebb and flow of emotion, so peculiarly characteristic of the Epistle, are as intelligible as they are noble and beautiful. We see what sustained him in his self- assertion ; he knew that he did not preach himself, but Christ Jesus the Lord. S. From Philippi the apostle went upon a preach- ing tour westward " as far as lUyricum," on the Adriatic (Rom. 15 : 19), thus "completing (at least in outline) the evangelization of the Eastern divi- sion of the empire, preparatory to a movement upon Rome itself." Referring to this extended circuit, Luke says : " When he had gone through these parts, he came into Greece, and there abode three months.'''' The three winter months (of a. d. 57-58) at Cor- inth are those here alluded to. Occupied with the settlement of disturb- ing questions and dis- orders in that church, with an oversight of other churches in the province, and with " the care of all the church- es " that he had found- ed, the apostle yet found time for the composi- tion of two kindred Epistles : one to the Ga- latians, the other to the Romans. Of these the former, which was first written, is a sort of ground-plan to the lat- ter. The Epistle to the Galatians was written in the early part of this winter at Corinth. Some think that it was prepared and sent before leaving Ephesus. It was aimed at the grand hindrance everywhere en- countered in these earliest churches: the Judalz- ing doctrine that sapped the very life of the Chris- tian system, by taking out of it all that was spirit- ual and essential, and leaving an outward, heart- less, lifeless ceremonial framework. Abrupt, se- vere, and self-asserting against the men attempt- ing insiduously to inculcate this destructive teaching, and seeking by falsehoods to supplant Paul in the attachment of the disciples ; sometimes ironical even toward those easily deceived disciples ; yet his tone of sadness and intense affection shows Paul's heart firmly set upon rescuing and saving them. The EnsTLE to the Romans, the master-work of Paul, which has ever since formed the chief founda- tion of Christian theology, was certainly written at Corinth. Paul writes as the guest of Gains, one of the most conspicuous members of the Corinthian Church. He sends salutations from Erastus, the chamberlain of the city, from Timotheus his fellow- laborer, and from Sosipater, whom we presently find accompanying him on his voyage from Greece to Asia (Rom. 16 : 23). He mentions the completion, not only in Macedonia, but also in Achaia, of the collection, which he was then on the point of carry- ing to the poor saints at Jerusalem. B. This sacred mission of charity was now the only remaining hindrance to the gratification of a desire which he had cherished for many years, but which his labors in the East had hitherto postponed, to visit the Church of Rome, and even to extend his western mission as far as Spain. His great work of break- ing up new ground, of planting the churches, which his successors, like Apollos, were to water, was now Troas, from Tenedos. done in the Greek division of the Roman world. "But now having no more place in those regions," is a striking description of a completed work (Rom. 15 : 20-28). It is very striking that, ardent and long-cherished as was his desire to see his Christian 144 SECTION 222.— ACTS 20:1-16. brethren at Rome, he speaks of its approaching ful- | 7-13. Thus we have the interesting story of fillment as but a passing visit, on his way to break | the evening meeting at Troas, with its showing of the manner of primitive gatherings for worship ; and its illustrative argument for the first-day Sabbath, for the observance of the Lord's Supper, and for the sermon (not the after " speech until midnight "), as parts of an orderly Christian service. B. The place was an upper room, with a balcony projecting over the court. While Paul was continuing in earnest discourse, an occurrence suddenly took place which filled the assembly with alarm, though it was afterward converted into an occasion of joy and thanksgiving. A young listener, whose name was Eutychus, was overcome by heat and weariness, and sank into a deep slumber. He was seated or leaning in the balcony ; and, falling down in his sleep, was dashed upon the pavement below and was taken up dead. Confusion and terror Interior of Onental House. followed, with loud lamentation. But Paul up virgin soil for the good seed in Spain. Yet the I was enabled to imitate the power of that Master whose very errand of mercy to Jerusalem, which he regards | doctrine he was proclaiming. He went down and as but a temporary de- lay of his inroad upon the West, was the cause of his being sent as a prisoner to the capital, where his two years' enforced residence pro- vided for the work he had to do both among Jews and Gentiles. S. 3, 4. To disconcert a Jewish plot against his life, Paul returned toward Syria by way of Macedonia. The seven persons named as com- panions of the journey — possibly bearers of the collection, and in some sort representa- tives from the Gen- tile Churches to the mother Jewish Church at Jerusalem — sailed over to Troas in ad- vance of Paul and Luke. For this no reason is given, r> ■_ — ag^ _l::i Ruins of Assos. [Assos w-is a seaport of the Roman province of Asia, in the district anciently called Mysia. It was situated on the north shore of the pulf of Adramyttium, about seven miles from the opposite coast of Lesbos, A i^ood Roman road, connecting the central parts of the province with Alexandria Troas (Troas), passed thron