THE 
 
 ACTS  OF   THE   APOSTLES 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 (CHIEFLY  IN  THE  DOCTRINAL  AND  MORAL  SENSE) 
 
 Ancient  aittr  Hftotirrn  Slutfjors. 
 
 THE    REV.    JAMES    FORD,    M.A., 
 
 tniKRENDARY    OF     EXETTR. 
 
 LONDON : 
 JOSEPH  MASTERS,  ALDERSGATE  STREET, 
 
 AND  NEW  BOND  STREET. 
 
 oxford:  PARKER.       CAMBRIDGE:  DEIGHTONS  ;    MACMILLAN  AND  CO. 
 
 EXETER:    HOLDEN  ;  WALLIS  ;  CLIFFORD. 
 
 TORQUAY  :    CROYDON;  COCKREM. 
 
 1856. 
 
LONDON : 
 
 printed  by  joseph  masters  and  co., 
 amjersgate  street. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 Thankful  for  the  commendation,  bestowed  on  his 
 former  Volumes  on  the  Gospels,  the  Author  must 
 regret  that  he  has  received  no  counsels  or  suggestions 
 from  his  indulgent  critics,  with  a  view  to  the  improve- 
 ment of  his  work.  He  is  far  from  supposing  these 
 to  be  uncalled  for:  but,  in  the  absence  of  them,  he 
 thinks  it  best  to  adhere  to  his  original  plan  of  illustra- 
 tion, as  stated  in  the  Preface  to  his  Notes  on  the 
 Gospel,  according  to  S.  Matthew.  As  to  the  princi- 
 ples, which  have  guided  him  in  the  selection  of  pas- 
 sages from  so  many  various  writers,  these  can  admit 
 of  no  change.  They  must  be  the  principles  of  our 
 Church,  as  plainly  declared  in  its  Formularies.  The 
 Ordination  vow  binds  Ministers  to  have  a  constant 
 regard  to  the  Church's  interpretation  of  Scripture,  in 
 all  their  Parochial  teaching :  this  vow  can  surely  lose 
 none  of  its  weight,  but  must  rather  serve  to  increase 
 our  solemn  responsibiUty,  when  we  presume  to  come 
 forward,  as  public  teachers,  on  a  more  enlarged  scale, 
 by  means  of  the  Press.     The  remark  of  one  (probably 
 
IV  PREFACE. 
 
 Hooker),^  writing  on  Church-controversies,  is  appli- 
 cable in  a  measure  to  every  attempt  we  make  to  "  show 
 unto  men  the  way  of  Salvation" — "In  matters  of  so 
 great  moment,  whereupon  the  peace  or  disturbance 
 of  the  Church  is  known  to  depend,  if  there  were  in  us 
 that  reverend  care,  that  should  be,  it  is  not  possible 
 we  should  speak  at  any  time  without  fear,  or  ever 
 write,  but  with  a  trembling  hand."  A  proper  regard 
 to  "the  peace  or  disturbance  of  the  Church"  will 
 surely  act,  as  our  salutary  restraint  on  the  one  hand,  or 
 our  animating  motive  of  encouragement  on  the  other ; 
 while  it  becomes  us  still  more  seriously  to  consider, 
 whether  we  are  disseminating  Truth  or  error,  whether 
 we  are  edifying  or  misleading  immortal  souls,  by  the 
 comments,  we  venture  to  place  before  them,  on  the 
 Blessed  Word  of  God.  May  we  see  more  of  this 
 "reverend  fear,"  this  "trembling  hand,"  this  heedful 
 eye  to  consequences,  than  recent  times,  through  our 
 "  unhappy  divisions,"  have  exhibited  to  us  ! 
 
 It  may  be  observed  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  that, 
 perhaps,  beyond  any  other  Book  of  the  Old  or  the 
 New  Testament,  it  forcibly,  and  in  the  most  attractive 
 manner,  commends  to  us  the  Study  of  the  Scriptures. 
 Elsewhere  the  command  is  given  to  "  search"  them  ; 
 or  their  Inspiration,  and  their  manifold  benefits  are 
 described  in  general  terms  (Ps.  xix.  7 — 11  ;  Rom.  xv. 
 4  ;  2  Tim.  iii.  15 — 17)  •  it  is  here,  chiefly,  that  those 
 benefits  are  practically  exemphfied  in  particular  cases. 
 
 *  See  his  Works.  Edit.  Keble.  A^ol.  iii.,  Appendix  2.  The 
 passage  is  quoted  at  length  in  tliese  illustrations;  Ch.  xxi.  23. 
 (Conf.  xiii.  50.   Bp.  Sanderson.) 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 We  see,  for  instance,  how  God's  Word  was  a  "  Light 
 unto  the  feet "  of  the  Apostles,  in  that  trying  interval, 
 before  the  Holy  Ghost  was  "given"  (i.  16,  20);  how, 
 after  Pentecost,  it  became  *'  the  Sword  of  the  Spirit," 
 in  the  mouth  of  S.  Peter,  when  he  first  preached  the 
 Gospel,  (ii.  16;  iii.  21,  22.  Conf.  xiii.  33,  34,  40); 
 how  it  guided  the  Apostles  and  Elders  to  a  right  and 
 firm  decision,  when  difficult  questions  arose  in  the 
 Church,  threatening  its  internal  peace  (xv.  15)  ;  how, 
 again,  it  was  a  support  to  the  brethren  under  persecu- 
 tion (iv.  25),  and  a  sure  defence  to  S.  Paul  against  the 
 slanderous  accusations  of  his  enemies  (xxiv.  14  ;  xxvi. 
 22).  And,  if  the  Blessed  influence  of  God's  Word 
 made  itself  felt  in  the  general  affairs  and  planting  of 
 the  Church,  it  was  experienced  at  the  same  time,  as 
 effectually,  though  less  prominently,  in  its  application 
 to  individuals.  Witness  the  Eunuch,  who  "  sitting 
 in  his  chariot  read  Esaias  the  prophet "  (viii.  28) : 
 witness  the  "  noble  "  Bereans,  who  "  searched  the 
 Scriptures  daily,"  and  thereby  so  confirmed  their  own 
 faith,  that,  by  reason  of  their  example,  "  many  beheved" 
 also  (xvii.  11,  12):  witness  the  "eloquent  man," 
 Apollos,  eloquent  in  the  highest  sense,  because  he  was 
 "  mighty  in  the  Scriptures  "  (xviii.  24,  28)  :  witness 
 S.  Paul,  no  longer  indeed  speaking  of  "  God's  testi- 
 monies before  Kings"  (xxvi.  27),  but  now  "the 
 prisoner  of  the  Lord,"  first  at  his  lodging,  and  after- 
 wards in  his  own  hired  house,  "  teaching  those  things, 
 which  concern  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  "  both  out 
 of  the  Law  of  Moses  and  out  of  the  Prophets,  from 
 morning  till  evening"  (xxviii.  23,  30,  31). 
 
VI  PREFACE. 
 
 The  observation  of  these  incidental  notices,  these 
 living  proofs  of  the  truth,  power,  and  inestimable  value 
 of  God's  Word,  should  encourage  us  in  our  diligent 
 and  devout  reading  of  this  particular  portion  of  it,  and 
 raise  our  hopes  of  profiting  thereby.  For  this  Book 
 is  still  the  Gospel  and  Demonstration  of  the  Holy 
 Ghost,  who  bears  witness  in  our  hearts  to  the  Lord 
 Jesus  Christ,  "  the  Son  of  God,"  now  both  Risen  and 
 Glorified.  The  Spirit  is  withdrawn  in  His  extraor- 
 dinary manifestations ;  but  He  still  abides  with  the 
 people  of  God,  as  their  Teacher,  and  in  the  ever- need- 
 ful saving  Graces  of  faith,  hope,  and  charity.  The 
 first  builders  indeed  have  finished  their  work,  and  are 
 taken  away :  but  their  spiritual  fabric  stands,  which 
 is  the  Church ;  that  we  may  "go  in  and  out,  and  find 
 pasture."  The  food,  so  good  for  souls  at  the  begin- 
 ning, has  in  the  length  and  change  of  time  lost  none 
 of  its  Divine  sustaining  qualities ;  it  retains  them  all 
 for  our  edification  and  comfort.  If  then  we  be  "  will- 
 ing and  obedient,"  we  shall  "  eat  of  the  good  of  the 
 land." 
 
 Could  we  suppose  any  further  inducement  neces- 
 sary, in  order  to  strengthen  our  attachment  to  the 
 Sacred  Volume,  we  might  find  it  in  the  remarkable 
 "  signs  of  the  times,"  in  which  we  live  ;  signs,  which 
 have  spoken  so  clearly  and  convincingly  to  many  good 
 men,  that  they  have  recognized  in  them  the  distinct 
 fulfilment  of  the  Prophecy  (Dan.  xii.  4),  touching  the 
 last  Days,  when  "  Many  shall  run  to  and  fro,  and 
 knowledge  shall  be  increased."  If  this  be  so,  if  from 
 the   universal    ceaseless   locomotion   and    unbounded 
 
PREFACE.  VU 
 
 mental  activity,  which  certainly  distinguish  this  pre- 
 sent time,  we  have  any  ground  to  expect  the  near 
 approach  of  the  great  final  closing  scene,  let  it  be  our 
 care,  while  "  many  run  to  and  fro,"  to  be  found  calmly 
 "sitting  at  Jesus'  feet  and  hearing  His  Word:"  and, 
 while  the  perishable  knowledge  of  things,  that  perish, 
 is  ''increased"  around  us  on  every  side,  let  us  keep 
 pace  with  the  times  by  accumulating  fresh  stores  of 
 that  Heavenly  Wisdom,  our  far  better  portion,  which 
 *'  endureth  for  ever."  Thus  may  we  hope  with  Daniel, 
 the  warning  prophet,  to  ' '  rest,  and  stand  in  our  lot 
 at  the  end  of  the  Days,"  (xii.  13,)  whenever  that  mo- 
 mentous period  may  arrive. 
 
 The  Author  cannot  conclude  without  an  humble 
 hearty  prayer,  that  all  his  readers,  and  especially  his 
 younger  brethren  among  them,  may  largely  partake  of 
 the  rich  blessings,  promised  to  those,  whose  "Delight 
 is  in  the  Law  of  the  Lord."  With  a  solemnity,  it  is 
 hoped,  not  unseasonable,  and  certainly  in  accordance 
 with  what  he  truly  feels,  after  the  example  of  the 
 Apostle,  here  recorded  (xx.  32),  he  commends  them  to 
 God  and  to  the  Word  of  His  Grace,  which  is  able  to 
 build  them  up,  and  to  give  them  an  inheritance  among 
 all  them,  ivhich  are  sanctified.     Amen. 
 
THE  ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES. 
 
 By  Revelation,  I  understand  a  direct  communication  from  GrOD  to 
 man ;  either  of  such  knowledge,  as  man  could  not  of  himself 
 attain  to,  because  its  subject  matter  transcends  human  sagacity 
 or  human  reason  (such,  for  example,  were  the  prophetical  an- 
 nouncements of  the  future  and  the  peculiar  doctrines  of  Chris- 
 tianity), or  which,  although  it  might  have  been  attained  in  the 
 ordinary  way,  was  not,  in  point  of  fact,  from  whatever  cause, 
 known  to  the  person,  who  received  the  revelation.  By  Inspiration, 
 on  the  other  hand,  I  understand  that  actuating  energy  of  the  Holt 
 Spirit,  in  whatever  degree  or  manner  it  may  have  been  exercised, 
 guided  by  which  the  human  agents,  chosen  by  God,  have  oflScially 
 proclaimed  His  will  by  word  of  mouth,  or  have  committed  to 
 writing  the  several  portions  of  the  Bible.  .  .  .  Revelation  is  the 
 peculiar  function  of  the  Eternal  Word  ;  Inspiration  the  result  of 
 the  agency  of  the  Spirit.  Their  difference  is  specific,  and  not 
 merely  one  of  degree ;  a  point,  which  may  amply  be  confirmed 
 by  the  consideration  that  either  of  these  Divine  influences  may 
 be  exerted,  although  the  other  be  not  called  into  action.  The  Pa- 
 triarchs received  revelations,  but  they  were  not  inspired  to 
 record  them  :  the  writer  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  was  inspired 
 for  his  task,  but  we  are  not  told  that  he  ever  enjoyed  a  reve- 
 lation. Ephes.  iii.  1—9  ;  Eev.  i.  1—3,  19.  Wm.  Lee.  (Eight 
 Discourses  on  the  Inspiration  of  Holy  Scripture.  Donnellan 
 Lecture,  1854,  p.  27,  &c.) 
 
 B 
 
A  THE  ACTS. 
 
 "We  consider  ordinarily  in  the  Old  Testament  G-od,  the  Father  ; 
 and  in  the  Gospels  God,  the  Son  ;  and  in  this  Book,  the  Acts, 
 and  in  the  Epistles,  and  the  rest,  God,  the  Holt  Ghost  ;  that 
 is,  God  in  the  Government  and  administration  of  His  Church, 
 as  well  in  the  ordinary  Ministry  and  constant  callings  therein, 
 as  in  the  extraordinary  use  of  general  Councils ;  of  which  we 
 have  the  model,  and  platform,  and  precedent  in  chapter  xv. 
 This  Book  is  noted  to  have  above  twenty  sermons  of  the  Apos- 
 tles, and  yet  it  is  not  called  the  sermons,  the  preaching  of  the 
 Apostles,  but  the  practice,  "  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles."  Our 
 actions,  if  they  be  good,  speak  louder  than  our  sermons.  Our 
 preaching  is  our  speech ;  our  good  life  is  our  eloquence. 
 Preaching  celebrates  the  Sabbath ;  but  a  good  life  makes  the 
 whole  week  a  Sabbath,  that  is,  a  savour  of  rest  in  the  nostrils  of 
 God,  as  it  is  said  of  Noah's  sacrifice,  when  he  came  out  of  the 
 Ark.  2  Cor.  iii.  8  ;  S.  Matt.  vii.  21.  Br.  Bonne.  (Serm.  Acts 
 xxiii.  6,  7.) 
 
 The  miracles  of  the  Apostles,  contained  in  this  Book,  were  the 
 great  demonstration  of  our  Sayiotjr's  Eesurrection ;  and  there- 
 fore the  Church  appointed  "  the  Acts"  to  be  read  always  between 
 Easter  and  Pentecost,  immediately  after  our  Sayiour's  E-esur- 
 rection,  to  give  men  the  evidences  and  proofs  of  that  holy  mys- 
 tery, which  was  the  completion  of  their  Eedemption :  so  that, 
 though  the  Lessons  for  other  Festivals  related  the  things,  that  were 
 done  at  those  Festivals,  yet,  for  a  particular  reason,  the  Acts  of 
 the  Apostles,  which  contained  the  history  of  things  done  after 
 Pentecost,  were  read  before  Pentecost,  because  they  were  more 
 proper  for  the  time,  immediately  following  our  Saviour's  Eesur- 
 rection.  ii.  33 ;  Eom.  i.  4.  S.  Chrysostom.  (Hom.  Ixiii.  Cur 
 in  Pentecoste  Acta  legantur.) 
 
 I  admire  the  unspeakable  power  and  wisdom  of  our  God,  that,  by 
 the  extraordinary  offences  or  infirmities  of  one  or  two,  can 
 firmly  establish  the  faith  of  all  His  saints.  (Gal.  ii.  7 — 9.) 
 Albeit  He  used  the  ministry  of  every  other  Apostle  in  recon- 
 ciling the  world  unto  Himself,  yet  Faul  and  Feter  were,  as  the 
 two  principal  intermediate  elements,  proportioned  and  qualified 
 of  purpose,  for  the  more  apt  connecting  this  mixed,  inferior 
 globe  with  the  heavenly  sphere,  the  sons  of  men  with  the  Son 
 
THE  ACTS.  3 
 
 of  God  ;  the  one  symbolising  with  the  Jew,  the  other  with  the 
 Gentile,  in  his  sin ;  both  with  Cheist  in  true  wisdom,  in  all 
 good  gifts  and  graces  of  the  Spirit.  S.  PauVs  offences  against 
 "  God,  manifested  in  the  flesh,"  have  the  same  proportion  to 
 S,  Peter's,  that  the  ignorance,  infidelity,  or  idolatry  of  the  Gen- 
 tiles had  with  the  Jews'  delinquency,  or  apostacy  from  the  God 
 of  their  fathers.  ^S".  Paul  had  not  known  our  Sayioue  in  the 
 flesh ;  he  was  ignorant  of  His  wisdom  in  teaching,  or  power  in 
 working ;  and  in  his  ignorant  zeal  unto  Moses  and  the  Law  he 
 persecuted  His  followers  and  disciples  after  His  Eesurrection. 
 Hereby  he  was  made  a  fitter  symbol  for  reconciling  the  Gentiles 
 unto  God,  whom  they  had  not  known,  usually  misled  by  a 
 blind  devotion  to  their  dumb  idols  and  traditions  of  their  elders 
 to  hate  and  persecute  the  Jews,  the  only  possessors  of  true  re- 
 ligion, the  only  servants,  till  that  time,  of  the  ever-living  God, 
 jS.  Peter  had  long  conversed  with  our  Savioue,  heard  Him 
 teach,  as  never  man  taught,  seen  Him  do  what  no  man  else 
 could  ever  do.  His  eyes  had  beheld  the  brightness  of  "  His 
 excellent  Glory  "  (2  S.  Pet.  i.  7)  ;  and,  out  of  the  apprehension 
 of  His  Deity,  he  had  professed  more  than  ordinary  love  (S.  Luke 
 xxii.  33)  ;  yet,  when  he  comes  to  his  trial,  flatly  denies,  that  he 
 knows  Him:  hereby  more  fitly  qualified  for  recovering  the 
 backsliding,  apostatical  Jews,  who  had  known  the  Loed,  and  all 
 the  wonders,  which  He  had  wrought  for  Israel.  They  had  pro- 
 fessed such  love  and  loyalty  to  Him,  as  no  people  could  do  more 
 unto  their  Gods,  their  posterity  still  retaining  the  protestations 
 of  their  religious  fathers  ;  yet,  when  He  came,  in  the  similitude  of 
 man,  to  exact  obedience  and  allegiance  at  their  hands,  they  will 
 not  know  Him ;  but,  as  Samuel  had  foretold,  cast  Him  off  from 
 reigning  over  them,  and  openly  professed  against  Him,  "  We 
 have  no  king  but  Cagsar."  Answerable  to  this  observation  is 
 the  success  of  their  Apostleship,  registered  by  the  Evangelist. 
 (See  extracts  from  the  same  great  writer,  at  ch.  iii.  25  ;  xiii.  48.) 
 Dr.  Jackson.     (B.  iii.  ch.  vii.  s.  5,  6.) 
 
 In  the  Gospels,  we  read  what  Cheist  did  for  us  in  His  humilia- 
 tion ;  in  the  Acts,  what  He  did  for  us  in  His  exaltation.  Eph. 
 ii.  8—16.     Marlorate. 
 
 S.  Luke  wrote  his  Gospel  from  what  he  had  heard  j  he  composed 
 
 b2 
 
4  THE  ACTS, 
 
 his  "Acts"  from  what  he  had  seen.  1  S.  John  i.  1 — 4.  Isi- 
 dorus  Clarius.     (Prefat.  in  Evaug.  Luc.) 
 
 The  Acts  of  the  Apostles  forms  a  central  or  intermediate  Book,  to 
 connect  the  Gospels  and  the  Epistles.  It  is  an  useful  postscript 
 to  the  former,  and  a  proper  introduction  to  the  latter.  S.  Mark 
 xvi.  20.     Bishop  Percy.     {A.  Key  to  the  New  Testament,  &c.) 
 
 The  Book  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  is  to  the  Holy  Spirit  what 
 the  Gospels  are  to  the  Saviour  ;  a  record  of  His  entering  on 
 His  office,  and  fulfilling  His  great  work  in  the  scheme  of  human 
 Eederaption.  This  Book  is  the  Gospel  of  the  Holt  Ghost. 
 H.  Melvill.     (Serm.  2  Tim.  iv.  10,  11.) 
 
 The  Acts  of  the  Apostles  may  be  regarded,  as  the  practical  deve- 
 lopment both  of  the  ministerial  Commission,  and  also  of  the 
 Injunctions,  delivered  to  them  by  the  Lord  after  His  Resurrec- 
 tion ;  the  commission  to  preach  and  baptize  (S.  Matt,  xxviii. 
 18 — 20),  the  injunctions,  needful  to  the  first  planting  and  or- 
 dering of  the  visible  Church,  (i.  3.)  To  both  these  the  gift  of 
 the  Holt  Ghost  for  each  several  office  was  attached.  Before 
 our  Lord's  Ascension  the  Twelve  received  the  Holt  Ghost, 
 to  render  effectual  their  administration  of  the  Word  and  Sacra- 
 ments (S.  John  XX.  22,  23)  ;  and  then  they  were  commanded  to 
 "  wait "  for  the  second  supply  of  the  same  Spirit  to  be  poured 
 upon  them  after  Christ's  Ascension,  in  those  miraculous  en- 
 dowments, which  enabled  them  to  prove  the  truth  of  Chris- 
 tianity, and  to  settle  the  Church  on  its  strong  and  imperishable 
 foundations.  The  latter  gift  was  extraordinary, •and  for  a  season 
 only :  the  former  was  lodged  in  the  Christian  Priesthood,  as  of 
 indispensable  necessity  to  its  right  discharge,  and  also  to  its 
 success,  in  all  future  ages ;  a  lasting,  successive,  and  perpetual 
 heritage.  In  this  twofold  point  of  view  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles 
 are,  in  truth,  the  Acts  of  the  Third  Person  in  the  ever  Blessed 
 Trinity,  God  the  Holt  Ghost,  who  is  made  manifest  in 
 tliem  by  the  power  of  His  might,  in  every  sinner  they  converted, 
 in  every  Church  they  founded,  and  in  their  testifying,  generally, 
 of  the  risen,  ascended,  and  enthroned  Kedccmer  of  mankind, 
 according  to  the  promise  (S.  John  xvi.  14.)  Eor  they  went 
 forth  and  preached  everywhere,  the  Lord  working  ivith  them  (by 
 the  internal  accompaniments  of  His  grace),  and  confirming  the 
 
THE  ACTS. 
 
 5 
 
 word  with  signs  following  (by  miracles,  the  external  proofs  of 
 the  authority  of  their  mission,  and  of  the  Divine  truth  of  their 
 doctrines.)  S.  Mark  xvi.  20;  Acts  xiv.  3,  26,  27;  xv.  4; 
 xxi.  19.  /.  F. 
 Among  the  many  divisions  of  the  historical  matter  of  the  Acts,  as 
 suggested  by  different  authors,  the  three  following  seem  to  be 
 most  appropriate  and  satisfactory : 
 
 I.  The  account  of  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel  among  the  Jews 
 only,  from  chap.  ii.  to  x.     a.d.  33 — 41. 
 
 II.  Among  the  Proselytes  of  the  gate,  or  devout  Gentiles ;  from 
 chap.  X.  to  xiii.     a.d.  41 — 44. 
 
 III.  Among  the  idolatrous  Gentiles,  with  its  further  progress 
 among  the  Jews  and  Gentiles ;  from  chap.  xiii.  to  xxviii. 
 A.D.  44—63. 
 
 Br.  Benson.     (Hist,  of  the  first  planting  of  Christianity, 
 vol.  i.  pp.  22—24.) 
 
 I.  The  Preface. 
 
 1.  All  the  Apostles  J 
 
 II.  The  His- 
 tory itself, 
 containing 
 the  Acts 
 of 
 
 before 
 
 \at 
 after 
 / 
 
 } 
 
 The    Peast    of 
 Pentecost. 
 
 2.  Some  particular 
 Apostles. 
 
 At  Jerusalem, 
 Lydda, 
 
 1.  S.  Peter<i  Joppa, 
 (  j   Samaria, 
 
 (^  Cesarea. 
 1.  His  conver- 
 sion. 
 
 2.  S.  Paul  <!  2.  His  five  mis- 
 I  sionary  jour- 
 I      neys.* 
 
 Diodati.     (Abridged  from  the  Analysis,  prefixed  to  his 
 Annotations  on  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.) 
 
 *  For  a  synopsis  of  these  journeys,  see  at  ch.  xiii.  4. 
 
6  THE  ACTS. 
 
 I.  Context,  or  connection  of 
 this  treatise  with  his  Gospel, 
 V.  1,  2. 
 
 1.  General,  as  setting  down  the 
 Acts  of  all  the  Blessed  Apos- 
 tles, in  the  twelve  first  chap- 
 ters. 
 
 2.  Particular,  as  containing  more 
 specially  the  Acts  of  S.  Paul, 
 in  the  sixteen  last  chapters. 
 
 Dean  Boys.  (An  Exposition  of  the  Pestivals,  Epistles,  and 
 Gospels  used  in  our  English  Liturgy,  &c.  Ep.  Ascension 
 Day.) 
 
 II.  Text,  or  narration  itself 
 through  the  rest  of  the  Book, 
 divided  into  two  portions. 
 
 The  following  curious  verses  were  addressed  by  Br.  Parkhurst, 
 Bishop  of  Norwich,  to  Rodolphiis  Gualtherus,  on  his  Commen- 
 tary on  the  Acts,  and  are  prefixed  to  the  edition,  Tiguri, 
 1569. 
 
 Multa  relucenti  debent  hsec  tempera  Lucse  j 
 
 Et  debet  Lucas  multa,  Eodolphe,  tibi. 
 Lux  Lucse  luxit  totum  diff'usa  per  orbem  j 
 
 Lux  Lucse  lucet  nunc  mage  luce  tua. 
 Ergo  tibi,  Lucse  tantum  qui  luminis  adfers, 
 Christus  cum  Luca  lucida  regna  dabit. 
 
 Ejusdem  aliud  ad  Lectorem. 
 
 Quse  TTpa^ei^  fuerint  Apostolorum, 
 Qui  ritus  veteres  apudque  Patres 
 Et  quot,  discere  lector,  estne,  cordi  ? 
 Hue  adsis,  avido  legantur  ore, 
 Usee,  quse  scripta  vides  pererudita, 
 Sacris  eruta  scripta  quseque  Libris, 
 Aut  0  Patribus  eruta  orthodoxis, 
 Quae  multo  peperit  tibi  laborc 
 Gualtherus. 
 
THE  ACTS  I.  1. 
 
 CHAPTER  I. 
 
 T^HE  former  treatise  have  I  made,  O  Theophilus,  of 
 all  that  Jesus  began  both  to  do  and  teach, 
 
 2  Until  the  day  in  which  He  was  taken  up,  after 
 that  He  through  the  Holy  Ghost  had  given  command- 
 ments unto  the  apostles  whom  He  had  chosen : 
 
 3  To  whom  also  He  showed  Himself  alive  after  His 
 passion  by  many  infallible  proofs,  being  seen  of  them 
 forty  days,  and  speaking  of  the  things  pertaining  to 
 the  kingdom  of  God. 
 
 1  Treatise. — The  title  of  Gospel  he  accounted  to  be  too  great  for 
 him ;  although  it  is  on  this  account  that  the  Apostle  dignifies 
 him.     2  Cor.  viii.  18.     S.  Chnjsosiotn* 
 
 It  is  another  peculiar  singularity  of  S.  Luke's,  that  he  addresseth 
 his  history  to  one  man,  Theophilus.  For  it  is  but  weakly  sur- 
 mised, that  he  chose  that  name  for  all  lovers  of  God  ;  because 
 the  interpretation  suffereth  it;  since  he  addeth,  most  noble 
 Theophilus  (xxiii.  26  ;  xxiv.  3  ;  xxvi.  25  ;  S.  Luke  i.  3.)  But 
 the  work  doth  not  the  less  belong  to  the  whole  Church  for  that ; 
 no  more  than  his  master's  Epistles  do,  though  they  be  directed 
 to  particulars.  S.  Luke  xii.  41 ;  S.  Mark  xiii.  37.  Br.  Bonne. 
 (Serm.  S.  Luke  xxxiii.  24.) 
 
 To  do  and  teach. — Let  the  life  of  the  minister  so  accord  with  his 
 learning,  that  the  people  may  say,  as  the  Psalmist  doth,  (xlviii. 
 7,)  "Like  as  we  have  heard,  so  have  we  seen^  His  conversa- 
 tion must  so  exemplify  his  doctrine,  that,  according  to  the 
 phrase  of  the  Spirit   (Ex.  xx.  18 ;  Eev.  i.  12,)   the  people  may 
 
 *  The  author  here  begs  to  state,  once 
 for  all,  that  the  quotations  from  S. 
 Chrysostom,  Clarius,  Erasmus,  Calvin, 
 Beda,  Leigh,  Lightfoot,  Bp.  Pearson, 
 
 Bengel,  Quesnel,  and  Alford,  are  taken 
 respectively  from  their  several  writings 
 on  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  excepting 
 where  it  is  otherwise  signified. 
 
S  THE  ACTS  I.  1,  2. 
 
 see  the  preacher's  voice,  xxii.  18 ;  S.  Matt.  v.  19  ;  xxiii.  1 ;  1 
 Tim.  iv.  16;  Eom.  ii.  17—23.  Dr.  Richd.  Gierke.  (Serm. 
 Zech.  xi.  1.) 
 
 If  you  preach,  and  act  not  accordingly,  you  seem  to  propose  to 
 me  an  impossibility,  vii.  22 ;  xv.  38 ;  xx.  28,  35 ;  Ps.  1.  16, 
 17 ;  S.  Luke  xxiv.  19.     S.  Chrysostom.     (not  in  loco.) 
 
 "What  Jesus  began  to  Do  includes  His  death  and  resurrection ; 
 so  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  may  be  understood  to  include  their 
 sufferings  and  deliverances :  with  this  difference,  however,  that 
 Jestjs  was  Himself  acting  and  putting  forth  His  Divine  power, 
 when  dying  on  the  cross  and  rising  from  the  grave ;  Avhereas 
 the  Apostles,  in  their  sufferings  and  deliverances,  as  men,  were 
 rather  acted  upon :  what  they  did  was  God's  doing  in  them; 
 it  was  a  mystical  continuation  in  their  persons  of  what  Jesus 
 bega}t  to  do,  after  He  was  taken  up  into  heaven,     iv.  30.     J.  F. 
 
 2  All  that  Jesus  began — 7mtil,  ^c. — When  we  enter  into  consi- 
 deration of  the  great  compassion  of  the  Sois"  of  GrOD  towards 
 the  distressed  state  of  man,  we  find  it  a  work  of  unspeakable 
 mercy.  In  the  Creation,  Dedit  te  tibi  Deus,  "  O  man,  God  gave 
 thee  thyself;"  but  in  the  Eedemption,  Dedit  Se  tibi,  "  God  gave 
 thee  Himself."  In  the  Creation  of  all  things  necessary  for  man 
 only  six  days  were  passed  ;  but  in  man's  Redemption  thirty-three 
 years  were  expired  :  in  the  Creation,  pauca  dixit,  He  spake  few 
 things;  in  the  Redemption  of  man,  multa  dixit,  mirabilia  fecit ^ 
 He  spake  many  things,  He  did  wonderful  things.  S.  Matt, 
 xvii.  17 ;  S.  John  xiv.  9 ;  S.  Luke  xii.  50.  Sutton.  (Disce 
 vivere,  ch.  viii.) 
 
 The  Creation  of  the  world  was  but  a  small  expense  to  the  Lord  ; 
 a  word  said,  and  the  whole  work  done :  but  the  Eedemption  of 
 sinful  man,  tlie  extraction  of  him  out  of  the  profound  abyss  of 
 sin  and  malice,  was  a  more  laborious  masterpiece  of  mercy  and 
 justice :  it  cost  Him  His  descent  from  heaven,  a  painful  life  for 
 many  years  upon  earth,  and  the  last  drop  of  His  most  precious 
 Blood  upon  the  cross.  Heb.  v.  7 ;  ix.  22.  A  Contrite  heart. 
 (P.  iii.  s.  3.) 
 
 The  Apostles. — This  mention  of  the  Apostles  generally,  followed 
 by  their  individual  names,  (ver.  13,)  serves  as  a  fit  introduction 
 to  the  history  of  their  Acts.     We  may  observe,  that  the  command' 
 
THE  ACTS  I.  2,  3.  9 
 
 ments,  or  ministerial  injunctions,  were  given  to  them  in  their 
 corporate  capacity,  not  to  some  few,  or  to  any  single  one  among 
 them  in  contradistinction  from  the  rest :  pari  consortia  prcediti, 
 et  ho7ioris  et  potestatis,  are  the  words  of  S.  Cyprian,  (De  Unit. 
 Eccl.)  endowed  with  equal  participation  of  honour  and  power. 
 And  may  we  not  distinguish  these  commandments  to  which  the 
 gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  here  annexed,  from  the  things  per- 
 taining to  the  kingdom  of  God,  mentioned  in  the  next  verse  ? 
 The  former  may  relate  to  the  preaching  of  the  Word  and 
 administration  of  the  Sacraments,  matters  of  the  highest  mo- 
 ment ;  the  latter  to  the  things  Ecclesiastical,  the  Government  of 
 the  Church,  its  Orders  and  Liturgy,  its  Discipline  and  present 
 status  in  the  world  ?     Deut.  xi.  1 ;  S.  Luke  i.  6.     J.  F. 
 
 Et  electio  pares,  et  labor  similes,  et  finis  fecit  cequales.  Their  calling 
 to  the  ministr}^  put  them  on  a  par ;  in  their  common  toil  and 
 common  end  they  were  alike,  and  on  the  same  footing  of 
 equality,  xv.  2,  23;  Eph.  ii.  20;  S.  Matt.  xix.  28;  Eev.  xxi. 
 12.     P.  Leo.     (Serm.  ii.  in  Nat.  Petri  et  Pauli.) 
 
 3  Wherein  did  these  infallible  proofs  consist  ?  In  His  appearing 
 often  to  His  disciples,  showing  the  marks  of  His  Death,  eating 
 and  drinking  in  their  presence,  and  speaJdng  of  the  things  per- 
 taining to  the  kingdom  of  God.  In  like  manner,  "  if  our  light 
 so  shine  before  men,  that  they  see  our  good  works,"  we  express 
 the  resemblance  of  a  Glorified  body,  donum  claritatis.  If  we 
 "  carry  about  the  mortification  of  Jesus  in  our  bodies,"  we  copy 
 out  the  marks  and  stigmata  of  His  Passion.  If  we  stand  firm 
 and  unshaken  in  the  midst  of  persecution,  we  become  a  lively 
 representation  of  His  impassibility,  donum  impassibilitatis.  If 
 we  "run  with  delight  the  way  of  His  commandments,"  when 
 charity  has  enlarged  our  hearts,  and  even  the  hindrances  we 
 meet  with  in  the  service  of  God  are  so  far  from  retarding  the 
 course  of  our  obedience,  that,  on  the  contrary,  they  inflame  our 
 zeal  and  furnish  new  matter  to  heighten  and  provoke  our 
 courage,  we  imitate  the  third  quality  of  His  Glorified  Body, 
 donum  agilitatis.  x.  40 — 42  ;  xiii.  31 ;  2  Cor.  iv.  10 — 12  ;  Gal. 
 vi.  17;  Eom.  viii.  29.     Phil.  Ellis.     (Serm.  Col.  ill.  1.) 
 
 While  for  this  period  the  Lord  in  His  corporal  Presence  lingers 
 on   the   earth,   it   is   for   the  establishment   by   all   necessary 
 
TO  THE  ACTS  I.  3. 
 
 evidence  of  our  faith  in  His  Eesurrection.  Let  us  thank  Him 
 for  this  Divine  dispensation,  and  for  the  slowness  of  belief, 
 necessarice  tarditati,  which  for  this  very  reason  was  imposed  on 
 these  holy  Fathers.  Their  doubting  was  to  prevent  ours.  S. 
 John  iv.  37.     P.  Leo.     (Serm.  on  the  Ascension.) 
 
 The  Kingdom  of  heaven  pervaded  our  Loed's  discourses  ;  it  was  at 
 the  beginning,  in  the  progress,  and  at  the  close  of  them,  xxviii. 
 31.     Card.  Bellarmine. 
 
 The  Kingdom  of  God  mainly  consists  in  internal  acts  ;  but  it  follows 
 from  this,  that  all,  that  is  necessary  for  the  production  in  us  of 
 those  internal  acts,  be  included  in  the  expression.  Eph.  iv. 
 11 — 13  ;  Eom.  xiv.  17.     T,  Aquinas. 
 
 He  instructed  the  Apostles,  how  they  should,  throughout  the 
 Churches,  (which  were  to  be  converted,)  change  the  Sabbath  to 
 the  Loed's  Day ;  the  bodily  sacrifices  of  beasts  to  the  spiritual 
 sacrifices  of  praise,  prayer,  and  a  contrite  heart ;  the  Levitical 
 Priesthood  of  the  Law  to  the  Christian  Ministry  of  the  Gospel ; 
 the  Jewish  temples  and  synagogues  to  Churches  and  Oratories ; 
 the  old  Sacraments  of  Circumcision  and  Passover  to  Baptism 
 and  the  Loed's  Supper,  &c.,  as  may  appear  by  the  like  phrase, 
 Acts  xix.  8,  and  xxviii.  23 ;  Col.  iv.  11,  put  for  the  whole  sum 
 of  S.  Paul's  doctrine,  by  which  were  wrought  all  these  changes 
 where  it  took  effect :  so  that  as  Christ  was  forty  days,  in- 
 structing Moses  in  Sinai  what  he  should  teach,  and  how  he 
 should  rule  the  Church  under  the  Law  ;  so  He  continued  forty 
 days,  teaching  His  disciples  in  Sion  what  they  should  preach, 
 and  how  they  should  govern  the  Church  under  the  Gospel. 
 Heb.  xiii.  15 ;  vii.  12 ;  Eph.  iv.  8.  11,  12.  Bp,  Baily.  (The 
 Practice  of  Piety,  ch.  xvii.) 
 
 4  And,  being  assembled  together  with  them,  com- 
 manded them  that  they  should  not  depart  from  Jeru- 
 salem, but  wait  for  the  promise  of  the  Father,  which, 
 saitli  He,  ye  have  heard  of  Me. 
 
 5  For  John  truly  baptized  with  water ;  but  ye  shall 
 be  baptized  with  the  Holy  Ghost  not  many  days 
 hence. 
 
THE  ACTS  I.  4.  11 
 
 4  They  would  be  disposed  to  quit  Jerusalem,  since  their  Lord 
 was  crucified  there.     Eev.  xviii.  4.     Bengel. 
 
 S.  Gregory  takes  notice  that,  though  JEsrs  Cheist,  the  Eternal 
 Wisdom  of  the  Fathee,  was  infinitely  wise  from  the  first 
 moment  of  His  Conception,  yet  He  began  not  to  teach  others 
 till  He  was  "thirty  years  of  age,"  and  after  He  had  prepared 
 Himself  for  it  by  His  retreat  into  the  desert,  by  forty  days' 
 fast,  and  many  other  austerities.  "  'Tis  not  that  He  stood 
 in  need,"  says  this  great  saint,  "  of  any  preparation  ;  but  He 
 would  teach  us  by  His  own  example  how  great  a  preparation 
 and  perfection  is  required  for  so  great  a  Ministry."  ...  It  was 
 also  for  this  reason,  says  the  same  saint,  that  Jesus  Cheist, 
 having  commanded  His  Apostles  to  go  and  preach  the  Gospel 
 throughout  the  whole  world,  and  having  then  the  power  to  give 
 them  grace  necessary  for  this  end,  yet  He  would  not  do  it,  nor 
 permit  them,  in  the  weak  and  imperfect  state  they  were  in,  to 
 go  and  preach  His  Word ;  but  commanded  them,  saying,  "  Go 
 into  the  town,  and  remain  there,  till  ye  shall  be  replenished 
 with  the  virtue  of  the  Holt  Ghost."  And  this  He  did,  to 
 let  us  see  that  we  ought  to  be  very  well  grounded  in  humility, 
 mortification,  and  all  other  virtues  ;  that  the  employments,  which 
 engage  us  to  treat  with  our  neighbour  may  be  profitable  for 
 their  salvation,  without  being  prejudicial  to  our  own.  S.  James 
 iii.  1 ;  1  Tim.  iii.  10 ;  Gal.  i.  15—18.  Rodriguez.  (On  Per- 
 fection, ch.  iv.  p.  3.) 
 
 By  His  Blessing  them  (S.  Luke  xxiv.  51)  immediately  before  His 
 Ascension,  He  perhaps  endued  them  with  a  strength  to  pre- 
 serve them.  Vim  conservativam,  until  the  coming  of  the  Holt 
 8pieit.     Theophilus. 
 
 The  Holt  Spieit  is  the  Vis  Vic  aria  of  the  Loed  Jestjs  ;  that 
 Power,  which  supplies  His  place  here  in  the  world,  by  which  He 
 is  present  to  our  souls.  S.  John  xiv.  16  ;  S.  Matt,  xxviii.  20. 
 JBp.  Patrick.     (Mensa  Mystica,  c.  5.) 
 
 Cheist,  though  He  sometimes  leave  His  people  in  regard  to  sense, 
 yet  He  never  leaves  them  without  a  promise.  The  soul  some- 
 times, in  the  hour  of  temptation  and  desertion,  may  want  the 
 sense  of  feeling  of  Cheist  ;  but  it  never  wants  a  promise  from 
 Cheist  :  and  the  promise  makes  Cheist  present  in  His  absence. 
 
12  THE  ACTS  I.  5. 
 
 For  Cheist  Himself  is  spiritually  present  in  the  promise,  and 
 not  Christ  only,  but  the  Holt  Ghost  also  ;  for  Christ  and 
 the  Spirit  are  never  asunder ;  but,  as  the  Father  and  the  Son 
 are  One,  so  is  Christ  and  the  Spirit  One.  And  all  are  in  the 
 promise ;  and  so  the  promise  is  able  to  uphold  the  soul  in  any 
 condition,  not  because  of  its  own  nature,  but  because  God,  and 
 Christ,  and  the  Spirit  are  present  in  the  promise.  Isa. 
 lix.  21 ;  S.  John  vi.  63 ;  xiv.  23 ;  xv.  7.  Wm.  Bell.  (Serm.  on 
 Text.) 
 
 5  He  does  not  here  dispute  about  Baptism,  but  only  makes  a 
 comparison  between  the  person  of  John  and  the  person  of 
 Christ.  When  John  said  that  he  baptized  ivith  wate?'  only, 
 he  did  not  treat  of  the  nature  of  his  Baptism,  but  rather  of  what 
 he  was  himself,  lest  he  should  assume  to  himself  what  exclu- 
 sively belonged  to  Christ.  As  now,  ministers  must  only  so 
 speak  of  themselves  as  to  acknowledge  Christ  to  be  the  giver 
 of  those  things,  which  are  signified  in  Baptism  ;  they  must  leave 
 nothing  to  themselves,  but  the  external  administration.  For 
 when  these  high  praises  {elogia)  are  ascribed  to  Baptism, 
 that  it  is  the  laver  of  Begeneration,  the  cleansing  from  sin,  the 
 fellowship  in  the  death  and  burial  of  Christ,  and  the  grafting 
 into  His  Body,  these  things  are  not  predicated  of  what  man, 
 the  minister  of  the  outward  sign,  may  do ;  but  rather  of  what 
 Christ  Himself  floes,  who  alone  renders  the  sign  to  be  effec- 
 tual. 1  Cor.  i.  15 ;  Gal.  vi.  13 ;  2  Cor.  xiii.  3,  4.  Calvin  (in 
 loco.     Vide  etiam,  ap.  xi.  16.) 
 
 Not  many  days  hence. — He  did  not  explain  when,  that  they  might 
 always  watch.  He  told  them  that  it  should  soon  take  place, 
 that  they  might  not  faint ;  yet  the  exact  time  He  refrained 
 from  adding,  that  they  might  always  be  vigilant.  S.  Matt, 
 xxiv.  43.     S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 6  When  they  therefore  were  come  together,  they 
 asked  of  Him,  saying,  Lord,  wilt  Thou  at  this  time 
 restore  again  the  kingdom  to  Israel  ? 
 
 7  And  He  said  unto  them,  It  is  not  for  you  to  know 
 
THE  ACTS  I.  6,  7-  13 
 
 the  times  or  the  seasons,  which  the  Father  hath  put 
 in  His  own  power. 
 
 8  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  Judaea,  and  in 
 Samaria,  and  unto  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth. 
 
 6  They  hoped,  by  going  to  our  Lord  together,  more  readily  to 
 obtain  an  answer.  Verse  14;  ii.  1,  S.  John  xii.  22;  !Rom. 
 XV.  6.     Bengel. 
 
 At  this  time. — You  are  taken  up  with  your  few  days  on  the  earth ; 
 and  in  your  few  days  upon  earth  you  wish  to  have  everything 
 fulfilled.  Lam.  iii.  25,  26.  S.  Augustine. 
 If  the  coming  of  the  Lord's  Kingdom  depend  on  His  will,  and  be 
 so  ordered  as  to  keep  us  in  constant  expectation,  how  is  it  that 
 some  pray  for  a  prolongation  of  the  existence  of  this  present 
 world,  since  the  Kingdom,  whose  coming  we  pray  for,  is  fixed  to 
 be  at  the  world's  end  ?  We  desire  rather  to  anticipate  our 
 reign,  than  to  add  to  the  days  of  our  servitude.  Had  it  not 
 been  commanded  us  to  pray  for  the  coming  of  His  Kingdom,  we 
 should  of  our  own  selves  have  demanded  it,  pressing  forward  to 
 the  fruition  of  our  hope,  complexum.  Speedily,  0  Lord,  may 
 "  Thy  Kingdom  come,"  the  desire  of  Christians,  the  overthrow 
 of  the  nations,  the  joy  of  angels ;  for  which  we  strive,  or  rather 
 pray.  Heb.  xi.  13 ;  Eev.  xxii.  21,  22 ;  2  S.  Pet.  iii.  12.  Ter- 
 tullian,     (De  Orat.  s.  5.) 
 
 Hei  mihi !  quam  longse  sunt  expectantibus  horae  ; 
 
 Plus  sevi  spatio  creditur  una  dies ! 
 Jam,  mea  Lux,  lapsi  menses  tot  aguntur  et  anni ; 
 Spemque  facis  toties ;  spem  tameu  usque  negas. 
 O  !  quaudo,  Pacies,  toto  spectabilis  orbe, 
 Quando  Tuo  dabitur  Lumine  posse  frui  ? 
 
 Ilerm.  Hugo.     (Pia  desideria.    Lib.  iii.  Suspirium  12.) 
 
 7  There  is  truth  in  Olshausen's  remark,  that  the  Apostles  were  to 
 be  less  prophets  of  the  future  than  witnesses  of  the  past. 
 Alford. 
 
 This  was  spoken  in  the  beginning  of  the  going  forth  of  the  Gospel, 
 
14  THE  ACTS  I.  7. 
 
 and  may  very  well  be  taken  notice  of  in  all  ages  after.  Conf. 
 Acts  X.  84  with  xii.  21,22.  Dr.  Lightfoot.  (Serm.  Dan.  xii.  12, 13.) 
 
 Before,  in  His  state  of  mortality,  Seipsum  annumeravit  ignorantibus, 
 He  pretended  to  know  no  more  of  this  than  they,  that  knew 
 nothing.  After,  when  He  had  invested  immortality,  per  Sui 
 exceptionem,  says  that  Father  (S.  Basil),  He  excepts  none,  but 
 Himself:  all  the  rest,  even  the  Apostles,  were  left  ignorant 
 thereof.  For  this  non  est  vestrum^  It  is  not  for  you,  is  part  of 
 the  last  sentence,  that  ever  Cheist  spake  to  them.  If  it  be  a 
 convenient  answer  to  say,  Cheist  knew  it  not,  as  man,  how 
 bold  is  that  man,  that  will  pretend  to  know  it.  And  if  it  be  a 
 convenient  interpretation  of  Cheist' s  words,  that  He  knew  it 
 not,  as  that  He  might  tell  it  them,  how  indiscreet  are  they  who, 
 
 though  they  may  seem  to  know  it,  will  publish  it It  is 
 
 a  poor  pretence  to  say,  this  intimation,  this  impression  of  a 
 certain  time,  prepares  men  with  better  dispositions ;  for  they 
 have  so  often  been  found  false,  that  it  rather  weakens  the  credit 
 of  the  thiug  itself.  In  the  old  world  they  knew  exactly  the 
 time  of  the  destruction  of  the  world,  that  there  should  be  "  a 
 hundred  and  twenty  years,"  before  the  flood  came :  and  yet 
 upon  how  few  did  that  prediction,  though  from  the  mouth  of 
 God  Himself,  work  to  repentance?  Noah  found  grace  in 
 God's  eyes:  but  it  was  not  because  he  mended  his  life  upon 
 that  prediction ;  but  he  was  gracious  in  God's  sight  before.  At 
 the  day  of  our  death  we  write  Pridie  Resurrectionis,  the  day 
 before  the  Besurrection  ;  it  is  Vigilia  Resurrectionis,  our  Easter 
 eve.  Adveniat  Regnum  Tuum,  possess  my  soul  of  Thy  King- 
 dom then  ;  and  Fiat  voluntas  Tua,  my  body  shall  arise  after : 
 but  how  soon  after,  or  how  late  after,  21iy  will  be  done  then  by 
 Thyself;  and  Thy  will  be  known,  till  then,  to  Thyself.  Deut. 
 xxix.  29  ;  Isa.  v.  19.     Br.  Bonne.     (Serm.  Job  xix.  2G.) 
 
 There  are  secrets  the  Divine  Bridegroom  whispers  not,  that  the 
 
 Spirit  and  the  Bride  may  still  say,  "  Come !"     Eev.  xxi 
 
 A  sacred  obscurity  envelopes  these  awful  secrets.  The  cloud, 
 that  shrouded  the  actual  Presence  of  God  on  the  mercy-seat, 
 shrouds  still  His  expected  Presence  on  the  Throne  of  Judgment. 
 It  is  a  purposed  obscurity,  a  most  salutary  and  useful  obscurity, 
 a  wise  and  merciful  denial  of  knowledge To  cherish 
 
THE  ACTS  I.  7,  8.  15 
 
 anticipations,  He  has  permitted  gleams   of  light  to  cross  the 
 darkness;    to   baffle   presumption,    He   has   made   them   only 
 
 gleams It  is  His  purpose  thus  to  live  in  our  faith  and 
 
 hope,  remote  yet  near,  pledged  to  no  moment,  possible  at  any ; 
 worshipped,  not  with  the  consternation  of  a  near,  or  the  in- 
 difference of  a  distant  certainty,  but  with  the  anxious  vigilance, 
 that  awaits  a  contingency  ever  at  hand.  Hab.  ii.  2 — 4 ;  Ps. 
 xcvii.  1,  2.  TF.  A.  Butler.  (Serm.  1  Cor.  i.  7.) 
 Such  is  the  crookedness  of  our  nature;  in  watching,  which  is 
 commanded,  how  careless  are  we,  and  how  curious  in  seeking 
 out  the  time  and  season ;  which  to  do  we  are  so  oft  and  ex- 
 pressly forbidden.  S.  Matt.  xxiv.  36 — 39.  Abp.  Sandys, 
 (Serm.  S.  Luke  xxi.  25.) 
 
 Ne  curiosus  qusere  causas  omnium, 
 
 Quaecunque  libris  vis  Prophetarum  indidit 
 
 Afflata  coelo,  plena  veraci  Deo  : 
 
 Nee  operta  sacri  supparo  silentii 
 
 Irrumpere  aude,  sed  prudenter  pra^teri. 
 
 Nescire  velle,  quas  Magister  optimus 
 
 Docere  non  vult,  erudita  est  inscitia. 
 
 Jos.  Scaliger. 
 8  The  Holt  Ghost  is  come  upon  you. — The  Father  and  the  Son" 
 give  and  grant  to  us  "  Grace"  and  '*  Love"  (2  Cor.  xiii.),  but 
 this  seisin  and  delivery  is  of  the  Holt  Ghost.  The  con- 
 cession is  from  them,  but  He  puts  us  in  possession.  They 
 collate,  but  He  inducts.  He  is  digitus  Bei,  God's  finger,  saith 
 S.  Augustine,  His  hand  to  reach  us  all  God's  blessings.  Hence 
 divines  have  called  Him  God's  ivep^feiau,  God's  virtue  and  His 
 power.  The  enlightening  of  the  mind,  the  inclining  of  the 
 will,  the  enkindling  of  the  heart  is  all  His  operation.  The  Son 
 reconciles  us  to  the  Pather  offended ;  that  reconciliation  the 
 Spirit  assures  to  us,  and  seals  unto  our  souls  the  pardon  of  our 
 sins.  All  the  Church's  good,  it  is  from  God,  from  all  the 
 Persons  jointly ;  but  the  communicatio,  the  distribution,  the 
 dole  of  it  to  every  man,  is  by  the  Holt  Ghost.  S.  John  iii. 
 8  ;  1  Cor.  xii.  4—11 ;  2  Cor.  iii.  8.  Br.  Richd.  Clerke.  (Serm. 
 2  Cor.  xiii.  14.) 
 The  uttermost  part  of  the  earth. — It  is  not  on  the  fact  whether  the 
 
16  THE  ACTS  I.  8. 
 
 inspired  prediction  respecting  the  universal  spread  of  the 
 Gospel  has,  or  has  not,  met  with  a  corresponding  fulfilment, 
 that  I  would  now  dwell.  The  point,  which  deserves  our  atten- 
 tion, is  that  of  the  adequacy  and  tendency  of  the  Gospel  to 
 gain  an  universal  supremacy  over  the  human  mind,  and  its 
 adaptation  to  mankind  at  large.  In  these  respects,  it  presents 
 no  less  an  evidence  of  its  Divine  power  than  a  contrast  to  every 
 form  of  religion,  that  has  ever  gathered  votaries  to  itself  among 
 the  nations  of  the  world.  It  addresses  itself,  not  to  this  or  that 
 people,  or  condition  of  thought,  or  social  state,  or  political 
 organization,  but  to  fallen  human  nature ;  and  therefore  it  is 
 designed  of  God  to  be  universal.  And  the  Church,  as  the  de- 
 pository of  this  remedial  scheme,  the  channel  of  its  spiritual 
 blessings,  is  evermore  to  expand,  until  the  saving  health,  which 
 it  conveys,  is  made  "  known  to  all  nations,"  and  "  the  Kingdom 
 of  God  shall  come."  .  .  .  The  Church  was  constituted  to  this 
 end  to  "  give  shine  "  unto  the  world.  Thus  it  lives  in  activity ; 
 it  is  gifted  with  power,  the  power  as  of  fire,  or  the  wind  (ii.  1,  2), 
 which  exists  only  in  motion;  and  its  life  is  made  manifest, 
 according  as  it  extends  abroad  the  holy  influences,  with  which  it 
 is  endowed.  Isa.  ii.  2 — 5  ;  Heb.  vii.  17.  A.  Grant.  (Bampton 
 Lectures,  1843.     Lect.  I.) 
 
 It  was  very  agreeable  to  Divine  Providence  to  make  that,  which  is 
 best,  to  be  of  the  greatest  and  largest  extent.  Ps.  civ.  28. 
 Grotius.    (On  the  Truth  of  the  Christian  Eeligion.    B.  ii.  s.  21.) 
 
 Our  Lord  Himself  commands  the  publication  of  His  Gospel;  but 
 He  leaves  it  to  an  angel  to  announce  to  us  His  coming  to  Judg- 
 ment. Thus,  in  His  sermon  at  Nazareth,  when  He  adduced 
 the  prophecy  of  Isaiah,  He  mentioned  the  preaching  of  "  the 
 acceptable  year  of  the  Lord,"  but  passed  over  in  silence  those 
 concluding  words  of  dreadful  import,  "  The  day  of  vengeance  of 
 our  God."  Herein  is  love!  Confer  S.  Luke  iv.  18,  19,  with 
 Isa.  xli.  1,  2 ;  xxviii.  21.     J.  F. 
 
 9  And  when  He  had  spoken  these  things,  while 
 they  beheld.  He  was  taken  up  ;  and  a  cloud  received 
 Him  out  of  tlieir  sight. 
 
THE  ACTS  I.  9.  17 
 
 10  And  while  they  looked  stedfastly  toward  heaven 
 as  He  went  up,  behold,  two  men  stood  by  them  in 
 white  apparel ; 
 
 1 1  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. 
 
 9  While  they  beheld. — Cheist's  Ascension  was  visibly  performed 
 in  the  presence  and  sight  of  the  Apostles,  for  the  confirmation 
 of  the  reality  and  the  certainty  thereof.  They  did  not  see  Him, 
 when  He  rose  ;  but  they  saw  Him,  when  Pie  ascended :  because 
 an  eye-witness  was  not  necessary  to  the  act  of  His  "Resurrection ; 
 but  it  was  necessary  unto  the  act  of  His  Ascension.  It  was 
 sufficient  that  Cheist  showed  Himself  alive  after  His  passion 
 (ver.  3)  ;  for  being  (since)  they  knew  Him  before  to  be  dead, 
 and  now  saw  Him  alive,  they  were  thereby  assured  that  He  rose 
 again :  for  whatever  was  a  proof  of  His  life  after  death  was  a 
 demonstration  of  His  Resurrection.  But,  being  the  Apostles 
 were  not  to  see  Him  in  heaven,  being  the  Session  was  not  to  be 
 visible  to  them  on  earth,  therefore  it  was  necessary  they  should  be 
 witnesses  of  the  act,  who  were  not  with  the  same  eyes  to  behold 
 the  effect.     Rev.  i.  7.     Bp.  Pearson.     (On  the  Creed,  Art.  vi.) 
 
 The  stars  declare  His  Birth,  and  are  obscured  at  His  Passion ; 
 The  clouds  welcome  Him  on  His  Ascension,  and  surround  Him 
 on  His  return  to  Judgment.     Dan.  vii.  13,  14.     Beda. 
 
 Although  in  that  day  He  cometh  with  clouds,  yet  God's  promise 
 is,  that,  whenever  "  He  brings  His  cloud  over  the  earth.  His 
 bow  shall  be  in  the  cloud,"  the  sure  token  of  the  "Everlasting 
 Covenant  of  mercy  between  Him  and  all  flesh."  And,  accord- 
 ingly, when  Ezekiel  and  S.  John  saw  Christ  upon  His  terrible 
 throne,  He  appeared  encompassed  with  a  rainbow,  to  teach  us 
 that  even  the  throne  of  judgment  is  encircled  by  mercy,  which 
 "  rejoices  against  judgment."  Ezek.  i.  28 ;  Rev.  iv.  4.  Bp. 
 Home.     (Serm.  Rev.  i.  7.) 
 
 It  will  be  part  of  our  honour  to  be  conveyed  to  Him,  just  as  Elias, 
 yea,  as  He  Himself,  ascended  into  heaven  :  for  a  chariot  of  fire 
 
 0 
 
18  THE  ACTS  I.  10. 
 
 appeared  for  the  transportation  of  one  (2  Kings  xi.  11),  and  a 
 cloud,  which  is  the  same  (Ps.  civ.  3),  received  the  Lord.  1 
 Thess.  iv.  16.     Bp.  Patrick.     (Glorious  Epiphany,  ch.  xiv.  s.  6.) 
 
 10  While  they  looked,  ^c. — ISTo  act  of  Cheist  ever  wanted  a  wit- 
 ness, the  foundation  of  Christianity  thereby  being,  as  it  were, 
 cemented  for  ever;  whereas  all  fabulous  religions  moulder  away, 
 as  laid  with  "  the  untempered  mortar"  of  man's  devices.  The 
 wise  men  and  shepherds  are  witnesses  of  His  Birth ;  John 
 and  the  multitude  of  His  Baptism  and  Circumcision ;  Pilate  of 
 His  innocency ;  the  Centurion  of  His  Deity  and  Crucifixion ; 
 the  soldiers  of  His  Resurrection;  and  the  discij^les  of  His 
 Ascension,  xxvi.  26.  Sir  J.  Harington.  (Divine  Medit.  of 
 Faith,  p.  38.     Edit.  1682.) 
 
 As  He  went  up. — "We  must  observe,  that  Elias  ascended  to  heaven 
 "in  a  chariot,"  whereby  it  is  shown  us,  that  the  best  of  men 
 need  some  external  help.  Such  help  is  both  supplied  and  made 
 apparent  by  Angels ;  for  man,  weighed  down  by  the  infirmities 
 of  his  nature,  is  utterly  unable  of  himself  to  rise  above  to  the 
 heavens.  But  our  Bedeemer  is  not  said  to  have  been  lifted  up 
 in  a  chariot,  or  by  an  Angel:  because  He,  who  had  made  all 
 things,  was  elevated  above  all  things  by  His  own  power.  Deut. 
 xxxiii.  27;  xxxii.  11.     ^S".  Gregory.     (Hom.  29,  in  Evangel.) 
 
 Our  charity,  says  S.  Bernard,  is  confirmed  by  Christ's  Passion, 
 our  Faith  by  His  Besurrection,  our  Hope  by  His  Ascension. 
 Into  that  city,  which  is  above,  "  nothing  shall  enter  that  de- 
 fileth."  In  token  of  this  the  Angels,  that  came  down  from  the 
 heavenly  Jerusalem,  appeared  in  white  apparel,  by  which  purity 
 and  innocency  is  figured.  With  the  Doctor  of  humility,  there 
 ascended  no  pride ;  with  the  Author  of  goodness,  there  ascended 
 no  malice ;  with  the  Lover  of  peace,  there  ascended  no  discord ; 
 and  with  the  Son  of  the  Virgin,  there  ascended  no  lust.  After 
 the  Parent  of  virtues,  there  ascend  no  vices ;  after  the  Just, 
 there  ascend  no  sins ;  and  after  the  Physician,  there  can  ascend 
 no  infirmities.  He,  that  desires  to  see  Goi)  hereafter,  let  him 
 here  live,  as  in  His  sight.  He,  that  hopes  for  celestial  things, 
 let  him  contemn  terrestrial.  O !  draw  our  hearts  unto  Thee, 
 O  good  Jesus  !  Eev.  i.  14 ;  iii.  4  ;  xx.  11.  Gerhard.  (Medi- 
 tation, 21.) 
 
THE  ACTS  I.  11.  19 
 
 11  The  literal  meaning  of  both  places  (Acts  i.  11 ;  S.  Matt.  xxvi. 
 64,)  and  the  intent  and  purpose,  as  well  of  the  Angels  as  of  our 
 Saviour  in  this  prediction,  infers ;  that  this  Son  of  Man,  whom 
 they  now  behold  with  bodily  eyes,  was  that  very  God,  whose 
 glorious  Kingdom  and  reign  the  Psalmist  describes,  civ.  3, 
 "  Who  maketh  the  clouds  His  chariot,  and  walketh  upon  the 
 wings  of  the  wind ;  who  maketh  His  Angels  Spirits,  (or  the 
 Spirits  His  Angels,)  His  ministers  a  flame  of  fire."*  Daniel 
 vii.  13,  14;  S.  Matt.  xiii.  49;  1  Thess.  iv.  17.  Dr.  Jackson.. 
 (Book  xi.  c.  11.) 
 
 The  Angels  now  were  not  more  ashamed  of  speaking  of  disrepu- 
 table Galilee,  than,  once  before,  of  "  Jesus  who  was  crucified.''^ 
 xxii.  8  ;    S.  Matt,  xxviii.  5  ;  S.  John  i.  46  ;  vii.  52.     J.  F. 
 
 The  Angels  did  not  say,  whom  you  have  seen  taken  up,  but  going 
 into  heaven :  Ascension  is  the  word,  not  assumption  ;  the  expres- 
 sion taken  up  belongs  to  the  flesh.  For  the  same  reason  they 
 say,  He,  which  is  taken  up  from  you,  shall  thus  come  ;  not,  "  shall 
 be  sent,"  but  shall  come.  "He,  that  ascended  is  the  same  also 
 that  descended."  Eph.  iv.  10.  So  again,  the  expression,  a  cloud 
 received  Him;  for  He  Himself  mounted  upon  a  cloud.  No 
 other  power,  than  the  Divine,  is  seen  to  mount  on  a  cloud.  Of 
 the  expressions,  some  are  adapted  to  the  conceptions  of  the  dis- 
 ciples ;  some  agreeable  with  the  Divine  Majesty.    S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 He  we7it  up,  as  God  ;  He  was  taken  up,  as  man :  in  the  latter 
 relation,  He  will  come  again  to  be  our  Judge.  S.  John  v.  22, 
 27.  Gazing  up  into  heaven,  or  the  indulgence  of  vain  specula- 
 tions into  heavenly  mysteries,  (Col.  ii.  18,)  is  reproved  in  this 
 chapter,  as  well  as  asking  about  the  restoration  of  the  kingdom 
 to  Israel,  that  is,  looking  to  temporal  things  and  a  "  kingdom 
 of  this  world."  The  latter,  as  the  greater  fault,  is  rebuked  by 
 our  LoED  Himself,  and  in  the  terms  of  a  direct  prohibition ; 
 the  first  is  inquired  into  by  an  Angel  with  a  gentle  remonstrance. 
 Gen.  xlii.  1 ;  Eccl.  xi.  4 ;  S.  Jude  22.     J.  F. 
 
 *  Taken  in  the  above  connection, 
 the  expression  of  the  Psalmist  in  the 
 context,  ''who  coverest  Thyself  with 
 light,  as  with  a  garment,"  would  indi- 
 cate the  purity  of  Christ,  as  a  Judge ; 
 
 and  the  heavens  being  stretched  out 
 around  Him,  like  a  curtain,  might  be 
 understood  of  the  sacred  mystery  en- 
 shrouding His  judgments.  Rev.  xx. 
 11 ;  Rom.  xi.  33. 
 
 C   2 
 
20  THE  ACTS  I.  11. 
 
 Let  those,  who  above  all  things  love  the  world,  consider  this  (S. 
 John  viii.  42,  44),  and  tremble.  Let  them  not  gaze  in  vain 
 upon  our  Savioue  ascending  to  His  Fathee:  let  them  be 
 assured  His  Father  is  not  their's ;  and  that,  as  certainly  as 
 He  ascended  to  His  Father  in  heaven,  they  shall  in  time, 
 unless  they  seriously  repent,  descend  to  their's  in  hell.  S. 
 John  viii.  21,  23.     A  Contrite  heart.     (Part  i.  s.  4.) 
 
 Whither,  O !  ye  Blessed  Angels,  should  we  look,  but  towards 
 heaven  ?  Is  it  not  the  place,  where  our  dearest  Lord  ascended  ? 
 On  what  should  we  fix  our  eyes,  but  our  Glorified  Jesus  ?  Is 
 He  not  the  Author  of  all  our  happiness  ?  He  came  down  to 
 redeem  us ;  He  went  up  to  prepare  a  place  for  us ;  He  has 
 promised  to  come  again,  and  receive  us.  "  Come,  Lord  Jesus, 
 come  quickly !"  Accomplish  Thy  kingdom  of  grace,  and  hasten 
 Thy  kingdom  of  glory  !  Meanwhile,  send  down  Thy  Spirit  to 
 comfort  us  in  Thine  absence ;  and  make  us  so  bestow  our  few 
 days  in  peace  and  prayer,  in  glorifying  Thee,  and  improving  one 
 another,  that,  when  Thy  summons  calls  us,  at  the  last  Great 
 Day,  we  may  rise  with  joy  to  meet  Thee  in  tlie  clouds  and  go 
 to  dwell  with  Thee  and  with  Thy  Blessed  for  ever !  S.  Matt. 
 XXV.  6 ;  1  S.  John  ii.  28.  Austin.  (Harmony  of  the  Gospels. 
 Medit.  315.) 
 
 12  Then  returned  they  unto  Jerusalem  from  the 
 mount  called  Olivet,  which  is  from  Jerusalem  a  sab- 
 bath day's  journey. 
 
 13  And  when  they  were  come  in,  they  went  up 
 into  an  upper  room,  where  abode  both  Peter,  and 
 James,  and  John,  and  Andrew,  Philip,  and  Thomas, 
 Bartholomew,  and  Matthew,  James  the  son  of  Al- 
 pheeus,  and  Simon  Zelotes,  and  Judas  the  brother 
 of  James. 
 
 14  These  all  continued  with  one  accord  in  prayer 
 and  supplication,  with  the  women,  and  Mary  the 
 mother  of  Jesus,  and  with  His  brethren. 
 
THE  ACTS  I.  12,  13.  21 
 
 12  It  is  probable  from  this  mention  of  the  distance  tbat  these 
 events  occurred  on  the  Sabbath."^ ^S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 The  mount,  from  wlience  He  did  ascend,  was  the  mount  of  Olives  ; 
 and  it  was  the  same  place,  from  whence  He  went  to  be  cruci- 
 fied. One  place  served  to  be  a  passage,  both  to  His  cross  and 
 His  crown;  signifying  hereby,  that  "through  much  tribulation 
 we  must  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God."  xiv.  22 ;  Zech.  xiv. 
 4 ;  Eom.  viii.  17 ;  IS.  Pet.  v.  1.  Bean  Boys.  (Exposition  of 
 the  Festival  Epistles,  &c.     Ascension-Day.) 
 
 13  Albeit  this  Divine  Spirit  were  promised  before  and  after  the 
 Eesurrection,  yet  Cheist  would  they  should  be  prepared  for  it ; 
 that  we  should  learn  to  use  means  for  God's  benefits  promised. 
 Eirst,  they  must  "wait"  for  it  (ver.  4);  secondly,  they  must 
 wait  at  Jerusalem  :  and  there,  in  an  upper  room,  what  do  tliey 
 do  ?  They  are  assembled  witli  one  accord.  What  else  ?  They 
 are  assembled  with  one  accord  in  prayer :  all  which  do  show  us 
 the  means  of  preparing  ourselves  for  the  participation  of  the 
 Holt  Ghost.  Eirst,  faith  is  necessary ;  for  the  Apostles  be- 
 lieved :  secondly,  hope  is  necessary ;  for  they  expected  the 
 accomplishment  of  the  promise :  thirdly,  charity  is  necessary ; 
 for  they  were  assembled  in  love :  fourthly,  holiness  of  conver- 
 sation is  necessary  ;  they  were  in  an  upper  room  ;  (S.  Mark  xiv. 
 15.)  "The  Spirit  of  God,"  saith  the  wise  man,  "dwelleth  not 
 in  a  body  subject  to  sin."  Wisd.  i.  11.  Last  of  all,  devotion 
 is  necessary ;  they  were  all  assembled  in  prayer,  iv.  31 ;  Numb, 
 xi.  24.     Sutton.     (Disce  vivere,  ch.  31.) 
 
 S.  Cyril  of  Jerusalem  informs  us,  that  in  his  time  (a.d.  350),  there 
 existed  the  higher  Church  of  the  Apostles,  the  same,  that  Beda 
 speaks  of,  as  having  been  founded  by  them,  because  they  there 
 received  the  Holy  Spieit.  A  very  ancient  Church,  not  how- 
 ever founded  by  the  Apostles,  seems  to  have  been  built  there. 
 Eor  Epiphanius  relates  that,  when  the  Emperor  Adrian  came  to 
 Jerusalem,  he  found  the  whole  city  utterly  destroyed  and  the 
 Temple  of  God  laid  waste  ;  excepting  a  few  small  houses  and  a 
 Church  of  God  diminutive  in  size,  there  located,  as  he  asserts, 
 on  the  return  of  the  disciples,  after  the  Sayioue's  Ascension 
 from  Mount  Olivet,  and  in  the  district  of  Sion.  We  have  it 
 also  on  the  authority  of  Nicephorus,  that  Helen,  the  mother  of 
 
22  THE  ACTS  I.  13,  14. 
 
 Constantine,  there  raised  a  magnificent  Temple,  tlie  vestibule 
 of  which  was  on  the  very  site  of  the  house,  where  the  Holt 
 Spibit  descended,  in  its  upper  room.  These  upper  rooms  in 
 private  dwellings  were  always  set  apart  by  the  Jews  to  sacred 
 purposes,  at  least  from  the  time  of  Daniel  (see  Daniel  vi.  10)  ; 
 and  as  we  read  of  Sara,  the  daughter  of  Eaguel,  (Tobit  vii.  16 ; 
 viiio)  Hence  the  Jews  called  their  wise  men,  "sons  of  the 
 upper  room."  In  this  they  celebrated  their  Passover,  (S.  Mark 
 xiv.  15.)  In  these  they  exposed  the  bodies  of  their  dead,  when 
 previously  washed.  (Acts  ix.  37.)  They  are  said  to  have 
 *'  brought  Peter,  when  he  was  come,  into  the  upper  chamber." 
 ii.  1 ;  XX.  8.     Bp.  Pearsoji. 
 
 Here  was  an  assembly  the  most  holy  and  beloved  of  God,  that 
 ever  met  on  the  earth :  but  it  was  unknown  to  the  world.  A 
 hole,  a  cellar,  a  garret,  of  which  men  are  ignorant,  sometimes 
 receives  what  in  the  eyes  of  God  is  most  august.  1  Kings  xviii. 
 4,  13  ;  Heb.  xi.  38.     Quesnel. 
 
 14  The  Holt  Ghost  is  the  Spirit  of  prayer.  He  is  obtained  by 
 prayer,  and  He  moveth  us  to  pray.  Wherefore  ?  Because  He 
 is  that  bond,  by  which  our  hearts  are  united  with  God,  as  He 
 doth  unite  the  Father  with  the  Son,  and  the  Son  with  the 
 Pather.  Por  He  is  the  mutual  substantial  Love  of  the  Pathee 
 and  the  Son.  This  our  spiritual  conjunction  with  God  is 
 wrought  by  faith ;  but  faith  is  the  gift  of  the  Spirit :  it  is  ob- 
 tained by  prayer ;  but  true  prayer  is  made  in  the  Spirit.  In 
 the  temple  of  Solomon,  when  incense  was  offered  unto  God, 
 "  the  temple  was  filled  with  the  glory  of  the  Lord  :"  so,  if  thou 
 offerest  unto  God  the  sweet  odours  of  prayer,  the  Holt  Ghost 
 shall  fill  the  temple  of  thy  heart  with  glory.  Zech.  xii.  10;  1 
 Kings  viii.  11.     Gerhard.     (Meditations,  22.) 
 
 When  our  Lord's  ministry  was  ended,  the  holy  and  blessed 
 Virgin  was  to  be  withdrawn  from  sight,  as  the  Mother  of  the 
 Lord.  Even  during  that  ministry,  her  course  had  been  sin- 
 gularly retiring  and  unobtrusive.  Now,  that  He  was  removed 
 from  sight,  it  was  expedient  that  she  also,  so  to  speak,  should 
 disappear,  that  no  visible  sensible  object  of  love  and  adoration 
 should  interfere  with  the  aspirations  of  faith  and  hope  towards 
 the  Unseen  Friend,  who  was  still  for  ever  nigh.     How  fully  is 
 
THE  ACTS  I.  14,  23 
 
 this  borne  out  by  the  silence  of  Scripture  subsequently.  From 
 the  time  of  our  Lord's  most  solemn  mention  of  her,  (S.  John 
 XX.,)  hardly  a  word  is  there,  or  hint  even,  of  her  existence. 
 Now  surely  this  silence  is  most  expressive.  We  might  naturally 
 have  expected,  that  her  name  would  have  been  prominent  in 
 the  account  of  the  glories  of  His  Eesurrection  and  Ascension ; 
 that  a  distant  mention  would  have  been  made  of  His  first  ap- 
 pearance to  that  Mother,  who  had  witnessed,  with  what  unutter- 
 able sorrow  no  human  tongue  may  venture  to  describe,  the 
 agonies  of  His  death  ;  or  that  she  caught  the  last  glimpse  of  her 
 risen  and  ascended  Lord.  But  so  it  is ;  except  the  incidental 
 mention  of  her,  Acts  i.,  not  a  trace  or  vestige  is  there  of  her  in 
 
 life  or  in  death Even  S.  John,  in  his  Epistles,  says  not  a 
 
 word  of  that  precious  charge,  which  he  must  have  regarded  with 
 mingled  love  and  reverence  ;  and  thus  the  very  highest  and  holiest 
 of  the  saints  of  God,  the  one,  of  all  others,  on  whom  our  hearts 
 would  have  loved  to  dwell,  is  so  completely  withdrawn  from  us, 
 that,  as  in  the  case  of  Moses,  no  man  knew  of  his  sepulchre ;  so 
 doubtless  with  the  same  intention,  lest  our  love  should  deepen 
 into  idolatry,  she  vanishes  from  before  us.  The  narratives,  that 
 record  the  death  of  S.  Stephen,  and  S.  James,  and  the  sufferings 
 of  S.  Paul,  are  silent  on  the  life  and  death  of  the  Mother  of  the 
 Lord.  Now  it  is  impossible  to  suppose,  that  this  was  not  a 
 designed  omission,  or,  that  there  was  not  in  it  a  fixed  purpose, 
 the  intention  being  to  discourage  any  feeling  towards  her,  which 
 might  gradually  grow  into  our  giving  her  a  more  prominent 
 place  in  our  thoughts,  than  her  Divine  Son.  And,  if  we  sup- 
 pose, that  this  omission  was  also  anticipative  and  repressive  of 
 future  error,  how  completely  has  it  been  justified  by  the  actual 
 event !  Deut.  xxxiv.  6 ;  2  Kings  xviii.  4.  C.  C.  Bartholomew. 
 (Serm.  S.  Luke  xi.  27,  28.) 
 
 1 5  And  in  those  days  Peter  stood  up  in  the  midst 
 of  the  disciples,  and  said  (the  number  of  the  names 
 together  were  about  an  hundred  and  twenty), 
 
 16  Men  and  brethren,  this  Scripture  must  needs  have 
 been  fulfilled  which  the  Holy  Ghost  by  the  mouth  of 
 
24  THE  ACTS  I.  15. 
 
 David  spake  before  concerning  Judas,  which  was  guide 
 to  them  that  took  Jesus. 
 
 17  For  he  was  numbered  with  us,  and  had  obtained 
 part  of  this  ministry. 
 
 18  Now  this  man  purchased  a  field  with  the  reward 
 of  iniquity ;  and  faUing  headlong,  he  burst  asunder  in 
 the  midst,  and  all  his  bowels  gushed  out. 
 
 15  There  are  several  kinds  of  Primacy,  which  may  belong  to  a 
 person,  in  respect  of  others  :  for  there  are — 1,  a  Primacy  of 
 worth,  or  personal  excellency ;  2,  of  reputation  and  esteem  ;  3,  of 
 order,  or  bare  dignity  and  precedence  ;  4,  of  power  or  jurisdiction. 
 As  for  the  first  of  these,  a  Primacy  of  worth,  or  merit  (as  some 
 of  the  ancients  call  it),  we  may  well  grant  it  to  ^S*.  Peter,  ad- 
 mitting, that  probably  he  did  exceed  the  rest  of  his  brethren  in 
 personal  endowments  and  capacities,  both  natural  and  moral, 
 qualifying  him  for  the  discharge  of  the  Apostolical  Office  in  an 
 eminent  manner.  ...  As  to  a  Primacy  of  repute,  this  advan- 
 tage cannot  be  refused  him,  being  a  necessary  consequent  of 
 those  eminent  qualities,  resplendent  in  him,  and  of  the  illustrious 
 performances,  achieved  by  him,  beyond  the  rest.  ...  As  to  a 
 Primacy  of  order  or  bare  dignity,  importing,  that  commonly,  in 
 all  meetings  and  proceedings,  the  other  Apostles  did  yield  him 
 the  precedence,  the  privilege  of  speaking  first  (whether  in  pro- 
 pounding matters  of  debate,  or  in  delivering  his  advice)  in  the 
 conduct  and  moderation  of  afiairs  .  .  .  this  may  be  granted,  as 
 probable  upon  divers  accounts  of  use  and  convenience  :  it  miglit 
 be  useful  to  preserve  order  and  to  promote  expedition,  to  main- 
 tain concord,  and  to  exclude  that  ambition  or  affectation  to  be 
 foremost,  which  is  natural  to  men.  ...  As  to  «  Primacy,  im- 
 porting  superiority  in  power,  command,  or  jurisdiction,  this  we 
 deny.  JJr.  Barrow.  (A  treatise  of  the  Pope's  Supremacy. 
 Supposition  i.  s.  1,  2,  fS,  6.) 
 
 He  is  blind,  who  doth  not  see  in  the  history  of  the  Acts  of  the 
 Apostles,  that  the  supremacy,  or  sovereignty  of  power,  did  not 
 rest  in  the  person  of  any  one  single  Apostle,  but  in  the  Apos- 
 tolical College.      viii.   14 ;  xi.   2  ;  xv.  2,  6,  13,  23,  28.     Eph. 
 
THE  ACTS  I.  15,  16.  25 
 
 ii.  20 ;  !Rev.  xxi.  14.     Abp.  Bramhall.     (Answers  to  M.  de  la 
 Milletiere.     Discourse  iv.  p.  i.  c.  10.) 
 
 Those  120,  who  appointed  two  candidates  for  the  vacant  place  of 
 Judas,  and  left  the  choice,  by  lot,  to  Gron,  were  not  all  the 
 believers ;  no,  nor  that  multitude  of  the  disciples,  who  chose  the 
 seven  deacons  (ch.  vi.),  but  the  Apostolical  College  of  pastors, 
 which  consisted  of  the  Apostles,  the  seventy  disciples,  and  about 
 thirty-eight  more  of  the  principal  disciples,  fitted  for  the  Minis- 
 tries of  the  Church,  as  a  very  learned  man  (Dr.  Lightfoot)  hath 
 proved,  xiii.  1 — 3  ;  1  Cor.  xv.  6 ;  1  Tim.  i.  18.  Dean  Comber. 
 (A  Discourse  upon  the  Office  for  making  Deacons,  ch.  ii.  s.  5.) 
 
 16  Brethren. — Frater,fere  alter;  one  like  another  self,  says  Lo- 
 rinus,  in  loco.  This  comes  in  aid  of  our  remark  at  ver.  2.  Isa. 
 Iviii.  7.     J.  F. 
 
 He  does  not  say  David,  but  the  Holt  Ghost  through  him.  See 
 what  kind  of  doctrine  the  writer  has  at  the  very  outset  of  the 
 Eook.  His  Book  is  the  Polity  of  the  Holt  Ghost.  Conf. 
 xxviii.  25.     S.  Matt.  xxii.  43.     S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 Sjpake  before. — As  the  Son  was  working  in  the  world  long  before 
 
 .  His  Incarnation,  so  did  the  Holt  Ghost  also  act  upon  man- 
 kind long  before  His  Effusions.  But,  as  it  was  at  the  Incar- 
 nation of  the  Soi^^  that  the  fulness  of  His  Life  first  manifested 
 itself,  so  it  was  not  until  the  Eff"usion,  which  took  place  at  the 
 Day  of  Pentecost,  that  the  Spirit  poured  forth  all  His  power. 
 Hence  the  Eff'usion  of  the  Spirit  is  the  same  moment  in  His 
 manifestation,  that  the  Incarnation  is  in  that  of  the  Son. 
 Olshansen.     (Comment.  S.  John  vii.  39.) 
 
 "What  an  honour  is  here  made  to  rest  on  the  Holy  Scriptures  ! 
 The  first  act  of  the  first  Christian  Council  was  the  unrolling  of 
 the  sacred  page,  "  a  light  unto  the  feet  and  a  lantern  unto  the 
 paths  "  of  the  Apostles  in  their  primary  work  of  ordaining  one 
 to  take  part  of  the  ministry  and  apostleship,  from  which  Judas  by 
 transgression  fell.  Among  tliese  Scriptures  the  Book  of  Psalms 
 is  singled  out  for  special  honour ;  for,  as  Lord  Clarendon  ob- 
 serves, "  they  have  a  greater  testimony,  and  are  more  frequently 
 urged  for  the  advancement  of  Christianity  throughout  the  New 
 Testament,  than  any  other  part  of  the  Bible."  ii.  25,  30;  iv. 
 11,  24,  25  ;  xiii.  22,  33,  35  ;  xvi.  25.     J.  F. 
 
26  THE  ACTS  I.   16—18. 
 
 Guide  to  them  that  took  jEsrs. — What !  no  more  said,  than  this, 
 of  the  Arch- traitor  Judas!  and  no  more  said  by  Peter,  the 
 passionate  and  loving  disciple  of  the  Loed  !  Why  was  this  ? 
 Peter  remembered  his  own  treachery ;  and  that  remembrance 
 stopped  his  month.  If  the  consideration  of  our  mere  exposure  to 
 temptation  should  serve,  as  a  motive  to  charity  in  our  dealing 
 with  a  brother,  "  overtaken  with  a  fault,"  (Gal.  vi.  1,)  how  much 
 more  should  we  be  restrained  from  all  harsh  judgment  by  the  far 
 more  humbling  remembrance  of  our  actual  guilt.  We  ourselves 
 are  "in  the  same  condemnation."  Nothing  more  effectually 
 tests  our  own  repentance  than  our  treatment  of  the  sins  of  others. 
 There  is  perhaps  an  absence  of  all  disposition  to  pronounce  a 
 positive  condemnation  of  Judas  in  the  expression  at  ver.  25, 
 his  own  place.     S.  Matt.  vii.  1 — 6  ;  S.  John  viii.  7.     J.  F. 
 
 17  Numbered  ivith  us,  ^c. — These  expressions,  as  we  find  them  in 
 substance  repeated  at  ver.  20,  25,  26,  give  a  satisfactory  proof 
 that  Judas,  by  virtue  of  his  Divine  calling  and  appointment  to 
 the  ministry,  had  an  equal  share  with  the  other  Apostles  in  its 
 powers  and  privileges.  There  is  no  note  of  difference  or  infe- 
 riority, introduced  on  the  ground  of  his  personal  unworthiness. 
 This  confirms  our  XXVIth  Article.     S.  John  vi.  71.     J.  F. 
 
 18  What  Judas  did  in  his  body,  that  had  taken  place  in  his  soul. 
 They,  who  despair  of  the  forgiveness  of  God,  by  their  very 
 despair,  suffocate  (S.  Matt,  xxvii.  Greek)  themselves  within ; 
 so  that  the  Holt  Ghost  cannot  visit  them.  xvi.  28,  31.  S. 
 Augustine.     (Serm.  352.     De  Peenit.  ii.  8.) 
 
 Be  not  deceived ;  for  sin  doth  not  end,  as  it  begins.  When  the 
 terrors  of  Judas  came  upon  the  soul,  the  tongue  cannot  hide 
 his  despair  (S.  Matt,  xxvii.  4)  ;  and  his  horror  will  not  be  smo- 
 thered. Put  he,  which  hath  Saul's  spirit  haunting  him,  will 
 rage,  as  Saul  did.  There  is  a  warning  conscience  and  a  gnawing 
 conscience.  The  warning  conscience  cometh  before  sin  ;  the 
 gnawing  conscience  follovveth  after  sin.  The  warning  conscience 
 is  often  lulled  asleep ;  but  the  gnawing  conscience  waketh  her 
 again.  If  there  be  any  hell  in  the  world,  they,  which  feel  the 
 worm  of  conscience  gnawing  upon  their  hearts,  may  say  that 
 they  have  felt  the  torments  of  hell.  Hab.  ii.  7  ;  Heb.  x.  27,  31 ; 
 1  Tiiri.  vi.  10.     Dr.  Henry  Smith. 
 
THE  ACTS  I.  18.  27 
 
 Sin  is  the  death  of  the  soul ;  but  despair  is  its  descent  into  hell. 
 S.  John  iii.  18,  36.     Isidore  of  Seville. 
 
 Kuit  Arius  alvo, 
 Infelix  plus  niente  cadens,  lethumque  peremptus 
 Cum  Juda  commune  tulit,  qui  guttere  pendens 
 Yisceribus  curvatus  obit :  nee  poena  sequestrat, 
 Quos'par  culpa  ligat,  qui  Majestatis  honori 
 Vulnus  ab  ore  parant :  hie  prodidit,  ille  diremit 
 Sacrilega  de  voce  Deum. 
 
 (Quidam  poeta,  citatus  a  Baronio,  torn.  iii.  Annal.) 
 
 Quisquis  in  hac  cernes  infelix  arbore  pondus. 
 
 Me  fuge,  nee  propius  flecte,  viator,  iter. 
 Torsitan  et  poterit  dirum  nocuisse  cadaver, 
 
 Solaque  te  faciet  corporis  aura  reum.  .  .  . 
 Non  nova  me  circum  protrudet  gramina  tellus, 
 
 Nullaque  purpurei  gloria  veris  erit. 
 Non  stillante  mei  madefient  rore  capilli, 
 
 Ipse  meum  fugient  ventus  et  aura  caput. 
 Umbra  loco  feralis  erit,  frigusque  tremorque  : 
 
 Hinc  radios  Phoebus,  Cynthia  flectet  equos. 
 Ah  !  graviter  cecidi :  quid  enim  mirabile,  si  quia 
 
 Tactus  avaritia  vulnus  amoris  habet  ? 
 
 C.  Barlceus.      (Oratio    Judae  suspendium  sib^J 
 parantis.    Eleg.  xix.) 
 
 19  And  it  was  known  unto  all  the  dwellers  at  Jeru- 
 salem ;  insomuch  as  that  field  is  called  in  their  proper 
 tongue,  Aceldama,  that  is  to  say,  The  field  of  blood. 
 
 20  For  it  is  written  in  the  book  of  Psalms,  Let  his 
 habitation  be  desolate,  and  let  no  man  dwell  therein : 
 and  his  bishoprick  let  another  take. 
 
 21  Wherefore  of  these  men  which  have  companied 
 with  us  all  the  time  that  the  Lord  Jesus  went  in  and 
 out  among  us, 
 
 22  Beginning  from  the  baptism  of  John,  unto  that 
 
28  THE  ACTS  I.  19. 
 
 same  day  that  He  was  taken  up  from  us,  must  one  be 
 ordained  to  be  a  witness  with  us  of  His  resurrection. 
 
 19  To  think  it  is  not  forbidden  by  God  to  destroy  the  work  of 
 His  hands,  because  self-murder  is  not  named  expressly,  is  to 
 leave  yourself  at  liberty  to  commit  a  hundred  other  hateful 
 crimes,  that  are  not  specified  in  particular,  but  are  concluded 
 under  general  heads.  AVhen  God  says  to  Noah,  in  Gen.  ix.  6 — 
 '•"Whoso  sheddeth  man's  blood,  by  man  shall  his  blood  be  shed; 
 for  in  the  Image  of  God  made  He  man" — it  is  plain,  that  what- 
 ever the  meaning  of  the  last  words  be,  in  whatever  sense  man 
 is  said  to  be  made  in  the  Image  of  God,  the  reason  of  the  pro- 
 hibition holds  as  strong  and  good  against  self-murder,  as  against 
 the  killing  of  any  other  man.  Eor,  if  I  must  not  shed  the  blood 
 of  another  man,  because  he  is  made  in  the  Image  of  God,  I  must 
 not  shed  the  blood  of  my  own  self,  because  I  also  am  a  man 
 and  made  alike  also  in  the  Image  of  God,  as  he  is.  That  reason 
 I  say,  (whatever  it  is)  restrains  self-murder,  just  as  much,  as 
 it  does  the  murder  of  any  other  man.  liom.  xiv.  7,  8 ;  1  Cor. 
 vi.  19,  20.  Bj).  Fleetwood.  (Three  Discourses  on  Self-murder. 
 Serm.  i.) 
 
 You  have  no  more  power  to  hurt  yourself,  than  your  neighbour ; 
 the  body  is  God's,  and  "  the  temple  of  the  Holt  Ghost  ;"  and 
 who  gave  you  leave  to  pluck  down  a  Temple  ?  Nature  inclines 
 a  man  to  the  conservation  of  himself;  and  what  a  detestable 
 thing  it  is  to  violate  the  chief  maxim  of  nature  ?  (xvi.  28 ; 
 Eph.  V.  23,  29.)  .  .  .  All  other  sins,  when  they  are  committed, 
 have  yet  some  leisure  to  beg  mercy,  and  "at  what  time  soever 
 a  sinner,"  &c.  (Ezek.  xviii.)  ;  but  how  can  the  Loed  put  such  a 
 sin  out  of  His  remembrance,  where  it  is  impossible  there  should 
 be  time  to  repent  ?  Ut  laqueo  respiratio,  ita  prohibetur  despe- 
 ratione  Spiritus  Sa?ictus,  as  Beda  said  of  Judas  :  they  stop  their 
 own  breath,  and  with  that  desperate  act  exclude  the  Holt 
 Ghost  from  inspiring  any  sanctified  cogitation  into  them.  Job 
 ii.  4.     Bp.  Racket.     (Serm.  S.  Matt.  iv.  6.) 
 
 We  must  cast  the  world  out  of  our  hearts,  not  cast  ourselves  out 
 of  the  world,  xvi.  27,  28,  31.  N.  Bijield.  (Tlie  cure  of  the 
 fear  of  death,  eh.  IG.) 
 
THE  ACTS  I.  20,  21.  29 
 
 Memento  peccati,  ut  doleas ; 
 Memento  mortis,  ut  desinas ; 
 Memento  Divinse  justitise,  ut  timeas  ; 
 Memento  Misericordise,  ne  desperes. 
 
 Petrarch.     (Lib.  de  Rem.  Dial.  8.) 
 
 20  His  bishoprick  let  another  take. — Salvation  is  a  free  gift  of 
 grace ;  that  is,  it  is  a  free  gift,  to  wliich  we  have  no  natural 
 claim.  It  is  not  to  be  conceived  within  ourselves,  but  to  be 
 received,  in  consequence  of  our  Christian  calling,  from  God 
 Himself,  through  the  means  of  His  ordinances.  These  can  no 
 man  minister  to  effect,  but  by  God's  own  appointment  ;.at  first 
 by  His  immediate  appointment,  and  afterwards  by  succession 
 and  derivation  from  thence  '*to  the  end  of  the  world."  With- 
 out this  rule,  we  are  open  to  imposture,  and  can  be  sure  of 
 nothing ;  we  cannot  be  sure  that  our  Ministry  is  effective,  and 
 that  our  Sacraments  are  realities.  We  are  very  sensible  the 
 spirit  of  division  will  never  admit  this  doctrine ;  yet  the  spirit 
 of  charity  must  never  part  with  it.  Writers  and  teachers,  who 
 make  it  a  point  to  give  no  offence,  treat  these  things  very  ten- 
 derly ;  but  who,  in  certain  cases,  give  men  no  offence,  will  have 
 for  that  reason  given  them  no  instruction.  S.  Matt,  xxviii. 
 18—20;  2  Tim.  ii.  2.  Bp.  Home.  (Charge  to  the  Clergy  of 
 Norwich,  1791.) 
 
 Let  another,  ^c. — Solent  jigurd  imprecantis  futura  prcedicere,  the 
 Prophets,  under  the  form  of  curses,  predicted  future  things. 
 S.  Augustine. 
 
 His  habitation. — "  Whosoever  thou  art,  that  enterest  here,  if  thou 
 hast  found  the  life  of  thy  soul,  faith  and  conversion,  and  comest 
 here  to  attend  thy  charge,  and  with  an  earnest  will  to  serve  the 
 LoED  Jesus  in  the  Ministry,  this  place  will  be  a  Paradise  to 
 thee.  But,  if  thou  art  one  of  the  world  of  fallen  mankind,  an 
 hireling,  false  to  thy  vows,  and  a  traitor  to  thy  Master,  and 
 leavest  thy  flock  to  follow  their  own  will  and  pleasure,  go  where 
 thou  wilt,  conscience  shall  follow  thee,  happiness  will  fly  from 
 thee,  and  thou  canst  only  be  a  self-tormentor."  Ezek.  iii.  18 — 
 20  ;  S.  Jas.  iii.  1.  T.  Adam.  (Eector  of  Wintringham  to  his 
 successor  in  the  parsonage.) 
 
 21  We  know  how  important  an  article  this  of  Cheist's  Eesur- 
 
30  THE  ACTS  I.  22. 
 
 rection  is,  how  particular  a  stress  the  Scriptures  of  the  New 
 Testament  lay  upon  it,  and  how  frequently  it  is  mentioned  in  a 
 sense  so  comprehensive,  as  to  conclude  the  whole  object  of  the 
 Christian  faith.  That  thus  we  are  to  understand  it  here  is 
 evident  from  the  qualification  premised.  For,  had  that  single 
 point  of  Jesus  rising  again  been  the  whole  subject  matter  of 
 the  Apostles'  testimony,  to  have  retained  to  Jesus  at  that  time 
 had  sufficed  to  render  these  candidates  capable  of  this  office. 
 But,  in  regard  the  having  companied  with  the  eleven  all  the  timey 
 that  Jesus  went  in  arid  out  among  them,  beginning  from  the  bap- 
 tism of  John  until  the  same  dag  that  He  was  taken  uj)  from  them, 
 in  regard  this  being  made  a  necessary  condition  of  the  choice, 
 here  proposed,  it  follows  that  the  actions  and  doctrines  of  our 
 Blessed  Saviour  during  the  course  of  His  public  Ministry  are 
 all  taken  into  this  evidence  and  implied  by  that  head  of  our 
 Loed's  B/esurrection.  ii.  24,  &c. ;  iii.  15;  iv.  10,  &c.,  33;  v. 
 80—32 ;  X.  41 ;  xiii.  30,  &c. ;  xvii.  31 ;  S.  John  xv.  27.  Bean 
 Stanhope.  (Paraphrase  and  Comment  upon  the  Epistles  and 
 Collects,  &c.  S.  Matthias's  Day.) 
 22  Of  course,  S.  Peter  must  have  had  from  the  Loed  express 
 authority  for  this  step.  Otherwise,  it  would  seem  most  natural 
 to  defer  a  transaction  so  important,  until  the  unerring  Guide,  the 
 Holy  Ghost,  should  have  come  among  them,  as  they  knew  He 
 would  in  a  few  days At  that  moment  of  the  New  Testa- 
 ment history,  in  which  the  circumstances  of  believers  corres- 
 ponded most  nearly  to  what  they  have  been,  since  miracles  and 
 inspiration  ceased,  just  at  that  time  it  pleased  our  Loed  that  a 
 fresh  Apostle  should  be  Consecrated  with  authority  and  com- 
 mission, as  ample  as  the  former  enjoyed.  In  a  word,  it  was  His 
 will  that  the  eleven  disciples  alone,  not  Himself  personally, 
 should  name  the  successor  of  Judas ;  and  that  they  chose  the 
 right  person  He  gave  testimony  very  soon  after,  by  sending  His 
 Holy  Spieit  on  >S^.  Matthias,  as  richly  as  on  S.  John,  S.  James, 
 or  S.  Peter.  Thus  the  simple  consideration  of  the  time,  when 
 Matthias  was  ordained,  confirms  two  points  of  no  small  im- 
 portance to  the  well-being  of  Cheist's  kingdom  on  earth.  First, 
 it  shows,  that  whoever  are  regularly  commissioned  by  tlie  Apos- 
 tles, our  Loed  will  consider  those  persons,  as  commissioned 
 
THE  ACTS  I.  22.  31 
 
 and  ordained  by  Himself.  Secondly,  it  proves,  that  such  power 
 to  ordain  is  independent  of  those  Apostolical  functions,  which 
 may  be  properly  called  extraordinary  and  miraculous.  It  ex- 
 isted before  those  functions  began  :  why  then  may  it  not  still 
 continue,  however  entirely  they  have  passed  away  ?  Eom.  x. 
 15;  Titus  i.  5.     Tracts  for  the  times.     (Ad  Clerum.     No.  52.) 
 
 In  the  Eesurrection,  Cheist  makes  up  His  circle  (Ps.  xix.  6)  :  in 
 this.  He  is  truly  Alpha  and  Omega.  His  coming  in  Paradise  in 
 a  promise.  His  coming  to  Judgment  in  the  clouds  are  tied  to- 
 gether in  the  Eesurrection :  and  therefore  all  the  Gospel,  all 
 our  preaching  is  contrasted  in  that  one  text — To  bear  witness  of 
 the  Resurrection,  Only  for  that,  was  there  need  of  a  new  Apos- 
 tle :  non  ait  cceterorum  sed  tantum  Resurrectionis,  says  S.  Chry- 
 sostom ;  he  does  not  say,  to  bear  witness  of  the  other  articles, 
 but  only  of  the  Eesurrection  ;  he  charges  him  with  no  more 
 instructions ;  he  needs  no  more  in  his  commission,  but  to 
 preach  the  Eesurrection :  for  in  that,  Troiihceum  de  morte  ex- 
 citavit,  et  indubitatum  reddidit  corruptionem  deletam  ;  here  is  a 
 retreat  from  the  whole  warfare ;  here  is  a  trophy  erected  upon 
 the  last  enemy :  "  the  last  enemy  that  shall  be  destroyed,  is 
 death,"  and  here  is  the  death  of  that  enemy  in  the  Eesurrection. 
 Eom.  viii.  34  ;  1  Cor.  xv.  3,  4,  55 — 57.  Br.  Bonne,  (Serm.  on 
 Acts  ii.  36.) 
 
 As  our  Blessed  Loed  said  of  the  Love  of  God  that  it  was  "  the 
 first  and  great  commandment  of  the  Law,"  so  we  may  say  of 
 the  Doctrine  of  the  Eesurrection,  it  is  "the  first  and  great" 
 article  and  promise  of  the  Gospel.  S.  Paul  seems  to  have 
 enlarged  and  dilated  more  on  this,  than  on  any  other  doctrine 
 of  the  Creed.  S.  Augustine  calls  Christ's  Eesurrection, 
 propria  fides  Christianorum,  that  faith,  which  is  peculiar  to 
 Christians  (inasmuch  as  Jews  and  heathens  acknowledge  His 
 death)  ;  TertuUian,  Exemplum  spei  nostrcBy  what  our  hope 
 copies  from,  and  clavem  sepulchrorum  nostrorum,  the  key  to 
 unlock  our  graves ;  Calvin  terms  it,  Primarium  Evangelii 
 caputs  the  principal  truth  in  the  Gospel;  P.  Martyr,  nexus 
 articulorum  omnium,  the  connecting  clasp  of  all  other  doctrines ; 
 Melancthon,  Propria  EcclesicB  Vox,  the  special  revelation  of 
 the  Church.     These   high   commendations  of  man  have  their 
 
32  THE  ACTS  I.  23. 
 
 sanction  in  the  Divine  Word.  "  It  is  Cheist,  that  died  ;  yea, 
 rather,  that  is  Eisen  again !"  O  !  may  we  all  know  the  Power  of 
 Christ's  Eesurrection  !  ii.  24  ;  iii.  15  ;  xvii.  31 ;  xxvi.  22,  23 ; 
 S.  Matt.  xii.  39,  40 ;  Phil.  iii.  10,  11.     J.  F. 
 
 23  And  they  appointed  two,  Joseph  called  Barsabas, 
 who  was  surnamed  Justus,  and  Matthias. 
 
 24  And  they  prayed,  and  said.  Thou,  Lord,  which 
 knowest  the  hearts  of  all  men,  show  whether  of  these 
 two  Thou  hast  chosen, 
 
 25  That  he  may  take  part  of  this  ministry  and 
 apostleship,  from  which  Judas  by  transgression  fell, 
 that  he  might  go  to  his  own  place. 
 
 26  And  they  gave  forth  their  lots  ;  and  the  lot  fell 
 upon  Matthias  ;  and  he  was  numbered  with  the  eleven 
 Apostles. 
 
 23  In  the  Tabernacle  the  curtains  of  fine  twisted  linen,  and  blue 
 silk,  and  purple,  were  covered  with  curtains  of  goat's  hair. 
 Some  men  are  great  ornaments  in  the  Church,  and  yet  unfit  to 
 govern  the  Church.  It  may  be  Joseph,  as  being  Justus,  was  a 
 fine  curtain  in  God's  Tabernacle ;  but  Matthias  a  covering,  as 
 being  apt  and  active  for  government.  Alia  ratio  boni  viri  et 
 honi  civis,  quoth  Aristotle ;  every  good  man  is  not  a  good  magis- 
 trate. Ex.  xxvi. ;  Isa.  Iv.  8  ;  1  Cor.  xii.  29.  Dean  Boys.  (Ex- 
 position of  the  Festivals,  &c.     S.  Matthias's  Day.) 
 
 Nunc  opus  est  votis,  quod  verba  prophetica  clamant, 
 Quem  liceat  supplere  vices  :  tunc  summa  precantes 
 Constituere  duos,  Joseph  cognomine  Justum, 
 Matthiamque  Dei  parvum  ;  quod  nomen,  ut  aiunt, 
 Hebrajo  sermone  sonat,  humilemque  vocando 
 Comprobat :  O  !  quantum  distant  humana  Supernis 
 Judiciis  :  parvi  merito  transcenditur  ille, 
 Laude  hominum  qui  primus  erat.     Duodena  refulgent 
 Signa  chori,  terrisque  jubar  jaculatur  Olympi. 
 Haec  quoque  lux  opcris  quid  profcrat  edere  pergam  : 
 
THE  ACTS  I.  24,  25.  33 
 
 Quatuor  est  laterum  discretus  partibus  orbis  ; 
 Trina  Fides  vocat  himc,  quo  Nomine  fonte  lavatur ; 
 Quatuor  ergo  simul  repetens  ter,  computat  omnein 
 Quara  duodenarius  circumtulit  ordo  figuram. 
 Discipulisque  piis,  quibus  hoc  Baptisma  jubetur, 
 Mystica  causa  dedit  numerum  recreare  priorem. 
 
 Arator.     (In  Acta  Apost.,  Lib.  i.) 
 
 24  The  Minister's  heart  must  be  ''  right  with  God."  The  state 
 of  the  heart  causes  one  man  to  be  preferred  to  another,  equally- 
 esteemed  good  among  men.  viii.  21 ;  xv.  8  ;  2  Cor.  i.  12  ;  1 
 Thess.  ii.  4  ;  S.  John  xxi.  15—17  ;  1  Sam.  x.  26.     Bengel 
 
 Yirga  recens  Zephyris,  uervo  curvabitur  arcus ; 
 Igne  chalybs,  adamas  sanguine— Corc?e  Deus. 
 
 Bapt.  Mantuanus. 
 
 25  Ministry,  implying  the  active  duties  ;  Apostleship,  the  official 
 dignity.     Alford. 
 
 Their  opinion  is  very  probable,  who  think,  that  every  Apostle  had 
 his  peculiar  circuit,  allotted  him  by  Christ,  and  that  they  did 
 disperse  themselves  into  twelve  several  parts  of  the  world. 
 According  to  this  tradition  of  the  ancients,  a  learned  critic,* 
 of  our  times,  in  matters  sacred,  doth  point  and  interpret  Acts 
 i.  25,  after  another  manner,  than  any  known  interpreter  (to  my 
 remembrance)  doth.  .  .  .  That  he  (to  wit  Judas)  might  go 
 into  his  own  place ;  for  so  this  place  is  ordinarily  expounded : 
 but  the  Greek — (that  is,  by  putting  a  comma  after  the 
 word  Judas) — may  bear  another  sense,  to  wit,  that  he,  that 
 took  part  of  the  Ministration  and  Apostleship,  from  which 
 Judas  had  fallen,  might  be  sent  that  circuit,  which  Judas,  had 
 he  not  fallen,  should  have  gone.  2  Cor.  x.  16.  Dr.  Jackson. 
 (B.  xii.  c.  8,  s.  5.) 
 
 *  Francis  Mason.  (Of  the  Conse- 
 cration of  Bishops,  B.  i.  c.  4.)  Those, 
 who  wish  to  see  the  arguments,  em- 
 ployed on  both  sides  of  this  question, 
 namely,  whether  the  terms,  go  into  his 
 own  place,  are  to  be  referred  to  Judas, 
 or  to  S.  Matthias,  may  consult,  in  fa- 
 vour of  the  former  view,  Bp.  Bull's 
 
 Sermon  on  the  Text,  or  in  behalf  of 
 the  latter,  Sikes's  Discourse  on  Paro- 
 chial Communion  (ch.  1  and  6).  Mr. 
 Sikes  insists  very  earnestly  on  the  ap- 
 plication to  S.  Matthias,  as  furnishing 
 another  Scripture  proof  of  the  differ- 
 ence between  Ordination  and  Mission 
 in  the  Church  of  Christ. 
 
34  THE  ACTS  I.  25,  26. 
 
 Judas  upon  liis  deabb  went  to  his  proper  place,  the  place  and 
 state  of  lost  reprobate  spirits  and  damned  souls  ;  a  company, 
 with  which  he  was  far  more  fit  to  be  numbered,  than  with  the 
 Apostles  of  Chkist:  and  therefore  the  Alexandrian  MS.,  of 
 venerable  antiquity  reads  here  to  his  due  place  {piKaiov)  ;  that 
 is,  to  the  place  and  state  of  misery,  which  he  had  justly  merited 
 and  deserved  by  his  wickedness.  S.  Luke  xxiv.  51.  Bp.  Bull. 
 (Serm.  on  the  text.) 
 
 His  own  ;  as  if  the  place  he  occupied  before  was  that  of  another, 
 or  one  not  suited  to  him.    S.  John  vi.  70  ;  S.  Jude  12.    Erasmus. 
 
 There  is  a  fit  and  proper  place  for  all  things.  An  Angel  looks  not 
 more  fair  in  heaven,  than  does  a  devil  in  hell.  Prov.  xvi.  4 ; 
 Jer.  XV.  2.     Gerson. 
 
 26  The  use  of  a  lot  is  an  act  of  religion,  in  which  we  refer  unto 
 God  the  determination  of  things  of  moment,  that  can  no 
 other  way  be  determined.  Tor  in  the  use  of  a  lot  there  be 
 four  things.  The  first  is,  a  casual  act,  done  by  us,  as  the  casting 
 of  the  die.  The  second  is,  the  applying  of  this  act  to  the 
 determination  of  some  particular  controversy,  the  end  whereof 
 maintains  peace,  order,  and  love  among  men.  The  third  is, 
 confession  that  Gron  is  a  Sovereign  Judge  to  end  and  determine 
 things,  that  can  no  other  way  be  determined.  The  fourth  is, 
 supplication  that  God  would  by  the  disposition  of  the  lot, 
 when  it  is  cast,  determine  the  event.  All  these  actions  are 
 infolded  in  the  use  of  a  lot,  and  they  are  expressed.  Acts  i. 
 24—26 ;  Prov.  xvi.  33  ;  xviii.  18  ;  S.  Luke  i.  9.  W.  Perkins. 
 (Cases  of  Conscience,  B.  iii.  c.  4.) 
 
 The  title  Clerk,  which  signifies  a  lot  or  portion,  imports,  that  the 
 Clergy  are  the  portion  of  God,  or  that  God  is  their  portion  ; 
 and  that  therefore,  under  each  several  relation,  they  ought  to 
 possess  God,  and  be  possessed  of  Him.  .  .  .  Therefore  having 
 food  and  raiment  I  will  be  content  therewith,  et  nudom  crucem 
 nudus  sequar,  and,  as  men  carried  their  crosses  naked,  so  naked 
 will  I  carry  mine.  The  Clerk  must  not  seek  the  advantages  of 
 the  world  in  Christ's  warfare  :  for  some  have  grown  richer 
 under  that  Christ,  who  "made  Himself  poor,"  than  ever  they 
 could  have  been  by  continuing  in  their  former  secular  state. 
 The  Church  mourns  over  those,   as  wealthy,  whom  the  world 
 
THE  ACTS  I.  26;    II.  1.  35 
 
 regarded,  as  beggars.     1  Tim.  iii.  3 ;  2  Tim.  ii.  4 ;  Ps.  cxlii.  G. 
 S.  Jerome.     (Ep.  ad  Nepotianum.) 
 
 IscariotsD  qui  loco 
 Sorte  ordinasti  Matthiam 
 Apostolatus  computo, 
 Perfectus  ut  succresceret 
 Duodena  juxta  nomiua, 
 
 Concede  verae  Ecclesiae 
 Ut  tuta  Te  sit  vindice 
 Usque  a  malignis  fratribus 
 Cunctisque  pseudapostolis ; 
 Da,  dirigatur  Praesulum 
 Auctoritate,  Antistitum 
 Prudeutia,  legitimis 
 Eectoribus,  pastoribus, 
 Per  Christum  Jesum  Pilium. 
 Randolf.  Gilpin*     (Liturgica  Sacra.  Collectse.) 
 
 CHAPTER  II. 
 
 AND  when   the  day  of  Pentecost  was  fully   come^ 
 they  were  all  with  one  accord  in  one  place. 
 
 2  And  suddenly  there  came  a  sound  from  heaven  as 
 of  a  rushing  mighty  wind,  and  it  filled  all  the  house 
 where  they  were  sitting. 
 
 3  And  there  appeared  unto  them  cloven  tongues 
 like  as  of  fire,  and  it  sat  upon  each  of  them. 
 
 1  There  is  another  disposition  to  be  observed  in  those,  upon  whom 
 the  good  Spirit  lights,  to  make  either  instruments  of  glory  to 
 the  Church,  or  piety  to  GloD.     It  is  sitting  and  expecting,  if  you 
 
 *  For  an  account  of  tliis  curious  poetical  version  of  our  Prayer  Book  refer 
 to  Illustr.  S.  John  xiii.  38. 
 
 d2 
 
36  THE  ACTS  11.  1. 
 
 mark  it,  till  the  day,  or  days,  of  Pentecost  be  fully  come  and  ac- 
 complished ;  souls,  willing  to  keep  a  Holy  Day  or  Holy  Days  to 
 the  Lord,  neither  to  be  scared  from  the  attendance  of  their 
 Master  and  their  devotions,  nor  to  be  shortened  and  interrupted 
 in  their  pious  course,  by  the  now  so  terrible  scare-crows  of  set 
 Feasts,  as  Jewish,  legal,  and  superstitious  observances  .  .  The 
 spiritual  man  discerns  the  things  of  God,  though  hidden  in 
 darker  mysteries,  knows  better  to  distinguish  Judaism  from 
 Christianity,  piety  from  superstition ;  and  is  not  only  content, 
 but  studies  to  wait  upon  his  Lord  on  any  day,  glad  to  get  it 
 too,  Passover  or  Pentecost,  makes  use  of  them  all,  and  turns 
 them  fairl}^  from  their  old  Judaism,  and  consecrates  them  anew 
 to  his  Master's  service  :  and  this  doing  the  very  Spirit  Himself 
 authorises  and  abets,  whilst  He  thus  seems  to  pick  out  the  time 
 for  His  own  coming  at  the  Jewish  Pentecost,  so  as  to  sanctify 
 a  new  Christian  Pentecost,  the  Christian  AVhitsuntide,  to  all 
 Christian  generations,  by  this  solemn  glory  of  His  benefits  to- 
 day to  be  remembered  for  ever.  i.  4  ;  xviii.  21 ;  xx.  16  ;  S.  Luke 
 i.  6.  Br.  Mark  Frank.  (Serm.  on  text.) 
 They  were  all — what  all  ?  all  the  Apostles  ?  no ;  all  the  disciples, 
 all  those  hundred  and  twenty  whereof  we  read  (i.  15.)  So 
 much  the  apology  of  S.  Peter,  as  the  speaker  for  the  apostolical 
 college,  doth  testify  (verse  14),  distinguishing  the  persons  in- 
 spired from  the  Apostles.  "  These  are  not  drunken,  as  ye  sup- 
 pose." So  much  the  prophecy  of  Joel  doth  insinuate,  under  the 
 notion  of  "  sons  and  daughters,"  and  "  servants  and  handmaids." 
 So  much  S.  Chrysostora  saith  expressly  upon  the  same  text. 
 In  one  place — what  place  ?  even  Coenaculum  Sionis — that  "  upper 
 room  upon  the  top  of  Mount  Sion,"  where  Christ  kept  His 
 last  Passover,  instituted  the  Lord's  Supper,  appeared  to  His 
 disciples,  "  the  door  being  shut,"  ordained  His  Apostles,  wherein 
 Matthias  was  chosen,  w^herein  the  Holy  Ghost  descended  in 
 the  likeness  of  "cloven  tongues  of  fire;"  cloven,  to  note  dis- 
 cretion ;  of  fire,  to  express  devotion ;  wherein  the  Order  of 
 Deacons  was  instituted,  wherein  the  Councils  of  the  Apostles  at 
 Jerusalem,  were  celebrated ;  that  place,  w'hich  was  shaken 
 miraculously  upon  the  prayers  of  the  Church,  as  an  undoubted 
 testimony  of  God's  Presence  ;  that  place,  wdiich  was  the  first 
 
THE  ACTS  II.  1,  2.  37 
 
 Christian  Church  upon  earth.     Abp.  Bramhall.     (Discourse  on 
 the  Sabbath  and  the  Lord's  Day.     Discourse  i.  p.  4.) 
 
 Suppose  we  were  of  one  accord ;  is  not  that  enough?  May  we 
 not  spare  this  other — of  one  'place  ?  If  our  minds  be  one,  for 
 the  place,  it  skills  not :  it  is  but  a  circumstance,  or  a  ceremony  ; 
 what  should  we  stand  at  it  ?  Yes,  sure :  seeing  the  Holt 
 Ghost  hath  thought  it  so  needful,  as  to  enter  it,  we  may  not 
 pass  it  over,  or  leave  it  out :  not  only  of  one  mind,  that  is, 
 Unanimity ;  but  also  in  one  place  too  ;  that  is.  Uniformity  : 
 both  *'  in  the  Unity  of  the  Spirit,"  that  is,  inward  ;  and  "in  the 
 bond  of  peace"  too,  that  is,  outward:  an  item  for  those,  whom 
 the  apostle  calls  Filii  substractionis,  that  forsake  the  congrega- 
 tion, as  even  then,  in  the  Apostles'  times,  "the  manner  of  some 
 was."  .  .  .  God's  will  is,  that  we  should  be,  as  upon  one 
 foundation,  so  under  one  roof.  That  is  His  doing,  "  who 
 maketh  men  of  one  mind  to  dwell  in  one  house."  Therefore  it 
 is  expressly  noted  of  this  company  here,  when  they  prayed,  they 
 prayed  together  (iv.  24)  ;  when  they  heard,  they  heard  all 
 together,  (viii.  6)  ;  when  they  "brake  bread,"  they  did  it  all  to- 
 gether (ii.  46)  ;  not,  in  one  place  some  ;  and  some  in  another, 
 but  iirl  TO  avio,  all  in  one  and  the  selfsame  place.  For,  say 
 M'hat  they  will,  division  of  places  will  not  long  be  without  divi- 
 sion of  minds.  This  must  be  our  ground.  The  same  Spirit, 
 that  loveth  Unanimity,  loveth  Uniformity ;  unity,  even  in 
 matter  of  circumstance,  in  matter  of  place.  Thus  the  Church 
 was  begun  ;  thus  it  must  be  continued.  1  Cor.  xi.  18  ;  xiv.  23  ; 
 Eph.  iv.  8  ;  Heb.  x.  25.     Bp.  Andrewes.     (Serm.  on  text.) 
 
 2  The  Holy  Ghost  is  given  on  earth,  that  we  should  love  our 
 neighbour  ;  and  He  is  given  from  heaven,  that  we  should  love 
 God.     S.  Matt,  xxiii.  36—38.     ^.  Gregory.     (Hom.  26.) 
 
 God  was  to  Elias,  in  private,  not  in  the  fire,  nor  in  the  rough 
 wind ;  but  in  the  still  calm  :  but  when  He  deals  with  man,  in 
 public,  He  gives  him  His  Law  in  fire  and  smoke,  and  His 
 Spirit  in  fire  and  with  a  rushing  wind.  This  was  to  make  His 
 gifts  for  public  use  notable.  1  Kings  vi.  7  ;  2  Sam.  v.  24  ; 
 Jer.  x.  13,      W.  Austin.     (A  Meditation  for  Whit-Sunday.) 
 
 It  filled  all  the  house  ivhere  they  were  sitting,  as  they  did  all  the 
 world,  ere  long,  by  their  preaching.  It  sate  on  them,  a  sign,  that 
 this  power  should  abide  with  them  alway,  and  accompany  them 
 
38  THE  ACTS  II.  2. 
 
 everywhere,  though  this  visible  flame  vanished.     Ps.  xix.   4. 
 Bp.  Patrich.     (Jesus  and  the  Eesurrection,  c.  iv.) 
 
 When  the  Holy  Ghost  came,  He  filled  all  the  house  where  they 
 were  sitting.  Wherever  He  comes,  He  fills  the  house ;  He 
 takes  it  all  to  Himself.  And  it  is  no  wonder,  being  Infinite,  He 
 takes  up  so  much  room.  As  God  would  cease  to  be  Immense,  if 
 there  \vere  any  corner  of  the  world,  in  which  He  is  not  present, 
 so  the  Holt  Ghost  would  cease  to  be  our  Infinite  and  Sovereign 
 good,  if  any  corner  of  our  heart  have  anything  lodged  in  it,  that 
 excludes  Him.  When  once  we  have  "  received  the  Holt  Ghost," 
 our  heart  is  the  Kingdom  of  God.  He  is  the  absolute  and  only 
 Monarch,  that  commands  it.  He  cannot  alienate  the  least  part 
 of  His  title  to  the  government :  He  caunot  any  way  admit  of  a 
 companion  on  His  throne.  Our  heart  is  the  throne  of  the 
 Most  High  :  and,  if  we  remember  what  became  of  Lucifer,  I 
 hope  it  v;ill  suffice  to  make  us  sensible,  how  dangerous  a  thing 
 it  is  to  place  a  creature  in  the  throne  of  God  and  make  it  like 
 the  Highest.  Isa.  xiv.  14  ;  Ps.  Ixxxi.  11.  The  Co7itrite  heart. 
 (Motives  of  love,  P.  i.  s.  5.) 
 
 The  house  became  the  vessel  of  the  spiritual  water.  Thus  they 
 were  entirely  Baptized,  according  to  the  promise  (i.  5),  invested, 
 soul  and  body,  with  a  Divine  and  heavenly  garment.  IVie  Holt 
 Ghost  sate  upon  them  in  the  form  of  fiery  tongues  ;  that  by  fiery 
 tongues  their  heads  might  be  encircled  with  new  and  spiritual 
 diadems.  The  "  fiery  sword  "  barred  of  old  the  gates  of  Paradise ; 
 the  "fiery  tongue,"  which  brought  Salvation,  restored  the  gift. 
 S.  Cyril.     (Cat.  Lect.  17.) 
 
 Cheist  doth  ///  our  house  both  ways.  If  you  look  to  our  Justifi- 
 cation, He  brings  glory  to  us,  as  the  sun  doth  the  light  into  the 
 air ;  the  brightness  whereof  doth  grace  the  air,  ^^et  it  remains 
 inherently  still  in  the  beams,  and  is  not  transfused  into  the  sub- 
 stance of  the  air:  even  so  Christ's  Highteousness  passeth  not 
 out  of  His  Person  ;  and  yet  it  is  the  ornament  of  our  person  :  it 
 is  inherent  in  Him,  it  is  imputed  to  us,  and  in  the  eyes  of  God 
 doth  grace  and  commend  us,  as  if  it  were  ours.  But,  if  you 
 look  to  Sanctification,  that  redounds  from  Christ,  unto  us ;  it 
 maketh  us  stars  in  the  spiritual  firmament,  though  of  unequal 
 magnitude  and  of  unequal  glory.  2  Cor.  iii.  18  ;  Eph.  i.  22,  23. 
 Bp.  Lake.     (Serm.  Hagg.  ii.  G — 9.) 
 
THE  ACTS  II.  3.  39 
 
 3  The  very  plirase  concludes  this  question.  Dispartitce  Ungitce 
 sedit ;  the  nom.  case  plural  and  the  verb  singular.  "  There  ap- 
 peared parted  tongues,  and  it  sate  ;"  to  show,  that,  though  the 
 gifts,  that  were  given,  and  the  persons,  to  whom,  were  many, 
 yet  the  Spirit  was  One.  1  Cor.  xii.  4 — 7.  W.  Austin.  (A 
 Meditation  for  Whit-Sunday.) 
 Thrice  was  the  Holy  GtHOSt  sent,  and  in  three  forms ;  of  a  dove, 
 of  breath,  and  of  cloven  tongues :  from  the  Father,  as  a  dove  ; 
 from  the  Soi^,  as  breath  (S.  John  xx,  22)  ;  from  both,  as  cloven 
 tongues,  the  very  cleft  showing  they  came  from  Two.  S.  John 
 XV.  26.  Bp.  Andrewes} 
 The  Holt  Ghost  was  made  manifest  in  a  dove,  and  hi  fire  ;  to 
 betoken,  it  is  the  same  Spirit,  which  requires  innocency  in  the 
 Saints,  but  would  not  have  them  forget  zeal.  If  the  dove  sit 
 upon  your  head,  it  will  instil  simplicity  ;  but  simplicity  may  be 
 chill  and  faint  in  a  good  cause ;  therefore,  if  a  pillar  of  fire  sit 
 upon  your  head,  it  will  infuse  fervency,  vii.  51,  52,  60 ;  Isa. 
 vi.  6,  7.     Bp.  Racket.     (Serm.  S.  Matt.  iii.  16.) 
 
 Ees  maxima  cogit 
 Non  reticere  diu,  quid  sit  quod  Spiritus  almus 
 His  datur  mflammd,  Jordanis  ab  amne  columbd. 
 
 Duo  sunt  hsec  signa  figurse  : 
 Ut  sit  simplicitas,  quam  congrua  diligit  ales, 
 Qus9  nee  tarda  gerat  sine  dogmatis  igne  tepores. 
 Sit  pariter  succensa  fi.des,  ibi  destinat  undis 
 Unanimes,  hie  ore  jubet  flagrare  docentes. 
 Mentibus  instat  amor  ;  sermonibus  gestuat  ardor. 
 
 Arator.  (In  Acta  Apost.  Lib.  i.) 
 He  came  in  a  sound,  to  awake  them  ;  in  wind,  to  move  them ;  in 
 fire,  to  enlighten  and  warm  them ;  in  tongues,  to  make  them 
 speak.  Job  xxxviii.  1 ;  Ezek.  iii.  13.  Farindon.  (Serm. 
 S.  John  xvi.  13.) 
 Christ  seems  to  be  represented  by  light  and  the  Holt  Ghost  by 
 fire  in  one  and  the  same  place.  Isa.  x.  17.  "  The  Light  of 
 Israel  shall  be  for  a  fire,  and  His  Holy  One  for  a  fiameT 
 Similitudes  of  our  own  adapting  to  God  or  the  Trinitt  are 
 dangerous  things.  But  this,  which  the  Scriptures  themselves 
 have  painted  out,  and  the  primitive  Fathers  therefore  made  so 
 
40  THE  ACTS  II.  3. 
 
 frequent  use  of,  is  both  safe  and  highly  serviceable  in  the  appli- 
 cation. As  the  luminous  body  is  the  source  of  light  and  heat, 
 so  the  Father  is  the  fountain,  from  whence  the  Son  is  generated 
 and  the  Holy  Spirit  'proceeds.  As  light  and  heat  are  of  the 
 same  nature  and  substance,  and  coeval  with  the  luminous  body, 
 whence  they  flow,  so  Christ  and  the  Holy  Ghost  are  consub- 
 stantial  and  co-eternal  with  the  Father.  As  we  neither  see  the 
 luminous  body,  nor  direct  our  steps  towards  it,  but  by  its  own 
 light,  so  Christ  says,  S.  John  xiv.  6,  "  No  man  cometh  unto  the 
 Father,  but  by  Me."  "  He  that  hath  seen  Me,  hath  seen  the 
 Father."  xiv.  9.  As  a  pleasing  warmth  both  moves  and 
 guides  us  to  the  fire,  from  whence  it  proceeds,  so  have  we  an 
 "  access  by  One  Spirit  to  the  Father."  Eph.  ii.  18.  This 
 glorious  similitude  might  be  traced  much  farther,  through  the 
 purity,  the  activity,  the  immensity  of  God.  ...  It  removes  all 
 the  difficulty  of  conceiving  how  Christ  could  be  Eternally 
 generated,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  from  all  Eternity  proceed  from 
 the  Father  ;  how  they  can  be  of  the  same  substance  with  Him, 
 and  yet  distinct  both  from  each  other,  and  from  Him  ;  since  we 
 see  iji  this  similitude  an  instance  of  all  these,  even  in  matter. 
 S.  John  iii.  12  ;  S.  Matt.  iii.  11.     Skelton.     (Serm.  Job  xi.  7.) 
 
 4  And  they  were  all  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost, 
 and  began  to  speak  with  other  tongues,  as  the  Spirit 
 gave  them  utterance. 
 
 5  And  there  were  dwelling  at  Jerusalem  Jews,  de- 
 vout men,  out  of  every  nation  under  heaven. 
 
 6  Now  when  this  was  noised  abroad,  the  multitude 
 came  together,  and  were  confounded,  because  that 
 every  man  heard  them  speak  in  his  own  language. 
 
 7  And  they  were  all  amazed  and  marvelled,  saying 
 one  to  another,  Behold,  are  not  all  these  which  speak 
 Galileeans  ? 
 
 8  And  how  hear  we  every  man  in  our  own  tongue, 
 wherein  we  were  born  ? 
 
THE  ACTS  11.  4.  41 
 
 9  Parthians,  and  Medes,  and  Elamites,  and  the 
 dwellers  in  Mesopotamia,  and  in  Jud8ea,  and  Cappa- 
 docia,  in  Pontus,  and  Asia, 
 
 10  Phrygia,  and  Pamphylia,  in  Egypt,  and  in  the 
 parts  of  Libya  about  Cyrene,  and  strangers  of  Rome, 
 Jews  and  proselytes, 
 
 1 1  Cretes  and  Arabians,  we  do  hear  them  speak  in 
 our  tongues  the  wonderful  works  of  God. 
 
 4  Filled. — The  Apostles  had  received  the  Spirit  before  ;  but  now 
 the  fulness  of  it.  They  receive  now,  not  only  it,  but  Him  ;  not 
 only  the  grace  of  the  Spirit,  but  the  Spirit  of  Grace  Himself, 
 per  effusionem,  non  per  infusionem  (Ps.  li.  11)  ;  per  immissionem, 
 non  per  inflationem  (S.  John  xx.  22)  ;  Spii-itum  ante ;  hie  ple7ii- 
 tudinem.  Before,  they  had  a  spirit  of  faith  and  understanding; 
 now  one  of  zeal  and  higher  illumination.     Ludolphus  (in  loco). 
 
 The  Apostles  now  had  what  Elisha  sometime  prayed  for,  Dupli- 
 catum  Spiritum  (2  Kings  ii.  9),  "a  double  portion  of  the 
 Spirit."  They  had  already  Baptismum  Jluminis,  the  watery 
 Baptism  of  John  ;  but  now,  Flaminis  ;  they  receive  this  of  "  the 
 Holy  Ghost  and  of  fire."  Here  every  one  of  their  tongues 
 is  touched  with  a  coal  from  the  heavenly  Altar ;  and,  as  of  old, 
 God  showered  upon  Israel  the  food  of  Angels,  so  here  He 
 seemeth  to  bestow  on  men  the  tongues  of  Angels.  1  Cor. 
 xiii.  1.     Br.  Spark.     (Scintilla,  on  Whit-Sunday.) 
 
 Begun  to  speak. — The  mystery  in  the  tongues  betokeneth  the 
 preaching  of  the  Gospel  and  the  open  confession  of  the  Chris- 
 tian faith,  in  all  them,  that  are  possessed  with  the  Holt  Ghost  : 
 so  that,  if  any  man  be  a  dumb  Christian,  not  professing  his  faith 
 openly,  but  cloaking  and  colouring  himself  for  fear  of  danger  in 
 time  to  come,  he  giveth  men  occasion,  and  with  good  conscience, 
 to  doubt,  lest  he  have  not  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost  within 
 him,  because  he  is  tongue-tied  and  doth  not  speak,  xi.  15  ; 
 Isa.  1.  4  ;  Ps.  li.  15;  Ezek.  iii.  5,  6;  S.  Matt.  x.  20  ;  Eom.  x. 
 8 — 11.     Homilies.     (Serm.  for  Whit-Sunday,  p.  1.) 
 
 To  speak  as  the  Spirit  gave   them   utterance. — It  is   not  every 
 
4.2  THE  ACTS  II.  4. 
 
 speaJcing,  but  a  kind  of  speakiog  it  must  be;  and  that  is 
 a7ro<p6e^l^iea0ai.  .  .  .  You  liave  heard  of  apophtheffmes ;  so  do 
 both  Greeks  and  Latins  call  wise  and  weighty  sententious 
 speeches.  Such  the  Spirit  gave  them  to  utter.  ...  It  is  after 
 said,  ver.  11,  that,  by  virtue  of  this,  when  they  spake,  they 
 spake  magnolia,  great  and  high  points,  not  trivialia,  base  and 
 vulgar  stuff,  not  worth  the  time  it  wasteth,  and  taketh  from  the 
 hearer.  ...  So  saith  S.  Paul,  Tit.  i.  9 ;  so  saith  S.  Peter, 
 1  S.  Pet.  iv.  11.  Such  speech,  as  may  seem,  or  beseem,  the  very 
 "  oracles  of  God,"  as  may  work  light  in  the  understanding,  or 
 fervour  in  the  affection :  those  two  show  fire.  ...  So  was  our 
 Saviour's  promise,  "I  will  give  you  a  mouth,  and  wisdom.''^ 
 S.  Luke  xxi.  15  ;  Eccles.  xii.  11 ;  Isa.  vi.  7  ;  1.  4.  Bp.  Andrewes. 
 (Serm.  on  text.) 
 The  Word  of  Wisdom  runs  very  swiftly ;  and,  where  God  is  the 
 Instructor,  how  quickly  do  we  learn  His  lessons!  ix.  20. 
 P.  Leo.     (Serm.  1.  in  Deut.) 
 
 Pax  perennis  amoris. 
 
 Alma  lux  sapientise, 
 
 Dulcis  hospita  mentium, 
 
 Cordis  ardor  amabilis, 
 
 Ima  pectoris  occupa.  .  .  . 
 
 Ter  beatus  et  amplius, 
 
 Cui  Tuum  jubar  insidet 
 
 Pectoris  penetralibus, 
 
 Purus  huic  animus  nitet, 
 Lilio  magis  albo. 
 
 Ter  beatus  et  amplius, 
 
 Cujus  innocuum  sinum 
 
 Incolit  Tua  Caritas  ; 
 
 Yerna  sic  oriens  rosa 
 
 Mane  fundit  odorem.  .  .  . 
 
 Tu  levamen  in  arduis. 
 
 Lumen  in  tenebris  micans, 
 
 Debiles  ope  sublevas ; 
 
 Tu  potens  vigor  anxiis, 
 Yera  Tu  Yia  Yit^e. 
 
 Pausta  nuntia  gaudii, 
 
THE  ACTS  II.  5.  43 
 
 Dulcis  hospita  cordium, 
 
 Sancta  Lux  animi,  veni 
 
 Aura  sacra,  ter  optimi 
 
 Dia  flaminis  aura ! 
 
 Card.  Barberini.     (Hymn,  in  S.  Spirltum.) 
 
 5  These  were  all  of  them  of  the  Circumcision — Jews,  sojourning, 
 or,  if  you  will,  dwelling  at  Jerusalem,  and  of  every  nation,  where 
 the  Jews  were  dispersed.  .  .  .  From  this  we  may  learn  four 
 things.  1.  The  wisdom  and  Providence  of  Almighty  God,  in  so 
 ordering  the  first  publication  of  the  Gospel,  that  the  fame 
 thereof  and  of  that  convincing  miracle,  which  gave  authority 
 thereunto,  miglit  be  carried  into  all  nations  by  so  many,  both 
 ear  and  eye-witnesses,  as  these  Jews  were.  2.  A  probable 
 lesson,  why  the  Apostles  were  so  ignorant  at  the  first,  as  they 
 seem  to  have  been,  that  the  Gospel  was  to  be  preached  to  the 
 Gentiles,  notwithstanding  our  Saviour's  Commission  unto 
 them  ;  "  Go,  preach  this  Gospel  unto  all  nations."  For  it  may 
 be,  they  thought  this  command  might  be  satisfied  by  preaching 
 the  Gospel  to  them  of  the  Circumcision  only,  which  were  of 
 every  nation  under  heaven.  3.  The  eulogium  here  given  to  those, 
 who  made  conscience,  as  we  speak,  or  religion,  to  come  unto  the 
 House  of  God  to  worship ;  they  were  Jews,  devout  men.  For 
 there  appears  no  other  respect,  why  they  are  so  called,  but 
 because  they  came  so  long  a  journey  to  worship  God  in  His 
 House  or  Temple  at  Jerusalem.  4.  The  Blessed  opportunities 
 and  means  for  Salvation,  which  they  met  with,  which  come 
 hither  to  worship.  For  had  these  Jews  stayed  at  home,  as  the 
 rest  of  their  brethren  did,  they  had  not  been  partakers  of  such  a 
 Blessing,  nor  witnesses  of  so  wonderful  a  miracle  for  the  con- 
 firmation of  their  faith,  as  now  they  were.  S.  Matt.  ii.  1 ; 
 S.  Luke  ii.  27,  28  ;  S.  John  xx.  24,  25.  J,  Mede.  (Disc,  on 
 text.) 
 
 or  this  assembly,  which  may  be  considered,  as  a  collective  repre- 
 sentation of  all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  3,000  souls  converted 
 on  this  memorable  day,  and  at  least  5,000,  on  a  second  illus- 
 trious miracle  within  a  few  days  after,  formed  a  body  of  Mission- 
 aries, to  bear  to  their  respective  countries  the  tidings  of  the 
 appearance  of  that  promised  Messiah,  in  whom  ''all  the  kin- 
 
44  THE  ACTS  11.  5—8. 
 
 dreds  of  the  earth  were  to  be  Blessed ;"  a  promise,  which  in 
 these  signal  instances  began  to  be  so  conspicuously  verified. 
 Isa.  ii.  2,  3.  Bean  Graves.  (On  Pentateuch,  p,  iii.  lect.  6.) 
 The  Gospel  might  seem  to  have  been  preached  throughout  the 
 world,  before  the  Apostles  did  stir  a  step  from  Jerusalem.  Isa. 
 xlvi.  10.     Farindon.     (Serm.  S.  Matt.  xxiv.  42.) 
 
 6  Had  not  Peter  and  the  rest  at  Cheist's  call  left  their  igno- 
 rance with  their  nets  and  trades ;  had  they  not  been  made 
 scholars,  as  well  as  disciples,  all  trades  promiscuously  might 
 justly  have  challenged  and  invaded  the  pulpit ;  and  no  man 
 denied  to  preach,  that  was  able  to  believe  :  but  you  are  to  know, 
 that  their  calling  was  an  Inspiration ;  they  were  furnished  with 
 Gifts,  as  well  as  Graces ;  and,  whatever  other  learning  they 
 wanted,  sure  I  am,  they  were  the  greatest  linguists  in  the  world. 
 Exod.  iv.  10—12 ;  Isa.  1.  4 ;  1  Sam.  x.  6,  11,  12.  Br.  Hammond. 
 (Serm.  S.  John  vii.  48.) 
 
 7  AH  these. — Chkist  gave  His  Spieit,  not  only  to  them,  to 
 whom  it  was  just  promised,  the  Apostles  (i.  4),  but  to  ten  times 
 as  many  as  the  Twelve,  to  six  score  in  all  (i.  15)  ;  such.  His  just 
 dealing  and  liberality,  teaches  us  to  promise  little,  and  then  to 
 perform  ten  times  more  than  we  promise.  1  Kings  x.  6,  7  ; 
 Eph,  iii.  20.     S.  Augustine.     (Serm.  116,  De  temp.) 
 
 8  To  make  it  reasonable  to  judge  this  or  that  particular  perform- 
 ance a  supernatural  one,  it  is  not  at  all  necessary  that  it  sur- 
 pass the  whole  power  of  nature,  that  is,  of  physical  agents ;  pro- 
 vided it  surpass  the  power  of  that  cause,  or  that  complex  of 
 causes,  from  which  the  effect  must  in  reason,  if  it  be  purely 
 natural  or  physical,  be  supposed  to  have  proceeded.  As,  for 
 instance,  that  a  fisherman,  or  two,  should  speak  other  languages, 
 than  their  own,  does  not  at  all  exceed  the  power  of  nature,  if 
 they  employed  a  competent  time  in  learning  them.  But  that  a 
 great  number  of  fishermen  and  other  illiterate  persons  should 
 all  on  a  sudden  become  linguists,  and  in  an  hour's  time  be  able 
 to  speak  intelligibly  to  a  great  number  and  variety  of  nations  in 
 their  respective  languages,  as  the  New  Testament  relates  that 
 the  Apostles  and  their  companions  did  on  the  day  of  Pentecost ; 
 that  gift  of  tongues,  I  say,  was  an  ability,  which,  in  those  cir- 
 cumstances of  place,  time,  and  persons,  wherein  it  was  exercised, 
 
THE  ACTS  IT.  11.  45 
 
 may  justly  be  concluded  to  have  been  supernatural  or  miracu- 
 lous. S.  John  vii.  46 ;  Ps.  cxviii.  23.  Hon.  R.  Boyle.  (The 
 Christian  Virtuoso.     P.  i.) 
 
 11  This  gift  was  a  mere  sign,  their  utterance  being  only,  as  they 
 were  the  mouthpieces  of  the  Holy  Spieit  (verse  4.)  .  .  .  Peter 
 makes  no  allusion  to  the  things,  said  by  those,  who  spoke  tliem  : 
 the  hearers  alone  speak  of  them,  declaring  the  wonderful  works 
 of  God.     1  Cor.  xiv.  13,  22.     Alford. 
 
 His  glory  is  most  resplendent  in  the  work  of  Eedemption,  wherein 
 more  of  the  Divine  attributes  are  exercised  than  in  the  Creation, 
 and  in  a  more  glorious  manner.  It  is  here,  that  wisdom,  goodness, 
 justice,  holiness,  and  power  are  united  in  their  highest  degree 
 and  exaltation.  Upon  this  account  the  Apostle  useth  that  ex- 
 pression, "  The  glorious  Gospel  of  the  Blessed  God,"  1  Tim.  i.  2  ; 
 it  being  the  clearest  Revelation  of  His  excellent  attributes,  the 
 unspotted  mirror,  wherein  the  great  and  wonderful  effects  of 
 the  Deity  are  set  forth.  Ps.  xix.  1 ;  S,  Luke  ii.  14  ;  "Rev.  v.  13. 
 Dr.  Bates.     (Harmony  of  the  Divine  Attributes,  ch.  iv.) 
 
 Una  Vox  t otitis  mundi  Christiis.  Christ  became  the  one  language 
 of  the  whole  world.     Mai.  i.  11.     S.  Jerome. 
 
 He,  who  speaks  of  heavenly  things,  speaks  with  new  tongues.  S. 
 Gregory.     (Hom.  de  Ascens.) 
 
 Now-a-days  that  is  said  to  be  spoken  by  the  Spirit,  and  nothing, 
 but  that,  which  is  frothy  and  wHndy,  and  perhaps  never  a  wise 
 word  spoken ;  and  other  men,  that  have  care  of  every  word, 
 which  they  deliver  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  in  His  Name,  have 
 it  called  studied  affectation,  or  some  such  bitter  censure.  Ec- 
 cles.  V.  2;  Tit.  ii.  8;  2  Cor.  v.  13.  Bp.  Racket.  (Serm.  on 
 Acts  ii.  4.) 
 
 Printing  is  an  art,  in  which  man  was  indisputably  instructed  by 
 the  same  great  Teacher,  who  taught  him  to  embroider  for  the 
 service  of  the  Sanctuary ;  and  which  amounts  almost  to  as  great 
 a  blessing,  as  the  gift  of  tongues.     Cowper.     (Letters.) 
 Unus  et  Ipse  Dens  diversa  per  ora  cucurrit, 
 Omnigenasque  uno  sonuit  tunc  ore  loquelas, 
 Omnibus  ignotas  tribuens  expromere  voces, 
 Quisque  suam  ut  gentem  peregrine  agnosceret  ore, 
 Externamque  suo  sentiret  in  ore  loquelam. 
 
46  THE  ACTS  II.  13. 
 
 Barbarus  ipse  sibi  non  notis  nota  canebat, 
 Verba  suis  aliena  loquens :  sed  in  omnibus  TJnum 
 Voce  Deum  varia  laudabat  Spiritus  Unus. 
 
 Ut  citliaris  modulans  unius  verbere  plectri 
 Dissona  fila  movet,  vel  qui  perflantia  textis 
 Labra  terit  calamis,  licet  unum  carmen  ab  uno 
 Ore  ferat,  non  una  sonat,  variosque  magistra 
 Temperat  arte  sonos,  arguta  foramina  flatu 
 Mobilibusque  regit  digitis,  clauditque,  aperitque, 
 Ut  rapida  vice  dulcis  eat  redeatque  cavernis, 
 Currens  ^olio  modulabilis  aura  meatu, 
 Explicet  irruptos  animata  ut  tibia  cantus  ; 
 Sic  Deus  omnisonsD  modulator  et  arbiter  unus 
 HarmoniaB,  per  cuncta  movet  quam  corpora  rerum, 
 Et  naturae  opifex  Deus  omnis  et  artis ;  in  omni 
 Pons  opere,  et  finis. 
 
 Paulinus.     (Poem  xxiv.  de  S.  Felice  ;  Natal,  ix.) 
 
 12  And  they  were  all  amazed,  and  were  in  doubt, 
 saying  one  to  another,  What  meaneth  this  ? 
 
 1 3  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  Judiea, 
 and  all  ye  that  dwell  at  Jerusalem,  be  this  known  unto 
 you,  and  hearken  to  my  words : 
 
 15  For  these  are  not  drunken,  as  ye  suppose,  see- 
 ing it  is  hut  the  third  hour  of  the  day. 
 
 13  The  mention  of  an  incident,  like  this,  shows  the  correctness 
 and  the  sincerity  of  the  historian.  Ahbadie*  (Treatise  on  the 
 Truth  of  the  Christian  Eeligion.     S.  iii.,  c.  8.) 
 
 While  we  know,  that  many,  who  had  a  share  in  the  Crucifixion  of 
 
 *  The  whole  of  the  6th,  7th,  8th, 
 and  9th  Chapters  of  this  admirable 
 Author  (Sect.  iii.  Part  2)  consists  of 
 6-^tracts   from    the   New    Testament, 
 
 bearing  upon  the  evidences  of  Chris- 
 tianity, and  accompanied  with  apposite 
 observations. 
 
THE  ACTS  II.  13.  47 
 
 our  Lord,  were  subsequently  converted,  through  the  preaching 
 of  S.  Peter,  it  may  reasonably  be  doubted,  whether  any  of  these 
 mockers  obtained  a  like  grace  from  the  Lord.  "  To  sit  in  the 
 seat  of  the  scornful,"  is  the  third  and  last  grade  in  wickedness, 
 mentioned  Ps.  i.  1.  Archbishop  Seeker,  however  (Serm.  on  S. 
 Matt.  xii.  31,  32,)  puts  a  far  more  lenient  construction  on  the 
 conduct  of  these  men  :  he  allows  their  saying  to  be  blasphemous, 
 but  palliates  it,  as  "a  sudden  flight  "  and  "hasty  expression  of 
 contempt ;"  not  imputed  to  them  therefore,  as  blasphemy,  by  S. 
 Peter,  who  immediately  endeavoured  to  convince  them  of  their 
 mistake,  applying  to  it  the  gentle  term,  as  ye  suppose.  Yerse 
 15.     xvii.  32 ;  Eph.  v.  4.     J.  F. 
 
 There  are  grave  and  retired  atheists,  whom  caution  hinders  from 
 talking  much  against  E.eligion :  but  there  is  a  sort  of  men  much 
 more  common,  than  the  other,  the  faculties  of  whose  minds 
 are  so  thin  and  airy,  that  they  will  not  bear  the  consideration 
 of  anything,  much  less  of  Eeligion  :  these  throw  out  their  bitter 
 scofls  and  profane  jests  against  it ;  a  tiling  never  permitted,  that 
 I  know  of,  in  any  civilized  nation  of  the  world.  Whatsoever 
 their  Eeligion  was,  the  reputation  of  Eeligion  was  always  con- 
 sidered sacred.  God  Himself,  saith  Josephus,  would  not  suiFer 
 the  Jews  to  speak  evil  of  other  gods,  (see  xvii.  22 ;  xix.  37,) 
 though  they  were  to  destroy  all  those,  who  tempted  them  to 
 the  worship  of  them.  And  shall  we  suffer  the  most  excellent 
 and  reasonable  Eeligion  in  the  world,  viz.  the  Christian,  to  be 
 profaned  by  the  unhallowed  mouths  of  any,  who  will  venture 
 to  be  damned  to  be  accounted  witty  ?  Bj).  Stillingjleet,  (Serm. 
 Amos  iv.  11.) 
 
 Men  may  indulge  a  ludicrous  turn  so  far,  as  to  lose  all  sense  of 
 conduct  and  prudence  in  worldly  affairs,  and  even,  as  it  seems, 
 to  impair  their  faculty  of  reason.  And,  in  general,  levity,  care- 
 lessness, passion,  and  prejudice  do  hinder  us  from  being  rightly 
 informed  with  respect  to  common  things ;  and  they  may  in  like 
 manner,  and  perhaps  in  some  farther  providential  manner, 
 with  respect  to  moral  and  religious  subjects,  hinder  evidence 
 from  being  laid  before  us,  and  from  being  seen,  when  it  is. 
 Isa.  xxix.  13,  14 ;  Dan.  xii.  10  j  S.  Matt.  xv.  23.  Bp.  Butler. 
 (xinalogy,  ch.  6.) 
 
48  THE  ACTS  II.  13—15. 
 
 It  is  aot  good  to  live  in  jest,  since  we  must  die  in  earnest.  Ps.  1. 
 22.     Br.  Whichcote.     (Apbor.  Cent.  xii.  1186.) 
 
 14  He  lifted  up  his  voice. — He,  who  had  not  endured  the  ques- 
 tioning of  a  poor  girl,  now  in  the  midst  of  the  people,  all 
 breathing  murder,  discourses  with  such  confidence,  that  this 
 very  thing  becomes  an  unquestionable  proof  of  the  Resurrec- 
 tion,    iv.  13 ;  Heb.  xi.  34,  36.     S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 15  In  the  way  of  an  orator,  he  is  first  careful  to  remove  the  pre- 
 judice against  them.     xxi.  38  ;  xxii.  3.     Clarius. 
 
 Observe  Peter  does  not  absolutely  deny,  that  they  were  drunk,  but 
 that  they  were  not  drunk,  as  ye  suppose  ;  for  they  were  indeed 
 inebriated, but  with  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  with  new  wine.  Jud. 
 ix.  13 ;  Eph.  V.  18.     S.  Bernard.     (In  verba  Cant.  ii.  4.) 
 
 In  the  exercise  of  devotion  and  prayer,  we  read  that  the  three 
 children,  and  the  prophet  Daniel,  men  strong  in  faith  and 
 victorious  in  captivity,  observed  the  third  hour  of  the  day  ;  a 
 mystery  no  doubt  of  the  Holy  and  Blessed  Trinity,  which  was 
 afterwards  to  be  made  manifest,  and  a  type  of  the  Holy 
 Ghost's  Descent  at  that  very  hour.  S.  Mark  xv.  25.  S. 
 Cyprian.     (De  orat.  Dom.) 
 
 ]  6  But  this  is  that  which  was  spoken  by  the  prophet 
 Joel ; 
 
 17  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  the  last  days,  saith 
 God,  I  will  pour  out  of  My  Spirit  upon  all  flesh : 
 and  your  sons  and  your  daughters  shall  prophesy,  and 
 your  young  men  shall  see  visions,  and  your  old  men 
 shall  dream  dreams : 
 
 18  And  on  My  servants  and  on  My  handmaidens 
 I  will  pour  out  in  those  days  of  My  Spirit  ;  and  they 
 shall  prophesy  : 
 
 19  And  I  will  show  wonders  in  heaven  above,  and 
 signs  in  the  earth  beneath  ;  blood,  and  fire,  and  vapour 
 of  smoke  : 
 
 20  The  sun  shall  be  turned  into  darkness,  and  the 
 
THE  ACTS  II,  17.  49 
 
 moon  into  blood,  before  that  great  and  notable  day  of 
 the  Lord  come  : 
 
 21  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  whosoever  shall 
 call  on  the  Name  of  the  Lord  shall  be  saved. 
 
 17  In  the  last  days. — There  is  no  promise,  upon  which  the  Spirit 
 of  Eevelation  is  to  be  expected  after  the  fall  of  Jerusalem.  .  .  . 
 The  old  economy  is,  as  the  old  world  ;  the  Evangelical  is  "  the 
 new  heaven  and  the  new  earth  :"  so  that  the  last  days  of  the 
 old  world  are  the  last  days  of  the  old  economy.  Hence  the 
 destruction  of  Jerusalem  is  spoken  of,  as  the  destruction  of  the 
 old  world;  and  Christ's  coming  is  said  to  be  in  "the  last 
 days,"  when  the  pouring  out  of  the  Spirit  was  to  be  .  .  at  the 
 fall  of  Jerusalem  all  Scripture  was  written  (S.  John  v.  2)  and 
 God's  full  will  revealed;  so  that  there  was  no  further  need  of 
 prophecy  and  revelation.  Isa.  xxviii.  11 ;  1  Cor.  x.  11 ;  xiv. 
 21 ;  Eev.  xxii.  19.     Dr.  Lightfuot.     (Serm.  S.  Jude  12.) 
 
 Of  those  five  things,*  for  want  of  which  the  second  Jewish  Temple 
 sunk  below  the  first,  and  its  glory  seemed  faint  in  its  compari- 
 son, the  chiefest  was  the  Holt  Ghost,  w^ho  became  silent ; 
 His  oracles  ceased  then,  and  He  spake  no  more  by  the  Prophets 
 .  .  But,  as  our  Saviour  did  supply  the  other  four  with  all 
 advantage,  and  so  fulfilled  Prophecy,  and  made  "  the  glory  of 
 that  Temple  greater"  (Hagg.  ii.  10);  so,  for  the  fifth,  the 
 Spirit,  He  was  restored,  in  kind,  with  infinite  improvement ;  that 
 of  Joel  fulfilled,  /  will  pour  out  My  Spirit  upon  all  flesh  ;  for 
 they  were  all  "  Baptized  with  the  Holy  Ghost,"  Baptized  in 
 "  rivers  of  living  waters,  which  did  flow  out  of  the  bellies  of 
 themselves  ;  for  "  This  He  spake  of  the  Spirit,  which  all,  that 
 believe  on  Him,  should  receive  "  (S.  John  vii.  39  ;  iv.  14)  ;  so 
 that  Joel  did  scarce  feel  or  foresee  enough  to  prophesy  of  this 
 abundance  ;  but  the  inundations  were  almost,  like  Christ's  re- 
 ceivings, "  without  measure."     Nor  were  His  Inspirations,  as 
 
 *  These  five  things  were  1.  the  Ark  burut-offerings  ;  4.  the  Glory  of  God, 
 
 of  the  Covenant  with  the  Propitiatory  that  appeared  between  the  Cherubims ; 
 
 and     Cherubims;    2.    the    Urim    and  and  5.  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  spake 
 
 Thummim  ;    3.  the    Fire,    that   came  by  the  prophets. 
 down   from   heaven   to    consume   the 
 
50  THE  ACTS  II.  17,  18. 
 
 of  old,  dark  and  mysterious  oracles,  direction  in  rapture,  when 
 the  message  itself  was  to  have  another  revelation,  and  it  must 
 be  prophecy  to  understand,  as  well  as  to  utter :  but,  in  the 
 Grospel,  His  effusion  ran  clear  and  transparent,  as  the  water, 
 that  expresseth  them,  revealing  even  all  the  unknown  lan- 
 guages, that  were  the  conduits  and  conveyances ;  all  plain 
 express  directions,  such  as  that  of  the  Text.  S.  John  i.  IG,  17  ; 
 Eph.  i.  3,  8.     Dr.  Allestree.     (Serm.  Acts  xiii.  2.) 
 
 Upon  all.  fiesh. — The  Holt  Ghost,  as  He  is  a  cloven  tongue, 
 opens,  as  a  compass,  that  reaches  over  all  our  map,  over  all  our 
 world ;  from  our  east  to  our  west,  from  our  birth  to  our  death  ; 
 from  our  cradles  to  our  graves  ;  and  directs  us,  for  all  things,  to 
 all  persons,  in  all  places,  and  at  all  times.  Wisd.  i.  7  ;  xii.  1. 
 Dr.  Donne. 
 
 All  fiesh. — The  promise  is  not  limited  to  the  day  of  Pentecost. 
 Yerse  39. — Joel  writes  *'  Mij  Spirit ;"  Peter  says,  "  Of  My 
 Spirit,"  in  special  reference  to  Pentecost.     Bengel. 
 
 18  The  Spirit  had  been  "given"  before;  but  never  with  such 
 largess  ;  sprinkled,  but  not  imured.  "Where  there  was  copiosa 
 Sanguinis  efi'usio,  on  the  part  of  Cheist,  there  was  likewise  to 
 be  copiosa  Flamijiis  efi'usio,  on  the  part  of  the  Holt  Gthost  ; 
 He  as  liberal  of  His  Grace,  as  Cheist  of  His  Blood ;  that  there 
 might  be  to  us  copiosa  Redemptio,  a  plenteous  Redemption. 
 Ps.  cxxx.  ,  .  .  But  w4aen  He  pours,  He  strikes  not  out  the  head 
 of  the  vessel  and  lets  all  go,  but  moderates  His  pouring  and  dis- 
 penses His  gifts.  He  pours,  not  all  upon  every  one ;  nay,  not 
 upon  any  one  all ;  but  on  some  in  this  manner,  and  on  some  in 
 that ;  not  to  each  the  same ;  and  to  whom  the  same,  not  in  the 
 same  measure ;  but  to  some,  five ;  to  some,  two ;  to  some,  but 
 one  talent.  There  are  divers  assignations  in  the  text ;  to  divers 
 parties — sons,  sei'vants,  old  men ;  of  divers  gifts — prophecies, 
 visions,  dreams;  and  then,  of  divers  degrees,  one  clearer  than 
 another ;  the  vision,  then  the  dream.  (1  Cor.  xii.  11.)  There 
 are  two  pourings  here  mentioned,  upon  all  fiesh,  (ver.  15,)  and 
 upon  My  servants,  (ver.  18)  :  the  latter  is  the  qualifying  of 
 the  former.  Upon  all  fiesh,  that  is,  all  such  as  will  be  My 
 servants,  as  will  give  in  their  names  to  that  end,  as  will  call  upon 
 Me ;  so  concludes  Joel,   (ver.  21)  ;  aa  will  believe  and  be  bap- 
 
THE  ACTS  II.  19.  51 
 
 tized;  so  concludes  S.  Peter  his  sermon.  This  gives  them  the 
 capacity  ;  this  makes  them  vessels  to  receive  this  effusion  of  the 
 Holy  G-host.  Bp.  Andrewes.  (Serm.  on  text.) 
 19  We  cannot  doubt,  but  that  our  Sayiour's  prophecy  (S.  Matt, 
 xxiv.  14)  was  verified  before  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem, 
 which  was  "  the  end  He  meant  should  come."  But  why  should 
 the  prophet,  Joel,  immediately  after  his  description  of  the  time 
 of  Grace,  add  in  the  second  place,  I  ivill  show  ivonders,  ^c.  Doth 
 he  call  the  people  of  God  again  to  Mount  Sinai,  to  "  fire,  black- 
 ness," &c.  ?  (Heb.  xii.  18 — 21.)  No  ;  but  he  would  have  the 
 world  understand,  that,  after  the  Gospel  was  proclaimed 
 throughout  it,  the  Loud  would  show  Himself  as  terrible  a  Judge 
 to  all  such,  as  did  not  embrace  the  glad  tidings  thereof,  as  He 
 had  done  before  to  the  Israelites  at  the  promulgation  of  the 
 Law.  Ex.  xix.  Both  that  fearful  sight  in  Mount  Sinai,  and 
 those  other  prodigious  apparitions  in  Italy  and  Syria,  (before 
 and  after  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,)  were  types  and  representatives 
 of  that  dreadful  Hay.  The  former  was  seen  and  testified  by  the 
 Israelites  only,  because  the  Law  was  only  revealed  to  them : 
 the  horrors  of  the  latter  are  registered  by  heathen  writers, 
 known  and  felt  by  the  principal  nations  of  the  world,  and  from 
 them  diffused  to  all  others,  because  the  Gospel  was  at  that  time 
 communicate  to  all  the  inhabited,  or  frequented,  parts  of  the 
 world.  These  prodigious  signs  then,  which  the  prophet  Joel 
 describes,  and  the  heathen  witness  to  have  been  so  frequent 
 among  the  nations,  presently  after  Jerusalem's  destruction  and 
 the  extirpation  of  the  Jews,  were  added,  as  so  many  seals,  to 
 assure  the  truth  of  the  Prophets  and  Gospel ;  and  to  testify, 
 both  to  Jew  and  Gentile,  that,  if  either  the  one  did  follow  his 
 Jewish  sacrifice,  or  the  other  his  wonted  idolatry,  after  the 
 truth  of  God's  new  Covenant  with  mankind  was  sealed  and 
 proclaimed,  "  there  remained  no  more  sacrifice  for  sins,  but  a 
 fearful  looking  for  of  judgment"  and  violent  fire;  that  there 
 was  no  other  Name,  able  to  save  them  from  such  everlasting 
 flames,  as  they  now  had  seen  some  flashes  of,  but  only  the  Name 
 of  Jestjs,  whom  the  Jews  had  crucified :  so  the  prophet  con- 
 cludes, whosoever  shall  call,  ^c.  xvii.  30,  31 ;  S.  Matt,  xxiii. 
 38,  39.     Dr.  Jackson.     (B.  i.  c.  24.) 
 
 E  2 
 
52 
 
 THE  ACTS  II.  19,  20. 
 
 There  is  a  treasure  of  heavenly  wisdom,  contained  in  tlie  prophets, 
 that  can  never  be  exhausted :  and  as  it  is  highly  reasonable  to 
 believe,  that  some  parts  of  the  Old  Testament  prophecies  reach 
 to  the  end  of  the  world,  so  it  is  reasonable  to  expect,  that  in 
 every  age  Providence  should  open  some  new  scene,  which  will 
 give  further  insight  into  the  meaning  of  these  sacred  writings. 
 To  extend  the  prophetic  views  to  the  end  of  the  world  seems 
 much  more  agreeable  to  that  description  of  God's  prescience, 
 which  the  holy  writers  give  us,  that  "  He  declares  the  end  from 
 the  beginning,"  and  that  "  His  wisdom  reacheth  from  one  end 
 (of  the  world)  to  the  other ;  mightily  and  sweetly  doth  it  order 
 all  things:"  so  that,  when  the  great  mystery  of  God's  dispen- 
 sation shall  be  finished,  it  will  appear,  that  nothing  is  con- 
 tained in  them,  but  what  God  hath  formerly  declared  to  His 
 servants,  the  prophets,  as  is  expressly  declared  Eev.  x.  7.  Isa. 
 xlvi.  10 ;  AVisd.  viii.  1 ;  2  S.  Pet.  i.  20.  Bp.  Lowth.  (Pref.  to 
 Comment,  on  Isaiah.) 
 
 Judgments  against  the  wicked  come  quick  after  these  grand  mani- 
 festations of  grace :  the  display  of  the  former  is  a  warning  to 
 us  to  accept  the  latter.    Numb.  xiv.  20,  &c. ;  Judg.  v.  5.    Bengel. 
 
 20  If  a  man  could  speak  nothing  but  fire,  and  smoke,  and  blood, 
 if  flames  should  come  out  of  his  mouth,  instead  of  words,  if  he 
 had  a  voice  like  thunder  and  an  eye  like  lightning,  he  could  not 
 represent  unto  you  the  misery  of  those,  that  make  no  reckoning 
 of  the  Blood  of  the  Son  of  God.  The  very  sun  shall  be  turned 
 into  darkness,  saith  the  Apostle  out  of  Joel,  and  the  moon  into 
 bloody  before  the  great  and  notable  Day  of  the  Loed  ;  viz,  the 
 Day,  when  He  shall  come  to  destroy  the  enemies  of  His  Cross. 
 And  yet  he  seems  there  to  speak,  but  of  one  particular  Day  of 
 Judgment  upon  the  Jewish  nation,  who  "  crucified  the  Loed  of 
 Life ;"  and  that  was  but  a  type  and  figure  of  the  last  Day  and 
 came  far  short  of  the  blackness  and  darkness  of  that  time  ;  when, 
 the  Loed  will  come  to  take  vengeance  on  all  them,  that "  know 
 not  God  and  obey  not  the  Gospel  of  the  Loed  Jesus."  How 
 terrible  would  it  be  to  see  the  Heavens  all  covered  with  clouds 
 of  blood,  to  feel  drops  of  blood  come  raining  down  ujion  our 
 heads ;  and  next,  showers  of  fire  from  the  melting  sun  come 
 trickling  upon  our  eyes  j  and  then,  sheets  of  flames  wrapping 
 
THE  ACTS  II.  21.  53 
 
 al30ut  our  bodies  ;  to  hear  the  earth  groan  and  the  pillars  of  the 
 world  crack,  as  if  the  whole  frame  of  nature  were  a  dying  and 
 the  world  were  tumbling  into  its  grave  ?  All  this  would  be 
 but  a  petty  image  of  that  dreadful  Day,  when  the  Sun  of 
 Klghteousness  shall  be  clothed  with  clouds  of  wrath,  when  His 
 countenance  shall  be  as  flames  of  fire,  when  He  shall  "  clothe 
 Himself  with  vengeance,  as  a  garment,"  when  the  Lamb  of 
 God  Himself  shall  roar,  like  a  lion,  and  the  meek  and  compas- 
 sionate Jesus  shall  rend  in  pieces  and  devour."  Ps.  ii.  12  ;  vii. 
 2 ;  Eev.  vi.  16.  Bp.  Patrick.  (Mensa  Mystica,  ch.  16.) 
 21  Never  forget,  that  the  Day  will  come,  when  all  our  virtues  will 
 be  tried,  as  with  fire  ;  and  that  humility  alone  will  have  strength 
 to  withstand  it.  S.  Matt.  xxv.  37 ;  1  Cor.  iii.  13.  S.  Ephrem 
 Syrus. 
 
 Sen  vigilo  intentus  studiis,  sen  dormio,  semper 
 Judicis  extremi  nostras  tuba  personet  aures. 
 
 Dictum  S.  Hieronymi. 
 
 22  Ye  men  of  Israel,  hear  these  words ;  Jesus  of 
 Nazareth,  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  yourselves  also  know ; 
 
 23  Him,  being  delivered  by  the  determinate  coun- 
 sel and  foreknowledge  of  God,  ye  have  taken,  and  by 
 wicked  hands  have  crucified  and  slain  : 
 
 24  Whom  God  hath  raised  up,  having  loosed  the 
 pains  of  death :  because  it  was  not  possible  that  He 
 should  be  holden  of  it. 
 
 25  For  David  speaketh  concerning  Him,  I  foresaw 
 the  Lord  always  before  my  face,  for  He  is  on  my  right 
 hand,  that  I  should  not  be  moved : 
 
 26  Therefore  did  my  heart  rejoice,  and  my  tongue 
 was  glad ;  moreover  also  my  flesh  shall  rest  in  hope : 
 
 27  Because  Thou  wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in  hell, 
 
64  THE  ACTS  II.  22,  23. 
 
 neither  wilt  Thou  suffer  Thine  Holy  One  to  see  cor- 
 ruption. 
 
 28  Thou  hast  made  known  to  me  the  ways  of  hfe ; 
 Thou  shalt  make  me  full  of  joy  with  Thy  countenance. 
 
 22  How  could  they  know  it,  if  so  be  that  Jesxjs  never  wrought 
 any  miracle  ?  How  rash  would  such  an  appeal  to  them  have 
 been  ?     i.  19  ;  iii.  10  ;  iv.  16  ;  xxv.  10  ;  xxvi.  4,  5,  26.     Abbadie. 
 
 The  process  of  the  argument  was  [to  show]  that  all  was  the  pur- 
 pose and  doing  of  Gron  .  .  to  exhibit  the  whole  course  of  Jesus 
 of  Nazareth,  as  the  ordinance  and  doing  of  the  God  of  Israel. 
 S.  John  xvi.  12.     Alford. 
 
 23  Their  hands  were  not  the  less  wicked,  because  God  had  p7'ede- 
 termined  their  act ;  for  they  were  left  to  the  liberty  of  their  own 
 free  will,  and  had  the  plain  commandments  of  God  to  be  their 
 rule  and  guide,     iv.  28  ;  S.  Matt.  xxvi.  24 ;  S.  Jas.  i.  13.     J.  F. 
 
 Actio  displicuit ;  Passio  grata  fuit.  The  deed  of  the  Jews  was 
 displeasing  to  God  ;  the  Death  of  our  Loed  pleased  Him.  S. 
 Matt,  xxvii.  45 ;  Isa.  liii.  10.     P.  Leo.     (Serm.  16,  He  Pass.) 
 
 We  are  by  no  means  obliged,  either  retaining  the  prescience  of 
 God,  to  deny  the  liberty  of  the  will ;  or,  retaining  the  liberty 
 of  the  will,  to  deny  to  God,  which  piety  forbids,  quod  nefas  est, 
 the  prescience  of  things  future.  S.  Augustine.  (De  Civ.  Dei. 
 Lib.  V.  c.  9,  10.) 
 
 The  difficulty,  which  we  may  experience,  in  reconciling  the  Divine 
 prescience  and  human  liberty,  cannot  justify  us  in  rejecting 
 either.  Each  of  them  is  established  upon  a  competent  evidence. 
 There  are  proofs,  in  prophecy,  of  God's  foreknowledge  of  men's 
 actions.  The  liberty  of  those  actions  is  proved  by  many  media, 
 by  our  personal  consciousness,  by  the  conditions  of  revealed 
 Eeligion,  by  all  Laws  human  and  Divine,  by  the  common  sense 
 of  mankind  ...  by  the  strictest  reasoning  of  the  best  philoso- 
 phers, who  have  asserted  it,  and  by  tlie  concessions  of  others, 
 who  have  desired  it ;  for  the  reasoner,  who  denies  human  liberty, 
 never  fails  in  his  life  to  deal  with  others,  as  though  they  pos- 
 sessed it,  and  proves  himself  to  be  so  far  free,  as  the  greatest 
 inconsistency  can  show  him  to  be.     In  a  word,  Eeligion,  Laws, 
 
THE  ACTS  II.  23,  24.  55 
 
 internal  Conscience,  Society,  all  verify  this  doctrine.     Davison. 
 (On  Prophecy,  Disc.  7.) 
 
 Surely  the  Son  of  God  could  not  die  by  chance ;  nor  the  greatest 
 thing,  that  ever  came  to  pass,  in  nature,  be  left  to  an  undeter- 
 minate  event.  Is  it  imaginable,  that  the  great  means  of  the 
 world's  Eedemption  should  rest  only  in  the  number  of  possi- 
 bilities, and  hang  so  loose,  in  respect  of  its  futurition,  as  to 
 leave  the  event  in  an  equal  poise,  whether  ever  there  should  be 
 such  a  thing,  or  no  ?  xv.  18  ;  Eev.  xiii.  8.  Br.  South.  (Serm. 
 Prov.  xvi.  33.) 
 
 God's  so  great  care  and  providence,  so  expressly  commended  to 
 our  observation,  do  argue  the  high  worth  and  consequence  of 
 this  Death,  i.  7  ;  iv.  28  ;  Eph.  iii.  11 ;  1  S.  Pet.  i.  19  ;  Eev.  xiii. 
 8.     Dr.  Barrow.     (Exposition  of  the  Creed.) 
 
 En  mens  est  crucifixus  Amor :  me  figite  clavi : 
 Et  liceat  Domino  cum  moriente  mori. 
 
 Haeftenus.     (Eegia  via  crucis,  Lib.  ii.  c.  20.) 
 
 24  lie  refers  all  to  the  Eathee,  in  order  that  they  may  receive 
 what  is  said  ;  and  that  assertion,  not  possible,  he  fetches  in  from 
 prophecy.  Verse  22 ;  x.  38 ;  xvii.  31 ;  S.  John  xvi.  21.  S. 
 Chrysostom. 
 
 Non  quibus  nexus  est,  sed  lie  necteretur ;  not,  wherewith  He  was 
 bound,  but,  that  He  might  not  be  at  all  bound  with  them.  S. 
 Augustine. 
 
 Pains  of  death. — As  if  even  death  itself  mourned  in  detaining 
 Him,  and  suftered  pain.     Clarius. 
 
 As  Cheist  is  primus  dignitate^  so  He  is  causatione  also ;  for  He 
 caused  His  own,  and  is  the  cause  of  our  Eesurrection.  S. 
 Bernard  (Serm.  10,  De  Pascha,)  so  differenceth  His  own 
 from  all  others ;  reliqui  suscitantur,  solus  Christus  Resurrexit. 
 AVell  may  others  be  raised  ;  Cueist  only  rose ;  He  only  by 
 Himself  could  conquer  death.  Cheist  was  so  raised  that  He 
 raised  Himself;  and  that  not  only  merito,  but  efficacid  also.  As 
 the  Godhead  graced  the  manhood  to  merit  it,  so  was  the  man- 
 hood enabled  by  the  Godhead  to  achieve  it.  S.  John  ii.  19 ;  x. 
 18  ;  Eom.  i.  4.  Bp.  Lake.  (Serm.  on  1  Cor.  xv.  20.) 
 Posnae  nil  debuit,  intemeratus, 
 Eraude  carens,  omni  culparum  adspergine  liber. 
 
56  THE  ACTS  II.  25,  27. 
 
 Quid  peccatorum  prosapia  Corpore  in  Illo  ? 
 
 Quid  Christi  in  membris  peccati  sseva  satelles 
 
 Poena  ageret  ?     Quid  mors  hominis  sine  criraine  posset  ? 
 
 JNTimirum  cassis  conatibus  et  sine  nervis 
 
 Concideret  sterilis  peccati  fomite  nullo. 
 
 Mors  alitur  culpa ;  culpam  qui  non  babet,  ipso 
 
 Pastus  defectu  mortem  consumit  inanem. 
 
 Sic  mors  in  Domini  consumta  est  Corpore  Christi, 
 
 Sic  periit,  solitum  dum  non  babet  arida  pastum. 
 
 Priidentius.  (Apotheosis.) 
 25  David  often  spoke  concerning  himself;  but  the  Spirit,  who 
 spoke  in  David,  in  allusion  to  Cheist.  S.  Matt.  xxi.  43. 
 AlforcL 
 Concerning  Him. — The  Apostle  does  not  make  David  to  speak 
 these  things  first  of  himself,  and  then  of  the  Messiah,  only  in 
 a  secondary  sense ;  but  quotes  them,  as  referring  to  Cheist 
 alone.  Eev.  xix.  10.  Jeffery.  (True  grounds,  p.  121.) 
 Psalmody  (i.e.,  of  the  Book  of  Psalms)  is  the  Church's  voice. 
 Hence  mayest  thou  not  be  taught  whatever  is  dignified  in  forti- 
 tude, whatever  is  consummate  in  justice,  whatever  is  venerable 
 in  temperance,  whatever  is  sublime  in  wisdom  ?  Here  the 
 nature  of  penitence  is  unfolded ;  patience  is  here  exemplified. 
 Is  there  a  blessing  to  be  named,  which  here  resides  not  ?  The 
 splendours  of  Theology  beam  eff'ulgent.  Jesus  is  predicted; 
 the  Resurrection  is  announced ;  Judgment  is  proclaimed ;  the 
 sword  of  vengeance  is  unsheathed  ;  crowns  of  glory  glitter ;  un- 
 speakable mysteries  astonish.  All  these  are  treasured  up  in  the 
 Book  of  Psalms,  as  in  a  common  treasury  of  the  soul.  Col.  iii. 
 16.  8.  Basil.  (Exord.  Hom.  in  Ps.  i.) 
 27  I  give  a  full  and  undoubting  assent  unto  this,  as  to  a  certain 
 truth  ;  that,  when  all  the  sufferings  of  Cheist  were  finished  on  the 
 Cross  and  His  Soul  was  separated  from  His  Body,  though  His 
 Body  were  dead,  yet  His  Soul  died  not;  and,  though  it  died  not,  yet 
 it  underwent  the  condition  of  the  souls  of  such,  as  die,  and,  being 
 He  died  in  the  similitude  of  a  sinner.  His  Soul  went  to  the  place, 
 where  the  souls  of  men  are  kept,  who  die  for  their  sins,  and  so  did 
 wholly  undergo  the  law  of  death  :  but,  because  there  was  no  sin 
 in  Him  and  He  had  fully  satisfied  for  the  sins  of  others,  which 
 
THE  ACTS  II.  27.  57 
 
 He  took  upon  Him,  therefore,  as  God  suffered  not  His  Holy 
 One  to  see  corruption^  so  He  left  not  His  Soul  in  hell;  and 
 thereby  gave  sufficient  security  to  all  those,  who  belong  to 
 Cheist,  of  never  coming  under  the  power  of  Satan,  or  suffering 
 in  the  flames,  "prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels."  And 
 thus,  and  for  these  purposes,  may  every  Christian  say,  I  believe 
 that  Christ  descended  into  Hell.  1  Cor.  xv.  55 — 58 ;  2  Tim. 
 i.  12.     Bp.  Pearson.     (Exposition  of  the  Creed,  Art.  5.) 
 
 It  haviug  here  been  manifested  what  different  opinions  have  been 
 entertained  by  the  ancient  Doctors  of  the  Church,  concerning 
 the  determinate  place,  wherein  our  Savioue's  Soul  did  remain 
 during  the  time  of  the  separation  of  it  from  His  Body,  I  leave 
 it  to  be  considered  by  the  learned,  whether  any  such  contro- 
 verted matter  may  fitly  be  brought  in  to  expound  the  Eule  of 
 Faith  by ;  which,  "  being  common  both  to  the  great  and  the 
 small  ones  in  the  Church,"  (S.  Aug.),  must  contain  such 
 verities  only,  as  are  generally  agreed  upon  by  the  common 
 consent  of  all  true  Christians  :  and  if  the  words  of  the  Article 
 of  Cheist' s  going  to  Hades  or  Hell  may  well  bear  such  a 
 general  meaniug,  as  this,  that  He  went  to  the  dead  and  con- 
 tinued in  the  state  of  death,  until  the  time  of  His  Resurrec- 
 tion ;  it  would  be  thought  upon,  whether  such  a  truth,  as  this, 
 which  findeth  universal  acceptance  among  all  Christians,  may 
 not  safely  pass  for  an  Article  of  our  Creed ;  and  the  particular 
 limitation  of  the  place,  unto  which  our  Sayioue's  Soul  went, 
 whether  to  the  place  of  bliss,  or  to  the  place  of  torment,  or  to 
 both,  be  left,  as  a  number  of  Theological  points  are,  unto  further 
 disputation.*  In  the  Articles  of  our  Paith  common  agreement 
 must  be  required,  which  we  are  sure  is  more  likely  to  be  found 
 in  the  general,  than  in  the  particular.  Phil.  iii.  15,  16.  Abp. 
 Usher.     (An  answer  to  a  challenge  made  by  a  Jesuit.     Ch.  8.) 
 
 Observe  the  difference  between  the  language  of  the  Old  Testa- 
 ment, even  the  most  Evangelical  portions  of  it,  where  they  speak 
 of  the  state  of  the  dead,  and  the  language  of  the  Blessed  Grospel 
 itself,  relating  to  the  same  subject.  David's  expectation  is. 
 Thou  wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in  hell ;  i.e.,  in  the  dark  and  un- 
 
 *  This  might  have  been  the  reason  i   **  Descent   into   hell,"  in   the  Nicene 
 or  the  omission   of  the   Art.  of  the      Creed. 
 
58  THE  ACTS  II.  27. 
 
 seen  state.  It  is  dark  and  unseen ;  that  is  all  be  says  of  it. 
 But,  wben  our  Loed  Himself  spoke  of  it,  His  word  was  not 
 hell,  but  "  Paradise."  His  promise  to  tbe  penitent  tbief  on  tbe 
 cross  was,  "  Verily  I  say  unto  tbee,  to-day  sbalt  tbou  be  with 
 Me  in  Paradise !"  Here  is  a  bappy  and  consoliug  difference 
 between  tbe  way  of  speaking  in  Jewisb  and  in  Cbristian  times. 
 Tbe  considerate  among  Gron's  ancient  people  knew,  tbat  "tbe 
 souls  of  tbe  rigbteous  must  be  in  tbe  bands  of  God,"  and  tbat 
 no  torment  could  toucb  tbem.  But  wbetber  tbey  were  in  an 
 actual  state  of  enjoyment,  wbetber  tbey  knew  tbeir  own  happi- 
 ness, or  ratber  lived  in  a  quiet  sleep,  tbis  migbt  be  matter  of 
 doubt,  until  our  gracious  Loed  made  known  for  certain  tbat 
 "  Abrabam's  bosom"  is  prepared  for  sucb,  as  Lazarus  ;  Paradise 
 for  sucb,  as  tbat  penitent  believing  malefactor.  Wisd.  iii.  1 ; 
 2  Cor.  V.  1—9  ;  1  S.  Pet.  i.  3—6.  Plain  Sermons.  (Ps.  xvi.  10.) 
 Our  Loed's  Descent  into  hell  was  an  act  of  tbat  part  of  tbe  man 
 wbicb  continues  active  after  deatb,  tbat  is,  of  tbe  soul,  separated 
 by  deatb  from  tbe  body,  as  tbe  interment  must  be  understood 
 of  tbe  body  apart  from  tbe  soul.  Tbe  dead  Body  could  no 
 more  go  into  hell,  than   tbe  living  soul  could  be  laid  in  the 
 
 grave Tbe  word  hell,  in  its  natural  import,  signifies 
 
 that  invisible  place,  wbicb  is  tbe  appointed  habitation  of  departed 
 souls  in  the  interval  between  death  and  the  general  Eesurrection 
 ....  That  He  should  go  to  this  place  was  a  necessary  branch  of 
 tbe  general  scheme  and  project  of  E-edemption,  which  required 
 tbat  tbe  Divine  Word  should  take  our  nature  upon  Him,  and 
 ftdfil  tbe  entire  condition  of  humanity  in  every  period  and  stage 
 of  man's  existence,  from  the  commencement  of  life  in  the 
 mother's  womb  to  tbe  extinction  and  renovation  of  it.  The 
 same  wonderful  scheme  of  humiliation,  wbicb  required  that  the 
 Son  should  be  conceived,  and  born,  and  put  to  death,  made  it 
 equally  necessary,  that   His    Soul,   in   its   intermediate  state, 
 
 should  be  gathered  to  the  souls  of  tbe  departed  Saints 
 
 Its  great  use  [as  a  Christian  doctrine]  is  tbis ;  tbat  it  is  a  clear 
 confutation  of  tbe  dismal  notion  of  death,  as  a  temporary  ex- 
 tinction of  the  life  of  tbe  whole  man  ;  or,  what  is  no  less  gloomy 
 and  discouraging,  the  notion  of  the  sleep  of  the  soul  in  the 
 interval  between  death  and  the  E-esurrection.     Cueist  was  so 
 
THE  ACTS  II.  27,  28  59 
 
 truly  made  man,  that  whatever  took  place  in  tlie  human  nature 
 of  Cheist  may  be  considered  as  a  model  and  example  of  what 
 must  take  place  in  a  certain  due  proportion  and  degree,  in  every 
 man  united  to  Him.  Christ's  soul  survived  the  death  of  His 
 Body ;  therefore  shall  the  soul  of  every  believer  survive  the 
 body's  death.  Christ's  disembodied  soul  "  descended  into 
 hell;"  thither  therefore  shall  the  soul  of  every  believer  in 
 Christ  descend.  In  that  place  the  soul  of  Christ,  in  its 
 separate  state,  possessed  and  exercised  active  powers ;  in  the 
 same  place  therefore  shall  the  believer's  soul  possess  and  exer- 
 cise activity.  Christ's  Soul  was  not  left  in  Hell ;  neither  shall 
 the  souls  of  His  servants  there  be  left,  but  for  a  season.  The 
 appointed  time  will  come,  when  the  Eedeemer  shall  set  open  the 
 doors  of  their  prison-house,  and  say  to  His  Kedeemed,  "  Go 
 forth."  Phil.  i.  20—23;  1  Cor.  xv.  23.  Bp.  Horsley,  (Serm. 
 1  S.  Pet.  iii.  18—20.) 
 
 The  sense  of  sight  is  applied  in  Scripture  to  every  other  sense. 
 Ps.  Ixxxviii.  49 ;  S.  Matt.  xvi.  28 ;  S.  Luke  ii.  26 ;  S.  John  viii. 
 51.     Lorinus.     (In  loco.) 
 
 28  Thou  shall  make  me,  ^c. — It  is  a  remarkable  passage  of  Cor- 
 nelius a  Lapide  upon  Gen.  xlvii.,  where,  inquiring  why  the 
 Patriarchs  of  old  were  so  passionately  desirous  to  have  their 
 bones  buried  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  he  gives  this  reason  : 
 "  God,"  saith  he,  "  had  revealed  unto  these  holy  men  the  Day  of 
 Christ  ;  they  all,  as  well  as  Abraham,  '  saw  Christ's  Day, 
 and  rejoiced  .-'  not  only  the  Day  of  His  Nativity,  but  that 
 more  glorious  Day  of  His  Eesurrection ;  in  which  not  only 
 Christ  Himself  should  rise,  but  others,  that  slept  should  rise 
 with  Him,  and  attend  upon  Him  into  Heaven  at  His  Ascen- 
 sion. These  hopes  of  rising  with  Christ  and  getting  sooner 
 to  heaven,  both  in  their  bodies  and  souls,  than  others,  made 
 them  thus  careful  and  solicitous  to  be  buried  near  the  place, 
 where  Christ  was  to  rise.  How  unlike  these  holy  Patriarchs 
 are  many  among  us,  whose  heavy  souls  move  down  to  earth,  as 
 to  their  centre :  neither  God  nor  Heaven  does  ever  so  much 
 trouble  their  thoughts,  as  to  make  them  breathe  forth  any  de- 
 sires after  them."  Ps.  Ixix.  15, 1(3 ;  cxix.  81 ;  1  Thess.  iv.  14 — 
 18.     /.  March.     (Serm.  S.  Luke  xxiv.  33.) 
 
60  THE  ACTS  II.  28,  29. 
 
 With  Thy  countenance. — Here  is  Heavenly  bliss  after  the  E-esur- 
 rection — the  "seeing  of  God,"  "face  to  face,"  "as  He  is." 
 The  thought  of  it  should  even  now,  in  this  vale  of  sorrow,  make 
 us  full  of  joy.     This  is  intimated  at  verse  26.     J.  F. 
 
 29  Men  and  brethren,  let  me  freely  speak  unto  you 
 of  the  patriarch  David,  that  he  is  both  dead  and  buried, 
 and  his  sepulchre  is  with  us  unto  this  day. 
 
 30  Therefore  being  a  prophet,  and  knowing  that 
 God  had  sworn  with  an  oath  to  him,  that  of  the  fruit 
 of  his  loins,  according  to  the  flesh,  he  would  raise  up 
 Christ  to  sit  on  his  throne  ; 
 
 31  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. 
 
 33  Therefore  being  by  the  right  hand  of  God 
 exalted,  and  having  received  of  the  Father  the  pro- 
 mise of  the  Holy  Ghost,  He  hath  shed  forth  this, 
 which  ye  now  see  and  hear. 
 
 34  For  David  is  not  ascended  into  the  heavens  : 
 but  he  saith  himself.  The  Lord  said  unto  my  Lord, 
 Sit  Thou  on  My  right  hand, 
 
 35  Until  I  make  Thy  foes  Thy  footstool. 
 
 36  Therefore  let  all  the  house  of  Israel  know  as- 
 suredly, that  God  hath  made  that  same  Jesus,  whom 
 ye  have  crucified,  both  Lord  and  Christ. 
 
 29  Men  and  brethren. — Peter's  speech  has  three  distinct  parts, 
 each  of  which  begins  with  his  addressing  them,  as  men  (a  title 
 in  old  times,  bespeaking  far  more  honour  and  dignity,  than  it 
 docs  now)  ver.  22,  29 ;  but  here  he  adds,  Brethren,  as  becom- 
 
THE  ACTS  II.  30,  32.  61 
 
 ing  more  at  home  in  his  address  to  them,  and  symptoms  of  con- 
 version now  first  appearing  among  them.     Verse  37.     Bengel. 
 
 30  Raise  up  Cubist  to  sit  on  His  Throne. — The  Sacrifice  of  Jesus 
 Christ  being  thus  perfected,  as  to  the  action,  by  His  Death 
 and,  as  to  the  subject,  by  His  Eesurrection,  when  the  Image  of 
 the  body  of  death  was  absorbed  in  glory.  He  had  performed  all, 
 that  was  on  His  part ;  and  there  remained  nothing,  but  that 
 the  Sacrifice  should  be  accepted  of  God,  and  that,  as  incense, 
 it  should  ascend  and  carry  up  its  odour  to  the  Throne  of  the 
 Divine  Majesty.  In  pursuance  of  which,  our  Lord  was  per- 
 fectly offered,  lifted  up,  and  received  at  God's  Throne  at  His 
 Ascension  ;  which  He  effected  partly  by  His  own  proper  force 
 and  partly  by  the  assistance  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  with  which 
 He  was  every  way  encompassed  and  replenished.  He  was  car- 
 ried up,  as  the  odour  of  the  sacrifices  by  the  air,  which  sup- 
 ported it ;  the  former  of  which  prefigured  Himself,  and  the 
 latter  represented  the  Holy  Spirit.  And  the  Acts  of  the 
 Apostles  expressly  report,  that  He  was  received  into  heaven  to 
 give  us  an  assurance,  tliat  this  holy  Sacrifice,  accomplished  on 
 earth,  was  received  and  accepted  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father. 
 Eom.  viii.  II ;  Heb.  ix.  11, 12  ;  x.  12, 19.  Pascal.  (Thoughts 
 on  Eeligion,  ch.  30.) 
 
 When  Christ  went  out  of  the  world,  there  were  mutual  and  in- 
 terchangeable pledges  of  affection  and  Love.  As  Elijah  ascend- 
 ing left  his  mantle,  so  our  Blessed  Lord  left  the  Church  the 
 pledge  of  His  Spirit,  taking  from  us  the  pledge  of  our  flesh  and 
 nature.  Therefore  certainly  all,  that  have  an  interest  in  Christ, 
 must  needs  "  love  the  day  of  His  appearing."  2  Thess.  i.  10; 
 2  Tim.  iv.  8.     Br.  Manton. 
 
 He  carried  away  His  Manhood  into  heaven  ;  and,  instead  thereof. 
 He  sent  down  God  upon  the  earth.     S.  Augustine. 
 
 32  Christ  risen  is  now  become  a  more  obvious  object,  than  before. 
 The  diversity  of  the  mediums  has  increased  and  multiplied  Him. 
 "We  see  Him  through  the  blood  of  Martyrs  ;  and  we  see  Him 
 in  His  Word  ;  and  we  see  Him  by  the  eye  of  Faith.  "  Christ 
 is  risen,  according  to  the  Scriptures  !"  Offenderunt  Judcei  in 
 Christum  Japidem,  saith  S.  Augustine ;  when  the  Jews  stumbled 
 at  Him,  He  presented  but  the  bigness  of  a  stone  :  but  our 
 
62  THE  ACTS  II.  32,  33. 
 
 infidelity  can  find  no  excuse,  if  we  do  not  see  Him  now,  when 
 He  appeareth,  as  visible  as  a  mountain.  Dan.  ii.  34,  45  ;  S. 
 Matt.  xxi.  44.  Farindon.  (Serm.  Phil.  iii.  10,  11.) 
 Though  men  may  believe  speculative  opinions  to  be  true,  which 
 are  false,  yet  is  it  scarcely  to  be  conceived,  that  they  can  ever 
 so  far  deceive  themselves,  as  to  believe  they  saw  facts,  which 
 they  did  not  really  see  .  .  If  any  instances  (i.e.  of  persons 
 deluded  by  an  excited  imagination)  can  be  assigned,  they  are  of 
 single  persons,  each  deceived,  as  to  the  existence  of  a  difierent 
 fact ;  not  of  any  considerable  number  of  persons,  uniformly 
 deceived,  as  to  the  existence  of  the  same  facts.  And  therefore, 
 when  so  many  persons,  witnesses  of  the  miracles  of  Jesus  agreed 
 in  the  same  testimony,  we  may  be  certain  that  the  matter  of 
 their  testimony  must  have  had  some  external  source  or  cause 
 really  existing,  and  operating  uniformly  on  the  senses  of  every 
 one  of  them.  Besides,  that  they  were  not  misled  by  enthusiasm 
 to  fancy  they  had  seen  what  had  never  happened,  is  to  be  in- 
 ferred from  this  consideration,  that  enthusiasm  always  acts  in 
 conformity  to  the  favourite  notions  of  the  person,  who  is  heated 
 by  it,  and,  as  an  eminent  writer  expresses  himself,  "  it  can  no 
 more  work  against  them,  than  a  rapid  river  can  carry  a  boat 
 against  its  own  stream."  iv.  20;  Dent.  iii.  21 ;  x.  21 ;  xi.  7  ; 
 Josh.  xxiv.  7.     Bj).  Douglas.    (The  Criterion  of  true  Miracles.) 
 
 33  Neither  the  name  of  Christ  nor  His  promise  (S.  John  xv.  26) 
 are  yet  mentioned ;  but  the  promise  is  that  of  the  Father. 
 Observe  the  wisdom  of  this,  and  the  considerate  forbearance. 
 He  did  not  at  once  speak  of  the  things  belonging  to  Christ  ; 
 that  Christ  had  promised  this,  after  His  Crucifixion:  truly 
 that  would  have  been  to  spoil  and  upset  all.  And  yet,  you  will 
 say,  here  was  sufiicient  to  prove  His  Divinity.  True ;  it  was, 
 if  believed  (and  the  very  point  was  that  it  should  be  believed); 
 but,  if  not  believed,  it  would  have  caused  them  to  be  stoned. 
 Yerse  22—33  ;  iii.  IG— 18  ;  S.  John  viii.  58,  59.  S.  Chrysostom, 
 
 Ye  see  and  hear. — Something  extraordinary,  it  seems,  was  pub- 
 licly seen^  as  well  as  heard,  by  the  multitude  upon  this  occasion. 
 But  we  read  of  nothing,  that  was  visible,  but  the  appearance  of 
 the  fiery  tongues.  This  appearance  therefore  was  not  a  private 
 one,  confined  to  the  chamber,  where  the  Apostles  were  sitting, 
 
THE  ACTS  II.  33,  34.  63 
 
 when  the  Holt  Spirit  came  upon  them ;  but  it  continued 
 visible  on  the  head  of  each,  when  they  came  abroad  to  speak 
 to  the  multitude.  So  that  the  appearance  of  this  glorious 
 light,  the  token  of  God's  immediate  Presence  (vii.  30  ;  xxvi.  13) 
 no  less,  than  the  consistence  and  propriety  of  the  discourses, 
 that  were  delivered,  refuted  the  base  charge  of  intoxication, 
 vi.  15 ;  Isa.  xxviii.  5.  Bp.  Horsley.  (Four  Discourses  on  the 
 Resurrection,  4.) 
 
 "  He  received  gifts  for  men  ;"  so  in  the  Psalm  Ixviii.  19  :  "  He 
 gave  gifts  to  men ;"  so  in  the  Apostle,  Eph.  iv.  8.  Cheist, 
 the  Mediator,  first  receiveth  gifts  from  His  Fatheb,  and  then 
 poureth  them  forth  on  His  Church.  Bp.  Reynolds.  (Serm. 
 Hosea  xiv.  2.) 
 
 We  must  not  think,  that  this  fundamental  article  of  our  Chris- 
 tian religion  is  grounded  only  on  the  testimony  of  men  and 
 Angels ;  for  Christ  Himself  hath  given  us  so  full,  so  clear  a 
 demonstration  of  it,  that,  though  no  creature  in  the  world  had 
 ever  seen  Him  after  His  Resurrection,  yet  none  could  deny 
 but  that  He  did  rise  again,  in  that  He  did  so  exactly  fulfil  what 
 He  promised  before.  S.  John  xvi.  7  ;  Acts  ii.  1 — 3  .  .  .  But 
 how  was  it  possible  for  Christ  to  have  done  this,  except  He 
 rose  from  the  dead  ?  Can  a  man,  that  lies  in  the  grave,  and  is 
 not  able  to  lift  up  himself  from  the  earth,  can  such  a  one  get 
 up  to  heaven,  and  from  thence  send  down  the  Spirit  of  God  ? 
 It  is  impossible :  for  a  dead  man  can  do  nothing,  much  less 
 so  great  a  thing,  as  that  was ;  and  therefore  His  doing  of  it 
 is  an  undeniable  argument  that  He  is  indeed  risen  from  the 
 dead.  Rom.  i.  4  j  Heb.  ii.  4.  Bp.  Beveridge.  (Serm.  1  Cor. 
 XV.  20.) 
 
 34  He  saith  himself. — If  the  Scriptures  be  compared  to  a  body,  the 
 Psalms  may  well  be  the  heart ;  they  are  so  full  of  sweet  affec- 
 tions and  passions :  for  in  other  portions  of  Scripture  God 
 speaks  to  us ;  but  in  the  Psalms  holy  men  speak  to  God  and 
 their  own  hearts.  [Yea,  by  a  far  more  wonderful  mystery, 
 God  in  the  Psalms  speaks  to  Himself.  "  The  Lord  said  unto 
 My  Lord  !"]     Br.  Sibbs. 
 
 Magne  triumphator  Stygis  et  pallentis  Averni, 
 Qui  novus  extincto  Yictor  ab  hoste  redis  ; 
 
64  THE  ACTS  11.  36. 
 
 Maxirne  fatorum  domitor,  quern  Tartara,  manes, 
 
 Et  Phlegethontsei  pertrerait  aula  Dei ; 
 Scande  redux  Superuinque  domos,  patriosque  penates, 
 
 Et  repete  Imperii  pristina  jura  Tui. 
 Exue  lauguentes  crudeli  funere  vultus  ; 
 
 Exue  flagitio  membra  cruenta  meo. 
 Exue  queis  frontem  spinis  redimi\dt  Apella  ; 
 
 Exue  purpureas  ludicra  spectra  togse. 
 Jam  Tibi  coelestis  circundat  laurea  criues, 
 Et  turgent  titulis  regua  paterna  novis. 
 Jam  Tibi  promissos  Genitor  largitur  honores, 
 Sceptraque  dat  sceptris  subjicienda  Suis. 
 
 C.  BarlcEus.  (Eleg.  xx.) 
 36  Made,  that  is,  says  S.  Cyril,  declared  to  be  both  Lokd  and 
 Christ  by  His  Eesurrection  ;  as  there  is  the  like  phrase  iu 
 S.  Paul,  "  GrOD  hath  made  the  wisdom  of  this  world  foolishness," 
 that  is,  declared  it  to  be  so.  1  Cor.  i.  20 ;  Bom.  i.  3,  4.  Br. 
 Donne.  (Serm.  on  text.) 
 There  is  more  distinction  in  the  words,  than  many  are  aware  of. 
 He  is  "Lord  over  all;"  He  is  Christ,  to  His  own  chosen. 
 x.  36.  Dr.  Lightfoot.  (Serm.  Eev.  xx.  4.) 
 As  He  first  bare  upon  His  shoulder  His  Cross,  so  now  He  bears 
 the  government  of  His  Church  upon  His  shoulder,  which  He 
 purchased  by  His  Cross :  He  is  not  only  Christ  the  Saviour, 
 but  also  Christ  the  Lord,  set  upon  the  throne  of  His  Father 
 David  for  ever.  xv.  16  ;  Phil.  ii.  8—10  ;  Eev.  i.  18.  Dr.  Temple. 
 (Serm.  Ps.  ii.  6.) 
 Here  the  Eather  "  sets  His  King  upon  His  holy  hill  of  Zion," 
 proclaiming  His  illustrious  Title,  that  He  is  both  Lord  and 
 Christ.  What  follows,  but  the  fulfilment  of  the  prophecy  ? 
 "  The  kings  of  the  earth  stand  up  (as  if  their  dominions  were  in- 
 vaded) and  the  rulers  (as  if  their  power  were  placed  in  jeopardy) 
 against  the  Lord  and  against  His  Anointed,"  i.  e.  His  Christ. 
 The  language  of  the  Prophetic  Spirit  is  not  less  exact,  than  His 
 declarations  of  the  future  are  infallibly  true.  Ps.  ii.  ;  S.  Luke 
 xix.  14.  J.  F. 
 Some  there  are,  who  in  the  consideration  of  their  great  and  many 
 sins  against  Christ,  as  their  Lord,  do  not,  cannot,  shall  I  say, 
 
THE  ACTS  II.  36.  65 
 
 or,  will  not  look  withal  to  Him,  as  Jesus  and  a  SAYiom ;  and 
 hereupon,  utterly  despairing  of  His  mercy,  cast  away  their  hope 
 and  themselves  also  often  both  in  soul  and  body,  as  did  Cain 
 and  Judas.  True ;  Judas  sinned  treacherously  against  his 
 Lord  and  Master  Christ;  yet  having  sinned  he  should  not  so 
 have  looked  upon  Him,  as  a  Lord,  against  whom  he  sinned,  as 
 not  to  look  upon  Him  also,  as  Jesus  and  a  Saviour,  who  came 
 to  die  for  sin ;  that  so  His  Blood  might  have  washed  and  saved 
 even  him,  the  traitor,  as  well  as  it  did  others,  who  with  him 
 had  their  hands  in  that  treason,  upon  their  repentance.  This  is 
 a  strange  division  of  Christ,  when  men,  by  dividing  Jesus 
 from  Lord,  shall  divide  themselves  from  mercy  and  salvation. 
 True  Christians  hold  a  middle  course,  not  dividing  but  coupling 
 these  two  together ;  neither  presuming  too  much  on  Him,  be- 
 cause He  is  Jesus,  a  Saviour  ;  nor  despairing  of  His  mercy, 
 because  He  is  Lord  :  but  they  "  serve  the  Lord  with  fear," 
 because  He  is  their  Lord,  and  "  rejoice  with  trembling,"  be- 
 cause He  is  also  their  Jesus  and  Saviour.  Ps.  Ivi.  3.  Br. 
 Sibbs.  (The  Christian's  apparelling  by  Christ.  P.  iii.  s.  64.) 
 Whom  ye  have  crucified. — The  sting  is  at  the  end  of  his  speech, 
 xiii.  40  ;  xxviii.  25.     Bengel. 
 
 Isacidae  fratres,  magni  stirps  inclyta  Abrami, 
 Vosque  etiam,  quacunque  domo  quocunque  creati 
 Sanguine,  dilectam  Superis  venistis  in  urbem ; 
 Accipite  haec  animis  laeti,  et  spes  discite  vestras. 
 Non  ego,  non  comites,  ne  talia  fingite,  dulci 
 Obruimur  musto  perfusi ;  tertia  quando 
 JSTondum  prseteriit  pennis  properantibus  hora : 
 Sed  Deus  Ipse,  Deus  Divini  nectaris  haustu 
 Corda  novat,  Sanctisque  animat  praecordia  flamrais. 
 Yeridici  ut  quondam  Divum  Pater  ore  Joelis 
 Pollicitus,  Se  labentis  sub  tempore  mundi 
 Pneumatis  ^therii  radios  et  mystica  dona 
 Effusurum  orbi :  quels  et  gens  omnis  et  omnis  * 
 
 ^tas  perstricti,  et  flam  mis  coelestibus  acti 
 jEmula  Jessseo  canerent  oracula  plectro. 
 His  adeo  nos  muneribus  cumulavit  ab  alto 
 ^there,  primitiasque  dedit  septemplicis  aurse 
 r 
 
66  THE  ACTS  II.  37. 
 
 Discipulis  libare  Suis  germana  Touantis 
 Progenies  Christus  :  quern  vos  ingentibus  actis 
 Ingrati,  infami  suspensum  stipite,  acerbo 
 Fimere  mersistis.     Sed  enim  post  funera  vivum 
 Omnipoteus  Superas  Genitor  revocavit  in  arces. 
 
 jR.  Clarke.     (Christiados  Lib.  xvii.) 
 
 37  Now  when  they  heard  this,  they  were  pricked  in 
 their  heart,  and  said  unto  Peter  and  to  the  rest  of  the 
 Apostles,  Men  and  brethren,  what  shall  we  do  ? 
 
 38  Then  Peter  said  unto  them.  Repent,  and  be  bap- 
 tized every  one  of  you  in  the  Name  of  Jesus  Christ 
 for  the  remission  of  sins,  and  ye  shall  receive  the  gift 
 of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
 
 39  For  the  promise  is  unto  you,  and  to  your  chil- 
 dren, and  to  all  that  are  afar  off,  even  as  many  as  the 
 Lord  our  God  shall  call. 
 
 40  And  with  many  other  words  did  he  testify  and 
 exhort,  saying.  Save  yourselves  from  this  untoward 
 generation. 
 
 37  Pricked  in  their  hearty  ^c. — Doth  not  this  carry  as  visible  print 
 of  a  Deity,  as  when  Moses  clave  the  rock  with  a  little  rod  in  his 
 hand  ?  xxiv.  25.  Gurnall.  (On  the  Christian  Armour.  Eph. 
 vi.  16.     Ch.  V.) 
 
 When  you  teach  in  the  Church,  do  not  endeavour  to  draw  ap- 
 plause, but  rather  groans  from  the  people :  let  their  tears  be 
 your  praise.  S.  John  viii.  9 ;  1  Thess.  ii.  4.  S.  Jerome.  (Ep. 
 ad  Nepotianum.) 
 
 Our  Lord  promised  His  Apostles,  that  they  should  "  sit  upon 
 Twelve  Thrones,  judging  the  Twelve  tribes  of  Israel."  S.  Matt. 
 xix.  28.  This,  we  find,  was  actually  done  upon  earth,  when  the 
 Loud  was  taken  up  into  heaven.  The  Spirit  came  down, 
 pitched  His  tent,  and  sate  upon  the  throne  of  their  minds  :  and 
 Peter  began  to  judge  the  people,  speaking  of  Jesus,  &c.  .  .  . 
 Notwithstanding  the  Apostles  are  yet  to  sit  and  do  judgment, 
 
THE  ACTS  II.  37,  38.  67 
 
 at  the  coming  of  the  Lord,  at  the  Eesurrection  of  the  dead. 
 Macarius.     (Horn.  6.) 
 
 Men  and  brethren. — This  question,  as  proposed  to  the  Apostle.s 
 generally,  and  not  to  any  one  of  their  company  individually, 
 though  in  answer  to  a  speech  from  S.  Peter,  may  serve  to  show 
 their  perfect  unity  and  also  their  perfect  equality.  At  i.  15, 
 Peter  "  stood  up  in  the  midst  of  the  disciples  ;"  and  here,  verse 
 14  he  stood  up  "  with  the  eleven."  There  was  nothing  in  his 
 appearance  before  the  people,  savouring  of  any  pre-eminence  or 
 supremacy.     E-efer  to  notes  at  i.  15.     J.  F. 
 
 38  Repenty  and  be  Baptized. — Although  it  be  true,  that  God  gene- 
 rally propounds  remission  of  sins  (upon  account  of  our  Saviour's 
 performances  and  in  His  Name)  to  all,  "  that  truly  repent  and 
 turn  to  Him;"  that  He  chiefly  grants  it  upon  this  considera- 
 tion, nor  withholds  it  from  any,  upon  the  blameless  default  of 
 any  otlier  performance ;  yet  He  requires  (and  to  comply  with 
 His  will  therein,  is  part  of  duty,  which  the  Eepentance  men- 
 tioned disposes  to,  and  is  declared  by)  ;  God  requires,  I  say  (as 
 well  for  public  edification  and  the  honour  of  the  Church,  as  for 
 the  comfort  and  advantage  of  the  persons,  more  immediately 
 concerned  therein),  that  this  Eepentance  be  publicly  declared 
 and  approved  by  the  Church  ;  that  this  remission  be  solemnly 
 and  formally  imparted  by  the  hands  of  God's  Ministers,  de- 
 clared by  express  words,  or  ratified  by  certain  seals,  and  signi- 
 fied by  mysterious  representations,  appointed  by  God.  Thus 
 hath  every  man  (upon  declaration  of  his  real  faith  and  repent- 
 ance to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Church)  being  admitted  to  Bap- 
 tism, the  entire  forgiveness  of  his  sins  and  reception  into  God's 
 favour,  consigned  unto  him  therein  ;  confirmed  and  represented 
 by  a  visible  sign,  showing,  that,  as  by  water  the  body  is  w-ashed 
 and  cleansed  from  adherent  filth,  so  by  the  Grace,  then  im- 
 parted, the  souls  of  them  (upon  whom  that  mystical  rite  is  per- 
 formed) are  cleared  from  the  guilt,  that  stained  it ;  "  their  sins 
 are  wiped  out"  (iii.  19;  xxii.  16);  their  hearts  are  sprinkled 
 from  an  evil  conscience  (Heb.  x.  20)  ;  they  are  "  saved,"  or  put 
 into  a  state  of  salvation,  as  S.  Peter  assures  us,  verse  47.  S. 
 Mark  xvi.  16;  S.  Johnxx.  22,  23;  S.  Lukexxiv.  47;  S.  JudeS. 
 Dr,  Barroiv.     (Exposition  of  the  Creed.) 
 
 p2 
 
68  THE  ACTS  II.  38. 
 
 The  Gospel  of  Christ,  and  consequently  our  faith  in  the  same, 
 supposeth  repentance,  as  a  ground  to  do  its  work  upon  :  so  S. 
 Peter  conjoineth  them,  "  Repent ;  and  that  thy  repentance  may 
 be  available,  betake  thyself  to  Christ  ;  become  a  member  of 
 His  kingdom."  (xx.  21.)  Repentance  therefore  and  the 
 Gospel  cannot  be  separated.  If  repentance  includes  newness 
 of  life  and  good  works,  the  Gospel  doth  so.  Eor  Christ  is  the 
 way  of  repentance ;  without  repentance,  there  is  no  use  of 
 Christ;  and  without  Christ  repentance  is  unavailable  and 
 nothing  worth :  for  without  Him  we  can  neither  be  quit  of  the 
 sins  we  forsake,  nor  turn  by  a  new  life  unto  God  with  hope  of 
 being  received.  He  is  the  Blessed  Perryman,  and  His  Gospel 
 is  the  boat,  provided  by  the  unspeakable  mercy  of  God  for  the 
 passage  of  this  sea.  As  therefore,  in  repentance,  we  forsake 
 sin  to  serve  God  in  newness  of  life,  so  in  the  tenour  of  the 
 Gospel  Christ  delivers  us  from  sin,  that  we  might,  through 
 faith  in  Him,  bring  forth  the  fruits  and  works  of  a  new  life 
 acceptable  to  our  Heavenly  Father,  xxvi.  20;  S.  Mark  i.  15. 
 J.  Mede.     (Serm.  S.  Mark  i.  14,  15.) 
 
 Baptized  in  the  Name  of  the  Lord  Jesus. — ^The  reason  of  this  was 
 to  seal  Jesus,  for  the  Messias  and  true  God.  The  contro- 
 versy was,  whether  Jesus  was  the  Messias :  hence  Jesus 
 Christ  is  so  often  joined  together ;  not  so  much  to  show 
 Christ  a  Sayiour,  as  to  assert  Jesus  to  be  Christ.  .  .  .  Hence 
 the  Apostle's  benediction,  "  Grace  and  peace  from  God,  and 
 Jesus  Christ  "  in  the  Epistles,  ii.  38  ;  viii.  16  ;  xix.  5.  Br. 
 Lightfoot.     (Serm.  S.  Matt,  xxviii.  19.) 
 
 The  case  of  the  Jews  in  the  time  of  the  Apostles  was  one ;  the 
 condition  of  the  Gentiles  is  another.  The  Jews,  because  they 
 had  already  received  the  most  ancient  Baptism  of  the  Law  and 
 of  Moses,  were  to  be  Baptized  also  in  the  Name  of  Jesus 
 Christ.  .  .  .  Peter  makes  mention  of  Jesus  Christ,  not  as  if 
 the  Father  should  be  omitted ;  but  that  the  Son  should  be 
 added  to  the  Father.  But  when,  after  the  Eesurrection,  the 
 Apostles  are  sent  by  the  Lord  to  the  Gentiles,  they  are  com- 
 manded to  Baptize  the  Gentiles  in  the  Name  of  the  Father,  and 
 of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  xix.  1—5.  S.  Cyprian. 
 (Ep.  73,  s.  15.) 
 
THE  ACTS  II.  39.  69 
 
 39  The  promises,  (v.  33). — Whatever  Sanctifying  aid  may  have  been 
 supplied,  under  the  old  Covenant,  it  was  no  part  of  that  Cove- 
 nant ;  of  the  Christian  Covenant,  it  is.  Gon,  the  Holt 
 Ghost,  manifest  in  the  Spirit,  was  not  the  permanent  Buler 
 of  the  former  Church,  as  He  is  of  the  Christian.  As  for  the 
 Divine  communications  and  the  miraculous  powers,  bestowed  on 
 them  and  on  others,  under  the  old  Dispensation,  these  were 
 not  continuous,  but  occasional ;  inward  sanctifying  grace,  again, 
 bestowed  on  the  humble  and  pious,  may  have  been  for  ought  we 
 know,  constant,  but  was  not  promised.  And  hence  the  Jewish 
 people  was  never  called,  like  the  Christian,  "  The  Temple  of  the 
 Holy  Ghost."  i.  4;  xix.  2;  2  Cor.  iii.  7,  8;  Gal.  iii.  2.  Abp. 
 Whatelij.  (Essays  on  some  of  the  diiEculties  in  the  writings  of 
 S.  Paul,  &c.     Essay  9.) 
 
 The  Law  was  all  precept ;  the  Gospel  all  promise  :  for  its  precepts 
 are  enclosed  in  its  promises.     Bjj.  Medley. 
 
 And  to  your  children,  ^-c. — Infants  are  justified  in  Baptism,  with- 
 out either  faith  or  works ;  and,  if  they  grow  up  in  faith  and 
 obedience,  the  privilege  is  continued  to  them  :  if  not,  it  is  taken 
 away  from  them,  till  they  repent. 
 
 Adults,  coming  fitly  prepared,  are  immediately  justified  in  Bap- 
 tism by  faith,  without  any  outward  works,  without  a  good  life, 
 while  they  have  not  time  for  it ;  but,  if  a  good  life  does  not 
 ensue  afterwards,  when  time  and  opportunities  are  given,  they 
 forfeit  the  privilege  received,  till  they  repent. 
 
 Adults,  coming  to  Baptism  in  hypocrisy  or  impenitency,  like 
 Simon  Magus,  are  not  justified,  whatever  their  faith  be,  because 
 they  want  the  necessary  and  essential  qualifications,  or  condi- 
 tions ;  but,  if  they  afterwards  turn  to  God  with  true  faith  and 
 repentance,  then  they  enter  into  a  justified  state,  and  so  con- 
 tinue all  along,  unless  they  relapse. 
 
 Neither  faith  nor  works  are  required  in  infants  :  both  faith  and 
 inward  works  (a  change  of  heart)  are  required  in  all  adults : 
 faith  and  works  (inward  and  outward)  are  indispensably  re- 
 quired in  all  adults,  who  survive  their  Baptism,  in  proportion  to 
 their  opportunities,  capacities,  or  abilities,  viii.  12,  86,  37; 
 xviii.  8  ;  S.  Mark  xvi.  16.  Dr.  Waterland.  (A  Summary  view 
 of  the  Doctrine  of  Justification,  s.  4.) 
 
70  THE  ACTS  II.  39,  40. 
 
 To  all  that  are  afar  off. — Observe  the  time  he  takes  for  saying 
 this.  It  is,  when  he  finds  them  conciliated  and  self-accusing. 
 Por  when  the  soul  pronounces  sentence  against  itself,  no  longer 
 can  it  feel  envy.     xxii.  22.     S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 40  It  is  not  likely  that  those,  who  make  the  Word  of  God  the  sub- 
 ject of  their  jests,  (v.  13,)  should  ever  make  it  the  guide  of  their 
 way,  or  find  it  the  spring  of  their  joys.  Let  us  not  choose  to 
 associate  with  those,  who  have  light  thoughts  of  religion,  and  are 
 ready  upon  all  occasions  to  speak  against  it.  It  is  not  without 
 reason,  that  among  the  many  words,  with  which  S.  Peter  ex- 
 horted his  new  converts,  this  on\y  i^reaoYdiedL,  Save  yourselves 
 from  this  untoward  generation.  Job  xxi.  16  ;  xxii.  18  ;  Ps.  i.  2  ; 
 1  Cor.  XV.  33;  2  S.  Pet.  ii.  2.  M.  Henry.  (Serm.  Acts 
 xxviii.  22.) 
 
 It  is  interesting  to  contrast  the  tone  and  the  doctrine  of  S.  Peter 
 on  this  occasion,  when  he  preached  the  actual  establishment  of 
 the  Kingdom  of  God  upon  earth,  with  the  same  qualities  in  S. 
 John  the  Baptist  on  his  first  announcing  the  approach  of  that 
 Kingdom.  The  Baptist  is  unsparing  and  severe,  "  0  genera- 
 tion of  vipers,  who  hath  warned  you  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to 
 come  ?"  (S.  Luke  iii.7.)  S.Peter  is  content  with  describing  them 
 (at  a  time  too,  when  their  guilt  was  increased  ten  fold)  an 
 untoward  generation.  (See  note  at  i.  16.)  Then,  as  to  the  difier- 
 ence  in  their  respective  doctrine,  when  both  had  to  reply  to  the 
 same  question,  "What  shall  we  do?"  The  Baptist's  answer  is 
 comparatively  of  the  earth  earthly.  "  He,  that  hath  two  coats, 
 let  him  impart  to  him,  that  hath  none,  &c.;"  but  S.  Peter  at 
 once  raises  their  hearts  and  hopes  to  heaven.  Repent,  and  he 
 baptized^  every  one  of  you,  in  the  Name  of  Jesus  Christ, /or 
 the  remission  of  sins,  and  ye  shall  receive  the  gift  of  the  HoLT 
 GnosT.  These  essential  points  of  difference  spring  of  necessity 
 from  the  different  nature  of  the  two  Dispensations.  S.  John 
 was  the  messenger  of  a  grace  promised ;  S.  Peter  the  minister 
 of  a  grace  actually  given  :  the  Baptism  of  one  was  only  prepara- 
 tory '*  unto  repentance  ;"  that  of  the  other  contained  the  fulness 
 of  the  Blessing  in  "the  remission  of  sin"  through  faith,  and  in 
 "  the  gift  of  the  Holt  Ghost."  In  the  meantime,  the  Apostle's 
 use  of  such  gentle  and  forbearing  terms,  when  he  had  occasion 
 
THE  ACTS  IT.  40,  41.  71 
 
 to  speak  of  the  chief  of  sinners  (i.  16 ;  ii.  40,  15)  bare  witness 
 to  the  reign  of  Grace  and  the  power  of  the  Spirit  in  his  own 
 heart;  for  "if  we  love  one  another,  God  dwelleth  in  us ;  and 
 His  love  is  perfected  in  us."  iii.  19,  26;  xi.  18;  xxvi.  18;  S. 
 John  i.  17.     J.  F. 
 
 Are  we  Ministers  severe  in  our  work  ?  Do  we  cry  out  at  men's 
 disobedience  to  the  Gospel,  in  "the  demonstration  of  the 
 Spirit,"  and  deal  with  sin,  as  the  destroying  fire  in  our  towns, 
 and  by  force  pull  men  out  of  it?  Gen.  xix.  16;  S.  Jude  23; 
 1  Cor.  V.  20 ;  vi.  2, 17  ;  Eev.  xviii.  4.  R.  Baxter.  (The  Saint's 
 rest,  ch.  vii.  s.  7.) 
 
 Sinner,  I  do  here,  in  the  Presence  of  God,  conjure  thee  by  all, 
 that  is  good  and  holy,  by  the  interest  and  welfare  of  thine  own 
 soul,  by  all  tlie  laws  of  self-interest,  by  the  Hevelations  of  the 
 SoT^  of  God,  by  all,  that  God  ever  did  for  mankind,  by  that 
 love,  which  transcends  the  understandings  of  men  and  angels, 
 by  the  groans  of  those  miserable  souls,  which  are  now  in  hell, 
 by  all  the  joys  of  Paradise,  by  the  testimony  of  thine  own  con- 
 science, by  all  the  motions  of  God's  Spirit  in  thy  heart,  by  all 
 tlie  mercies,  thou  dost  receive  from  heaven,  by  that  allegiance, 
 thou  owest  to  God,  by  that  faithfulness,  thou  owest  to  thine 
 own  soul,  I  do  most  seriously  conjure  thee  not  to  reject,  or 
 superciliously  to  despise,  what  here  we  have  proposed,  xx.  31 ; 
 S.  Luke  xiv.  23.  Dr.  Horneck.  (The  Great  Law  of  Considera- 
 tion.    Ch.  7.) 
 
 41  Then  they  that  gladly  received  his  word  were 
 baptized  :  and  the  same  day  there  were  added  unto 
 them  about  three  thousand  souls. 
 
 42  And  they  continued  steadfastly  in  the  Apostles' 
 doctrine  and  fellowship,  and  in  breaking  of  bread,  and 
 in  prayers. 
 
 43  And  fear  came  upon  every  soul :  and  many  won- 
 ders and  signs  were  done  by  the  Apostles. 
 
 41  Tou  argue,  that  they  were  real  converts,  because  no  ordinary 
 work   wrought  on  their  hearts.     It  is  Karevvr^rjaau^  They  were 
 
72  THE  ACTS  II.  41. 
 
 pricked  in  their  hearts.  They  had  some  sting  of  conscience, 
 some  gripings  of  remorse,  at  S.  Peter's  sermon.  Eeprobates 
 are  not  always  destitute  of  these  corrosive  anxieties.  Compunc- 
 tion of  heart  doth  not  amount  to  conversion,  unless  you  will 
 confound  the  critical  differences  of  /tera^eXem  and  /uerdvota, 
 warranted  by  the  Evangelists.  It  is  a  preparative  to  it ;  it  is 
 not  an  accomplishment  of  it.  In  this  instance  it  is  expressed, 
 generally,  of  all  the  auditors  without  any  limitation  in  the  37th 
 verse,  Now  when  they  had  heard  this^  they  were  pricked  in 
 their  hearts.  But  it  is  qualified,  restrained  They  that  gladly 
 received  his  wordy  were  Baptized,  in  the  41st  verse.  If  both 
 qualifications  of  a  bitter  compunction  and  a  cheerful  attention 
 be  linked,  yet  they  will  not  complete  them  to  be  true  converts. 
 Ananias  and  Sapphira  are  computed  members  of  this  congrega- 
 tion :  you  will  not  grant  a  true  conversion,  where  there  is  a 
 recidivation.  Their  first  profession  is  censured  dissimulation, 
 xvii.  11 ;  xxiv.  25  ;  1  Thess.  i.  5,  6.  Bp.  Thomas.  (Apology  for 
 the  Church  of  England,  p.  35.  Edit.  1679.) 
 
 The  gladness  here  must  be  contrasted  with  the  grief  at  v.  37. 
 Their  conversion  seems  to  have  turned  more  upon  their  ''  gladly 
 receiving  God's  Word,'*  than  upon  their  being  pricked  in  their 
 hearts.  A  sense  of  sin  was  common  to  them  all ;  but  not  that 
 faith,  by  which  we  "receive  the  word  with  all  readiness  of 
 mind."  In  the  mean  time,  the  ofier  of  grace  was  universal ; 
 "  liepent,  and  be  Baptized,  every  one  of  you.'^  xiii.  48  ;  xvii. 
 11 ;  Isa.  i.  19.     /.  F. 
 
 The  Word  barely  delivers  the  doctrine  of  Salvation ;  but  the  Sacra- 
 ments are  the  seals  of  that  Doctrine.  Here  God  sets  His  hand 
 and  seal ;  and  we  set  our's.  Here  pass  mutual  stipulations  and 
 engagements  between  Christ  and  a  pious  soul.  The  Spirit 
 witnesses  to  the  Word,"  and  m  the  Word ;  but  without  the 
 Sacraments  seals  not.  Hence  upon  conversion  it  was  they  were 
 Baptized.  It  was  not  their  bare  hearing,  but  their  being  Bap- 
 tized made  them  Church  members.  Bonds  and  bills  carry  no 
 evidence,  if  the  seals  be  off.  xxii.  IG  ;  IS.  Pet.  iii.  21 ;  Eph.  i. 
 13,  14.     l)r.  Littleton.     (Scrm.  1  S.  John  v.  8.) 
 
 It  is  the  first  conversion,  that  was  wrought  by  the  Apostles  in  the 
 Christian  Churcli ;  the  first  draught,  that  S.  Peter  made  after 
 
THE  ACTS  II.  41,  42.  73 
 
 he  was  fully  authorised  and  sent  by  Cueist  to  be  "  a  fisher  of 
 men;"  primiticB  Evangelii,  the  first  fruits  of  the  Grospel;  the 
 first  handful  of  ripe  ears  of  corn,  oflfered  up  to  Gon,  to  sanctify 
 the  whole  harvest ;  the  goodly  bunch  of  Eshcol,  gathered  by  these 
 first  spies,  the  Apostles  ;  betokening  and  assuring  the  Church's 
 fruitfulness.  The  Church  may  say  to  these  converts  what 
 Jacob  said  to  Eeubeu,  his  eldest  son,  "  Thou  art  toy  first-born, 
 my  might,  and  the  beginning  of  my  strength  ;  the  excellency  of 
 power  and  the  excellency  of  dignity  is  found  in  thee."  It  was  a 
 high  prerogative  and  title  of  honour,  that  S.  Paul  gives  to  his 
 beloved  Epenetus,  E-om.  xvi.  5,  "  He  is  the  first-fruits  of  Achaia 
 unto  Cheist."  These  converts  here  carry  away  the  dignity  of 
 birthright  from  all  other  Churches  ;  which  made  the  after 
 Churches  of  the  Gentiles  yield  the  honour  of  precedency  to  this 
 Church  of  Jerusalem.  She  is  called  Matrix  Ecclesice  by  the 
 ancient  Fathers,  the  eldest  Sister,  nay,  the  Metropolis,  the 
 Mother  of  all  other  Churches.  Andronicus  and  Junias'  com- 
 mendations are  due  from  other  Christians  unto  these  converts ; 
 they  "  were  of  note  among  the  Apostles,"  and  "were  in  Cheist 
 before  us."     Bp.  Brovmrig.     (Serm.  Acts  ii.  37.) 
 
 Faith  is  a  spontaneous  acceptance  and  compliance  with  Divine 
 Religion.     Heb.  xi.  13  ;  xii.  28.     Clemens  Alex.     (Strom.  2.) 
 
 42  The  Spirit  did  that,  which  the  visible  Flesh  and  Blood  of  the 
 Son  of  God,  from  its  very  nature,  could  not  do ;  that  is.  He 
 came  into  the  souls  of  all,  who  believe ;  and  taking  possession  of 
 them,  He,  being  One,  knit  them  altogether  into  one.  Cheist, 
 by  coming  in  the  flesh,  provided  an  external,  or  apparent  unity, 
 such  as  had  been  under  the  Law.  He  formed  His  Apostles  into 
 a  visible  Society  ;  but,  when  He  came  again  in  the  Person  of 
 His  Spirit,  He  made  them  all,  in  a  real  sense,  one,  not  in  name 
 only.  For  they  were  no  longer  arranged  merely  in  the  form  of 
 unity,  as  the  lirabs  of  the  dead  may  be,  but  they  were  parts  and 
 organs  of  one  unseen  power ;  they  really  depended  upon,  and 
 were  oflfshoots  of,  that,  which  was  One :  their  separate  persons 
 were  taken  into  a  mysterious  union  with  things  unseen,  were 
 grafted  upon,  and  assimilated  to,  the  Spiritual  Body  of  Cheist, 
 which  is  One,  even  by  the  Holt  Ghost,  in  whom  Cheist  has 
 come  again  to  us.     Thus  Cheist  came  not  to  make  us  one,  but 
 
74  THE  ACTS  II.  42. 
 
 to  die  for  us  :  The  Spirit  came  to  make  us  one  in  Him,  "  who 
 had  died,  and  is  alive ;"  that  is,  to  form  the  Church.  Eph.  iv. 
 1_16.     J,  H.  Newman.     (Serm.  Ps.  cxlv.  10,  11.) 
 
 The  Israelites,  after  they  had  received  the  Law  from  Moses,  on 
 his  Ascension  to  Mount  Sinai,  rebelled  against  God.  But  did 
 the  believers  in  CnmsT  rebel  against  Him  after,  having  ascended 
 on  high,  tie  "received  gifts  for  men?"  No;  how  full  and 
 beautiful  was  their  obedience.  And  why  ?  Because  Moses  de- 
 livered to  God's  people  the  Law  only;  but  Cheist,  together 
 with  the  same  Law,  gave  the  gift  of  the  Holt  Spirit  to  write 
 it  on  the  hearts  of  Christians.  In  His  hands,  it  was  *'the  Law 
 of  the  Spirit  of  Life."  Eom.  viii.  2;  Heb.  viii.  8—13;  Ps. 
 Ixxviii.  11,  12,  43  ;  S.  Matt.  v.  19.     J.  F. 
 
 "  These  are  the  twin  Sacraments  of  the  Church  :  both  derive  their 
 efficacy  from  the  Blood  of  Cheist,  shed  on  the  cross  for  the  E-e- 
 demption  of  the  world.  This  Blood  Christ,  for  the  benefit  of 
 His  Church,  has  divided,  as  it  were,  into  two  streams  ;  one, 
 flowing  into  the  laver  of  the  JSTew  Birth  in  Baptism,  which,  out- 
 wardly applied,  takes  away  the  stain  of  sin  ;  the  other,  running 
 into  '  the  cup  of  the  New  Testament  in  His  Blood,'  which 
 inwardly  received,  not  only  purges  and  '  cleanses  the  conscience 
 from  dead  works,'  but  endues  the  faithful  party  with  that  Spirit, 
 which  will  enable  him,  in  conformity  with  his  covenanted  en- 
 gagement, to  bring  forth  'living  works'  in  their  stead."  1  Cor. 
 xii.  13.  S.  Augustine.  (Quoted  by  Archdeacon  Daubeny,  in 
 bis  few  plain  thoughts  on  the  Liturgy.) 
 
 This  of  Prayer  is  not  crowded  last,  because  the  least  of  the  com- 
 pany ;  but  rather,  because  it  hath  a  necessary  influence  into 
 them  all.  The  Word  and  Sacraments,  which  God  useth  to 
 Sanctify  His  people  by,  are  themselves  Sanctified  to  us  by 
 Prayer.  2  Tim.  ii.  1.  Gurnall.  (On  the  Christian  armour. 
 Eph.  vi.  18.  c.  41.) 
 
 INIen  can  be  firmly  bound  together,  coagulari,  in  no  religion, 
 whether  true  or  false,  unless  they  be  combined  by  the  com- 
 mon tie  of  some  visible  signs  and  Sacraments  of  their  profession. 
 (S.  Augustine.     (Adv.  Eaust.  Lib.  xix.  c.  11.) 
 
 Supposing  a  man,  that  breaks  Communion,  to  maintain  all  other 
 charity,  as  much  as  possible  ;  supposing  him  to  bear  malice  to 
 
THE  ACTS  II.  42,  43.  75 
 
 none,  to  censure  none,  to  pray  for,  to  wish  well  to,  all,  yet  all 
 this  is  short  of  the  duty  of  brotherly  Love,  i.e.,  that  Love, 
 which  one  Christian  owes  to  another ;  for  brotherly  Love  is  not 
 to  be  expressed,  but  by  communicating  in  religious  OflBces,  in 
 breaking  of  bread  and  in  prayers,  (as  the  primitive  fellowship  of 
 Christians  is  expressed  in  the  Holy  Scripture)  ;  which  Offices 
 have  therefore  in  all  ages  been  looked  upon,  as  the  necessary 
 tests  and  symbols  of  Christian  Love.  I  need  not  insist  on  the 
 multitude  of  other  evils,  that  division  is  the  mother  of;  what  a 
 harvest  is  it  to  wily  seducers,  what  a  rock  to  unstable  minds  ; 
 what  a  snare  to  "itching  ears,"  what  an  opportunity  to  men  of 
 either  wanton  or  peevish  fiincies  to  sow  the  tares  of  confusion, 
 what  a  provocation  to  God  to  suffer,  that  they,  who  cannot 
 agree  with  one  another,  should  be  "  devoured  one  of  another," 
 Gal.  V.  15.  What  need  I  say  more  of  a  thing,  that  (we  see) 
 detracts  from  the  glory  of  God  and  the  honour  of  His  religion  ? 
 that  bars  the  influences  of  His  grace,  and  hinders  edification  ? 
 that  is  an  immorality  in  itself,  and  a  certain  temptation  to  many 
 others  ?  "What  need  I  say  more  of  it  to  make  our  consciences 
 condemn  it  ?  1  Cor.  iii.  3,  4 ;  S.  James  iii.  16  ;  Eph.  iv.  15  ;  Gal. 
 V.  20.  Dean  Young.  (A  friendly  call  to  our  Dissenting  bre- 
 thren.    Serm.  S.  John  xvi.  31,  32,) 
 
 Unde  ista  rabies  et  libido  pugnandi 
 
 Insedit  animos  ?     Cur  placet  Deus  belli 
 
 Materia  ?  Quo  tot  studia,  tot  novae  partes  ? 
 
 An  hostis  atra  nocte  pestilens  Christi 
 
 Inspersit  agro  semen  ?  an  furor  pugnax 
 
 Mortalitatis  ingenique  corrupti 
 
 Alimenta  qusevis  sumit,  et  Dei  causae 
 
 Permiscet  hominem  ?     Curiosus  an  mundus, 
 
 Dum  nil  latere  patitur,  et  sequi  gaudet 
 
 Sciri  negata,  jure  sentit  banc  poenam  ? 
 
 Ut  ilia  quondam,  dum  viam  parat  ccelo 
 
 Structrix  superbse  molis  insolens  turba 
 
 In  mille  linguas  abiit,  atque  aberranti 
 
 Sermone  priscum  vocis  exuit  fsedus. 
 Grotius.     (In  mortem  Jacobi  Arminii.  Farraginis,  1.  iii.) 
 43  Many  signs. — What  is  recorded  at  verses  43 — 45  were  matters 
 
76  THE  ACTS  11.  43,  44. 
 
 of  a  more  temporal  nature,  and  most  suited  to  that  particular 
 period,  the  first  relating  to  the  Apostles,  the  latter  to  the  people : 
 but  what  is  recorded  at  verses  41,  42,  46,  was  a  pattern  given  to 
 all  Churches,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world.  Bp.  Pearson. 
 Like,  as  at  the  Birth  of  our  Blessed  Sayiour,  *'  Herod  and  all 
 Jerusalem  with  him"  was  "troubled,"  S.  Matt.  ii. ;  so,  on  the 
 Descent  of  the  Holt  Ghost,  and  the  first  putting  forth  of  His 
 Divine  power,  fear  came  upon  every  soul.  *'  Thej  marvelled  to 
 see  such  things  ;  they  were  astonished  and  suddenly  cast  down : 
 fear  came  there  upon  them."  Such  was  the  prediction  of  the 
 Psalmist,  in  one  of  his  Divine  songs,  appointed  by  the  Church 
 to  be  used  on  Whitsunday  (Ps.  xlviii.)  But  in  what  a  lovely 
 manner  does  the  holy  peace  and  heavenly  joy  of  all  that  believed, 
 as  we  next  learn  in  the  narrative,  contrast  with  the  fear  and 
 awful  dread  of  the  multitude.  "  O  taste,  and  see,  that  the 
 Lord  is  gracious  :  Blessed  is  the  man,  that  putteth  his  trust  in 
 Him!"     Ex.  viii.  22;  x.  23.     J.  F. 
 
 44  And  all  that  believed  were  together,  and  had  all 
 things  common ; 
 
 45  And  sold  their  possessions  and  goods,  and  parted 
 them  to  all  men,  as  every  man  had  need. 
 
 46  And  they,  continuing  daily  with  one  accord  in 
 the  temple,  and  breaking  bread  from  house  to  house, 
 did  eat  their  meat  with  gladness  and  singleness  of 
 heart, 
 
 47  Praising  God,  and  having  favour  with  all  the 
 people.  And  the  Lord  added  to  the  church  daily 
 such  as  should  be  saved. 
 
 44  It  is  probable  that  this  arose  from  a  continuation  and  applica- 
 tion to  the  now  increased  number  of  disciples,  of  the  commu- 
 nity, in  which  our  Lord  and  His  apostles  had  lived.  S.  John 
 xii.  6  ;  xiii.  29.     Alford. 
 
 The  Church  in  its  infancy  was  placed  in  a  peculiar  position.  Its 
 members,  having   cast  off  Judaism,  were  in  their  turn  cast  off 
 
THE  ACTS  II.  44,  45.  77 
 
 by  the  Jews.  Temporally,  as  well  as  spiritually,  they  were  out- 
 casts from  mankind.  Property,  as  a  Church,  they  had  none ; 
 and  they  therefore  resorted  to  the  natural  self- protection  of 
 having  all  things  common  ;  the  rich  and  the  poor  living  on  the 
 common  stock,  which  each,  according  to  his  ability,  gave  into  the 
 hands  of  the  Apostles  for  distribution,  as  every  man  had  need. 
 It  is  possible,  that  this  custom  even  then  was  not  adopted  by 
 all,  but  only  by  converts  of  more  generous  dispositions  ;  it  is 
 certain,  that  it  was  not  compulsory  on  any.  1  Tim.  vi.  17 ; 
 1  S.  Pet.  iv.  9,  10.     Bp.  Medley.     (Serm.  Acts  v.  1—4.) 
 
 All  are  universally  obliged  by  the  rule  of  Cheist  to  forsake  the 
 world  and  to  deny  themselves  ;  but  all  are  not  therefore  called 
 to  solitude,  or  to  abandon  all,  whatever  they  have,  and  to  live,  as 
 the  first  Christians  of  Jerusalem  did,  having  all  things  in  com- 
 mon. If  yet  there  be  any,  that  are  too  sensible  of  the  love  of 
 the  world  and  of  the  snares  of  conversation,  and  are  withal  in- 
 wardly touched  by  the  grace  of  God  in  their  hearts,  such  may 
 and  ought  to  obey  doubtless  herein  the  Divine  call,  and  accord- 
 ingly follow  the  Evangelical  counsel  to  part  with  whatsoever 
 they  are  possessed  of,  if  need  be,  for  the  security  of  their  great 
 interest ;  without  imposing  the  same  upon  others,  or  censuring 
 or  condemning  any  one  for  not  falling  in  exactly  to  their 
 measures.  S.  Matt.  xix.  21 ;  Rom.  xiv.  5.  Fenelon.  (In- 
 structions for  the  Education  of  a  daughter,     c.  8.) 
 
 45  Were  the  example  binding,  who  should  be  rich  to  give  ?  who 
 should  be  poor  to  receive  ?  In  the  strait  beginnings  of  the 
 Church  those  beneficences  were  requisite  ;  which,  afterwards,  iu 
 the  larger  elbow-rooms  thereof,  would  have  caused  much  con- 
 fusion.    Deut.  XV.  11 ;  S.  Matt.  xxvi.  11.     Bp.  Hall. 
 
 We  are  as  far  removed  from  their  piety,  as  we  are  from  the  times, 
 in  which  they  lived.  They,  I  am  sure,  thought  mercy  a  virtue, 
 and  the  chief  virtue  of  the  Gospel ;  a  virtue,  in  which  they 
 thought  it  impossible  to  exceed,  and  made  it  their  daily  bread 
 to  feed  others  :  Melior  est  racematio,  ^^c,  "  their  grapes  were 
 much  better  than  our  vintage."  Justin  Martyr,  in  his  Apology 
 for  the  Christians,  tells  us,  that  that,  which  they  possessed  they 
 did  6i§  Koivov  (pepeiv,  bring  it  into  a  common  treasury.  Ter- 
 tulliau  calls  it  arcam  communem,  a  common    chest :    nor  was 
 
78  THE  ACTS  II.  4G. 
 
 their  beuevoleuce  exacted,  as  tribute,  from  those,  who  desired 
 to  be  joined  with  them  in  Communion   (as  the  heathen  did 
 calumniate)  ;    but  every  man    did  sponte  conferre,   saith   Ter- 
 tullian  ;  o  jSovXerai  saith  Justin  Martyr,  voluntarily,  and  what 
 he  would.     And  that,  which  was  gathered  was  committed  to 
 the  hands,   or  trust,  of  the  Bishop,  and  after   (when  he  was 
 taken  up  with  other  matters,  more  proper  for  his  calling)  to 
 the  Deacons,  which  by  them  was  laid  out   for  the   clothing  of 
 the  naked,  the  maintenance  of  the   poor,  of  orphans,  and  old 
 men,  to  redeem  captives,  to  succour  men,  who  had  been  ship- 
 wrecked by  sea,  and  those,  who  were  in  prison  for  their  profession 
 and  the  Gospel  of  Cheist.      2   Thess.  iii.  10 ;  1   Tim.  v.  16. 
 Farindon.     (Serm.  IMicah  vi.  8.) 
 46  See  first  their  constancy,  they  continued :  2,  their  fervencjjdaili/; 
 3,  their  unity,  with  one  accord  ;  4,  their  audacity,  in  the  temple  ; 
 5,  their  charity,  in  breaking  bread  from  house  to  house  ;  6,  their 
 familiarity,  did  eat  their  meat  ;  7,  their  alacrity,  with  gladness  ; 
 8,  their  sincerity,  with  singleness  of  heart.     Isa.  ix.  6 — 9;  Neh. 
 viii.  1.     Edw.  Leigh. 
 In  the  Temple. — As  Solomon's  Temple  had  three  especial  orna- 
 ments, the  Golden   Candlestick,  the  Table  of  Shew-bread,  and 
 the  Altar  of  Incense,  so  three  things  of  principal  use  do   cor- 
 respond to  these  in  the  Church  of  Christ.    The  Word  preached, 
 which  doth  enlighten   our   darkness,  is  the  Golden  Candlestick, 
 which  ia  "dearer,"  says  David,  "than  much  gold."     Instead  of 
 the  Table  of  Shew-bread,  we  have  the  Communion  of  Christ's 
 Body  and  Blood,  the  Table  of  the  Lord.     And,  instead  of  the 
 Altar  of  Incense,  we  have  that,  which  is  much  sweeter  in  God's 
 nostrils,  the  Incense  of  Prayer.      Now  abide  these  three  to 
 direct  us   in  a  good  way,  says   Bernard,    Verbum,  Exemplum, 
 Or  alio ;  the  "Word  preached,  the  edifying  example  of  holy  men, 
 and  zealous  prayer :  but  the  greatest  of  these  is  prayer :  ea 
 namque  operi  et  voci  gratiam  et  efficaciam  promeretur  ;  for,  whe- 
 ther they  be  actions  of  a  pious  life,  or  the  words  of  an  eloquent 
 tongue,  it  is  prayer,  which  accompasseth  (effects)  from   God's 
 mercy,  that  all  should  be  effectual.     Eph.  vi.  18  ;  1  Tim.  ii.  8. 
 Bp.  Hacket.     (Serm.  S.  Luke  ix.  28,  29.) 
 {kil-t  oiKovj  in  the  house,  i.  12,  distinguished  from   in   the   Temple, 
 
THE  ACTS  II.  46.  79 
 
 XX.  20.)  Let  us  now  ask  ourselves,  wlietlier  we  think  this  Sa- 
 crament is  a  different  thing  in  these  days  from  what  it  was  iu 
 the  purer  ages  of  the  Church  ?  whether  we  stand  in  less  need 
 of  the  G-race  communicated  by  it,  than  the  primitive  Christians 
 did  ?  whether  our  acknowledgments  are  not  as  often  due,  as 
 theirs,  for  the  death  of  Chuist  ?  or,  whether  it  can  be  ra- 
 tionally supposed,  that  our  practice  comes  nearer  to  the  design 
 of  our  Blessed  Saviour,  than  thab,  which  flowed  from  the 
 immediate  dictates  of  His  Holy  Spirit  ?  The  right  answers 
 to  these  questions  will  condemn  the  usage  in  this  behalf  of  every 
 Church  now  on  earth.  In  what  an  unworthy  light  must  the 
 present  professors  of  Christianity  stand,  when  so  few  can  be 
 found  among  the  largest  and  best  congregations,  who  are  willing 
 to  Communicate  once  a  month  ?  when  the  second  class,  far  more 
 numerous  than  this,  content  themselves  with  receiving  once  or 
 twice  a  year  ?  And  when  the  remainder,  which  makes  a  greater 
 body  than  both  the  other  put  together,  are  hardly  ever  prevailed 
 on  to  receive  at  all  ?  Hath  this  the  air  of  gratitude,  of  piety, 
 of  Christianity  ?  No  ;  the  true  Christian  and  the  constant 
 Communicant  ever  were,  and  still  are,  but  one  and  the  same 
 thing.    XX.  7  ;  Eora.  iii.  9,  23.   P.Skelton,  (Serm.  1  Cor.xi.  28.) 
 
 The  truth  is,  the  Sacrament  is  fit  for  every  day ;  but  we  are  not 
 every  day  fit  for  it :  and  in  this  great  variety  of  circumstances 
 of  time,  and  the  dispositions  and  qualifications  of  men,  every 
 man  must  be  his  own  judge  and  law-giver;  and  yet  the  E,oyaI 
 Law  binds  him  to  be  fit  every  day.  Farindon.  (Serm.  1  Cor. 
 ii.  15.) 
 
 Though  it  be  hard  to  say,  how  often  a  man  is  bound  to  Commu- 
 nicate, yet  I  think  I  may  boldly  affirm,  that  the  greatest  dis- 
 tance between  the  times  of  Communicating,  among  such  as 
 desire  to  serve  Gron  devoutly,  is  from  month  to  month.  Francis 
 de  Sales.     (Introd.  to  a  Eeligious  Life.) 
 
 Let  us  pause  for  a  moment  to  contemplate  the  picture  drawn  of 
 the  Visible  Church  by  the  sacred  historian  in  its  infant  state : 
 his  description  well  deserves  our  attention ;  for  in  it  we  behold 
 the  nearest  approach,  which  has  yet  been  made  on  earth,  to  tlie 
 harmony  and  blessedness  of  heaven.  We  read  the  description 
 of  a  community,  in  which  an   universal  spirit  of  love  prevailed, 
 
80  THE  ACTS  II.  47. 
 
 and  selfishness  was  unknown;  of  which  the  members  were 
 already  engaged  in  the  occupation  of  the  blessed  spirits  above 
 in  constant  praise  and  adoration,  either  worshipping  in  the 
 Teinple,  which  they  were  still  permitted  to  enter,  or  showing 
 forth  at  home  their  Blessed  Master's  death,  and  joining  with 
 gladness  and  simplicity  of  heart  in  the  Agape^  that  meal,  so 
 expressive  of  the  charity,  to  which  it  owed  its  origin  and  its 
 name.  xx.  7,  11 ;  Ps.  cxxii.  3 ;  cxxxi.  1.  Bp.  Kaye.  (On  the 
 Government  of  the  Church,  &c.,  p.  11.) 
 
 47  Having  favour  with  all  the  people. — It  is  one  thing  to  desire 
 our  neighbour's  esteem  ;  another  to  rejoice  at  his  profit.  It  is 
 lawful  to  desire  our  neighbours'  good  opinion,  so  far  as  may 
 enable  us  to  do  them  good ;  because  we  tlius  desire  it,  only  for 
 their  service,  and  the  greater  glory  of  our  God,  with  a  sincere 
 and  total  disengagement  from  the  charms  of  vanity  and  pride. 
 !Rom.  xiv.  17  ;  xv.  1,  2.     S.  Gregory. 
 
 This  therefore  is  the  coming,  and  this  is  the  teaching  of  the  Holt 
 Ghost,  promised  in  this  text,  and  performed  upon  this  Day 
 (Whitsunday),  that  He,  by  His  power,  enables  and  authorizes 
 other  men  to  teach  thee  ;  that  He  establishes  a  Church,  and 
 ordinances,  and  a  Ministry,  by  whicli  thou  mayest  be  taught  how 
 to  apply  Christ's  merits  to  thy  soul.  Verse  21 ;  ix.  17  ;  x.  32  ; 
 xi.  24 ;  1  Cor.  xi.  2.     Dr.  Donne.     (Serm.  S.  John  iv.  26.) 
 
 None  are  admitted  to  the  privilege  of  being  "  the  children  of 
 faithful  Abraham"  but  such,  as  "  look  unto  Sarah,  that  bare 
 them."  As  Abraham  is  the  emblem  of  Christ,  Sarah  is  of 
 the  Church  ;  these  are  the  parents  of  the  promised  seed ;  "  nor 
 can  any  one  have  God  for  his  Fathek,  who  hath  not  the 
 Church  for  his  mother:"  and  what  can  strengthen  our  faith 
 more,  than  to  observe  the  admirable  parallel,  wherein  these 
 types  do  correspond  to  Christ  and  His  Church  ?  Sarah  was 
 both  the  wife  and  sister  of  Abraham  :  so  Christ  calls  His 
 Church,  "His  Sister  and  Spouse"  (Cant.  iv.  10,  11).  Sarah 
 was  "  the  daughter  of  Abraham's  father  ;  but  not  the  daughter 
 of  his  mother  ;  and  she  became  his  wife."  (Gen.  xx.  12.)  So 
 Christ  and  His  Church  are  begotten  of  the  same  Father  ; 
 but  then  the  Church  is  not  the  daughter  of  His]  Mother,  the 
 Virgin  Mary,  as  the  Papists  would  seem  to  make  her 
 
THE  ACTS  II.  47.  81 
 
 From  this  Sacred,  this  Mystical  Marriage  of  Christ  and  His 
 Church  are  born  the  true  Israelites,  the  Holy  Seed,  the  children 
 of  G-OD :    "  for  which  cause  He  is  not  ashamed  to  call  them 
 brethren."     Isa.  xlvi.  3  ;  Eph.  v.  25—27  ;  2  Cor.  xi.  2.    Woffan. 
 (On  the  Lessons,  Second  Sunday  after  Epiphany.) 
 Among  the  ancients,  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism  was  termed.  Sal- 
 vation ;  but  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Body,  Life.     1  S. 
 Pet.  iii.  21.     ^S*.  Augustine.     (De  peccatorum  meritis,  c.  xiv.) 
 O  dulce  jucundumque  !     Tribulium 
 Coetu  in  frequenti  mutua  caritas ! 
 O  !  corda,  qui  fraterna  nodo 
 Jungit  amor  metuente  solvi ! 
 Non  aura  nardi  suavior  occupat 
 Sensus,  quae  Aronis  vertice  de  sacro 
 Per  ora,  per  barbam,  per  ipsas 
 Lenta  fluens  it  odora  vestes. 
 
 Bp.  Lowth,     (Praelectiones.  25.) 
 Exiguis  addit  vires  concordia  rebus, 
 
 Et  cumulat  modicas  atque  tuetur  opes. 
 Utque  senis  eel  so  manantia  vertice  Aronis 
 
 Infirmos  artus  balsama  larga  rigant ; 
 
 Sive  satis  ut  vita  redit,  dum  Sirius  agros 
 
 Torret,  si  gelido  rore  madescat  humus ; 
 
 Sic  ubi  sunt  aequo  sociatse  fsedere  mentes, 
 
 Eidaque  communis  pectora  junxit  amor, 
 
 Virtutem  Deus  aspirat,  placidoque  favore 
 
 Adjuvat,  et  vitae  cuncta  pericla  regit. 
 
 P.  Melancthon.     (Yersio  Ps.  cxxxiii.) 
 
 CHAPTER  III. 
 
 N 
 
 OW  Peter  and   John  went   up  together  into  the 
 temple  at  the  hour  of  prayer,  being  the  ninth  hour. 
 2  And  a  certain  man  lame  from  his  mother's  womb 
 
83  THE  ACTS  III.  1. 
 
 was  carried,  whom  they  laid  daily  at  the  gate  of  the 
 temple  which  is  called  Beautiful,  to  ask  alms  of  them 
 that  entered  into  the  temple ; 
 
 3  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. 
 
 5  And  he  gave  heed  unto  them,  expecting  to  receive 
 something  of  them. 
 
 6  Then  Peter  said.  Silver  and  gold  have  I  none; 
 but  such  as  I  have  give  I  thee :  In  the  Name  of  Jesus 
 Christ  of  Nazareth  rise  up  and  walk. 
 
 1  Peter  and  John. — A  mighty  pair,  magnum  par  :  Peter,  who  most 
 loved  Cheist,  and  John,  whom  Cheist  most  loved ;  the  two, 
 who  were  sent  together  by  Christ  to  prepare  for  His  last 
 Passover  (S.  Luke  xxii.  8)  ;  who  followed  Cheist  into  the  hall 
 of  the  High  Priest,  when  He  was  apprehended  and  bound  (S. 
 John  xviii.  15)  ;  who  went  together  to  the  sepulchre  of  Cheist 
 (S.  John  XX.  3)  ;  whom  afterwards  the  other  Apostles  sent  to 
 Samaria  (viii.  14.)     Bp.  Pearson. 
 
 Into  the  temple. — Thou  canst  not  pray  so  well  at  home,  as  at 
 Church :  there  thou  findest  many  fires  to  kindle  thy  zeal ;  the 
 example  of  others,  the  reverence  of  ceremony,  the  Presence  of 
 God,  the  place  itself.  S.  Matt,  xviii.  19,  20 ;  Heb.  x.  25.  ^. 
 Chrysostom. 
 
 The  third,  the  sixth,  and  the  ninth  hours,  as  they  are  the  more 
 eminent  parts  of  the  day  to  distribute  and  distinguish  the  public 
 affairs  of  men,  so  have  they  been  accounted  the  most  solemn 
 times  of  prayer  and  Divine  duties  in  the  Church  of  GrOD.  For 
 at  the  third  hour  were  the  holy  Apostles  met  together  at  their 
 devotions,  and  filled  with  the  power  of  the  Holt  Ghost,  x.  3, 
 9,  30.     Tertullian.     (De  Jejun.  c.  10.) 
 
 Hsec  sunt  septenis  quse  psallimus  horis : 
 Matutina  ligat  Christum,  qui  crimina  purgat ; 
 Prima  replet  sputis ;  fert  causam  Tertia  mortis  ; 
 
THE  ACTS  III.  2.  83 
 
 Sexta  cruci  nectit;  latus  Ejus  Nona  bipertit; 
 Vespera  deponit ;  tumulo  Completa  reponit.* 
 
 Ps.  cxix,  164.  Antonio  Alvarado.  (Tract  on  the 
 Divine  Office.) 
 2  Whom  they  daily  laid. — Afflictions  in  C heist's  members  become 
 in  two  ways  a  sore  trial  to  faith  and  constancy.  They  are  a 
 trial  to  those  under  them,  as  to  bearing  them  rightly.  They 
 are  a  trial  to  such,  as  have  the  means  of  alleviating  them,  whe- 
 ther they  will  realize  to  themselves,  that,  in  ministering  to  such 
 cases  for  Christ's  sake,  they  are  waiting  upon  their  Loed  and 
 Sayioue  in  His  temptations  and  afflictions.  S.  Mark  ii.  1 — 4 ; 
 Gal.  vi.  2.     Plain  Sermons. 
 
 Clauda  tibi  mens  est,  ut  pes :  naturaque  recte 
 Quod  latet  interius,  prodidit  exterius. 
 
 viii.  7.     Paulus  Stephanus, 
 
 *  For  the  benefit  of  readers,  unacquainted  with  Latin,  an  old  French  transla- 
 tion of  the  above  verses,  together  with  a  version  in  English,  is  here  appended. 
 
 Voici  pourquoy  Ton  dit  les  sept  heures  du  jour : 
 Parce  qu'en  mesme  temps  Jesus,  pour  notre  amour, 
 Voulant  nous  rachepter  de  I'eternel  supplice, 
 S'ofFrit  a  Dieu  son  Pere  sanglant  sacrifice. 
 
 A  Matines  pensez,  qu'on  prend  nostre  Seigneur, 
 Qui  lavant  nos  pechez  nous  cause  tout  bonheur ; 
 Qu'a  Prime  de  crachats  on  lui  honnit  la  face  ; 
 Qu'a  Tierce,  de  sa  mort  la  sentence  on  pourchasse ; 
 Qu'a  Sexte,  il  est  en  croix  grief vement  tourmente; 
 Qu'a  None  d'une  lance  on  ouvre  son  coste  ; 
 Qu'a  Vespres  de  la  croix  Jesus  Christ  on  depose ; 
 Et  que  dans  la  sepulchre  a  Compile  il  repose. 
 
 In  ancient  times,  ere  love  grew  cold,  there  were 
 Seven  chosen  hours  of  daily  private  prayer ; 
 These,  as  the  hours  of  day  attend  the  sun. 
 Around  the  Cross  with  mystic  homage  run. 
 
 **  Matins  the  Saviour  bind ;  His  blessed  face 
 Prime  loads  with  odious  spitting  and  disgrace : 
 Tierce  sounds  His  verdict  with  insulting  glee ; 
 Sexte  naUs  the  victim  to  the  accursed  tree  ; 
 None  peneti-ates  His  side  with  hostile  spear ; 
 But  Vespers  take  Him  down  with  fondness  dear  ; 
 And  Compline  gently  lays  Him  in  His  bier," 
 G  2 
 
84  THE  ACTS  III.  2. 
 
 If  we  should  allege  the  care,  which  was  had,  tliat  all  things  about 
 the  Tabernacle  of  Moses  might  be  as  beautiful,  gorgeous,  and 
 rich,  as  art  could  make  them,  or  what  travail  and  cost  was 
 bestowed,  that  the  goodliness  of  the  Temple  might  be  a  spec- 
 tacle of  admiration  to  all  the  world,  this,  they  will  say,  was 
 figurative,  and  served  by  God's  appointment  but  for  a  time,  to 
 shadow  out  the  everlasting  glory  of  a  more  Divine  Sanctuary, 
 whereinto  Cheist  being  long  since  entered,  it  seemeth  that  all 
 these  curious  exornations  should  rather  cease.  Which  thing 
 we  also  ourselves  would  grant,  if  the  use  thereof  had  been 
 merely  and  only  mystical.  But  since  the  prophet  David  doth 
 mention  a  natural  convenience,  which  such  kind  of  bounteous 
 expenses  have,  as  well  for  that  we  do  thereby  give  unto  God 
 a  testimony  of  our  cheerful  aifection,  which  thinketh  nothing, 
 too  dear  to  be  bestowed  about  the  furniture  of  His  service ;  as 
 also  because  it  serveth  to  the  world  for  a  witness  of  His  Almighti- 
 ness,  whom  we  outwardly  honour  with  the  chiefest  of  outward 
 things,  as  being  of  all  things  Himself  incomparably  the  greatest. 
 Besides,  were  it  not  also  strange,  if  God  should  have  made 
 such  store  of  glorious  creatures  on  earth,  and  leave  them  all 
 to  be  consumed  in  secular  vanity,  allowing  none  but  the  baser 
 sort  to  be  employed  in  His  own  service  ?  To  set  forth  the 
 Majesty  of  Kings,  His  vicegerents  in  this  world,  the  most  gor- 
 geous and  rare  treasures,  which  the  world  hath,  are  procured. 
 "We  think,  belike,  that  He  will  accept  what  the  meanest  of  them 
 would  disdain.  2  Sam.  xxiv.  24 ;  1  Chron.  xxviii.  14 ;  2  Chron. 
 ii.  5;  S.  Matt.  vi.  29;  Mai.  i.  8.  Hooker.  (Eccl.  Pol.  B. 
 V.  s.  16.) 
 
 Beautiful. — The  open  Churches,  the  varied  Services,  the  beau- 
 tiful solemnities,  the  processions,  the  Calvaries,  the  crucifixes, 
 the  appeals  to  the  eye  and  ear,  through  which  the  heart  is 
 reached  most  effectually,  have  no  necessary  connection  with 
 superstition.  People  forget,  that  Christian  worship  is  in  its 
 essence  spiritual ;  that  is,  it  depends  for  its  efficacy  on  no  cir- 
 cumstances of  time,  or  place,  or  form  ;  but  that  Christianity 
 herself  has  given  us  the  best  helps  towards  making  our  worship 
 spiritual  to  us,  that  is,  sincere  and  lively,  by  the  visible  images 
 and  signs,  which  it  has  given  us  of  G  od,  and  of  Heavenly  things, 
 
THE  ACTS  III.  2,  3.  85 
 
 namely,  the  Person  of  the  man  Jestjs  Cheist  and  the  Sacra- 
 ments.   Dr.  Arnold.     (Letter  from  Chartres ;  Life  by  Stanley.) 
 
 When  I  look  to  the  very  structure  of  this  sacred  edifice,  it  seems 
 to  have  a  voice  this  day,  and  to  demand  of  you  a  corresponding 
 piety.  These  columns  and  arches,  as  they  soar  to  the  elevated 
 roof,  serve  to  show,  that  your  thoughts  should  now  leave  the 
 
 .  earth,  and  ascend  to  God.  The  fair  proportions  of  the  whole 
 building,  each  part  separated  in  detail,  yet,  in  the  general  view, 
 so  uniform  and  complete,  point  to  the  far  more  lovely  spectacle 
 of  Christian  worshippers,  where,  though  families  be  apart  and 
 individuals  apart,  yet  all  are  agreed,  all  are  one,  in  Cheist 
 Jesits.  The  light  of  heaven,  shining  through  the  stained  glass 
 of  those  windows,  and  receiving  as  it  passes,  somewhat  of  their 
 rich  and  varied  hue,  faintly,  yet  truly,  expresses  "  the  Light  of 
 God's  Countenance,"  beaming  with  all  the  radiance  of  heaven 
 on  His  praying  people,  through  the  medium  of  that  "  Eedemp- 
 tion,  which  is  in  Cheist  Jesus  ;"  "  the  forgiveness  of  sin, 
 according  to  the  riches  of  His  Grace."  Every  sacred  device, 
 which  we  admire,  on  carefully  looking  around  us,  while  it  befits 
 the  beauty  and  solemnity  of  God's  worship,  awakens  some 
 pious  thought,  or  suggests  some  holy  duty  to  the  devout  Chris- 
 tian ;  while  every  decoration,  introduced  with  so  much  judg- 
 ment and  sobriety,  silently  tells  of  the  "adorning"  of  our  souls, 
 the  "  putting  on  of  the  Loed  Jesus,  the  ornament  of  a  meek 
 and  quiet  spirit,  which  in  the  sight  of  God  is  of  great  price." 
 If,  in  this  mystical,  yet  far  from  idle  or  superstitious  sense, 
 "  the  stone  cries  out  of  the  wall,  and  the  beam  out  of  the  timber 
 answers  it,"  surely  nothing  can  be  more  inconsistent,  than  any 
 indecorum  or  irreverence,  any  encouragement,  given  to  worldly 
 thoughts  or  disuniting  uncharitable  tempers,  within  these  walls  : 
 for  are  we  not  here  surrounded  with  associations  and  mementos 
 of  a  totally  opposite  character  ?  J.  F.  (Sermon,  preached 
 on  the  enlargement  and  restoration  of  the  Parish  Church  of 
 Castle  Cary.     August,  1855.) 
 
 3  Moses  allows  no  beggar  to  be  among  the  Israelites ;  for  mendi- 
 cancy was  to  be  prevented  by  public  provisions  for  the  poor : 
 hence  it  appears  how  cold  charity  was  become  at  this  time  : 
 for  this  cause  every  kind  of  trouble  soon  came  upon  this  nation, 
 
86  THE  ACTS  III.  4—6. 
 
 as  it  had  done  on  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  whose  inhabitants 
 lived  in  luxury  and  neglected  the  poor.  S.  Luke  xvi.  3,  20 ; 
 xviii.  35.  D.  Daniel  Greiserus.  (in  loco.) 
 He  preoccupies  the  man's  attention,  that  he  may  carefully  notice 
 what  is  done ;  lest  afterwards,  confounded  by  the  greatness  of 
 the  miracle,  he  should  forget  the  manner  of  his  cure.  So  God 
 asked  Moses,  what  he  held  in  his  hand,  namely  a  rod ;  in  order, 
 that,  on  its  being  turned  into  a  serpent,  he  might  remember 
 how  the  event  began,  vii.  31,  33 ;  xii.  8 ;  Ex.  iv.  2.  S.  Matt. 
 XV.  34.     Clarius. 
 
 4  Fastening  his  eyes  upon  him, — Misery  is  the  point,  the  object  of 
 mercy,  and  at  that  it  toucheth  everlastingly.  Mercy  and  misery 
 still  go  together  and  eye  each  other.  The  eye  of  misery  looks 
 upon  mercy ;  and  the  eye  of  mercy  looks  down  upon  misery. 
 They  are  the  two  cherubims,  that  ever  have  their  faces  one 
 towards  another;  and  they  are  both  full,  and  ready  to  drop, 
 and  run  down.  The  eye  of  misery  is  ever  open,  and  mercy 
 (Prov.  xxviii.  27)  "  hideth  not  her  eye."  2  Cor.  xi.  29.  Farin- 
 don,     (Serm.  Micah  vi.  8  ;  Part  5.) 
 
 "When  thou  seest  misery  in  thy  brother's  face,  let  him  see  mercy 
 in  thine  eye :  the  more  the  oil  of  mercy  is  poured  on  him  by 
 thy  pity  the  more  the  oil  in  thy  cruse  shall  be  increased  by  thy 
 piety.     Prov.  xxii.  9 ;  S.  Luke  x.  32.     F.  Quarles. 
 
 5  What  attention  we  pay  and  how  prompt  is  our  obedience, 
 when  some  temporal  advantage  can  be  obtained !  Again,  how 
 much  grace  we  lose  for  want  of  directing  the  eyes  of  our  faith 
 to  the  LoED  Cheist  Jesus,  as  He  commands  us !  v.  15,  16 ; 
 viii.  19 ;  xxxviii.  9  ;  Isa.  xlv.  22.     Quesnel. 
 
 6  If  thou  hast  no  money,  yet  thou  nuist  have  mercy ;  and  art 
 bound  to  pity  the  poor,  and  pray  for  them,  and  throw  thy  holy 
 desires  and  devotions  into  the  Treasury  of  the  Church :  and  if 
 thou  dost  what  thou  art  able,  be  it  little  or  great,  corporal  or 
 spiritual,  the  charity  of  alms  or  the  charity  of  prayers,  a  cup  of 
 wine  or  a  cup  of  water,  if  it  be  but  love  to  the  brethren,  or  a 
 desire  to  help  all,  or  any,  of  Cheist' s  poor,  it  shall  be  accepted 
 "  according  to  that,  a  man  hath,  not  according  to  that,  he  hath 
 not."     Prov.  viii.  10  ;  Heb.  vi.  10.     Bp.  J.  Taylor. 
 
 Silver  and  gold  have  I  none. — This  disclaimer  comes  very  appo- 
 
THE  ACTS  III.  7,  8.  87 
 
 sitely,  after  the  account  in  the  last  Chapter  of  the  general  fund 
 for  the  distribution  of  alms ;  it  shows,  that  the  Apostles  did  not 
 enrich  themselves  out  of  that  fund,  but  remained  in  their  former 
 state  of  poverty,     iv.  35,  37  ;  x.  6 ;  xx.  33.     J.  F. 
 
 7  And  he  took  him  by  the  right  hand,  and  hfted 
 him  up  :  and  immediately  his  feet  and  ancle  bones 
 received  strength. 
 
 8  And  he  leaping  up  stood,  and  walked,  and  en- 
 tered with  them  into  the  temple,  walking,  and  leaping, 
 and  praising  God. 
 
 9  And  all  the  people  saw  him  walking  and  praising 
 God: 
 
 10  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  which  had 
 happened  unto  him. 
 
 11  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  won- 
 dering. 
 
 7  He  took  him  hy  the  right  handy  ^c. — This  act  made  manifest  the 
 Kesurrection :  for  it  was  an  image  of  the  Eesurrection.  ix.  41 ; 
 Ps.  ix.  13 ;  S.  Mark  ix.  26,  27.     S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 8  The  very  language  seems  to  exult  in  a  redundant  flow  of  ex- 
 pressive phrases ;  just  as  a  poor  cripple,  who  never  knew  either 
 the  comfort  of  bodily  vigour,  or  the  pleasure  of  local  motion, 
 may  be  supposed  to  do,  when  suddenly  and  unexpectedly  blessed 
 with  both.  He  would  exert  his  new  acquired  powers  again  and 
 again  ;  first  in  one  attitude,  then  in  another ;  sometimes  to  try 
 whether  he  was  really  healed,  and  not  under  the  pleasing  de- 
 lusion of  a  dream ;  sometimes  from  a  transport  of  conscious 
 delight,  and  to  express  the  sallies  of  joy,  that  sprung  up  in  his 
 heart,  xiv.  10 ;  Isa.  Ixi.  1 ;  xxxv.  1 ;  Bom.  v.  12 ;  viii.  21, 
 J.  Hervey.     (Theron  and  Aspasio.     Letter  viii.,  note.) 
 
88  THE  ACTS  III.  8—11. 
 
 Leaping  for  joy  is  the  spiritual  exercise  of  the  Christian ;  for  joy 
 at  the  glad  tidings  of  the  Gospel :  leaping  with  Abraham,  S. 
 John  viii.  (for  so  the  word  signifies),  to  "  see  the  day  of 
 Chkist  ;"  leaping  with  holy  David  before  the  Ark,  2  Sam.  vi.  16 ; 
 rejoicing  and  leaping  for  joy  in  the  day  of  our  sufferings  for 
 Cheist,  S.  Luke  vi.  23 ;  making  it  one  of  our  daily  exercises 
 and  businesses  to  praise  and  magnify  God,  and  rejoice  in  Him 
 in  all  His  days,  and  ways,  and  dispensations ;  striving  with  one 
 another,  who  shall  do  it  most,  who  shall  go  farthest  in  it. 
 Ps.  xxviii.  8 ;  2  Sam.  vi,  16.  Dr.  Mark  Frank.  (Serm.  1  Cor. 
 ix.  25.) 
 
 Do  not  judge  thyself  weak  in  grace,  because  thou  hast  not  strong 
 affections.  God  doth  make  up  in  the  experience  of  old  and 
 grown  Christians  what  is  wanting  of  the  great  affections,  they 
 had  at  their  first  conversion.  Holy  Greenham  often  prayed, 
 that  he  might  "  keep  up  his  young  zeal  with  his  old  discretion." 
 What  is  wanting  to  thee  in  affections,  God  makes  up  to  thee 
 in  solidity  of  judgment,  clearness  of  knowledge,  abundance  of 
 experience,  and  stableness  in  the  faith.  Phil.  i.  9 — 11.  Chr. 
 Love.     (Serm.  on  Grace.) 
 
 9  They,  who  have  witnessed  our  frailties,  should  also  attest  our 
 conversion  and  gratitude.  Our  gratitude  is  false  and  of  no 
 avail,  unless  accompanied  with  newness  of  life  ;  and  this  cannot 
 endure  long,  if  our  thankful  sense  of  the  grace,  to  which  we  owe 
 our  deliverance,  declines.  S.  Mark  v.  19 ;  Gal.  i.  23,  24 ; 
 1  S.  Pet.  ii.  10.     Quesnel. 
 
 10  Distinguished  honour  is  done  to  Solomon  in  the  Acts  of  the 
 Apostles,  when  his  building  of  the  temple  is  twice  adverted  to. 
 (vii.  47.)  And  yet  what  is  this,  when  compared  with  that  far 
 higher  and  more  glorious  record  ?  "  Jesus  walked  in  the  temple 
 in  Solomon's  porchT  S.  John  x.  23.  The  good  deeds  of  our 
 builders  and  restorers  of  Churches  shall  be  "  had  in  everlasting  re- 
 membrance," and  be  proclaimed  in  the  loudest  terms  of  praise  in 
 that  Day,  when  God  shall  "  honour  those,  who  have  honoured 
 Him."     S.  Luke  vii.  5.     J.  F. 
 
 11  The  man's  holding  Peter  and  John  by  the  hand,  when  he  en- 
 tered with  them  into  the  Temple,  is  a  very  exemplary  admo- 
 nition ;  that  all,  who  are  once  admitted  into  the  Church,  and  in 
 
THE  ACTS  III.  11,  12.  89 
 
 communion  with  her  lawful  and  established  teachers,  should 
 closely  adhere  to  them;  and  never  forsake  those,  by  whose 
 ministrations  they  have  received  pardon  and  forgiveness  of  sins ; 
 that  is,  have  been  Baptized,  instructed,  and  confirmed,  x.  48  ; 
 xvi.  15 ;  xvii.  33 ;  xviii.  20,  27 ;  xx.  38 ;  xxi.  17  ;  S.  Luke 
 viii.  38.  Wogan.  (On  the  Lessons.  Monday  in  Easter-week.) 
 Second  causes  are  not  to  be  denied  their  work  ;  but  the  overruling 
 power  is  above.  The  subordinateness  of  the  creature  doth  not 
 take  away  from  the  right,  from  the  thank  of  the  Eirst  Mover 
 S.  Luke  i.  48,  49.     Bj^.  Hall. 
 
 Porta  manet  Templi,  Speciesam  quam  vocitarunt, 
 Egregium  Solomonis  opus  :  sed  majus  in  ilia 
 Christi  opus  emicuit :  nam  claudus  surgere  jussus 
 Ore  Petri,  stupuit  laxatos  currere  gressus. 
 
 Prudentius.     (Enchiridion,  xlvi.) 
 
 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  hoHness  we  had  made  this  man  to  walk  ? 
 
 13  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 
 presence  of  Pilate,  when  he  was  determined  to  let 
 Him  go. 
 
 14  But  ye  denied  the  Holy  One  and  the  Just,  and 
 desired  a  murderer  to  be  granted  unto  you ; 
 
 15  And  killed  the  Prince  of  life,  whom  God  hath 
 raised  from  the  dead  ;  whereof  we  are  witnesses. 
 
 16  And  His  Name  through  faith  in  His  Name  hath 
 made  this  man  strong,  whom  ye  see  and  know :  yea, 
 the  faith  which  is  by  Him  hath  given  him  this  perfect 
 soundness  in  the  presence  of  you  all. 
 
 12  If  Simon,  the  magician,  had  wrought  such  a  prodigy  as  this, 
 
90  THE  ACTS  III.  12—14. 
 
 he  would  have  ascribed  it  all  to  himself,  and  would  have  taken 
 occasion  to  exalt  himself,  as  "  the  great  power  of  God.*'  Ob- 
 serve, in  the  words  of  the  Apostle,  the  characters  of  simplicity, 
 humility,  and  truthfulness,  hardly  to  be  expressed.  At  verse 
 16,  {His  Name  through  faith  i?i  His  Name,  ^c.,)  the  heaping  to- 
 gether so  many  words  sounds  ill  in  the  ears  of  the  world,  and, 
 according  to  the  polite  rules  of  rhetoric,  seems  rambling  and 
 incoherent  (une  espece  de  galimathias).  Here  are  Doctors,  who 
 have  no  wish  to  produce  a  fine  effect ;  whose  only  fear  is,  lest 
 what  was  done  should  in  any  sense  be  ascribed  to  themselves, 
 and  not  to  Jesus  Cheist.  It  matters  not  whether  their  ears 
 be  offended,  or  not,  provided  their  minds  be  prostrated  in  humi- 
 lity before  God,  and  the  mighty  miracle  ascribed  to  Him  alone, 
 viii.  10 ;  Numb.  xx.  12  ;  Dan.  ii.  30 ;  Hab.  i.  16  ;  1  Cor.  i. 
 27—31 ;  iii.  5—7.  Abbadie. 
 They  equally  disclaimed  having  the  higher  gifts  of  any  internal 
 power  or  holiness,  as  the  possession  of  the  silver  and  gold,  that 
 perisheth.  Yerse  6.  They  were  "poor"  in  every  sense ;  and 
 all  glory  and  praise  they  gave  unto  the  Loud.  v.  36;  viii. 
 9,  10  ;  1  Cor.  iii.  5—7.     /.  F. 
 
 13  Glorified  His  Son  Jestjs. — The  Primitive  Church  being  taught 
 by  Scripture  and  the  examples  Apostolical,  affirmed  but  few 
 things  to  be  necessary  to  salvation.  If  we  observe  the  three 
 sermons  of  S.  Peter,  the  sermon  of  S.  Philip  and  S.  Silas, 
 xvi.  31,  the  sermons  of  S.  Paul,  often  preached  in  the  Syna- 
 gogues ;  they  were  all  but  this :  That  "  Jesus  Christ  is  the 
 Son  of  God  ;"  that  "  He  is  the  Loed  of  all ;"  that  He  is  "  the 
 Cheist  of  God  ;"  that  "  God  anointed  Him  ;"  that  "  He  was 
 crucified  and  raised  again  from  the  dead ;"  ch.  iii.  15,  and  that, 
 "  Eepentance  and  remission  of  sins  was  to  be  preached  in  His 
 Name."  ii.  24;  iii.  12;  viii.  12,  37,  38;  ix.  20;  xvii.  3,  31; 
 xxvi.  23.     Bp.  Taylor. 
 
 14  There  is  no  time,  when  men  are  less  likely,  without  overpower- 
 ing testimony,  to  acknowledge  a  fact,  than  when  it  proves  them- 
 selves guilty.  S.  John  xvi.  8.  Abp.  Sumner.  (The  Evidence 
 of  Christianity,  &c.,  ch.  x.) 
 
 A  murderer,  placed  in  magnificent  antithesis  to  the  Prince  of  Life, 
 S.  John  xviii.  40.     Bengel. 
 
THE  ACTS  III.  15,  16.  91 
 
 15  "We  confess  man  to  be  personally  united  to  God  ;  and  moreover 
 that  this  Union  of  Person  was  made,  not  after  His  Ascension, 
 or  Eesurrection,  or  Baptism,  but  even  in  His  mother,  in  her 
 womb,  and  in  the  very  iDstant  of  her  conception.  On  account 
 of  this  personal  union  it  is,  that  we  do  indifferently  and  promis- 
 cuously give  the  attributes  of  God  to  man,  and  so  again  the 
 properties  of  human  nature  to  the  Divine.  Upon  this  account 
 it  is,  that  we  find  it  said  in  Scripture,  that  "  the  Son  of  Man 
 came  down  from  heaven,"  and  that  "  the  Lord  of  Glory  was 
 crucified  on  earth."  For  the  same  reason  it  is  that  the  very 
 AoV/os  of  God  is  said  to  be  "  made,"  because  our  Lord  was 
 "made  flesh,"  and  the  very  fulness  of  Divine  Wisdom  styled 
 created.  (Prov.  viii.  22.)  xx.  28  ;  S.  John  iii.  13  ;  Eom.  ix.  5  ; 
 Ecclus.  i.  4.     Vincent.  Lirin.     (Commonitorium,  ch.  xxi.) 
 
 His  Death  did  not  grow  out  of  the  condition  of  His  nature  ;  neither 
 was  it  inflicted  upon  Him  by  reason  of  an  excess  of  strength  in 
 those,  that  executed  it  (for  He  was  "  the  Lord  of  Glory")  ;  but 
 only  out  of  mercy  towards  men,  out  of  obedience  towards  God, 
 and  out  of  power  in  Himself;  for  omnis  Christ  i  infirmitas  fuit  ex 
 Potestate.     S.  John  x.  18  ;  S.  Matt,  xxvii.  50.     Bp.  Reynolds. 
 
 Altissimo  Trinitatis  concilio  actum  est,  ut  Gloria  militaret  in  poenam. 
 By  the  counsel  of  the  Godhead  it  was  set  down  and  determined, 
 that  His  Glory  should  add  to  His  punishment.  S.  Matt, 
 xxvii.  46.     P.  Leo. 
 
 Behold  here  the  King  of  Glory  put  to  open  shame  ;  the  Wisdom  of 
 the  Father  mocked,  and  set  at  nought ;  the  Eternal  Word 
 silenced  ;  Omnipotence  disabled  ;  Omniscience  baffled  ;  Essential 
 Truth  borne  down  {melius,  made  a  liar)  ;  Divinity  deposed ;  Eter- 
 nity a-dying ;  and,  in  short,  the  Ever  Blessed  God,  the  Lord  of 
 Life,  basely  murdered  by  the  wicked  hands  of  those,  whom  He 
 came  out  of  the  greatest  charity  to  save.  xiii.  41 ;  Isa.  ix.  6. 
 Dr.  Littleton.     (Serm.  S.  John  xix.  5.) 
 
 Peccatum  est  Deicidium.     Sin  is  a  Deicide.     Anonym. 
 
 16  Faith  is  twice  mentioned  in  this  verse,  because  of  the  Apos- 
 tle's faith  in  doing,  and  the  cripple's  faith  in  receiving,  the 
 miracle.  The  former  was  the  faith,  which  is  by  Him  {pia)  ;  the 
 latter,  faith  in  His  Name.  Gal.  iii.  22.  Br.  Lightfoot.  (Com- 
 ment, in  loco.) 
 
92  THE  ACTS  in.  16,  17. 
 
 "Thy  Name  is  as  oil,  poured  forth."  Cant.  i.  Oil  has  a  three- 
 fold virtue  :  it  nourishes,  it  heals,  and  it  enlightens.  So  the 
 Saviour,  by  virtue  of  His  Divine  Name  of  Jesus,  nourishes 
 our  souls,  heals  our  infirmities,  and  lightens  our  darkness.  Ps. 
 xlv.  8  ;  civ.  15.     8.  Bernard. 
 
 O  Jesus,  Jesus,  by  this  most  Blessed  ISTame,  I  beg,  that  Thou 
 wouldest  deal  with  me,  according  to  the  importance  of  this 
 Name.  Eor  this  is  a  Name,  full  of  love,  full  of  delight,  full  of 
 comfort,  and  holy  confidence  to  every  sinner,  that  takes  sanc- 
 tuary in  it.  For  what  does  Jesus  signify,  but  a  Saviour  ? 
 And  why  didst  thou  take  that  Name  upon  Thee,  but  to  declare, 
 that  Thou  wouldest  make  it  good  to  the  uttermost  by  saving 
 Thy  'people from  their  sins?  For  Thy  own  sake,  I  implore  Thee, 
 esto  mihi  Jesus,  be  a  Jesus  to  me !  iv.  12,  30.  Anselm.  (On 
 the  misery  of  Man.     B.  vi.) 
 
 17  And  now,  brethren,  I  wot  that  through  ignor- 
 ance ye  did  it,  as  did  also  your  rulers. 
 
 18  But  those  things,  which  God  before  had  showed 
 by  the  mouth  of  all  His  prophets,  that  Christ  should 
 suffer,  He  hath  so  fulfilled. 
 
 19  Repent  ye  therefore,  and  be  converted,  that  your 
 sins  may  be  blotted  out,  when  the  times  of  refreshing 
 shall  come  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord  ; 
 
 20  And  He  shall  send  Jesus  Christ,  which  before 
 was  preached  unto  you  : 
 
 21  Whom  the  heaven  must  receive  until  the  times 
 of  restitution  of  all  things,  which  God  hath  spoken  by 
 the  mouth  of  all  His  holy  prophets  since  the  world 
 began. 
 
 17  Make  allowance  for  ignorance,  and  incogitancy,  for  necessity, 
 for  harder  circumstances,  for  misapprehensions,  and  mistakes, 
 for  frailty  and  infirmity ;  be  wanting  in  nothing,  that  the 
 reason  of  the  thing  and  the  equity  of  the  case  call  for.     xiv.  10  ; 
 
THE  ACTS  III.  17—21.  93 
 
 xvii.   30;    S.   Luke  xxiii.  34;    1   Cor.  ii.   8.      Dj\    Whichcote. 
 (Aphor.  Cent.  xii.  1122.) 
 Ignorance  may  excuse  a  tanto  ;  but  never  a  toto.     Ignorance  may 
 lessen  faults  (xii.  64);  but  not  change  their  natures.     Sin  shall 
 be  sin,  though  it  be  done  ignorantly.     xxvi.  9.     Bp,  Babington. 
 
 18  It  shows  the  greatness  of  that  counsel  (ii.  23),  in  that  all  the 
 prophets  spoke  of  it,  and  not  one  only.  x.  43  ;  xiii.  27.  5. 
 Chrysostom. 
 
 It  is  the  duty  of  every  pious  person,  as  much  as  he  is  able,  to 
 prefer  that  exposition,  which  is  approved  by  most  testimonies 
 of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  before  all  others  whatsoever,  though  in 
 show  and  appearance  never  so  plausible,  xiii.  27  ;  S.  John  xix. 
 37.     Musculus.     (Comment,  on  Pa.  cxxxii.  9.) 
 
 The  mouth. — The  agreement  of  the  predictions  of  the  prophets 
 with  the  things  themselves,  and  the  preaching  of  the  Apostles 
 following,  make  up  one  organ,  or  great  instrument,  tuned  by 
 the  same  hand,  and  sounding  by  the  same  breath  of  the  Spirit 
 of  God.  ii.  2 ;  iv.  25  ;  S.  Matt.  xxi.  9.  Aby.  Leighton.  (Com- 
 mentary 1  S.  Peter  i.  10—12.) 
 
 19  Baptism  is  the  one  cleansing  of  all  sin,  when  we  enter  upon 
 the  Christian  state  here  upon  earth ;  and  it  is  a  sign,  or  figure 
 of  that  washing  away  of  all  sin,  when  we  shall  be  brought  into 
 the  new  Christian  state  at  the  Day  of  Judgment,  that  great 
 E-egeneration,  when  all  things  shall  be  made  new  at  the  times 
 of  refreshing  and  the  Presence  of  the  Lord.  S.  Matt.  xix.  28. 
 Isaac  Williams.     (Serm.  S.  Luke  iv.  18,  19.) 
 
 20  Which  before  was  preached  unto  you. — The  wisdom  and  the 
 goodness  of  GrOD,  in  the  very  delaying  of  the  work  of  our 
 Eedemption,  has  rendered  us  men  capable  of  His  calling ;  in 
 that  all  obscurity  might  be  removed  in  the  Gospel  days  from 
 that,  which,  through  so  many  preceding  ages,  had  been  an- 
 nounced by  so  many  signs,  so  many  prophecies,  so  many 
 mysteries.  Verse  24 ;  1  S.  Pet.  i.  10,  11 ;  Eph.  iii.  10 ;  Heb. 
 i.  1.     P.  Leo.     (De  Nativ.  Christi.  Serm.  3.) 
 
 21  Whom  the  heavens  must  receive. — The  Body  of  Christ,  wherein 
 He  rose,  must  needs  be  in  one  place.  "We  must  take  care,  not 
 to  maintain  the  Godhead  of  His  Humanity,  Bivinitatem  hominisj 
 so  as  to  impair  the  truth  and  reality  of  His  Body.     According 
 
94  THE  ACTS  III.  21. 
 
 to  this  form  of  man,  He  is  not  to  be  regarded,  as  being  in  every 
 place,  i.  11 ;  S.  Mark  xvi.  6.  S.  Augustine.  (Ad  Dardanum. 
 Ep.  57.) 
 
 Christ,  being  ours  according  to  the  substance  of  His  Manhood, 
 was  absent  from  heaven,  when  He  was  on  earth ;  and  He  forsook 
 the  earth,  when  He  ascended  to  heaven.  S.  Mark  xvi.  19. 
 Fulgentius. 
 
 Bestitution  of  all  things.— A.^,  in  the  Creation,  there  was  a 
 separation  of  that  confused  mass  into  its  species ;  so,  at  the 
 destruction  thereof,  there  shall  be  a  separation  into  its  distinct 
 individuals.  As  at  the  Creation  of  the  world  all  the  distinct 
 species,  that  we  behold,  lay  involved  in  one  mass,  till  the  fruit- 
 ful voice  of  God  separated  this  united  multitude  into  its  several 
 species  ;  so  at  the  last  Day,  when  these  corrupted  relics  shall 
 be  scattered  in  the  wilderness  of  forms,  and  seem  to  have  for- 
 got their  proper  habits,  GrOD  by  a  powerful  voice  shall  command 
 them  back  into  their  proper  shapes,  and  call  them  out  by 
 their  single  individuals.  Isa.  ii.  2  ;  Ix.  5, 18  ;  Zech.  viii.  7,  8 ; 
 Hab.  ii.  14  ;  Eev.  xxi.  5.  Sir  Th.  Browne.  (Eeligio  Medici,  s.  48.) 
 
 When  we  think  of  an  universal  conflagration  of  the  world,  how 
 can  we  but  fear  ?  But  when  we  think  of  a  happy  restitution  of 
 all  things  on  that  Day,  how  can  we  not  but  rejoice  with 
 trembling  ?  ii.  20 ;  Mai.  iv.  1 ;  Isa.  Ivi.  15,  16 ;  S.  Luke  xxi. 
 28  ;  Ps.  xcvi.  11 — 13.  Bj).  Hall.  (The  balm  of  Gilead,  ch.  xv. 
 s.  4.) 
 
 22  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  all  things 
 whatsoever  He  shall  say  unto  you. 
 
 23  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  every  soul,  which 
 will  not  hear  that  prophet,  shall  be  destroyed  from 
 among  the  people. 
 
 24  Yea,  and  all  the  prophets  from  Samuel  and  those 
 that  follow  after,  as  many  as  have  spoken,  have  like- 
 wise foretold  of  these  days. 
 
THE  ACTS  III.  22.  95 
 
 25  Ye  are  the  children  of  the  prophets,  aad  of  the 
 covenant  which  God  made  with  our  fathers,  saying 
 unto  Abraham,  And  in  thy  seed  shall  all  the  kindreds 
 of  the  earth  be  blessed. 
 
 26  Unto  you  first  God,  having  raised  up  His  Son 
 Jesus,  sent  Him  to  bless  you,  in  turning  away  every 
 one  of  you  from  his  iniquities. 
 
 22  The  great  and  essential  characters  of  similitude  between 
 Christ  and  Moses  are  in  the  fulness  and  luminous  intuition 
 of  their  communications  with  God  ;  the  magnitude  of  the  reve- 
 lations made,  and  the  institution  of  a  Keligion,  founded  upon 
 those  revelations.  In  these  points,  none  of  the  other  prophets 
 were  like  to  Moses,  and  in  these  Moses  is  like  to  Cheist,  as 
 the  less  to  his  greater.  But  tliere  is  also  another  resemblance, 
 plainly  included  in  the  scope  of  the  prediction,  and  resting  in  a 
 quality,  which  began  with  Moses.  For  the  greatest  part  of 
 former  prophecy  had  been  communicated  in  oracles  and  visions 
 from  God  to  individuals.  So  it  was  in  the  Patriarchal  age,  and 
 so  before ;  and  when  some  of  the  patriarchs  were  inspired  to 
 prophesy,  it  was  only  upon  the  occasion  :  they  had  no  constant 
 authorized  office  of  that  nature.  A  prophet  raised  up  from 
 among  his  brethren,  and  set  forth,  as  the  declared  Interpreter  of 
 God's  will,  a  living  Oracle  of  Divine  communication,  was 
 hitherto  unknown,  till  the  mission  of  Moses ;  in  which  sense 
 his  own  prophetic  office  is  to  be  distinguished,  and  in  the  same 
 sense  his  prediction  of  the  Prophet,  who  should  come  after  him 
 is  to  be  understood,  vii.  37;  Numb.  xii.  6 — 8;  S.  John  i.  18. 
 Bavison.     (On  Prophecy.     P.  ii.     Discourse  4.) 
 
 Our  LoED  judged  His  miracles  to  be  infallible  evidences  of  His 
 doctrine,  and  the  Jews  to  be  under  a  necessary  obligation  of 
 believing  Him.  And  indeed  His  miracles  especially  rendered 
 the  incredulity  of  the  Jews  wilful  and  criminal.  Por  the  testi- 
 monies, drawn  purely  from  Scripture,  did  not,  before  our  Loed's 
 death,  amount  to  a  demonstration.  For  instance,  Moses  had  said, 
 "  A  Prophet  shall  the  Loed  your  God  raise  up  unto  yoUj  ^c.  ;" 
 
96  THE  ACTS  III.  22-24. 
 
 but  this  did  by  no  means  evince  Jesus  Cheist  to  be  that 
 Prophet,  and  therefore  left  the  main  question  undecided.  Yet 
 this,  with  other  the  like  passages,  was  sufficient  to  raise  a  pre- 
 sumption, that  He  might  possibly  be  the  Messias,  or  "  that 
 Prophet ;''  which  presumption,  with  the  reinforcement  of  His 
 miracles,  ought  to  have  confirmed  the  Jews  in  an  opinion,  that 
 He  was  really  so.  S.  John  iii.  2 ;  xv.  24.  Pascal.  (Thoughts 
 on  Beligion,  c.  27.) 
 
 So  particular  is  this  prophecy,  that  it  is  twice  given  in  the  Book 
 of  Deuteronomy,  and  twice  reasoned  from  in  the  Acts  of  the 
 Apostles,  iii.  22 ;  vii.  37.  TV.  Jones.  (Lectures  on  the  Ep. 
 to  the  Hebrews,  ii.) 
 
 The  repeated  citation  in  the  New  Testament  of  any  passage  from 
 the  Old,  clearly  evinces  some  peculiar  significance  and  impor- 
 tance attached  to  it.  Let  then,  together  with  the  text,  Ps. 
 xvi.  8 — 11 ;  Isa.  vi.  9,  10  ;  Jer.  xxxi.  31,  be  particularly  con- 
 sidered in  this  respect,     xiii.  35 ;  xxviii.  26.     J.  F. 
 
 23  Since  God  esteems  His  Word  above  all  things,  it  must  needs 
 be,  that  He  punishes  the  contempt  of  it.  Therefore  if  any  man 
 rejected  the  Law  of  Moses,  he  was  sentenced  to  death :  and 
 Moses  himself  testified  of  this,  when  he  said,  "  He  shall  be  cut 
 off"  from  the  people."     xiii.  40,  41;  Heb.  ii.  1—3;  x.  28,  29. 
 
 24  The  principal  age  of  Prophecy  is  from  Samuel  to  Malachi. 
 Prom  the  fall  to  the  flood,  and  thence  to  the  call  of  Abraham, 
 its  communications  are  few.  In  the  Patriarchal  age,  they  are 
 enlarged.  During  the  bondage  of  Egypt,  they  are  discontinued, 
 but  renewed  with  the  Law.  A  pause  of  them,  during  four 
 hundred  years,  follows  the  Law ;  and  a  pause  of  like  duration 
 precedes  the  Gospel.  1  Sam.  ii.  21.  Davison.  (On  Prophecy. 
 P.  iii.  Discourse  6.) 
 
 Those  that  follow  after. — I  believe,  that  there  is  an  holy  succession 
 in  the  prophets  of  the  New  Testament  and  fathers  of  the 
 Church,  from  the  time  of  the  apostles  and  disciples,  which  saw 
 our  Sayiour  in  the  flesh,  unto  the  consummation  of  the  work 
 of  the  Ministry :  which  persons  are  called  from  God  by  gift, 
 or  inward  anointing ;  and  the  vocation  of  God  followed  by  an 
 outward  calling,  and  ordination  of  the  Church,    xiii.  2.     (liefer 
 
THE  ACTS  III.  24,  25.  97 
 
 to  Illustr.  S.  Matt.  xxi.  9.     Hon.  R.  Boyle.)     Lord  Bacon.     (A 
 Confession  of  Faith.) 
 
 We  have  the  antiquity  of  the  prophets  (ver.  21)  their  number 
 (18,  24,)  their  union  and  consent  (the  mouthy  in  the  sing. 
 numb.  18,  21)  as  so  many  confirmations  of  their  credibility,  in 
 their  joint  witness  to  *'  the  sufferings  of  Cheist,  and  the  glory, 
 that  should  follow  after."     2  S.  Pet.  i.  19.     J.  F. 
 
 25  They  might  well  have  thought,  that,  in  consequence  of  their 
 enormous  guilt,  (ver.  13—15),  they  were  now  cast  off  from  God's 
 favour  ;  nor  was  it  reasonable  that  He,  whom  they  had  crucified, 
 should  any  longer  regard  them,  as  His  people.  S.  Peter  there- 
 fore raises  their  spirits.     S.  Mark  xvi.  7.     Clarius. 
 
 Ye  are  the  children  of  the  prophets,  ^c. — The  manner  of  S.  Peter's 
 reiterated  appellations — Ye  men  of  Judea,  and  all  ye,  that  in- 
 habit Jerusalem;  ye  men  of  Israel ;  men  and  brethren — of  men- 
 tioning God's  promises  made  to  them  and  their  children,  of  his 
 reply,  his  earnest  beseeching  and  exhorting  them,  that   had 
 appealed  jointly  to  him  and  the  other  Apostles,  argue,  these 
 were  the  Brethren,  he  in  particular  was  enjoined  to  convert, 
 confirm,  and  strengthen  (S.  Luke  xxii.  32 ;  Gal.  ii.  8).     And, 
 like  a  skilful  surgeon,  that  knew  by  his  own  recovery  how  to 
 prick  their  consciences  without  giving  them  a  deadly  wound,  he 
 presseth  them,  in  the  last  place,  with  '*  crucifying  the  Lord  of 
 glory."     The  mention  whereof  would  have  been  enough  in  their 
 judgment  to  have  moved  them  to  despair ;  but  this  comforter 
 knew  by  experience  that  to  be  thoroughly  touched  in  heart,  as  he 
 had  been,  for  such  foul  offences  past,  was  the  readiest  way  to  that 
 true  repentance,  which    he    found,  and  such  repentance    the 
 surest  holdfast  of  lively  faith.     But  S.   Peter,  who  was  thus 
 powerful  in  the  Circumcision,  became   *'  a  stone  of  offence  " 
 unto  the  Gentiles,  with  whom  he  had  to  deal  at  Antioch.     For 
 by  his  tripping  in  an  uncouth  way  (as  being  out  of  his  natural 
 element)  he   made  them  stumble,  and  was  justly  reproved  for 
 his  amphibious  conversation  with   men  of  tempers  so  contrary 
 by  S.  Paul,  under  whose  hands    the  edification  of  the   Gen- 
 tiles  did  better  prosper:    but    he   was  nothing    so   powerful 
 in  converting  the  Jews,  though  his  zeal  towards  them  was  no 
 less    than   S.  Peter's.      (See    at  xiii.   48.)     Eom.   ix.  1 — 5  \ 
 
 b: 
 
98f  THE  ACTS  III.  26. 
 
 X.  1 — 3  ;  2  Cor.  i.  4 ;  1  Tim.  i.  16.  Br.  Jackson.  (B.  iii.  ch. 
 7,s.6.) 
 
 26  Dr.  Hammond  in  his  Practical  Catechism,  that  most  excellent 
 summary  of  Christian  Doctrine  as  well  as  practice,  very  ably  in- 
 troduces this  text,  as  explaining  the  time  and  the  object  of  our 
 Loed's  Melchizedekian  Priesthood,  viewed  in  contradistinc- 
 tion from  His  Priesthood  "after  the  order  of  Aaron."  He  tells 
 us,  that  the  peculiar  design  of  the  Melchizedekian  Priesthood 
 was  to  Bless  ;  that  what  is  mentioned  here  was  the  Blessing  of 
 Abraham,  adverted  to  Gal.  iii.  14,  and  identified  with  the  gift 
 of  the  Spirit  for  the  purpose  of  our  Sanctification ;  and  that  in 
 this  sense  God,  having  raised  up  His  Son  Jesus,  and  instated 
 Him  into  His  second  Priestly  office.  His  first  having  ceased  on 
 His  Cross,  and  given  Him  "  the  power  of  an  indissoluble  life,'* 
 (Heb.  v.  6,  and  x.  15 — 28,)  sent  Him  to  Bless  us :  and  how  ? 
 In  turning  away  evei^y  one  of  you  from  his  iniquities,  ii.  32,  33  ; 
 V.  31,  32  ;  Gen.  xiv.  19  ;  Ps.  li.  9—11 ;  Eom.  viii.  1,  34  j  1  Cor. 
 i.  30.     J.  F. 
 
 Mount  Sinai,  from  which  the  Ten  Commandments  were  given, 
 might  be  said  to  be  the  Mount  of  Terror,  from  the  awful  judg- 
 ments, which  it  threatened;  whereas  that,  from  which  our 
 Saviour  delivered  to  us  His  sermon  on  the  Mount,  might  be 
 said  to  be  the  Mountain  of  Blessedness,  from  the  exceeding 
 great  and  gracious  promises,  which  it  holds  out :  but  on  the 
 day  of  Pentecost  we  are  come  to  the  Heavenly  Mount  Sion, 
 the  Mountain  of  Holiness,  that  Christian  Church,  in  which  the 
 Commandments  of  God  are  fulfilled  by  those,  who  inherit  the 
 promises  of  the  Gospel,  walking  in  the  Spirit  and  living  by 
 faith.  Heb.  xii.  22—24 ;  Eom.  viii.  1—4 ;  2  Cor.  iii.  6—11. 
 Plain  Sermons.     (No.  300.) 
 
 We  by  no  means  question,  but  that  the  Birth,  and  Life,  and 
 Death,  and  Eesurrection  of  our  Loed  were  acts  of  infinite 
 merit ;  merit  sufficient  to  satisfy  God's  justice  and  bring  sinners 
 to  the  terms  of  reconcilement  and  salvation :  but  we  must  not 
 imagine,  that  they  wrought  any  change  or  confusion  in  the 
 nature  of  things.  God  is  as  pure,  as  ever ;  and  iniquity  is  as 
 much  His  aversion ;  though  He  can  be  reconciled  to  sinners, 
 He  cannot  be  reconciled  to  sin  j  and,  though  the  sinner  may  be 
 
THE  ACTS  III.  26.  99 
 
 saved,  he  cannot  be  saved,  unless  he  first  be  changed:  for 
 heaven  has  now  no  more  admittance  for  corruption,  than  it  had 
 before.  And  therefore  the  unchangeable  holiness  of  God  re- 
 quires, that,  notwithstanding  all  our  Lokd  has  done  to  save  us, 
 we  should  still  "  work  out  our  own  salvation"  by  a  conformity 
 to  His  example,  as  well  as  a  dependence  on  His  merit;  nor 
 most  impiously  make  His  merit  an  encouragement  of  sin. 
 xxvi.  18  ;  Ps.  xciii.  6 ;  Heb.  xii.  14.  Br.  Toung.  (Serm.  Col. 
 iii.  2,  entitled  "A  true  estimate  of  human  life.") 
 It  would  be  of  small  benefit  to  us,  that  Cheist  had  triumphed 
 over  the  principalities  and  powers  of  darkness  without  us,  while 
 hell  and  death,  strongly  immured  in  a  fort  of  our  own  sins  and 
 corruptions,  should  tyrannize  within  us ;  that  His  Blood  should 
 speak  peace  in  heaven,  if  in  the  meanwhile  our  own  lusts  were 
 perpetually  warring  and  fighting  in  and  against  our  own  souls ; 
 that  He  hath  taken  off  our  guilt  and  "  cancelled  that  hand- 
 writing, that  was  against  us,"  which  bound  us  over  to  eternal 
 condemnation,  if  for  all  this  we  continue  fast  sealed  up  in  the 
 hellish  dungeon  of  our  own  filthy  lusts.  .  .  .  This  is  the  signal 
 and  transcendent  benefit  of  our  free  justification  through  the 
 Blood  of  Christ,  that  God's  offence,  justly  conceived  against 
 us  for  our  sins,  which  would  have  been  an  eternal  bar  and 
 restraint  to  the  efflux  of  His  grace  upon  us  being  taken  off, 
 the  Divine  grace  and  bounty  may  freely  flow  forth  upon  us. 
 The  fountain  of  the  Divine  grace  and  love  is  now  unlocked  and 
 opened,  which  our  sins  had  shut  up  ;  and  now  the  streams  of 
 holiness  and  true  goodness  from  thence  freely  flow  forth  into 
 all  gasping  souls,  that  thirst  after  them.  Eom.  viii.  30;  Titus 
 ii.  11 — 14  ;  2  S.  Pet.  i.  3.  John  8mith,  (Select  Discourse  on 
 Legal  Eighteousness,  ch.  5.) 
 
 H  2 
 
100  THE  ACTS  IV.  1, 
 
 fo  CHAPTER  IV. 
 
 A  ND    3  they  spake  unto  the  people,  the  priests,  and 
 the  captain  of  the  temple,  and  the  Sadducees, 
 came  upon  them, 
 
 2  Being  grieved  that  they  taught  the  people,  and 
 preached  through  Jesus  the  resurrection  from  the  dead. 
 
 3  And  they  laid  hands  on  them,  and  put  them  in 
 hold  unto  the  next  day :  for  it  was  now  eventide. 
 
 4  Howbeit  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, 
 
 6  And  Annas  the  high  priest,  and  Caiaphas,  and 
 John,  and  Alexander,  and  as  many  as  were  of  the 
 kindred  of  the  high  priest,  were  gathered  together  at 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 7  And  when  they  had  set  them  in  the  midst,  they 
 asked.  By  what  power,  or  by  what  name,  have  ye  done 
 this? 
 
 1  The  true,  hearty,  and  zealous  persecutors  of  Christianity  (as 
 contrasted  with  the  Pharisees,  see  at  xxiii.  7 — 9)  were  at  this 
 time  the  Sadducees,  whom  we  may  truly  call  the  freethinkers 
 among  the  Jews.  They  believed  neither  Eesurrection,  nor 
 Angel,  nor  Spirit ;  that  is,  in  plain  English,  they  were  Deists 
 at  least,  if  not  Atheists.  They  could  outwardly  comply  with 
 and  conform  to  the  Establishment  in  Church  and  State ;  and 
 they  pretended  forsooth  to  belong  only  to  a  particular  sect ; 
 and,  because  there  was  nothing  in  the  Law  of  Moses,  which 
 
THE  ACTS  IV.  2.  101 
 
 in  so  many  words  asserted  a  Resurrection,  tliey  aj.^  red  to 
 adhere  to  that  in  a  particular  manner,  beyond  any  ot^er  part 
 of  the  Old  Testament.  These  men  therefore  justly  dreaded  the 
 spreading  of  Christianity  after  the  Ascension  of  .  ar  Loed, 
 because  it  was  wholly  founded  upon  the  Eesurrection.  Yerse  17  ; 
 S.  Matt.  iii.  7 ;  xxii.  23 ;  1  Cor.  xv.  32— o4.  Addi.m.  (Evi- 
 dences of  the  Christian  Eeligion,  s.  ix.) 
 
 2  His  Eesurrection,  being  matter  of  fact,  cannot  be  supposed  in- 
 finite, but  limited  to  time  and  place ;  and  therefore  to  be 
 proved  by  them,  who  at  that  time  were  upon  the  place ;  good 
 men  and  true,  simple,  and  yet  losers  by  the  bargain,  many  and 
 united,  confident  and  constant,  preaching  it  all  their  life,  and 
 stoutly  maintaining  it  to  their  death  ;  men,  that  would  not 
 deceive  others,  and  men  that  could  not  be  deceived  themselves 
 in  a  matter  so  notorious,  and  so  proved,  and  so  seen :  and  if 
 this  be  not  sufficient  credibility  in  a  matter  of  fact,  as  this  was, 
 then  we  can  have  no  story  credibly  transmitted  to  us ;  no  re- 
 cords kept,  no  traditions  of  our  fathers,  no  memorials  of  them  in 
 the  third  generation.  Nay,  if  from  these  we  have  not  sufficient 
 causes  and  arguments  of  faith,  how  shall  we  be  able  to  know 
 the  will  of  heaven  upon  earth  ?  unless  God  do  not  only  tell 
 it  once,  but  always,  and  not  only  always  to  some  men,  but 
 always  to  all  men:  for  if  some  men  must  believe  others,  they 
 can  never  do  it  in  any  thing,  more  reasonably  than  in  this  ;  and 
 if  we  may  not  trust  them  in  this,  then  without  a  perpetual 
 miracle  no  man  could  have  faith  ;  for  faith  could  never  come 
 by  hearing,  by  nothing  but  by  seeing,  i.  3 ;  2  S.  Pet.  i.  16 ; 
 1  S.  John  i.  1—4 ;  S.  John  xix.  35  ;  xx.  31 ;  1  Cor.  xv.  15—20. 
 Bj).  J.  Taylor.  (Serm.  preached  at  the  Funeral  of  Abp. 
 Bramhall.) 
 
 Disbelievers  would  be  thought  to  be  great  patrons  of  social 
 morality :  but  one  cannot  well  conceive  how  society,  and  con- 
 sequently social  morality,  can  subsist  upon  their  principles, 
 which  are  fruitful  of  distrust  and  jealousy.  They,  who  can 
 impiously  believe  the  Apostles  to  have  been  deceivers  and 
 knaves,  must,  if  consistent  with  themselves,  believe  every  one 
 else  to  be  so  too,  as  far  as  he  has  capacity  and  opportunity. 
 They,  who  can  entertain  a  doubt  of  the  Apostles'  honesty,  after 
 
162  THE  ACTS  IV.  3,  4. 
 
 the  strongest  proofs  of  their  integrity,  that  they  could  possibly 
 give,  or  mankind  require,  must  entertain  a  general  undis- 
 tinguishing  suspicion  of  every  person  about  them.  Isa.  lix. 
 13—15  ;  S.  Luke  xvi.  31.     J.  Seed.     (Serm.  S.  John  iii.  2.) 
 
 3  They  no  more  take  them  to  Pilate,  being  ashamed  and  blushing 
 at  the  thought  of  the  former  proceeding,  and  lest  they  should  be 
 called  to  an  account  for  it.     S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 4  Mark  the  power  of  Christian  Truth.  They  see  their  leaders 
 cast  into  prison ;  and  yet  so  many  thousands  still  cling  to  them. 
 1  Cor.  i.  25.     Clarius. 
 
 How  was  this  ?  Did  they  see  them  in  honour  ?  Did  they  be- 
 hold them  put  in  bonds  ?  How  then  did  they  believe  ?  Do 
 you  see  the  evident  efficacy  ?  And  yet  (at  the  sight  of  the 
 imprisonment,  verse  3)  even  those,  that  believed  already,  might 
 well  have  become  weaker.  But  no  :  S.  Peter's  sermon  had  cast 
 the  seed  deep  into  their  hearts.  Judg.  xvi.  30;  Ps.  cxviii.  23. 
 S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 What  a  multitude  came  in  at  the  first  noise  of  the  sound 
 of  tlie    Gospel ;   primo   mane,   as   soon    as    ever   the    Sun    of 
 
 E-ighteousness  began  to  dawn Look  but  on  the  Doctor 
 
 of  the  Gentiles,  as  he  sits  in  his  chair  in  Tyrannus's  school 
 (xix.  10)  and  you  shall  find,  that  at  that  one  lecture  (which 
 indeed  was  two  years  long)  all  the  lesser  *'  Asia  heard  the  word 
 of  the  Lord  jEsrs,  both  Jews  and  Greeks."  The  three  thou- 
 sand souls,  which  were  added  to  the  Church  at  S.  Peter's  sermon 
 (ii.  41,  47)  was  a  sufficient  hour's  work,  and  a  thing,  so  ad- 
 mired by  the  wise  men  of  the  Gentiles,  that  they  imputed  it 
 Magicis  Petri  artihus  et  veneficis  carminibuSy  saith  Austin  (De 
 Civ.  Dei,  lib.  xviii.  c.  53)  to  some  incantations  and  magical 
 tricks,  which  S.  Peter  used.  And  they  got  the  dying  oracle  to 
 confirm  it  with  some  supposititious  verses,  to  the  purpose  forged 
 by  them ;  that  the  Christian  E-eligion  was  raised  by  S.  Peter's 
 witchcraft,  and  by  it  should  last  three  hundred  and  sixty-five 
 years,  and  then  be  betrayed  and  vanish.  (Conf  v.  38.)  But 
 had  these  same  Gentiles,  in  this  humour  of  malice  and  pre- 
 judice, seen  a  third  part  of  the  Eoman  world,  all  the  Pro- 
 consular Asia  converted  by  one  Paul's  disputations,  they 
 would  certainly  have  resolved,  that  all  the  sorcery  of  hell  or 
 
THE  ACTS  IV.  4—7.  103 
 
 Chaldea  could  never  have  yielded  such  miraculous  enchantments, 
 viii.  11 ;  xiii.  6 ;  xix.  13,  19  ;  S.  Mark  iii.  22.  Dr.  Hammond. 
 (Serm.  Acts  xvii.  30.) 
 
 What  a  confirmation  does  the  imputation  of  witchcraft  to  S. 
 Peter  bring  to  our  Lord's  prophecy,  S.  Matt.  xii.  24;  x.  25. 
 Thus  did  the  evil  one,  by  the  lips  of  these  accusers,  outwit 
 himself.     Ps.  x.  2.     J.  F. 
 
 5  Ati  impoteyit  man,  not  a  rich  man,  not  a  powerful  man,  not 
 noble.  Who  would  feel  envy  in  a  case  like  this  ?  It  is  a  most 
 forcible  way  of  putting  the  case :  and  he  shows  that  they  are 
 piercing  their  own  selves.     S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 7  By  what  name  ? — We  are  bound  to  "  do  all  things  in  the  Name 
 of  Jesus  Cheist,"  regulating  all  our  actions  by  His  Law,  con- 
 forming our  whole  lives  to  His  Will,  acting,  not  only  out  of 
 good  principles  (principles  of  love  and  conscience),  but  accord- 
 ing to  right  rules,  the  rules  of  His  Word  and  example,  which 
 He  hath  declared  and  prescribed  to  us ;  for  what  is  done,  beside 
 His  warrant  and  will,  cannot  be  rightly  esteemed,  as  done  in  His 
 Name,  will  not  be  so  avowed,  nor  accepted  by  Him.  ...  It  is  our 
 duty  also  to  "  do  all  things"  in  our  Sayiouk's  Name  with  faith 
 and  hope  in  Him,  wholly  relying  upon  Him  for  direction  and 
 assistance,  expecting  from  Him  only  a  Blessing,  and  happy 
 issue  of  our  undertakings.  What  we  do  in  confidence  of  our 
 own  wisdom,  or  ability,  or  in  affiance  upon  the  help  of  any  other 
 person,  or  thing,  we  do  in  our  own  name,  or  in  the  name  of 
 that  thing,  or  that  person,  in  whom  we  so  confide  :  to  ourselves, 
 or  to  such  auxiliaries,  we  shall  be  ready  to  attribute  the  success 
 and  to  render  the  glory  of  the  performance,  glorying  in  our 
 own  arm  and  "  sacrificing  to  our  own  net."  .....  On  the  other 
 side,  trusting  only  upon  our  Sayiofr  we  act  wisely  and  justly, 
 gratefully  and  officiously :  for  that,  in  doing  so,  we  build  our 
 hopes  upon  most  sure  grounds,  upon  a  wisdom,  that  cannot  be 
 deceived,  upon  a  strength,  that  cannot  be  withstood,  upon  a 
 goodness,  that  hath  no  limits,  upon  a  fidelity,  that  can  never 
 fail.     vii.  27  ;  Hab.  i.  16.     Br.  Barrow.     (Serm.  Col.  iii.  17.) 
 
 8  Then  Peter,  filled  with   the  Holy  Ghost,   said 
 unto  them,  Ye  rulers  of  the  people,  and  elders  of  Israel, 
 
104  THE  ACTS  IV.  8—11. 
 
 9  If  we  this  day  be  examined  of  the  good  deed  done 
 to  the  impotent  man,  by  what  means  he  is  made  whole  ; 
 
 10  Be  it  known  unto  you  all,  and  to  all  the  people 
 of  Israel,  that  by  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Na- 
 zareth, whom  ye  crucified,  whom  God  raised  from  the 
 dead,  even  by  Him  doth  this  man  stand  here  before 
 you  whole. 
 
 11  This  is  the  stone  which  was  set  at  nought  of 
 you  builders,  which  is  become  the  head  of  the  corner. 
 
 1 2  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  unlearned  and 
 ignorant  men,  they  marvelled ;  and  they  took  know- 
 ledge of  them,  that  they  had  been  with  Jesus. 
 
 14  And  beholding  the  man  which  was  healed  stand- 
 ing with  them,  they  could  say  nothing  against  it. 
 
 8  Filled,  at  that  very  instant.  The  grace,  that  was  in  him,  de- 
 veloped itself,  xiii.  9:  as  immediate  occasion  requires,  God 
 actuates  His  instruments.  Full,  at  ch.  vi.  3,  5,  denotes  the 
 internal  habit.     Bengel. 
 
 9  As  if  he  should  say  to  them,  worthy  Magistrates  are  not  "  a 
 terror  to  good  works,  but  to  the  evil."  How  is  it  then  that  we 
 are  now  called  in  question  for  this  good  deed?  Eom.  xiii.  3. 
 N.  Selneccerus.     (In  loco.) 
 
 10  When  there  was  need  to  teach,  observe,  how  they  speak  and 
 allege  many  prophecies  ;  but,  when  the  point  was  to  use  bold- 
 ness of  speech,  then  they  only  speak  peremptorily.  Conf. 
 verse  12.     S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 11  Christ  is  the  "foundation  stone  :"  nothing  can  stand,  which 
 is  not  built  upon  Cheist.  Secondly,  He  is  Lapis  Angularis, 
 "  a  corner  stone,"  that  unites   things  most   disunited.      And 
 
THE  ACTS  IV.  11.  105 
 
 then  He  is  Lapis  Jacob,  the  stone,  that  Jacob  slept  upon. 
 Fourthly,  He  is  Lapis  Davidis,  the  stone,  that  David  slew 
 G-oliath  withal.  And  lastly,  He  is  Lapis  Petra,  such  a  stone,  as  is 
 a  Eock ;  and  such  a  Eock,  as  no  water  or  storms  can  remove  or 
 shake.  Cheist  Jesus  is  a  stone  :  no  firmness,  but  in  Him.  A 
 fundamental  stone  :  no  building,  but  on  Him.  A  corner  stone  : 
 no  piecing  nor  reconciliation,  but  in  Him.  And  Jacob's  stone  : 
 no  rest,  no  tranquillity,  but  in  Him.  And  David's  stone : 
 no  anger,  no  revenge,  but  in  Him.     And  a  rocky  stone :  no 
 
 defence  against  troubles  and  tribulations,  but  in  Him 
 
 Cheist,  in  the  foundation,  is  the  root  of  faith  :  in  the  corner, 
 He  is  the  root  of  charity.  Consider  what  divers  things  He 
 unites.  ...  In  His  Person,  He  brought  together  two  natures, 
 naturally  incompatible.  In  His  office.  He  united  God  to  man, 
 yea,  rebellious  man  to  jealous  God.  ...  In  His  power.  He  is 
 such  a  corner  stone,  as  that  He  is  the  God  of  peace,  love,  union, 
 and  concord  .  .  .  reconciling  man  to  man,  and  making  us  meet 
 
 close  in  His  bosom Cheist  is  Lapis  David,  the  stone, 
 
 with  which  David  slew  Goliath,  and  with  which  we  may  over- 
 come all  our  enemies.  SiciU  baculus  cruets,  ita  lapis  Christi 
 hahuit  typum  (Aug.)  David's  stafi"  was  a  type  of  the  Cross  ;  and 
 the  stone  was  a  type  of  Cheist.  .  .  .  And  this  is  that  stone, 
 that  enables  the  weakest  man  to  overthrow  the  strongest  sin,  if 
 he  proceed,  as  David  did.  1  Sam.  xiv.  14,  15  ;  Deut.  xxxii.  31 ; 
 Dan.  ii.  34,  35;  Ps.  xxiii.  4.  Br.  Bonne.  (Serm.  S.  Matt. 
 xxi.  24.) 
 
 Ye  are  the  stones  of  the  Temple  of  the  Pathee,  prepared  for 
 His  building,  and  drawn  up  on  high  by  the  Cross  of  Cheist, 
 as  by  an  engine,  using  the  Holt  Ghost,  as  the  rope ;  your 
 
 .  faith  being  your  support,  and  your  charity  the  way,  that  leads 
 unto  God.  Eph.  ii.  20—22  ;  1  S.  Pet.  ii.  4—8.  S.  Ignatius. 
 (Ep.  ad  Eph.  s.  9.) 
 
 Ps.  cxviii.  22.  This  is  my  own  Psalm,  my  favourite  Psalm.  I 
 love  them  all;  I  love  the  whole  Gospel :  for  it  is  my  sole  con- 
 solation, my  sole  life.  But  I  have  more  especially  attached 
 myself  to  this  Psalm,  and  have,  in  truth,  a  right  to  call  it  my 
 own.  It  has  deserved  well  of  me  ;  it  has  saved  me  from  many 
 a  difficulty,  which  neither  the  emperor,  nor  kings,  nor  wise  men, 
 
108  THE  ACTS  IV.    11,  12. 
 
 nor  saints,  could  have  extricated  me  from.  It  is  dearer  to  me, 
 than  all  the  honours,  all  the  power  of  the  world.  I  would  not 
 exchange  it  for  the  whole  earth,  if  I  could.  Ps.  xciv.  19  ;  cxix. 
 60.  Luther.  (Dedication  of  his  translation  of  it  to  Frederick, 
 Abbot  of  Nuremberg.) 
 
 Pons,  via,  dextra,  Lapis,  vitulus,  leo,  lucifer,  agnus, 
 
 •  Janua,  spes,  virtus,  Verbum,  sapientia,  Yates, 
 Hostia,  virgultum,  pastor,  mons,  rete,  columba, 
 Elamma,  gigas,  aquila,  sponsus,  patientia,  vermis, 
 
 •  Filius  Excelsus,  Dominus,  Deus — omnia  Christus. 
 
 Ennodius.     (Carm.  Lib.  i.  Dictio  9.) 
 12  It  is  a  Name  of  truth  and  fidelity ;  thou  canst  not  distrust  it. 
 It  is  a  Name  of  might  and  power  ;  thou  mayest  rest  upon  it. 
 It  is  a  Name  of  majesty  and  glory  ;  thou  must  exalt  it.     It  is  a 
 Name  of  grace  and  mercy ;  thou  must  praise  Him  for  it,  and 
 commit  thyself  unto  it.     It  is  a  Name  of  sweetness  and  com- 
 fort ;  thou  must  rejoice  and  be  glad  in  it.     It  is  a  Name  of 
 wonder  and  admiration  ;  thou  must  admire  and  declare  it.     It  is 
 a  Name  of  adoration ;  thou  must  adore  it.     iii.  16  ;  Ps.  xxix.  2 ; 
 Ixxxvi.  9 ;    cxi.  9 ;    cxl.  13 ;    cxxxviii.  2  ;    cxlv.  2.     Br.   Mark 
 Frank.     (Serm.  S.  Luke  ii.  21.) 
 He   is   "the  way:"    men   without  Him   are    Cains,   wanderers, 
 vagabonds.     He  is  "  the  trutli :"  men  without  Him  are  liars, 
 devils,  who  was  so  of  old.     He  is  "  the  life  :"  without  Him  men 
 are  dead,  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins.    He  is  "  the  light :"  without 
 Him  men  are  in  darkness,  and  go  they  know  not  whither.     He  is 
 "  the  vine  :"  those,  that  are  not  grafted  in  Him,  are  withered 
 branches,  prepared  for  the  fire.     He  is  "  the  rock :"  men,  not 
 built  on  Him,  are  carried  away  with  a  flood.     He  is  A  and   O, 
 the  first  and  the  last,  the  author  and  the  ender,  the  founder 
 and   the  finisher,  of  our  salvation.     He,  that  hath  not  Him, 
 hath  neither  beginning  of  good,  nor  shall  have  end  of  misery. 
 O  Blessed  Jesus  !  how  much  better  were  it,  not  to  be,  than  to 
 be  without  Thee  ?     Never  to  be  born,  than  not  to  die  in  Thee  ? 
 A  thousand  hells  come  short  of  this.  Eternally  to  want  Jesus 
 Christ,  as  men  do,  that  want  the  Grospel.     Job  i.  3 — 5  ;  Eph. 
 iv.  18 ;  S.  Matt.   vii.   26,  27 ;  xvi.   18 ;  Eev.  iii.   17,   18.     Dr. 
 Owen.     (Serm.  before  the  Parliament,  a.d.  1646.) 
 
THE  ACTS  IV.  12,  13.  107 
 
 Mille  modls  morimur  mortales,  nascimur  uno  ; 
 Sunt  hominum  morbi  mille,  sed  una  salus. 
 
 Joan.  Audoenus.     (Epigr.) 
 
 13  What  an  heroic  freedom  of  spirit  appears  in  these  words 
 what  magnanimity  and  courage  was  there  now  in  that  person, 
 who  durst,  in  the  face  of  this  Court,  tell  them  of  their  murder, 
 and  that  there  was  no  salvation,  but  by  Him,  whom  they  had 
 crucified  !  Well  might  they  wonder  at  the  boldness  of  the  men, 
 who   feared   not  the   same   death,   which   they   had   so  lately 
 
 brought  their  Lord  and  Master  to Where  do  we  ever 
 
 read  of  any  such  boldness  and  courage  in  the  most  knowing 
 philosophers  of  the  heathens  ?  with  what  faintness  and  mis- 
 givings of  mind  doth  Socrates  speak  in  his  famous  discourse, 
 supposed  to  be  made  by  him  before  his  death  ?  How  uncer- 
 tainly doth  he  speak  of  a  state  of  immortality  ?  and  yet,  in  all 
 probability,  Plato  set  it  forth  with  all  advantages  imaginable. 
 Where  do  we  find,  that  ever  any  of  the  great  friends  of 
 Socrates,  who  were  present  at  his  death,  as  Phsedo,  Cebes, 
 Crito,  and  Simmias  durst  enter  the  Areopagus,  and  condemn 
 them  there  for  the  murder  of  Socrates,  though  this  would  be 
 far  short  of  what  the  Apostles  did  ?  why  were  they  not  so 
 charitable,  as  to  inform  the  world  better  of  those  grand  truths 
 of  the  Being  of  G-od  and  Immortality  of  souls,  if  at  least 
 they  were  fully  convinced  of  them  themselves  ?  Why  did  not 
 Plato  at  least  speak  out,  and  tell  the  world  the  truth,  and  not 
 disguise  his  discourses  under  feigned  names,  the  better  to  avoid 
 accusation  and  the  fate  of  Socrates  ?  Ezek.  ii.  6,  7 ;  Eom.  i. 
 15,  16 ;  X.  9, 10.     Bp.  Stillingfleet.     (Orig.  Sacrse,  b.  ii.  c.  9.) 
 
 I  am  of  opinion,  that  Jesus  did  purposely  make  use  of  such 
 preachers  of  His  doctrine,  that  there  might  be  no  place  for  sus- 
 picion that  they  came  instructed  with  the  arts  of  sophistry  ;  but 
 that  it  be  clearly  manifest  to  all,  that  would  consider  it,  that 
 there  was  nothing  of  design  in  those,  who  discovered  so  much 
 simplicity  in  their  writings,  and  that  they  had  a  more  Divine 
 power,  which  was  more  efficacious  than  the  greatest  volubility  of 
 expressions,  or  ornaments  of  speech,  or  the  artifices,  which  were 
 used  in  the  Grecian  compositions.  1  Cor.  ii.  4;  iv.  3,  4; 
 2  Cor.  iii.  12  ;  iv.  2.     Origen.     (Adv.  Celsum  Lib.  3.) 
 
108  THE  ACTS  IV.  13,  14. 
 
 The  contempt,  injustice,  and  cruelty,  with  which  persecutors  treat 
 the  harmless  disciples  of  Cheist,  give  them  an  occasion  of  dis- 
 covering that  amiable  conduct  and  spirit,  which  accord  with  the 
 precepts  of  Scripture,  and  the  example  of  persecuted  prophets 
 and  apostles.  .  .  .  And  even,  if  greater  severity  be  at  length 
 determined  on,  persevering  prudence,  meekness,  and  patience, 
 amidst  all  the  rage  of  their  enemies,  will  bear  testimony  for 
 them  in  the  consciences  of  many  members ;  their  religion  will 
 appear  beautiful,  in  proportion  as  their  persecutors  betray  their 
 own  odious  deformity ;  God  will  be  with  them  to  comfort  and 
 deliver  them  ;  He  will  be  honoured  by  their  profession  and 
 behaviour,  and  many  will  derive  the  most  important  advantage 
 from  their  patient  sufferings  and  cheerful  fortitude  in  adhering 
 to  the  truths  of  the  Gospel.  Th.  Scott.  (Note  to  Pilgrim's 
 Progress.) 
 
 Had  been  with  Jestjs. — The  truest  proof  of  a  man's  religion  is 
 the  quality  of  his  companions.  0 !  let  not  the  company  of 
 earthly  sinners  hinder  thee  from  the  society  of  heavenly  Saints 
 and  Angels !    i.  21 ;  Ps.  i.  1.    Bp.  Baily.    (Practice  of  Piety,  s.  5.) 
 
 14  Standing  with  them. — Great  was  the  boldness  of  the  man  ;  that 
 even  in  the  Judgment  hall  he  has  not  left  them.  S.  Mark  v. 
 18  ;  S.  John  v.  13.     S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 No  imposture  can  stand  the  test  of  a  severe  examination,  when 
 men  of  power  and  policy  interest  themselves  in  the  detection  of 
 it,  and  are  resolved  to  go  to  the  bottom  of  it.  Impostures  need 
 only  to  be  held  up  to  the  light,  to  be  seen  through :  but  Chris- 
 tianity, the  more  thoroughly  it  was  canvassed,  and  the  more 
 vigorously  it  was  opposed,  the  more  it  gained  footing  in  the 
 world.  Imposture  loves  obscurity ;  a  genuine  miracle  desires 
 to  be  set  in  the  strongest  point  of  view,  and  challenges  the 
 nearest  inspection  of  the  most  penetrating  Judge.  Verse  22 ; 
 S.  John  i.  46 ;  iii.  21,  22.     J.  Seed.     (Serm.  S.  John  iii.  2.) 
 
 15  But  when  they  had  commanded  them  to  go  aside 
 out  of  the  council,  they  conferred  among  themselves, 
 
 16  Saying,  What  shall  we  do  to  these  men?    for 
 that  indeed  a  notable  miracle  hath  been  done  by  them 
 
THE  ACTS  IV.  16.  109 
 
 is  manifest  to  all  them  that  dwell  in  Jerusalem ;  and 
 we  cannot  deny  it. 
 
 1 7  But  that  it  spread  no  further  among  the  people, 
 let  us  straitly  threaten  them,  that  they  speak  hence- 
 forth to  no  man  in  this  name. 
 
 18  And  they  called  them,  and  commanded  them 
 not  to  speak  at  all  nor  teach  in  the  name  of  Jesus. 
 
 19  But  Peter  and  John  answered  and  said  unto 
 them.  Whether  it  be  right  in  the  sight  of  God  to 
 hearken  unto  you  more  than  unto  God,  judge  ye. 
 
 20  For  we  cannot  but  speak  the  things  which  we 
 have  seen  and  heard. 
 
 21  So  when  they  had  further  threatened  them,  they 
 let  them  go,  finding  nothing  how  they  might  punish 
 them,  because  of  the  people :  for  all  men  glorified  God 
 for  that  which  was  done. 
 
 22  For  the  man  was  above  forty  years  old,  on  whom 
 this  miracle  of  healing  was  showed. 
 
 16  The  Jews,  a  nation  wild  and  savage,  nursed  in  the  lap  of 
 murder,  and  more  ruthless  than  the  hungry  wolf,  a  people,  who 
 
 •  had  overturned  their  altars,  who  had  profaned  their  rights,  who 
 had  immolated  their  priests,  a  people,  nurtured  with  the  groans 
 of  the  prophets  and  still  reeking  with  a  Sayiour's  Blood,  the 
 Jews,  having  seized  two  fishermen,  illiterate,  lowly  and  obscure, 
 holding  these  fishermen  in  chains  unarmed  and  naked — who 
 boasted  no  treasured  wealth,  no  hardihood  of  body,  no  strength 
 of  reasoning,  no  brilliancy  of  rhetoric,  no  illustrious  ancestors, 
 no  country  glorious  for  its  deeds — yet  stand  amazed,  bewildered, 
 lost,  exclaiming  to  each  other,  What  shall  we  do  with  these  men  ? 
 Such  is  the  omnipotence  of  virtue ;  and  thus  are  the  truths  of 
 God  established,     xxiv.  25  ;   Deut.  xxviii.  10  ;   xxxii.  30 ;    Ex. 
 
 -  X.  7  ;  1  Sam.  v.  8  ;  S.  John  xviii.  6.  ^S.  Chrysostom.  (Serm.  on 
 the  Prop,  of  the  Grospel.j 
 
110  THE  ACTS  IV.   16—19. 
 
 A  notable  miracle. — Let  us  make  our  practice  of  the  Gospel,  like 
 the  first  proofs  of  it,  plain  and  conspicuous ;  and  endeavour 
 with  all  our  power  to  recommend  the  doctrine,  we  embrace,  to 
 the  hearts  of  men  as  openly  and  powerfully  by  our  good  lives 
 and  actions,  as  the  first  planters  of  it  did  by  their  miraculous 
 performances.  S.  Matt.  v.  14,  &c. ;  S.  John  iii.  20,  21 ;  xviii. 
 20,  21 ;  IS.  Pet.  ii.  12.     Bp.  Atterbunj.     (Serm.  Acts  xxvi.  26.) 
 
 If  the  miracles,  related  by  our  writers,  be  true,  they  give  evident 
 experiment  of  the  truth  of  Scripture ;  but,  if  there  were  no  such 
 particular  miracles,  but  all  feigned,  then  this  was  a  miracle 
 above  all  miracles,  that  Christian  religion  should  prevail  against 
 all  other  arts,  power,  or  policy,  without  any  extraordinary  event 
 or  miracle.  .  .  .  He,  who  now  demands  a  miracle  to  make  him 
 believe,  is  a  mighty  miracle  himself,  inasmuch  as,  all  the  world 
 around  him  believing,  he  believes  not.  S.  Augustine.  (De  Civ. 
 Dei.  Lib.  xxii.  c.  8.) 
 
 17  God  and  His  truth  are  still  the  same,  though  the  foundations 
 of  the  w^orld  be  shaken.  Julianus  redivivus  can  shut  the  schools 
 indeed  and  the  temples ;  but  he  cannot  hinder  our  private  inter- 
 courses and  devotions,  where  the  breast  is  the  chapel,  and  our 
 heart  is  the  altar.  God  will  accept,  what  remains ;  and  supply, 
 what  is  necessary,  xvi.  25.  J.  Evelyn.  (Letter  to  Bp.  J. 
 Taylor,    a.d.  1655.) 
 
 19  When  the  terror  was  abated  (for  that  command^  verse  18,  was 
 tantamount  to  their  being  dismissed),  then  the  Apostles  speak 
 more  mildly  :  so  far  were  they  from  mere  bravado.    S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 The  Word  of  God  is  not  my  Word ;  I  therefore  cannot  abandon 
 it :  but  in  all  things,  short  of  that,  I  am  ready  to  be  docile  and 
 obedient.  .  .  .  You  shall  have  my  blood,  my  life,  rather  than  a 
 single  word  of  retractation :  for  it  is  better  to  obey  God,  than 
 to  obey  man.  It  is  no  fault  of  mine,  that  this  matter  creates 
 confusion  among  you.  I  cannot  prevent  the  Word  of  Cheist 
 becoming  a  stumbling-block  to  men.  ...  I  know  well,  that  we 
 must  pay  obedience  to  the  Civil  Magistrate,  even  though  he  be 
 not  a  man  after  God's  own  heart :  and  I  am  quite  ready  to  pay 
 that  obedience  in  every  matter,  that  does  not  shut  out  the  Word 
 of  God.  Numb.  xxii.  18 ;  1  Kings  xxii.  13,  14  ;  Dan.  v. 
 Luther.     (Conference  at  Worms.) 
 
THE  ACTS  IV.  19,  20.  Ill 
 
 "  If  the  foundations  be  destroyed,  what  can  the  righteous  do  ?" 
 This  seems  to  be  spoken  in  order,  to  discourage  David  from 
 making  any  farther  resistance  by  the  consideration  that  all  was 
 over:  the  "foundations"  of  religion  and  law  were  subverted: 
 and  what  could  a  man,  engaged  in  the  most  righteous  designs, 
 hope  to  "  do,"  when  that  was  the  case  ?  Such  arguments  are 
 often  used  by  the  timid,  in  similar  circumstances  :  but  they  are 
 fallacious  ;  since  all  is  not  over,  while  there  is  a  man  left  to  re- 
 prove error,  and  to  bear  testimony  to  the  truth.  And  a  man, 
 who  does  it  with  becoming  spirit,  may  stop  a  prince  or  senate, 
 when  in  full  career,  and  recover  the  day.  Isa.  xxxvii.  10 — 13  ; 
 G-en.  vi.  9 — 12  ;  Ps.  xxvii.  3.  Bp.  Home.  (Comment,  on  Ps.  xi.  3.) 
 
 I  hate  to  see  a  thing  done  by  halves  :  if  it  be  right,  do  it  boldly ; 
 if  it  be  wrong,  leave  it  alone.     Gral.  iv.  18  ;  Col.  iii.  23.     Gilpin. 
 
 20  If  the  Grospel  was  an  imposture,  and  if  Cheist  died  to  rise  no 
 more,  what  gave  this  fresh  courage  to  S.  Peter  ?  Had  he  more 
 confidence  in  a  dead  man,  than  in  his  Master,  whilst  on  earth  ? 
 If  he  had  not  seen  Cheist  come  from  the  grave,  nor  received 
 the  power  of  the  Spieit,  what  could  move  him  to  expose  him- 
 self for  the  sake  of  Cheist,  for  whose  sake,  whilst  on  earth  and 
 whilst  tlie  hopes  of  His  being  the  Soif  of  God  were  strong,  he 
 dared  not  expose  himself  ?  This  plainly  shows,  that  the  Hand 
 of  God  w^as  with  him,  and  is  an  evidence  to  us  that  our  faith  ia 
 the  work  of  God,  and  not  of  man.  Heb.  xi.  34  ;  Ps.  cxliv.  1. 
 Bp.  Sherlock.     (Serm.  S.  Luke  xxii.  61,  62.) 
 
 Sicut  incauta  locutio  in  errorem  pertrahit,  ita  indiscretum  silentium 
 iti  errore  relinquit.  As  an  imprudent  speech  draws  men  into 
 error,  so  an  unwise  silence  leaves  them  in  it.  xx.  26,  27  ;  S. 
 John  vii.  50.     aS".  Gregory  (in  Moral.) 
 
 We  must  not  reserve  in  silence  the  mystery  of  human  !Redemp- 
 tion,  although  we  be  unable  to  explain  it.  1  S.  John  i.  1 — 4. 
 P.  Leo.     (1  Serm.  de  Passione,  7.) 
 
 It  is  the  way  of  lovers  to  be  unable  to  conceal  their  love,     xvii, 
 16,  17 ;  Jer.  xx.  7 — 9  ;  S.  Matt.  xii.  34.     S.  Augustine. 
 De  Deo  Mussd  quoties  loquuntur, 
 Non  eis  portas  facile  invenire  est 
 Obvias  vocum,  propriisque  Numen 
 Dicere  verbis. 
 
112  THE  ACTS  IV.  21. 
 
 Namque  rea  tanta  est  Deus,  ut  capaces 
 
 lUius  non  sit  reperire  sensus, 
 
 Bite  nee  Sacrum  queat  uUa  Nomen 
 Lingua  profari. 
 
 At  fides  nostris  simul  ac  refusa  est 
 
 Mentibus,  fulget  nova  Lux  repente, 
 
 Et  Deum  fixis  vigil  intuetur 
 
 Sensus  ocellis. 
 
 Solvitur  linguae  prius  impeditse 
 
 Tarditas,  crescit  pius  ore  sermo  ; 
 
 Nubilis  et  Lux  animi  recessus 
 
 Intrat  abactis. 
 ii.  11 ;  Ps.  cxvi.  10.  Salm.  Macrinus. 
 (Hymn.  Lib.  ii.) 
 21  Because  of  the  people — all  men. — If  these  miracles  had  not  been 
 matter  of  undoubted  fact,  they  could  not  have  been  inserted  at 
 first  in  the  Gospel  history  :  for  then  many  thousands  in  various 
 countries  wevQ  alive  to  confute  them :  and  they  could  not  have 
 been  intruded  into  it  afterwards ;  for  all  the  world  would  see, 
 that  it  was  then  too  late,  and  that,  if  there  had  been  such  things, 
 they  should  have  heard  of  them  before  :  for  they  were  much 
 more  necessary  for  the  first  propagation  of  Christianity,  than 
 for  its  support,  when  received.  Verse  14,  16.  Davies.  (Serm. 
 S.  Luke  xvi.  27—31.) 
 We  ought  to  observe,  in  respect  to  almost  all  the  prophecies  in 
 both  Testaments,  that  while  they  promised  benefits  and  blessings 
 to  some,  they  threatened  others  with  disgrace,  destruction,  and 
 curses ;  that  therefore  if  there  were  some,  who  had  reason  to 
 wish  for  their  completion,  there  were  others,  no  less  interested  to 
 oppose,  and,  if  possible,  to  prevent  it ;  and  that,  in  most  in- 
 stances, the  opposers  had  all  the  advantages,  worldly  power  and 
 policy  could  give  them  ;  while  they,  who  wished  well  to  the 
 completion,  were  wholly  destitute  of  both.  .  .  .  This  was  seen 
 remarkably  in  the  case  of  Cheist's  resurrection.  .  .  .  The  same 
 thing  is  as  remarkably  evident  in  the  history  of  the  three  suc- 
 ceeding centuries.  Cueist  foretold  great  and  terrible  perse- 
 cutions and  also  universal  success  to  His  followers.  Now  did 
 not  the  refutation  of  His  prophecy,  as  to  the  persecutions,  Hq 
 
THE  ACTS  IV.  21.  113 
 
 in  the  hands  of  the  Jews  and  Homans  ?  Had  they  anything 
 more  to  do,  in  order  to  prove  Him  a  false  prophet,  and  conse- 
 quently an  impostor,  than  only  not  to  persecute  ?  Yet  they 
 did  persecute,  and  that  most  cruelly  at  times,  for  the  space  of 
 three  hundred  years ;  and  by  that  very  means  not  only  verified 
 this  prophecy,  but  also  thereby  did  more  towards  verifying  the 
 other,  concerning  the  successful  preaching  of  Christianity,  than 
 they  could  have  done  by  any  other  possible  expedient ;  for  the 
 wounds  of  the  Martyrs  were  infinitely  more  eloquent,  than  their 
 mouths.  Deut.  xxviii. ;  S.  John  xvi.  1 — 4.  Skelton.  (Serm. 
 2  Tim.  iii.  14—17.) 
 It  is  an  act  of  Gron's  mercy,  acknowledged  by  few,  when  He 
 thwarts  our  evil  designs,  xii.  2,  3  ;  xxvii.  42  ;  Gen.  xx.  6. 
 Quesnel. 
 
 23  And  being  let  go,  they  went  to  their  own  com- 
 pany, and  reported  all  that  the  chief  Priests  and  elders 
 had  said  unto  them. 
 
 24  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,  and  the 
 sea,  and  all  that  in  them  is  : 
 
 25  Who  by  the  mouth  of  Thy  servant  David  hast 
 said,  Why  did  the  heathen  rage,  and  the  people  ima- 
 gine vain  things  ? 
 
 26  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  Pontius 
 Pilate,  with  the  Gentiles,  and  the  people  of  Israel, 
 were  gathered  together, 
 
 28  For  to  do  whatsoever  Thy  hand  and  Thy  counsel 
 determined  before  to  be  done. 
 
114  THE  ACTS  IV.  24,  25. 
 
 29  And  now,  Lord,  behold  their  threatenings :  and 
 grant  unto  Thy  servants,  that  with  all  boldness  they 
 may  speak  Thy  Word, 
 
 30  By  stretching  forth  Thine  hand  to  heal ;  and 
 that  signs  and  wonders  may  be  done  by  the  name  of 
 Thy  holy  child  Jesus. 
 
 24  Let  us  sing  the  six-and-fortieth  Psalm,  in  spite  of  the  devil  and 
 all  his  instruments,  v.  41 ;  xvi.  25  ;  Eom.  iv.  20.  Luther  (in 
 the  midst  of  his  persecutions). 
 
 Persecution  is  the  honour,  the  prosperity,  the  flourishing  condi- 
 tion of  a  Church  ;  for  it  brings  her  out  of  the  shadow  into  the 
 Sun ;  makes  her,  indeed,  Visible  ;  puts  her  to  her  "  whole 
 armour,"  to  her  whole  strength,  to  the  whole  substance  of  her 
 faith ;  that  she  may  suffer  and  conquer ;  which,  indeed,  is  to  be 
 a  Church.  Nazianzen,  I  remember,  calls  it  "  the  Mystery  of 
 persecution,"  Sacr amentum  sanguinis,  a  visible  sign  of  invisible 
 Grrace,  when  one  thing  is  seen,  and  another  thing  done ;  when 
 the  Christian  suffers,  and  rejoices ;  is  cast  down,  and  promoted ; 
 falls  by  the  sword  to  rise  to  Eternity ;  when  glory  lies  hid  in 
 disgrace,  advantage  in  loss,  increase  in  diminution,  and  Life  in 
 death ;  Ecclesia  in  attonito,  a  Church,  shining  in  the  midst  of 
 all  the  blackness,  and  darkness,  and  terrors  of  the  world. 
 Floridi  Mar  tyres,  they  are  called  by  S.  Cyprian.  2  Cor.  iv.  10 ; 
 xii.  9  ;  Phil.  i.  20.     Farindon.     (Serm.  Gal.  iv.  39.) 
 
 Wheatley  (On  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer.  Introd.)  takes  great 
 pains  to  prove,  that  this  was  a  pre-composed  form  of  prayer, 
 which  served  on  like  occasions  of  difficulty  and  persecution,  as  a 
 guide  to  the  devotions  of  the  Church  ;  but  it  seems  more  likely 
 to  have  been  the  effect  of  immediate  inspiration  at  the  time. 
 Grotius  has  this  comment  on  1  Cor.  xiv.  26  :  Etiam  extemporales 
 hymni  scepe  ah  afflatu  erant.  S.  Mark  xiii.  11;  2  Sam.  vii.  27.  J.  F. 
 
 25  The  terms  Lord  and  God  are  here  used  to  express  the  Divinity 
 of  Him,  who  spake  by  the  mouth  of  His  servant  David.  But  it 
 was  the  Person  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  spake  by  the  mouth  of 
 His  servant  David;  for  saith  S.  Peter,  "  This  Scripture  must 
 needs  have  been  fulfilled,  which  the  Holy  Gkost  by  the  mouth 
 
THE  ACTS  IV.  26—28.  115 
 
 of  David  spake."  Therefore  the  terms  Lord  and  God  are  cer- 
 tainly used  to  express  the  Divinity  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  So 
 again,  it  was  "  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  who  spake  by  the  mouth 
 of  His  holy  Prophets  since  the  world  began,"  S.  Luke  i.  68,  70 : 
 but  then  it  is  written,  "  "Well  spake  the  Holt  Ghost  by  Esaias 
 the  Prophet,"  &c.  Therefore  the  Holy  Ghost  is  "the  Lord 
 God  of  Israel."  v.  3,  4 ;  xxxviii.  20 ;  S.  Luke  ii.  26,  29 ;  1  Cor. 
 xii.  3 — 6.  W.  Jones.  (On  the  Catholic  Doctrine  of  the  Trinity. 
 Ch.  ii.  s.  19.) 
 
 26  The  Spirit  teaches  us  by  this  expression  that  all,  who  refuse  to 
 submit  to  Christ,  contend  against  God.  S.  John  v.  23.  Calvin, 
 
 Never  were  the  power  and  malice  of  earthly  princes  more 
 violently  bent  to  hinder  the  building  of  Jerusalem,  or  to  pull 
 down  what  was  already  built,  than  they  were  to  prevent  the 
 edification  of  the  Church,  and  to  root  up  its  foundations.  But 
 the  event,  with  regard  to  the  latter,  was  the  same,  which 
 had  often  happened,  in  the  case  of  the  former  .  .  .  The  poten- 
 tates of  the  world  saw  the  miracles  of  the  Apostles,  the  courage 
 and  constancy  of  the  Martyrs,  and  the  daily  increase  of  the 
 Church,  notwithstanding  all  their  persecutions;  they  beheld 
 with  astonishment  the  rapid  progress  of  the  faith  through  the 
 Eoman  Empire  ;  they  called  upon  their  gods,  but  their  gods  could 
 not  help  themselves :  idolatry  expired  at  the  foot  of  the  victorious 
 Cross ;  and  the  power,  which  supported  it,  became  Christian. 
 Ps.  ii.  ;  Nehem.  iv.,  vi.     Bp.  Home.     (Comment.     Ps.  xlviii.) 
 
 27  Unity,  apart  from  truth,  is  proditio,  a  conspiracy  ....  The 
 wicked  conspire  against  the  just,  not  from  any  love  they  bear 
 to  each  other,  but  from  the  hatred  they  have  in  common  towards 
 Him,  whom  they  ought  to  love,  xxiii.  6  ;  S.  Luke  xxiii.  12 ; 
 Dan.  vi.  4 — 7  ;  Wisd.  ii.  12.  S.  Augustine.  (In  Psalm  xxvi. 
 Com.  2.) 
 
 Pontius  Pilate  with  the  Gentiles. — They,  that  had  overcome  the 
 world,  could  not  strangle  Christianity.  Eom.  i.  15  ;  Phil.  iv. 
 22.     Bp.  J.  Taylor. 
 
 28  It  is  not  said,  that  God  decreed,  that  Pilate,  Herod,  &c. 
 should  do  what  they  did ;  but,  at  most,  that  they  did  what  God 
 had  decreed  to  be  done.  P.  Limborch.  (Complete  system  of 
 Divinity.     B.  ii.  ch.  x.  s.  3.) 
 
 i2 
 
116  THE  ACTS  IV.  28,  29. 
 
 The  deed  we  see  is  imputed  to  the  human  agents  ;  the  effect  of  it, 
 and  the  effect  alone,  to  the  hand  and  counsel  of  GrOD  ;  He,  ordain- 
 ing an  effect  from  an  evil  act  foreseen,  appoints  the  suffering  by 
 His  predestination,  and  permits  the  act  foreknown  to  the  doer's 
 will.     ii.  23  ;  Hom.  viii.  29.    Davison.     (Disc,  on  Prophecy,  7.) 
 
 Because  nothing  in  the  world,  either  good  or  bad,  happens  with- 
 out God's  permission  and  governance,  and  the  devil  himself  must 
 obtain  licence  from  Him,  before  he  can  tempt  any  man,  or  do 
 us  any  mischief  (Job  ii.  6  ;  1  Kings  xxi.  22),  since  GrOD  seeth 
 whatever  is  done,  and  with  greatest  ease  could  hinder  it ;  and 
 doth  not  otherwise,  than  for  some  good  end,  suffer  any  evil  to 
 be  designed  or  achieved,  it  is  the  style  of  Scripture  to  attribute 
 such  things  in  some  sense  to  Him ;  as  when  God  is  said  to 
 "send  Joseph  into  Egypt  to  preserve  life,"  whereas,  in  truth, 
 his  brethren  out  of  envy  and  ill-will  did  sell  him  thither ;  and 
 God  is  said  to  "move  David  to  number  the  people,"  whereas 
 indeed  "  Satan,"  as  it  is  otherwise  affirmed,  "provoked  him  to 
 number  them ;"  and  that  horrid  Tragedy,  acted  by  the  Jews 
 upon  our  Blessed  Savioue,  is  said  to  be  brought  to  pass  by  the 
 hand  and  definite  counsel  of  God  ;  because  God,  foreseeing  the 
 temptations,  which  those  men  should  incur  of  committing  such 
 acts  and  their  inclinations  to  perform  them,  did  resolve  not  to 
 interpose  His  power  in  hindrance  of  them,  but,  suffering  them 
 to  proceed,  would  turn  their  mischievous  practices  to  an  excel- 
 lently good  end,  and  use  them,  as  instruments  of  His  just,  holy 
 and  gracious  purposes.  Gen.  Ixv.  5  ;  2  Sam.  xxiv.  1 ;  1  Chron. 
 xxi.  1 ;  Ps.  Ixxxi.  11,  12.  Br.  Barrow.  (Exposition  of  the 
 Lord's  Prayer.) 
 
 Does  not  God  employ  the  Gentiles,  as  the  means  of  exhibiting 
 His  power  ?  heretics,  as  the  means  of  proving  the  truth  of 
 His  doctrines  ?  schismatics,  as  evidence  of  His  unchangeable- 
 ness  ?  Jews,  as  manifestations  of  the  beauty  of  His  holiness  ? 
 Ps.  cxlv.  10.     S.  Augustine. 
 
 29  When  thou  prayest  against  the  enemies  of  God  and  His 
 Church,  direct  thy  prayers  rather  against  their  plots,  than  per- 
 son. Thus  the  Apostles,  And  now^  Loed,  behold  their  threat- 
 enings  ;  not  confound  their  persons,  but  behold  their  threaten- 
 ings :  and  so  they  leave  their  case  with  the  Loed  to  right  it  for 
 
THE  ACTS  IV.  29,  30.  117 
 
 them.  So  David  2  Sam.  xv.  31,  "  0  Lord,  I  pray  Thee  turn 
 the  counsel  of  Ahithophel  into  foolishness."  Indeed  God  did 
 do  more  ;  He  destroyed  plot  and  plotter  also  ;  and  in  this  sense 
 the  saints  may  oft  say  with  the  Prophet,  "  Thou  hast  done  ter- 
 rible things  we  looked  not  for,"  and  prayed  not  for,  by  pouring 
 out  His  vengeance  on  the  persons,  when  they  have  only  prayed 
 against  their  wicked  designs.  Job  xxxi,  31;  Ps.  cix.  18;  2 
 Kings  xix.  Gurnall.  (On  the  Christian  Armour,  on  Eph.  vi. 
 18,  ch.  56.) 
 This  example  of  the  Apostles,  I  confess,  is  particular,  personal, 
 and  miraculous  :  but  the  reason  of  it  is  universal  and  perpetual, 
 as  being  founded  in  this ;  that,  as  nature  in  things  natural,  so 
 Grace  in  things  supernatural,  is  never  deficient  or  wanting  to 
 men  in  necessities.  And  as  necessary,  as  it  was  for  the  first 
 founding  of  a  Church,  that  Cheist  should  vouchsafe  His  dis- 
 ciples those  miraculous  assistances,  in  point  of  ratiocination 
 and  elocution,  so  necessary  it  is  at  this  very  day,  and  will  be, 
 so  long  as  the  world  lasts,  for  God  to  vouchsafe  men,  under 
 some  temptations,  such  extraordinary  supplies  of  supporting 
 grace,  as  otherwise  are  not  commonly  dealt  out  to  them.  God 
 as  in  S.  Paul's  case,  (2  Cor.  xii.  9,)  intends  us  a  **  sufficiency  " 
 of  grace  :  but,  when  the  trial  is  extraordinary,  unless  the  grace 
 afforded  be  so  too,  it  neither  is,  nor  can  be  accounted  sufficient. 
 Deut.  xxxiii.  25  ;  S.  Luke  xxi.  14,  15 ;  S.  Matt.  x.  19.  Br. 
 South.     (Serm.  1  Cor.  x.  1,3.) 
 
 O  fraudis  ultor,  sceleris  6  vindex  Deus, 
 Ostende  Numen  impios  contra  Tuum. 
 O  juste  Judex  orbis,  expergiscere, 
 Meritisque  poeuis  reprime  arrogantiam. 
 Quousque  tandem,  E-ector  orbis  optima, 
 Sese  superbe  jactitabunt  impii  ? 
 
 Buchanan.  (Ps.  xciv.) 
 30  Private  wrongs  may  have  redresses;  but  Magistrates,  armed  with 
 authority,  if  they  prove  heavy  and  injurious,  must  be  proofs  of 
 our  patience,  not  provocations  of  our  revenge  .  .  .  The  Apostles, 
 being  threatened^  do  not  imprecate,  but  beg  assistance,  and 
 God's  Hand  to  be  stretched  out,  not  to  plague  their  enemies, 
 but  to  heal,  and  to  work  helpful  and  beneficial  miracles,    vii.  60  ; 
 
118  THE  ACTS  IV.  30,  31. 
 
 Eora.  xii.  14 ;  1  Cor.  iv.  11 ;  S.  Luke  ix.  54.  Bp.  Brownrig. 
 (Serm.  on  the  Gunpowder  Treason,  Dan.  vi.  21,  22.) 
 
 The  Holy  child  Jestjs. — Observe  how  Cheist's  Hesurrection  har- 
 monizes with  the  History  of  His  Birth.  Conf.  ii.  24,  27 ;  S. 
 Luke  i.  35.     J.  H.  Newman.     (Serm.  S.  Luke  xxiv.  5,  6.) 
 
 It  seems  here  that  signs  and  wonders  were  not  to  be  wrought  by 
 jEsrs  Cheist,  as  the  Author  of  them,  but  by  a  higher  power 
 of  the  LoED,  put  into  action  by  the  Name,  merits,  or  interces- 
 sion of  the  Holy  Child,  Jesus.  Tet  S.  Peter  makes  this  same 
 Jesus,  though  in  heaven,  the  immediate  Author  of  the  signs 
 and  wonders,  wrought  by  His  disciples  upon  earth.  "Eneas 
 (says  he),  Jesus  Cueist  maketh  thee  whole!"  ix.  34.  W. 
 Jones.     (On  the  Catholic  Doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  ch.  i.  s.  31.) 
 
 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  boldness. 
 
 32  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  possessed  was  his 
 own ;  but  they  had  all  things  common. 
 
 33  And  with  great  power  gave  the  apostles  witness 
 of  the  resurrection  of  the  Lord  Jesus  :  and  great 
 grace  was  upon  them  all. 
 
 34  Neither  was  there  any  among  them  that  lacked  : 
 for  as  many  as  were  possessors  of  lands  or  houses  sold 
 them,  and  brought  the  prices  of  the  things  that  were 
 sold, 
 
 35  And  laid  them  down  at  the  apostles'  feet :  and 
 distribution  was  made  unto  every  man  according  as  he 
 had  need. 
 
 31  The  shaking  of  the  house  and  the  coming  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
 upon   them   at  that  time,  being  wholly  out  of  the  ordinary 
 
THE  ACTS  IV.  31.  119 
 
 course  of  nature,  could  not  have  happened,  but  by  the  imme- 
 diate hand  of  God  ;  who  therefore  did  by  this  means  set,  as 
 it  were,  His  seal,  for  the  confirmation  of  all,  that  His  Apostles 
 had  then  said.  But  they  had  said  what  He  Himself  had  said 
 hy  the  mouth  of  His  servant  David,  "  Why  do  the  heathen 
 rage,"  &c. :  which,  being  the  very  words,  wherewith  this  Psalm 
 begins,  God  did  thereby  own  Himself  to  be  the  Author  of  it, 
 and  affirmed  it  by  a  miracle  ;  which  is,  I  think,  more,  than  can 
 be  said  of  any  other  particular  place  of  Scripture,  after  the 
 whole  had  been  so  confirmed.  1  Sam.  xiv.  15 ;  S.  John  xii. 
 29,  30.     Bp.  Beveridge.     (Serm.  Ps.  ii.  11.) 
 
 This  was  a  further  testimony  of  the  power  and  glory  of  Jesus, 
 that,  when  a  solemn  address  was  made  to  God,  and  the  Apos- 
 tles represented  to  Him  their  design,  they  were  so  far  from 
 receiving  any  discouragement  from  Him,  that  He  encouraged 
 
 and  promoted  this  undertaking There  were  no  "  fiery 
 
 tongues"  now  appeared,  as  there  did  ii.  2 :  nor  do  we  after- 
 wards read  of  any  such  sensible  sign  of  an  Invisible  power 
 coming  upon  them,  as  this  shaking  of  the  place  was.  .  .  .  This 
 laying  on  of  hands  was  ever  after  the  only  external  sign  of  the 
 Di\  ine  power ;  for  that  is  the  meaning  of  stretching  out  the  hand. 
 (Verse  30.)  xi.  21;  S.  John  xi.  41—43.  Bp,  Patrick. 
 (Jesxjs  and  the  Eesurrection,  ch.  iv.  s.  2,  3.) 
 
 Prayer  moves  the  hand,  that  moves  the  universe,  xii.  5  ;  Jas.  v. 
 16,  17 ;  1  Sam.  xii.  17.     Gurnall. 
 
 As  "  when  Israel  came  out  of  Egypt,  the  mountains  skipped,  like 
 rams,  and  the  little  hills,  like  young  sheep  "  (Ps.  cxiv.  4),  under 
 that  hyperbole  is  surely  to  be  understood  that  the  motion  of  the 
 earth  did  betray  some  gladsome  entertainment,   Acts  iv.    31 
 is  expounded  generally,  that  the  earth  did  move  with  gladness 
 and  reverence,  because  the  Saints  knelt  upon  it. 
 Horum  sub  gressibus  ergo 
 Lseta  movetur  humus, 
 says  Arator.  .  .  .  Terra^  quae  in  Passione  concussa  fuit  horrore, 
 jam  prce  g audio  exsilere  videtur  (Beda)  :   The  whole  land  of 
 Judea  did  quake  with  horror,  when  He  hung  upon  the  Cross  ; 
 but  it  danced  for  joy,  when  He  rose  out  of  the  grave.     Hag.  ii. 
 6,  7 ;  S.  Luke  i.  44.     Bp.  Racket.     (Serm.  S.  Matt,  xxviii.  2.) 
 
120  THE  ACTS  IV.  31,  32. 
 
 Having  been  filled  with  the  Spirit  at  Pentecost,  how  can  they  be 
 said  to  be  filled  again  ?  Why  then,  with  the  gift  of  tongues  : 
 and  now,  with  the  gift  of  holy  boldness ;  for  it  was  for  that, 
 that  they  prayed.  1  Cor.  xii.  4.  Br.  Lightfoot.  (Serm.  S. 
 Luke  i.  17.) 
 
 32  Lex  adduxit  ad  fidem  ;  the  Law,  that  sends  us  to  Faith  :  Fides 
 fundit  orationem  ;  Faith,  that  begets  prayer  :  Oratio  impetrat 
 Spiritum ;  Prayer,  that  obtains  the  Spirit  :  Spiritus  inspirat 
 charitatem  ;  the  Spirit  inspires  love  into  us  :  Et  Charitas  implet 
 Legem,  and  "  Love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  Law\"  S.  John  xv. 
 17  ;  E,om.  iii.  31 ;  xiii.  10.     S.  Augustine. 
 
 Some  have  derived  the  word  concord  from  chorda  (the  string  of  a 
 musical  instrument,  Conf.  S.  Matt,  xviii.  19,  "  agree  together," 
 ffv/mcpivpTjaivaiv)  ;  but  others  with  more  propriety  from  cor,  cordis^ 
 the  heart.     Rodriguez.     (On  perfection,  p.  i.  ch.  i.  s.  2.) 
 
 "  How  long  do  we  hear  of  '  mine'  and  '  thine'  in  the  Church  ?" 
 saith  Nazianzen.  It  is  not  "  Paul  is  mine,"  and  "  the  Grospel  is 
 mine;"  but  Paul  is  our's,  and  the  Gospel  is  our's,  and  Christ 
 is  our's,  and  Christ  God's  (1  Cor.  iii.  22,  23).  Where  there 
 is  Charity,  there  memn  and  tuum  are  verba  frigida,  but  icy  words, 
 which  melt  at  the  heat  of  this  celestial  fire.  If  the  Church  be 
 a  Body,  then  must  every  member  supply.  The  foot  must  walk 
 for  the  eye  and  the  ear ;  and  the  eye  see,  and  the  ear  hear,  for  the 
 foot,  saith  Chrysostom.  If  the  Church  be  a  house,  then  must 
 every  part,  every  beam  and  rafter,  help  to  uphold  the  building. 
 If  she  be  a  spouse,  then  she  is  "  the  mother  of  us  all."  Sure  I 
 am,  Christianus  non  est  suus,  sed  EcclesicE.  1  Cor.  xii.  21 ;  Eph. 
 ii.  20,  21 ;  iv.  15,  16 ;  v.  32  ;  Eom.  xiv.  7  ;  xv.  1,  2.  Farindon. 
 (3  Serm.  S.  Matt.  vi.  9.) 
 
 Societies  would  exist  longer,  than  they  do,  were  it  not  for  this 
 little  pronoun.  Ego,  "  I  myself."     2  Tim.  iii.  1—4.     Luther. 
 
 0  God,  who  art  at  once  "the  Lord  of  Hosts"  and  "  the  Prince 
 of  Peace,"  give  us  war  with  spiritual  wickedness,  and  peace 
 with  our  brethren  !  x.  36  ;  S.  Luke  ii.  14.  Bp.  Hall.  (Occa- 
 sional Meditations,  62.) 
 
 Si  duo  de  nostris  toUas  pronomina  rebus, 
 Praelia  cessarent ;  pax  sine  lite  foret. 
 
 (Cujusdam  anonymi,  citati  a  Lorino.     In  loco.) 
 
THE  ACTS  IV.  33.  121 
 
 33  With  great  power. — Like  some  precious  gums,  grace  distils  in 
 greatest  plenty  after  storms  and  violent  thunders,  viii.  1,  4. 
 Quesnel. 
 
 Gave  witness,  aire^ihovv. — The  phrase  betokens  them  to  be,  as 
 persons,  put  in  trust  with  a  deposit :  he  speaks  of  it,  as  a 
 debt  or  obligation :  that  is,  they  did  render,  or  pay  off,  to  all 
 their  testimony  and  with  boldness.  1  Thess.  ii.  4  ;  1  Tim.  vi. 
 20;  2  Tim.  i.  14.     S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 And  with  great  power,  ^c. — When  was  there  ever  better  and  more 
 weighty  sense,  spoken  by  any,  than  by  the  Apostles  after  the 
 day  of  Pentecost  ?  With  what  reason  do  they  argue,  with 
 what  strength  do  they  discourse,  with  what  a  sedate  and  manly 
 courage  do  they  withstand  the  opposition  of  the  Sanhedrim 
 against  them  ?  They  never  fly  out  into  any  extravagant  passion, 
 never  betray  any  weakness  or  fear ;  but  speak  the  truth  "  with 
 boldness"  and  "  rejoice,"  when  they  suffer  for  it.  It  could  be 
 no  sudden  heat,  which  acted  them  on  the  day  of  Pentecost ;  for 
 the  same  Spirit  and  power  continued  with  them.  Afterwards 
 they  lived  and  acted  by  virtue  of  it ;  so  that  their  life  was  as 
 great  a  miracle,  as  any  that  was  wrought  by  them.  Their  zeal 
 was  great  but  regular,  their  devotion  fervent  and  constant ; 
 their  conversation  honest  and  prudent ;  their  discourses  in- 
 flaming and  convincing ;  and  the  whole  course  of  their  lives 
 breathed  nothing  but  "  Glory  to  God  and  good-will  towards 
 men."  If  they  are  called  to  suffer  for  their  Eeligion,  with  what 
 constancy  do  they  own  the  truth ;  with  what  submission  do 
 they  yield  to  their  persecutors  ;  with  what  meekness  and  pa- 
 tience do  they  bear  their  sufferings  !  If  differences  arise  among 
 Christians,  with  what  care  do  they  advise ;  with  what  caution 
 do  they  direct ;  with  what  gentleness  do  they  instruct ;  with 
 what  tenderness  do  they  bear  with  dissenters;  with  w^hat 
 earnestness  do  they  endeavour  to  preserve  the  peace  of  the 
 Christian  Church.  When  they  are  to  plant  Churches,  how 
 ready  to  go  about  it ;  how  diligent  in  attending  it ;  how  watch- 
 ful to  prevent  all  miscarriages  among  them.  When  they  write 
 Epistles  to  those,  already  planted,  with  what  authority  do  they 
 teach  ;  with  what  majesty  do  they  command  ;  with  what  severity 
 do  they  rebuke ;  with  what  pity  do  they  chastise ;  with  what 
 
122  THE  ACTS  IV.  33,  34. 
 
 vehemency  do  they  exhort ;  and  with  what  weighty  arguments 
 do  they  persuade  all  Christians  to  "  adorn  the  doctrine  of  God 
 their  Sayiouk  in  all  things :"  so  that  such  persons,  who  after 
 all  these  things  can  believe,  that  the  Apostles  were  only  acted 
 by  some  extravagant  heats,  may  as  easily  persuade  themselves, 
 that  men  may  be  drunk  with  sobriety,  and  mad  with  reason, 
 and  debauched  with  goodness,  ii.  11, 13,  41.  Bp.  StUlinyfleet. 
 (Serm.  S.  John  vii.  39.) 
 
 This  is  the  peculiar  Blessedness  of  the  Church,  to  conquer,  when 
 it  is  injuriously  treated ;  to  be  better  understood,  when  it  is 
 accused ;  to  gain  strength,  when  it  is  most  deserted.  Yerse  21. 
 S.  Hilary. 
 
 34  The  goods  of  the  Church,  in  former  ages,  were  called  ILvpmKa 
 and  IItwx'vo,  the  wealth  of  God  and  of  the  poor.  Tertullian 
 calls  them  Beposita  pietafis,  the  pledges  of  mercy,  deposited  in 
 our  hands.  And  S.  Bernard,  Patrimonium  Crucijixi,  given  us 
 not  only  to  clothe  and  to  feed  ourselves,  but  to  supply  the  ne- 
 cessities of  others,  who  have  a  right  (which  indeed  they  cannot 
 challenge)  in  our  granaries  and  wardrobes,  to  which  we  only 
 keep  the  key,  with  a  charge  from  heaven  to  open  them,  when 
 nakedness  and  misery  come  but  so  near,  as  to  knock  at  our  eyes. 
 S.  Luke  iii.  11 ;  IS.  Pet.  iv.  10.     Farindon. 
 
 We  must,  upon  the  calling  of  God,  forsake  our  riches  and  all, 
 that  we  have  in  this  world,  not  only  in  disposition  of  mind,  but 
 in  deed.  The  Word  of  God  teacheth,  that  there  be  three  cases, 
 wherein  a  man  is  indeed  to  forsake  all.  1.  If  he  be  extra- 
 ordinarily and  immediately  called  to  publish  the  Gospel  to  all 
 nations.  S.  Matt.  xix.  27.  2.  In  the  case  of  Confession  ;  when 
 for  professing  the  Name  of  Cheist  a  man  is  deprived  of  them 
 in  the  days  of  trial.  S.  Luke  xiv.  33  ;  S.  Matt.  xix.  29.  3. 
 When  in  the  time  of  persecution,  famine,  or  war,  the  necessity 
 is  so  great,  that  it  requires  present  relief,  which  can  no  other 
 way  be  had,  than  by  giving  and  selling  the  goods  a  man  hath. 
 The  "dispersing"  to  the  poor  mentioned  Ps.  cxii.  9,  must  not 
 be  understood  of  all  times,  but  in  case  of  extreme  need.  .  .  .  S. 
 Paul  acknowledgeth,  that  the  Church  of  Corinth  relieved  the 
 Church  of  Macedonia  even  beyond  their  ability  in  the  days  of 
 extremity,  that  was  in  that  Church.     (Rather  the  Churches  of 
 
THE  ACTS  IV.  35,  36.  123 
 
 Macedonia  relieved  the  poor  saints  at  Jerusalem.)  Eom.  xv. 
 25,  26;  2  Cor.  viii.  1,  2.  Perkins.  (Cases  of  Conscience, 
 b.  iii.  c.  4.) 
 
 85  As  concerning  giving  and  receiving  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles 
 supply  us  with  two  very  important  rules.  Let  the  giver  give, 
 according  to  his  ability  (xi.  29).  Let  the  receiver  receive, 
 according  as  he  hath  need.  "The  ministering  to  the  saints" 
 would  be  more  blessed  to  both  parties,  were  these  rules  con- 
 scientiously observed  by  each.     ii.  45  ;  2  Cor.  viii.     J.  F. 
 
 The  Blood  of  our  Loed  was  still  warm,  and  their  own  faith 
 young  and  fresh,  when  they  did  this,  showing  by  their  laying 
 the  money  at  the  Apostles'  feetj  that  riches  are  to  be  trodden 
 upon.     *S'.  Jerome.     (Ep.  8,  in  Acta  Apost.) 
 
 36  And  Joses,  who  by  the  Apostles  was  surnamed 
 Barnabas,  (which  is,  being  interpreted,  the  son  of  con- 
 solation,) a  Levite,  and  of  the  country  of  Cyprus, 
 
 37  Having  land,  sold  it,  and  brought  the  money, 
 and  laid  it  at  the  Apostles'  feet. 
 
 36  This  giving  of  names  to  the  faithful  was  a  new  instance  of 
 Apostolic  power,     i.  23  ;  xiii.  9.     Bengel. 
 
 S.  Barnabas,  in  his  Catholic  Epistle,  shows  what  loving  manner  of 
 spirit  he  was  of,  and  well  vindicates  his  own  title,  as  a  son  of  con- 
 solation. "  I  have  had,"  he  writes,  "  a  more  than  ordinary  good 
 success  in  the  way  of  the  Loed,  which  is  in  Cheist.  (Conf.  xi. 
 24.)  For  which  cause.  Brethren,  I  also  verily  think,  that  I  love 
 you  above  my  own  soul ;  because  that  therein  dwelleth  the  great- 
 ness of  faith  and  charity,  as  also  the  hope  of  that  life,  which  is 
 to  come."  Again,  at  the  close  of  his  Epistle,  and  as  part  of  the 
 noble  summary  of  Christian  duties  there  set  forth ;  "  Thou  shalt 
 love  thy  neighbour  above  thy  own  soul.  Thou  shalt  love,  as 
 the  apple  of  thine  eye,  every  one  that  speaketh  unto  thee  the 
 Word  of  the  Loed.  Thou  shalt  seek  out  every  day  the  persons 
 of  the  righteous;  and  both  consider  and  go  about  to  exhort 
 others  by  the  Word,  and  meditate  how  thou  mayest  save  a  soul. 
 Thou  shalt  also  labour  with  thine  hands  to  give  to  the  poor,  that 
 
124  THE  ACTS  IV.  36,  37. 
 
 thy  sins  may  be  forgiven  thee.  (Eph.  iv.  28;  Dan.  iv.  24.) 
 Thou  shalt  never  cause  divisions ;  but  shalt  make  peace  between 
 those,  that  are  at  variance,  and  bring  them  together.  ...  I  have 
 given  the  more  diligence  to  write  unto  you,  according  to  my 
 ability,  that  you  might  rejoice.  Farewell,  children  of  love  and 
 peace!  The  Loed  of  Glory  and  of  all  grace  be  with  your 
 Spirit.  Amen."  Isa.  1.  4.  (See  Translations  by  Abp.  Wake, 
 s.  19—21.)     J.  F. 
 
 Blessed  Saint !  who  thus,  at  the  very  outset  of  his  course  and 
 immediately  upon  his  conversion,  brought  forth  such  fruits, 
 that  out  of  the  whole  multitude,  that  believed,  he  was  singled 
 out  for  the  praise  of  the  Holt  GtHOSt  by  the  Apostles'  mouth. 
 When  ''all,  that  believed,  had  all  things  common  and  sold 
 their  possessions  and  goods,  and  parted  them  to  all  as  every 
 man  had  need,"  yet  was  he  chief  among  chief;  all,  who  were 
 possessors  of  lands  and  houses,  did  the  like ;  and  all,  the  very 
 least,  shall  have  their  praise  of  God,  one  by  one,  at  the  Great 
 Day :  yet  he,  as  an  earnest  of  a  higher  crown  and  a  greater  re- 
 ward, is  chosen  out  of  all  by  name,  and  handed  down  to  us, 
 wherever  the  Gospel  is  preached,  as  "  The  son  of  consolation.'"' 
 As  an  example  of  fidelity,  he  is  set  over  against  one,  Ananias, 
 the  instance  of  dissimulation;  a  vessel  of  God's  mercy  over 
 against  the  example  of  His  judgments,  x.  4 ;  S.  Matt.  xxvi.  13. 
 Dr  Fusey.     (Plain  Sermons.  No.  82.) 
 
 37  The  Apostles,  so  far  from  taking  advantage  of  the  unlimited 
 confidence  of  their  followers  to  their  own  interest  and  use,  em- 
 braced the  first  opportunity  of  getting  rid  of  their  charge,  only 
 receiving  the  contributions  of  the  rich,  and  distributing  among 
 tlie  poor,  and  transferring  it  to  some  men,  appointed  for  that 
 purpose,  not  by  themselves,  but  by  the  people  at  large ;  so  that 
 there  is  no  pretence  for  charging  them  with  seeking  their  own 
 profit,  or  following  a  profession,  which  promised  gain.  vi. 
 1_4;  viii.  20;  XX.  33—35;  2  Cor.  xii.  17,  18.  Dr.  Paley. 
 (Serm.  S.  John  xx.  31,  Part  3.) 
 
 Brought  the  money. — The  prorogation  of  good  makes  it  thankless. 
 The  alms,  that  smell  of  the  hand,  lose  the  praise.  It  is  twice 
 given,  that  is  given  quickly.  xi.  29,  30;  Eccl.  ix.  10;  S. 
 Luke  xix.  8.     Bp.  Hall. 
 
THE  ACTS  IV.  37.  125 
 
 Kiches  are  given  to  good  men  to  show  they  are  not  in  themselves 
 evil ;  but,  lest  they  should  seem  our  chief  good,  they  are  given 
 also  to  bad  men.     S.  Augustine. 
 
 The  Church's  possession  is  the  poor  man's  provision.     S,  Ambrose. 
 
 When  the  Tabernacle  was  to  be  made,  every  one,  that  was  of  a 
 willing  heart,  brought  his  offering,  "  some  gold,  some  brass, 
 some  scarlet,  some  goat's  hair,"  "every  man  according  to  his 
 ability."  When  the  Temple  was  to  be  built,  every  one  set  to 
 his  helping  hand :  Solomon  prepared  gold ;  Hiram  sent  Cedar 
 trees ;  some  were  hewers  in  the  mountains,  some  bearers  of 
 burdens ;  every  one  contributed,  according  to  his  quality.  It 
 must  be  so  now  in  the  advancing  of  Cueist's  Kingdom.  Dr. 
 Temple.     (Serm.  Ps.  ii.  6.     Before  Pari.  1642.) 
 
 Their  largeness  of  heart  and  hand,  the  blessed  effect  of  their  unity 
 in  Christ  by  the  Spirit,  forms  a  beautiful  counterpart  to  the 
 liberality  of  their  forefathers,  after  their  deliverance  from  Egypt, 
 when  they  provided  for  the  erection  and  furniture  of  the  Taber- 
 nacle. But  we  may  observe  from  the  difference  in  these  re- 
 spective offerings  how  "the  ministration  of  righteousness  ex- 
 ceeds in  glory."  Israel  offered  her  carnal  things  for  a  transitory 
 and  perishable  sanctuary :  the  Christian  Church  is  built  up  by 
 the  spiritual  acts  of  faith  towards  God,  (ii.  42,)  and  of  love 
 diffused  among  the  brethren  (46)  ;  for  it  is  designed  to  be  an 
 habitation  of  God  Eternal  in  the  heavens.  We  may  observe 
 here,  that,  as  Christianity  commenced  in  the  love  of  God  and  of 
 the  brethren,  so  it  will  terminate  in  the  absence  of  these  saving 
 graces ;  yea,  in  their  opposites.  "  Men  shall  be  lovers  of  their 
 own  selves,  covetous,  lovers  of  pleasure,  more  than  lovers  of 
 God."  These  are  the  "perilous  times"  of  "the  last  days," 
 concerning  which  S.  Paul  tells  us  we  must  not  be  "ignorant." 
 Do  we  see  no  appalling  signs  of  them  among  us  at  the  present 
 day  ?     2  Tim.  iii.  1,  2.     J.  F. 
 
126  THE  ACTS  V.  2. 
 
 CHAPTER  V. 
 
 "DUT  a  certain  man  named  Ananias,  with  Sapphira 
 his  wife,  sold  a  possession, 
 
 2  And  kept  back  part  of  the  price,  his  wife  also 
 being  privy  to  ity  and  brought  a  certain  part,  and  laid 
 it  at  the  Apostles'  feet. 
 
 3  But  Peter  said,  Ananias,  why  hath  Satan  filled 
 thine  heart  to  lie  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  to  keep 
 back  part  of  the  price  of  the  land  ? 
 
 4  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 
 hast  not  lied  unto  men,  but  unto  God. 
 
 5  And  Ananias  hearing  these  words  fell  down,  and 
 gave  up  the  ghost :  and  great  fear  came  on  all  them 
 that  heard  these  things. 
 
 6  And  the  young  men  arose,  wound  him  up,  and 
 carried  him  out,  and  buried  him. 
 
 2  E-eligious  love  is  like  Solomon's  sword :  it  trieth  whether  our 
 love  be  like  the  natural  mother's,  that  would  not  have  a 
 division  made,  or  the  false  mother's,  that  would  have  the  child 
 divided.  The  pious  heart  wholly  devotes  itself  to  God  :  but 
 the  carnal  and  hypocritical  parts  it  with  Gon,  and  its  own 
 pleasures  and  advantages.  This  scrutiny  Eeligion  makes. 
 Kuth  i.  14 — 17.  Lord  Capel.  (Contemplations  Divine  and 
 Moral,  273.) 
 
 Divine  consolation  is  so  exceeding  precious,  as  not  to  admit  of  a 
 rival  in  our  hearts.     1  Sam.  v.  3,  4.     S.  Bernard. 
 
 The  greatest  sins  may  be  hid  under  the  greatest  duties I 
 
 revere  and  admire  real  probity,  wherever  I  see  it.     Artifice, 
 
THE  ACTS  V.  2.  127 
 
 duplicity,  and  disguise,  I  cannot  away  with.  Transparency 
 (Phil.  i.  10.  Gr.)  is  in  my  opinion  the  first  and  most  valuable  of 
 all  social  virtues.  Let  a  man's  principles  be  black,  as  hell ;  it 
 matters  not  to  me,  so  he  have  but  integrity  to  appear  exactly 
 what  he  is.  Give  me  the  person,  whom  I  can  hold  up,  as  I  can 
 a  piece  of  crystal,  and  see  through  him.  2  Sam.  xv.  7  ;  1  Kings 
 xxi.  9;  S.  John  i.  47;  2  Cor.  i.  12.  Toplady.  (Letters, 
 1778.) 
 
 Et  totum  te  Nostra  volunt.     Da,  summa  petenti 
 
 Omnia  sint ;  noli,  quid  superesse  tui : 
 Quique  tui  te  perdit  amor,  procul  exulet ;  ilium 
 Plus  tibi  plus  cunctis  posse  nocere  scias  .... 
 Nonne  vides  cunctis  ut  det  sua  pondera  rebus, 
 
 Ut  quo  sit  pretio  singula  signet  Amor  ?  .  .  .  . 
 Si  potiora  putas  donis  tua  commoda  Nostris, 
 
 Ealleris :  est  requies  nulla  futura  tibi. 
 Non  ea,  per  multos  quae  sunt  quaesita  labores, 
 Non  ea,  quae  multum  commoda,  rere,  beant ; 
 Commoda  fert,  qui  nulla  cupit ;  qui  vincula  votis 
 Injicit,  et  miseris  frsena  cupidinibus. 
 
 Theod.  J.  F.  Graswinkeliiis.  (T.  a  Kempis, 
 "  De  imitatione  Christi,"  Latino  carmine 
 redditus.  Lib.  iii.  c.  27.) 
 The  thrice  repeated  mention  (iv.  35,  37)  of  the  act  of  laying 
 offerings  at  the  Apostles'  feet  must  be  designed  to  fix  our  atten- 
 tion on  the  primitive  method  of  distributing  the  alms  and 
 charities  of  the  Church :  and,  seeing  that  we  regard  our 
 Bishops,  as  the  successors  of  the  Apostles,  and  as  Governors  of 
 the  Visible  Church,  what  forbids,  that  we  also  should  lay  our 
 offerings  of  love,  for  the  benefit  of  our  brethren,  at  their  feet  ? 
 The  practice  itself  expressed  the  unreserved  surrender  of  the 
 property,  thus  consecrated  to  God  ;  the  perfect  confidence  the 
 brethren  had  in  the  Apostolic  order,  as  instituted  by  God,  and 
 therefore  as  possessing  a  sure  claim  to  His  Blessing  in  all 
 things,  relating  to  the  promotion  of  His  glory,  and  even  the 
 temporal  benefit  of  His  Church.  It  would  appear  from  vi.  2  that 
 these  charities  passed,  more  or  less,  from  the  hands  of  the 
 Apostles  to  the  subordinate  Ministers  and  Deacons.     We  re- 
 
128  THE  ACTS  V.  2,  3. 
 
 tain  something  of  this  practice  in  our  Offertory  ;  but  our  com- 
 mon mode  of  obtaining  money,  for  the  promotion  of  religious 
 objects,  by  the  publicity,  and  even  worldly  vanity,  often  attend- 
 ing it,  besides  the  frequent  limitation  of  its  agency  to  lay  hands, 
 seems  foreign  to  Christian  simplicity,  lowliness  of  mind,  abso- 
 lute trust  in  God,  and  a  due  recognition  of  His  Church.  S. 
 Matt.  vi.  1—4 ;  2  Kings  vi.  16  ;  Eom.  xiv.  16.     /.  F. 
 
 Imagine  the  Parochial  Clergy,  calling  on  each  Loed's  Day  for 
 some  dedication  of  those  means,  wherewith  God  has  blessed  the 
 members  of  their  flocks,  in  the  very  words,  appointed  for  the 
 purpose  in  the  Services  of  the  Church ;  and  then,  at  certain 
 periods,  transmitting  to  their  Bishops,  or  other  officers  of  the 
 Church,  this,  the  fruit  of  their  Ministry,  accompanied  with  the 
 prayers  of  the  people,  and  to  be  apportioned  to  the  several  wants 
 of  the  Church,  either  in  specified  proportions,  or  otherwise. 
 Where  is  the  difficulty,  where  is  the  impracticability  of  this  ? 
 
 May  we  learn  to  consider  the  means,  as  well  as  the 
 
 ends ;  recollecting,  that,  while  we  each  labour,  as  individuals, 
 for  the  salvation  of  our  own  souls,  we  have  also  a  sacred  trust, 
 as  members  of  the  Universal  Church ;  acting,  in  all  collective 
 matters,  with  reference  to  past  and  future  ages  and  generations, 
 and  believing,  that,  as  the  Blessings  and  Grace  of  God  are  con- 
 veyed through  appointed  channels,  so,  if  we  would  reap  the 
 promised  reward  of  Christian  labours,  we  must  bear  in  mind, 
 that  "  the  Church  is  the  appointed  channel  of  public  Christian 
 charity."  Our  alms  and  oblations  belong  to  the  Church,  and 
 are,  through  the  Church,  to  be  offered  to  God.  vi.  1 — 3  ;  xi. 
 29  ;  Eom.  xv.  25,  26  ;  1  Cor.  xvi.  1,  2.  Arthur  H.  Dyke  Acland. 
 (A  letter  on  the  present  state  of  Eeligious  Societies,  and  the 
 mode  of  obtaining  contributions  in  aid  of  Christian  objects.) 
 
 3  The  Holt  Ghost,  that  is  in  us,  and  by  whom  the  goods  of  the 
 Church  are  ministered.     2  Cor.  xiii.  3.     Bengel. 
 
 Vereor,  saith  Origen,  ne  sint  aliqui,  quorum  Diabolus  aperiat  ora  ; 
 many  so  speak,  that  a  man  may  well  fear  that  the  devil  hath 
 charge  of  their  lips ;  for  their  words  honour  him.  He  is  "  a 
 liar;"  and  "deceit  is  under  their  lips :"  He  is  "a  murderer;" 
 and  their  "  throats  are  open  sepulchres :"  He  is  an  impure  spirit ; 
 and  some  men's  talk  is  nothing  but  ribaldry.     And  doth  not 
 
THE  ACTS  V.  3,  4.  129 
 
 the  devil  open  their  mouths  ?  In  some  places  the  Scripture 
 speaketh  expressly.  "  The  devil  entered  into  Judas  ;"  presently 
 his  tongue  fell  to  conference  with  the  High  Priest,  what 
 he  might  have  for  betraying  of  Christ.  Satan  filled  the 
 heart  of  Jnanias  and  Sapphira ;  and  they  fell  to  lying  against 
 the  Holy  Ghost.  A  lying  spirit  entered  into  the  false  pro- 
 phet ;  and  he  presently  seduced  Ahab.  xlnd  what  else  mean 
 those  "  three  unclean  spirits,  like  frogs,"  that  came  out  of  the 
 mouth  of  the  dragon,  of  the  beast,  and  of  the  false  prophet,  to 
 gather  the  kings  of  the  earth  to  the  battle  of  the  Great  Day  of 
 God  Almighty  ?  Certainly,  they  are  those  impostors,  by  whose 
 tongues  the  devil  does  abuse  the  world.  1  Kings  xxii.  22,  23  ; 
 S.  James  iii.  10;  Ps.  cxli.  Bp.  Lake.  (Expos,  of  Ps.  li.  at 
 V.  15.) 
 
 The  Greek  expression  implies  the  power  of  resistance  to  Satan.  .  .  . 
 Satan  suggested  the  lie,  which  Ananias  ought  to  have  repelled : 
 instead  of  that,  he  *'  put  it  in  his  heart,"  placed  it  there,  where 
 the  springs  of  action  are ;  and  it  passed  out  into  an  act.  S. 
 Matt.  iv.  6 ;  S.  James  i.  14,  15  ;  iv.  7.     Alford. 
 
 "What  the  Spirit  of  God  doth  in  a  saint,  that,  in  a  manner,  doth 
 Satan  in  a  sinner.  The  Spirit  fills  the  heart  of  His  with  love, 
 joy,  holy  desires,  fears ;  so  Satan  fills  the  sinner's  heart  with 
 pride,  lust,  lying :  and  then  filled  with  Satan,  as  the  drunkard 
 with  wine,  he  is  not  his  own  man,  but  Satan's  slave,  ii.  4 ;  S. 
 Luke  xi.  34 ;  Eom.  i.  29.     Gurnall. 
 
 4  The  sin  of  Ananias  was  Sacrilege,  namely  the  purloining  of 
 what  was  become  holy  and  consecrate  unto  God,  not  by  actual 
 performance,  but  by  vow  and  inward  purpose  of  heart.  Many 
 of  our  late  Commentators  omit  the  main  sin,  and  dwell  upon 
 the  circumstances  only,  as  hypocrisy,  vain-glory,  covetousness, 
 and  the  like.  But  we  must  distinguish  between  his  fact  and 
 the  manner  and  circumstance  thereof :  the  fact  was  Sacrilege ; 
 in  the  manner  of  doing,  other  sins  attended,  as  handmaids.  He 
 purloined  of  the  holy  money.  He  did  it  dissemblingly  and  hypo- 
 critically, making  an  appearance  to  the  contrary.  Joshua  vii.  11 ; 
 Judg.  xvii.  1 — 6  ;    2  Mace.  iv.  32.     J.  Mede.     (Serm.  on  text.) 
 
 These  words  import  thus  much ;  that,  if  we  have  possessions  and 
 abundance,  we  may  with  good  conscience  employ  them,  as  bless- 
 
 K 
 
130 
 
 THE  ACTS  V.  4,  5. 
 
 ings  and  gifts  of  God.  Eccl.  v.  19.  Per  Jans.  (Cases  of  Con- 
 science, B.  iii.  c.  4.) 
 There  is  Jus  Redemptionis.  He,  who  ransoms  a  slave,  ought  to 
 have  his  service  (see  1  S.  Pet.  i.  18 ;  2  Cor.  vi.  20 ;  S.  Luke  i. 
 72)  .  .  .  While  we  were  our  own,  we  might  dispose  ourselves, 
 according  to  our  own  wills ;  but  now  Cheist  having  bought  us, 
 what  right  have  we  to  keep  back  from  Cheist  that,  which  is 
 Cheist' s?  If  we  belong  to  God  by  the  right  of  purchase, 
 why  should  we  defraud  God  of  His  due  ?  While  we  were 
 Satan's,  we  might  give  unto  Satan  the  things  of  Satan ;  serve 
 him,  whose  we  were  :  but  now,  being  God's  purchase,  we  ought 
 to  give  unto  God  "  the  things  of  God  ;"  serve  Him,  whose  we 
 are.  xxvii.  23.  Dr.  Temple.  (Serm.  Ps.  ii.  6.  Preached  be- 
 fore the  House  of  Commons,  1642.) 
 
 Sed  te  junge  Deo;  procul  hostem  pelle  malignum, 
 
 Christi  tota  manens,  tenerse  nee  subdita  carni : 
 
 Nee  veluti  in  lepidse  fieri  solet  orbe  choreae 
 
 Hunc  dextra,  hunc  Iseva  teneas,  quantiimque  propinqua 
 
 Tantum  etiam  a  Christo  sis  Omnipotente  remota ; 
 
 Et  simul  addicas  animum  carnique  Deoque.* 
 
 S.  Grey.  Nazianzen.  (Carm.  3.  In  prsecept.  ad  virgines.) 
 5  If  God  smote  with  so  dreadful  a  judgment  Ananias  and  Sapphira 
 his  wife,  for  withholding  part  of  that  Church  maintenance, 
 which  by  themselves  was  given,  will  He  endure  for  ever  them, 
 that  take,  what  they  never  gave  ?  (Robbers  and  alienators  of 
 Church  endowments  and  property.)  No,  no ;  and  that  shall 
 they  know,  when  peradventure  it  will  be  too  late  to  be  sorry 
 
 for  it Thou  art  dead,  0  Shunammite,  that  intreatest  thy 
 
 husband  to  build  for  the  prophet  a  chamber,  and  to  furnish  it  (2 
 Kings  iv.  10)  :  but  thy  memory  is  Blessed  with  God  and  man ; 
 and  a  witness  shalt  thou  be  in  the  day  of  Judgment  against 
 pullers  down  of  the  houses,  built  by  men  and  women  of  devotion 
 
 *  The  author  here  and  at  other 
 places,  where  the  verses  of  S.  Gregory 
 of  Nazianzum  are  quoted,  attaches  the 
 name  of  that  great  Father  of  the 
 Church ;  the  verses  themselves  being 
 the  Latin  translation  made  from   the 
 
 Greek  original,  by  the  indefatigable 
 editor  of  his  works,  Jacobus  Billius 
 Prunseus,  the  author  of  the  Anthologia 
 Sacra.  See  the  Edition,  in  2  vols.  foJio, 
 Lutetise  Parisiorum,  apud  Claudium 
 Morellum,  MDCIX. 
 
THE  ACTS  V.  5,  8.  131 
 
 and  piety,  for  the  prophets  and  children  of  the  prophets,  till  they 
 were  able  to  serve  abroad.  Dan.  v.  2,  3,  23,  25  ;  Acts  xvi.  15. 
 Bp.  Babington.     (Serm.  preached  at  Paul's  Cross,  a.d.  1590.) 
 
 Woe  to  the  double  mind!  Of  God's  own  they  make  a  share,  half 
 to  Him,  half  to  the  devil !  Indignant  at  such  treatment,  that  the 
 devil  should  be  admitted  to  share,  the  Loed  departs ;  and  so 
 the  devil  gets  all.     S.  Augustine. 
 
 The  Apostles  restored  the  impotent  and  lame  men,  a  work  peculiar 
 to  Jesus  Cheist,  (iii.  6,  16.)  That,  which  Cheist  would  not 
 do,  because  executions  of  such  severity  beseemed  not  Him,  who 
 came  to  save  and  redeem  the  world  by  His  sufferings,  they,  by 
 their  extraordinary  power,  struck  Elymas  and  Ananias  ;  the  one 
 blind,  and  the  other  dead.  ix.  34 ;  Isa.  xxviii.  21 ;  Micah  vii. 
 18.     Hooker. 
 
 7  And  it  was  about  the  space  of  three  hours  after, 
 when  his  wife,  not  knowing  what  was  done,  came  in. 
 
 8  And  Peter  answered  unto  her,  Tell  me  whether 
 ye  sold  the  land  for  so  much  ?  And  she  said,  Yea, 
 for  so  much. 
 
 9  Then  Peter  said  unto  her,  How  is  that  ye  have 
 agreed  together  to  tempt  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  ?  be- 
 hold, the  feet  of  them  which  have  buried  thy  husband 
 are  at  the  door,  and  shall  carry  thee  out. 
 
 10  Then  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  forth,  buried 
 her  by  her  husband. 
 
 1 1  And  great  fear  came  upon  all  the  church,  and 
 upon  as  many  as  heard  these  things. 
 
 8  The  woman  he  would  fain  save ;  for  the  man  had  been  the  author 
 of  the  sin :  he  therefore  gives  her  time  to  clear  herself  and 
 opportunity  of  repentance.     Gen.  iii.  11.     S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 k2 
 
132  THE  ACTS  V.  8,  9. 
 
 So  much. — Spiritus  non  ponderat,  saith  the  Philosopher.  How 
 many  sins,  how  many  vanities,  how  many  idols,  how  many 
 nothings  be  there  in  the  world,  each  of  which  will  outweigh  and 
 preponderate  the  soul  ?  S.  Matt.  xxvi.  15 ;  Heb.  xii.  16.  Dr. 
 Hammond. 
 
 Sin  is  usually  seconded  with  sin ;  a  man  seldom  commits  one  sin, 
 to  please,  but  he  commits  another,  to  defend  himself.  S.  Mark 
 xiv.  70,  71.     Br.  South.     (Serm.  2  Thess.  ii.  11.) 
 
 A  wilful  falsehood  told  is  a  cripple,  not  able  to  stand  by  itself 
 without  some  to  support  it.  It  is  easy  to  tell  a  lie ;  hard  but 
 to  tell  a  lie.     T.  Fuller.     (Scripture  observations,  p.  ii.  7.) 
 
 Covetousness  never  lodged  in  the  heart  alone.  If  it  find  not,  it 
 will  breed  wickedness.     2  S.  Pet.  ii.  14.     Bp.  Hall. 
 
 9  The  offence  was  a  tempting,  or  an  endeavour  to  deceive  the 
 Holt  Ghost;  a  trial  of  skill,  whether  He  knew  and  would 
 punish  their  fraud.  S.  Mark  xii.  15  ;  1  Kings  xiv.  6  ;  E-om.  ix. 
 1 ;  Col.  iii.  22,  23.     Hurrion.     (On  the  Holy  Spirit,  Serm.  i.) 
 
 God  knows  every  thing.  He  yet  expects  your  confession.  If 
 you  are  silent,  secretarius  es  Biaboli,  you  keep  the  devil's  secrets. 
 S.  Ambrose. 
 
 Hypocrisy  ariseth  from  the  secret  atheism  of  the  heart,  whereby 
 he  saith,  "  Tush,  none  seeth."  And  in  this  regard  Ananias  and 
 Sapphira,  a  pair  of  noble  hypocrites,  are  said  to  tempt  God  in 
 their  hypocrisy,  that  is,  to  make  trial  of  Him,  whether  He  were 
 present  everywhere,  or  no ;  and  so,  knowing  all  things,  were 
 able  to  reveal  their  hypocrisy.  And  for  the  same  cause  did 
 S.  Peter  tell  them,  that  they  lied  not  to  men,  but  to  the  Holy 
 Ghost  ;  because  they  thought  they  were  out  of  God's  hearing, 
 and  only  S.  Peter  and  they  with  him  heard  them.  Therefore 
 the  Church,  in  the  Psalms,  showeth  how  they  were  kept  in  their 
 sincerity  from  dealing  falsely  in  their  Covenant  with  God  ;  be- 
 cause they  remembered,  that  God  would  "  search  it  out,"  as  being 
 the  searcher  of  the  heart.  And  S.  Paul  notably  joins  these  two 
 together,  "  We  make  not  merchandise  of  the  Word  of  God," 
 we  play  not  the  hucksters  with  it;  "but  as  of  sincerity,  as  of 
 God,  in  the  sight  of  God,  speak  we  in  Christ."  It  is  impos- 
 sible for  a  man  to  speak,  as  in  God's  Presence,  and  not  to  speak 
 sincerely.     Isa.  vii.  13;  Ps.  xliv.  21;  S.  Luke  x.  16;  2  Cor.  ii. 
 
THE  ACTS  V.  9,  10.  133 
 
 17  ;  Ex.  xvi.  8.  Br.  Dyke.  (On  the  mystery  of  self- deceiving, 
 ch.  30.) 
 
 Man  never  deceives  himself  so  much,  as  when  he  attempts  to 
 deceive  God.     Ps.  1.  10—22.     Caryl. 
 
 How  fully  and  fitly  doth  it  show  the  perfect  recovery  of  S.  Peter, 
 when  he,  that,  of  all  the  rest,  had  fallen  next  to  Judas,  doth 
 censure  Judas ;  and  he,  that  had  denied  his  Master  with  an 
 oath,  doth  strike  those  dead  for  a  lie.  viii.  21 ;  S.  Matt.  xvi. 
 19.     Br.  Lightfoot.     (Comment  on  i.  15.) 
 
 10  If  we  found,  that  every  man  in  this  life  received  just  what  he 
 deserved,  and  every  evil  work  always  brought  swift  punishment 
 along  with  it,  what  should  we  naturally  conclude  ?  There  is 
 no  future  punishment  in  store  .  .  .  Or,  if  on  the  other  hand 
 there  were  no  punishment,  visited  upon  sin  at  all  in  this  world, 
 we  might  be  inclined  to  say,  "Tush,  God  hath  forgotten."  .  . 
 So  that,  if  sentence  were  either  perfectly  executed  upon  the 
 earth,  or  not  executed  at  all,  we  might  have  some  reason  for 
 saying,  that  there  was  a  chance  of  none  in  a  future  world.  But 
 now  it  is  imperfectly  executed  ;  just  so  much  done,  as  to  say, 
 "  You  are  watched :  My  eye  is  upon  you :  I  neither  slumber 
 nor  sleep  ;  and  My  vengeance  slumbereth  not."  And  yet,  at 
 the  same  time,  there  is  so  little  done,  that  a  man  has  to  look 
 into  eternity  for  the  accomplishment.  These  occasional  visita- 
 tions of  God's  wrath,  these  sentences,  that  sinners  are  often 
 obliged  to  execute  upon  themselves,  these  judgments,  that  some- 
 times fall  and  burst  among  us,  come  often  enough  to  tell  us, 
 that  there  is  punishment ;  but  so  seldom,  as  to  prove,  that  it  is 
 yet  to  come.  They  seem  to  be  rather  given,  as  evidences,  than 
 as  fulfilments  of  the  wrath  of  God  :  rather  as  a  sign,  than  a 
 part ;  just  as  earthquakes  and  volcanic  eruptions  only  serve  to 
 show  us  what  fires  are  burning  and  labouring  in  the  bowels  of 
 the  earth.  The  flames  of  hell  seem  to  break  out  sometimes 
 before  their  time  among  men,  in  earthly  judgments,  to  warn 
 them  of  judgments  to  come.  S.  Matt,  xxiii.  42 — 51 ;  S.  James 
 V.  9.     C.  Wolfe.     (Serm.  Eccl.  viii.  11.) 
 
 Let  us,  which  know  what  it  is  to  die,  as  Absalom,  or  Ananias  and 
 Sapphira  died,  let  us  beg  of  God,  that,  when  the  hour  of  our 
 rest  is  come,  the  patterns  of  our  dissolution  may  be  Jacob,  Moses, 
 
134  THE  ACTS  V.  10,  11. 
 
 Joshua,  David ;  who,  leisurably  ending  their  lives  in  peace, 
 prayed  for  the  mercies  of  GrOD  to  come  upon  their  posterity  ; 
 replenished  the  hearts  of  the  nearest  unto  them  with  words  of 
 memorable  consolation  ;  strengthened  men  in  the  fear  of  GtOD, 
 gave  them  wholesome  instructions  of  life,  and  confirmed  them  in 
 true  Heligion ;  in  sum,  taught  the  vvorld  no  less  virtuously  how 
 to  die,  than  they  had  done  before  how  to  live.  Ps.  lii.  6,  7 ; 
 xxxvii.     Hooker.     (Eccl.  Pol.  B.  v.  s.  46.) 
 
 The  infliction  of  the  Judgment  of  God  is  no  argument  against 
 our  performing  the  last  offices  for  those,  whom  He  punishes. 
 2  Kings  ix.  34.     Quesnel. 
 
 11  It  was  most  decent  that  the  first  breach  of  the  Divine  Law 
 should  be  punished  to  secure  obedience  for  the  future.  Prudent 
 lawgivers  are  severe  against  the  first  transgressors,  the  leaders 
 in  disobedience.  He,  that  first  presumed  to  break  the  Sabbath, 
 was  by  God's  command  put  to  death.  And  Solomon,  the  King 
 of  peace,  punished  the  first  attempt  upon  his  Eoyalty  with  death, 
 though  in  the  person  of  his  brother.  Numb.  xv.  32 ;  Kev.  ii. 
 23.     Dr.  Bates.     (Harmony  of  the  Divine  attributes,  ch.  8.) 
 
 If  every  sin  were  openly  punished  now,  in  this  present  world, 
 nothing  might  be  regarded,  as  kept  in  reserve  for  the  last 
 Judgment  Day.  On  the  other  hand,  if  God  entirely  forbare 
 such  punishment  now,  people  would  stand  in  doubt  of  a  Divine 
 Providence,  xii.  23  ;  xiii.  11 ;  Ps.  1.  3  ;  Iviii.  10.  S.  Augustine. 
 (De  Civ.  Dei.  Lib.  i.) 
 
 *^  All  the  Church,"  its  most  faithful  and  holy  members,  not  ex- 
 cluding the  Apostles,  nor  the  "  very  chiefest  "  Apostles  (2  Cor. 
 xi.  5;  xii.  11)  ;  so  that  S.  Peterhimself,  who  pronounced  and  in- 
 flicted the  terrible  judgment  of  God,  had  great  fear  for  himself 
 and  his  brethren,  after  he  had  done  it.  What  an  incidental 
 proof  of  their  humility.  "  Loed,  is  it  I  ?"  was  once  more  the 
 question  of  their  hearts.  Ex.  xx.  20;  1  Cor.  x.  12  ;  S.  Matt, 
 xxvi.  22.     J.  F. 
 
 In  the  case  of  Ananias  and  Sapphira,  we  can  refer,  for  another 
 counterpart  (see  iv.  31),  to  a  like  corresponding  incident  in  the 
 eventful  history  of  God's  ancient  people.  The  sin  of  Achan 
 was  one  of  fraud  and  concealment  (Josh,  vii.)  It  was  miracu- 
 lously discovered ;  it  was  awfully  and  immediately  punished. 
 
THE  ACTS  V.  11.  135 
 
 The  Babylonish  garment  with  the  gold  and  silver  may  be  viewed, 
 as  "the  accursed  thing,"  under  the  Law  ;  while  the  oftering  of 
 Ananias  had  in  itself  the  promise  of  a  Blessing,  as  expressive  of 
 the   Gospel.     The  Christian's  sin  was  more  aggravated,  than 
 the  sin  of  the  Israelite;  one  was  a  sin  "in  the  camp;"   the 
 other  in  the  Church.     And  so,  Achan  was  stoned  by  the  hand 
 of  man  ;  but  Ananias  was  struck  down  dead  by  God.     Then,  aa 
 to  time,  both  were  wisely  ordered  by  the  Providence  of  God  ; 
 designed   to   be   terrible    and   salutary  warnings   against   the 
 danger  of  a  false  profession  and  a  counterfeit  religion,  when 
 God's   Truth  was  especially  at  stake  and  on  its  trial,  at  the 
 first  introduction  of  a  new  Dispensation.     Deut.  xiii.  10,  11 ; 
 xix.  20.     J.  F. 
 I  am  persuaded  of  nothing  more  than  this  ;  that,  whether  it  be  in 
 matter  of  speculation  or  of  practice,  no  untruth  can  possibly 
 avail  the  patron  and  defender  long ;  and  that  things  most  truly 
 are  likewise  most  behovefully  spoken.      Prov.  xii.  19.      Hooker. 
 Quis  porro  poenam  Anani?e  Saphirseque  tremendam 
 Cum  legit,  occultos  nummos  qui  morte  luerunt, 
 Non,  etiam  leviter,  metuit  perfringere  vota  ? 
 Isque  etiam  in  linguam  efiictum  qui  sustulit  aurum, 
 Vestesque,  et  paucos,  ignaro  principe,  nummos, 
 Sacrilego  totam  constrinxit  crimine  gentem. 
 
 S.  Greg.  Nazianzen.    (Carm.  2.  In  prsecept. 
 ad  virgines.) 
 
 12  And  by  the  hands  of  the  apostles  were  many- 
 signs  and  wonders  wrought  among  the  people  ;  (and 
 they  were  all  with  one  accord  in  Solomon's  porch. 
 
 13  And  of  the  rest  dm'st  no  man  join  himself  to 
 them  :  but  the  people  magnified  them. 
 
 14  And  believers  were  the  more  added  to  the  Lord, 
 multitudes  both  of  men  and  women.) 
 
 15  Insomuch  that  they  brought  forth  the  sick  into 
 the  streets,  and  laid  them  on  beds  and  couches,  that  at 
 the  least  the  shadow  of  Peter  passing  by  might  over- 
 shadow some  of  them. 
 
136  THE  ACTS  V.  12,  13. 
 
 16  There  came  also  a  multitude  out  of  the  cities 
 round  about  unto  Jerusalem,  bringing  sick  folks,  and 
 them  which  were  vexed  with  unclean  spirits  :  and  they 
 were  healed  every  one. 
 
 12  Bi/  the  hands  of  the  Apostles. — Moses,  in  his  Ministerial 
 character,  was  the  representative  of  God,  according  to  what 
 was  said  of  him,  "  See,  I  have  made  thee  a  Grod  to  Pharaoh." 
 In  virtue  of  this  substitution,  the  hand  of  Moses  was  stretched 
 out,  to  signify  the  exertion  of  that  Divine  power,  which  effected 
 the  miracles  in  Egypt.  All  nature  became  obedient  to  the  motion 
 of  his  hand  ;  not  from  any  power,  it  had  in  itself,  but  because 
 the  Almighty  Hand  of  God  concurred  with  the  hand  of  His 
 Minister.  When  Christ  gave  His  plenary  commission  to  His 
 Apostles,  after  His  Resurrection,  He  told  them  they  should 
 
 .  "lay  hands  upon  the  sick,  and  they  should  recover."  The 
 sense  of  which  sign  is  referred  to  in  the  hymn,  or  prayer,  re- 
 corded in  the  fourth  chapter  of  the  Acts.  "  And  now,  Loed,  be- 
 hold their  threatenings,  and  grant  uuto  Thy  servants  tliat  with  all 
 boldness  they  may  speak  Thy  Word,  5y  stretching  forth  Thine 
 Hand  to  heaV^  Whence  it  appears  plain  enough  for  our  present 
 purpose,  that,  when  the  Hand  of  God  was  stretched  forth  for 
 any  act  of  Divine  power,  it  was  outwardly  expressed  by  the 
 hands  of  His  Ministers.  Their  bauds  touched,  but  it  was  the 
 Hand  of  God,  which  healed,  Confirmed,  Ordained,  and  per- 
 formed such  other  acts,  as  were  beyond  the  reach  of  human 
 power,  iv.  30  ;  xi.  21 ;  Ex.  vii.  1  ;  S.  Mark  xvi.  20.  TV.  Jones. 
 (An  Essay  on  Confirmation.) 
 
 13  The  severity  of  God  to  some  few  doth  rather  magnify  His 
 patience  to  the  rest  of  mankind.  He  may  be  severe  to  some 
 few,  for  warning  and  example  to  many,  that  they  may  learn  to 
 make  better  use  of  His  patience,  and  not  to  trespass  so  boldly 
 upon  it ;  and  perhaps  He  hath  exercised  much  patience  already 
 towards  those,  to  whom  at  last  He  is  so  severe,  as  is  plain  in 
 the  case  of  Herod,  and  it  may  well  be  supposed  in  most  of  the 
 other  instances ;  or  else  the  sin,  so  suddenly  and  severely 
 punished,  was  very  heinous  and  presumptuous,  of  a  contagious 
 and  spreading  nature,  and  of  dangerous  example.     Lot's  wife 
 
THE  ACTS  V.  14,  15.  137 
 
 sinned  most  presumptuously  against  an  express  and  an  easy- 
 command,  and  whilst  God  was  taking  care  of  her  deliverance 
 in  a  very  extraordinary  manner.  That  of  Nadab  and  Abihu, 
 and  of  the  man,  who  gathered  sticks  on  the  Sabbath-day  were 
 presently  after  the  giving  of  the  Law,  in  which  case  great 
 severity  is  necessary  :  and  that  of  Ananias  and  Sapphira  at  the 
 first  publishing  of  the  Gospel,  that  the  majesty  of  the  Divine 
 Spirit  and  the  authority  of  the  first  publishers  of  it  might  not 
 be  contemned.  That  of  Uzzah  was  upon  the  return  of  the  Ark 
 of  God  from  among  the  Philistines,  that  the  people  might  not 
 lose  their  reverence  for  it,  after  it  had  been  taken  captive.  So 
 that  the  necessary  severities  to  a  few,  in  comparison  of  those 
 many,  that  are  warned  by  them,  ar©  rather  arguments  of  God's 
 patience,  than  objections  against  it.  Eom.  xi.  22.  Abp. 
 Tillotson.     (Serm.  2  S.  Pet.  ii.  9.) 
 
 14  Those  believers,  to  whom  the  Apostles  preached,  and  whom 
 they  converted  to  their  faith,  believed  the  same  truths,  which 
 were  revealed  to  the  Apostles,  tliough  they  were  not  so  revealed 
 to  them,  as  they  were  to  the  Apostles,  that  is,  immediately  from 
 God.  But,  as  the  Israelites  believed  those  truths,  which  Moses 
 spake,  to  come  from  God,  being  convinced  by  the  constant 
 supply  of  miracles,  wrought  by  the  rod,  which  he  carried  in 
 his  hand ;  so  the  Blessed  Apostles,  being  so  plentifully  endued 
 from  above  with  the  power  of  miracles,  gave  sufficient  testi- 
 mony, that  it  was  God,  which  spake  by  their  mouths,  who  so 
 evidently  wrought  by  their  hands.  They,  which  heard  S.  Peter 
 call  a  lame  man  unto  his  legs,  speak  a  dead  man  alive,  and 
 strike  a  living  man  to  death  with  his  tongue,  as  he  did  Ananias 
 and  Sapphira,  might  easily  be  persuaded,  that  it  was  God,  who 
 spake  by  his  mouth  ;  and  conclude  that,  when  they  found  Him 
 in  His  Omnipotency,  they  might  well  expect  Him  in  His 
 veracity.  Ex.  iv.  1,  16  ;  iv.  30,  31 ;  xiv.  31.  Bp.  Pearson, 
 (Exposition  of  the  Creed,  Art.  i.) 
 
 15  Miracles  wrought  faith ;  and  then  faith  led  to  the  production 
 of  fresh  miracles.     J.  F. 
 
 Now  too,  if  the  life  of  teachers  rivalled  the  Apostolic  bearing, 
 perhaps  miracles  would  take  place  ;  though,  if  they  did  not,  such 
 life  would  suffice  for  the  enlightening  of  those,  who  behold  it. 
 xi.  24  ;  S.  John  x.  41.     Isid.  Pelusiot.     (Ep.  iv.  80.) 
 
138  THE  ACTS  V.  15,  16. 
 
 I  love  and  commend  a  true  good  reputation,  because  it  is  the 
 shadow  of  virtue  ;  not  that  it  doth  any  good  to  the  body,  which 
 it  accompanies,  but  it  is  an  efficacious  shadow,  and,  like  that  of 
 S.  Peter,  cures  the  diseases  of  others,  ii.  47 ;  v.  34  ;  vi.  3  ; 
 Horn.  xiv.  18,  19.     Cowley.     (Essays,  iii.  Of  obscurity.) 
 
 16  This  "accepted  time  and  day  of  Salvation  "  was  at  the  fullest, 
 when  whole  families  together,  xvi.  34 ;  xviii.  8,  and  thousands 
 at  a  clap,  ii.  41 ;  iv.  4,  whole  towns  and  countries,  viii.  14 ; 
 xix.  26,  came  thronging  in  so  fast,  as  if  this  very  Now  (in  the 
 text)  were  now  or  never ;  when  handkerchiefs  and  aprons  and 
 the  very  shadow  of  an  Apostle  carried  a  kind  of  Salvation  with 
 them,  V.  15  ;  xix.  12  ;  when  there  was  not  only  a  large  way, 
 opened  for  all  sinners,  to  come  in,  but  all  ways  and  means  made 
 to  bring  them  in ;  when  there  were  fiery  tongues,  both  to  in- 
 flame the  hearts  of  the  believers  and  to  devour  the  gainsayers  ; 
 when  there  was  a  Divine  rhetoric  always  to  persuade ;  miracles 
 to  confirm ;  prophecy  to  convince ;  and  benefits  to  allure ; 
 strange  punishments  to  awe  sinners  into  the  obedience  of 
 Christ  ;  when  the  time  of  great  deliverance  too  from  the  de- 
 struction of  Jerusalem  .  .  was  now  nigh  at  hand,  and  the  fast 
 adhering  to  Christ  the  only  way  to  be  taken  into  the  number 
 of  such,  as  should  be  saved  from  it.  Isa.  ii.  5.  JDr.  Mark  Frank. 
 (Serm.  2  Cor.  vi.  2.) 
 
 17  Then  the  high  priest  rose  up,  and  all  they  that 
 were  with  him,  (which  is  the  sect  of  the  Sadducees,) 
 and  were  filled  with  indignation, 
 
 18  And  laid  their  hands  on  the  Apostles,  and  put 
 them  in  the  common  prison. 
 
 1 9  But  the  Angel  of  the  Lord  by  night  opened  the 
 prison  doors,  and  brought  them  forth,  and  said, 
 
 20  Go,  stand  and  speak  in  the  temple  to  the  people 
 all  the  words  of  this  life. 
 
 21  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 
 
THE  ACTS  V.  17—20.  139 
 
 called  the  council  together,  and  all  the  senate  of  the 
 children  of  Israel,  and  sent  to  the  prison  to  have  them 
 brought. 
 
 22  But  when  the  officers  came,  and  found  them  not 
 in  the  prison,  they  returned,  and  told, 
 
 23  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 
 within. 
 
 17  Indignation  (envy,  marg.) — This  cast  of  the  eye  the  world 
 learned  of  the  devil,  who,  when  himself  was  fallen,  could  not 
 abide  that  man  should  stand.  Envy  is  executioner  to  itself 
 (Prov.  xiv.  30.)  Where  other  earthly  torments  die  with  men, 
 this  follows  them  into  hell,  and  shall  there  torture  them  eter- 
 nally.    Ps.  cxii.  10  ;  S.  Mark  xv.  16.     Bp.  Hall. 
 
 Nothing  more  odious  to  a  Jew,  to  this  day,  than  a  Christian. 
 Wisd.  ii.  12.     Farindon.     (Serm.  Gal.  iv.  39.) 
 
 19  It  is  no  small  token  of  God's  love  towards  us,  that  He  em- 
 ploys in  our  welfare  such  very  noble  creatures,  as  Angels.  This 
 Angel  opened  the  prison  by  night ;  because  He  would  not  work 
 the  miracle  at  a  time,  when  the  wicked  might  see  it ;  although, 
 when  it  was  wrought.  He  would  have  it  known  by  them  in  the 
 event,     vi.  15  ;  x.  41 ;  2  S.  Pet.  ii.  11.     Calvin. 
 
 20  This  Angel  is  more  than  "  a  ministering  spirit,  sent  forth  to 
 minister  for  them,  who  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation  "  (Heb.  i.  14)  ; 
 for  he  not  only  brings  the  Apostles /orM  out  of  the  prison,  but 
 announces  to  them  their  sacred  mission,  and  instructs  them  in 
 the  discharge  of  it.  How  remarkable  are  the  expressions  em- 
 ployed, how  comprehensive  their  meaning ;  how  animated  and 
 emphatic  the  charge  itself,  pregnant,  as  from  heaven,  with  the 
 light  and  fire  of  the  hosts  above.  Go — here  is  the  renewal 
 of  the  Apostolic  Mission,  the  Ite,  before  the  "  Praedicate." 
 (S.  Matt,  xxviii.  19.)  Stand  and  preach — Stand  firm,  yield  to 
 no  intimidation,  iv.  17  ;  flee  not  from  this  bloody  city  (S.  Matt. 
 X.  23)  ;  but  even  here,  in  the  temple^  in  the  very  face  of  your 
 
140  THE  ACTS  V.  20,  21. 
 
 enemies,  in  the  liigli  place  of  their  authority  and  persecuting 
 power,  oppose  their  impious  command  (iv.  18)  :  bear  your  con- 
 tinued witness  to  Jesus  and  His  Eesurrection  (i.  22)  ;  and 
 since  their  Bulers  refuse  to  hear  you,  openly  speak  to  the  people 
 the  full  salvation  of  the  Gospel,  all  the  words  of  Eternal  Life,  of 
 this  Life,  that  even  now  gives  liberty  and  a  present  deliverance 
 to  the  servants  of  the  Lord  from  the  hands  of  their  enemies. 
 Dan.  iii.  28  ;  vi.  26,  27.     J.  F. 
 
 Quid  tantum  miseri  feros  tyrannos 
 
 Mirantur  sine  viribus  furentes  ? 
 
 Nee  speres  aliquid,  nee  extimescas  ; 
 
 Exarmaveris  impotentis  iram : 
 
 At  quisquis  trepidat  pavet,  vel  optat, 
 
 Quod  non  sit  stabilis,  suique  juris, 
 
 Abjecit  Clypeum,  locoque  motus 
 
 Nectit,  qua  valeat  trahi,  catenam. 
 
 Boetius.  (Cons.  Philos.  Lib.  i.  Metr.  4.) 
 21  Were  this  early  morning  solemnity  (Prayers  in  the  Church) 
 generally  observed,  as  much  in  vogue,  even  as  it  is  now  at  more 
 advanced  hours  of  the  day,  it  would  necessarily  have  so  good  an 
 effect  upon  us,  as  to  make  us  more  disengaged  and  cheerful  in 
 conversation,  and  less  artful  and  insincere  in  business.  The 
 world  would  be  quite  another  place,  than  it  is  now,  the  rest  of 
 the  day ;  and  every  face  would  have  an  alacrity  in  it,  which  can 
 be  borrowed  from  no  other  reflections,  but  those  which  give 
 us  the  assured  protection  of  Omnipotence.  ...  I  was  there 
 the  first  of  any  of  the  congregation,  and  had  the  opportunity, 
 however  I  made  use  of  it,  to  look  back  on  all  my  life,  and  con- 
 template the  blessing  and  advantage  of  such  stated  early  hours 
 for  offering  ourselves  to  our  Creator,  and  prepossess  our  souls 
 with  the  love  of  Him,  and  with  the  hopes  we  have  from  Him, 
 against  the  snares  of  business  and  the  pleasure  in  the  ensuing 
 day.  Ps.  Ixiii.  1.  Addison.  (The  Guardian,  No.  65.) 
 "We  must  offer  our  first  sacrifice  to  God  and  not  to  sensuality. 
 If  we  begin  the  day  with  God,  the  whole  day  will  go  on  well. 
 There  is  something  in  the  first  impressions  and  first  direction 
 in  the  morning,  which  corresponds  with  the  first  impressions 
 and  direction  given  to  youth  :  the  latter  ordinarily  determines 
 
THE  ACTS  V.   21.  141 
 
 the  character  of  the  entire  life ;  the  former  of  the  entire  day. 
 Eccl.  xi.  6  ;  xii.  1.  B.  Overherg. 
 I  would  ever  wake  with  God  ;  my  first  thoughts  are  for  Him,  who 
 hath  made  the  night  for  rest  and  the  day  for  travail.  If  my 
 heart  be  early  seasoned  with  His  Presence,  it  will  savour  of 
 Him,  all  day  after.     Bp.  Hall. 
 
 24  Now  when  the  high  priest  and  the  captain  of 
 the  temple  and  the  chief  priests  heard  these  things, 
 they  doubted  of  them  whereunto  this  would  grow. 
 
 25  Then  came  one  and  told  them,  saying.  Behold, 
 The  men  whom  ye  put  in  prison  are  standing  in  the 
 temple,  and  teaching  the  people. 
 
 26  Then  went  the  captain  with  the  officers,  and 
 brought  them  without  violence ;  for  they  feared  the 
 people,  lest  they  should  have  been  stoned. 
 
 27  And  when  they  had  brought  them,  they  set  them 
 before  the  council :  and  the  high  priest  asked  them, 
 
 28  Saying,  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. 
 
 29  Then  Peter  and  the  other  Apostles  answered  and 
 said.  We  ought  to  obey  God  rather  than  men. 
 
 30  The  God  of  our  fathers  raised  up  Jesus,  whom 
 ye  slew  and  hanged  on  a  tree. 
 
 31  Him  hath  God  exalted  with  His  right  hand  to  he 
 a  Prince  and  a  Saviour,  for  to  give  repentance  to 
 Israel,  and  forgiveness  of  sins. 
 
 32  And  we  are  His  witnesses  of  these  things ;  and 
 so  is  also  the  Holy  Ghost,  whom  God  hath  given  to 
 them  that  obey  Him. 
 
142  THE  ACTS  V.  24,  25. 
 
 24  The  world  scarce  knew  herself,  and  stood  admiring  at  her  own 
 change.  She  saw  the  thronged  temples  of  the  heathen  unfre- 
 quented, the  adored  Grods  derided,  the  celebrated  Oracles  ceased, 
 the  wise  Philosophers  puzzled,  the  enraged  Magistrates  dis- 
 heartened, by  the  unsuccessfulness  of  their  own  cruelties ;  and 
 all  this,  done  by  a  few,  despicable,  and  illiterate  fishermen, 
 xvii.  6.     Dr.  J.  Scott. 
 
 Many  were  the  nations,  innumerable  the  people,  which  received 
 the  faith  in  the  Apostles'  days  ;  and  in  not  many  years  after,  not- 
 withstanding millions  were  cut  off  in  their  bloody  persecutions, 
 yet  did  their  numbers  equalise  half  the  E-oman  Empire :  and, 
 little  above  two  ages  after  the  death  of  the  last  Apostle,  the 
 Emperors  of  the  world  gave  in  their  names  to  Christ,  and  sub- 
 mitted their  sceptres  to  His  laws ;  that  "the  Gentiles"  might 
 come  to  His  Light,  and  Kings  to  the  brightness  of  His  rising  ;" 
 that  "Kings"  might  become  "the  nursing  fathers,  and  Queens 
 the  nursing  mothers  of  the  Church."  ii.  41;  iv.  4;  v.  14;  ix. 
 31 ;  xxi.  20.     Bp.  Pearson.     (Expos,  of  the  Creed,  Art.  ii.) 
 
 25  Standing  in  the  temple. — Here  we  see  that  this  second  perse- 
 cution had  a  different  effect  upon  the  Church  from  the  former. 
 At  first  they  assembled  in  a  clandestine  manner,  *'  for  fear  of 
 the  Jews  "  (S.  John  xx.  19)  ;  now  they  continued  openly  in 
 the  Temple  to  speak  the  word  of  God  with  boldness.  This  con- 
 duct "  seemed  good  to  the  Holt  Ghost  ;"  and  the  reason  is 
 not  difficult  to  comprehend.  The  Church  was  now  for  the  first 
 time  solemnly  enjoined  silence  by  authority.  It  was  fit  it 
 should  be,  as  solemnly  decided,  who  was  to  be  obeyed  ;  God,  or 
 the  Civil  Magistrate.  But  this  was  not  all :  the  decision  served 
 another  very  great  purpose ;  it  served  to  disseminate  the  Eaith : 
 for  the  natural  consequence  of  the  disciples'  persisting  to  dis- 
 charge their  Ministry,  after  they  had  been  forbidden,  was  their 
 being  "  scattered  abroad  throughout  the  regions  of  Judea  and 
 Samaria."  (viii.  1.)  Had  the  Church  taken  its  usual  remedy 
 against  Civil  violence,  namely,  secret  assemblies,  (which  in 
 ordinary  cases  modesty  and  a  sober  regard  to  authority 
 prescribe,)  the  faithful  had  not  been  dispersed,  and  the  pur- 
 pose of  Divine  Providence  in  the  speedy  propagation  of  the 
 Gospel  had   not   been    properly  effected.      Eph.  iii.   10.     Bp. 
 
THE  ACTS  V.  28.  143 
 
 Warburton.  (The  Divine  Legation  of  Moses.  Preface  to 
 Edition  of  1758.) 
 
 28  As  a  tree  on  fire  kindles  a  whole  forest  into  a  flame,  so  the 
 Apostles,  burning  with  the  fire  of  heaven,  have  set  in  a  blaze 
 the  whole  world,  and  hsivejilled  it  with  the  light  of  Truth  and  the 
 warmth  of  Charity.    S.  Luke  xii.  49.    S.  Augustine  (in  Ps.  xxx.) 
 
 The  Apostles  were,  as  burning  coals,  scattered  throughout  the 
 nations,  blest  incendiaries  of  the  world,  ii.  6 ;  xvii.  6.  Abp. 
 Leighton. 
 
 They  said  to  these  lowly  captives,  Bid  we  not  charge  you  that  ye 
 should  not  speak  in  the  name  of  Jesus  ?  And  would  ye  have  us 
 accountable  for  this  man's  Blood  ?  If  He  be  a  man,  wherefore 
 do  ye  fear  Him  ?  If  He  be  a  God,  wherefore  do  ye  not  adore 
 Him  ?  Did  ye  not  formerly  exclaim.  His  Blood  be  upon  us  and 
 upon  our  children  ?  Why  then  do  ye  fear  His  Blood  ?  And 
 what  hath  shaken  your  wonted  fortitude  ?  Did  not  ye  bind 
 Him  ?  Did  not  ye  scourge  Him  ?  Did  not  ye  crucify  Him  ? 
 Did  not  ye  take  down  His  Body  from  the  Cross  ?  Did  not  ye 
 bury  Him  in  the  earth  ?  Did  not  ye  fix  your  seal  upon  His 
 tomb  ?  Did  not  ye  bribe  the  soldiery  ?  Did  not  ye  publish  a 
 report,  that  His  disciples  had  stolen  Him  from  thence  ?  Why  then 
 do  ye  tremble  now  ?  And  wherefore  do  ye  dread  His  Blood  ? 
 Ye  perceive,  my  brethren,  that  the  truth,  like  heaven's  lightning, 
 darts  its  eff*u]gent  lustre  through  the  whole!  Josh.  xii.  16; 
 1  Sam.  V.  7.  ^S*.  Chrysostom.  (Serm.  on  the  Prop,  of  the 
 Gospel.) 
 
 They  avoid  mentioning  the  Name  of  Jesus  ;  S.  Peter  mentions  it, 
 and  glories  in  it,  celebrat.  ver.  30,  31.  (See  Illustr.  S.  John  iii. 
 26,  J.  F.)     BengeL 
 
 The  story  of  the  Jews,  out  of  their  own  Josephus,  Philo,  He- 
 gesippus,  and  others  ...  is  but  a  commentary  upon  their  own 
 words,  "  His  Blood  be  upon  us,  and  upon  our  children !"  written, 
 even  in  letters  of  their  own  blood,  from  time  to  time.  Por, 
 when  that  perverse  and  ungodly  generation  (ii.  40)  had  so  far 
 refused  the  Gospel  and  their  own  good,  that  it  had  crucified  the 
 LoED,  who  tendered  it  to  them,  ex  illo  fuere,  from  that  time 
 forward,  their  ruin  and  decaying  is  written  in  all  their  stories, 
 in  such  capital  letters,  that  he,  that  runs,  may  read  it :  and  he, 
 
144  THE  ACTS  V.  29. 
 
 that  reads  them,  reads  them  not,  if  he  do  not  observe  it.  Deut. 
 xxviii. ;  1  Thess.  ii.  16.  Dr.  Lighffoot.  (Epistle  Dedic.  to  his 
 Comment,  on  the  Acts.) 
 29  I  grant,  that  proof,  derived  from  the  authority  of  man's  judg- 
 ment, is  not  able  to  work  that  assurance,  which  doth  grow  by  a 
 stronger  proof;  and  therefore,  though  ten  thousand  General 
 Councils  would  set  down  one  and  the  same  definitive  sentence, 
 concerning  any  point  of  religion  whatsoever,  yet  one  demon- 
 strative reason  alleged,  or  one  manifest  testimony,  cited  from 
 the  Word  of  God  Himself  to  the  contrary,  could  not  choose, 
 but  over-weigh  them  all ;  inasmuch,  as  for  them  to  have  been 
 deceived,  it  is  not  impossible ;  it  is,  that  demonstrative  reason 
 or  testimony  Divine  should  deceive.  S.  John  vii.  48 — 51. 
 Hooker.  (Eccl.  Pol.  B.  ii.  s.  7.) 
 There  are  several  things,  wherein  a  Christian  hath  much  the  ad- 
 vantage of  all  the  professors  of  other  Eeligions.  He  excels  them 
 all  in  his  fortitude,  in  his  hope,  in  his  charity,  in  his  fidelity. 
 In  his  fortitude ;  that  is,  w^hen  his  cause  is  just.  It  was  well 
 defined  of  the  orator,  Fortitudo  est  virtus  pugnans  pro  cequitate  ; 
 fortitude  is  a  virtue  combating  for  justice  :  otherwise,  he  shrinks 
 under  the  load  and  crouches,  like  Issachar's  ass,  between  the  two 
 burdens  of  his  cause  and  conscience.  He  may  show,  like  Abra- 
 ham, with  his  brandished  sword  above,  as  if  he  would  presently 
 sacrifice  Isaac  himself;  but  the  Angel  (his  within-conscience) 
 lays  hold  on  his  arm  and  ties  up  his  hand  from  striking.  .  .  . 
 If  I  fight  in  a  bad  cause,  I  fight  against  myself,  as  well  as  against 
 my  enemy :  for,  besides  him,  I  combat  my  soul  against  my  body  ; 
 and,  instead  of  one  enemy,  I  make  myself  two  at  the  least.  Ps. 
 xxvii.  1—3  ;  Phil.  iv.  13.  O.  Feltham.  (Eesolves.  Cent.  ii.  11.) 
 Judex  ^Emilianus  imminebat, 
 Atrox,  turbidus,  insolens,  profanus  ; 
 Aras  daemonicas  coli  jubebat. 
 
 "Tu,  qui  doctor,"  ait,  "seris  novellum 
 Commenti  genus,  ut  leves  puellse 
 Lucos  destituant,  Jovem  relinquaut, 
 
 Damnes,  si  sapias,  anile  dogma. 
 Jussum  est  CaBsaris,  ore  Gallieni, 
 Quod  Princeps  colit,  ut  colamus  omnes." 
 
THE  ACTS  V.  30.  145 
 
 Hsec  fanti  placidus  refert  sacerdos ; 
 "  Sternum  colo  Principem,  dierum 
 Factorem,  Dominumque  Gallieni, 
 
 Et  Christum  Patre  prosatum  perenni, 
 Cujus  sum  famulus,  gregisque  pastor." 
 Prudentius.  (Peristeplianon.  In  honorem  Martyr.  Pructuosi,  &c.) 
 30  The  Primitive  Apostles  did  not,  like  those  of  later  date,  the 
 fathers  of  the  Mission  of  China,  preach  up  first  a  glorified,  and 
 then  a  crucified  Savioue  ;  but  bore  the  scandal  of  the  cross, 
 wheresoever  and  to  whomsoever  they  opened  the  doctrines  of  it. 
 The  slaying  of  Jesus  and  His  being  hanged  on  a  tree  is  men- 
 tioned in  one  of  the  first  Sermons  of  S.  Peter.  This,  humanly 
 speaking,  was  an  unlikely  way  of  gaining  proselytes ;  and  yet 
 unlikely  a  way,  as  it  was,  there  were  innumerable  proselytes 
 gained,  xiii.  29  ;  Eom.  i.  16.  Bp.  Atterbury.  (Serm.  Isa.  Ix.  22.) 
 The  Jews  had  four  kinds  of  death  for  malefactors ;  the  towel,  the 
 sword,  fire,  stones ;  each  of  these  above  other  in  extremity. 
 Strangling  with  the  towel  they  accounted  easiest ;  the  sword 
 worse  than  the  towel ;  the  fire  worse  than  the  sword ;  stoning 
 worse  than  the  fire :  but  this  E-oman  death  was  worst  of  all. 
 "  Cursed  is  every  one,  that  haugeth  on  a  tree."  Lam.  i.  12 ; 
 Gal.  iii.  13.  Bp.  Hall.  (Passion  Sermon.) 
 How  wondrous  was  this  power !  For  a  man,  hanging  on  a  tree,  to 
 execute  that  eternal  death,  to  which  mankind  were  liable,  and 
 nail  to  His  own  cross  that  very  wickedness,  which  crucified 
 Him !  For  one,  condemned  to  die  with  thieves,  to  save  sinners, 
 condemned  to  be  tormented  with  devils  ;  and,  when  "  drawn  up 
 from  the  earth"  in  this  infamous  manner,  to  "  draw  all  the 
 world"  to  Him  !  For  one,  expiring  in  agonies  unspeakable,  to 
 release  wretches  innumerable  from  the  pains  of  hell ;  and,  by 
 undergoing  the  death  of  the  body,  to  take  away  and  destroy  the 
 death  of  so  many  souls !  x.  39  ;  Hab.  iii.  4.  Anselm.  (Medit. 
 on  the  Eedemption  of  mankind,  B.  v.  c.  i.) 
 
 Arbor,  cui  nostrsB  stemma  salutis  inest ; 
 Ipsa  Dei  pietas  ramorum  amplexibus  haeret, 
 
 Et  riguus  Christi  Sanguine  vernat  apex. 
 De  trunco  fidei  pendent  mysteria  nostrse ; 
 Majestate  Deus,  corpore  verus  homo ! 
 
 L 
 
146  ■  THE  ACTS  V.  31. 
 
 Eadicem  cruor  innocui  purissimus  Agni, 
 Qui  lavat  humanse  vulnera  sortis,  alit. 
 O  !  Crux,  0  !  columen,  spes  unica,  planta  salutis, 
 O  !  lignum  aetlierii  fertile  deposit i ! 
 
 Prov.  iii.  18  ;  Cant.  i.  2, 13.   Joan.  Bochius.    (Carm. 
 Lib.  de  cruce.) 
 
 31  To  give  repentance. — This,  like  many  other  texts  of  Scripture, 
 has  suffered  from  popular  perversion.  The  expression,  bovvai 
 toTTov  fxe-Tavoia^,  means  to  "  give  room  for  repentance;"  to  open 
 a  way  for  the  acceptance  of  a  sinner's  repentance,  to  make 
 him  capable  to  receive  pardon  upon  his  repentance,  through  the 
 atoning  merits  of  our  Lord.     xi.  18  ;  S.  Luke  xxiv.  47.     J.  F. 
 
 Some  have  endeavoured  to  explain  the  efficacy  of  v^^hat  Christ 
 has  done  and  suffered  for  us  beyond  what  the  Scripture  has  au- 
 thorized; others  probably,  because  they  could  not  explain  it, 
 have  been  for  taking  it  away  and  confining  His  office,  as  Re- 
 deemer of  the  world,  to  His  instruction,  example,  and  govern- 
 ment of  the  Church :  whereas  the  Doctrine  of  the  Gospel 
 appears  to  be,  not  only  that  He  taught  the  efficacy  of  E^epent- 
 ance,  but  rendered  it  of  the  efficacy,  which  it  is,  by  what  He  did 
 and  suffered  for  us ;  that  He  obtained  for  us  the  benefit  of 
 having  our  Eepentance  accepted  unto  Eternal  life;  not  only 
 that  He  revealed  to  sinners  that  they  were  in  a  capacity  of 
 Salvation,  and  how  they  might  obtain  it ;  but,,  moreover,  that 
 He  put  them  into  this  capacity  of  salvation  by  what  He  did 
 and  suffered  for  them ;  put  us  into  a  capacity  of  escaping  future 
 punishment  and  obtaining  future  happiness.  And  it  is  our 
 wisdom  thankfully  to  accept  the  benefit  by  performing  the  con- 
 ditions, upon  which  it  is  offered,  on  our  part  without  disputing 
 how  it  was  procured  on  His.  ii.  38  ;  iii.  19  ;  viii.  22  ;  xx.  21 ; 
 2  Cor.  vii.  10.     Bp.  Butler.     (Analogy,  ch.  v.  s.  6.) 
 
 Let  us  look  steadfastly  upon  the  Blood  of  Christ,  and  let  us  see 
 how  precious  to  God  His  Blood  is ;  which,  being  shed  for  our 
 Salvation,  did  bring  the  Grace  of  Eepentance  to  the  whole 
 world.  Let  us  attentively  regard  all  ages,  and  observe,  that  in 
 every  generation  the  Lord  granted  place  of  repentance  to  them, 
 who  would  turn  to  Him.  S.  Matt.  iii.  2 ;  S.  John  i.  29.  S. 
 Clemens  Bom.     (Ep.  to  the  Cor.  s.  7.) 
 
THE  ACTS  V.  31,  32.  147 
 
 This  Scripture  makes  Repentance  stand  for  all  in  us  ;  and  forgive- 
 ness  of  sins  for  all  with  GoD  towards  us.  Dr.  Whichcote. 
 (Aphor.  Cent.  xi.  1033.) 
 
 He  gives  Repentance  when  He  is  received,  as  a  Prince ;  and  for- 
 giveness of  sin,  when  He  is  received,  as  a  Saviour.     Bengel. 
 
 In  religion,  let  not  one  thing  rise  up  against  another.  The  reason 
 why  we  should  take  in  all  collateral  acts,  though  the  Scripture 
 expresseth  but  one,  is  plain  from  that  Scripture,  Acts  v.  31. 
 "We  all  acknowledge,  that  it  is  faith,  that  is  immediate  to  remis- 
 sion of  sins  ;  and  you  have  here  a  signal  place  of  Scripture,  and 
 faith  is  omitted  and  repentance  put  in ;  and  repentance  doth  in- 
 clude faith  ;  for  repentance  were  desperate,  if  no  hope,  and 
 without  faith.  This  shows,  that  God  means  they  should  all  go 
 together ;  and  that  Scripture  intends  all,  though  it  speak  but 
 of  one.  Eom.  i.  5;  xvi.  26;  S.  John  i.  12.  Dr.  Whichcote. 
 (Serm.  Eom.  i.  16.) 
 
 32  In  these  words  they  give  them  twofold  rational  evidence,  which 
 did  manifest  the  undoubted  truth  of  what  they  spake ;  for  they 
 delivered  nothing  but  what  themselves  were  witnesses  to,  and 
 withal  was  declared  to  be  true  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
 in  the  miracles  which  were  wrought  upon,  and  by,  believers. 
 X.  39,  42.     Bp.  Stillingfeet.     (Orig.  Sacr«.  B.  ii.  c.  9.) 
 
 The  Holy  Ghost,  keeping  His  residence  and  exerting  His  power 
 in  all  pious  souls,  shining  into  their  minds  with  the  true 
 heavenly  light,  that  pure  and  perfect  "  Wisdom,  which  is  from 
 above,"  kindling  charity,  devotion,  comfort  and  joy  in  their 
 hearts,  supporting  them  in  trials  and  temptations,  raising  their 
 affections  and  desires  above  this  present  transitory  world,  dis- 
 posing them  to  relish  spiritual  things  and  to  entertain  them- 
 selves with  the  hopes  of  future  Blessedness,  doth  assure  them 
 that  Jesus  is  the  Loed,  doth  seal  to  them  the  truth  of  His 
 Doctrine,  the  reality  of  His  promises,  the  efficacy  of  His  Grace, 
 the  wonderful  greatness  of  His  Love  and  goodness  toward 
 them  ;  so  that  hence  that  is  abundantly  verified,  which  S.  John 
 telleth  us,  "  He,  that  believeth  on  the  Son  of  God,  hath  the  wit- 
 ness in  himself"  Eph.  i.  8  ;  1  Cor.  xii.  3  ;  Eom.  viii.  16  ;  Gal. 
 iv.  6;  2  Cor.  i.  22;  iv.  6;  1  S.  John  v.  10.  Dr,  Barrow. 
 (Serm.  on  the  Creed.     Serm.  20.) 
 
 l2 
 
148  THE  ACTS  V.  32. 
 
 I  am  now  much  more  apprehensive,  than  heretofore,  of  the 
 necessity  of  well  grounding  men  in  their  religion,  and  especially 
 of  the  witness  of  the  indwelling  Spirit :  for  I  more  sensibly  per- 
 ceive, that  the  Spirit  is  the  great  witness  of  Chmst  and 
 Christianity  to  the  world.  And,  though  the  folly  of  fanatics 
 tempted  me  long  to  overlook  the  strength  of  the  testimony  of 
 the  Spirit,  while  they  placed  it  in  a  certain  internal  assertion,  or 
 enthusiastic  inspiration,  yet  now  I  see,  in  another  manner,  that 
 the  Holt  Ghost  is  the  idtness  of  Christ  and  His  agent  in 
 the  world.  The  Spirit  in  the  prophets  was  His  first  witness ; 
 and  the  Spirit  by  miracles  was  His  second ;  and  the  Spirit  by 
 renovation,  sanctification,  illumination,  and  consolation,  assimi- 
 lating the  soul  to  Christ  and  heaven,  is  the  continual  witness 
 to  all  true  believers :  and  "  If  any  man  have  not  the  Spirit  of 
 Christ,  he  is  none  of  His :"  even  as  the  rational  soul  in  the 
 child  is  the  inherent  witness  or  evidence,  that  he  is  the  child  of 
 rational  parents.  Rom.  viii.  14—17;  1  S.  John  v.  10;  2  Cor. 
 xiii.  5.     R.  Baxter.     (Reliquiae  Baxterianse,  B.  i.  p.  1.) 
 
 To  them  that  obey  Him. — One  single  act  in  the  way  of  overcoming 
 oneself,  from  a  motive  of  fear,  and  love,  and  gratitude  towards 
 God,  oftentimes  impresses  more  deeply  the  idea  of  Him,  and  His 
 attributes,  than  long  reflecting  and  considering,  if  it  be  without 
 special  subduing  of  oneself.    Yerse  29  ;  ii.  18  ;  vi.  7.    B.  Overberg. 
 
 There  is  a  kind  of  sanctity  of  soul  and  body,  that  is  of  more  effi- 
 cacy for  the  receiving  or  retaining  of  Divine  Truth,  than  the 
 greatest  pretence  to  discursive  demonstration.  Wisd.  i.  4 ;  Ps. 
 XXV.  13  ;   S.  John  vii.  17.     Dr.  Henry  More. 
 
 33  When  they  heard  that,  they  were  cut  to  the  heart, 
 and  took  counsel  to  slay  them. 
 
 34  Then  stood  there  up  one  in  the  council,  a  Pha- 
 risee, named  Gamaliel,  a  doctor  of  the  law,  had  in 
 reputation  among  all  the  people,  and  commanded  to 
 put  the  Apostles  forth  a  little  space  ; 
 
 35  And  said  unto  them,  Ye  men  of  Israel,  take  heed  to 
 yourselves  what  ye  intend  to  do  as  touching  these  men. 
 
THE  ACTS  V.  33—37.  149 
 
 36  For  before  these  days  rose  up  Theudas,  boasting 
 himself  to  be  somebody :  to  whom  a  number  of  men, 
 about  four  hundred,  joined  themselves  :  who  was  slain  ; 
 and  all,  as  many  as  obeyed  him,  were  scattered,  and 
 brought  to  nought. 
 
 37  After  this  man  rose  up  Judas  of  Galilee  in  the  days 
 of  the  taxing,  and  drew  away  much  people  after  him : 
 he  also  perished  ;  and  all,  even  as  many  as  obeyed  him, 
 were  dispersed. 
 
 38  And  now  I  say  unto  you,  Refrain  from  these 
 men,  and  let  them  alone :  for  if  this  counsel  or  this 
 work  be  of  men,  it  will  come  to  nought. 
 
 39  But  if  it  be  of  God,  ye  cannot  overthrow  it ; 
 lest  haply  ye  be  found  even  to  fight  against  God. 
 
 33  Hearest  thou  of  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  0  !  wretched  man,  and 
 that  God  doth  not  demand  punishment  ?  And  dost  thou  wish 
 to  slai/  them  ?  "What  wickedness  was  this  ?  Ps.  cix.  1 — 4. 
 S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 34  Truth  has  had  concealed  and  timorous  friends,  who,  keeping 
 their  sentiments  to  themselves,  or  disclosing  them  only  to  a 
 few,  complied  with  established  errors  and  superstitions,  which 
 they  disliked  and  despised.  They,  who  are  at  all  acquainted 
 with  history,  know  that  a  great  number  of  such  examples  might 
 be  produced.  S.  John  iii.  1 ;  xix.  38.  J.  Jortin.  (Discourses 
 concerning  the  Christian  Eeligion,  i.) 
 
 36  Opinion  is,  as  a  wheel,  on  which  the  greatest  part  of  mankind 
 are  turned  and  wheeled  about,  till  they  fall  off  several  ways 
 into  several  evils,  and  do  scarce  touch  the  truth  in  the  way. 
 Opinion  builds  our  church,  chooseth  our  preacher,  formeth  our 
 discipline,  frameth  our  gesture,  measureth  our  prayers,  me- 
 thodizeth  our  sermons,     xxvi.  9 ;  xxviii.  22.     Farindon. 
 
 37  At  the  Birth  of  Cheist  was  the  great  tax  of  the  world  under 
 Augustus ;  which,  being  a  new  imposition,  and  never  heard  of 
 before,  fell  out  to  breed  much  matter  of  question Judas 
 
150 
 
 THE  ACTS  V.  37,  38. 
 
 of  Galilee  rose  in  the  days  of  tribute.  He  it  was,  tliat  held, 
 touching  the  tax,  quod  non.  The  people  of  God,  Abraham's 
 seed,  free-born — they  to  be  charged  with  taxes,  by  a  stranger, 
 a  heathen,  an  idolater  ?  No  ;  rather  rise,  take  arms,  as  Jero- 
 boam did.  The  people's  ears  itched  after  this  doctrine.  The 
 best  religion  for  the  purse  is  the  best  for  them;  and  they, 
 ready  to  hold  with  Jeroboam,  or  Judas,  or  any,  that  will 
 abrogate  payments,  ii.  7  ;  xxi.  38  ;  S.  Luke  xxiii.  5.  Bp. 
 Andrewes.  (Serm.  S.  Matt.  xxii.  21.) 
 JDrew  away  much  people. — It  can  nowise  be  safe  to  follow  any 
 such  leaders,  whatever  pretences  to  special  illumination  they 
 hold  forth,  whatever  specious  guises  of  sanctity  they  bear,  who 
 in  their  doctrine  or  practice  deflect  from  the  great  beaten  roads 
 of  Holy  Scripture,  primitive  tradition,  and  Catholic  practice, 
 roving  in  bye-paths,  suggested  to  them  by  their  private  fancies 
 and  humours,  their  passions  and  lusts,  their  interests  and  ad- 
 vantages :  there  have  in  all  ages  such  counterfeit  guides  started 
 up,  having  debauched  some  few  heedless  persons,  having  erected 
 some  7rapaavva^wr^a<i,  or  petty  Combinations  against  the  re- 
 gularly settled  Corporations,  but  never  with  any  durable  success 
 or  countenance  of  Divine  Providence;  but  like  prodigious 
 meteors,  having  caused  a  little  gazing  and  some  disturbance, 
 their  sects  have  soon  been  dissipated,  and  have  quite  vanished 
 away  ;  the  authors  and  abettors  of  them  being  either  buried  in 
 oblivion,  or  recorded  with  ignominy.  Titus  iii.  10 ;  2  Thess. 
 iii.  6 ;  Eom.  x.  17  ;  1  Tim.  vi.  5.  Br.  Barrow.  (Serm.  Heb. 
 xiii.  7.) 
 
 Who  kills  the  lawless  ruffian  ?  the  Magistrate  that  executes  the 
 Law  ?  the  citizen,  that  merely  stands  upon  his  own  defence  ? 
 No ;  the  man  kills  himself.  The  son  of  violence  as  clearly  puts 
 himself  to  death,  as  a  mad  dog,  that  rushes  upon  the  opposed 
 spear:  "  He  digged  a  pit,  and  fell  therein  ;  and  his  blood  is  on 
 his  own  head."     v.  36,  37.     R.  Cecil. 
 
 38  The  early  books,  written  against  Christianity,*  soon  fell  into 
 
 *  The  principal  writers,  among  the 
 Gentiles,  were  Celsus  in  the  second 
 century,  Porphyry  in  the  third,  and 
 the  Emperor  Julian  in  the  fourth.    We 
 
 have  Celsus  given  almost  entirely  in 
 Origen,  much  of  Julian  in  S.  Cyril, 
 and  large  portions  of  Porphyry  in  S. 
 Jerome. 
 
THE  ACTS  V.  38,  39.  151 
 
 general  contempt ;  they  perished,  almost  as  fast,  as  they  ap- 
 peared ;  and  if  they  still  subsisted  any  where,  it  was,  because 
 they  had  been  preserved  by  the  Christians  themselves.  S. 
 Chrysostom.     (Works,  vol.  2,  p.  539,  Edit.  Bened.) 
 
 Ex  nihilo  nihil  jit  is  a  maxim,  that  applies  itself  in  every  case, 
 where  Deity  is  not  concerned.     Cowper. 
 
 39  Te  cannot  overthroiv  it. — Christianity  proves  itself,  as  the  sun 
 is  seen  by  its  own  light.  Its  evidence  is  involved  in  its  exist- 
 ence.    2  S.  John  1,  2.     S.  T.  Coleridge.     (Table  talk,  1823.) 
 
 That  the  Bible  is  the  "Word  of  God,  the  same  I  prove  in  this 
 way :  all  things,  that  have  been  from  the  beginning,  now  are 
 still  in  the  world  ;  £nd  how  it  is  so  ordered  and  made  to  subsist, 
 the  same  was  written  particularly  at  the  beginning,  in  the  first 
 Book  of  Moses,  concerning  the  Creation  :  and  even  as  God 
 made  and  created  it,  so  it  was  ;  even  so  it  is  ;  and  even  so  doth 
 it  stand  to  this  present  day.  And,  although  King  Alexander 
 the  Great,  the  Kingdom  of  Egypt,  the  Empire  of  Babel,  the 
 Persian,  Grecian,  and  Eoman  monarchs,  the  Emperors  Julius 
 [query,  Julian  ?]  and  Augustus  most  fiercely  did  rage  and  swell 
 against  this  Book,  utterly  to  suppress  and  destroy  the  same ; 
 yet  notwithstanding  they  could  prevail  nothing :  they  are  all 
 gone  and  vanished  :  but  this  Book  from  age  to  age  hath  re- 
 mained unremoved  in  full  and  complete  manner,  as  it  was 
 written  at  the  first,  xxvi.  22  ;  2  S.  Pet.  iii.  5 — 7.  Luther. 
 (Table  talk,  ch.  i.) 
 
 Gamaliel's  position  is  sound  and  good — "  all  one,  to  fight  with 
 God,  and  that,  which  is  of  God" — for  they  cannot  be  severed, 
 ix.  5  ;  xxiii.  9 ;  E-om.  xiii.    Bp.  Andrewes.    (Serm.  Prov.  viii.  15.) 
 
 40  And  to  him  they  agreed  :  and  when  they  had 
 called  the  Apostles,  and  beaten  them,  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  worthy  to 
 suffer  shame  for  His  name. 
 
152  THE  ACTS  V.  40,  41. 
 
 42  And  daily  in  the  temple,   and  in  every  house, 
 they  ceased  not  to  teach  and  preach  Jesus  Christ. 
 
 40  The  world  (in  its  opposition  to  the  Grospel)  begins  with  mock- 
 ing, i.  13  ;  then  proceeds  to  questioning,  iv.  7 ;  then  to  threat- 
 ening, V.  17 ;  then  to  imprisoning,  v.  18  ;  then  to  scourging, 
 V.  40 ;  then  to  killing,  vii.  58 ;  xii.  1,  2.    Bengel.    (Note  at  i.  13.) 
 
 Christianity  was  planted  in  rerwn  colluvie,  in  the  corruption  of 
 men  and  manners :  so  it  doth  in  a  manner  bid  defiance  to  the 
 whole  world.  It  tells  the  Jew,  his  ceremonies  are  beggarly 
 (Gal.  iv.  9),  the  wise  man  of  this  world,  that  his  philosophy  is 
 but  deceit  (Col.  ii.  8),  and  his  wisdom  madness  (1  Cor.  i.  20). 
 It  plucks  the  wanton  from  the  harlot's  lips,  tumbles  down  the 
 ambitious  from  his  pinnacle,  disarms  the  revenger,  strips  the 
 rich.  It  writes  over  the  rich  man's  gates,  "  Blessed  are  the 
 poor;"  over  the  Doctor's  chair,  "  Where  is  the  disputer  of  this 
 world?"  over  the  Temple,  ^^  Non  lapis  super  lapidem,''  that  not 
 a  stone  shall  be  left  upon  a  stone,  that  shall  not  be  thrown 
 down  :"  for  a  non  occides,  it  brought  down  a  ne  irasceris,  and 
 made  anger  Murder  ;  for  a  non  moechaberis  a  non  concupisces,  and 
 made  desire  Adultery.  It  brought  down  sin  to  a  look,  to  a 
 thought ;  and  therefore  no  marvel,  if  there  arose  against  Chris- 
 tians tot  hostes  qiiot  extranei,  as  many  enemies,  as  there  were 
 heathen,  or  Jews,  xxviii.  22  ;  1  Kings  xxii.  8  ;  S.  Matt.  xxiv.  9. 
 Farindon,     (Serm.  S.  Matt.  v.  5.) 
 
 41  The  phrase  here  of  S.  Luke  is  remarkably  gallant  and  spirited 
 ..."  had  the  honour  of  being  vilified  and  reproached  in  a  cause 
 so  highly  venerable."  This  passage  is  a  fine  exemplification  of 
 the  figure,  which  Khetoricians  call  Oxymorum.  Horace's  Dulce 
 jiericulum^  Splendide  mendax^  Quo  beatus  vidnere  read  flat,  and 
 look  dim,  upon  the  comparison.  2  Cor.  xii.  10 ;  Phil.  i.  29. 
 J.  Hervey.     (Theron  and  Aspasio.     Note  to  Letter  10.) 
 
 T  love  indeed  to  sufier ;  but  I  cannot  tell  whether  I  am  worthy  to 
 sufi"er.     ix.  16 ;  Phil.  i.  29 ;  S.  Luke  vi.  22,  23.     ^S*.  Ignatius. 
 
 If  they  deservedly  rejoiced  to  be  allowed  to  suffer  for  Himy  of  how 
 much  joy  shall  they  have  just  cause,  that  are  admitted  to  reign 
 with  Him  ?  His  having  supported  the  hardships  and  the  toils 
 (for  I  must  not  now  call  them  evils)  to  which  our  ajQlicted  con- 
 
THE  ACTS  V.  41,  42.  153 
 
 dition  of  mortality  13  exposed,  does  so  rauch  alleviate  tbem,  and 
 refresh  us  under  them,  that  in  this  sense  also  it  may  be  truly 
 said,  that  "  the  chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upon  Him,  and 
 by  His  hurts  we  are  healed."  Isa.  liii.  Bat  He,  that  relieved 
 us  even  by  His  Cross,  will  sure  do  more  for  us  by  His  Crown, 
 when  He  shall  admit,  and  even  invite,  each  faithful  servant  to 
 no  less  a  Blessing,  than  to  "  enter  into  his  Master's  joy."  So 
 rich  a  source  of  happiness  did  Christ  design  to  make  Himself 
 to  us,  in  all  His  capacities  and  conditions,  that  in  heaven  and  in 
 earth  it  was,  and  will  be,  His  gracious  and  constant  employ- 
 ment to  share  our  griefs,  or  impart  to  us  His  joys,  and  either 
 lessen  our  miseries  by  His  sufferings,  or  increase  our  happiness 
 by  His  felicity,  ix.  4  ;  2  Tim.  ii.  12  ;  Eom.  viii.  18.  Hon.  R. 
 Boyle.     (Some  Motives  to  the  Love  of  God,  s.  22.) 
 
 We  cannot  digest  adversity,  if  we  do  not  relish  it.     2  Cor.  xii.  10 ; 
 Heb.  X.  34  ;  S.  James  i.  2.     Dr.  Barrow.     (Serm.  Phil.  iv.  11.) 
 Non  onus  est,  sed  honos ;  non  dedecus,  at  decus  ingens 
 Tecum  vel  minimam,  Christe,  tulisse  crucem  ! 
 
 Hae/tenus.     (E-egia  via  crucis,  lib.  ii.  c.  17.) 
 
 42  Teach  Jestjs  Cheist. — Ca?'o  /actus  est  et  conceptus,  Natus, 
 PassuSy  Crucifixus,  Mortuus,  Sepultus,  Bescendit,  Resurrexitj  As- 
 cendit,  Assedit,  Revertitur,  Retribuet.  The  Word  was  made  flesh 
 and  conceived,  was  born,  was  suffering,  was  crucified,  was  dead, 
 was  buried :  it  descended,  it  rose  up,  it  ascended,  it  sate  down, 
 it  returns,  it  will  Judge.     Col.  i.  27,  28.     Abp.  Laud.     (Diary.) 
 
 The  Grospel  is  a  system  of  Truth  and  Duty ;  its  parts  all  harmo- 
 nious, and  mutually  relevant  and  dependent.  It  has  a  centre, 
 luminous,  glorious,  all-controlling,  to  which  all  the  parts  around 
 refer  for  the  light,  in  which  they  are  revealed,  and  the  harmony 
 of  their  every  bearing.  Ton  can  neither  illustrate  this  system, 
 till  you  have  shown  its  central  power  and  light,  nor  fully  de- 
 scribe its  centre  without  exhibiting  the  various  relations  and 
 dependencies  of  its  surrounding  system.  The  centre  is  Cheist. 
 All  lines  meet  in  Him  ;  all  light  and  life  come  from  Him :  all 
 truth  is  dark,  till  He  is  risen  on  the  scene.  Lesser  lights  are 
 only  to  rule  the  night :  it  is  for  the  Sun  to  rule  the  day.  viii. 
 5  ;  X.  36  ;  xxvi.  23  ;  Phil.  iii.  7—14.  Bp.  M'llvaine.  (Charge 
 before  the  17th  Convention  of  the  Diocese  of  Ohio,  1834.) 
 
154  THE  ACTS  V.  42. 
 
 Eemigius,  at  S.  Matt.  v.  23,  observes,  that  teaching  and  preaching 
 differ:  teaching,  he  says,  refers  to  things  present;  preaching 
 to  things  to  come — They  taught  present  commandments,  and 
 preached  future  doctrines.  S.  Chrysostom  at  xv.  35  distin- 
 guishes the  two  thus :  they  taught  those,  who  were  already 
 believers,  and  they  Evangelized  those,  that  were  not  yet  such. 
 If  these  explanations  are  not  quite  satisfactory,  there  may  be 
 room  for  another.  Teaching  then  may  describe  and  comprehend 
 the  didactic,  and  preaching  the  hortatory  part  of  the  discourse. 
 The  Apostles  taught  Jesus  :  they  proved  and  demonstrated  from 
 the  Scriptures  that  He  was  "the  Soif  of  God"  and  "the 
 Chkist  ;"  and,  in  connection  with  this  fundamental  truth,  they 
 expounded  the  way  of  salvation  through  Him.  Then  they 
 preached  Jesus  :  as  His  authorized  ambassadors,  they  exhorted 
 the  people,  on  the  grounds  of  the  doctrines  they  had  delivered 
 unto  them ;  they  called  upon  them  to  repent,  believe,  and  be 
 Baptized ;  in  a  word,  to  be  "reconciled  unto  God."  ix.  20,  22  ; 
 XV.  35 ;  xxviii.  31 ;  S.  Matt.  xi.  1.     J,  F. 
 
 CHAPTER  VI. 
 
 A  ND  in  those  days,  when  the  number  of  the  disci- 
 ples  was   multiplied,    there  arose  a  murmuring 
 of  the  Grecians  against  the  Hebrews,  because  their 
 widows  were  neglected  in  the  daily  ministration. 
 
 2  Then  the  twelve  called  the  multitude  of  the  dis- 
 ciples unto  them,  and  said.  It  is  not  reason  that  we 
 should  leave  the  word  of  God,  and  serve  tables, 
 
 3  Wherefore,  brethren,  look  ye  out  among  you 
 seven  men  of  honest  report,  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
 and  wisdom,  whom  we  may  appoint  over  this  business, 
 
THE  ACTS  VI.  1,  2.  155 
 
 4  But  we  will  give  ourselves  continually  to  prayer, 
 and  to  the  ministry  of  the  word. 
 
 1  In  this  murmur^  scarcely  audible  at  first  and  whose  tone  was 
 almost  too  low  to  jar  with  the  harmony  of  the  Church,  we  have 
 the  introduction  of  that  meum  and  tuum  between  brother  and 
 brother,  spoken  of  in  our  note  iv.  32.  The  distinctions  of  self 
 grew  with  the  growth  of  Christianity,  like  a  tare,  sown  by  the 
 enemy,  in  the  midst  of  God's  wheat.  "We  may  trace  its  rapid 
 developement  from  the  time  of  the  conversion  of  the  Emperor 
 Constantino ;  and  subsequent  Ecclesiastical  History  has  shown 
 us  its  bitter  fruits  at  their  full  maturity,  and  ripening  for  the 
 harvest,  when  the  sins  of  Babylon  shall  have  *' reached  unto 
 heaven,"  Eev.  xviii. ;  and  God  shall  enter  into  judgment  with 
 her  for  her  "merchandise  of  gold,  and  silver,  and  precious 
 stones,"  &c.,  and,  infinitely  above  all,  her  merchandise  of 
 "souls  of  men."  Prov.  xvii.  14;  S.  James  ii.  6;  v.  13 ;  2  S. 
 Pet.  ii.  3,  14 ;  1  Tim.  vi.  5—10 ;  1  S.  John  iii.  17 ;  Ezek.  xiii. 
 19.     J.  F. 
 
 2  In  the  primitive  times,  the  Offertory  was  the  constant  means  of 
 doing  this ;  no  man  of  ability  ever  coming  to  the  Sacrament 
 without  remembering  the  Corban ;  and  out  of  that  treasury  the 
 TrpoecTTvbsy  or  priest,  being  enabled,  "became"  (as  Justin  Mart. 
 Apol.  2.  says)  "  the  common  guardian  of  all,  that  were  in  want." 
 The  weight  of  which  task  was  so  great  in  the  Apostles'  times, 
 that  they  were  fain  to  erect  a  new  Order  in  the  Church  to  assist 
 them,  particularly  in  this  hiaKoveiv  ipaire^ai^  to  furnish  tables, 
 i.e.  distribute  maintenance  out  of  that  bank,  to  all,  that  were  in 
 need.  I  wish  heartily  our  care  and  our  practice  may  not  fall 
 too  short  from  such  a  venerable  example.  Heb.  xiii.  15,  16. 
 Dr.  Hammond.     (The  Pastor's  motto,  Serm.  2  Cor.  xii.  14.) 
 
 Mr.  Thorudike  testifies,  that  he  finds  in  a  MS.  (expounding  divers 
 Greek  words  of  the  Bible)  this  gloss,  KvpiaKou  Seiirvov  to  iv 
 eKKXyaca  dpiarou,  "The  Loed's  Supper,  is  to  dine  in  the  Church." 
 This  common  entertainment  being  made  for  poor  and  rich,  out 
 of  the  stock  of  the  Church,  from  the  offerings,  that  were  brought, 
 the  seven  Deacons  were  first  appointed  to  attend  upon  the  making 
 
156  THE  ACTS  VI.  2,  3. 
 
 of  this  provision,  and  relieving  the  poor  otherwise.  ...  By 
 serving  tables  we  cannot  well  understand  any  other  thing,  than 
 providing  for  the  poor  this  table  at  the  Feasts  of  Charity, 
 which  maintained  a  singular  love  and  kindness  among  them  all. 
 So  great  a  kindness  it  was,  that  hereby  was  nourished,  that  the 
 heathens  would  not  but  take  notice  of  it,  as  inviting  many  to 
 be  Christians.  "You  shall  find,"  saith  Julian,  "among  the 
 Galileans  (by  which  name  they  called  Christians)  their  Feast 
 of  Love,  which  they  called  Agapce,  their  entertainment  and  their 
 serving  of  tables,  which  draws  many  to  their  religion."  And  this 
 is  the  great  thing,  which  the  Apostle  reproves  the  Corinthians 
 for ;  that,  though  the  Sacrament  and  this  feast  were  appointed  to 
 preserve  love,  yet  they  rudely  abused  them  to  the  very  contrary 
 end.  S.  John  xiii.  35  ;  1  Cor.  xi.  Bp.  Patrick.  (Mensa  Mys- 
 tica,  s.  i.  c.  6.) 
 
 It  is  the  glory  of  a  Bishop  to  make  provision  for  the  wants  of  the 
 poor :  it  is  the  disgrace  of  all  Priests  to  study  to  increase  their 
 own  riches,  i.  18 ;  xx.  33—35 ;  Eom.  xv.  25,  26 ;  Gral.  ii.  10. 
 S.  Jermne.     (Ep.  ad  Nepotianum.) 
 
 3  Notwithstanding  all  the  interest  and  office,  that  the  Holt 
 GrHOST  assumes  in  their  separation  to  the  Ministry  (xiii.  2),  yet 
 there  is  something  left  besides  for  man  to  do.  Although  He 
 superintend,  they  have  a  work  in  it:  He  is  the  "Unction"  (1 
 S.  John  ii.  20);  but  it  must  be  applied  by  laying  on  of  hands.  .  . 
 And  even  in  the  lowest  Clergy  it  was  thus.  When  the  first 
 Deacons  were  to  be  made,  men  full  of  the  Holt  Ghost  and  of 
 wisdom  were  to  be  looked  out :  but  yet  that  did  not  authorise 
 them.  The  Holt  Ghost  and  wisdom  did  not  make  them  a 
 Beacon ;  for,  besides  that,  the  Apostles  will  appoint  them  over 
 their  business^  and  they  are  brought  to  them,  and  they  do  lay 
 
 -  their  hands  upon  them.  Thus  it  was  in  these  times  of  the  full 
 eff'usion  of  the  Holt  Ghost  :  men  had  always  had  to  do  in 
 giving  that  commission.  .  .  .  And  here  a  consideration  offers 
 itself  to  those  holy  Fathers,  whom  the  Spirit  makes  His  asso- 
 ciates in  separating  men  to  sacred  offices ;  that,  when  they  set 
 apart  even  to  the  lowest  stalls  of  the  Church,  they  labour  to 
 perform  it  so,  that  the  Holt  Ghost  may  be  engaged  and  act 
 along  with  them  in   the  performance ;  separate  such,  as  they 
 
THE  ACTS  VI.  3.  157 
 
 may  presume  the  Spirit  hath  "called"  and  will  own.  He  does 
 not  call  the  ignorant,  or  appoint  blind  eyes  for  the  Body  of 
 Christ,  or  make  men  seers  to  lead  into  the  pit.  The  Holy 
 Spieit  calls  not  the  unclean  and  the  intemperate,  nor  does  He 
 ever  say,  "Separate  Me"  those,  who  "separate  themselves;" 
 the  Spirit  calls  not  such,  as  break  the  Unity  of  the  Spirit ;  nor 
 sets  into  the  rank  of  higher  members  in  Christ's  Body  those, 
 who  tear  that  Body  and  themselves  from  it.  1  Tim.  iv.  13 ; 
 2  Tim.  i.  6  ;  Titus  i.  5  ;  S.  Matt.  vii.  6.  Dr.  Allestree.  (Serm. 
 Acts  xiii.  2.) 
 
 The  Apostles  themselves,  as  moved  by  the  Spirit,  might  have  made 
 this  election:  but  nevertheless  they  desire  the  testimony  of  the 
 people.  The  fixing  the  number,  and  the  ordaining  them,  and 
 for  this  particular  office,  rested  with  them  ;  but  they  left  to  the 
 people  the  choice  of  the  men,  that  they  might  not  seem  to  act 
 with  partiality ;  just  as  God  also  leaves  it  to  Moses  to  choose, 
 as  Elders,  those,  whom  he  knew.  i.  23,  24 ;  Numb.  xi.  16. 
 S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 By  Moses's  Law  the  Levites  were  to  be  holy,  as  well  as  the  Priests ; 
 and  the  directions,  which  S.  Paul  gives,  concerning  their  qualifi- 
 cations (1  Tim.  iii.)  are  evidence  sufficient,  that  great  care  ought 
 
 to  be  taken  of  their  admission If  they  had  not  been 
 
 intended  for  higher  ministries,  there  had  been  no  need  of  re- 
 quiring, that  they  should  be  full  of  the  Holy  Gthost  and  of 
 Wisdom.  Verse  10;  viii.  5,  38;  1  Tim.  iii.  13.  Bean  Comber. 
 (A  Discourse  on  the  office  for  making  Deacons,  ch.  i.  s.  1.) 
 
 If  so  much  care  was  requisite  in  making  provision  for  this  lower 
 Ministry,  much  greater  must  be  employed  in  making  choice  of 
 Priests,  who  have  souls  entrusted  to  them.  1  Tim.  iii.  13, 
 Clarius. 
 
 There  is  a  threefold  fulness  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  Scripture, 
 according  to  a  threefold  capacity  in  the  receivers.  1.  Plenitudo 
 superabundanticB,  of  the  fountain,  in  Christ.  He  had  not  the 
 Spirit  "  in  measure,"  but  above  measure.  S.  John  i.  16 ;  Col. 
 ii.  9.  2.  Plenitudo  eminentice,  of  the  stream :  so  the  Apostles, 
 those  extraordinary  officers  had  a  greater  fulness  of  the  Spirit 
 than  any  since.  Verses  5,  8  ;  viii.  18  ;  xi.  24  ;  xiii.  9  ;  S.  John 
 xvi.  13 — 15.     3.  SufficienticBj  of  the  vessel:    this  fulness  has 
 
158  THE  ACTS  VI.  4. 
 
 every  member  of  the  Body  of  Christ.     S.  John  iii.  5 ;  Eom. 
 viii.  9—16.     E.  Leigh. 
 
 4  All  our  ministries  consist  in  preaching  and  praying ;  to  these 
 two  are  reducible  all  the  Ministries  Ecclesiastical,  which  are  of 
 Divine  Institution.     Bp.  J.  Taylor,     (Eeturn  of  prayers.) 
 Sacris  dotatus,  et  sacris  deditus,  atque 
 Sacra  docens,  sacra  dausj  et  dux  sacer  esto  Sacerdos. 
 
 Weever.     (Euneral  Monuments,  ch.  16.) 
 
 Eirst,  Prayer;  then,  Sermon,     xx.  7;  S.  Mark  xi.  17.     J.  F. 
 
 Be  very  careful  to  prefer  those  actions  of  your  life,  that  most  con- 
 cern you ;  be  sure  to  do  them  chiefest,  to  do  them  most.  Let 
 those  things,  that  are  of  less  moment  give  place  to  those  things, 
 that  are  of  greatest  moment.  Every  man  of  the  most  ordinary 
 prudence,  having  many  things  to  do,  will  be  sure  to  be  doing 
 of  that  first  and  chiefest,  which  most  concerns  him,  and  which, 
 being  omitted  and  possibly  wholly  disappointed,  might  cause 
 his  irreparable  loss.  xxii.  10  ;  S.  Matt,  xxiii.  23.  Sir  M.  Hale. 
 (Of  the  redemption  of  time.) 
 
 5  And  the  saying  pleased  the  whole  multitude  :  and 
 they  chose  Stephen,  a  man  full  of  faith  and  of  the 
 Holy  Ghost,  and  Philip,  and  Prochorus,  and  Nicanor, 
 and  Timon,  and  Parmenas,  and  Nicholas,  a  proselyte 
 of  Antioch : 
 
 6  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  the  disciples  multiplied  in  Jerusalem  greatly ;  and  a 
 great  company  of  the  priests  were  obedient  to  the 
 faith. 
 
 8  And  Stephen,  fall  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  Libertines,  and  Cyrenians, 
 
THE  ACTS  VI.  5,  6.  159 
 
 and  Alexandrians,  and  of  them  of  Cilicia  and  of  Asia, 
 disputing  with  Stephen. 
 
 10  And  they  were  not  able  to  resist  the  wisdom  and 
 the  spirit  by  which  he  spake. 
 
 5  We  learn  from  this  high  eulogium,  bestowed  upon  S.  Stephen, 
 that  they,  who  fill  an  inferior  Order  in  the  Church,  may  have  as 
 much  grace  and  honour,  as  their  highest  superiors ;  and  that 
 God  regards  in  no  man,  however  exalted  he  be,  anything, 
 but  His  own  gifts,  bestowed  for  His  own  Grlory,  the  edifi- 
 cation of  His  Church,  and  the  Sanctification  of  the  individual. 
 G-al.  ii.  6.  M.  de  Singlin.  (Instr.  Chretiennes.  Fete  de  S. 
 Etienue.) 
 
 The  Deacons  were  partly  Hebrews,  partly  Greeks  (for  many 
 Jews  had  Greek  names)  :  here  was  a  proselyte^  to  whom  the 
 proselyte  converts  might  apply.     Bengel. 
 
 6  The  ordination  of  the  Clergy  is  completed  by  two  things ;  laying 
 on  of  hands,  and  prayer  of  the  lips.  xiii.  2,  3  ;  xiv.  23  ;  1  Tim. 
 iv.  14.     S.  Jerome.     (Lib.  xvi.  in  Jesai.) 
 
 As  to  the  mystical  meaning  of  this  ceremony,  I  find  it  variously 
 explained :  some  will  have  it  signify  the  taking  them  into  God's 
 special  protection;  others  the  granting  them  power  to  act, 
 because  the  hand  is  the  instrument  of  action  ;  others  the  plen- 
 tiful imparting  to  them  the  gifts  of  the  Spieit  ;  for  gifts  are 
 distributed  by  the  hand.  But  the  most  natural  signification  of 
 it  seems  to  be  the  Bishop's  delivering  them  a  power  to  officiate 
 in  the  Church  and  to  administer  holy  things :  but,  because  he 
 doth  this  in  God's  Name,  and  by  authority  from  Him,  the  can- 
 didate should  lift  up  his  heart  to  Heaven,  and  pray  for  grace  to 
 fit  him  for  this  weighty  charge,  viii.  19  ;  Deut.  xxxiv.  9  ;  1  Tim. 
 iv.  14.  Dean  Coinber.  (A  Discourse  upon  the  Office  for  making 
 Deacons,  ch.  iv.  s.  1.) 
 
 Our  Sayioue  at  first  ordained  His  Twelve  Apostles,  according  to 
 the  number  of  the  tribes  of  the  Church  of  Israel.  Afterwards, 
 He  ordained  other  seventy,  according  to  the  number  of  the 
 Elders,  whom  Moses  appointed,  as  his  assistants.  When  the 
 Church  in  Jerusalem  was  multiplied,  seven  Deacons  were  or- 
 
160  THE  ACTS  VI.  7. 
 
 ,^^  aed  by  the  laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the  Apostles,  to  preach, 
 :  4.  Baptize,  and  minister  in  distributing  the  alms  of  the  Church. 
 Here  then  we  have  three  Orders  of  men,  each  distinct  from  the 
 other ;  the  Twelve  Apostles,  the  seventy  Disciples,  and  the 
 seven  Deacons ;  and  by  these  the  first  Christian  Church  in  Je- 
 ^v  Jem  was  governed  and  administered.  TF.  Jones.  (Essay 
 the  Church.  Ch.  ii.) 
 7  The  Jews,  who  at  first  followed  Cheist,  were  to  be  few  and  in- 
 considerable, during  His  life ;  to  take  away  all  umbrage  from 
 the  Gentiles,  as  well  as  the  governing  part  of  the  Jews, 
 that  He  designed  any  infraction  upon  their  civil  rights  and 
 liberties.  Therefore  the  great  flowing  in  of  the  Jews  first,  par- 
 ticularly of  their  priests,  and  afterwards  of  the  Grentiles,  was 
 not  till  after  the  Ascension  of  our  Blessed  Loed,  to  put  them 
 out  of  fear  of  His  going  about  to  set  up  a  temporal  kingdom 
 (i.  6)  after  His  Besurrection :  for  that  had  made  a  great  noise, 
 and  given  the  alarm  both  to  the  High  Priest  and  Grovernor  of 
 the  Jews,  as  well  as  to  the  G-entiles  :  therefore,  though  "  He 
 showed  Himself  openly  after  His  Besurrection,"  and  to  so 
 many,  and  at  sundry  times,  and  by  such  infallible  proofs,  as  to 
 confirm  the  truth  of  it,  past  all  possibility  of  deceit  or  ground 
 of  scruple  to  after  ages  ;  yet  He  showed  not  Himself  openly  to 
 all  the  people.  That  would  have  set  the  whole  world  in  a  flame, 
 all  on  a  sudden,  who  were  not  prepared ;  for  they  knew  not,  as 
 yet,  the  design  of  His  kingdom,  that  it  was  to  be  spiritual  and 
 heavenly  ;  till  He  should,  in  a  long  tract  of  time  and  by  degrees, 
 bring  over  the  whole  kingdom  of  the  earth  to  His  subjection  in 
 the  belief  of  His  Grospel ;  not  by  force  of  arms  (for  that  could 
 not  have  done  it),  but  according  to  the  full  freedom  of  their 
 own  wills  by  a  rational  conviction,  xvii.  7 ;  S.  John  vi.  15  ; 
 xi.  48 ;  xix.  12.  C.  Leslie.  (A  short  and  easy  method  with 
 the  Jews,  s.  15.) 
 These  Priests  might  have  been  rendered  more  favourably  disposed 
 towards  the  faith,  when  they  saw,  in  the  Institution  of  the 
 Order  of  Deacons  and  in  its  derivation  from  the  Apostleship, 
 that  the  Church  was  to  be  regularly  governed  by  constituted 
 authorities,  and  to  have  its  distinct  sacred  tribe  of  "  Ministers 
 unto  the  Loed."     There  is  something  more  than  a  mere  com- 
 
THE  ACTS  VI.  7—9.  161 
 
 mon  profession,  apparently  implied  in  the  expression,  wer      '  ^- 
 dient  to  the  faith.     We   have   the   accession    of  the   Ler 
 recorded  at  iv.  36,  in  the  person  of  Barnabas,     v.  32.     J.  F. 
 
 Man,  being  as  he  is,  must  have  a  Church.  Christianity,  withouit 
 order  and  authority,  is  a  dream,  an  enthusiasm,  a  desolation, 
 i.  47;  1  Tim.  iii.  15.  Bp.  B.  Wilson.  (Charge,  Cah"  -^q,, 
 1838.)  ^^ 
 
 The  Scripture  cannot  be  spread  over  the  world,  as  a  Divine  Eeve- 
 lation,  for  a  continuance,  in  any  country,  unless  Christian 
 Churches  be  supported  there ;  but  will  always,  more  or  less,  so 
 long  as  such  Churches  subsist :  and  therefore  their  subsistence 
 ought  to  be  provided  for.  Eph.  iii.  5,  9,  10.  Bp.  Butler. 
 (Serm.  before  the  Propagation  Soc.  1739.) 
 
 8  A  very  high  testimony  is  here  rendered  to  the  excellency  of 
 faith  ;  it  is  the  first  thing,  that  we  are  told  of  in  the  narrative 
 about  S.  Stephen :  and  it  is  mentioned  twice,  the  rather  to  im- 
 press it  on  our  minds  (ver.  4,  5).  "  He  was  full  of/m'M."  Here 
 was  the  indwelling  of  the  Spirit ;  here  was  the  secret  of  His 
 strength;  here  was  the  spring  of  his  charity;  here  was  the 
 glory  of  his  martyrdom.  If  we  would  do  and  suffer  great  things 
 for  God,  it  can  only  be  by  the  same  Divine  principle  :  for  "  who 
 is  he,  that  overcometh  the  world,  but  he,  that  belie veth,  that 
 Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God  ?"     Heb.  xi.     J.  F. 
 
 At  this  time  was  probably  the  culminating  point  of  popularity 
 of  the  Church  at  Jerusalem.  The  multitude  honoured  the 
 Apostles  :  the  advice  of  Gamaliel  had  moderated  the  opposition 
 of  the  Sanhedrim :  the  Priests  were  gradually  being  won  over. 
 But  God's  designs  were  far  different.  At  this  period,  another 
 great  element  in  the  testimony  of  the  Church  is  brought  out  in 
 the  person  of  Stephen — its  protest  against  Pharisaism.  This 
 arrays  against  it  that  powerful  and  zealous  sect  (Conf.  iv.  1 ;  v. 
 17)  ;  and  henceforward  it  finds  neither  favour  nor  tolerance  with 
 either  of  the  parties  among  the  Jews,  but  increasing  and  bitter 
 enmity  from  them  both,  xxiii.  6  ;  xxviii.  22 ;  Gen.  viii.  9  ; 
 xxii.  1.     Alford. 
 
 9  Of  Cilicia. — Hence  was  Saul.  It  is  moreover  very  probable, 
 that  Gamaliel,  whom  we  know  to  have  been  Saul's  preceptor, 
 was  at  the  head  of  this  synagogue  and  seminary,  and  that  this 
 
 M 
 
162  THE  ACTS  VI.  9,  10. 
 
 conspiracy  against  Stephen  was  raised  against  his  will,  or  know- 
 ledge of  it.     XXI.  39.     Bengel. 
 
 G-reat  was  their  veneration  of  the  Temple,  since  they  had  left  their 
 own  country,  in  order  to  be  near  it,  and  for  the  name  of  Moses, 
 viii.  27.     S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 Disputing. — We  stand  at  better  advantage  to  find  Truth,  and  keep 
 it  also,  when  praying  for  it,  than  fiercely  wrangling  and  con- 
 tending about  it.  Disputes  toil  the  soul,  and  raise  the  dust  of 
 passion.  Prayer  sweetly  composeth  the  mind,  and  lays  the  pas- 
 sions, which  disputes  draw  forth :  and  I  am  sure  a  man  may  see 
 further  in  a  clear  still  day,  than  in  a  windy  and  cloudy,  xv.  2  ; 
 xiii.  45  ;  1  Cor.  i.  20.     GurnalL 
 
 It  is  exceeding  hard  to  dispute,  without  gaining  some  invincible 
 prejudice  and  good  liking  to  the  opinions  we  defend.  So  de- 
 voted are  we  to  ourselves,  in  this  dark  and  degenerate  state, 
 that  self-love  too  easily  engages  our  favour  to  the  cause  we  have 
 espoused ;  and  for  no  other  reason,  than  because  we  have  es- 
 poused it.     XV.  2,  7.     Br.  Watts. 
 
 10  Because  it  was  unreasonable  for  the  Apostles  to  leave  the 
 Word  of  God  and  serve  tables,  they  ordain  Deacons.  But  we 
 find  S.  Stephen  discharging  both  these  offices  :  while  his  hands 
 serve  the  tables,  his  tongue  preaches  ;  and  when  his  tongue 
 is  silent,  his  hands  speak  miracles ;  he  joins  the  A  postdate 
 to  his  Ministry,  and,  like  his  Blessed  Master,  through  a  pleni- 
 tude of  power  (v.  5),  he  commands  over  nature,  as  a  master ; 
 and,  through  the  plenitude  of  his  grace  and  humility,  he  ad- 
 ministers to  his  brethren,  as  a  servant.  In  fine,  he  preaches, 
 as  an  Apostle ;  he  serves,  as  a  deacon  ;  he  disputes,  as  a  divine ; 
 he  reasons,  as  a  philosopher ;  he  rebukes,  as  a  father  ;  he  fights, 
 as  a  soldier ;  he  looks  an  Angel,  and  dies  a  Martyr.  Fhil.  Ellis. 
 (Serm.  Acts  vi.  8.) 
 
 The  Prophet  Isaiah  (xi.  2),  speaking  of  that  fulness  of  the  Spirit, 
 that  was  to  rest  upon  our  Saviour,  distributes  the  Holy  Spirit, 
 according  to  its  operations,  into  "  the  Spirit  of  Wisdom  and 
 Understanding,  the  Spirit  of  Counsel  and  Might,  the  Spirit  of 
 Knowledge  and  the  Pear  of  the  Lord  :"  w^hich  the  Church  looks 
 upon,  as  a  proper  enumeration  of  the  Sanctifying  gifts  of  the 
 Holt  Spirit,  which  God  does  diversely  distribute  unto  men 
 
THE  ACTS  VI.  10.  163 
 
 in  order  to  the  common  salvation.  There  is  Wisdom  for  those, 
 that  teach ;  and  Understanding  for  those,  that  learn ;  and 
 Counsel  for  such,  as  are  in  perplexity ;  and  Might  for  such,  as 
 are  in  difficulty ;  and  Knowledge  for  them,  that  err ;  and  the 
 Tear  of  the  Lord  or  Piety,  (as  other  versions  read  it)  for  all, 
 that  will  be  pious.  Now  of  these  gifts  G-od  giveth  such  kinds 
 and  measures  to  every  man,  as  he  has  need  of;  to  every  private 
 person  so  much,  as  is  necessary  for  a  private  salvation ;  and 
 to  every  one  of  a  public  character,  so  much,  as  is  necessary  to 
 promote  salvation  in  the  public;  salvation  of  souls  and  the 
 advancement  of  Christ's  Kingdom  being  the  only  scope  of  all 
 His  distributions.  Isa.  Ixi.  1 ;  1  Cor.  xii.  Dean  Young.  (Serm. 
 2  Tim.  i.  6.) 
 Then  said  Christian  to  his  fellow :  "  If  these  men  cannot  stand 
 before  the  sentence  of  men,  what  will  they  do  with  the  sentence 
 of  God  ?  And,  if  they  are  mute,  when  dealt  with  by  vessels  of 
 clay,  what  will  they  do,  when  they  are  rebuked  by  the  flames  of 
 a  devouring  fire  ?  Jer.  xii.  5.  Bunyan.  (Pilgrim's  Progress, 
 Part  i.) 
 
 1 1  Then  they  suborned  men,  which  said.  We  have 
 heard  him  speak  blasphemous  words  against  Moses, 
 and  against  God. 
 
 12  And  they  stirred  up  the  people,  and  the  elders, 
 and  the  scribes,  and  came  upon  /lim,  and  caught  him, 
 and  brought  him  to  the  council, 
 
 13  And  set  up  false  witnesses,  which  said.  This  man 
 ceaseth  not  to  speak  blasphemous  words  against  this 
 holy  place,  and  the  law : 
 
 14  For  we  have  heard  him  say,  that  this  Jesus  of 
 Nazareth  shall  destroy  this  place,  and  shall  change  the 
 customs  which  Moses  delivered  us. 
 
 15  And  all  that  sat  in  the  council,  looking  sted- 
 fastly  on  him,  saw  his  face  as  it  had  been  the  face  of 
 an  angel. 
 
 m2 
 
164  THE  ACTS  VI.  11—13. 
 
 11  Then. — The  more  you  serve  GrOD,  the  more  you  make  to  your- 
 selves enemies  among  men.  2  Tim.  iii.  12;  S.  James  iv.  4. 
 S.  Ambrose. 
 
 "What  action  was  ever  so  good,  or  so  completely  done,  as  to  be  well 
 taken  of  all  hands  ?  Noah  and  Lot  foretel  of  judgments  from 
 God  upon  the  old  world  and  Sodom ;  and  are  scoffed  at : 
 Israel  would  go  to  sacrifice  in  the  wilderness ;  and  they  are 
 "idle:"  Moses  and  Aaron  will  be  governing  Israel,  according 
 to  God's  appointment;  "Te  take  too  much  upon  you,  ye 
 sons  of  Levi."  (See  also  2  Sam.  vi.  20 ;  S.  Matt.  xi.  18,  19.) 
 The  Spirit  of  God  descends  upon  the  Apostles;  and  they, 
 thus   inspired,    speak   all   languages :    they  are   "  fall   of  new 
 
 wine." "What  can  we  hope  to  do,   or  say,  that  shall 
 
 escape  the  censures  and  misinterpretations  of  men,  when  we 
 see  the  SoiN"  of  God  could  not  avoid  it  ?  xxviii.  22 ;  S.  Matt. 
 X.  25.     Bj).  Hall.     (Select  thoughts,  81.) 
 
 You  put  on  your  armour  in  the  Name  of  the  Church ;  and  then 
 fight  against  the  Church.     S.  John  xvi.  2.     P.  Leo. 
 
 It  was  once  a  famous  saying;  "All  mischief  begins  in  Nomine 
 Domini.^'     S.  John  xv.  21.     Dr.  Barrow. 
 
 12  Came  upon  him,  ^c. — Hounded  and  hunted  him  down,  as  if  he 
 was  a  wild  beast,  or  some  vermin  of  the  earth,  ix.  1;  xxi. 
 28,  36 ;  xxii.  22  ;  S.  Matt.  xxvi.  47,  48.     J.  F. 
 
 13  All  the  miseries,  which  did  befall  the  Martyrs  and  holy  men, 
 began  in  slander,  and  ended  in  slaughter.  Naboth  first  accused 
 wrongfully  for  "  blaspheming  God  and  the  King,"  and  so  put  to 
 death.  The  Elders  stirred  up  false  witnesses,  that  said  they 
 heard  Stephen  speak  blasphemous  words  against  Moses  and  the 
 holy  place  ;  the  next  news  you  hear  he  is  cast  out  of  the  city 
 and  stoned.  Our  Blessed  Sayioue  was  first  wrongfully  cried 
 out  upon,  that  He  "made  Himself  a  King;"  then  led  away  to 
 Pilate  to  be  crucified.  Is  not  this  then  the  fruit  of  this 
 Divinity  ?  Beware  of  slandering  and  evil  speaking :  it  is 
 peccatum  sanguinum,  yeccatum  dcemonum,  the  sin  of  bloodshed, 
 and  the  sin  of  devils.  The  very  Prince  of  devils  is  characterized 
 by  being  "an  accuser;"  not  because  a  man  may  not  sometimes 
 accuse,  and  yet  be  a  charitable  Christian ;  but  because  "  the 
 more  he  accuseth  the  elect  of  God,  the  more  it  tickleth  and 
 
THE  ACTS  VI.  13,  14.  165 
 
 delights  his  envy,"  says  S.  Austin,  xxiv.  5,  6 ;  Eev.  xii.  10. 
 Bp.  Racket.     (Serm.  S.  Matt.  iv.  1.) 
 
 The  false  witness  is  amenable  to  three  persons :  to  God  first, 
 whom  by  his  perjury  he  despises ;  then,  to  the  judge,  whom  he 
 deceives  by  his  falsehood ;  lastly,  to  the  innocent  accused, 
 whom  he  immediately  injures.     Ex.  xx.  16.     Isidore  (of  Seville). 
 
 14  If  we  would  avoid  the  sin  of  slander,  how  careful  we  should  be 
 to  interpret  fairly  and  favourably  the  words  and  actions  of  our 
 neighbour.  Jer.  ix.  4,  5 ;  xxiii.  36 ;  Ps.  Ivi.  5.  Br.  Barrow. 
 (Serm.  Prov.  x.  18.) 
 
 The  abrogation  of  the  Mosaic  ceremonial  and  the  close  of  the 
 Jewish  dispensation  seems  to  have  been  revealed  to  S.  Stephen 
 at  an  earlier  period,  than  it  was  to  S.  Peter,  who  needed  a  special 
 vision  and  communication  from  heaven  to  persuade  him  of  it. 
 Conf.  xi.  19,  20.     J.  F. 
 
 S.  Stephen  said,  Jesus  of  Nazareth  will  destroy/  this  place.  What 
 then  ?  Was  your  city  saved  from  destruction  by  putting  S. 
 Stephen  to  death  ?  It  was  rather  destroyed,  because  you  put  to 
 death  the  Loed  and  the  servant,  because  you  slew  the  Shepherd 
 and  the  sheep,  because  you  murdered  the  King  and  His  soldier. 
 That  city  cannot  stand,  in  which  its  King  is  put  to  death.  'No 
 honour  is  paid  to  that  temple,  where  the  slaughter  of  its  Lord  was 
 perpetrated.  Was  it  S.  Stephen,  who  pronounced,  "Behold, 
 your  house  is  left  unto  you  desolate  ?"  Was  it  S.  Stephen,  who 
 said,  "  There  shall  not  be  left  in  the  Temple  one  stone  upon 
 another  ?"  What  new  wonders !  What  perverse  and  disturbed 
 judgment !     God  passed  the  sentence  ;  and  man  is  called  to  an 
 
 -  account  for  it.  Cheist  condemned ;  and  S.  Stephen  is  pun- 
 ished.  The  King  spake  the  truth ;  and  another  was  mulcted. 
 Thou,  O  Judea,  art  the  author  of  a   similar  sentence.     Thou 
 
 .  hast  made  a  Cross,  and  destroyed  Jerusalem;  thou  hast  said, 
 '*  His  Blood  be  on  us  and  on  our  children  !"  Weigh  now  what 
 punishment  thou  hast  pronounced  on  thyself.  Jer.  xxvi.  11 — 
 19.     Proclus.     (In  Stephanum.     Orat.  xvii.) 
 
 Change  the  customs.—!  would  rather  choose  to  endure  the  wounds, 
 which  envy  (v.  17)  casteth  at  novelty,  than  to  go  on  sleepily  in 
 the  ways  of  ancient  mistakings.  xvii.  18  ;  1  Thess.  v.  21.  Sir 
 W.  Raleigh. 
 
166 
 
 THE  ACTS  VI.  14,  15. 
 
 Can  any  one  tliat  now  considers  seriously  the  state  of  things,  thus 
 described,*  as  it  should  come  to  pass,  ever  imagine,  that  the 
 Levitical  service  was  ever  calculated  for  this  state?  Was 
 God's  Worship  to  be  confined  to  His  Temple  at  Jerusalem, 
 when  "  all  the  nations  of  the  earth"  should  come  to  serve  Him  ? 
 Was  the  High  Priest  to  make  an  atonement  there,  when  an 
 Order  of  Priesthood  different  from  the  Aaronical  should  be  set 
 up  ?  Must  the  Tribe  of  Levi  only  attend  at  the  Temple,  when 
 GrOD  would  take  Priests  and  Levites  out  of  all  nations,  that 
 serve  Him  ?  What  would  become  of  the  magnificence  and 
 glory  of  the  Temple,  when  both  city  and  sanctuary  shall  be 
 destroyed ;  and  that  must  be  within  a  few  prophetical  weei^s, 
 after  "the  Messiah  is  cut  off?"  And  must  the  Covenant  God 
 made  with  the  Israelites  continue  for  ever,  when  God  expressly 
 saith  He  would  make  a  new  one :  and  that,  not  according  to  the 
 Covenant,  which  He  made  with  them  then  ?  It  is  so  evident  then, 
 as  nothing  can  well  be  more,  that  under  the  Old  Testament  such  a 
 state  of  E-eligion  was  described  and  promised,  with  which  the 
 Levitical  worship  would  be  inconsistent ;  and  so  tliat  the  cere- 
 monial law  was  not  at  first  established  upon  an  immutable 
 reason ;  which  was  the  thing  to  be  proved.  Ezek.  xx.  25 ;  S. 
 Mark  xii.  9,  33.     Bp.  StilUiigJleet.     (Orig.  Sacrse.     B.  ii.,  c.  7.) 
 
 Nulla  est  grata  Deo,  nisi  Christus  Pilius,  ara ; 
 Qui  luit  officio  crimina  nostra  Sno. 
 
 Huic  impone  manus  ;  Huic  toto  iucumbito  corde ; 
 Ad  Patrem  nostrum  perferet  Ille  preces. 
 
 P.  Melancthon. 
 15  When  Moses  gave  the  Law,  he  had  "a  veil  upon  his  face,"  to 
 conceal  that  Glory,  which  the  Jews  were  not  able  steadfastly  to 
 behold.  In  this  apology,  you  see  another  Minister  of  God, 
 delivering  the  Law  to  them  over  again ;  but  now,  without  its 
 veil,  as  it  is  fulfilled  in  Jesus  Cheist  under  the  Gospel,  which 
 is  its  true  glory.  And  while  S.  Stephen  does  this,  his  face 
 shines :  all,  that  sat  in  the  council  looking  steadfastly  at  him,  saw 
 his  face  as  it  had  been  the  face  of  an  Angel     He  certainly  was 
 
 *  The  Texts  referred  to  are  Ps.  Ivii. 
 2;  Isa.  ii.  2;  Mai.  i.  11  ;  Zach.  xiv. 
 20 ;  Ps.  ex.  4—6 ;  Isa.  Ixvi.  21  ;  Hagg. 
 
 ii.  7  ;  Mai.  iii.  1  ;  Dan.  ix.  24—27  ; 
 Jer.  xxxi.  31,  32. 
 
THE  ACTS  VI.  15.  167 
 
 performing  the  office  of  another  Moses  to  them,  and  doing  for 
 them  what  the  first  could  not  do :  and  I  am  confident  that  all, 
 who  listen  to  this  new  Moses  of  the  Gospel,  will  see  farther 
 into  the  wisdom  of  the  Old  Testament,  than  they  did  before. 
 S.  John  xviii.  6 ;  2  Cor.  iii.  6—18.  W.  Jones.  (A  letter  to 
 three  converted  Jews.     Conclusion.) 
 
 What  are  Angels?  Surely,  they  are  Spirits,  glorious  Spirits, 
 heavenly  Spirits,  immortal  Spirits :  for  their  nature  or  substance, 
 spirits ;  for  their  property  or  quality,  glorious  ;  for  their  place 
 and  abode,  heavenly ;  for  their  durance  or  continuance,  im- 
 mortal. .  .  .  "When  we  are  at  our  very  highest  perfection,  it  is 
 even  thus  expressed,  that  we  come  near,  or  are  therein  like  to, 
 or  as,  an  Angel ;  perfect  beauty  in  S.  Stephen,  (They  saw  his 
 face,  as  the  face  of  an  Angel);  perfect  wisdom  in  David,  ("  my 
 Lord  the  King  is  wise,  as  an  Angel  of  light  ") ;  perfect  eloquence 
 in  S.  Paul,  ("  Though  I  speak  with  the  tongues  of  men  and  of 
 Angels.")  All  our  excellency,  our  highest  and  most  perfect 
 estate,  is  but  to  be,  as  they.  Heb.  ix.  5 ;  S.  Matt.  xxiv.  26;  S. 
 Luke  XX.  36.     Bp.  Andrewes.     (Serm.  Heb.  i.  16.) 
 
 His  benign  Angelic  look  bespake  bis  entire  forgiveness  of  their 
 enmity  against  him.  Yet,  tliey  went  on  still  in  their  wicked- 
 ness,    vii.  60.     S.  Luke  xxii.  01.     J.  F. 
 
 One  of  the  external  signs,  by  which  internal  devotion  should  be 
 indicated,  is  joy  of  countenance,  produced  by  a  glad  heart, 
 sensible  of  the  Infinite  Goodness  of  God.  S.  Matt.  vi.  16 — 18. 
 Plato,  (Abp.  of  Moscow.) 
 
 Holiness  is  no  solitary  neglected  thing:  it  has  stronger  con- 
 federacies, greater  alliances,  than  sin  and  wickedness.  It  is  in 
 league  with  God  and  the  whole  universe ;  the  whole  creation 
 smiles  upon  it ;  there  is  something  of  God  in  it,  and  therefore 
 it  must  needs  be  a  victorious  and  triumphant  thing.  Wicked- 
 ness is  a  weak,  cowardly,  and  guilty  thing,  a  fearful  and  trem- 
 bling shadow.  It  is  the  child  of  ignorance  and  darkness ;  it  is 
 afraid  of  light ;  and  cannot  possibly  withstand  the  power  of  it, 
 nor  endure  the  sight  of  its  glittering  armour.  It  is  allianced  to 
 none,  but  wretched  forlorn  and  apostate  spirits,  that  do  what 
 they  can  to  support  their  own  weak  and  tottering  kingdom  of 
 darkness ;    but  are  only  strong  in   weakness   and   im potency. 
 
368  THE  ACTS  VI.  15. 
 
 The  whole  polity  and  commonwealth  of  devils  is  not  so  powerful, 
 as  one  child  of  light,  one  babe  in  Christ  ;  they  are  not  all 
 able  to  quench  the  least  smoking  flax,  to  extinguish  one  spark 
 of  grace,  xviii.  9,  10 ;  Ps.  xxxiv.  18  ;  S.  Matt.  ii.  3  ;  2  Tim.  iv. 
 17,  18.  R.  Cudworth.  (Serm.  1  S.  John  ii.  3,  4.) 
 T  frequently  thought,  while  attending  to  his  heavenly  discourse 
 and  Divine  spirit,  that  he  was  so  different  from,  and  superior  to, 
 the  generality  of  mankind,  as  to  look  more  like  Moses,  or 
 Elijah,  or  some  Prophet,  or  Apostle,  come  again  from  the  dead, 
 than  a  mortal  man,  dwelling  in  a  house  of  clay.  It  is  true  his 
 weak  and  long  afflicted  body  proclaimed  him  to  be  human  ;  but 
 the  graces,  which  so  eminently  filled  and  adorned  his  soul, 
 manifested  him  to  be  divine.  And  long  before  his  happy  spirit 
 returned  to  God,  who  gave  it,  that,  which  was  human,  seemed 
 in  a  great  measure  to  be  "swallowed  up  of  life."  iv.  13.  (A 
 short  account  of  the  life  and  death  of  the  Eev.  John  Fletcher 
 by  Kev.  John  Wesley,  ch.  4.) 
 
 CHAPTER  VII. 
 
 T^HEN  said  the  high  priest,  Are  these  things  so  ? 
 
 2  And  he  said,  Men,  brethren,  and  fathers, 
 hearken ;  The  God  of  glory  appeared  unto  our  father 
 Abraham,  when  he  was  in  Mesopotamia,  before  he 
 dwelt  in  Charran, 
 
 3  And  said  unto  him.  Get  thee  out  of  thy  country, 
 and  from  thy  kindred,  and  come  into  the  land  which 
 I  shall  show  thee. 
 
 4  Then  came  he  out  of  the  land  of  the  Chald?eans, 
 and  dwelt  in  Charran :  and  from  thence  when  his 
 father  was  dead,  He  removed  him  into  this  land, 
 wherein  ye  now  dwell. 
 
THE  ACTS  VII.  2.  169 
 
 '  5  Arid  He  gave  him  none  inheritance  in  it,  no,  not 
 so  much  as  to  set  his  foot  on  :  yet  He  promised  that 
 He  would  give  it  to  him  for  a  possession,  and  to  his 
 seed  after  him,  when  as  yet  he  had  no  child. 
 
 2  Immediately,  at  the  outset,  he  overthrows  their  conceit,  and 
 makes  it  appear  by  his  words  that  the  Temple  is  nothing  ;  that 
 the  customs  are  nothing  either,  without  their  suspecting  his 
 drift  .  .  A  vision  was  vouchsafed  to  Abraham  in  a  strange  land 
 .  .  He  calls  Him,  the  God  of  Glorij,  implying  that  He  needs 
 not  the  glory,  which  comes  from  us,  which  comes  by  the 
 Temple  ;  for  Himself  is  the  fountain  thereof,  xvii.  24,  25.  S. 
 Chrysostom. 
 
 As  no  other  thing  belongeth  so  properly  to  God,  as  Glory,  so 
 neither  doth  Glory  belong  to  any  other  Person  so  properly,  as 
 to  God  .  .  His  glory  is  truly  such,  as  all  the  creatures  in  the 
 world,  should  they  join  their  whole  forces  together  to  do  it, 
 could  not  make  it  either  more  or  less,  than  it  is.  S.  Luke  ii. 
 14 ;  1  Tim.  i.  17  ;  Isa.  xlii.  8.  Bp.  Sanderson.  (Serm.  Kom. 
 XV.  6.) 
 
 We  know  not  what  reception  the  older  Oracles  of  Divine  truth 
 had,  nor  how  far  they  were  preserved  from  Adam  and  from 
 Noah  downwards,  till  the  later  inspired  Prophet,  a  descendant 
 of  Abraham,  fixed  the  memory  of  them  in  part,  perhaps  restored 
 it,  in  his  volume  of  the  Pentateuch.  But  from  Abraham  the 
 authentic  tradition  of  Prophecy  and  of  Eevelation  is  perfect. 
 With  this  Patriarch  we  enter  the  visible  Church,  which  God 
 began  to  build  upon  earth  ;  and  in  that  Sanctuary  the  light  of 
 Eevelation  has  been  fixed  in  its  sphere,  and  has  never  ceased  to 
 burn.  Hence  it  is,  that  the  inheritance  of  God's  revealed  pro- 
 mises in  the  world  is  traced  in  Scripture  to  Abraham,  not  to 
 the  elder  progenitors  of  the  Jewish,  or  the  human  race,  Noah, 
 or  Adam  ;  as  in  that  emphatic  and  sublime  invocation  of  Isaiah, 
 "  Hearken  to  Me,  ye,  that  follow  after  righteousness,  ye,  that 
 seek  the  Lord  :  look  unto  the  rock,  whence  ye  are  hewn,  and 
 to  the  hole  of  the  pit,  whence  ye  are  digged.  Look  unto 
 Abraham,  your  father,  and  unto  Sarah,  that  bare  you  ;  for  I 
 
170  THE  ACTS  VII.  2,  3. 
 
 called  him  alone,  and  Blessed  him,  and  increased  him."  In  the 
 New  Testament  the  like  reference  to  Abraham  is  constant. 
 S.  Luke  i.  55,  73  ;  Eom.  iv.  16 ;  Gal.  iii.  16.  Davison.  (Dis- 
 courses on  Prophecy,  Gen.  xvii.  7,  Part  2.) 
 
 The  man,  who  writes,  speaks,  or  meditates,  without  being  well 
 stocked  with  facts,  as  landmarks  to  the  understanding,  is  like  a 
 mariner,  who  sails  along  a  treacherous  coast  without  a  pilot ;  or 
 one,  who  adventures  on  the  wide  ocean,  without  a  rudder  or 
 compass,     xi.  4  ;  S.  Luke  i.  1 — 4.     Lord  Bacon. 
 
 3  It  would  have  been  suflScieut,  had  God  said.  Get  thee  out  of  thy 
 country ;  for  this  would  have  imphed  the  desertion  of  "his 
 kindred  and  his  father's  house."  But  God  was  distinct  in  the 
 enumeration  of  particulars  to  prove  the  depth  of  Abraham's 
 faith  ;  to  show  that  he  obeyed  with  a  full  view  of  consequences, 
 and  to  evince  that  in  the  Divine  command  all  was  open  and  in- 
 genuous. S.  Luke  xiv.  26—28.  S.  Atnbrose.  (De  Abraham, 
 Lib.  i.  c.  2.) 
 
 So  the  command  to  the  same  Abraham,  that  he  should  offer  up 
 his  son,  is  expressed  in  the  most  significant  and  painfully  affect- 
 ing terms,  "  Take  now  thy  son,  thine  only  son,  Isaac,  whom  thou 
 lovest!"     Gen.  xxii.  2.     J.  F. 
 
 Some  peculiar  circumstances  marked  the  call  of  Abraham,  and  in- 
 dicate the  Lord's  purpose  in  it.  Por  he  was  called  out  of  an 
 apostacy  wide-spread  and  increasing,  which,  but  for  the  Divine 
 intervention,  must  have  terminated,  as  in  the  age  preceding. 
 Then,  as  if  to  show  what  human  nature  had  become  by  the  fall, 
 man  was  left  to  himself ;  and  the  apostacy,  first  manifested  in 
 Cain,  was  permitted  to  take  its  course  :  the  result  of  which 
 was,  that,  in  the  days  of  Noah,  the  tenth  from  Adam,  all  flesh 
 had  corrupted  his  way  upon  the  earth,  so  as  to  necessitate  the 
 destruction  of  the  race  with  the  exception  of  the  one  faithful 
 family.  But  scarcely  was  the  judgment  passed,  when  the  like 
 tendency  again  manifested  itself  in  the  family  of  Noah,  in 
 Ham,  the  father  of  Canaan.  And  now,  in  less  than  ten  genera- 
 tions more,  we  have  the  whole  earth  united  in  that  atheistic 
 scheme,  upon  which  God  has  stamped  the  name  of  "  Babel," 
 or  "  Confusion,"  recorded  in  the  commencement  of  the  Chapter 
 (Gen.  xi.),  which  relates  the  departure  of  Abram  for  his  country, 
 
THE  ACTS  VII.  4,  5.  171 
 
 in  obedience  to  the  Divine  command :  in  whose  time  (the  tenth 
 again  in  descent  from  Noah)  the  spread  of  idolatry  was  such, 
 that  of  his  immediate  ancestors  and  family,  as  already  observed, 
 it  is  recorded,  that  they  "  served  other  Grods."  (Josh.  xxiv.  14.) 
 To  arrest  which  .  .  he,  like  Enoch  and  Noah,  ...  is  separated 
 to  be  the  head  of  a  chosen  race.  Wm.  de  Burgh.  (Donnellan 
 Lectures,  1854,  p.  76.) 
 
 4  He,  that  hath  God's  call,  need  not  fear  God's  conduct,  xiii. 
 2  ;  xvi.  10.      W.  Burkitt. 
 
 If  you  would  believe,  you  must  go  blindfold  into  God's  command. 
 Abraham  subscribes  to  a  blank,  when  the  Loed  calls  him  out 
 of  his  own  country,     xx.  22  ;  Heb.  xi.  1,  8,  9.      W.  Bridge. 
 Hunc  Omnipotens  per  somnia  blanda  monebit 
 Cognatosque,  domumque,  ac  vana  relinquere  sacra, 
 Et  petere  externas,  quas  Ipse  ostenderat,  oras : 
 Pollicitus  laeto  illius  de  sanguine  gentem 
 Missurum,  quae  cura  Dei,  cumulata  supremis 
 Muneribus,  terras  longe  lateque  bearit. 
 Auscultat  monitis,  sequiturque  ;  atque  inscius  oras 
 Quas  petit  egreditur,  fidens  :  quam  pectore  certo 
 Egreditur,  datur,  en !  liquida  mihi  luce  tueri, 
 Cognatosque  domumque,  deos  finesque  relinquens 
 Chaldaicos ;  tendit  jam  per  vada  coerula  Carras  : 
 Innumerique  greges  balantum,  armentaque  longis 
 Ordinibus,  comitumque  cohors  onerosa  sequuntur. 
 Errat  dives  opum  ;  secum  effort  cuncta,  vocanti 
 Usque  Deo  credens,  ignotaque  littora  quserit. 
 Littora  jam  Canansea  tenet :  tentoria  cerno 
 Ad  Sicharis  muros  figi,  Moreaeque  propinqua 
 Pianitie. 
 
 Wm.  Bohson.     (Paradisus  amissus,  poema 
 J.  Milton  Latine  redditum,  lib.  xii.) 
 
 5  Of  the  land  of  Promise  you  may  have  a  prospect,  as  Moses 
 had  ;  but  you  must  die,  before  you  can  reach  it.  Do  not  then 
 mistake  the  nature  of  your  inheritance.  Abraham  had  no  pos- 
 session, till  his  death  ;  he  then  began  to  take  possession  of  the 
 estate,  he  had  purchased,  to  show,  that  "  the  righteous  hath 
 hope  in  his  death."     This  was  the  true  meaning  of  the  cave  of 
 
172  THE  ACTS  VII.  5,  6. 
 
 Machpelah,  and  the  expectation  of  the  faithful  Patriarchs,  who 
 are  buried  iu  that  cave,  is  worth  all  the  riches  of  all  the  Jews 
 upon  earth,  as  I  hope  you  will  think,  when  you  come  to  die. 
 2  Sam.  xxiii.  5  ;  S.  Matt,  xxvii.  6,  7;  Job  xix.  27.  W.  Jones. 
 (A  letter  to  three  converted  Jews.) 
 
 "We  shall  never  know  any  degree  of  happiness  in  this  life,  till 
 we  are  settled  in  a  clear  conviction  of  judgment,  that  happiness 
 is  chiefly  hereafter,  and  that  we  are  in  the  way  to  it.  God 
 forbid  I  should  ever  think  myself  at  home,  till  I  am  in  heaven. 
 
 .  2  Cor.  V.  6,  9 ;  Col.  iii.  2,  3.  Adam.  (Private  thoughts  on 
 religion,  ch.  15.) 
 
 The  promises  of  God  have  never  borrowed  help  from  moral  pro- 
 babilities.    Hom.  iv.  17,  21.     Bp.  Sherlock. 
 
 6  And  God  spake  on  this  wise,  That  his  seed  should 
 sojourn  in  a  strange  land ;  and  that  they  should  bring 
 them  into  bondage,  and  entreat  them  evil  four  hundred 
 years. 
 
 7  And  the  nation  to  whom  they  shall  be  in  bondage 
 wall  I  judge,  said  God  :  and  after  that  shall  they  come 
 forth,  and  serve  Me  in  this  place. 
 
 8  And  He  gave  him  the  covenant  of  circumcision  : 
 and  so  Abraham  begat  Isaac,  and  circumcised  him  the 
 eighth  day  ;  and  Isaac  begat  Jacob  ;  and  Jacob  begat 
 the  twelve  patriarchs. 
 
 9  And  the  patriarchs,  moved  with  envy,  sold  Jo- 
 seph into  Egypt :  but  God  was  with  him, 
 
 10  And  delivered  him  out  of  all  his  afflictions,  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. 
 
 6  In  a  strange  land. — Some  have  noted,  that,  tliough  God  foretold 
 Abraham  the  future  captivity  of  his  seed,  yet  He  did  not  tell 
 
THE  ACTS  VII.  6,  7.  173 
 
 him  in  what  place,  nor  under  whom,  they  should  be  thus  de- 
 tained ;  lest  it  should  work  in  him  a  hatred  and  detestation  of 
 that  place  and  people,  and  so  to  offend :  which  teaches  us  how 
 good  it  also  is  for  us  to  be  ignorant  of  the  causes  of  our  woe, 
 who  are  much  more  prone  to  offend  this  way,  than  Abra- 
 ham was.  In  the  Gospel  it  is  said  (S.  John  iv.  52)  that 
 the  father  inquired  diligently  what  time  his  son  began  to 
 amend  .  .  To  know  then  from  whence  any  good  cometh  to  ua 
 is  profitable,  that  we  may  be  thankful,  as  this  father  was  :  but 
 not  so  in  evil.  To  which  they  have  applied  the  covering  of 
 Cheist's  eyes,  when  He  was  stricken  and  abused  by  the  Jews ; 
 saying,  that  even  so  it  is  good,  it  is  good  for  man  to  have  his 
 eyes  covered,  when  injury  is  done  him.  2  Kings  xxii.  34 ; 
 S.  Luke  xxii.  64.  Bp.  Babington.  (Comfortable  notes  on 
 Genesis,  xv.  14.) 
 
 Mark,  how  the  prophecy  of  affliction  immediately  follows  the  pro- 
 mise of  the  inheritance^  and  lay  it  to  heart.  Verse  11 ;  ix.  16 ; 
 Heb.  xii.  6.     J.  F. 
 
 7  Four  hundred  years. — See  how  long  the  Promise  has  been  given, 
 and  the  manner  of  the  promise  ;  and  no  where  Sacrifice,  no 
 where  Circumcision  !     S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 They  appear  to  entertain  mistaken  sentiments,  who  rely  with  too 
 much  confidence  for  success  on  our  supposed  superiority  in 
 virtue  to  our  enemies.  Such  a  confidence  betrays  inattention 
 to  the  actual  conduct  of  Providence.  Wherever  there  is  con- 
 scious guilt,  there  is  room  to  apprehend  punishment ;  nor 
 is  it  for  the  criminal  to  decide,  where  the  merited  punish- 
 ment shall  first  fall.  The  cup  of  Divine  displeasure  is 
 indeed  presented  successively  to  guilty  nations ;  but  it  by 
 no  means  invariably  begins  with  those,  who  have  run  the 
 greatest  career  in  guilt.  On  the  contrary,  "judgment  often 
 begins  at  the  house  of  God;"  and  He  frequently  chastises 
 His  servants  with  severity,  before  He  proceeds  to  the  destruc- 
 tion of  His  enemies.  He  assured  Abraham  "his  seed  should 
 be  afflicted  in  Egypt  for  four  hundred  years,  and  that  after 
 their    expiration    the   nation,    that    afflicted   them,    He    would 
 
 judge His  conduct  on  such  occasions  resembles  that  of 
 
 a  parent,  who,  full  of  solicitude  for  the  welfare  of  his  children 
 
174  THE  ACTS  VII.  8,  9. 
 
 animadverts  upon  faults  in  them,  which  he  suffers  to  pass  over, 
 without  notice,  in  persons,  for  whom  he  is  less  interested. 
 Let  us  adore  both  "  the  goodness  and  severity  of  God."  The 
 punishments,  which  are  designed  to  amend,  are  inflicted  with 
 comparative  vigilance  and  speed ;  those,  which  are  meant  to 
 destroy,  are  usually  long  suspended,  while  the  devoted  victims 
 pass  on  with  seeming  impunity,  ix.  15,  16  ;  xiv.  16 ;  Amos 
 iii.  2 ;  Eom.  xi.  22.     R.  Hall.     (Serm.  Jer.  viii.  6.) 
 
 8  Must  the  Jews  dedicate  their  children,  and  must  not  the  Chris- 
 tians ?  Were  the  Jewish  children  GtOd's  right,  and  are  not  the 
 Christian  ?  Do  we  not  owe  unto  Him  our  children,  as  they 
 did  theirs  ?  or,  must  their  births  be  happy  by  an  early  Conse- 
 cration, and  ours  not  ?  Theirs  in  a  better  condition  under 
 the  wing  of  the  Almiqhtt  ?  ours  in  a  mere  natural  state,  in 
 our  own  mere  protection  ?  Theirs  sealed  for  God's  own,  ours 
 without  seal,  or  any  thing,  but  their  fathers'  sin  to  know  them 
 by  ?  ii.  39  ;  xvi.  33,  34.  Br.  Mark  Frank.  (Serm.  S.  Luke 
 ii.  27,  28.) 
 
 Bis  senos  magnus  Patriarcha  fsDmore  Jacob 
 Eduxit :  primes  Euben,  Simeona,  Levimque, 
 Et  Judam  ;  turn  deinde  notho  fluxere  cubiii 
 Ancillis  nati,  Dan,  Nephthalimus,  Gad,  Aserus ; 
 Post  autem  veris  uxoribus  Issachar,  atque 
 Zebulon,  et  Joseph,  postremus  Benjamin  exit. 
 
 S.  Greg.  Naziam.     (Carmina  varia,  xxxvi.) 
 
 9  It  is  evident  from  the  Scripture  doctrine  of  Divine  Providence, 
 that  God  brings  about  every  man's  lot  and  all  the  parts  thereof, 
 ....  the  whole  steps  we  make,  and  which  others  make  in  re- 
 ference to  us  ;  for  "  the  way  of  man  is  not  in  himself:  it  is  not 
 in  man  that  walketh  to  direct  his  steps  :"  Jer.  x.  23 :  and 
 this,  whether  these  steps  causing  the  crook  (a  man's  particular 
 trial),  be  deliberate  and  sinful  ones,  such  as  Joseph's  brethren, 
 selling  him  into  Egypt,  or  whether  they  be  undesigned,  such  as 
 manslaughter  purely  casual;  as  when  one  hewing  wood  kills 
 his  neighbour  with  the  head  of  the  axe,  slipping  from  the  helve, 
 Deut.  xix.  5.  For  there  is  a  holy  and  wise  Providence,  that 
 governs  the  sinful  and  the  heedless  actions  of  men,  as  a  rider 
 doth  a  lame  horse,  of  whose  halting  not  lie,  but  the  horse's  own 
 
THE  ACTS  VII.  9,  10.  175 
 
 lameness,  is  the  true  and  proper  cause ;  wherefore,  in  the  former 
 of  these  cases,  GrOD  is  said  to  have  "sent"  Joseph  into  Egypt, 
 Cren.  xl7.  7 ;  and  in  the  latter  to  "  deliver  one  into  his  neigh- 
 bour's hands,"  Ex.  xxi.  13.  xviii.  10;  Ps.  xxxvii.  23;  1  Sam. 
 iii.  18  ;  2  Sam.  xvi.  10.  Boston.  (Crook  in  the  lot.  Serm. 
 Eccles.  vii.  13.) 
 He,  that  envieth,  maketh  another  man's  virtue  his  vice,  and  another 
 man's  happiness  his  torment :  whereas  he,  that  rejoiceth  at  the 
 prosperity  of  another,  is  partaker  of  the  same.  iv.  1 ;  v.  17  ; 
 xi.  23 ;  xvii.  5.  F aimer.  (Aphorisms.  1382.) 
 Joseph. —  Nee  te  jucundd  fronte  fefellit 
 
 Luxuries,  prsedulce  malum,  quae  dedita  semper 
 
 Corporis  arbitriis  hebetat  caligine  sensus, 
 
 Membraque  Circaeis  effeminat  acrius  herbis  : 
 
 Blanda  quidem  vultus,  sed  qua  non  tetrius  ulla, 
 
 Ultrices  fucata  genas,  et  amicta  dolosis 
 
 Illecebris  torvos  auro  circumliuit  hydros. 
 
 Ilia  voluptatum  multos  innexuit  hamis  ; 
 
 Te  nunquam  couata  capit. 
 
 (See  Gen.  xxxix.  6 — 12.)  Claudian.  (De  laudibus 
 Stilichonis.  xxii.  132.) 
 10  Jestjs  Cheist,  prefigured  by  Joseph,  the  beloved  of  his  father, 
 and  by  him  sent  to  visit  his  brethren,  is  the  innocent  person, 
 whom  his  brethren  sold  for  a  few  pieces  of  silver,  and  who  by 
 this  means  became  their  Lord  and  Saviour,  nay,  the  Saviour  of 
 strangers,  and  of  the  whole  world :  which  had  not  happened, 
 but  for  this  plot  of  destroying  him,  this  act  of  rejecting  him  and 
 exposing  him  for  sale.  Consider,  in  both  examples,  the  same 
 fortune  and  the  same  innocence  ;  Joseph  in  the  prison  between 
 two  criminals  ;  Jestjs  on  the  cross  between  two  thieves  :  Joseph 
 foretels  deliverance  to  one  of  his  companions  and  death  to  the 
 other  from  the  same  omens ;  Jesus  Cheist  saves  one  compan- 
 ion and  deserts  the  other,  after  the  same  crimes.  Joseph 
 could  barely  foretel ;  Jesus  Cheist  by  His  own  action  per- 
 forms what  He  had  foretold.  Joseph  requests  the  person, 
 who  should  be  delivered,  to  be  mindful  of  him  in  his  glory  ;  the 
 person,  saved  by  Jesus  Cheist,  entreats  his  Deliverer  to  "  re- 
 member him,  when  He  came  into  His  Kingdom."     (Refer  to 
 
176  THE  ACTS  VII.   11. 
 
 Illustr.  S.  Luke  xxiv.  17.)     Pascal.     (Thoughts  on  Eeligion, 
 ch.  12.) 
 
 11  Now  there  came  a  dearth  over  all  the  land  of 
 Egypt  and  Chanaan,  and  great  affliction  :  and  our 
 fathers  found  no  sustenance. 
 
 12  But  when  Jacob  heard  that  there  was  corn  in 
 Egypt,  he  sent  out  our  fathers  first. 
 
 13  And  at  the  second  time  Joseph  was  made  known 
 to  his  brethren ;  and  Joseph's  kindred  was  made 
 known  unto  Pharaoh. 
 
 14  Then  sent  Joseph,  and  called  his  father  Jacob  to 
 him,  and  all  his  kindred,  threescore  and  fifteen  souls. 
 
 15  So  Jacob  went  down  into  Egypt,  and  died^  he, 
 and  our  fathers. 
 
 16  And  were  carried  over  into  Sychem,  and  laid  in 
 the  sepulchre  that  Abraham  bought  for  a  sum  of 
 money  of  the  sons  of  Emmor  the  father  of  Sychem. 
 
 17  But  when  the  time  of  the  promise  drew  nigh, 
 which  God  had  sworn  to  Abraham,  the  people  grew 
 and  multiplied  in  Egypt, 
 
 18  Till  another  king  arose,  which  knew  not  Joseph. 
 
 19  The  same  dealt  subtilly  with  our  kindred,  and 
 evil  entreated  our  fathers,  so  that  they  cast  out  their 
 young  children,  to  the  end  they  might  not  live. 
 
 11  Our  fathers  found  no  sustenance. — They  were  pinched  with 
 famine,  because  they  knew  not,  that  their  brother  reigned  in 
 Egypt.  Why  shouldest  thou  starve,  Christian,  when  thy  elder 
 brother  reigns  in  heaven,  who  knows  what  thou  wantest,  and  is 
 a  faithful  High  Priest,  and  is  touched  with  a  feeling  of  thy  in- 
 firmities, and  was,  in  all  points,  tempted,  even  as  thou  art  ? 
 2  Kings  V.  3.  Dr.  Horneck.  (Great  Law  of  Consideration.  Ch.  8.) 
 
THE  ACTS  VII.  11—13.  177 
 
 It  is  God,  that  stays  the  clouds  from  giving  out  their  influences. 
 It  is  He,  who  has  "  fruitful  seasons"  at  His  disposal.  Second 
 causes  do  not  work  by  chance,  and  cannot  work  at  pleasure. 
 This  is  the  bridle,  that  God  has  upon  the  world,  xiv.  17 ;  Hag. 
 i.  6—11.     Dr.  Manton. 
 
 12  What  a  labyrinth  is  in  the  story  of  Joseph  !  able  to  convert  a 
 stoic.  Surely  there  are  in  every  man's  life  certain  rubs,  dou- 
 blings, and  wrenches,  which  pass  for  a  while  as  the  effects  of 
 chance,  but,  at  the  last,  well  examined,  prove  the  mere  Hand  of 
 God.  xii.  9,  11;  Gen.  xxii.  13.  Sir  T.  Browne.  (Eeligio 
 medici,  s.  17.) 
 
 In  order  to  conceive  aright  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  we  must 
 consider  both  Testaments,  as  making  up  one  grand  connected 
 manifestation  of  God  to  man,  progressively  communicated,  as  the 
 Divine  Wisdom  saw  fitting,  but  now  presenting  itself  to  us,  as 
 a  complete  whole  in  all  its  fulness  and  perfection.  In  both 
 Testaments  the  object  is  to  lead  man  to  true  piety,  and  by  that 
 to  goodness  and  happiness ;  and  in  both  by  such  matter-of-fact 
 display,  as  was  deemed  by  Omniscience  most  engaging  to  the 
 human  mind.  We  should  therefore  always  keep  in  remembrance 
 that  the  Old  Testament  is  in  fact  introductive  of  the  New,  and 
 the  New  perfective  of  the  Old.  In  the  Old  Testament,  God 
 shows  Himself  chiefly,  as  the  God  of  Creation  and  Providence, 
 in  order  to  excite  in  the  mind  awe,  reverence,  and  obedient 
 submission.  In  the  New,  He  shows  Himself,  as  the  God  of 
 Grace  and  Mercy,  in  order  to  excite  filial  confidence  and  love. 
 In  the  former  instance,  He  chose  a  narrowed  sphere,  because  in 
 such  a  scene  His  Providential  attributes  might  be  more  com- 
 prehensively and  clearly  illustrated,  for  the  instruction  of 
 future  ages.  But,  "  when  the  fulness  of  time  was  come,"  and 
 "  He,  who  spake  in  times  past  by  the  prophets,  revealed  Him- 
 self by  His  Soi^,"  though  it  was  still  in  the  same  scene,  that 
 this  Divine  Being  showed  Himself,  the  beams  of  His  light,  like 
 those  of  the  orient  Sun,  speedily  diff'used  themselves  without 
 limit,  carrying  with  them,  "  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,"  all  the 
 vital  principles  of  moral  right  and  happiness.  Prov.  iv.  18 ; 
 2  Tim.  i.  10.     Alex.  Knox.     (Eemains,  Vol.  iii.  p.  395.) 
 
 13  At  the  first  meeting,  they  knew  him  not ;  but,  after  they  had 
 
178  THE  ACTS  VII.  13. 
 
 accused  themselves  of  being  guilty  of  his  death  and  had  imputed 
 their  trouble  to  its  proper  cause,  then  their  brother  was  made 
 known  unto  them.     Thus,  we  trust,  it  will  be  at  last  betwixt 
 Christ  and  the  Jews.     The  time  will  come,  when  they  shall 
 see  the  true  reason,  why  they  had  been  wandering  backwards 
 and  forwards,  and  seeking  their  bread  with  anxiety  and  suspicion 
 in  a  strange  land ;  and  shall  say  with  the  brethren  of  Joseph, 
 *'  We  are  verily  guilty  concerning  our  brother  ;  in  that  we  saw 
 the  anguish  of  his  soul,  when  he  besought  us,  and  we  would  not 
 hear :  therefore  is  this  distress  come  upon  us :"   God,  who  had 
 found  out  the  iniquity  of  Joseph's  brethren,  and  at  last  opened 
 their  eyes  to  see  and  confess  it,  can  turn  the  hearts  of  the  Jews, 
 how  hard  soever  they  may  be  at  present,  and  prepare  them  for 
 that  second  meeting,  when  their  Sayioue  shall  be  known  to  them. 
 Zech.  xii.  10 ;   Eom.  xi.  2—32  ;  2  Cor.  iii.  14—16.     W.  Jones. 
 (On  the  figurative  language  of  the  Holy  Scripture.     Lect.  7.) 
 Plebat  Josephus,  nee  se  celare  volebat 
 Amplius  aut  tantum  potuit  perferre  dolorem  ; 
 Fraterno  ast  animum  supplex  submisit  amori ; 
 Oblitus  scelerum  cunctorum  ignoscit,  et  ultro 
 Solatur,  lachrymas  verba  inter  singula  fundens, 
 Et  fratrum  factis  contraria  facta  rependens. 
 Namque  omnes  variis  affecit  honoribus,  atque 
 Complexu  patris  lachrymans  colloque  pependit ; 
 Quem  proprio  vectum  curru  deduxit  in  aulam. 
 Hand  alitor  Christo  Solymaeas  invidet  arces 
 Gens  Judaea  hodie :  sic  olim  invidit  honori 
 Coelitus  oblato ;  Judas  hunc  vendidit ;  omnes 
 Fratris  in  exitium  conspiravere  ;  sepulcri 
 In  fove^  abscondunt ;  sed  rerum  maximus  Author 
 Eductum  h  tenebris  super  aurea  sidera  vexit 
 Aureum,  et  albenti  lucis  velavit  amictu.  .  .  . 
 Hie  Judex  rerum  fulv^  de  nube  futurus 
 Et  levis  aethereos  perrumpet  candidus  orbes 
 Elammato  invectus  curru  :  tunc  maximus  orbis 
 Hunc  Dominum  agnoscet ;  quin  et  stirps  ipsa  Jacobi 
 Numen  adorabit,  quod  jam  contemnit  et  odit. 
 Alex.  Rosceus.     (Virgilii  Evangelisantis  Christiados,  Lib.  ii.) 
 
THE  ACTS  VII.  16—18.  179 
 
 16  Bought  for  a  sum  of  money. — He  would  not  take  it  of  gift :  and 
 why  so  ?  Happily  because  he  would  not  receive  at  man's 
 hands,  as  beholden  to  him  for  it,  what  God  had  so  often  and  so 
 assuredly  promised  to  give  him.  He  would  not  prevent  Gron's 
 gift  in  any  part.  2  Sam.  xxiv.  24.  Bp.  Babington.  (Comfort- 
 able notes  on  Grenesis  xxiii.) 
 
 17  As  if  Egypt  had  been  no  less  a  nursery  for  their  improvement, 
 than  a  work-house  for  their  exercise  ;  no  less  a  mother  to  mul- 
 tiply them,  than  a  step-mother  to  vex  and  oppress  them.  Verse 
 14 ;  Ex.  xii.  37.     Dr.  Littleton.     (Serm.  Lev.  x.  1,  2.) 
 
 God's  mercies  are  not  before  the  hour,  nor  after  the  hour ;  but  at 
 the  hour.     S.  John  ii.  4.     Bp.  Hall. 
 
 18  Another  king  arose^  who  knew  not  Joseph. — While  the  world  we 
 live  in  is  under  the  moon,  constant  in  nothing  but  inconstancy, 
 why  should  we  promise  ourselves  immunity  from  the  common 
 lot  ?  There  would  be  no  need  of  "  faith  and  patience,"  which 
 are  winter  graces,  if  it  should  be  always  summer-time  with  us. 
 "We  have  three  TJnchangeables  to  oppose  to  all  other  mutabilities ; 
 — an  unchangeable  God,  an  unchangeable  Covenant,  and  an  un- 
 changeable heaven  :  and  while  these  remain  "  the  same  yester- 
 day, to-day,  and  for  ever,"  welcome  the  will  of  our  heavenly 
 Eather,  in  all  events,  that  may  happen  to  us  :  come  what  will, 
 nothing  can  come  amiss  to  us.  Hosea  xi.  9  ;  Micah  iii.  6  ; 
 Eom.  viii.  28—39.     P.  Henry.     (Life,  Ch.  10.) 
 
 Which  knew  not  Joseph. — Verba  scientice  connotant  affectus.  It  is 
 peculiar  to  Scripture  that  in  it  words,  expressing  knowledge,  at 
 the  same  time  denote  congenial  affections  of  mind.  Ex.  i.  8  ; 
 Phil.  iii.  10 ;  Hos.  xiii.  5  j  S.  John  x.  14 ;  xvii.  3.     J.  F. 
 
 20  In  which  time  Moses  was  born,  and  was  exceed- 
 ing fair,  and  nourished  up  in  his  father's  house  three 
 months ; 
 
 21  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  and  in  deeds. 
 
 n2 
 
180  THE  ACTS  VII,  20,  21. 
 
 23  And  when  he  was  full  forty  years  old,  it  came 
 into  his  heart  to  visit  his  brethren  the  children  of  Israel. 
 
 24  And  seeing  one  of  them  suffer  wrong,  he  defended 
 him,  and  avenged  him  that  was  oppressed,  and  smote 
 the  Egyptian : 
 
 25  For  he  supposed  his  brethren  would  have  un- 
 derstood how  that  God  by  his  hand  would  deliver 
 them  :  but  they  understood  not. 
 
 26  And  the  next  day  he  showed  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  judge 
 over  us  ? 
 
 28  Wilt  thou  kill  me,  as  thou  diddest  the  Egyptian 
 yesterday  ? 
 
 20  We  are  told  elsewhere  (Prov.  xxxi.  30)  that  "  favour  is  de- 
 ceitful, and  beauty  vain."  Beauty,  if  given  of  God,  is  indeed 
 a  talent,  not  to  be  despised ;  it  adds  a  grace  to  our  actions,  a 
 
 ,  lustre  to  our  virtues,  and  eloquence  to  our  words  :  but  if  it  be 
 not  dedicated  to  the  service  of  God,  it  becomes  a  deadly  poison, 
 both  to  ourselves  and  others.  Wogan.  (On  the  Lessons. 
 3rd  S.  in  Lent.) 
 
 21  There  was  a  mystery  in  the  exposure  of  Moses  and  his  preser- 
 vation. God  typed  out  the  condition  of  His  people,  whose 
 deliverer  Moses  was  thus  designed  to  be.  He  was  unexpec- 
 tedly to  set  them  free,  when,  in  their  own  eyes,  their  case  was 
 most  desperate.  Neither  was  his  person  only  typical;  his 
 qualities  were  heroical ;  first  intellectual  {skilledy  &c.)  then 
 moral ;  he  had  the  four  moral  virtues  in  a  high  degree.  Pru- 
 dence. Numb.  xi.  16,  17.  Justice.  Numb.  xvi.  15 ;  Heb. 
 iii.2.     Temperance.     Heb.  xi.  24, 25.     Fortitude.     Heb.  xi.27. 
 
THE  ACTS  VII.   21,  22.  181 
 
 He  was  also  renowned  for  his  theological  virtues.     Heb.  xi.; 
 Numb.  xii.  3 ;  Ex.  xxxii.  32.     Finally,  no  national  governor  of 
 the  Israelites  besides  Moses,  did  ever  communicate,  as  a  type, 
 in  the  threefold  honour  of  Christ.     He  was  a  Prophet,  Deut. 
 xxxiv.  10 ;  a  Priest,  Ex.  xxviii. ;  Ps.  xcix.  6 ;  a  King,  Deut. 
 xxxiv.  12.     Bp.  Lake.     (Exposition  of  Exod.  xix.) 
 "  Yade,"  ait,  "infelix  (agilemque  a  littore  corbera 
 "  Impellit  trepidante  manu)  fluvioque  secundo 
 "  Labere :  si  pereas,  non  me  spectante  peribis  : 
 "  Si  Superis  curse  es,  quam  me  tibi  ferre  negarunt, 
 "  Nilus  opem  praestet."     Nilum  sensisse  putares ; 
 Sic  substernit  aquas,  sic  summo  leniter  alveo 
 Commissum  sibi  portat  onus.     Natat  ille  pericli 
 Nuper  ut  in  cunis  securus.     Eiscina  quantum 
 Parva  vehit  fati !     Qui  sic  natat  arbiter  olim 
 Undarum  legem  ponet  fluviisque  marique,  &c.  .  .  . 
 
 Ah,  ne  dulce  caput  violentior  obruat  unda ! 
 Ah,  ne  monstrorum,  quae  plurima  Nilus  in  altis 
 Nutrit  arundinibus,  puerum  ferat  sestus  ad  antra ! 
 Nile  pater,  quse  te  servato  fama  per  orbem 
 Hoc  infante  manet  ?     Minus  est,  quod  vastus  et  ingens, 
 Quod  septemgemino  volvaris  in  sequora  cursu, 
 Quod  te  per  nullos  tellus  tua  postulet  imbres. 
 
 Becanus.^  (Idyllia  Sacra.  5,  8.) 
 22  This  is  spoken  in  Moses'  praise,  and  it  gives  us  to  understand, 
 that  human  philosophy  is  not  absolutely  to  be  rejected ;  for  it 
 is  recorded  of  Daniel  and  of  the  four  young  men  (i.  17 — 20), 
 that  they  excelled  all  others  in  the  Chaldsean  philosophy  and  in 
 the  rest  of  the  sciences.  Tet  must  we  not  settle  down  in  these, 
 but  rather  insist  most  on  the  Divine  Scriptures;  for  neither 
 are  Moses,  nor  those  other  men,  represented,  as  actually  em- 
 ploying that  wisdom,  save  only  in  combating  the  errors  of  their 
 adversaries,  xvii.  28  ;  xxvi.  24.  Clarius. 
 Amongst  other  acts  of  GtOd's  providence  and  wise  economy  of  all 
 things,  there  is  not  one  more  observable,  than  the  succession  of 
 
 *  The  classical  reader  is  referred  to   I  subject  by   Joan.    Commirius.   Carm. 
 a  beautiful  Ode  in  Iambics  on  the  same  I  V.  ii.  page  188.     Edit.  Paris,  1715. 
 
182  THE  ACTS  VII.  22,  23. 
 
 His  Church,  and  dispensation  of  His  most  precious  gifts,  at- 
 tending it.  You  shall  not,  in  any  age,  find  the  flourishing  of 
 learning  severed  from  the  profession  of  religion :  and  the  propo- 
 sition shall  be  granted,  without  exception.  God's  people  were 
 always  the  learnedest  part  of  the  world.  1  Kings  x.  1 — 9 ;  Ex. 
 X.  23.  Dr.  Hammond.  (Serm.  on  S.  John  vii.  48.) 
 There  was  an  ancient  tradition  among  the  Jews,  delivered  us  by 
 Josephus,  that  God  appeared  to  Amram,  the  father  of  Moses, 
 by  dream  and  promised  him  a  son,  who  should  in  due  time 
 deliver  the  Hebrews  from  the  Egyptian  bondage :  which  oracle 
 both  Amram  and  his  wife,  to  whom  he  communicated  it,  firmly 
 believing,  and  observing  the  goodliness  and  admirable  features 
 of  Moses,  when  he  was  born,  promising  something  extraordinary 
 in  him,  they  concluded,  that  this  was  the  happy  child,  which 
 the   Oracle  had  promised   them ;    and  therefore  they  did  the 
 
 best  they  could  to  preserve  him If  Moses  supposed  his 
 
 brethren  would  have  understood  this,  it  is  beyond  all  question  he 
 understood  it  himself.  And  how  could  he  understand  it,  but 
 by  some  Divine  prediction,  concerning  him,  to  that  purpose, 
 antecedent  to  God's  illustrious  appearing  to  him  in  the  bush. 
 S.  Luke  ii.  52  ;  Gen.  iv.  1,  25  ;  v.  29.  Bp.  Bull.  (Serm.  Heb. 
 xi.  26.) 
 
 I  confess  there  is  nothing  to  me,  which  doth  advance  so  much  the 
 repute  of  the  ancient  Egyptian  learning,  as  that  the  Spirit  of 
 God  in  Scripture  should  take  so  much  notice  of  it,  as  to  set 
 forth  a  person,  otherwise  renowned  for  greater  accomplishments, 
 by  his  skill  in  this  .  .  .  And  hence  it  appears,  that  learning  is 
 not  only  in  itself  a  great  accomplishment  of  human  nature,  but 
 that  it  ought  to  be  looked  upon  with  veneration,  even  in  those, 
 who  have  excellencies  of  a  higher  nature  to  commend  them. 
 1  Kings  iv.  30  ;  Heb.  xi.  25.  Bp.  Stillingjleet .  (Orig.  Sacrae. 
 E.  ii.  c.  2.) 
 
 23  When  Moses  was  grown  up,  he  went  forth  to  vindicate  the 
 rights  of  his  people,  and  gave  them  a  sign  of  his  power  by  slay- 
 ing an  Egyptian,  who  did  them  wrong ;  casting  out  one  of  their 
 strong  men  to  show,  that  a  stronger,  than  he,  was  come  upon 
 him,  and  that  God  had  "  visited  His  people."  So  did  Christ 
 give  a  sign  of  His  power,  as  a  "Redeemer,  by  rescuing  the  souls 
 
THE  ACTS  VII.  23—26.  183 
 
 and  bodies  of  men  from  the  bondage  of  Satan,  "  casting  out 
 devils  by  the  finger  of  God,"  to  show,  that  "the  King- 
 dom of  God  was  come  upon  them."  x.  38 ;  S.  John  iii.  2. 
 TFm.  Jones.  (On  the  figurative  language  of  Holy  Scripture. 
 Lect.  9.) 
 The  same  highly  expressive  Greek  verb  einaKeylraaGaij  feebly  trans- 
 lated here  to  visit,  is  employed  at  S.  Luke  i.  68,  to  denote  the 
 deep  and  tender  sympathy  of  Cheist  in  the  miseries  of  man- 
 kind. He  "Visited  and  Eedeemed  His  people."  Ps.  xxxi.  8; 
 Euth  i.  6 ;  S.  James  ii.  27.     J.  F. 
 
 24  The  history  of  Moses  supplies  us  with  an  instance  of  a  proud 
 and  rash  spirit,  tamed  down  to  an  extreme  gentleness  of  deport- 
 ment.    Ps.  cvi.  33 ;  Numb.  xii.  3.     J.  H.  Newman. 
 
 25  He  shows  how  ungrateful  they  were  to  their  benefactor :  for, 
 just  as  in  the  former  instance,  they  were  saved  by  the  injured 
 Joseph,  so  here  again  they  were  saved  by  the  injured  Moses. 
 Numb.  xvi.  3  ;  Judg.  viii.  6,  8  ;  xv.  11,  15  ;  xii.  1 ;  1  Sam.  x. 
 27 ;  S.  John  i.  11.     S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 The  resistance,  he  here  met  with,  may  have  afterwards  induced 
 him  to  decline  the  Government  over  this  people.  Ex.  iii.  11. 
 Bengel. 
 
 Moses  did  this  by  faith.  He  slew  the  Egyptian  in  his  character 
 of  a  Magistrate,  not  in  tliat  of  a  private  person.  For  he  was 
 called  by  God  to  be  the  deliverer  of  Israel ;  and  by  this  very 
 act  he  hoped  to  be  thus  recognized.  S.  John  ii.  13 — 17.  N. 
 Selneccerus.     (In  loco.) 
 
 They  undei'sfood  not. — There  is  an  illusion,  which  arises  from  men's 
 vanity  and  pride,  which  is  this ;  to  view  what  passes  in  the 
 world  around  us,  with  reference  only  to  the  quality  of  the  per- 
 sons, concerned  in  it,  not  to  the  importance  of  the  matter  in 
 hand.     iv.  13 ;  xvii.  18  ;  S.  Matt.  xiii.  55.     Nicole. 
 
 26  When  a  passionate  parley  is  begun,  there  is  a  plague  broke 
 out :  the  meek  man,  like  Aaron,  takes  his  censer  with  the  in- 
 cense of  "a  soft  answer,"  steps  in  seasonably,  and  "stays  the 
 plague."  xix.  35;  Numb.  xvi.  46;  Prov.  xvii.  14.  M.  Henry. 
 (Serm.  Acts  xxviii.  22.) 
 
 Hath  any  wronged  thee  ?  Be  bravely  revenged.  Slight  it ;  and 
 the  work  is  begun :  forgive  it ;  and  it  is  finished.     He  is  below 
 
i84  THE  ACTS  VII.  26—28. 
 
 himself,  that  is  not  above  an  injury.     Eora.  xii.  18 — 21.     F. 
 
 This  word  Brother  in  Scripture  is  of  a  large  and  capacious  signifi- 
 cation and  extent.  Sometimes  it  is  confined  to  a  blood,  to  those, 
 who  come  from  the  same  loins ;  "  AVe  be  twelve  brethren,  sons 
 of  our  father,"  Gen.  xlii.  32:  sometimes  it  taketh  in  a  whole 
 kindred ;  so  Abram,  who  was  Lot's  uncle,  called  him  brother, 
 
 "  Gen.  xiii.  8 ;  and  Christ  is  said  to  have  brethren,  though  Mary 
 had  no  other  son :  sometimes  it  is  enlarged  to  comprehend  a 
 whole  nation;  thus  S.  Paul  calleth  the  Jews  "his  brethren,  accord- 
 ing to  the  flesh,"  Eom.  ix.  3  ;  and  Moses  thus  bespeaks  the  two 
 
 '  Hebrews,  that  were  at  strife,  "  Sirs,  ye  are  brethren ;  why  do  ye 
 wrong  one  to  another?''  Sometimes  it  is  as  large  a  compass  as 
 the  whole  world,  and  he,  that  is  a  man,  by  right  of  his  humanity, 
 is  brother  to  all  the  men,  that  are ;  so  Lot  lovingly  entreateth 
 
 •  those  wicked  Sodomites,  "I  pray  you,  brethren,  do  not  so 
 wickedly,"  Gen.  xix.  7,  respecting  only  the  common  brotherhood 
 of  nature  :  and  again,  it  is  contracted  into  that  narrow  circuit  of 
 a  "  little  flock,"  the  Church,  those,  who  are  "gathered  together 
 in  one,  the  children  of  God,  that  were  scattered  abroad."  xv. 
 1,  3,  7,  13,  22,  23,  32,  33,  36,  40 ;  S.  John  xi.  52.  Farindon. 
 (Serm.  Gal.  iv.  12.) 
 
 27  Eemember,  that  in  every  quarrel  the  person,  who  has  been  the 
 least  to  blame,  is  generally  the  most  ready  to  be  reconciled ; 
 
 •  and  try  your  heart  by  this  rule.     1  Sam.  x.  27.     T.  Bowdler. 
 
 It  would  appear  from  this  question,  that  Moses  had  distinctly 
 asserted  his  Divine  authority  and  Magisterial  office.  Indeed 
 his  wellknown  history,  and  public  character,  so  fully  attested 
 by  Josephus,  should  have  impressed  their  minds  with  the  con- 
 viction, that  he  was  made  a  ruler  and  judge  over  them.  As, 
 without  such  an  authority,  his  act  would  have  been  wilful 
 murder,  so  with  it  their  resistance  became  a  "  resistance  of  the 
 Holt  Ghost,"  and  fell  under  the  general  indictment  at  verse 
 51.     Rom.  xiii.  1,  2.     J.  F. 
 
 28  This  is  a  marvellous  thing,  that,  not  by  the  things,  which  seem 
 to  be  for  our  security,  but  by  their  very  opposites,  all  comes  to 
 
 be  for  our  advantage Unless  the  infants  had  been  "  cast 
 
 forth,"  Ex.  i.  22,  Moses  would  not  have  been  saved;  he  would 
 
THE  ACTS  VII.  28.  185 
 
 not  have  been  brought  up  in  the  palace.  When  he  was  safe, 
 he  was  not  in  honour ;  when  he  was  exposed,  then  he  was. 
 But  God  did  this,  to  show  His  riches  of  resource  and  contri- 
 vance. The  Jew  threatened  him  saying,  Wilt  thou  kill  me  ? 
 This  too  was  profitable  to  Moses.  It  was  of  Gon's  Providence, 
 in  order  that  he  should  see  that  vision  in  the  desert,  in  order 
 that  the  proper  times  should  be  completed,  that  he  should  learn 
 Philosophy  then,  and  live  in  security,  vi.  1,  6,  7 ;  viii.  3,  4 ; 
 Isa.  xlii.  16.     <S.  Chrysostom.     (Homil.  in.  Act.  54.) 
 
 29  Then  fled  Moses  at  this  saying,  and  was  a 
 stranger  in  the  land  of  Madian,  where  he  begat  two 
 sons. 
 
 30  And  when  forty  years  were  expired,  there  ap- 
 peared to  him  in  the  wilderness  of  mount  Sina  an 
 angel  of  the  Lord  in  a  flame  of  fire  in  a  bush. 
 
 31  When  Moses  saw  it,  he  wondered  at  the  sight: 
 and  as  he  drew  near  to  behold  it,  the  voice  of  the 
 Lord  came  unto  him, 
 
 32  Saying,  I  am  the  God  of  thy  fathers,  the  God 
 of  Abraham,  and  the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of 
 Jacob.     Then  Moses  trembled,  and  durst  not  behold. 
 
 33  Then  said  the  Lord  to  him.  Put  off  thy  shoes 
 from  thy  feet  :  for  the  place  where  thou  standest  is 
 holy  ground. 
 
 34  I  have  seen,  I  have  seen  the  affliction  of  My 
 people  which  is  in  Egypt,  and  I  have  heard  their 
 groaning,  and  am  come  down  to  deliver  them.  And 
 now  come,  I  will  send  thee  into  Egypt. 
 
 35  This  Moses  whom  they  refused,  saying,  Who 
 made  thee  a  ruler  and  a  judge?  the  same  did  God 
 send  to  he  a  ruler  and  a  deliverer  by  the  hand  of  the 
 angel  which  appeared  to  him  in  the  bush. 
 
186  THE  ACTS  VII.  29,  30. 
 
 36  He  brought  them  out,  after  that  He  had  showed 
 wonders  and  signs  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  in  the 
 Red  Sea,  and  in  the  wilderness  forty  years. 
 
 29  The  kind  offer  of  Moses  was  not  accepted ;  and  this  was  the 
 occasion  of  many  years'  misery  more,  that  they  endured  in 
 Egypt.  Then  jled  Moses  at  that  saying  :  and  no  news  of  de- 
 liverance for  the  space  of  forty  years  after  (verse  30).  And 
 have  not  our  dissensions,  or  rather  our  rejecting  those  overtures, 
 which  God  by  men*  of  healing  spirits  hath  offered  for  peace, 
 been  the  cause,  why  mercy  has  fled  so  fast  from  us,  and  we  left 
 to  groan  under  those  sad  miseries,  that  are  upon  us  at  this  day  ? 
 And  who  knows,  how  long  ?  Ps.  cxx.  6  ;  Isa.  lix.  2.  Gurnall. 
 (On  the  Christian  Armour,  Eph.  vi.  15,  ch.  14.) 
 
 30  Moses  with  great  astonishment  observed,  in  the  miracle  of  the 
 bush,  that,  although  it  burned,  it  was  not  consumed :  conse- 
 quently, that  it  is  the  property  of  the  Divine  fire  to  enlighten 
 or  purify,  rather  than  destroy.  It  is  true  God  is  a  fire  (Deut. 
 iv.  24 ;  Heb.  xii.  29)  ;  but  a  Divine  Eternal  fire ;  not  to  con- 
 sume these  material  substances,  our  bodies,  but  the  secret  im- 
 purities of  our  conscience,  and  to  inflame  our  hearts  with  the 
 love  of  Himself.  Judg.  vi.  21 ;  S.  Matt.  iii.  11 ;  Isa.  iv.  4. 
 S.  Ambrose . 
 
 As  He  is  "  a  jealous  God,"  it  is  plain  He  loves  us  ;  as  He  is  "  a 
 consuming  fire,"  He  fits  and  prepares  us  for  loving  Him.  Deut. 
 XXX.  6.     8.  Augustine. 
 
 It  was  "the  Word"  of  God,  the  Savioue  of  the  world,  who  Him- 
 self in  after  ages  was  "  made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us,"  whose 
 Voice  was  heard  and  fiery  Presence  seen  by  Moses  amid  the 
 rocks  of  Arabia.  Nor  can  we  require  a  stronger  proof,  than 
 this  identity  of  operation,  under  either  Covenant,  of  the  con- 
 nection between  every  part  of  God's  plan  for  the  Hedemption 
 of  mankind ;  and  that  it  was  not  enough  for  mankind  to  ac- 
 knowledge the  Divine  commission  to  Moses,  unless  their  vene- 
 ration travelled  on  to  His  Name,  of  whom  Moses  spake,  and 
 
 for  their  labours  to  promote  peace  and 
 concord  among  Christians.  Baxter  in 
 many  places  does  the  same. 
 
 *  Here  he  alludes  to  Abp.  Usher, 
 Bp.  Morton,  and  Bp.  Hall,  whom  in 
 another  place  he  particularly  commends 
 
THE  ACTS  VII.  30—33.  187 
 
 for  whose  Advent  and  Sacrifice  the  institutions  of  Moses  pre- 
 pared the  way.  S.  Luke  xx.  37  ;  1  Cor.  x.  4 — 9.  Bp.  Heber. 
 (Serm.  Ex.  iii.  14.) 
 
 Ignibus  innocuis  flagrans  apparuit  olim 
 Non  ardens  ardere  rubus ;  nee  juncta  calori 
 Materies  alimenta  dabat ;  nee  torrida  vivens 
 Sensit  damna  frutex  ;  sed  amici  fomitis  sestu 
 Frondea  blanditsB  lambebant  robora  flammse. 
 
 Sedulius.     (Carm.  Lib.  i.) 
 
 31  If  the  burning  bush  was  a  wonderful  sight,  the  Loed  of  Glory- 
 crucified  is  much  more  so,  whether  we  consider  the  sufierer,  the 
 sufferings,  the  causes,  or  the  issue  and  event  of  them.  xiii.  12, 
 41 ;  Isa.  ix.  6.  Hurrion.  (Of  the  knowledge  of  Cheist 
 Crucified,  Serm.  7.) 
 
 32  Who  is  so  ignorant,  as  not  to  know,  that,  under  the  former 
 Dispensation,  all  the  Saints  of  God  were  on  an  equal  footing 
 of  acceptance  ejusdem  meriti,  with  Christians  of  the  present 
 time  ?     Heb.  xi. ;  xii.  1.     ^S*.  Jerome.     (Adv.  Jovinianum.) 
 
 33  Put  off  thy  shoes. — When  we  remember,  that  one  of  the 
 charges,  brought  against  S.  Stephen,  was,  that  he  had  "  spoken 
 blasphemous  words  "  against  the  Temple,  we  may  trace  in  his 
 reference  to  this  Divine  injunction  an  indirect  refutation  of  that 
 charge.  It  shows  S.  Stephen's  own  reverential  feeling  towards 
 Holy  places,    xxi.  28  ;  xxiv.  11,  12 ;  S.  Matt.  xxvi.  55,  61.   J.  F, 
 
 It  is  not  only  lawful  to  use  some  reverential  gesture,  when  we 
 come  into  God's  House,  but  it  is  a  duty,  commanded  by  God 
 Himself,  and  therefore  no  will- worship ;  as,  namely,  in  that 
 Divine  admonition,  given  first  to  Moses,  and  afterwards  to 
 Joshua  (Josh.  v.  15),  "  Put  thy  shoes  from  off  thy  feet, ^^  ^c.  ;  in 
 that  Law,  "Eeverence  My  Sanctuary"  (Lev.  xix.  30);  in  this 
 instruction  by  Solomon,  "  Look  to  thy  feet,  when  thou  comest 
 to  the  House  of  God  "  (Eccles.  v.  1).  The  Saints  and  people  of 
 God  in  the  Old  Testament  and  Christians  in  the  ^ew  have 
 used  such  reverence :  the  neglect  thereof  is  condemued,  as  pro- 
 faneness  by  the  practice  of  Jews,  Gentiles,  Pagans,  Mahometans, 
 all  religions  whatsoever :  if  any  be  to  be  excepted  (proh  pudor  et 
 dolor),  it  is  ourselves.  Ps.  v.  8  ;  Jer.  ii.  11.  J.  Mede.  (Serm. 
 Eccles.  V.  1.) 
 
188  THE  ACTS  VII.  33—36. 
 
 The  heathen  worshippers  are  commanded  by  their  Priests  to  put 
 off  their  shoes,  before  they  presume  to  enter  the  Temples  to 
 worship  the  demons ;  and  this  is  evidently  done  to  mimic  what 
 
 they  found  commanded  the  Prophet  Moses The  words, 
 
 spoken  to  Moses,  were  to  demonstrate  the  Soisr  of  God  and 
 Apostle  (Heb.  iii.  1),  to  be  our  Loed  Jesus  Christ,  who  ia 
 the  very  pre-existing  \6^o^,  who  appeared  sometimes  in  the  form 
 of  fire,  sometimes  in  the  likeness  of  Angels,  and,  in  these  last 
 days,  was  made  man,  by  the  will  of  God,  for  the  salvation  of 
 
 mankind The  Jews   for   maintaining,  that  it  was  the 
 
 Father  of  the  universe,  who  had  the  conference  with  Moses, 
 when  it  was  the  very  SoK  of  God,  who  had  it,  are  justly  ac- 
 cused by  the  Prophetical  Spirit,  Isa.  i.  3,  and  by  Christ  Him- 
 self, S.  Matt.  si.  27,  for  "  knowing  neither  the  Pather  nor  the 
 Son;"  for  they,  who  affirm  the  Son  to  be  the  Pather,  are 
 guilty  of  not  knowing  the  Pather,  and  likewise  of  being 
 ignorant  that  the  Pather  of  the  universe  has  a  Son,  who, 
 being  the  \0709  and  first  Begotten  of  God,  is  God.  xiv.  13  ;  2 
 Cor.  iii.  13,  M.     S.  Justin  Martyr.     (Apol.  c.  81—83.) 
 
 34  M\j  people. — They  scarcely  knew  themselves  at  this  time  to  be 
 the  people  of  God  ;  and  yet  they  were.  xii.  9 ;  Gen.  xlii.  8. 
 Bengel. 
 
 Every  good  and  holy  desire,  though  it  lack  the  form,  hath  not- 
 withstanding in  itself  the  substance,  and  with  God  the  force  of 
 a  prayer ;  who  regardeth  the  very  meanings,  groans,  and  sighs 
 of  the  heart  of  man.     1  Sam.  i.  10,  13,  15,  16.     Hooker. 
 
 35  The  rod,  which  Moses  carried  in  his  hand,  was  an  infallible 
 sign  to  the  Israelites,  that  God  had  appeared  unto  him,  as  the 
 flaming  bush  was  to  himself;  and  therefore  they,  which  saw  in 
 his  hand  God's  omnipotency,  could  not  suspect  in  his  tongue 
 God's  veracity.     Bp.  Pearson.     (Expos,  of  the  Creed,  Art.  io) 
 
 Deus  in  spinis  volitabat  acutis 
 Yulnificasque  comas  innoxiiis  ignis  agebat : 
 Esset  ut  exemplo  Deus  iulapsurus  in  artus 
 Spiniferos,  sudibus  quos  texunt  crimina  densis 
 Et  peccata  malis  hirsuta  doloribus  implent. 
 
 Prudentius.     (Apotheosis.) 
 
 36  Wonders  and  signs. — Let  us  consider  the  character  of  the  Jewish 
 
THE  ACTS  VII.  36.  189 
 
 Legislator,  the  resistance  he  encountered  from  the  Egyptian 
 Government,  the  disposition  and  circumstances  of  the  Hebrew 
 people  (Ex.  xiv.  11  ;  Numb.  vi.  5  ;  xiv.  3  ;  xx.  5),  and  im- 
 pediments, which  presented  themselves  in  the  land,  to  which 
 they  emigrated.  Let  us  review  the  narrative  of  those  events, 
 separating  the  leading  facts,  not  miraculous,  which  form  the 
 basis  of  the  history,  from  the  miraculous ;  and  consider  whether 
 
 it  be  natural  to  receive  the  former,  and  reject  the  latter 
 
 These  events,  if  we  attempt  to  separate  them  from  the  mira- 
 culous, became  unnatural,  improbable,  and  even  incredible, 
 unconnected  and  unaccountable ;  while,  if  combined  with  the 
 miracles,  which  attended  them,  the  entire  series  is  connected, 
 natural,  and  consistent.  Bean  Graves.  (Lectures  on  the 
 Pentateuch.) 
 God  chose  the  posterity  of  Abraham  to  be  a  public  and  constant 
 demonstration  of  His  power,  and  providence,  and  care  of  good 
 men.  Eor  when  God  chose  the  posterity  of  Abraham  to  be  His 
 peculiar  people,  He  did  not  design  to  exclude  the  rest  of  the 
 world  from  His  care,  and  providence,  and  all  possible  means  of 
 salvation  ;  as  the  Apostle  argues  in  Rom.  iii.  29,  '*  Is  He  a  God 
 of  the  Jews  only,  is  He  not  also  of  the  Gentiles  ?  Yes,  of  the 
 Gentiles  also:"  which  argument,  if  it  have  any  force  in  it, 
 must  prove  God's  respecting  the  Gentiles,  before  the  preaching 
 of  the  Gospel,  as  well  as  since  ;  because  it  is  founded  on  that 
 natural  relation,  which  God  owns  to  all  mankind,  as  their  mer- 
 ciful Creator  and  Governor ;  which  gives  the  Gentiles,  as  well 
 as  Jews,  an  interest  in  His  care  and  providence.  This  plainly 
 evinces,  that  all  those  particular  favours,  which  God  bestowed 
 on  Israel,  were  not  owing  to  any  partial  fondness  and  respect 
 to  that  people;  but  the  design  of  all  was  to  encourage  the 
 whole  world  to  worship  the  God  of  Israel,  who  gave  so  many 
 demonstrations  of  His  power  and  providence.  Eor  this  reason 
 God  brought  Israel  out  of  Egypt  with  great  signs  and  wonders 
 and  a  mighty  hand  (when  He  could  have  done  it  with  less  noise 
 and  observation)  ;  that  He  might  the  more  gloriously  triumph 
 over  the  numerous  Gods  of  Egypt,  and  all  their  enchantments 
 and  divinations,  and  that  He  might  "  be  honoured  on  Pharaoh 
 and  all  his  host."     Eor  this  reason  He  maintained  them  in  the 
 
190  THE  ACTS  VII.  36. 
 
 wilderness  at  the  constant  expense  of  miracles,  fought  all  their 
 battles  for  them,  and  many  times  by  weak  and  contemptible 
 means  overthrew  great  and  puissant  armies,  drove  out  the  in- 
 habitants of  Canaan,  and  gave  them  possession  of  that  good 
 land.  I  say  one  great  and  principal  design  of  all  this  was  to 
 convince  the  world  of  the  majesty  and  power  of  the  God  of 
 Israel,  that  they  might  renounce  their  foolish  idolatries  and 
 country  Gods,  and  consent  in  the  worship  of  that  One  God, 
 who  "alone  doth  wondrous  things."  Ps.  xcviii.  2  ;  xcvi.  Dr, 
 Sherlock.     (On  the  knowledge  of  Christ,  pp.  19 — 21.) 
 
 An  illustrious  spectacle  did  the  Lord  exhibit  to  the  whole 
 world,  when  He  subdued  the  pride  of  Egypt  not  with  bears  and 
 lions,  but  with  lice  and  frogs,  xii.  23.  S.  Chrysostom.  (Not 
 in  loco.) 
 
 The  manifestation  of  the  Divine  glory  and  favour  in  Mesopotamia 
 and  in  Charran,  verses  2,  4,  in  Egypt,  verse  9,  in  the  wilderness, 
 verse  30,  in  the  E,ed  Sea,  verse  36,  were  facts  intimating  that 
 Jerusalem  and  its  Temple  were  not  the  only  "  place,  where  men 
 ought  to  worship."     S.  John  iv.  20—23.     J.  F. 
 
 37  This  is  that  Moses,  which  said  unto  the  children 
 of  Israel,  A  prophet  shall  the  Lord  your  God  raise  up 
 unto  you  of  your  brethren,  like  unto  me  ;  him  shall 
 ye  hear. 
 
 38  This  is  he,  that  was  in  the  church  in  the  wilder- 
 ness with  the  angel  which  spake  to  him  in  the  mount 
 Sina,  and  with  our  fathers :  who  received  the  lively 
 oracles  to  give  unto  us  : 
 
 39  To  whom  our  fathers  would  not  obey,  but  thrust 
 him  from  them,  and  in  their  hearts  turned  back  again 
 into  Egypt, 
 
 40  Saying  unto  Aaron,  Make  us  gods  to  go  before 
 us  :  for  as  for  this  Moses,  which  brought  us  out  of  the 
 land  of  Egypt,  we  wot  not  what  is  become  of  him. 
 
 4 1  And  they  made  a  calf  in  those  days,  and  offered 
 
THE  ACTS  VII.  37.  191 
 
 sacrifice  unto  the  idol,  and  rejoiced  in  the  works  of 
 their  own  hands. 
 
 42  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  offered  to 
 Me  slain  beasts  and  sacrifices  by  the  space  of  forty 
 years  in  the  wilderness. 
 
 43  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. 
 
 37  It  has  been  justly  observed,  that  this  Prophet,  to  be  like  unto 
 MoseSy  must  be  a  Lawgiver ;  for  this  appears  the  essential  dis- 
 tinction between  him  and  all  inferior  prophets.  We  cannot 
 suppose  the  Divine  Messenger,  thus  pre-eminently  marked  out, 
 was  to  do  nothing  more,  than  to  cause  the  ancient  statutes  of 
 His  predecessors  to  remain,  as  originally  established ;  since  that 
 essential  character  of  similarity  would  then  be  wanting,  and  no 
 sufficient  reason  would  appear  for  His  Mission  being  thus  pecu- 
 liarly predicted.  And,  since  the  promulgation  of  a  new  Law 
 implies  a  change  in  the  pre-existing  system,  the  certainty  of 
 such  a  change  being  intended  may  be  fairly  inferred  from  this 
 prophecy.  .  .  .  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  though  in  His  Divine  Na- 
 ture infinitely  superior,  yet,  as  a  prophet,  is  accurately  like  unto 
 Moses,  in  His  office,  as  Legislator ;  in  His  full  participation  of 
 the  Divine  counsels,  and  the  Divine  influence ;  in  the  magnitude, 
 and  variety  of  His  miracles ;  in  the  importance,  and  permanence 
 of  that  religious  system,  which  He  introduced ;  in  the  meek- 
 ness of  His  character;  and  in  the  signal  punishment,  with  which 
 God  has  vindicated  the  authority,  and  punished  the  neglect  of 
 His  Laws.  Heb.  iii. ;  1  Sam.  ii.  35.  Bean  Graves.  (Lectures 
 on  the  Pentateuch.     P.  iii.  6.) 
 
 Like  unto  me. — As  our  Loed  came  down  immediately  from  God 
 to  prophesy  to  us,  so  He  came  down  into  our  own  nature,  which 
 gave  a  vast  advantage  to  His  Ministry.  .  .  .  He  did  not  only 
 
192  THE  ACTS  VII.  37,  38. 
 
 qualify  the  terror  and  dreadfulness  of  His  Divine  Majesty,  by 
 putting  on  our  nature,  but,  together  with  it,  He  put  on  all  the 
 condescensions,  and  sweetnesses  of  a  most  familiar  and  endear- 
 ing conversation.  He  conversed  among  men  in  such  a  gene- 
 rous, friendly,  and  courteous  manner,  as  charmed  and  enamoured 
 all  ingenuous  minds  ;  and  therefore  attracted  their  attention  tc 
 His  doctrine :  so  that,  as  Cheist  was  the  Son  of  God,  He  per- 
 fectly understood  His  Fathee's  will;  and,  as  He  was  the  Son 
 of  Man,  He  was  perfectly  fitted  to  reveal  and  declare  it  to  man- 
 kind, i.  21 ;  Job  ix.  32,  33  ;  Deut.  xviii.  15, 16.  Br.  J.  Scott. 
 (Christian  Life.     P.  ii.  ch.  7.) 
 
 Him  shall  ye  hear. — Though  the  Law  was  not  prophesied  of,  yet 
 the  Gospel  w^as.  He,  who  delivered  the  Law,  was  one  of  the 
 first,  who  prophesied  of  the  Gospel ;  and  told  the  people  so  long 
 beforehand,  that  God  would  raise  up  a  Frophet  like  unto  him,  whom 
 they  must  hear  in  all  things :  by  which  prediction  he  guarded 
 the  people  against  the  prejudice,  which  his  own  authority  was 
 like  to  create  against  a  new  Lawgiver ;  telling  them  before- 
 hand, that,  when  the  Great  Prophet  comes,  their  obedience  ought 
 to  be  transferred  to  Him.  S.  John  i.  21,  25  ;  S.  Matt.  v.  21, 
 22,  27,  28.  Bp.  Sherlock.  (On  the  use  and  intent  of  Pro- 
 phecy.    Discourse  2.) 
 
 38  What  could  tend  more  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  any  event, 
 than  to  deliver  a  whole  people  by  public  glorious  miracles  from 
 intolerable  slavery  ?  to  publish  a  very  extraordinary  system  of 
 Laws  immediately  from  heaven  ?  to  put  this  Law  in  writing, 
 together  with  the  Covenant  for  obeying  it  ?  to  make  the  pos- 
 sessions and  felicity  of  that  people  depend  on  the  observance  of 
 this  Law  ?  to  appoint  annual  solemnities  of  the  giving  of  this 
 Law,  in  order  to  men's  keeping  it  in  mind  ?  to  appoint  "  signs" 
 for  the  hands  and  "  frontlets  "  for  the  face  by  way  of  memorari' 
 dums  ?  to  enjoin  perpetual  private  instruction  by  the  parent  to 
 the  children  ?  to  make  the  tenure  of  the  estates  depend  on  the 
 original  division  of  the  land  ?  to  attach  them  to  men,  who  saw 
 the  miracles,  and  first  took  possession ;  and  then  on  the  proxi- 
 mity of  relation  by  descent  to  them  ?  to  appoint  a  return  of 
 lands  every  fiftieth  year,  which  should  give  perpetual  occasion 
 to  canvass  those  descents  ?  to  order  a  Sabbath  every  Seventh 
 
THE  ACTS  VII.  38,  39.  193 
 
 year  for  the  land,  the  loss  of  which  should  be  supplied  by  the 
 preceding  year's  increase  ?  and  to  select  a  whole  tribe,  consisting 
 of  many  thousands,  to  be  the  guardians,  in  some  degree  the  judges 
 and  executors  of  this  law;  who  were  barred  from  any  portion  of  the 
 land,  in  common  with  their  brethren,  and  were  contented  with 
 the  contributions,  that  came  from  the  other  tribes,  without  any 
 fixed  portion  amongst  them  ?  This  must  keep  up  the  belief  and 
 authority  of  that  Law  amongst  the  descendants  of  that  people ; 
 or  nothing  could :  and  if  such  a  belief,  under  all  these  circum- 
 stances, prevailed  amongst  a  people,  so  constituted,  that  belief 
 could  not  possibly  proceed  from  imposture ;  because  the  very 
 means,  provided  for  proof  of  the  truth,  are  so  many  checks 
 against  any  possibility  of  imposition,  xxi.  20 ;  xxvi.  7 ;  xxviii. 
 20.  Hon.  Buncan  Forbes.  (Some  thoughts  concerning  Eeli- 
 gion,  &c.,  p.  29.     Edit.  173G.) 
 
 Whereas  in  many  places  of  the  Law  it  is  said,  that  God  Himself  ut- 
 tered the  words  of  the  Decalogue  and  with  His  own  voice  (Ex.  xx. 
 19;  Deut.  V.  22),  this  proveth  not,that  God  Almighty  pronounced 
 them  immediately ;  for  we  find  in  Holy  Scripture,  that  when 
 holy  Angels  or  Prophets  were  the  immediate  persons,  which  ut- 
 tered and  delivered  the  vocal  and  external  sound  of  words,  the 
 Lord  Himself  is  reported  to  have  spoken  unto  men.  (Gen. 
 xviii.  2,  13 ;  Ex.  iii.  2,  6,  7.)  S.  Augustine  is  resolute,  that 
 Almighty  God  Himself,  in  the  time  of  the  Old  Testament,  did 
 not  speak  to  the  Jews  and  Israelites,  with  His  own  immediate 
 voice,  but  only  by  His  Angels  and  by  His  Prophets :  and  when 
 the  heretics  objected,  "  AVherefore  then  was  it  written,  God 
 spake,  and  not  rather,  an  Angel  spake  ?"  he  answers,  "  Because, 
 when,  in  the  place  of  Judicature,  the  crier  pronounceth  the 
 decree  and  sentence  of  the  Judge,  it  is  not  recorded  in  the  Acts 
 or  Court  Eolls,  The  crier  delivered  this  sentence  and  decree ; 
 but  the  Judge  who  commanded  the  crier  to  proclaim  it,"  v.  53  ; 
 Gal.  iii.  19 ;  Heb.  ii.  2  ;  S.  John  v.  87  ;  Mai.  iii.  1.  Bp.  White. 
 (A  Treatise  of  the  Sabbath  Hay,  p.  51.     Edit.  1G35.) 
 
 Lively,  but  not  life-giving ;  viva  but  not  vivificantia.  He  praises 
 the  Law.  It  is  the  "  fiery  Law,"  Heut.  xxxiii.  2.  It  is  lively. 
 Gal.  iii.  21 ;  Eom.  viii.  2.     BengeL 
 
 39  He  w^as  entrusted  with  the  conduct  of  a  most  perverse,  and 
 
 o 
 
194  THE  ACTS  VII.  40,  41. 
 
 unmanageable  people :  the  crook  in  his  lot  (his  special  trial)  was 
 plainly  designed  for  the  exercise  of  his  meekness  (his  special 
 grace,  Numb.  xii.  3).  Job  excelled  in  patience;  and  by  the 
 crook  in  his  lot  he  got  as  much  to  do  with  it.  For  God  gives 
 none  of  His  people  to  excel  in  a  gift,  but,  some  time  or  other, 
 He  will  aiford  them  use  for  the  whole  compass  of  it.  Boston. 
 (Crook  in  the  lot.) 
 
 40  We  wot  not  what  is  become  of  him. — To  lessen  your  fear  and 
 regard  to  the  opinion  of  the  world,  think  how  soon  the  world 
 will  disregard  you,  and  have  no  more  thought  and  concern  about 
 you,  than  about  the  poorest  animal,  that  died  in  a  ditch.  .  .  . 
 Your  place  is  filled  up  by  another  ;  the  world  is  just  in  the  same 
 state,  as  it  was ;  you  are  blotted  out  of  its  sight,  and  as  much 
 forgotten  by  the  world,  as  if  you  had  never  belonged  to  it.  Ps. 
 xli.  5 ;  S.  Matt,  xxvii.  4.  Wm.  Law.  (Serious  call,  &c., 
 ch.  xvii.) 
 
 41  In  Egypt,  the  great  workshop  of  Satan,  where  the  molten  images 
 were  cast,  which  in  latter  ages  all  the  world  adored,  idolatry 
 was  in  its  infancy  (if  it  had  at  all  gotten  ground)  in  the  days  of 
 Joseph.  For  when  Joseph  was  brought  to  Pharaoh  to  inter- 
 pret his  dream,  the  holy  Patriarch  and  the  Egyptian  King  speak 
 of  God  in  much  the  same  language,  and  with  the  same  acknow- 
 ledgment of  His  overruling  Providence.  .  .  .  Idolatry  there- 
 fore in  this  country  was  in  no  advanced  state  in  Joseph's  time ; 
 and  the  settlement  of  the  Patriarchs  there,  and  the  rank  and 
 authority  Joseph  held,  must  have  checked  its  growth  for  some 
 considerable  period.  At  the  time,  when  the  Israelites  went  out 
 of  Egypt,  that  country  and  the  land  of  Canaan  were  sunk  in 
 the  grossest  idolatry.  The  Name  of  Jehovah  was  forgotten 
 (Ex.  V.  3),  and  in  the  public  religion  no  traces  were  remaining 
 of  His  worship.  .  .  .  After  Jacob's  death,  his  descendants  in 
 the  latter  years  of  their  sojournment  in  Goshen,  were  deeply 
 infected  with  this  idolatry.  .  .  .  The  molten  calf,  they  made  in 
 Horeb,  was  surely  not  the  first  tliey  had  worshipped.  Bp. 
 Horsley.  (A  Dissertation  on  the  Prophecies  of  the  Messiah 
 dispersed  among  the  heathen.) 
 
 The  golden  calf,  Ex.  xxxii.  1,  was  made,  instead  of  Moses,  the 
 mediator;  not  instead  of  God,  Jehovah.     The  idolatry  of  the 
 
THE  ACTS  VII.  41,  42.  195 
 
 world  has  been,  not  about  the  object,  but  about  the  mean,  of 
 worship  [Mediator],  "Keep  yourselves  from  idols"  (1  S.  John 
 V.  21),  in  opposition  to  owning  Jesus  Christ  [ver.  20.]  So 
 Eev.  xiv.  9,  11,  contrary  to  iv.  7  and  xiii.  5 ;  and  2  Thess.  ii.  3, 
 Phil.  ii.  10,  Col.  ii.  18.  Dr.  Wliichcote.  (Aphorisms.  Cent. 
 X.  961.) 
 
 They  did  not  think  the  calf  to  5e  God,  or  that  God  could  be 
 made ;  but  they  desired  only  a  visible  representation  of  God, 
 which  may  appear  by  these  reasons :  first,  because  they  would 
 have  it  to  go  before  them,  as  Moses  did ;  and  that  was  to  repre- 
 sent God  unto  them.  For  Moses  was  a  visible  representation 
 of  God  to  them  :  and  now  they  could  not  tell  what  was  become 
 of  him ;  that  is  to  say,  he,  whom  we  had,  as  an  assurance  of 
 God's  Presence  with  us,  is  not  to  be  found;  therefore  let  us 
 have,  in  his  stead,  gods  to  go  before  us.  ]S"ow  either  this  reason 
 must  hold,  or  else  Moses  was  their  God  before.  And  they  made 
 a  calf  rather  than  any  otlier  thing;  because  they  knew  no 
 other  shape  of  God,  than  they  had  of  the  ox,  called  ajns,  in 
 Egypt.  Ex.  xxii.  32  ;  Hos.  iv.  11.  Bp.  Andrewes.  (On  the 
 Moral  Law,  Second  Commandment.) 
 
 Sacrificing  is  a  voluntary  action,  whereby  we  worship  God,  offering 
 Him  somewhat,  in  token  that  we  acknowledge  Him  to  be  the 
 Lord,  and  ourselves  His  servants,  xiv.  13,  18  ;  IS.  Pet.  ii.  5  ; 
 Eev.  i.  6.     Abp.  Sandys.     (Serm.  Ps.  iv.  5.) 
 
 It  belongs  to  God  to  rejoice  in  the  work  of  His  own  hands ;  in 
 these  too  we  must  rejoice :  men,  who  rejoice  in  the  work  of 
 their  own  hands,  are  idolaters.     Hab.  i.  16.     Bengel. 
 
 42  The7i  God  turned. — All  the  words  and  forms  of  speaking,  ap- 
 plied to  the  Deity,  being  borrowed  from  other  objects,  cannot 
 adequately  describe  His  nature  and  proceedings.  They  are  the 
 best  means,  indeed  the  only  means  we  have,  of  expressing  our 
 thought  upon  this  subject  at  all ;  but  they  ought  never  to  be 
 used  without  a  reverential  sense  of  their  imperfection :  and  the 
 rule  of  interpreting  them  always,  as  relative  to  ourselves,  is  an 
 admirable  preservative  against  many  mistakes  and  perplexities, 
 into  which  men  are  led  by  a  critical  analysis  of  Scriptural  terms. 
 It  is  to  teach  us  how  to  feel  and  act  towards  God,  not  to  explain 
 His  Nature,  that  such  words  are  chosen.     If  He  be  said  to  be 
 
 o2 
 
196  THE  ACTS  Vn.  42,  43. 
 
 "  angry,"  it  is,  that  we  may  feel  it  our  interest  to  please  Him. 
 If  He  is  described,  as  "  uncliangeable,"  it  is,  that  we  may  not 
 indulge  the  weak  imagination  of  eluding,  surprising,  or  finding 
 Him  capricious  and  careless,  as  men  often  are,  forgetful  of  their 
 purpose,  and  less  peremptory  at  one  time,  than  another.  If  He 
 is  said  to  "pity"  and  "repent,"  it  is,  that  we  may  neglect 
 nothing,  which  we  should  do  in  a  case  of  distress  to  make  a  man 
 pity  and  repent.  S.  James  i.  17 ;  Isa.  Iv.  8 ;  1  Sam.  xv.  29. 
 Bp.  Copleston.  (An  Inquiry  into  the  Doctrine  of  Necessity 
 and  Predestination.) 
 
 Hence  these  same  "customs"  vi.  14,  date  their  origin;  hence  the 
 sacrifices :  they  were  themselves  the  first,  that  made  sacrifices — 
 to  their  idols  !  "  Did  ye  ofier  slain  beasts  and  sacrifices  to 
 Me?'^  "Te  cannot  say,  that  it  was  from  sacrificing  to  Me,  that 
 ye  proceeded  to  sacrifice  to  them."     S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 Isa.  i.  11,  12.  "  To  what  purpose,"  &c.  Do  ye  hear,  how  it  is 
 most  plainly  declared,  that  God  did  not  from  the  first  require 
 these  sacrifices  at  your  hands  ?  Had  He  done  so,  He  would 
 have  obliged  those  famous  Saints,  who  were  before  the  Law,  to 
 observe  this  practice.  "  Then,  wherefore  has  He  permitted  it 
 now  ?"  (you  say)  :  In  condescension  to  your  infirmity.  .  .  . 
 Seeing  them  so  frantic  in  their  lust  for  sacrifices,  that  they 
 were  ready,  unless  they  got  them,  to  desert  to  idols,  nay,  not 
 only  ready,  but  that  they  had  already  deserted,  therefore  He 
 permitted  sacrifices  .  .  .  all  but  saying ;  "  Ye  are  mad,  and 
 will  needs  sacrifice  :  therefore  sacrifice  to  Me."  S.  Matt.  xis.  8. 
 S.  Chrysostom.     (Tr.  adversus  Judseos.  c.  iv.  6.) 
 
 In  the  same  manner,  when  they  so  earnestly  desired  ''  to  have  a 
 king  to  reign  over  them,"  God  humoured  and  indulged  them  in 
 this  ;  and  afterwards  overruled  it,  as  He  did  sacrifice,  to  His 
 own  wise  and  gracious  purposes,     xiii.  21,  22.     J,  F. 
 
 Idolatry  is  the  religious  worship,  men  pay  to  anything,  which  is 
 not  the  true  God  ;  or,  which  they  pay  indeed  to  the  true  God, 
 but  in  a  way,  differing  from  that,  prescribed  in  His  Word, 
 xvii.  16  ;  Deut.  v.  8  ;  xii.  32 ;  Phil.  iii.  19.     Ravanetus, 
 
 43  The  heathen  and  those,  who  followed  their  fashions,  had  two 
 sorts  of  gods :  first,  Sovereign  and  Supreme  gods,  which  the 
 Scripture  calls  the  host  of  heaven.  .  .  .  Kow  they  were  such, 
 
THE  ACTS  VII.  43.  197 
 
 as  thej  supposed  to  remain  always  in  the  liearens,  yea,  to  dwell 
 in  the  heavenly  lights  in  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  as  it  were 
 souls  in  bodies  ;  and  there  to  keep  their  stations  immoveably, 
 without  change  of  place,  or  presence ;  which  celestial  and  hea- 
 venly gods,  as  they  were  eternal^  without  beginning  or  ending, 
 so  they  supposed  them  so  sublime  and  pure,  as  they  might  not 
 be  profaned  with  the  approach  of  earthly  things,  or  with  the 
 care  and  managing  of  mortal  men's  businesses.  And  therefore 
 they  bring  in  that  second  order  of  gods,  called  Demons,  or 
 Baalims,  as  a  middle  sort  of  Divine  powers  between  the  Sove- 
 reign gods  and  mortal  men  ;  whose  office  it  is  to  be  mediators 
 and  agents  between  them,  and,  as  Plato  speaks,  reporters  and 
 comers  from  men  to  the  gods  and  from  the  gods  to  men  :  for 
 they  say,  it  beseems  not  the  Majesty  of  the  Sovereigns  to 
 manage  these  things  of  themselves  ;  and  therefore,  though  all 
 things  come  by  their  will,  power,  and  authority,  yet  it  is  by  the 
 mediation  and  ministry  of  these  Demons,  in  Scripture  called 
 Baalim.  Judg.  ii.  12  ;  Ps.  Ixxxi.  10,  11 ;  1  Cor.  viii.  5.  J.  Mede. 
 (Discourse,  2  S.  Pet.  ii.  1.) 
 
 Your  God  Remphan. — Whoever  fails  to  worship  God  ''in  the 
 Spirit,"  makes  to  himself  a  new  God.  And  yet,  on  a  close  exa- 
 mination of  the  whole  matter,  the  Israelites  were  loth  to  have  a 
 god  expressly,  data  opera,  created  for  them  ;  but  rather  con- 
 sider, that  they  possess  the  true  Eternal  GrOD  under  the  shape 
 of  the  golden  calf.  Por  they  attend  in  good  earnest  to  the  ap- 
 pointed sacrifice ;  and  they  give  their  approval  to  Aaron's  de- 
 claration, that  these  were  the  gods,  which  brought  them  out  of 
 Egypt.  But  God  pays  no  regard  to  such  silly  imaginations ; 
 He  rather  complains  of  new  gods  being  substituted  for  Him, 
 when  men  in  the  least  degree  deviate  from  His  Word.  xix.  26. 
 Calvin. 
 
 "Beligion,"  it  has  been  well  observed,  "is  something  relative  to 
 us  ;  a  system  of  commands  and  promises  from  God  towards  us." 
 But  how  are  we  concerned  with  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  or  with 
 the  laws  of  the  Universe  ?  How  will  they  teach  us  our  duty  ? 
 How  will  they  speak  to  sinners  ?  They  do  not  speak  to  sinners 
 at  all.  They  were  created,  before  Adam  fell.  They  declare  the 
 Glory  of  God  (Ps.  xix.),  but  not  His  will.    They  are  all  perfect, 
 
198  THE  ACTS  VII.  44. 
 
 all  harmonious  ;  but  that  brightness  and  excellence,  whicli  they 
 exhibit  in  their  own  creation,  and  the  Divine  benevolence 
 therein  seen,  are  of  little  moment  to  fallen  man.  AYe  see  no- 
 thin  o-  there  of  God's  wrath^  of  which  the  conscience  of  a  sinner 
 loudly  speaks  :  so  that  there  cannot  be  a  more  dangerous,  though 
 a  common,  device  of  Satan,  than  to  carry  us  off"  from  our  own 
 secret  thoughts,  to  make  us  forget  our  own  hearts,  whicli  tell  us 
 of  a  God,  of  justice,  and  holiness,  and  to  fix  our  attention 
 merely  on  the  God,  who  made  the  heavens  ;  who  is  our  God 
 indeed,  but  not  God,  as  manifested  to  us  sinners,  but  as  He 
 shines  forth  to  His  Angels  and  to  His  Elect  hereafter.  1  Sam. 
 xii.  21 ;  Isa.  xlv.  22.    J.  H.  Newman.    (Serm.  Heb.  xii.  28,  29.) 
 
 44  Our  fathers  had  the  tabernacle  of  witness  in  the 
 wilderness,  as  He  had  appointed,  speaking  unto  Moses, 
 that  he  should  make  it  according  to  the  fashion  that 
 he  had  seen. 
 
 45  Which  also  our  fathers  that  came  after  brought 
 in  with  Jesus  into  the  possession  of  the  Gentiles, 
 whom  God  drave  out  before  the  face  of  our  fVithers, 
 unto  the  days  of  David ; 
 
 46  Who  found  favour  before  God,  and  desired  to 
 find  a  tabernacle  for  the  God  of  Jacob. 
 
 47  But  Solomon  built  Him  an  house. 
 
 48  Howbeit  the  most  High  dwelleth  not  in  temples 
 made  with  hands  ;  as  saith  the  prophet, 
 
 49  Heaven  is  My  throne,  and  earth  is  My  footstool : 
 what  house  will  ye  build  Me  ?  saith  the  Lord  :  or  what 
 is  the  place  of  My  rest  ? 
 
 50  Hath  not  My  hand  made  all  these  things  ? 
 
 44  The  Jews  had  Eternal  Life  proposed  to  them  in  Hieroglyphics  ; 
 for  that  was  the  mystery  of  their  Holy  of  Holies ;  that  was 
 the  iutcrpretation  of  their  land   of  Canaan,  and  the  spiritual 
 
THE  ACTS  VII.  44,  45.  199 
 
 sense  of  all  their  general  promises  of  good  things  to  come.  .  .  . 
 The  internal  sense  and  mystery  of  their  Law  was  the  Gospel. 
 ....  The  New  Testament  is  nothing  else,  but  only  the  Old 
 deciphered  and  unriddled.     Ps.  xix.  7—11 ;  Ileb.  viii.  5  ;  x.  1. 
 Dr.  J.  Scott.     (Serm.  S.  John  v.  39.) 
 There  are  four  rules,  as  to  the  truth  of  matters  of  fact  in  general, 
 that  when  they  all  meet,  such  matters  of  fact  cannot  be  false.  .  .  . 
 They  are  these :  1,  That  the  matter  of  fact  be  such,  as  that 
 men's  outward  senses,  their  eyes  and  ears,  may  be  judges  of  it : 
 2,  That  it  be  done  publicly,  in  the  face  of  the  world :  3,  That 
 not  only  public  monuments  be  kept  up  in  memory  of  it,  but 
 some  outward  actions  to  be  performed :  4,  That  such  monu- 
 ments, and  such  actions  or  observances  be  instituted  and  do 
 commence  from  the  time  that  the  matter  of  fact  was   done. 
 Numb,  xxviii.  7,  8  ;  Deut.  xi.  2 — 8  ;  xviii.  19  ;  v.  15  ;  Josh,  iii., 
 iv. ;  S.  Matt.  xxvi.  17 ;  S.  John  xviii.  20 ;  S.  Luke  xxii.  19,  20. 
 C.  Leslie.     (Short  and  easy  method  with  the  Deists.) 
 45  The  Paschal  Lamb,  literally  taken,  was  a  picture  of  Christ's 
 Sacrifice  upon  the  cross ;  and  so  was  Moses,  who  instituted  the 
 sacrifice  and  conducted  God's  people  out  of  Egypt,  but  a  shadow 
 of  Christ  ;  Joshua  or  Jesus,  the  son  of  Nun,  who  brought  them 
 into  the  land  of  Canaan,  was  no  more.     The  great  Angel  of  the 
 Covenant,  who  was  with  Moses  and  with  Joshua,  as  their  guide 
 and  protector  in  this  business,  was  with  the  Man  Christ  Jesus 
 in  Unity  of  Person :  and  Christ  Jesus  is  with  us  unto  the 
 world's  end,  as  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant  was  with  Moses  and 
 Joshua,  or  with  the  host  of  Israel,  to  direct  and  support  us  in 
 all  our  ways.     Dr.  Jackson.     (B.  ix.  s.  5.) 
 Neither  Miriam,  that  is,  the  Prophets,  nor  Aaron,  the  Priests,  nor 
 Moses,  the  deliverer  of  the  Law,  but  Joshua,  that  is,  Jesus 
 Christ,  was  able  to  lead  God's  people  into  the  promised  land, 
 to  heaven  and  everlasting  bliss.     Eom.  viii.  3,  4;  Heb.  vii.  19. 
 S.  Jerome. 
 Whom  God  drave  out. — It  is  to  be  considered,  that,  if  God  had 
 sent  a  plague  among  them  all,  that  could  not  have  been  found 
 fault  with.     If  then  God  had  a  right  to  .take  away  their  lives 
 without  injustice  or  cruelty.  He  had  a  right  to  appoint  others 
 to  do  it,  as  well  as  to  execute  it  by  a  more  iunnediate  way  : 
 
200  THE  ACTS  VII.  45,  46. 
 
 and  the  taking  away  people  by  the  sword  is  a  much  gentler  way 
 of  dying,  than  to  be  smitten  with  a  plague  or  a  famine.  And 
 for  the  children,  that  were  innocent  of  their  fathers'  faults, 
 God  could  in  another  state  make  that  up  to  them.  So  all  the 
 difficulty  is,  why  were  the  Israelites  commanded  to  execute  a 
 thing  of  such  barbarity  ?  But  this  will  not  seem  so  hard,  if 
 we  consider,  that  this  was  to  be  no  precedent  for  future  times  ; 
 since  they  did  not  do  it,  but  upon  special  warrant  and  com- 
 mission from  Heaven,  evidenced  to  all  the  world  by  such  mighty 
 miracles,  as  did  plainly  show,  that  they  were  particularl}^  de- 
 signed by  God  to  be  the  executioners  of  His  justice.  And 
 God  by  employing  them  in  so  severe  a  service  intended  to 
 possess  them  with  great  horror  of  idolatry,  which  was  punished 
 in  so  extreme  a  manner,  v.  11 ;  Ezek.  xviii.  4.  Bp.  Burnet. 
 (Some  passages  in  the  life  and  death  of  the  Earl  of  Rochester.) 
 
 There  are  some  particular  precepts  in  Scripture  (as  the  order  to 
 exterminate  the  Canaanites)  given  to  particular  persons,  re- 
 quiring actions,  which  would  be  immoral  and  vicious,  were  it 
 not  for  such  precepts.  But  it  is  easy  to  see,  that  all  these  are  of 
 such  a  kind,  as  that  the  precept  changes  the  whole  nature  of  the 
 
 case,  and  of  the  action Men  have  no  right  to  either  life 
 
 or  property,  but  what  arises  solely  from  the  grant  of  God  :  when 
 this  grant  is  revoked,  they  cease  to  have  any  right  at  all  in  either  : 
 and  when  this  revocation  is  made  known,  as  surely  as  it  is  pos- 
 sible it  may  be,  it  must  cease  to  be  unjust  to  deprive  them  of 
 either.  Gen.  xviii.  25  ;  xxii.  2.   Bp.  Butler.  (Analogy,  Pt.  ii.  c.  3.) 
 
 46  He  sought  to  find  favour  before  God  ;  and  yet  did  not  build  : 
 so  far  was  the  Temple  from  being  of  such  importance.  S. 
 Chrysostom. 
 
 Here  the  Law  and  the  Gospel  meet.  For  why  was  the  good  cen- 
 turion, in  the  estimation  of  the  Jews,  deemed  worthy  of  finding 
 favour  with  God  ?  "  He  hath  loved  our  nation,  and  built  us  a 
 synagogue !"     J.  F. 
 
 By  the  names  of  Tahernacle  and  Mountain  we  are  to  understand 
 the  two  parts  of  the  Catholic,  or  Universal  Churcli ;  for  the 
 Tabernacle  signifieth  the  Church  Militant  upon  earth ;  the 
 Holy  Mountain  the  Church  Triumpliaut.  By  sojourning  in 
 the  Tabernacle  is  understood  the  short  and  transitory  abode  of 
 
THE  ACTS  VII.  47.  201 
 
 Christians,  as  it  were,  pilgrims  in  the  earth,  in  a  strange  land  ; 
 by  dwelling  in  the  Mountain  of  God  is  signified  their  perpetual 
 and  eternal  rest  in  heaven,  as  in  their  own  country.  Ps.  cxxi. 
 1 ;  2  Chron.  iii.  1 ;  Heb.  xii.  2.  Bp.  Downhame.  (Exposition 
 of  Psalm  XV.) 
 
 47  A.  fixed  Sanctuary  of  their  E-eligion  was  the  most  appropriate 
 token  they  could  receive  of  the  stability  of  their  national  for- 
 tunes; and  to  a  people,  who  had  been  pilgrims  in  Canaian, 
 strangers  in  Egypt,  wanderers  in  the  desert,  and  who  even  in 
 Canaan  again  had  sought  a  home  for  their  religion  in  the  re- 
 movals of  their  migratory  Ark,  such  a  sign  of  final  settlement 
 and  rest  would  be  sensibly  understood.  Ps.  cxxxii.  4,  5. 
 Davison.     (On  Prophecy,  P.  ii.  Disc.  5.) 
 
 Solemn  duties  of  public  Service,  to  be  done  unto  God,  must  have 
 their  places  set  and  prepared  in  such  sort,  as  beseemeth  actions 
 
 of  that  regard These  things  the  wisdom  of  Solomon  did 
 
 not  account  superfluous.  He  knew  how  easily  that,  which  was 
 meant  should  be  Holy  and  Sacred,  might  be  drawn  from  the 
 use,  whereunto  it  was  first  provided  ;  he  knew  how  bold  men 
 are  even  to  take  from  God  Himself;  how  hardly  that  House 
 would  be  kept  from  impious  profanation  he  knew ;  and  right 
 wisely  therefore  endeavoured  by  such  solemnities  (the  Dedication 
 of  the  Temple)  to  leave  in  the  minds  of  men  that  impression, 
 which  might  somewhat  restrain  their  boldness,  and  nourish  a 
 reverent  aff'ection  towards  the  House  of  God.  Lev.  vii.  2  ; 
 Ps.  xciii.  6  ;  Ezra  vi.  16.     Hooker.     (Eccl.  Pol.  b.  v.  c.  11.) 
 
 Kings,  as  being  Kings,  serve  the  Loed,  when  they  do  in  His  ser- 
 vice those  things,  which  Kings  only  have  it  in  their  power  to 
 do.     xiii.  22  ;  2  Sam.  xxiv.  23.     S.  Augustine.     (Ep.  292.) 
 
 Herein  the  wisdom  of  God  appears  most  admirable,  that  the 
 contents  of  every  Article  in  the  Apostles'  Creed  were  re- 
 spectively foreshadowed  by  some  one  or  other  of  these  types, 
 and  some  of  them  by  all.  The  manner  of  His  conception  was 
 clearly  prefigured  (for  substantially  represented  it  could  not  be) 
 by  the  conception  of  Isaac,  of  Samson,  and  of  Samuel :  and  that 
 generation,  wherein  He  was  conceived  and  born,  was  sufficiently 
 warned  to  observe  these  three  prefiguratious  (as  then  to  be 
 accomplished)  by  the  strange  conception  of  John  the  Baptist. 
 
202  THE  ACTS  VII.  47. 
 
 His  Circumcision,  with  the  mysteries  implied  in  it,  or  sub- 
 sequent unto  it,  were  foreshadowed  in  the  Covenant,  established 
 between  God  and  Abraham,  in  the  circumcision  of  Isaac.  Of 
 His  Baptism  (though  that  be  not  expressed  in  our  Creed)  the 
 washing  of  the  High  Priest's  body  in  the  day  of  Atonement 
 was  a  type.  Of  His  leading  into  the  wilderness  (upon  the 
 same  day)  to  be  tempted  by  Satan,  the  ceremony  of  the  Scape- 
 goat was  a  true  prognostic.  Of  His  appearing  "  in  the  form  of 
 a  servant,"  and  of  His  performance  of  all  the  duties,  which 
 can  be  required  from  a  servant  in  the  most  exquisite  manner, 
 that  can  be  imagined,  holy  Job  was  more  than  a  type,  a  living 
 shadow.  Of  all  His  troubles  and  deliverance  from  them.  His 
 Father  David  was  a  live  example.  Of  His  depression  by  His 
 envious  and  malicious  brethren,  and  of  His  exaltation  by  the 
 immediate  hand  of  GrOD,  the  history  of  Joseph  and  of  his 
 brethren  exhibits  an  illustrious  image.  Of  His  Death  upon 
 the  cross  and  the  glorious  victory,  obtained  thereby  over  Satan, 
 the  brazen  Serpent,  erected  by  Moses  in  the  wilderness,  was  a 
 conspicuous  hieroglyphic.  His  enclosure  three  days  and  three 
 nights  in  the  womb  of  the  earth  and  His  Eesurrection  from  the 
 grave  were  portended  by  the  imprisonment  of  Jonas  in  the 
 whale's  belly  and  by  his  deliverance  thence.  And  of  His 
 Eesurrection,  in  particular,  the  offering  of  the  first-fruits  in  the 
 Feast  of  unleavened  bread,  from  the  first  institution  of  that 
 solemnity,  was  an  annual  sign  or  token.  Of  His  celestial  King- 
 dom of  Peace  Solomon's  glory  and  peaceable  reign  here  on  earth 
 was  an  exquisite  map.  Of  His  Ascension  into  heaven  the  trans- 
 lations of  Enoch  and  Elias  were  undoubted  pledges.  The 
 Eternity  of  His  Person  and  Everlasting  duration  of  His  Priest- 
 hood were   exquisitely  foreshadowed ;  the  one  by  the  person, 
 
 the  other  by  the  priesthood  of  Melchisedek Now 
 
 Christ's  acts  and  offices.  His  humiliation  and  exaltation,  were 
 not  more  exactly  fore-described,  or  displayed,  by  the  Prophets, 
 than  they  were  fore-pictured,  or  fore-shadowed  by  historical 
 events  or  legal  types.  Every  such  type  or  event  was  a  real  or 
 substantial,  though  a  silent,  prophecy  ;  and  the  most  express 
 prophecy,  concerning  CiimsT,  was  but  a  speaking  type,  or  vocal 
 shadow.     The  Spirit  of  God  did  speak  by  the  one,  and  signify 
 
THE  ACTS  VII.  48,  49.  203 
 
 His  purpose  by  the  other ;  His  wisdom  in  both  is  alike  ad- 
 mirable.    Di'.  Jackson.     (B.  vii.  ch.  10,  s.  1.) 
 
 48  The  Jewish  Eeligion  seems  at  first  view  to  consist,  as  to  its 
 very  essence,  in  the  paternity  of  Abraham,  in  the  rite  of  cir- 
 cumcision, in  sacrifices  and  ceremonies,  in  the  Ark,  in  the 
 Temple  at  Jerusalem  ;  or  briefly,  in  the  Law  and  Covenant  of 
 Moses.  But  we  offer  to  maintain  that  it  consisted  in  none  of 
 these,  but  purely  in  the  Love  of  God  ;  and  that  beside  this 
 nothing  ever  obtained  the  Divine  approbation  and  acceptance. 
 2  Sam.  vii.  6,  7  ;  Deut.  xxx.  6,  16,  20  ;  Ezek.  xx.  25  ;  Micah 
 vi.  6—9.     Tascal.     (Thoughts,  s.  19.) 
 
 That  the  Divine  Being  is  not  comprehended  within  any  one  place 
 we  know  ;  but  we  know  also  that  man  His  creature  is  necessarily 
 so  limited,  and  can  form  no  ideas  or  associations  of  ideas,  which 
 are  not  connected  with  space  and  limited  by  it.  The  consecra- 
 tion of  a  particular  place  is  not  therefore  for  the  sake  of  Him, 
 who  is  worshipped,  but  for  the  sake  of  man,  His  worshipper ; 
 that  man,  while  he  worships,  may  be  incited  to  a  dutiful  rever- 
 ence, and  that  his  wandering  and  unsettled  affections,  by  being 
 enshrined  in  a  local  habitation,  may  gain  reality  and  force  by 
 the  fixedness  of  their  abode  and  the  ever-recurring  memory  of 
 former  holy  emotions.  The  act,  which  natural  reason  teaches, 
 has  grown  into  a  habit  by  universal  custom  :  all  mankind  in  all 
 ages  and  under  all  religions,  whether  true  or  false,  having  com- 
 bined to  sanction  it.  Bp.  Medley.  (Serm.  Zech.  xi.  7.) 
 Nou  capiunt  humiles  Numen  Coeleste  Penates  ; 
 
 Structa  nee  humana  saxea  tecta  manu. 
 Quem  mare,  quem  tellus,  quem  non  capit  igneus  aether, 
 
 Clauditur  in  nullo  Spiritus  Hie  loco. 
 Ut  Christum  invenias,  animi  secreta  revolve ; 
 
 Aut  lege  fatidici  quae  cecinere  patres  ; 
 Aut  quse  dives  habet  passim  circumspice  mundus  ; 
 Hsec  vera  est  sedes ;  hoc  penetrale  Dei. 
 
 Buchanan.     (Epigramma.) 
 
 49  God  is  wholly  in  every  place,  included  in  no  place,  nor  bound 
 with  cords,  (except  those  of  love)  nor  divided  into  parts,  nor 
 changeable  into  several  shapes,  filling  heaven  and  earth  with 
 His  present  power,  and  with  His  never  absent  nature.     So  S. 
 
204  THE  ACTS  VII.  49. 
 
 Augustine  expresses  this  Article.  Hence  we  may  imagine  God 
 to  be,  as  the  air  and  the  sea ;  and  we  all  inclosed  in  His  circle, 
 wrapt  up  in  the  lap  of  His  Infinite  Nature,  or  as  infants  in 
 the  wombs  of  their  pregnant  mothers :  and  we  can  no  more 
 be  moved  from  the  Presence  of  God,  than  from  our  own  being, 
 xvii.  28  ;  Jer.  xxiii.  23,  24  ;  Heb.  iv.  13.  .  .  .  He  is  especially- 
 present  in  the  hearts  of  His  people  by  His  HoiT  Spirit  ;  and 
 indeed  the  hearts  of  holy  men  are  Temples  in  the  truth  of 
 things,  and  in  type  and  shadow  they  are  heaven  itself.  For 
 God  reigns  in  the  hearts  of  His  servants  :  there  is  His  King- 
 dom. The  power  of  grace  hath  subdued  all  His  enemies  :  there 
 is  His  Power.  They  serve  Him  night  and  day,  and  give  Him 
 thanks  and  praise  :  that  is  His  Glory.  This  is  the  religion  and 
 worship  of  God  in  the  Temple.  The  Temple  itself  is  the  heart 
 of  man ;  Cheist  is  the  High  Priest,  who  from  thence  sends 
 up  the  incense  of  prayers,  and  joins  them  to  His  own  Inter- 
 cession, and  presents  all  together  to  His  Pather  :  and  the 
 Holt  Ghost,  by  His  dwelling  there,  hath  also  Consecrated 
 it  into  a  Temple  ;  and  God  "dwells  in  our  hearts  by  faith," 
 and  Christ  by  His  Spirit,  and  the  Spirit  by  His  purities  :  so 
 that  we  are  also  cabinets  of  the  Mysterious  Trinity ;  and  what 
 is  this  short  of  Heaven  itself,  but  as  infancy  is  short  of  manhood, 
 and  letters  of  the  words  ?  The  same  state  of  life  it  is,  but  not 
 the  same  age.  It  is  Heaven  in  a  looking-glass  (dark,  but  yet 
 true)  representing  the  beauties  of  the  soul,  and  the  Graces  of 
 God,  and  the  Images  of  His  Eternal  Glory  by  the  reality  of  a 
 special  Presence.  1  Cor.  iii.  16 ;  2  Cor.  vi.  16 ;  iii.  18.  Bp. 
 Taylor.  (Holy  Living,  ch.  i.  s.  3.) 
 We  rather  glorify  God  by  entertaining  the  impression  of  His 
 Glory  upon  us,  than  by  communicating  any  kind  of  Glory  to 
 Him.  Then  does  a  good  man  become  the  Tabernacle  of  God, 
 wherein  the  Divine  Shechinah  does  rest,  and  which  the  Divine 
 Glory  fills,  when  the  frame  of  his  mind  and  life  is  wholly  accord- 
 ing to  that  idea  and  pattern,  which  he  receives  from  the  Mount 
 (Heb.  viii.  5  ;  S.  Matt.  vi.  1,  2).  "We  best  glorify  Him,  when  we 
 become  most  like  Him  ;  and  we  then  act  most  for  His  glory, 
 when  a  true  spirit  of  sanctity,  justice,  meekness,  &c.,  runs  through 
 all  our  actions ;  when  we  so  live  in  the  world,  as  becomes  those, 
 
THE  ACTS  VII.  51.  205 
 
 who  converse  with  the  great  Mind  and  "Wisdom  of  the  whole 
 world ;  with  that  Almighty  Spirit,  that  made,  supports,  and 
 governs  all  things;  with  that  Being,  from  whence  all  good 
 flows,  and  in  which  there  is  no  spot,  stain,  or  shadow  of  evil : 
 and  so,  being  captivated  and  overcome  by  the  sense  of  the 
 Divine  loveliness  and  goodness,  endeavour  to  be  like  Him, 
 and  conform  ourselves,  as  much  as  may  be,  to  Him.  S.  John 
 XV.  8  ;  1  Cor.  x.  31.  John  Stnith.  (On  the  excellency  and 
 nobleness  of  true  Eeligion,  &c.,  ch.  5.) 
 
 51  Ye  stiffnecked  and  uncircumcised  in  heart  and 
 ears,  ye  do  always  resist  the  Holy  Ghost:  as  your 
 fathers  did,  so  do  ye. 
 
 52  Which  of  the  prophets  have  not  your  fathers 
 persecuted  ?  and  they  have  slain  them  which  showed 
 before  of  the  coming  of  the  Just  One ;  of  whom  ye 
 have  been  now  the  betrayers  and  murderers : 
 
 53  Who  have  received  the  law  by  the  disposition  of 
 angels,  and  have  not  kept  it. 
 
 54  When  they  heard  these  things,  they  were  cut  to 
 the  heart,  and  they  gnashed  on  him  with  theii^  teeth. 
 
 55  But  he,  being  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  looked 
 up  steadfastly  into  heaven,  and  saw  the  glory  of  God, 
 and  Jesus  standing  on  the  right  hand  of  God, 
 
 56  And  said,  Behold,  I  see  the  heavens  opened,  and 
 the  Son  of  Man  standing  on  the  right  hand  of  God. 
 
 51  Ye  do  alwmjs  resist  the  Holy  Ghost,  ^c, — In  these  compre- 
 hensive words,  the  inspired  historian  carries  the  work  of  the 
 Holt  Ghost  beyond  the  time  of  the  Apostles  (the  immediate 
 design  of  his  history)  to  the  entire  period  of  the  former  Dispen- 
 sation ;  thus  rendering  high  additional  honour  to  the  Third 
 Person  of  the  ever  blessed  Trinity,  in  His  gracious  work  of 
 "  striving  with  man,"  on  behalf  of  God.     Gen.  vi.  3.     J.  F. 
 
 Pirst   the   heart   is   uncircumcised,   full   of  swelling    and    pride : 
 
206  THE  ACTS  VTI.  51—53. 
 
 such  a  distempered  heart  pollutes  the  ear,  and  will  not  liear  of 
 wholesome  doctrine  :  and  when  the  ear  is  not  tractable  to  receive 
 the  Truth,  then  follows  the  resistance  of  the  Holt  Ghost. 
 xxviii.  27.  Bp.  Racket.  (Serm.  S.  Matt.  iii.  15,  16.) 
 Other  sins  are  against  God's  Law ;  but  pride  is  against  God's 
 Sovereignty.  Pride  not  only  withdraws  the  heart  from  God, 
 but  lifts  it  up  against  God.  xii.  1,  2,  21,  22 ;  1  Thess.  ii.  4. 
 M ant on. 
 
 52  Which  of  the  prophets,  ^^c.  ? — That  Blessed  Protomartyr  may 
 make  the  commentary — to  persecute  the  prophets  is  to  resist — 
 avriTriTneiv,  to  fall  cross  with — the  Holt  Ghost,  ix.  4 ;  Ps.  cv. 
 15.     Farindon.     (Serm.  Ps.  Ixviii.  1,  2.) 
 
 The  Sanhedrim  was  obliged,  by  virtue  of  its  very  constitution,  to 
 guard  and  defend  the  lives  of  the  prophets  with  peculiar  care. 
 Gr  otitis. 
 
 The  Mosaic  types  are  like  triangular  prisms,  that  must  be  set  in  a 
 due  light  and  posture,  before  they  can  represent  that  great 
 variety  of  spiritual  mysteries,  contained  in  them.  The  office  of 
 the  prophets  was  to  do  this,  and  to  direct  the  people  to  see  in 
 these  glasses  the  Soif  of  God  fully  represented  to  their  view. 
 1  S.  Pet.  i.  10,  11.  Bp.  Home.  (Appendix  to  his  life  by  Eev. 
 W.  Jones.) 
 
 This  application  shows  with  what  design  he  had  reminded  them  of 
 the  reception,  which  Joseph  and  Moses,  those  two  eminent 
 characters  of  the  Law,  had  met  with.  He  meant  to  show  them, 
 that,  as  these  favourites  of  heaven,  whom  God  had  commissioned 
 to  be  the  Saviours  of  their  people,  were  opposed  and  persecuted, 
 so  had  they  now,  in  like  form  and  manner,  opposed  and  persecuted 
 the  Just  one,  Jesus  Christ,  and,  in  so  doing,  had  "  fulfilled 
 the  Scripture,"  and  done  all,  that  was  wanting  to  confirm  the 
 truth  of  His  Divine  Mission  ;  inasmuch  as  none  could  be  the 
 true  Saviour,  according  to  the  Scriptures,  but  a  person  rejected 
 by  them,  as  these  Holy  Prophets  had  been  rejected  by  their 
 forefathers.  S.  Matt.  xxi.  33—40;  Isa.  liii.  1,  2.  W.  Jones. 
 (On  the  figurative  language  of  Scripture,  Lect.  8.) 
 
 53  This  expression  of  S.  Stephen,  and  that  of  the  Apostle  (Gal. 
 iii.  19),  proceed  from  a  supposition,  that  the  Special  Presence  of 
 the  Divine  Majesty,-  wheresoever  it  is  said  to  be,  consisted  in 
 
THE  ACTS  VII.  53,  54.  207 
 
 the  encamping  of  His  Sacred  retinue,  the  Angels :  for  that  of 
 Himself,  He,  who  filleth  tlie  heaven  and  the  earth,  could  not 
 descend,  nor  be  in  one  place,  more  than  anotlier.  Verse  35  ; 
 Ixiii.  9.     J.  Mede.     (Serm.  Eccl.  v.  1,  s.  2.) 
 
 If  the  Law,  being  delivered  by  the  hands  of  Angels^  be  so  dread- 
 ful, when  God  in  the  power  of  His  majesty  shall  come  to  re- 
 quire it,  how  dreadful  shall  it  be  ?  And  this  shall  more  plainly 
 appear  by  the  conference  of  circumstances.  1.  The  delivery 
 of  the  Law  was  done  by  Angels ;  the  requiry  shall  be  by  Gron 
 Himself.  2.  Here  is  mention  made  of  a  thick  and  dark  cloud 
 (Amos  V.  18),  that  it  shall  be  a  dark  and  gloomy  day ;  S.  Jude 
 saith,  it  shall  then  be  "  blackness  and  darkness  ;"  and  that,  be- 
 cause, as  it  is  in  Joel  (iii.  15),  "  the  sun  and  the  moon  shall  be 
 darkened,  and  the  stars  shall  lose  their  liglit."  For  the  third, 
 namely,  thunderclaps  (2  S.  Pet.  iii.  10).  These  must  needs  be 
 greater  than  a  thunderclap,  both  to  the  eye  and  ear  more  fearful ; 
 the  effect  of  this  last  Hay,  not  temporal ;  for  the  other  they 
 had  a  remedy,  but  for  this  they  shall  have  none  at  all.  4.  Eor 
 fire  :  it  was  then,  but  on  one  single  mountain,  Sinai ;  but  here 
 it  shall  be  on  all  the  earth.  This  fire  was  but  as  the  fire  in  the 
 bush ;  the  bush  was  not  a  whit  consumed  by  it ;  no  more  was 
 Sinai.  But  our  God  is  Himself  "a  consuming  fire"  (Heb.  xii.  29) ; 
 as  it  shall  inflict  on  us  pains  for  ever,  so  the  smoke  of  it  shall 
 ascend  for  ever  (Eev.  xix.  3),  and  the  flame  never  be  quenched. 
 5.  For  the  shaking  of  the  earth  :  this  shall  pass  that ;  there  one 
 mountain  quaked ;  but  here  both  heaven  and  earth  shall  shake. 
 (Hagg.  ii.  7  ;  Heb.  xii.  26,  27.)  6.  Eor  the  sound  of  the  trumpet : 
 that  pierced  the  ears  of  the  living ;  this  shall  raise  up  the  dead 
 also  (1  Cor.  xv.  52.)  .  .  .  And  as  we  compare  the  circumstances 
 of  both,  so  the  effects ;  see  1  S.  Pet.  iv.  18  ;  Eev.  vi.  16 ;  Heb. 
 xii.  28  ;  Deut.  xxxii.  2.  Bj).  Andrewes.  (On  the  Moral  Law. 
 Introd.) 
 
 54  We  have  read,  observed,  and  daily  may  take  notice  of  it,  that, 
 whensoever  persecution  ariseth  against  the  Church,  that  Jews 
 and  heretical  Christians  become  far  more  bitter  and  cruel  per- 
 secutors than  the  Gentiles  are.  xxi.  30;  xxiii.  12;  xxii.  23. 
 S.  Jerome.     (In  c.  ii.  Obadise.) 
 
 Sic  mores  animum  produnt,  mihi  credite ;  semper 
 Junctus  cum  falso  dogmate  csedis  amor. 
 
208  THE  ACTS  VII.  55. 
 
 Sanguine  fundata  est  Ecclesia,  sanguine  crevit, 
 Sanguine  decrescit,  sanguine  finis  erit. 
 
 Anomjm. 
 55  Do  you  think  the  Martyr  was  amazed  to  see  the  sight  ?  No  ; 
 my  beloved,  ever  since  the  Son  of  God  vouchsafed  to  take  flesh 
 in  the  womb  of  Mary,  it  is  not  a  sign  of  death  to  see  any  part 
 of  God's  Glory,  but  a  good  ominous  presage  of  Everlasting  Life. 
 ...  It  is  not  needful  to  say,  that  the  parts  of  heaven  were  set 
 open,  like  a  window,  to  let  him  look  in  :  but,  as  is  concluded  in 
 fairest  probability,  Oculus  ejus  porrectus  fuit  usque  ad  coelum 
 Emj)yreum  ;  the  glance  of  his  eye  was  endowed  with  virtue  to 
 penetrate,  through  the  clouds  and  through  the  spheres,  unto  the 
 Throne  of  God.  Judg.  xii.  22,  23.  Bp.  Racket.  (Serm. 
 S.  Luke  ii.  10,  and  S.  Matt.  iii.  16.) 
 No  doubt  his  understanding  saw  further  than  his  eye  into  heaven ; 
 that  looked  and  saw  a  glory  there,  of  which  the  sense,  though 
 elevated  to  his  height,  cannot  be  capable ;  Bivinum  Lumen,  says 
 S.  Gregory  Nyssen,  the  inaccessible  Light ;  spem  in  re,  says  S. 
 Hilary,  his  hope  already  ;  Deum  et  Bivinitatem,  says  S.  Austin, 
 God  and  the  Godhead ;  immo  Trinitatem,  and  that,  facie  reve- 
 latd,  says  he  again.  The  Blessed  Trinity  unveiled  ;  futurce  vitcs 
 gaudia,  says  Bede,  the  joys  of  the  other  life.  These  all  he  saw, 
 say  they :  and  we  shall  make  no  scruple  to  say,  in  spirit  so  he 
 did  as  far  as  human  nature  is  capable  in  this  condition.  S. 
 John  i.  18  ;  2  Cor.  iv.  6.  Br.  Mark  Frank.  (Serm.  on  Text.) 
 It  is  remarkable,  that  the  first  Martyr,  while  he  was  yet  standing 
 upon  earth,  was  permitted  to  behold  the  Lamb  of  God  in 
 heaven  :  as  if  to  show  the  world  whence  it  was  that  every  future 
 Martyr  was  to  derive  strength  and  constancy  in  the  hour  of 
 trial.  Phil.  iv.  13.  Br.  Buchanan.  (Serm.  on  the  Heavenly 
 Jubilee.     Eev.  xix.  9.) 
 
 Lumina  cordis  habens  coelos  conspexit  apertos, 
 Ne  lateat,  quod  Christus  agat :  pro  Martyre  surgit, 
 Quern  tunc  stare  videt,  Confessio  nostra  sedentem 
 Cum  soleat  celebrare  magis.     Caro  juncta  Tonanti 
 In  Stephano  favet  ipsa  Sibi :  Dux  pra^scius  armat 
 Quos  ad  dona  vocat ;  ne  quis  hie  dimicet  anceps, 
 Corpus  in  arce  Dei  patuit  pro  munere  testi. 
 
 Arator.     (In  Acta  Apost.  Lib.  i.) 
 
THE  ACTS  VII.  56.  209 
 
 56  This  is  the  only  time,  that  our  Lord  is  by  human  lips  called 
 the  Son  of  Man  after  His  Ascension  (Rev.  i.  13  ;  xiv.  14,  are  not 
 instances).  And  why  here  ?  I  believe  for  this  reason;  S.  Stephen, 
 full  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  speaking  now  not  of  himself  at  all,  but 
 entirely  by  the  utterance  of  the  Spirit,  repeats  the  very  words 
 (S.  Matt.  xxvi.  64)  in  which  Jesus  Himself,  before  this  very 
 Council,  had  foretold  His  Glorification ;  and  assures  them,  that 
 that  exaltation  of  the  Son  of  man,  which  they  should  hereafter 
 witness  to  their  dismay,  was  already  begun  and  actual,  i.  11 ; 
 Eev.  i.  7.     Alford. 
 
 God  is  the  Beauty  of  all  things  beautiful,  the  Loveliness  of  all 
 things  lovely,  the  Life  of  all  the  living.  He  is  all !  An  ancient 
 father  has  said,  "  God  is  so  lovely  and  beautiful,  that,  if  a  man 
 were  in  a  fiery  furnace,  and  saw  the  Beauty  and  Glory  of  Him, 
 but  for  a  moment,  the  greatest  torment  would  be  changed  into 
 the  greatest  joy."  Hence,  if  a  man  saw  God  for  a  thousand 
 years  together,  it  would  seem  to  him  one  hour.  For,  in  be- 
 holding the  loveliness  and  glory  of  God,  all  time  is  swallowed  up 
 in  Eternity  :  so  that  the  more  any  one  sees  God,  the  more  he 
 is  willing  to  see  of  Him  ;  the  more  he  loves  God,  the  more 
 he  will  love ;  and  the  more  he  praises  God  the  more  will  he 
 praise  Him.  Ex.  xxxiii.  13,  18  ;  Ps.  xxvii.  4.  J.  Arndt. 
 (True  Christianity,  B.  ii.  pt.  ii.  c.  5.) 
 
 Behold  I  see,  ^^c. — Lo,  God  offers  thee  the  same  Blessed  prospect 
 to  the  eye  of  thy  soul !  Eaith  is  the  key,  that  can  open  the 
 heaven  of  heavens.  Eix  thy  eyes  upon  that  glorious  and  saving 
 object ;  thou  canst  not  but  lay  down  thy  body  in  peace.  S. 
 Luke  ii.  29.     Bjo.  Hall.     (Balm  of  Gilead,  P.  xiii.  s.  1.) 
 
 5/  Then  they  cried  out  with  a  loud  voice,  and 
 stopped  their  ears,  and  ran.  upon  him  with  one  accord, 
 
 58  And  cast  him  out  of  the  city,  and  stoned  him : 
 and  the  witnesses  laid  down  their  clothes  at  a  young 
 man's  feet,  whose  name  was  Saul. 
 
 59  And  they  stoned  Stephen,  caUing  upon  God, 
 and  saying,  Lord  Jesus,  receive  my  spirit. 
 
 60  And  he  kneeled  down,  and  cried  with  a  loud 
 
210  THE  ACTS  VII.  57—59. 
 
 voice,  Lord,  lay  not  this  sin  to  their  charge.     And 
 when  he  had  said  this,  he  fell  asleep. 
 
 57  As  if  they  had  heard  blasphemy,  that  a  man  should  be  seen 
 standing  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  and  as  equal  to  God.  S. 
 Matt.  xxvi.  64—66.     Clarius. 
 
 Ran  wpon  him. — Lust  is  a  sharp  spur  to  vice,  which  always 
 putteth  the  affections  into  a  false  gallop,     vi.  12.     >S'.  Ambrose. 
 
 "  Envy,"  observes  Quesnel,  "  cannot  bear  the  sight  of  the  gifts  of 
 God  in  other  men."  How  finely  does  their  brutish  rage  here 
 contrast  with  the  angelic  calmness  of  S.  Stephen.  Ps.  xxii.  12, 
 13,  16,  26.     J.  F. 
 
 58  A  young  man^  whose  name  was  Saul. — Young  men,  in  the 
 conduct  and  manage  of  actions,  embrace  more,  than  they  can 
 hold  ;  stir  more,  than  they  can  quiet ;  fly  to  the  end,  without 
 consideration  of  the  means  and  degrees  ;  pursue  some  few 
 principles,  which  they  have  chanced  upon  absurdly ;  care  not  to 
 innovate,  which  draws  unknown  inconveniences  ;  use  extreme 
 remedies  at  first ;  and  that,  which  doubleth  all  errors,  will  not 
 acknowledge  or  retract  them.     Lord  Bacon.     (Essays.  42.) 
 
 59  As  S.  Peter  received  his  name  from  "  a  stone,"  because  he  was 
 found  worthy  to  be  the  first  to  build  the  Church  by  the  strength 
 of  his  faith,  so  S.  Stephen  had  his  name  from  a  crown,  because  he 
 was  found  worthy  to  be  the  first  champion  for  CnRiST,  the 
 first  among  His  soldiers  to  be  a  Martyr  for  Him.  Let  S.  Peter 
 hold  his  venerable  primacy  in  the  company  of  the  Apostles  ; 
 let  him  open  the  kingdom  of  heaven  to  those,  who  would  enter 
 in  ;  let  him  bind  sinners  by  his  power,  and  absolve  the  penitent : 
 S.  Stephen  leads  forth  the  purple-clad  army,  who,  as  an  eager 
 warrior,  shed  his  blood  for  the  Blood  of  his  Lord,  as  yet  still 
 warm.  (E-efer  to  i.  15.  Br.  Barrow.)  Peter  Chrysologus. 
 (Serm.  154.) 
 
 "The  spirit  returns  unto  God,  who  gave  it." — The  spirit  of  S. 
 Stephen  returns  to  Jesus  ;  and  he  prays  Jesus  to  receive  it ; 
 aud  Jesus  is  seen  standing  at  the  right  hand  of  God.  "What 
 Blessed  and  comforting  proofs  have  we  here  of  the  Divinity  of 
 Him,  on  whom  our  souls  rely  in  the  last  severest  struggle : 
 "  In  all  time  of  our  tribulation,  in  tlie  hour  of  death,  and  in 
 
THE  ACTS  VII.  60.  211 
 
 the  day  of  Judgment,  good  Lokd,  deliver  us  !"  "  O  holy  and 
 merciful  Sayiour,  Thou  most  worthy  Judge  Eternal,  suffer  us 
 not,  at  our  last  hour,  for  any  pains  of  death,  to  fall  from  Thee  !" 
 Eccl.  xii.  7  ;  S.  Luke  xxiii.  43  ;  Phil.  i.  23.     J.  F. 
 
 60  He  certainly  would  not  have  knelt  at  such  a  time,  if  it  had 
 been  a  mere  ceremony,  and  not  a  necessary  part  of  religious 
 worship.     XX.  36.     Bp,  Beveridge.     (Serm.  S.  John  xii.  20.) 
 
 He  had  prayed  before  to  his  Sayiotjk  for  himself  He  neither 
 kneeled,  nor  cried  in  that ;  prayed,  it  seems,  standing,  and  with 
 low  voice,  begging  the  greatest  thing,  that  God  would  give 
 him,  his  soul's  salvation.  I  love  my  neighbour  ;  I  must ;  but 
 as  myself;  and  charity  must  too  begin  at  home.  S.Stephen 
 here  doth  more  for  others,  for  his  persecutors,  for  his  mur- 
 derers, than  for  his  own  self,  than  for  his  own  soul.  Show  me, 
 who  can,  a  parallel  in  all  the  Book  of  God,  in  patriarch,  or 
 prophet,  or  any  holy  man.  None  ever  did  it,  but  S.  Stephen. 
 S.  Luke  vi.  27,  28.     Br.  Richd.  Clerke.     (Serm.  on  text.) 
 
 Of  Love  there  be  two  principal  offices ;  to  give  and'  to  forgive. 
 S.  Stephen  is  an  excellent  pattern  of  both.     Bean  Boys. 
 
 Magnus  clamor  magnus  amor,  a  loud  cry  a  loud  love ;  clamor 
 cordis  flagrantid  charitatis.  The  heart's  cry  is  from  the  heat  of 
 love.     S.  Matt,  xxvii.  50.     5"  Augustine. 
 
 The  Fathers  say  that  the  Church  did  owe  not  only  her  deliver- 
 ance from  all  the  violent  intentions  of  Saul,  but  all  that  Chris- 
 tianity, which  S.  Paul  planted,  to  the  prayers  of  S.  Stephen. 
 Lord,  lay  not  this  sin  to  their  charge,  was  answered  by  that 
 Voice  from  heaven  (ix.  4),  which  converted  Saul  in  his  career 
 of  fury.  One  prayer  for  a  persecutor  puts  an  end  to  persecu- 
 tion, et  si  Stephamis  non  orasset^  Ecclesia  Paidum  non  habnisset. 
 (But  for  S.  Stephen's  prayer  the  Church  would  not  have  had  its 
 Paul)  .  .  .  Though,  heaven  opening,  he  saw  Jesus  standing  at 
 the  right  hand  of  God,  as  ready  to  receive  his  spirit^  yet  it 
 would  not  leave  his  body  so  ;  but  made  him  live  yet  to  endure 
 more  stoning  from  his  persecutors,  for  whom  he  had  not  yet 
 prayed :  but,  when  he  once  fell  on  his  knees,  not  beaten  down 
 by  their  stones,  but  his  own  Charity,  and  prayed,  "  Lord,  lay 
 not,''  §^c.,  his  spirit  is  taken  hence,  as  it  were,  osculo  pads, 
 though  by  the  most  violent  death ;  and  he  lies  down  in  a  per- 
 petual rest  and  peace,  that  thus  lies  down  in  Love.     Tliose  are 
 
 p  2 
 
212  THE  ACTS  VII.  60. 
 
 requests  to  breathe  out  a  soul  to  lieaveu  in  ;  and  heaven  itself 
 did  open  to  receive  that  soul,  that  came  so  wafted.  And  now 
 we  are  at  the  top  of  Christ's  Mount  (S.  Matt,  v.)  the  highest 
 and  steepest  point  in  Christianity,  which  vies  with  that,  to  which 
 our  Martyr's  spirit  did  ascend:  for  it  makes  us  "perfect,  as  our 
 heavenly  Father  is  perfect ;"  it  sets  our  heads  within  those 
 higher  and  untroubled  regious,  wherein  there  are  no  meteor- 
 fires  :  the  flame  of  passion  cannot  wing  it  thither ;  for  he,  that 
 is  above  the  power  of  injury,  discontent  cannot  look  up  to  him  : 
 it  is  with  him,  as  in  the  upper  orbs,  where  there  is  only  har- 
 mony and  shine ;  all  is  Peace  and  Love,  the  state  of  Heaven 
 itself.  Ps.  cxix.  165  ;  1  Cor.  xii.  31.  Br.  AUestree.  (Serm. 
 S.  Matt.  V,  44.) 
 
 A  lion  in  God's  cause  must  be  a  lamb  in  his  own.     M.  Henry. 
 
 The  usual  beautiful  phrase  of  the  New  Testament,  to  express  the 
 death  of  Saints,  and  at  the  same  time  to  intimate  their  expec- 
 tation of  a  happy  Resurrection.  The  eloquence  of  a  Cicero 
 would  ber  mere  feebleness  on  this  occasion.  All  praise  is  below 
 the  excellency  of  that  spirit,  which  shone  in  this  first  of 
 Martyrs.  Let  it  stand,  as  an  example  of  the  genuine  temper 
 of  Martyrdom,  of  real  faith  in  Christ,  and  of  real  charity  to 
 men :  and  let  heroes  of  the  world,  on  the  comparison,  hide 
 their  heads  in  confusion,  xiii.  36  ;  Ps.  cxxvii.  3.  J.  Milner. 
 (Ch.  History.  Cent.  1.) 
 
 A  sleep f  in  respect  both  of  rest  and  resurrection.  Grraves  are  but 
 beds,  and  Churchyards,  Koifxrjrrjpia,  but  sleeping  places  ;  so 
 here,  like  Jacob,  his  pillar  is  of  stone,  whereon  lying  down  he 
 taketh  rest  .  .  Thus  Blessed  S.  Stephen,  as  Nyssen  observes, 
 esteemed  the  ring  of  his  persecutors,  with  which  he  was  in- 
 closed, as  his  crown ;  and  every  stone,  flung  at  him,  as  a  pre- 
 cious one,  as  a  precious  diamond  :  so  that,  that  of  David  might 
 be  applied  to  him  ;  "  Thou  hast  set  a  crown  upon  my  head  ;"  a 
 crown  of  Proto-martyrdom  upon  his  name,  and  on  liis  soul  a 
 crown  of  glory.  S.  Matt,  xxviii.  6  ;  Eev.  ii.  10.  Dr.  Spark. 
 (ScintiUa  on  S.  Stephen's  Hay.) 
 
 Ejus  exemplo  moniti  tenemus 
 Quo  sit  accessus  quoties  precamur, 
 Nostra  spes  in  quern  merito  reflecti 
 Debeat  omiiis. 
 
THE  ACTS  VIII.  1.  213 
 
 Qiiin  apud  divi  monumenta  Lucoe 
 Sacra  testatum  est,  aliud  sub  ipso  baud 
 Esse  quod  nobis  tribuat  salutem 
 
 Nomen  Olympo  .  . 
 Obvium  Cbristus  trepidis  asylum  est, 
 Juge  munimen,  clypeusque  et  ara, 
 Inque  curarum  gravibus  proeellis 
 
 Anchora  Sacra. 
 Hue  fatigati  fugiamus  omnes  ; 
 Oonferet  gratam  requiem  laborum  ; 
 Sarcinas  tollens,  humeros  molesto 
 
 Fasce  levabit. 
 Sahn.  Macrinus.     (Hymn.  Lib.  i.) 
 
 CHAPTER  VIII. 
 
 A  ND  Saul  was  consenting  unto  his  death.     And  at 
 
 that  time  there  was  a  great  persecution  against 
 
 the  Church  which  was  at  Jerusalem ;  and  they  were 
 
 all  scattered  abroad  throughout  the  regions  of  Judea 
 
 and  Samaria,  except  the  Apostles. 
 
 2  And  devout  men  carried  Stephen  to  his  burial, 
 and  made  great  lamentation  over  him. 
 
 3  As  for  Saul,  he  made  havoc  of  the  Church,  enter- 
 ing into  every  house,  and  haling  men  and  women 
 committed  them  to  prison. 
 
 4  Therefore  they  that  were  scattered  abroad,  went 
 every  where  preaching  the  Word. 
 
 5  Then  Philip  went  down  to  the  city  of  Samaria, 
 and  preached  Christ  unto  them. 
 
 6  And  the  people  with  one  accord  gave  heed  unto 
 
214  THE  ACTS  VIII.  1. 
 
 those  things  which  Philip  spake,  hearing  and  seeing 
 the  miracles  which  he  did. 
 
 7  For  unclean  spirits,  crying  with  a  loud  voice, 
 came  out  of  many  that  were  possessed  ivith  them :  and 
 many  taken  with  palsies,  and  that  were  lame,  were 
 healed. 
 
 8  And  there  was  great  joy  in  that  city. 
 
 1  Omnium  vestimenta  servabat,  et  tanquam  manibus  omnium  lapi- 
 dahat.  He  kept  the  clothes  of  them  all;  and  so,  in  a  certain 
 sense,  stoned  S.  Stephen  with  the  hands  of  them  all.  xxii.  20 ; 
 xxvi.  10  ;  Deut.  xiii.  9,  10.     S.  Augustine.     (Serm.  de  temp.  4.) 
 
 Concerning  Death,  to  them,  that  are  God's  dear  children,  what 
 other  thing  is  it,  than  the  despatches  of  all  displeasure,  the  end 
 of  all  travail,  the  door  of  desire,  the  gate  of  gladness,  the  port  of 
 Paradise,  the  haven  of  heaven,  the  rail  of  rest  and  quietness, 
 the  entrance  of  felicity,  the  beginning  of  all  blissfulness  ?  Ps. 
 xvi.  12.     J.  Bradford.     (Letters  in  prison.) 
 
 "  All  that  will  live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus,  shall  suffer  persecution.'^ 
 (2  Tim.  iii.  12.)  And,  for  this  cause,  the  Church  has  six  resem- 
 blances—1,  to  a  camp;  2,  to  a  ship;  3,  to  a  building;  4,  to 
 corn  ;  5,  to  a  vine  ;  6,  to  a  flock  :  the  nature  of  all  these  import 
 a  patience.  (2  Tim.  ii.  4.)  To  a  camp,  the  soldier's  life  is  nothing 
 else,  but  agere  sub  dio,  to  lie  abroad :  to  a  ship,  (S.  Matt.  viii. 
 24,)  tossed  with  winds  and  waves :  to  corn,  (S.  Matt.  ix.  37,) 
 which  Cometh  not  to  the  table,  but  under  the  sickle,  flail,  mil- 
 stone,  oven ;  unto  a  vine,  (Isa.  v.  1,)  and  in  the  vineyard  there 
 is  a  wine-press,  where  the  grapes  must  suffer  the  press,  (S. 
 John  X.  1)  :  to  a  jiock,  they  are  to  be  shorn,  and  carried  to  the 
 shambles :  and  in  a  building,  there  are  axes  and  hammers  daily 
 heard,  nails  and  such  other  things  are  required,  xiv.  22.  Bp. 
 Andrewes.     (On  the  Moral  Law,  &c.     Com.  i.) 
 
 The  Church,  which  was  at  Jerusalem. — The  separate  communities  of 
 the  faithful  constituted  the  one,  holy,  and  Catholic  Church ;  as 
 toiler  external  communion,  indeed,  like  "a  net,  cast  into  the 
 sea,  and  gathering  of  every  kind,"  (verses  5,  13,  27,)   or  like 
 
THE  ACTS  VIII.  2.  215 
 
 a    field,    where    wheat    and    tares    "grow    together    till    the 
 harvest"  (v.  22)  ;  but  sanctified,  in  respect  to  her  vocation  and 
 Sacraments  ;  and  in  her  constitution  universal ;    embracing  all 
 persons,  disseminated  through  all  nations,  containing  all  neces- 
 sary and  saving  truths,  and  enjoining  upon  all  her  members  that 
 life  of  faith  and  "holiness,  without  which  no  man  shall  see  the 
 LoKD."     Hence  it  has  been  beautifully  observed,  (Bp.  Pearson, 
 on   the    Creed,)   "  That    Church   alone,   which   first   began   at 
 Jerusalem  on  earth,  will  bring  us  to  Jerusalem  in  heaven ;  and 
 that  alone  began  there,  which  always  embraces  '  the  faith  once 
 delivered  to  the  saints.'     Whatsoever   Church  pretendeth  to  a 
 new  beginning,  pretendeth  at  the  same  time  to  a  new  Church- 
 dom  ;  and  whatsoever  is  so  new  is  none."     Archdeacon  Brymer* 
 (Sermon  preached  in  the  Cathedral  Church  of  S.  Paul  at  the 
 festival  of  the  sons  of  the  Clergy,  184^0.) 
 2  Though  w^e  have  just  cause  to  lay  it  to  heart,  when  men  of 
 eminent  gifts  and  place  in  the  Church  are  taken  from  us,  and 
 to  lament  in  their's  our  own  and  the  Church's  loss,  yet  we 
 should  possess  our  souls  in  patience,  and  sustain  ourselves  with 
 this  comfort,  that  it  is  the  same  God,  that  still  hath  care  over 
 His  Church ;  and  it  is  the  same  Head,  Jesus  Christ,  that  still 
 hath  influence  into  His  members ;  and  it  is  the   same  Blessed 
 Spirit  of  GrOD  and  of  Christ,  that  still  actuateth  and  ani- 
 mateth  this  great  Mystical  Body.     And  therefore  we  may  not 
 doubt,  but  this  Spirit,  as  He  hath  hitherto  done  from  the  be- 
 ginning, so  will  still  manifest  Himself  from  time  to  time  unto 
 the  end  of  the  world,  in  raising  up  instruments  for  the  service 
 of  His  Church,  and  furnisliiag  them  wdth  gifts,  in  some  good 
 measure  meet  for  the  same,  more  or  less,  according  as  He  shall 
 see  it  expedient  for  her  in  her  several  diflerent  estates  and  con- 
 ditions.    Heb.  vii.  23,  24 ;  xiii.  7,  8.     Bp.  Satiderson.     (8erm. 
 1  Cor.  xii.  7.) 
 
 *  It  is  a  melancholy  pleasm-e  to  the  i  voted  filial  affection  :  this  the  bereaved 
 
 Author  to  have  an  opportunity  of  citing  j  Diocese  of  Bath  and  Wells  knows  and 
 
 a  passage  from  the  lips  of  one,  dear  to  I  can  bear  witness  to. 
 
 his  remembrance ;  who  was  too  soon  lost  I  His   saltern    accumulem    donis,    et 
 
 to  the  Church  of  England,  of  which  he  ;  fungar  inani 
 
 was  so  bright  an   ornament,  which  he  '  Munere. 
 
 loved  and  ever  served  with  the  most  de-  '' 
 
216  THE  ACTS  VIII.  2,  3. 
 
 Let  us  then  not  be  sorry,  as  the  GTeutiles,  "  without  hope"  for  our 
 departed  Christian  friends.  Our  loss  of  them  is  not  to  be  dated 
 from  the  hour  of  their  death.  To  speak  properly,  we  then  lost 
 them,  wiien  they  were  admitted  into  the  Church  by  Baptism. 
 Ever  since  that  admission,  they  were  not  our's,  but  Gon's ; 
 their  life  was  devoted  and  consecrated  to  Gron ;  their  actions 
 bore  no  regard  to  the  things  of  this  world,  but  for  the  sake  of 
 God.  By  their  death  they  are  at  length  entirely  disengaged 
 from  sin ;  and  it  is  at  this  moment  that  they  are  accepted  by 
 God,  and  that  their  sacrifice  receives  its  accomplishment  and 
 crown.  They  have  now  performed  what  they  vowed ;  they  have 
 "finished  the  work,  which  God  gave  them  to  do;"  they  have 
 discharged  that,  which  was  the  only  end  of  their  Creation. 
 The  will  of  God  is  perfected  in  them ;  and  their  will  is  swal- 
 lowed up  in  the  Divine.  "  What  therefore  God  has  joined 
 together,  let  us  not  put  asunder ;"  but  by  a  right  understanding 
 and  true  judgment  let  us  suppress,  or  at  least  moderate,  the 
 sentiments  of  corrupt  and  mistaken  nature,  which  exhibits 
 nothing,  but  false  images,  and  whose  illusions  disturb  the 
 sanctity  of  those  thoughts,  which  from  the  instruction  of 
 Christian  truth  we  ought  to  have  derived.  Deut.  xxxiii.  9,  16  ; 
 S.  Luke  ii.  44,  45 ;  Wisd.  iii.  1 — 9.  Pascal.  (Thoughts  on 
 Eeligion,  30.) 
 
 A  stoical  apathy  is  no  part  of  Christianity.  Gen.  xxiii.  4 ;  S. 
 John  xi.  35.  Nath.  Parkhurst.  (Funeral  Serm.  on  the  death 
 of  the  Eev.  W.  Burkitt.) 
 
 We  cannot  worship  any  other,  than  Christ  :  Him,  as  the  Son  of 
 God,  we  adore ;  but  for  the  Martyrs,  we  love  them  as  being 
 followers  of  Cheist  :  we  celebrate  the  days  of  their  sufi'erings 
 with  joy ;  we  do  it,  both  in  remembrance  of  these  champions 
 of  God,  and  to  train  up  and  prepare  others  for  the  like  conflicts, 
 x.  25,  26;  xiv.  13,  14;  Gal.  i.  24.  (Epistle  of  the  Church  of 
 Smyrna,  containing  a  relation  of  the  Martyrdom  of  Poly- 
 carp.) 
 
 3  If  Cheist  will  cast  those  men  into  hell,  that  did  not  visit  His 
 people,  when  they  were  in  prison,  into  what  a  hell  will  Christ 
 cast  those  men,  that  cast  His  people  into  prison  ?  If  want  of 
 mercy  will  condemn  men  at  the  day  of  Judgment,  what  will 
 
THE  ACTS  VIII.  3—5.  217 
 
 acts  of  cruelty  and  unmercifulness  do?  S.  Matt.  xxv.  43. 
 Chr.  Love.     (Serm.  Col.  iii.  1.) 
 
 The  Church. — Before,  it  was  of  shining  brightness  in  the  good 
 works  of  the  fathers ;  now,  of  crimson  red  in  the  blood  of  its 
 martyrs.     Cant.  v.  10 ;  Isa.  Ixiii.  1.     ^.  Cyprian. 
 
 Haling,  as  S.  Chrysostom  notes,  intimates  the  roughest  violence. 
 lA-Q  now  enteveA  into  every  house  to  kill  and  destroy;  but  how 
 soon  after  did  he  go,  as  a  Minister  of  peace  and  love,  ^'from 
 house  to  house,  (xx.  20,)  testifying  to  the  Jews  and  also  to  the 
 Greeks  repentance  toward  God,  and  faith  toward  our  Lord 
 Jesus  Christ."     Gal.  i.  23,  24.     J.  F. 
 
 4  "When  Christ  bade  His  disciples,  being  "persecuted  in  one 
 city,  to  flee  to  another,"  (S.  Matt.  x.  20,)  it  was  not,  as  Grotius 
 acutely  observes,  that  they  might  lie  hid,  or  be  secure  in 
 that  city,  but  that  there  they  might  preach  the  Gospel 
 (verse  4)  :  so  that  their  flight  was  not  to  secure  their  persons, 
 but  to  continue  their  business  ....  (Except  the  Apostles)  A 
 common  soldier  may  fly,  when  it  is  the  duty  of  him,  that  holds 
 the  standard,  to  die  upon  the  place,  xxi.  13 ;  Hev.  xi.  3 ; 
 Eom.  xiv.  7,  8.     Br.  South.     (Serm.  S.  Matt.  x.  33.) 
 
 It  belongs  to  God,  and  to  Him  alone,  to  bring  good  out  of  evil  by 
 the  dispensations  of  His  Providence.  The  neglect  of  certain 
 widows  leads  to  the  Institution  of  the  Order  of  Deacons.  S. 
 Stephen's  death  prepares  the  way  for  the  conversion  of  S.  Paul : 
 and  this  persecution  scatters  far  and  wide  the  seeds  of  the 
 Gospel,  not  to  their  waste  and  loss,  but  to  their  further  fructifi- 
 cation and  more  abundant  harvest,  xi.  9 ;  xiv.  6,  7  ;  Gen.  1. 
 19,20;  Philem.  15.     /.  F. 
 
 Among  those  dispersed Ananias  went  to  Damascus,  the 
 
 Metropolis  of  Syria  (ix.  10  ;  xxii.  12)  ;  others  to  Phenice,  and 
 Cyprus,  and  Antioch  (xi.  19)  ;  and  it  is  credible,  that  some  of 
 the  Disciples  got  even  to  Home,  and  of  their  number  Andro- 
 nicus  and  Junia,  S.  Paul's  kinsmen,  who  were  "  of  note  among 
 the  Apostles,  who  also  were  in  Christ  before  him."  Conf. 
 ii.  10 ;  Eom.  xvi.  7.     Bp.  Pearson. 
 
 5  Bengel  (note  at  xxi.  8)  judiciously  infers  from  Philip's  de- 
 parture from  Jerusalem,  that  the  community  of  goods  there  was 
 only  temporary.     Verse  40 ;  xxi.  8.     J.  F. 
 
218  THE  ACTS  VIII.  6,  8. 
 
 Nil  agitis,  Solymi,  nil  saxa  volantia  prosimt : 
 
 Qai  furor  in  vestros  saxa  rotare  lares  ? 
 Sanguine  ab  hoc  uno,  lapidiim  quern  funditis  ictu, 
 
 Christiadum  soboles  multiplicata  redit. 
 Utque  renascatur  cobIo  gratissima  proles, 
 Deucalionea  spargitur  arte  lapis. 
 
 T.  Gallutius.     (Carm.  Lib.  iii.  87. 
 De  D.  Stephano.) 
 6  Tlie  conversion  of  Samaria  and  of  S.  Paul  go  hand  in  hand 
 together ;  for  both  rejected  the  Lord,  and  afterwards,  "  for  this 
 cause  obtained  mercy,  that,  in  them  first,  Jesus  Cheist  might 
 show  forth  all  long-suffering,  for  a  pattern  to  them"  (whether 
 in  the  case  of  a  people  or  an  individual)  "  which  should  here- 
 after  believe   in   Him   to  Life  Everlasting."     Isa.  Ixv.  1;    S. 
 Luke  xxiv.  47  ;  1  Tim.  i.  16 ;  Eph.  iii.  8  ;  S.  Matt.  x.  5.     J.  F. 
 8  Great  joy  in  that  city. — There   was  never  found  in  any  age  of 
 the  world  either  philosophy,  or  sect,  or  law,  or  discipline,  which 
 did  so  highly  exalt  the  public  good,  as  the   Christian  faith. 
 Gen.  xxii.  18.     1  Tim.  ii.  1 — 3.     Lord  Bacon. 
 Cheist  willeth  us  to  "  Love  our  enemies,  to  pray  for  them,  &c. ;" 
 for  we  know  not  how  soon  of  wolves  they  may  become  sheep. 
 The  Samaritans,  whom  S.  John  and  S.  James  would  have  "  con- 
 sumed with  fire,"  were  the  first   strangers,  that  received  the 
 Gospel ;  they  were  the  first  in  the  days  of  Cheist,  as  appeareth 
 by  the  story  (S.  John  iv.)  ;  and  after  Cheist' s  Ascension  they 
 
 were  the  first  likewise  (Acts  viii.) It  is  for  God,  who 
 
 only  knows  who  will  convert,  and  who  will  not,  to  give  such 
 dooms,  as  Elias  did.  i.  8 ;  S.  Matt.  xiii.  29.  Bp.  Lake.  (Serm. 
 S.  Luke  ix.  53.) 
 
 9  But  there  was  a  certain  man,  called  Simon,  which 
 beforetime  in  the  same  city  used  sorcery,  and  be- 
 witched the  people  of  Samaria,  giving  out  that  himself 
 was  some  great  one  : 
 
 10  To  whom  they  all  gave  heed,  from  the  least 
 to  the  greatest,  saying,  This  man  is  the  great  power 
 of  God. 
 
THE  ACTS  VIII.  9,  10.  219 
 
 1 1  And  to  him  they  had  regard,  because  that  of 
 long  time  he  had  bewitched  them  with  sorceries. 
 
 12  But  when  they  believed  Phihp  preaching  the 
 things  concerning  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  the  name 
 of  Jesus  Christ,  they  were  baptized,  both  men  and 
 women. 
 
 13  Then  Simon  himself  believed  also:  and  when  he 
 was  baptized,  he  continued  with  Philip,  and  wondered, 
 beholding  the  miracles  and  signs  w^hich  were  done. 
 
 9  Of  all  heresy  Simon  Magus  was  the  originator.     S.  Cyril. 
 Impostors  are  a  generation  of  men,  skilful  to  destroy  the  faith  of 
 
 others.  There  is  an  erudita  nequitia  in  the  world,  a  learned 
 kind  of  wickedness,  as  one  calls  it,  that  some  have  to  corrupt 
 the  minds  of  men.  The  Spirit  of  God  sets  them  out  to  the 
 life ;  sometimes  comparing  them  to  merchants,  who  can  set  a 
 gloss  upon  their  false  ware  with  fine  words,  2  S.  Pet.  ii.  3  :  they 
 are  said  "with  feigned  words  to  make  merchandize"  of  souls; 
 to  hucksters,  that  blend  and  dash  their  wine  with  water,  2 
 Cor.  ii.  17 ;  to  cheating  gamesters,  that  have  a  sleight  of  hand 
 to  cog  the  die,  Eph.  iv.  14  ;  yea  to  witches  themselves.  Gral.  iii. 
 1 ;  Eom.  xvi.  17,  18 ;  2  Thess.  ii.  9—12.  Gurnall.  (On  the 
 Christian  Armour.     Eph.  vi.  14.  ch.  3.) 
 
 The  sophistical  arguments  of  falsehood  have  often  a  more  fair 
 appearance  to  the  eye,  than  the  instructions  of  truth,  xxii.  11 ; 
 xxvii.  11;  S.  John  v.  44;  Som.  xvi.  18;  Titus  i.  14.  Origen. 
 (in  Cantic.) 
 
 Superbus  dictus,  qui  super  vult  videri,  quam  est.  Isidore.  (Lib. 
 Etymol.) 
 
 It  is  always  a  sign  of  poverty  of  mind,  when  men  are  ever  aiming 
 to  appear  great ;  for  they,  who  are  really  great,  never  seem  to 
 know  it.     X.  26  ;  xiv.  15  ;  xx.  19,     R.  Cecil. 
 
 10  Regnat  luscus  inter  ccbcos.  He,  that  hath  but  one  eye,  is  a 
 king  among  the  blind.     Flavel. 
 
 Fame  is  like  a  river,  that  beareth  up  things  light,  and  drowns 
 those,  that  are  weighty  and  solid,     xxi.  37,  38.     Lord  Bacon. 
 
220  THE  ACTS  VIII.  10,  11. 
 
 So  great  and  wondrous  is  the  power  of  the  devil,  that  no  bodily 
 creature  is  able  of  itself  to  resist,  and  no  man  also  able  to  express 
 or  apprehend.  He  carrieth  power  in  his  name.  Eev.  xx.  1,  2  ; 
 S.  Matt.  xii.  29 ;  Eph.  ii.  2  ;  vi.  12  ;  2  Cor.  iv.  4.  He  carrieth 
 power  in  his  nature,  as  being  an  Angel.  He  carrieth  power 
 in  his  number,  S.  Mark  v.  9.  And  lastly  he  showeth  power  in 
 liis  works.  S.  Matt.  iv.  5  ;  S.  Luke  viii.  29,  33  ;  Job  i.  16,  19 ; 
 S.  Luke  xiii.  16,  and  ix.  37,  compared  with  S.  Matt.  xvii.  14 ; 
 S.  Mark  v.  4,  &c.     Dr.  Lightfoot.     (Serm.  Eev.  xx.  1,  2.) 
 
 11  There  seems  a  remarkable  antithesis  here  in  three  instances. 
 8aul  entered  every  house  in  his  work  of  persecution  ;  the  disciples 
 went  evenjivhere,  preaching  the  word.  All  gave  heed  unto  the 
 impostor  Simon ;  the  people  with  one  accord  gave  heed  unto 
 Philip ;  while  the  mira  of  Simon,  preaching  himself,  and  the 
 miracula  of  the  Evangelist,  preaching  Christ,  were  in  each 
 respective  case,  the  ground  of  faith.     Verses  6,  11.     J.  F. 
 
 Enthusiasm  fills  the  conventicle  and  empties  the  Church.  Silly 
 people  dance  after  its  pipe,  and  are  lured  by  it  from  their 
 orthodox  lawful  Teachers  to  run  they  know  not  whither,  to  hear 
 they  know  not  whom,  and  to  learn  they  know  not  what.  Ps. 
 Ixviii.  6.     BjJ.  Bull.     (Serm.  2  Tim.  iv.  18.) 
 
 All,  who  in  any  way  whatever  adulterate  the  truth  and  vitiate  the 
 public  teaching  of  the  Church,  are  the  disciples  and  successors 
 of  Simon,  the  magician  of  Samaria.  Although  for  the  purpose 
 of  seduction  they  may  keep  back  the  confession  of  their  master's 
 name,  it  is  nevertheless  his  doctrine,  which  they  teach.  As  an 
 alhirement,  they  employ  for  outward  pretension  the  Name  of 
 Jesus  Cueist  :  but  it  is  the  impiety  of  Simon,  which  in  various 
 forms  they  set  forth.     Thus  do  they  destroy  the  lives  of  many. 
 
 .  By  means  of  a  good  Name,  they  wickedly  scatter  abroad  tlieir 
 own  doctrine  ;  and  by  means  of  the  sweetness  and  comeliness  of 
 that  Name  they  hold  out  to  them  the  bitter  and  malignant 
 poison  of  the  serpent,  who  was  the  first  author  of  falling  away 
 from  God.  xix.  13;  xx.  30;  1  Sam.  xvi.  23  ;  1  S.  John  iv. 
 1—6.     S.  IrenfBus.     (De  H«r.  i.  30.) 
 
 The  devil,  no  question,  may,  and  doth  often,  deceive  the  world, 
 and  by  the  subtilty  and  agility  of  his  nature  perform  such 
 things,  as  may  amuse  the  minds  of  men,  and  sometimes  put 
 
THE  ACTS  VIII.  12,  13.  221 
 
 them  to  it,  to  find  a  difference  between  them  and  real  miracles, 
 if  they  only  make  their  senses  judges  of  them.  ...  Or  else,  when 
 he  is  like  to  be  dispossessed  and  thrown  out  of  all,  lie  then  tries 
 his  ntmost  to  keep  as  many  to  him,  as  may  be.  Thus,  when  the 
 Spirit  of  God  appeared  in  the  miracles  of  our  Sayiour,  and 
 His  Apostles,  and  the  primitive  Church,  he  then  conjured  up 
 all  the  infernal  powders  to  do  something  parallel  to  keep  posses- 
 sion of  his  idolatrous  temples,  as  long  as  he  could.  Ex.  vii.  11 ; 
 2  Thess.  ii.  7—12  ;  Eev.  xii.  12.  Bp.  Stillingjieet.  (Orig.  Sacr«, 
 b.  ii.  c.  8.) 
 
 12  Here  we  see  assent,  or  the  historical  faith,  preceded  Baptism  : 
 great  joy  (verse  8),  or  the  experimental  efficacious  faith,  suc- 
 ceeded it.  S.  John  iv.  39,  42.  Tf^ogan.  (On  the  Lessons. 
 11th  S.  after  Trinity.) 
 
 Faith,  as  it  is  notitia^  resides  in  the  mind  ;  but,  as  fdiicia,  it  is 
 seated  in  the  will  and  affections  also.     Verse  37.     Hemingiiis. 
 
 When  they  believed  Philip,  ^^c. — The  most  excellent  gifts  of  the 
 intellect  last  but  for  a  season.  Eloquence  and  wit,  shrewdness 
 and  dexterity,  these  plead  a  cause  well,  and  propagate  it  quickly  : 
 but  it  dies  with  them.  It  has  no  root  in  the  hearts  of  men, 
 and  lives  not  out  a  generation.  It  is  the  consolation  of  despised 
 Truth  that  its  works  endure.  Its  words  are  few ;  but  they  live. 
 Abel's  faith  to  this  day  "yet  speaketh."  v.  36—39 ;  2  S.  John 
 1,2;  Ps.  xxxvii.     J.  H.  Newman.     (Serm.  Acts  x.  40,  41.) 
 
 13  If  he  only,  whose  conversion  is  sincere,  is  "  born  of  the  Spirit," 
 all  such  persons,  as  renounce  the  world  with  their  lips,  but  not 
 with  their  lives,  are  certainly,  utique,  not  born  of  the  Spirit, 
 but  of  water  only.  Verse  37 ;  Eom.  ii.  28,  29 ;  Gal.  vi.  15  ; 
 S.  James  ii.  17.     »S'.  Augustine.     (Contr.  Donat.) 
 
 Even  Simon  Magus  once  came  to  the  laver  of  Baptism.  He  was 
 Baptized  ;  but  not  enlightened  His  body  he  dipped  in  water  ; 
 but  he  admitted  not  the  Spirit  to  illuminate  his  heart ;  his  body 
 went  down  and  came  up  ;  but  his  soul  was  not  "  buried  together 
 wath  Cheist,"  nor  with  Him  raised.  S.  Cyril.  (Cat.  Lect. 
 Introd.) 
 
 Sacraments  serve  as  moral  instruments,  the  use  whereof  is  in  our 
 hands,  the  effects  in  the  hands  of  God  :  for  the  use,  we  have 
 His  express  command  ;  for  the  effect,  His  conditional  promise  ; 
 
222  THE  ACTS  VIII.  13,  14. 
 
 SO  that,  without  our  obedience  to  the  one,  there  is  of  the  other 
 no  apparent  assurance ;  as,  contrariwise,  when  the  signs  and 
 Sacraments  of  His  grace  are  not,  either  through  contempt  un- 
 received,  or  received  with  contempt,  we  are  not  to  doubt  but 
 that  they  really  give  what  they  promise,  and  are  what  they 
 signify.     Hooker.     (Eccl.  Pol.  b.  v.) 
 
 It  should  cause  us  no  wonder,  that  God  works  a  miracle.  Much 
 rather  ou^ht  we  to  exult  and  admire  at  the  fact  that  our  Loed 
 and  Sayiofr  Jesus  Christ  became  a  man,  than  that  God 
 performed  Divine  actions  among  men.  1  Tim.  iii.  16.  S.  Au- 
 gustine.     (In  Joan.  Tr.  17.) 
 
 Simon  Magus  wonders  at  the  miracles  and  signs:  Sergius  Paulus 
 (xiii.  11)  is  "astonished"  at  the  Doctrine  of  the  Loed.  Both 
 believe ;  but  how  unlike  their  faith,  as  resting  severally  on  such 
 diiferent  grounds.     S.  Matt.  xxii.  44 ;  1  Thess.  ii.  13.     J.  F. 
 
 14  Now  when  the  Apostles  which  were  at  Jerusalem 
 heard  that  Samaria  had  received  the  Word  of  God, 
 they  sent  unto  them  Peter  and  John : 
 
 15  Who,  when  they  were  come  down,  prayed  for 
 them,  that  they  might  receive  the  Holy  Ghost  : 
 
 16  (For  as  yet  He  was  fallen  upon  none  of  them  : 
 only  they  were  baptized  in  the  Name  of  the  Lord 
 Jesus.) 
 
 17  Then  laid  they  their  hands  on  them,  and  they 
 received  the  Holy  Ghost. 
 
 14  The  Apostles  which  were  at  Jerusalem,  Conf.  ver.  4. — It  is  well 
 worthy  of  remark,  that  by  the  long  continuance  of  the  infant 
 Church  in  Jerusalem,  maintaining,  as  it  did,  a  close  connection 
 with  the  whole  system  of  the  Jewish  religion,  we,  as  well  as 
 they,  have  had  deeply  impressed  upon  our  minds  the  true  character 
 of  the  Christian  lievelation  ;  that  it  is  thefvlfbnent,  rather  than 
 the  abrogation,  of  the  Law  ;  that  the  Law  is  "  good,  and  just, 
 and  holy ;"  that  the  service  of  the  Temple  was  not,  like  one  of 
 the  heathen  vanities,  to  be  renounced,  as  a  corruption,  but  to  be 
 
THE  ACTS  VIII.  14,  15.  223 
 
 gradually  explained,  and  understood,  as  swallowed  up  in  the 
 more  complete  dispensation  of  the  Grospel.  xxi.  19,  24;  xxviii. 
 17;  Kom.  xiv.     Bp.  Cophsfon.     (Serm.  Acts  xviii.  24.) 
 
 The  interdict  of  our  Lord  (S.  Matt.  x.  5)  was  thus  set  aside  by 
 the  Divine  authority  of  the  Holy  GtHost  ;  and  when  we  con- 
 sider the  peculiar  position  of  the  half-Jewish  Samaria,  and  the 
 hostility,  subsisting  between  it  and  Jerusalem,  we  cannot  be 
 surprised,  that  the  fact  of  its  conversion  to  the  faith  of  Christ 
 should  be  specially  recorded ;  it  is  placed,  as  it  were,  half  way, 
 between  the  preaching  of  the  Grospel  first  to  the  Jew  and  then 
 to  the  Grentile.  How  soon  was  the  "  wall  of  partition,"  which 
 caused  the  Jews  to  have  "  no  dealings  with  the  Samaritans,'* 
 broken  down  and  utterly  destroyed  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Law 
 of  Love  and  by  the  universal  Grrace  of  the  Grospel.  They,  who 
 w^ere  once  so  divided,  are  now  for  ever  united  in  Christ.  He 
 Himself  anticipated,  in  the  days  of  His  flesh,  the  grace,  that 
 awaited  this  people,  reproving  the  sons  of  Zebedee,  whose 
 fiery  zeal  would  have  consumed  them.  It  is  remarkable,  that 
 one  of  those  sons  of  Zebedee  was  the  very  person,  now  sent 
 from  Jerusalem  on  an  embassy  of  Love  to  confirm  them  in  the 
 Grace  of  the  Grospel,  and  so  to  repair  his  former  injury.  Blessed 
 efiiect  of  the  eftusion  of  Pentecost,  which  taught  S.  John  to 
 "  know  what  manner  of  spirit  he  was  of ;"  which  brought  to  his 
 remembrance  (S.  John  xiv.  26),  in  regard  to  these  very  Sama- 
 ritans, the  words  of  the  Lord,  "  The  Son  of  Man  is  not  come  to 
 destroy  men's  lives,  but  to  save  them  !"  For  he  must  now  lay 
 his  hands  with  a  Blessing  on  those  very  heads,  on  which  he 
 had  once  imprecated  the  vengeance  of  the  fire  of  heaven,  x.  34, 
 45  ;  S.  John  iv.  9, 12,  22  ;  S.  Luke  ix.  52.     J.  F. 
 
 15  "  Laying  on  of  hands  "  is  placed  in  the  same  class  with  Bap- 
 tism, and  made  one  of  the  "  principles  of  the  Doctrine  of 
 Christ"  (Heb.  vi.  1,  2)  ;  and  therefore  must  without  all  doubt 
 be  intended  for  a  standing  Ministry  in  the  Church  :  and,  as 
 such,  the  Church  of  Christ  has  in  all  ages  thought  herself 
 obliged  to  receive  and  practise  it.  But,  as  for  the  administra- 
 tion of  it,  it  was  always  appropriated  to  the  Apostles  and  Bishops. 
 S.  Philip,  though  a  w^orker  of  miracles,  a  preacher,  a  prime 
 Deacon,  and,  if  we  may  believe  S.  Cyprian,  one  of  the  seventy 
 
224}  THE  ACTS  VIII.  15,  16. 
 
 disciples,  would  not  presume  to  assume  it ;  but  left  it  to  the 
 Apostles,  as  their  peculiar  province,  xix.  5.  Dr.  J.  Scott. 
 (Christian  Life,     P.  ii.  ch.  7.) 
 
 The  Apostles  sent  two  of  their  own  body,  as  far  as  from  Jerusalem 
 to  Samaria,  on  purpose  to  do  it ;  which  certainly  they  would 
 never  have  done,  had  this  been  an  useless  ceremony,  or,  if  Philip, 
 or  any  one  under  an  Apostle,  could  have  done  it.  .  .  .  It  was 
 the  ancient  and  constant  custom  of  the  Primitive  Church,  as  it 
 is  ours,  for  the  Bishop  of  every  Diocese  to  go  into  the  lesser 
 cities  and  villages,  belonging  to  him,  and  there  lay  his  hands 
 upon  those,  who  were  Baptized  by  Priests  or  Deacons,  that  they 
 might  receive  the  Holt  Ghost,  as  we  learn  from  S.  Hierom  him- 
 self, whose  words  are :  "  Non  ahnuo  hanc  esse  Ecclesiarum  con- 
 suetudinem,  ut  ad  eos,  qui  minoribus  urhihus  per  Treshyteros  et 
 Diaconos  Baptizati  sunt,  Episcopus  ad  Invocationem  Saticti  Sjji- 
 ritus  manum  impositurus  excurrat.  vi.  6  ;  xv.  41.  Bp.  Beveridge. 
 (Serm.  S.  Matt,  xxviii.  20.) 
 
 16  They  had  received  the  Spirit,  namely,  of  remission  of  sins ;  but 
 the  Spirit  of  miracles  they  had  not  received.  1  Cor.  xii.  4. 
 (S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 In  the  Name  of  the  Loed  Jesus. — The  mention  of  one  Person  in 
 the  Trinity  implies  the  Presence,  Name,  and  authority  of  them 
 all ;  as  the  passage  is  understood  by  Irenseus  (Lib.  iii.  c.  20)  : 
 "  In  Christi  Nomine  suhauditur  qui  unxit,  et  qui  unctus  est,  et  ipsa 
 unctio,  in  qua  unctus  est.'''  S.  Matt,  xxviii.  19  ;  xi.  27  ;  S.  John 
 xvii.  3.      W.  Jones. 
 
 Only  they  were  Baptized. — The  work  of  justification  seems  stopped 
 in  some  degree,  because  the  glory  and  the  necessity  of  the 
 pardon  of  our  sins,  to  be  received  and  enjoyed  now  by  faith  (ver. 
 8,  39),  is  not  pressed  enough  upon  sinners,  and  the  need  of  re- 
 taining it  upon  believers.  The  work  of  sanctification  is  hin- 
 dered, if  I  am  not  mistaken,  by  the  same  reason,  and  by  holding 
 out  the  being  delivered  from  sin,  as  the  mark  to  be  aimed  at, 
 instead  of  the  being  "  rooted  in  Christ,"  and  *'  filled  with  the 
 fulness  of  God"  and  "  with  power  from  on  high."  The  dis- 
 pensation of  the  Spirit  is  confounded  with  that  of  the  Son  ; 
 and,  the  former  not  being  held  forth  clearly  enough,  formal  and 
 lukewarm  believers  in  Jesus  Cjirist  suppose  they  have  the  gift 
 
THE  ACTS  VIII.  17.  225 
 
 of  the  Holt  Ghost.  Hence  the  increase  of  carnal  professors  ; 
 and  hence  so  few  spiritual  men.  ii.  46 ;  Phil.  i.  9 — 11 ;  Heb. 
 vi.  1,  2  ;  2  S.  Pet.  iii.  18  ;  S.  Jude  20.  Fletcher.  (Of  Madelej. 
 Letter  to  Mr.  Eankin.) 
 17  That  the  Apostles  laid  their  hand  on  persons  formerly  Bap- 
 tized, and  thereby  conveyed  unto  them  the  Holt  Ghost,  is  so 
 clear  a  truth,  as  none  durst  ever  deny.  But  did  this  privilege 
 rest  only  in  them,  and  die  with  them  ?  As  it  could  not  be 
 bought  and  sold,  according  to  the  profane  and  sacrilegious  offer 
 of  the  wicked  sorcerer,  so  could  it  be  bequeathed  unto,  and 
 feoffed  upon,  their  holy  successors  ?  Surely  we  hear  our  Blessed 
 Savioue,  at  His  parting,  say,  "  io,  /  am  with  you  alway,  even  to 
 the  end  of  the  world''  Those  blessed  men,  to  whom  these  cor- 
 dial words  were  spoken,  were  not  to  stay  long  in  the  world  : 
 not  to  their  persons  therefore,  but  to  their  succession,  was  this 
 promise  both  made  and  verified  :  not  in  respect  to  those  mira- 
 culous gifts,  which,  as  persons  extraordinary,  they  both  had  and 
 conferred  (in  this  singular  qualification,  they  neither  had,  nor 
 could  have,  any  successors  in  the  following  times)  ;  but,  in  re- 
 spect to  those  better  graces,  which,  as  predecessors  to  the  ordi- 
 nary Pastors  and  Overseers  of  the  Church,  their  Ministry  should 
 convey  to  the  souls  of  God's  people. 
 
 Hereupon  it  is,  that  their  successors  do  justly  claim  a  true 
 right  to  this  Divine  privilege ;  and  find  a  just  warrant  for  their 
 Imposition  of  hands ;  for  the  effectual  performance  whereof  yet 
 they  challenge  not  any  power  by  an  inherent  virtue  in  them- 
 selves, or  by  any  authoritative  bequest  from  or  to  others  ;  but  only 
 an  humble  way  of  impetration  by  their  faithful  prayers,  which 
 are  the  life  of  that  holy  ceremony,  according  to  the  practice  of 
 the  Apostles  themselves ;  who,  though  miraculously  gifted,  yet 
 aided  still  their  hand  witli  their  tongue,  devoutly  suing  for  what 
 they  intended  to  give.  Let  no  man,  therefore,  pretend,  that, 
 because  the  miraculous  effects  of  the  Apostolical  Imposition  of 
 hands  are  long  since  ceased,  therefore  the  act  is  now  idle  and 
 useless.  Divine  Institutions  are  ill  measured  by  sensible  opera- 
 tions. There  are  spiritual  and  indivisible  fruits  of  holy  ordi- 
 nances, which,  as  being  most  proper  to  them,  shall  be  perpe- 
 tually produced  by  them,  through  the  blessing  of  the  Almightt, 
 
 Q 
 
226  THE  ACTS  VIII.  17. 
 
 even  when  there  is  no  appearance  of  any  outward  efficiency. 
 Such  are  they,  which  proceed  from  the  Imposition  of  sacred  and 
 authorised  hands,  if  the  judgment  of  a  learned  Father  and  emi- 
 nent Saint  may  find  place  with  us.  "It  is  not  now,"  saith  he, 
 "  as  it  was,  that,  by  the  testimony  of  temporal  and  sensible 
 miracles,  the  Holt  Ghost  is  by  the  Imposition  of  hands  given, 
 as  formerly  it  was,  for  the  commendation  and  better  setting 
 forth  of  the  then  new-moulded  faith,  and  for  the  enlargement  of 
 the  new-begun  Church.  For  who  doth  now  expect,  that  those, 
 upon  whom  hands  are  imposed  for  the  receiving  of  the  Holy 
 Ghost,  should  sensibly  begin  to  speak  with  tongues  ?  but 
 invisibly  and  secretly,  by  the  bond  of  peace,  is  the  love  of 
 God  conceived  to  be  thus  inspired  into  their  hearts."  (S. 
 Augustine,  L.  iii.  de  Baptismo,  c.  16.)  S.  John  xiv.  16  ;  1  Cor. 
 xiii.  8 — 10.  Bp.  Hall.  (The  Apostolical  Institution  of  Imposi- 
 tion of  Hands,  for  Confirmation,  revived.  S.  6.) 
 Confirmation  is  the  perfection  of  Baptism.  .  .  .  There  is  no  ques- 
 tion, but  that  most  of  the  ignorance,  impiety,  profaneness,  want 
 of  charity,  of  union,  and  order,  which  we  complain  of,  is  owing 
 to  the  neglect  or  abuse  of  this  one  ordinance.  Bp.  Wilson. 
 (Sacra  Privata ;  Parochialia.) 
 
 18  And  when  Simon  saw  that  through  laying  on  of 
 the  Apostles'  hands  the  Holy  Ghost  was  given,  he 
 offered  theni  money, 
 
 19  Saying,  Give  me  also  this  power,  that  on  whom- 
 soever I  lay  hands,  he  may  receive  the  Holy  Ghost. 
 
 20  But  Peter  said  unto  him,  Thy  money  perish 
 with  thee,  because  thou  hast  thought  that  the  gift  of 
 God  may  be  purchased  with  money. 
 
 21  Thou  hast  neither  part  nor  lot  in  this  matter: 
 for  thy  heart  is  not  right  in  the  sight  of  God. 
 
 22  Repent  therefore  of  this  thy  wickedness,  and 
 pray  God,  if  perhaps  the  thought  of  thine  heart  may 
 be  forgiven  thee. 
 
THE  ACTS  VIII.  18,  19.  227 
 
 23  For  I  perceive  that  thou  art  in  the  gall  of  bitter^ 
 ness,  and  in  the  bond  of  iniquity. 
 
 24  Then  answered  Simon,  and  said.  Pray  ye  to  the 
 Lord  for  me,  that  none  of  these  things  which  ye  have 
 spoken  come  upon  me. 
 
 18  When  Simon  Magus  saw,  that  hy  laying  on  of  hands  the  Apos- 
 tles gave  the  Holy  GtHOST,  he  hopes  by  money  to  purchase  the 
 like  power :  for,  seeing  what  a  kingdom  money  had  amongst 
 men,  he  straight  conceived 
 
 *'  Ccelum  venale  Deumque," 
 that  God  and  heaven  might  be  bought  with  a  price.     2  Mace, 
 iv.  24.     Farindon.     (Serm.  S.  Matt.  viii.  1.) 
 
 He  would  buy  the  Holt  G-host,  because  he  meant  to  sell  it, 
 E.  Leigh. 
 
 The  Church  hath  joined  these  two  Saints  (S.  Simon  and  S.  Jude) 
 in  one  Feast :  and  the  devil  hath  made  a  like  joining  of  his  too, 
 in  imitation  of  the  true.  His  Simon  is  Simon  Magus,  not  Simon 
 Zelotes  ;  and  his  Jude,  Judas  Iscariot,  not  Judas,  the  brother  of 
 James.  These  two  are  like  enough  to  agree.  .  .  .  This  wicked 
 fraternity  are  the  bane  of  the  -iChurch  unto  this  day  :  Judas,  that 
 sold  Cheist,  like  enough  to  make  sale  of  Cheist's  places; 
 Simon,  that  would  buy  the  Holt  Ghost,  as  like  to  buy  out  the 
 Holt  Ghost's  gifts,  as  the  Holy  Ghost  Himself.  Bp.  An- 
 drewes.     (Serm.  1  Cor.  xii.  4 — 7.) 
 
 19  "Whereas  Simon  ought  to  have  asked  to  receive  the  Holt  GhosTj 
 he,  as  not  caring  for  this,  asked  power  to  give  it  to  others.  .  .  . 
 He  wished  to  be  more  illustrious,  than  S.  Philip.  ...  It  was  also 
 because  He  would  tempt  S.  Peter  with  mouey,  that  he  might  have 
 matter  of  accusation  against  him.     i.  18.     S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 On  whomsoever. — This  might  have  referred  to  the  higher  power  of 
 conferring  Orders  in  the  Church,  as  well  as  to  the  laying  on  of 
 hands  in  Confirmation :  for  Simon  had  the  means  of  knowing 
 how  the  Deacons  were  ordained,  ch.  vi.  ;  especially,  as  S.  Philip 
 was  one  of  their  Order.     J.  F. 
 
 It  was  meet  that  God  should  first  show,  that  He  worketh  by  the 
 Ministry  of  men,  but  afterward  by  Himself;  lest  men  should 
 
 Q  2 
 
228  THE  ACTS  VIII.  19,  20. 
 
 think,  as  Simon  thought,  that  it  was  man's  gift,  and  not  God's  ; 
 though  the  disciples  themselves  knew  this  well  already  ;  for 
 there  were  one  hundred  and  twenty  men  collected  together, 
 when,  without  the  imposition  of  any  hand,  the  Holt  GtHOST 
 came  upon  them.  Tor  who  had  laid  hands  upon  them  at  that 
 time  ?  And  yet  He  came,  and  filled  them  first.  After  that 
 offence  of  Simon,  what  did  GtOD  do  ?  See  Him  teaching,  not  by 
 words,  but  by  things.  That  same  Philip,  who  had  baptized  the 
 men,  and  the  Holt  GtHOST  had  not  come  upon  them,  unless  the 
 Apostles  had  met  together,  and  laid  their  hands  upon  them,  bap- 
 tized the  officer,  that  is,  the  Eunuch  of  Queen  Candace.  There 
 was  no  waiting,  as  in  the  other  case,  for  the  Apostles  to  come ; 
 but  the  Holt  Ghost  came  forthwith.  Thus  was  Simon's 
 thought  destroyed  ;  lest  in  such  a  thought  he  might  have  fol- 
 lowers. XX.  28 ;  S.  John  iii.  8 ;  1  Cor.  xii.  11.  ^.  Augustine. 
 (Horn,  on  the  New  Testament,  49.) 
 
 Vtuntur  Deo,  ut  fruantur  mundo.  They  make  use  of  God,  as  a 
 way  to  get  and  enjoy  the  world.  .  .  .  They  wish  to  be  able  to 
 do  such  and  such  things,  not  to  be  such  persons  or  characters, 
 talia  facere,  non  tales  esse.  In  their  pride  they  prefer  having 
 the  power  of  an  Angel  to  having  angelic  grace  and  perfection. 
 Ps.  xii.  4  ;  1  Tim.  vi.  5  ;  Titus  i.  11.     ^S".  Augustine. 
 
 Munus,  lingua,  timer,  caro,  cum  fama  populari, 
 Non  faciunt  gratis  Spirituale  dari.     Anonym. 
 
 20  S.  Peter  neither  had  money  (iii.  6)  ;  nor  did  he  desire  money. 
 XX.  33  ;  Dan.  v.  17  ;  2  Kings  v.  16  ;  S.  Matt.  x.  9,  10.     J.  F. 
 
 If  thou  desire  that  inestimable  grace  of  saving  Faith,  detest  that 
 insatiable  vice  of  damnable  covetousness.  It  is  impossible 
 one  heart  (though  never  so  double)  should  lodge  both.  Faith 
 possesses  thee  of  what  thou  hast  not.  Covetousness  dispossesses 
 thee  of  what  thou  hast.  Thou  canst  not  serve  God,  unless 
 Mammon  serve  thee.     1  Sam.  v.  3.     F.  Quarles. 
 
 It  is  Scultetus  his  observation,  that,  though  there  are  many  ble- 
 mishes, by  which  the  eminent  Saints  and  Servants  of  God,  re- 
 corded in  Scripture,  are  set  forth,  as  instances  of  human  frailty  ; 
 yet  not  one  godly  man,  in  all  the  Scripture,  is  to  be  found,  whose 
 story  is  blotted  with  the  charge  of  covetousness.     Gurnall. 
 
 That,  which  he  gave,  when  he  was  ordained  Bishop,  was  gold  ;  and 
 
THE  ACTS  VIII.  20-22.  229 
 
 that,  which  he  lost,  was  his  soul :  that,  which  he  took,  when  he 
 ordained  another,  was  money  ;  and  that,  Avhich  he  gave,  was  a 
 leprosy.     ^S*.  Ambrose.     (De  Sacerdot.  dignit.) 
 
 Of  all  men,  the  Holt  Gthost  will  least  deal  with  the  Simoniacal, 
 that  come  not  to  work,  but  to  a  market ;  that  contract  with 
 patrons  for  the  Spirit's  call,  or,  worse  than  their  master,  Simon, 
 would  have  the  Holy  Spirit  Himself  to  say,  "  Separate  Me 
 them."  The  successors  of  the  Apostles  have  a  Canonical  re- 
 turn to  these  ;  Your  money  perish  with  you  I  S.  Mark  viii.  33. 
 Dr.  Allestree.     (Serm.  Acts  xiii.  2.) 
 
 Memento  morieris — memento  mori  ceris.  Prov.  xxiii.  5  ;  1  Tim. 
 vi.  17.     Sir  Thomas  More. 
 
 21  I  am  not  stumbled  at  the  sight  of  the  hypocrite.  I  see  him^like 
 Simon  M«^ms,  paying  homage  to  excellence,  while  he  has  no  part 
 nor  lot  in  the  matter.  Like  a  spurious  miracle,  the  hypocrite 
 derives  all  his  credit  from  those,  that  are  true ;  as  a  counterfeit 
 coin,  or  note,  would  deceive  none,  if  true  had  never  existed. 
 S.  Matt.  xxiv.  24 ;  S.  Mark  vi.  20.  R.  Cecil.  (Letter,  entitled 
 E-easons  for  repose.) 
 
 O!  '*  where  shall  the  ungodly  and  the  sinner  appear,"  if  they 
 have  not  a  right  in  Christ  ?  and  how  should  men  labour  to  be 
 secured  in  that  right  ?  Who  would  suffer  so  many  millions  of 
 obligations  and  indictments  to  lie  between  him  and  God  un- 
 cancelled, and  not  labour  to  have  them  taken  out  of  the  way  ? 
 xix.  15,  16 ;  S.  Luke  xiii.  27  ;  Ezra  iv.  3.     Bp.  Reynolds. 
 
 That  heart  is  said  to  be  riyht,  which  desires  all,  that  GrOD  desires. 
 For  God  is  right,  rectus ;  and  therefore  the  heart,  clinging  to 
 what  is  right,  as  to  a  fixed  unchanging  rule,  is  also  called 
 right.  But  that  heart  is  termed  crooked  and  depraved,  which 
 does  not  make  itself  straight  by  a  regard  to  God  ;  but  rather 
 wishes  to  have  God  distorted  to  itself.  Ps.  cxix.  128.  S, 
 Augustine. 
 
 22  How  different  is  this  language  from  that  of  a  man,  whose  con- 
 science at  the  time  of  speaking  was  accusing  himself  of  unbelief 
 and  imposture,     iv.  13  ;  xxvi.  26  ;  Prov.  xxviii.  1.     Abbadie. 
 
 Be  the  same  in  the  sight  of  God,  who  beholds  thy  heart,  that  thou 
 seem  est  to  be  in  the  eyes  of  men,  that  see  thy  face :  content 
 not  thyself  with  an  outward  good  name,  when  thy  conscience 
 
230  THE  ACTS  VIII.  22,  23. 
 
 shall  inwardly  tell  thee,  that  it  is  undeserved,  and  therefore 
 none  of  thine :  a  deserved  good  name  for  any  thing,  but  for 
 godliness,  lasts  little  and  is  less  worth.  In  all  the  holy  Scrip- 
 tures, I  never  read  of  a  hypocrite's  repentance  :  and  no  won- 
 der ;  for  whereas  after  sin  conversion  is  left,  as  a  means,  to 
 cure  all  other  sinners  ;  but  what  means  remain  to  recover  him, 
 who  hath  converted  conversion  itself  into  sin  ?  Woe  therefore 
 unto  the  soul,  that  is  not,  and  yet  still  seemeth,  religious  !  ii. 
 46  ;  Col.  iii.  22  ;  S.  Matt.  xxiv.  51 ;  2  Cor.  i.  12 ;  ii.  17.  Bp. 
 Baily.     (Practice  of  Piety,  s.  9.) 
 
 Repent. — There  is  no  instance,  no  example  in  Scripture,  of  any 
 exhortation,  made  to  Christians  to  become  regenerated,  or  born 
 anew,  but  to  be  reformed  only,  or  renewed  in  the  inner  man  .  .  . 
 Even  Simon  Magus,  who  had  been  baptized  in  iniquity,  was  not 
 exhorted  to  be  regenerated  afterwards ;  but  to  repent.  Our 
 LoKD  Himself  in  the  Book  of  E-evelations  made  use  of  the  like 
 language  towards  the  revolting  Churches ;  not  bidding  them  be- 
 coDie  regenerate,  but  ordering  them  to  repent ;  and  the  wicked 
 prophetess,  or  sorceress,  Jezebel  had  time  given  her,  not  to  be 
 regenerated  again,  but  to  repent.  The  only  place,  I  know  of, 
 in  Scripture,  that  looks  at  all  favourable  to  the  notion  of  a 
 second  regeneration  here,  is  a  text  of  S.  Paul's,  where,  writiug 
 to  the  revolting  Church  of  Galatia,  and  calling  them  his 
 children,  he  introduces  himself  under  the  emblem  of  a  pregnant 
 mother,  and  says  ;  "  My  little  children,  of  whom  I  travail  in 
 birth  again,  till  Cheist  be  formed  in  you."  But  then  con- 
 sider, what  an  infinite  difference  there  is  between  the  force  and 
 import  of  the  two  figures  ;  one,  of  a  Minister's  instrumentally 
 forming  the  minds  and  manners  of  his  people  to  faith  and  holi- 
 ness ;  and  the  other,  of  the  Spirit's  authoritatively  adopting 
 them  into  Divine  sonship,  and  into  citizenship  with  all  the 
 family  of  heaven.  2  Cor.  vii.  8,  9  ;  Eev.  ii.  6.  Br.  Waterland. 
 (Serm.  Titus  iii.  4,  6.) 
 
 Pcenitentia  itnitatur  Baptismatis  gratiam.  Hepentance  is  in  some 
 sort  a  revival  of  Baptismal  grace.  Heb.  vi.  4,  5.  S.  Jerome. 
 (Adv.  Pelag.  i.  10.) 
 
 23  Only  in  this  was  Simon  better  than  the  damned  souls  in 
 hell  ;  they  were   in  the  fire,   he   in  the  bond  of  iniquity,    (like 
 
THE  ACTS  VIII.  23,  24.  231 
 
 a  faggot  bound  up)  ;  fit  for  it,  but  not  yet  cast  iuto  it.     (Heb. 
 vi.  8,  nigh  unto  cursing.)      GurnaU. 
 Simon  Magus,  Satan's  first  begotten,     xiii.  10.     ^S*.  Ignatius. 
 Every  sin  is  an  imitation  of  the  devil,  and  creates  a  kind  of  hell 
 in  the  heart.     1   S.  John  iii.  8.     J.  Hervey.     (Pref.   to  three 
 sermons.) 
 Never  any  creature  challenged  to  himself  the  honour  of  God 
 falsely,  but  was  discovered  and  confounded,  xii.  22, 23  ;  Gen.  iii. ; 
 2  Thess.  ii .  4, 8.     W.  Perkins.    (Cases  of  Conscience,  B.  ii.  c.  2.) 
 If  they,  which  bought  and  sold,  but  the  beasts  of  the  field  and  the 
 birds  of  the  air,  doves,  sheep,  and  oxen,  in  the  place,  which  God 
 had  sanctified  unto  Himself,  were  therefore  termed  by  a  name, 
 that  declareth  their  dealings  to  have  been  as  much  abhorred  in 
 His  sight,  as  if  they  had  spent  all  the  days  of  their  life  in  theft 
 and  robbery,  how  can  we  think  any  bitterness  of  speech,  or 
 sharpness  of  punishment,  too  great  for  so  extreme  licentious- 
 ness, as  their' s,  that  make  sale  of  tlie  cure  of  souls,  that  bargain 
 for  the  gifts  of  the  Holt  Ghost?     For  so  they  are.     The 
 making  of  Bishops,  the  bestowing  of  benefices,  the  presenting, 
 instituting,  and  inducting  of  Pastors,  the  placing  of  teachers, 
 guides,  and  overseers  in  the  Church,  is  and  should  be  accounted 
 the  very  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost,     xiii.  1 — 4 ;  xx.  28  ;  S. 
 Matt.  ix.  38 ;  S.  John  x.   1.     Abp.  Sandijs.     (Serra.  S.  Matt, 
 xxi.  12,  13.) 
 24  When  God  threateneth   judgments,   we    in  our   conversion 
 unto  Him  should  pray  against  sins.     Our  eye  of  sorrow  should 
 be  more  upon  that,  which  dishonoureth  Him,  than  upon  that, 
 which  afflicts  ourselves  ;  more  upon  that,  which  is  contrary  to 
 His   Image,  than  upon   that,  which  is    contrary  to  our  own 
 nature  :  more  upon  that,  which  defileth,  than  upon  that,  which 
 paineth  us.    Pharaoh  cares  for  nothing,  but  the  removal  of  death  ; 
 Simon  Magus  for  nothing,  but  to  \iqnq  perdition  and  the  gall  of 
 bitterness  kept  from  him.     But  good  men,  like  wise  Physicians, 
 cure  the  disease  at  the  root ;  as  Elisha  did  the  waters  by  putting 
 salt  into  the  spring  head.     Gen.  iv.  13  ;  Ex.  x.  17  ;  2  Kings  ii. 
 21 ;  Hos.  vii.  14.     Bp.  Reijnolds.     (Serm.  Hos.  xiv.  2.) 
 Pray  ye  for  me. — No  man  is  in  a  bad  condition  but  he  that  has 
 a  hard  heart,  and  cannot  pray.     Bod.     (Sayings.) 
 
33:2  THE  ACTS  VIII.  26. 
 
 25  And  they,  when  they  had  testified  and  preached 
 the  word  of  the  Lord,  returned  to  Jerusalem,  and 
 preached  the  gospel  in  many  villages  of  the  Samaritans, 
 
 26  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord  spake  unto  Philip, 
 saying,  Arise,  and  go  toward  the  south  unto  the  way 
 that  goeth  down  from  Jerusalem  unto  Gaza,  which  is 
 desert. 
 
 27  And  he  arose  and  went :  and,  behold,  a  man  of 
 Ethiopia,  an  eunuch  of  great  authority  under  Candace 
 queen  of  the  Ethiopians,  who  had  the  charge  of  all 
 her  treasure,  and  had  come  to  Jerusalem  for  to  worship, 
 
 28  Was  returning,  and  sitting  in  his  chariot  read 
 Esaias  the  prophet. 
 
 20  It  would  appear,  when  we  compare  Ex.  iii.  with  1  Cor.  x.,  that 
 the  Son  was  "the  Angel  of  the  Loed,"  under  the  first  Dispen- 
 sation ;  and,  when  we  compare  this  verse  with  29,  that  the 
 Spirit  was  the  Angel  of  the  Loed  after  the  day  of  Pentecost. 
 Conf.  V.  9  ;  1  Cor.  x.  9  ;  Numb.  xx.  16.     J.  F. 
 
 The  most  unpromising  journey  shall  be  a  prosperous  one,  when 
 undertaken  in  obedience  to  the  Divine  designation,  intimated 
 by  a  lawful  call.  Nor  let  the  Minister  of  Cheist  despair, 
 whose  lot  is  cast  in  the  midst  of  spiritual  barrenness  and  deso- 
 lation. He,  who  sent  S.  Philip  to  a  desert  place,  did  not  send  him 
 there  for  nought ;  since  even  in  such  a  soil  he  raised  a  fair  and 
 fragrant  flower,  which  having  bloomed  for  its  appointed  time 
 on  earth,  in  the  beauty  of  holiness,  now  displays  its  colours  in 
 the  Paradise  of  God  ;  who,  whenever  He  pleases  to  bless  the 
 labours  of  His  servants,  can  cause  "  the  wilderness  and  the  soli- 
 tary place  to  be  glad  for  them,  and  the  desert  to  rejoice,  and 
 blossom  as  the  rose."  Job  xxxviii.  26,  27  ;  Ezek.  xxxvii.  2  ; 
 Eev.  i.  9.     Bp.  Home.     (Serm.  Acts  viii.  34,  35.) 
 
 Behold,  Brethren,  we  are  in  a  solitude  ;  we  are  in  the  desert :  but 
 it  is  not  the  place  we  are  in,  which  makes  us  holy  ;  it  is  the 
 holy  employment,  that  must  sanctify  both  the  place  and  us. 
 
THE  ACTS  VIII.  26,  27. 
 
 233 
 
 The  Angel  sinned  in  heaven ;  Adam  sinned  in  Paradise :  no 
 places  could  be  more  holy,  than  these.  S.  John  vi.  70,  71.  S. 
 Augustine.     (Serm.  27,  ad  fratres  in  eremo.) 
 
 Sic  ego  desertis  possim  bene  vivere  sylvis. 
 
 Quo  nulla  humane  sit  via  trita  pede : 
 Tu  mihi  curarum  requies,  Tu  nocte  vel  atral 
 Lumen,  et  in  solis  Tu  mihi  turba  locis. 
 
 Propertius* 
 
 27  Solomon,  the  King,  although  he  excelled  in  the  glory  of  t7'ea' 
 sure,  &c.  .  .  .  and  the  like,  yet  he  maketh  no  claim  to  any  of 
 these  glories,  but  only  to  the  glory  of  tlie  inquisition  of  Truth  ; 
 for  so  he  saith  expressly,  "  The  glory  of  God  is  to  conceal  a 
 thing ;  but  the  glory  of  the  King  is  to  find  it  out."  Prov.  xxv.  2. 
 As  if,  according  to  the  innocent  play  of  children,  the  Divine 
 Majesty  took  delight  to  hide  His  works,  to  the  end  to  have 
 them  found  out ;  and,  as  if  Kings  could  not  obtain  a  greater 
 honour,  than  to  be  God's  play-fellows  in  that  game ;  consider- 
 ing the  great  commandment  of  wits  and  means,  whereby 
 nothing  needeth  to  be  hidden  from  them.  xvii.  27 ;  Deut. 
 xvii.  18 — 20  ;  Josh.  i.  8  ;  Eccl.  i.  13.  Lord  Bacon.  (Advance- 
 ment of  Learning,  Book  i.) 
 
 And  what  is  it  to  ivorship  ?  Some  greater  matter  sure  it  is,  that 
 heaven  and  earth,  the  stars  and  the  prophets,  do  but  serve  to 
 lead  them,  and  conduct  us  to.  Por  all  ends  in  adorare.  "  The 
 Scripture  and  the  "Word  are  but  to  this  end,  that  He,  who 
 created  the  one,  and  who  inspired  the  other,  might  be  but 
 worshipped."  Such  reckoning  did  these  wise  men  seem  to 
 make  of  it  here :  and  such  the  great  Treasurer  of  the  Queen 
 Candace.  These  came  from  the  Mountains  of  the  East ;  he 
 from  the  uttermost  part  of  Ethiopia  came ;  and  came  for  no 
 other  end,  but  only  thus  to  worship ;  and,  when  they  had  done 
 that,  home  again.  Worth  the  while,  worth  our  coming,  if  we 
 do  but  worship,  and  nothing  else.  And  so  I  would  have  men 
 account  of  it.  ii.  5  ;  xx.  7  ;  S.  Matt.  xii.  42.  Bp.  Andrewes, 
 (Serm.  S.  Matt.  ii.  1,  2.) 
 
 *  A  heathen  poet  is  here  introduced, 
 because  these  beautiful  verses  can 
 scarcely  be  read,    without  suggesting 
 
 their   true    meaning   in    a    Christian 
 sense. 
 
234  THE  ACTS  VIII.  27,  28. 
 
 lu  former  times  pilgrimages  were  undertaken  to  visit  the  saints. 
 People  went  to  Eome,  to  Jerusalem,  to  S.  lago  of  Compostella 
 to  expiate  tlieir  sins.  Now-a-days,  we  perform  our  Christian 
 pilgrimages  by  means  of  faith.  "When  we  read  diligently  the 
 Prophets,  the  Psalms,  and  the  Gospels,  we  arrive,  though  not 
 at  the  holy  city,  but,  through  our  hearts  and  thoughts,  even 
 unto  God.  This  is  journeying  unto  the  real  land  of  Promise, 
 the  Paradise  of  Eternal  Life.  Ps.  xliii.  3,  4.  Luther.  (Table 
 talk,  311.) 
 
 28  As  the  ever-gracious  Loed  assigned,  as  the  reason  for  the 
 Mission  of  Ananias  to  Saul  of  Tarsus,  ^^  Behold,  he  prayeth  .'" 
 ix.  11,  so  might  the  Mission  of  S.  Philip  to  the  Eunuch  of 
 Ethiopia  originate  in  a  fact  of  kindred  interest  and  importance. 
 *'  Behold,  he  searcheth  the  Scriptures  .^"  Angels  of  Love  are 
 on  the  wing  from  heaven,  and  Ministers  on  earth  wait  to  bring 
 a  Blessing  to  all  such,  as  seek  the  Lord  in  heart-felt  prayer 
 and  Scripture  meditation.  Prov.  ii.  1 — 6  ;  Dan.  ix.  3,  21. 
 J.F. 
 
 The  Christian  is  compared  to  a  merchant  man,  that  trades  for 
 rich  pearls ;  he  is  to  go  to  Ordinances,  as  the  merchant,  that 
 sails  from  port  to  port,  not  to  see  places,  but  to  take  in  his 
 lading,  some  here,  some  there :  a  Christian  should  be  as  much 
 ashamed  to  return  empty  from  his  traf&c  with  Ordinances,  as  a 
 merchant  to  come  home  without  his  lading,  xxi.  3  ;  xxvii.  10 ; 
 Guniall.     (Christian  Armour,  Eph.  vi.  14,  ch.  8.) 
 
 Religion  is  not  a  thing  to  be  confined  to  our  Churches  and  closets  : 
 no ;  wherever  we  are,  we  must  have  it  with  us.  Let  it  sit 
 down  with  thee  at  thy  table :  lie  down  with  thee  in  thy  bed  ;  go 
 with  thee  about  thy  business ;  come  in  with  thee  to  thy  repose ; 
 let  it  be  at  thy  right  hand  in  buying  and  selling,  in  read- 
 ing and  writing,  alone  and  in  company.  Prov.  vi.  21,  22. 
 M.  Henry. 
 
 Let  us  preserve  the  same  mind  after  prayer,  that  we  had  during 
 it.     1  S.  Pet.  iv.  7.     Isidore  of  Seville. 
 
 Quisquis  ab  sede  Dei  perfectis  ordine  votis 
 Egrederis,  remea  corpore,  corde  mane. 
 
 Paulinus.     Super  egressum  porta?  Ecclesia) 
 inscriptum.     (Ep.  xxxii.  ad  Severum.) 
 
THE  ACTS  VIII.  29,  30.  285 
 
 29  Then  the  Spirit  said  unto  Philip,  Go  near,  and 
 join  thyself  to  this  chariot. 
 
 30  And  PhiHp  ran  thither  to  him,  and  heard  him 
 read  the  prophet  Esaias,  and  said,  Understandest  thou 
 what  thou  readest  ? 
 
 31  And  he  said.  How  can  I,  except  some  man 
 should  guide  me?  And  he  desired  Philip  that  he 
 would  come  up  and  sit  with  him. 
 
 32  The  place  of  the  scripture  which  he  read  was 
 this,  He  was  led  as  a  sheep  to  the  slaughter ;  and  like 
 a  lamb  dumb  before  his  shearer,  so  opened  He  not 
 His  mouth : 
 
 33  In  His  humiliation  His  judgment  was  taken 
 away  :  and  who  shall  declare  His  generation  ?  for  His 
 life  is  taken  from  the  earth. 
 
 34  And  the  eunuch  answered  Philip,  and  said,  I 
 pray  thee,  of  whom  speaketh  the  prophet  this  ?  of 
 himself,  or  of  some  other  man  ? 
 
 29  The  Angel  bids  S.  Philip  arise;  the  Spirit  bids  him  ^o  near. 
 He  is  thus  strengthened,  lest,  after  the  dissimulation  of  Simon, 
 he  should  be  fearful,     x.  20;  xviii.  9,  10;  xxviii.  15.     Bengel. 
 
 30  S.  Philip  arose  at  the  message  of  the  Angel,  verse  27,  and  ran 
 at  the  command  of  the  Spirit ;  unless  we  are  to  regard  the  Spirit 
 and  the  Angel,  as  being  one  and  the  same  Person.  1  Sam.  iii. 
 5  ;  Ps.  cxix.  32.     J.  F. 
 
 The  doctrine  of  the  Atonement  is  of  the  very  essence  of  the  Chris- 
 tian faith ;  it  is  the  chief  article  of  its  characteristic  system : 
 but  it  is  also  that  one  point  of  its  system,  which  is  amgng  the 
 latest,  touched  upon  in  the  predictions  of  Prophecy,  not  being 
 directly  introduced  in  a  specific  notice,  as  far  as  I  know,  before 
 the  predictions  of  the  prophet  Isaiah.  For,  although  some  of 
 the  prophetic  Psalms  foreshow  the  sufferings  of  the  Messiah, 
 they  do  not  exhibit  the  vicarious  and  expiatory  import  of  those 
 
236 
 
 THE  ACTS  VIII.  30,  31. 
 
 sufferings,  as  the  prophecy  of  Isaiah  does.     Isa.  liii.     Davison. 
 (On  primitive  sacrifice,  p.  iii.) 
 
 The  Scriptures  must  be  read  by  us  in  the  same  spirit,  that  dictated 
 them ;  thus  also  must  they  be  understood.  Xever  will  you 
 enter  into  the  meaning  of  S.  Paul,  unless  you  first  have  his  mind 
 in  you,  by  dint  of  frequent  studious  meditation,  and  the  exercise 
 of  a  pure  aim  and  design  in  your  reading.  Never  will  you 
 understand  David,  unless  you  realize  by  your  own  experience 
 the  very  feeling  of  his  Psalms.  So  of  the  rest.  S.  John 
 viii.  47 ;  2  Cor.  iii.  14.  S.  Bernard.  (Ep.  ad  fratres  mentis 
 Dei.) 
 
 Tntelligere  est  intus  leg  ere ;  to  understand,  is  to  read  beneath  the 
 surface.     1  Cor.  ii.  13,  15. 
 
 Non  parum  est,  scire  quod  nescias.  Consciousness  of  ignorance  is 
 no  small  part  of  knowledge.     S.  John  ix.  39 — 41.     S.  Jerome. 
 
 A  false  interpretation  may  do  thee,  as  much  harm,  as  a  false  trans- 
 lation ;  a  false  commentary,  as  a  false  copy.  S.  Luke  xxiv.  21, 
 25  ;  S.  John  vii.  52  ;  2  S.  Pet.  iii.  16.     Br.  Bonne. 
 
 31  The  Scripture  is  the  ground  of  our  belief:  yet  the  authority 
 of  man  is,  if  we  mark  it,  the  key,  which  openeth  the  door  of 
 entrance  into  the  knowledge  of  the  Scripture,  xviii.  24 — 26  j 
 Mai.  ii.  7.     Hooker. 
 
 Tlie  Scriptures  are  not  therefore  to  be  laid  aside,  because  we  do 
 not  understand  them  ;  but  we  must  read  them,  and  not  despair 
 of  receiving  light  sooner  or  later,  in  some  way  or  other.  Clarius.* 
 In  Sacris  quanquam  Libris,  quos  uosse  labores, 
 
 Plurima  sunt,  Lector,  clausa  et  opaca  tibi, 
 Invigilare  tamen,  studio  ne  desine  sancto : 
 
 Exercent  animum  dona  morata  tuum. 
 Gratior  est  fructus,  quem  spes  productior  edit, 
 Ultro  objectorum  villus  est  pretium. 
 
 *  The  above  is  a  singular  acknow- 
 ledgment, as  coming  from  a  Roman 
 Catholic,  and  there  is  another  like  it  at 
 xiii.  9  :  but  then  it  is  to  be  considered, 
 that  this  truly  excellent  commentator 
 is  not  here  engaged  in  writing  contro- 
 versy, but  in  drawing  simple  practical 
 
 inferences  from  the  Word  of  God.  It 
 is  remarkable,  that  the  same  comment 
 on  the  passage  is  made  in  the  Homi- 
 lies of  the  Churcli  on  the  reading  of 
 Holy  Scripture,  P.  ii.  (See  it  quoted, 
 Illustr.  S.  Matt.  xiii.  53.)  Refer  also 
 to  Acts  vii.  22.     Clarius. 
 
THE  ACTS  VIII.  32.  237 
 
 Oblectant  adoperta  etiam  mysteria  mentem ; 
 Qui  dedit,  ut  quaeras,  addet,  ut  invenias. 
 
 S.  Prosper. 
 32  He  said  to  me,  that,  "as  he  heard  it   (the  53rd  chapter  of 
 Isaiah)   read,  he  felt  an  inward  force  upon  him,  which  did  so 
 enlighten  his  mind  and  convince  him,  that  he  could  resist  no 
 longer :  for  the  words  had  an  authority,  which  did  shoot,  like 
 rays,  or  beams,  in  his  mind ;  so  that  he  was  not  only  convinced 
 by  the  reasonings  he   had   about  it,  which   satisfied  his  under- 
 standing, but  by  a  power,  which   did  so  effectually  constrain 
 him,  that  he  did  ever  after  as  firmly  believe  in  his  Sayiotje,  as 
 if  he  had  seen  Him  in  the  clouds.     He  had   made  it  be  read  so 
 often  to  him,  that  he  had  got  it  by  heart,  and  went  through  a 
 great  part  of  it,  in  discourse  with  me,  with  a  sort  of  heavenly 
 pleasure,  giving  me  his  reflections  on  it.     Some  few  I  remem- 
 ber :   Who  hath  believed  our  report  ?     Here  he  said  was  foretold 
 "  the  opposition  the  Gospel  was  to  meet  with  from  such  wretches, 
 as  he  was."     He  hath  no  form  nor  comeliness,  and  when  we  shall 
 see  Him  there  is  no  beauty  that  we  should  desire  Him.     On  this 
 he  said,  "  The  meanness  of  His  appearance  and  person  has  made 
 vain  and  foolish  people  disparage  Him,  because  He  came  not  in 
 such  a  fool's  coat,  as  they  delight  in."     What  he  said  on  the 
 other  parts,  I   do  not  well  remember;  and  indeed  I  was  so 
 affected  with  what  he  said  then  to  me,  that  the  general  trans- 
 port I  was  under,  during  the  whole  discourse,  made  me  less 
 capable  to  remember  these  particulars,  as  I  wish  I  had  done, 
 xiii.  12  ;  Heb.  iv.  12, 13  ;  Ps.  xix. ;  1  Thoss.  ii.  13.     Bp.  Burnet. 
 (Some  passages  in  the  life  and  death  of  John,  Earl  of  Eochester.) 
 Nee  decus  egregium  formse  nee  robur  in  Illo, 
 Sed  gravibus  curis  et  mille  doloribus  seger ; 
 Vulneraque  ilia  gerens,  quse  plurima  propter  amicam 
 Accepit  Solymam  ;  despectus,  vilis,  egeuus, 
 Afllietus  vitam  in  tenebris  luctuque  trahendo ; 
 Pro  nobis  multis  plagis  et  morte  peremptus ; 
 Et  qui  vulueribus  medicavit  vuluera  nostra. 
 'E  sicca  tellure  ut  planta  ascendit  in  auras, 
 .    Cujus  perpetuis  adolescet  frondibus  setas  ! 
 Jl.  Rosceus.     (Yirgilii  Evangelisantis  Christiados.     Lib.  vii.) 
 
238  THE  ACTS  VIII.  32,  34. 
 
 Isaiah  speaks  of  a  man,  whom  the  Loud  was  pleased  to  "bruise" 
 and  to  "put  to  grief"  for  the  sins  of  His  people,  although  this 
 man  had  "  done  no  violence  neither  was  any  deceit  in  his 
 mouth."  Neither  the  world,  nor  the  Church,  nor  time  present, 
 nor  time  past,  nor  any  age,  nor  the  heavens,  nor  the  earth  can 
 produce  and  furnish  us  a  man,  who,  having  been  perfectly  holy 
 and  just,  has  been,  or  has  pretended  to  be,  the  expiatory  Sacri- 
 fice for  the  sins  of  mankind ;  or  indeed  ever  entertained  such 
 a  thought  or  design,  excepting  Jesus  Christ.  The  passage 
 then  can  apply  to  Jestjs  Christ  alone,  iv.  12 ;  Isa.  lix.  16. 
 Abbadie.  (Treatise  on  the  Truth  of  the  Christian  Eeligion, 
 s.  iv.  ch.  9.) 
 
 34  Speaketh,  as  if  the  prophet  was  speaking  now  to  thee,  who 
 readest  him.     Ps.  Ixxxv.  8.     Erasmus. 
 
 I  know,  that,  because  of  the  intermixture  of  some  obscurer  texts  of 
 Scripture  with  the  clear  ones,  there  are  divers  well-meaning  and 
 even  devout  persons,  that  leave  the  study  of  it,  for  that  of  other 
 books  of  religion,  which  by  leaving  out  all  such  more  difficult 
 matters  seem  to  promise  more  of  instruction.  But,  notwith- 
 standing this,  I  shall  not  much  scruple  to  affirm,  that,  as  the 
 moon,  for  all  those  darker  parts  we  call  her  spots,  gives  us  a 
 much  greater  light,  than  the  stars,  which  seem  all  luminous,  so 
 will  the  Scripture,  for  all  its  obscurer  passages,  affi3rd  the  Chris- 
 tian and  Divine  more  light  than  the  brightest  human  authors. 
 To  dispatch  ;  since  the  Scripture  is  both  a  naturally  proper  and 
 an  instituted  instrument  to  convey  Eevealed  knowledge  to  the 
 studiers  of  it,  and  in  it  many  clear  passages  may  instruct  ordi- 
 nary capacities,  and  its  darker  ones  may  either  recompense 
 more  inquisitive  wits,  or  humble  them,  I  see  not  why  the 
 obscureness  of  a  small  part  of  it  should  deter  any  sort  of  pious 
 persons  from  the  perusal  of  the  whole.  And  as  the  Word  of 
 God  is  termed  "a  light,"  so  hath  it  this  property  of  what  it  is 
 called  ;  that  both  the  plainest  rustics  may,  if  they  will  not  wil- 
 fully shut  their  eyes,  by  the  benefit  of  its  light  direct  their 
 steps,  and  the  deepest  philosophers  may  be  exercised,  if  not 
 posed  and  dazzled,  with  its  abstruser  mysteries,  For  thus  in 
 the  Scripture  the  ignorant  may  learn  all  requisite  knowledge, 
 and  the  most  knowing  may  learn  to  discern  their  ignorance.     S. 
 
THE  ACTS  VIII.  34,  35.  239 
 
 Matt.  iv.  4.  Hon.  R.  Boyle.  (Considerations,  touching  the 
 style  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  p.  51.     Edit.  1663.) 
 
 It  is  very  remarkable,  that  the  promise  of  a  blessing  on  Scripture 
 readers  and  hearers  is  attached  to  the  confessedly  most  obscure 
 Book  of  the  Inspired  Volume !  "Was  Casaubon  then  right, 
 when  he  said  in  praise  of  Calvin,  "  Sapuit,  quia  de  Apocahjpsi 
 non  scripsit  ;^^  "  he  showed  his  wisdom  by  not  commenting  on 
 the  Apocalypse?"     Eev.  i.  3.     J.  F, 
 
 Or  of  some  other  man  ? — Primarily  and  in  its  high  exclusive  sense, 
 the  words  only  belong  to  Him,  whom  S.  Philip  preached ;  but  are 
 not  we  the  "other  men,"  who,  being  members  of  Christ's 
 Church,  are  one  with  the  Loed  by  the  grace  of  adoption,  and 
 therefore  interested  in  all  His  sufferings  ?  Are  we  not  saved 
 by  that  life,  which  was  taken  from  the  earth  ?  Did  not  the 
 prophet  speak  of  us  ?     J.  F. 
 
 Sum  Tuns  in  vita,  Tua  sunt  mea  funera,  Christe ; 
 
 Da,  precor,  imperii  sceptra  videre  Tui. 
 Cur  etenim  moriens  tot  vulnera  saeva  tulisti, 
 
 Si  non  sum  Eegni  portio  parva  Tui  ? 
 Cur  rigido  latuit  Tua  vita  inclusa  sepulchro, 
 
 Si  mea  mors  non  est  morte  fugata  Tua  ? 
 
 L.  Selneccerus.     (Annot.  Acta.  vii.  51.) 
 
 35  Then  Philip  opened  his  mouth,  and  began  at  the 
 same  scripture,  and  preached  unto  him  Jesus. 
 
 36  And  as  they  went  on  their  way,  they  came  unto 
 a  certain  water :  and  the  eunuch  said.  See,  here  is 
 water ;  what  doth  hinder  me  to  be  baptized  ? 
 
 37  And  Philip  said,  If  thou  believest  with  all  thine 
 heart,  thou  mayest.  And  he  answered  and  said,  I  be- 
 lieve that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God. 
 
 35  Dehemus  referre  sensum  e  Scriptwis,  noti  auferre,  we'^ought  to 
 give  the  sense  out  of  the  Scriptures,  and  not  take  it  away  from 
 them.     S.  Matt.  iv.  7  ;  Eev.  xxii.  19.     S.  Hilanj. 
 
 The  discoveries,  made  to  us  in  Scripture,  can  only  be  cleared  to  us 
 
240  THE  ACTS  VIIT.  35,  36. 
 
 by  reference  to  the  Scriptures  themselves,  xiii.  85  ;  Isa.  viii.  20. 
 S.  IrencBus.     (Lib.  i.  c.  12.) 
 
 God  often  gives  light  to  the  teacher,  for  the  sake  of  the  humility 
 of  the  hearer.     Quesnel.  ^ 
 
 36  The  Eunuch  had  faith  in  Curist.  He  had  a  title  to  Justifica- 
 tion ;  but  he  was  Baptized,  in  order  to  receive  it.  Hear  his  own 
 words  declaring  it,  See,  here  is  water  :  what  doth  hinder  me  to 
 he  Baptized?  You  see,  Baptism  was  the  great  end,  which  he 
 was  seeking ;  why  ?  except  that  it  conveyed  the  gift  of  life. 
 Would  it  have  been  rational  to  have  been  so  earnest  for  a  dead 
 ordinance  ?  for  a  mere  outward  rite  ?  especially,  since  now  he 
 had  heard  and  had  believed.  Would  he  have  asked  about  hin- 
 drances to  a  mere  outward  rite,  when  he  had  already  obtained 
 the  inward  gift  ?  No  ;  he  sought  Baptism,  because  it  was 
 worth  seeking.  And  S.  Philip  treats  it,  as  such  ;  he  says,  Thou 
 mayest,  '^  if  C  he  puts  a  condition.  Men  do  not  put  conditions 
 before  worthless  things.  A  condition  is  a  price :  men  do  not 
 buy  nothing  with  something.  The  Eunuch  was  going  to 
 receive  a  gift.  .  .  .  The  gift  was  given :  Justification  was  ac- 
 complished :  and  therefore,  when  they  were  come  up  out  of  the 
 water,  the  Spirit  of  the  Loed  caught  away  Philip.  He  did  not 
 take  him  away  before ;  He  did  not  think  it  enough  for  S.  Philip 
 to  preach.  S.  Philip  preached,  and  Baptized ;  and  then  he  was 
 caught  away.  .  .  .  God  "  finished  the  work  and  cut  it  short  in 
 righteousness  :"  He  justified  the  believing  soul  through  M^ater  ; 
 and  then  S.  Philip,  His  instrument,  was  caught  away;  and  the  new 
 Christian  went.on  his  way  rejoicing,  ii.  38,  41 ;  viii.  12  ;  ix.  18  ; 
 X.  47,  48 ;  xi.  16.     J.  H.  Newman.     (Serm.  S.  Matt.  viii.  11.) 
 
 The  ardent  thirst  of  this  joyous  convert  (verse  39)  for  the  waters 
 of  life  is  very  observable.  To  a  like  thirst  Ananias  stimulated 
 the  converted  Saul,  who  had  reasons  for  self-distrust  and  hesita- 
 tion, such  as  could  not  be  found  in  the  case  of  the  Eunuch, 
 whom  the  Lord  met  in  the  path  of  obedience  and  duty. 
 "  And  now  why  tarriest  thou  ?  Arise,  and  be  Baptized,  and  wash 
 away  thy  sins,  calling  upon  the  Name  of  the  Lord."  It  may 
 fairly  be  inferred  from  the  Eunuch's  question  that  Baptism,  its 
 nature,  benefit,  and  necessity,  as  a  Sacrament  of  the  Gospel, 
 had  formed  part  of  S.  Philip's  preaching.     We  fail  of  preach- 
 
THE  ACTS  VIII.  37.  241 
 
 ing   Jesus,  if  we  preach  not  His   Sacraments,     xxii.  16  ;  Ps. 
 xlii.  1.     J.  F. 
 
 37  Baptism  "  saves"  (2  S.  Pet.  iii.  21),  that  is,  it  gives  a  just 
 title  to  Salvation  ;  wliich  is  the  same  as  to  saj,  that  it  conveys 
 Justification.  But  then  it  must  be  understood,  not  of  the  out- 
 ward washing,  but  of  the  inward  \iwe\y  faith,  stipulated  in  it  and 
 by  it.  Baptism  concurs  with  faith,  and  faith  with  Baptism  ; 
 and  the  Holt  Spikit  with  both  :  and  so  the  merits  of  Christ 
 are  savingly  applied.  Paith  alone  will  not  ordinarily  serve  in 
 this  case ;  but  it  must  be  a  contracting  faith  on  man's  part, 
 contracting  in  form,  corresponding  to  the  federal  engagements 
 and  promises  on  God's  part :  therefore  Tertullian  rightly  styles 
 Baptism  Obsignatio  fidei^  testatio  Jidei,  sponsio  scdutis,  Jidei 
 pactio,  and  the  like.  Dr.  Waterland.  (View  of  the  Doctrine 
 of  Justification,  s.  4.) 
 
 As  this  our  aphorism,  Jesus  Cheist  is  the  Soir  of  God,  is  vir^ 
 tually  and  eminently  the  whole  Gospel,  so  to  confess  or  deny  it 
 is  virtually  to  embrace  or  reject  the  whole  round  and  series  of 
 Gospel  truths.  Por  he,  that  acknowledges  Cheist  to  be  the 
 Son  of  God,  by  the  same  does  consequentially  acknowledge,  that 
 He  is  to  be  believed  and  obeyed,  in  whatsoever  He  does  enjoin 
 and  deliver  to  the  sons  of  men  :  and  therefore  that  we  are  to  re- 
 pent, and  believe,  and  rest  upon  Him  for  Salvation.  And  within 
 the  compass  of  this  is  included  whatsoever  is  called  Gospel,  ix.  20 ; 
 S.  Marki.  1;    xiv.  61  ;  xv.  39.  Dr.  ^Som^A.    (Serm.  S.  Matt.  x.  33.) 
 
 We  may  remark  from  the  fact  of  the  Eunuch's  confession  of  a  true 
 faith,    as  it  is  recorded  so  soon  after  the  mention  of  Simon 
 Magus,  how  quickly  the  Perm  of  a  Creed  succeeded  to  the  ap- 
 pearance of  heretics :  and,  as  heretics  multiplied.  Creeds  of  ne- 
 cessity  multiplied   with  them  for  the   further   defence  of  the 
 faith  ;    multiplied,  in  the  sense  of  being  expanded  ;  the  original 
 Creed  of  the  Apostles  widening,  as  it  were,  into  the  JSTicene  and 
 Athanasian,  so  as  to  meet  the  several  cases  of  false  doctrine,  as 
 they  successively  arose  in  the  Church.     J.  F. 
 Symbohim  Apostolicum. 
 Credo  (idque  ex  auimo)  in  Deum  Parentem, 
 Tellus  cujus  opus  nitensque  coelum. 
 
 In  Christum  Dominum  Deumque  nostrum 
 
 E 
 
242  THE  ACTS  VIIL  38. 
 
 Ejus  Pilium  et  TJnicum  et  Cosevum, 
 Quern  Spirarainis  impetu  potenti 
 Concepit  peperit  Maria  Yirgo  ; 
 Qui  sub  prseside  Pontic  peremptus 
 Affixusque  cruci,  cavo  subiude 
 Tymbo  conditus,  inferos  adivit ; 
 Hinc  luce  illico  tertia  revixit ; 
 Post  ad  sidera  scandit,  et  propinquus 
 Ad  dextram  Patris  axe  sedet  alto ; 
 Dum  rursus  veniat,  superstitesque  et 
 Tunctos  Judicio  vocet  supremo.  .  . 
 
 In  Sanctum  quoque  Spiritum,  fovemur 
 Cujus  ISTumine,  fingimur,  docemur. 
 Credo  Ecclesian  entheam  atque  Sanctam 
 Quam  nos  Catholicam  pii  vocamus. 
 Quin  communia  cuncta  credo  Sanctis  ; 
 Peccatorum  etiam  remissionem, 
 JSTecnon  carnis  Anastasim  universse. 
 Postremo  requiem  beatiorem  et 
 Di?e  prsemia  sempiterna  Yitss. 
 Salm.  Macrinus.     (Hym.  Lib.  ii.  Leviter  immutatus.) 
 
 38  And  he  commanded  the  chariot  to  stand  still : 
 and  they  went  down  both  into  the  water,  both  Philip 
 and  the  eunuch  ;  and  he  baptized  him. 
 
 39  And  when  they  were  come  up  out  of  the  water,  the 
 Spirit  of  the  Lord  caught  away  Philip,  that  the  eunuch 
 saw  him  no  more :  and  he  went  on  his  way  rejoicing. 
 
 40  But  Philip  was  found  at  Azotus :  and  passing 
 through  he  preached  in  all  the  cities,  till  he  came  to 
 Csesarea. 
 
 38   Went  down. — Beware  of  lifting  up  yourself:  if  you  desire  a 
 
 cure,  go  down.     S.  John  v.  7.     S.  Augustine. 
 They,  to  whom  the  office  belougeth,  know  that  Baptism  must  not 
 
 be  rashly  entrusted.       If  S.  Philip  so  suddenly  Baptized   the 
 
THE  ACTS  VIIT.  39.  243 
 
 eunuch,  let  us  remember,  that  the  sanction  of  the  Loed,  Bigna- 
 tionem  Boiniui,  clear  and  distinctly  put  forward,  had  intervened. 
 The  Spirit  had  commanded  Philip  to  turn  his  course  that  way  ; 
 the  eunuch  himself  also  was  not  found  in  a  state  of  listlessness, 
 nor  desirous  of  a  sudden  Baptism  ;  but  he  had  gone  up  to  the 
 Temple  "for  to  worship,"  was  intent  upon  the  Divine  Scriptures, 
 and  was  so  found  in  a  meet  condition.  God,  of  His  own  will, 
 had  sent  to  him  an  Apostle,  whom  the  same  Spirit  again  com- 
 manded to  "join  himself  to  the  chariot"  of  the  eunuch :  a 
 Scripture  falleth  in,  so  as  to  suggest  his  faith ;  he  is  timely  ex- 
 horted ;  he  is  admitted  :  the  Lord  is  shown  to  him  :  faith  de- 
 layeth  not :  water  is  not  to  seek :  the  Apostle,  when  his  task  is 
 done,  is  caught  away. — Scriptura  ipsius  fidei  occurrit  ;  in  tempore 
 exhortatus  ;  adsumitur  ;  Dominus  ostenditur  ;  fides  non  moratur  ; 
 aqua  non  expectatur ;  Apostolus,  perfecto  negotio,  eripitur. 
 Gen.  xxiv.  27;  S.  Matt.  vii.  6;  S.  Luke  iii.  4.  TertuUian. 
 (De  Baptismo,  c.  xviii.) 
 
 39  We  go  down  to  the  water  full  of  sins  and  pollutions ;  but 
 come  up  again,  bringing  forth  fruit,  having  in  our  hearts  the 
 fear  and  hope,  which  is  in  Jesus  by  the  Spirit.  S,  Barnabas. 
 (Catholic  Epistle,     s.  xi.  Transl.  Abp.  Wake.) 
 
 Can  anything  equal  all  these  heart  refreshings,  that  swim  in  the 
 pool  of  Baptism  ?  Therefore,  in  many  ages  past,  the  joy  of  the 
 JN'eophytes  was  excessive,  that  came  to  be  Baptized.  Many 
 torches  were  lighted,  and  carried  before  them,  to  show  it  was 
 the  day  of  their  Illumination.  They  came  in  white  garments,  and 
 wore  them  constantly  eight  days  together,  a  most  Festival 
 habit.     Heb.  x.  32.     Bp.  Racket. 
 
 Candidus  egreditur  nitidis  exercitus  undis, 
 Atque  vetus  vitium  purgat  in  amne  novo. 
 
 Lactantius. 
 
 The  joy  of  this  blessed  convert  w^as  purely  spiritual.  The  human 
 instrument  of  his  conversion  was  taken  away  "  at  a  stroke ;" 
 yet  he  went  on  his  way  rejoicing.  He  must  have  been  fondly 
 attached  to  the  person  of  Philip  ;  and  much,  in  his  humility,  must 
 he  have  desired  his  further  instructions  in  the  faith.  Dear  to 
 him  must  have  been  every  thought  of  his  spiritual  father,  every 
 remembrance  of  their  short,  strange,  but  unspeakably  precious 
 
 R  2 
 
244  THE  ACTS  VIII.  39. 
 
 interview.      Did  not   his  heart    "  burn  within    him,"    when 
 the  Evangelist  "  talked  wdth  him  by  the  way,  and  while  he 
 opened  to  him  the  Scriptures?"    (S.  Luke  xxiv.  32.)  Tet,  in- 
 stead of  mourning  at  a  bereavement  so  mysterious,  or  repining 
 at  his  sudden  loss,  or  fearing  to  be  left  alone  in  his  weakness 
 and  inexperience,  he  rejoices.     It  is  the  joy  of  faith.     He  now 
 "  walks  by  faith  and  not  by  sight."     New  views  and  principles, 
 hopes  and  prospects,  are  rapidly  gaining  the  ascendancy  in  his 
 soul.     He  "  knows  whom  he  believed  ;"  and  that  he  has  a  Sa- 
 YiOTJE,  in  covenant  with  him  through  grace,  a  Saviour,  ever 
 nigh,  ever  merciful,  ever  mighty  to  save.     He  goes  on  his  way 
 to  his  heathen  Queen  and  his  idolatrous  country,  expecting,  it 
 may  be,  that  "bonds  and  afflictions"  awaited  him,  and  that  his 
 confession  and  Baptism  might  soon  be  followed  by  his  confession 
 unto  death  ;  "yet  none  of  these  things  move"  him.     Chkist  is 
 formed  in  him,  "the  hope  of  glory."     The  Spirit  is  become  his 
 Counsellor  and  Comforter,  abiding  with  him  to  the  end.     The 
 Word  of  God,  the  first  instrument  of  his  conversion,  now  shines 
 upon  him  with  a  fresh  and  unwonted  lustre,  as  he  pursues  his 
 homeward  path  searching  the  Scriptures.     S.  James  i.  18,  19  ; 
 1    S.    Pet.    ii.    1 — 3.      Peradventure,    he   reads   in   the    same 
 prophet    Esaicis,    of   "  Queens  becoming   nursing   mothers   to 
 the    Church,"    of  "  the  labour  of  Egypt,   and   merchandize  of 
 Ethiopia,  and  of  the  Sabeans  coming  over  and  making  supplica- 
 tion?     Isaiah   xlv.  14;   Ix.    (3,    7.      What!   if  he   be    Gon's 
 honoured  instrument  to  effect  this ;  and  if,  through  his  preach- 
 ing, "the  Morian's  land  should  soon  stretch  out  her  hands  unto 
 theLoED,"  Ps.  Ixviii.  31 !     Might  not  his  faith  kindle  into  such 
 a  hope  ?  and  such  a  hope  send  him  on  his  way  rejoicing  ?     xx. 
 38  ;  Isa.  Iv.  10—13  ;  Ezek.  iii.  14 ;  xxiv.  10,  18.     /.  F. 
 The  use  of  warm,  earnest,  ardent  feelings  in  religion  is  to  take 
 away  from  the  heginninys  of  obedience  its  grievousness,  to  give 
 us  an  impulse,  which  may  carry  us  over  the  first  obstacles  .  .  . 
 They  do  their  office  in  setting  us  off ;  and  then  will  leave  us  to 
 the  more  sober  and  higher  comfort,  resulting  from  that  real  love 
 to  Heligion,  which  obedience  itself  will  have  by  that  time  begun 
 to  form  in  us,  and  will  gradually  go  on  to  perfect.      Horn. 
 V.  1—5,  11.     /.  H.  Newman.     (Serm.  S.  Luke  viii.  38,  39.) 
 
THE  ACTS  IX.  1,  2.  245 
 
 CHAPTER  IX. 
 
 A  ND    Saul,    yet    breathing    out    threatenings    and 
 slaughter   against   the   disciples    of    the   Lord, 
 went  unto  the  high  priest, 
 
 2  And  desired  of  him  letters  to  Damascus  to  the 
 synagogues,  that  if  he  found  any  of  this  way,  whether 
 they  were  men  or  women,  he  might  bring  them  bound 
 unto  Jerusalem. 
 
 3  And  as  he  journeyed,  he  came  near  Damascus  :  and 
 suddenly  there  shined  round  about  him  a  light  from 
 heaven : 
 
 4  And  he  fell  to  the  earth,  and  heard  a  voice  saying 
 unto  him,  Saul,  Saul,  why  persecutest  thou  Me  ? 
 
 1  Saul,  the  High  Priest's  blood-hound,     vii.  54,  57.     Flavel. 
 
 As  one,  that  is  inwardly  inflamed,  his  breath  is  hot ;  a  fiery  stream 
 of  persecuting  wrath  came  out,  as  a  burning  furnace  from  him. 
 Ex.  XV.  9.  Giirnall.  (Christian  Armour.  Eph.  vi.  14,  ch.  12.) 
 Paulum  mihi  etiam  Genesis  olim  repromisit.  I  had  a  promise  of 
 S.  Paul,  even  so  far  back,  as  in  Genesis.  Gen.  xlix.  27 ;  Phil, 
 iii.  5.     Tertullian. 
 
 Tu  lupus  ille,  die  prime  uascentis  in  ortu, 
 Caede  madeus,  toto  multum  grassatus  ovili, 
 Yespere  dein  prsedam  socios  partitus  in  omnes ; 
 Bissenum  ut  procerum  moriens  pater  ipse  minori 
 Prsedixit  nato  ;  unde  tibi  descendit  origo  : 
 Jam  tunc  ille  tuos  spe  percipiebat  honores, 
 QusD  secum  tulit  ad  manes  solatia  lethi. 
 
 M.  H.  Vida.     (Hymn,  de  Sancto  Paulo.) 
 
 2  To  Damascus. — "Pray,"  says  our  Lord,  "for  them,  that  per- 
 secute you;"  and  again,  "If  they  persecute  you  in  one  city, 
 flee  to  another."     We  then  must  both  pray,  and  flee ;  in  order 
 
246  THE  ACTS  IX.  2,  4. 
 
 that  both  he,  who  iu  his  iguorance  rages  against  us,  may  be 
 healed ;  and  that  he  who  sufters,  may  by  his  forbearance  win 
 the  crown,  and  not,  by  his  rashness,  expose  himself  to  danger. 
 Jf  the  Martyrs  had  not  fled  from  Saul,  never  would  they  have 
 made  him  both  Paul  and  a  Martyr.  Eef.  viii.  4.  Peter  Chry- 
 sologus.     (Serm.  151.) 
 
 Before  (xi.  26),  they  were  called  Fideles,  and  Fratres,  and  Bis- 
 cipuliy  the  faithful,  and  the  brethren,  and  the  disciples,  and,  as 
 S.  Chrysostom  says,  de  via,  men,  that  were  in  the  way  ;  for  all 
 the  world  besides  were  beside  Him,  who  was  "  The  Way,  the 
 Truth,  and  the  Life.  Eph.  ii.  12;  1  S.  Pet.  ii.  25.  Di\ 
 Bonne.     (Serm.  S.  Matt.  iii.  17.) 
 
 Though  Saul  thirsted  for  the  blood  of  the  disciples,  yet  he  would 
 not  engage  in  his  murderous  work,  without  his  commission  so 
 to  do.  He  would  not  move  in  this  matter,  much  as  his  heart 
 was  set  upon  it,  without  a  lawful  call.  He  seems,  by  the 
 natural  constitution  of  his  mind,  to  have  been  a  lover  of  order 
 and  constituted  authority.  And  how  beautiful  in  him  was  this 
 same  disposition,  when  sanctified  by  the  grace  of  God,  and 
 regulating  the  whole  work  of  his  Ministry,  xxi.  19,  26 ;  xxii. 
 5  ;  xxiv.  10 ;  xxvi.  12  ;  Eom.  xv.  20 ;  2  Cor.  x.  13—18.     J.  F. 
 
 4  These  are  expressions  rather  of  self-defence,  than  of  reproof. 
 Micah  vi.  3.     S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 Paul  strikes  at  Damascus  ;  Cheist  suffers  in  heaven,  xxiii.  1,  2. 
 S.  Matt.  XXV.  45.     Bp.  Ball, 
 
 S.  Paul  expressly  calleth  the  Church  "Christ's  Body;"  and  he 
 might  well  do  it.  In  the  first  speech,  Cheist  ever  spake  to 
 him.  Himself  calleth  the  Church,  "  Me."  1  Sam.  xxii.  23.  Bp. 
 Andrewes.     (Serm.  S.  Mark  xiv.  4 — 6.) 
 
 The  unity  of  Cheist  with  His  Church  was  the  first  truth,  which 
 S.  Paul  "  received  of  the  Lord."  "  Herein  was  Love."  Gal. 
 i.  11—16.     J.  F. 
 
 Believers  have  in  this  Ascending  and  Enthroning  of  Cheist  un- 
 speakable comfort,  through  their  interest  in  Cheist,  both  in 
 consideration  of  His  present  aff'ection  to  them,  and  His  effectual 
 Intercession  for  them ;  and  in  the  assured  hope,  which  this 
 gives  them,  of  their  own  after-happiness  and  glory  with  Him. 
 In  all  His  glory  He  forgets  them  not.     He  puts  not  off"  His 
 
THE  ACTS  IX.  5.  247 
 
 bowels  with  His  low  condition  here ;  but  hath  carried  it  along 
 to  His  Throne.  Bene  conveniunt  et  in  una  sede  morantur ; 
 Majestas  et  Amor.  His  Majesty  and  Love  suit  very  well,  and 
 both  in  their  highest  degree.  As  all  the  waters  of  His  suffer- 
 ings did  not  quench  His  love,  nor  left  He  it  behind  Him 
 buried  in  the  grave,  but  it  arose  with  Him,  being  stronger  than 
 death ;  so  He  let  it  not  fall  to  the  earth,  when  He  Ascended  on 
 high ;  but  it  ascended  wdth  Him,  and  He  still  retains  it  in 
 His  Glory.  And  that,  our  flesh,  which  He  assumed  on  earth, 
 He  took  up  into  heaven,  as  a  token  of  indissoluble  Love  be- 
 twixt Him  and  those,  whom  He  redeemed,  and  sends  down 
 from  thence,  as  the  rich  token  of  His  Love,  His  Spirit  into 
 their  hearts ;  so  that  these  are  mutual  remembrances.  Can  He 
 forget  His  own  on  earth,  having  their  flesh  so  closely  united  to 
 Him  ?  You  see  He  does  not :  He  feels  what  they  suffer. 
 Saul,  Saul,  why  persecutest  thou  Me  ?  S.  Luke  xxiii.  42,  43 ; 
 Heb.  iv.  14 — 16.     Ahp.  Leighton.     (Exposition  of  the  Creed.) 
 
 5  And  he  said,  Who  art  Thou,  Lord  ?  And  the 
 Lord  said,  I  am  Jesus  whom  thou  persecutest :  it  is 
 hard  for  thee  to  kick  against  the  pricks. 
 
 6  And  he  trembling  and  astonished  said,  Lord, 
 what  wilt  Thou  have  me  to  do  ?  And  the  Lord  said 
 unto  him,  Arise  and  go  into  the  city,  and  it  shall  be 
 told  thee  what  thou  must  do. 
 
 7  And  the  men  which  journeyed  with  him  stood 
 speechless,  hearing  a  voice,  but  seeing  no  man. 
 
 8  And  Saul  arose  from  the  earth;  and  when  his 
 eyes  were  opened,  he  saw  no  man :  but  they  led  him 
 by  the  hand,  and  brought  him  into  Damascus. 
 
 9  And  he  was  three  days  without  sight,  and  neither 
 did  eat  nor  drink. 
 
 5  Eead  Acts  ix.,  and  then  you  will  find  him,  who  .little  regarded 
 what   S.  Stephen   said,   and   perhaps   took   him  for   a  frantic 
 
248  THE  ACTS  IX.  5,  6. 
 
 fellow,  when  he  told  them  he  saw  Jesijs  Glorified,  surrounded 
 himself  with  such  a  glorious  light  from  heaven,  as  left  him  no 
 power  to  resist  this  truth,  which  he  had  so  hitterly  persecuted. 
 For  in  that  wonderful  brightness  there  was  a  person  appeared 
 to  him  with  such  a  dazzling  lustre,  that,  after  he  had  be- 
 held it,  he  lost  his  eyes,  and  could  not  see  by  reason  of  the 
 Glory  of  that  light;  which  was  the  cause,  I  believe,  that  he 
 asked  with  no  small  astonishment,  "  Who  «;'^Thou,  Lord  ?"  .  .  . 
 This  light,  which  had  put  out  his  eyes,  made  him  clearly  see, 
 though  he  was  not  told  so  in  express  words,  that  Jesus  was  the 
 Son  of  God,  This  Heavenly  "Word  doth  not  in  all  this  story 
 call  Himself  by  that  Name :  but  He  declares  Himself  to  be 
 Jesus  ;  and  Saul,  seeing  this  Jesus  in  so  bright  a  Glory,  that 
 it  exceeded  the  sun  at  mid-day,  (as  he  confesses  to  Agrippa, 
 xxvi.  13,)  it  did  more  than  tell  him,  that  He  was,  as  S.  Stephen 
 had  preached,  the  Son  of  God,  the  King  of  Glory,  For  He 
 appeared  to  him  in  this  Glory,  and  then  told  him,  that  He, 
 whom  he  beheld  thus  exceeding  glorious,  was  that  very  Jesus, 
 whom  he  w^as  pursuing,  as  a  blasphemer,  for  affirming  Himself 
 to  be  that,  which  he  now  saw  Him  with  His  own  eyes  to  be, 
 Ex.  iii.  6 ;  xxiv.  20 ;  xvi.  7  ;  2  Cor.  iii.  7.  Bp.  Patrick.  (Jesus 
 and  the  E^esurrection,  ch.  3.) 
 
 Cheist  both  suffered  and  triumphed  in  His  Saints.  In  Abel,  He 
 was  slain  by  his  brother ;  in  Noah,  He  was  mocked  by  his 
 son ;  in  Abraham,  He  was  a  stranger ;  in  Isaac,  He  was  a 
 sacrifice ;  in  Joseph,  He  was  sold ;  in  Moses,  He  fled,  as  an 
 outcast,  in  the  Prophets,  He  was  stoned ;  in  the  Apostles, 
 He  was  tossed  about  by  sea  and  land.     Zech.  ii.  8.     Panlinus. 
 
 "When  the  foot  was  bruised  on  earth,  the  Head  from  heaven 
 cried  out,  as  sensible  of  the  pain.  1  Cor.  xii.  25,  26.  Bp.  Home, 
 (Serm.  Phil.  iii.  20,  21.) 
 
 Postquam  posui  me  contrarium  Tibi,  factus  sum  contrarius  mihi. 
 No  sooner  did  I  enter  into  opposition  with  Thee,  than  I 
 was  in  opposition  with  myself,  v.  39 ;  vii.  51 ;  1  Cor.  x.  22 ; 
 Prov.  xxi.  30,  31 ;  Isa.  xlv.  9  ;  Jer.  1.  24.     S.  Bernard. 
 
 6  LoED,  what  wilt  Thou,  c^c. —  Verbum  breve,  sed  vivum,  sed  efficax, 
 a  short  speech,  but  full  of  life  and  power.  S.  Bernard.  (Serm. 
 do  Conv.  PauH.) 
 
THE  ACTS  IX.   6—9.  249 
 
 He,  w  ho  gives  Lis  will  to  God,  gives  Him  every  thing :  he,  who 
 surrenders  to  Him  his  property  in  alms,  his  time  in  Christian 
 duties,  his  talents  and  faculties  in  the  service  of  Gheist,  and  in 
 the  benefiting  others,  gives  God  a  part  of  what  he  possesses, 
 as  received  from  Him :  but  he,  who  gives  Him  indeed  his  will, 
 gives  Him  the  whole,  and  is  able  to  say,  "  Loed,  I  am  poor ; 
 but  I  place  all  I  am,  and  have  at  Thy  disposal.  This,  and  no 
 less,  is  what  God  expects  of  us;"  My  son,  give  Me  thy  heart." 
 Gen.  iv.  4;  2  Cor.  viii.  5.  A.  Liguori.  (On  Conformity  of  the 
 will  to  God.) 
 
 To  do. — God  has  made  us  feel,  in  order  that  we  may  go  on  to  act, 
 in  consequence  of  feeling.  If  then  we  allow  our  feelings  to  be 
 excited,  without  acting  upon  them,  we  do  mischief  to  the  moral 
 system  within  us ;  just  as  we  might  spoil  a  watch,  or  other 
 piece  of  mechanism,  by  playing  with  the  wheels  of  it.  We 
 weaken  its  springs ;  and  they  cease  to  act  truly.  2  Cor.  vii.  9 ; 
 Heb.  vi.  4 — 6.     J.  H.  Newman. 
 
 We  must  supplicate  God,  not  only  as  a  beggar,  but  as  a  rebel 
 and  traitor  doth  a  king.     Caryl. 
 
 7  A  man,  when  first  turning  from  sin  to  God,  hears  a  voice ;  but 
 it  is  behind  him  ;  he  seeth  no  man :  he  feels  a  blow  in  that 
 voice,  which  others  take  no  notice  of,  though  externally  they 
 hear  it  too.  Therefore  it  is  observable,  that  the  men,  which 
 were  with  S.  Paul  at  his  miraculous  conversion  are,  in  one  place, 
 said  to  hear  a  voice,  and  in  another  place  not  to  have  heard  the 
 voice  of  Him,  who  spake  to  S.  Paul.  (xxii.  9.)  They  heard 
 only  but  a  voice ;  and  so  were  astonished :  but  S.  Paul  heard  it 
 distinctly,  as  the  Voice  of  Christ;  and  so  was  converted. 
 1  Sam.  iii.  1 — 10 ;  S.  John  x.  27 ;  Dan.  x.  7.     Bp.  Reynolds. 
 
 8  As  "a  prisoner  of  the  Lord,  "now  led  in  triumph.  Eph.iv.8.  J.F. 
 
 9  It  is  mostly  amid  terror  and  amazement,  that  men  are  restored 
 to  God.  God  has  impressed  a  law  on  the  natural  world  also, 
 that  healthful  care  can,  for  the  most  part,  only  take  place 
 through  bitterness  and  suffering.  The  cures  of  our  bodies 
 picture  to  us  the  cures  of  our  souls.  The  process  may  be  more 
 or  less  painful ;  but  bitterness  is  mixed  in  all.  Those,  who 
 have  felt  it,  say  that  the  restoration  of  suspended  life  is  far 
 more  sulferiug,  than  apparent  death :  restored  circulation  has 
 
250  THE  ACTS  IX.  9. 
 
 pain :  every  touch  of  our  body,  whereby  health  is  given  back, 
 has  pain ;  well  nigh  every  healing  medicine  is  bitter,  or  revolting 
 to  our  taste.  And  by  this  universal  law  God  would  reconcile 
 us  to  those  merciful  bitternesses,  whereby  He  corrects  our 
 vitiated  love  for  the  destructive  sweetnesses  of  this  world,  cures 
 our  sickly  tastes  and  appetites,  teaching  us  to  find  no  sweetness, 
 but  in  Him,  prepares  us  beforehand  to  look  to  them,  as  health- 
 ful, and  find  therein  our  health.  Yes !  sorrow,  sickness,  sufier- 
 ing,  loss,  bereavement  bring  with  them  precious  hours ;  the 
 world  is  withdrawn  from  us,  or  w^e  from  it :  we  are  bound  down 
 to  our  sick  beds,  and  cannot  follow  after  it ;  or,  we  have  lost  it, 
 and  cannot  regain  it ;  or,  it  is  clad  in  sorrow  to  us,  and  appears 
 to  us,  as  it  truly  in  itself  is,  one  void,  incapable  of  satisfying 
 
 us God  blinds  us,  like  Saul,  to  the  world,  that,  like 
 
 Saul,  He  may  open  our  eyes  to  Him :  He  strikes  us  down,  that 
 He  may  raise  us  up :  He  shuts  us  out  from  the  world,  that, 
 being  alone,  we  may,  like  him,  ^ray ;  and,  like  him,  know  His 
 will  and  hear  the  words  of  His  mouth,  xvi.  26 — 31 ;  Jer.  xxiii. 
 29  ;  1  Thess.  i.  6.  Dr.  Pusetj.  (Serm.  Acts  ix.  6.) 
 The  conversion  of  unprepared,  hardened,  blasphemous  sinners  is 
 to   be  accounted,  as  a  most  rare  and  extraordinary  work  of 
 
 God's  power  and  mercy He,  that  is  thus  called,  must 
 
 expect  what  S.  Paul  found,  a  mighty  tempest  throughout  him  ; 
 three  days  at  least  without  sight  or  nourishment,  if  not  a 
 TTupdXvffi's  or  XeiTToyfrvxia,  a  swoon,  a  kind  of  extasy  of  the  whole 
 man,  at  this  tumultuary  driving  out  of  this  high,  rank,  insolent, 
 habituate  "  body  of  sin."  It  is  observed,  that,  when  the  news 
 of  Christ's  Birth  was  brought  by  the  wise  men,  the  city  was 
 straight  in  an  uproar  ;  "  Herod  was  much  troubled,  and  all 
 Jerusalem  with  him,"  S.  Matt.  ii.  3  ;  for  it  seems  they  expected 
 no  such  matter :  and  therefore  so  strange  and  sudden  news 
 produced  nothing,  but  astonishment  and  tumult ;  whilst  "  Si- 
 meon, who  waited  for  the  consolation  of  Israel,"  makes  no  such 
 strange  business  of  it ;  takes  Him  presently  into  his  embraces, 
 and  familiarly  hugs  Him  in  his  arms,  having  been  before  ac- 
 quainted with  Him  by  his  faith.  S.  Luke  ii.  26.  Thus,  at 
 Christ's  spiritual  ev<Tapicwai<s  (Incarnation),  will  it  be  in  an 
 unprepared  heart :  its  reigning  Herod  sins,  and  all  the   Jeru- 
 
THE  ACTS  IX.  9.  251 
 
 salem  and  democracy  of  affections,  a  strange  tumult  of  repining 
 old  habituate  passions,  will  struggle  fiercely,  and  shake  the 
 whole  house,  before  they  leave  it.  viii.  37  ;  xiii.  7,  12,  48.  Dr. 
 Hammond.     (Serm.  S.  Matt.  iii.  3.) 
 
 The  calm  and  quiet  conversions  of  the  Eunuch  and  Cornelius 
 stand  in  juxta-position  with  the  violent  rescue  of  Saul  from 
 the  paths  of  sin  and  of  death.  There  seems  to  be  a  like  re- 
 lativeness,  in  the  cases  of  Lydia  and  the  jailor;  xvi.  14,  15, 
 26,  29.  According  to  a  diversity  in  the  recipient,  is  the  man- 
 ner of  the  Spirit's  working.  Why  then  should  we  strain  con- 
 version into  little  narrow  systems  of  our  own  invention  ?  Why 
 should  we  insist  upon  the  same  process  being  necessary  to  every 
 individual  ?  Above  all,  why  should  we  judge  of  others  by  our- 
 selves ?     (See  note  at  S.  John  iii.  8.     C.  Wolfe)     J.  F. 
 
 Prescribe  not  to  the  Lord  of  all  either  the  time  or  manner  of 
 your  deliverance  from  bondage.  If  you  can  get  no  hope  imme- 
 diately, learn  to  hope  at  a  distance,  and  by  a  side  glance.  Do 
 you  think,  if  you  have  been  such  a  sinner,  as  you  speak  of,  that 
 you  are  in  a  condition  at  once  to  bear  the  pure  and  joyful  light 
 of  God  ?  Bless  Him  rather  that  He  makes  you  feel  obliged 
 to  take  refuge  in  Himself,  like  a  person,  running  away  from 
 fire  and  sword.  For  even  this  severe  dealing  with  you  is  but 
 kindness  in  the  end ;  it  is  a  token  that  He  is  "  not  willing"  that 
 you  should  be  "condemned  with  the  world."  S.  Mark  x.  48; 
 S.  Luke  xxi.  19.     Ecclus.  iv.  17,  18.     Bengel.     (Letters.) 
 
 10  And  there  was  a  certain  disciple  at  Damascus, 
 named  Ananias  ;  and  to  him  said  the  Lord  in  a  vision, 
 Ananias.     And  he  said,  Behold,  I  am  here,  Lord. 
 
 1 1  And  tlie  Lord  said  unto  him,  Arise,  and  go  into 
 the  street  which  is  called  Straight,  and  inquire  in  the 
 house  of  Judas  for  one  called  Saul,  of  Tarsus  :  for, 
 behold,  he  prayeth, 
 
 12  And  hath  seen  in  a  vision  a  man  named  Ananias 
 coming  in,  and  putting  his  hand  on  him,  that  he  might 
 receive  his  sight. 
 
252  THE  ACTS  IX.  10,  11. 
 
 13  Then  Ananias  answered,  Lord,  I  have  heard  by 
 many  of  this  man,  how  much  evil  he  hath  done  to 
 Thy  saints  at  Jerusalem  : 
 
 14  And  here  he  hath  authority  from  the  chief 
 priests  to  bind  all  that  call  on  Thy  name. 
 
 1 5  But  the  Lord  said  unto  him,  Go  thy  way  :  for 
 he  is  a  chosen  vessel  unto  Me,  to  bear  My  name  be- 
 fore the  Gentiles,  and  kings,  and  the  children  of 
 Israel : 
 
 16  For  I  will  show  him  how  great  things  he  must 
 suffer  for  My  name's  sake. 
 
 10  What  we  have  to  behold  is  the  constant  state  of  recollected- 
 ness  and  peaceful  quietness,  which  distinguishes  the  servants  of 
 God  from  the  giddy  and  distracted  slaves  of  this  world.  In 
 this  Ananias  approved  himself  an  heir  of  Abraham's  faith,  and 
 ready  to  "  do  the  works  of  Abraham."     See  Gen.  xxii.  1.     /.  F. 
 
 11  God  hath  none  of  His  children  born  dumb.  As  soon  as  one 
 of  your  children  is  born,  it  cries,  it  sucks,  it  sleeps  :  so  with 
 every  man,  that  is  "born  of  God."  He  cries  unto  God  in 
 prayer ;  lie  sucks  the  bread  of  the  promise ;  and  he  sleeps  in 
 the  bosom  of  God  by  Divine  contentment,  being  dead  unto  all 
 the  world.     Hos.  xiv.  8  ;  S.  John  i.  48.      Wm.  Bridge. 
 
 Prayer  is  the  first  thing,  wherewith  a  righteous  life  beginneth, 
 and  tlie  last,  wherewith  it  does  end.  Prayer,  being  a  work, 
 common  to  the  Triumphant,  as  well  as  the  militant  Church,  a 
 work  common  unto  men  with  Angels,  what  should  we  think,  but 
 that  so  much  of  our  lives  is  celestial  and  Divine,  as  we  spend  in 
 the  exercise  of  prayer  ?     Hooker. 
 
 The  spirit  of  prayer  is  the  Christian's  element A  sense  of 
 
 God  and  of  Divine  things  is  that  to  the  soul,  which  animation 
 is  to  the  body ;  and  the  habitual  devotion  of  the  heart  is,  in 
 spiritual  life,  what  the  action  of  the  lungs  is  in  corporeal  life ; 
 as  Herbert  beautifully  says,  "  God's  breath  in  man  returning  to 
 its  birth."     Paith  therefore  acts  most  radically  by  prayer,  and 
 
THE  ACTS  IX.   12-14.  253 
 
 in  this  way,  chiefly,  it   generates  love,  and  also   strengthens 
 itself.     Ps.  cxix.  131.     Alex.  Knox.     ("Works,  vol.  i.  p.  44.) 
 
 12  In  a  vision. — By  way  of  contrast  with  S.  Paul's  real  sight  of 
 the  LoED.     See  note  at  xxii.  14.     J.  H.  Newman. 
 
 13  Ananias  sought  to  root  up  the  wheat  (S.  Matt.  xiii.  29),  wlien 
 he  thus  complained  of  Saul ;  Lord,  how  inuck  evil  hath  this 
 man  done  to  Thy  saints  I  in  other  words,  "  pull  up  the  tare." 
 Why  send  a  sheep  to  the  wolf?  a  servant  of  Thine  to  a  rebel  ? 
 a  preacher  to  a  persecutor  ?  But,  while  Ananias  looked  at 
 Saul,  the  Lobd  was  looking  at  Paul :  while  Ananias  spake  of 
 a  persecutor,  God  was  taking  knowledge  of  a  preacher;  and, 
 while  he  pointed  to  him,  as  a  tare,  fit  only  to  be  burned  up, 
 sizania  inferni,  Christ  was  gathering  him  into  His  heavenly 
 barn,  as  a  vessel  of  election  unto  honour,  xxi.  38  ;  1  Sam.  xvi.  7. 
 Peter  Chrysologus.     (Serm.  97.) 
 
 Even  then  Christians  were  Saints.  Christ  has  "  His  Saints ;" 
 therefore  He  is  God.     Ps.  1.  5  ;  2  Thess.  i.  10.     Bengel. 
 
 14  How  ordinary  are  the  phrases  of  exalting,  blessing,  praising, 
 and  sanctifying  of  God's  Name,  and  "  making  of  it  to  be  glo- 
 rious;"  of  "a  Glory,  due  to  His  Name,"  Ps.  xxix.  2;  of  "the 
 honour  of  His  Name"  to  be  sung  forth,  Ps.  Ixvi.  2.  And  sure 
 the  Scripture  knows  how  to  speak.  And,  though  the  Name  of 
 Jesus  be  not,  I  confess,  directly  and  immediately  meant,  but  the 
 Name  of  God,  yet  thus  much  we  have  certain  thence  ;  1,  that 
 the  Honour,  due  to  Plis  Name,  be  it  by  words  or  any  expression 
 else  (for  all  our  outward  expressions  have  the  same  ground  and 
 reason,  Phil.  ii.  10)  are  duties  of  the  Text :  and  that,  2,  the 
 Name  of  Jeshs,  being  now  the  Name  of  God,  it  can  be  no 
 superstition  to  do  the  same  to  that.  Now  the  Jews  never 
 mentioned  the  Name  of  God  without  an  adoration  and  a 
 Benedictus ;  whenever  they  mentioned  it,  they  bowed  them- 
 selves, and  added  always,  "  Blessed  for  ever,"  or  "  Blessed  for 
 evermore,"  as  you  have  S.  Paul  Eom.  i.  25 ;  2  Cor.  i.  3;  Eph. 
 i.  3 ;  IS.  Pet.  i.  3  ;  2  Cor.  xi.  21 ;  1  Tim.  vi.  15,  nay,  doing  no 
 less  to  the  Name  of  Christ,  E-om.  ix.  5,  mentioning  Him  there 
 with  the  same  words  after  it :  so  that  it  is  but  reasonable  to 
 suppose  the  Christians  should  do  as  much  to  the  Name  of 
 Jesus,  thereby  to  possess  themselves  that  He  was  God,  and  to 
 
254  THE  ACTS  IX.  15,  16. 
 
 possess  others  against  those  heresies,  that  were  then  starting 
 up  to  rob  Him  of  the  honour  of  llis  Godhead.  Dr.  Mark 
 Frank.     (Serm.  S.  Luke  ii.  21.) 
 
 15  Free  and  rich  grace  indeed  it  is,  not  only  to  cleanse  polluted 
 clay,  but  to  work  it  into  vessels  of  honour ;  yea,  of  the  most 
 defiled  shape  to  make  the  most  refined  vessels,  not  vessels  of 
 honour  of  the  lowest  sort,  but  for  the  highest  and  most  hon- 
 ourable services,  vessels  to  bear  His  own  most  precious  Name 
 to  all  nations  ;  making  the  most  unworthy  and  the  most  unfit, 
 fit,  by  His  grace,  to  be  His  Ministers.     Abp.  Leighton. 
 
 To  make  a  wicked  and  sinful  man  most  holy,  through  his  believ- 
 ing, is  more  than  to  create  a  world  of  nothing.     Hooker. 
 
 16  Where  S.  Stephen  went  before,  massacred  by  the  stones  of 
 Paul,  thither  Paul  followed,  aided  by  th^  prayer  of  S.  Stephen, 
 vii.  60.     Fulgentius. 
 
 The  mantle  of  the  first  of  the  Martyrs  fell  upon  the  last  of  the 
 Apostles.     2  Kings  ii.  13.     J.  F. 
 
 A  sufiering  gift  is  a  greater  gift,  than  the  gift  of  miracles :  for  if 
 God  give  me  a  gift  to  work  miracles,  I  am  in  His  debt ;  but,  if 
 God  give  me  a  sufiering  gift,  He  is  pleased  thereby  to  become 
 my  debtor.     Phil.  i.  29 ;  Eev.  ii.  10.     S.  Chri/sostom. 
 
 Nunc  incipio  Christi  esse  discipulus.  Now  do  I  begin  to  be  a 
 disciple  of  Christ,  v.  41 ;  S.  Luke  xiv.  26,  27,  33.  S.  Ignatius. 
 (On  his  way  to  the  Amphitheatre  at  Eome,  the  scene  of  his 
 martyrdom.) 
 
 Man  seems  formed  to  be  a  hero  in  suffering,  not  a  hero  in  action. 
 Men  err  in  nothing  more,  than  in  the  estimate  they  make  of 
 human  labour.  Ps.  xviii.  35  ;  2  Cor.  xii.  5,  10  ;  Heb.  xi.  32 — 
 40.     R.  Cecil.     (Eemains.     On  the  Christian  life  and  confiicts.) 
 
 Prosperity  is  the  blessing  of  the  Old  Testament ;  adversity  is  the 
 blessing  of  the  New,  which  carrieth  the  greater  benediction, 
 
 and  the  clearer  revelation  of  God's  favour Certainly, 
 
 virtue  is  like  precious  odours,  most  fragrant,  when  they  are 
 incensed  or  crushed.  Prosperity  doth  best  discover  vice  ;  but 
 adversity  doth  discover  virtue.  Deut.  xxxi.  20  ;  S.  Luke  ii.  35  ; 
 S.  John  xii.  3.     Lord  Bacon.     (Essays.  11.) 
 
 17  And  Ananias  went  his  way,  and  entered  into  the 
 
THE  ACTS  IX.  17.  255 
 
 house ;  and  putting  his  hands  on  him  said,  Brother 
 Saul,  the  Lord,  even  Jesus,  that  appeared  unto  thee 
 in  the  way  as  thou  earnest,  hath  sent  me,  that  thou 
 mightest  receive  thy  sight,  and  be  filled  with  the  Holy 
 Ghost. 
 
 18  And  immediately  there  fell  from  his  eyes  as  it 
 had  been  scales  :  and  he  received  sight  forthwith,  and 
 arose,  and  was  baptized. 
 
 19  And  when  he  had  received  meat,  he  was 
 strengthened.  Then  w^as  Saul  certain  days  with  the 
 disciples  which  were  at  Damascus. 
 
 20  And  straightway  he  preached  Christ  in  the 
 synagogues,  that  He  is  the  Son  of  God  . 
 
 21  But  all  that  heard  him  were  amazed,  and  said. 
 Is  not  this  he  that  destroyed  them  which  called  on 
 this  name  in  Jerusalem,  and  came  hither  for  that  in- 
 tent, that  he  might  bring  them  bound  unto  the  chief 
 priests  ? 
 
 22  But  Saul  increased  the  more  in  strength,  and 
 confounded  the  Jews  which  dwelt  at  Damascus,  prov- 
 ing that  this  is  very  Christ. 
 
 17  He  was  in  the  morning,  as  Benjamin — (of  whose  tribe  he 
 was) — a  ravening  wolf ;  he  divides  the  spoil  towards  evening ; 
 and  then  bows  and  reclines  his  head  to  Ananias,  a  sheep  of  the 
 fold  of  Christ.    Gen.  xlix.  27.    ^S".  Jerome.  (Ep.  ad  Heliodorum.) 
 
 S.  Jerome  also  sees  in  this  interview  between  Paul  and  Ananias, 
 a  fulfilment  of  the  prophecy.  "  The  wolf  shall  lie  down  with 
 the  lamb."     Isa.  xi.  6 ;  Ixv.  25.     J.  F. 
 
 When  we  obey,  all,  that  we  have  to  consider,  is  the  "Will  of  Gron : 
 for  whether  it  be  declared  to  us  by  Himself,  by  an  Angel,  or 
 by  never  so  ordinary  a  man,  we  are  alway  obliged  to  submission 
 to  His  orders,  let  the  instrument  He  uses  to  signify  them  to 
 
256  THE  ACTS  IX.  17. 
 
 us  be  what  it  will.  S.  Matt,  xxiii.  2,  3;  Heb.  xiii. ;  Epb.  vi. 
 6,  7 ;  Col.  iii.  23,  24  ...  .  S.  Austin  says,  that  Gtod  intimated 
 this  to  us  in  the  way  He  observed  in  converting  Cornelius  .  .  . 
 "Whence  comes  it,  he  asks,  that  God  did  not  employ  the  same 
 Angel  to  instruct  him  ?  "Was  it  because  the  Angel  was  not 
 capable  ?  Without  doubt,  the  Angel  could  have  done  it.  Not- 
 withstanding God  would  have  Cornelius  make  his  address  to  S. 
 Peter  :  He  would  not  undertake  it  Himself,  nor  commission  an 
 Angel  to  do  it ;  but  commits  him  to  man's  care :  thereby  to 
 honour  mankind,  for  whose  sake  He  Himself  became  man,  and 
 paid  obedience  to  man  (S.  Luke  ii.  51.)  S.  Bernard  makes  the 
 like  remark  upon  S.  Paul's  conversion.  Though  Christ  ap- 
 peared to  him,  yet  He  would  not  declare  His  will  Himself,  but 
 remitted  him  to  Ananias.  "  Go  into  the  city,  &c."  "  How 
 admirable  is  Thy  wisdom,  O  !  God,"  exclaims  S.  Bernard, 
 "  that  does  so  sweetly  dispose  all  things  to  their  end.  You 
 are  pleased  to  send  him,  whom  you  spoke  to  yourself,  to  a  man 
 for  further  instructions  ;  thereby  to  commend  to  us  the  useful- 
 ness of  a  social  life.  You  address  him  to  a  man,  to  honour 
 man  the  more,  the  better  to  show  his  authority,  to  make  us 
 respect  him,  as  your  vice-gerent ;  and  oblige  us  to  receive  the 
 orders  of  our  superiors,  as  coming  from  yourself."  ii.  42;  iv. 
 37;  1  Cor.  V.  20 ;  Gal.  iv.  15.  Rodriguez.  (On  Perfection, 
 P.  iii.  c.  11.) 
 Jesus,  ^^«^  appeared  unto  thee. —  S.  Stephen  saw  his  Sayiour  : 
 the  next  vision  of  that  Sayiotjr  to  mortal  man  was  vouchsafed 
 to  the  very  young  man,  Saul,  who  shared  in  his  murder  and 
 in  his  intercession.  Strange  indeed  it  was :  and  what  would 
 have  been  S.  Stephen's  thoughts,  could  he  have  known  it.  The 
 prayers  of  righteous  men  "avail  much."  The  first  Martyr  had 
 power  with  God  to  raise  up  the  greatest  Apostle.  Sucli  was 
 the  honour,  put  upon  the  first-fruits  of  those  sufferings,  upon 
 which  the  Church  was  entering.  Thus  from  the  beginning  the 
 blood  of  the  Martyrs  was  the  seed  of  the  Cliurcli.  S.  Stephen, 
 one  man,  was  put  to  death  for  saying,  that  the  Jewish  people 
 were  to  have  exclusive  privileges  no  longer  ;  but  from  his  very 
 grave  rose  the  favoured  instrument,  by  whom  the  thousands 
 and    ten    thousands    of    the    Gentiles    were  brouMit    to    the 
 
THE  ACTS  IX.  17,  18.  257 
 
 knowledge    of  the   Truth.     /.  H.  Neivfnan.     (Serm.    1    Cor. 
 XV.  9,  10.) 
 
 Hie  lupus  inde  rapax  vestitur  vellere  molli ; 
 
 Saulus  qui  fuerat,  fit  adempto  lumine  Paulus. 
 
 Mox  recipit  visum,  fit  Apostolus,  ac  populorum 
 
 Ductor,  et  ore  potens  corvos  mutare  columbis. 
 
 Pimdentius.  (Enchiridion,  xlviii.) 
 18  And  arosBy  and  was  Baptized. — There  are  many,  very  many, 
 who  fly  to  things  of  this  world  for  refuge,  to  society,  or  busi- 
 ness, or  pleasure,  to  any  thing,  which  will  take  up  their  thoughts, 
 in  order  to  flee  from  a  sense  of  their  sins  ;  to  endeavour  to  for- 
 get them,  although  it  be  by  increasing  them.  But  for  some 
 this  will  not  do.  They  feel  they  have  an  intolerable  burden, 
 and  nothing  they  fear  so  much,  as  that  they  should  forget  this 
 burden  ;  and  all  they  desire  is  to  obtain,  not  forgetfulness  of 
 their  sins,  but  remission  and  forgiveness.  To  such  the  Offices 
 and  Prayers  of  the  Church  are  an  unspeakable  comfort.  They 
 read,  they  hope,  they  believe,  that  Chkist  has  therein  laid  up 
 for  them  a  store  of  consolation.  Others  may  mock  or  disre- 
 gard ;  but  they  are  dying  for  want  of  healing  :  they  believe  and 
 trust,  that,  as  Naaman,  the  Syrian,  as  the  ten  lepers,  sent  to  the 
 priest,  as  the  blind  man,  sent  to  the  pool  of  Siloam,  as  the  poor 
 woman,  who  touched  the  hem  of  Christ's  garment,  as  these 
 were  all  healed,  when  they  used  poor  earthly  means,  but  in 
 faith  and  obedience  to  Christ  ;  so  they  come  to  the  Ordin- 
 ances, which  Christ  has  appointed  and  therein  are  comforted. 
 They  believe  that  Christ  Himself  is  there,  saying,  "  Come  unto 
 Me,  all  ye  that  travail  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  re- 
 fresh you."  They  believe,  and  according  to  their  faith  is  it 
 done  unto  them.  viii.  36 ;  Isa.  Iv.  1 — 3.  Plain  Sermons. 
 (No.  296.) 
 Art  thou  bred  up  in  a  false  religion  ?  Think  upon  the  wise  men 
 of  the  East.  Art  thou  an  unjust  person  ?  Think  upon  the 
 publican.  Hast  thou  lived  in  uncleanness  ?  Think  upon  the 
 harlot.  Art  thou  a  murderer  ?  Consider  the  thief  upon  the 
 Cross.  Art  thou  a  profane  person  ?  Think  upon  S.  Paul, 
 once  a  blasphemer,  but  afterwards  an  Apostle;  once  a  persecutor, 
 but   afterwards  a  preacher  of  the   Gospel ;  once  a   tare,  but 
 
 s 
 
258  THE  ACTS  IX.  18,  20. 
 
 afterwards  converted  into  good  wheat ;  once  a  wolf,  but  after- 
 wards a  shepherd ;  once  lead,  but  then  changed  into  gold ;  once 
 a  pirate  and  robber,  but  afterwards  a  careful  pilot ;  once  a  de- 
 stroyer, but  afterwards  a  planter  of  God's  vineyard;  once  a 
 puller-down,  but  afterwards  an  eminent  Master-builder  of  the 
 Church  .  .  .  The  Old  Testament  presents  you  with  David ;  the 
 jN'ew  with  S.  Paul :  do  not  therefore  frame  to  thyself  vain  ex- 
 cuses, or  pretend  difficulties,  where  there  are  none.  If  thou  hast 
 sinned,  repent ;  if  thou  hast  sinned  a  thousand  times,  repeat 
 thy  repentance  as  often.  This  is  the  balm,  I  would  pour  into 
 thy  wounds ;  and  this  will  assuage  all  the  anguish  of  them. 
 1  Tim.  i.  12—17  ;  Jer.  viii.  22.    >S'.  Chrijsostom.    (Horn,  in  Ps.  ii.) 
 
 We  find,  consistently  throughout,  that  our  Loed  Himself,  and  the 
 Twelve,  and  then,  again,  the  Seventy,  all  three  Orders,  as  were 
 of  the  Ministry,  combined  together  in  one  these  two  Blessed 
 W'orks  of  healing  the  diseases,  both  of  mind  and  body  .  .  . 
 Ananias,  who  was  sent  to  S.  Paul  by  God,  restored  sight  to 
 his  eyes,  at  the  same  time  that  he  Baptized  him  ...  A  very 
 great  and  important  lesson  is  intended  to  be  conveyed  to  us  by 
 this  circumstance ;  that  God,  in  His  own  Divine^  and  Super- 
 natural teaching,  has  always  combined  the  two  in  His  Kingdom 
 ...  It  appears  that  there  can  be  no  teaching  of  the  Gospel,  no 
 effectual  saving  way  of  edifying  the  souls  of  men,  unless  it  be 
 accompanied  with  compassionate  mercy  and  charity.  Verses 
 34,  40 ;  iii.  7 ;  ix.  18,  34,  40 ;  xix.  12  ;  S.  Luke  ix.  2  ;  x.  9. 
 Plain  Sermons.     (No.  314.) 
 
 20  "We  know  from  the  Church  and  from  many  passages  in  the 
 New  Testament,  that  to  believe  in  Christ,  as  the  Soif  of  God 
 is  the  one  great  point,  on  which  our  salvation  depends  ;  and  it 
 is  often  put,  as  containing  within  it  all  other  doctrine.  For 
 indeed  "  no  one  can  come  to  the  Pather,  but  by  the  Son  ;" 
 nor  "  can  any  man  know  the  Father  save  the  Son,  and  he,  to 
 whomsoever  the  Son  will  reveal  Him."  It  is  therefore  often 
 put  alone ;  as,  "  He,  that  believeth  not  the  Son,  shall  not  see 
 life  ;  but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him."  "  He,  that  hath 
 the  Son,  hath  life ;  and  he,  that  hath  not  the  Son  of  God,  hath 
 not  life."  It  is  the  great  requisite  at  Baptizing;  "  I  believe 
 that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God."     It  is  the  object  of 
 
THE  ACTS  IX.  21.  259 
 
 preaching;  of  S.  Paul,  on  his  conversion,  it  is  said,  that  he 
 preached  Cheist  in  the  synagogues  that  He  is  the  Soif  of  GrOD. 
 It  is  the  object,  for  which  the  Gospels  are  written,  "that  ye 
 might  believe,  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  the  Son  of  Gron."  It 
 is  the  one  thing  our  Loed  demands,  "  Dost  thou  believe  in  the 
 Soisr  of  God  ?"  "  This,"  says  our  Loed  Himself  in  His  prayer 
 to  the  Eathee,  "this  is  Life  Eternal,  that  they  may  know 
 Thee,  the  only  true  God  and  Jesus  Cheist,  whom  Thou  hast 
 sent."  viii.  37 ;  S.  John  xiv.  6 ;  iii.  16 ;  xvii.  3  ;  S.  Matt. 
 xi.  27;  1  S.  John  v.  12.  Is.  Williams.  (Serm.  1  S.  John 
 iv.  15.) 
 21  This  was  far  greater  amazement  than  what  was  felt  in  the  case 
 of  the  first  Saul,  of  the  same  tribe  of  Benjamin  (see  Phil.  iii.  5,) 
 to  whom  "  G-OD  gave  another  heart,"  and  upon  whom  the 
 "  Spirit  of  God  came  "  (1  Sam.  x.  9 — 11)  :  "  And  it  came  to 
 pass,  when  all,  that  knew  him  beforetime,  saw  that,  behold,  he 
 prophesied  among  them,  then  the  people  said  one  to  another, 
 What  is  this,  that  is  come  to  the  son  of  Kish  ?  Is  Saul  also 
 among  the  Prophets  ?"  Is  Saul  of  Tarsus  among  the  Chris- 
 tians ?  And  does  "  he,  which  persecuted  us  in  times  past," 
 now  ''preach  the  faith,  which  once  he  destroyed  ?"  Yerse  13 ; 
 Gal.  i.  23.  A  like  curious  and  interesting  coincidence  may  be 
 traced  in  the  manner,  in  which  Samuel  and  Ananias  were 
 severally  and  respectively  employed  by  God,  in  regard  to  these 
 two  converts.  Comp.  1  Sam.  ix.  15,  16  with  Acts  ix.  10 — ^12. 
 We  do  not  assert,  that  these  coincidences  were  designed,  and 
 much  less,  that  they  bear  any  mutual  typical  relation ;  but  they 
 illustrate  a  sameness  of  eft'ect  in  the  workings  of  Divine  Grace, 
 and  God's  method  of  employing  human  agency  in  the  conver- 
 sion of  men,  even  in  great,  extraordinary,  and  miraculous  cases. 
 Trace  other  curious  coincidences.  1  Sam.  x.  21  (Acts  xi.  25) 
 xvi.  2  ;  xxviii.  9.  J.  F. 
 Which  called  on  this  natne. — They  did  not  say  "  on  Jesus,"  for 
 hatred  :  they  could  not  bear  even  to  hear  His  JSTame.  v.  28* 
 S.  Luke  X.  37  ;  S.  John  iii.  26.  *^.  Chrysostom. 
 Continue  Saulo  plane  mutatus  ab  illo, 
 Qui  modo  ubique  pios  ferro  viuclisque  petebat, 
 Longe  alios  verso  accepit  cum  nomine  sensus ; 
 s2 
 
260  THE  ACTS  IX.   22. 
 
 Et  jam  Paulus  erat :  subito  illi  copia  fandi, 
 Yerborum  rerumque  potens  prudentia  venit, 
 Orta  magis  studio  quam  aut  ullo  parta  labore. 
 Jam  claros  liomimim  fandi  fabricator  adibat 
 Conventus,  medioque  Foro  Divina  locutus 
 Pendentem  populum  insueto  sermon'e  tenebat ; 
 Semine  ab  ^thereo  terris  venisse  Yirum,  quem 
 Venturum  toties  vates  ceeinere  per  orbem, 
 Qui  veterum  lueret  scelus  exitiale  parentum 
 Proditus,  et  Isesum  placaret  Sanguine  Numen 
 Ipse  Suo,  morti  pro  cunctis  deditus  uuus; 
 Atque  hsec  crebra  quidem,  populosque  ad  Sacra  vocabat, 
 Multa  querens  super  extincto,  super  arbore  multa 
 Infami,  et  poenas  fando  integrabat  acerbas. 
 
 Obstupuere  omnes,  nimiumque  ea  mira  videri. 
 Unde  nova  hsec  species,  tam  versa  repente  cupido  ? 
 Et  veterem  in  Pauli  quserebant  pectore  Saulum, 
 Hand  aliter,  suadente  fame,  implacabilis  ingens 
 Exitium  peeori  modo  qui  csedemque  parabat 
 Ille  lupus,  pleno  si  forte  receptus  ovili 
 Mitescat,  jamque  inter  oves  innoxius  erret, 
 Et  pavidos  lambat,  linguaque  remulceat  agnos  ! 
 
 M.  H.  Vida.  (Hymn.  D.  Paulo  Apost.) 
 22  Increased  the  more  in  strength. — As  the  necessity  of  a  regular 
 external  ordination  and  separation  to  the  Ministry  is  argued 
 from  Acts  xiii.  1 — 4,  albeit  S.  Paul  bad  received  an  express 
 supernatural  call  from  heaven,  so  from  the  fact,  recorded  in  this 
 verse,  we  may  infer  the  doctrine  of  gradual  grovs^th  and  progres- 
 sive improvement  in  grace,  in  every  Christian,  even  supposing 
 his  first  conversion  to  have  been,  like  S.  Paul's,  miraculous. 
 Our  fallen  nature  must  be  incapable  of  any  sudden  perfection, 
 since  we  read  of  One,  "without  sin,"  who  "increased,"  &c.  S. 
 Luke  ii.  52.  J.  F. 
 Prom  such  a  lowness  he  was  raised  to  such  a  height,  that,  as 
 Origen  says,  many  did  believe,  that  S.  Paul  had  been  that  Holt 
 GnosT,  which  Chetst  had  promised  to  the  world,  after  His 
 departing  from  it.  Gal.  i.  24  ;  iv.  13 — 15.  Dr.  Donne.  (Serm. 
 Acts  ix.  4.) 
 
THE  ACTS  IX.  25.  261 
 
 His  learning  in  the  Law  enabled  him  to  stop  their  mouths,  and 
 suffered  them  not  to  speak.  They  thought  indeed,  being  de- 
 livered from  S.  Stephen,  that  they  were  delivered  from  further 
 disputes  on  this  matter ;  but  they  now  found  another  Stephen 
 stronger  than  the  first.     S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 23  And  after  that  many  days  were  fulfilled,  the 
 Jews  took  counsel  to  kill  him : 
 
 24  But  their  laying  await  was  known  of  Saul.  And 
 they  watched  the  gates  day  and  night  to  kill  him. 
 
 25  Then  the  disciples  took  him  by  night,  and  let 
 him  down  by  the  wall  in  a  basket. 
 
 26  And  when  Saul  was  come  to  Jerusalem,  he  as- 
 sayed to  join  himself  to  the  disciples :  but  they  were 
 all  afraid  of  him,  and  believed  not  that  he  was  a  dis- 
 ciple. 
 
 27  But  Barnabas  took  him,  and  brought  him  to  the 
 Apostles,  and  declared  unto  them  how  he  had  seen  the 
 Lord  in  the  way,  and  that  He  had  spoken  to  him, 
 and  how  he  had  preached  boldly  at  Damascus  in  the 
 name  of  Jesus. 
 
 28  And  he  was  with  them  coming  in  and  going  out 
 at  Jerusalem. 
 
 29  And  he  spake  boldly  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
 Jesus,  and  disputed  against  the  Grecians :  but  they 
 went  about  to  slay  him. 
 
 30  Which  when  the  brethren  knew,  they  brought 
 him  down  to  Csesarea,  and  sent  him  forth  to  Tarsus. 
 
 31  Then  had  the  churches  rest  throughout  all 
 Judaea  and  GaUlee  and  Samaria,  and  were  edified  ;  and 
 walking  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  and  in  the  comfort  of 
 the  Holy  Ghost,  were  multiplied. 
 
262  THE  ACTS  IX.  25—30. 
 
 25  We  see  from  this  how  God  humbles  those,  who  are  His.  .  .  . 
 Therefore  S.  Paul  (2  Cor.  xi.  22)  numbers  this  event  among  his 
 infirmities.  He  was  early  instructed  to  bear  the  cross  by  this 
 first  lesson,     ii.  13  ;  Ecclus.  iv.  17  ;  1  Sam.  xix.  12.     Calviii. 
 
 26  We  must  not  presently  reach  forth  the  right  hand  of  fellow- 
 sliip  to  every  one,  that  beginneth  to  cry  "Lord,  Lord  ;"  but 
 first  we  must  weigh  tliem  in  the  balance  of  the  Sanctuary,  to 
 see  whether  they  be  current  metal,  or  no.  Jehu's  question  is 
 fit  for  all  good  Christians  to  propound  to  such,  as  Jehu  was, 
 before  they  admit  them  into  their  society  ;  "  Is  thy  heart  up- 
 right ?"  2  Kings  X.  15.  As  Cheist  would  not  trust  some,  that 
 seemed  to  trust  Him,  because  He  knew  them  well  enough  ;  so 
 neither  should  we,  because  we  do  not  know  them.  See,  how 
 scrupulous  the  Christians  were  at  first  to  receive  S.  Paul  into 
 their  company,  which  was  not  so  much  dainty  niceness,  as  just 
 cautiousness  ;  whereto  the  deceitfulness  of  man's  heart  doth 
 necessarily  urge  us.  It  is  not  good  indeed  to  wrong  any  man 
 with  groundless  suspicions  ;  so  neither  is  it  good  to  wrong  our- 
 selves with  over-easy  credulity.  The  same  Spirit,  that  saith, 
 "  Charity  believeth  all  things,"  saith  also,  that  "  a  fool  believeth 
 all  things  :"  and  charity  is  no  fool ;  as  it  is  not  easily  suspicious, 
 so  neither  lightly  credulous.  S.  John  i.  46,  47 ;  IS.  John 
 iv.  1 ;  Eev.  ii.  2.  Dr.  Dy/ce.  (The  Mystery  of  self-deceiv- 
 ing, ch.  2.) 
 
 27  To  cultivate  the  sweet  and  kindly  passions,  to  cherish  an  afi'ec- 
 tionate  and  social  temper,  to  beget  in  ourselves  by  repeated  acts 
 of  goodness  a  settled  complacency,  goodwill,  and  benevolence  to 
 all  mankind  in  general,  is  a  constant  spring  of  satisfaction.  By 
 this  means  we  relish  our  yery  nature ;  it  is  this  temper,  that 
 generally  procures  us  the  peace  of  the  world  without;  and 
 always  gives  us  that  unriifiled  peace  within,  which  the  world  can- 
 not give.  It  produces  a  mutual  intercourse  of  friendly  ofiices 
 and  endearments,  as  revenge  occasions  a  perpetual  round  of 
 receiving  and  returning  injuries.  Eph.  iv.  1 — 6,  31,  32 ;  Col. 
 iii.  12—15.     /.  Seed.     (Serm.  S.  Matt.  v.  44.) 
 
 29,  30  Tarsus. — He  was  not  idle  there  ;  but  certainly  preached  the 
 Gospel,  and  in  all  probability  was  the  founder  of  the  Churches 
 alluded  to  ch.  xv.  23  and  41.     Alford. 
 
THE  ACTS  IX.  31.  263 
 
 31  Why,  ou  the  departure  of  S.  Paul,  did  peace  suddenly  shine 
 forth  on  the  Churches,  save  for  this  cause,  that  the  very  sight 
 of  him  excited  the  rage  of  the  enemies  ?     Calvin. 
 
 Edified. — It  is  one  great  benefit  of  peace  and  of  concord  in  the 
 Church,  that  writing  controversies  is  turned  into  books  of  prac- 
 tical devotion,  for  increase  of  piety  and  virtue.  Isa.  ii.  4  ; 
 !Rom.  xiv.  19.     Lord  Bacon. 
 
 As  that  friendship  is  the  greatest,  which  no  difierence  of  humour 
 can  divide ;  so,  if  we  examine  well  the  matter,  we  shall  find, 
 that  fear  and  hope  are  such  inseparable  friends,  they  cannot 
 possibly  subsist  without  each  other's  company  :  the  separation  of 
 one  is  certainly  the  death  of  the  other.  Tear,  without  hope,  soon 
 degenerates  into  despair ;  hope,  without  fear,  is  now  no  longer 
 hope,  but  dangerous  presumption.  "We  must  not  therefore 
 presently  conclude,  that  we  have  lost  our  hope :  no,  no ;  we 
 should  have  lost  it,  if  we  did  not  fear.  S.  Mark.  i.  15.  A  Con- 
 trite heart.     (P.  ii.  s.  3.) 
 
 No  man  fears  God  truly,  but  that  that  fear  ends  in  love.  Ps. 
 XXV.  14.     Dr.  Bonne. 
 
 The  Primitive  Churches  walked  in  the  comfort  of  the  Holy 
 Ghost.  It  is  no  easy  thing  to  quiet  a  troubled  mind,  to  com- 
 fort a  wounded  spirit,  or  to  renew  the  joys  of  a  soul,  made 
 sorrowful  by  sin  and  temptation :  a  man  may  as  well  still 
 the  raging  ocean,  as  by  his  own  power  give  peace  and  comfort 
 to  a  soul  swallowed  up  with  over-much  sorrow  :  but,  in  the 
 multitude  of  distressing  thoughts,  God's  comforts  can  "  delight 
 the  soul."  His  peace  "  passes  all  understanding."  But  now 
 this  joy  and  peace  are  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit :  He  therefore 
 is  the  God  of  all  comfort :  none,  but  God,  could  be  such 
 a  Comforter,  as  He.  S.  Matt.  viii.  26;  Isa.  Ii.  12;  Ivii.  19; 
 Ixi.  1,  2.  Hurrion.  (On  the  Holy  Spirit.  Serm.  1  Cor. 
 iii.  16.) 
 
 Were  edified. — What  stranger,  whom  you  have  ever  lodged,  has 
 not  borne  witness  to  the  steadfastness  of  your  faith,  and  its 
 fruitfulness  in  all  good  works  ?  and  admired  the  temper  and 
 moderation  of  your  religion  in  Cheist  ?  .  .  Por  ye  did  all 
 things  without  respect  of  persons,  and  walked  in  the  laws  of 
 God,  being  subject  to  those,  who  had  the  rule  over  you,  and 
 
264  THE  ACTS  IX.  31. 
 
 giving  the  honour,  that  was  fitting  to  the  aged  among  you.  Ye 
 commanded  the  young  men  to  be  modest  and  serious  in  their 
 thoughts,  the  women  to  be  unblameable.  .  .  Ye  were  all  of  you 
 humble- minded,  void  of  all  pride,  desirous  rather  of  being  sub- 
 ject yourselves,  than  of  ruling  others,  and  of  giving,  rather  than 
 receiving  .  .  hearkening  to  the  Word  of  God,  and  having  His 
 sufferings  always  before  you.  Thus  a  settled  happy  peace  was 
 imparted  to  you,  an  unwearied  desire  to  do  good,  and  a  plentiful 
 effusion  of  the  Holt  Ghost  was  upon  you  all.  And,  being 
 full  of  good  designs,  ye  did  with  great  readiness  and  with  a  re- 
 ligious confidence  stretch  forth  your  hands  to  Almighty  God  ; 
 beseeching  Him  to  be  merciful  to  you,  if  in  anything  ye  had 
 unwillingly  sinned  against  Him.  Ye  were  "  sincere  and  without 
 offence"  toward  each  other;  not  mindful  of  injuries.  All  se- 
 dition and  schism  was  an  abomination  to  you.  Ye  bewailed 
 every  one  his  neighbour's  sins,  esteeming  their  defects  your 
 own.  Ye  were  kind  one  to  another  without  grudging ;  being 
 "  ready  to  every  good  work :"  and,  being  thus  adorned  with  a 
 conversation  altogether  virtuous  and  religious,  ye  did  all  things 
 in  the  fear  of  God,  whose  Commandments  were  written  upon 
 the  tables  of  your  hearts.  S.  Matt.  v.  13—16 ;  2  Cor.  v.  17. 
 Clemens  Rom.     (Ep.  ad  Corinth,  i.  s.  1,  2.) 
 
 32  And  it  came  to  pass,  as  Peter  passed  throughout 
 all  quarters,  he  came  down  also  to  the  saints  which 
 dwelt  at  Lydda. 
 
 33  And  there  he  found  a  certain  man  named  ^neas, 
 which  had  kept  his  bed  eight  years,  and  was  sick  of 
 the  palsy. 
 
 34  And  Peter  said  unto  him,  ^Eneas,  Jesus  Christ 
 maketh  thee  whole :  arise,  and  make  thy  bed.  And 
 he  arose  immediately. 
 
 35  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 
 
THE  ACTS  IX.  32—36.  265 
 
 Tabitha,  which  by  interpretation  is  called  Dorcas  :  this 
 woman  was  full  of  good  works  and  almsdeeds  which 
 she  did. 
 
 37  And  it  came  to  pass  in  those  days,  that  she  was 
 sick,  and  died :  whom  when  they  had  washed,  they 
 laid  her  in  an  upper  chamber. 
 
 38  And  forasmuch  as  Lydda  was  nigh  to  Joppa, 
 and  the  disciples  had  heard  that  Peter  was  there,  they 
 sent  unto  him  two  men,  desiring  him  that  he  would 
 not  delay  to  come  to  them. 
 
 32  While  there  was  persecution,  Peter  was  in  Jerusalem  (viii.  14)  : 
 but,  when  the  affairs  of  the  Church  are  everywhere  in  security, 
 then  it  is,  that  he  leaves  Jerusalem.  2  Sam.  xi.  11 ;  2  Tim.  iv.  5. 
 *S'.  Chrysostom. 
 
 As  a  commander,  inspecting  an  army,  takes  notice  what  troops 
 stand  well  in  their  ranks  together,  coadunata,  which  are  well 
 accoutred  and  drilled,  where  his  own  presence  is  most  required. 
 Col.  ii.  5.     Clarius. 
 
 36  A  good  work,  in  general,  is  a  holy  or  gracious  action,  to  the 
 making  up  of  which  these  four  things  are  necessary.  1,  The 
 principle  must  be  good,  from  which  it  proceeds  ;  it  must  be 
 from  "an  honest  and  upright  heart,"  from  "  a  pure  conscience, 
 from  faith  unfeigned."  2,  The  matter  must  be  good.  3,  It 
 must  be  well  done.  4,  It  must  be  done  to  the  glory  of  God. 
 Good  works  are  necessary  to  salvation,  so,  as  though  we  are  not 
 like  to  be  saved  by  works,  yet  we  cannot  be  saved  without  them. 
 He,  that  works  not,  shall  not  "  eat  bread  in  the  kingdom  of  God." 
 Good  works  signify  the  same  with  a  good  life ;  the  doing  and 
 observing  all  things,  which  God  hath  commanded  us ;  our  living 
 holily,  honestly,  circumspectly,  fruitfully  ;  the  exercising  of  all 
 the  graces  of  Cheist,  faith,  love,  hope  ;  the  subduing  and  mor- 
 tifying of  lust  and  corruption,  the  governing  of  our  hearts  and 
 tongues,  the  ordering  of  our  carriage  towards  God  and  men ; 
 all  acts  of  religion,  righteousness,  mercy,  charity,  praying,  fast- 
 ing,  hearing,    sanctifying   the    Sabbath ;   lending,  giving,  for- 
 
266  THE  ACTS  IX.  36—38. 
 
 giving,  peace-making,  instructing,  exhorting,  reproving,  com- 
 forting, denying  ourselves,  taking  up  our  cross,  following 
 Christ.  1  Cor.  xv.  58  ;  Eom.  xii. ;  1  Thess.  v.  Sir  M.  Hale. 
 (Vind.  Piet.) 
 
 The  Communion  of  goods  therefore  was  not  practised  at  Joppa. 
 ii.  44.     Bengel. 
 
 Hail,  Tabitha !  Thou  hast  the  highest  glorj,  and  of  the  most 
 solid  kind,  that  is  attainable  on  earth !  .  .  .  (Thy  works)  are 
 not  like  the  swelling  deeds  of  heroes  and  statesmen,  which  have 
 hitherto,  for  the  most  part,  monopolised  the  historic  page  :  but 
 the  persons,  who  are  influenced  by  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  like 
 Tabitha,  will  yet  know  with  wliom  they  would  wish  to  be  num- 
 bered. The  female  sex,  almost  excluded  from  civil  history,  will 
 a23pear  more  conspicuous  in  Ecclesiastical.  Less  immersed  in 
 secular  concerns,  and  less  haughty  and  independent  in  spirit, 
 they  seem  in  all  ages  to  have  had  their  full  proportion,  or 
 more  than  the  other  sex,  of  the  grace  of  the  Gospel.  Prov. 
 xxxi.  10—31.  /.  Milner.  (Hist,  of  the  Church.  Cent.  i. 
 eh.  2.) 
 
 37  Bied. — The  life  of  man  is  to  be  estimated  by  the  usefulness  of 
 it.     Wisd.  iv.  8—14.     Th.  Lamb. 
 
 38  They  sent  unto  him,  ^c. — The  elders  of  the  Church  can  autho- 
 ritatively minister  comfort.  It  is  not  false  divinity  to  say  that 
 God  will  hear  their  prayers  (ver.  40),  when  He  will  not  hear 
 the  prayers  of  others.  Use  their  help  then ;  it  is  help  in  the 
 way  of  an  ordinance ;  and  then  you  may  the  better  expect  a 
 blessing,  viii.  24 ;  S.  James  iv.  14  ;  S.  Luke  viii.  41.  Br. 
 M ant  071. 
 
 To  have  a  fixed  Pastor,  who  is  particularly  entrusted  with  the  care 
 of  your  souls,  to  whom  you  may  at  all  times  freely  resort  and 
 disclose  your  spiritual  wants,  whose  neighbourhood  and  con- 
 versation may  contract  a  particular  friendship  and  familiarity, 
 and  beget  a  mutual  confidence  and  endearment,  is  quite  a 
 different  thing  from  public  and  general  exhortations :  and 
 the  reason,  why  men  do  not  more  value  the  benefit  and  ad- 
 vantage of  a  parochial  guide,  is  because  generally  they  make 
 so  little  use  of  him.  Phil.  ii.  20.  Sherlock.  (On  Eeligious 
 Assemblies.     P.  ii.) 
 
THE  ACTS  IX.  38.  267 
 
 Every  Minister  ought  to  be  careful  in  visiting  all  the  sick  and 
 afflicted  persons  of  his  parish  ;  ever  remembering,  that,  as  "  the 
 priest's  lips"  are  to  "preserve  knowledge,"  so  it  is  his  duty  to 
 minister  a  word  of  comfort  in  time  of  need.  He  must  not  stay 
 till  he  be  sent  for  ;  but,  of  his  own  accord  and  care,  go  to  them, 
 to  examine  them,  to  exhort  them,  to  perfect  their  repentance,  to 
 strengthen  their  faith,  to  encourage  their  patience,  to  persuade 
 them  to  resignation,  to  the  renewing  of  their  holy  vows,  to  the 
 Love  of  God,  to  be  reconciled  to  their  neighbours,  to  make  res- 
 titution and  amends,  to  confess  their  sins,  to  settle  their  estate, 
 to  provide  for  their  charges,  to  do  acts  of  piety  and  charity ; 
 and,  above  all  things,  that  they  take  care  they  do  not  sin  to- 
 wards the  end  of  their  lives.  For,  if  repentance  on  our  death- 
 bed seem  so  very  late  for  the  sins  of  our  life,  what  time  shall  be 
 left  to  repent  us  of  the  sins  we  conmiit  on  our  death-bed  ? 
 Ezek.  xxxiv.  Bp.  J.  Taylor.  (Advice  to  his  Clergy.  Ch.  vi. 
 s.  71,  72.) 
 
 39  Then  Peter  arose  and  went  with  them.  When 
 he  was  come,  they  brought  him  into  the  upper  cham- 
 ber :  and  all  the  widows  stood  by  him  weeping,  and 
 showing  the  coats  and  garments  which  Dorcas  made, 
 while  she  was  with  them. 
 
 40  But  Peter  put  them  all  forth,  and  kneeled  down, 
 and  prayed  :  and  turning  him  to  the  body  said,  Tabitha, 
 arise.  And  she  opened  her  eyes :  and  when  she  saw 
 Peter,  she  sat  up. 
 
 41  And  he  gave  her  his  hand,  and  lifted  her  up, 
 and  when  he  had  called  the  saints  and  widows,  pre- 
 sented her  alive. 
 
 42  And  it  was  known  throughout  all  Joppa ;  and 
 many  believed  in  the  Lord. 
 
 43  And  it  came  to  pass,  that  he  tarried  many  days 
 in  Joppa  with  one  Simon  a  tanner. 
 
2G8  THE  ACTS  IX.  39. 
 
 39  Since  good  men,  wliile  thev  are  aliye,  have  their  convereation 
 in  hearen,  ^hen  they  are  in  heaven  it  is  also  fit,  that  they 
 should  in  their  good  names  live  upon  earth.  And,  as  their 
 great  examples  are  an  excellent  sermon  to  the  living,  and  the 
 praising  them,  when  envy  and  flattery  can  have  no  interest  to 
 interpose,  as  it  is  the  best  and  most  vigorous  sermon  and  in- 
 centive to  great  things ;  so  to  conceal  what  good  God  hath 
 wrought  by  them  is  great  unthankfulness  to  God  and  to  good 
 men.  "WTien  Dorcas  died,  the  Apostle  came  to  see  the  dead 
 corpse,  and  the  friends  of  the  deceased  expressed  their  grief 
 and  their  love  by  showing  the  coats  that  she,  whilst  she  lived, 
 wrought  with  her  own  hands ;  she  was  a  good  needlewoman, 
 and  a  good  housewife,  and  did  good  to  mankind  in  her  little 
 way :  and  that  itself  ought  not  to  be  forgotten ;  and  the  Apostle 
 himself  was  not  displeased  with  their  little  sermons,  and  that 
 €v<pTjuiTfio^,  which  the  women  made  upon  that  sad  interview. 
 XX.  35  ;  Heb.  xi.  4,  39 ;  1  Tim.  v.  10  :  Ps.  cxii.  6.  Bj).  J.  Taylor. 
 (Serm.  1  Cor.  xv.  23.) 
 
 The  Jews,  without  any  particular  Law  for  it,  had  honour  done  to 
 the  memory  of  worthy  persons  at  their  funerals,  2  Chron.  XTvii. 
 33.  The  rites  of  it  are  particularly  described,  2  Chron.  xvi. 
 14.  .  .  .  To  this,  I  conceive,  the  Preacher  alludes  Eccl.  vii.  1. 
 The  primitive  Christians  were  very  observant  this  way.  They 
 saw  it  was  the  will  of  their  Lobd  and  ^Master,  that  "  the  good 
 work,"  that  was  done  upon  Him  by  ^lary,  should  be  kept  in  per- 
 petual memory,  and  it  is  therefore  recorded  in  the  Gospel.  They 
 saw  how  the  works  of  Dorcas  were  shown  at  her  death,  the 
 coats  and  garments,  which  she  made  for  the  poor.  ...  It  is  of 
 no  small  force  to  make  men  love  a  religion,  when  they  see  it 
 infuses  excellent  principles,  that  it  excites  to  suitable  practices, 
 that  it  is  proof  against  suffering  and  death ;  and  the  experience 
 of  that  power,  it  hath  in  some,  provokes  and  animates  others 
 to  the  same.  S.  Luke  x.  37  ;  Eev.  xiv.  13.  Dr.  Lloyd.  (Serm. 
 Heb.  xiii.  7.     Preached  at  the  Funeral  of  Bp.  Wilkins.) 
 
 How  much  better  do  these  retired  virtues  deserve  recording,  than 
 those  spendid  mischiefs,  which  historians  call  up  their  eloquence 
 to  adorn.     S.  IMatt.  xxiv.  31 — 41 ;  S.  3Iark  xiv.  9.     R.  Cecil. 
 
 Charity  is  the  greatest  of  all  virtues,  as  it  always  was  the  cliief 
 
THE  ACTS  IX.  40.  41.  269 
 
 temper  of  the  greatest  saints.  Live  therefore  in  hnmble  labour 
 for  the  good  of  others,  and  let  ceremonious  Wsits.  and  vaiii  ac- 
 quaintances, have  as  little  of  your  time,  as  you  possibly  can. 
 Contract  no  foolish  friendships,  or  vain  fondnesses  for  particular 
 persons ;  but  love  them  most,  that  most  turn  your  love  towards 
 God,  and  your  compassion  towards  all  the  world,  x.  3S  :  xiv. 
 17  ;  xvii.  IS  ;  Ps.  xvi.  3.      JFm.  Laic. 
 
 40  The  Blessed  Apostle,  in  the  performance  of  this  greatest  of 
 miracles  in  raising  the  dead,  treads  in  the  steps,  and,  as  it  were, 
 catches  the  very  tone  and  manner  of  his  blaster.  He  put  fhem 
 all  forth ;  he  addresses  the  deceased  by  name ;  his  word  of 
 power  is  ''Arise  ;''  he  takes  her  by  the  hand,  and  lifts  her  up  ; 
 he  presents  her  to  the  saints  and  widows,  reviving  that  gracious 
 condescending  act  of  the  Loed,  who  "  delivered  the  young  man 
 to  his  mother."     Terse  17  ;  iii.  7 ;  S.  Luke  xu.  15.     J.  F. 
 
 AVhen  he  takes  time  to  pray,  he  seems  in  some  doubt  of  the  issue. 
 On  healing  JEneas,  he  at  once  burst  forth  with  these  words, 
 "-Eueas,  Jzsrs  Christ  maketh  thee  whole."  But,  as  the 
 operation  of  the  Spirit  is  not  always  alike,  and  the  same,  it  may 
 be,  that,  while  he  allows  the  power  of  God,  he  yet  makes  a 
 gradual  approach  to  the  miracle,  gradatim  tamen  ad  miraculum 
 processerif.  Yet  it  seems  an  unreasonable  thing,  that  he  should 
 thrust  from  the  chamber  all  the  saints,  whom  it  had  been 
 better  to  have  made  eye  witnesses :  but,  because  the  Loed  had 
 not  yet  revealed  to  him  the  time  and  the  manner  of  putting 
 forth  His  power,  he  therefore  seeks  to  be  alone  and  to  have 
 more  convenience  to  pray.     x.  10 ;  2  Kings  xiv.  32.     Caltin. 
 
 41  She,  who  to  suffering  widows  had  dispensed  the  means  of  li\*ing, 
 earned  a  recal  to  life,  through  the  widows'  intercession.  Verse 
 3S :  vii.  GO;  ix.  17.  S.  Cyprian.  (Tivatise  on  works  and 
 alms,  X.) 
 
 Dando  coelestes  fiunt.  These  transitory  earthly  things  procure  us 
 the  unspeakable  riches  and  treasures  of  heaven.  Cornelius' 
 alms  and  prayers  ascended,  as  a  memorial  to  God,  and  procured 
 the  great  grace  of  the  knowledge  of  Christ,  and  the  gift  of  the 
 Holt  Ghost  :  and  Dorcas's  alms  obtained  her  resurrection 
 to  life.  God  remembered  them  both  :  and  shall  wo  forgot  to 
 do  £rood  and  distribute  our  alms,  which   have   that   force,  that 
 
270  THE  ACTS  IX.  42,  43. 
 
 God  will  never  forget  them  ?  x.  2  ;  1  Tim.  iii.  2  ;  v.  10  ;  Heb. 
 vi.  10.  Bp.  Buckeridge.  (Serm.  Heb.  xiii.  16.  Preached  at 
 the  runeral  of  Bp.  Andrewes.) 
 
 42  This  joy,  caused  among  the  poor  saints  and  widows  by  the 
 resurrection  of  Tabitha,  was  a  joy,  comparable  only  to  the  grief, 
 felt  by  them  at  her  death.  Let  us  ask  ourselves ;  "  Will  any  of 
 Christ's  poor  saints  and  widows  have  cause  to  mourn,  when 
 our  time  comes  to  be  taken  from  them  ?  Supposing  its  possi- 
 bility, would  our  restoration  to  life  fill  their  hearts  with  joy?" 
 By  this  simple  test  we  may  come  to  know  whether  we  are  living 
 to  any  good  purpose,  and  whether  we  shall  stand  with  the 
 "Blessed  Children  of  the  Fathek,"  at  the  right  Hand  of  the 
 Lord,  on  that  Day,  when  Tabitha  shall  be  "brought  to  the  King" 
 in  these  very  "  raiments  of  needlework ;"  and  when  her  good 
 works  shall  be  "shown,"  not  with  "weeping,"  but  exceeding 
 joy ;  not  by  devout  women,  but  by  the  Angels  of  God.  Ps. 
 xlv.  15  ;  S.  Luke  xiv.  14.     J.  F. 
 
 43  It  would  appear  that  Simon  was  a  man  of  some  distinction  in 
 his  trade,  and  not  one  of  the  ordinary  workmen ;  for  S.  Luke 
 speaks  afterwards,  xx.,  of  some,  who  ministered  unto  him. 
 Hence  Peter  was  conveniently  and  well  lodged.     Calvin. 
 
 Ipsa  Palsestino  constructa  in  littore  Lydda 
 Testis,  oliviferis  tellus  uberrima  sylvis  ; 
 Cujus  agros  peragrans  ^neam  solvere  nodis 
 Evaluit,  quos  pigra  lues  abstrinxerat  olim, 
 Pecerat  et  miserum  defunctis  vivere  nervis. 
 Testis,  Lyddiaco  Joppe  contermina  campo, 
 Munifica3  Joppe  clarata  salute  TabithsB : 
 Qua3,  dum  membra  nigro  resident  composta  feretro, 
 Defleturque  suis,  Petro  revocante,  revixit, 
 Et  stupuit  superesse  sibi,  mortisque  catenas 
 Effregisse  ferse  ac  nulli  remeabile  regnum. 
 
 T.  Gallutius.     (Carm.  Lib.  i.  De  D.  Petro  in 
 vinculis.) 
 
THE  ACTS  X.   1.  271 
 
 CHAPTER  X. 
 
 T^HERE  was  a  certain  man  in  Csesarea  called  Corne- 
 lius, a  centurion  of  the  band  called  the  Italian  hand, 
 
 2  A  devout  rnan,  and  one  that  feared  God  with  all 
 his  house,  which  gave  much  alms  to  the  people,  and 
 prayed  to  God  alway. 
 
 3  He  saw  in  a  vision  evidently  about  the  ninth  hour 
 of  the  day  an  angel  of  God  coming  in  to  him,  and 
 saying  unto  him,  Cornelius. 
 
 4  And  when  he  looked  on  him,  he  was  afraid,  and 
 said.  What  is  it.  Lord  ?  And  he  said  unto  him.  Thy 
 prayers  and  thine  alms  are  come  up  for  a  memorial 
 before  God. 
 
 5  And  now  send  men  to  Joppa,  and  call  for  one 
 Simon,  whose  surname  is  Peter : 
 
 6  He  lodgeth  with  one  Simon  a  tanner,  w^hose 
 house  is  by  the  sea  side :  he  shall  tell  thee  what  thou 
 oughtest  to  do. 
 
 1  This  Centurion  was  the  Ant esiy nanus.,  the  standard-bearer  to 
 us  and  to  all,  that  were  mere  heathens ;  and  this  coming  of  the 
 Holt  Ghost  (conf.  ii.  4)  our  coming  properly.  It  is  well 
 sorted,  you  see  :  on  the  Jews  and  proselytes,  at  Jerusalem,  their 
 city ;  on  the  Gentiles,  at  Cesarea,  CsBsar's  city,  fitting  the 
 Gentiles  best.  Well  observed  it  is  about  the  calling  of  the 
 Gentiles  ;  that  that,  in  the  Old,  and  this,  in  the  New,  both  came 
 from  one  place,  from  Joppa  both :  thence  loosed  Jonas  to 
 Nineveh ;  thence  set  out  Peter  to  Csesarea.  Secondly,  that 
 Csesarea  is  the  Nineveh,  as  it  were,  of  the  New  Testament. 
 Nineveh  was  the  city  of  the  great  king  of  the  Gentiles,  at  that 
 time ;  Csesarea,  Csesar's  city,  as  great  a  king  over  the  Gentiles, 
 
272  THE  ACTS  X.  1,  2. 
 
 at  this ;  from  whence  went  a  commandment  that  "  the  whole 
 world  should  be  taxed,"  S.  Luke  ii.  1.  Thirdly,  that  was  per- 
 formed by  Jonas,  this  by  Bar-jonas :  so  is  S.  Peter  called  by 
 our  Sayiotjr,  when  he  made  his  confession  that  Christ  was 
 "the  Son  of  God;"  and  that  was  at  Csesarea.  Where,  what 
 he  confessed  then,  he  comes  to  preach  now  (ix.  20).  That  of 
 Jonas  an  omen,  as  it  were,  of  this  (here)  of  S.  Peter.  Jonas 
 and  Bar-jonas  from  Joppa  they  both  went ;  both  from  one 
 place ;  both  for  one  end ;  both  to  convert  the  Gentiles,  to  show 
 that  God  had  "given  them  also  repentance  unto  life."  Alway 
 this  the  better :  for  Jonas  at  Nineveh,  he  ends  with  "  Nineveh 
 shall  be  destroyed ;"  Bar-jonas  at  Csesarea  with  ^^  Acce][>tus  est 
 nil  (is  accepted  with  God)  :"  that  the  end  of  the  Text ;  or,  if 
 you  will  go  to  the  end  of  the  Sermon,  the  end  is,  shall  obtain 
 remission  of  sins ;  (verse  43)  as  good  as  it,  every  way.  Jonah 
 i*  3,  5 ;  iii.  4 ;  Isa.  xxxvi.  13 ;  S.  Matt.  xvi.  13,  17.  Bp.  An- 
 drewes.     (Serm.  Acts  x.  84,  35,) 
 
 A  centurion. — A  soldier,  or  a  tradesman,  is  not  called  to  Minister 
 at  the  Altar,  or  to  preach  the  Gospel ;  but  every  soldier,  or 
 tradesman,  is  as  much  obliged  to  be  devout,  humble,  holy,  and 
 heavenly  minded  in  all  parts  of  his  common  life,  as  a  Clergyman 
 is  obliged  to  be  zealous,  faithful,  and  laborious  in  all  parts  of 
 his  profession.  All  Christians,  as  Christians,  have  one  and  the 
 same  calling,  to  live  according  to  the  excellency  of  the  Christian 
 spirit,  and  to  make  the  sublime  precepts  of  the  Gospel  the  rule 
 and  measure  of  all  their  tempers  in  common  life.  The  "  one 
 thing,  needful"  to  one,  is  the  "  one  thing,  needful"  to  all.  The 
 merchant  is  no  longer  to  "hoard  up  treasures  upon  earth;" 
 the  soldier  is  no  longer  to  fight  for  glory  ;  the  great  scholar  is 
 no  longer  to  pride  himself  in  the  depths  of  science :  but  they 
 must  all  with  one  spirit  "  count  all  things,  but  loss,  for  the 
 excellency  of  the  knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus."  ix.  43  ;  xviii. 
 3 ;  Eph.  iv.  1 — 5.      Wm.  Law.     (Serious  call,  ch.  10.) 
 
 2  Devotion  is  the  lively  exercise  of  those  affections,  which  we  owe 
 to  the  Supreme  Being.  It  comprehends  several  emotions  of 
 the  heart,  which  all  terminate  on  the  same  object.  It  is  tlie 
 union  of  veneration,  gratitude,  desire,  and  resignation.  .  .  .  To 
 thee,  O  Devotion,  we    owe    the  highest   improvement  of  our 
 
THE  ACTS  X.  2,  3.  273 
 
 nature,  and  much  of  the  enjoyment  of  our  life.  Thou  art  the 
 support  of  our  virtues,  and  the  rest  of  our  souls,  in  this  turbu- 
 lent world.  Thou  composest  the  thoughts.  Thou  calmest  the 
 passions.  Thou  exaltest  the  heart.  Thy  communications,  and 
 they  only,  are  imparted  to  the  low,  no  less  than  to  the  high ; 
 to  the  poor,  as  well  as  to  the  rich.  In  thy  presence  worldly 
 distinctions  cease ;  and  under  thy  influence  worldly  sorrows  are 
 forgotten.  Thou  art  the  balm  of  the  wounded  mind.  Thy 
 sanctuary  is  ever  open  to  the  miserable,  inaccessible  only  to  the 
 unrighteous  and  impure.  Thou  beginnest  on  earth  the  temple 
 of  heaven.  In  thee  the  hosts  of  Angels  and  blessed  spirits 
 eternally  rejoice,  i.  14 ;  ii.  42  ;  iii.  1 ;  ix.  11,  40 ;  Ps.  cix.  3, 
 Dr.  Blair.     (Serm.  on  text.) 
 
 With  all  his  house. — We  are  really  what  we  are  relatively.  It  is 
 not  so  much  what  we  are  at  Church,  as  what  we  are  in  our 
 families.  Eeligion,  in  the  power  of  it,  will  be  family  Eeligion. 
 xvi.  15,  33,  34 ;  Josh.  xxiv.  15 ;  Ps.  ci.  3.  P.  Henry.  (Life  by 
 M.  Henry,  ch.  4.) 
 
 In  his  family  station,  he  honoured  God.  Not  only  God's  house, 
 but  his  own,  was  a  house  of  prayer,  reading,  and  holy  discourse. 
 He  imitated  Abraham,  in  "  commanding  his  household  after  him 
 to  keep  the  way  of  the  Loed  to  do  judgment  and  justice — (Com- 
 mand)— and  Joshua,  in  resolving  "  he  and  his  house  should  serve 
 the  Loed" — (Example) — and  David, in  "Blessing  his  house" — 
 (Prayer).  Jer.  x.  25.  Nath.  Parkhurst.  (Puneral  Serm.  on 
 the  death  of  the  Eev.  Wm.  Burkitt.) 
 
 It  is  remarkable,  that  the  two  greatest  patterns  of  a  devotional 
 spirit  in  the  Old  Testament,  David  and  Daniel,  were  men,  who, 
 of  necessity  from  their  station  in  life,  were  constantly  engaged 
 in  the  business  and  cares  of  this  world.  So  true  it  is,  "  Where 
 there  is  a  will,  there  is  a  way;"  and  so  false  is  the  common 
 plea;  " I  have  no  time."  Under  like  disadvantageous  circum- 
 stances, Cornelius  is  the  pattern  of  the  same  grace  in  the  New 
 Testament.     J.  F. 
 
 3  When  the  sweet  incense  of  Cheist's  prayers  ascends  before 
 the  Pathee,  our  prayers  become  sweet  and  amiable,  and  cause 
 a  savour  of  rest  with  God.  This  I  take  to  be  one  reason,  why 
 the  prevalency  of  prayer  is  so  often  assigned  to  the  time  of  the 
 
 T 
 
274  THE  ACTS  X.  4. 
 
 Evening  Sacrifice,  as  pointing  to  the  Death  of  Cheist,  which 
 was  about  the  7iinth  hour  of  the  clay,  near  the  time  of  tlie  even- 
 ing oblation.  Hence  Abraham's  Sacrifice  received  a  gracious 
 answer,  being  off'ered  "about  the  going  down  of  the  sun." 
 Isaac  w^ent  out  to  pray  "at  eventide."  Elijah,  at  Mount  Car- 
 mel,  prayed  and  offered  "at  the  time  of  the  Evening  Sacrifice." 
 Ezra  fell  on  his  knees  and  spread  out  his  hands  "  at  the  Evening 
 Sacrifice."  David  begs  that  his  prayer  might  avail,  by  the  power 
 of  "the  Evening  Sacrifice."  Daniel  in  prayer  was  touched  by  the 
 Angel  "  about  the  time  of  the  Evening  oblation  :"  all  to  show  the 
 prevalency  of  our  address  to  the  Throne  of  Grace,  by  the  power- 
 ful merit  of  Christ's  Intercession,  who  is  The  acceptable  Eve- 
 ning Sacrifice.  Ps.  Ixix.  13;  Heb.  vii.  26 ;  Eph.  v.  2 ;  Eev. 
 viii.  3,  5.  Lee.  (Serm.  S.  Matt.  vi.  6.  Supplement  to  Morn- 
 ing Exercises  at  Cripplegate.) 
 
 4  When  he  looked  on  him. — This  implies,  that  it  was  in  consequence 
 of  the  Angel's  calling  him  by  a  voice,  that  he  saw  him  ;  so  ab- 
 sorbed was  Cornelius  with  the  act,  in  which  he  was  engaged. 
 S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 Prayers  are  mentioned  before  alms ;  although  the  latter  shine  most 
 in  the  eyes  of  the  world.     Verse  2  ;  S.  Matt.  vi.  1 — 5.     Bengel. 
 
 "  To  do  good  and  to  communicate  forget  not ;  for  with  such  sacri- 
 fices God  is  well  pleased."  It  is  plain  from  hence  that  God 
 accepts  of  what  we  do  for  the  poor,  as  done  unto  Himself,  and 
 that  our  alms  under  the  Gospel  have  the  nature  of  offerings 
 and  sacrifices,  with  which  God  was  pleased  and  rendered  pro- 
 pitious under  the  Law.  Phil.  iv.  18;  Gen.  xviii.  21;  Eph. 
 v.  2.  I  would  not  be  so  misunderstood,  as  if  I  thought  alms- 
 giving were  an  offering  of  the  same  nature  and  value,  as  the 
 Offering  of  Cheist  :  far  be  that  from  me :  but  only  to  let  you 
 see,  how  highly  acceptable  it  must  needs  be  to  God,  when  His 
 Holy  Spirit  expresses  the  acceptable  nature  of  it  by  the  same 
 Sacrificial  term,  by  which  He  sets  forth  the  acceptance  of  the 
 Sacrifice  of  Cheist.  And,  as  sweet  odours  perfume  other  things 
 and  make  them  delightful  to  the  smell,  so  the  sweet  odour  of 
 our  alms  perfumes  our  very  prayers  and  makes  them  more  ac- 
 ceptable unto  God.  Tobit  iv.  16;  Deut.  xv.  11.  Br.  Hickes. 
 (Serm.  Heb.  xiii.  16.) 
 
THE    ACTS  X.   4,   5.  275 
 
 Come  up  as  a  memorial  be/ore  God. — Three  remarkable  forms  of 
 speech  there  are  in  these  words,  to  denote,  that  they  are  a 
 sacrifice  or  oblation,  which  we  make  to  the  Giver  of  all  good ; 
 especially  when  they  are  given  in  the  hands  of  prayer,  as  at 
 the  Holy  Eucharist  they  ought  to  be.  Eirst,  they  were  for  a 
 memorial^  which  is  an  expression  we  read  in  the  Law  of  Moses 
 (Lev.  ii.  9,)  and  many  other  places  to  denote  that  part  of  the 
 meat-ofiering,  that  was  burnt  upon  the  Altar  for  "  a  sweet 
 savour  unto  the  Lord."  Secondly,  they  are  said  to  come  up, 
 or  ascend,  which  was  proper  to  the  sacrifices,  that  were  burnt 
 on  the  altar,  and  went  up  to  heaven  in  pillars  of  smoke  and 
 vapour.  And  thirdly,  they  did  come  up  be/ore  God,  which 
 signified  their  acceptance,  and  that  they  were  a  welcome  sacri- 
 fice unto  the  Loed.  2  Cor.  ix.  12 ;  Phil.  iv.  18.  Bp.  Patrick. 
 (Mensa  Mystica,  ch.  10.) 
 
 How  can  we  with  any  face  presume  to  ask  any  thing  from  God, 
 when  we  deny  Him,  requesting  a  small  matter  from  us  ?  How 
 can  we  with  any  reason  expect  any  mercy  from  Him,  when  we 
 vouchsafe  not  to  show  any  mercy  for  His  sake  ?  Can  we 
 imagine,  that  God  will  hearken  unto  or  mind  our  petitions, 
 when  we  are  deaf  to  His  entreaties  and  regardless  of  His  de- 
 sires ?  ...  It  is  an  ordinary  thing  for  men  thus  to  serve  God, 
 and  thus  to  delude  themselves.  "  I  have  known  many,"  saith  S. 
 Basil,  "  who  have  fasted,  and  prayed,  and  groaned,  and  expressed 
 all  kinds  of  most  costly  piety,  and  yet  who  would  not  part  with 
 one  farthing  to  the  afflicted."  ...  It  is  religious  liberality, 
 that  proves  us  to  be  serious  and  earnest  in  other  religious  per- 
 formances ;  which  assures,  that  we  value  matters  of  piety  at  a 
 considerable  rate ;  which  gives  a  substance  and  solidity  to  our 
 devotions ;  which  sanctifies  our  fasts,  and  verifies  our  penances ; 
 which  renders  our  praises  real  and  our  prayers  effectual ;  so  that, 
 these  being  combined,  we  may  reasonably  expect  acceptance  and 
 recompense ;  and,  in  effect,  to  hear  that  from  God,  which  by 
 Him  was  returned  to  good  Cornelius,  Thi/  prayers  and  thy  alms 
 are  come  up  for  a  memorial  before  GoD  !  Prov.  xxi.  13  ;  Isa.  i. 
 13—15;  Mic.  vi.  6,  7;  Jer.  vi.  20.  Dr.  Barrow.  (Serm.  Ps. 
 cxii.  9.) 
 
 5  And  now. — The  prayer  of  the  righteous  man  is  the  key  of  heaven. 
 
 T  2 
 
276  THE  ACTS  X.   6,   7. 
 
 Ascendit  precatio,  et  descendit  Dei  miseratio.     Prayer  ascends, 
 GtOd's  mercy  comes  down.     Gen.  xxviii.  12.     S.  Augustine, 
 
 6  A  tanner,  by  the  sea  side. — Cheist  came  not  to  break  relations, 
 or  to  disturb  commonwealths,  nor  to  shut  up  the  tradesman's 
 shop,  or  block  up  the  sea  to  the  merchant,  nor  to  take  the 
 husbandman  from  the  plough :  and  I  may  do  all  these ;  and  yet 
 deny  myself,  and  take  up  the  cross,  and  fight  against  the  world, 
 xviii.  3  ;  1  Cor.  vii.  20.     Farindon. 
 
 7  And  when  the  angel  which  spake  unto  Cornelius 
 was  departed,  he  called  two  of  his  household  servants, 
 and  a  devout  soldier  of  them  that  waited  on  him  con- 
 tinually ; 
 
 8  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  weni  up  upon  the 
 housetop  to  pray  ahout  the  sixth  hour ; 
 
 1 0  And  he  became  very  hungry,  and  would  have 
 eaten  :  but  while  they  made  ready,  he  fell  into  a 
 trance, 
 
 1 1  And  saw  heaven  opened,  and  a  certain  vessel 
 descending  unto  him,  as  it  had  been  a  great  sheet  knit 
 at  the  four  corners,  and  let  down  to  the  earth : 
 
 12  Wherein  were  all  manner  of  fourfooted  beasts  of 
 the  earth,  and  wild  beasts,  and  creeping  things,  and 
 fowls  of  the  air. 
 
 13  And  there  came  a  voice  to  him,  Rise,  Peter; 
 kill,  and  eat. 
 
 7  A  devout  soldier. — He  inserts  the  word,  devout,  lest  offence 
 should  be  taken  at  the  employment  of  a  soldier,  in  a  matter  of 
 religion.     S.  John  xviii.  36.     Erasmus. 
 
 A  good  master  can  have  no  greater  blessing  in  his  family,  than  a 
 
THE  ACTS  X.  7—10.  277 
 
 faithful  servant.  The  happiness  of  families  depends  so  much 
 on  the  goodness  of  their  domestics,  that  masters  must  be  their 
 own  enemies,  if  thej  overlook  the  merit  and  virtue  of  a  godly 
 servant.  Gen.  xviii.  19;  xxiv.  10,  12,  21,  27,  33—35,  48. 
 Wogan. 
 Eulers  of  families  must  join  with  the  instructions  of  Abraham  the 
 diligence  of  Cornelius,  the  resolution  of  Joshua,  and  the  disci- 
 pline of  David.     Ps.  ci.     Br.  Lucas. 
 
 9  My  rule  is,  not  even  to  let  the  prayers  of  the  Church  draw  me 
 out,  unless  I  have  had  first  time  to  discharge  my  private  duties 
 at  large  at  home.     iii.  1 ;  S.  Matt.  vi.  5 — 13.     Bonnell. 
 
 My  praying  times  are  the  choicest  parts,  the  golden  spots  of  all 
 my  time.     S.  Luke  iii.  21.     Flavel.     (A  Saint  indeed,  s.  6.) 
 
 A  little  time,  regularly  and  constantly  employed,  to  any  one  use 
 or  end,  will  do  great  things  and  produce  mighty  effects,  vi.  4 ; 
 Phil.  iii.  13.      Wm.  Law. 
 
 Apostacy  generally  begins  at  the  closet-door.  Secret  prayer  is 
 first  neglected,  and  carelessly  performed;  then  frequently 
 omitted;  and,  after  a  while,  wholly  cast  off:  and  then  farewell, 
 God,  and  Cheist,  and  all  religion !  Ps.  liii.  5.  P.  Henry.  (Life. 
 Ch.  4.) 
 
 10  According  to  the  degrees  of  our  intellectual  elevations,  will  be 
 our  neglect  of  bodily  contentments.     Job  xxiii.  12.     Bp.  Hall. 
 
 Ardua  progreditur  coenacula  Petrus  adire 
 Jam  medio  torrente  die  :  locus  instruct  altus 
 Despiciensque  solum  Petrum  ccelestia  semper 
 Non  terrena  sequi :  sexfce  quoque  circulus  horse 
 Detegit  setatem,  qua  Christus  venit  in  orbem 
 Largiri  Salvantis  opem  :  numerusque  dierum 
 Protulit  exemplum,  quo  condidit  antea  mundum, 
 Quem  vetat  hac  ipsa  veniens  setate  E-edemptor 
 Peccati  ditione  premi :  sic  denique  sextd 
 Pertur  et  ilia  geri,  fessus  de  calle  Magister 
 Cum,  putei  super  ora  sedens,  per  vasa  puellse 
 Pocula  quserit  aquae,  requiem  facturus  ubique 
 Ecclesiao  de  fonte  Suae  ;  qua  Petrus  in  hora 
 Esurit,  Ille  sitit  plus  ad  Sua  dona  Magister 
 Addere  semper  amans  :  cui  uominis  auxit  honorem. 
 
278  THE  ACTS  X.  11—13. 
 
 Dat  pariter  nutrire  fidem  :  Isetabitur  orbis 
 Hac  saturante  fame,  quae  munere  pinguior  omni 
 Delitiosa  fluit,  nullumque  reliquit  inanem, 
 Perpetuas  latura  dapes. 
 
 Arator.     (In  Acta  Apost.  Lib.  i.) 
 
 11  The  vessel  signifies  the  Church  ;  the/owr  corners  the  four  parts 
 of  the  world's  compass  ;  the  animals  are  the  Gentiles  .  .  .  whom 
 God  had  already  cleansed ;  for  He  had  accepted  the  alms  of 
 Cornelius.  .  .  .  "Why  was  it  thrice  let  down  ?  Because  all 
 these  Gentiles  are  Baptized  in  the  Name  of  the  Trinity.  S. 
 Augustine.     (Hom.  on  the  New  Test.  99.) 
 
 12  The  birds  of  the  air  die  to  sustain  thee.  The  beasts  of  the 
 field  die  to  nourish  thee.  The  fishes  of  the  sea  die  to  feed  thee. 
 Our  stomachs  are  their  common  sepulchres.  Good  God  !  with 
 how  many  deaths  are  our  poor  lives  patched  up  !  How  full  of 
 death  is  the  life  of  momentary  man  !     Gen.  ix.  3.     F.  Quarles. 
 
 Meditate,  how  many  sorts  of  creatures,  as  beasts,  fish,  and  fowl, 
 have  lost  their  lives  to  become  food  to  nourish  thee ;  and  how 
 God's  Providence  from  remote  places  hath  brought  all  these 
 portions  together  on  thy  table,  for  thy  nourishment ;  and  how 
 by  these  dead  creatures  He  maintains  thee  in  health  and  life, 
 xxvii.  35  ;  Deut.  viii.  10 ;  Joel  ii.  26.  Bp.  Baily.  (Practice  of 
 Piety,  s.  14.) 
 
 13  This,  indirectly,  might  have  served,  as  a  confutation  of  idolatry, 
 as  well  as  of  Jewish  exclusiveness ;  for  beasts  of  the  earth  and 
 fowl  of  the  air  and  even  creeping  things  were  objects  of  heathen 
 worship.  These  then,  in  this  sense,  must  be  killed  and  de- 
 stroyed.    Eom.  i.  23 ;  Isa.  ii.  18.     J.  F. 
 
 14  But  Peter  said,  Not  so.  Lord  ;  for  I  have  never 
 eaten  any  thing  that  is  common  or  unclean. 
 
 15  And  the  voice  spake  unto  him  again  the  second 
 time,  What  God  hath  cleansed,  that  call  thou  not 
 common. 
 
 16  This  was  done  thrice  :  and  the  vessel  was  re- 
 ceived up  again  into  heaven. 
 
THE  ACTS  X.  14—16.  279 
 
 14  A  spiritual  mind  has  something  of  the  nature  of  the  sensitive 
 plant.  "  I  shall  smart,  if  I  touch  this,  or  that."  There  is  a 
 holy  shrinking  away  from  evil.  Gen.  xxsix.  9  ;  Hos.  xiv.  8 ; 
 Eom.  vi.  1,  2.     R.  Cecil. 
 
 What  better  discipline  can  the  heart  undergo,  in  order  to  prepare 
 it  for  such  a  work,  than  to  have  felt  within  itself  the  strong 
 ascendancy  of  prejudice  and  error,  and  to  remember  the  diffi- 
 culty and  delay,  which  attended  its  own  improvement  ?  What 
 more  instructive  lesson  of  charity  and  candour  can  there  be, 
 than  to  reflect  upon  some  remarkable  instance  of  our  own  ob- 
 stinacy in  opinions,  now  abandoned  by  us,  and  the  aversion  and 
 vehemence,  or  even  the  passion,  with  which  we  once  resisted 
 the  truth  ?  It  must  surely  then  have  contributed  mainly  to 
 the  formation  of  this  Christian  character  in  the  first  preachers, 
 to  have  experienced  in  their  own  persons  the  gradual  dawning 
 of  that  heavenly  light,  which  they  were  commissioned  to  diffuse  ; 
 to  have  felt,  how  hard  it  is  to  surrender  opinions  and  modes  of 
 thinking,  which  are  amongst  the  earliest  of  our  thoughts,  and 
 which  were  once  esteemed  the  most  sacred,  xxvi.  10;  Titus 
 iii.  2, 3  ;  S.  John  xx.  25.     Bp.  Copleston.     (Serm.  Acts  xviii.  24.) 
 
 I  am  not  now  so  much  inclined  to  pass  a  peremptory  sentence  of 
 damnation  upon  all,  that  never  heard  of  Cheist  ;  having  some 
 more  reason,  than  I  knew  of  before,  to  think,  that  God's  dealing 
 with  such  is  much  unknown  to  us ;  and  that  the  ungodly  here 
 among  us  Christians  are  in  a  far  worse  case,  than  they.  S.  Luke 
 ix.  54 — 56 ;  Eom.  xiv.  4.  R.  Baxter.  (EeliquiaB  Baxterianse. 
 B.  i.  p.  1.) 
 
 15  S.  Peter  in  these  words  teacheth,  that  all  meats  in  the  New 
 Testament,  in  regard  of  use,  were  made  clean  by  God  ;  and 
 therefore  that  no  man,  by  refusal  of  any  kind  of  meats,  should 
 think  or  make  them  unclean.  Eom.  xiv. ;  1  Cor.  viii.  8 ;  Col. 
 ii.  16,  20 ;  1  Tim.  iv.  3.  W.  Perkins.  (Cases  of  Conscience. 
 B.  iii.  c.  4.) 
 
 For  nothing,  but  what  is  clean,  is  let  down  from  heaven.     Bengel. 
 
 16  The  purpose  of  separating  one  people  from  the  contagion  of 
 universal  idolatry,  and  this,  in  order  to  facilitate  a  still  greater 
 good,  was  a  design,  not  unworthy  the  Governor  of  the  Universe. 
 There  are  to  be  seen  the  brightest  marks  of  Divine  Wisdom  in 
 
280  THfi  ACTS  X.  IG. 
 
 an  injunction,  which  took  away  the  very  grounds  of  all  com- 
 merce with  foreign  nations.  For  those,  who  can  neither  eat 
 nor  drink  together,  are  never  likely  to  become  iutimate.  This 
 will  open  to  us  the  admirable  method  of  Divine  Providence  in 
 S.  Peter's  vision.  The  time  was  now  come  that  the  Apostle 
 should  be  instructed  in  God's  purpose  of  calling  the  Gentiles 
 into  the  Church.  At  the  hour  of  repast,  therefore,  he  had  a 
 scenical  representation  of  all  kind  of  meats,  clean  and  unclean, 
 of  which  he  was  bid  to  take  and  eat  indifferently  and  without 
 distinction.  The  primary  design  of  this  vision,  as  appears  by 
 the  context,  was  to  inform  him,  that  "the  partition-wall"  was 
 now  broken  down,  and  that  the  Gentiles  were  to  be  received 
 into  the  Church  of  Cheist  :  but,  besides  its  figurative  meaning, 
 it  had  a  literal,  and  signified  that  the  distinction  of  meats,  as 
 well  as  of  men,  was  now  to  be  abolished.  And  how  necessary 
 such  an  information  was,  when  he  was  about  to  go  upon  his 
 Mission  to  the  Gentiles,  and  was  to  conciliate  their  benevolence 
 and  goodwill,  I  have  observed  above.  But,  although  this  was 
 the  principal  cause  of  the  distinction  of  meats  into  clean  and 
 unclean,  yet  another  was  certainly  for  the  preservation  of  health. 
 This  institution  was  of  necessity  to  be  observed  in  the  first  case, 
 to  secure  the  great  object  of  a  separation  ;  and  in  the  second 
 case,  (which  is  no  trivial  mark  of  the  wisdom  of  the  institutor,) 
 it  might  be  safely  and  commodiously  observed  by  a  people,  thus 
 separated,  who  were  consequently  to  be  for  ever  confined  within 
 the  limits  of  one  country:  but  when  Judaism  arrived  at  its 
 completion  in  Christianity,  the  followers  of  which  were  the  in- 
 habitants of  all  climes,  the  distinction  between  meats,  clean  and 
 unclean,  was  abolished :  which  at  the  same  time  serving  other 
 great  ends,  explained  above,  show  the  dispensation  (in  the 
 course  of  which  these  several  changes  of  the  economy  took 
 place)  to  be  really  Divine.  S.  John  iv.  9,  27  ;  1  Cor.  v.  11 ; 
 Eph.  ii.  14;  1  Tim.  iv.  4.  Bp.  Warburton.  (Divine  Legation. 
 B.  iv.  s.  6.) 
 Received  up,  ^c. — To  show,  that  in  the  end  of  the  world  the 
 whole  Church  Militant  shall  be  transported  into  heaven, 
 and  become  triumpliant.  i.  9  ;  1  Thess.  iv.  17 ;  Eph.  ii.  G. 
 E.  Lei</h. 
 
THE  ACTS  X.  19.  281 
 
 17  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- 
 quiry for  Simon's  house,  and  stood  before  the  gate. 
 
 18  And  called,  and  asked  whether  Simon,  which 
 was  surnamed  Peter,  were  lodged  there. 
 
 19  While  Peter  thought  on  the  vision,  the  Spirit 
 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  them. 
 
 21  Then  Peter  went  down  to  the  men  which  were 
 sent  unto  him  from  Cornelius ;  and  said,  Behold,  I  am 
 he  whom  ye  seek :  what  is  the  cause  wherefore  ye  are 
 come  ? 
 
 22  And  they  said,  Cornelius  the  centurion,  a  just 
 man,  and  one  that  feareth  God,  and  of  good  report 
 among  all  the  nation  of  the  Jews,  was  warned  from 
 God  by  an  holy  angel  to  send  for  thee  into  his  house, 
 and  to  hear  words  of  thee. 
 
 23  Then  called  he  them  in,  and  lodged  them.  And 
 on  the  morrow  Peter  went  away  with  them,  and  cer- 
 tain brethren  from  Joppa  accompanied  him. 
 
 19  Thought  on  the  vision. — Meditation  is  the  soul  of  prayer,  and 
 tbe  intention  of  our  spirit.  It  habituates  our  affections  to 
 heaven ;  it  hath  permanent  content,  it  produces  constancy  of 
 purpose,  despising  of  things  below,  inflamed  desires  of  virtue, 
 love  of  God,  self-denial,  humility  of  understanding,  and  universal 
 correction  of  life  and  manners.     Ps.  xxxiv.  3.     Bp.  J.  Taylor. 
 
 To  think  of  things  above  is  the  beginning  of  our  duty.  Nothing 
 can  act  on  the  soul,  but  by  the  mediation  of  thought ;  that, 
 which  we  think  not  of,  moves  us  no  more,  than  that,  which  is 
 not ;  and  therefore  it  is  not  so  much  the  beauty,  or  excellency, 
 
282  THE  ACTS  X.  20,  22. 
 
 or  gratefulness,  or  fitness,  of  an  object,  as  thought,  that  makes 
 us  love.  The  object  brings  in  the  matter ;  but  thought  gives 
 the  form  to  the  passion :  and,  if  we  think  not  of  a  thing,  it  is 
 impossible  we  should  love  it,  be  it  never  so  lovely.  If  therefore 
 we  would  work  ourselves  to  a  proper  zeal  for  things  above,  it  is 
 necessary  that  we  should  allow  ourselves  stated  seasons  of 
 thinking  on  them :  we  must  call  them  into  our  mind,  and  make 
 them  the  matter  of  our  serious  contemplation ;  and  then  the 
 most  desirable  things  will  certainly  move  in  us  a  suitable  desire. 
 Phil.  iv.  8 ;  Ezek.  xviii.  14,  28 ;  S.  Mark  xiv.  72.  Dr.  Young. 
 (Estimate  of  human  happiness.     Serm.  Col.  iii.  2.) 
 
 20  ^^  Arise  therefore  .  .  .  nothing  doubting T — Duties  are  ours; 
 events  are  God's.  This  removes  an  infinite  burden  from  the 
 shoulders  of  a  miserable,  tempted,  dying  creature.  On  this 
 consideration  only  can  he  securely  lay  down  his  head  and  close 
 his  eyes.  viii.  26,  29 ;  xvi.  10.  U.  Cecil.  (Eemains.  On  the 
 Christian  Life  and  conflict.) 
 
 22  When  the  Holt  Ghost  would  deliver  the  verbum  abbreviatum, 
 speak  much  of  a  man  in  a  little,  a  panegyric  in  a  word.  He  calls 
 him  just  .  .  .  S.  Chrysostom  (Hom.  23)  observes,  that  a  just 
 man  is  a  denomination,  which  implies  all  virtue ;  that  justice  is 
 a  compound  of  many  virtues.  It  is  the  ground  of  moral  virtues, 
 as  Charity  is  of  Christian,  i.  23  ;  vii.  52  ;  xxii.  14  ;  Gen.  vi.  9  ; 
 S.  Matt.  i.  19  ;  Eph.  iii.  17.     Phil.  Ellis.     (Serm.  S.  Matt.  ii.  2.) 
 
 Though  none  of  these  virtues  can  be  imputed  to  nature  in  the 
 substance  of  them,  but  acknowledge  a  more  supernatural  spiri- 
 tual Agent  in  them,  yet  they  are  to  be  reckoned,  as  preparations 
 to  Christ's  Birth  in  him,  because  they  did  precede  it :  for  so, 
 in  respect  of  His  real  Incarnation  in  the  world,  the  type  of  His 
 Spiritual  in  the  soul,  Mary  was  a  virtuous  pure  virgin,  before 
 the  Holt  Ghost  "  overshadowed  her;"  Joseph  "a  just  man," 
 before  the  Holt  Ghost  appeared  to  him ;  and  John  holy  from 
 the  womb.  xiii.  48 ;  xvi.  14  ;  Ps.  1.  23  ;  Mai.  ii.  7.  Dr.  Ham- 
 mond.    (Serm.  S.  Matt.  iii.  3.) 
 
 Be  thou  rather  a  hearer  and  bearer  away  of  other  men's  talk,  than 
 a  beginner  or  procurer  of  speech  ;  otherwise,  you  shall  be 
 counted  to  delight  to  hear  yourself  speak.  Verse  33.  S.  James 
 i.  19.     Sir.  H.  Sidney. 
 
THE  ACTS  X.  23,  24.  283 
 
 23  The7i  called  he  them  in. — By  his  thus  calmly  remaining  in- 
 doors (Conf.  S.  John  xi.  20.)  when  a  summons  of  such  import- 
 ance were  brought  to  him,  and  more  than  this,  when  he  had  the 
 Divine  warrant  and  command  to  ame,  &c.  verse  20,  we  see  how 
 S.  Peter  had  got  the  better  of  that  natural  impetuosity,  which 
 was  so  remarkable  a  feature  in  his  character  before  Pentecost. 
 He  was  now  no  longer  timid,  ii.  23  ;  iv.  13,  19.  He  was  now 
 no  longer  precipitate.  His  lodging  this  company  of  Gentiles 
 and  strangers,  and  waiting  till  the  morrow^  ere  he  went  with 
 them,  serve  to  confirm  the  truth  of  this  remark,  and  to  show 
 what  an  altered  man  S.  Peter  was  now  become.     J.  F. 
 
 24  And  the  morrow  after  they  entered  into  Ceesarea. 
 And  Cornelius  waited  for  them,  and  had  called  toge- 
 ther his  kinsmen  and  near  friends. 
 
 25  And  as  Peter  was  coming  in,  Cornelius  met  him, 
 and  fell  down  at  his  feet,  and  worshipped  him. 
 
 26  But  Peter  took  him  up,  saying.  Stand  up ;  I 
 myself  also  am  a  man. 
 
 27  And  as  he  talked  with  him,  he  went  in,  and 
 found  many  that  were  come  together. 
 
 28  And  he  said  unto  them,  Ye  know  how  that  it  is 
 an  unlawful  thing  for  a  man  that  is  a  Jew  to  keep  com- 
 pany, or  come  unto  one  of  another  nation ;  but  God 
 hath  showed  me  that  I  should  not  call  any  man  com- 
 mon or  unclean. 
 
 29  Therefore  came  I  unto  you  without  gainsaying, 
 as  soon  as  I  was  sent  for  ;  I  ask  therefore  for  what  in- 
 tent ye  have  sent  for  me  ? 
 
 24  A  Christian  must  not  rest  content  with  doing  himself  what 
 Cheist  commands ;  but  must  also  dispose  his  actions,  so  as  may 
 most  tend  to  God's  honour:  this  consists  in  bringing  in  many 
 disciples  unto  Him,  and  which  ought  to  be  as  precious  to  a 
 
284  THE  ACTS  X.  25,  26. 
 
 Christian,  as  the  salvation  of  his  soul.     xi.  24 ;  Numb.  x.  29  ; 
 S.  John  i.  41j  45.     Dr.  Hammond. 
 
 25  A  noble  simplicity  is  a  thousand  times  more  dignified,  even  in 
 the  sight  of  the  world,  than  all  the  vain  display  of  misplaced 
 magnificence.  There  is  nothing  so  contemptible,  as  endeavour- 
 ing to  make  ourselves  respected  by  proceedings,  which  accord 
 neither  with  our  situation  nor  our  employments.  Never  have 
 the  Ministers  of  the  Church  been  more  honoured,  than  in  those 
 ages,  when  they  appeared  most  humble  and  modest.  Cornelius, 
 that  Eoman  officer.  Gentile  as  he  yet  was,  threw  himself  at  the 
 feet  of  the  prince  of  the  Apostles  :  but  is  he  dazzled  at  the 
 pomp  and  splendour  that  surrounds  him  ?  He  finds  him  lodged 
 by  the  seashore,  in  the  house  of  one  of  the  lowest  of  the  people ; 
 his  apparel,  his  retinue,  all  agreed  with  the  poverty  and  simpli- 
 city of  his  lodging.  It  is  his  piety,  his  innocence,  it  is,  I  know 
 not  what  of  divinity  and  holiness,  spread  over  the  countenance 
 of  the  Apostle,  that  makes  Cornelius  feel  his  greatness  and  the 
 excellency  of  his  Ministry.  Let  us  be  holy  ;  and  we  shall  be  re- 
 spected :  let  us  not  conform  to  the  vain  pomps  of  the  world; 
 let  us  honour  our  Ministry,  and  our  Ministry  will  honour  us. 
 It  is  the  only  way  to  obtain  veneration  and  esteem,  vi.  13; 
 viii.  31;  xxviii.  7,  10.  Massillon.  (Conferences.  Serm.  S. 
 Luke  XV.  2.) 
 
 26  Albeit  Cornelius  from  first  to  last  did  perfectly  know  Simon 
 Peter  to  be  a  man,  (verse  5,  6),  yet  knew  he  him  to  be  a  man, 
 sent  from  God  to  instruct  him  in  the  way  of  Life :  and,  out  ot 
 that  natural  infirmity  of  flesh  and  blood,  which  (wanting  such  as 
 S.  Peter,  to  check  and  control  it)  brought  forth  idolatry  in  the 
 heathen  and  the  Eomanists,  he  sought  to  entertain  God's  am- 
 bassador in  the  most  lowly  and  submissive  fashion.  To  set  their 
 hearts  too  much  upon  such  creatures,  as  are  God's  instruments 
 for  their  extraordinary  good,  is  a  temptation,  wherewith  good- 
 natured  men,  (such  as  Cornelius  was,)  without  spiritual  in- 
 struction are  soonest  overtaken :  and  out  of  the  abundance  of 
 affectionate  desire  to  testify  his  thankfulness  in  the  best  sort  he 
 could,  he  renders  that  to  the  ambassador,  which  was  due  only  to 
 his  Master.  After  tlie  Holt  Guost,  to  the  astonisliment  of 
 the  Circumcision,  had  fallen  upon  all,   tliat  heard  S.  Peter's 
 
THE  ACTS  X.  26,  28.  285 
 
 words,  in  testimony  that  they  were  the  words  of  God,  did  either 
 Cornelius  himself,  or  the  meanest  Gentile  present,  fall  down 
 and  worship  S.  Peter,  though  not  as  the  Author  and  fountain  of 
 that  inestimable  blessing,  whereof  all  were  made  partakers,  yet  as 
 the  immediate  Intercessors,  which  had  procured  it  ?  No ;  S.  Peter 
 had  so  well  instructed  Cornelius  before,  that,  as  the  Text  re- 
 solves us,  the  first  fruits  of  their  new  tongues  were  offered  up 
 immediately  in  Sacrifice  unto  Gon,  which  had  given  such  gifts 
 unto  men  (verse  46) .  The  Spirit,  whereof  they  were  partakers 
 taught  them  to  glorify  the  Giver  only ;  not  man,  which  had  no- 
 thing, which  he  had  not  received.  Never  had  any  man  juster 
 occasion  to  worship  an  Angel,  than  S.  John  (Rev.  xix.  10)  ;  or  a 
 Saint,  than  Cornelius  and  his  company  had.  The  reason,  why 
 the  Lord  in  wisdom  would  have,  as  well  their  willingness  to 
 worship,  as  the  Angels  and  S.  Peter's  unwillingness  to  accept 
 their  profiered  submission,  so  expressly  registered,  was  to  im- 
 print the  true  meaning  of  that  Law  in  the  hearts  of  all,  that 
 should  read  those  stories,  "  Thou  shalt  worship  the  Lobd,  thy 
 God,  and  Him  only  shalt  thou  serve ;"  as  also  the  necessity  of 
 that  caveat,  which  another  Apostle  has  given  to  posterity. 
 Col.  ii.  18.  "  Let  no  man  beguile  you  of  your  reward  in  a  vo- 
 luntary humility  and  worshipping  of  angels,  intruding  himself 
 into  things  which  he  hath  not  seen,  vainly  pufied  up  in  his 
 fleshly  mind."  ii.  11;  xiv.  11 — 18;  xxviii.  6;  Gal.  i.  24.  Dr. 
 Jackson.     (B.  v.  ch.  26,  s.  6,  7.) 
 
 This  was  the  lesson,  which  S.  Peter's  vision  had  taught  him  ; 
 and  he  now  begins  to  practise  it; — the  common  honour  and 
 equality  of  all  mankind  in  God's  sight,  xviii.  26 ;  IS.  Pet. 
 V.  1,  3.     Jlford. 
 
 28  God  hath  showed  me,  ^c. — That  matters  of  fact,  or  emblemati- 
 cal representations  by  visions,  or  appearances,  are  as  truly 
 doctrinal,  as  words  uttered  and  understood,  according  to  the 
 literal  sense,  we  need  no  further  proof  than  S.  Peter's  application 
 of  this  vision  .  .  .  The  congruity  between  Noah's  ark  and  the 
 Holy  Catholic  Church,  or  new  Jerusalem,  which  was  now  to 
 descend  from  heaven,  doth  herein  partly  consist.  Pirst,  not 
 only  Noah  and  his  family,  but  the  beasts,  as  well  clean  as  un- 
 clean,  which  entered  into  the   ark,  were   all   preserved   from 
 
286  THE  ACTS  X.  28. 
 
 bodily  destruction  :  so,  not  only  tlie  offspring  of  Abraham 
 (whicli  was  prefigured  by  Noah's  family),  nor  such  Proselytes 
 only  of  the  Gentiles,  as  were  made  visible  members  of  the 
 Jewish  Church  (which  answered  in  proportion  to  the  clean 
 beasts  in  Noah's  ark)  ;  but  even  the  w^orst  sort  of  the  G-entiles, 
 such  as  had  most  oppugned  the  children  of  Abraham  in  their  re- 
 ligion, so  they  w^ill  be  admitted  into  the  Holy  Catholic  Church, 
 or  mystical  Body  of  Cheist,  shall  be  as  undoubtedly  preserved 
 both  in  body  and  soul  from  the  curse  of  hell-fire,  as  the  unclean 
 beasts,  which  entered  into  Noah's  ark,  were  from  the  curse  of 
 waters,  xxi.  11 ;  ii.  21,  39  ;  Ps.  Ixviii.  17,  18  ;  Eom.  x.  11—13. 
 Dr.  Jackson.     (B.  vii.  p.  2.  s.  57.) 
 
 Omnia  purificata  sunt  per  Sanguinem  Christi. — All  things  are 
 purified  and  made  clean  to  us  by  the  Blood  of  Christ.  S. 
 Irenceus.     (De  Hser.  L.  vii.  c.  12.) 
 
 Beo  Artifice  tarn  mundus  est  porcus,  quam  agnus. — In  the  sight  of 
 GrOD,  who  made  them  both,  a  swine  is  as  cleanly,  as  a  lamb. 
 S.  Augustine,  (in  Ps.  41.) 
 
 30  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  bright 
 clothing, 
 
 31  And  said,  Cornelius,  thy  prayer  is  heard,  and 
 thine  alms  are  had  in  remembrance  in  the  sight  of 
 God. 
 
 32  Send  therefore  to  Joppa,  and  call  hither  Simon, 
 whose  surname  is  Peter ;  he  is  lodged  in  the  house  of 
 one  Simon  a  tanner  by  the  seaside :  who,  when  he 
 Cometh,  shall  speak  unto  thee. 
 
 33  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. 
 
THE  ACTS  X.  30.  287 
 
 30  Fasting. — There  is  no  duty,  but  the  Saints  find  at  one  time  or 
 another  the  Spirit  of  God  sweetly  breathing  in,  and  filling  their 
 souls  from  it  with  more  than  ordinary  refreshment.  Sometimes 
 the  child  sucks  its  milk  from  this  breast,  sometimes  from  that. 
 David  in  meditation,  while  he  was  "  musing,"  finds  a  heavenly 
 fire  kindling  in  his  bosom,  till  at  last  the  fire  breaks  out,  Ps. 
 xxxiv.  3.  To  the  Eunuch,  in  "reading"  of  the  word,  is  sent 
 Philip  to  join  to  his  chariot.  Acts  viii.  27.  To  the  Apostles, 
 Cheist  "  makes  Himself  known  in  breaking  of  bread."  S.  Luke 
 xxiv.  35.  The  disciples  walking  to  Emmaus  and  conferring  to- 
 gether, presently  have  Cheist  fall  in  with  them,  who  helps 
 them  to  untie  those  knots,  which  they  were  posed  with.  S.  Luke 
 xxiv.  15.  Cornelius  at  duty  "  in  his  house,"  has  "  a  vision 
 from  heaven,"  to  direct  him  in  the  way  he  should  take.  Take 
 heed,  therefore.  Christian,  how  thou  neglectest  any  one  duty. 
 How  knowest  thou,  but  that  is  the  door,  at  which  Cheist 
 stands  waiting  to  enter  into  thy  heart  ?  The  Spirit  is  free : 
 do  not  bind  Him  to  this  or  that  duty  ;  but  wait  on  Him  in  all. 
 Cant.  iii.  1,  2  ;  Dan.  ix.  3  compared  with  23 ;  S.  Luke  i.  6 ; 
 2  Sam.  xvi.  11.  Gurnall.  (On  the  Christian  armour.  Eph. 
 vi.  14.     Ch.  8.) 
 
 God's  heavenly  inspirations  and  our  holy  desires  are  so  many 
 angels  of  intercourse  and  commerce  between  God  and  us.  As 
 teaching  bringeth  us  to  know,  that  God  is  our  Supreme  Truth  ; 
 so  praying  testifieth,  that  we  acknowledge  Him  to  be  our  Su- 
 preme Good.     S.  John  i.  51.     Hooker. 
 
 I  prayed. — It  is  like,  that,  having  heard  somewhat  of  the  Apostles' 
 preaching,  and  of  the  Jews  opposing  their  testimony,  and  so 
 knowing  not  w^hat  to  believe,  he  had  earnestly  besought  God  in 
 his  devotions  to  lead  him  in  the  way  of  truth,  and  make  known 
 unto  him  what  to  do.    Ps.  cxliii.  8.    J.  Mede.    (Serm.  Acts  x.  4.) 
 
 A  reasonable  steady  performance  of  secret  duties  in  their  proper 
 hours,  and  a  careful  improvement  of  all  time,  filling  up  every 
 hour  with  some  profitable  labour,  either  of  heart,  head,  or  hands, 
 are  excellent  means  of  spiritual  peace  and  boldness  before  God. 
 "  Cheist"  indeed  "  is  our  peace  ;"  and  by  Him  we  have  '*  bold- 
 ness of  access  to  God  ;"  but  *'  a  good  conscience  void  of  offence" 
 is  an  excellent  preparation  for  an  approach  into  the  Divine  Pre- 
 
288  THE  ACTS  X.  30—32. 
 
 sence Filling  up  our  time  with  and  for  God  is  the  way 
 
 to  rise  up  and  lie  down  in  peace.  2  Kings  xx.  3  ;  Ps.  cxix.  6. 
 D.  Brainerd.  (Diary.  Part  5.) 
 Christians  are  called  from  a  state  of  disorder,  sin,  and  ignorance 
 to  a  state  of  holiness,  and  resemblance  of  the  Divine  nature. 
 If  therefore  there  are  any  things,  or  any  ways,  that  corrupt  our 
 minds,  support  our  vanity,  increase  our  blindness,  or  nourish  our 
 sensuality,  all  these  are  as  necessary  to  be  avoided,  as  it  is  ne- 
 cessary to  be  holy.  If  there  are  any  denials  or  mortifications, 
 that  purify  and  enlighten  the  soul,  that  lessen  the  power  of 
 bodily  passions,  that  raise  us  to  a  heavenly  affection,  and  make 
 us  taste  and  relish  the  things,  that  belong  to  God,  these  are  aa 
 necessary  to  be  practised,  as  it  is  necessary  to  believe  in  Jestjs 
 Cheist.  So  that  the  matter  comes  to  this ;  if  there  are  no 
 indulgences  in  eating,  that  do  us  harm,  then  Fasting  is  of  no 
 use ;  but,  if  there  are,  if  they  enslave  the  soul,  and  give  it  a 
 sensual  taste,  then  we  are  as  much  obliged  to  abstain  from  what 
 does  us  this  harm,  as  we  are  obliged  to  pray  for  any  thing,  that 
 can  do  us  good Fasting,  as  it  is  a  denial  of  bodily  in- 
 dulgences, as  it  disciplines  the  body  into  a  state  of  obedience, 
 and  contradicts  the  appetites,  is  the  most  constant  and  universal 
 
 means  of  procuring  liberty  and  freedom  of  mind Till 
 
 religion  has  entered  into  a  state  of  self-denial,  we  live  in  a  state, 
 that  supports  the  slavery  and  corruption  of  our  natures.  S. 
 Matt.  v.  29,  30  ;  xxiv.  38  ;  1  Cor.  ix.  24—27.  Wm.  Law.  (A 
 practical  Treatise  upon  Christian  Perfection.     Ch.  7.) 
 
 31  I  repent  of  all  my  life,  but  that  part  of  it  I  spent  in  Commu- 
 nion with  God,  and  in  doing  good.  S.  Matt.  xxii.  37 — 40. 
 Dr.  Bonne.     (On  his  death  bed.) 
 
 32  If  you  say,  you  have  a  Revelation  from  God,  I  must  have  a 
 Revelation  from  God  too,  before  I  can  believe  you,  as  S.  Peter  and 
 Cornelius,   ix.  10 — 12.    Br.  Whichcote.    (Aphor.  Cent.  v.  443.) 
 
 One  Simon  a  tanner,  ^c. — The  Evangelists  published  these  his- 
 tories, while  vast  numbers  of  men  were  alive,  who  knew  the 
 facts,  and  many  more,  who  studied  to  oppose  them ;  they  are 
 for  the  most  part  particular  in  their  narrations,  as  to  the  time, 
 day,  hour,  place,  village,  house,  persons  ;  they  wrote  of  things, 
 done  in  the  same  country,  in  towns  and   cities  publicly  known. 
 
THE  ACTS  X.  32,  33.  289 
 
 in  the  suburbs  and  hills  about  the  city,  in  such  a  street,  in  such 
 a  gate  (ix.  11),  in  such  a  porch  of  the  Temple  (iii.  2),  which 
 were  seen  every  day  by  all  in  Jerusalem  ;  they  published  their 
 history  in  their  own  life-time ;  and  died  martyrs  in  defence  of 
 what  they  had  written.  Fenelon.  (Instructions  for  the  Edu- 
 cation of  a  daughter.     Ch.  7.) 
 
 His  trade  is  mentioned  three  times  in  this  narrative  ;  his  locality 
 twice,  as  if  the  Blessed  Spirit  delighted  in  all  such  humble 
 associations,  so  contrary  to  the  "  scornful  contempt  of  the 
 wealthy  and  the  despitefulness  of  the  proud."  i.  11 ;  S.  James 
 ii.  5,  6  ;  1  Cor.  i.     /.  F. 
 
 "Were  Angels,  if  they  look  into  the  ways  of  men,  to  give  in  their 
 catalogues  of  Worthies,  how  different  it  would  be  from  that, 
 which  any  of  our  own  species  would  draw  up.  We  are  dazzled 
 with  the  splendour  of  titles,  the  ostentation  of  learning,  the 
 noise  of  victories.  They,  oq  the  contrar}^  see  the  philo- 
 sopher in  the  cottage,  who  possesses  his  soul  in  patience  and 
 thankfulness,  under  the  pressure  of  what  little  minds  call 
 poverty  and  distress.  The  evening's  walk  of  a  wise  man  is 
 more  illustrious  in  their  sight,  than  the  march  of  a  General  at 
 the  head  of  a  hundred  thousand  men.  A  contemplation  of 
 God's  works,  a  generous  concern  for  the  good  of  mankind,  and 
 an  unfeigned  exercise  of  humility  only  denominate  men  great 
 and  glorious.     Addison. 
 
 33  Cornelius  sends  for  S.  Peter  immediately :  S.  Peter  comes  to  Cor- 
 nelius, as  soon,  as  he  was  sent  for  (verse  29).  How  powerfully 
 do  the  hearts  of  men,  however  separated  before,  draw  to  each 
 other,  under  the  attractive  power  of  the  Spirit !  what  difficulties, 
 what  hindrances,  what  delays,  are  at  once  overcome,  when  God 
 calls!  "The  Voice  of  the  Loed  is  mighty  in  operation." 
 **  Draw  us,  good  Loed,  and  we  will  run  after  Thee,"  and  in 
 Thee  will  we  find  and  embrace  our  brethren,    viii.  29 — 31.    /.  F. 
 
 Exercise  whets  the  appetite  for  that  food,  which  must  be  taken, 
 before  strength  can  be  got ;  and  causa  causce  est  causa  causati. 
 The  hone,  that  sets  on  edge  the  husbandman's   scythe,  helps 
 
 -  him  to  mow  the  grass.  None  comes  so  sharp  set  to  the  word 
 (which  is  the  Saint's  food  to  strengthen  his  grace),  as  the 
 Christian,  that  takes  prayer  in  his  way  to  the  ordinance.     The 
 
 u 
 
290  THE  ACTS  X.  33. 
 
 stronger  natural  heat  is,  the  better  stomach  the  man  hath  to 
 his  meat.  Love  in  the  soul  is  what  natural  heat  is  in  the  body  : 
 the  more  the  soul  loves  the  word,  the  more  craving  it  is  after 
 it.  Now,  as  exercise  stirs  up  the  natural  heat  of  the  body,  so 
 prayer  excites  the  spiritual  heat  of  love  to  the  word  of  God. 
 Cornelius  is  an  excellent  instance  of  it.  We  find  him  hard  at 
 prayer  in  his  house  (verse  30)  ;  when,  behold,  a  vision,  that 
 bids  him  send  for  S.  Peter,  who  should  preach  the  Gospel  to  him ; 
 a  happy  reward  for  his  devotion  !  Now  see  what  a  sharp  ap- 
 petite this  praying  soul  hath  to  the  word,  &c.  He  sends,  &c., 
 verses  22,  24,  25,  33.  .  .  .  And  when  the  sermon  is  done,  so 
 savoury  and  sweet  was  the  meal,  that  he  is  loth  to  think  of 
 parting  with  S.  Peter,  before  he  gets  more  from  him ;  and 
 therefore  beseeches  him  to  stay  some  days  with  him  (verse  48). 
 O  !  how  unlike  are  they,  who  come  reeking  out  of  the  world 
 to  a  sermon,  to  Cornelius,  that  riseth  from  prayer  to  wait  upon 
 the  preacher  !  vi.  4 ;  Gal.  iv.  15  ;  1  S.  Pet.  ii.  1,  2 ;  Jer.  xxx.  21. 
 GurnalL  (The  Christian  armour,  on  Eph.  vi.  18.  Ch.  3.) 
 Here  the  duties  of  the  hearer  and  the  preacher  are  plainly  set 
 down.  The  duty  of  the  hearer,  first,  to  be  present  before  God, 
 the  Seer  and  Searcher  of  hearts,  from  whom  nothing  is  hid. 
 To  stand  before  the  preacher  is  to  stand  before  God  :  the  Pre- 
 sence of  God  requireth  fear  and  reverence.  Secondly,  to  hear 
 and  learn.  There  is  none,  so  well  learned,  but  he  may  learn 
 more.  Thirdly,  to  hear  all  things,  even  all  the  doctrine  of  God  ; 
 not  things,  that  do  please,  but  things,  that  displease  our  flesh  ; 
 not  other  men's  faults,  but  our  own  ;  not  only  profession,  but  also 
 conversation  ;  not  only  faith,  but  also  works  ;  not  only  to  hear, 
 
 but  also  to  do The  duty  of  the  preacher  is  expressed  in 
 
 these  words.  That  are  commanded  thee  of  God He  may 
 
 not  add  to  the  written  word,  nor  take  from  it.  .  .  .  Now  S.  Peter's 
 sermon  is  divided  into  three  parts  ;  the  first,  that  Jesus  Christ, 
 the  Loud  of  all.,  was  sent  unto  the  people  of  Israel  to  preach 
 peace ;  the  next,  that  He  died  and  rose  again  from  the  dead  to 
 procure  us  this  peace ;  the  last,  that  we  are  made  partakers  of 
 this  peace  by  faith  in  His  Name.  .  .  .All  matter,  needful  to  sal- 
 vation, is  comprised  here.  He,  that  hath  taken  out  this  lesson, 
 needeth  not  to  learn  another.    Abp.  Sandys.    (Serm.  Acts  x.  34.) 
 
THE  ACTS  X.  33,  34.  291 
 
 We  do  not  come,  as  authorized  Judges,  to  sit  upon  the  preacher  ; 
 but,  as  humble  disciples,  to  sit  at  his  feet.  Yerse  25  ;  ii.  37  ; 
 viii.  34.     Bp.  Hall. 
 
 34  Then  Peter  opened  his  mouth,  and  said,  Of  a 
 truth  I  perceive  that  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons : 
 
 35  But  in  every  nation  he  that  feareth  Him,  and 
 worketh  righteousness,  is  accepted  with  Him. 
 
 34  Wherever  the  Scripture  describes  teachers,  as  opening  the 
 mouth  in  their  instructions,  it  indicates  some  lesson  to  us  of 
 peculiar  importance,  viii.  35  ;  S.  Matt.  v.  2;  Ps.  Ixxviii.  2.  N. 
 Selneccerus. 
 
 If  either  a  natural  man  with  the  eye  of  reason,  or  a  spiritual 
 man  by  observation  of  Gron's  other  acts  of  justice,  should  look 
 upon  the  Grentiles  in  that  state,  in  which  they  were  at  Cheist's 
 coming,  all  of  them  damnable  superstitious,  or  rather  idolatrous 
 in  their  worship  ;  all  of  them  damnable  profane  in  their  lives, 
 and,  which  was  worse,  all  of  them  peremptorily  resolved,  and 
 by  a  law  of  homage  to  the  customs  of  their  fathers  necessarily 
 engaged,  to  continue  in  the  road  of  damnation  (Eom.  i.),  he 
 would  certainly  give  the  whole  succession  of  them  over  as 
 desperate  people,  infinitely  beyond  hopes  or  probability  of  salva- 
 tion. And  this  may  appear  by  S.  Peter  in  Acts  x.,  where  the 
 very  thing,  that  the  Gentiles  should  be  called,  was  so  incredible 
 a  mystery,  that  he  was  fain  to  be  cast  into  a  trance,  and  to 
 receive  a  vision  to  interpret  it  to  his  belief ;  and  a  first,  or  a 
 second  command,  could  not  persuade  him  to  arise,  kill,  and 
 eat,  that  is,  to  preach  to  Gentiles.  He  will  still  object  the  to 
 Kotvov  Kul  aKaOapTov,  the  profancness  and  uncleanness  of  them. 
 And,  at  last,  when  by  the  assurance  of  the  Spirit  (verse  15) 
 and  the  discourse  of  the  heathen  Cornelius  with  him,  he  was 
 plainly  convinced  what  otherwise  he  never  dreamed  possible, 
 that  God  had  a  design  of  mercy  on  the  Gentiles,  he  breaks  out 
 into  a  phrase  both  of  acknowledgment  and  admiration.  Of  a 
 truth,  I  perceive,  ^c.  ;  and,  that  you  may  not  judge  it  was  one 
 single   Doctor's  opinion,  it  is  added,    And  they  of  the  Circum- 
 
 u2 
 
292  THE  ACTS  X.  34,  35. 
 
 cision,  which  believed,  were  astonished,  because  that  on  the 
 Gentiles  also  was  poured  out  the  gift  of  the  Holt  Ghost. 
 S.  Matt.  vii.  6  ;  xv.  20  ;  Eph.  iii.  9, 10.  Br.  Hammond.  (Serm. 
 Acts  xvii.  30.) 
 
 The  Spirit  was  given  to  the  Apostles  in  measure ;  and,  where 
 measure  is,  there  are  degrees  ;  for  they  were  led  by  degrees, 
 not  straight  to  "  all  truth,"  but  by  steps  and  approaches.  S. 
 Peter  himself  was  not  rapt  up,  as  his  pretended  successor 
 into  the  chair  of  truth,  to  determine  all  at  once :  for,  when 
 Pentecost  was  now  past,  he  goes  to  Caesarea ;  and  there  learns 
 more,  than  he  did  at  Jerusalem  ;  sees  that  in  the  sheet,  which 
 he  heard  not  from  the  tongue ;  and  of  a  truth  now  perceived 
 what  he  did  not  before.  .  .  .  Mutatio  sententicB  non  est  incon- 
 stantia,  saith  Tully ;  to  disannul  a  former  judgment  upon 
 better  evidence,  is  not  inconstancy  ;  nor  doth  he  stagger  in  his 
 way,  who  folio weth  a  clearer  light.  .  .  .  S.  Paul  was  a  cham- 
 pion of  the  Law ;  and,  after  that,  a  Martyr  of  the  Gospel : 
 thus  he  persecuted  Christians  ;  and  thus  he  died  one.  .  .  .  This 
 is  the  mother  of  all  repentance.  Por  what  is  repentance,  but 
 the  changing  of  our  mind  upon  better  information  ?  This,  if 
 it  were  well  practised,  would  fill  the  world,  which  is  now  full  of 
 error,  with  recognitions  and  recantations  ;  which  are  not  only 
 confessions,  but  triumphs  over  a  conquered  error,  as  the  re- 
 joicings and  jubilees  of  men,  who  did  sit  in  darkness,  and  have 
 now  found  the  light.  This  would  make  our  errors  more  venial, 
 and  men  more  peaceable,  xxvi.  9  ;  xxviii.  6.  Farindon.  (Pre- 
 face to  Sermons,  and  Serm.  S.  John  xvi.  13.) 
 
 35  This  "  working  of  righteousness,"  the  perfection  of  which  is  not 
 to  be  measured  by  the  perfectness  of  the  work,  but  by  the  up- 
 rightness of  the  will  and  the  sincerity  of  the  endeavour,  aspiring 
 towards  perfection,  is  an  undoubted  note  of  a  true  citizen  of 
 heaven,  who  in  the  Psalm  (xv.)  is  described.  And  that  the 
 Lord  accepteth  those  for  true  members  of  the  Church,  who 
 work  righteousness,  the  Scripture  testifieth  (Acts  x.  35).  And 
 this  is  so  universal  a  note  of  the  children  of  God,  and  so  proper 
 unto  them,  that  whosoever  worketh  righteousness  is  truly  said  to 
 be  "  born  of  God"  (1  S.  John  ii.  19  ;  iii.  10,  8)  ;  and  he,  that 
 worketh  n(3t  righteousness,  is  not  of  God,  but  "  of  the  devil." 
 
THE  ACTS  X.  35.  293 
 
 .  .  .  Wherefore,  brethren,  let  no  man  deceive  3^011 :  not  he, 
 that  heareth,  nor  he,  that  speaketh,  nor  he,  that  professeth  and 
 pretendeth,  but  "he,  that  worketh  righteousness,  is  righteous." 
 Neither  is  that  to  be  omitted,  that  the  Holy  Ghost  speaketh 
 in  the  present  tense,  thereby  signifying  a  continual  act,  as  S. 
 Basil  hath  obsei-ved :  "  Mark,"  saith  he,  "  the  accurateness  of 
 the  speech  :  he  doth  not  say,  *  who  hath  wrought,'  but  '  he, 
 which  worketh  :'  for  it  is  not  one  action,  that  maketh  a  virtuous 
 man,  but  it  behoveth  a  man  in  his  whole  life  to  keep  a  constant 
 course  of  well  doing."  Isa.  xxxiii.  15,  16  ;  Prov.  x.  30 ;  2  Tim. 
 iv.  8 ;  Eom.  ii.  6,  7.  Bp.  Downhame.  (Exposition  of  Psalm 
 XV.     P.  64,  65.     Edit.  1604.) 
 
 He  does  not  say.  Such  a  one  shall  be  thereby  saved ;  but  only, 
 that  he  is  accepted  with  God,  so,  as  that  he  may  be  admitted 
 into  the  Church  of  Christ  to  be  saved  by  Him.  Yerse  43 ; 
 ii.  47 ;  xi.  14.     Bp.  Beveridge.     (Serm.  Acts  iv.  12.) 
 
 The  fact  of  a  man's  fearing  God  and  working  righteousness,  put 
 here  for  the  sum  and  substance  of  the  Law  in  our  duty  to  God 
 and  our  neighbour,  must  indicate  his  acceptance ;  for  without 
 the  grace  of  God  how  could  this  be  done  ?  xiii.  16 ;  Mai.  iv. 
 2 :  Isa.  Ixiv.  5.     /.  F. 
 
 36  The  word  which  God  sent  unto  the  children  of 
 Israel,  preaching  peace  by  Jesus  Christ  :  (He  is  Lord 
 of  all:) 
 
 37  That  word,  /  say,  ye  know^  which  was  published 
 throughout  all  Judaea,  and  began  from  Galilee,  after 
 the  baptism  which  John  preached ; 
 
 38  How  God  anointed  Jesus  of  Nazareth  with  the 
 Holy  Ghost  and  with  power :  who  went  about  doing 
 good,  and  healing  all  that  were  oppressed  of  the  devil ; 
 for  God  was  with  Him. 
 
 39  And  we  are  witnesses  of  all  things  which  He  did 
 both  in  the  land  of  the  Jews,  and  in  Jerusalem ;  whom 
 they  slew  and  hanged  on  a  tree  : 
 
294  THE  ACTS  X.  36. 
 
 40  Him  God  raised  up  the  third  day,  and  showed 
 Him  openly ; 
 
 4 1  Not  to  all  the  people,  but  unto  witnesses  chosen 
 before  of  God,  even  to  us,  who  did  eat  and  drink  with 
 Him  after  He  rose  from  the  dead. 
 
 42  And  He  commanded  us  to  preach  unto  the  peo- 
 ple, and  to  testify  that  it  is  He  which  was  ordained  of 
 God  to  be  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. 
 
 36  True  peace  is  the  Blessing  of  the  Gospel.  It  may  be  sorted 
 into  these  four.  1.  Peace  with  God,  which  we  may  call  peace 
 of  reconciliation.  2.  Peace  with  ourselves,  or  peace  of  conscience. 
 3.  Peace  with  another,  or  peace  of  love  and  unity.  4.  Peace 
 with  the  other  creatures,  even  the  most  hurtful,  which  may  be 
 called  a  peace  of  indemnity  and  service.  We  must  begin  with 
 peace  of  reconciliation  with  God  (verse  38.)  Por  when  man  fell 
 out  with  God,  he  fell  out  with  himself  and  all  the  world  besides ; 
 and  he  can  never  come  to  be  at  peace  with  them,  till  his  peace 
 be  made  with  God.  Tranquillus  Deus,  tranquilla  omnia,  viii.  8 ; 
 Hosea  ii.  18.  Gurnall.  (On  the  Christian  Armour,  Eph.  vi. 
 15,  ch.  3.) 
 
 Pax  plenum  virtutis  opus,  pax  summa  laborum. 
 Pax  belli  exacti  pretium  est,  pretiumque  pericli : 
 Sidera  pace  vigent ;  consistiint  terrea  pace : 
 Nil  placitum  sine  pace  Deo ;  non  munus  ad  aram 
 Cum  cupias  offerre  probat,  si  turbida  fratrem 
 Mens  implacati  sub  pectoris  oderit  antro.  .  .  . 
 Quisque  litare  Deo  mactatis  vult  holocaustis 
 Offerat  in  prim  is  pacem  :  nulla  hostia  Christo 
 Dulcior. 
 
 Pi'udentius.     (In  Psychomachia.) 
 
 Loud  of  all. — By  right,  as  the  Creator ;  by  merit,  as  the  Ke- 
 deemer :  by  gift,  as  the  only-begotten  of  the  Fatuee.     ii.  33 — 
 
THE  ACTS  X.  37,  38.  295 
 
 36 ;  Ezra  i.  3  ;  S.  John  i.  3  ;  Heb.  i. ;  1  Cor.  xv.  24—28  .     S. 
 Bernard. 
 
 37  The  baptism  that  John  preached. — S.  Luke  includes,  under 
 the  word  baptism,  the  whole  ministry  of  S.  John.  He  shows  it 
 too  to  have  been  no  mere  dumb  sign  and  barren  doctrine.  And 
 certainly  this  is  a  prime  point  in  all  the  Sacraments,  that  the 
 Word  of  God  may  shine  forth,  as  engraved  on  tliem,  illic  in- 
 sculptum  refulgeat^  and  that  their  voice  may  sound  clear.    Calvin. 
 
 38  Humanitas  uncta  Divinitate. — He  had  all  the  unctions,  which 
 the  Prophet,  Priest,  and  King  had,  and  this,  which  none  other 
 had ;  in  Him  the  Humanity  was  Consecrated,  anointed  with 
 the  Divinity  itself.     Ps.  xlv.  8.     Dr.  Donne. 
 
 In  these  words  S.  Peter  has  expressed  our  Lord's  both  Sacred 
 and  His  Kingly  Sovereignty :  and,  to  match  him  with  David 
 in  this  point,  you  must  call  to  mind,  that  David  was  thrice 
 anointed ;  first,  at  his  father's  house  by  Samuel;  the  next  time, 
 at  Hebron,  after  Saul's  death ;  and  finally  he  was  anointed  at 
 Jerusalem,  a  King  over  all  Israel.  So  Christ  was  anointed  by 
 shedding  of  Blood  in  Circumcision,  by  Blood  again  at  Hia 
 agony  in  the  garden,  and  thirdly  by  the  great  eftusion  of  His 
 dearest  Blood  upon  the  cross;  or,  will  you  lay  it  thus?  He 
 was  anointed  by  His  Father  from  heaven  ;  anointed  by  Mary 
 with  her  box  of  spikenard  upon  earth ;  and,  lastly.  His  dead 
 Body  was  anointed  by  the  women,  when  it  was  laid  in  the 
 sepulchre.  So,  in  proportion,  there  is  a  threefold  unction  to 
 make  us  kings  and  priests  for  ever :  the  first,  of  regeneration 
 in  Baptism  ;  the  second,  w^ith  the  Blood  of  Jesus,  in  the  par- 
 ticipation of  the  Holy  Communion ;  and  the  third  of  glorifica- 
 tion, in  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  But  nihil  dat,  quod  non  hahet  ; 
 He,  that  crowns  us  in  glory,  had  a  title  to  a  crown  Himself: 
 He,  that  makes  us  kings,  was  the  horn  or  Prince  of  our  Salvation. 
 v.  31 ;  Lev.  viii.  12 ;  1  Kings  xix.  16  ;  1  Sara.  x.  1 ;  Ps.  ex.  4; 
 Deut.  xviii.  8  ;  Jer.  xxii.  6.    Bp.  Racket.    (Serm.  S.  Luke  i.  69.) 
 
 He  went  about,  as  the  sun  goes  his  round,  to  dispense  light  and 
 warmth,  to  communicate  life  and  vigour  to  everything,  his 
 active  beams  light  upon.  All  His  steps,  whither  ever  He  went, 
 drop  fatness.  O  !  may  every  pious  soul  not  miss  to  meet  Him 
 in  His  walks  !     And  sure  enough  it  may,  it  shall  do  so,  if  itself 
 
396  THE  ACTS  X.  38—40. 
 
 coiitinue  to  keep  in  His  ways !  xiv.  17  ;  Job  i.  7 ;  1  S.  Pet. 
 V.  8.     Dr.  Littleton.     (Serm.  S.  Matt.  iv.  18—20.) 
 
 Since  our  indigence  first  brought  Hira  from  above,  it  is  no  wonder 
 the  relieving  of  it  was  His  chief  employment  here  below.  S. 
 John  iv.  34.     J  Contrite  heart.     (P.  ii.  s.  3.) 
 
 What  was  the  Son  of  God,  but  Love  Incarnate  ?  Love,  born  of 
 a  virgin  ;  love,  conversing  in  the  world  ;  love,  preaching  Salva- 
 tion to  poor  sinners  ;  love,  going  about  and  doing  good  ;  love, 
 relieving  the  diseased  and  the  possessed ;  curing  the  deaf  and  the 
 dumb,  the  blind  and  tlie  lame;  and  finally,  love  dying  and 
 hanging  on  a  cross  ?     S.  John  xi.  36.     Manton. 
 
 39  He  omits  all  mention  of  the  actors  in  the  murder,  speaking,  as 
 he  did,  to  Gentiles  :  a  striking  contrast  to  ch.  ii.  23 ;  iii.  14  ; 
 iv.  10 ;  V.  30,  when  he  was  working  conviction  on  the  minds  of 
 those  actors  themselves.     Alford. 
 
 We  may  learn  from  the  last  note  and  from  the  example,  here 
 given  us  by  S.  Peter,  never  to  accuse,  or  to  speak  ill  of,  any 
 man,  in  his  absence.  We  must  not  find  fault  with  Jews,  when 
 in  the  presence  of  Gentiles  only  ;  nor  indeed  find  fault  with  any, 
 excepting  to  their  face.  (Refer  to  Note  i.  16.)  J.  F. 
 He  was  subject  to  death,  by  reason  of  imputed  sin,  as  He  was  the 
 "seed  of  the  woman  ;"  but  He  was  subject  to  a  cursed  death, 
 like  that  of  the  Cross,  as  He  was  "  born  under  the  Law," 
 liable  to  its  peculiar  penalties,  and  so  "made  a  curse  for 
 us."  S.  Peter  delighted  in  the  particular  mention  of  the  tree 
 (verse  30)  and  S.  Paul,  taught  by  the  same  Spirit,  was  not 
 ashamed  to  speak  of  it  (xiii.  29.)  Deut.  xxi.  23  ;  Gal.  iii. 
 13.     J.  F. 
 
 Uberior  palma,  platano  formosior  Arbor 
 
 Pertilior  citro,  nobiliorque  cedro  : 
 Durior  hsec  ebeno,  buxique  perennior  umbra. 
 Quae  sibi  pomiferum  sola  sit  apta  nemus ! 
 
 Balduinus  Cabillaus.     (Epigr.  Lib.  v.  83.) 
 
 40  The  three  days,  in  which  He  lay  in  the  grave.  He  assigns  to  a 
 threefold  visitation  ;  to  hell,  to  the  earth,  to  heaven :  what  was 
 in  heaven  He  repaired  ;  what  was  in  earth  He  restored ;  what 
 was  in  hell.  He  redeemed.     Peter  Chrysoloyus. 
 
 As  in  the  Creation,  it  was  the  third  day^  tbat  the  earth  brought 
 
THE  ACTS  X.  41.  297 
 
 forth  its  fruit,  "  whose  seed  was  in  itself,"  so,  in  this  new  Crea- 
 tion, on  the  tliird  day  was  this  Blessed  fruit  raised  out  of  this 
 earth.  S.  John  xii.  23,  24.  Bp.  Brownrig.  (Serm.  S.  John 
 xii.  22.) 
 
 41  When  Jesus  had  not  yet  died  unto  sin,  all  persons  were  able 
 to  look  upon  Him ;  but  after  He  had  "  spoiled  principalities  and 
 powers,"  He  had  that  about  Him,  which  the  multitude  were 
 not  capable  of  beholding ;  and  which  all,  who  had  before  seen 
 Him,  were  not  able  to  sustain  the  sight  of.  Hence  it  was, 
 that,  in  order  to  spare  them,  He  did  not  manifest  Himself  to 
 all,  when  He  had  risen  from  the  dead.  I  need  not  say,  not  to 
 all ;  for  not  even  to  His  own  disciples  was  He  at  all  times 
 apparent,  since  they  were  not  equal  to  a  continual  contempla- 
 tion of  Him.  For  His  Godhead  shone  forth  with  greater  lustre 
 now,  that  He  had  finished  the  economy  ....  He  wished  to 
 disclose  the  powder  of  His  Godhead  to  those,  who  w^ere  able  to 
 discern  it,  according  to  the  measure  and  capacity  of  each ;  nor 
 was  there  any  thing  else  He  was  guarding  against,  in  not  being 
 seen,  but  that  all  would  not  sustain  the  sight.  He  was  sent, 
 not  only  in  order  that  He  might  be  known,  but  also  in  order 
 that  He  might  be  hidden :  for  all,  that  He  was  in  Himself,  was 
 not  known  to  those,  by  whom  He  was  known ;  there  was  some- 
 thing in  Him,  which  was  hidden  even  from  them  :  and  by  some 
 He  was  not  known  at  all.  Hab.  iii.  4.  Origen.  (Contra  Cels. 
 Lib.  ii.) 
 
 He  did  not  show  Himself  openly  unto  the  people,  lest  such  impious 
 persons  should  be  saved  from  their  error ;  and  that  a  faith,  non 
 mediocri  prcEmio  destinata,  reserved  for  so  glorious  a  crown  of 
 reward,  might  be  attended  with  some  difficulty.  Tertullian. 
 (Apology,  ch.  21.) 
 
 Would  you  ask,  why  Jesus,  after  His  Eesurrection,  was  not 
 rendered  visible  to  all  the  people  ?  Will  you  not  rather  stand 
 aghast  at  the  impiety  of  the  question  ?  Ask,  why  God  is  "  of 
 purer  eyes  than  to  behold  iniquity  ?"  Ask,  w^hy  He,  who  con- 
 versed with  Abraham,  as  a  man  talketh  with  his  friend,  con- 
 versed not,  but  in  judgment,  with  the  vile  inhabitants  of  Sodom  ? 
 Ask,  why  Moses  only  of  all  the  congregation  was  allowed  to 
 enter  the   thick  darkness,  where   God  was  ?  .  .  .  The  appear- 
 
298  THE  ACTS  X.  41. 
 
 ances  to  the  Apostles,  after  the  Eesurrection,  were  of  the  same 
 kind  with  the  appearances,  in  the  earliest  ages,  to  the  Patriarchs 
 and  the  chosen  E-ulers  of  the  Jewish  nation.  He,  who  to  con- 
 verse with  Abraham,  veiled  His  Glory  in  a  traveller's  disguise  ; 
 He,  who  appeared  to  Joshua,  under  the  walls  of  Jericho,  in  the 
 habit  of  a  warrior,  with  His  sword  ready  drawn  for  the  attack  ; 
 He,  who  was  seen  by  Gideon  and  Manoah  in  the  human  form  ; 
 — the  same  showed  Himself  at  the  sepulchre  to  Mary  Magda- 
 lene, in  the  form  of  a  gardener ;  to  the  two  disciples  on  the 
 road  to  Emmaus,  as  a  wayfaring  man  ;  to  the  eleven  separately, 
 or  altogether,  in  various  forms,  at  various  times ;  upon  every 
 occasion,  in  the  manner  of  His  appearance,  manifesting  His 
 exaltation,  and  yet  finding  means  to  aftord  them  satisfactory 
 proofs  that  He  was  the  same  jEsrs,  who  had  Died.  S.  Matt. 
 V.  8 ;  ix.  24,  25.  Bj).  Horsley.  (Four  discourses  on  the  Ee- 
 surrection, 4.) 
 Several  of  the  chief  Priests  and  elders  saw  Lazarus  rise,  and 
 more  had  opportunities  of  conversing  with  him,  after  he  was 
 risen :  yet  they  did  not  believe  in  Jesus  for  that.  They  might 
 have  ascribed  this  miracle,  as  well  as  others,  to  Beelzebub  ;  or, 
 as  their  successors,  down  to  this  day,  absurdly  ascribe  all  of 
 them  to  pretended  magic  arts.  They  must  indeed  have  been 
 convinced  that  by  some  means  or  other  He  was  risen  ;  but  that 
 would  have  made  them  no  witnesses  for  Him.  It  appears  by 
 their  whole  conduct  that  they  were  convinced  of  it,  without 
 seeing  Him.  Not  only  their  bribing  the  soldiers,  but  their 
 leaving  His  disciples  unmolested  at  first,  their  bearing  so  quietly 
 all  their  boldness  of  speech  for  some  time  afterwards,  their  suf- 
 fering Gamaliel  to  express  his  doubts,  whether  this  matter  were 
 not  "  of  God,"  their  following  in  part  his  advice  to  "  let  them 
 alone,"  w^hich  was  founded  on  those  doubts,  instead  of  prose- 
 cuting them  to  the  utmost,  as  impostors  ;  in  short,  their  whole 
 history  in  the  beginning  of  the  Acts,  and  particularly  several 
 things  in  it,  which  S.  Luke  doth  not  seem  once  to  have  thought 
 of  applying  to  this  purpose,  evidently  show,  that  the  Jewish 
 Eulers  well  knew  a  strict  inquiry  would  not  serve  their  turn ; 
 and  therefore  tried,  as  long  as  they  could,  to  stifle  and  conceal 
 what  had  happened,  in  hopes  it  would  gradually   be  forgot- 
 
THE  ACTS  X.  41—43.  299 
 
 ten.     S.  John  xii.  1,  9;  S.  Luke  xvi.  31.    Abp.  Seeker.    (Serm. 
 on  text.) 
 Hence  we  may  learn  to  prize  God's  favours;  but  not  all  to  look 
 for  particular    revelations  and    appearances.     Br.  M.  Frank. 
 (Serm.  S.  Matt,  xxvii.  22,  23.) 
 
 42  It  is  He  that  is  ordained,  ^c— "  God,"  saith  S.  Paul,  "hath 
 appointed  a  Day,  wherein  He  will  judge  the  world  in  righteous- 
 ness, by  that  Man,  iv  auSpl,  (in  that  man)  whom  He  hath 
 ordained."  xvii.  31.  He,  God,  will  judge  the  world,  though 
 it  immediately  follows  that  a  man,  even  the  man  Christ,  is 
 ordained  to  this  office.  And  so  we  have  it  again  in  the  Epistle 
 to  the  Eomans  ;  "  We  shall  all  appear  before  the  Judgment- 
 seat  of  Christ  :  for  it  is  written.  As  I  Live,  saith  the  Lord, 
 every  knee  shall  bow  to  Me,  and  every  tongue  shall  confess 
 unto  God."  We  are  to  give  an  account  of  ourselves  at  the 
 Judgment-seat  of  Christ.  And  how  does  the  Apostle  prove 
 it  ?  Why,  because  it  is  written,  that  we  shall  give  an  account 
 of  ourselves  to  the  Lord  God,  who  swears,  that  He  Liveth. 
 But,  unless  Christ,  who  is  a  man,  be  also  this  Living  God 
 and  Lord,  this  proof  is  not  to  the  purpose.  Isa.  xlv.  23  ;  Conf. 
 X.  40  with  S.  John  xxi.  1.  TF.  Jones.  (The  Catholic  Doctrine 
 of  the  Trinity,  s.  26.) 
 
 The  reality  of  a  fact  is  always  to  be  measured  by  the  positive 
 proof  on  one  side,  or  the  other,  which  is  really  extant  in  the 
 world  ;  which  is  never  to  be  set  aside  by  the  mere  absence  of 
 another  proof,  which  men,  living  at  a  distance  from  the  time  and 
 scene  of  the  transaction,  may  imagine  might  have  been  had.  For 
 this,  indeed,  were  to  make  the  caprice  of  men  the  standard  of  his- 
 toric truth.    Bp.  Horsley.    (Discourses  on  the  Eesurrection,  4.) 
 
 43  All  the  prophets. — It  is  wonderful  to  observe,  how  persons  of 
 distant  times,  different  stations,  and  capacities,  who  could  have 
 no  correspondence,  (some  of  whom  did  not  know  at  first  the 
 meaning  of  some  part  of  their  own  prophecies,)  should  yet  all 
 agree  in  prophesying  of  Christ,  without  the  least  contradiction 
 between  any  two  of  them,  in  the  accounts,  which  they  give  of 
 Him,  or  any  contradiction  to  the  events  or  facts,  relating  to 
 Christ.  This  is  a  wonderful  evidence  of  the  infallible  influence 
 and  guidance  of  the  Holt  Spirit,  that  One  Spirit,  who  inspired 
 them  all,  and  was  able  to  foretel  the  end  from  the  beginning. 
 
300  THE  ACTS  X.  43. 
 
 1  Cor.  ii.  10 ;  2  S.  Pet.  i.  21.  Hurrion.  (On  the  Holt  Spirit. 
 Serm.  2  Cor.  iii.  8.) 
 
 This  sweet  stream  of  the  doctrine  of  the  prophets  did,  as  the 
 rivers,  make  its  own  banks  fertile  and  pleasant,  as  it  ran  by,  and 
 flowed  still  forward  to  after  ages,  and,  by  the  confluence  of 
 more  such  prophecies,  grew  greater,  as  it  went,  until  it  fell  in 
 with  the  main  current  of  the  Gospel  in  the  New  Testament, 
 both  acted  and  preached  by  the  great  Prophet  Himself;  whom 
 they  foretold,  as  "  to  come,"  and  recorded  by  His  Apostles  and 
 Evangelists,  and  thus  united  into  one  river,  clear  as  crystal. 
 This  doctrine  of  Salvation  hath  still  refreshed  "  the  City  of 
 God,"  His  Church  under  the  Gospel,  and  still  shall  do  so,  till 
 it  empty  itself  into  the  ocean  of  Eternity.  Abp.  Leighton. 
 (Commentary,  1  S.  Pet.  i.  10—12.) 
 
 Though  the  Scriptures  are  the  circumference  of  faith,  the  round 
 of  w^hich  it  walks,  and  every  point  of  which  compass  it  toucheth, 
 yet  the  centre  of  it  is  Cheist.  He  is  the  polar  star,  on  which 
 it  resteth.     ii.  25,  36  ;  v.  42.     M.  Henry. 
 
 "We  find  in  the  Scriptures  one  and  the  same  grand  matter 
 throughout.  This  is  a  delightful  truth.  Col.  i.  27, 28.  Bengel. 
 (Diary,  1713.) 
 
 44  While  Peter  yet  spake  these  words,  the  Holy 
 Ghost  fell  on  all  them  which  heard  the  word. 
 
 45  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, 
 
 47  Can  any  man  forbid  water,  that  these  should  not 
 be  baptized,  which  have  received  the  Holy  Ghost  as 
 well  as  we  ? 
 
 48  And  he  commanded  them  to  be  baptized  in  the 
 name  of  the  Lord.  Then  prayed  they  him  to  tarry 
 certain  days. 
 
THE  ACTS  X.  44—46.  301 
 
 44  He  says,  that  they  were  all  gifted  with  the  Spieit,  as  we  liave 
 already  observed,  that  they  all  came  with  an  earnest  zeal  to  learn 
 and  to  obey.     Verse  33  ;  S.  Matt.  vii.  8.     Calvin. 
 
 45  That  believed. — In  the  earliest  days  of  the  Gospel,  the  disciples 
 were  called  Brethren^  from  their  sincerity  of  love ;  Saints,  from 
 the  purification  of  Baptism  ;  faithful,  from  that  orthodox  truth, 
 which  they  professed  .  .  .  which  S.  Paul  hath  put  together  in 
 one  verse,  "  To  the  Saints,  and  faithful  Brethren  in  Christ, 
 which  are  at  Colosse."     Bp.  Racket.     (Serm.  Acts  xi.  26.) 
 
 Astonished. — Nay,  this  is  it,  that  the  Angels  wondered  at  so,  when 
 they  saw  it  wrought  in  the  Church  by  S.  Paul's  Ministry ;  never 
 dreaming  it  possible,  till  it  was  effected,  as  may  appear  from 
 Eph.  iii.  10.  This  was  "  the  mystery,  which  from  the  beginning 
 of  the  world  had  been  hid  in  Gtod,"  verse  9 ;  one  of  GtOd's 
 cabinet  counsels ;  a  mercy,  decreed  in  secret,  that  no  creature 
 ever  wist  of,  till  it  was  performed.  xxii.  21,  22  ;  S.  John 
 xvii.  35  ;  Col.  i.  25 — 28.  Dr.  Hammond.  (Serm.  Ezek.  xviii. 
 31.) 
 
 Now  ye  may  perceive  plainly  what  it  was,  that  Solomon's  temple 
 must  have  wood  from  Lebanon  amongst  the  Gentiles,  as  well  as 
 stones  from  home  among  the  Jews,  and  Hiram  have  twenty 
 cities  given  him,  for  the  Jews  and  Gentiles  to  dwell  together  in  : 
 and  now  it  is  plain  what  is  meant,  that  not  Gideon's  fleece 
 alone,  but  the  whole  earth  must  be  spread  over  with  the  morn- 
 ing dew ;  and  that  Moses  had  married  a  woman  of  Ethiopia ; 
 and  that  Sampson  must  leave  the  daughters  of  his  brethren,  and 
 first  marry  an  uncircumcised  Philistine,  and  then  fall  in  love 
 with  the  harlot  Delilah  .  .  .  and  therefore  it  was  well  figured 
 again,  in  that  God  would  have  Hosea  go,  and  take  unto  him  a 
 wdfe  of  fornications,  and  that  a  woman  in  captivity  must  be 
 married  to  King  Ahasuerus,  and  that  Moses  must  be  adopted, 
 "the  son  of  Pharaoh's  daughter,"  and  that  Isaac  must  have  the 
 inheritance,  though  Ishmael  was  the  eldest,  and  Jacob  have  the 
 birthright,  though  Esau  was  the  first-born  .  .  .  and  Jacob  must 
 have  children  by  Leah,  that  was  blear  eyed,  as  well  as  by 
 Eachel,  that  was  beautiful  and  fair.  Gen.  xlviii.  20.  Bp.  Cosin. 
 (Serm.  S.  Matt.  ii.  1,  2.) 
 
 46  There  are  two  sorts  of  Spiritual  gifts,  common  and  special.  .  .  . 
 
302  THE  ACTS  X.  47. 
 
 By  the  common  gifts  of  the  Spieit,  I  mean  the  gifts  of  Sancti- 
 fication,  which  all  Christians  are  bound  to  pray  for  and  expect, 
 and  that  are  given  by  God  in  common  to  all  those,  who  sin- 
 cerely desire  them,  and  labour  after  them,  and  that  are  neces- 
 sary for  the  salvation  of  the  soul.  By  special  gifts  I  understand 
 gifts  of  edification,  which  men  are  not  ordinarily  bound  to 
 expect,  and  which,  unless  it  be  in  some  few  circumstances,  that 
 seldom  happen,  would  be  vanity  and  presumption  to  beg  of 
 GrOD,  and  which  by  consequence  are  not  necessary  for  the  Sal- 
 vation of  the  soul.  Of  the  former  sort  are  all  the  saving  gifts 
 and  graces  of  the  Spirit,  called  in  the  Schools  graticB  gratum 
 facientes,  which  the  Spirit  helps  to  work  in  men's  hearts,  as 
 faith,  hope,  charity,  purity,  humility,  and  all  other  gracious 
 habits  of  mind,  which  the  Apostle  calls  "  the  fruit  of  the 
 Spirit,"  and  wherein  the  Image  of  Gron,  the  power  of  godli- 
 ness, and  the  spirit  of  Christianity,  truly  do  consist.  Of  the 
 latter  sort  are  all  the  miraculous  unctions  of  the  Holt  Gthost, 
 called  by  the  Schoolmen  gratice  gratis  datce,  such  as  the  gift  of 
 tongues,  power  of  working  miracles,  signs  and  wonders,  the 
 Spirit  of  prophecy,  and  the  like,  which  are  not  necessary  for  the 
 Church,  but  in  certain  cases  of  special  exigence,  and  which, 
 when  they  are  necessary,  are  not  given,  like  the  other,  jointly  to 
 all,  but  severally  to  some.  Both  these  sort  of  gifts  agree  in 
 this,  that  they  are  Supernatural,  and  freely  given  by  God  to 
 men  ;  and  therefore  both  of  them  are  called  Gratice  m  the  vulgar 
 Latin,  and  graces  in  all  the  modern  tongues,  though,  for  dis- 
 tinction's sake,  the  former  are  commonly  called  x«/>«'^es,  and 
 the  latter  x«/'<'<^/^a'^«  by  Divines.  But  though  both  proceed  from 
 the  same  Spirit,  and  spring  from  the  same  fountain  of  Grace, 
 yet  they  difier  in  their  nature,  extent,  and  use.  1  Cor.  xiii. 
 Dr.  Hickes.     (Serm.  1  Cor.  xii.  4.) 
 
 47  The  article  here  should  certainly  be  expressed  "  Can  any  forbid 
 the  water  to  them,  who  have  received  the  Sjnrit  ?''  One  great 
 end  of  this  unexpected  effusion  of  the  Holt  Spirit  was,  en- 
 tirely to  preclude  the  question,  which  otherwise  could  not  but 
 have  arisen,  "  Must  not  these  be  circumcised,  before  Baptism  ?" 
 See  note  at  xi.  3.     Alford. 
 
 S.  Peter  considered  that  this  gift  of  tlie  Holt  Ghost  was  only 
 
THE  ACTS  X.  47,  48.  303 
 
 to  enable  them  to  speak  with  tongues,  not  to  regenerate  them : 
 and  thence  inferred,  that  they  ought  the  rather  to  be  Baptized. 
 ii.  38  ;  ix.  17,  18 ;  xxii.  16 ;  S.  Mark  xvi.  16.  Bp.  Beveridge. 
 (Serm.  S.  John  iii.  5.) 
 
 The  "Word  must  be  preached  ;  water  must  not  be  forbidden  ;  and 
 both,  in  order  to  the  one  great  Grospel  blessing,  the  remission  of 
 sins.  Yerse  43.  The  relative  importance  of  these  two  Ordi- 
 nances of  GrOD  may  probably  be  traced  in  the  significant  circum- 
 stance, that,  while  S.  Peter  preached  himself,  he  commanded 
 others  to  baptize.  One  thing  he  "  did ;"  but  he  would  not  have 
 the  other  "left  undone."  Observe  the  expression  at  xi.  14, 
 "  who  shall  tell  thee  words,  whereby  thou  and  all  thy  house  shall 
 be  saved."  It  is  evident  from  the  whole  narrative  and  by  refer- 
 ence to  XV.  9,  where  we  read,  that  GrOD  purified  their  hearts  hy 
 faith,  that  the  Grentiles  received,  at  this  same  time,  both  the 
 ordinary  and  the  special  gifts  of  the  Holy  Gthost.     J.  F. 
 
 There  is  a  way  upon  earth  to  salvation ;  and  Preaching  is  that 
 way ;  that  is,  the  manner  and  the  matter  is  the  G-ospel,  only  the 
 Gospel,  and  all  the  Gospel :  and  then  the  seal  is  the  adminis- 
 tration of  the  Sacraments ;  of  both  the  Sacraments.  .  .  .  We 
 do  not  join  Baptism  to  faith,  tanquam  dimidiam  solatii  causam, 
 as  thougli  Baptism  were  equal  to  faith,  in  the  matter  of  salva- 
 tion :  for  salvation  may  be  had  in  divers  cases  by  faith,  without 
 Baptism  ;  but  in  no  case  by  Baptism,  without  faith  (viii.  36,  37). 
 .  .  .  As  that  is  true,  in  adultis,  which  S.  Jerome  says,  it  is  im- 
 possible to  receive  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism,  except  the  soul 
 have  received  Sacramentum  fidei,  that  is,  the  word  Preached, 
 except  he  have  been  instructed  and  catechised  before,  so  there  is  a 
 necessity  of  Baptism  after,  for  any  other  ordinary  means  of  Salva- 
 tion, that  God  hath  manifested  to  His  Church.  And,  therefore, 
 Quos  Deus  conjunxit,  those  things,  which  God  hath  joined  in 
 this  Commission  (S.  Mark  xvi.  10  ;  S.  John  iii.  5)  let  no  man 
 separate,  viii.  12  ;  S.  Matt,  xxviii.  19,  20  ;  S.  James  i.  18,  19  ; 
 1  S.  Pet.  i.  22,  23;  ii.  1—3.  Br.  Donne.  (Serm.  S.  Mark 
 xvi.  16.) 
 
 48  Both  He  who  anoints,  and  He,  who  is  anointed,  and  the  very 
 medium  of  anointing  itself,  is  understood  by  the  Name  of  Christ. 
 The  Eathee,  anoints  ;  the  Son  is  anointed  ;  and  with  the  anoint- 
 
304  THE  ACTS  X.  48;  XI.  1. 
 
 ing,  which  is  the  Holy  Ghost  :  as  the  Word  speaks  in  Isaiah, 
 "  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon  Me,  because  the  Lord  hath 
 anointed  Me,"  signifying  to  us  the  ^Father  anointing,  the  Son 
 anointed,  the  Holt  Ghost  the  unction.  Verse  38.  Isa.  Ixi.  1. 
 S.  Irenceus.     (De  Haeres.     Lib.  iii.  18.) 
 
 The  Bishop  has  the  power  of  Baptizing ;  then  the  Priests  and 
 Deacons,  if,  at  least,  they  have  the  Bishop's  authority.  Ter- 
 tulUan.     (De  Bapt.  c.  17.) 
 
 In  our  Lord's  abstaining  Himself  from  administering  His  Bap- 
 tism, and  giving  it  in  charge  to  His  disciples  (S.  John  iv.  2), 
 we  may  trace  a  mark  of  His  Blessed  Humility,  who  sought  not 
 His  ow^n  glory  (S.  John  viii.  50).  In  this  S.  Peter  and  S.  Paul 
 imitated  their  Divine  Master,  and  caught  a  ray  of  the  same 
 meek  and  lowly  mind,  that  w^as  in  Christ  Jesus.  (Phil.  ii. 
 3—8.)  S.  Paul  expressly  tells  us  (1  Cor.  xiii.  16)  that  he  ab- 
 stained from  Baptizing,  lest  he  should  be  supposed  to  do  so  with 
 a  view  to  his  own  glory.  There  was  a  remarkable  coincidence 
 here,  as  in  other  respects,  between  Baptism  and  Circumcision. 
 See  Gal.  vi.  12,  13.     /.  F. 
 
 CHAPTER  XL 
 
 A  ND  the  apostles  and  brethren  that  were  in  Judea 
 heard  that  the  Gentiles  had  also  received  the  word 
 of  God. 
 
 2  And  when  Peter  was  come  up  to  Jerusalem,  they 
 that  were  of  the  circumcision  contended  with  him, 
 
 3  Saying,  Thou  wentest  in  to  men  uncircumcised, 
 and  didst  eat  with  them. 
 
 1  Received  the  word  of  God  ;  in  the  preceding  verse,  it  is  Received 
 the  Holy  Ghost  :  the  union  of  these  two  is  the  special  grace  of 
 
THE  ACTS  XI.  2,  3.  305 
 
 the  new  Covenant  in  Christ.  The  Grospel  is  "  the  Law  of  the 
 Spirit  of  Life  in  Christ  Jesus."  (ii.  47  ;  v.  14  ;  xi.  24.)  Isa. 
 lix.  20,  21 ;  Eom.  viii.  2.     /.  F. 
 
 2  By  the  term,  of  the  Circumcision,  he  does  not  merely  mean  the 
 Jews ;  but  those  also,  who  were  too  much  attached  to  the  cere- 
 monies of  the  Law.  For  there  were  none  at  Jerusalem  in  tlie 
 Church  of  Christ  at  that  time,  except  the  Circumcised :  from 
 whom  then  can  he  distinguish  these  men  ?     vi.  9.     Calvin. 
 
 Contended  with  him. — It  is  a  truth,  I  think,  confessed  by  all, 
 that  the  errors  of  our  understanding,  for  the  most  part,  are  not 
 of  so  great  alloy,  as  those  of  the  will ;  that  it  is  not  so  dangerous 
 to  be  ignorant  of  some  truths,  as  it  is  to  be  guilty  of  any  evil :  yet 
 all  the  heat  of  contention  is  spent  here  ;  nay,  all  our  religion  is 
 this,  earnestly  to  contend,  not,  who  shall  be  the  truest  subjects 
 in  Christ's  Kingdom,  but  who  shall  be  the  most  loud  to  cry 
 
 down  heresy  and  schism Men  suppose,  that  they   do 
 
 better  service  in  the  Church  of  Christ  by  the  loud  defence, 
 than  by  the  serious  practice,  of  the  truth.  Horn.  xiv.  ;  xv.  1,  2  ; 
 Gal.  V.  15.     Farindon.     (Serm.  S.  Matt.  vi.  10.) 
 
 Ne?fcov  is  one  thing,  to  contend :  (piXoveiKcui  another,  to  be  con- 
 tentious. The  Apostle  saith  not,  "  If  any  contend  ;"  but  "  If 
 any  be  contentious,"  Si  quis  contentiosus :  and  osus  is  full  ; 
 0^6  is  one,  that  loves  it.     Ps.  cxx.  6.     Bp.  Andrewes.     (Serm. 
 
 1  Cor.  xi.  16.) 
 
 A  pastor  must  expect  to  have  his  conduct  blamed,  and  to  meet 
 with  opposition.  This  is  a  counter-weight  to  the  joy  of  his 
 success  ;  but  we  are  in  less  danger,  when  we  have  to  disprove  a 
 false  charge,  than  when  we  have  to  guard  ourselves  against  the 
 infection  of  the  praise  and  applause  of  m.an.     S.  Luke  v.  6,  7 ; 
 
 2  Cor.  xii.  7.     Quesnel. 
 
 3  The  great  point,  which  made  the  present  event  so  important, 
 was  that  Cornelius  was  a  man  uncircumcised.  .  .  The  conversion 
 of  the  Gentiles  was  no  new  idea  to  Jews  or  Christians  ;  but  it 
 had  been  universally  regarded,  as  to  take  place  by  their  recep- 
 tion into  Judaism.  Of  late,  however,  since  the  Ascension,  we  see 
 the  truth,  that  the  Gospel  was  to  be  a  Gospel  of  the  uncircum- 
 cision,  begjinning  to  be  recognized  by  some  (ch.  xi.  20).  .  .  .  S. 
 Peter  had  never  any  prejudice,  with  regard  to  the  admission  of 
 
THE  ACTS  XI.  3. 
 
 the  Gentiles  ;  but  only  against  tiieir  admission  uncircumcised, 
 and  as  Gentiles.  AJford.  (Note  at  x.  1,  and  iii.  26.  See  liis 
 note  at  ii.  39.) 
 
 Thou  wentest  in,  Sfc. — It  does  not  appear  from  the  Mosaic  Law 
 that  the  Jews  would  have  defiled  themselves  by  going  into  the 
 house  of  a  heathen.  This  was  probably  one  of  those  traditional 
 rites,  enjoined  by  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  in  the  observance 
 of  which  many  were  more  punctual,  than  in  their  obedience  to 
 the  express  commands  of  God  Himself.  S.  John  xviii.  28. 
 Rambach.  (Medit.  on  the  sufferings  of  Cheist,  P.  ii.  s.  iii. 
 ch.  3.) 
 
 From  the  above  remark  it  would  appear,  that,  notwithstanding  the 
 effusion  of  Pentecost,  the  Jewish  converts  were,  many  of  them, 
 as  zealous  for  "the  traditions"  of  their  Church,  as  for  the  Law 
 itself,  delivered  by  Goi)  to  their  forefathers.  S.  Mark  vii. 
 1—13.     J.  F. 
 
 Men  uncircumcised. — While  the  Legal  worship  stood,  there  were 
 two  sorts  of  Proselytes  or  converted  Gentiles ;  one  sort,  which 
 were  called  "  Proselytes  of  the  Covenant."  These  were  such,  as 
 were  Circumcised,  and  submitted  themselves  to  the  whole  Jewish 
 pcBdagogy  ;  they  were  counted,  as  Jews  {facti,  non  nati)  and 
 conversed  with  as  freely,  as  those,  which  were  so  born  .  .  They 
 worshipped  in  the  same  Court  of  the  Temple,  where  the  Israel- 
 ites did,  whither  others  might  not  come.  This  kind  the  Jewish 
 Doctors  call  "  Proselytes  of  Eighteousness,"  and  "  of  the  Cove- 
 nant." Of  this  order  was  Uriah  the  Hittite,  Achior  in  the  Book 
 of  Judith,  Herod  the  Idumsean,  Onkelos  the  Chaldee  Paraphrast, 
 and  many  others,  both  before  and  in  our  Saviour's  time.  ,  .  . 
 The  second  sort  of  Proselytes,  inferior  to  these,  they  called 
 '•  Proselytes  of  the  Gate."  These  were  not  Circumcised,  nor 
 conformed  themselves  to  the  Mosaic  ordinances ;  only  they 
 were  tied  to  the  obedience  of  those  Commandments,  which  the 
 Hebrew  Doctors  called  "  the  Commandments  of  Noah,"  that  is, 
 such  as  all  the  sons  of  Noah  were  bound  to  observe ;  which  were, 
 first,  to  worship  God  the  Creator ;  secondly,  to  disclaim  the 
 service  of  idols  ;  thirdly,  to  abstain  from  blood,  from  the  effusion 
 of  man's  blood;  and  fourthly,  from  eating  flesh  with  the  blood 
 thereof;  fifthly,  to  abstain  from  fornication  and  all  unlawful 
 
THE  ACTS  XI.  3.  307 
 
 conjunction ;  sixthly,  to  administer  justice ;  and  seventhly,  to 
 abstain  from  robbery,  and  do,  as  they  would  be  done  to.  And 
 such  Proselytes,  as  these,  liowsoever  they  were  accounted  Gen- 
 tiles, and  such,  as  witli  whom  the  Jews  might  not  converse,  as 
 being  no  free  denizens  of  Israel,  yet  did  they  yield  them  a  part 
 in  the  life  to  come.  Such  a  Proselyte  was  Naaman  the  Syrian ; 
 such  a  one  was  Cornelius  .  .  .  Because  Cornelius  was  no  Cir- 
 cumcised Proselyte,  but  a  Proselyte  of  the  Gate  only — upon 
 whom,  nevertheless,  the  Holt  Ghost  came  down,  as  well  as 
 upon  the  Circumcision — it  was  manifest  to  the  Council  (see  xv.) 
 that  God  would  have  the  rest  of  the  Gentiles,  which  believed,  to 
 have  no  more  imposed  upon  them,  than  Cornelius  had :  and, 
 accordingly,  the  Council  concluded,  that  no  other  burden  should 
 be  laid  upon  them  but  only  those  precepts,  given  to  the  sons  of 
 Noah,  to  abstain  from,  pollution  of  idols,  ^"C,  and  the  rest,  which 
 they  had  received  already  in  becoming  Christians,  and  so  needed 
 not  to  be  e'xpressly  mentioned.  /.  Mede.  (Discourses.  Acts 
 xvii.  4,  and  x.  4.) 
 There  is  one  great  presumption,  that  lies  against  any  peculiar  au- 
 thority given  to  S.  Peter  by  the  words  of  our  Sayiouk  ;  since 
 we  see  not  the  least  appearance,  either  in  the  Acts  of  the 
 Apostles  or  Epistles,  of  any  peculiar  appeals,  or  references, 
 made  to  him.  On  the  contrary,  he  seems  to  be  called  to  an  ac- 
 count for  his  going  to  Cornelius  and  Baptizing  the  Gentiles. 
 He  only  delivers  his  opinion,  as  one  person,  in  the  Council  of 
 Jerusalem  ;  but  S.  James  gives  the  definitive  sentence.  S. 
 Paul  never  makes  any  appeal  to  S.  Peter  in  the  contests,  of 
 which  he  writes :  he  settles  matters  and  makes  decisions,  with- 
 out ever  having  recourse  to  his  authority.  Gal.  ii.  6 — 9  ; 
 2  Cor.  xi.  5.     Bp.  JBwnet.     (Discourses  to  the  Clergy,  iii.) 
 
 4  But  Peter  rehearsed  the  matter  from  the  begin- 
 ning, and  expounded  it  by  order  unto  them,  saying, 
 
 5  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 
 
 and  it  came  even  to  me  : 
 X  2 
 
308  THE  ACTS  XI.  4. 
 
 6  Upon  the  which  when  I  had  fastened  mine  eyes,  I 
 considered,  and  saw  fourfooted  beasts  of  the  earth, 
 and  wild  beasts,  and  creeping  things,  and  fowls  of 
 the  air. 
 
 7  And  I  heard  a  voice  saying  unto  me,  Arise, 
 Peter  :   slay  and  eat. 
 
 8  But  I  said.  Not  so.  Lord  :  for  nothing  common 
 or  unclean  hath  at  any  time  entered  into  my  mouth. 
 
 9  But  the  voice  answered  me  again  from  heaven, 
 What  God  hath  cleansed,  that  call  not  thou  com- 
 mon. 
 
 Rehearsed  the  matter,  ^c. — S.  Peter  is  first  Divinely  prepared  for 
 this  new  service  by  the  vision  of  the  great  sheet,  let  down  from 
 heaven.  .  .  This  notification  of  the  Divine  will  was  too  express 
 to  be  resisted :  he  accordingly  obeys  the  order  of  the  Holt 
 Spirit  to  go  with  the  men  nothing  doubting ;  and,  on  entering 
 into  Cornelius's  house,  he  at  once  declares,  that  God  had 
 taught  him  to  call  no  mayi  common  or  unclean.  He  then  hears 
 Cornelius's  relation,  &c. ;  and  in  his  reply,  we  have  this  declara- 
 tion of  a  still  further  insight  into  the  unlimited,  yet  still  dis- 
 criminative, mercies  of  heaven  .  .  .  Of  a  truth  I  'perceive,  ^c.  .  . 
 But  he  has  still,  it  would  appear,  some  portion  of  Jewish  pre- 
 judice remaining,  by  which  he  might  have  been  embarrassed  in 
 the  completion  of  his  service  ;  I  mean  in  the  actual  administra- 
 tion of  Christian  Baptism  to  uncircumcised  Gentiles :  and 
 therefore  he  is  favoured  with  an  additional  confirmation,  no 
 question  most  suitable  in  itself,  but  admirably  fitted  to  make  S. 
 Peter  the  powerful  defender  of  what  God  was  then  doing  by 
 his  Ministry  (verse  17,  and  xv.  7 — 9)  I  mean,  the  Descent  of 
 the  Holt  Ghost,  while  he  was  yet  speaking,  as  on  the  Apostles 
 themselves  at  the  beginning.  ...  It  was  his  sound  principle, 
 that  the  Christian  should  be  "  ready  to  give  a  reason  of  the  hope 
 that  was  hi  him,"  (1  S.  Pet.  iii.  15)  ;  and  from  the  whole  course 
 of  the  great  business,  which  he  had  been  selected  to  perform, 
 
THE  ACTS  XI.  4,  5.  309 
 
 and  all  he  afterwards  said  concerning  it,  it  was  the  demand  of 
 his  own  mind  to  possess  a  reason,  such  as  would  preclude  all 
 subsequent  doubt  or  question.*  Eom.  xiv.  5  ;  S.  Luke  i.  3,  4; 
 ii.  31 — 33.     Alex.  Knox.     (E-emains,  Vol.  iv.  p.  595.) 
 
 He,  that  in  matters  of  controversy  shall  bring  meekness  to  his  de- 
 fence, undoubtedly  shall  overcome  in  the  manner  of  handling ; 
 and,  if  he  bring  truth  also,  he  shall  prevail  at  last  in  the  matter, 
 xxiii.  5 ;  S.  James  iii.  17,  18.  Bp.  Bedell.  (Serm.  S.  Matt, 
 xi.  29.     See  Life  by  Bp.  Burnet,  P.  155.     Ed.  1692.) 
 
 Take  time  in  the  discussion ;  and  we  shall  have  done  the  sooner. 
 Sir  Fr.  Walsingham. 
 
 5  How  consistently  did  S.  Peter  maintain  his  own  rule.  "  AVe 
 will  give  ourselves  continually  to  prayer ^^  vi.  4 ;  Prayer  in 
 *'  the  Temple,"  prayer  in  "  the  house,"  prayer  '*  on  the  house- 
 top."    iii.  1 ;  ii.  46  ;  iv.  23,  24 ;  x.  9.     J.  F. 
 
 Secret  prayer,  as  expressly  as  it  is  commanded  by  our  Sayiouk, 
 and  as  evidently  as  it  is  implied  in  the  notion  of  piety,  will  yet, 
 I  fear,  be  grievously  forgotten  by  the  generality,  till  they  can  bo 
 brought  to  fix  for  themselves  certain  times  of  the  day  for  it ; 
 since  this  is  not  done  to  their  hands,  as  it  was  in  the  Jewish 
 church,  by  custom  or  authority.  Indeed  custom,  as  well  as  the 
 manifest  propriety  of  the  thing,  and  examples  of  good  men  in 
 Scripture,  justify  us  in  insisting  that  none  omit  their  prayers 
 Morning  or  Evening,  who  have  not  thrown  off  all  regards  to 
 piety.  But  secret  prayer  comprehends,  not  only  devotions  be- 
 fore men  begin,  and  after  they  have  ended,  the  business  of  the 
 day,  but  such  also,  as  may  be  performed,  while  they  are  employed 
 in  it,  or  even  in  company.  And  truly  if,  besides  our  more  set 
 devotions  Morning  and  Evening,  all  of  us  would  fix  upon  certain 
 times  of  the  day,  so  that  the  return  of  the  hour  should  remind 
 us  to  say  short  prayers,  or  exercise  our  thoughts  in  a  way  equiva- 
 
 *  The  author  in  this,  as  in  some 
 other  extracts,  has  been  compelled, 
 here  and  there,  to  make  a  few  omis- 
 sions, for  the  sake  both  of  simplicity  and 
 
 on  his  Volume  on  S.  Matthew's  Gospel, 
 of  his  *'  hitting  the  happy  mean,  neither 
 being  tempted  into  long  disquisitions 
 on  the  one  hand,  nor  making  import- 
 
 abbreviation.     He  has  endeavoured  to    |   ant   omissions  on   the   other."       The 
 dothiswithout injury tothe  original;  for   j    English  Churchman,  May  4,  1848. 
 he  would  not  forfeit  the  praise,  bestowed   I 
 
310  THE  ACTS  XI.  5,  6. 
 
 lent  to  this,  perhaps  there  are  few  persons  in  so  high  and 
 habitual  a  state  of  piety,  as  not  to  find  the  benefit  of  it.  If  it 
 took  up  no  more  than  a  minute  or  two,  or  even  less  time  than  that, 
 it  would  serve  the  end  I  am  proposing ;  it  would  be  a  recollec- 
 tion that  we  are  in  the  Divine  Presence,  and  contribute  to  our 
 being  "in  the  fear  of  the  Loed  all  the  day  long."  Ps. 
 cxix.  164;  Iv.  18.  Bp.  Butler.  (Charge  to  the  Clergy  of 
 Durham.     1751.) 
 
 Prayer  is  of  that  nature,  that  it  will  mix  itself  and  comply  with 
 every  action.  Ipsa  sibi  templum  facit,  quo  Deum  adoret.  Other 
 actions  hinder  one  another.  I  cannot  walk,  and  sit  down ;  I 
 cannot  build,  and  write ;  I  cannot  travel  and  sleep ;  but  prayer, 
 as  logicians  say  of  substance,  nihil  habet  contrarium,  hath  nothing 
 contrary  to  it,  but  applies  itself  to  everything.  I  may  walk  and 
 pray ;  I  may  build  and  pray ;  I  may  write  and  pray.  Neh. 
 ii.  4  ;  Eph.  vi.  18.     Farindon. 
 
 Praying. — The  devoutest  person  is  like  the  waters  of  Siloam ;  a 
 perpetual  spring,  but  not  a  perpetual  current ;  that  is  always  in 
 readiness,  but  actually  thrusting  forth  his  waters  at  certain 
 periods  every  day.     S.  John  iv.  14.     Bp.  J.  Taylor. 
 
 G  "When  Cheist  came  to  "  form  a  people  unto  Himself,  to  show 
 forth  His  praise,"  He  took  of  every  kind.  Highways  and 
 hedges,  the  streets  and  lanes  of  the  city  furnished  guests  for 
 His  Supper,  as  well  as  the  wilderness  of  Judsea,  or  the  courts 
 of  His  Temple.  His  first  followers  are  a  sort  of  type  of  the 
 general  Church,  in  which  many  and  various  minds  are,  as  one. 
 And  this  is  one  use,  if  we  improve  it,  of  our  Festivals ;  which 
 set  before  us  specimens  of  the  Divine  Life,  under  the  same 
 diversity  of  outward  circumstances,  advantages,  and  dispositions, 
 that  we  see  around  us.  ii.  5,  17,  18;  Gen.  vii. ;  Col.  iii.  11. 
 J.  II.  Newman.  (Serm.  Acts  xi.  24;  on  the  Peast  of  S. 
 Barnabas.) 
 
 Another  man  sufi"ers  all,  that  his  sensitive  faculties  lust  and  rage  to 
 exercise  at  freedom ;  is  as  fierce,  as  the  tiger ;  as  lustful,  as  the 
 goat ;  as  ravenous,  as  the  wolf,  and  the  like :  and  all  the  beasts 
 of  the  field  and  fowls  of  the  air,  be  but  several  emblems,  and 
 lueroglyphics,  concurring  to  make  up  his  character ;  he  carries 
 a  wilderness  about  hiiii,  as  many  sins,  as  the  nature   of  a  seusi- 
 
THE  ACTS  XI.  6—9.  311 
 
 tive  creature  is  capable  of.  Aud  then  who  will  stick  to  compare 
 this  man  to  "  the  beasts  that  perish  ?"  Dr.  Hammond,  (Serm. 
 Eom  i.  26.) 
 
 Serpentum  nobis  dens  est,  mens  laeva  columbse, 
 
 Stultitia  et  mulos  et  superamus  oves ; 
 Et  canis  est  morsus  nobis,  et  equina  libido ; 
 Ut  leo  nos  furimus  semper,  et  instar  apis. 
 Forraicae  ventris  non  cura  est  major  alendi ; 
 
 Nee  pecus  in  tenerum  ssevior  ira  lupi.* 
 Sic  innata  feris  mala  nobis  cuncta  supersunt ; 
 Cum  bona  deficiunt  insita  cuncta  feris. 
 
 Billius.     (Anthol.  Sacra,  xxxv.) 
 
 8  The  Jew's  mouth  is  the  Christian's  heart.  Nothing  impure 
 must  enter,     xv.  9  ;  Col.  ii.  11 — 13.     Quesnel. 
 
 9  Christianity  borrowed  from  Judaism,  because  it  was  the  com- 
 pletion of  that  system,  which  in  Judaism  had  been  begun. 
 Cheist  came  "  not  to  destroy  the  Law  aud  the  Prophets,  but  to 
 fulfil  them."  Hence  the  moral  precepts  of  the  Old  Testament 
 were  preserved  and  perfected  in  the  New ;  the  rites  and  cere- 
 monies of  the  Law  were  typical  of  the  grand  events  and  leading 
 truths  of  the  Grospel;  and  the  chief  Festivals  in  the  Jewish 
 Church  were  succeeded  and  superseded  by  corresponding 
 Festivals  in  the  Christian.  But  the  moment  that  human  pre- 
 judice in  favour  of  ancient  usages,  would  have  overstepped  the 
 bounds,  prescribed  by  Scriptural  truth,  and  obtruded  upon 
 Christians  the  observances  of  a  national  and  ceremonial  law,  in- 
 
 *  The  author  has  taken  some  liberty 
 with  these  verses  of  M.  Jaques  de  Billy. 
 He  has  substituted  mulos  for  pueros, 
 and  the  whole  sixth  line  for 
 Fermenti  et  veteris  nos  comitatur  acor . 
 Thus  the  parallel  is  strictly  limited 
 to  the  brute  creation ;  and,  in  order  to 
 render  it  more  complete,  he  suggests 
 this  addition  after  v.  6  : — 
 Porcus  homo,  vulpes  fallax,  sirailisque 
 
 camelo, 
 Pectore    qui    tumido    damna    reposta 
 
 fovet. 
 
 It  is  remarkable,  that  Scripture  no 
 where  exhibits  man,  as  acting  under 
 the  degrading  propensities  of  the  beast, 
 so  strongly,  as  in  reference  to  his  con- 
 duct towards  our  Lord  and  His  ser- 
 vants. See  particularly  Ps.  xxii.  12, 
 13,  16,  20,  21.  Indeed  we  can  never 
 fall  lower,  nor  appear  in  a  worse  light, 
 than  when  we  contend  against  our  Gop, 
 Ps.  xlix.  20  ;  Isa.  i.  1—3.  S.  Chrysos- 
 tom  draws  out  the  comparison  at  full 
 length.  Horn,  ad  popul.  Antioch. 
 xxiii. 
 
312  THE  ACTS  XI.  9. 
 
 consistent  with  the  charncter  of  an  Universal  religion,  and  a 
 purely  spiritual  worship,  that  moment  Divine  Wisdom  inter- 
 posed its  direct  prohibition  against  an  abuse  so  mistaken,  and 
 so  mischievous.  Bean  Graves.  (Lect.  on  Pentateuch,  P.  ii., 
 Lect.  5.) 
 
 10  And  this  was  done  three  times:  and  all  were 
 drawn  up  again  into  heaven. 
 
 11  And,  behold,  immediately  there  were  three  men 
 already  come  unto  the  house  where  I  was,  sent  from 
 Caesarea  unto  me. 
 
 12  And  the  Spirit  bade  me  go  with  them,  nothing 
 doubting.  Moreover  these  six  brethren  accompanied 
 me,  and  we  entered  into  the  man's  house : 
 
 13  And  he  showed  us  how  he  had  seen  an  angel 
 in  his  house,  which  stood  and  said  unto  him,  Send 
 men  to  Joppa,  and  call  for  Simon,  whose  surname  is 
 Peter ; 
 
 1 4  Who  shall  tell  thee  words,  whereby  thou,  and  all 
 thy  house  may  be  saved. 
 
 15  And  as  I  began  to  speak,  the  Holy  Ghost  fell 
 on  them,  as  on  us  at  the  beginning. 
 
 16  Then  remembered  I  the  word  of  the  Lord,  how 
 that  He  said,  John  indeed  baptized  with  water ;  but 
 ye  shall  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 
 Jesus  Christ;  what  was  I  that  I  could  withstand 
 God? 
 
 18  When  they  heard  these  things,  they  held  their 
 peace,  and  glorified  God,  saying.  Then  hath  God  also 
 to  the  Gentiles  granted  repentance  unto  Yi^ii. 
 
THE  ACTS  XI.  13,  14.  313 
 
 13  To  secure  ourselves  from  dreams  and  enthusiasm,  let  us  confine 
 
 ourselves  to  the  dictates  of  reason  and  letter  of  Scripture 
 
 If  any  man  pretend  a  revelation  from  heaven  and  do  not  show 
 his  warrant  from  Holy  Scripture,  which  is  God's  instrument  in 
 the  world,  this  we  have  to  say — You  come  in  the  Name  of  God  ; 
 you  say,  you  have  a  revelation  from  Him ;  but  I  must  then 
 have  a  revelation  too,  before  I  can  believe  you  :  just  as  S.  Peter 
 and  Cornelius ;  the  one  had  a  revelation,  as  well  as  the  other ;  they 
 had  never  come  together  else.  So  that,  if  you  go  to  Eevelation, 
 you  must  show  it  me  in  Scripture.     If  you  pretend  auythiug 
 
 .  out  of  Scripture,  I  must  have  a  revelation  also,  before  I  believe 
 it.     Dr.  Whichcote.     (Serm.  Tit.  ii.  11,  12.) 
 
 14  I  would  desire  those,  who  think  they  have  no  reason  to  trouble 
 their  heads  about  the  Christian  religion,  provided  they  lead 
 good  moral  lives,  to  consider  the  character  of  Cornelius.  He 
 was  "devout,  and  feared  God  with  all  his  house;"  he  was  very 
 charitable,  and  gave  much  alms  to  the  people,  and  prayed  to 
 God  continually.  This,  I  suppose  they  will  allow  to  be  a 
 description  of  such  a  moral  man,  as  they  mean.  I  would  ask 
 them,  Por  what  purpose  did  God  send  a  vision  to  Cornelius, 
 and  another  to  S.  Peter,  that  Cornelius  might  be  made  a 
 Christian  ?  Was  all  this  care  thrown  away  upon  a  mere  un- 
 necessary point,  that  might  have  been  well  let  alone  ?  Was 
 Cornelius  thus  called  to  the  profession  of  the  Gospel,  and  was 
 it  of  no  consequence  whether  he  had  been  called,  or  not  ?     If 
 
 •  God  made  choice  of  Cornelius,  one  of  the  best  of  the  Gentiles, 
 to  show  that  some  of  them  were  capable  of  Grace,  He  did,  at 
 the  same  time,  demonstrate,  that  all  had  need  of  it ;  for,  if  the 
 best,  with  all  the  light  they  eujoyed,  wanted  this  assistance, 
 what  would  the  worst  do  without  it  ?  Eom.  iii.  19 — 26.  Bp. 
 Sherlock.     (Discourses,  Acts  x.  34,  35.) 
 
 God  is  able  to  save  us.  Certainly,  in  many  ways.  He  could  do 
 it  by  heavenly  visions,  or  by  inspirations,  or  illuminations,  or 
 other  wonderful  ways :  but  He  has  not  willed  it  to  be  so,  per- 
 haps for  the  reason,  mentioned  by  S.  Bernard,  namely,  that 
 Life  might  enter  in  at  the  same  gate,  as  at  first  did  death. 
 Death  entered,  when  our  ears  were  opened  to  hear  the  false 
 preacher  in  Paradise  ;  aud  Life  must  now  enter  by  our  listening 
 
314  THE  ACTS  XI.  15—17. 
 
 to  the  preacher  of  Truth.  Auris  prima  mortis  janua^  prima 
 aperiatur  et  vitce.  Isa.  Iv.  3 ;  S.  John  v.  24  ;  x.  3.  Segneri. 
 (Predica  4,  S.  Matt.  iv.  4.) 
 
 15  Nothing  is  so  sweet  and  precious,  as  the  Woyd  of  Gospel, 
 
 which  brings  with   it  the  Holt   Gthost The  gift  of 
 
 tongues  and  miracles  and  other  such  like  gifts  are  ceased  in  the 
 Church  ;  but  the  gift  of  the  Spirit  is  not  ceased  ;  and  this  the 
 LoED  still  joins  with  the  outward  Ministry  of  the  Grospel ; 
 that  He  may  keep  up  in  our  hearts  the  due  respect  of  this  ordi- 
 nance, and  may  preserve  us  from  the  ways  of  these  men,  who 
 seek  the  Spirit  without  the  Word.  x.  44 ;  Prov.  i.  23  ;  1  Cor. 
 xiii.     Wm.  Dell     (Serm.  Acts  i.  8.) 
 
 The  Church  is  a  teacher,  and  the  Word  is  a  teacher,  and  afflictions 
 are  teachers ;  but  the  Spirit  of  Gron,  the  Holy  Ghost,  is  "  all 
 in  all."  The  Church,  if  not  directed  by  the  Spirit,  is  but  a 
 rout,  or  conventicle ;  the  Word,  if  not  quickened  by  the  Spirit, 
 a  dead  letter ;  and  His  discipline  a  rod  of  iron,  first  to  harden 
 us,  and  then  break  us  in  pieces.  But  afflat  Spiritus,  "  the  Spirit 
 bloweth  upon  His  garden,  the  Church  ;  and  the  spices  thereof 
 flow."  Incubat  Spiriius,  the  Holy  Ghost  sitteth  upon  the 
 seed  of  the  Word,  and  hatcheth  a  new  creature.  Spiritus  movet, 
 the  Spirit  raoveth  upon  these  waters  (Gen.  i.  2)  upon  these 
 waters  of  bitterness  ;  then  they  make  us  "  fruitful  to  every  good 
 work."     1  Cor.  xii.  4—7.     Farindon.     (Serm.  1  Cor.  xii.  3.) 
 
 C HEIST  and  His  Minister  go  into  the  pulpit  together.  A  greater 
 than  man  is  there.  Master  and  servant  are  both  at  w^ork. 
 xviii.  27  ;  1  Cor.  iii.  5 — 9.     Gurnall. 
 
 16  Then  remembered  /,  ^c. — Here  incidentally  another  operation 
 of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  brought  before  our  notice,  falling  in 
 with  the  general  design  of  the  Book  of  "  the  Acts,"  in  its  rela- 
 tion to  the  Third  Person  in  the  Blessed  Trinity.  He  was  the 
 Divine  Eemembrancer,  "testifying  of  Cueist"  by  bringing  all 
 things  to  the  remembrance  of  the  Apostles,  *'  whatsoever  Ho  had 
 said  unto  them."     xx.  35  ;  S.  John  xiv.  20.     J,  F. 
 
 17  When  Jesus  had  chosen  these  mean  and  weak  instruments  of 
 His  power,  He  suffered  them  to  continue  in  their  national  pre- 
 judices, concerning  His  character,  the  nature  of  His  kingdom, 
 and  the  extent  of  His  jurisdiction,  as  the  solo  means  of  keeping 
 
THE  ACTS  XI.  17.  315 
 
 them  attached  to  His  service,  not  only  during  the  course  of 
 their  attendance  on  His  Ministry,  but  for  some  time  after  the 
 Resurrection  and  the  Descent  of  the  Holt  Ghost  upon  them 
 • — that  Power,  which  was  to  "lead  them  into  all  truth,"  but  by 
 just  and  equal  steps.  Let  us  see  the  use  of  this  in  the  follow- 
 ing circumstance.  From  the  order  of  the  whole  of  God's  Dis- 
 pensation to  mankind,  as  laid  down  in  Scripture,  we  learn,  that 
 the  offer  of  the  Gospel  was  to  be  first  fairly  made  to  the  Jews, 
 and  then  afterwards  to  the  Gentiles.  Now  when,  soon  after  the 
 Ascension  of  our  Loed,  the  Church  was  forced  by  the  persecution 
 of  the  Synagogue  to  leave  Judea,  and  to  disperse  itself  through 
 all  the  regions  round  about,  had  the  Apostles  on  this  dispersion 
 been  fully  instructed  in  the  design  of  God  to  call  the  Gentiles 
 into  His  Church,  resentment  for  their  ill  usage  within  Judea 
 and  the  small  prospect  of  better  success  among  them,  that 
 were  without,  whom  they  of  Jerusalem  had  prejudiced  against 
 the  Gospel,  would  naturally  have  disposed  them  to  turn  imme- 
 diately to  the  Gentiles  :  by  which  means  God's  purpose,  with- 
 out a  supernatural  force  upon  their  minds,  had  been  defeated  ; 
 as  so  great  a  part  of  the  Jews  would  not  have  had  tlie  Gospel 
 "first  preached  unto  them."  But  now,  pushed  on  by  this  com- 
 modious prejudice,  that  the  benefits  belonged  properly  to  the 
 race  of  Abraham,  they  directly  addressed  themselves  to  their 
 brethren  of  the  dispersion  ;  where,  meeting  with  the  same  ill 
 success,  their  sense  of  the  desperate  condition  of  the  house  of 
 Israel  would  now  begin  to  abate  that  prejudice  in  their  favour. 
 And  then  came  the  time  to  enlighten  them  in  this  matter, 
 without  putting  too  great  a  force  upon  their  minds  ;  which  is 
 not  God's  way  of  acting  with  free  agents.  Accordingly,  His 
 purpose  of  calling  the  Gentiles  into  the  Church  was  now  clearly 
 revealed  to  S.  Peter  at  Joppa,  and  a  proper  subject,  wherewith 
 to  begin  this  great  work,  was  ready  provided  for  him.  .  .  .  Thus 
 Divine  Wisdom  wonderfully  contrived,  that  the  inability  and 
 ignorance  of  the  propagators  of  Christianity  were  as  useful  to 
 the  advancement  of  this  E-eligion,  as  the  authority  and  wisdom 
 of  the  leader  of  the  Jews  were  for  the  establishment  of  theirs, 
 xiii.  46 ;  xxii.  21 ;  xxviii.  28  ;  S.  Luke  xxiv.  47  ;  Eph.  i.  8.  Bp. 
 '  Warburton.     (The  Divine  Legiitioo,  &c.     B.  iv.  s.  6.) 
 
31G  THE  ACTS  XI.  17,  18. 
 
 What  was  I? — No  science  is  more  valuable,  than  that  of  self- 
 knowledge.  Set  aside  therefore  other  matters,  and  examine 
 thyself.  Take  pains  with  thyself ;  let  thy  thoughts  both  begin 
 and  end  in  thyself,     v.  39  ;  ix.  5.     S.  Bernard. 
 
 He,  that  is  a  stranger  to  himself,  is  a  stranger  to  God,  and  to 
 every  thing,  that  may  denominate  him  wise  and  happy.  Baxter. 
 (Treatise  on  the  benefits  of  self-acquaintance.  Ep.  Dedicatory.) 
 
 Climachus  has  a  wise  rule  for  our  judging,  whether  such  or  such 
 an  event  proceeds  from  God,  and  whether  w^e  are  w^orking, 
 according  to  His  Will ;  namely,  if  His  dealings  have  the  effect 
 of  increasing  our  humility.     S.  John  iii.  30.     Cornelius  a  Lapide. 
 
 18  Cornelius,  then,  notwithstanding  his  exemplary  piety  and 
 charity  needed  repentance,  as  well  as  faith  in  the  Lokd  Jesus, 
 in  order  to  his  salvation  :  but  how  gracious,  and  according  to 
 His  manner  in  other  places,  is  the  Spirit's  record,  telling  us 
 only  of  his  good  deeds.  Xone  of  his  sins,  such  as  required 
 repentance,  are  mentioned.  This  is  the  very  grace,  that  shall 
 be  revealed  unto  us  at  the  last  Day  (Ezek.  xviii.  22  ;  S.  Matt. 
 XXV.  35).  The  expression,  granting  repentance  unto  life  accords 
 with  the  giving  repentance  at  v.  31.  There,  it  is  to  the  Jew  ; 
 here,  it  is  to  the  Gentile.     J.  F. 
 
 S.  Peter's  custody  of  "the  Keys"  (S.  Matt.  xvi.  19)  was  a  tem- 
 porary, not  a  perpetual  authority  :  its  object  was,  not  indi- 
 viduals, but  the  human  race.  "  The  Kingdom  of  heaven"  upon 
 earth  is  the  true  Church  of  God.  It  is  now,  therefore  the 
 Christian  Church ;  formerly  the  Jewish  Church  was  that  King- 
 dom. The  true  Church  is  represented  in  this  text,  as  in  many 
 passages  of  Holy  writ,  under  the  image  of  a  walled  city,  to  be 
 entered  into  only  at  the  gates.  Under  the  Mosaic  economy  these 
 gates  were  shut,  and  particular  persons  only  could  obtain  ad- 
 mittance, Israelites  by  birth,  or  by  legal  incorporation.  The 
 locks  of  these  gates  were  the  Mosaic  Law,  which  obstructed 
 the  entrance  of  aliens.  But,  after  our  Lord's  Ascension,  and 
 the  Descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Keys  of  the  city  were 
 given  to  S.  Peter,  by  that  vision,  which  taught  him  and  autho- 
 rized him  to  teach  others,  that  all  distinctions  of  one  nation 
 from  another  were  at  an  end.  By  virtue  of  this  special  com- 
 mission, the  great  Apostle  applied  the   Key,  pushed  back  the 
 
THE  ACTS  XI.  18,  19.  317 
 
 bolt  of  the  lock,  and  threw  the  gates  of  the  city  open  to  tlie 
 whole  Gentile  world,  in  the  instance  of  Cornelius  and  his  family. 
 To  this,  and  to  this  only,  our  Loed  prophetically  alludes,  when 
 He  promises  to  S.  Peter  the  custody  of  the  Keys.  Bp.  HorsleT/. 
 (Serm.  S.  Matt.  xvi.  18,  19.) 
 The  Jews  confined  all  hope  and  promise  of  future  reward  to 
 themselves ;  to  those,  who  were  not  of  their  religion,  they 
 allowed  nothing  but  a  total  perdition  of  their  being.  Thus,  at 
 first,  they  could  not  believe,  that  God  should  "  grant  to  the 
 Gentiles  repentance  unto  life,"  (v.  20,  "  this  life,"  as  addressed 
 to  the  Jews).     Colly er.     (Sacred  interpreter,  conclusion.) 
 
 19  Now  they  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  the  Jews  only. 
 
 20  And  some  of  them  were  men  of  Cyprus  and 
 Cyrene,  which,  when  Ihey  were  come  to  Antioch, 
 spake  unto  the  Grecians,  preaching  the  Lord  Jesus. 
 
 21  And  the  hand  of  the  Lord  was  with  them  :  and 
 a  great  number  believed,  and  turned  unto  the  Lord. 
 
 22  Then  tidings  of  these  things  came  unto  the  ears 
 of  the  Church  which  was  in  Jerusalem :  and  they 
 sent  forth  Barnabas,  that  he  should  go  as  far  as 
 Antioch, 
 
 23  Who,  when  he  came,  and  had  seen  the  grace  of 
 God,  was  glad,  and  exhorted  them  all,  that  with  pur- 
 pose of  heart  they  would  cleave  unto  the  Lord. 
 
 24  For  he  was  a  good  man,  and  full  of  the  Holy 
 Ghost  and  of  faith  :  and  much  people  was  added  unto 
 the  Lord. 
 
 19  As  all  seasons  of  the  year,  the  nipping  frosts  as  well  as  the 
 halcyon  days  of  summer,  do  all  conspire  to  the  harvest,  so  it  is 
 in  Providence.     Phil.  i.  12  :  1  Thess.  i.  G.     Flavel. 
 
.318  THE  ACTS  XI.  20.  21. 
 
 20  There  were  cases  of  Gentile  conversion,  before  that  of  Cor- 
 nelius ;  and  the  stress  of  the  narrative  in  chapter  x.  consists 
 in  the  miscellaneous  admission  of  all  the  Gentile  company  of 
 Cornelius,  and  their  official  reception  into  the  Church  by  that 
 
 Apostle,  to  whom  was  especially  given  the  power S. 
 
 Stephen,  carrying  out  the  principles  of  his  own  apology,  could 
 hardly  fail  to  recognise  it.  .  .  .  This  state  of  things  might  have 
 given  rise  to  a  permanent  schism  in  the  iufant  Church.  Thus 
 Hellenists,  and  perhaps  Saul  with  his  definite  mission  to  the 
 Gentiles,  might  have  formed  one  party  ;  and  the  Hebrews,  with 
 S.  Peter  at  their  head,  another.  Verse  3  ;  ii.  39  ;  vi.  14.  Alford. 
 (Notes,  viii.  27;  x.  1—48.) 
 
 21  The  Hand  of  the  Loud  is  Power ;  the  Pace  of  the  Loed  is 
 the  Knowledge  of  God  ;  the  Feet  of  the  Lord  are  His  Pre- 
 sence ;  the  Seat  of  God,  where  He  dwells,  if  thou  art  so 
 minded,  is  thine  own  self.     iv.  30.     6*.  Augustine. 
 
 The  Ministers  of  Christ  are  not  dependent  for  success  on  the 
 force  of  moral  suasion  ;  nor  are  they  merely  the  teachers  of  an 
 external  religion,  including  truths  the  most  momentous  and 
 duties  of  the  highest  obligation :  they  are  also  the  instruments, 
 through  whom  a  supernatural  agency  is  exerted.  And  hence 
 in  the  conversion  of  souls  we  are  not  to  compare  the  difficulties, 
 to  be  surmounted,  with  the  feeble  resources  of  human  power, 
 but  with  His,  with  whom  nothing  is  impossible,  xvi.  14  ;  xviii. 
 27 ;  1  Cor.  iii.  7.     U.  Hall     (Serm.  2  Cor.  iv.  1.) 
 
 And  a  great  number  believed. — God  did  not  give  the  Israelites 
 a  Law,  before  He  had  given  them  good  proof  of  His  gracious 
 power.  He  made  them  feel  the  extraordinary  relief  of  His 
 hand,  before  He  spake  unto  them  with  His  Voice.  Thus  dealt 
 He  in  delivering  of  the  Old  Testament ;  and  thus  dealt  Christ 
 in  the  delivering  of  the  New.  He  wrought  miracles,  before 
 He  preached  sermons.  And  indeed  this  is  a  very  likely  way  to 
 prevail  with  men  ;  to  have  their  reason  first  subdued,  before 
 their  faith  be  informed.  When  reason  is  first  brought  to 
 confess  that,  which  is  done,  cannot  be  done  but  by  a  Divine 
 power,  then  will  faith  easily  believe  that,  what  is  spoken,  is  a 
 Divine  word.  Ex.  xvii. ;  Numb,  xxxiii. ;  S.  John  iii.  2.  Bp. 
 Lake.     (Exposition  of  Exodus  xix.) 
 
THE  ACTS  XT.  23.  319 
 
 23  TFas  glad. — It  is  said  to  be  a  speech  of  CnEiST,  which  the  Na- 
 zarene  Gospel  hath  recorded,  though  our  Bibles  have  not, 
 "  Nunquam  Iceti  sitis,  7iisi  cum  fratres  in  charitate  videritisP  No 
 spectacle  of  delight,  nothing,  that  a  Christian  can  take  pleasure 
 in,  nothing  of  virtue  and  power  hath  enough  to  raise  a  dis- 
 ciple's joy,  but  to  see  his  fellow-disciples,  his  brethren,  embrac- 
 ing one  another  in  love.  xv.  3  ;  1  Cor.  xiii.  6  ;  Ps.  cxxxiii.  1 ; 
 S.  John  xiii.  35  ;  1  S.  John  iv.  16.  Farindon.  (Serm.  Gal. 
 iv.  12.) 
 
 Our  affection  to  others  gives  us  a  share  in  their  happiness,  and 
 so  becomes  an  addition  to  our  own.  Wishing  well  enlarges  a 
 man's  capacity  of  being  happy.  This  hinders  his  satisfaction 
 from  being  confined  to  his  private  interest.  He  is  really  the 
 better  for  whatever  good  his  neighbour  enjoys,  because  every 
 thing  of  this  nature  satisfies  his  desires,  and  gives  him  that,  he 
 
 delights  in All  prosperous  events,  all  improvements  of 
 
 industry,  and  blessings  of  Providence,  which  he  is  acquainted 
 with,  his  excellent  temper  gives  him  an  interest  in  :  for  though 
 he  have  not  the  possession  of  those  things,  he  has,  what  is  most 
 desirable,  the  satisfaction  of  them.  Nay,  I  believe  the  generous 
 congratulation  may  be  improved  to  exceed  the  occasion  ;  and 
 make  a  man  more  happy,  than  those  he  rejoices  for.  In  this 
 case,  the  laws  of  nature  give  way  for  the  encouragement  of 
 goodness ;  the  stream  rises  higher  than  the  fountain  ;  and  the 
 rebound  is  stronger  than  the  first  motion,  iv.  32  ;  1  Cor.  xii.  26. 
 Jer.  Collier.     (Essays.  Dial.  5.) 
 
 There  is  no  greater  sign  of  holiness,  than  the  procuring  and  re- 
 joicing in  another's  good.  Eom.  i.  9  ;  Eph.  i.  16 ;  Phil.  i.  4 ; 
 2  S.  John  4  ;  3  S.  John  3,  4.  G.  Herbert.  (Priest  to  the 
 Temple.  Ch.  7.) 
 
 Coming  to  God  by  faith  and  cleaving  to  Ilim  by  obedience  is  so 
 essential  an  ingredient  of  true  piety,  that  religion  takes  its  very 
 name  from  it.  Eor  what  does  the  name  import,  but  a  re-union 
 and  cleaving  to  God  ?  (Religio  a  religando,  binding  together 
 again).  Sin  had  broken  the  knot  of  unity  between  Him  and 
 us;  and  "the  Grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  hath  tied  it 
 again.  O  !  let  us  steadfastly  cleave  unto  the  Lord,  our  God  ; 
 that  neither  our  sin,  nor  His  Justice,  may  dissolve  this  union 
 
320  THE  ACTS  XL  24. 
 
 any  more !  Isa.  lix.  2 ;  S.  John  vi.  G7— GO  ;  1  S.  Pet.  ii.  25. 
 Wogan.     (On  the  Lessons.     First  Sunday  after  Trinity.) 
 
 24  His  being  a  good  man,  seems  to  have  been  the  reason  both  for 
 his  designation  to  the  particular  office  of  visiting  Antioch,  and 
 for  his  success.  "  For  he  was  a  good  man."  ....  Other  gifts 
 and  qualifications  are  adapted  for  different  services.  The  great 
 Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  with  his  vast  powers  of  mind,  his  co- 
 pious faculty  of  speaking,  his  undaunted  courage,  was  qualified 
 for  first  planting  the  Grospel ;  but  S.  Barnabas  was  designed  for 
 the  work  of  consolation.  The  specific  difierence  between  him 
 and  some  of  the  other  Apostles  and  Evangelists  was  not  in 
 their  doctrine,  nor  in  their  amount  of  labour  among  the  people ; 
 but  in  his  peculiarly  bland  and  engaging  temper.  No  one  of 
 the  others  is  expressly  designated  by  this  particular  commenda- 
 tion, He  was  a  good  man.  Such  individuals  may  be  traced 
 under  every  dispensation,  and  occupying  diflferent  spheres  of 
 action.  Such  a  one  was  Isaac,  whose  devotional  meditative 
 character  is  given  us  in  the  Patriarchal  History.  Such  a  man 
 was  Moses,  as  far  as  meekness  is  concerned,  in  the  cast  and 
 character  of  graces,  we  are  now  considering.  Such  a  person 
 Mas  Jonathan,  whose  "  soul  clave  unto  David."  Such,  in  the 
 other  sex,  was  Dorcas,  who  was  "  full  of  good  works  and  alms- 
 deeds,  which  she  did ;"  so  that  about  her  dying  bed  *'  the  widows 
 stood  weeping,  and  showing  the  coats  and  garments,  which  she 
 made,  while  she  was  with  them."  Such,  above  all,  was  "the 
 disciple,  whom  Jesus  loved,"  who  "  leaned  on  His  bosom," 
 and  who  exhibits  the  Divine  attributes  in  one  sublime  and  con- 
 soling combination,  "  God  is  LoveJ"  Such,  again,  at  the  period 
 of  the  Eeformation,  appears  to  have  been  jMelancthon,  Ecolam- 
 padius,  and  our  Archbishop  Cranmer:  they  were  not  like 
 Luther,  nor  Calvin,  nor  Zuingle  ;  but  they  filled  a  post,  for 
 which  their  suavity  especially  qualified  them.  iv.  36  ;  Horn.  v.  7. 
 Bp.  Daniel  Wilson.  (Serm.  on  text,  preached  at  the  Funeral  of 
 Eev.  Basil  AVoodd.) 
 
 Goodness,  of  all  the  attributes,  by  which  a  man  may  be  styled, 
 liath  chief  place  and  sovereignty.  All  other  excellencies  and 
 eminent  qualities,  which  raise  in  the  mind  of  men  some  opinion 
 and  conceit  of  us,  may  occasion  peradventure  some  strong  re- 
 
THE  ACTS  XI.  24.  321 
 
 spect  in  another  kind  ;  but  impression  of  love  and  true  respect 
 nothing  can  give  but  this :  greatness  of  place  and  authority 
 may  make  us  feared ;  depth  of  learning  admired  ;  abundance  of 
 wealth  may  make  men  outwardly  obsequious  to  us :  but  that, 
 which  makes  one  man  a  God  unto  another,  that,  which  doth 
 tie  the  souls  of  men  unto  us,  that,  which,  like  "  the  eye  of  the 
 Bridegroom"  in  the  Book  of  Canticles,  *' ravishes  the  heart  of 
 him,  that  looks  upon  it,"  is  goodness.  AYithout  this,  mankind 
 were  but  (as  one  speaks)  commissiones  mercB,  et  arena  sine  calce, 
 stones  heaped  together  without  mortar,  or  pieces  of  boards  with- 
 out any  cement  to  bind  and  tie  them  together  :  for  this  it  hath 
 singular  in  it,  above  all  properties,  of  which  our  nature  is  ca- 
 pable, that  it  is  the  most  available  to  human  society,  incor- 
 porating, and,  as  it  were,  kneading  us  together,  by  softness  of 
 disposition,  by  being  compassionate,  by  gladly  communicating 
 to  the  necessity  of  others,  by  transfusing  ourselves  into  others, 
 and  receiving  from  others  into  ourselves.  Mai.  ii.  6,  7 ;  1  Cor. 
 xiii.  4—8;  2  Tim.  ii.  24.     J.  Hales.     (Serm.  Rom.  xiv.  1.) 
 
 Cornelius  was  "  a  good  man"  before  his  Baptism;  but  not  in  the 
 far  higher  sense,  in  which  S.  Barnabas  was  "a  good  man,"  as  he 
 is  described  here.  The  former  had  that  "  good  and  honest 
 heart,"  which  prepared  him  for  receiving  the  Holt  Ghost  in 
 the  preaching  of  the  Word  :  but  S.  Barnabas  was  ''  full  of  all 
 goodness,"  the  fruit  of  faith  implanted  and  of  the  Spirit,  dwell- 
 
 •  ing  and  abiding  in  him,  and  conforming  him  unto  the  Image  of 
 Cheist.  S.  Luke  viii.  15 ;  Eom.  xv.  4.  He  seems  indeed  to 
 be  the  very  type  of  the  ^^ good  man,"  ar^aOh^,  as  contrasted  with 
 the  "  righteous  man,"  Succuo^,  in  S.  Paul's  argument  at  Eom.  v.  7. 
 J.F. 
 
 Every  one  should  be  the  better  for  a  Christian.  When  Onesimus 
 was  converted,  he  became  profitable  to  S.  Paul  and  Philemon 
 also  (Philemon  ii.) ;  to  S.  Paul,  as  a  Christian ;  to  Phile- 
 mon, as  a  servant.  An  idle  professor  is  a  scandalous  professor. 
 An  idle  man  does  none  good,  and  himself  most  hurt.  2  Chron. 
 XV.  9  ;  1  Cor.  xii.  7.  Gurnall.  (On  the  Christian  Armour. 
 Eph.  vi.  14.     Ch.  9.) 
 
 Much  people  was  added  to  the  Lord. — As  neither  the  Jewish  nor 
 Christian  Eevelation  have  been  Universal,  and  as  they  have 
 
 Y 
 
332  THE  ACTS  XL  24. 
 
 been  afforded  to  a  greater  or  less  part  of  the  world  at  different 
 times,  so  likewise,  at  different  times,  both  Eevelations  have  had 
 different  degrees  of  evidence.  The  Jews,  who  lived  during 
 the  succession  of  Prophets,  that  is,  from  Moses  till  after  the 
 Captivity,  had  higher  evidence  of  the  truth  of  their  religion  than 
 those,  who  had  lived  in  the  interval  between  the  last-mentioned 
 period  and  the  coming  of  Christ.  And  the  first  Christians 
 had  higher  evidence  of  the  miracles,  wrought  in  attestation  of 
 Christianity,  than  what  we  have  now.  They  had  also  a  strong 
 presumptive  proof  of  the  truth  of  it,  perhaps  of  much  greater 
 force,  in  the  way  of  argument,  than  many  think,  of  which  we 
 have  little  remaining ;  I  mean,  the  presumptive  proof  of  its 
 truth,  from  the  influence,  which  it  had  upon  the  lives  of  the  ge- 
 nerality of  its  proifessors.  And  we,  or  future  ages,  may  possibly 
 have  a  proof  of  it,  which  they  could  not  have,  from  the  con- 
 formity between  the  prophetic  history,  and  the  state  of  the 
 world  and  of  Christianity.  S.  Johnxv.  8  ;  xiii.  35.  Bp.  Butler. 
 (Analogy.  P.  ii.  ch.  6.) 
 Being  added  to  the  Loed  is  the  very  same  thing,  as  being  added 
 to  the  Church,  ii.  47 :  for  the  Church  is  the  Mystical  Body  of 
 the  Lord.  Whence,  then,  comes  it  to  be  said,  that  to  make 
 frequent  mention,  in  our  preaching,  of  the  Church  is  to  dis- 
 regard, and  even  to  supersede,  Christ  ?  This  cannot  be,  if  we 
 only  keep  both  subjects  together  in  their  relative  bearings  and 
 proportions,     xx.  27,  28  ;  Eph.  i.  22,  23  ;  iii.  10 ;  v.  25.     J.  F. 
 
 25  Then  departed  Barnabas  to  Tarsus,  for  to  seek 
 Saul : 
 
 26  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  Chris- 
 tians first  in  Antioch. 
 
 27  And  in  these  days  came  prophets  from  Jerusa- 
 lem unto  Antioch. 
 
 28  And  there  stood  up  one  of  them  named  Agabus, 
 
THE  ACTS  XL  25.  323 
 
 and  signified  by  the  Spirit  that  there  should  be  great 
 dearth  throughout  all  the  world  :  which  came  to  pass 
 in  the  days  of  Claudius  Caesar. 
 
 29  Then  the  disciples,  every  man  according  to  his 
 abihty,  determined  to  send  relief  unto  the  brethren 
 which  dwelt  in  Judea: 
 
 30  Which  also  they  did,  and  sent  it  to  the  elders  by 
 the  hands  of  Barnabas  and  Saul. 
 
 25  The  Grecians  (verse  20),  according  to  Alford,  were  uncircum- 
 cised  Gentiles,  quite  distinct  from  the  Hellenists  (see  his  note 
 in  loco  and  at  vi.  1)  ;  hence,  accordmg  to  that  acute  and  excel- 
 lent commentator,  the  object  of  S.  Baruabas's  mission,  verse  22, 
 must  have  been  of  a  very  different  character  from  that  of  S. 
 Peter  and  S.  John,  viii.  14  :  hence  too  the  singular  fact,  that 
 S.  Barnabas,  on  his  being  convinced  of  the  reality  of  the  work 
 of  God  (verse  21)  upon  these  Gentiles,  contrary,  as  it  would 
 appear,  to  his  own  expectations,  departed  to  Tarsus  for  to  seek 
 Saul ;  whom  S.  Barnabas  of  all  other  men  (ix.  27)  must  have 
 best  known  to  be  the  chosen  Minister  of  the  Loed  for  the 
 calling  in  of  the  Gentiles.     J.  F. 
 
 S.  Barnabas  rejoiced  at  this,  that  was  done,  although  done  by  men, 
 inferior  to  himself ;  he  took  the  lower  place,  and,  as  "  the  son 
 of  consolation  "  (iv.  37),  built  up  and  exhorted  those,  whom  he 
 had  not  himself  won  to  the  Gospel.  Nor  would  he  remain 
 chief  among  them  ;  but  departed  straightway  to  Tarsus,  to  seek 
 Said,  by  whose  brighter  light  his  own  glory  was  to  be  eclipsed. 
 '*  Charity,"  (that  "  rejoiceth  in  the  truth"),  "seeketh  not  her 
 own."  Next,  when  the  Gospel  was  to  be  carried  beyond  its 
 then  confines,  into  the  centre  of  the  heathen  Asia  Minor,  S. 
 Barnabas  is  chosen  by  the  Holt  Ghost  Himself,  and  separated 
 with  S.  Paul  "to  the  work."  (xiii.  1,  2.)  Here  also,  though 
 the  elder  in  the  faith,  he  gives  the  first  place  to  S.  Paul  the 
 younger ;  he,  who  had  recently  been  a  protector  of  S.  Paul 
 (ix.  27)  and  presented  him  to  the  brethren,  now  subjected  him- 
 self to  him,  whose  advocate  and  patron  he  had  been  :  although 
 
 y2 
 
324.  THE  ACTS  XI.  26. 
 
 chosen  and  placed  first  by  GrOD,  "  Separate  Me  Barnabas  and 
 Paul  for  the  work,"  he  takes  the  lowest  place.  Majestic  in  ap- 
 pearance, so  that  the  poor  heathen  thought  him  their  very  chief 
 God  himself,  the  very  King  of  their  gods,  their  Jupiter,  he 
 gave  place  to  him,  who  "  was  in  bodily  presence  weak  ;"  so  that 
 S.  Paul  was  "  the  chief  speaker."  (xiv.  12.)  "When  the  rulers 
 of  the  synagogue  sent  to  them,  saying,  "  If  ye  have  any  word  of 
 exhortation  to  the  people,  say  on;"  then  S.  Paul  stood  up. 
 "  Charity  vaunteth  not  itself."    Br.  Puseij.    (Serm.  Acts  iv.  37.) 
 
 26  I  lean  to  the  opinion,  that  this  name  was  not  assumed  by  the 
 Christians  themselves,  but  given  them  by  the  heathen  to  denote 
 followers  of  a  sect,  of  which  Christ  was  the  Head.  "We  do  not 
 find  that  the  sacred  writers  use  this  name  in  addressing,  or  in 
 speakiug  of,  the  brethren,  xxviii.  22 ;  S.  James  ii.  7  ;  1  S.  Pet. 
 iv.  16  ;  V.  14.  Bp.  Kaye.  (On  the  Government  of  the  Church, 
 &c.     Note,  p.  21.) 
 
 Christian  is  my  name  ;  but  Catholic  my  surname.  The  former 
 gives  me  a  name  ;  the  latter  distinguishes  me  :  hoc  probor,  inde 
 signifcor,  by  the  one  I  am  approved  ;  by  the  other  I  am  marked 
 (i.  e.,  so  as  to  be  known  from  a  heretic).  S.  Pacian.  (Ep.  ad 
 Serapronianum.     S.  7.) 
 
 In  this  name  we  have  our  share  in  all  title.',  that  have  sublimity  in 
 them ;  as  he,  that  holds  the  fastening  links  of  a  chain  in  his 
 finger,  draws  on  all  the  rest.  1  Cor.  iii.  23.  S.  Greg.  Nyssen. 
 (De  prof  Nom.  Christi.) 
 
 A  Christian  man  is  not  born  of  a  Christian  woman :  it  is  not  na- 
 tural, bat  Spiritual  birth,  that  makes  a  Christian,  non  generation 
 sed  Regeneratio.     S.  John  i.  12.     Tertullian. 
 
 To  be  a  Christian  is  to  "  depart  from  iniquity."  Therefore,  if  you 
 will  not  renounce  iniquity,  renounce  the  Christian  Name  ;  for 
 you  cannot  consistently  retain  both.  Alexander  had  a  fellow  in 
 his  army,  that  was  of  his  own  name,  but  a  mere  coward. 
 "Either  be  like  me,"  says  Alexander  to  liim,  "or  lay  aside  my 
 name."  Te  servants  of  sin,  it  is  in  vain  for  you  to  wear  the 
 Name  of  Christ:  it  renders  you  the  more  ridiculous,  and  ag- 
 gravates your  guilt.  S.  Matt.  vii.  21—28  ;  2  Tim.  ii.  9 ;  liom.  ii. 
 S.  Bavies.     (Serm.  on  text.) 
 
 Live  as  those,  that  believe,  that  you  are  to  be— (ratlier,  that  are  al- 
 
THE  ACTS  XI.  27.  325 
 
 ready  made  in  Baptism) — members  of  the  Holy  Catholic  Church, 
 holding  therein  the  Communion  of  Saints ;  and  then  yon  will 
 know,  that  it  is  not,  as  a  member  of  any  sect  or  party,  but  as  a 
 holy  member  of  a  Holy  Church,  that  you  must  be  saved ;  and 
 that  it  is  the  Name  of  a  Christian,  which  is  more  honourable 
 than  the  name  of  any  division  or  subdivision  among  Christians, 
 whether  Greek,  or  Papist,  Protestant,  or  Prelatist,  or  Presby- 
 terian, or  Independent,  or  Anabaptist.     It  is  easy  to  be  any 
 one  of  these  parties;  but  to  be  a  Christian,  which  all  pretend 
 to,  is  not  so  easy.     It  is  easy  to  have  a  burning  zeal  for  any 
 divided  party  or  cause ;  but  the  common  zeal  for  the  Christian 
 religion  is  not   so  easy  to  be  kindled  or  kept  alive ;   but  re- 
 quireth   as  much  diligence  to  maintain  it,  as  dividing  zeal  re- 
 qnireth  to  quench  it.     It  is  easy  to  love  a  party,  as  a  party ;  but 
 to  keep  up  Catholic  Charity  to  all  Christians,  and  to  live  in  that 
 holy  love  and  converse,  which  is  requisite  to  a  Communion  of 
 Saints,  is  not  so  easy.    Satan  and  corrupted  nature  befriend  the 
 love  and  zeal  of  faction,  which  is  confined  to  a  party,  on  a  con- 
 troverted cause ;  but  they  are  enemies  to  the  love  of  Saints,  and 
 to  the  zeal  for  holiness,  and  to  the  Catholic  Charity,  which  is 
 from  the  Spirit  of  Cueist.     You  see,  I  call  you  not  to  division, 
 nor  to  side  with  sects  ;  but  to  live,  as  members  of  a  Holy  Ca- 
 tholic Church,  which  consisteth  of  all,  that  are  holy  in  the  world ; 
 and  to  live,  as  those,  that  believe,  "  The  Communion  of  Saints." 
 1  Cor.  i.  2 ;  iii.  4  ;  S.  Jude  3.     U.  Baxter.     (Serm.  Eccles.  ix. 
 10  ;  entitled,  "  Now  or  never.") 
 27  Prophets  hold  the  second  place  in  the  list  of  Ministers,  and 
 this  exactly  answers  to  "the  word  of  knowledge,"  in  the  cata- 
 logue of  gifts.     (Conf.  1  Cor.  xii.  8  with  verse  28.)     The  Spirit 
 of  prophecy,  properly  so  called,  had  ceased  a  long  time  in  the 
 Jewish  Church  before  the  coming  of  CnRiST ;  but  ''  in  the  last 
 days,"  that  is,  in  the  conclusion  of  the  Jewish  and  beginning  of 
 the  Christian  Church,  God  "poured  it  out  upon  all  flesh,"  ac- 
 cording to  the  prediction  of  Joel.  .  .  .  By  this  renewed  Spirit  of 
 Prophecy  it  was,  that  the  Prophets  of  the  Church  of  Antioch 
 had  it  revealed  to  them  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  Barnabas 
 and  Saul  should  be  separated  unto  the  work,  for  which  He  had 
 called  them ;  that  S.  Peter  knew,  that  Ananias  and  Sapphira 
 
326  THE  ACTS  XI.  28,  29. 
 
 lied  to  the  Holt  Ghost  ;  that  Agabus  foretold  the  famine  in 
 the  days  of  Claudius  Ca?sar,  and  the  imprisonment  of  S.  Paul  at 
 Jerusalem ;  that  Ananias  knew  of  the  conversion  of  S.  Paul ; 
 and  that  S.  Paul  told  the  Centurion  before  the  shipwreck  that  not 
 a  man  in  the  ship  should  be  lost :  lastly,  that  S.  John  wrote  the 
 Eevelation  in  the  ancient  Prophetic  style,  and  that  many  others, 
 of  whom  we  read  in  Ecclesiastical  history,  foretold  many  strange 
 events,  v.  3 ;  ix.  10 ;  xi.  28 ;  xxi.  10 ;  xxvii.  23,  24.  Br. 
 HicJces.     (Serm.  1  Cor.  xii.  4.) 
 
 28  God  chastises  us  with  so  much  mercy,  that  He  tells  us  of  His 
 judgments  before,  so  that  we  may  avoid  them.  The  intent  of 
 these  intimations,  is  that  by  our  repentance  we  may  disarm  His 
 justice.  As  it  is  sin,  that  alone  provokes  Him,  so  it  is  repent- 
 ance, that  alone  quiets  Him.  Ps.  xxxvii.  19  ;  Micah  vi.  9  ; 
 Amos  iii.  7.     Quesnel. 
 
 29  This  was  a  pulsation  of  spiritual  life  and  power,  beating  fresh 
 and  strong  from  the  heart  of  Cheist,  the  centre  of  Love,  at  the 
 right  hand  of  the  Pathee,  and  reaching  to  the  members  of  His 
 Spiritual  Body  here  below.  They  were  "  all  one  in  Cheist 
 Jesus;"  no  distance  could  separate  them  from  each  other. 
 Antioch  may,  in  some  measure  of  analogy,  have  felt  the  dearth  at 
 Jerusalem,  as  the  Loed  felt  the  persecution  of  the  brethren 
 near  the  walls  of  Damascus.  Now  had  the  Gentile  Church  a 
 Providential  call  and  occasion  to  "  minister  of  their  carnal 
 things  "  to  the  brethren,  who  dwelt  in  Judea,  of  whose  "spiritual 
 things"  they  had  recently  shared  in  their  own  conversion. 
 Their  alms  were  a  seal  of  union  and  reconciliation  ;  above  all, 
 they  were  the  Sacrifice  unto  God  of  the  first  fruits  of  their 
 faith  and  love,  most  acceptable  in  His  sight.  Verses  19,  22 ; 
 1  Cor.  xii.  26  ;  Eom.  xv.  25—27.     J.  F. 
 
 If  tlie  foot  be  pricked,  the  back  bends,  the  head  bows  down,  the 
 eye  looks,  the  hands  stir,  the  tongue  calls  for  aid;  the  whole 
 man  is  in  pain,  and  labours  for  redress.  There  is  no  prayer 
 Avithout  faith ;  no  faith  without  charity ;  no  charity  without 
 mutual  intercession,     ix.  4  ;  xii.  5  ;  Heb.  xiii.  3.     Bp.  Hall. 
 
 In  consequence  of  this  (our  Loed's  example,  precepts,  and  pro- 
 mises) wo  find  the  Primitive  Christians  the  most  benevolent 
 of  mcji :  and  the  affections  of  their  successors  to  each  other  a 
 
THE  ACTS  XL  30.  327 
 
 subject  of  general  wonder.  (TertuUian.  Apol.  c.  89,  42.)  We 
 find  those  of  Eome,  who  were  the  richest,  sending  ahns  to  their 
 brethren  throughout  the  earth  ;  and  tliose  of  Alexandria  and 
 Carthage,  in  the  desolation  of  a  dreadful  plague,  ministering  to 
 the  infected  with  astonishing  courage ;  while  the  heathen  gave 
 proofs  of  the  most  shocking  neglect  and  barbarity.  Nay,  those 
 of  the  whole  Eastern  Empire,  just  after  the  several  cities  of  it 
 had  been  persecuting  them,  in  the  reign  of  Maximin,  were  the 
 only  persons,  who  assisted  others  in  the  double  distress  of  pes- 
 tilence and  famine  ;  attending  on  the  dying,  burying  the  dead, 
 feeding  the  hungry,  without  distinction :  which  they  did  con- 
 tinually, with  such  tenderness  and  bounty  in  every  respect,  that 
 they  and  their  God  were  publicly  celebrated  and  honoured  for 
 it  by  all  men.  .  .  .  Nor  were  these  bountiful,  only  to  make  and 
 preserve  converts ;  for  they  continued  so,  after  their  faith  be- 
 came the  reigning  one.  Then,  for  it  was  impracticable  before, 
 a  vast  variety  of  beneficent  foundations,  and,  among  them,  hos- 
 pitals for  the  sick,  things  unknown  to  preceding  ages,  rose  from 
 the  private  liberality  of  believers,  and  were  authorised  and  regu- 
 lated by  the  Civil  power,  ii.  44,  45 ;  iv.  32 — 37 ;  xxiv.  17  ; 
 Eom.  XV.  25,  26  ;  2  Cor.  viii.  1—4  ;  ix.  1,  2  ;  Col.  i.  4  ;  1  Thess. 
 iv.  9  ;  2  Thess.  i.  3  ;  1  Tim.  v.  10  ;  Philem.  7  ;  Eev.  ii.  19. 
 Abp.  Seeker.  (Serm.  Eom.  xii.  8.  Preached  for  the  London 
 Hospital,  1754.) 
 
 30  One  said,  that  hell  is  like  to  full  of  good  wishes,  but  heaven 
 full  of  good  works.  If  a  good  motion  then  arise  in  our  mind, 
 let  us  instantly  cherish  it ;  and,  if  it  break  forth  into  promise, 
 let  us  according  to  our  ability  perform  it.  xxiv.  25  ;  Eccles.  ix. 
 10,  11.  Bean  Boys.  (Exposition  of  the  Festivals,  &c.  S. 
 James's  Day.) 
 
 The  prorogation  of  good  makes  it  thankless.  The  alms,  that 
 smell  of  the  hand,  lose  the  praise.  It  is  twice  given,  that 
 is  given  quickly,  x.  29  ;  S.  Luke  xix.  8 ;  2  Cor.  viii.  11.  Bp. 
 Hall. 
 
 Si  bene  quid  facias,  facias  cito  ;  nam  cito  factum 
 Gratum  erit :  ingratum  gratia  tarda  facit. 
 
 Ausonius. 
 
328  THE  ACTS  XII.  1,  2. 
 
 CHAPTER  XII. 
 
 I^JOW  about  that  time  Herod  the  king  stretched  forth 
 his  hands  to  vex  certain  of  the  church. 
 
 2  And  he  killed  James  the  brother  of  John  with 
 the  sword. 
 
 3  And  because  he  saw^  it  pleased  the  Jews,  he  pro- 
 ceeded further  to  take  Peter  also.  (Then  were  the 
 days  of  unleavened  bread.) 
 
 4  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  to  the  people. 
 
 1  Other  vices  make  us  flee  from  GfoD ;  Pride  only  opposes  Him 
 to  His  face.     Verse  28.     Alex.  Hales. 
 
 2  This  is  the  only  Apostle,  of  whose  death  we  have  any  certain 
 record.  With  regard  to  all  the  rest,  tradition  varies  more  or 
 less,  as  to  the  place,  or  manner,  or  time  of  their  deaths.     AJford. 
 
 Lest  it  should  be  said  against  them,  that  they  braved  and  despised 
 the  risk  of  death,  as  knowing  that  God  would  deliver  tliem, 
 therefore  He  permits  even  the  rulers  of  the  Church  to  be  slain. 
 Dan.  vi.  16  ;  Heb.  xi.  35.     Clarius. 
 
 Josephus  himself  does  not  scruple  to  confess  his  conviction,  tliafc 
 the  distress  which  fell  upon  his  nation,  in  the  destruction  of  their 
 city,  was  a  penal  judgment  for  the  martyrdom  of  S.  James  the 
 just,  "For,"  says  the  liistorian,  *' the  Jews  slew  liim,  though 
 a  very  just  man."  S.  Matt,  xxiii.  35;  S.  Mark  vi.  20.  Bj^. 
 Sumner.     (On  the  Ministerial  character  of  Cueist,     ch.  x.  s.  2.) 
 
 The  lists  of  Bishops,  which  are  come  down  to  us  in  tlie  Church 
 of  Eome  and  in  other  Churches,  are  generally  iBlled  with  greater 
 numbers,  than  one  would  expect.  But  the  succession  was 
 quick  in  the  three  first  centuries,  because  the  Bisliop  very  often 
 
THE  ACTS  XII.  2,  3.  329 
 
 ended  in  the  Martyr ;  for,  where  a  persecution  arose,  the  first 
 fury  of  it  fell  upon  this  order  of  holy  men,  who  abundantly 
 testified  by  their  death  and  sufferings  that  they  did  not  under- 
 take these  offices,  out  of  any  temporal  views ;  that  they  were 
 sincere  and  satisfied  in  the  truth  of  what  they  taught ;  and  that 
 they  firmly  adhered  to  what  they  had  received  from  the  Apos- 
 tles, as  laying  down  their  lives  in  the  same  hope  and  upon  the 
 same  principles,  xv.  2(5 ;  xx.  24.  Addison.  (Evidences  of  the 
 Christian  Eeligion.     ch.  v.  s.  6.) 
 
 Ascalonita  necat  pueros  ;  Antipa  Joannem  ; 
 
 Agrippa  Jacobum,  claudens  in  carcere  Petrum. 
 
 Lyra. 
 Sterna  Christi  muuera,  Devota  sanctorum  fides, 
 
 Et  Martyrum  victorias,  Invicta  spes  credentium, 
 
 Laudes  ferentes  debitas,  Perfecta  Christi  caritas, 
 
 Lsetis  canamus  mentibus.  Mundi  triumphat  principera. 
 
 In  his  Paterna  Gloria, 
 Ecclesiarum  princpes,  j^  j^j^  ^^-^^^^^  p.j;.^ 
 
 Belli  triumphales  duces,  -r,       ^^.  ,  •     r,-    c<   •  -i. 
 
 r^    ^      .       \        .-,.  llixsultat  in  his  JSpn'itus : 
 
 Coelestis  aulse  milites,  ^    ,  -,  ,  -,.• 
 
 .  Coelum  repletur  gaudiis. 
 
 Efc  vera  mundi  lumma !  .  .  . 
 
 Te  nunc,  Eedemptor,  quaes u- 
 Nudata  pendent  viscera,  raus. 
 
 Sanguis  sacratus  funditur,  Ut  ipsorum  consortio 
 
 Sed  permanent  immobiles ;  Jungas  precantes  servulos 
 
 Vitse  perennis  gratia,  In  sempiterna  ssecula !      Amen. 
 
 S.  Ambrosiiis.     (Hymni.  viii.) 
 
 3  He  proceeded. —  Quid  infelicivs  felicitate  peccantium?  What  is 
 there  more  unprosperous,  than  the  prosperity  of  the  wicked  ? 
 Ps.  Ixxiii.     ^S*.  Augustine. 
 
 Thou  accountest  unjust  men  happy,  if  they  escape  punishment; 
 but  I  account  them  more  miserable.  For  not  to  be  punished 
 for  sin  is  the  establishment  of  sin.  An  unjust  man  is  of  all 
 men  most  miserable.  Yet,  he  is  more  miserable,  who,  acting 
 unjustly,  avoids  punishment.    Eccl.  viii.  11.     Vlato.    (Gorgias.) 
 
 He,  that  strives  to  please  another,  hath  lost  himself:  he  squares 
 his  actions  by  the  eye,  not  by  the  rule.  xxiv.  27 ;  xxv.  9 ;  Eph. 
 vi.  G.     Farindon. 
 
330  THE  ACTS  XII.  3,  4. 
 
 It  required  the  prayers  and  the  blood  of  martyrs,  during  three 
 long  centuries,  to  bring  about  the  conversion  of  Kings  and 
 Emperors.     Verses  5,  12.     Quesnel. 
 
 4i  Sidonius  saith,  "  It  is  a  common  sight  in  this  Egypt  of  the  world 
 to  see  Pharaoh  with  his  diadem,  and  Israel  with  a  basket ;" 
 Herod  on  his  throne  (verse  21),  and  S.  Peter  in  prison  :  and  all 
 this  is,  saith  S.  Basil,  "  by  GtOd's  own  ordering  and  dispen- 
 sation." Eor  what  is  a  prison  to  S.  Peter,  where  he  had  not 
 now  been,  if  the  Spirit  had  not  entered  with  him  ?  Tou  will  say, 
 saith  Tertullian,  it  is  domns  diaboli,  the  devil's  house  for  villains 
 and  ruffians.  Conculcabit  in  domo  suo ;  he  shall  trample  the 
 devil  under  foot  in  his  own  house.  The  prison  hath  darkness  ; 
 but  he  is  light :  the  prison  hath  chains ;  but  he  is  free  in  fetters. 
 Nihil  interest  uhi  sit  in  sceculo,  qui  extra  sceculum  est,  It  matters 
 not  where  he  may  be  confined  in  this  world,  who  is  already  out 
 of  the  world,  xvi.  25  ;  Eom.  v.  1—5  ;  S.  Matt.  xii.  29 ;  2  Tim. 
 ii.  9.     Farindon.     (Serm.  on  text.) 
 
 The  days  of  unleavened  bread. — This  circumstance  aggravates  the 
 bloody  sin  of  Herod,  who  did  not  abstain  from  his  mischievous 
 enterprises  on  a  Eeast  so  high  and  holy.  Isa.  i. ;  1  Cor.  v.  7,  8. 
 Bean  Boys.     (Exposition  of  Festivals,  &c.     S.  Peter's  Hay.) 
 
 Intending,  ^c. — The  wise  Providence  of  God  many  times  pays  us 
 with  our  own  choice  ;  so  as,  when  we  think  to  have  brought  about 
 our  own  end  to  our  best  content,  we  bring  about  His  purposes 
 to  our  own  confusion,  ii.  23 ;  iv.  28 ;  Ps.  vii.  15 — 17 ;  ix.  15, 
 16.     Bp.  Hall. 
 
 5  Peter  therefore  was  kept  in  prison :  but  prayer 
 was  made  without  ceasing  of  the  church  unto  God 
 for  him. 
 
 6  And  when  Herod  would  have  brought  him  forth, 
 the  same  night  Peter  was  sleeping  between  two  soldiers, 
 bound  with  two  chains :  and  the  keepers  before  the 
 door  kept  the  prison. 
 
 7  And,  behold,  the  angel  of  the  Lord  came  upon 
 hivfiy  and  a  light  shined  in  the  prison :  and  he  smote 
 
THE  ACTS  XII.  5.  331 
 
 Peter  on  the  side,  and  raised  him  up,  saying.  Arise 
 up  quickly.     And  his  chains  fell  off  from  his  hands. 
 
 5  Here  is  the  true  face  of  tlie  Church  Militant,  one  member 
 suffering,  all  the  members  suffering  with  it ;  S.  Peter  in  chains, 
 and  the  Church  on  their  knees :  he,  ready  to  be  bestowed  for 
 the  Church  ;  and  the  Church,  emptying  her  bowels  and  compas- 
 sion on  him  :  S.  Peter  suffering ;  the  Church  praying.  Though 
 they  cannot  help  him,  yet  they  will  pray  for  him  ;  and  they  will 
 pray  for  him,  that  they  may  help  him.  Though  they  cannot 
 break  the  prison,  they  will  weary  heaven,  and  pray  eKrevws, 
 without  ceasing.  And  this  makes  up  a  glorious  harmony ;  the 
 groaning  of  a  prisoner,  tempered  with  the  prayers  of  the  Church. 
 These,  ascending  together  and  coming  up  to  heaven  before 
 God,  commonly  bring  down  some  Angel  from  thence,  ix.  4 ; 
 xi.  28,  30 ;  vii.  34 ;  S.  Luke  xviii.  1 — 8.  Farindon.  (Serm.  on 
 text.) 
 
 Man,  of  all  other  creatures,  would  be  most  miserable  without 
 Prayer.  "When  he  is  shut  up  in  prison,  w^hen  he  is  in  any  acci- 
 dental danger,  when  he  hath  fallen  into  displeasure  by  his  offence 
 and  disobedience,  where  is  his  friend,  where  is  his  support, 
 where  his  reconciler,  if  this  be  wanting  ?  I  had  rather  be  de- 
 prived of  all  the  solaces  of  this  life,  yea,  and  the  Ordinances, 
 that  tend  to  a  better,  than  be  debarred  of  recourse  to  my  GrOD 
 in  prayer.  Next  to  Cheist,  it  is  man's  Mediator,  to  re-instate 
 him  in  the  favour  of  an  offended  God.  It  is  the  Moses,  that 
 opens  the  rock,  and  brings  Israel  food  in  the  wilderness.  It  is 
 the  Sun,  that  gives  Jeremiah  light  in  the  dungeon.  It  put  a 
 muzzle  on  the  lions'  jaws,  that  else  would  tear  a  Daniel.  It  is 
 the  Angel,  that  walking  with  the  children  in  the  furnace,  keeps 
 them  from  so  much  as  singeing  in  the  midst  of  fiercest  flames. 
 It  attacks  the  sun's  swift  steeds ;  and,  like  a  sentinel,  commands 
 tliem  stand,  in  the  speed  of  their  full  career.  With  reverence 
 be  it  spoken,  it  is  a  kind  of  charm,  cast  upon  the  Almighty,  so 
 powerful  that  it  prevails  upon  Omnipotency,  and  makes  God, 
 that  we  sue  unto,  to  become  a  suitor  unto  us  :  "  Let  Me  alone !" 
 (as  if  He  were  held)  was  begged  of  Moses,  when  Moses  impor- 
 
332  THE  ACTS  XII.  5,  6. 
 
 tuned  Him.  iv.  29  ;  ix.  11 ;  Gen.  xxxii.  26  ;  Ps.  1. 15  ;  Phil.  iv. 
 6,  7.     O.  Feltham.     (Eesolves.     Cent.  ii.  7.) 
 
 At  whatsoever  time  Jacob's  voice  is  heard  in  the  Synagogue, 
 Esau's  hands  are  kept  ofi'.     Gen.  xxxii.  11.     A  Jewish  Proverb, 
 
 In  proportion  as  Unity  is  an  especial  Gospel-duty,  so  does 
 Gospel-prayer  partake  of  a  social  character ;  and  Intercession 
 becomes   a   token   of  the   Divine   appointment    of    a    Church 
 
 .  Catholic,  i.  24 ;  ii.  46 ;  iv.  23,  24 ;  viii.  24  ;  ix.  40 ;  xii.  5  ; 
 xiii.  2,  3.     J.  H.  Newtnan.     (Serm.  Eph.  vi.  18.) 
 
 6  He  had  a  good  cause  to  suffer  for,  and  a  good  conscience  to 
 suffer  with.     xxv.  10,  11 ;  IS.  Pet.  iii.  14—17.     P.  Henri/. 
 
 A  good  conscience  is  the  most  certain,  clearest,  and  undisturbed 
 felicity.  Lectulus  respersus  florihus  bona  est  conscientia,  bonis 
 refecta  operihus  (S.  Bernard)  ;  no  bed  so  soft,  no  flowers  so 
 sweet,  so  florid,   so   delicious,  as  a  good  conscience,  in  which 
 
 ■  springs  all,  that  is  delectable  ;  all,  that  may  sustain  and  recreate 
 our  spirits.  .  .  Upon  this  pillow  and  on  this  bed  C  heist  slept 
 soundly  in  a  storm  ;  and  S.  Peter  in  prison  so  fast,  that  the 
 brightness  of  an  Angel  could  not  v/ake  him,  or  make  him  to  rise 
 
 -  up,  without  a  blow  on  the  side.  This  refreshed  the  sorrow  of 
 Hezekiah,  when  he  vvas  smitten  with  the  plague,  and  not  only 
 brought  pleasure  for  what  was  past,  and  so  doubled  the  good  of  it, 
 
 "  Vivere  bis,  vita  posse  priore  frui,'' 
 
 but  it  also  added  something  to  the  number  of  his  years, 
 
 **  Ampliat  setatis  spatium  sibi  vir  bonus  :" 
 
 And  this  made  Paul  and  Silas  sing  in  prison  and  in  an  earth- 
 quake ;  and,  that  I  may  sum  up  all  the  good  things  in  the 
 world,  I  borrow  the  expression  of  S.  Bernard,  Bona  conscientia 
 non  solum  swfficit  ad  solatium,  sed  etiam  ad  coronam.  It  is  here 
 a  perpetual  comfort ;  it  will  be  hereafter  an  eternal  crown.  2 
 Cor.  i.  12  ;  1  S.  Pet.  iii.  10—14.  Bp.  J.  Taylor.  (Ductor 
 dubitantium,  b.  1.  ch.  1.  rule  2.) 
 That  lovely  bird  of  Paradise,  Christian  content,  can  sit  and  sing  in 
 a  cage  of  affliction  and  confinement,  or  fly  at  liberty  through 
 the  vast  expanse  of  heaven,  with  almost  equal  satisfaction  :  while 
 "Even  so,  Eather  ;.  for  so  it  seemeth  good  in  Thy  sight!"  is 
 the  chief  note  in  its  celestial  song.     Phil.  iv.  10 — 13.     Swain. 
 
THE  ACTS  XII.  7.  333 
 
 7  This  light  was,  that  S.  Peter  might  see,  as  well  as  hear ;  and  so 
 not  imagine  it  to  be  all  fancy.  .  .  .  The  Angel  smote  him  ;  so 
 deeply  did  he  sleep  ....  He  bids  him  Gird  himself  and  bind  on 
 his  sandal ;  that  he  may  shake  off  his  sleep,  and  know  that  it  is 
 real.     S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 The  words,  which  the  Angel  used  to  S.  Peter,  will  admit  of  an 
 useful  application  to  us  all,  Arise  up  quickly  :  for  if  our  salvation 
 is  an  escape,  no  time  is  to  be  lost  in  life ;  life  and  death  may 
 depend  upon  the  present  moment ;  and  he,  who  hears  not  the 
 first  call,  may  hear  the  last  Trumpet,  as  the  second,  when  the 
 hour  of  deliverance  and  the  Day  of  Grace  is  over,  xxiv.  25.  .  .  . 
 Look  at  the  example  of  our  Apostle :  he  stood  not  arguing  with 
 the  Angel  about  "a  proper  season,"  though  it  were  then  mid- 
 night ;  but  complied  immediately.  A  circumstance  meets  us 
 here,  which  merits  a  particular  attention.     The  Angel  bids  him 
 
 ;  rise  up  :  but  to  what  purpose,  when  two  heavy  chains  fastened 
 him  down  to  the  floor  ?  And  what  would  the  soldiers  say,  who 
 lay  by  the  side  of  him  ?  Yet  he  made  no  difficulty.  God 
 never  commands  anything,  that  will  prove  to  be  impossible :  so 
 S.  Peter  rose  up  in  faith ;  and  in  the  attempt  the  chains,  that 
 bowed  him  down,  fell  oj^  from  his  hands.  And  though  you,  in 
 your  case,  may  think  the  power  of  sin,  which  holds  you  down,  is 
 so  strong,  as  to  render  all  your  struggles  ineffectual,  yet  you  are 
 to  remember,  that  "  all  things  are  possible  with  God  ;"  and 
 that  it  is  not  your  own  strength,  but  a  Divine  miracle,  that 
 must  save  you  at  last.  Pear  not  then  the  companions,  that  lie 
 by  the  side  of  you,  whether  they  are  evil  men  or  evil  spirits, 
 whose  office  it  is  to  keep  you,  where  you  are,  and  confine  yon  to 
 bondage.  God  can  defend  you  against  their  attempts  ;  the 
 light,  which  comes  from  heaven  to  guide  you,  may  bring  upon 
 them  either  terror  or  stupefaction,  so  that  they  shall  become 
 like  dead  men  and  make  no  resistance,  xxvi.  18,  20.  S.  Matt, 
 xii.  13  ;  Phil.  ii.  12,  13.     Jones.     (Serm.  on  text.) 
 
 The  free  grace  of  God  is  that  light,  which  can  break  into  the 
 darkest  dungeon,  from  which  all  other  lights  and  comforts  are 
 shut  out ;  and  without  this,  all  other  enjoyments  are  what  the 
 world  would  be  without  the  Sun ;  nothing  but  darkness.  Abp. 
 Leigh  ton. 
 
334  THE  ACTS  XII.  7—9. 
 
 Transtulit  in  coelam  Christi  Prsesentia  claustrum  : 
 Quid  faciet  coelo,  qui  coelum  jam  creat  antro  ? 
 
 Pomp.  Algerius. 
 
 8  And  the  angel  said  unto  him,  Gird  thyself,  and 
 bind  on  thy  sandals.  And  so  he  did.  And  he  saith 
 unto  him,  Cast  thy  garment  about  thee,  and  follow 
 me. 
 
 9  And  he  went  out,  and  followed  him :  and  wist 
 not  that  it  was  true  which  was  done  by  the  angel ;  but 
 thought  he  saw  a  vision. 
 
 10  When  they  were  past  the  first  and  the  second 
 ward,  they  came  unto  the  iron  gate  that  leadeth  unto 
 the  city ;  which  opened  unto  them  of  his  own  accord  : 
 and  they  went  out,  and  passed  on  through  one  street ; 
 and  forthwith  the  angel  departed  from  him. 
 
 1 1  And  when  Peter  was  come  to  himself,  he  said, 
 Now  I  know  of  a  surety,  that  the  Lord  hath  sent 
 His  angel,  and  hath  delivered  me  out  of  the  hand  of 
 Herod,  and  from  all  the  expectation  of  the  people  of 
 the  Jews. 
 
 8  S.  Peter  is  told  to  resume  the  signs  of  his  office,  his  girdle  and 
 his  shoes.     Ex.  xxviii.  4,  8  ;  Rom.  x.  15.     Beda. 
 
 Lest  S.  Peter  should  give  way  to  fears,  how  he  should  ever  be 
 able  to  pass  through  the  guard  of  soldiers,  the  Angel  strengthens 
 him  in  the  assurance  of  Divine  help  to  sucli  a  degree,  as  to 
 enable  him  calmly  to  put  on  his  garment  and  sandals,  and  to 
 gird  himself.     Proclus. 
 
 Time  yet  remained  unto  S.  Peter  to  walk  whither  he  would. 
 See  S.  John  xxi.  18.     Bengel. 
 
 9  Wist  7ioty  ^c. — This  would  be  the  impression  on  the  mind  of  a 
 person,  suddenly  roused  from  sleep,  under  the  peculiar  circum- 
 stance of  the  case  ;  but  it  argues  a  sound  state  of  sleep  ;  and  so, 
 together  with  the  fact  of  the  Angel's  striking  S.  Peter  on  the 
 
THE  ACTS  XII.  9,  10.  335 
 
 side,  bears  witness  to  the  perfect  composure  and  peace  of  mind, 
 enjoyed  by  the  Apostle,  when  lying  in  the  prison  and  in  the 
 very  jaws  of  death.  (See  xx.  9.  Bp.  Andrewes.)  xx.  22 — 24 ; 
 Isa.  xxvi.  3  ;  S.  Mark  xiv.  40.     J.  F. 
 
 It  is  a  minute  touch  of  truth,  that  S.  Peter  should  mistake  for  a 
 dream  what  he  saw  ;  having  lain  so  long  in  prison,  and  his  mind 
 naturally  dwelling  on  his  former  miraculous  liberation,  v.  19. 
 Alford.     (Note  v.  20.) 
 
 The  Spirit  works  many  wonderful  things,  that  we,  according  to 
 human  sense,  are  ignorant  of.  Tor,  as  the  soul  doth  secretly 
 nourish,  and  cherish,  and  refresh  the  body,  and  dispenses  life 
 and  spirits  through  it,  even  when  the  body  is  asleep,  and  neither 
 feels  it,  nor  knows  it ;  so  the  Holt  Ghost,  dwelling  in  the 
 soul,  by  a  secret  kind  of  operation  works  many  things  in  it,  for 
 the  quickening  and  renewing  it,  while  it  oftentimes  for  the 
 present  is  not  so  much,  as  sensible  of  it.  Gen.  xxviii.  16,  17 ; 
 Isa.  xlv.  5.     W.  Bell.     (Serm.  Acts  i.  8.) 
 
 10  This  Blessed  Spirit  teaches  men  how  they  ought  to  execute 
 the  commands  of  God.  He  teaches  them  promptitude,  but 
 free  from  all  precipitation ;  completeness,  for  he  did  not  leave 
 S.  Peter,  till  he  had  brought  him  quite  out  of  the  prison; 
 humility  and  secrecy,  in  exercising  self-abasement,  and  hiding 
 ourselves  from  men's  notice,  as  this  Angel  did,  as  soon  as  we 
 have  discharged  our  duty  to  God.  Por  with  what  high  respect 
 would  not  the  assembled  Church  have  honoured  this  Angel,  had 
 he  stayed  with  S.  Peter,  and  himself  presented  him  to  the 
 faithful,  as  being  the  captive,  whose  fetters  he  had  broken 
 asunder,  and  whom  he  had  snatched  from  the  hands  of  his 
 enemies  ?  But  this  humble  Spirit,  knowing  that  he  was  only  a 
 Minister  of  God,  and  desirous  that  all  the  praise  of  S.  Peter's 
 deliverance  should  be  ascribed  to  God  alone,  at  once  disap- 
 peared, when  his  commission  was  executed.  He  leaves  S.  Peter 
 on  the  very  point  of  entering  the  house,  and  resigns  all  the 
 tokens  of  love  and  gratitude,  which  there  doubtless  he  would 
 have  received,  viii.  39  ;  1  Cor.  i.  31 ;  ii.  5 — 8.  M.  de  Singlin, 
 (Instr.  Chretiennes.  Pour  la  Pete  de  S.  Pierre  aux  liens.) 
 Nil  ferri  valuere  morse ;  nil  ssrea  Petro 
 Claustra  obstant,  Stygias  orci  qui  vincere  valvas 
 
336  THE  ACTS  XII.  iO,  11. 
 
 Et  rescrarc  aditum  potis  est  bipatentis  Olympi  .... 
 Eedditur  ille  suis  ;  reduci  gratantur  ovantes 
 Christiadae,  Auctoremque  ferunt  super  astra  salutis. 
 'Nee  Solymse  tan  turn  cives  sensere  propinquam 
 Muneris  hujus  opem ;  sed  posthac  Romula  tellus 
 Gestiit  a^terna  Petri  constricta  catena. 
 Gaude,  magna  parens  Eegum,  Eoma  inclyta  ;  gaude 
 Heroum  genetrix  magnorum,  atque  semula  coeli ; 
 His  tibi  nam  vinclis  Libertas  parta  resurgit, 
 Et  qua)sita  salus  Capitoli  in  vertice  regnat. 
 
 T.  Gallutiiis.     (Carm.  D.  Petro  in  vinculis.) 
 
 We  may  stand  and  knock  at  men's  hearts,  till  our  own  ache ; 
 but  no  opening,  till  Cheist  comes.  He  can  fit  a  key  to  all  the 
 cross  wards  of  the  will,  and  w^ith  sweet  efficacy  open  it,  and 
 that,  without  any  force  and  violence  to  it.  xvi.  14  ;  Eev.  iii.  7  ; 
 V.  3—5.     Flavel. 
 
 11  Ngiv  I  know. — I  doubt  not  to  say,  God  hath  never  been  so 
 clearly  seen,  as  in  the  light  of  a  dungeon,  viii.  29;  Eev.  i.  9. 
 Bp.  Hall. 
 
 Angelico  memini  patefactas  impete  portas 
 
 Claustraque  disruptis  dissiluisse  seris. 
 Cum  stupuit  lapsas  manibus  pedibusque  catenas, 
 
 Yixque  Petrus  patulas  credidit  esse  fores  .... 
 Lux  mea,  tam  durum  residet  Tibi  pectore  ferrura, 
 
 IJt  neque  captivse  commoveare  prece  ?  .  .  .  . 
 Libera  qu8D  cantat  vernis  avis  Attica  sylvis, 
 
 Capta  silet,  solitos  nee  ciet  ore  modes. 
 Eja,  age,  pande  fores,  inamoenaque  claustra  resolve, 
 
 Et  sine  sidereas  a?theris  ire  vias, 
 Aut,  Tua  si  cupidam  prseconia  dicere  temnis, 
 
 Invidus  in  laudes  efiBciere  Tuas  ! 
 
 Ps.  Ixxxviii.  8.     H.  Hugo.     (Pia  desideria. 
 Suspiria  anima)  amantis.     C.  xvii.) 
 
 12  And  when  he  had  considered  the  thing,  he  came  to 
 the  house  of  Mary  the  mother  of  John,  whose  sm'name 
 was  Mark  ;  where  many  were  gathered  together  praying. 
 
THE  ACTS  XII.  12.  337 
 
 1 3  And  as  Peter  knocked  at  the  door  of  the  gate,  a 
 damsel  came  to  hearken,  named  Rhoda. 
 
 14  And  when  she  knew  Peter's  voice,  she  opened 
 not  the  gate  for  gladness,  but  ran  in,  and  told  how 
 Peter  stood  before  the  gate. 
 
 15  And  they  said  unto  her.  Thou  art  mad.  But 
 she  constantly  affirmed  that  it  was  even  so.  Then 
 said  they.  It  is  his  angel. 
 
 16  But  Peter  continued  knocking:  and  when  they 
 had  opened  the  door,  and  saw  him,  they  were 
 astonished. 
 
 17  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  show  these  things  unto  James,  and  to  the 
 brethren.  And  he  departed,  and  went  into  another 
 place. 
 
 12  Many. — What  we  cannot  obtain  by  our  solitary  prayer,  we 
 may  by  social.  How  so  ?  Because,  where  our  individual  strength 
 fails,  there  union  and  concord  are  effectual,  ii.  1 ;  S.  Matt,  xviii. 
 19.     S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 We  Christians  are  a  Corporation,  or  Society  of  men,  most  strictly 
 united  by  the  same  rites  and  worship,  and  animated  by  one  and 
 the  same  hope.  When  we  come  to  the  public  service  of  God, 
 we  come  in,  as  formidable  a  body,  as  if  we  were  to  storm  heaven 
 by  force  of  Prayer ;  and  such  force  is  a  most  grateful  violence 
 to  God.  S.  Matt.  xi.  12;  S.  Luke  xviii.  1—8.  Tertullian. 
 (Apology,  ch.  39.) 
 
 No  magistrates  can  hinder  the  Saints  living  godly,  as  to  the  em- 
 bracing of  the  Truth  in  their  hearts,  and  secret  performance  of 
 prayer.  Daniel  would  and  could  pray,  do  Nebuchadnezzar  his 
 worst.  But  princes  carry  the  keys  of  the  Church  doors  in  their 
 girdles,  and  can  shut  or  open  them.  When  faithful  magistrates 
 sway  the  sceptre,  then  the  ways  to  Zion  are  easy  and  open ; 
 
338  THE  ACTS  XII.  13,  14. 
 
 when  enemies  to  the  ^yays  and  worship  of  God  bear  rule,  then 
 they  mourn ;  Church  doors  are  shut,  and  prison  doors  opened 
 to  the  servants  of  Christ.  Then  the  Woman  "  flies  into  the 
 wilderness,"  and  the  Church  into  private  chambers,  as  we  find 
 in  the  Apostles'  days,  with  doors  shut.  O  !  pray  for  Kings  and 
 Princes ;  for,  as  they  carry  the  keys  of  the  Church  doors,  so 
 God  carries  the  key,  that  opens  the  doors  of  their  hearts  at  His 
 pleasure,  xvi.  24 ;  Prov.  xxix.  2 ;  Esther  iii.  15 ;  viii.  15 ; 
 1  Tim.  ii.  2.  Gurnall.  (On  the  Christian  Armour.  Eph.  vi. 
 18.     Ch.  43.) 
 
 13  Rhoda. — The  vigilance,  the  fidelity,  the  zeal,  the  simplicity, 
 and  the  gladness  of  this  maiden  were  such,  as  to  be  recorded  by 
 the  Holt  Spieit.  God  leaves  in  oblivion  the  names  of  mighty- 
 conquerors,  and  treasures  up  for  His  Church,  throughout  all  ages, 
 the  name  of  a  poor  girl.     ix.  36.     Quesnel. 
 
 Speak,  soul ;  hath  the  Spirit  of  God  put  His  golden  key  into  the 
 lock  of  thy  will,  (xvi.  14,)  to  open  the  everlasting  door  of  thy 
 heart  to  let  Cheist,  the  King  of  Glory,  in  ?  Hath  He  not 
 only  opened  the  eye  of  the  understanding,  as  He  awakened  S. 
 Peter  asleep  in  prison,  and  caused  the  chains  of  senseless 
 stupidity  to  fall  ofl"  thy  conscience,  but  also  opened  the  i?'on 
 (/ate  of  thy  will  to  let  thee  out  of  the  prison  of  impenitency ; 
 yea,  brought  thee  to  hiock  at  the  door  of  heaven  for  entertain- 
 ment, as  S.  Peter  did  at  the  house  of  Mary,  (where  the  Church 
 was  met)  ?  Be  of  good  comfort ;  thou  mayest  know  assuredly, 
 that  God  hath  sent,  not  His  Angel,  but  His  own  Spirit,  and 
 hath  delivered  thee  out  of  the  hand  of  sin,  Satan,  and  Justice. 
 Gurnall.     (On  the  Christian  Armour,  Eph.  vi.  16,  ch.  4.) 
 
 14  For  ffladness. — Mark  even  the  servant-girls  ;  how  full  of  piety 
 they  are.     Eefer  to  ii.  18.     S.  Chrysostorn. 
 
 How  different  this  maiden-door-keeper  from  her,  who,  instead  of 
 welcoming  S.  Peter  with  gladness,  assailed  him  with  accusation 
 and  reproach,  S.  John  xviii.  17  :  and  what  an  altered  man  was 
 the  great  Apostle.  It  is  remarkable,  that  one  of  the  fullest  and 
 finest  statements  of  the  Divine  plan  of  our  Eternal  Eedemptiou 
 in  Christ  is  made  in  connection  with  the  duty  of  servants. 
 Titus  ii.  9—14  ;  1  Cor.  i.  26—81.     J.  F. 
 
 Those  joys  clasp  us  with  a  friendlier  arm,  that  steal  upon  us,  wlien 
 
THE  ACTS  XII.  15,  16.  339 
 
 we  look  not  for  them,     xxvii.  20 ;  Ps.  xcvii.  11 ;  2  Cor.  i.  9. 
 O.  Feltham. 
 
 15  So  slow  are  even  the  best  of  men  to  believe  the  goodness  of 
 G-OD.  S.  Matt,  xxviii.  17 ;  Eph.  iii.  20.  /.  Milner.  (Church 
 History,  Cent.  i.  c.  1.) 
 
 They  thought  more  of  the  power  of  Herod,  than  the  power  of 
 God  ;  and  probably  the  death  of  S.  James  had  discouraged 
 them.  Yet  their  prayer  of  "little  faith"  was  answered;  the 
 blessing  was  even  granted  to  them,  before  their  prayer  was 
 over.     Isa.  Ixv.  24  ;  Dan.  ix.  21.     J.  F. 
 
 From  this  and  the  like  texts  of  Scripture  (S.  Matt,  xviii.  10 ; 
 Eccl.  V.  4 — 6,)  seeming  so  plainly  to  favour  the  general  belief 
 of  Jews,  Christians,  yea,  and  of  the  wiser  heathens,  I  cannot 
 but  judge  it  highly  probable,  that  every  faithful  person  at  least 
 hath  his  particular  good  Genius  or  Angel,  appointed  by  God 
 over  him,  as  the  guardian  and  guide  of  his  life.  But  yet,  if 
 any  man  shall  look  upon  our  inferences  from  those  texts,  as 
 not  demonstrative,  and  shall  modestly  doubt  of,  or  dissent 
 from,  so  received  an  opinion,  for  my  part  I  shall  not  quarrel 
 with  him ;  provided  that,  in  general,  he  acknowledges  the 
 ministry  of  Angels,  for  the  good  of  those,  who  shall  be  heirs  of 
 salvation,  as  need  shall  require.  Eom.  xiv.  ;  Phil.  iii.  16. 
 Bp.  Bull.     (Serm.  Heb.  i.  14.) 
 
 It  derogateth  greatly  from  the  mercy  and  care,  that  God  hath  for 
 His,  to  say,  that  every  man  hath  but  one  good  Angel,  and  one 
 bad ;  for  every  man  and  woman  fearing  God  hath  as  many,  as 
 Jacob  had  (Gen.  xxxii.)  ;  and  even  so  many,  as  shall  be  needful 
 to  His  wisdom,  that  ever  knoweth  what  is  expedient  and  fit. 
 Ps.  Iv.  19 ;  2  Kings  vi.  17.  Bp.  Babington.  (Notes  upon  Gen. 
 xxxii.) 
 
 16  When  they  had  opened  the  door. — When  iron  gave  obedience, 
 how  can  wood  make  opposition  ?  The  answer  is  easy.  There 
 was  no  man  to  open  the  iron  gate ;  but  a  portress  was  provided 
 of  course  to  unlock  the  door.  God  would  not  therefore  show 
 His  finger,  when  men's  hands  were  appointed  to  do  the  work. 
 Heaven  will  not  superinstitute  a  miracle,  when  ordinary  means 
 were  formerly  in  peaceable  possession.  S.  John  xi.  39.  T. 
 Fuller. 
 
 z  2 
 
340  THE  ACTS  XII.  17. 
 
 17  The  first  appointed  Church  with  regular  Episcopacy  was  that 
 at  Jerusalem  ;  of  which  place  S.  James  was  constituted  Bishop. 
 This  is  plainly  and  unanimously  testified  by  the  ancient  fathers 
 and  historians  of  the  Church,  wdiilst  the  Sacred  History,  in  a 
 great  measure,  though  not  directly,  proves  the  same  .  .  .  With 
 respect  to  the  date  of  his  appointment,  it  is  proper  to  observe, 
 that    it    appears    to    have  taken    place   immediately  after  the 
 Apostles  had  been  endued  with   the  Holt  Ghost:  for  it  is 
 said,  that  he  was  martyred  in  the   seventh  year  of  Nero,  the 
 sixty -third  after  our  Saviour's  Birth  ;  ''  after  he  had  governed 
 Jerusalem  thirty  years,"  says  S.  Jerome.  (De  Script.  Eccl.)  .  . 
 Eusebius  says  (Ecc.  Hist.  L.  ii.  c.  1,)  that   he    received  his 
 charge  after  the  Ascension  of  our  Saviour.     Acts  i.  3  .  .  . 
 And  as  Ignatius  has  made  S.  Stephen  to  be  a  Deacon^to  the 
 Bishop  of  Jerusalem  (Ep.  ad  Trail.),  S.  James's  Consecration 
 must  have  been  before  the  death  of  S.  Stephen  .  .  If  the  above 
 account  be  true,  it  sets  at  rest  all  questions,  respecting  the 
 Divine  origination  of  Episcopacy,     xv.  18  ;  xxi.  18  ;  Gal.  i.  19  ; 
 ii.  1,  12.     T.  Sykes.     (A  Discourse  on  Parochial  Communion, 
 P.  i.,  c.  1.) 
 The  excellent  Mons.  de  Singliu,  in  connection  with  the  remark, 
 already  quoted  at  verse  10,  observes,  that  S.  Peter  departed 
 from  them  with  like  promptitude,  as  the  Angel  had  just  left  him, 
 and  as  a  pattern  of  humility  :  so  that  the  faithful  were  by  this 
 means  taught  to  look  beyond  man  and  Angel,  to  disregard  both, 
 and  to  ascribe  the  deliverance  of  S.  Peter  wholly  unto   God. 
 Ps.  Ixiv.  9  ;  cxv.  1 ;  S.  Mark  ix.  8.     J.  F. 
 
 1 8  Now  as  soon  as  it  was  day,  there  was  no  small 
 stir  among  the  soldiers,  what  was  become  of  Peter. 
 
 19  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  Judea  to  Csesarea,  and  there  abode. 
 
 20  And  Herod  was  highly  displeased  with  them  of 
 Tyre  and   Sidon :  but  they  came  with  one  accord  to 
 
THE  ACTS  XII.  18,  19.  341 
 
 him,  and,  having  made  Blastus  the  king's  chamberlain 
 their  friend,  desired  peace  ;  because  their  country  was 
 nourished  by  the  king's  country. 
 
 21  And  upon  a  set  day  Herod,  arrayed  in  royal 
 apparel,  sat  upon  his  throne,  and  made  an  oration  unto 
 them. 
 
 18  It  was  usual  of  old  for  a  Greneral  to  deliver  a  choice  prisoner 
 to  a  soldier,  who  was  to  keep  him  at  the  peril  of  his  life,  which 
 was  forfeited,  if  his  prisoner  escaped  :  and  God  delivers  up  His 
 own,  whom  He  hath  rescued  from  Satan,  to  the  custody  of  His 
 Ministers  with  the  same  caution ;  having  declared  under  the 
 metaphor  of  a  watchman,  that  if  any  perish,  for  want  of  due 
 warning,  "  He  will  require  their  blood  at  the  watchman's  hand." 
 xxvii.  42  ;  1  Kings  xx.  39  ;  Ezek.  iii.  18,  &c. ;  xxxiii.  8.  Bean 
 Comber.  (A  discourse  on  the  office  for  making  Priests,  ch. 
 iii.  s.  2.) 
 
 19  As  for  the  means,  whereby  GrOD  withholdeth  men  from  sin- 
 ning, they  are  also  of  wonderful  variety.  Sometimes  He  taketh 
 them  off  by  diverting  the  course  of  the  corruption  and  turning 
 the  affections  another  way.  Sometimes  He  awaketh  natural 
 conscience,  which  is  a  very  tender  thing,  when  it  is  once  stirred 
 .  .  Sometimes  He  affrighteth  them  with  apprehensions  of  out- 
 ward evils,  as  shame,  infamy,  charge,  envy,  loss  of  a  friend, 
 danger  of  human  laws,  and  sundry  other  such  like  discourage- 
 ments. Sometimes  He  cooleth  their  resolutions  by  presenting 
 unto  their  thoughts  the  terrors  of  the  Law,  the  strictness  of 
 the  last  account,  and  the  endless  insufferable  torments  of  hell- 
 fire.  Sometimes,  when  all  things  are  ripe  for  execution.  He 
 denieth  them  opportunity,  or  casteth  in  some  unexpected  im- 
 pediment in  the  way.  Sometimes  He  disableth  them  and 
 weakeneth  the  arm  of  the  flesh,  wherein  they  trusted ;  so  as  they 
 want  power  to  their  will,  as  here  He  dealt  with  Abimelech  .  .  . 
 Not  to  speak  yet  of  that  sweet  and,  of  all  other,  the  most 
 blessed  and  powerful  restraint,  which  is  wrought  in  us  by  the 
 Spirit  of  Sauctification,  renewing  the  soul,  and  subduing  the 
 corruption,  that  is  in  the  flesh,  unto  the  obedience  of  the  Spirit. 
 
342  THE  ACTS  XII.  19,  20. 
 
 iv.  21 ;  Jcr.  v.  22 ;  2  S.  Pet.  ii.  9  ;  Ps.  Ixxvi.  10.  Bp.  Sander- 
 son. (Serm.  Gen.  xx.  G.) 
 Jnd  he  went  down,  ^c. — This  looks  like  guilt :  bis  conscience  was 
 ill  at  ease.  Change  of  scene,  instead  of  change  of  life,  was  his 
 remedy.  The  fact  is  more  observable,  because  Josephus  in  his 
 detailed  account  of  the  character  of  Herod,  (Ant.  B.  xix.,  c.  7, 
 s.  3)  informs  us  that  he  was  very  fond  of  residing  at  Jerusa- 
 lem. His  beloved  city  now  ceased  to  be  to  him  what  it  was :  it 
 spake  of  the  blood  of  God's  faithful  Martyr,  and  troubled  his 
 soul  under  a  sense  of  his  guilt.  How  soon  indeed  did  his  sin 
 "  find  him  out ;"  and  the  place,  where  he  expected  a  refuge, 
 witness  his  dreadful  end,  and  prove  his  ignominious  grave.  Gen. 
 iv.  14—16  ;  S.  Mark  vi.  16.     J.  F. 
 
 Mobile  cor  nuUA,  potis  est  requiescere  sede  : 
 Unus  ei  centrum  nam  Deus,  una  quies. 
 
 liaeftenus.     (Schola  cordis.    Lecfe.  xix.     Lib.  3.) 
 
 20  Highly  displeased. — It  is  worth  the  observation,  to  hear  the 
 poor  man  sing  to  his  plough,  and  the  rich  man  fret  in  his  palace 
 and  torment  himself.  This  shows,  it  is  the  mind,  not  the  for- 
 tune, that  makes  us  happy,  xvi.  25 ;  1  Kings  xx.  43  ;  Prov. 
 xvii.  1.     Lord  Capel.     (Contemplations,  142.) 
 
 Observe  how^  easily  Herod  is  talked  over,  even  by  Blastus ;  like  a 
 poor  creature,  soon  incensed  and  again  pacified ;  and  on  occa- 
 sions a  slave  of  the  populace,  with  nothing  free  and  independent 
 about  him.  v.  3;  xxiv.  27  ;  xxv.  9;  S.  John  xix.  8.  S.  Chry- 
 sostom. 
 
 Of  nations,  as  of  individuals,  the  first  blessing  is  independence. 
 Neither  the  man,  nor  the  people,  can  be  happy,  to  whom  any 
 human  power  can  deny  tlie  necessaries  or  conveniences  of  life. 
 There  is  no  way  of  living  without  foreign  assistance,  but  by  the 
 product  of  our  own  laud,  improved  by  our  own  labour.  Every 
 otlier  source  of  plenty  is  perishable,  or  casual.  Dr.  Johnson. 
 (The  Universal  Visitor.     Essay  on  Agriculture.) 
 
 Nature  seems  to  have  taken  a  particular  care  to  disseminate  her 
 blessings  amongst  the  different  regions  of  the  world  with  an  eye 
 to  the  mutual  intercourse  and  tiafluc  amongst  mankind ;  that 
 the  natives  of  the  several  parts  of  the  globe  might  have  a  kind 
 
THE  ACTS  XII.  21. 
 
 343 
 
 of  dependance  upon  one  another,  and  be  united  together  by  their 
 common  interest.  Ahnost  every  degree  produces  something 
 peculiar  to  it.  .  .  .  If  we  consider  our  own  country  in  its  na- 
 tural prospect,  without  any  of  the  benefits  and  advantage  of 
 commerce,  what  a  barren  uncomfortable  spot  of  earth  falls  to 
 our  share ! .  .  .  Nor  has  the  traffic  more  enriched  our  vegetable 
 world,  than  it  has  improved  the  whole  face  of  nature  among  us. 
 .  .  .  Eor  these  reasons,  there  are  not  more  useful  members  in  a 
 commonwealth,  than  meri^hants :  they  knit  mankind  together  in 
 a  mutual  intercourse  of  good  offices,  distribute  the  gifts  of 
 nature,  find  work  for  the  poor,  and  wealth  to  the  rich,  and  mag- 
 nificence to  the  great.  Gen.  xlii.  1,  2 ;  xxxvii.  25.  Addison* 
 (Spectator,  69.) 
 
 21  FuJgidi  compedes  et  clara  miseria,  golden  fetters,  but  a  dazzling 
 misery  ;  riches,  the  occasion  of  disquiet ;  pomp,  the  object  of 
 envy  ;  fame,  but  the  opinion  of  men,  and  of  no  longer  duration 
 than  their  other  fancies.  Dormierunt  somnium  suum,  says  a 
 Prince,  as  great  and  powerful,  as  he  was  learned  and  holy,  et 
 nihil  inveyierunt  omnes  viri  divitiarum  in  manihus  suis  :  thus  the 
 rich  and  the  great  sleep  out  their  golden  dreams  ;  and,  when 
 they  awake,  find  nothing  in  their  hands,  xxv.  23  ;  Ps.  Ixxv.  6. 
 Phil.  Ellis.     (Serm.  S.  Matt.  v.  12.) 
 
 The  littleness  and  insignificance  of  human  life  appear  sufficiently 
 from  the  things  themselves,  without  comparing  them  to  the 
 subjects  of  religion.  Por  see,  what  they  are  in  themselves. 
 Ahasuerus,  that  great  Prince  of  the  Eastern  world,  puts  a  ques- 
 tion to  Haman,  his  chief  Minister  of  State  :  he  asks  him,  "  What 
 shall  be  done  unto  the  man,  whom  the  King  delighteth  to 
 honour  ?"  Haman,  imagining,  that  he  was  the  person,  whom 
 the  King  had  in  his  thoughts,  answered  in  these  words ;  "  Let 
 the  Royal  apparel  be  brought,  which  the  King  useth  to  wear, 
 and  the  horse,  that  the  Kingrideth  upon,  and  the  Crown  Eoyal, 
 
 *  It  is  curious  and  instructive  to 
 notice  the  difference  of  opinion,  existing 
 between  these  two  great  writers,  Dr. 
 Johnson  and  Addison,  on  a  matter  of 
 so  weighty  pohtical  importance  ;  espe- 
 cially when  we  recollect  how  generally 
 
 the  same  subject  has  been  discussed  in 
 our  own  times,  and  to  what  Legislative 
 changes  that  discussion  has  led.  I 
 have  cited  them  both,  for  the  purpose 
 of  this  comparison  :  sed  non  eat  noS' 
 trum  tantas  componere  lites. 
 
344  THE  ACTS  XII.  21. 
 
 which  is  set  upon  his  head  ;  and  let  this  apparel  and  horse  be 
 delivered  to  the  hand  of  one  of  the  King's  most  noble  Princes, 
 that  they  may  array  the  man  withal,  whom  the  King  delighteth 
 to  honour,  and  bring  him  on  horseback  through  the  streets  of 
 the  city,  and  proclaim  before  him  ;  *  Thus  sliall  it  be  done  to 
 the  man,  whom  the  King  delighteth  to  honour.'  "  Here  you 
 see  the  sum  total  of  worldly  honours.  An  ambitious  Haman 
 cannot  think  of  any  greater  thing  to  ask;  Ahasuerus,  the 
 greatest  Monarch  in  the  world,  has  nothing  greater  to  give  to 
 his  greatest  favourite :  powerful,  as  he  is,  he  can  only  give  such 
 honours,  as  these.  Yet  these  are  the  mighty  things,  for  which 
 men  forget  God,  forget  their  immortality,  forget  the  difference 
 between  an  Eternity  in  heaven  and  Eternity  in  hell.  ...  If 
 thou  rememberest  that  this  life  is  but  a  vapour ;  that  thou  art 
 in  the  body,  only  to  be  holy,  humble,  and  heavenly-minded ; 
 that  thou  stand  est  upon  the  brink  of  death,  Resurrection,  and 
 Judgment ;  and  that  these  great  things  will  suddenly  come  upon 
 thee,  like  a  thief  in  the  night,  thou  wilt  see  a  vanity  in  all  the 
 gifts  of  fortune,  greater,  than  any  words  can  express.  Do  but 
 therefore  know  thyself,  as  E-eligion  has  made  thee  known ;  do 
 but  see  thyself  in  the  light,  which  Christ  has  brought  into  the 
 world ;  and  then  thou  wilt  see,  that  nothing  concerns  thee,  but 
 what  concerns  an  Everlasting  spirit,  that  is  going  to  God  ;  and 
 that  there  are  no  enjoyments  here,  that  are  worth  a  thought, 
 but  such,  as  may  make  thee  more  perfect  in  those  holy  tempers, 
 which  will  carry  thee  to  heaven.  Esther  vi.  6  ;  Ps.  xlix.  JVm. 
 Law.     (A  Practical  Treatise  upon  Christian  Perfection.    Ch.  1.) 
 
 How  quickly  does  a  death-bed  cure  us  of  these  follies.  S.  Luke 
 xvi.  22.     Hamilton. 
 
 Rule  and  government  is  of  God  ;  but  pride  and  vanity  is  of  the 
 devil.     Bp.  Babington. 
 
 22  And  the  people  gave  a  shout,  saying,  It  is  the 
 voice  of  a  god,  and  not  of  a  man. 
 
 23  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. 
 
THE   ACTS  XII.  22,  23.  345 
 
 24  But  the  word  qj^GoD  grew  and  multiplied. 
 
 25  And  Barnabas  and  Saul  returned  from  Jeru- 
 salem, when  they  had  fulfilled  their  ministry,  and  took 
 with  them  John,  whose  surname  was  Mark. 
 
 22  It  is  admiring  of  persons,  that  is  the  traitor  to  truth,  and 
 makes  men  cry  "  Hosanna  "  to  error,  and  "  Crucify^'  to  truth. 
 Eusebius,  out  of  Josephus,  tells  us  of  this  Herod,  his  coming 
 into  the  theatre  gorgeously  clad  ;  and,  that,  while  he  was  making 
 an  eloquent  oration  to  the  people,  his  silver  robe,  which  he  then 
 wore,  did  by  the  reflex  of  the  sunbeams  shining  on  it  so  glister, 
 as  to  dazzle  the  eyes  of  the  spectators :  "  And  this,"  saith  he, 
 "  occasioned  some  to  cry  out,  The  voice  of  God,  and  not  of  man.'' ^ 
 And  truly  the  glistering  varnish,  which  some  men's  parts  and 
 rhetoric  put  upon  their  discourses,  does  often  so  blind  the  judg- 
 ment of  their  admirers,  that  they  are  prone  to  think  all,  which 
 they  speak,  to  be  Divine,  viii.  10  ;  S.  Jude  16.  Gurnall.  (On 
 the  Christian  Armour.     Eph.  vi.  14.     Ch.  ii.) 
 
 How  will  that  spirit  trample  upon  men,  that  dare  vie  with  the 
 
 Almighty  !     Bp.  Hall.     (Of  Contentation.     S.  24.) 
 Dives  quasi  Divus.     Varro. 
 
 Jam  non  ad  culmina  rerum 
 Injustos  crevisse  queror  :  tolluntur  in  altum 
 Ut  lapsu  graviore  cadant. 
 
 Claudian.     (Ad  Rufinum.     Lib.  i.  v.  21.) 
 
 23  Immediately  he  was  smitten ;  in  such  splendour  of  attire,  in 
 such  celebrity  of  attendants,  before  the  face  of  strangers,  among 
 those,  who  in  their  hearts  were  no  better,  than  his  enemies. 
 Never  did  he  come  out  of  that  chair  of  the  scorner  (Ps.  i.  1) 
 from  that  throne,  wherein  he  was  Canonized,  till  he  was  stripped 
 of  all  dignity,  and  deprived  of  that  Title  by  the  Angel  of  the 
 Lord.  Had  he  been  struck  with  sickness  in  any  other  place,  I 
 know  not  how  it  would  have  been  excused ;  the  fault  would 
 have  been  laid  upon  his  long  journey  from  Galilee  to  Cagsarea : 
 perchance  the  Sidonians  had  been  charged  to  poison  him  ;  such 
 suspicions  are  very  rife,  as  if  it  were  impossible  for  Princes  to 
 come  to  their  end  by  natural  infirmities:  but  now  no  such 
 rumour  could  be  broached.     Immediately,  ^c.  .  .  .  See  what  a 
 
346  THE  ACTS  XII.  23. 
 
 contrariety  of  instruments  God  did  .use  to  make  his  death  the 
 stranger — an  Angel  and  a  worm  ! — an  Angel,  that  he  might  say 
 with  the  Philistines,  "Who  is  able  to  endure  these  mighty 
 Gods?"  (1  Sam.  v.  20,)  a  worm,  that  he  might  say,  Et  tu. 
 Brute?  The  meanest  of  creatures  can  conquer  a  king  by  God's 
 ordination  :  an  Angel,  for  His  sake,  who  was  his  Judge,  to  show 
 His  mightiness ;  a  worm,  for  his  sake,  that  was  judged,  to  show 
 his  baseness :  an  Angel,  to  show  how  a  sinner  cannot  look  upon 
 heaven  ;  for  it  is  full  of  wrath ;  a  worm,  to  show  that  he  cannot 
 tread  safely  upon  earth,  for  it  is  full  of  vengeance.  An  Angel 
 is  an  immortal  creature,  to  threaten  such  pain  unto  the  soul :  a 
 worm  is  a  most  corruptible  creature,  to  show  the  fading  of  the 
 body.  S.  Matt.  xxi.  19 ;  Isa.  x.  3  ;  2  Chron.  xiii.  20  ;  xxvi.  20. 
 Bp.  Racket.  (Serm.  on  text.) 
 It  is  the  observation  of  the  eloquent  Tertullian,  that  God,  as  soon 
 as  He  had  finished  the  great  work  of  the  Creation,  did  then, 
 and  not  till  then,  assume  the  dreadful  title  of  the  "  Lord  of 
 Hosts."  And  it  is  further  observed  by  others,  that  this  dreadful 
 title  is  mentioned  more  than  two  hundred  times  in  Scripture ; 
 the  better  to  deter  sinners  from  affronting  Omnipotent  Ma- 
 jesty. It  seems  the  sinner  cannot  make  w^ar  with  heaven,  but 
 he  must  at  the  same  time  arm  the  whole  Creation  against  him- 
 self; he  cannot  fight  against  the  Almighty,  but  he  must  also 
 fight  against  all  those  creatures,  which  are  under  the  command 
 of  the  "  LoED  of  Hosts."  .  .  .  The  elements,  the  heavens,  and 
 hell  itself  are  at  the  command  of  Almighty  God  ;  and,  if  there 
 yet  be  wanting  more  forces  to  fight  these  battles  of  the  Loed, 
 the  Angels  are  still  remaining,  those  mighty  Hosts  of  heaven 
 and  standing  Militia  of  the  Almighty.  Indeed  God  doth  not 
 always  draw  forth  these  train-bands  of  heaven  :  an  army  of  lice 
 serves  sometimes  to  baffle  a  proud  Pharaoh,  and  a  silly  worm, 
 when  commissioned,  is  able  to  spoil  the  Divinity  of  a  blaspheming 
 Herod,  v.  39 ;  ix.  5  ;  2  Mace.  ix.  5,  9  ;  1  Cor.  i.  25.  March. 
 (Serm.  Ps.  Ixxvi.  7.) 
 
 Digna  luens  mcritis,  ut  sordidus  ulcere*  obiret, 
 Qui  se  crediderat  vestis  honore  Deum. 
 
 Paulinus.     (Poem.  xxii.     Epithal.  Juliani  ct  Iiu.) 
 
 *  In  the  preceding  verse  be  calla  it  vnlnus  vei-mifluum. 
 
THE  ACTS  XII.  23.  347 
 
 Let  no  man  preach  for  the  praise  of  men ;  but,  if  you  meet  it, 
 instantly  watch  and  stand  upon  your  guard,  and  pray  against 
 your  own  vanity,  and  by  an  express  act  of  acknowledgment  and 
 adoration  return  the  praise  to  God.  Remember  that  Herod 
 was,  for  the  omission  of  this,  smitten  of  an  Angel ;  and  do  thou 
 tremble,  fearing  lest  the  judgment  of  GrOD  be  otherwise,  than 
 the  sentence  of  the  people.  S.  Luke  xvi.  15 ;  2  Cor.  x.  18. 
 Bp.  J.  Taylor.  (Advice  to  his  Clergy.  Eule  iv.  64.) 
 The  contrast,  exhibited  in  this  chapter,  between  the  respective 
 condition  of  Herod  and  S.  Peter,  the  worldling  and  the  Saint, 
 suggests  to  us  the  important  inquiry  ;  whether  we  "  choose  rather 
 to  suffer  affliction  with  the  people  of  God,  than  to  enjoy  the 
 pleasures  of  sin  for  a  season."  (Heb.  xi.  25.)  Herod  is  on  his 
 gorgeous  throne,  Eoyally  apparelled;  S.  Peter  in  his  prison, 
 "fast  bound  in  misery  and  iron  :"  the  one  is  on  the  height  of 
 worldly  prosperity,  surrounded  with  the  idolatrous  acclamations 
 of  the  people ;  the  other  lies  in  the  solitude  of  the  dungeon, 
 alone,  having  "none  to  comfort  him."  But  the  scene  changes. 
 "  Light  is  sprung  up  for  the  righteous  ;"  and  "  the  triumphing 
 of  the  wicked  is  short."  Two  Angels  appear,  both  sent  of  God, 
 the  Judge  of  all  men.  Herod's  Angel,  the  messenger  of  wrath, 
 smites  him  to  his  condemnation  ;  S.  Peter's  Angel,  the  minister 
 of  salvation,  smites  him,  in  order  to  his  deliverance.  Herod  is 
 deserted  forthwith  by  all  men,  even  by  his  flatterers  and  cour- 
 tiers ;  but  S.  Peter  is  welcomed  with  joy  by  his  brethren.  Herod 
 is  eaten  of  worms,  tiud  gives  up  the  ghost ;  but  S.  Peter  lives  to 
 preach  the  Gospel,  and,  through  it,  "he  never  dies,"  but  "lives  for 
 evermore."  Whence  all  this  difference  beween  them  ?  It  arose 
 from  the  difference  in  their  characters  ;  Herod  loves  and  accepts 
 "the  praise  of  man:"  S.  Peter  "seeks  that  honour,  which 
 Cometh  of  God  only,  and  ascribes  to  Him  all  the  glory."  (See 
 note  at  verse  17.)     Ps.  xxxvii. ;  Ixxiii. ;  lii.  8,  9.     J.  F. 
 
 Si  quem  superbis  auxit  honoribus, 
 
 Et  invidendo  Pors  posuit  loco, 
 Ponat  tumorera,  nee  salutem 
 Arbitrio  popularis  aura? 
 
 Confidat ;  Euris  dulce  furentibus, 
 
 Dat  ilia  ludos  Nereidum  gregi 
 
348  THE  ACTS  XII.  24. 
 
 Phaselus,  imprsegnata  ventis 
 Cui  nimium  tumuere  vela. 
 Fortuna  longa  nota  tyrannide,  et 
 Ludum  protervum  ludere  conturaax, 
 Et  donat,  et  tollit  secures, 
 
 Tnque  throno  locat,  inque  turbd.  ... 
 Yento  replevit  gloria  Caesarem  ; 
 Caesar  replevit  sanguine  Curiam. 
 Quot  bellicis  notus  trophseis, 
 Tot  celeber  Marius  ruinis !   .  .  . 
 O  msesta  dirae  sceua  tragedisD  ! 
 Tot  clara  E-egum  nomina,  tot  ducum, 
 Dum  sorte  ventosa  tumescunt, 
 Sanguineo  periere  ludo. 
 
 Joan.  Waerenhorch.  (Typus  mundi,  xvii.) 
 24  Three  distinct  beads  will,  I  think,  furnish  us  with  the  con- 
 ditions of  the  Church's  strength  in  her  great  w^ork  of  Evan- 
 gelising the  earth.  These  are  connected  either,  (1,)  with  some 
 peculiar  quickening  of  the  Church's  internal  life  ;  or,  (2,)  with 
 a  manifest  perfecting  of  her  external  framework ;  or,  (3,)  with 
 some  special  calling  forth  into  use  and  exercise  of  her  inherent 
 powers.  ...  I  refer  to  the  record  of  the  conversion  of  three 
 thousand  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  when  assuredly,  if  ever, 
 the  life  of  the  Church  was  quickened  to  the  utmost :  so,  again, 
 in  close  connection  with  a  description  of  the  Church's  unity, 
 continual  prayer,  perpetual  communion,  gladness  and  singleness 
 of  heart,  stands  the  record  of  its  rapid  growth,  when  *'  the  Loed 
 added  to  the  Church  daily  such,  as  should  be  saved"  (iii.  47)  : 
 and  so,  again  (ch.  xii.),  those  few  signal  words,  in  which  the 
 withering  of  Herod's  power  is  put  into  startling  contrast  with 
 the  growth  of  Cheist's  Church.  But  the  Word  of  God  grew 
 and  multiplied^  is  the  conclusion  of  an  account  of  a  time  of 
 special  quickening  of  the  Church's  life,  when,  in  the  first  blast 
 of  persecution,  S.  James  had  been  "  killed  with  the  sword,"  and 
 S.  Peter  had  been  miraculously  delivered  from  the  dungeon :  .  .  . 
 and  so,  to  notice  one  passage  more,  the  declaration  (ch.  v.  14) 
 "  And  believers  were  the  more  added  to  the  Loed,  multitudes 
 both  of  men  and  women,"  follows  an  account  of  the  special 
 
THE  ACTS  XII.  24.  349 
 
 quickening  of  the  Church's  life  by  the  sudden  visitation  of  God 
 upon  Ananias  and  Sapphira.  Here  then  clearly  is  one  condition 
 of  the  Church's  growth — internal  vitality.  The  next,  to  be 
 specially  noted,  is  the  perfecting  of  its  external  framework. 
 Thus  one  of  the  most  jubilant  among  these  various  passages, 
 "  And  the  word  of  Gron  increased,  and  the  number  of  the  disciples 
 multiplied  in  Jerusalem  greatly ;  and  a  great  company  of  the 
 Priests  were  obedient  to  the  faith,"  is  closely  connected  with  the 
 first  Institution  of  the  third  order  of  the  Christian  Ministry. 
 And,  lastly,  (ch.  xix.  20,)  "  So  mightily  grew  the  Word  of  God 
 and  prevailed,"  is  manifestly  connected  with  that  calling  forth 
 of  spiritual  power,  which  so  specially  marked  S.  Paul's  stay  at 
 Ephesus.  Here  then  we  have  the  three  conditions  of  the 
 Church's  strength.  ...  By  parity  of  reason,  the  lack  of  these 
 must  be  a  cause  of  weakness  and  inaction.  Bp.  Wilherforce. 
 (Serm.  before  the  Soc.  for  the  Prop,  of  the  Gospel,  1850.) 
 
 As  the  vine  striketh  its  roots  deep  into  the  soil,  prepared  for  it, 
 and  then  diffuseth  its  numerous  branches  all  around,  covering 
 the  fertile  hills,  by  the  sides  of  which  it  is  planted,  or  running 
 up  the  lofty  cedars  to  the  bodies  of  which  it  is  joined,  such  was 
 the  growth  and  fruitfulness  of  the  Israelitish  Church  ;  but  much 
 greater  was  that  of  the  Church  Christian.  Her  roots  were  fast 
 fixed  in  the  hearts  and  affections  of  the  faithful ;  and  her  boughs 
 shot  forth  abundantly  :  they  often  felt  the  knife,  but  increased 
 under  it,  both  in  number  and  vigour ;  till  at  length  she  over- 
 shadowed the  Eoman  Empire  with  her  branches,  and  replenished 
 the  earth  with  her  fruit,  grateful  to  God  and  man.  xix.  20 ; 
 Isa.  V.  7  ;  Ezek.  xv.,  xvii.,  xix. ;  S.  Matt.  xxi.  33.  Bp.  Home. 
 (Comment.  Ps.  Ixxx.  9,  10.) 
 
 The  history  of  the  Acts  is  nothing  but  a  part  of  the  Gospel,  and 
 in  my  opinion  not  the  least  part:  since  in  the  Gospel  the  seed 
 is  described,  as  being  cast  into  the  earth;  here  we  have  it 
 springing  up,  and  by  degrees  expanding  and  bringing  forth  its 
 fruit.     S.  John  xii.  24 ;  xv.  16.     Erasmus.     (Note  i.  1.) 
 
350  THE  ACTS  XIII.  1, 
 
 CHAPTER  XIII. 
 
 MOW  there  were  in  the  Church  that  was  at  Antioch 
 certain  prophets  and  teachers  ;  as  Barnabas,  and 
 Simeon  that  was  called  Niger,  and  Lucius  of  Cyrene, 
 and  Manaen,  which  had  been  brought  up  with  Herod 
 the  tetrarch,  and  Saul. 
 
 2  As  they  ministered  to  the  Lord,  and  fasted,  the 
 Holy  Ghost  said.  Separate  Me  Barnabas  and  Saul  for 
 the  work  whereunto  I  have  called  them. 
 
 3  And  when  they  had  fasted  and  prayed,  and  laid 
 their  hands  on  them,  they  sent  them  away. 
 
 1  It  is  recorded  in  the  life  of  our  excellent  Bishop  Eidlej,  that 
 he  made  his  family  learn  by  heart  this  chapter,  and  also  Ps.  ci. 
 X.  2,  7.     J.  F. 
 
 S.  Paul  and  S.  Barnabas  are  numbered  among  the  Prophets  and 
 Teachers  of  the  Christian  Church.  "We  read,  that  they  "  Mi- 
 nistered to  the  Lord"  (\eiJovp^c7i/)  ;  which  some  in  an  especial 
 manner  interpret  of  the  celebration  of  the  Holy  Eucharist. 
 Here  then  we  find  them,  both  by  teaching  and  administration 
 of  that  Blessed  Sacrament,  discharging  the  work  of  a  Priest  or 
 Presbyter,  as  we  now  understand  that  word.  But  they  still 
 wanted  the  Apostolical  or  Episcopal  character ;  by  virtue  of 
 wliich  they  might  do  that  ordinarily,  which,  as  Prophets,  they 
 could  only  do  in  extraordinary  cases,  and  by  an  express  direction 
 of  the  Holt  Spirit  ;  namely,  found  Churches,  and  ordain 
 Elders  or  Bishops  in  every  place.  This  dignity,  therefore,  we 
 are  told  they  now  received,  by  tlie  laying  on  of  the  hands  of 
 tlie  other  three  Prophets,  here  mentioned,  namely,  Simeon 
 Niger,  Lucius  of  Cyrene,  and  Manaen.  And  from  henceforth 
 not  only  tlieir  title  was  changed  (they  being  afterwards  called 
 
THE  ACTS  XIII.  1.  351 
 
 Apostles,  xiv.  4,  14),  but  they  exercised  another  sort  of  power ; 
 "  ordaining  Elders  in  every  Church,"  verse  23.  Thus  was  S.  Bar- 
 nabas, together  with  S.  Paul,  first  a  Teacher  and  a  Prophet ;  then 
 consecrated  to  be  a  Bishop,  or  an  Apostle,  according  to  the 
 order,  which  our  Lord  Himself  had  appointed,  that  there 
 should  be  in  His  Church,  first  Apostles,  secondly  Prophets, 
 thirdly  Teachers,  1  Cor.  xii.  29 :  which  those,  therefore,  would 
 do  well  to  consider,  who  thrust  themselves  at  once  into  the 
 highest  station  and  full  powers  of  the  Church,  not  allowing 
 distinct  degrees  of  the  same,  nor  by  consequence  successive 
 Ordinations  or  Consecrations  to  it :  whereas  S.  Paul,  though  he 
 were  "  called  to  be  an  Apostle,  not  by  man,  but  by  Jesus 
 Christ"  Himself,  Gal.  i.,  was  yet  Consecrated  to  be  an  Apostle 
 by  the  ordinary  form  of  Imposition  of  hands,  after  he  had 
 preached  in  the  Church  sometime  before,  xv.  13,  22.  Abp. 
 Wake.  (Preface  to  Translation  of  the  Catholic  Epistle  of  S. 
 Barnabas.) 
 Of  these  degrees  in  the  Ministry  (Eph.  iv.  11),  some  be  extra- 
 ordinary, some  be  ordinary  ;  the  three  first  are  extraordinary, 
 and  served  for  the  first  plantation  of  Christian  Eeligion.  Of 
 those  three  the  Apostles  had  plenitudinem  Ministerii,  the  fulness 
 of  Ministerial  power :  for  their  calling  comprehended  all  the 
 other  degrees.  And  why  ?  They  were  to  lay  the  foundations 
 of  the  Church ;  so  the  Apostle  teaches  us,  Eph.  iv. ;  and  S.  John 
 calls  the  twelve  Apostles  "  the  twelve  foundations  of  the  hea- 
 venly Jerusalem,"  Bev.  xxi.  They  had  infallibility  of  knowledge, 
 because  they  were  to  set  down  the  Canon  of  the  Scripture ; 
 their  Diocese  was  all  the  world ;  they  might  plant  Churches 
 every  where;  their  flock  were  not  only  "all  nations,"  but  all 
 Pastors  ;  they  had  power,  not  only  to  ordain  them,  but  also,  to 
 enable  them :  never  was  the  like  Ministerial  power,  given  unto 
 mere  men.  As  for  the  other  two,  the  Prophet  and  the  Evange- 
 list, they  had  each  of  them  a  piece  of  the  Apostle's  power. 
 The  Prophet  of  the  New  Testament  was  he,  that  was  so  well 
 seen  in  the  Prophets  of  the  Old,  that  he  could  discern  the  New 
 Testament  in  the  Old,  and  show  how  the  one  is  confirmed  by 
 the  other.  This  was  his  proper  gift,  though  he  had  some  other 
 accessory,  which  was  to  foretel  future  things,  to  advise  in  per- 
 
352  THE  ACTS  XIIT.  2. 
 
 plexed  cases,  answerable  unto  Urim  and  Thummim,  and  to  dis- 
 cover the  secrets  of  men's  thouglits ;  which  were  occasional 
 works  of  the  Spirit  of  Prophecy ;  but  the  ordinary  was  that, 
 which  I  first  specified.  The  Evangelist  delivered  the  New 
 Testament  only,  and  in  doing  that  was  assistant  to  the  Apostles, 
 following  their  directions,  and  supplying  their  place,  whither- 
 soever they  were  sent.  This  was  their  principal  work ;  where- 
 unto  some  of  them  had  an  accessory  ;  which  was  to  record  the 
 sum  of  the  Gospel,  indited  unto  them  by  the  Apostles :  so  did 
 S.  Luke  and  S.  Mark.     Bp.  Lake.     (Serm.  Eph.  iv.  11.) 
 
 2  To  call  men  to  the  Ministry  is  a  free  act  of  authority,  choice, 
 and  wisdom,  which  are  properties  of  a  person,  and  none  other  ; 
 nor  is  either  the  Eathee,  or  the  Son,  in  Scripture  introduced 
 more  directly  clothed  with  personal  properties,  than  the  Holy 
 Ghost  is  in  these  places,  xv.  28  ;  xvi.  6,  7.  Br.  Owen.  (On 
 the  Holt  Spirit.  P.  62.) 
 
 Here  a  regular  Ordination  and  Mission  are  prescribed  by  the 
 Holy  Ghost  for  two  men,  already  endued  with  the  Holy 
 Spirit,  as  requisite  in  them  to  a  full  and  authoritative  exercise 
 of  their  Ministry.  What  then  can  we  think  of  their  presump- 
 tion, who  take  this  Ministry  upon  them,  without  being  either 
 Ordained,  or  Sent  ?  xix.  13  ;  Eom.  x.  17 ;  Heb.  v.  4,  5.  P. 
 Skelton.     (Senilia.  G9.) 
 
 The  differentia^  if  I  may  so  speak,  of  Sanctity  is  Separation.  All 
 baptized  Christians  are  called  to  be  separate;  separate  from 
 the  world  in  its  heathenism,  and  in  its  wickedness  ;  placed  in  a 
 new  relation  to  God,  to  Eternity,  and  to  each  other ;  and  in- 
 vested by  their  Heavenly  membership  with  the  attributes  of 
 "  Kings  and  Priests  unto  God."  But,  as  the  separation  of  the 
 whole  Body  of  Israel  admitted  of  an  inner  line  of  separation 
 in  the  tribe  of  Levi,  and  that  again  of  an  interior  line  of  Priest- 
 hood, so  out  of  the  Loed's  heritage  the  Apostles  chose  some 
 to  be  Clerks,  and  separated  them  to  special  offices,  over  and 
 above  those  of  ordinary  Christians.  And  our  vocation  is  this  ; 
 to  publish  with  authority  and  defend  Christ's  Gospel  amongst 
 mankind ;  to  recommend  it  by  our  lives  ;  to  gather  into  His 
 fold  all,  that  are  to  be  won ;  and  to  prepare  His  members  by 
 teaching  them  their  duties,  by  the  right  exercise  of  discipline, 
 
THE  ACTS  XIII.  2,  3.  353 
 
 by  imparting  to  them  the  Sacramental  gifts,  which  Christ  has 
 imparted  to  us,  and  by  presenting  their  prayers  and  praises 
 with  our  own  at  the  footstool  of  His  Mercy-seat  on  earth,  for 
 the  possession  of  that  glorious  Kingdom,  which  of  His  Infinite 
 mercy  He  "  has  prepared  for  them  before  the  foundation  of  the 
 world."  i.  22  ;  Numb.  xvi.  9  ;  S.  John  xvii.  6  ;  !Rom.  i.  1.  Bp, 
 Medley.     (Charge  to  the  Clergy  of  Tredericton,  1850.) 
 
 If  it  seem  very  hard,  that  we  should  admit  a  restraint  so  particular, 
 as,  after  that  general  charge  (S.  Matt,  xxviii.  20),  to  make  any 
 Apostle,  notwithstanding,  the  Bishop  of  some  one  Church,  what 
 think  we  of  the  Bishop  of  Jerusalem,  S.  James,  whose  Consecra- 
 tion unto  that  Mother  See  of  the  world,  because  it  was  not 
 meet,  that  it  should  at  any  time  be  left  void  of  some  Apostle, 
 doth  seem  to  have  been  the  very  cause  of  S.  Paul's  miraculous 
 vocation  to  make  up  the  number  of  the  Twelve  again  (ch.  i.)  for 
 the  gathering  of  the  nations  abroad ;  even  as  the  martyrdom  of 
 the  other  James  the  reason,  why  Barnabas  in  his  stead  was 
 called  ?  viii.  1 ;  xii.  2 ;  xv.  13  ;  xxi.  18  ;  Gal.  ii.  8.  Hooker. 
 (Eccl.  Pol.  B.  vii.  ch.  4.  s.  2.) 
 
 3  "The  neglect  and  defect  of  the  Ember-week  fast,"  George 
 Herbert  said,  "  had  such  influx  on  the  children,  which  the  Fa- 
 ther of  the  Church  did  beget  at  such  times,  as  malignant  stars 
 are  said  to  have  over  natural  productions  :  children  of  such 
 parents,  as  be  fasting  and  praying,  being  like  Isaac,  and  Jacob, 
 and  Samuel,  most  likely  to  become  '  children  of  the  promise,' 
 wrestlers  with  God,  and  fittest  to  wear  a  linen  Ephod."  S.  Matt. 
 ix.  38  ;  S.  John  xvi.  24  ;  S.  James  iv.  2.  G.  Herbert.  (Life  by 
 Barnabas  Oley.) 
 
 Sacerdos  itnponit  suppUcem  manum  ;  Deus  benedicit  potenti  dextrd. 
 The  chief  priest  lays  on  the  hand  of  prayer  ;  God  Blesses  with 
 the  right  hand  of  power,     viii.  18  ;  2  Tim.  i.  6.     ^S".  Ambrose. 
 
 What  a  dignity  the  Spirit  of  God  puts  on  the  Ministry  of  the 
 word ;  that,  in  those  times,  when  visions  and  revelations  were 
 in  use,  yet  God  established  the  Ministry.     Chr,  Love. 
 
 There  are  persons  of  great  note,  who  imagine,  that  it  was  at  this 
 time  and  on  this  occasion  that  our  Loed  vouchsafed  to  lift  S. 
 Paul  into  heaven  (2  Cor.  xii.  1,  &c.)  and  to  give  him  new  reve- 
 lations.   Eor  there  could  be  no  time  more  fit  than  this,  when  he 
 
 A  A 
 
354  THE  ACTS  XIII.  4. 
 
 was  to  engage  in  a  dangerous  war  against  the  whole  idolatrous 
 world.  Then  he  was  armed  wdth  an  extraordinary  resolution, 
 by  conversation  with  Angels  in  the  other  world :  where  he 
 heard  "  things  unutterable,"  and  was  confirmed,  no  doubt,  in  the 
 belief  of  the  Glory  of  the  Lord  Jestjs,  by  whose  power  he  was 
 thus  transported ;  and  whom  it  is  most  likely  he  again  saw, 
 shining,  as  the  sun,  among  those  stars  of  light,  in  that  orb,  to 
 which  he  was  carried.  But  this  he  speaks  of  so  sparingly  him- 
 self, that  I  ought  to  pass  it  over,  as  fast  as  he  does,  xviii.  9  ; 
 xxii.  17  ;  xxiii.  11.  Bp.  Patrick.  (Witnesses  to  Christianity,  &c. 
 Ch.  iii.) 
 
 4  So  they,  being  sent  forth  by  the  Holy  Ghost, 
 departed  unto  Seleucia ;  and  from  thence  they  sailed 
 to  Cyprus. 
 
 5  And  when  they  were  at  Salamis,  they  preached 
 the  word  of  God  in  the  synagogues  of  the  Jews :  and 
 they  had  also  John  to  their  minister. 
 
 6  And  when  they  had  gone  through  the  isle  unto 
 Paphos,  they  found  a  certain  sorcerer,  a  false  prophet, 
 a  Jew,  whose  name  was  Bar-jesus : 
 
 7  Which  was  with  the  deputy  of  the  country,  Ser- 
 gius  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  turn  away 
 the  deputy  from  the  faith, 
 
 4  S.  Paul  received  the  Holt  Ghost  at  the  same  time  with  his 
 Baptism,  by  the  Ministry  of  Ananias,  ix.  17.  After  this,  we  find 
 him  preaching  the  Gospel,  verse  20.  But  we  hear  not  of  any 
 thing  else,  that  he  did,  till  after  his  Consecration,  recorded  ch. 
 xiii.  3.  Then  indeed  he  "ordained  elders,"  xiv.  23,  confirmed 
 the  disciples,  xix.  6,  dispensed  the  Sacraments,  xx.  7,  and  did 
 everything,  that  the  otlier  Apostles  had  power  to  do — [and  was 
 
THE  ACTS  XIII.  4.  355 
 
 himself  called  an  Apostle,  xiv.  14.]  Bev.  E.  Kelsall.  (Second 
 letter  to  Dr.  Waterland  on  the  subject  of  Lay  Baptism.) 
 
 "We  may  observe  on  what  good  grounds  the  last  revisers  of  the 
 Common  Prayer  added  two  new  Holy  Days  in  the  Calendar ; 
 which  had  been  omitted  in  the  former  editions,  even  the  Con- 
 version of  S.  Paul  and  S.  Barnabas's  Day:  for  these  being 
 Apostles  of  the  same  power  and  dignity  with  the  other  Twelve, 
 there  was  all  the  reason  in  the  world  that  we  should  commemo- 
 rate and  give  God  thanks  for  them,  as  well,  as  for  the  other. 
 But  to  distinguish  them  from  the  others,  the  Eves  or  Vigils  of 
 these  Days  are  not  appointed  to  be  observed  so,  as  those  of  the 
 others  are.     Gal.  i.  1.     Bp.  Beveridge.     (Serm.  Acts  i.  26.) 
 
 In  retaining  the  rule  of  Episcopal  ordination,  our  Church  has 
 retained  an  institution,  sanctioned  on  the  three  grand  rules. 
 Quod  semper^  quod  ubique,  quod  ah  omnibus.  When  our  E-ulers 
 thus  send  forth  their  annual  supply  of  labourers  into  the  har- 
 vest of  the  LoED,  they  send  them  forth  in  the  same  manner, 
 ^by  the  same  derivative  authority,  and  under  the  promised  sanc- 
 tion of  the  same  Eternal  Spirit,  who  sent  forth  S.  Barnabas  and 
 S.  Paul  to  the  work  of  converting  the  Gentiles,  and  in  whose 
 Name  the  latter  Apostle  appointed  Titus  in  Crete,  and  Timothy 
 in  Asia.  1  Tim.  vi.  14;  Titus  i.  5.  Bp.  Heber.  (Serm.  S. 
 Matt.  ix.  38.) 
 
 There  is  nothing,  next  the  fundamentals  of  faith,  in  which  the 
 Church  should  be  more  clear  and  confidently  ascertained,  than 
 this ;  the  xe'/Jo^e<T<a,  Ordination  and  Succession  of  their  Evan- 
 gelical Prophets:  for  "  how  shall  they  preach"  or  rule,  unless 
 they  be  lawfully  "sent,"  Eom.  x.  15,  and  set  over  the  house- 
 hold of  faith,  Christ's  family  ?  And  how  shall  others,  as  sons, 
 pay  respect  to  them,  as  fathers,  if  they  either  doubt  or  deny 
 that  relation  ?  If  every  one  may  effect  new  ways,  by-paths, 
 and  postern  doors,  S.  John  x.  1,  or  climb  over  the  wall,  or  use 
 force  and  faction  to  consecrate  himself,  or  any  other,  a  Minister 
 in  the  Church,  ...  we  may  look  for  good  store  of  Jeroboam's 
 calves  and  idols,  as  well  as  priests ;  such,  as  vulgar  folly,  faction, 
 and  presumption  lists  to  set  up  for  themselves.     Numb.  iii.  10 ; 
 
 1  Kings  xii.  31 ;  1  Cor.  xiv.  33 ;  xi.  16.     Bp.  Gauden.     (Serm. 
 
 2  Kings  ii.  12.     Preached  at  the  funeral  of  Bp.  Brownrig.) 
 
 A  A  2 
 
356  THE  ACTS  XIII.  4,  5. 
 
 The  E^v.  Samuel  Cradock,  in  his  useful  and  most  judicious  work, 
 entitled  "  The  Apostolical  History,"  (London,  1vol.  folio,  1672,) 
 distinguishes  the  five  Missionary  journeys  of  S.  Paul  in  the 
 following  manner : 
 
 1.  Trom  Antioch  with  Barnabas  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the 
 Gentiles,  John  Mark  being  their  minister ;  at  which  time  they 
 travelled  to  Cyprus,  Pamphylia,  Lycaonia,  Pisidia,  and  other 
 provinces  of  Asia  the  Less.  This  journey  is  described  ch.  xiii., 
 xiv. ;  and  may  be  called  ^^  Iter  Asiaticum.^^ 
 
 2.  From  Antioch  with  Barnabas,  Titus,  and  others,  to  the 
 Council  at  Jerusalem,  ch.  xv.  from  verse  1  to  36.  "  Iter  Hie- 
 rosolomitanumr 
 
 8.  With  Silas  and  Titus  to  revisit  and  confirm  the  Churches, 
 already  planted ;  after  which  he  passed  into  Europe  by  Mace- 
 donia, and  visited  Philippi,  Berea,  Thessalonica,  Athens,  Corinth, 
 returning  by  Ephesus  into  Syria  and  Judea,  and  so  to  Antioch, 
 ch.  XV.  36  to  xviii.  23.     '■^  Iter  Grcecum.'' 
 
 4.  From  Antioch  by  Galatia  and  Phrygia  to  Ephesus,  from 
 whence  he  visited  the  European  Churches,  and  then  from  Mace- 
 donia, through  Asia  the  Less  and  Syria,  he  returned  to  Judea, 
 where  at  Jerusalem  he  was  accused  and  made  prisoner.  Ch. 
 xviii.  23 — xxvii.  As  he  spent  the  greatest  part  of  his  time  in 
 this  journey  at  Epiiesus  (xix.  10),  it  may  be  called,  ^^  Iter 
 Ephesinum.^'' 
 
 5.  His  last  recorded  journey  from  Cesarea  to  Eome.  Ch. 
 xxvii.,  xxviii.     ^^ Iter  Uomanum''     J.  F. 
 
 5  Their  minister. — All  Ecclesiastical  persons,  or  Clergymen,  may 
 be  considered  in  a  three-fold  relation;  first,  to  God;  secondly, 
 to  the  people ;  thirdly,  one  towards  another.  In  respect  of 
 God,  all  are  ministers,  of  whatsoever  degree  they  be ;  because 
 they  do  what  they  do  by  commission  from  Him,  either  more  or 
 less  immediate :  for  a  minister  is  he,  qui  operam.  suam  alicui, 
 ut  superioriy  aut  Domino  prcehet.  In  respect  of  the  people,  all 
 are  Bishops,  that  is  Inspectores,  or  overseers,  as  having  charge 
 to  look  unto  them.  But,  lastly,  compared  one  to  another,  he, 
 whom  we  usually  call  Bishop,  is  the  only  overseer  of  the  rest ; 
 Inspector  tot  ins  Cleri.  Deacons  are  only  ministers  to  the  rest, 
 Mitiistri  Presbyterorum  et  Episcoporum  ;  and  in  that  respect  have 
 
THE  ACTS  XIII.   7.  357 
 
 their  name  haicovoi.  Bishops  are  a  degree  of  Presbyters,  of 
 Divine  ordinance  to  be,  as  Heads,  Chiefs,  and  Presidents  of 
 their  brethren.  All  other  Ecclesiastical  Ministers,  whether  in 
 Ecclesid  orforo  Ecdesiastico  (I  mean,  whether  they  attend  Divine 
 duties  in  the  Church,  or  Jurisdiction  in  Ecclesiastical  Courts) 
 are  all  a  kind  of  Deacons,  being  to  the  Presbyters,  either  single 
 or  Episcopal,  as  the  Levites  were  to  the  Sacerdotes  in  the  Old 
 Testament,  namely,  to  minister  unto,  or  for,  them Pres- 
 byters are  by  us  unnaturally  and  improperly  called  Ministers, 
 either  of  the  Church,  or  of  such  or  such  a  parish :  we  should 
 call  them,  as  my  text  doth,  "Ministers  of  God"  or  "Ministers 
 of  Christ,"  not  Ministers  of  men.  Eom.  i.  1 ;  2  Cor.  vi.  4 ; 
 xi.  23 ;  1  Thess.  iii.  2 ;  Col.  i.  7 ;  1  Tim.  iv.  6 ;  2  Cor.  iii.  6 ; 
 Eph.  iii.  7 ;  Col.  i.  23.  .  .  Yet  might  this  speech,  Minister  of 
 the  Church,  if  rightly  construed,  be  admitted ;  namely,  if  it  be 
 spoken,  by  an  ellipsis,  for  Minister  of  God  for  and  over  the 
 Church :  so  the  Apostle  (Col.  i.  ,17)  "  A  faithful  Minister  of 
 •  Christ  for  you;"  that  is,  Christ's  Minister,  not  their' s ;  yet 
 not  for  Christ,  but  for  them  :  but  those,  who  use  this  speech, 
 commonly  mean  otherwise,  xvi.  17 ;  xxvii.  23 ;  S.  Luke  xii. 
 42.     J.  Mede.     (Serm.  1  Cor.  iv.  1.) 
 
 7  Deputy  of  the  country. — It  would  have  been  a  very  ill-advised 
 choice  of  matter,  to  record  a  fact,  in  the  hope  of  making  it 
 believed,  in  the  face  of  universal  notoriety.  The  conversion  of 
 a  Proconsul  is  something  conspicuous,     xxvi.  26.     Abbadie. 
 
 We  have,  in  this  historical,  but  very  practical  Book  of  holy  Scrip- 
 ture, Cornelius,  " a  devout  man ;"  Barnabas,  "a  good  man;" 
 Sergms  Paulus,  "  a  prudent  man  ;''  Apollos  "  an  eloquent  man, 
 and  mighty  in  the  Scriptures."  What  a  diversity  of  character ; 
 each,  in  its  kind,  conveys  some  particular  instruction ;  for  it  is 
 the  manifold  working  of  the  same  Spirit,  who  sanctifies  the 
 prudent  mind,  the  eloquent  tongue,  the  devout  spirit,  and  the 
 good  beneficent  life  to  the  service  and  glory  of  God.  1  Cor. 
 xii.  4—13.     /.  F. 
 
 A  prudent  man. — [We  may  here  see]  as  in  a  clear  glass,  how  vain 
 and  utterly  worthless  man's  human  wisdom  is,  which  was  unable 
 to  defend  Sergius  from  such  gross  delusions  of  Satan.  Ps.  cxi. 
 10.      Calvin. 
 
358  THE  ACTS  XIII.  7,  8. 
 
 The  wonder  is,  tlaat,  although  prepossessed  by  Simon's  sorcery, 
 he  was  nevertheless  willing  to  hear  the  Apostles.  Prov.  xvi.  1. 
 S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 8  Satan  makes  choice  of  persons  of  place  and  power.  These  are 
 either  in  the  Common-wealth  or  in  the  Church.  If  he  can,  he 
 will  secure  the  Throne  and  the  Pulpit,  as  the  two  forts,  that 
 command  the  whole  line.  A  Prince,  a  Euler,  may  stand  for  a 
 thousand.  Therefore  saith  S.  Paul  to  Elymas,  when  he  would 
 have  "  turned  the  Deputy  from  the  faith"  O  !  full  of  all  subtilty, 
 thou  child  of  the  devil."  As  if  he  had  said;  you  have  learnt 
 this  of '*  your  father,  the  devil,"  to  haunt  the  Courts  of  Princes 
 and  wind  into  the  favour  of  great  ones.  None  indeed  have 
 such  advantage  to  draw  others  to  their  way.  Corrupt  the  Cap- 
 tain ;  and  it  is  hard,  if  he  bring  not  his  troop  off  with  him. 
 When  the  Princes,  men  of  renown,  stood  with  Corah  (Numb, 
 xvi.  2),  presently  a  multitude  are  drawn  into  the  conspiracy. 
 Let  Jeroboam  set  up  idolatry,  and  Israel  is  soon  in  a  snare :  it 
 is  said  the  people  "willingly  walked  after  his  commandment" 
 (Hos.  V.  11.)  ....  How  may  the  worship  of  God  be  neg- 
 lected ?  Let  Hophni  and  Phinehas  be  but  scandalons  in  their 
 lives,  and  many,  both  good  and  bad,  will  "  abhor  the  Sacrifice  of 
 the  Lord."  Yerse  50  ;  S.  John  vii.  48  ;  S,  Luke  xii.  52  ;  xxiii. 
 11.     Gurnall.     (On  the  Christian  armour.     Eph.  vi.  11.  ch.  3.) 
 
 If  the  covetous  Achan  may  be  regarded,  under  the  old  Dispensa- 
 tion, as  the  type,  in  his  awful  death,  of  Ananias  and  Sapphira, 
 a  second  equally  instructive  parallel  is  furnished  in  the  fearful 
 end  of  Korah,  Dathan,  and  Abiram,  who  rebelled  against  the 
 authority  of  Moses,  as  Elymas  here  withstood  S.  Paul,  and  was 
 smitten  in  an  extraordinary  manner  by  the  judicial  Hand  of 
 God.  In  both  cases,  these  events  happened,  in  connection  with 
 the  establishment  of  their  several  respective  Dispensations ;  and 
 were  no  doubt  necessary  to  the  protection  and  well-being  of  an 
 infant  Church.     Numb.  xvi. ;  2  Tim.  iii.  8.     J.  F. 
 
 "What  is  it  to  preach  the  Gospel,  save  to  bring  down  upon  us  the 
 rage  of  the  devil  ?     v.  10  ;  S.  Matt.  x.  24,  25.     Luther. 
 
 9  Then  Saul,  (who  also  is   called  Paul,)  filled  with 
 the  Holy  Ghost,  set  his  eyes  on  him, 
 
THE  ACTS  XIII.  9,  10.  359 
 
 10  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  of  the 
 Lord  ? 
 
 1 1  And  now,  behold,  the  hand  of  the  Lord  is  upon 
 thee,  and  thou  shalt  be  blind,  not  seeing  the  sun 
 for  a  season.  And  immediately  there  fell  on  him  a 
 mist  and  a  darkness  ;  and  he  went  about  seeking  some 
 to  lead  him  by  the  hand. 
 
 12  Then  the  deputy,  when  he  saw  what  was  done, 
 believed,  being  astonished  at  the  doctrine  of  the  Lord. 
 
 13  Now  w^hen  Paul  and  his  company  loosed  from 
 Paphos,  they  came  to  Perga  in  Pamphylia :  and  John 
 departing  from  them  returned  to  Jerusalem. 
 
 9  His  Hebrew  name,  Saul,  relates  to  bis  Hebrew  original ;  and 
 bis  Eoman  name,  Paul,  to  bis  Eoman  privilege.  And,  wbereas 
 be  bad  been  called  by  bis  Jewisb  name,  Saul,  all  along  tbe  story 
 bitberto,  wbile  be  bad  been  conversing  among  tbe  Jewisb 
 nation,  be,  being  now  appointed  Apostle  to  tbe  Gentiles,  and 
 now  set  out  upon  tbat  employment,  is  called  by  bis  Gentile 
 name  all  along  benceforward  ;  Paul,  and  Saul  no  more.  Br. 
 Lightfoot.     (Serm.  on  text.) 
 
 His  name  bere,  at  bis  Ordination,  is  cbanged,  as  it  bappened  to 
 S.  Peter ;  lest  S.  Paul  sbould  in  any  respect  come  sbort  of  tbe 
 cbiefest  Apostles.     S.  Mark  iii.  16  ;  S.  Jobu  i.  42.     Clarius. 
 
 10  As  if  be  sbould  say  ;  Thou  art  not  Bariebu,  tbat  is  tbe  Son  of 
 God  (verse  6)  but  Barlilitb,  tbat  is  tbe  child  of  tbe  deviL  S. 
 Matt.  xxiv.  24.     N.  Selneccerus.     (in  loco.) 
 
 Tbis  is  our  fuhiess  ;  original  sin  filled  us  ;  actual  sin  presses  down 
 tbe  measure,  and  babitual  sins  beap  it  up.  vi.  3,  8 ;  Gen.  vi. 
 5 ;  XV.  16.     Br.  Bonne.     (Serm.  Col.  i.  19,  20.) 
 
 Hatred  may  bave  a  smootb  voice,  cbarity  a  rougb  one.  Look  in- 
 wards ;  weigb  tbe  meaning  of  botb  tbeir  words.  Anger  is 
 smootb,  tbat  it  may  betray ;  Cbarity  is  rougb,  tbat  it  may  cor- 
 
360  THE  ACTS  XIII.  10,  11. 
 
 rect.  S.  Luke  xx.  21  ;  S.  John  ii.  15  ;  Titus  i.  13.  >S^.  Augus- 
 tine. (De  Trinit.) 
 It  is  very  warrantable  to  pass  a  severe  judgment  upon  a  man, 
 when  it  is  plain  and  out  of  all  question  that  he  deserves  it. 
 Nay,  it  is  not  only  warrantable  but  in  several  respects  of  great 
 use  and  necessity  :  for  by  this  means  I  am  instructed  to  enlarge 
 my  Litany  both  for  his  conversion  and  for  my  own  deliver- 
 ance ;  to  apply  reproofs  and  advices  with  all  other  methods  of 
 reformation  ;  to  beware  of  his  contagion  myself,  and  in  great 
 measure  to  prevent  its  diffusion  among  others :  whereas,  if  we 
 suffer  our  eyes  to  be  so  far  blinded  by  a  pretended  charity,  as 
 not  to  see  the  devil  under  his  monastic  disguise,  he  has  what 
 he  could  wish,  and  what  ill  men  use  to  wish  ; 
 
 "  Noctem  peccatis  et  fraudibus  objice  nubem," 
 
 to  be  screened  about  with  the  shades  of  night  and  to  sin  in  a 
 cloud,  and  will  do  the  m  re  mischief  for  not  being  better  under- 
 stood, and  destroy,  like  "  the  pestilence,  that  walketh  in  dark- 
 ness." vii.  51,  52  ;  xxiii.  3  ;  xxiv.  25 ;  Eph.  v.  11.  J.  Norris. 
 (Discourse  on  S.  John  vii.  24.) 
 11  Great  fear. — Because  it  was  impossible  to  govern  the  Church 
 more  than  other  societies  and  bodies  politic  without  sensible 
 punishments,  GrOD  endowed  the  Apostles  and  their  successors 
 with  a  power  of  inflicting  supernatural  diseases  and  death  upon 
 incorrigible  offenders,  while,  for  want  of  assistance  from  the 
 secular  arm,  they  had  not  power  to  make  penal  laws  for  them- 
 selves. .  .  .  God,  who  in  His  injBnite  wisdom,  would  not  erect 
 a  society  without  Governors,  nor  constitute  Governors  without 
 investing  them  with  a  sufficient  power  of  casting  contumacious 
 transgressors  out  of  their  government,  thought  fit  in  the 
 Church's  minority  to  execute  judgment  upon  those,  whom  they 
 ejected ;  in  which  concurrence,  I  conceive,  consisted  their 
 miraculous  power  of  inflicting  supernatural  diseases  and  death ; 
 a  power,  more  than  Imperial  and  greater  than  Caesar  could 
 show,  which  made  their  Ecclesiastical  subjects  reverence  their 
 persons  and  dread  their  displeasure,  and  by  consequence 
 shows,  that  it  was  put  into  their  hands  in  that  exigence, 
 as    the    sword  is   put    into    the   hand    of  the   secular   Magis- 
 
THE  ACTS  XIII.  Jl,  12.  361 
 
 trate  that  they  might  be  "  a  terror  to  evil  doers,"  and  assert 
 their  spiritual  Government  over  the  Church.  .  .  The  Church  was 
 not  a  mere  voluntary  society,  nor  the  Apostolical  authority  pre- 
 carious, but  the  undoubted  ordinance  of  God.  xix.  17  ;  Job  ii. 
 6;  1  Sam.  xvi.  14;  1  Cor.  v.  3—5;  1  Tim.  i.  20;  2  Tim.  ii. 
 17.     Dr.  Hickes.     (Serm.  1  Cor.  xii.  4.) 
 
 Happy  for  him,  if  he  sought  the  true  light,  and  sought  the  help 
 of  the  hand  of  S.  Peter  to  lead  him  to  Gon.  iii.  11 ;  xxii.  11. 
 Ques7iel. 
 
 For  a  season. — What  a  mercy  in  this  indulgence  !  Even  Elymas, 
 the  sorcerer,  the  child  of  the  devil  and  the  enemy  of  all  right- 
 eousness,  seems  to  have  another  trial,  granted  to  him,  and  a 
 further  space  for  repentance.  In  like  manner,  his  counter-part 
 in  iniquity,  Simon  Magus,  is  not  immediately  cut  down  ;  he  is 
 exhorted  and  encouraged  to  pray.  viii.  22.  These  were  in- 
 stances of  exceeding  guilt  on  the  part  of  man,  of  exceeding  for- 
 bearance and  long-suffering  on  the  part  of  God.  They  were  in 
 character  with  that  Gospel  of  grace,  which  was  ordained  to  be 
 first  preached  at  Jerusalem,  S.  Luke  xxiv.  47,  the  bloody  city ; 
 which  was  offered  to  the  murderers  of  the  Loed  ;  which  was 
 accepted  by  the  first  and  greatest  of  His  persecutors.  Ser- 
 gius  Paulus,  be  it  observed,  was  not  so  much  astonished 
 at  the  miracle,  as  he  was  at  the  Doctrine  of  the  Loed.  viii. 
 13.     J.  F. 
 
 12  At  the  doctrine  of  the  Loed. — By  what  means  did  S.  Paul 
 convert  the  heathen  ?  AVas  it  by  the  exhibition  of  miracles  ? 
 Certainly  not.  A  miracle  may  convince  the  judgment,  and  de- 
 monstrate the  power  of  the  present  Deity  ;  but  it  cannot  con- 
 vert the  heart,  and  inspire  the  soul  with  the  love  of  God,  with 
 a  hatred  of  sin,  and  a  hope  of  Glory.  The  miracles  of  the  first 
 age  were  merely  the  credentials  of  the  teachers,  and  were  given, 
 as  a  solemn  confirmation,  once  for  all,  of  the  Divinity  of  the 
 new  Dispensation.  But  miracles  were  not  the  ordained  and 
 common  means  of  conversion.  S.  Paul  performed  miracles  but 
 seldom  ;  and,  when  he  did  perform  them,  they  had  not  always 
 a  salutary  efiect  on  those,  that  beheld  them.  When  he  wrought 
 a  miracle  in  Lycaonia,  the  people  first  worshipped  him,  and 
 afterwards  proceeded  to  put  him  to  death.     What  then  were 
 
362  THE  ACTS  XIII.  12,   13. 
 
 the  ordained  means  of  conversion  ?  The  same,  that  are  ordained 
 now;  "the  preaching  of  the  Cross;"  as  the  Scripture  hath 
 declared,  "  Faith  cometh  by  hearing."  The  Apostle  informed 
 the  judgment  with  facts,  and  addressed  the  conscience  with 
 doctrines,  and  the  Holt  Spirit  "  guided  their  minds  into  all 
 truth."  xviii.  18  ;  1  Cor.  i.  18  ;  Ps.  xix.  7—10.  Dr.  Buchanan, 
 (Serm.  on  the  Heavenly  Jubilee,  Eev.  xix.  3.) 
 
 I  saw  with  wonder  and  delight,  in  some  measure,  how  God  by 
 this  means  might  be  "  Just,  in  justifying  "  even  "  the  ungodly, 
 who  believe  in  Jesus."  Eom.  iv.  5.  How  was  I  ravished  with 
 delight,  when  made  to  see,  that  the  God,  in  whom  a  little 
 before  I  thought  there  was  no  hope  for  me,  or  any  sinner  in 
 my  case,  if  there  was  any  such,  notwithstanding  His  spotless 
 purity.  His  deep  hatred  of  sin,  His  inflexible  justice  and  righte- 
 ousness, and  His  untainted  faithfulness,  pledged  in  the  threat- 
 enings  of  the  Law,  might  not  only  pardon,  but  without  pre- 
 judice to  His  Justice,  or  other  attributes,  be  "  Just  in  justifying," 
 even  "the  ungodly."  The  reconciliation  of  those  seemingly 
 inconsistent  attributes  with  one  another  and  with  a  sinner's 
 salvation,  quite  surprised  and  astonished  me.  Isa.ix.  6;  1  Cor. 
 ii.  9  ;  Eom.  i.  16, 17  ;  Eph.  iii.  19.  J.  Halyhurton.  (Memoirs, 
 P.  iii.  c.  2.) 
 
 And  truly,  for  my  own  part,  the  reading  of  the  Scripture  hath 
 moved  me  more,  and  swayed  me  more  powerfully  to  all  the 
 passions  it  would  infuse,  than  the  wittiest  and  eloquentest  com- 
 posures, that  are  extant  in  our  own  and  some  other  languages. 
 Ps.  cxix. ;  S.  Luke  xxiv.  32.     R.  Boyle. 
 
 The  exquisite  wisdom  and  transcendent  beauty  of  the  Eule  of 
 life,  prescribed  in  the  Gospel,  constitute  the  strongest  and  most 
 sure  proof  of  its  Divine  Origin.     S.  John  vii.  46.     Daille. 
 
 13  We  are  told  by  Epiphanius  that  S.  Mark  was  one  of  those, 
 who  were  offended  at  the  word  of  Christ,  recorded  in  the  6th 
 Chapter  of  S.  John  (verse  QQ)y  and  that  he  then  forsook  Him, 
 but  was  afterwards  recovered  to  his  Saviour  by  means  of  S. 
 Peter  .  .  In  S.  Mark  then  we  seem  to  notice  one  of  the  first 
 promoters  of  Christianity,  of  a  cast  of  mind,  diiferent  from  any  we 
 have  hitherto  reviewed.  The  variety  of  tempers  and  talents,  em- 
 ployed in  the  service  of  God,  and  sanctified  by  the  same  Divine 
 
THE  ACTS  XIII.   13.  363 
 
 energy,  affords  a  field  of  speculation  neither  unpleasing  nor 
 unprofitable.  Heb.  xi.  34  ;  2  Tim.  iv.  11.  J.  Milner.  (Church 
 History.  Cent.  i.  c.  15.) 
 The  two  circumstances,  mentioned  at  Ch.  xii.  12,  may  explain 
 to  us  the  attachment  of  S.  Mark  to  Jerusalem,  and  in  some 
 measure  lessen,  though  they  cannot  palliate,  his  off"ence  in  re- 
 signing his  Diaconal  charge,  and  forsaking  the  Apostles,  to 
 whom  he  was  bound  to  minister.  Verse  5 ;  xv.  38 ;  S.  Luke 
 ix.  62  ;  S.  Matt.  x.  37.     /.  F. 
 
 14  Bat  when  they  departed  from  Perga,  they  came 
 to  Antioch  in  Pisidia,  and  went  into  the  synagogue  on 
 the  sabbath  day,  and  sat  down. 
 
 15  And  after  the  reading  of  the  law  and  the  pro- 
 phets the  rulers  of  the  synagogue  sent  unto  them,  say- 
 ing. Ye  men  and  brethren,  if  ye  have  any  word  of 
 exhortation  for  the  people,  say  on. 
 
 16  Then  Paul  stood  up,  and  beckoning  with  Us 
 hand  said,  Men  of  Israel,  and  ye  that  fear  God,  give 
 audience. 
 
 1/  The  God  of  this  people  of  Israel  chose  our 
 fathers,  and  exalted  the  people  when  they  dwelt  as 
 strangers  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  with  an  high  arm 
 brought  He  them  out  of  it. 
 
 18  And  about  the  time  of  forty  years  suffered  He 
 their  manners  in  the  wilderness. 
 
 19  And  when  He  had  destroyed  seven  nations  in 
 the  land  of  Chanaan,  He  divided  their  land  to  them 
 by  lot, 
 
 20  And  after  that  He  gave  unto  them  judges  about 
 the  space  of  four  hundred  and  fifty  years,  until  Samuel 
 the  prophet. 
 
 21  And  afterwards  they  desired  a  king:  and  God 
 
364  THE  ACTS  XIII.  14,  15. 
 
 gave  unto  them  Saul  the  son  of  Cis,  a  man  of  the  tribe 
 of  Benjamin,  by  the  space  of  forty  years. 
 
 22  And  when  He  had  removed  him,  He  raised  up 
 unto  them  David  to  be  their  king ;  to  whom  also  He 
 gave  testimony,  and  said,  I  have  found  David  the  son 
 of  Jesse,  a  man  after  Mine  own  heart,  which  shall 
 fulfil  all  My  will. 
 
 23  Of  this  man's  seed  hath  God  according  to  His 
 promise  raised  unto  Israel  a  Saviour,  Jesus: 
 
 24  When  John  had  first  preached  before  His  coming 
 the  baptism  of  repentance  to  all  the  people  of  Israel. 
 
 14  Dr.  Lightfoot  tells  us,  that  by  their  sitting  down  in  the  Syna- 
 gogue they  declared  their  office,  as  teachers.  Hence,  on  their 
 being  thus  recognized,  the  invitation  to  exhort  the  people. 
 These  Kulers  little  expected  that  the  word  of  exhortation  for 
 the  people  would  be  a  word  of  most  awful  warning  to  themselves, 
 40,  41.  Mark  the  prudent  manner  of  the  Apostles  in  not 
 personally  addressing  them,  as  well  in  modestly  waiting  for 
 their  permission  to  speak,  xxi.  40  ;  xxvi.  1.  (See  at  xxiv.  10. 
 Perkins.)     J.  F. 
 
 15  The  Law  and  the  Prophets  they  read  in  the  Synagogue  every 
 Sabbath  ;  but  admitted  not  the  reading  of  Job,  Psalms,  So- 
 lomon's Books,  Daniel,  Lamentations,  Chronicles,  Ezra,  &c. ; 
 not  so  much  out  of  the  undervaluation  of  these  Books ;  but 
 because  they  accounted  the  other  were  sufficient.  Eom.  xv.  4. 
 Br.  Lightfoot.     (Serm.  Acts  xvii.  31.) 
 
 It  was  to  these  congregations,  that  the  word  was  always  first 
 preached  ;  and  it  was  essential  to  its  favourable  reception  among 
 them,  that  the  preachers  should  appear  to  be,  not  apostates  and 
 renegades  from  their  faith ;  but  men,  maintaining  a  strict  inter- 
 course with  the  established  seat  of  their  religion,  and  walking  in 
 all  its  Ordinances  blameless.  A  very  slight  reflection  upon  the 
 fury,  which  was  excited  by  any  suspicion  of  treason  in  this 
 respect,  what  a  flame  it  kindled  against  S.  Paul  at  Jerusalem,  is 
 
THE  ACTS  XIII.  15—17.  365 
 
 sufficient  to  convince  us,  how  utterly  hopeless  all  preaching 
 must  have  been  to  a  Synagogue  in  a  foreign  land  from  a  man, 
 who  had  either  renounced  Judaism,  or  was  supposed  to  he 
 hostile  to  the  Temple-worship  at  Jerusalem.  But,  while  the 
 Church  of  Christ  remained  resident  in  that  city  and  "  taught 
 none  other  things,  but  what  Moses  and  the  prophets  foretold," 
 even  the  most  zealous  adherent  of  the  Law  would  lend  a  willing 
 ear  to  the  doctrine,  xxiv.  11 — 15 ;  xxviii.  17.  Bp.  Copleston. 
 (Serm.  Acts  xviii.  24.) 
 For  the  people, — I  want  one  point  of  selfishness  ;  which  is  to  con- 
 vert the  "Word  of  God  to  my  own  use.  All  the  reflections  I 
 make  upon  the  pride,  corruption,  blindness,  and  deadly  fall  of 
 man,  upon  the  necessity  of  the  daily  cross,  and  death  to  the 
 world,  I  bestow  freely  upon  others ;  and  am  hindered  by  the 
 deceitfulness  of  my  own  heart  and  the  artifice  of  the  devil  from 
 turning  the  edge  of  them  upon  myself.  Ps.  cxxxix.  19 — 24 ; 
 S.  Matt.  xxvi.  23.     Adam.     (Private  thoughts,  ch.  i.) 
 
 16  As  the  tongue  speaketh  to  the  ear,  so  the  gesture  to  the  eye. 
 Anonym. 
 
 In  the  Primitive  Church,  the  first  word  was,  ai^ia  Xao^,  "  Let 
 the  people  keep  silence."  Job  xxix.  21 ;  Zeph.  i.  7.  Bp. 
 Andre wes.     (On  the  Moral  Law.     Com.  2.) 
 
 17  Chose  our  fathers. — The  design  of  the  Jewish  economy  was  not 
 solely  or  chiefly  to  preserve  the  Jews  themselves  in  perfect  se- 
 paration from  the  surrounding  nations  and  in  perfect  obedience 
 to  the  Divine  Law ;  so  that,  where  this  efiect  was  not  fully  pro- 
 duced, it  should  be  supposed  to  have  failed  in  accompHshing  its 
 purpose :  no ;  the  great  object  of  the  Dispensation  was  to  pre- 
 serve in  the  world  a  standing  monument  and  a  standing  proof 
 of  the  Unity,  the  Supremacy,  and  the  Providence  of  Jehoyah. 
 S.  Mark  xii.  29  ;  S.  John  viii.  41.  Dean  Graves.  (Lectures 
 on  the  Pentateuch.     P.  iii.  lect.  2.) 
 
 If  I  believe  anything,  that  I  never  heard  or  saw  myself,  I  have 
 the  greatest  reason  in  the  world  to  believe,  that  that  Moses, 
 whom  both  Jews  and  Heathen  call  the  great  Leader  and  Cap- 
 tain-General of  the  Jews,  was  inspired  from  above,  when  he 
 gave  his  Law  to  the  whole  nation  of  the  Jews.  That  he 
 wrought  those    stupendous   miracles,   which    are   recorded    in 
 
366  THE  ACTS  XIII.  18. 
 
 Scripture,  the  Jewish  nation  hath  firmly  and  constantly  be- 
 lieved, ever  since  they  were  wrought ;  and  how  six  hundred 
 thousand  men,  before  whom  they  were  WTOught,  and  who  did 
 feed  upon  many  of  those  wonders,  and  who  have  delivered  the 
 real  performance  of  those  miracles  down  to  their  posterity,  and 
 so  imprinted  the  belief  of  it  on  the  hearts  of  their  progeny,  that 
 neither  sword  nor  fire  could  ever  make  them  deny  it,  even  by 
 the  testimony  of  their  greatest  enemies — how%  I  say,  this  vast 
 multitude  of  men  could  be  mistaken  in  those  miracles,  and  give 
 credit  to  his  Law,  observe  every  punctilio  of  it,  and  undergo  all 
 that  tedious  service  he  enjoined  them,  endure  the  pain  of  Cir- 
 cumcision, neglect  their  secular  and  necessary  afiairs  to  attend 
 that  laborious  worship,  and  all  upon  the  account  of  those 
 miracles,  if  they  had  not  been  confident  of  the  truth  and  reality 
 of  them,  is  altogether  unaccountable  to  a  rational  man.  iv.  20  ; 
 X.  14 ;  XV.  10 ;  xxi.  20.  Dr.  Horneck.  (The  great  Law  of 
 Consideration,  ch.  5.) 
 
 18  The  whole  Jewish  history,  in  all  its  details,  is  so  admirably 
 adapted  to,  and  suggestive  of,  symbolical  use,  as  to  justify  the 
 belief,  that  the  spiritual  application,  the  interior  and  permanent 
 sense,  was  in  the  original  intention  of  the  inspiring  Spirit ; 
 though  it  might  not  have  been  present,  as  an  object  of  distinct 
 consciousness,  to  the  inspired  writers.  S.  Matt.  xi.  14  ;  Gal. 
 iv.  24  ;  Ileb.  x.  ;  xi.  19.  S.  T.  Coleridge.  (Literary  Eemains. 
 Notes  on  the  Pilgrim's  progress.) 
 
 The  history  of  a  man's  own  life  is,  to  himself,  the  most  interest- 
 ing history  in  the  world,  next  to  that  of  the  Scriptures.  Every 
 man  is  an  original  and  solitary  character.  None  can  either  un- 
 derstand or  feel  the  book  of  his  own  life,  like  himself  The 
 lives  of  other  men  are  to  him  dry  and  vapid,  when  set  beside  his 
 own.  He  enters  very  little  into  the  spirit  of  the  Old  Testament, 
 who  does  not  see  God,  calling  on  him  to  turn  over  the  pages  of 
 this  history,  when  He  says  to  the  Jew,  "  Thou  shalt  remember 
 all  the  way,  which  the  Loed  thy  God  led  thee  these  forty  years." 
 He  sees  God,  teaching  the  Jew  to  look  at  the  records  of  his  de- 
 liverance from  the  I^ed  Sea,  of  the  Manna,  showered  down  on 
 him  from  heaven,  and  of  the  Amalekites,  put  to  flight  b afore 
 him.     There  are  such  grand  events  in  the  life  and  experience  of 
 
THE  ACTS  XIII.  18,  21.  367 
 
 every  Christian.  It  may  be  well  for  liim  to  review  them  often, 
 xxvi.  22;  Prov.  xiv.  10;  S.  John  iv.  18,  19;  Ps.  cxliil.  5. 
 Cecil.     (Eemains.     On  the  Christian  life  and  conflict.) 
 
 A  shepherd  is  an  employment  of  much  patience  and  hardness.  .  . 
 Moses  w^as  weary  of  bis  flock;  they  vexed  him  so  much:  Jere- 
 miah, he's  out  of  heart,  and  would  fling  off"  his  employment. 
 Zechariah  takes  his  shepherd's  stafl*,  and  breaks  it  in  pieces. 
 Bat  our  SAYiorR  is  a  shepherd  of  unwearied  patience  :  He 
 doth  T/3o0o0o,oeti/,  bear  with  the  waywardness  of  His  unruly  flock. 
 Gen.  xxxi.  39,  40 ;  Deut.  i.  31 ;  Numbers  xi.  12  ;  1  Thess. 
 ii.  7.     Bp.  Brownrig.     (Serm.  Heb.  xiii.  20.) 
 
 19  The  occupation  of  Canaan  gave  to  the  Israelites  a  domicile  to 
 their  Law,  and  an  investiture  of  their  Covenant.  It  was  the 
 act  of  GrOD,  establishing  them  in  their  relation  to  Him,  as  His 
 people.  .  .  .  The  sin  of  the  Israelites  (in  desiring  a  king)  was 
 founded  in  a  revolt  from  God,  in  the  abdication  of  a  perfect 
 trust  and  reliance  upon  His  Providential  Government,  in  that 
 method,  in  which,  with  respect  to  them,  He  had  ordered  it. 
 But  their  fault,  though  uncommon  in  its  form,  is  not  at  all  so 
 in  its  principle.  Something  to  see,  and  nothing  to  believe,  is 
 the  wish  and  the  wrong  propensity  of  more,  than  the  Israelites. 
 Ps.  Ixxiv.  10;  S.  John  xx.  29.  Davison.  (On  Prophecy. 
 Disc.  4  and  5.) 
 
 21  Monarchy  is  in  nature  the  noblest,  in  use  the  profitablest  of  all 
 forms  of  Government.  God  always  meant  that  the  Jews  should 
 have  a  king,  though  He  prepared  them  in  other  forms  before ; 
 as  He  meant  them  peace,  though  He  exercised  them  in  war, 
 and  meant  them  the  land  of  promise,  though  He  led  them 
 through  the  wilderness :  so  He  meant  them  a  king,  though  He 
 prepared  them  by  judges  ...  In  the  time  of  Samuel,  who  was 
 the  immediate  predecessor  to  their  first  king,  Saul,  God  made  a 
 way  for  Monarchy :  for  Samuel  had  a  much  more  absolute  au- 
 thority in  that  State,  than  any  of  the  judges  had :  Samuel 
 judged  them  ;  and  in  their  petition  for  a  king,  they  ask  but  that, 
 "  Make  us  a  king  to  judge  us."  Samuel  was  little  less  than  a 
 king:  and  Saul's  reign  and  his  are  reckoned  both  in  one  num- 
 ber, and  made  as  the  reign  of  one  man.  When  it  is  said,  Saul 
 reigned  forhj  years,  Samuel's  time  is  included ;  for  all  the  years 
 
368  THE  ACTS  XIII.  22. 
 
 from  the  death  of  Eli  to  the  beginning  of  David  are  but  forty 
 years.  God  meant  them  a  kingdom  in  Himself,  promised  them 
 a  kingdom  in  Judah,  made  laws  for  their  kingdom  in  Deuter- 
 onomy, made  way  for  the  kingdom  in  Samuel :  and  why  then 
 was  God  displeased  with  their  petition  for  a  kingdom  ?  .  .  .  . 
 God  governed  them  so  immediately,  so  presentially  Himself,  as 
 that  it  was  an  ungrateful  intemperance  in  them  to  turn  upon 
 any  other  means.  .  .  .  Then  that,  which  follows,  the  unseason- 
 ableness  and  inconsideration  of  their  clamorous  petition :  you 
 said,  '*  Nay  ;  but  a  king  shall  reign  over  us,  when  the  Loed 
 your  God  was  your  King."  They  would  not  trust  God's 
 means ;  there  was  their  first  fault :  and  then,  though  they  de- 
 sired a  thing,  good  in  itself  and  a  good,  intended  to  them,  yet 
 they  fixed  God  a  time,  and  they  would  not  stay  His  leisure. 
 And  either  of  these — to  ask  other  things,  than  God  would  give, 
 or  at  other  times,  than  God  would  give  them — is  displeasing  to 
 Him.  Use  His  means  ;  and  stay  His  leisure.  Deut.  xvii.  14  ; 
 Gen.  xlix.  10 ;  1  Sam.  viii.  5  ;  Ex.  xix.  5  ;  1  Sam.  xii.  12 ;  Gen. 
 XXX.  1.     Dr.  Donne.     (Serm.  Lam.  iv.  20.) 
 
 22  There  was  a  two-fold  root,  or  foundation,  of  the  children  of 
 Israel  for  their  temporal  being.  Abraham  was  the  root  of  the 
 'people.  The  kingdom  was  "rent  from  Saul;"  and  therefore 
 David  was  the  root  of  the  kingdom  :  among  all  the  kings  in  the 
 pedigree,  none,  but  he,  hath  the  name,  "  and  Jesse  begat  David  ; 
 and  David,  the  King, hegVit  Solomon:"  and,  therefore,  so  often  as 
 God  did  profess  to  spare  the  people,  though  He  were  angry, 
 He  says  He  would  do  it  "for  Abraham's  sake :"  so  often  as  He 
 professeth  to  spare  the  Kingdom  of  Judah,  he  says  He  would 
 do  it  "for  His  servant  David's  sake;"  so  that  ratione  radicis,  as 
 Abraham  and  David  are  roots  of  the  people  and  kingdom, 
 especially  Cheist  is  called  "the  Son  of  David,"  "the  Son  of 
 Abraham."  S.  Matt.  i.  G ;  2  Kings  viii.  19;  xiii.  28.  Bp. 
 Hacket.     (Serm.  S.  Luke  ii.  7.) 
 
 AVe  cannot  but  observe  in  David  such  virtues,  as  may  well  be 
 called  miracles  of  grace.  He  conquers  a  giant ;  yet  continues 
 humble.  He  is  persecuted  with  the  greatest  inveteracy ;  yet 
 retains  his  charity.  He  sufi'ers  innumerable  afflictions  ;  yet  keeps 
 his  patience.     He  mounts  a  Throne;  yet  loses  not  his  virtue. 
 
THE  ACTS  XIII.  22,  24.  369 
 
 A  Crown  had  no  power  to  lessen  his  moderation.  The  Sceptre 
 makes  him  not  forget  his  crook ;  nor  prosperity  the  greatest 
 adversities  he  had  undergone.  And  yet,  after  all,  when  tempta- 
 tion comes,  and  Goi)  thought  fit  to  leave  him  to  himself,  all 
 these  extraordinary  virtues  disappear  at  once ;  and  we  see 
 nothing,  but  man From  David  then  we  learn  this  im- 
 portant truth,  (according  to  S.  Augustine,)  that  "  man  is  no- 
 thing of  himself,"  that  "God  is  all,"  that  "in  the  greatest 
 saints,  there  is  a  remainder  of  corruption,  a  latent  propensity  to 
 sin,  which  dwells  in  the  flesh ;  and  that  a  conscious  sense  of 
 this  should  ever  oblige  us,  while  we  are  in  this  mortal  body,  to 
 keep  our  ears  and  mouths  shut  to  our  own  praises,  and  open 
 only  to  the  praises  and  glory  of  God."  1  Cor.  x.  12;  Ps.  xvii. 
 5.     Wogan.     (On  the  Lessons,  7th  Sunday  after  Trinity.) 
 
 David  obtains  the  wondrous  praise  of  being  "a  man  after  God's 
 own  heart. ^^  This  is  understood,  as  spoken  of  him,  first  in 
 contradistinction  from  Saul,  the  favourite  of  the  popular  choice ; 
 and  then,  in  reference  to  David's  public  conduct,  as  King,  his 
 wise  and  faithful  Government  both  in  Church  and  State;  so 
 altogether  different  from  the  wicked  reign  of  his  predecessor. 
 But,  in  a  doctrinal  sense,  he  was  a  tnan  after  God's  own  hearty 
 as  he  was  the  great  progenitor  of  Him,  who  alone  "  fulfilled  all 
 E-ighteousness,"  and  in  whom  alone,  out  of  the  entire  human 
 race,  the  Father  was  "well  pleased."  The  Blessing,  pro- 
 nounced in  the  first  Psalm  by  David  himself,  can,  in  its  strict 
 sense,  belong  only  to  Him,  who  "  walked  not  in  the  counsel  of 
 the  ungodly,"  and  whose  delight  was  "  in  the  Law  of  the  Lord." 
 "Behold,"  He  says,  "I  come  to  do  Thy  will;  and  Thy  Law  is 
 within  My  heart."  1  Sam.  xiii.  14 ;  Ps.  Ixxxix.  19,  20 ;  S.  Matt, 
 iii.  17  ;  S.  Luke  xxiii.  41 ;  S.  John  iv.  34.     J.  F. 
 
 24  S.  John's  doctrine  was  to  the  Sermons  of  Jesus,  as  a  preface 
 to  a  discourse ;  and  his  baptism  was  to  the  new  institution  and 
 discipline  of  the  kingdom,  as  the  vigils  to  a  holy  day ;  of  the 
 same  kind,  in  a  less  degree.     Bp.  J.  Taylor. 
 
 I  will  not  here  examine  the  precedence  of  repentance  before 
 faith  in  Christ,  though  I  might  seasonably  state  the  ques- 
 tion, and  direct  you  to  begin  with  S.  John,  and  proceed  to 
 Christ  ;  first  repent,  and  then  fasten  on  Christ.     Only  this 
 
 B  B 
 
370  THE  ACTS  XIII.  25. 
 
 for  all ;  the  promises  of  Salvation  in  Christ  are  promised  on 
 condition  of  repentance  and  amendment ;  they  must  be  "  weary 
 and  heavy  laden,"  who  ever  come  to  Christ,  and  expect  "rest." 
 And,  therefore,  whosoever  applies  these  benefits  to  himself  and 
 thereby  conceives  Christ  in  his  heart,  must  first  resolve  to 
 undertake  the  condition  required,  to  wit,  newness  of  life ;  which 
 yet  he  will  not  be  able  to  perform,  till  Christ  be  fully  born 
 and  dwell  in  him  by  His  enabling  graces.  For  you  may  mark, 
 that,  Christ  and  S.  John  being  both  about  the  same  age,  as 
 appears  by  the  story,  Christ  must  needs  be  born  before  S. 
 John's  preaching.  So,  in  the  soul,  there  is  supposed  some  kind 
 of  Incarnation  of  Christ,  before  repentance  and  newness  of 
 life ;  yet,  before  Christ  is  born,  or  at  least  come  to  His  full 
 stature  and  perfect  growth  in  us,  this  Baptist's  sermon,  that  is, 
 this  repentance  and  resolution  to  amendment,  must  be  presumed 
 in  our  souls.  And  so  repentance  is  both  a  preparation  to 
 Christ's  birth,  and  an  effect  of  it.  xx. ;  Isa.  xl.  3 ;  S.  Matt, 
 iii.  2 ;  Gal.  iv.  19 ;  1  Cor.  iii.  1 ;  Eph.  iv.  13.  Dr.  Hammond. 
 (Serm.  S.  Matt.  i.  23.) 
 
 25  Soon  completed  are  the  duties  and  offices  of  many  of  God's 
 most  illustrious  servants.  Wherefore  their  life  is  called  a  course 
 (a  race) .     Bengel. 
 
 Happy  the  man,  who  finishes  his  course,  like  S.  John,  in  bearing 
 witness  to  Jesus  Christ  by  his  words,  by  his  life,  and  by  his 
 self-abasement  and  humility.  Nothing  disgusts  a  true  Minister 
 of  the  Lord,  more  than  praise  offered  him  to  the  disparagement 
 of  his  Master,     x.  26  ;  xiv.  14 ;  1  Cor.  iii.  5.     Quesnel. 
 
 26  Men  and  brethren,  children  of  the  stock  of 
 Abraham,  and  whosoever  among  you  feareth  God,  to 
 you  is  the  word  of  this  salvation  sent. 
 
 27  For  they  that  dwell  at  Jerusalem,  and  then* 
 rulers,  because  they  knew  Him  not,  nor  yet  the  voices 
 of  the  Prophets  which  are  read  every  Sabbath  day, 
 they  have  fulfilled  them  in  condemning  Him, 
 
 28  And   though  they  found  no  cause  of  death  in  . 
 
THE  ACTS  XIII.  26,  27.  371 
 
 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,  and  laid 
 Him  in  a  sepulchre. 
 
 30  But  God  raised  Him  from  the  dead. 
 
 26  In  regard  both  to  the  Jew,  the  Proselyte,  and  the  Gentile,  the 
 same  preparative  grace  seems  to  have  been  specially  requisite,  in 
 order  to  a  saving  reception  of  the  Gospel,  and  that  was  the  grace 
 of  godly  fear,  so  justly  termed  "the  beginning  of  Wisdom." 
 "  Men  and  brethren,  children  of  the  stock  of  Abraham,  and  whoso- 
 ever among  you  feareth  God,  to  you  is  the  word  of  this  Salvation 
 sent;"  and  so,  to  the  same  purport,  "In  every  nation  he,  that 
 feareth  God,  and  worketh  righteousness,  is  accepted  of  Him." 
 
 (x.  35.)  Beautiful  is  the  parallel  in  the  Prophetic  Psalms,  as 
 confirming  this  doctrine.  "  Let  Israel  now  confess  that  He  is 
 gracious,  and  that  His  mercy  endureth  for  ever.  Let  the  house 
 of  Aaron,  &c.  Tea,  let  thetn  now,  that  fear  the  Loed,  confess, 
 that  His  mercy  endureth  for  ever."  x.  2 ;  Ps.  cxviii.  1 — 4 ; 
 XXV.  13.  We  may  take  occasion  also  to  notice  at  this  verse  the 
 perfect  harmony  of  the  teaching  of  S.  Paul  with  that  of  S. 
 Peter,  as  both  were  alike  taught  by  the  same  Spirit.  (Eefer 
 to  X.  35.)     /.  F. 
 
 27  God  is  said  to  fulfil  all  things,  which  were  written  of  Cheist, 
 because  He  did  order  and  direct  all  the  counter-plots  and 
 malicious  intentions  of  His  enemies,  according  to  the  models 
 and  inscriptions,  which  had  been  exhibited  in  the  Old  Testa- 
 ment. Judas's  treachery  against  his  Loed  and  Master,  with 
 its  accursed  success,  was  exactly  fore-pictured  by  Ahithophel's 
 treason  against  David.  The  malice  of  the  High  Priests  and 
 Elders  was  foretold  and  fore-pictured  by  the  like  proceeding  of 
 their  predecessors  against  Jeremy  and  other  of  God's  Prophets, 
 which  were  Cheist' s  fore-runners,  types,  and  shadows  of  His 
 persecutions.  They  then  fulfilled  the  Scriptures  in  doing  the  same 
 things,  that  their  predecessors  had  done  (but  in  a  worse  manner 
 and  degree)  ;  albeit  they  had  no  intention,  or  aim,  to  work,  accord- 
 
 B  B  2 
 
372  THE  ACTS  XIII.  27. 
 
 ing  to  those  models,  which  their  predecessors  had  framed,  nor 
 to  do  that  unto  Christ,  which  the  Prophets  had  foretold  should 
 be  done  unto  Him.  For  so  S.  Peter  (iii.  17)  "  Now,  brethren, 
 I  wot,  that  through  ignorance  ye  did  it,  as  did  also  your 
 Rulers."  But  here  I  must  request  all  such,  as  read  these  and 
 the  like  passages  of  Scripture,  not  to  make  any  other  inferences 
 or  constructions  of  the  Holy  Ghost's  language,  or  manner  of 
 speech,  than  such,  as  they  naturally  import,  and  such,  as  are 
 congruous  to  the  Kule  of  Faith.  If  we  say  no  more  than  this, 
 God  did  order,  or  direct,  the  avarice  of  Judas,  the  malice  of  the 
 High  Priest,  the  popularity  of  Herod,  and  ambition  of  Pilate  for 
 accomplishing  of  that,  which  He  had  fore-determined  concerning 
 Cheist,  we  shall  retain  "the  form  of  wholesome  Doctrine." 
 In  thus  speaking  and  thinking,  we  think  and  speak,  as  the 
 Spirit  teacheth  us.  But,  if  any  shall  say  or  think,  that  God 
 did  ordain  either  Judas  to  be  covetous,  or  the  High  Priest  to  be 
 malicious,  or  Herod  and  Pilate  to  be  popular  and  ambitious,  to 
 tliis  end  and  purpose,  that  they  might  respectively  be  the  be- 
 trayers and  murderers  of  the  Son  of  God,  this  is  dangerous, 
 llom.  iii.  6;  S.  James  i.  13 — 15.  Dr.  Jackson.  (B.viii.  s.  ii.  ch.  11.) 
 
 How  great  a  pleasure  is  it  to  discern,  how  the  most  wise  God  is 
 providentially  steering  all  to  the  port  of  His  own  praise  and 
 His  people's  happiness,  whilst  the  whole  world  is  busily  em- 
 ployed in  managing  the  sails  and  tugging  at  the  oars  with 
 quite  an  opposite  design  and  purpose  !  To  see,  how  they  pro- 
 mote His  design  by  opposing  it ;  and  fulfil  His  will  by  resisting 
 it ;  enlarge  His  Church  by  scattering  it ;  and  make  their  rest 
 come  the  more  sweet  to  their  souls,  by  making  their  condition 
 so  restless  in  the  world.  This  is  pleasant  to  observe  in 
 general :  but  to  record  and  note  its  particular  designs  upon 
 ourselves,  with  what  profound  wisdom,  infinite  tenderness, 
 and  incessant  vigilance,  it  hath  managed  all,  that  concerns  us 
 from  first  to  last,  is  ravishing  and  transporting.  Ps.  xxiii. ;  xci. 
 Flavel.  (Divine  Conduct,  or  the  Mystery  of  Providence.  Preface.) 
 
 Which  are  read  every  Sabbath  day. — There  be  some  sermon 
 liearers,  that  be  like  those  fishes,  that  live  always  in  salt  water, 
 and  yet  arc  always  fresh.  Heb.  v.  12  ;  2  Tim.  iii.  7.  G.  Herbert. 
 (Priest  to  the  Temple.) 
 
THE  ACTS  XIII.  28,  29.  373 
 
 28  Found  no  fault  in  Him. — It  was,  in  regard  to  the  Supreme 
 and  original  authority  of  God,  that  our  Savioub  subjected 
 Himself  to  these  inferior  and  subordinate  powers,  as  the  proper 
 instruments  of  Gon's  justice.  Had  He  suffered  in  any  other 
 way  (by  any  private  malice  or  passion  of  men)  God's  Providence 
 had  been  less  visible;  Christ's  obedience  not  so  remarkable : 
 and  if  He  must  die  by  public  hands,  it  must  be,  as  a  criminal, 
 upon  pretence  of  guilt ;  there  must  be  testimonies  produced,  how- 
 ever false ;  there  must  be  a  sentence  pronounced,  though  partial 
 and  unjust :  no  man  is  prosecuted  or  persecuted  by  authority, 
 without  some  colour  of  desert,  xxv.  10 — 12  ;  Eom.  xiii.  1 — 4. 
 Br.  Barrow.     (Expos,  of  the  Creed.) 
 
 Human  judges  "found  no  fault  in  Him  ;"  but  there  was  another 
 Judge,  who  found  Him  laden  with  the  sins  of  all  mankind.  S. 
 Matt.  xxvi.  38  ;  xxvii.  46.     Quesnel. 
 
 The  Christian  religion  has  all  the  marks  of  the  highest  utility  and 
 justice ;  but  in  nothing  more  manifest  than  in  the  severe  injunc- 
 tion, which  it  lays  indifferently  upon  all  its  followers  to  yield 
 absolute  obedience  to  the  Civil  Magistrate,  and  to  maintain  and 
 defend  the  laws ;  of  which  God  has  left  us  a  wonderful  example, 
 who  to  work  and  establish  the  salvation  of  mankind,  and  to  con- 
 duct His  glorious  victory  over  sin  and  death,  in  His  Divine 
 Wisdom  ordained  these  benefits  to  be  brought  to  pass  by  the 
 ordinary  forms  of  Justice,  submitted  the  progress  and  issue  of 
 so  high  and  salutary  an  effect  to  the  blindness  of  our  customs 
 and  forms,  and  permitted  the  innocent  Blood  of  His  Elect  to  be 
 shed,  and  many  years  to  pass  away,  before  this  inestimable  fruit 
 was  brought  to  maturity,  xxv.  11 ;  Eom.  xiii.  1 — 7  ;  1  S.  Pet. 
 ii.  13 — 17.     Montaigne.     (Essays,  No.  1.) 
 
 29  Laid  Him  in  a  sepulchre. — It  is  not  the  drift  of  S.  Paul  here  to 
 commend  the  good  deed,  but  to  prove  the  Eesurrection  of 
 Cheist  ;  since  Him,  whom  His  enemies  had  enclosed  in  the 
 grave,  God  took  from  thence.  He  teaches,  that  the  Body  of 
 Cheist  was  not  taken  away  privily,  or  by  stealth ;  but  that  it 
 had  been  laid  in  a  place  notorious,  and  well  known  to  His 
 enemies ;  yea,  that  they  were  the  appointed  watchmen  to  keep 
 it;  and  yet,  it  was  not  found.  S.  Matt,  xxviii.  13  ;  Ps.  Ixxvi. 
 10.     Calvin. 
 
374  THE  ACTS  XIII.  29,  31. 
 
 Lex  cruce  Eomanos  exemit  Eomula  cives, 
 
 Pixit  in  infami  corpora  serva  trahe  : 
 Eomanus  nemo  est,  nemo,  mihi  credite,  liber, 
 Qui  sua  dat  mundi  colla  premenda  jugo. 
 
 Gerardus  van  Rheyden.     (Typus  mundi.  xxi  ) 
 Dulce,  precor,  tenero  cordi  crucis  iusere  lignum ; 
 Fsecunda  crescet  nobilis  arbor  liumo. 
 
 Isa.  Ixi.  3.     Haeftenus.     (Scliola  cordis.     Lib. 
 iv.     Lect.  X.) 
 
 31  And  He  was  seen  many  days  of  them  which 
 came  up  with  Him  from  Galilee  to  Jerusalem,  who  are 
 His  witnesses  unto  the  people. 
 
 32  And  we  declare  unto  you  glad  tidings,  how  that 
 the  promise  which  was  made  unto  the  fathers, 
 
 33  God  hath  fulfilled  the  same  unto  us  their  chil- 
 dren, in  that  He  hath  raised  up  Jesus  again ;  as  it  is 
 also  written  in  the  second  Psalm,  Thou  art  My  Son, 
 this  day  have  I  begotten  Thee. 
 
 34  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  corruption. 
 
 36  For  David,  after  he  had  served  his  own  genera- 
 tion by  the  will  of  God,  fell  on  sleep,  and  was  laid 
 unto  his  fathers,  and  saw  corruption : 
 
 37  But  He,  whom  God  raised  again,  saw  no  cor- 
 ruption. 
 
 31  Who  are  His  witnesses. — He  alleges  their  testimony,  I  suppose, 
 rather  than  his  own  (though  he  also  had  seen  the  Lord,  1  Cor. 
 XV.  8),  because  they  had  been  with  Him  "from  the  beginning," 
 i.  21,  22 ;  which  he  liad  not ;  but  was  "  born  out  of  due 
 time,"  or  was  "  au  abortive,"  as  the  word  is  well  rendered  in  the 
 
THE  ACTS  XIII.  31,  32.  375 
 
 margin  of  that  place  now  quoted :  he  was  not  formedj  that  is, 
 and  fashioned,  as  the  rest  of  the  Apostles  were,  under  our 
 Saviotje's  discipline,  nor  grew  by  leisurely  instruction  in  the 
 Christian  E-eligion  to  the  dignity  of  an  Apostle,  as  children  come 
 by  degrees  to  perfection  and  maturity  in  their  mother's  womb : 
 but  was  thrust  into  the  Church  on  a  sudden,  and  by  a  heavenly 
 violence ;  not  in  a  regular  way  made  an  Apostle,  when  he  was 
 not  at  all  disposed  for  it.  Being  born  an  Apostle,  therefore, 
 thus  late  (after  Christ's  Ascension),  and  thus  hastily  (before 
 he  was  informed  by  any  teacher  of  Christianity)  he  could  not 
 say,  that  he  had  seen  all  the  wonderful  works  of  CnRiST,  when 
 He  was  alive,  or  heard  His  sermons,  or  received  the  history 
 of  them  from  eye  and  ear  witnesses.  But  all  this  was  sup- 
 plied by  this  one  wonderful  work  of  his  Conversion,  x.  39, 
 41 ;  xxii.  32.  Bp.  Patrick,  (Jesus  and  the  Eesurrection, 
 eh.  viii.) 
 
 There  was  no  capacity  of  mankind,  no  time,  no  place,  but  had 
 visible  proof  of  the  Eesurrection  of  Christ.  He  appeared  to 
 men  and  women,  to  Clergy  and  laity,  to  sinners  of  both  sexes, 
 to  weak  men  and  to  criminals,  to  doubters  and  deniers,  at  home 
 and  abroad,  in  public  and  in  private,  in  their  houses  and  their 
 journeys,  unexpected  and  by  appointment,  betimes  in  the  morn- 
 ing and  late  at  night,  to  His  disciples  in  conjunction  and  to 
 them  in  dispersion,  when  they  did  look  for  Him  and  when  they 
 did  not ;  He  appeared  to  many  upon  earth,  and  to  S.  Paul  and 
 S.  Stephen  from  heaven.  So  that  we  can  require  no  greater 
 testimony,  than  all  these  are  able  to  give  us,  who  saw  for  them- 
 selves and  for  us  too ;  that  the  faith  and  certainty  of  the  E-esur- 
 rection  of  Jesus  might  be  conveyed  to  all  ages  and  generations. 
 1  Cor.  XV.  4 — 7.  Bp.  J.  Taylor.  (Serm.  preached  at  the 
 Funeral  of  Abp.  Bramhall.) 
 
 32  The  promise^  as  if  it  was  the  only  promise,  that  was  made  unto 
 the  fathers ;  and  so  in  effect  it  was;  this  being  the  root,  from 
 whence  all  the  others  spring,  and  from  whence  they  receive 
 their  whole  force  and  virtue.  Gen.  iii.  15;  xxii.  18;  Heb.  ii. 
 14 ;  IS.  John  iii.  8.     Bp.  Beveridge.     (Serm.  2  Cor.  i.  20.) 
 
 Glad  tidings  indeed !  that,  as  there  are  no  good  things,  but  what 
 God  hath  promised  us  in  Christ,  so  there  are  none  of  His 
 
376  THE  ACTS  XIII.  32—34. 
 
 promises,  but  what  He  hath  fulfilled  and  confirmed  to  us  by- 
 raising  Him  from  the  dead :  so  that  now  we  have  no  cause  at 
 all  to  doubt  of  auy  thing,  that  is  either  said  or  promised  in  the 
 Gospel ;  for  God  hath  fully  approved,  and  established,  and  set 
 His  own  Almighty  seal  and  hand  to  it.  And  therefore  we  may 
 boldlj  say,  that  nothing  was  ever  affirmed  by  Christ,  but  what 
 was  true ;  nothing  foretold,  but  what  hath  or  shall  be  fulfilled  ; 
 nothing  commanded,  but  what  is  just  and  good  ;  nothing  threat- 
 ened, but  what  shall  be  executed  upon  impenitent  and  unbe- 
 lieving sinners;  nothing  promised,  but  what  shall  certainly 
 be  performed  to  all,  that  "repent  and  believe  the  Gospel." 
 All  the  joy  and  comfort,  that  ever  we  expect  from  Christ,  is 
 grounded  upon  this  one  Article  of  our  faith,  that  He  is  "risen 
 from  the  dead."  S.  Matt.  xxiv.  35 ;  1  Cor.  xv.  12—20;  2  Cor. 
 ii.  20.  Bjp.  Beveridge.  (Serm.  1  Cor.  xv.  20.) 
 The  promise  here  is  the  gift  of  the  Son  ;  the  promise,  at  ii.  83,  39, 
 is  the  gift  of  the  Holt  Ghost.  In  both — the  promise  believed, 
 the  gift  accepted — we  have  our  full  salvation  "  to  the  praise  of 
 the  Glory"  of  the  Grace  of  God.     2  Cor.  xiii.  14.     J.  F. 
 
 33  The  Resurrection  is  well  called  a  Creation  of  a  new  spiritual 
 world.     Justin  Martyr.     (Apol.  2.) 
 
 You  will  hardly  find  a  word  in  the  Psalms,  but  it  is  spoken  in  the 
 Name  of  Cheist  and  the  Church ;  either  both  jointly,  or  one 
 of  the  two  singly ;  and  if  of  the  Church,  then  of  each  one 
 amongst  us.     S.  Augustine.     (In  Ps.  lix.  s.  1.) 
 
 34  God,  to  gain  the  more  credit  to  the  truth  of  His  promise,  in 
 the  thoughts  of  His  people  prefixeth  so  often  this  attribute  to 
 His  promise  "  I  will  help  thee,  saith  the  Lord,  and  thy  Ee- 
 deemer,  the  Holy  One  of  Israel."  Isa.  xli.  14.  That,  which  in 
 the  Hebrew  is  Mercies,  in  the  Septuagint  is  often  to.  oaia  Holy 
 things  :  (see  Isa.  Iv.  3).  Indeed  the  mercies  of  God  are  founded 
 in  holiness,  and  therefore  are  "swre  mercies."  The  reason  of 
 man's  unfaithfulness  in  promises  proceeds  from  some  unholiness 
 in  his  heart :  the  more  holy  a  man  is,  the  more  faithful  we  may 
 expect  him  to  be ;  a  good  man,  (we  say)  will  be  "  as  good,  aa 
 his  word:"  to  be  sure,  a  good  God  will.  How  many  times 
 did  Laban  change  Jacob's  wages  after  promise  ?  but  God's 
 Covenant  with  him  \^as  inviolably  kept,  though  Jacob  was  not 
 
THE  ACTS  XIII.  35,  36.  377 
 
 so  faithful  on  his  part,  as  he  ought.  And  why  ?  but  because 
 he  had  to  do  with  a  Holy  God  in  this ;  but  with  a  sinful  man 
 in  the  other,  whose  passions  altered  his  thoughts,  and  changed 
 his  countenance,  towards  him,  as  we  see  the  clouds  and  wind 
 do  the  face  of  the  heavens  and  temper  of  the  seasons.  Gen. 
 xxxi. ;  Ps.  Ix.  6 ;  Ixxxix.  34.  Gurnall.  (On  the  Christian 
 armour.     Eph.  vi.  16,  ch.  x.  s.  3.) 
 
 35  S.  Paul  recites  the  text  more  shortly,  than  S.  Peter  (ii.  27), 
 his  object  at  the  time  being,  as  appears,  more  to  refute  gain- 
 sayers,  than  to  win  souls.  But  so  it  is,  that  both  of  them  go 
 to  the  same  text,  and  thereby  recommend  it  to  all  Christians 
 of  all  times,  as  one  especially  worthy  to  be  studied,  when  we  are 
 contemplating  our  Lokd's  rising  again  from  the  dead.  It 
 is  much  to  be  observed  on  what  particular  circumstance  in 
 Cheist's  Eesurrection  the  chief  stress  appears  to  be  laid,  both 
 in  the  Psalm  and  by  the  Apostle,  who  mentions  it.     It  is  this, 
 
 that   His  Blessed  Body  saw  no  corruption It  had  the 
 
 privilege  of  returning  to  life,  free  from  all  change  and  decay 
 (Conf.  S.  John  xi.  39).  .  .  .  There  seems,  indeed,  even  to  our 
 ignorant  thought,  an  especial  propriety  in  its  being  ordered, 
 that  the  only  Body,  which  was  never  stained  by  sin,  should  also 
 be  the  only  one  exempt,  though  not  from  the  pains,  yet  from 
 the  loathsomeness  of  death.  It  was  a  way  of  giving  the  whole 
 world.  Angels  and  men,  clearly  to  understand,  that,  although 
 God  had  laid  on  Him  the  punishment,  due  to  sinful  men,  yet 
 He  never  ceased  for  a  moment  to  be  the  Only  Beloved  of  the 
 Pathee.  Pie  bare  the  curse  on  Adam,  as  far  as  the  separation 
 of  soul  and  body  went ;  but  His  soul  was  not  imprisoned  for 
 any  length  of  time  in  the  state  of  separation ;  neither  did  His 
 Body  literally  return  to  the  dust.  S.  John  i.  4 ;  v.  26 ;  S. 
 Luke  i.  35  ;  Heb.  vii.  26.     Plain  Sermons.     (No.  46.) 
 
 In  the  Book  of  Psalms  we  have  the  very  Prayer  Book  of  our 
 Divine  Loed  Himself;  which  He  inspired,  which  He  Himself 
 made  use  of,  and  has  bequeathed,  as  His  Book,  to  the  Church. 
 S.  Matt.  XX vii.  46.     Is.  Williams. 
 
 36  "With  men,  usually,  the  getting  of  good  ("  If  thou  doest  good 
 to  thyself,  men  will  speak  good  of  thee,"  saith  the  Psalmist), 
 but  with  God  the  doing  of  good  is  the  matter  of  true  praise. 
 
378  THE  ACTS  XIII.  36. 
 
 It  is  the  commendation  that  the  Holt  Ghost  gave  of  S.  Bar- 
 nabas, (xi.  24.)  And  it  is  so  in  all  other  conditions  of  men. 
 Dost  thou  desire  to  treasure  up  a  good  name  amongst  men  ? 
 Labour  to  do  all  the  good  thou  canst :  let  the  time  and  the 
 place,  thou  livest  in,  be  the  better  for  thee.  It  was  David's 
 commendation,  which  S.  Paul  gives  him,  long  after  he  was  dead, 
 ID  avid  served  his  own  generation  hy  the  will  of  God.  He  was 
 useful  and  beneficial  to  the  times  he  lived  in.  How  honourable 
 is  that  commendation  of  Nehemiah  and  how  comfortable  to 
 him,  "  Eemember  me,  O  Loed,  for  the  good,  that  I  have  done 
 to  this  people!"  To  be  a  Joseph,  a  Moses,  a  JSTehemiah  to 
 God's  people,  it  is  the  highest  commendation,  ix.  39;  x.  2, 
 38  ;  S.  John  v.  29.     Bp.  Brownrig.     (Serm.  S.  Matt.  xi.  12.) 
 
 David's  work  does  not  reach  beyond  the  time  allotted  to  man ; 
 2  Sam.  vii.  12.  The  perpetuity  of  the  Messiah  is  spoken  of, 
 as  contrasted  with  this.     viii.  38 ;  Ps.  cii.  24 — 26.     Bengel. 
 
 The  best  king,  that  was  (David),  is  said  to  have  "  served  his  time  ;" 
 served,  that  was  all.  The  glorious  lights  of  heaven  are  said  to 
 be  created  in  ministerium,  but  for  our  service.  Deut.  iv.  10. 
 The  Angels  of  heaven  are  but  ministering  spirits.  Heb.  i.  14. 
 Nay,  Christ  Himself  is  no  otherwise,  but  that  He  was  a  "  Mi- 
 nister of  the  Circumcision"  Eom.  xv.  8;  xiii.  4.  He,  that  is 
 "Loed  of  all,"  and  gives  all  the  offices  of  the  Spirit,  calls  His 
 own,  but  so.  Ps.  cxix.  91.  Bp.  Andrewes.  (Serm.  1  Cor. 
 xii.  4—7. 
 
 John  fulfilled  his  course,  verse  25.  David  served  his  own  genera- 
 tion. Such  is  the  everlasting  record,  made  by  the  Spirit  of 
 God,  of  "  the  faithful,  among  the  children  of  men."  They  do  not 
 merely  eat,  drink,  sleep,  and  die.  They  "run  the  race"  for  an 
 incorruptible  crown ;  they  "finish  their  course;"  they  "do  good" 
 in  their  generation,  and  live  for  others,  rather  than  for  them- 
 selves,    ix.  39  ;  XX.  24 ;  2  Tim.  iv.  7  ;  Eom.  xiv.  7,  8.     J.  F. 
 
 S.  Paul  says  (1  Thess.  iv.  14),  that  Jesus  Died;  but  that  the 
 saints  sleep  in  Him :  the  reason,  why  the  phrase  is  varied,  is, 
 because  He  sufiered  death  with  all  its  terrors,  that  so  it  might 
 become  a  calm  and  quiet  sleep  to  the  Saints,  vii.  60;  xxi.  13  ; 
 Heb.  ii.  14,  15.  Mago,  (Serm.  Heb.  ii.  15.  Morning 
 Exercises.) 
 
THE  ACTS  XIII.  36—39.  379 
 
 All  tlie  bodily  pains,  all  the  wants  of  human  sympathy  and  careful- 
 ness, all  the  suddenness  of  the  wrench  from  life,  in  the  midst  of 
 health  and  strength,  all  this  shall  not  prevent  the  Christian's 
 death  from  deserving  no  harsher  name,  than  that  of  sleep.  Ps. 
 xxiii.  4.     Dr.  Arnold. 
 
 38  Be  it  known  unto  you  therefore, men  and  brethren, 
 that  through  this  man  is  preached  unto  you  the  for- 
 giveness of  sins  : 
 
 39  And  by  Him  all  that  believe  are  justified  from  all 
 things,  from  which  ye  could  not  be  justified  by  the 
 law  of  Moses. 
 
 40  Beware  therefore,  lest  that  come  upon  you, 
 which  is  spoken  of  in  the  prophets  ; 
 
 41  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  a  man  declare  it  unto 
 you. 
 
 42  And  when  the  Jews  w^ere  gone  out  of  the  syna- 
 gogue, the  Gentiles  besought  that  these  words  might 
 be  preached  to  them  the  next  sabbath. 
 
 38  "We  may  observe  the  method  of  our  Sayiour  in  delivering  the 
 message;  Eirst  say,  "  Peace  be  to  this  house!"  He,  coming 
 to  fight  against  the  pomp,  the  covetousness,  the  luxury  of  the 
 world,  first  ofiers  terms  of  peace,  and  instructs  His  disciples,  as 
 God  did  Moses.  (Deut.  xx.  10.)  "  When  thou  comest  nigh 
 unto  a  city  to  fight  against  it,  then  proclaim  Peace  unto  it." 
 Ps.  Ixxxi.  11,  12  ;  Comp.  verse  46.  Farindon.  (Serm.  S.  Luke 
 x.  5,  6.) 
 
 39  We  also,  being  called  by  the  will  of  God  in  Cheist  Jesus, 
 are  not  justified  by  ourselves,  neither  by  our  own  wisdom,  or 
 knowledge,  or  piety,  or  the  works,  which  we  have  done,  in  the 
 holiness  of  our  hearts  ;  but  by  that  faith,  by  which  God 
 Almighty  has  justified  all  men  from  the  beginning  ;  to  whom  be 
 
380  THE  ACTS  XIII.  39. 
 
 Glory  for  ever  and  ever.  Amen.  Kom.  iii. ;  Heb.  xi.  Clemens 
 Romanus.     (Ep.  Cor.  s.  32.) 
 
 We  are  ransomed  out  of  the  hands  of  our  enemies,  pulled  out  of 
 the  jaws  of  Satan,  freed  from  the  servitude  of  Antichrist,  of 
 ignorance,  and  of  sin,  only  by  the  Mediation  of  our  Eedeemer 
 Jesus  Christ.  He  is  "  the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,"  which 
 "alone  hath  trodden  the  wine  press,"  alone  hath  fought  the 
 battle,  in  fighting  achieved  the  victory,  and  by  vanquishing 
 brought  our  enemy,  Satan,  under  our  feet  for  ever.  On  the 
 Cross  with  His  Blood  He  "  blotted  out  the  handwriting,  that 
 was  against  us ;*'  He  spoiled  our  foes  of  their  prey;  He  took 
 even  captivity  itself  captive ;  in  a  word.  He  wrought  our  full 
 and  complete  deliverance.  The  price  of  our  E-edemption  was 
 not  gold,  but  Blood,  the  precious  Blood  of  our  Blessed  Saviotje. 
 The  Blood  of  Jesus  Christ  doth  deliver  us  from  all  sin.  And, 
 as  He  died  to  redeem  us,  so  He  rose  again  to  justify  us.  In 
 rising  again.  He  triumphed  over  death,  now  conquered;  He 
 burst  the  gates  and  chains  of  hell ;  and  set  our  feet  in  a  place 
 of  great  liberty  :  He  clothed  us  with  His  righteousness,  recon- 
 ciled us  to  His  Father  ;  of  enemies,  made  us  friends ;  of  no 
 people,  the  people  of  God  ;  of  strangers,  citizens  with  Angels 
 and  inhabitants  of  heaven,  free  denizens  with  the  children  of 
 God  and  heirs  of  His  everlasting  Kingdom.  This  deliverance 
 out  of  bondage,  this  Redemption,  this  Kingdom  of  God,  and 
 everlasting  inheritance,  our  Christ  hath  purchased,  and  God 
 hath  granted  to  all  such,  as  thankfully  will  receive  Him.  "  As 
 many,  as  received  Him,  to  them  He  gave  power  to  be  made  the 
 sons  of  God  :"  and  to  "  receive  Him"  is,  to  "  believe  in  Him ;" 
 for  so  it  folio weth,  "  to  them,  which  believe  in  His  Name." 
 Col.  ii.  14  ;  Eph.  iv.  8.     Abp.  Sandys.     (S.  Luke  i.  74,  75.) 
 
 Justification  through  faith,  and  not  by  works,  is  the  great  point 
 of  Doctrine,  which  S.  Paul  labours  to  establish  in  all  his  rea- 
 sonings with  the  Jewish  converts  ;  and  we  may  add,  that  this 
 is  "  the  stumbling-block,"  which  has  most  ofiended  the  pride  of 
 human  reason  in  all  ages  of  the  Church.  A  devout,  a  penitent, 
 and  a  thankful  reception  of  the  gift  of  Eternal  Life,  purchased 
 by  a  crucified  Saviour,  who  came  to  reconcile  the  world  to  God 
 and  to  bring  back  sinners  self-condemned  to  God,  is  something. 
 
THE  ACTS  XIII.  40,  41.  381 
 
 SO  opposed  to  all  the  higli  thoughts  and  imaginations  of  man,  so 
 bajffling  to  all  his  natural  reasonings  and  speculations,  that  it 
 might  well  require  diligent  and  earnest  teaching,  before  it  could 
 get  due  possession  of  the  heart,  and  dislodge  those  vain  con- 
 ceits, which  had  hitherto  been  striving  for  ascendancy  there. 
 Eom.  X.  1—13  ;  Eev.  iii.  17,  18.  Bp.  Copleston.  (Serm.  Acts 
 xviii.  24.) 
 
 40  Te  despisers. — Jestis  Christ  anticipated  and  predicted  the 
 general  failure  of  His  Grospel,  at  least  for  a  long  period,  in 
 working  anything,  like  a  complete  reformation,  even  among 
 those,  who  should  profess  it :  and  the  event  has  shown,  by  the 
 confession  of  His  adversaries  themselves,  that  He  anticipated 
 and  predicted  truly.  Now  it  is  notorious,  that  they,  who  in- 
 vent any  project  for  the  good  of  mankind,  commonly  entertain 
 high  hopes  of  the  success  of  their  inventions,  at  least,  in  the 
 outset  of  their  career.  A  physician,  who  has  discovered  a  new 
 medicine,  a  merchant,  who  has  brought  a  new  force  into  action, 
 are  seldom  found  to  expect  too  little  of  their  labours.  And  it 
 is  matter  of  constant  experience,  that  the  like  holds  good  in 
 those,  who  are  the  first  to  set  on  foot  extensive  plans  for  the 
 moral  and  religious  improvement  of  their  fellow-creatures. 
 They  set  out,  almost  invariably,  with  expecting,  as  was  emphati- 
 cally said  of  one  of  them,  "  to  convert  the  world  :"*  and  nothing, 
 short  of  actual  experience,  will  undeceive  them.  A  generous 
 enthusiast,  therefore,  could  not  have  spoken  in  the  tone,  which 
 our  Saviouk  uniformly  (?)  adopts  on  this  subject.  It  is  against 
 the  very  nature  of  enthusiasm.  Still  less,  would  an  impostor 
 have  thought  it  prudent  thus  openly  to  augur  defeat.  S.  Luke 
 xviii.  8  ;  S.  John  xvi.  1,  2.     Keble.     (Serm.  S.  Matt.  xxiv.  12.) 
 
 41  Others  only  look,  and  wonder ;  the  Christian  only  looks,  and 
 loves,     viii.  13  ;  xxviii.  6  ;  S.  John  i.  36,  37.     Hurrion. 
 
 The  Blood  of  Chkist  is  poured  forth  on  the  believer,  and  with  it 
 he  sprinkles  his  heart,  and  is  saved.  The  wicked  trample  it 
 under  their  feet,  and  perish,  xxviii.  24;  2  Cor.  ii.  14 — 16. 
 Farindon. 
 
 It  is  a  huge  contradiction  to  the  nature  and  designs  of  God. 
 
 *  W.  Law's  letter  to  J.  "Wesley,  in  the  life  of  the  latter  by  Dr.  Southey. 
 
382  THE  ACTS  XIII.  41,  42. 
 
 God  calls  us  ;  we  refuse  to  hear ;  He  invites  us  with  fair  pro- 
 mises ;  we  hear,  and  consider  not.  He  gives  us  blessings ;  we 
 take  them,  and  understand  not  His  meaning ;  we  take  out  the 
 token,  but  read  not  the  letter.  Then  He  threatens  us  ;  and  we 
 regard  not.  He  strikes  our  neighbours  ;  and  we  are  not  con- 
 cerned. Then  He  strikes  us  gently  ;  but  we  feel  it  not  .... 
 What  is  there  more  to  be  done,  that  God  hath  not  yet  done  ? 
 He  is  forced  at  last  to  break  off  with  a  "  Curavimus  Babylonem, 
 et  non  est  sanata ;"  "  we  dressed  and  tended  Babylon  ;  but  she 
 was  incurable  :"  there  is  no  help,  but  such  persons  must  die  in 
 their  sins,  and  lie  down  in  eternal  sorrow.  Prov.  i.  20 — 33  ; 
 Jer.  viii.  20.     Bp.  J.  Taylor. 
 
 Deus  no7i  potest  non  irasci  contumeliis  Misericordi(je  Sucb.  God 
 must  needs  be  angry  at  the  wrongs  we  heap  on  His  Mercy. 
 Ex.  xxxiv.  6 — 7.     Tertullian. 
 
 Never  does  Eternal  retribution  appear  so  awful,  as  when  con- 
 templated in  view  of  Cheist  crucified  and  Christ  neglected. 
 S.  Luke  xiii.  34 ;  Eev.  vi.  16,  17.  Bp.  M'llvaine.  (Charge. 
 1834.) 
 
 42  That  the  same  words,  ^c. — Scriptura  semper  habet  aliquid 
 relegentibus.  They,  who  read  Scripture  again  and  again,  will 
 always  find  in  it  something  new.     Tertullian. 
 
 Take  away  the  knowledge  of  Christ,  and  what  a  dungeon  would 
 the  world  be  to  the  Christian  ;  what  a  sorrowful  miserable  crea- 
 ture must  he  be.  It  is  reported,  that  the  people  said,  "  It  were 
 better  the  sun  should  not  shine,  than  that  Chrysostom  should 
 not  preach :"  much  rather  may  we  say,  It  were  better  the  sun 
 should  not  be,  than  that  Christ  should  not  be  preached  and 
 made  known ;  seeing  without  Him  men  "  sit  in  darkness  and 
 the  shadow  of  death  ;"  and,  where  there  is  no  vision,  the  people 
 perish.  Zech.  viii.  23 ;  Gal.  iv.  14,  15.  Hurrion.  (Serm. 
 1  Cor.  ii.  2.) 
 
 Abp.  Usher  testified  his  love  to,  and  his  labour  after,  souls 
 in  his  repetition  of  Sermons.  .  .  .  Knowing  the  slippcriness  of 
 men's  memories,  what  uncertain  hold  they  take  of  Divine 
 things,  he  thought  it  highly  necessary  to  befriend  and  help 
 them,  by  the  repetition  of  so  good  and  precious  truths,  as 
 Sermons  comprehend.     AH  learning  is  this  way  attained  :  and 
 
THE  ACTS  XIII.  42.  383 
 
 what  learning  more  difficult,  than  that,  which  is  Divine? 
 Surely  then  none  is  more  needful  to  be  repeated  to  us  again, 
 than  this.  While  he  preached  in  S.  Katherine's  in  Dublin,  his 
 custom  was  to  draw  up  the  sum  of  what  he  delivered  into 
 questions  and  answers,  and  the  next  Sahbath  persons  of  good 
 esteem  voluntarily  offered  themselves  to  repeat  the  answers 
 before  the  congregation.  Every  Loed's  Day  at  night  he  always 
 had  the  Sermon,  he  preached  in  the  morning,  repeated  to  his 
 own  family,  and  what  number  soever  pleased  to  come  besides. 
 I  never  yet  knew  a  family,  eminent  for  religion,  where  this  holy 
 practice  was  not  in  use,  if  there  was  any  one  in  it,  capable  to 
 perform  it.  This  was  the  way  of  those  noble  Bereans,  whom 
 S.  Paul  commends  above  many  other  professors  of  Chris- 
 tianity: for  they  did  really  repeat  S.  Paul's  sermons  over 
 again,  in  order  to  the  judging  them  by  the  Scriptures,  and 
 themselves  by  what  he  delivered,  xvii.  32  ;  S.  Matt.  v.  ;  S. 
 Luke  vi. ;  Heb.  v.  12  ;  Phil.  iii.  1,  18  ;  1  Thess.  iii.  4,  6  ;  2  S. 
 Pet.  i.  12,  13.     J.  Bownhmne.     (Life  of  Abp.  Usher.) 
 
 Gutta  cavat  lapidem  non  vi,  sed  S83pe  cadendo  ; 
 Sic  homo  fit  sapiens  non  vi,  sed  ssepe  monendo. 
 
 Anonym. 
 
 43  Now  when  the  congregation  was  broken  up, 
 many  of  the  Jews  and  reUgious  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  things 
 which  were  spoken  by  Paul,  contradicting  and  blas- 
 pheming. 
 
 46  Then  Paul  and  Barnabas  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 
 
384  THE  ACTS  XIII.  43. 
 
 you,  and  judge  yourselves   unworthy    of  everlasting 
 life,  lo,  we  turn  to  the  Gentiles. 
 
 47  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  the  earth. 
 
 43  Religious  proselytes. — These  were  Gentile  worshippers,  who 
 acknowledged  the  same  God  with  the  Jews,  but  did  not  receive 
 the  Law ;  who  had  before  abandoned  their  old  Idolatry,  and 
 already  embraced  the  true  doctrine  of  the  One  God,  and  did 
 confess  the  Deity,  which  the  Jews  worshipped,  to  be  that  only 
 true  God  ;  but  yet  refused  to  be  Circumcised,  and  so  to  oblige 
 themselves  to  the  "keeping  of  the  whole  Law."  Now  the 
 Apostles  preaching  the  same  God  with  Moses,  whom  they  all 
 acknowledged,  and  teaching  that  Circumcision  and  the  rest  of 
 the  ceremonies  were  now  abrogated,  which  those  men  would 
 never  admit,  they  were  with  the  greatest  facility  converted  to  the 
 Christian  Paith.  Eor,  being  present  at  the  Synagogues  of  the 
 Jews,  and  understanding  much  of  the  Law,  they  were  of  all  the 
 Gentiles  readiest  to  hear,  and  most  capable  of  the  arguments, 
 which  the  Apostles  produced  out  of  the  Scriptures  to  prove  that 
 Jesus  was  Christ,  ii.  5  ;  S.  John  xii.  20 ;  Eom.  xv.  18,  19. 
 Bp.  Pearson.     (Exposition  of  the  Creed.     Art.  ii.) 
 
 Persuaded  them. — The  way  of  Christian  religion  is  not  to  haul, 
 and  drag  men  out  of  the  arms  of  their  lusts  by  force  and  irre- 
 sistible power ;  but  by  arguments  to  solicit  them  to  the  practice 
 of  those  duties  it  requireth,  and  by  that  to  wean  them  from 
 their  vicious  inclinations.  For  our  Eeligion  walks  in  the 
 methods  of  our  nature,  and  carries  us  on  by  degrees  from  acts 
 to  habits  of  goodness,  ix.  1,  2  ;  xxvi.  28 ;  S.  James  iii.  17 ;  2 
 Tim.  ii.  24.     Br.  J.  Scott. 
 
 Let  us  '*  watch  for  their  souls,  as  those,  who  must  give  account." 
 Let  us  remember  that  salvation  does  not  come,  as  a  matter  of 
 course ;  that  Baptism,  though  administered  to  them  once  and 
 long  since,  is  never  past,  but  always  lives  in  them,  as  a  blessing, 
 or  as  a  burden ;  and  that,  though  we  may  cherish  a  joyful  con- 
 fidence, that  **  lie,  who  hath  begun  a  good  work  in  them,  will 
 
THE  ACTS  XIII.  44.  385 
 
 perform  it,"  yet  let  us  recollect  also  that  then  only  have  we  a 
 right  to  cherish  it,  when  we  are  doing  our  part  towards  fulfilling 
 it.  xi.  23  ;  xiv.  22 ;  xv.  22  ;  Eph.  iv.  12—15 ;  2  Tim.  ii.  10. 
 J.  H.  Newman.     (Serm.  S.  Matt,  xviii.  5.) 
 
 44  The  observance  of  the  Christian  Sabbath  consists  in  quitting 
 all  temporal  concerns  to  apply  ourselves  to  those  of  our  Sal- 
 vation ;  to  go  to  Church,  to  hear  the  Divine  Word,  to  think 
 upon  heaven,  to  aspire  to  glory,  to  call  to  mind  the  last  Judg- 
 ment ;  forgetting  those  things  present  to  employ  our  thoughts 
 upon  those,  which  are  eternal,  xx.  7;  Bev.  i.  10.  Origen. 
 (Horn.  23  in  Num.) 
 
 What  Augustus  said  of  the  young  Eoman  is  verified  in  the  true 
 Christian;  Quicquid  vult,  valde  vult.  Whatsoever  he  doth  in 
 religion,  he  doth  to  purpose.  Under  the  Law,  God  rejected 
 the  snail  and  the  ass  (Lev.  xi.  30 ;  Ex.  xiii.  13)  ;  and,  under  the 
 Gospel,  He  allows  no  sluggish  lazy  professor,  xvii.  21 ;  S.  Matt. 
 XXV.  26;  Bom.  xii.  11.     Flavel. 
 
 The  unconverted  Christian  holds  the  hearing  of  the  Gospel  preached 
 to  be  but  an  indifierent  matter,  which  he  may  use,  or  not  use,  at 
 his  pleasure  :  but  whosoever  thou  art,  that  wilt  be  assured  in 
 thy  heart,  that  thou  art  one  of  Cheist's  elect  sheep,  thou  must 
 have  a  special  care  and  conscience,  if  possibly  thou  canst,  to 
 hear  God's  Word  preached.  For,  Jirst,  the  preaching  of  the 
 Gospel  is  the  chief  ordinary  means,  which  God  hath  appointed 
 to  convert  the  souls  of  all,  that  He  hath  predestinated  to  be 
 saved :  therefore  it  is  called  "  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation 
 ,  to  every  one,  that  believeth :"  and  where  this  Divine  ordinance 
 is  not,  the  people  perish  ;  and  whosoever  shall  refuse  it,  '*  it  shall 
 be  more  tolerable  for  the  land  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  in  the 
 Day  of  Judgment,  than  for  those  people."  Secondly,  the  preach- 
 ing of  the  Gospel  is  the  Standard  or  Ensign  of  Christ,  to 
 which  all  soldiers  and  elect  people  must  assemble  themselves : 
 when  this  Ensign  is  displayed,  as  upon  the  Lord's  Day,  he  is 
 none  of  Christ's  people,  that  flocks  not  unto  it ;  neither  shall 
 any  drop  of  the  rain  of  His  Grace  light  on  their  souls.  Thirdly, 
 it  is  the  ordinary  means,  by  which  the  Holy  Ghost  begetteth 
 
 .  faith  in  our  hearts,  without  which  we  cannot  please  God.  If 
 the  hearing  of  Christ's  voice  be  the  chief  mark  of  Christ's 
 
 c  c 
 
386  THE  ACTS  XIII.  45. 
 
 elect  sheep  and  of  the  Bridegroom's  friend,  then  it  must  be  a 
 fearful  mark  of  a  reprobate  goat,  either  to  neglect  or  contemn 
 to  hear  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel.  Let  no  man  think  this 
 position  foolish  ;  for  "  by  this  foolishness  of  preaching  it  pleaseth 
 God  to  save  them,  which  believe  :"  their  state  is  therefore 
 fearful,  who  live  in  peace,  without  caring  for  the  preaching  of 
 the  Gospel.  Can  men  look  for  God's  mercy,  and  despise  His 
 means  ?  "  He,"  saith  Cheist  of  the  preachers  of  His  Gospel, 
 "  that  despiseth  you,  despiseth  Me."  "  He,  that  is  of  God, 
 heareth  God's  words  ;  ye  therefore  hear  them  not,  because  ye 
 are  not  of  God."  Had  not  the  Israelites  heard  Phinehas's  mes- 
 sage, they  had  never  wept.  Had  not  the  Baptist  preached,  the 
 Jews  had  never  mourned.  Had  not  they,  who  crucified  Christ, 
 heard  S.  Peter's  sermon,  their  hearts  had  never  been  pricked. 
 Had  not  the  Ninevites  heard  Jonas  preaching,  they  had  never 
 repented:  and,  if  thou  wilt  not  hear  and  repent,  thou  shalt 
 never  be  saved.  Eom.  i.  16  ;  Prov.  xxix.  18  ;  S.  Matt.  x.  22  ; 
 Isa.  xi.  1 ;  ii.  2 ;  Eom.  x.  14  ;  S.  John  x.  27 ;  iii.  29  ;  viii.  47  ; 
 ICor.  i.  11;  Judg.ii.l.  Bp.Baihj.  (Practice  of  Piety.  Ch.  4.) 
 
 45  Contradicting  and  blaspheming. — The  tongue  is  very  apt  to 
 swell,  to  lift  itself  up,  and  to  speak  proud  things.  It  will  sooner 
 blaspheme,  than  pray ;  because  prayers  are  troublesome,  being 
 to  be  uttered  with  an  humble  and  submissive  voice ;  but  railing 
 and  liberty  of  language  seems  to  place  me  above  my  betters, 
 make  me  superior  to  my  Governors,  a  king  of  kings  and  lord 
 of  lords.  And  this  liberty  of  speech  is  most  dangerous  :  for  no 
 sooner  hath  discontent  breathed  itself  forth,  but  it  infects,  like 
 the  plague ;  because  it  commonly  meets  with  those  dispositions, 
 which  are  very  apt  to  take  it.  vii.  54,  57;  Ps.  xii.  4 ;  2  Sam. 
 xxii.  44.     Farindon. 
 
 The  Legal  Spirit  is  that,  which  was  observable  in  the  time  of  the 
 Law,  especially  in  order  to  the  planting  of  the  Israelites  in 
 Canaan,  and  rooting  out  of  the  inhabitants  ;  and  that  was  a 
 rough,  bloody,  hating,  eradicating  SjDirit :  and  that  legal  is  cer- 
 tainly out-dated  now ;  and  in  its  plaoe  the  Spirit  of  the  Gospel, 
 a  smooth,  loving,  planting  spirit,  quite  the  contrary  to  that, 
 xvii.  5 ;  1  Thess.  ii.  14—16 ;  S.  Matt.  xi. ;  S.  Luke  ix.  Br. 
 Hammond,     (Serm.  Isa.  ii.  4.) 
 
THE  ACTS  XIII.  45,  46.  387 
 
 It  was  the  sight  of  the  Gentile  crowds  in  the  synagogue,  which 
 stirred  up  the  jealousy  of  the  Jews.     xxi.  28.     Jiford. 
 
 S.  Paul  (Eom.  x.  20)  carries  the  Jewish  aversion  to  the  Gentiles 
 as  high,  as  the  age  of  Isaiah  :  for  he  says  the  prophet  was  "  very 
 bold,"  when  he  declared,  that  Christ  should  manifest  Himself, 
 and  offer  His  salvation  to  people,  who  had  never  known  God 
 before,  nor  called  upon  His  Name  .  .  .  They  thought  the  Messiah 
 should  only  "  subdue  the  nations,"  and  "  rule  over  them  with  a 
 rod  of  iron,"  but  never  admit  them  to  the  same  privileges  with 
 His  ancient  people.  W.  Reading.  (Sermons  on  the  Eirst  Sunday 
 Lessons  of  the  Church.     Sixth  Sunday  after  Epiphany.) 
 
 Where  violence  is,  there  is  ever  error  to  be  suspected.  Affection 
 and  hate  are  the  greatest  enemies,  that  can  be  found  to  sound- 
 ness of  judgment,  or  exactness  of  comprehension.  He,  that  is 
 troubled  with  passion,  is  not  fitly  disposed  to  judge  of  truth,  xxi. 
 *40 ;  Ps.  xlvi.  10.     Bp.  Bedell.     (Life  by  Bp.  Burnet.  P.  153.) 
 
 46  The  Jews  had  sinned  worse  than  the  heathens.  The  Prophets 
 blame  them  so.  Por,  besides  the  contempt  of  means,  which  the 
 heathen  had  not,  they  out-went  them  in  that  very  sin,  that  cast 
 the  heathen  off.  The  Gentiles  had  refused  the  "Invisible 
 Creator,"  Eom.  i.  25  ;  but  they  had  but  small  light.  The  Jews 
 had  rejected  God  Visible;  and  that,  for  a  *' murderer"  (iii.  14), 
 when  the  light  shone,  as  clear  as  possible  :  I  say,  as  plainly,  as 
 possibly  God  could  converse  with  men  and  show  Himself,  that 
 is,  in  Infinite  Goodness  and  Holiness.  They  looked  for  power 
 and  glory ;  He  showed  that  in  His  miracles :  but  that  is  not  the 
 highest  way  of  God's  showing  Himself:  the  devil  can  show 
 power:  but  He  "went  about  doing  good,"  and  showing  Holi- 
 ness, the  greatest  evidence  and  footsteps  of  God  :  and  yet  they 
 rejected  Him.  S.  Matt.  xi.  20—24.  Dr.  Lightfoot.  (Serm. 
 S.  Matt,  xxviii.  19.) 
 
 Origen  observes,  that  "the  heretic  and  the  unrepenting  sinner 
 places  himself  out  of  the  camp  of  the  Church,  though  he  be  not 
 formally  expelled  by  the  sentence  of  the  Bishop  ;  on  the  other 
 hand,  the  man,  unjustly  expelled,  suffers  no  ill  from  the  un- 
 righteous decree :  the  former  is  out  of  the  Church,  while  he 
 seems  to  be  in  ;  and  the  latter  is  in,  while  to  the  eye  of  man  he 
 seems  to  be  out.' '  The  cases  of  the  heretic  and  of  the  infidel  are 
 
 c  c  2 
 
388  THE  ACTS  XIII.  46,  47. 
 
 in  fact,  according  to  the  judgment  of  S.  Paul,  much  the  same  : 
 the  former  is  "condemned  of  himself,"  and  the  latter  judgeth 
 himself  unworthj  of  Eternal  life.  Titus  iii.  11.  T.W.Lancaster. 
 (VindicisB  SymbolicsB.     Ch.  xi.) 
 
 Every  word,  that  was  ever  darted  from  that  Spirit,  as  a  beam  or 
 javelin  of  that  piercing  sun,  every  atom  of  that  "  flaming  sword," 
 as  the  Word  is  phrased,  shall  not,  though  it  be  rebated,  vanish : 
 the  Day  of  vengeance  shall  instruct  your  souls,  that  it  was  sent 
 from  God,  and,  since  it  was  once  refused,  hath  been  kept  in 
 store,  not  to  upbraid,  but  damn  you.  xv.  22  ;  Heb.  iv.  12,  13  ; 
 sii.  25 ;  E/CV.  i.  16.     Br.  Hammond.     (Serm.  Ezek.  xviii.  13.) 
 
 Nothing  betrays  so  much  weakness  of  soul,  as  not  to  apprehend 
 the  misery  of  man,  while  living  "  without  Gron  in  the  world  :" 
 nothiug  is  a  surer  token  of  extreme  baseness  of  spirit,  than  not 
 to  hope  for  the  reality  of  Eternal  promises :  no  man  is  so  stig- 
 matised, as  a  coward,  as  he,  that  acts  the  bravo  against  Heavdn. 
 Isa.  V.  18 — 21.     Pascal.     (Thoughts  on  Eeligion,  &c.     Ch.  i.) 
 
 47  So  hath  the  Lord  commanded  us,  ^c. — By  the  manner  of  the 
 Apostle's  inference  of  deduction  of  command  upon  himself  and 
 S.  Barnabas,  we  learn  that  many  things  are  indispensably  en- 
 joined the  Ministers  of  the  Gospel  by  force  and  virtue  of  the 
 Old  Testament,  which  are  neither  expressed,  nor  repeated,  in 
 Legal  form  throughout  the  New  Testament,  xxviii.  28 ;  Isa. 
 xlix.  6 ;  liv.     Br.  Jackson.     (B.  ix.  ch.  32,  s.  5.) 
 
 48  And  when  the  Gentiles  heard  this,  they  were 
 glad,  and  glorified  the  word  of  the  Lord  :  and  as  many 
 as  were  ordained  to  eternal  life  believed. 
 
 49  And  the  word  of  the  Lord  was  published  through- 
 out all  the  region. 
 
 50  But  the  Jews  stirred  up  the  devout  and  honour- 
 able women,  and  the  chief  men  of  the  city,  and  raised 
 persecution  against  Paul  and  Barnabas,  and  expelled 
 them  out  of  their  coasts. 
 
 5 1  But  they  shook  off  the  dust  of  their  feet  against 
 them,  and  came  unto  Iconium. 
 
THE  ACTS  XIII.  48. 
 
 52  And  the  disciples  were  filled  with  joy,  and  with 
 the  Holy  Ghost. 
 
 48  When  the  Gentiles  heard  this,  ^c. — Of  S.  Paul's  observation, 
 Gal.  ii.  8,  we  have  a  lively  document,  or  experiment,  in  tlie  ad- 
 mirable success  of  S.  Peter's  sermons,  Acts  ii.,  grounded  for  the 
 most  part  on  the  same  text  and  arguments,  which  S.  Paul  useth, 
 Acts  xiii.  Three  thousand  souls  were  converted  by  S.  Peter ; 
 but  all,  or  most  of  them,  of  the  Circumcision,  or  seed  of  Abra- 
 ham, his  brethren,  according  to  the  flesh  ;  for  unto  them  he  di- 
 rects his  speech,  (ii.  14.)  But  with  S.  Paul's  persuasions,  most 
 powerfully  pressed  upon  them,  few  of  the  Jews,  or  men  of 
 Israel,  unto  whom,  in  the  first  place,  he  tenders  the  fruits  of  his 
 ministry,  were  much  taken :  but  of  the  proselytes  of  the  Gen- 
 tiles   scarce  one  that  heard  him,  but  was  overjoyed  at  his 
 
 discourse.  .  .  .  Thus  it  is  as  true  of  Grace's,  as  nature's  Ordina- 
 tion, ch  7rpo9  eV:  the  power  and  efficacy  of  Christ's  chief 
 Apostle  is  restrained  unto  their  proper  and  limited  sphere ; 
 God  always  blessing  those  endeavours  best,  that  are  employed 
 within  the  precincts  of  that  peculiar  charge,  whereto  He  appoints 
 us.  (xvi.  7.  Bp.  StilUngJleet.)  xxi.  19 ;  Eom.  i.  13  ;  2  Cor.  ii. 
 14.     Dr.  Jackson.     (B.  ix.  ch.  32.  s.  5  :  and  b.  iii.  ch.  7.  s.  7.) 
 
 We  may  observe,  how  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  the  Holt 
 Spirit  commonly  directed  them  to  such  places,  where  a  compe- 
 tent number  of  people  were  well  disposed  to  receive  the  Truth, 
 who  were  evOeToi  eh  TTJv  (BacriXeiav  rov  Geot),  well  disposed  to  the 
 kingdom  of  heaven,  and  consequently,  by  God's  foresight, 
 7€rar/fiet/oi  eh  ^ij^yv  alicviov  ordained  to  have  the  Word  of  Eternal 
 life  ("  the  salvation  of  God,"  xxviii.  28)  discovered  to  them; 
 such  people,  as  the  Bereans,  men  ingenuous  and  tractable,  who 
 consequently  entertained  them  with  all  promptitude  and  ala- 
 crity, xvii.  11 ;  xviii.  9, 10  ;  Wisdom  vi.  16.  To  such  persons 
 God  sometimes  by  extraordinary  revelation  directed  the  Apos- 
 tles to  preach ;  as  to  the  Corinthians,  in  respect  of  whom  the 
 Lord  said  to  S.  Paul  in  a  vision,  "  Pear  not ;  but  speak  and  be 
 not  silent  :  for  I  am  with  thee  :  because  there  is  for  Me  much 
 people  in  this  city" — *'  much  people,"  whom  I  see  disposed  to 
 comply  with  My  Truth,     xviii.  9.     So,  in  behalf  of  the  Mace- 
 
S90  THE  ACTS  XIII.  48,  50. 
 
 donians,  xvi.  10 On  the  other  hand,  that  God  withholds 
 
 the  special  discoveries  of  His  Truth,  upon  account  of  men's  in- 
 dispositions and  demerits,  may  likewise  very  plainly  appear.  .  .  . 
 Accordingly  we  may  observe  in  the  history  of  the  Apostles,  that 
 God's  Spirit  did  prohibit  them  passing  through  some  places, 
 discerning  how  unsuccessful  (at  those  seasons,  in  those  circum- 
 stances, according  to  those  dispositions  of  men)  their  preaching 
 would  be.  Verse  51 ;  xvi.  6  ;  xviii.  6 ;  S.  Matt.  vii.  6.  (See 
 XX.  13.  minding,  Greek.)     Br.  Barrow.     (Serm.  1  Tim.  iv.  10.) 
 
 It  seems  very  unlikely  in  itself,  and  at  variance  with  the  usual 
 style  of  the  sacred  Historian,  tliat  he  should  leave  the  direct 
 path  of  his  narrative  to  introduce  the  mysterious  Doctrine  of 
 God's  predestination  to  Eternal  life.  It  is  much  more  probable, 
 that  he  was  guided  by  the  Holt  Spieit,  on  this  occasion,  to 
 place  in  edifying  contrast  before  us  the  reception  of  the  Gospel 
 by  the  Gentiles  and  its  rejection  by  the  Jews,  as  these  parties 
 were  severally  actuated  by  opposite  motives  and  tempers  of 
 mind.  The  predisposition  to  Eternal  life  is  shown  from  the  con- 
 text to  be  the  "  willing  mind,"  "  the  good  and  honest  heart"  in 
 hearing  the  word,  "  the  hunger  and  thirst  "  after  righteousness, 
 together  with  a  readiness  to  encounter  self-denial  and  meet  per- 
 secution, at  the  hands  of  the  enemies  of  religion.  Clarius  ob- 
 serves, that  the  expression  in  the  text  is  not  pre-ordained,  but 
 ordained,     viii.  28—31;  x.  24,  33;  xvii.  11.     J.  F. 
 
 50  Honourable  women. — There  are  four  things,  which  particularly 
 unfit  a  man  for  making  impartial  inquiries  after  Divine  truth, 
 and  to  discern  between  that  and  error ;  a  very  proud,  or  a  very 
 suspicious  temper ;  false  wdt,  or  sensuality  :  and  these  are  the 
 chief  and  prevailing  ingredients  in  the  composition  of  that  man, 
 whom  we  call  a  scorner.  The  two  last  do  generally  and  in  most 
 instances  belong  to  him  ;  but  the  two  first  are  essential  to  him, 
 and  inseparable  from  him.  xvii.  32  ;  Ecclus.  xxiii.  4 — 6.  Bp. 
 Atterhurij.     (Serm.  Prov.  xiv.  6.) 
 
 Satan  might  have  stirred  up  many  against  the  Apostles,  but 
 amongst  all  he  chose  certain  honourable  and  devout  women  and 
 the  chief  men  of  the  city,  that,  by  such  outward  credit  of  wealth 
 and  piety,  he  might  give  a  greater  blow  to  the  cause  of  God, 
 and  more  easily  work  the  woe  of  God's  true  servants;  keeping 
 
THE  ACTS  XIII.  50,  51.  391 
 
 tliis  pestilent  policy,  if  any  man  or  matter  be  of  account,  to  seek 
 to  win  that,  to  serve  his  purpose,     xxv.  23 ;  S.  John  vii.  46 
 Bp.  Bahington.     (Notes  on  Genesis,  ch.  iii.) 
 
 If  all,  that  pretend  to  be  wise  and  honest,  would  be  humble  (and 
 truly  he,  that  is  not  so,  is  neither  honest  nor  wise),  and  make 
 that  their  business,  which  is  certainly  their  duty  ;  that  is  to  say, 
 if  they  would  study  quietness  more,  and  parties  less  ;  bear  a  just 
 reverence  to  Antiquity  and  to  their  betters ;  allow  as  favourable 
 a  construction  to  things  established,  as  they  are  capable  of; 
 suspect  their  own  judgment,  where  it  diifereth  from  the  public  ; 
 submit  to  reason,  and  yield,  when  they  are  convinced  ;  obey 
 cheerfully,  where  they  may,  and,  where  they  dare  not,  sufl'er 
 without  noise — a  little  saying  and  writing  would  serve  the  turn. 
 But,  when  men  are  once  grown  to  this,  to  make  it  their  glory 
 to  head,  or  to  hold  up,  a  party ;  to  study  ways,  how  to  evade, 
 when  they  are  called  to  obey  ;  to  resolve  to  err,  because  they 
 have  erred,  and  to  hold  their  conclusion,  in  despite  of  all  pre- 
 mises ;  to  prefer  their  private  opinion  before  wiser  men's  judg- 
 ments, and  their  reputation  with  the  vulgar  before  obedience  to 
 superiors ;  in  a  word,  to  suffer  themselves  to  be  swayed  with 
 passions,  parties,  or  interest ;  all  the  writing  or  saying  in  the 
 world,  as  to  such  men  (until  it  shall  please  God  to  put  their 
 hearts  into  another  frame),  is  to  no  more  purpose,  than  if  a  man 
 should  go  about  to  fill  a  sieve  with  water,  or  to  wash  a  black- 
 amoor white.  "When  we  have  tried  all  the  ways  and  conclusions 
 we  can,  we  shall  in  the  end  find  the  best  expedient  for  peace 
 and  the  best  service  we  can  do  to  the  Church,  ourselves,  and  our 
 brethren,  to  be  our  constant  and  instant  prayers  to  Almighty 
 God  with  our  subservient  endeavours,  that  He  would  give  to 
 every  one  of  us  a  discerning  judgment  to  see  the  truth,  and  a 
 willing  mind  to  embrace  it ;  conscience,  to  do  what  we  ought, 
 and  patience,  to  suffer  what  we  must ;  humility,  to  acknowledge 
 our  own,  and  charity,  to  bear  with  other  men's  infirmities  ;  that 
 so  we  may  "  keep  the  Unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace," 
 and  "  fulfil  the  Law  of  Christ."  xx.  30 ;  3  S.  John  9  ;  2  Tim. 
 iii.  4 ;  2  Kings  xviii.  36.  Bjp.  Sanderson.  (Preface  to  Dr. 
 Bernard's  Clavi  trabales.) 
 
 51  It  was  a  military  sign  of  old,  whereby  they  knew,  that  the 
 
393  THE  ACTS  XIII.  52. 
 
 enemy  was  approaching  for  their  destruction,  when  they  saw  the 
 horses  approaching  near  to  them,  and  raising  the  dust  of  their 
 feet  against  them  :  then  they  might  know  their  destruction  was 
 at  hand.  So  the  Jews  might  know  by  the  Apostles'  shaking  off 
 the  dust  of  their  feet,  that  there  was  no  peace  for  them  any  more, 
 but  their  destruction  was  at  hand.     E.  Leigh. 
 
 52  The  teachers  were  suffering  persecution  ;  and  the  disciples  re- 
 joiced  The  suffering  of  the  teacher  does  not  check  his 
 
 boldness,  but  makes  the  disciple  more  courageous,  iv.  1 — 4 ; 
 Phil.  i.  12,  13.     S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 S.  Augustine,  wondering  at  the  overflowing  measure  of  Gon's 
 Spirit  in  the  Apostles'  hearts,  observes  that  the  reason  why 
 they  were  so  full  of  God  was,  because  they  were  so  empty  of  His 
 creatures.  "  They  were  very  full,"  he  says,  "  because  they  were 
 very  empty :"  because  they  were  so  very  empty  of  the  spirit  of 
 this  world,  therefore  they  were  so  full  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  O 
 that  our  hearts  were  empty!  0  that  they  were  purged  and 
 cleansed,  like  theirs,  from  all  inordinate  affections  of  this  world  : 
 then  we  should  be  prepared,  and  ready  to  receive  the  ful- 
 ness of  the  Holt  Ghost,  ii.  28,  46;  v.  41;  viii.  8,  39.  A 
 Contrite  heart.     (Motives  of  love,  s.  5.) 
 
 The  matter  of  the  joy  of  a  believer  is,  that  all  his  sins  are  par- 
 doned ;  that  God  is  reconciled  to  him  in  Christ  ;  that  he  hath 
 the  promise  of  God,  that  "  all  things,"  even  the  greatest  suffer- 
 ings, "  shall  work  together  for  his  good ;"  that  he  is  always  in 
 the  love,  and  care,  and  hands  of  God  ;  that  he  hath  leave  to 
 draw  near  to  Him  by  holy  prayer,  and  open  his  heart  to 
 Him  in  all  his  straits  and  wants  ;  that  he  may  solace  him- 
 self in  His  praises  and  thanksgivings,  and  in  other  parts  of 
 holy  Worship  ;  that  he  may  read  and  hear  His  Holy  Word, 
 the  sure  discovery  of  the  will  of  God,  and  revelation  of  the 
 things  unseen,  and  the  charter  of  his  inheritance ;  that  he 
 may  exercise  his  soul  in  the  serious  believing  thoughts  of  the 
 love  of  God,  revealed  in  the  wonderful  work  of  our  Redemption 
 and  of  the  Person,  and  Ofiice,  and  Grace  of  Jesus  Christ,  our 
 Kedeemer ;  and  that  he  may  love  that  God,  who  hath  so  wonder- 
 fully loved  him  ;  that  he  hath  the  Spirit  of  God  to  quicken  and  ac- 
 tuate his  soul,  to  supply  his  spiritual  defects,  and  kill  his  sins,  and 
 
THE  ACTS  XTII.  52.  393 
 
 help  him  to  believe,  to  love,  to  rejoice,  to  pray ;  that  this  Spirit 
 is  God's  seal  upon  him  and  the  earnest  of  Everlasting  Life; 
 that  death  shall  not  kill  his  hopes,  nor  end  his  happiness ;  but 
 that  his  felicity  and  fullest  joy  beginneth,  when  that  of  world- 
 lings hath  an  end,  and  their  endless  misery  begins ;  that  he  is 
 delivered  from  everlasting  torment  by  the  E,edemption  of 
 Christ  and  the  Sanctification  of  the  Spirit ;  that  Angels  will 
 attend  his  departing  soul  into  the  Presence  of  his  Father  ;  that 
 he  shall  be  with  his  Glorified  Eedeemer,  and  behold  His  Glory ; 
 that  his  body  shall  be  raised  to  Everlasting  Life ;  that  he  shall 
 be  justified  by  Christ  from  all  accusations  of  the  devil,  and  all 
 slanders  of  the  malicious  world,  and  that  he  shall  live  with  God 
 in  Endless  Glory,  and  see,  and  enjoy  the  Glory  of  his  Creator, 
 and  shall  never  more  be  troubled  with  enemies,  with  sin  or 
 sorrow,  but  among  His  Holy  ones  shall  perfectly  and  most 
 joyfully  love  and  praise  the  Lord  for  ever.  These  are  the 
 matters  of  a  believer's  joy.  These,  purchased  by  Christ,  re- 
 vealed in  His  Word,  sealed  by  His  miracles.  His  Blood,  His 
 Sacraments,  and  His  Spirit,  are  our  comfort.  S.  Luke  ii.  10 ; 
 Eom.  xiv.  17  ;  xv.  13.     R.  Baxter.     (Discourse  on  Eccl.  ix.  10.) 
 
 CHAPTER  XIV. 
 
 A  ND  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  believed. 
 
 2  But  the  unbelieving  Jews  stirred  up  the  Gen- 
 tiles, and  made  their  minds  evil  affected  against  the 
 brethren. 
 
 3  Long  time  therefore  abode  they  speaking  boldly 
 in  the  Lord,  which  gave  testimony  unto  the  word  of 
 
394  THE  ACTS  XIV.  1,  2. 
 
 His  grace,  and  granted  signs  and  wonders  to  be  done 
 by  their  hands. 
 
 4  But  the  multitude  of  the  city  was  divided :  and 
 part  held  with  the  Jews,  and  part  with  the  Apostles. 
 
 5  And  when  there  was  an  assault  made  both  of  the 
 Gentiles,  and  also  of  the  Jews  with  their  rulers,  to  use 
 them  despitefully,  and  to  stone  them, 
 
 6  They  were  ware  of  it,  and  fled  unto  Lystra,  and 
 Derbe,  cities  of  Lycaonia,  and  unto  the  region  that 
 lieth  round  about  : 
 
 7  And  there  they  preached  the  Gospel. 
 
 1  The  Jews  are  present  in  all  countries,  and  with  a  home  in  none ; 
 intermarried,  and  yet  separated ;  and  neither  amalgamated,  nor 
 lost ;  but,  like  those  mountain  streams,  which  are  said  to  pass 
 through  lakes  of  another  kind  of  water,  and  keep  a  native 
 quality  to  repel  commixtion,  they  hold  communication  without 
 union,  and  may  be  traced,  as  waters  without  banks,  in  the 
 midst  of  the  alien  element,  which  surrounds  them.  ii.  5  ; 
 Numb,  xxiii.  9.     Davison.     (On  Prophecy.  Discourse  10.) 
 
 So  spake,  ^c. — Faith,  which  is  the  gift  of  GrOD,  is  here  spoken  of, 
 as  being  the  fruit  and  blessed  effect  of  man's  preaching.  What 
 an  honour  is  thus  conferred  on  the  oflQce ;  but  at  the  same  time 
 what  a  warning,  lest  we  so  speak,  that  our  hearers  believe  not. 
 S.  Mark  xii.  13.     J.  F. 
 
 We  must  study  how  to  convince  and  get  within  men,  and  how  to 
 bring  each  truth  to  the  quick,  and  not  leave  all  this  to  our  ex- 
 temporary promptitude,  unless  in  cases  of  necessity.  Experience 
 will  teach,  that  men  are  not  made  learned  or  wise  without  hard 
 study,  and  unwearied  labour  and  experience.  2  Sam.  xxiv.  24 ; 
 1  Chron.  xxiv.  1—6 ;  Eccl.  xii.  9—12.  R.  Baxter.  (Gildas 
 Salvianus.) 
 
 2  Like  recruits,  newly  enlisted,  they  had  at  once  to  face  the 
 enemy  and  to  endure  their  attack ;  so  true  is  the  wise  man's 
 saying,  "  My  sou,  if  thou  come  to  serve  the  Lord,  prepare  thy 
 soul  for  temptation."  (Ecclus.  ii.  1.)     Tea,  before  we  enlist  in 
 
THE  ACTS  XIV.  4,  6.  393 
 
 Cheist's  noble  army  of  Volunteer  Martyrs,  we  are  liable  to 
 the  attack :  *'  As  he  was  yet  coming  "  we  read,  "  tbe  devil  threw 
 hira  down  and  tare  him."  (S.  Luke  ix.  42.)  And,  just  as  this 
 conflict  begins  thus  early,  so  we  must  not  expect  its  termina- 
 tion, nor  to  be  placed  beyond  the  reach  of  trials  and  afflictions, 
 as  long  as  we  are  in  the  flesh :  "  After  these  things,  God  did 
 tempt  Abraham."    Gen.  xxii.  1 ;  Philemon  9  ;  Heb.  iv.  9.    J.  F. 
 
 4  Conf.  iv.  36,  37.  He,  who  cast  the  price  of  his  lands,  as  a  new 
 convert  in  all  humility  "at  the  Apostles'  feet,"  was  himself,  in 
 a  manner  out  of  the  appointed  course,  raised  up  to  be  an 
 Apostle  ;  God  appointing,  as  it  were,  a  new  thing,  and  enlarging 
 the  number  of  the  Apostles  to  receive  him,  whom  He  so  ap- 
 proved, and  who,  when  invisibly  summoned,  had  "  forsaken  all 
 to  follow  Christ  :"  and  what  Simon  Magus  would  have  pur- 
 chased by  money  and  was  accursed,  he,  by  the  abandonment  of 
 his  money,  attained ;  and,  having  therein  discovered  an  Apos- 
 tolic spirit,  had  an  Apostolic  reward.  1  Sam.  ii.  30  ;  Titus  i.  7. 
 Dr.  Pusey,     (Plain  Sermons.  82.) 
 
 The  evidence  of  Religion,  not  appearing  obvious,  may  constitute 
 one  particular  part  of  some  men's  trial  in  the  religious  sense  ; 
 as  it  gives  scope  for  a  virtuous  exercise,  or  vicious  neglect,  of 
 their  understandiug,  in  examining,  or  not  examining  into,  that 
 
 evidence Thus,  that  religion  is  not  intuitively  true,  but 
 
 a  matter  of  deduction  and  inference,  that  a  conviction  of  its 
 truth  is  not  forced  on  every  one,  but  left  to  be  by  some  col- 
 
 •  lected  with  heedful  attention  to  premises ;  this  as  much  con- 
 stitutes religious  probation,  as  much  affords  sphere,  scope, 
 opportunity,  for  right  and  wrong  behaviour,  as  anything  what- 
 ever does.  And  their  manner  of  treating  this  subject,  when 
 laid  before  them,  shows  what  is  in  their  heart,  and  is  an  exertion 
 of  it.  Prov.  viii.  9  ;  S.  John  viii.  47  ;  vii.  17.  Bp.  Butler. 
 (Analogy.  Pt.  ii.  ch.  6.) 
 
 6  The  pious  have  a  wide  place  of  refuge — earth,  or  heaven.  1  Cor. 
 iii.  21—23  ;  Ps.  xc.  1,  2.     Bengel. 
 
 Men  will  be  always  divided  between  Jesus  Christ  and  the 
 world.  It  is  an  abasement,  which  He  has  to  endure,  in  His 
 Ministers  and  in  His  Word,  even  to  the  end  of  time.  Ah ! 
 Lord,  may  I  never  be  of  those,  who  humble  Thee  and  reject 
 
396  THE  ACTS  XIV.  7. 
 
 Thee,  but  of  those,  who  cleave  to  Thy  Doctrine  !  The  flight  of 
 the  Apostles  was  a  judgment  upon  some,  and  a  blessing  to 
 others,  viii.  4 ;  xi.  9 ;  S.  John  vi.  66—69 ;  2  Cor.  ii.  15,  16. 
 Quesnel. 
 
 7  A  Bishop's  preaching  is  expressed  [in  the  Office  for  Consecrating 
 a  Bishop]  by  "  his  being  always  ready  to  spread  abroad  the 
 Gospel,  which  is  the  glad  tidings  of  man's  reconciliation  with 
 GrOD  ;"  a  message  of  that  mighty  importance,  that  the  highest 
 Ministers  of  religion  are  honoured  by  having  the  privilege  to 
 deliver  it,  and  an  Angel  was  the  first  preacher  thereof.  .  .  .  S. 
 Paul  requires,  that  a  Bishop  should  be  "apt  to  teach:"  the 
 word  imports  ability  and  inclination  both :  for  preaching  was 
 esteemed  so  principal  a  part  of  a  Bishop's  duty  in  the  first  ages, 
 that  the  Apostolical  Canons  order  such,  as  neglect  it,  to  be  ex- 
 communicated, because  it  was  then  so  appropriate  to  this  Office, 
 that  none,  but  Bishops,  did  use  to  preach,  a  custom  continued 
 in  Africa,  till  S.  Augustine's  time.  S.  Luke  ii.  10,  11.  Dean 
 Comber.     (Discourse  on  the  Ordination  Service.  Ch.  viii.  s.  1.) 
 
 The  principal  office  of  a  Bishop  is  to  preach.  1  Cor.  i.  17.  D2\ 
 Donne.     (Serm.  Acts  xx.  25.) 
 
 8  And  there  sat  a  certain  man  at  Lystra,  impotent 
 in  his  feet,  being  a  cripple  from  his  mother's  womb, 
 who  never  had  walked : 
 
 9  The  same  heard  Paul  speak  :  who  stedfastly  be- 
 holding him,  and  perceiving  that  he  had  faith  to  be 
 healed, 
 
 10  Said  with  a  loud  voice.  Stand  upright  on  thy 
 feet.     And  he  leaped  and  walked. 
 
 1 J  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  us  in  the  like- 
 ness of  men. 
 
 1 2  And  they  called  Barnabas,  Jupiter  ;  and  Paul, 
 Mercurius,  because  he  was  the  chief  speaker. 
 
THE  ACTS  XIV.  8,  9.  397 
 
 8  iSa^.— (Probably  begging.)  Those,  that  have  eyes,  and  hands, 
 and  feet  of  their  own,  may  be  able  to  help  themselves :  those, 
 that  want  these  helps,  must  be  beholden  to  the  eyes,  feet  and 
 hands  of  others.  The  impotent  are  east  upon  our  mercy  :  happy 
 are  we,  if  we  can  lend  limbs  and  senses  to  the  needy.  Affected 
 beggary  is  odious:  that,  which  is  of  God's  making,  justly 
 challengeth  relief.  S.  Luke  xviii.  35  ;  Job  xxix.  15.  Bp.  Hall. 
 (Contempl.  S.  John  ix.) 
 
 From  his  mother's  womh. — This  circumstance  was  mentioned  by 
 the  inspired  historian,  as  indicating  the  notoriety  of  the  case 
 and  also  the  greatness  of  the  cure  :  but  to  us  it  speaks  doc- 
 trinally,  and  points  to  original  sin.  '*  In  sin  hath  my  mother 
 conceived  me."  Thus  "  the  man,  which  was  blind  from  his 
 birth"  (S.  John  ix.  1),  may  represent  the  natural  darkness  of 
 our  understanding  in  things  spiritual :  while  the  man  here,  im- 
 potent in  his  feet  y  who  had  never  walked  (corresponding  with  the 
 poor  sufferer,  described  at  iii.  2),  may  teach  us  our  inability 
 of  ourselves  to  enter  upon  the  way,  which  leadeth  unto  Life 
 Eternal.  But  though  he  could  not  walk,  he  could  hear  ;  though 
 he  sat  (it  may  be)  begging,  he  also  sat  listening ;  listening  to 
 the  glorious  Ambassador  of  heaven,  who  announced  the  saving 
 truth,  that  "  when  we  were  yet  without  strength,  Christ  Died  for 
 the  ungodly!"  If  we  are  deprived  of  any  one  bodily  sense, 
 what  a  mercy,  that  others  are  spared  to  us ;  and  when  the  sur- 
 viving sense  is  so  sanctified,  as  not  merely  to  compensate  in 
 this  life  for  the  loss  of  the  other,  but  to  be  the  means  of  saving 
 both  body  and  soul  in  the  life  to  come,  who  does  not  here  trace 
 the  Love  of  God,  taking  away,  that  He  may  give ;  chastening 
 us  now,  that  He  may  "do  us  good  at  our  latter  end?"  Isa. 
 XXXV.  6  ;  Heb.  xii.     J.  F. 
 
 To  be  sure,  upon  sight  of  beautiful  persons,  to  bless  God  in  His 
 creatures,  to  pray  for  the  beauty  of  their  souls,  and  that  God 
 would  enrich  them  with  inward  graces  to  be  answerable  unto  the 
 outward  :  upon  sight  of  deformed  persons,  to  send  them  inward 
 grace,  and  enrich  their  souls,  and  give  them  the  beauty  of  the 
 Resurrection.  1  Cor.  xii.  22 — 27.  Sir  2\  Browne.  (Common- 
 place Book.) 
 
 9  He  had  faith  to  b^  healed. — A  Prince  is  a  common  good  to  all 
 
398  THE  ACTS  XIV.  9—11. 
 
 his  kingdom ;  every  subject,  though  never  so  mean,  hath  a  part 
 in  him :  and  so  is  Christ  to  believers.  The  promises  are  so 
 laid,  that,  like  a  well-drawn  picture,  they  look  on  all,  that  look 
 on  them  by  the  eye  oi faith.  The  Gospel's  joy  is  thy  joy,  that 
 hast  but  faith  to  receive  it.  Isa.  vii.  9  ;  1  Cor.  i.  2.  Gurnall. 
 (On  the  Christian  armour.  Eph.  vi.  15,  ch.  i.) 
 Every  one,  that  hath  true  faith,  hath  the  Spirit  of  God  :  for  a 
 man  must  have  the  Spirit  of  God,  before  he  can  have  true  faith. 
 Eor  the  Spirit  doth  not  first  work  faith  in  us,  and  then  come 
 itself  to  us  ;  but  it  first  cometh  itself  to  us,  and  then  worketh 
 faith  in  us.  So  that  he,  that  believes,  must  needs  have  the 
 Spirit :  for,  unless  he  had  the  Spirit,  he  could  not  believe.  And 
 where  the  Spirit  is,  there  is  the  spring  of  goodness,  from  whence 
 the  streams  of  goodness  must  needs  flow.  xi.  24 ;  xviii.  27 ; 
 Gal.  V.  22.  Bp.  Bevei'idge.  (On  the  Thirty-nine  Articles. 
 Article  xii.) 
 
 Jamque  Lycaonios  incedens  passibus  agros 
 Lystram  Paulus  adit :  fuit  hac  tunc  claudus  in  urbe 
 Supplicio  comitante  satus,  vestigia  ferre 
 Nescius  ex  utero  ;  membri  pars  coeperat  segri 
 Se  nascente  mori ;  comperto  dogmate  Pauli, 
 Quo  monitore  pise  tendunt  ad  sidera  mentes, 
 Mox  voluit  Divina  sequi.     Bene,  claude,  jacebas 
 Has  primum  graditure  vias !  petis  sethera  sensu. 
 Cum  uondum  movearis  humo,  pedibusque  negatis 
 Longius  ire  vales ! 
 
 Arator.     (In  Acta  Apost.  Lib.  ii.) 
 
 10  He  leaped. — Weak  Christians  are  usually  the  most  affec- 
 tionate (Gal.  iv.  14,  15).  When  the  cripple  was  cured,  we 
 read  that,  upon  the  first  cure,  he  leaped  for  joy :  it  is  likely  he 
 did  not  continue  to  do  so ;  the  newness  of  the  change  did  much 
 affect  him :  and  so  it  doth  young  converts,  iii.  8  ;  viii.  39 ;  S. 
 Matt.  xiii.  20,  21 ;  Eev.  ii.  4.     Chr.  Love. 
 
 11  Oh  the  "great  mystery  of  godliness,  God  manifest  in  the 
 flesh,"  and  "  seen  of  Angels !"  Those  heavenly  spirits  had,  ever 
 since  they  were  made,  seen  His  most  precious  Deity  and  adored 
 Him,  as  their  omnipotent  Creator;  but  to  see  that  God  of 
 spirits  invested  with  flesh  was  such  a  wonder,  as   had  been 
 
THE  ACTS  XIV.  11,  12.  399 
 
 enougli  (if  their  natures  could  have  been  capable  of  it)  to  have 
 astonished  even  Glory  itself:  andv^hether  to  see  Him,  that  was 
 their  God,  so  humbled  below  themselves,  or  to  see  Humanity, 
 thus  advanced  above  themselves,  were  the  greater  wonder  to 
 them,  they  only  know.  It  was  your  foolish  mistake,  0  ye  igno- 
 rant Lystrians,  that  you  took  the  servants  for  the  Master :  here 
 only  it  is  verified,  which  you  supposed,  that  God  is  come  down 
 to  us  in  the  likeness  of  men,  and,  as  man,  conversed  with  men. 
 .  .  .  .  O  Savioue  !  the  lower  Thine  abasement  was  for  us,  the 
 higher  was  the  pitch  of  Thy  Divine  Love  to  ua !  S.  Luke  ii. 
 12—14.     Bj^.  Hall.     (A  Holy  Eapture,  &c.,  s.  3.) 
 
 The  Gods. — As  the  antiquity  and  universality  of  sacrifice  (verse 
 13),  notwithstanding  the  various  corruptions,  with  which  by  the 
 imagination  of  men  it  was  infected,  is  a  proof  of  its  Divine 
 Original,  so  is  the  ridiculous  Pol]/ theism  of  antiquity  evidence, 
 in  some  degree,  of  a  Plurality  of  Persons  in  the  Deity ;  as  the 
 opinion,  in  all  appearance,  must  have  flowed  from  some  revela- 
 
 ,  tion,  or  institution,  for  preserving  the  memory  and  knowledge 
 of  that  revelation.  Nothing  is  more  remote  from  any  founda- 
 tion in  reason,  than  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity ;  and  therefore 
 it  is  a  fair  conclusion,  that  it  must  be  owing  to  Eevelation, 
 real  or  supposed.  1  Cor.  i.  21.  Hon.  Duncan  Forbes.  (Thoughts 
 on  religion.     P.  15.     Edit.  1736.) 
 
 A  benefactor  is  the  representative  of  God.  xx.  35.  Dr,  Which- 
 cote. 
 
 12  The  attribute,  most  inseparable  from  the  Divine  nature,  and 
 most  Sovereign  title  of  the  Godhead,  is  His  goodness.  The 
 very  names  or  literal  elements  of  God  and  Good  are  not  in  our 
 country  dialect  so  near  allied,  as  the  conceits,  which  their  men- 
 tion or  nomination  suggests,  are  in  nature Prom  this 
 
 one  stream  of  Divine  goodness,  experienced  in  "  giving  rain,"  did 
 the  heathen  christen  their  God  Jupiter,  with  a  name  importing 
 his  procurement  of  this  effect :  the  Greeks  called  him  ofi^pio^, 
 the  Latins  Pluvius.  So  effectual  a  witness  of  the  Godhead  is 
 the  accomplishment  of  any  much  desired  good,  that  such,  as 
 doubt,  whether  the  good  we  enjoy  on  earth  be  derived  from 
 heaven,  are  often  unwittingly  enforced  to  think  and  speak  of 
 whatsoever  doth  them  any  extraordinary  good,  or  satisfy  the 
 
400  THE  ACTS  XIV.  12. 
 
 vehemency  of  their  desires,  as  of  their  God  ....  That  G-od 
 in  the  similitude  and  substance  of  man  should  communicate 
 inestimable  blessings  to  mortality  was  a  tradition  undoubted 
 from  the  propagation  of  mankind  ....  The  excellency  of  the 
 good  turn,  whereof  their  eyes  were  witnesses,  did  exactly  fit 
 the  best  notion  they  had  of  Divine  power.  Hence  was  that 
 exclamation,  The  gods  are  come  down  to  us  in  the  likeness  of 
 men  !  And,  because  Princes,  or  men  of  greatest  places  upon 
 earth,  for  reservation  of  state,  deliver  their  minds  by  orators  or 
 interpreters,  S.  Barnabas,  for  his  silence,  is  taken  for  Jupiter, 
 and  S.  Paul,  for  his  dexterity  of  speech,  is  named  Mercury : 
 both,  if  so  they  would,  might  have  robbed  Jupiter  of  his  honour 
 by  the  consent  and  furtherance  of  his  own  Priests.  Prom  the 
 people's  proneness  to  adore  them,  as  the  greatest  gods,  we  may 
 gather  how  easily  the  title  of  petty  god  might  have  been  pur- 
 chased by  any  impostor,  that  could  obstupify  rude  people,  as 
 Simon  Magus  did,  with  appearances,  far  surpassing  their  obser- 
 vation and  capacities,  xxviii.  4 — 6 ;  viii.  9  ;  x.  25,  26  ;  xii.  22. 
 Br.  Jackson.  (B.  v.,  ch.  iv.,  s.  3,  and  ch.  xvi.  s.  4.) 
 David  comes  to  God  in  Nomine  totali,  in  Nomine  integrali ;  he 
 considers  God  totally,  entirely,  altogether :  not  altogether,  that 
 is,  confusedly ;  but  altogether,  that  is,  in  such  a  Name,  as  com- 
 prehends all  Ilis  attributes,  all  His  power  upon  the  world,  and 
 all  His  benefits  upon  him.  The  Gentiles  were  not  able  to 
 consider  God  so,  not  so  entirely,  not  altogether;  but  broke 
 God  in  pieces,  and  changed  God  into  single  money,  and  made 
 a  fragmentary  God  of  every  power  and  attribute  in  God,  of 
 every  blessing  from  God  ;  nay,  of  every  malediction  and  judg- 
 ment of  God.  a  clap  of  thunder  made  a  Jupiter ;  a  tempest 
 at  sea  made  a  Neptune ;  an  earthquake  made  a  Pluto.  Pear 
 came  to  be  a  God ;  and  a  fever  came  to  be  a  God.  Every  thing, 
 that  they  were  in  love  with,  or  afraid  of,  came  to  be  canonized, 
 and  made  a  God  amongst  them.  David  considered  God  as  a 
 centre,  into  which  and  from  which  all  lines  flowed.  .  .  .  Acknow- 
 ledge God  to  be  the  Author  of  thy  being :  find  Him  so,  at  the 
 spring-head  ;  and  then  thou  shalt  trace  Him,  by  the  branches, 
 to  all,  that  belongs  to  thy  wellbeing.  "  The  Lord  of  Hosts"  and 
 "  the  God  of  Peace,"  the  God  of  the  mountains  and  the  God  of 
 
THE  ACTS  XIV.  12.  401 
 
 the  valleys,  the  God  of  noon  and  of  midnight,  of  all  times ;  the 
 God  of  east  and  west,  of  all  places ;  the  God  of  Princes  and 
 subjects,  of  all  persons  ;  is  all  one,  and  the  same  God  :  and  that, 
 which  we  intend,  when  we  say  "  Jehovah,"  is  all  He.  xxvii. 
 28  ;  xxviii.  6 ;  1  Kings  xx.  28  ;  1  Cor.  viii.  5,  6.  Dr.  Donne, 
 (Serm.  Ps.  vi.  1.) 
 Cicero  observes  (De  Natura  Deorum,  L.  ii.),  that  in  the  great  title 
 of  Jupiter,  Optimns  Maximus,  Optimus  stands  first ;  goodness 
 and  beneficence  affecting  our  minds  much  more  than  power. 
 Here  then  we  have  further  proof  of  the  loving  and  therefore 
 amiable  character  of  S.  Barnabas,  who  was  oiHwms  in  this  re- 
 spect, as  S.  Paul  was  maximus  in  speech  and  the  power  of 
 oratory.     Verse  17  ;  x.  38.     J.  F. 
 
 13  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  of,  they  rent  their  clothes,  and  ran  in  among 
 the  people,  crying  out, 
 
 1 5  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  therein : 
 
 16  Who  in  times  past  suflfered  all  nations  to  walk 
 in  their  own  ways. 
 
 1 7  Nevertheless  He  left  not  Himself  without  witness, 
 in  that  He  did  good,  and  gave  us  rain  from  heaven, 
 and  fruitful  seasons,  fiUing  our  hearts  with  food  and 
 gladness. 
 
 18  And  with  these  sayings  scarce  restrained  they 
 the  people,  that  they  had  not  done  sacrifice  unto 
 them. 
 
 D    D 
 
402  THE  ACTS  XIV.  13. 
 
 13  Observe  the  malice  of  Satan :  by  those  very  persons,  by  whom 
 the  LoED  was  at  work  to  purge  out  ungodliness  from  the  world, 
 by  the  same  did  that  enemy  try  to  introduce  it,  again  per- 
 suading them  to  take  men  for  gods ;  which  is  what  he  had 
 done  in  former  times.  To  them  it  was  a  grief  inconsolable,  that 
 they  should  needs  be  thought  gods,  and  introduce  idolatry; 
 the  very  thing,  which  they  came  to  destroy,  x.  26 ;  S.  John 
 vi.  15  ;  S.  Matt.  iv.  9 ;  1  S.  Pet.  v.  3.     S.  Chrijsostom. 
 
 As  the  devil  does  ape  God,  in  His  institutions  of  religion,  His 
 feasts,  sacrifices,  ^c,  so  likewise  in  His  Priests,  without  whom 
 no  religion,  whether  true  or  false,  can  stand.  False  religion  is 
 but  a  corruption  of  the  true.  The  true  was  before  it,  though 
 it  be  followed  close  upon  the  heels.  1  Kings  xviii. ;  2  Cor.  ii. 
 11.     Leslie.     (Short  and  easy  method  with  the  Deists,  s.  16.) 
 
 Quin  istos  etiam  mores  transmisit  in  orbem 
 
 Princeps  Tartarei  carceris,  iste  mains : 
 Qui,  cum  ementiti  simulator  Numinis  esset, 
 
 Instituit  simili  E-elligione  coli. 
 Hinc  olim  immanes  Tyrii  Saturnia  placant 
 
 ISTumina,  sacrilegi  per  fera  pacta  sacri. 
 Herculis  hinc  ritus,  altaria  Tauridis,  et  quae 
 
 Csedibus  infecit  Graia  puella  suis. 
 Sic  radiat  Verum  magis,  allucentibus  umbris ; 
 
 Expiat,  inferno  teste,  piacla  Cruor ! 
 (Refer  to  S.  Luke  ii.  42.     Sarbievius.)    Dr.  Barrow. 
 (Sparsa  quaedam  poemata.     Anmo  1652.) 
 
 "Brought  oxen  and  garlands." — 
 
 Pallentes  violas,  immortalesque  amaranthos, 
 
 Et  caltha?  aureolas  Phoebisequasque  comas, 
 Keginasque  rosas,  et  florum  lilia  Reges, 
 
 Albaque  Narcissi,  flavaque  texta  croci,  &c. — 
 Christe,  Tibi  pleno  meditabar  fundere  cornu, 
 
 Yeris  opes  volucres  deliciasque  breves.  .  . 
 Hanc  mihi  sed  subit5  vertisti  in  pectore  mentem, 
 
 Et  visus  tacita  es  sic  mihi  voce  loqui : 
 "  Mitte  rosas  manibus,  vatos  raeus  :  altera  dona 
 
 "  Poscimus  :  hffic  olim  Panque  Palesque  tulit. 
 
THE  ACTS  XIV.  14,  15.  403 
 
 "  Altera  dona  Deo  vero,  sunt  altera  serta ; 
 
 Non  faciunt  capiti  tali  a  serta  Meo. 
 "  Cor  peto !"     lo  dabitur ;  dabitur  cor,  dulcis  Jesu ! 
 
 Mille  darem,  Jesu,  si  mihi  mille  forent. 
 
 Bernardus  Bauhusius.     (Epigr.  Lib.  iii.) 
 
 14  Happy  for  us,  when  we  are  affected  with  grief,  and  not  infected 
 with  love,  at  tlie  sight  of  men's  sins  ;  dolor e  contrahi,  non  amove 
 attrahi.     xx.  31 ;  Ps.  cxix.  136.     *S'.  Augustine. 
 
 It  is  not  so  much  to  admire  moral  good ;  that  we  may  do,  and 
 yet  not  be  ourselves  conformed  to  it :  but  if  we  really  do  abhor 
 that,  which  is  evil,  not  the  persons,  in  whom  evil  resides,  but 
 the  evil,  which  dwelleth  in  them,  and,  much  more  manifestly 
 and  certainly  to  our  own  knowledge,  in  our  own  heart,  this  is 
 to  have  the  feeling  of  God  and  of  Cheist,  and  to  have  our 
 spirit  in  sympathy  with  the  Spirit  of  God.  xvii.  16 ;  Ps.  cxxxiv. 
 21,  22.     Br.  Arnold.     (Life  by  Stanley.     Appendix  C.) 
 
 15  O  !  graceful  passage,  to  see  the  great  Apostle  oppose  his  own 
 success  !  Now  only  his  vehemence,  his  power  and  his  eloquence 
 are  too  feeble,  when  they  are  urged  against  themselves,  iii.  6  ; 
 X.  25,  26  ;  Gal.  vi.  14.     Sir  R.  Steele. 
 
 Although  it  is  easy  for  a  man  to  live  without  praise,  when  it  is 
 denied  him,  it  is  hard  for  any  man  to  take  no  pleasure  in  it, 
 when  it  is  freely  oftered.     S.  Matt.  iii.  5,  11.     S.  Augustine. 
 
 Passions  are  the  feet  of  the  soul ;  they  are  in  the  sensitive  appe- 
 tite ;  and,  when  they  grow  inordinate,  they  are  the  diseases  of 
 the  mind,  the  depravers  of  reason,  the  disturbers  of  the  under- 
 standing, whereby  wise  men  speak  nothing,  do  nothing,  like 
 themselves.  It  is  a  weakness  to  have  passions ;  a  greater 
 weakness  to  be  conquered  by  them.  .  .  .  When  we  are  com- 
 manded to  "  possess  our  souls  in  patience,"  it  appears,  that  by 
 passion  and  impatience  we  are  dispossessed  of  our  souls,  of  our 
 understanding,  of  our  joy,  and  comfort,  and  peace,  for  that 
 time,  that  passions  bear  sway.  Prov.  xvi.  32.  T.  Valentine. 
 (Serm.  Zeph.  iii.  8.) 
 
 Should  you  chance  to  go  into  a  house,  and  see  all  the  rooms  ex- 
 quisitely furnished  and  kept  in  great  order,  you  would  make  no 
 dispute,  but  such  a  house  was  under  the  care  and  inspection  of 
 a  Master,  and  that  he  himself  was  preferable  to  all  the  furni- 
 
 D  D  2 
 
404  THE  ACTS  XIV.  15,  16. 
 
 ture.  Thus,  in  this  palace  of  the  world,  when  you  cast  your 
 eyes  upon  heaven  and  earth,  and  behold  the  admirable  order 
 and  economy  of  things,  you  have  as  little  reason  to  question, 
 whether  there  is  a  Loed  of  the  Universe,  and  that  He  Himself 
 is  more  Glorious,  than  the  stars,  and  more  to  be  admired,  than 
 the  works  of  his  own  Hands.  Ps.  xcvi.  10 ;  xix.  1 ;  civ.  24. 
 Minucius  Felix.     (Octavius,  s.  18.) 
 
 Creatio  mundi  Scriptura  Dei.  The  Creation  of  the  world  is  God's 
 writing.    Ps.xix.  1 — 4;  Eom.  i.  19,20.  Clem.  Alex.    (Strom.  6.) 
 
 Heaven  and  the  earth  and  the  sea. — Hence  the  Gentiles  derived 
 their  three  kinds  of  Divinities,     xvii.  24;  Ex.  xx.  4.     Bengel. 
 
 Surely,  if  all  the  world  were  made  for  man,  then  man  was  made 
 for  more  than  all  the  world.     S.  Mark  viii.  36.     Bu  Flessis. 
 
 Sancta  Dei  sedes  est  coelum,  pontus,  et  aer, 
 Terraque  ;  nee  finem  scit  magna  potentia  coeli : 
 Est  Deus  hie,  quocunque  vides,  quocunque  moveris. 
 Qui  qusecunque  vides  fecit,  moderatur,  et  implet. 
 
 L.  Selneccerus.     (Apud  Acta,  vii.  50.) 
 
 16  We  cannot  indeed  judge,  or  determine,  concerning  the  special 
 circumstances,  or  limits,  of  God's  d  aling  toward  man  in  this 
 particular,  concerning  the  time,  when,  the  manner  how,  the 
 measure,  according  to  which,  God  will  dispense  those  Revela- 
 tions of  Himself :  those  depend  upon  mysteries  of  counsel  and 
 wisdom,  surpassing  our  comprehension.  That  God  should  for 
 a  while  connive  at  men's  ignorance  and  suffer  them  to  grope 
 after  Divine  truth,  to  try  them,  as  He  did  the  Israelites 
 in  the  wilderness,  (xiii.  18)  how  they  would  behave  them- 
 selves in  that  state,  to  prove  how  they  would  use  their  talent 
 of  natural  light,  to  make  them  sensible  of  their  own  in- 
 jBrmity,  to  show  them  whence  all  their  welfare  must  proceed, 
 on  whom  all  their  happiness  depends,  to  make  them  more 
 able  to  value,  more  desirous  to  embrace,  the  redress,  vouch- 
 safed them,  as  also  to  demonstrate  His  own  great  clemency, 
 long- suffering,  and  patience  ;  that,  I  say,  for  such  purposes 
 and  others,  unsearchable  by  our  shallow  understanding,  God 
 should  for  some  time  forbear  with  a  full  evidence  to  declare 
 all   His   mind    to  men,   is  not    so  strange,  or   unlikely:  but 
 
THE  ACTS  XIV.  17.  405 
 
 that  for  ever,  through  all  courses  of  time,  He  should  leave  men 
 in  so  forlorn  a  condition,  in  such  a  depth  of  ignorance,  such 
 perplexity  of  doubt,  such  captivity  under  sin,  such  subjection  to 
 misery,  seems  not  probable  ;  much  less  can  it  seem  improbable 
 that  He  hath  done  it.  It  cannot,  I  say,  in  any  reason  seem 
 misbecoming  the  goodness,  wisdom,  or  justice  of  GrOD,  clearly 
 to  discover  to  us,  what  He  requires  us  to  do,  what  good  He 
 intends  for  us,  what  way  leads  to  our  happiness,  how  we  may 
 avoid  misery,  xvii.  27,  30 ;  Deut.  viii.  15,  16  ;  Exod.  xvi.  8 ; 
 Gen.  XV.  16,  &c.     Dr.  Barroiv.     (Sermons  on  the  Creed,  13.) 
 
 17  In  that  He  did  good. — The  God  of  Nature  is  none  other  than 
 the  God  of  Grace:  "  Jestjs  went  about  doing  good'*  (x.  38.) 
 The  Hand,  that  made  the  world  and  that  "  filleth  every  living 
 thing  with  plenteousness,"  is  the  Hand,  that  was  nailed  to  the 
 accursed  tree  for  the  same  w^orld,  lying  in  wickedness,  xx.  28 ; 
 S.  John  i.  10,  14.     J.  F. 
 
 If  God  be  not  good,  what  reason  have  we  to  believe,  that  by  doing 
 good  we  please  Him  ?  So  that  the  subject  of  the  Divine  Good- 
 ness lies  at  the  root  of  all  morality  and  religion,  of  all  our  rules 
 of  conduct,  and  all  our  hopes  of  happiness.  S.  Luke  x.  37 ; 
 1  S.  Pet.  ii.  21.     Dr.  Foley.     (Serm.  Ps.  xxxiii.  5.) 
 
 What  words  are  sufficient  to  praise  or  declare  these  works  of 
 God,  as  they  deserve  ?  Had  we  understanding,  what  else 
 ought  we  to  do,  both  in  public  and  private,  but  sing  hymns  to 
 God,  and  bless  Him,  aud  pour  out  our  thanks  towards  Him  ? 
 Ought  we  not,  while  either  digging,  ploughing,  or  feeding,  to  sing 
 this  hymn  to  God — "  Great  is  God  !" — that  He  has  given  us 
 hands,  and  organs  for  swallowing  and  digesting ;  that  He  makes 
 us  grow  up  insensibly,  and  breathe,  even  while  asleep.  For 
 each  of  these  things  we  ought  thus  to  bless  Him.  But,  above 
 all,  to  sing  the  greatest  and  most  Divine  hymn  for  His  giving 
 us  the  power  of  attaining  the  knowledge  of  these  things,  and 
 the  method  of  using  them.  Eom.  i.  20 ;  Ps.  ciii.  1 — 5  ;  Isa. 
 xliii.  21.     Ejnctetus.     (Dissert,  i.  16.) 
 
 How  comes  it  to  pass,  and  whose  wisdom  and  Providence  hath  so 
 ordered  it,  that  there  should  not  fall  whole  clouds  and  cata- 
 racts, but  drops  and  showers  ?  that  they  should  not  tumble  upon 
 us,  but  distil  ?  an  effect,  so  wonderful,  that  there  is  scarcely 
 
406  THE  ACTS  XIV.  17,  18. 
 
 any  other  work  of  Nature,  that  the  Scripture  doth  more  fre- 
 quently ascribe  unto  God  as  a  demonstration  of  His  power 
 and  government,  than  that  "  He  sendeth  rain  upon  the  earth." 
 Deut.  xxxii.  2  ;  Jer.  v.  24  ;  Job  xxxvi.  27,  28.     Bp.  Hopkins. 
 
 These  words  had  a  remarkable  applicability  in  a  country,  where 
 there  was  a  great  scarcity  of  water.     Alford. 
 
 He  does  not  say  with  ybo6?  and  joy ;  for  joy,  properly  taken,  hath 
 its  seat  in  the  mind  and  spirit  of  man  ;  nor  is  there  placed, 
 without  the  Spirit  of  God  :  whereas  the  gladness,  whereof  the 
 Apostle  here  speaks,  may  harbour  in  the  inferior  or  affective 
 part.  This  difference,  which  we  now  observe  between  joy  and 
 gladness  in  our  English,  the  Greek  writers  curiously  observe 
 between  evcppoavurj  and  x^P^  •  so  do  the  Latins  between  IcBtitia 
 and  gaudium.  Every  blessing  of  God,  though  but  a  temporal 
 blessing,  is  matter  of  gladness,  even  to  such,  as  know  not 
 nor  acknowledge  God  to  be  the  Author  of  such  blessings  : 
 but  true  joy  always  presupposeth  the  knowledge  of  God  in 
 Cheist,  and  some  acquaintance  with  the  Spirit,  ii.  46 ;  xiii. 
 52 ;  Ps.  iv.  8 ;  S.  Luke  xii.  19.  Dr.  Jackson.  (B.  xi.  ch. 
 25,  8.  10.) 
 
 No  Holocaust  is  so  acceptable  to  God,  as  a  heart  inflamed  with  a 
 sense  of  His  goodness.  He  loves,  not  only  a  merry  giver,  but 
 a  cheerful  receiver  also.  He  would  have  us,  as  to  desire  His 
 favour  with  a  greedy  appetite,  so  to  taste  it  with  a  savoury 
 relish.     He  designs,  not  only  to  Jill  our  mouths  with  food,  but 
 
 our   hearts  with  gladness To  Him,  whose  benefits  to 
 
 acknowledge  is  the  greatest  benefit  of  all ;  to  be  enabled  to 
 thank  whom  deserves  our  greatest  thanks  ;  to  be  sensible  of 
 whose  beneficence,  to  meditate  on  whose  goodness,  to  admire 
 whose  excellency,  to  celebrate  whose  praise,  is  heaven  itself 
 and  Paradise,  the  life  of  Angels,  the  quintessence  of  joy,  the 
 supreme  degree  of  felicity — to  Him  we  owe  this  most  natural 
 and  easy,  this  most  just  and  equal,  this  most  sweet  and  pleasant 
 duty  of  giving  thanks,  xxvii.  35,  36  ;  Ps.  1.  23;  2  Cor.  ix.  7. 
 Dr.  Barrow.     (Serm.  Eph.  v.  20.) 
 
 18  These  sayings. — God  requireth  in  His  household  steward,  the 
 Minister  of  His  Blessed  Word,  fidelity  and  discretion  ;  fidelity 
 to  deliver  to  God's  family  such  meat,  without  mingling,  as  he 
 
THE  ACTS  XIV.  18.  407 
 
 hath  received  at  his  Loed's  hands  ;  discretion,  to  give  it  fitly  in 
 due  season,  by  respecting  the  time,  place,  auditory,  and  like  cir- 
 cumstances. All  men  are  not  of  one  kind  of  constitution  :  some 
 are  able  to  receive  and  digest  '*  strong  meat,"  high  mysteries, 
 deep  secrets  of  God;  others  must  be  fed  with  *'milk,"  simple 
 and  plain  lessons,  yet  available  to  their  salvation.  These  dif- 
 ferences are  in  the  food  itself.  The  manner  of  dividing  it 
 standeth  in  doctrine  and  exhortation.  Doctrine  is  for  the 
 ignorant,  to  instruct  them ;  exhortation  for  the  learned,  to 
 monish  and  strengthen  them :  both  may  be  most  profitably 
 joined  together.  Yerse  42  ;  Heb.  v.  12—14 ;  2  Tim.  iii,  16, 17. 
 Abp.  Sandys.  (Serm.  S.  James  iv.  8 — 10.) 
 To  be  like  God  was  the  first  temptation,  which  robbed  man  of 
 his  innocency.  .  .  .  The  Apostles  here  were  so  far  from  being 
 exalted,  that  they  were  cast  down,  humbled  and  astonished  at 
 such  impious  and  extravagant  honours  ;  and  no  doubt  rejected 
 them  with  so  much  horror  and  detestation,  that  they  would 
 much  rather  have  been  sacrificed  themselves,  than  have  endured 
 any  sacrifice  to  them.  viii.  10 ;  xii.  22  ;  x.  26  ;  Gal.  vi.  14. 
 Br.  South.     (Serm.  2  S.  Pet.  ii.  9,  P.  1.) 
 
 19  And  there  came  thither  certain  Jews  from  An- 
 tioch  and  Iconium,  who  persuaded  the  people,  and, 
 having  stoned  Paul,  drew  him  out  of  the  city,  sup- 
 posing he  had  been  dead. 
 
 20  Howbeit,  as  the  disciples  stood  round  about 
 him,  he  rose  up,  and  came  into  the  city,  and  the  next 
 day  he  departed  with  Barnabas  to  Derbe. 
 
 2 1  And  when  they  had  preached  the  gospel  to  that 
 city,  and  had  taught  many,  they  returned  again  to 
 Lystra,  and  to  Iconium,  and  Antioch, 
 
 22  Confirming  the  souls  of  the  disciples,  and  ex- 
 horting them  to  continue  in  the  faith,  and  that  we 
 must  through  much  tribulation  enter  into  the  kingdom 
 of  God. 
 
408  THE  ACTS  XIV.  19—21. 
 
 19  Is  not  this  a  proof  that  even  miracles  are  not  of  avail,  unless 
 joined  with  faith  in  those,  that  see  them  ?  To  my  mind  this 
 deduction  seems  the  intended  deduction  of  this  most  singular 
 and  important  history.  Ver.  9  ;  S.  John  xii.  37.  Bp.  Sand- 
 ford.  (Diary.  Eemaius.  Vol.  i.) 
 
 S.  Stephen  at  his  death  prayed  for  Paul,  not  against  him.  But, 
 though  he  freely  forgave  him,  yet  will  not  the  righteous  Judge 
 suffer  the  wrongs,  which  he  had  done  unto  this  Blessed  Martyr, 
 pass  without  solemn  remembrance.  Those,  which  stoned  S. 
 Stephen  laid  down  their  garments  at  Paul's  feet ;  and  his  will- 
 ingness to  take  charge  of  them  argues  he  was  "  consenting  to  his 
 death :"  xxii.  20.  So,  I  think,  was  not  S.  Barnabas.  And  for 
 this  reason  we  do  not  read,  that  S.  Barnabas  was  stoned,  as  S. 
 Paul  was,  by  the  Jews,  who  came  from  Antioch  and  Iconium 
 unto  Lystra  and  Derbe ;  albeit  both  had  been  alike  offensive 
 for  preaching  the  Gospel  at  Iconium,  where  the  same  violence 
 had  been  likewise  jointly  attempted  against  both.  Numb,  xxxii. 
 28  ;  xiv.  10.     Br.  Jackson.     (B.  vi.  c.  35,  s.  3.) 
 
 20  Stood  round  about  him. — The  example  of  S.  Paul's  courage  em- 
 boldens the  disciples.  Even  in  this  life  we  often  reap  the  benefit 
 of  the  good  example  we  give  to  others,     xix.  30 — 33.     Quesnel. 
 
 Mark  his  zeal,  how  fervent  he  is,  how  set  on  fire.  He  came  info 
 the  city  itself  again  ;  for  proof,  that  if,  on  any  occasion,  he  did 
 retire,  it  was  because  he  had  sown  the  word,  and  because  it  was 
 not  right  to  exasperate  their  minds  against  him.  xv.  36.  S. 
 Chrysostom. 
 
 21  They  returned  again  to  Lystra  ;  to  the  scene  of  their  former 
 persecution,  "not  counting  their  lives  dear  unto  themselves," 
 for  Jesus'  sake.  What  boldness,  what  determination,  what  love 
 to  souls,  what  obedience  to  Christ  !  Their  heroic  conduct  ap- 
 pears to  greater  advantage,  when  we  bear  in  mind  that  there 
 was  a  short  and  easy  journey,  through  tlie  famous  "  Cilician 
 gates"  or  passes,  from  Derbe  to  the  above-mentioned  provinces  ; 
 of  which  they  might  have  availed  themselves,  in  preference  to 
 this  exposure  of  their  persons  to  renewed  persecutions  and 
 dangers.  It  is  one  thing  to  bear  troubles  courageously,  when 
 we  cannot  avoid  them ;  but  a  far  higher  mark  of  grace,  when 
 we  might  have  avoided  tliem,  not  to  do  so,  and  to  prefer  tread- 
 
THE  ACTS  XIV.  21,  22.  409 
 
 ing  in  the  Bteps  of  our  Blessed  Lord,  who  "  steadfastly  set  His 
 face  to  go  to  Jerusalem."    (S.  Luke  ix.  51.)    The  remonstrance, 
 once  addressed  to  Hira  by  His  disciples,  now,  in  literal  strict- 
 ness, belonged  to  S.  Paul ;  '*  Master,  the  Jews  of  late  sought  to 
 stone  Thee;  and  goest  Thou  thither  again?"     v.  28,  40,  42; 
 XX.  22—24  ;  xxi.  4,    11—13 ;    S.  John  xi.  8 ;    S.  Matt.  x.  24, 
 25 ;  Heb.  xi.  15,  16.     J.  F. 
 Animated  by  faith,  a  little  troop  of  them  marched  out  with  reso- 
 lution to  attack  all  the  powers  of  hell,  and  to  beat  down  the 
 kingdom  of  darkness,  to  despatch  all  the  prejudices  and  errors 
 of  mankind,   and  to   subdue  the  world   to   the  obedience   of 
 Cheist  ;    so  armed,  successfully   did   they  knock    down,  and 
 trample  upon,  all  oppositions  to  their  glorious  designs ;  they  de- 
 •   feated  all  the  secular  power  and  policy ;  they  baffled  all  the 
 wit,  the  learning,  the  eloquence,  which  stood  in  their  way,  or 
 gave  them  resistance ;  they  triumphed  over  persecutions,  and, 
 in  regard  to  all  sufferings,  were  "  more  than  conquerors."     To 
 forsake  and  forfeit  all  they  had,  was  their  gain ;  to  have  nothing, 
 was  their  wealth ;  to  incur  disgraces,  was  their  glory  ;  to  be  in 
 labour  and  travail,  w^as  their  ease :  fastings,  hunger,  and  thirst, 
 were  their  pleasure,  their  feast,   their  luxury  ;    prisons   were 
 chapels  to  them,  in  which  they  preached,  and  prayed,  and  "  sang 
 praises  to  GrOD  :"  their  joy  was  to  suffer ;  to  receive  stripes,  and 
 undergo  torments,  was  their  triumph  and  their  glory :   they 
 constantly  defied,  they  often  courted  death.  ..."  Therefore 
 do  we  both  labour  and  suffer  reproach,  because  we  trust  in  the 
 Living  GrOD,  who  is  the  Sayiour  of  all  men,  specially  of  those, 
 that  believe,"  is  the  short  account,  which  S.  Paul  rendereth  of 
 it.     1  Tim.  iv.  10.     And  infallibly  the  like  effects  will  Paith 
 produce,  wherever  it  is  found ;  in  a  degree,  proportionable  to  its 
 sincerity  and  strength,     v.  41 ;  xvi.   25 ;  Eph.  iii.  13  ;  Eom. 
 viii.  17  ;  2  Tim.  ii.  11 ;  iv.  8.     Dr.  Barrow.     (On  the   Creed. 
 Serm.  iii.) 
 22  S.  Paul,  opposing  the  advantages,  w^hich  the  Gentile  converts 
 had  by  faith  to  those,  which  the  Jews,  in  contempt  to  the  Gen- 
 tiles, gloried  to  have  by  the  Law,  adds,  in  order  to  show  those 
 advantages  in  their  highest  superiority,  that  the  Christian  Gen- 
 tiles could  glory,  even  in  that,  which  was  the  very  opprobrium  of 
 the  Jews,  namely  tribulation.     Por  the  sanction  of  the  Jewish 
 
410  THE  ACTS  XIV.  22. 
 
 Law  being  temporal  rewards  and  punishments,  administered  by 
 an  equal  providence,  tribulation  was  a  punishment  for  crimes, 
 and  consequently  a  high  opprobrium.  But  the  followers  of 
 Cheist,  who  were  taught,  that  we  must  through  much  tribulation 
 enter  into  the  kingdom  of  GrOD,  had  the  same  reason  to  glory  in 
 the  roughness  of  the  road,  as  the  ancient  AgonistcB  had  in  the 
 toils,  which  procured  them  the  victory.  Eom.  v.  1 — 5 ;  Eph. 
 iii.  8,  13.     Bp.  Warburton.     (Divine  Legation.     B.  v.  s.  5.) 
 
 Jesus  made  for  us  a  Covenant  of  sufferings.  His  doctrines  were 
 such,  as,  expressly  and  by  consequent,  enjoin  and  suppose  suffer- 
 ings, and  a  state  of  affliction  ;  His  very  promises  were  suffer- 
 ings ;  His  Beatitudes  were  sufferings ;  His  rewards,  and  His 
 arguments  to  invite  men  to  follow  Him,  were  only  taken  from 
 sufferings  in  this  life,  and  the  reward  of  sufferings  hereafter. 
 1  S.  Pet.  iv.  1 ;  1  Cor.  xv.  19.     Bp.  J.  Taylor. 
 
 Agnosco  hcereditatem  meam  in  cruce.  I  am  an  heir  to  the  Cross, 
 aa  well  as  the  Kingdom,  saith  S.  Bernard.  They  are  both  en- 
 tailed upon  us ;  both  made  over  to  us  in  the  same  patent 
 and  lease.     Bom.  viii.  17.     Farindon.     (Serm.  S.  Matt.  v.  10.) 
 
 O  what  does  not  God  give  to  man  in  mercy,  when  tribulation  itself 
 is  sent  to  him,  as  a  blessing  ?  Prosperity  is  the  gift  of  a  God, 
 who  comforts  us ;  adversity,  of  a  God,  who  admonishes.  S. 
 Matt.  V.  4  ;  Heb.  xii.  6.     S.  Augustine. 
 
 The  Apostolic  way  of  confirming  the  souls  of  the  disciples  is  not  by 
 giving  them  false  comforts  and  anodynes,  by  bidding  them  rest 
 secure  in  their  Christian  privileges,  as  if  the  work  was  all  done 
 for  them,  or  by  concealing  from  them  all  the  peculiar  trials  of  a 
 religious  life,  and  all  the  difficulties  of  Salvation ;  but  rather  by 
 urging  them  on  to  perseverance,  preparing  them  for  tribulations, 
 and  by  leading  them,  in  the  midst  of  suffering,  to  expect  the 
 support  of  grace  in  this  life  and  the  Bedeemer's  crown  of  glory 
 hereafter,     ix.  31 ;  xi.  23  ;  1  Thess.  iii.  1—5.     J.  F. 
 
 Per  spinas,  tribulosque,  per  invia  saxa,  per  ignes, 
 
 Sithoniasque  nives,  Caucaseumque  gelu. 
 Per  medias  acies,  per  vulnera  mille,  necesque, 
 
 Herculea  virtus  tendit  in  astra  via.  .  .  . 
 Ipse  priiis  spinis  velavit  tempera  Christus,* 
 
 *  In  original — Temporaque  in/es to  priiis  iaduit  utraque  senfe. 
 
THE  ACTS  XIV.  22.  411 
 
 Quam  tulit  emeritis  debita  Berta  comis. 
 Quod  Sceptrum  Eterna  stellarum  luce  coruscat, 
 
 In  mauibus  quondam  vilis  arundo  fuit. 
 Vulnera  stillarunt  atro  prius  horrida  tabo, 
 Quae  nunc  Sole  Suo  fulgidiora  micant.* 
 Unicus  ad  palmas  trames  patieutia :  palmain 
 Quisquis  amas,  durum  ne  fuge  mollis  iter ! 
 
 Gerardus  van  Rheyden.     (Typus 
 mundi,  xxiii.) 
 
 Gratabantur  oves  Christi  Pastore  recepto ; 
 Ille  gregem  pavidum  de  tempestate  recenti 
 Mulcebat  monitis  coelestibus,  et  duce  Verbo 
 Anxia  corda  regeus  firmabat  amore  fidei : 
 Contemnenda  docens  et  amara  et  dulcia  mundi ; 
 Nee  coneedendum  terroribus  ;  obviaque  ipsis 
 Ignibus  aut  gladiis  promptos  inferre  monebat 
 Pectora  ;  et  ipse  suis  addebat  pondera  verbis 
 Confessor,  passus,  quae  perpetienda  docebat ; 
 Omnibus  eloquio  simul  exemploque  magister. 
 
 Paulinus.     (Poem.  16,  in  Nat. 
 S.  Felieis.) 
 
 23  And  when  they  had  ordained  them  elders  in 
 every  church,  and  had  prayed  with  fasting,  they  com- 
 mended them  to  the  Lord,  on  whom  they  believed. 
 
 24  And  after  they  had  passed  throughout  Pisidia, 
 they  came  to  Pamphylia. 
 
 25  And  when  they  had  preached  the  word  in  Perga, 
 they  went  down  into  Attalia : 
 
 26  And  thence  sailed  to  Antioch,  from  whence  they 
 had  been  recommended  to  the  grace  of  God  for  the 
 work  which  they  fulfilled. 
 
 2/  And  when  they  were  come,  and  had  gathered 
 the  church  together,  they  rehearsed  all  that  God  had 
 
 *  In  original — Qiice  modo  tarn  multo  lucida  sole  micant. 
 
412  THE  ACTS  XIV.  23. 
 
 done  with  them,  and  how  He  had  opened  the  door  of 
 faith  unto  the  Gentiles. 
 
 28  And  there  they  abode  long  time  with  the  dis- 
 ciples. 
 
 23  The  Apostles,  preaching  through  countries  and  cities,  appointed 
 the  first-fruits  of  their  conversions  to  be  Bishops  and  Ministers 
 over  such,  as  should  afterwards  believe,  having  first  proved  them 
 by  the  Spirit.  Nor  v^^as  this  any  new  thing ;  seeing  that  long 
 before  it  was  written,  concerning  Bishops  and  Deacons.  For 
 thus  saith  the  Scripture,  in  a  certain  place  (Isa.  Ix.),  "I  will 
 appoint  their  Bishops  (overseers)  in  righteousness,  and  their 
 Deacons  (ministers)  in  faith."  (Ps.  xlv.  17.  See  Illustr.  S. 
 Matt,  xxviii.     S.  Jerome.)     Clemens  Rom.     (Ep.  to  Cor.  s.  42.) 
 
 Till  it  can  be  shown,  that  every  man  is  a  competent  judge  of 
 his  own  pretensions  to  the  Ministry  of  Cueist's  Gospel,  or  that 
 the  indiscriminate  assumption  of  the  Ministerial  character  has 
 not  a  tendency  to  lower  the  estimation  and  influence  of  that 
 character,  and  to  distract  men's  minds  with  the  grossest  doc- 
 trinal errors,  so  long  it  must  appear,  that,  on  the  ground  of 
 general  expediency,  the  person,  however  qualified,  who  takes 
 this  office  on  himself,  is  establishing  a  precedent  hurtful  to 
 mankind,  and  displeasing  therefore  to  Him,  who  has  declared 
 Himself  the  God  of  Order.  .  .  .  Besides  a  general  fitness,  which 
 may  be  given  to  many,  an  outward  seal  and  ratification  is,  from 
 the  necessity  of  the  case,  required ;  both  as  a  mark  to  other 
 men  that  our  services  are  accepted  of  God,  and  as  an  evidence 
 to  ourselves  (the  only  sufficient  evidence,  which  can  ordinarily 
 be  expected)  that  our  calling  is  indeed  from  the  Most  High,  and 
 that  we  are  not  deceiving  ourselves,  nor  deceived  by  our  spiritual 
 enemies,  when  we  conceive  ourselves  qualified  to  preach  the 
 Gospel.  Jer.  xxiii.  21 ;  Eom.  ix. ;  S.  James  iii.  1 ;  2  Tim.  iv.  3. 
 Bp.  Heber.     (Serm.  S.  Matt.  ix.  38.) 
 
 When  we  assign  to  each  Pastor  his  proper  Church,  we  do  not 
 deny,  that,  although  he  is  bound  to  one,  he  may  nevertheless 
 extend  his  assistance  to  others,  if  any  disorders  should  arise, 
 which  may  make  his  presence  desirable,or  if  his  advice  be  required 
 
THE  ACTS  XIV.  23,  26.  413 
 
 in  any  doubtful  case.  But,  since  such  a  discipline  is  necessary, 
 for  the  peace  of  the  Church,  as  allots  to  every  Minister  his 
 proper  employment  (for  otherwise  all  would  be  confusion  ;  some 
 would  run  one  way,  some  another ;  every  one  at  a  loss  to  know 
 his  proper  calling ;  others  would  be  drawn  together  at  random 
 to  the  same  spot ;  and,  again,  those,  who  might  be  more  soli- 
 citous for  their  own  convenience,  than  for  the  edification  of  the 
 Church,  would  at  pleasure  forsake  the  unfrequented  Churches) 
 therefore  this  arrangement  ought  as  much,  as  it  is  possible,  to 
 be  generally  attended  to.  Every  Minister  ought  to  be  restricted 
 within  his  own  bounds,  and  not  to  invade  his  neighbour's  province. 
 Nor  is  all  this  merely  a  human  device  ;  it  is  the  institution  of 
 God  Himself  (iv.  23)  ;  for  we  read  that  S.  Paul  and  S.  Barnabas 
 ordained  Elders  in  each  of  the  Churches  of  Lystra,  Antioch,  and 
 Iconium ;  and  S.  Paul  himself  directs  Titus  to  "  ordain  Elders 
 in  every  city."  (Tit.  i.  5.)  Thus  in  one  place  he  speaks  of  the 
 Bishops  of  Philippi,  and  in  another  of  Archippus,  Bishop  of 
 Colosse.  (Phil.  i.  1 ;  Col.  iv.  17.)  And  S.  Luke  hath  given  us 
 his  famous  charge  to  the  Elders  of  the  Church  of  Ephesus. 
 (Acts  XX.  18.)  "Whoever,  therefore,  has  undertaken  the  govern- 
 ment and  the  cure  of  one  particular  Church,  let  him  remember, 
 that  he  is  bound  to  that  Church  by  a  Divine  Call.  .  .  .  Should 
 his  removal  at  any  time  be  found  expedient,  he  ought  not  to 
 attempt  it  of  his  own  accord  ;  but  to  wait  for  the  sanction  of 
 public  authority,  viii.  14 ;  ix.  88 ;  xvii.  14.  Calvin.  (Insti- 
 tutes.    Lib.  iv.  c.  3,  s.  7.) 
 
 Eeligion,  without  the  help  of  a  spiritual  Ministry,  is  unable  to 
 plant  itself.     Hooker.     (Ecch  Pol.  B.  v.  s.  76.) 
 
 The  Church  was  an  organized  society,  or  brotherhood,  endowed 
 with  great  and  glorious  privileges,  and  consisting  of  duly  Bap- 
 tized Christians  and  duly  Ordained  Ministers.     Bingham. 
 
 26  Ecclesiastical  history  doth  testify,  that  the  Apostles  parted  the 
 coasts  and  countries  of  the  world  among  them  by  common  ad- 
 vice, and  so  sundered  themselves : 
 
 S.  Peter  to  Pontus,  Galatia,  Cappadocia. 
 
 S.  John  to  Asia  and  Parthia. 
 
 S.  Andrew  to  Scythia,  Pontus  Eux.  and  Byzantium. 
 
 S.  Philip  to  Upper  Asia,  unto  Hierapoli. 
 
414  THE  ACTS  XIV.  27. 
 
 S.  Thomas  to  India,  Persia,  and  the  Magi. 
 
 S.  Bartholomew  to  Armenia,  Lycaonia,  India  Citerior. 
 
 S.  Matthew  to  Ethiopia. 
 
 S.  Simeon  to  Mesopotamia,  Persia,  Egypt,  Africa,  Britany. 
 
 S.  Matthias  to  Ethiopia. 
 
 2  Cor.  X.  16.  Dr.  Bernard.  (Clavi  Trabales,  p.  128.) 
 27  Opening  the  door  of  faith ^  making  their  faith  acceptable  to 
 God,  and  the  means  of  bringing  them  into  the  Covenant.  Faith 
 is  a  door^  leading  to  an  inner  door,  w^hich  is  Christ.  (S.  John 
 X.  7.)  In  the  same  sense,  Bepentance  is  accepted  with  God, 
 through  Christ  ;  as  those  expressions  testify — "  Giving  repent- 
 ance unto  Israel,"  v.  31 ;  "  granting  to  the  Gentiles  repentance 
 unto  life."  xi.  18.  J.  F. 
 Sight  is  love's  sense,  not  faith's  sense.  Jures  be  fores;  the  ears 
 are  the  doors  of  faith.  As  preaching  is  the  door  of  the  Word, 
 so  hearing  is  the  door  of  faith.  Eaith  disdains  conference  with 
 reason;  much  less  endures  it  to  consult  with  sense:  Fides? 
 non  est  fides,  saith  Hugo  de  Yictore.  Bom.  x.  17  ;  Col.  iv.  3. 
 Dr.  Rd.  Gierke. 
 
 CHAPTER  XV. 
 
 A  ND    certain  men  which  came   down  from  Judaea 
 taught  the  brethren,  and  said,  Except  ye  be  cir- 
 cumcised after  the  manner  of  Moses,  ye  cannot  be 
 saved. 
 
 2  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  elders 
 about  this  question. 
 
 3  And  being  brought  on  their  way  by  the  church, 
 they  passed  through  Phenice  and  Samaria,  declaring 
 
THE  ACTS  XV.  1.  415 
 
 the  conversion  of  the  Gentiles  :  and  they  caused  great 
 joy  unto  all  the  brethren. 
 
 1  Whereas  the  very  opposite  to  this  was  the  case,  that,  receiving 
 circumcision,  they  could  not  be  saved.  Gal.  v.  2.  .  .  Let  us  not 
 be  offended,  because  of  the  heretics.  Tor  look  here,  at  the 
 very  outset  of  the  preaching,  how  many  offences  there  were : 
 I  speak,  not  of  those,  which  arose  from  them,  that  were  with- 
 out ;  for  these  were  nothing ;  but  of  the  offences,  which  were 
 within  (xx.  30).  For  instance,  first,  Ananias,  v.  1 — 11;  then 
 "the  murmuring,"  vi.  1;  then,  Simon  the  sorcerer,  viii.  18; 
 afterwards,  they,  that  accused  S.  Peter  because  of  Cornelius, 
 xi.  1 — 3 ;  next,  the  dearth  (as  leading  some  to  question  the 
 Providence  of  GtOd),  x.  28  ;  lastly,  this  very  thing,  the  chief  of 
 all  the  evils.  Eor  indeed  it  is  impossible,  when  any  good  thing 
 has  taken  place,  that  some  evil  should  not  go  along  with  it. 
 Let  us  not  then  be  disturbed,  if  some  are  offended ;  but  let  na 
 thank  God  even  for  this ;  because  it  makes  us  more  approved. 
 Por  not  tribulations  only,  but  even  temptations  also,  make  our 
 examples  more  shining.  A  man  is  not  so  great  lover  of  the 
 Truth,  for  only  holding  to  it,  when  there  is  none  to  seduce  him 
 from  it :  to  hold  it  fast,  when  many  are  trying  to  draw  him 
 away,  this  makes  a  man  approved.  God  is  not  the  Author  of 
 their  offences  .  .  .  out  of  their  evil  He  works  us  good.  xv.  39. 
 Gal.  ii.  24  ;  S.  Matt,  xviii.  7  ;  S.  Luke  xxiii.  51 ;  1  Cor.  xi.  19. 
 S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 Prom  the  very  first  the  Church's  doctrine  was  assailed  by  her  own 
 children,    xx.  28  ;  Isa.  i.  2  ;  1  Tim.  i.  20 ;  2  Tim.  ii.  17.     Quesnel. 
 
 The  circumcision  of  the  heart  is  necessary :  but  that  of  the  body 
 is  now  become  dead  and  destructive,  mortua  ac  mortifera,  in 
 Cheist.  As  S.  Paul  said  of  this,  "  If  ye  are  circumcised, 
 Cheist  shall  profit  you  nothing,"  Gal.  v.  2 ;  so  it  may  well  be 
 said  of  the  former,  *'  Unless  ye  be  circumcised,  Cheist  shall 
 profit  you  nothing."  "Who  will  therefore  not  willingly  receive, 
 yea,  rather  earnestly  desire,  this  Spiritual  circumcision,  without 
 which  we  are  aliens  from  the  fellowship  of  Cheist  ?  vii.  51 ; 
 Deut.  X.  16  ;  Jer.  iv.  4 ;  Eom.  ii.  28,  29.  Haeftenus.  (Schola 
 cordis.     Lib.  ii.  lect.  10.) 
 
416  THE  ACTS  XV.  1,  2. 
 
 There  are,  I  conceive,  these  two  general  ways  of  disturbing  the 
 peace  of  the  Church  :  either  by  imposing  unlawful  and  unreason- 
 able terms  of  Communion,  or,  by  refusing  to  comply  with  such, 
 as  are  lawful  and  reasonable.  That  the  first  of  these  is  a  breach 
 of  the  Church's  peace,  there  can  be  no  doubt ;  because  it  in- 
 troduces a  necessity  of  separation.  And  that  the  latter  is  so, 
 is  as  plain,  because  it  is  a  separation  without  any  necessity  for 
 it.  Either  of  these  is  Schism,  whose  notion  (as  all  agree)  con- 
 sists either  in  making  a  necessity  of  separation,  or  in  separating 
 without  necessity.  Judg.  xii.  6  ;  Eom.  xiv. ;  Eev.  ii.  14.  Norris. 
 (Serm.  S.  Matt.  v.  9.) 
 
 Our  fallibility  and  the  shortness  of  our  knowledge  should  make  us 
 peaceable  and  gentle.  Because  I  may  be  mistaken,  I  must  not 
 be  dogmatical  and  confident,  peremptory  and  imperious.  I  will 
 not  break  the  certain  laws  of  Charity  for  a  doubtful  doctrine 
 or  an  uncertain  Truth,  ix.  26 ;  S.  Matt.  xiii.  29.  Br.  Whichcote. 
 (Aphorisms,  Cent.  ii.  130.) 
 
 2  Heresies  occasion  true  doctrine  to  be  more  diligently  discussed. 
 1  Cor.  XV.  12,  &c.     Peter  Martyr. 
 
 Our  most  beloved  Mother,  the  Church  of  England,  is  certainly 
 solicitous  to  avoid  with  all  cautious  diligence  the  rock  of  in- 
 novators. It  is  her  ambition  to  be  distinguished  through  the 
 whole  Christian  world,  and  judged  by  an  equitable  posterity, 
 under  this  character ;  that,  in  deciding  controversies  of  faith  or 
 practice,  it  has  ever  been  her  fixed  and  firm  resolution,  that  in 
 the  first  place  respect  be  had  to  the  Scriptures ;  and  then  in 
 the  second  place  to  Bishops,  Martyrs,  and  Ecclesiastical  writers 
 of  the  first  ages.  Therefore,  whatsoever  hath  been  afiirmed  by 
 the  Scriptures,  in  matters  of  faith,  whatsoever,  concerning  Ec- 
 clesiastical Grovernment,  she  hath  discovered  to  be  the  appoint- 
 ment of  the  Universal  Church  throughout  the  world  after  the 
 Apostles,  these  things  she  hath  taken  care  to  place,  as  fixed  and 
 established  among  the  Articles  of  Eeligion,  determined  never  to 
 permit  her  sons  to  alter  or  abolish  what  hath  been  thus  decided. 
 
 1  Cor.  xi.  2  ;  xv.  1—4 ;  2  Thess.  ii.  15  ;  1  Tim.  vi.  13,  14,  20 ; 
 
 2  Tim.  i.  13,  14.     Br.  Hammond.     (Works.  Vol.  iv.  p.  470.) 
 "We  are  come,  as  near  as  we  possibly  could,  to  the  Church  of  the 
 
 Apostles,  and  of  the  old   Catholic   Bishops  and  fathers ;  and 
 
THE  ACTS  XV.  2,  3.  417 
 
 bave  directed,  according  to  their  customs  and  ordinances,  not 
 only  our  Doctrine,  but  also  the  Sacraments  and  the  Form  of 
 Common  Prayer.  Prov.  xxii.  28;  1  Cor.  xi.  16.  Bp.  Jewel. 
 (Apology  for  the  Church  of  England.) 
 
 Let  Preachers,  above  all  things,  be  careful,  that  they  never  teach 
 aught  in  a  sermon,  to  be  religiously  held  and  believed  by  the 
 people,  except  that,  which  is  agreeable  to  the  Doctrine  of  the 
 Old  or  New  Testament,  and  which  the  Catholic  Fathers  and 
 ancient  Bishops  have  collected  from  that  very  Doctrine.  1  Tim. 
 i.  3 ;  S.  Jude  3 ;  2  S.  John  i.  2.  {Canon  respecting  preachers, 
 sanctioned  by  a  full  Provincial  Synod  in  1571,  and  confirmed 
 by  the  Royal  authority  of  Queen  Elizabeth.) 
 
 3  Hence  we  infer,  that  all  the  godly  were  on  their  side,  and  that 
 their  determination  was  to  make  common  cause  with  the  Apostles. 
 Verses  39,  40.     Calvin. 
 
 4  And  when  they  were  come  to  Jerusalem,  they 
 were  received  of  the  church,  and  of  the  apostles  and 
 elders,  and  they  declared  all  things  that  God  had  done 
 with  them. 
 
 5  But  there  rose  up  certain  of  the  sect  of  the  Pha- 
 risees which  believed,  saying,  That  it  was  needful  to 
 circumcise  them,  and  to  command  them  to  keep  the 
 law  of  Moses. 
 
 6  And  the  apostles  and  elders  came  together  for  to 
 consider  of  this  matter. 
 
 7  And  when  there  had  been  much  disputing,  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  of  the  gospel,  and  believe. 
 
 8  And  God,  which  knoweth  the  hearts,  bare  them 
 witness,  giving  them  the  Holy  Ghost,  even  as  He  did 
 unto  us ; 
 
 E  E 
 
418  THE  ACTS  XV.  5. 
 
 9  And  put  no  difference  between  us  and  them, 
 purifying  their  hearts  by  faith. 
 
 10  Now  therefore  why  tempt  ye  God,  to  put  a  yoke 
 upon  the  neck  of  the  disciples,  which  neither  our  fa- 
 thers nor  we  were  able  to  bear  ? 
 
 1 1  But  we  beUeve  that  through  the  grace  of  the 
 Lord  Jesus  Christ  we  shall  be  saved,  even  as  they. 
 
 5  Needful  to  Circumcise  them. — It  is  on  all  hands  agreed,  that 
 Sacraments  are  not  absolutely  necessary ;  not  so  necessary,  as 
 the  mortifying  and  denying  of  ourselves  ;  not  so  necessary,  as 
 actual  holiness.  It  is  not  absolutely  necessary  to  be  Baptized  ; 
 for  many  have  not  passed  that  Jordan,  yet  have  been  saved : 
 but  it  is  necessary  to  cleanse  ourselves  from  sin.  It  is  not 
 absolutely  necessary  to  eat  the  Bread  and  drink  the  "Wine,  in 
 the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper;  for  some  cross  accident 
 may  intervene,  and  put  me  by  :  but  it  is  necessary  to  feed  on 
 the  Bread  of  Life;  as  necessary,  as  my  meat,  to  do  God's  will. 
 True  Piety  is  absolutely  necessary,  because  none  can  hinder  me 
 from  that,  but  myself:  but  it  is  not  always  in  every  man's  power 
 to  bring  himself  to  the  Font,  or  to  approach  the  Loed's  Table. 
 All,  that  can  be  said  is,  that,  when  they  may  be  had,  they  are 
 absolutely  necessary  :  but  they  are  therefore  not  absolutely 
 necessary,  because  they  cannot  always  be  had  :  and  when  they 
 stretched  beyond  this,  they  stretched  beyond  their  line,  and 
 lose  themselves  in  an  ungrounded  and  unwarranted  admiration 
 of  these  Ordinances,  which  (whilst  we  look  upon  them  in  their 
 proper  orb  and  compass)  can  never  have  honour  and  esteem 
 enough,  x.  47  ;  1  Cor.  vii.  19  ;  Gal.  v.  6 ;  vi.  15.  Farindon. 
 (Serm.  Micah  vi.  8.  P.  i.) 
 
 Scarcely  can  there  be  found  a  thing,  more  harmful  to  religion,  than 
 to  vent  thus  our  own  conceits,  and  obtrude  them  upon  the 
 world  for  necessary  and  absolute.  .  .  .  I  add  this  general  admo- 
 nition, that  we  be  not  too  peremptory  in  our  positions,  where 
 express  texts  of  Scripture  fail  us,  that  we  lay  not  our  own  col- 
 lections and  conclusions  with  too  much  precipitancy.     For  ex- 
 
THE  ACTS  XV.  5,  7.  419 
 
 perience  hath  shown  us,  that,  the  error  and  weakness  of  them 
 being  afterwards  discovered,  brings  great  disadvantage  to  Chris- 
 tianity and  trouble  to  the  Church.  Ps.  xii.  4 ;  3  S.  John  9. 
 John  Hales.     (Serin.  2  S.  Pet.  iii.  16.) 
 
 I  have  often  thought,  that  the  chief  occasions  of  men's  differing 
 so  much  in  their  opinions  were,  either  their  not  understanding 
 each  other ;  or  else,  that,  instead  of  ingenuously  searching  after 
 truth,  they  have  made  it  their  business  to  find  out  arguments 
 for  the  proof  of  what  they  have  once  asserted.  Bp.  Butler. 
 (Correspondence  with  Dr.  Sam.  Clarke.  Letter  2.) 
 
 7  According  to  the  Scripture  phrase,  by  the  keys  of  the  kingdom 
 of  heaven,  is  meant,  that  S.  Peter  was  first  to  open  the  Dispen- 
 sation of  the  Grospel :  which  he  did  in  the  first  preaching  of  it 
 to  the  Jews,  after  the  wonderful  Pentecost :  and  this  was  yet 
 more  eminently  performed  by  him,  when  he  first  opened  the 
 door  to  the  Gentiles,  to  which  the  words  of  "  the  kingdom  of 
 heaven"  seem  to  have  a  more  particular  respect.  This  dispen- 
 sation was  committed  to  him  and  executed  by  him  ;  and  seems 
 to  be  claimed  by  him,  as  his  peculiar  privilege  in  the  council  at 
 
 Jerusalem What  follows,  concerning  "  the  binding  and 
 
 loosing  in  heaven,  whatsoever  he  should  bind  or  loose  on 
 earth,"  is  no  special  privilege  of  S.  Peter's  ;  since  we  find  the 
 same  words,  said  by  our  Sayiotjr,  to  all  His  Apostles  ;  so  that 
 this  was  given  in  common  to  them  all.  S.  Matt.  xvi.  19  ;  S. 
 John  XX.  23.     Bp.  Burnet.     (Discourses  to  the  Clergy,  iii.) 
 
 S.  Peter  accounted  it  a  great  honour,  done  to  him,  that  God  made 
 choice  of  him  to  be  the  first  Preacher  to  the  Gentiles.  What 
 dignity,  like  this,  to  be  a  Moses,  a  Deliverer,  a  Law-giver  to 
 God's  people ;  an  Elias,  a  repairer  of  religion ;  a  Zerubbabel,  a 
 John,  a  Paul,  an  Athanasius,  an  Augustine,  a  Luther  ?  It 
 is  a  Blessed  thing  to  bear  date  in  God's  calendar,  to  be  a  be- 
 ginner of  any  good  in  the  Church  of  God.  He  well  deserved 
 the  name  of  'ETra/i/ero?,  Kom.  xvi.  5,  that  is,  "  much  to  be  com- 
 mended," who,  as  S.  Paul  speaks  of  him,  was  "the  first-fruits  of 
 Achaia."  It  is  the  honour  of  Antioch,  that  there  the  disciples 
 were  "  first  called  Christians,"  xi.  26  :  as,  on  the  contrary,  what 
 infamy,  like  this,  to  be  an  author  and  beginner  of  any  evil ;  an 
 Achan,  a  troubler  of  Israel ;  a  Jeroboam,  "  that  made  Israel  to 
 
 E  E  2 
 
420  THE  ACTS  XV.  8,  9. 
 
 sin ;"  a  Theudas,  a  Judas,  a  Barabbas,  to  be  inventors  of  evil 
 things,  as  S.  Paul  brands  them,  Eom.  i.  30 ;  to  be  an  Hananiah, 
 .  that  taught  rebellion  against  the  Lord,  Jer.  xxviii.  16  ;  like  the 
 two  wicked  men,  that  Ezekiel  speaks  of,  ch.  xi.  2,  "  These  are 
 the  men,  that  devise  mischief,  and  give  wicked  counsel  in  this 
 city."  Such  men,  their  names  shall  rot,  and  be  a  curse  and 
 execration  to  all  posterity,  xiii.  36  ;  Heb.  xi.  2.  Bp.  Brownriff. 
 (Serm.  S.  Matt.  xi.  12.) 
 
 8  When  S.  Peter  and  the  other  Apostles  consulted  about  the 
 abolishment  of  Circumcision,  where  the  point  in  debate  was  the 
 acting  contrary  to  tlie  Law  of  Gron,  they  did  not  refer  them- 
 selves to  the  prophets,  but  considered  barely  the  gift  of  the 
 Holt  G-host,  poured  out  on  persons  uncircumcised.  They 
 judged  it  more  certain,  that  Gron  approved  of  those,  whom  He 
 filled  with  His  Spirit,  than  that  He  required  in  all  instances 
 an  exact  and  literal  observation  of  the  Law.  They  knew 
 the  very  end  of  the  Law  to  be  no  other,  than  the  Spirit, 
 and  concluded,  that,  since  men  were  capable  of  the  latter 
 without  Circumcision,  they  wanted  not  the  preparation  of 
 the  former,  x.  47  ;  xi.  17,  18.  Pascal.  (Thoughts  on  Re- 
 ligion, ch.  28.) 
 
 9  Every  believer  is  the  Temple  of  God  ;  and,  as  the  tables  of  the 
 Law  were  kept  in  the  Ark,  his  "pure  conscience"  is  the  Ark, 
 that  holds  "  the  mystery  of  faith."  .  .  .  Are  your  consciences 
 pure  ?  Have  you  a  living  hatred  and  antipathy  against  all  im- 
 purity. Then  surely  faith  is  there  ;  for  it  is  the  peculiar  virtue 
 of  faith  to  purify  the  heart  :  and  the  heart,  so  purified,  is  the 
 proper  residence  of  faith,  where  it  dwells  and  rests,  as  in  its 
 natural  place.  But  have  you  consciences,  that  can  lodge  pride, 
 and  lusts,  and  malice,  and  covetousness,  and  such  like  pollu- 
 tions ?  Then  be  no  more  so  impudent,  as  to  say,  you  believe ; 
 nor  deceive  yourselves  so  far,  as  to  think  you  do.  The  Blood  of 
 Christ  never  speaks  peace  to  any  conscience,  but  the  same,  that 
 it  "purifies  from  dead  works  to  serve  the  living  God,"  Heb.  ix. 
 13,  14.  As  that  Blood  is  a  Sacrifice  to  appease  God's  wrath, 
 so  it  is  a  Laver  to  wash  our  souls ;  and,  to  serve  both  ends,  it 
 is,  as  was  the  blood  of  legal  sacrifices,  both  off'ered  up  to  God 
 and  sprinkled  upon  us,  as  both  arc  expressed  in  the  Apostle's 
 
THE  ACTS  XV.  9,  10.  421 
 
 words  there,  xx.  32  ;  1  S.  Pet.  i.  22  ;  1  S.  Jolin  iii.  3.  Abp. 
 Leighton.  (Exposition  of  the  Creed.) 
 This  was,  in  fact,  the  true  Circumcision.  Col.  ii.  11 — 14.  J.  F. 
 In  the  Apostolical  writings  the  word  Faith  is  used  to  signify  that 
 Theological  virtue,  or  gracious  habit,  whereby  we  embrace  with 
 our  minds  and  affections  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  the  only 
 Begotten  Son  of  God,  and  alone  Saviour  of  the  world ;  cast- 
 ing ourselves  wholly  upon  the  mercy  of  God,  through  His 
 merits,  for  remission  and  everlasting  salvation.  It  is  that, 
 which  is  commonly  called  a  lively,  or  Justifying,  faith ;  where- 
 unto  are  ascribed  in  Holy  Writ  those  many  gracious  effects  of 
 purifying  the  heart,  adoption,  Justification,  Life,  joy,  peace, 
 salvation,  &c.  ;  not  as  to  their  proper  and  primary  cause,  but  as 
 to  the  instrument,  whereby  we  apprehend  and  apply  Christ, 
 whose  merits  and  Spirit  are  the  true  causes  of  all  those  Blessed 
 effects.  S.  John  i.  12  ;  Gal.  iv.  26  ;  Eom.  iii.  28  ;  v.  1 ;  Hab. 
 ii.  4 ;  Gal.  ii.  20 ;  Eom.  xv.  13  ;  1  S.  Pet.  i.  8  ;  Acts  xvi.  34 ; 
 Eph.  i.  8.  Bp.  Sanderson.  (Serm.  Bom.  xiv.  23.) 
 Vis  gratice  verticordice,  the  power  of  a  heart-transforming  grace. 
 Bom.  vi.  17,  Gr.     ^S*.  Augustine. 
 
 Immites  populos  urbesque  rebelles, 
 Yincente  obstantes  animos  pietate,  subegit : 
 Non  hoc  consilio  tantum  hortatuque  benigno 
 Suadens  atque  docens,  quasi  normam  Legis  haberet 
 Gratia  ;  sed  mutans  intus  mentem  atque  reformans, 
 Vasque  novum  ex  fracto  fingens  virtute  creandi : 
 Non  istud  monitus  Legis,  non  verba  Prophetse, 
 Non  pr?estata  sibi  praestat  Natura  ;  sed  Unus 
 Quod  fecit,  reficit. 
 
 xxvi.  18.     (See  continuation  of  the  passage  at  II- 
 
 lustr.  S.  Matt,  xxviii.  20.)     Prosper.     (Carmen 
 
 de  ingratis,  p.  ii.) 
 
 10  God  is  tempted,  when  we  expect  His  grace  to  bless  us  in  those 
 
 inventions  of  will-worship,  where  He  never  engaged  Himself  to 
 
 be  present  with  His  Holt  Spirit.     S.  Matt.  iv.  6,  7 ;  Col.  ii. 
 
 20—23.     Bp.  Racket.     (Serm.  S.  Matt.  iv.  7.) 
 
 God  annexed  to  the  breach  of  any  one  part  of  His  Law  such  severe 
 
 curses,  that  they  might  from  thence  perceive,  how  much  need 
 
422  THE  ACTS  XV.  10,  11. 
 
 they  had  of  some  further  Dispensation.  And  therefore  this 
 state  of  theirs  is  set  forth  by  a  state  of  bondage.  For  all  ex- 
 ternal precepts  carry  perpetually  an  aspect  of  austerity  and 
 rigour  to  those  minds,  that  are  not  informed  by  the  internal 
 sweetness  of  them.  And  this  it  is  only,  which  makes  the 
 Gospel,  or  the  new  Law,  to  be  a  free,  noble,  and  generous 
 thing ;  because  it  is  seated  in  the  souls  of  men ;  and  therefore 
 Aquinas,  out  of  Austin,  hath  well  observed  another  diiFerence 
 between  the  Law  and  Gospel,  Brevis  differentia  inter  Legem  et 
 Evangelium  est  timor  et  amor.  "  The  distinction  between  the 
 Law  and  the  Gospel  is  very  simple,  fear  and  love."  Verse  28  ; 
 Jer.  xxiii.  33—38 ;  S.  Matt.  xi.  30  ;  S.  John  v.  3.  J.  Smith. 
 (Select  Discourses.     No.  7.) 
 
 This  was  "the  burden  and  heat  of  the  day"  (S.  Matt.  xx.  12)  ;  to 
 have  a  perfect  Law,  and  an  unregenerate  heart ;  the  thunders 
 of  Sinai,  yet  the  sovereignty  of  the  flesh  ;  Moses  with  the  tables 
 of  stone,  and  the  people  setting  up  the  golden  calf  Eom.  vii. 
 and  viii.     Gal.  iii.  23,  24  ;  S.  James  ii.  10.     J.  H.  Newman. 
 
 The  Law  is  a  burden,  which  oppresses  man,  instead  of  helping  him  ; 
 humbles  his  pride,  without  subduing  it ;  teaches  him  his  duty, 
 without  making  him  love  it ;  is  to  him  an  occasion  of  a  curse 
 and  of  death,  instead  of  any  deliverance  from  either.     Quesnel. 
 
 The  Jewish  ordinances  were  nothing  else,  than  the  open  exposure 
 of  man's  misery.     Kom.  iii.  20  ;  Tsa.  i.  4,  6.     Beza. 
 
 It  is  impossible  in  the  nature  of  things,  that  so  burdensome  and 
 expensive  an  Institution,  as  that  of  Moses,  should  ever  have 
 been  received  by  the  Jews,  but  upon  sufficient  evidence  of  its 
 being  Divine,  vi.  11 ;  xxi.  20;  S.  Johnix.  29.  Adam.  (Private 
 thoughts  on  Eeligion,  ch.  ii.) 
 
 Our  fathers. — He  does  not  refer  to  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  to 
 whom  Circumcision,  as  viewed  in  the  light  of  the  seal  of  the 
 promise,  was  no  burden ;  but  to  the  Israelites  under  Moses. 
 Ex.  iv.  26 ;  Eom.  iv.  9—12.     Beiigel. 
 
 11  After  the  same  manner  as  they. — These  words  do  of  themselves 
 sufficiently  confirm  this  great  truth,  that  all,  who  were  ever 
 saved  from  the  beginning  of  the  world,  till  Christ  came  into  it, 
 were  saved  only  by  Him,  as  we  hope  to  be ;  and  by  consequence, 
 that  Christ,  having  been  all  along  bringing  men  to  Salvation, 
 
THE  ACTS  XV.  11.  423 
 
 He  might  well  say, "  My  Father  worketh  hitherto,  and  I  work.'* 
 Conf.  vii.  51.  Heb.  xi.  13—17;  1  Cor.  x.  1—4.  Bp. 
 Beveridge. 
 S.  Peter  was  the  first  instrument  of  Providence  in  dissolving  the 
 obligation  of  the  Mosaic  Law  in  the  ceremonial,  and  of  binding 
 it  in  the  Moral  part.  The  rescript  indeed  for  that  purpose  was 
 drawn  by  S.  James,  and  confirmed  by  the  authority  of  the 
 Apostles  in  general,  under  the  direction  of  the  Holt  Ghost  ; 
 but  the  Holy  GtHOST  moved  the  Apostles  to  this  great  business 
 by  the  suggestion  and  persuasion  of  S.  Peter.  And  this  was 
 his  particular  and  personal  commission  to  "bind  and  loose"  .  . 
 a  distinct  thing  from  the  perpetual  standing  power  of  discipline, 
 conveyed  upon  a  later  occasion  (S.  John  xxi.)  to  the  Church  in 
 general  in  the  same  figurative  terms.  See  at  xi.  14.  Bp.  Horsley. 
 (Serm.  S.  Matt.  xvi.  18,  19.) 
 
 12  Then  all  the  multitude  kept  silence,  and  gave 
 audience  to  Barnabas  and  Paul,  declaring  what  miracles 
 and  wonders  God  had  wrought  among  the  Gentiles  by 
 them. 
 
 13  And  after  they  had  held  their  peace,  James 
 answered,  saying,  Men  and  brethren,  hearken  unto 
 me : 
 
 14  Simeon  hath  declared  how  God  at  the  first  did 
 visit  the  Gentiles,  to  take  out  of  them  a  people  for 
 His  Name. 
 
 1 5  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 ;  and  I  will 
 build  again  the  ruins  thereof,  and  I  will  set  it  up : 
 
 17  That  the  residue  of  men  might  seek  after  the 
 Lord,  and  all  the  Gentiles,  upon  whom  My  Name  is 
 called,  saith  the  Lord,  Who  doeth  all  these  things, 
 
424  THE  ACTS  XV.  13,  15. 
 
 18  Known  unto  God  are  all  His  works  from  the 
 beginning  of  the  world. 
 
 13  As  long  as  the  Apostles  were  able  to  attend  and  govern  the 
 few  Churches,  gathered  out  of  Jews  and  Greeks,  they  them- 
 selves filled  the  highest  order  of  the  Church,  and  exercised  the 
 Episcopal  power.  But  James,  instead  of  circulating  to  convert, 
 confirm,  and  govern  Churches  in  different  parts  of  the  world, 
 took  up  his  residence  in  Jerusalem,  and  governed  that  Diocese 
 Episcopally.  As  the  number  of  Churches  increased,  as  the 
 Apostolic  College  was  thinned  by  death,  and  as  divisions  arose 
 in  this  or  that  Church,  the  establishment  of  resident  Bishops  be- 
 came everywhere  necessary ;  that  the  original  Institution  and 
 regular  Government  might  be  preserved,  and  that  the  promise 
 of  Christ  to  be  with  His  Church  '*to  the  end  of  the  world" 
 might  be  fulfilled  in  an  ostensible  succession  of  Governors,  fill- 
 ing the  office  of  the  Apostles  in  every  age,  so  far  as  all  the  in- 
 tents and  purposes  of  the  spiritual  society  could  be  answered, 
 after  the  ceasing  of  miracles  and  Divine  Inspiration.  Skelton. 
 (Senilia,  93.) 
 
 Ignatii  pia  scripta  legens  (qui  proximus  illis* 
 ^tate  et  meritis,  et  Episcopus  Antiochenus, 
 Successor  Petri  fuit,  et,  si  vera  loquatur 
 Fama,  Dei  Natum  vidit),  deprendet  ubique 
 Ordinis  illius  triplicis  vestigia  clara. 
 Scripta  deinde  legens  Patrum,  quos  forte  tulerunt 
 Ssecla  priora  tria,  antiquas  venerabitur  illas 
 Sedes,  quas  olim  in  variis  regionibus  orbis 
 Petri  vel  Pauli  comites  fixisse  videbit ; 
 Komse  dementis  sedem,  Solymisque  Jacobi, 
 Timotheique  Ephesi  (qusB  cultu  est  nota  Dianae) 
 Atque  Titi  Cretae,  Marci  quoque  in  urbe  superba, 
 PelsDus  juvenis  quam  struxit  ad  ostia  Nili ; 
 Agnoscet  sedem  Polycarpi  denique  Smyrnas. 
 
 G.  Nicols.     {Jlepi  up'xp}v.     Lib.  v.) 
 15  Nolo  humanis  documentis  sed  Divinis  oracidis  Sanctam  Ecclesiam 
 *  Scil.  Apostolis. 
 
THE  ACTS  XV.  15-17.  425 
 
 demonstrari.  I  will  not  tliat  the  Holy  Church  should  be  de- 
 monstrated from  human  reasonings,  but  from  the  Divine  oracles. 
 S.  Augustine.     (De  Unit.  c.  3.) 
 
 The  Catholics  will  neither  speak  nor  endure  to  hear  anything  in 
 rehgion,  that  is  a  stranger  to  Scripture.  S.  Luke  x.  26 ;  S. 
 John  V.  39.     S.  Athanasius.     (De  Incarn.  Christi.) 
 
 Eepresent  the  Holy  Scripture  in  the  midst  of  the  faithful,  as  the 
 Supreme  Rule  of  Faith.  Inform  them,  how  that  the  Church 
 ought  to  submit  herself  to  the  Scripture  :  but  withal,  tell  them 
 sweetly,  that  the  Holt  GtHOSt  is  not  wanting,  in  all  matters 
 necessary  to  Salvation,  to  assist  the  Church,  in  order  rightly  to 
 explicate  the  Scripture.  Wherefore  the  Church  is  not  to  be 
 preferred  to  the  Scripture  ;  but  only  the  explication  of  Scripture, 
 made  by  the  whole  Church,  to  our  own  private  explications. 
 This  they  must  be  taught  to  heed  well,  that  so  they  be  not  lifted 
 up.  S.  John  XX.  31 ;  1  Tim.  iii.  15  ;  1  Cor.  xv.  1 — 4.  Fenelon* 
 (Instructions  for  the  Education  of  a  Daughter.     Ch.  vi.  s.  33.) 
 
 16  The  objects,  to  which  the  prophets  of  old  had  chiefly  respect, 
 was  not  only  the  deliverance  of  Israel  from  Babylon,  and  the  re- 
 building of  the  material  temple,  but  the  Salvation  of  sinners  and 
 the  erection  of  the  Christian  Church  in  the  days  of  Messiah's 
 Kingdom.  "When  the  Lord  Jesus  thus  "  built  up  Sion,  He 
 appeared  in  His  Glory ;  the  heathen  feared  His  Name,  and  all 
 the  kings  of  the  earth  adored  His  Majesty ;"  because  He  had 
 "regarded  the  prayer  of  the  destitute"  sons  of  Adam  in  their 
 worse,  than  Babylonian  captivity,  and  had  arisen  Himself  to  be 
 their  Savioub  and  mighty  Deliverer.  We,  in  these  latter  days, 
 look  and  pray  for  the  second  appearance  of  the  same  Eedeemer 
 with  power  and  great  glory  to  raise  the  dead,  and  to  build  up 
 from  the  dust  a  Jerusalem,  which  shall  experience  no  more  vi- 
 cissitudes, but  continue  for  ever  in  unchangeable  beauty  and 
 brightness,  ii.  30  ;  vii.  44 — 50 ;  Ezra  ix.  9  ;  Heb.  xi.  16,  10  ; 
 E-ev.  xxi.     Bp.  Home.     (Comment.  Ps.  cii.  15 — 17.) 
 
 17  As  God  is  ever  the  same,  and  His  doings  uniform,  His  con- 
 duct towards  mankind  must  exactly  be  proportioned  to  His  con- 
 duct towards  the  Jewish  nation.  Let  us  therefore  place  God  in 
 common  over  them  both  :  and  there  will  be,  on  one  side,  the  Jewish 
 
 *  Fenelon.     Refer  to  footnote  ch.  viii.  31. 
 
426  THE  ACTS  XV.  17. 
 
 nation,  and,  on  the  other,  mankind ;  on  one  side,  Canaan  and  a 
 national  prosperity,  on  the  other,  heaven  and  human  happiness ; 
 on  one  side,  a  redemption  from  Egyptian  servitude  and  national 
 evils,  on  the  other,  a  Eedemption  of  the  whole  human  race  from 
 absolute  evil ;  on  one  side,  national  crimes,  atoned  by  national 
 ceremonies,  sacrifices,  priests,  on  the  other,  sins,  expiated  by 
 the  One  Universal  Sacrifice  of  Jesus  Cheist  ;  on  one  side, 
 national  and  temporary  saviours,  kings,  prophets,  &c.,  on  the 
 other,  all  this.  Universal  and  Eternal ;  on  one  side,  the  Law 
 and  every  branch  of  it,  adapted  to  a  favoured  nation,  on  the 
 other,  the  everlasting  Gospel,  suited  to  all  mankind.  It  is  im- 
 possible, therefore,  that  GrOD  can  say  anything  to  David,  under 
 the  quality  of  the  King  of  this  chosen  nation,  which  He  does 
 not  speak  at  the  same  time  to  Jesus  Cheist,  as  King  of  all  the 
 elect ;  and  that,  in  a  truer  and  nobler  sense.  If  He  says  to  one, 
 for  instance,  "  Thou  art  My  Son,"  and  "  Sit  on  My  right  hand, 
 till  I  make  Thy  enemies  Thy  footstool,"  He  says  it  to  the  other 
 too :  to  each  of  them  in  a  sense,  adapted  to  the  nature  of  their 
 respective  kingdoms.  Nor  is  this  latter  a  bare  accommodation 
 of  words  ;  but  the  first  and  highest  meaning  of  them,  and  which 
 only,  absolutely  speaking,  can  be  the  true  sense  of  GrOD ;  the 
 other  being  in  this  sense,  confined  to  a  particular  circumstance : 
 in  other  words,  an  absolute  truth,  made  history  and  matter-of- 
 fact.  .  .  .  The  literal  and  historical  sense  is  to  be  considered, 
 only  as  a  vehicle  for  the  Christian  application.  (Eefer  to  S. 
 Luke  Illustr.  xx.  17.  Bp.  Home.)  Z.  Mudge.  (Preface  to 
 New  Version  of  the  Book  of  Psalms  from  the  original  Hebrew.) 
 
 Nothing  happens,  unless  the  Almighty  wills  it  done,  either  by 
 doing  it  Himself,  or  permitting  it  to  be  done.  Ps.  cxxxv.  6. 
 S.  Augustine. 
 
 The  great  doctrine,  which  we  learn  from  the  inspired  writings,  is 
 this  ;  that,  in  all  other  histories,  which  antiquity  has  left  us,  we 
 only  see  the  record  of  men's  actions,  God  nowhere  appears, 
 and  men  are  the  sole  actors  :  but  in  these  Sacred  recitals  God 
 alone  performs  everything.  This  ought  to  teach  us  how  to  read 
 the  productions  of  men,  and  to  supply  by  faith  what  they  have 
 omitted.  Verse  12  ;  iii.  18 ;  xi.  18 ;  xiv.  27  ;  xxi.  19 ;  Prov. 
 viii.  15  :  S.  Mark  xvi.  20.     Massillon, 
 
THE  ACTS  XV.  17,  18.  427 
 
 Si  vitam  spectes  hominum,  si  denique  mores, 
 
 Artem,  vim,  fraudem  hie  euncta  parere  putas. 
 Si  propius  spectes,  Fortuna  est  arbitra  rerum  ; 
 
 Nescio  quam  dicas,  et  tamen  esse  vides. 
 At  penitus  si  introspicias,  atque  ultima  primis 
 Connectas,  tantum  est  Elector  in  orbe  Deus. 
 
 Anonym,  (quoted  by  Camerarius?) 
 
 18  In  my  poor  judgment,  which  I  ever  do  and  ever  shall  submit 
 to  better,  the  readiest  way  to  reconcile  contingence  and  liberty 
 with  the  decrees  and  prescience  of  God,  and  most  remote  from 
 the  altercation  of  these  times,  is  to  subject  future  contingents 
 to  the  aspect  of  God,  according  to  that  presentiality,  that  they 
 have  in  Eternity.  Not  that  things  future,  which  are  not  yet 
 existent,  are  co-existent  with  God  ;  but  because  the  Infinite 
 knowledge  of  God,  encircling  all  times  in  the  point  of  Eternity, 
 doth  attain  to  their  future  being :  from  whence  proceeds  their 
 objective  and  intelligible  being,  ii.  23  ;  iii.  18  ;  iv.  28.  Abp. 
 Bramhall.     (A  Vindication  of  True  Liberty,  &c.     No.  24.) 
 
 The  evolution  of  ages  from  everlasting  to  everlasting  is  so  col- 
 lectedly and  presentifically  represented  to  God  at  once,  as  if  all 
 things,  which  ever  were,  are,  or  shall  be,  were  at  this  very  in- 
 stant, and  so  always,  really  present  and  existent  before  Him ; 
 which  is  no  wonder,  the  animadversion  and  intellectual  compre- 
 hension of  God  being  absolutely  Infinite,  according  to  the  truth 
 of  His  Idea.  Isa.  xli.  26  ;  Ps.  xc.  1,  2.  Dr.  Henry  More. 
 (Divine  Dialogues.) 
 
 Properly  speaking,  it  cannot  be  affirmed  of  God,  that  He  either  did 
 know,  or  that  He  will  know ;  but  simply,  that  He  knows.  Eor  in 
 Deum  non  cadunt  prius  et  posterius  ;  there  is  no  past  nor  future 
 to  Him.  All  is  present  and  unsuccessive.  The  distribution  of 
 things  into  those,  that  have  been,  those,  that  are,  and  those, 
 that  shall  be,  is  indeed  suited  to  the  flux  condition  and  to  the 
 limited  faculties  of  beings,  like  ourselves,  whose  estimates  of 
 duration  are  taken  from  the  periodical  journeys  of  an  opaque 
 grain  round  a  lucid  speck,  termed  the  sun,  but  can  have  no  place 
 in  Him,  of  whom  it  is  declared  that  "  a  thousand  years  are  as 
 one  day,  and  one  day  as  a  thousand  years."  And  even  this 
 declaration,  magnificent  as  it  is,  falls  infinitely  short  of  the 
 
428  THE  ACTS  XV.  19. 
 
 mark.  When,  therefore,  I  speak  of  "  foreknowledge,"  as  an  attri- 
 bute, essential  to  Deity,  "  I  speak,"  as  S.  Paul  says,  "after  the 
 manner  of  men."  The  simple  term  "  knowledge"  would  be  more 
 intrinsically  proper ;  but  then  it  would  not  so  readily  aid  the 
 conceptions  of  ordinary  persons :  though,  for  my  own  part,  I 
 would  always  rather  call  the  Divine  Knowledge  "  Omniscience," 
 than  give  it  any  other  name.  Ps.  cxlvii.  5 ;  Bom.  xi.  33 — 
 36.  Toplady.  (Christian  and  Philosoph.  Necessity  asserted. 
 Ch.  V.) 
 
 19  Wherefore  my  sentence  is,  that  we  trouble  not 
 them,  which  from  among  the  Gentiles  are  tm^ned  to 
 God: 
 
 20  But  that  we  write  unto  them,  that  they  abstain 
 from  pollutions  of  idols,  and /rom  fornication,  and /rom 
 things  strangled,  and /rom  blood. 
 
 21  For  Moses  of  old  time  hath  in  every  city  them 
 that  preach  him,  being  read  in  the  synagogues  every 
 sabbath  day. 
 
 19  My  sentetice. — I  authoritatively  say.     S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 If  any  of  the  Apostles,  or  Apostolical  men,  might  claim  a  prece- 
 dency, or  authoritative  headship,  over  the  rest,  S.  James  seemeth 
 to  have  the  best  title  thereto  :  for  Jerusalem  was  the  Mother  of 
 all  Churches,  the  fountain  of  the  Christian  Law  and  Doctrine, 
 the  See  of  our  Lord  Himself,  the  Chief  Pastor.  Isa.  ii.  3  ;  S. 
 Luke  xiv.  47.  He  therefore  who  (as  the  Fathers  tell  us)  was 
 by  our  Loed  Himself  constituted  Bishop  of  that  City,  and  the 
 first  of  all  Bishops,  might  best  pretend  to  be,  in  special  manner, 
 our  Lord's  Yicar  or  successor.  "  He,"  saith  Epiphanius,  "  did 
 first  receive  the  Episcopal  Chair,  and  to  him  our  Lord  did 
 entrust  His  own  Throne  upon  earth.  He  accordingly  did  first 
 exercise  the  authority  of  presiding  and  moderating  in  the  first 
 Ecclesiastical  Synod,  as  S.  Chrysostom  in  his  notes  thereon 
 doth  remark.  He,  therefore,  probably,  by  S.  Paul  is  first 
 named  in  his  report,  concerning  the  passages  at  Jerusalem,  Gal. 
 
THE  ACTS  XV.  19,  20.  429 
 
 ii.  9 ;  and  to  his  orders  it  seemeth,  that  S.  Peter  himself  did 
 conform;  for  it  is  said  there,  that,  before  certain  came  from  S. 
 James,  he  did  eat  with  the  Grentiles  ;  but,  when  they  were 
 come,  he  withdrew.  Gral.  ii.  12.  Hence,  in  the  Apostolical 
 Constitutions,  in  the  prayer,  prescribed  for  the  Church  and  for 
 all  the  Grovernors  of  it,  the  Bishops  of  the  principal  Churches 
 being  specified  by  name,  S.  James  is  put  in  the  first  place,  before 
 the  Bishops  of  E-ome  and  of  Antioch.  "  Let  us  pray  for  the 
 whole  Episcopacy,  under  heaven,  of  those,  who  rightly  dispense 
 the  word  of  Thy  Truth:  and  let  us  pray  for  our  Bishop, 
 James,  with  all  his  parishes ;  let  us  pray  for  our  Bishop, 
 Clemens,  and  all  his  parishes ;  let  us  pray  for  Evodius,  and  all 
 his  parishes."  Constit.  Apost.  8,  10.  Hereto  consenteth  the 
 Tradition  of  those  ancient  writers,  afore-cited,  who  call  S.  James 
 "  the  Bishop  of  Bishops,"  the  "  Bishop  of  the  Apostles,"  &c. 
 xii.  17  ;  Rev.  xxi.  22.  Dr.  Barrow.  (A  Treatise  of  the  Pope's 
 Supremacy.     Supposition  i.) 
 
 My  sentence. — Will  you  have  a  Church  ?  Authority  gathers  it. 
 Would  you  have  a  Church  continue  so,  and  not  fall  asunder 
 into  Schisms,  nor  moulder  into  sects,  nor  crumble  into  conven- 
 ticles ?  Authority  is  the  junction,  the  cement,  the  contiguation, 
 the  pale  of  the  fence,  the  wall  of  the  Church ;  keeping  it  so, 
 that  neither  the  wolf  break  m,  nor  the  sheep  get  out,  that 
 neither  heresy  undermine  the  bulwark  without,  nor  schism  raise 
 a  mutiny  within,  xx.  29,  30 ;  1  Cor.  v. ;  2  Cor.  xiii.  3,  10  ; 
 Farindon. 
 
 20  A  question  arises  from  this  case,  why  the  particulars  men- 
 tioned are  singled  out,  when  the  Jews  were  strongly  attached 
 to  other  points  of  the  Law.  But,  if  you  consider  the  case,  the 
 reason  for  this  distinction  will  evidently  appear.  For,  as  the 
 concern  was  to  prevent  the  giving  offence  to  the  Jews,  and 
 thereby  to  preserve  peace  and  charity  in  the  Church,  it  was  ne- 
 cessary to  guard  against  the  practices,  which  open  to  every 
 man's  view  in  the  common  occurrences  of  life.  A  Jew  could 
 never  be  present  at  the  table  of  a  Christian  without  having 
 some  security,  that  he  should  not  meet  with  things,  offered  to 
 idols,  nor  with  blood,  nor  with  things  strangled :  otherwise,  all 
 intercourse  between  them  would  be   cut  off.  .  .  .  The  Jews 
 
430  THE  ACTS  XV.  21. 
 
 were  not  only  forbidden  the  use  of  these  things,  but  were  for- 
 bidden likewise  all  communication  with  them,  that  did  use  them, 
 though  they  were  strangers  and  not  bound  by  the  law  of  Moses. 
 See  Lev.  xvii.  12.    xi.  3.    Bp.  Sherlock.    (Discourse,  S.  Jude  3.) 
 
 21  GrOD  did  a  mighty  work  for  His  Church  scattered  abroad 
 everywhere,  in  that  the  Jewish  people,  so  deservedly  subdued 
 and  spread  over  the  earth,  should  carry  with  them  to  all  places 
 the  Books  of  our  prophets ;  so  as  at  once  to  prevent  the  sup- 
 position of  any  forgery  of  those  Books  by  us.  Thus  the  oppo- 
 nents of  our  faith  are  made  to  be  its  witnesses,  ii.  5  ;  xvii.  11 ; 
 2  Cor.  iii.  14 ;  2  Tim.  iii.  15.     S.  Augustine. 
 
 It  is  not  unremarkable  what  Philo  first  observed,  that  the  Law  of 
 Moses  continued  two  thousand  years  without  the  least  altera- 
 tion :  whereas  we  see  the  laws  of  other  commonweals  do  alter 
 with  occasions ;  and  even  those,  that  pretended  their  original 
 from  some  divinity,  to  have  vanished  without  trace  or  memory. 
 I  believe,  besides  Zoroaster,  there  were  divers,  that  writ  before 
 Moses,  who,  notwithstanding,  have  suffered  the  common  fate  of 
 time.  Men's  works  have  an  age,  like  themselves  ;  and,  though 
 they  outlive  their  authors,  yet  have  they  a  stint  and  period  to 
 their  duration.  This  only  is  a  work  too  hard  for  the  teeth  of 
 time,  and  cannot  perish,  but  in  the  general  flames,  when  all 
 things  shall  confess  their  ashes,  v.  36 — 39 ;  Mai.  iii.  6.  Sir 
 T.  Browne.     (Eeligio  Medici,  s.  23.) 
 
 These  Books  of  the  New  Testament  were  read,  as  they  are  now, 
 in  the  Churches  and  assemblies  of  the  Primitive  Christians  ;  and 
 these  Books  only  :  which  was  both  a  strong  and  public  acknow- 
 ledgment of  their  authority,  and  even  of  their  exclusive  autho- 
 rity ;  and  that  by  a  great  number  of  diifering  and  distant 
 Churches.  ...  I  defy  any  man  living,  to  make  now-a-days  any 
 alteration  in  our  Bible ;  because  its  being  constantly  read  in 
 public  and  being  by  that  means  so  dispersed  and  so  well  known, 
 the  alteration  must  be  immediately  detected.  Palei/.  (Serm. 
 S.  John  XX.  31.) 
 
 The  public  and  solemn  reading  of  the  "Word  of  God  by  a  Minister 
 of  Cheist,  lawfully  ordained  and  appointed  thereunto,  I  look 
 upon,  as  a  thing  of  much  greater  consequence,  than  it  is  com- 
 monly thought  to  be ;  yea,  I  cannot  but  reckon  it  amongst  the 
 
THE  ACTS  XV.  21.  431 
 
 most  useful  and  prevalent  means  of  grace,  that  we  do,  or  can 
 enjoy.  For,  although  it  be  our  duty  to  read  the  Scriptures  iu 
 private,  which  I  hope  you  all  do,  yet  none  of  you,  but  may  find 
 by  experience,  that  a  chapter,  once  read  in  public,  as  before  de- 
 scribed, is  of  greater  force,  and  makes  deeper  impression  upon 
 you,  than  if  you  run  it  ten  times  over  by  yourselves.  And  the 
 reason  is,  because  the  same  Spirit,  which  indited  the  Scriptures, 
 accompanies  such  solemn  reading  of  them,  and  sets  it  home  upon 
 the  hearts  and  consciences  of  them,  that  hear  it.  S.  Luke  iv. 
 16—20.     Bp.  Beveridge.     (Serm.  S.  Matt,  xxviii.  20.) 
 
 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,  and  Silas,  chief  men  among 
 the  brethren : 
 
 23  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  Gentiles 
 in  Antioch,  and  Syria,  and  Cilicia : 
 
 24  Forasmuch  as  we  have  heard,  that  certain  which 
 went  out  from  us  have  troubled  you  with  words,  sub- 
 verting your  souls,  saying,  Ye  must  be  circumcised, 
 and  keep  the  law :  to  whom  we  gave  no  such  com- 
 mandment : 
 
 25  It  seemed  good  unto  us,  being  assembled  with 
 one  accord,  to  send  chosen  men  unto  you  with  our 
 beloved  Barnabas  and  Paul, 
 
 26  Men  that  have  hazarded  their  lives  for  the  Name 
 of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
 
 27  We  have  sent  therefore  Judas  and  Silas,  who 
 shall  also  tell  you  the  same  things  by  n:iouth. 
 
 28  For  it  seemed  good  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  to 
 
432 
 
 THE  ACTS  XV.  22. 
 
 US,  to   lay  upon  you  no  greater   burden  than  these 
 necessary  things ; 
 
 29  That  ye  abstain  from  meats  offered  to  idols,  and 
 from  blood,  and  from  things  strangled,  and  from  forni- 
 cation :  from  which  if  ye  keep  yourselves,  ye  shall  do 
 well.     Fare  ye  well. 
 
 22  Chief  men  among  the  brethren.  " kvhp%^  rj^ovinevoi.  To  lead,  im- 
 plies precedence,  which  is  a  note  of  superiority  and  preeminence. 
 Hence  they  are  otherwise  styled  "governors,"  "over- 
 seers," or  superintendents,  (as  S.  Jerome  renders  it,)  "Pas- 
 tors," (a  word,  often  signifying  Eule,  and  attributed  to  civil 
 Governors,)  "Elders,"  or  Senators, — the  word  denoteth  not 
 merely  age,  but  office  and  authority, — ol  e7n/ue\oui/Te^.  Such  as 
 take  care  of,  the  "  Curators,"  or  supervisors  of  the  Church. 
 Hence  also  they  are  signally,  and  specially  in  relation  unto  GrOD, 
 styled  the  "Servants,"  the  "Ministers,"  the  "Officers,"  the 
 "Public  Agents,"  the  "Stewards,"  the  "  Coadjutors,"  or  assist- 
 ants, the  "Legates,"  the  "Angels,"  or  "Messengers"  of  God; 
 which  titles  imply,  that  God,  by  them,  as  His  substitutes  and 
 instruments,  doth  administer  the  affairs  of  His  Spiritual  King- 
 dom ;  that,  as  by  secular  magistrates  (His  vicegerents  and 
 officers)  He  manageth  His  Universal  temporal  kingdom,  or 
 governeth  all  men,  in  order  to  their  worldly  peace  and  pros- 
 perity; so  by  these  Spiritual  Magistrates  He  ruleth  His 
 Church,  towards  its  spiritual  welfare  and  felicity.  1  Cor.  xii. 
 28  ;  Acts  XX.  28 ;  S.  Matt.  ii.  6 ;  Ps.  Ixxviii.  71 ;  IS,  Pet.  v.  2 ; 
 2  Sam.  V.  2  ;  vii.  7  ;  1  Tim.  iii.  5  ;  Eom.  xv.  16  ;  1  Cor.  iv.  1, 2  ; 
 iii.  9 ;  vi.  1,  2 ;  2  Cor.  vi.  4 ;  Tit.  i.  2  ;  Gal.  iv.  14 ;  Eev.  i.  29. 
 Dr.  Barrow.     (Serm.  Heb.  xiii.  17.) 
 
 Authority  is  a  constraining  power ;  which  power  were  needless,  if 
 we  were  all  such,  as  we  should  be,  willing  to  do  the  things  we 
 ought  to  do  without  constraint.  But  because,  generally,  we  are 
 otherwise,  therefore  we  all  reap  singular  benefit  by  that  authority, 
 which  permitteth  no  men,  though  they  would,  to  slacken  their 
 duty.  It  doth  not  sufiice  that  the  Lord  of  the  household  appoint 
 labourers  what  they  should  do,  unless   He  set  over  them  some 
 
THE  ACTS  XV.  23.  433 
 
 chief  workmen  to  see  that  they  do  it.  Constitutions  and 
 Canons,  made  for  the  ordering  of  Church  affairs,  are  dead  task- 
 masters.    Hooker, 
 
 23  In  the  decree  they  join  the  Elders  and  brethren  with  them. 
 So  doth  S.  Paul  join  one  or  other  with  him  in  no  less  than  eight 
 of  his  Epistles :  and  in  both  cases  the  meaning  plainly  is,  not 
 to  allow  them  equal  authority,  but  merely  to  express  their  con- 
 currence. X.  23 ;  1  Cor.  i.  1 ;  2  Cor.  i.  1 ;  Gal.  i.  1,  2 ;  Phil.  i. 
 1 ;  Col.  i.  1 ;  1  Thess.  i.  1 ;  Philem.  1.  Abp.  Seeker.  (Serm, 
 2  Tim.  iii.  16,  17.) 
 
 Brethren  (in  the  Apostolical  use  of  the  word)  are  Christians ;  and 
 the  Brotherhood  the  whole  Society  of  Christian  men,  the  system 
 and  body  of  the  whole  Visible  Church  of  Christ.  I  say  the 
 Visible  Church,  because  there  is  indeed  another  Brotherhood, 
 more  excellent  than  this,  whereof  we  now  speak ;  consisting  of 
 such  only,  as  shall  undoubtedly  inherit  salvation,  called  by  some 
 of  the  ancients,  "The  Church  of  God's  Elect,"  and  by  some 
 later  writers,  "the  Invisible  Church."  And  truly  this  Brother- 
 hood would  (under  God)  deserve  the  highest  room  in  our 
 affections,  could  we  with  any  certainty  discern,  who  were  of  it, 
 and  who  not.  But  because  "the  fan"  is  not  in  our  hand,  to 
 winnow  the  chaff  from  the  wheat  (Dominus  novit);  "the  Lord 
 only  knoweth  who  are  His,"  (2  Tim.  ii.  19,)  by  those  secret 
 characters  of  Grace  and  Perseverance,  which  no  eye  of  man  is 
 able  to  discern  in  another,  (nor,  perhaps,  in  himself,  infallibly,) 
 we  are  therefore  for  the  discharge  of  our  duty  to  look  at  the 
 Brotherhood,  so  far  as  it  is  discernible  to  us  by  the  plain  and 
 legible  characters  of  Baptism  and  outward  profession.  So  that 
 whosoever  abideth  in  area  Domini,  and  liveth  in  the  Communion  of 
 the  Visible  Church,  being  Baptized  into  Christ,  and  professing 
 the  Name  of  Christ,  (let  him  prove,  as  it  falleth  out,  chaff,  or 
 light  corn,  or  wheat,  when  the  Lord  shall  come  with  His  fan, 
 to  purge  His  floor,)  yet,  in  the  mean  time,  so  long  as  he  lieth 
 in  the  heap  and  upon  the  floor,  we  must  own  him  for  a  Chris- 
 tian, and  take  him,  as  one  of  the  Brotherhood ;  and,  as  such  an 
 one,  love  him.  Eom.  i.  7  ;  1  Cor.  i.  2  ;  Eph.  i.  1 ;  2  Thess.  iii.  15. 
 Bp.  Sanderson.     (Serm.  1  S.  Pet.  ii.  17.) 
 
 The   title  of  brethren,  suggesting  mutual  forbearance  and  unity, 
 
 r  r 
 
434  THE  ACTS  XV.  24. 
 
 amidst  these  contentions,  is  mentioned  no  less  than  nine  times 
 in  this  narrative,  and  is,  as  oil  on  the  troubled  M^aters.  ("  Love 
 the  brotherhood."  "Love,  as  brethren.")  The  result  was  a 
 mutual  accommodation  between  the  contending  parties  ;  con- 
 cessions being  made  on  each  side  for  the  satisfaction  and  quiet- 
 ness of  both  ;  and  so,  as  "  the  truth  of  the  Gospel  might  continue 
 with  them."  (Gal.  ii.)  The  Jew  is  no  longer  to  bind  the 
 Gentile  by  the  necessity  of  circumcision ;  the  Gentile  is  hence- 
 forth to  abstain  from  customs,  and  indulgences  offensive  to  the 
 Jew.  Self-denial,  animated  by  charity,  is  the  best  end  of  strife, 
 and  the  true  via  pads.  If  we  really  appreciate  the  blessing,  we 
 shall  not  grudge  the  sacrifice,  xvi.  3  ;  xx.  21 — 24 ;  Eom.  xii. 
 18  ;  xiv. ;  1  Cor.  viii. ;  Eph.  v.  1,  2.     J.  F. 
 
 24  Te  must,  (v.  1.)  S.  Chrysostom  is  very  zealous  in  this  point, 
 writing  on  those  words  of  S.  Paul,  concerning  those,  that  urged 
 the  ceremonies  of  Moses,  (Gal.  i.  7 ;  ii.  4.)  "  But  there  are  some 
 that  would  overthrow  the  Gospel  of  Cheist."  "But  indeed," 
 says  that  father,  "  they  retained  the  Gospel ;  only  they  would 
 have  brought  in  a  Jewish  rite  or  two  ;  and  yet  the  Apostle  says, 
 that  thereby  the  Gospel  is  subverted  ;  to  show  how  but  a  little 
 thing,  being  untowardly  mingled,  mars  all :  for  as  in  the  king's 
 coin,  he,  that  clips  ofi"  but  a  little  of  his  image,  stamped  thereon, 
 imbaseth  the  whole  piece ;  so,  if  any  shall  overthrow  but  the 
 least  parcel  of  the  Truth,  it  is  wholly  corrupted,  from  these 
 beginnings  proceeding  always  to  worse  things.  Where  are  they 
 now,  who  condemn  us,  as  contentious,  because  of  our  disagree- 
 ment with  heretics  ?  Let  them  hear  what  S.  Paul  saith, 
 namely,  that  they  did  overthrow  the  Gospel,  who  brought  in 
 but  little  innovation."  So  dangerous  did  this  holy  man  hold  it 
 to  yield,  though  never  so  little,  to  error,  because  of  this  deceit, 
 whereby  the  whole  truth  is  secretly  undermined.  If  we  never 
 so  little  sip  of  the  cup  of  error,  we  shall  drink  our  full  draught ; 
 yea,  we  shall  go  on  carousing,  till  we  be  drunk  therewith.  If 
 we  begin  never  so  little  to  nibble  upon  these  meats,  we  shall  fill 
 ourselves  with  them,  and  eat,  till  we  surfeit.  S.  Mark  vii.  4, 
 8, 13  ;  2  Tim.  iii.  13  ;  S.  James  iii.  5.  Dr.  Dyke.  (The  Mystery 
 of  Self-deceiving,  ch.  15.) 
 
 All  great  errors  have  ever  been  intermingled  with  some  truth  ;  and. 
 
THE  ACTS  XV.  24,  25.  435 
 
 indeed,  if  falsehood  should  appear  alone  unto  the  world  in  her 
 own  true  shape  and  native  deformity,  she  would  be  so  black  and 
 horrid,  that  no  man  would  look  upon  her ;  and  therefore  she  hath 
 always  had  an  art  to  wrap  herself  up  in  a  garment  of  light,  by  which 
 means  she  passes  freely,  disguised  and  undiscerned.  This  was 
 elegantly  signified  in  the  fable,  thus : — Truth  at  first  presented 
 herself  to  the  world,  and  went  about  to  seek  entertainment ;  but, 
 when  she  found  none,  being  of  a  generous  nature,  that  loves  not 
 to  obtrude  herself  upon  unworthy  spirits,  she  resolved  to  leave 
 earth  and  take  her  flight  for  heaven ;  but,  as  she  was  going  up, 
 she  chanced,  Elijah-like,  to  let  her  mantle  fall,  and  falsehood, 
 waiting  by  for  such  an  opportunity,  snatched  it  up  presently  ; 
 and  ever  since  goes  about  disguised  in  Truth's  attire,  viii.  13  ; 
 xix.  13  ;  XX.  30 ;  S.  Luke  xx.  20 ;  2  Cor.  xi.  14.  R.  Cudworth. 
 (On  the  true  notion  of  the  Loed's  Supper.) 
 
 It  cannot  but  open  men's  eyes  to  see,  that  many  controversies 
 do  merely  pertain  to  that,  which  is  either  not  revealed,  or  positive  ; 
 and  that  many  others  do  grow  upon  weak  and  obscure  inferences, 
 or  derivations ;  which  latter  sort,  if  men  would  revive  the 
 blessed  style  of  that  great  Doctor  of  the  Gentiles,  would 
 be  carried  thus,  EgOy  non  Dominus,  and  again.  Secundum  con- 
 silium meum ;  in  opinions  and  counsels,  and  not  in  positions 
 and  oppositions.  But  now  men  are  over-ready  to  usurp  the 
 style,  Non  ego^  sed  Domitius :  and  not  only  so,  but  to  bind 
 it  with  the  thunder  and  the  denunciation  of  curses  and  anathe- 
 mas to  the  terror  of  those,  which  have  not  sufficiently  learned 
 out  of  Solomon  that  "the  causeless  curse  shall  not  come.'* 
 1  Cor.  vii.  40,  25 ;  Ps.  xii.  4.  Lord  Bacon.  (Advancement  of 
 Learning,  b.  11.) 
 
 25  The  Spirit  leads  us  by  degrees,  and  by  a  certain  method.  Eor 
 even  so  He  led  our  Saviour  ;  first  into  the  wilderness,  then  to 
 His  work.  And  though  His  leading  of  the  Apostles  was  ex- 
 traordinary, yet  even  them  He  commands  to  stay  at  Jerusalem, 
 and  to  expect  His  coming.  And,  though  their  determinations 
 were  subscribed  to  by  a  "  Visum  est  Spiritui  Sancto,''^  yet  they 
 conferred  one  with  another,  met  together  in  council,  and  did 
 deliberate,  before  they  did  determine.  1  Cor.  xiv.  33.  Farindon. 
 (Serm.  S.  Matt.  iv.  1,  p.  2.) 
 
 r  r  2 
 
436  THE  ACTS  XV.  25—28. 
 
 Beloved. — Authority  must  be  guided  and  tempered  by  Charity. 
 Our  "  chief  men"  must  be  loving  men,  that  they  may  be  beloved. 
 Compare  with  this  the  former  mission  of  S.  Barnabas,  xi.  22, 
 23,  24.  One  of  the  Epistles,  most  full  of  reproof,  deals  most 
 in  the  language  of  love.     See  S.  James  i.  16,  19 ;  ii.  5.     J.  F. 
 
 20  Of  Martyrdom  there  are  three  kinds.  1.  Sold  voluntate,  in 
 will  only,  as  S.  John  the  Evangelist,  who,  being  boiled  in  a 
 cauldron  of  oil,  came  out  rather  anointed,  than  sod ;  and  died  of 
 old  age  at  Ephesus.  (See  also  S.  John  xxi.  19,  20.)  2.  Solo 
 opere,  in  deed  only,  as  the  Innocents  of  Bethlehem.  S.  Matt.  ii. 
 3.  Voluntate  et  opere,  both  in  will  and  deed,  as  in  the  primitive 
 Church,  S.  Stephen,  Polycarpus,  Ignatius,  Laurentius,  Homanus, 
 Antiochenus,  and  thousands  ;  and,  in  our  days,  Cranmer,  Lati- 
 mer, Hooper,  B/idley,  Earrar,  Bradford,  Philpot,  Sanders, 
 Glover,  Taylor,  and  others  innumerable,  whose  fiery  zeal  to 
 God's  Truth  brought  them  to  the  flames  of  Martyrdom,  xx. 
 24  ;  xxi.  13  ;  xxv.  11.  Bp.  Baily.  (The  Practice  of  Piety, 
 ch.  43.) 
 
 I  think  it  is  very  remarkable,  that  there  was  not  a  single  Martyr 
 among  these  many  heretics,  who  disagreed  with  the  Apostolical 
 Church,  and  introduced  several  wild  and  absurd  notions  into 
 the  doctrines  of  Christianity.  They  durst  not  stake  their 
 present  and  future  happiness  on  their  own  chimerical  opera- 
 tions ;  and  did  not  only  shun  persecution,  but  affirmed,  that  it 
 was  unnecessary  for  their  followers  to  bear  their  religion 
 through  such  fiery  trials.  Prov.  xxxviii.  1 ;  Gal.  vi.  12,  14, 
 17.  Addison,  (Evidences  of  the  Christian  Eeligion,  ch.  v. 
 s.  6.) 
 
 28  As  if  the  Blessed  Spirit  had  been  Chairman  and  President  of 
 the  Council.  Col.  iii.  15.  Dr.  Littleton.  (Serm.  S.  John 
 XV.  26.) 
 
 There  is  an  evident  distinction  between  the  judgment  of  the  Holt 
 Ghost  and  of  the  Apostles  ;  and,  on  account  of  the  submission 
 of  the  latter  to  the  former,  the  word  eco^G,  it  seemed  good,  im- 
 ports, not  only  an  act  of  knowledge,  but  also  of  judgment  and 
 choice,  as  well  as  of  authority  and  power;  and,  being  thus 
 applied  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  distinction  from  others,  must 
 signify  His  own  immediate  power  of  knowing,  willing,  and  de- 
 
THE  ACTS  XV.  28,  29.  437 
 
 termining  in  the  matter  proposed ;  and,  so  taken,  it  is  a  clear 
 proof  of  His  real  Personality  :  for  I  think  it  was  never  heard, 
 nor  can  be  conceived,  that  an  eificient  power  should  thus  see, 
 judge,  choose,  and  determine,  and  especially  in  distinction  from 
 them,  upon  whom  it  was  exerted.  The  act  of  the  Holt  GtHOST 
 cannot  be  understood  barely  of  an  influence  of  Divine  power 
 upon  their  undertakings  and  wills  :  for  then  there  would  be  no 
 distinction  between  its  seeming  good  to  Him  and  seeming  good  to 
 them  :  but  the  obvious  sense  is,  that  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  an 
 intelligent  Agent  or  Person,  judged  what  is  spoken  of  to  be 
 necessary ;    and  the  Apostles,  in  subordination   to,  and    com- 
 
 .  pliance  with,  His  determination,  and,  as  instruments  of  its 
 discovery,  did  also  so  judge  and  determine,  xiii.  2,  4  ;  xvi.  6, 
 7  ;  XX.  28.  Hurrion.  (Sermons  on  the  real  Personality  of  the 
 Holt  G-host,  ii.) 
 
 Then  [under  the  old  Dispensation]  the  Holt  Ghost  came  and 
 went,  lighted  a  little,  but  stayed  not ;  motabat  or  volitabat,  flew 
 or  fluttered  about,  moved  and  stirred  them  at  times,  as  it  did 
 Samson,  Judges  xiii.  25  ;  coming  and  going.  Now  it  is,  He 
 "25  come."  He  sate  Him  down  upon  the  Apostles,  ii.  3  :  He 
 sate  Him  down  in  the  chair  at  their  Synod,  xv.  28  ;  Visum  est 
 Spiritui  et  nobis;  calls  us  His  Temples  now,  not  His  Ta- 
 bernacles ;  places  of  a  during  habitation,  and  is  to  "  abide 
 with  us  for  ever."  xix.  2.  Dr.  M.  Frank.  (Serra.  S.  John 
 xvi.  13.) 
 
 Let  very  few  things  be  defined,  because  very  few  things  are 
 necessary,  viii.  37.  Kirig  James  I.  (Advice  previous  to  the 
 Synod  of  Dortc) 
 
 29  This  is  the  whole  conclusion  of  the  New  Testament.  The 
 Holt  Spirit,  despised  in  those  many  Ordinances  of  the  Law, 
 hath  left  these  Injunctions  to  us,  on  condition  of  hazard  of  our 
 lives.  .  .  .  These  three  crimes,  [Idolatry,  murder,  adultery,'] 
 we  must  dread,  as  the  breath  of  some  basilisk,  as  a  cup  of 
 poison,  as  a  deadly  arrow  :  for  they  know  how,  not  to  corrupt 
 only,  but  to  cut  off"  the  soul.  Niggardliness  shall  be  redeemed 
 by  liberality  ;  slanders  be  compensated  by  satisfaction  ;  morose- 
 ness  by  pleasantness ;  harshness  by  gentleness ;  levity  by 
 gravity ;  perverse  ways  by  honesty  ;  and  so  in  all  cases,  which 
 
438  THE  ACTS  XV.  29. 
 
 are  well  amended  by  their  contraries  (S.  Luke  xviii.  8  ;  Eph.  iv. 
 28.)  But  what  shall  the  despiser  of  God  do  (Idolatry)  ? 
 "What  the  blood-stained  (Murder)  ?  "What  remedy  shall  there 
 be  for  the  fornicator  (xidultery)  ?  Shall  either  he  be  able  to  ap- 
 pease the  LoED,  who  hath  abandoned  Him  ?  or  he  to  preserve 
 his  own  blood,  w^ho  hath  shed  another's  ?  or  he  to  restore  the 
 Temple  of  God,  who  hath  violated  it  by  fornication  ?  These, 
 my  Brethren,  are  capital,  these  are  mortal  crimes.  Ex.  xxxii. 
 33 ;  S.  Matt.  xxvi.  52  ;  1  S.  John  v.  16 ;  1  Cor.  iii.  17.  S, 
 Facian.     (Parsen.  ad  poenit.  s.  9.) 
 
 Some  sins  were  unknown  to  the  heathen — (not  regarded,  as  sins) 
 — as  revenge,  ambition,  fornication.  Farindon.  (Serm.  Ezek. 
 xxxiii.  11.) 
 
 "We  may  infer  that  this  decree  was  the  composition  of  S.  James, 
 since  it  accords  with  some  of  the  very  expressions  he  used  in 
 his  speech.     Conf.  verse  19,  24  ;  and  20,  29.     Bengel. 
 
 "We  learn  from  1  Cor.  viii.,  that  this  decree  did  not  entirely  put  a 
 stop  to  the  practice  of  eating  things,  oiFered  to  idols.  S.  Paul 
 makes  no  allusion  to  it.  xxi.  25.  Bp.  Kaye.  (On  the  Govern- 
 ment of  the  Church,  &c.     Note,  p.  24.) 
 
 30  So  when  they  were  dismissed,  they  came  to  An- 
 tioch  :  and  when  they  had  gathered  the  multitude  to- 
 gether, they  deHvered  the  epistle  : 
 
 31  Which  when  they  had  read,  they  rejoiced  for  the 
 consolation. 
 
 32  And  Judas  and  Silas,  being  prophets  also  them- 
 selves, exhorted  the  brethren  with  many  words,  and 
 confirmed  them. 
 
 33  And  after  they  had  tarried  there  a  space,  they 
 were  let  go  in  peace  from  the  brethren  unto  the 
 apostles. 
 
 34  Notwithstanding  it  pleased  Silas  to  abide  there 
 still. 
 
 35  Paul  also  and  Barnabas  continued  in  Antioch, 
 
THE  ACTS  XV.  30.  439 
 
 teaching  and  preaching  the  word  of  the  Lord,  with 
 many  others  also. 
 
 30  The  precepts  and  constitutions  of  the  Church,  being  ordered 
 and  framed  according  to  the  Apostolical  rules  (Eom.  xiv.  19 ; 
 1  Cor.  xiv.  26,  40),  and  according  to  precedent  examples  and 
 precedents  of  Holy  Scripture,  and  the  equity  and  analogy  of 
 former  Divine  Laws  (1  Cor.  ix.  9,  13),  and  maxims,  and  con- 
 clusions of  natural  reason,  rectified  by  grace  (1  Cor.  ix.  7,  10 ; 
 xi.  14,  15),  and  the  end  of  such  precepts  being  godly  edification, 
 order,  decency,  and  reverent  administration  of  sacred  and  reli- 
 gious things,  are,  when  thus  qualified,  sacred  and  venerable  ;  and 
 thus  observation  is  an  act  of  Tteligion,  and  of  obedience  to  the 
 general  Commandment  of  God.  Heb.  xiii.  17 ;  S.  Matt,  xviii. 
 17  ;  1  Cor.  xi.  2.  Bp.  White,  (Treatise  of  the  Sabbath  Day. 
 p.  100.     Edit.  1635.) 
 
 The  Council  of  Jerusalem  is  no  argument  for  the  power  of  the 
 Clergy  alone  to  make  laws.  .  .  .  The  cause,  why  that  Council 
 was  of  so  great  authority  and  credit  above  all  others,  which  have 
 been  since,  is  expressed  in  those  words  of  principal  observation, 
 Unto  the  Holy  Ghost  and  to  us  it  hath  seemed  good ;  which 
 form  of  speech,  though  other  Councils  have  likewise  used,  yet 
 neither  could  they  themselves  mean,  nor  may  we  so  understand 
 them,  as  if  both  were  in  equal  sort  assisted  with  the  power  of 
 the  Holt  Ghost  :  but  the  latter  had  the  favour  of  that  general 
 assistance  and  presence,  which  Christ  doth  promise  unto  all 
 His,  according  to  the  quality  of  their  several  estates  and  callings ; 
 the  former  that  Grace  of  special,  miraculous,  rare,  and  extra- 
 ordinary illumination,  in  relation  whereunto  the  Apostle,  com- 
 paring the  Old  Testament  and  the  New  together,  termeth  the 
 one  "a  Testament  of  the  letter;"  for  that  God  delivered  it 
 written  in  stone,  the  other  "  a  Testament  of  the  Spirit,"  because 
 God  imprinted  it  in  the  hearts,  and  declared  it  by  the  tongues 
 of  His  chosen  Apostles  through  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
 framing  both,  their  conceits  and  speeches  in  most  Divine  and  in- 
 comprehensible manner.  "Wherefore,  inasmuch  as  the  Council 
 of  Jerusalem  did  chance  to  consist  of  men,  so  enlightened,  it  had 
 authority  greater  than  were  meet  for  any  other  Council  besides 
 to  challenge,  wherein  no  such  kind  of  persons  are.  ...  As  now 
 
440  THE  ACTS  XV.  30,  31. 
 
 the  state  of  the  Church  doth  stand  (Kings  being  not  then  that, 
 which  they  are  now,  and  the  Clergy  not  now  that,  which  they 
 then  were)  till  it  be  proved  that  some  special  law  of  Cheist 
 hath  for  ever  annexed  unto  the  Clergy  alone  the  power  to  make 
 Ecclesiastical  laws,  we  are  to  hold  it  a  thing,  most  consonant 
 with  reason  and  equity,  that  no  Ecclesiastical  laws  be  made  in 
 a  Christian  Commonwealth,  without  consent,  as  well  of  the  laity, 
 as  of  the  Clergy ;  but,  least  of  all,  without  consent  of  the  higher 
 power,  i.  2 ;  S.  Matt,  xxviii.  20 ;  1  Cor.  v.  4 ;  2  Cor.  iii.  3,  6. 
 Hooker.     (Eccl.  Pol.  B.  viii.  c.  vi.  s.  7,  8.) 
 
 I  grant,  there  is  a  promise  of  Cheist's  and  the  Holt  Spirit's 
 continual  presence  and  assistance.  I  do  likewise  grant  most 
 freely,  that  this  promise  is,  on  the  part  of  Cheist  and  the  Holt 
 Ghost,  most  really  and  fully  performed.  But  then  this  promise 
 must  not  be  extended  further,  than  it  was  made.  It  was  made 
 of  continual  presence  and  assistance ;  that  I  grant :  and  it  was 
 made  to  the  Apostles  and  their  successors ;  that  I  grant  too ; 
 but  in  a  different  degree.  For  it  was  of  continual  and  infallible 
 assistance  to  the  Apostles ;  but  to  their  successors  of  continual 
 and  fitting  assistance,  but  not  infallible.  And,  therefore,  the 
 lawfully  sent  Pastors  and  Doctors  of  the  Church  in  all  ages 
 have  had,  and  shall  have,  continual  assistance ;  but  not  infallible. 
 ...  If  he  think  me  mistaken,  let  him  show  me  any  one  Father 
 of  the  Church  that  extends  the  sense  of  this  place  (S.  Matt, 
 xxviii.  20)  to  Divine  and  infallible  assistance,  granted  hereby 
 to  all  the  Apostles'  successors.  .  .  .  The  Holt  Ghost  shall  be 
 present  by  consolation  and  grace,  not  by  infallible  assistance. 
 S.  John  xiv.  16.  Abp.  Laud.  (Conference  with  Fisher.  S.  16, 
 and  note.) 
 
 31  The  Holt  Ghost  is  called  our  "  Paraclete,"  as  assisting,  ad- 
 vocating, encouraging,  comforting  us ;  now,  as  if  to  put  the 
 highest  term  upon  S.  Barnabas  (ver.  22,  and  iv.  36),  the  same 
 term  is  applied  to  him.  He  is  called  "  the  son  of  consolationy^ 
 or  the  Paraclete ;  and,  in  accordance  with  this  honourable  title, 
 we  are  told  that,  when  the  Gentile  converts  of  Antioch  had  re- 
 ceived from  his  and  S.  Paul's  hands  the  Apostles'  decision 
 against  the  Judaizers,  they  "  rejoiced  for  the  consolation.'''' 
 J.  11.  Newman.     (Serm.  Acts  xi.  24.) 
 
 2'hey  rejoiced. — Was  not  this  the  very  peace  and^oy,  spoken  of  by 
 
THE  ACTS  XV.  31,  32.  441 
 
 S.  Paul,  when,  writing  to  a  cburcli  of  converted  Gentiles,  he 
 said,  "Being  justified  by  faith,  we  have  peace  with  God  through 
 Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,"  &c.  (Rom.  v.  1,  2);  ""We^'oyiu 
 God,  having  received  the  atonement."     (ver.  11.)     J.  F. 
 
 If  so  short  a  letter  from  the  Apostles  caused  so  much  joy  and  con- 
 solation, what  ought  we  to  expect  from  the  whole  volume  of 
 Scripture,  it  being  nothing  else  than  a  message  from  God  to 
 man  ?     Rom.  xv.  4  ;  Hos.  viii.  12.     Quesnel. 
 
 How  much  are  we  bound  to  Christ,  to  God  in  Christ,  that  He 
 has  freed  us  from  those  imperfect,  yet  costly,  Sacrifices,  those 
 troublesome  abstinences,  those  unprofitable  washings,  those 
 strict  severities  of  new  Moons,  and  Sabbaths,  that  painful  rite 
 of  Circumcision,  those  long  journeys  to  Jerusalem  to  worship, 
 those  empty  shadows  ;  and  given  us  full  perfect  liberty  of  meats 
 and  drinks,  and  all  things  else  ;  the  doing  whereof  is  no  real 
 profit ;  and  brought  home  His  Temples  and  Service  to  our  doors, 
 our  happiness  into  our  bosoms.  Though  all  those  "  old  things 
 be  passed  away,"  let  not  His  goodness,  in  passing  them  away, 
 ever  pass  out  of  our  memories ;  nor  a  day  pass,  without  praises 
 to  Him  for  it,  nor  the  relation  of  it  pass  out  of  our  lips,  without 
 all  thankfulness  and  humility.  Gal.  v.  1 ;  Heb.  viii.  10 — 12. 
 Dr.  31.  Frank.     (Serm.  2  Cor.  v.  17.) 
 
 32  Being  jirophets  also  themselves,  ^c. —  God  hath  added  a  special 
 "beauty"  (Eom.  x.  15)  to  "the  feet  of  them,  that  preach  the 
 Gospel  of  peace;"  tliat,  howsoever  others  may  bring  glad  tidings 
 of  good  things  to  the  penitent  sinner,  as  truly  as  they  do,  yet 
 neither  can  they  do  it  with  the  same  authority,  neither  is  it  to 
 be  expected  that  they  should  do  it  with  such  power,  such  assur- 
 ance, and  such  full  satisfaction  to  the  afilicted  conscience.  The 
 speech  of  every  Christian,  we  know,  should  be  employed  '*  to 
 the  use  of  edifying,  that  it  may  minister  grace  unto  the  hearers :" 
 and  a  private  brother,  in  his  place,  may  deliver  sound  doctrine, 
 reprehend  vice,  exhort  to  righteousness  very  commendably : 
 yet  hath  the  Lord,  notwithstanding  all  this,  for  the  necessary 
 use  of  His  Church,  appointed  public  ofiicers  to  do  the  same 
 things,  and  hath  given  unto  them  "  a  peculiar  power  for  edifica- 
 tion "  (2  Cor.  X.  8 ;  xiii.  10),  wherein  they  may  boast  above 
 others,  and  in  the  due  execution  whereof  God  is   pleased   to 
 
443  THE  ACTS  XV.  32. 
 
 make  them  instruments  of  ministering  a  more  plentiful  measure 
 of  grace  unto  their  hearers,  than  may  be  ordinarily  looked  for 
 from  others.  1  Thess.  v.  14  ;  Titus  ii.  15  ;  Job  xxxiii.  23,  24. 
 Abp.  Usher.  (Answer  to  a  Challenge  made  by  a  Jesuit  in  Ire- 
 land.    Ch.  V.) 
 
 "We  must  observe,  that  they  exhorted  the  Church,  on  account  of 
 their  being  prophets  :  for  it  is  not  allowed  to  all  men  to  engage 
 in  so  high  a  function  ;  tam  prceclarum  obire  munus.  We  must 
 therefore  take  heed,  lest  we  rashly  pass  our  proper  bounds  ;  as  S. 
 Paul  admonishes,  1  Cor.  vii.  20  ;  Eph.  iv.  1 ;  and  that  every  one 
 should  restrain  himself  within  the  measure  of  grace  received, 
 xiii.  1,  15.     Calvin. 
 
 We,  the  Ministers  of  the  Christian  Church,  do  prophesy,  as  it  were, 
 the  meaning  of  ancient  prophecies  :  nor  make  any  new,  but  in- 
 terpret the  old  well;  take  off  the  veil  of  Moses'  face,  find 
 Cheist  and  the  mysteries  of  the  Gospel  under  the  types  of  the 
 Law ;  apply  the  old  prophecies,  so  as  it  may  appear  that  "  the 
 spirit  of  prophecy  is  the  testimony  of  Jesus."  And  he  is  the 
 best  prophet  now,  that  can  do  this  best.  1  Cor.  xiv.  1,  39.  Bp. 
 Andrevjes.     (Serm.  Acts  ii.  6,  &c.) 
 
 36  And  some  days  after  Paul  said  unto  Barnabas, 
 Let  us  go  again  and  visit  our  brethren  in  every  city 
 where  we  have  preached  the  word  of  the  Lord,  and 
 see  how  they  do. 
 
 37  And  Barnabas  determined  to  take  with  them 
 John,  whose  surname  was  Mark. 
 
 38  But  Paul  thought  not  good  to  take  him  with 
 them,  who  departed  from  them  from  Pamphyha,  and 
 went  not  with  them  to  the  work. 
 
 39  And  the  contention  was  so  sharp  between  them, 
 that  they  departed  asunder  one  from  the  other  :  and 
 so  Barnabas  took  Mark,  and  sailed  unto  Cyprus  ; 
 
 40  And  Paul  chose  Silas,  and  departed,  being  re- 
 commended by  the  brethren  unto  the  grace  of  God. 
 
THE  ACTS  XV.  36,  38.  443 
 
 41  And  he  went  through  Syria  and  CiHcia,  con- 
 firming the  churches. 
 
 36  I  believe  Satan  prevails  as  much  against  the  cause  of  Christ 
 by  persuading  Ministers  to  sit  still,  or  merely  to  go  on  in  the 
 beaten  ground,  without  attempting  anything  more,  as  in  any 
 other  way.     xxvi.  22  ;  Hagg.  i.  2  ;  Heb.  iv.  9.     Th.  Scott. 
 
 As  we  must  look  after  our  prayers,  to  hear  what  answer  God 
 gives  to  them  (Hab.  ii.  1),  so  we  must  look  after  our  preaching, 
 to  see  what  success  it  has  among  those,  we  preach  to,  that  we 
 may  return  answer  to  Him,  that  sent  us  (2  Sam.  xxiv.  13),  and, 
 the  servant,  who  invited  the  guests,  may  "  show  our  Lord  all 
 these  things."  (S.  Luke  xiv.  21.)  .  .  .  Let  us  see,  how  they  do  ; 
 how  it  is  with  them  :  quid  faciunt,  what  they  do ;  quid  facti 
 sunt  J  what  they  have  done.  ...  So  long  the  word  of  the  Lord 
 has  been  preached  to  me,  "  how  do  I  do  to  it  ?"  It  is  a  word  of 
 Life  ;  has  it  quickened  me  ?  or,  am  I  this  day  "  dead  in  tres- 
 passes and  in  sins  ?"  It  is  Light;  has  it  enlightened  me  ?  or 
 am  not  I  still  sitting  in  darkness  ?  Is  it  spiritual  food  ?  Has 
 it  nourished  me  ?  Is  it  spiritual  physic  ?  Has  it  healed  me  ? 
 What  am  I  the  better  for  all  the  sermons  I  have  heard,  and  all 
 the  acquaintance  I  have  got  with  the  Holy  Scriptures  ?  What 
 state  am  I  in — a  state  of  sin,  or  a  state  of  grace  ?  What  frame 
 am  I  in  ?  Am  I  habitually  serious  and  heavenly,  or  vain  and 
 worldly  ?  Is  my  soul  in  health  ?  Does  not  some  spiritual  dis- 
 ease hang  upon  me,  which  is  both  weakening  and  threatening  ? 
 What  appetite  have  I  to  spiritual  delights  ?  what  digestion  of 
 spiritual  food  ?  what  strength  for  spiritual  labour  ?  How  do  I 
 breathe  in  prayer  ?  How  do  I  walk  in  a  religious  conversation  ? 
 Does  my  soul  prosper,  as  the  soul  of  Gains  did  ?  (3  S.  John  2.) 
 Do  I  thrive  in  my  spiritual  merchandise,  and  increase  my  stock 
 of  wisdom,  grace,  and  comfort  ?  or  do  I  decline  and  go  behind- 
 hand ?  Am  I  getting  nearer  to  God  and  fitter  for  heaven ;  or 
 am  I  not  cleaving  to  this  earth,  and  setting  m}^  heart  upon  it,  as 
 much  as  ever  ?  S.  John  xi.  8 ;  Ps.  cxxxix.  23,  24 ;  2  Cor.  xiii. 
 5  ;  Col.  i.  9—12.     M.  Henry.     (Serm.  on  text.) 
 
 38  S.  Mark  was  naturally  unsteadfast.  It  is  thought,  that  he 
 records  against  himself,  that  he  was  the  young  man,  who,  when 
 
444  THE  ACTS  XV.  38,  39. 
 
 Lis  LoED  was  taken,  fled  away  naked.  (S.  Mark  xiv.  51.) 
 Again,  when  S.  Paul  and  S.  Barnabas  were  *'  separated  for  the 
 work,"  he  shrank  back  in  time  of  difficulty,  and  went  not  with 
 them  to  the  work :  yet  at  last  he  was  fitted  by  God  for  more 
 than  ordinary  difficulties,  preached  the  Grospel  amid  tribes  the 
 most  savage,  founded  the  Church  of  Alexandria,  of  all  the 
 strictest  and  so  the  most  resolute  also  in  maintaining  the  faith, 
 and  yielded  his  life  in  a  bold  resistance  to  sin  by  a  lingering 
 Martyrdom — an  encouragement  to  us,  that,  however  weak  or 
 irresolute  we  may  by  nature  be,  our  Sayiour's  strength  may  be 
 *' perfected  in  our  weakness,"  and  we  too  fitted  to  bear  our 
 Sayiour's  Cross  and  "  follow  Him."  iv.  13  ;  Isa.  xl.  31 ;  Heb. 
 xi.  34 ;  liev.  iii.  8.     Br.  Pusey.     (Serm.  Eom.  xii.  2.) 
 
 Nor  was  it  a  small  benefit,  which  from  hence  accrued,  not  only  to 
 the  Church,  which  thereby  enjoyed  the  benefit  of  these  two 
 great  men,  much  more  in  their  separate  labours,  than  if  they 
 had  continued  still  together ;  but  particularly  to  S.  Mark,  who, 
 being  by  the  severity  of  S.  Paul  brought  to  a  deep  sense  of  his 
 former  indifference  in  the  work  of  the  Gospel,  and  yet  not  left 
 by  S.  Barnabas  to  give  way  to  any  desperate  resolutions  there- 
 upon (iv.  36),  became  afterwards  a  most  useful  Minister  of 
 Christ,  and  deserved  not  only  to  be  made  again  the  companion 
 of  S.  Paul,  Col.  iv.  10,  but  to  receive  a  very  high  testimony  of 
 his  zeal  from  him,  2  Tim.  iv.  11.  So  well  does  the  wisdom  of 
 God  know  how  to  turn  the  infirmities  of  men  to  His  own  Glory, 
 and  to  the  good  of  those,  who  serve  Him  with  an  honest  and  up- 
 right heart.  Ahp.  Wake.  (Pref.  to  the  Catholic  Ep.  of  S.  Bar- 
 nabas.) 
 
 Notice  the  sincerity  in  these  writers  in  relating  more  particularly 
 their  own  imperfections,  and  those  of  such  others,  as  they  chiefly 
 esteemed.  So  S.  Matthew  names  himself  '*  the  Publican " 
 (x.  3)  ;  S.  Mark,  being  particularly  allied  to  S.  Peter,  not  only 
 relates  his  denial  of  his  Lord,  but  relates  it  with  all  its  aggra- 
 vating circumstances  :  S.  Luke,  being  S.  Paul's  disciple,  is  the 
 only  relator  of  the  differences  between  him  and  S.  Barnabas, 
 xxii.  4,  19;  xxvi.  10,  11.  Fenelon.  (On  the  Education  of  a 
 Daughter.     Ch.  viii.) 
 
 30  To  Murk  this   contest  was  highly  beneficial.      Seeing  S.  Paul 
 
THE  ACTS  XV.  39.  445 
 
 clioosing  to  leave  him,  he  would  be  exceedingly  awed,  and  would 
 condemn  himself;  and  seeing  S.  Barnabas  so  taking  his  part, 
 he  would  cling  to  him  exceedingly  :  and  so  the  disciple  was  cor- 
 rected by  the  contention  of  the  teachers.  .  .  .  S.  Mark  knew, 
 that  S.  Barnabas  and  S.  Paul  had  taken  the  course,  which  was 
 most  for  his  good.     Gal.  vi.  1,  2.     S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 Two  missions  and  two  districts  visited,  instead  of  one,  are  the  im- 
 mediate fruits,  derived  by  God  from  this  incident,  vi.  1,  6, 
 7  ;  viii.  4.      Quesnel. 
 
 Every  sudden  passionate  heat,  or  misunderstanding,  or  shaking  of 
 charity  among  Christians,  though  it  were  even  between  the 
 principal  Pastors  of  the  Church,  is  not  presently  schism.  As 
 that  between  S.  Paul  and  S.  Barnabas — who  dare  say,  that 
 either  of  them  were  schismatics  ?  or  that  between  S.  Jerome 
 and  E^uffinus,  who  charged  one  another  mutually  with  heresy, 
 or  that  between  S.  Chrysostom  and  Epiphanius,  who  refused  to 
 join  in  prayers.  .  .  .  These  were  but  personal  heats,  which  re- 
 flected not  upon  the  public  Body  of  the  Church,  to  which  they 
 were  all  ever  ready  to  submit,  and  in  which  none  of  them  did 
 ever  attempt  to  make  a  party  by  gathering  disciples  to  himself. 
 Such  a  passionate  heat  is  aptly  styled  by  the  Holt  Ghost 
 7rapo^v(TjLi09,  a  "paroxysm,"  or  a  sharp  fit  of  feverish  distemper, 
 which  a  little  while,  without  any  other  application,  will  infallibly 
 remedy,  xiv.  14.  Abp.  Bramhall.  (A  Just  Vindication  of 
 the  Church  of  England.     Ch.  ii.) 
 
 Such  infirmities  of  the  wise  and  good  (Gal.  ii.  12)  prove  beyond 
 doubt,  to  whom  alone  we  are  indebted  for  the  preservation  of 
 Christian  Truth  upon  the  earth.  J.Milner.  (Church  History, 
 Cent.  i.  c.  1.) 
 
 We  are  the  commissunB  and  compages  Ecclesi(B  (P.  Martyr's  meta- 
 phors) :  the  Clergy  are  joints  and  couplings  of  the  Church.  If 
 they  start  and  loosen,  the  fabric  will  all  fall.  S.  John  xv.  12  ; 
 xvii.  11;  Eph.  iv.  15,  16.  Br.  Rd.  Gierke.  (Serm.  1  Cor. 
 xiv.  40.) 
 
 Once  only  in  life  doth  Holy  Scripture  speak  of  a  sharp  con- 
 tention, as  once  only  did  Moses  "  speak  unadvisedly  with  his 
 lips  :"  the  one  lost  Canaan :  the  other  was  severed  for  ever 
 from  the  communion  of  his  labours,  whom  he  had  brought  to  the 
 
446  THE  ACTS  XV.  40. 
 
 Apostles,  with  whom  he  had  been  "  separated  to  the  work :"  so 
 heavily  doth  God  chastise  the  errors  of  His  distinguished  ser- 
 vants. One  sharp  contention  severed  for  ever,  by  God's  ap- 
 pointment, those,  who  yet  remained  one  in  mind.  Yet,  even 
 here,  S.  Paul  and  S.  Barnabas  each  acted,  according  to  their 
 several  graces ;  wrong  only  in  this,  that  their  contention  was 
 sharp.  S.  Paul,  the  austere  raaintaiuer  of  a  holy  discipline, 
 urged,  not  to  take  him,  who  had  departed  from  them  in  peril ; 
 S.  Barnabas,  as  he  had  before  explored  the  truth  of  S.  Paul,  so 
 doubtless  now  also  of  his  sister's  son,  and  would  again  take  the 
 untried,  but  penitent,  companion.  And  so,  God  overruling, 
 each  took  his  several  province,  and  the  Gospel  was  the  more 
 spread  ;  and  the  milder  Apostle  was  sent  to  the  weaker  inha- 
 bitants of  Cyprus,  the  sterner  and  more  energetic  to  the  wilder 
 heathen  :  nor  yet  was  S.  Mark  advanced  to  that  office  of  visiting 
 the  Churches,  from  which  he  before  shrank  ;  and  the  charitable 
 severity  of  S.  Paul  impressed  on  S.  Mark  the  heinousness  of  his 
 fault,  and  prepared  him,  by  God's  grace,  to  be  stern  with  him- 
 self, and  the  founder  of  a  strict  and  courageous  Church,  and  for 
 his  crown  of  Martyrdom ;  and  the  tender  kindness  of  S.  Bar- 
 nabas saved  him  from  being  abandoned,  and  from  being  "  swal- 
 lowed up  with  overmuch  sorrow,"  and  fainting  at  the  outset. 
 "  Charity  suffereth  long  and  is  kind."  Dr.  Pusey.  (Serm. 
 Acts  iv.  37,  38.) 
 
 40  There  is  nothing  (next  C heist  and  heaven)  that  the  devil 
 grudgeth  believers  more,  than  their  peace  and  mutual  love  :  if 
 he  cannot  rend  them  from  Cheist,  stop  them  from  getting  to 
 heaven,  yet  he  takes  some  pleasure  to  see  them  go  thither  in  a 
 storm ;  that,  like  a  shattered  fleet,  severed  from  one  another, 
 they  may  have  no  assistance  from  each  other's  company  all  the 
 way.     vii.  26  ;  xxvii.  44  ;   Gen.  xiii.  8.     Gurnall. 
 
 Nothing  should  alienate  us  from  one  another,  but  that  which 
 alienates  us  from  God.  2  Cor.  vi.  17.  Dr.  Whichcote.  (Aphor. 
 Cent.  iii.  206.) 
 
 Quos  navigatio  separavit,  hos  Christi  Evangelmm  copidavit.  Though 
 they  sailed  to  different  coasts,  yet  they  sailed  together  in  their 
 preaching  the  same  Gospel  of  Cheist,  (♦S'.  Jerome.)  .  .  .  And 
 wliy  may  not  Christians  be  diversely  persuaded  in  some  points 
 
THE  ACTS  XV.  40,  41.  447 
 
 of  religion  in  earth,  and  yet  the  same  heaven  hold  them  both  ? 
 Eom.  xiv.     Farinclon.     (Serm.  S.  Matt.  v.  5.) 
 
 Being  recommended,  ^c. — S.  Paul  and  Silas  seem  to  have  had  the 
 authoritative  sanction  of  the  Church  at  Antioch  in  their  mis- 
 sionary enterprise.  Shall  we  therefore  say,  that  the  labours  of 
 S.  Barnabas  and  S.  Mark,  in  the  same  Blessed  cause,  were  irre- 
 gular and  unblessed  ?  In  the  vast  field  of  an  unconverted  world, 
 and  amid  the  heathenism  of  a  nominally  Christian  land,  would 
 that  all  the  Lord's  people  were  prophets ;  provided  they  all  go 
 forth  "speaking  the  same  thing,"  and  walking  in  the  same 
 Spirit,  as  '•  sons  of  consolatiouy'  and  not  sons  of  envy,  and 
 jealousy,  and  misrule,      xii.  25  ;  xiv.  26 ;  S.  John  iv.  35.     J.  F. 
 
 41  He  does  not  pass  on  to  other  cities,  until  he  had  visited  those, 
 which  had  already  received  the  AVord  of  God.  For  we,  first  of 
 all,  confirm  those,  who  come  first ;  lest  they  prove  a  snare  to 
 those,  who  come  after.     Ver.  36  ;  2  Cor.  xiii.  1.     Clarius. 
 
 CHAPTER  XVI. 
 
 T^HEN  came  he  to  Derbe  and  Lystra :  and,  behold, 
 a  certain  disciple  was  there,  named  Timotheus, 
 the  son  of  a  certain  woman,  which  was  a  Jewess,  and 
 beUeved  ;  but  his  father  was  a  Greek  : 
 
 2  Which  was  well  reported  of  by  the  brethren  that 
 were  at  Lystra  and  Iconium. 
 
 3  Him  would  Paul  have  to  go  forth  with  him  ;  and 
 took  and  circumcised  him  because  of  the  Jews  which 
 were  in  those  quarters :  for  they  knew  all  that  his 
 father  was  a  Greek. 
 
 4  And  as  they  went  through  the  cities,  they  de- 
 
448  THE  ACTS  XVI.  1—3. 
 
 livered  them  the  decrees  for  to  keep,  that  were  ordained 
 of  the  apostles  and  elders  which  were  at  Jerusalem. 
 
 5  And    so    were    the  chm^ches    estabhshed   in  the 
 faith,  and  increased  in  number  daily. 
 
 1  The  advantage  of  early  religious  education,  especially  by  mo- 
 thers, is  observable  from  2  Tim.  i.  5 ;  we  have  here  an  example 
 of  its  good  effects  in  two  generations  and  in  two  sexes.  Lois 
 nurtured  an  Eunice  ;  and  an  Eunice  produced  a  Timothy.  .  .  . 
 Timothy  seems  to  have  imbibed  his  virtues  from  his  mother's 
 milk.  .  .  The  nursing  of  children  by  mothers  is  a  Divine  dis- 
 pensation for  the  right  beginning  of  education.  It  produces  a 
 sense  of  mutual  dependence  between  the  mother  and  infant :  we 
 might  almost  say,  it  gives  them  a  sensation  of  unity.  It  makes 
 them  like  harmonious  instruments  of  music,  attuned  to  each 
 other.  .  .  By  infusing  filial  love  and  filial  reverence,  it  is  a 
 sacred  well  spring  of  piety,  and  of  holy  discipline  *'  in  the  nurture 
 and  admonition  of  the  Lokd."  Isa.  xlix.  15  ;  1  Thess.  ii.  7. 
 Dr.  Chr.  Wordsworth.     (Serm.  2  Tim.  i.  5.) 
 
 2  S.  Paul  himself  observeth  the  like  manner  of  choice,  as  he  pre- 
 scribes elsewhere  to  be  observed  in  the  appointment  of  Mi- 
 nisters,    vi.  3  ;  1  Tim.  i.  18 ;  iii.  7.     Calvin. 
 
 The  greatest  security  to  religion  is  the  careful  guarding  the  first 
 entrance  into  its  ministrations.  vi.  3 ;  1  Tim.  iii.  10 — 13. 
 Bean  Comber.  (A  discourse  on  the  Office  for  making  Deacons. 
 Ch.  iii.  s.  10.) 
 
 3  For  the  Jews  would  not  endure  to  hear  the  word  from  one  un- 
 circumcised.  Nothing  could  be  wiser.  In  all  things  S.  Paul 
 looked  to  what  was  profitable  :  he  did  nothing  upon  his  own  pre- 
 ference, (see  note,  J.  F.^  x.  48) He  circumcised,  that  he 
 
 might  take  away  circumcision ;  for  he  preached  the  decrees  of 
 the  Apostles,  xviii.  18 ;  xxi.  23,  26  ;  1  Cor.  x.  32,  33.  S. 
 Chrysostom. 
 
 He  well  knew  the  Jews  would  take  it  so,  as  if  the  precept  of  Cir- 
 cumcision, which  was  indeed  abolished,  did  still  oblige  the  Israel- 
 ites, and  as  if  S.  Paul  and  Timothy  were  of  that  opinion ;  when 
 yet  S.  Paul  meant  not  this,  but  only  to  procure  unto  himself 
 
THE  ACTS  XVI.  3.  449 
 
 and  Timothy  a  more  familiar  way  of  conversation  with  the  Jews. 
 .  .  "  This  was  not  fraud,"  says  S.  Chrysostom,  "  but  a  kind  of 
 compliance  and  dispensation."  Hither  may  be  referred  David's 
 counterfeit  madness,  1  Sam.  xxi.  13 ;  there  is  an  excellent  sen-  • 
 tence  of  Clemens  Alexandrinus,  speaking  of  a  good  man  thus  ; 
 "  For  the  good  of  his  neighbour  he  will  do  some  things,  which 
 otherwise  of  his  own  accord  and  by  a  primary  intention  he 
 would  not  do."  1  Sam.  xix.  16  ;  S.  Luke  xxiv.  28  ;  S.  Mark 
 vi.  48.     Grotius.     (De  jure  belli  et  pacis.     P.  iii,  s.  7.) 
 
 There  is  in  Scripture  itself,  as  well  as  in  the  reason  of  the  thing, 
 ground  sufficient  for  distinguishing  between  points,  fundamental 
 to  Christianity,  and  points  of  smaller  moment.  There  are  "  the 
 weighter  matters,"  and  the  matters  less  weighty ;  some  things, 
 deserving  our  most  earnest  heed,  others,  requiring  no  more, 
 than  ordinary  or  common  care.  .  .  .  There  were  in  the  days  of 
 the  Apostles  Judaizers  of  two  several  kinds ;  some  thinking 
 themselves  obliged,  as  Jews,  to  retain  their  Judaism  along  with 
 Christianity :  others  conceiving,  that  the  Mosaical  Law  was  so 
 necessary,  that  it  ought  to  be  received  under  pain  of  damnation 
 by  all,  whether  Jews  or  Gentiles.  Both  the  opinions  were 
 wrong :  but  the  one  was  tolerable,  and  the  other  was  intolerable. 
 Wherefore  S.  Paul  complied  in  some  measure  with  the  Judaizers 
 of  the  first  sort,  being  willing,  in  such  cases,  to  "  become  all 
 things  to  all  men  ;"  and  he  exhorted  his  new  converts  of  the 
 Gentiles  to  bear  with  them,  and  to  receive  them,  as  brethren. 
 But,  as  to  the  Judaizers  of  the  second  sort,  he  would  not  "  give 
 place  to  them  by  subjection,  no,  not  for  an  hour,  "lest  the 
 truth  of  the  Gospel  "  should  fatally  suffer  by  it.  He  anathema- 
 tized them,  as  subverters  of  the  faith  of  Cheist,  and  as  a  re- 
 proach to  the  Christian  name.  This  single  instance  may  suffice 
 to  point  out  the  distinction  between  fundamentals  and  non-fun- 
 damentals, and  to  illustrate  the  use  of  it  in  practice,  xxi. 
 21—26;  1  Cor.  ix.  19—23;  Eom.  xiv.  xv;  Col.  ii.  16,  17; 
 Gal.  ii.  5,  21 ;  i.  7—9 ;  v.  12.  Dr.  Waterland.  (Charge  to 
 the  Middlesex  Clergy,  1734.) 
 
 Circumcision  was  taken  away,  as  a  sacrament  (mere  sign  of  Grace 
 to  come)  ;  but  it  was  not  yet  honourably  buried :  and  therefore 
 it  remained,  only  as  a  ceremony.     Bp.  J.  Taylor. 
 
450  THE  ACTS  XVI.  4.  5. 
 
 4  The  Apostles  thought  it  necessary  for  the  preservation  and  se- 
 cure conveyance  of  the  Christian  Doctrine,  that  it  should  be 
 put  into  writing  ;  and  they  judged  this  a  better  way  to  supply 
 the  wants  of  their  presence,  than  oral  tradition.  There- 
 fore the  same  author  (Eusebius,  Hist.  Eccl.  Lib.  iii.  31,  30) 
 tells  us,  that  "the  disciples,  who  immediately  succeeded  the 
 Apostles,  as  they  travelled  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  those,  who 
 had  not  yet  heard  the  word  of  faith,  did  with  great  care  also  de- 
 liver to  them  the  "  writings  of  the  Holy  Evangelists ;"  again, 
 that  S.  Ignatius,  as  he  travelled  towards  Eome,  (where  he  was 
 to  suffer)  exhorted  the  Churches  of  every  city  to  '*  hold  fast  the 
 tradition"  of  the  Apostles,  which  (as  also  by  writing  he  testified) 
 for  greater  security  he  held  necessary  to  be  copied  in  writing. 
 1  Cor.  XV.  1 — 4  ;  Eev.  i.  3,  11 ;  ii.  1 ;  xxii.  18.  Abp.  Tillotson. 
 (The  Eule  of  Faith,  p.  iv.  s.  2.) 
 
 Every  Minister  ought  to  be  careful,  that  he  never  expound  Scrip- 
 tures in  public,  contrary  to  the  known  sense  of  the  Catholic 
 Church,  and  particularly  of  the  Churches  of  England  and  Ireland, 
 nor  introduce  any  doctrine  against  any  of  the  Eour  Eirst 
 Greneral  Councils  ;  for  these  as  they  are  measures  of  truth,  so 
 also  of  necessity  ;  that  is,  as  they  are  safe,  so  they  are  sufiicient ; 
 and,  besides  what  is  taught  by  these,  no  matter  of  belief  is  ne- 
 cessary to  Salvation.  Eom.  xvi.  17.  Bp.  J.  Taylor.  (Rules 
 and  advice  to  his  Clergy,  s.  iv.  50.) 
 
 5  Xhis  terror  of  the  Mosaic  yoke,  being  taken  away,  the  Grentiles, 
 who  had  before  been  affrighted  at  the  Gospel,  clogged  with 
 such  a  burden,  now  came  over  to  tlie  faith  in  crowds,  xv.  3, 
 31 ;  Eph.  ii.  14,  15.     Bp.  Bull. 
 
 The  Kingdom  of  Jesus  Cheist  is  frequently  in  the  Scripture 
 compared  to  growing  things,  small  in  the  beginning  and  first 
 appearance,  but  increasing  by  degrees  unto  glory  and  perfection. 
 Tlie  shapeless  stone,  cut  out  without  hands,  ha^^ng  neither 
 form,  nor  desirable  beauty  given  unto  it,  becomes  a  great 
 mountain  filling  the  whole  earth.  Dan,  ii.  35.  The  small  vine, 
 brought  out  of  Egypt,  quickly  covers  the  hills  with  her  shadow, 
 lier  boughs  reach  unto  the  sea,  and  her  branches  unto  the  rivers. 
 Ps.  Ixxx.  8.  The  tender  plant,  becomes,  as  the  cedars  of  God, 
 and  the  grain  of  mustard-seed  to  be  a  tree  for  the  fowls  of  tlie 
 
THE  ACTS  XVI.  5.  451 
 
 air,  to  make  their  nests  in  the  branches  thereof :  mountains  are 
 made  plains  before  it ;  every  valley  is  filled,  and  the  crooked 
 paths  made  straight,  that  it  may  have  a  passage  to  its  appointed 
 period  :  and  all  this,  not  only  not  supported  by  outward  advan- 
 tages, but  in  direct  opposition  to  the  combined  power  of  this 
 whole  creation,  as  fallen,  and  in  subjection  to  the  God  of  this 
 world.  V.  24  ;  xix.  20  ;  Job  viii.  7.  Bp.  Home. 
 Established  in  the  faith. — He,  that  hath  willingly  subscribed  to 
 the  Word  of  God,  attested  in  the  everlasting  Scriptures,  to  all 
 the  Primitive  Creeds,  to  the  four  General  Councils,  to  the  com- 
 mon judgment  of  the  Fathers  for  six  hundred  years  after  Christ 
 (which  we  of  our  Eeformation  religiously  profess  to  do)  this 
 man  may  possibly  err  in  trifles ;  but  he  cannot  be  an  heretic, 
 xxiv.  15,  16.     Bp.  Hall.     (Concio  ad  Clerum.     1623.) 
 
 6  Now  when  they  had  gone  throughout  Phrygia 
 and  the  region  of  Galatia,  and  were  forbidden  of  the 
 Holy  Ghost  to  preach  the  word  in  Asia, 
 
 7  After  they  were  come  to  Mysia,  they  assayed  to 
 go  into  Bithynia  :  but  the  Spirit  suffered  them  not. 
 
 8  And  they  passing  by  Mysia  came  down  to  Troas. 
 
 9  And  a  vision  appeared  to  Paul  in  the  night ; 
 There  stood  a  man  of  Macedonia,  and  prayed  him, 
 saying,  Come  over  into  Macedonia,  and  help  us. 
 
 10  And  after  he  had  seen  the  vision,  immediately 
 we  endeavoured  to  go  into  Macedonia,  assuredly  ga- 
 thering that  the  Lord  had  called  us  for  to  preach  the 
 gospel  unto  them. 
 
 1 1  Therefore  loosing  from  Troas,  we  came  with  a 
 straight  course  to  Samothracia,  and  the  next  day  to 
 Neapolis ; 
 
 12  And  from  thence  to  Philippi,  which  is  the  chief 
 city  of  that  part  of  Macedonia,  and  a  colony :  and  we 
 were  in  that  city  abiding  certain  days. 
 
 G  g2 
 
452  THE  ACTS  XVI.  6,  7. 
 
 6  As  the  Holt  GtHOST  proceeds  in  an  Eternal  and  ineffable  man- 
 ner from  the  Fathek  and  the  Sox,  so  He  is  sent  by  them  to 
 govern  the  Church,  which  belongs  to  Cheist  ;  because  He  hath 
 purchased  it  with  His  precious  Blood,  and  in  the  merits  of  His 
 purchase  hath  acquired  a  right  to  all  the  mercies  of  His  Fathek, 
 and  to  all  the  gifts  and  graces  of  the  Holt  Spirit,  necessary  to 
 
 the  salvation  of  that  Church Here  we  have  a  general 
 
 and  comprehensive  view  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Government,  ad- 
 ministered by  the  Holt  Spirit.  "We  see  the  same  in  particulars. 
 He  vouchsafes  His  Presence,  to  whom  He  pleases,  in  such  a 
 manner  and  measures,  as  He  pleases ;  sometimes  on  the  ad- 
 ministration of  Baptism,  sometimes  on  the  Imposition  of  hands, 
 and  sometimes,  previous  to  both,  on  a  mere  conversion,  x.  44, 
 47  ;  which  shows,  that  He  was  not  confined  to  the  Ordinances, 
 even  of  Christ's  own  Institution.  He  forbids  the  Apos- 
 tles to  pleach  the  Word  in  one  country,  xvi.  6,  7,  and  sends 
 them  to  another,  viii.  39,  40.  He  orders,  whom  He  thinks  fit 
 to  be  "  separated  for  the  work  of  the  Ministry,"  xiii.  2.  He 
 creates  the  overseers,  or  Bishops,  of  the  Church,  xx.  28.  He 
 abolishes  the  Mosaic  Law,  or  dispensation,  although  instituted 
 by  God,  xv.  28.  Was  ever  an  authority,  like  this,  committed 
 to  a  creature  ?  Or,  is  it  possible  for  a  creature  to  be  present 
 every  where,  in  order  to  the  discharge  of  such  an  office  as  this  ? 
 To  believe  he  may,  is  to  confound  the  finite  with  the  Infinite, 
 or  to  deify  a  creature  by  giving  him  the  essential  attributes  of 
 God.     p.  Skelton.     (Serm.  S.  John  xvi.  13.) 
 
 At  the  very  time,  when  the  Gospel  was  sent  to  be  preached  to 
 "  all  nations,"  the  Apostles  were  forbidden  to  visit  certain 
 places  by  Him,  who  "  willeth  all  men  to  be  saved,  and  to  come 
 to  the  knowledge  of  the  Truth."  (Ato?  ^'  eVeXe/eTo  jBovXj).  Horn.) 
 Isa.  xlv.  15.     Prosper.     (Ep.  ad  Euffinum,  c.  viii.) 
 
 7  If  Providence  consists  in  the  Divine  Wisdom  directing,  the 
 Divine  AVill  appointing,  and  the  Divine  Power  executing  and 
 performing,  events,  then  Providence  is  properly  the  work  of  the 
 Holt  Spirit.  .  .  .  Nor  are  we  to  think,  that  this  overruling 
 hand  of  the  Spirit  was  His  only  Providential  work ;  as  He  still 
 makes,  so  He  conducts  the  course  of  Ilis  Ministers  still,  though 
 in  a  different  way  from  that,  relating  to  S.  Paul.     And  thus  we 
 
THE  ACTS  XVI.  7. 
 
 453 
 
 see,  how  the  great  works  of  Providence  are  the  works  of  the 
 Spirit,  as  well  as  of  the  Fathee,  and  of  the  Son.  Hurrion. 
 (Sermons  on  the  works  of  the  Holt  Spieit.  i.) 
 
 buffered  them  not. — Why  ?  He  does  not  tell  us.  AVhat  then  the 
 Holt  Spieit  willed  should  be  kept  secret,  neither  do  thou 
 curiously  inquire  into.     i.  6,  7.     Clarius. 
 
 "Were  the  inhabitants  of  the  populous  province  of  Bithynia  there- 
 fore left  in  their  heathen  darkness,  and  was  the  light  of  the 
 knowledge  of  Cheist's  salvation  utterly  withdrawn  from  them  ? 
 Tar  from  it.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that,  when  Pliny,  the 
 Governor  of  this  district,  wrote  his  famous  letter  to  the  Em- 
 peror Trajan,  he  bears  testimony  to  the  numerous  Christians  of 
 this  very  Bithynia  ;*  thus  showing,  that,  though  GrOD  had 
 seemed  to  pass  them  by,  and  to  withdraw  Himself  from  them, 
 yet  that  it  was  only  for  a  time ;  and  that  He  soon  returned  to 
 bestow  upon  them,  in  the  communication  of  His  Grospel,  a 
 double  Blessing,  causing  the  seed  of  His  Word,  sown  among 
 them,  to  bear  fruit  a  hundredfold.  The  interval  indeed  was 
 short,  only  seventeen  years ;  if  we  place  the  narrative  in  the 
 text  at  A.D.  53,  and  Pliny's  letter  at  a.d.  70.  This  interesting 
 fact  of  history  may  serve  to  show  the  irrelevancy,  to  say  the 
 least,  of  those  comments,  which  date  from  an  early  period, f  and 
 explain  the  Spirit's  not  suffering  the  Apostles  to  go  to  Bithynia 
 by  the  assumed  fact  that  God  had  no  elect  people  there.  It 
 may  however  be  more  profitable  to  us  to  apply  the  subject  to 
 our  own  personal  comfort.     God's  delays  are  not  denials  ;  and, 
 
 *  Multi  omnis  aetatis,  utriusque 
 sexus  etiam ;  neque  enim  civitates  tan- 
 turn,  sed  vicos  etiam  et  agros  super- 
 stitionis  istius  contagio  pervagata  est. 
 "  There  are  many  of  every  age  and  of 
 both  sexes ;  nor  has  the  contagion  of 
 this  superstition  seized  cities  only,  but 
 smaller  towns  and  the  open  country." 
 
 t  Qucecunque  ergo  gentes  nondum 
 audierunt ,audient  Evangelium,  et  cre- 
 dent, quotquot  ex  eis  prceordinati  sunt 
 in  vitam  Eternam.  Non  enim  alii  ve- 
 nientin  consortium  hcereditatis  Christi, 
 
 quam  qui  ante  constitutionem  mundi 
 electi  sunt,  et  prcedestinati,  atque  prce- 
 sciti.  S.  Prosper.  (Ep.  ad  Ruffinum. 
 c.is.)  In  the  preceding  chapter  Pros- 
 per does  not  scruple  (longe  absit  a 
 nobis  !)  to  hint  at  the  final  perdition  of 
 the  people  of  Bithynia  for  lack  of  the 
 Gospel  being  made  known  to  them  ; 
 *  *  Multis  utique  in  ilia  retardatis  atque 
 aversis,  Evangelii  mora,  sine  agnitione 
 veritatis  et  sine  Regenerationis  Con- 
 secratione  morituris.'^ 
 
454  THE  ACTS  XVI.  7—10. 
 
 though  He  may  deem  it  fit  for  the  trial  of  our  faith,  and  the  in- 
 crease of  our  humility,  to  withhold  from  us  for  a  season  the 
 sense  of  His  loviugkindness,  yet,  if  we  "  tarry  the  Lord's 
 leisure"  and  are  not  "  weary  nor  faint  in  our  minds,"  we  shall 
 find  Him  faithful  concerning  His  promise :  He  will  surely  come, 
 and  the  more  abundantly  bless  us.  "  And  it  shall  be  said  in 
 that  day,  Lo  !  this  is  our  God  !  w^e  have  w^aited  for  Him  ; 
 and  He  will  save  us :  this  is  the  Lord  ;  we  have  waited  for 
 Him  ;  we  will  be  glad  and  rejoice  in  His  salvation  !"  Isa.  xxv. 
 9  ;  Heb.  ii.  8,  4  ;  Eom.  xi.  30—36.     J.  F. 
 
 Pontus  and  Bithynia  seem  to  have  been  reserved,  as  the  peculiar 
 province  of  S.  Peter,  there  being  so  great  a  number  of  Jews 
 in  those  parts.  Gral.  ii.  7 ;  1  S.  Pet.  i.  1 ;  1  Cor.  xiv.  33.  Bp. 
 Stillingjleet.     (Orig.  Britan.  Ch.  i.) 
 
 "We  may  take  up  good  and  holy  designs,  and  God  doth  often  in- 
 spire them  ;  yet,  when  He  is  pleased  to  permit  a  contrary  event, 
 we^must  adore  His  secret  will,  which  brings  with  it  more  of 
 mercy  in  the  crossing  of  them,  than  if  they  had  succeeded  to  our 
 comfort.  We  should  always  be  jealous  over  our  own  spirit,  that 
 it  fix  not  upon  any  thing.  The  sweet  Jesus  hath  His  designs, 
 which  He  conducts  by  such  means,  as  we  would  not  at  all  make 
 choice  of;  and  the  reason  is,  because  He  would  thwart  our  wills, 
 and  abase  our  dependencies  upon  earth  ;  and  therefore  He  often 
 thwarts  our  just  undertakings,  being  more  jealous  of  the  sacri- 
 fice of  our  hearts,  than  any  thing  else,  how  specious  soever. 
 Ecclus.  iv.  16—19  ;  xi.  21,  40 ;  xiii.  7.  Mons.  Be  Renty.  (Life 
 by  Mons.  S.  Jure.  Part  iii.  ch.  4.) 
 
 9  God  will  keep  up  the  reputation  of  His  ordinances  among  men ; 
 and,  though  He  hath  not  tied  Himself,  yet  He  hath  tied  us,  to 
 tliera.  Cornelius  must  send  for  S.  Peter.  God  can  make  the 
 earth  produce  corn,  as  it  did  at  first,  without  cultivation  and 
 labour  :  but  he,  that  shall  now  expect  it  in  the  neglect  of  means, 
 may  perish  for  want  of  bread,     ix.  6 ;  Eccl.  i.  4.     Flavel. 
 
 10  We  endeavoured. — There  are  two  little  words  in  our  language, 
 which  I  always  admired,  try  and  trust.  You  know  not  what 
 you  can,  or  cannot  efiect,  till  you  try ;  and,  if  you  make  your 
 trials  in  the  exercise  of  trust  in  God,  mountains  of  imaginary 
 difliculties  will  vaiiLsh,  as  you  approach  them  ;  and  facilities  will 
 
THE  ACTS  XVI.  10,   11.  455 
 
 be  afforded,  which  you  never  anticipated.  S.  Luke  xiii.  24  ; 
 Heb.  xii.  4 ;  Col.  i.  29.  Williams.  (Account  of  Missions  to 
 S.  Sea  Islands.) 
 
 Nothing  strengthens  the  hands  of  difficulties  and  discouragements 
 so  much,  as  solicitude  about  the  success  and  event  of  things  : 
 "  Commit  thy  way  unto  the  Loed."  Ps.  xxxvii. ;  Gen.  xviii. 
 14  ;  Eom.  iv.  20,  21.      Wm.  Bridge. 
 
 That,  which  no  man  ought  to  do,  almost  every  man  does,  in  making 
 himself  the  sovereign  judge  of  his  own  calling,  xix.  13  ;  Jer. 
 xlv.  5  ;  1  Sam.  xii.  3.     Quesnel.     (At  Heb.  v.  4.) 
 
 "We  must  not  be  forward  to  put  forth  ourselves  in  the  exercise  of 
 spiritual  gifts.  Pride  often  appears  in  this,  under  a  pretence 
 of  a  desire  to  be  useful.  If  the  motive  be  correct,  it  is  good  : 
 but  humility  will  wait  for  a  call.  v.  36  ;  1  Sam.  ii.  36 ;  Micah 
 iii.  11 ;  Phil.  ii.  20 ;  1  Cor.  xiv.  30.     M.  Henri/.     (Life,  p.  294.) 
 
 11  Our  Saviour  calls  that  vision,  which  His  disciples  had  at  His 
 Transfiguration,  when  doubtless  they  were  awake,  opa/an  :  so 
 that  I  conceive  S.  Paul  had  this  vision  waking  :  and  the  iiiffht  is 
 specified  as  the  time  thereof,  not  to  intimate  his  being  asleep, 
 but  rather  his  watchfulness,  seeking  counsel  God  of  in  the 
 night,  which  way  he  should  apply  himself  in  the  preaching  of 
 the  Gospel.  Ps.  cxix.  148  ;  S.  Matt,  xviii.  9.  Dr.  Owen.  (Serra. 
 on  the  text.) 
 
 13  And  on  the  sabbath  we  went  out  of  the  city  by 
 a  river  side,  where  prayer  was  wont  to  be  made  ;  and 
 we  sat  down,  and  spake  unto  the  women  which  re- 
 sorted thither. 
 
 14  And  a  certain  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  spoken  of 
 Paul. 
 
 15  And  when  she  was  baptized,  and  her  household, 
 she  besought  us,  saying,  If  ye  have  judged  me  to  be 
 
456  THE  ACTS  XVI.  13. 
 
 faithful  to  the  Lord,  come  into  my  house,  and  abide 
 there.     And  she  constrained  us. 
 
 1 6  And  it  came  to  pass,  as  we  went  to  prayer,  a 
 certain  damsel  possessed  with  a  spirit  of  divination 
 met  us,  which  brought  her  masters  much  gain  by 
 soothsaying  : 
 
 1 7  The  same  followed  Paul  and  us,  and  cried,  say- 
 ing, These  men  are  the  servants  of  the  most  high  God, 
 whicii  show  unto  us  the  way  of  salvation. 
 
 18  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  her. 
 And  he  came  out  the  same  hour. 
 
 13  By  a  river  side. — It  is  supposed  that  they  chose  this  situation 
 of  their  oratories  or  synagogues  for  the  greater  convenieney  of 
 washing.  For  tliey  looked  upon  themselves,  as  obliged  to  wash 
 their  hands  always,  before  they  began  their  prayers,  and  pro- 
 bably preferred  the  sea-water,  if  near,  to  any.  (xx.  36  ;  xxi.  5.) 
 The  sea-shore  was  esteemed  by  the  Jews  a  place  most  pure,  and 
 therefore  proper  to  offer  up  their  prayers  and  thanksgivings  to 
 Almighty  God.  .  .  .  Tertullian  says,  that  in  his  time,  when  they 
 kept  their  great  fast,  they  left  their  synagogues,  and  on  every 
 shore  sent  forth  prayers  to  heaven.  And  in  another  place  among 
 the  ceremonies,  used  by  them,  he  mentions  orationes  littoraJes, 
 the  prayers  they  made  upon  the  shores.  R.  Biscoe.  (History 
 of  the  Acts,  &c.  Ch.  7.) 
 
 Consider  the  consequence  of  uniting  in  public  Worship.  Does  it 
 not  serve,  as  a  principle  of  unity,  to  promote  charity  among 
 Christians,  and  bind  them  in  affection  to  one  another  ?  Men, 
 wlio  resort  to  the  same  place  by  choice,  that  they  may  pray  to- 
 gether, will  contract  a  habit  of  considering  themselves,  as  con- 
 stantly under  the  eye  of  God  and  as  members  of  the  same 
 fiimily  ;  and  with  such  a  relation  they  cannot  lightly  offend  or 
 "speak  evil  one  of  another."     And  will  not  everyplace  be- 
 
THE  ACTS  XVI.  13,  14.  457 
 
 come  happier  in  proportion,  as  there  is  less  offence  and  less  evil 
 to  set  men  against  one  another  ?  If  the  experiment  were  to 
 be  made,  I  dare  be  answerable  for  it,  that  the  happiness  of  every 
 society  would  be  found  to  keep  equal  pace  with  tlieir  devotion, 
 i.  14 ;  iii.  1 ;  iv.  23,  24  ;  xii.  5,  12  ;  1  S.  Pet.  iii.  7.  W.  Jones. 
 (Serm.  S.  Matt.  xxi.  13.) 
 
 The  women  which  resorted  thither. — Women,  and  less  knowing  per- 
 sons, and  tender  dispositions  and  pliant  natures,  will  make  up 
 a  greater  number  in  heaven,  than  the  severe,  and  wary,  and  in- 
 quiring people,  who  sometimes  love,  because  they  believe,  and 
 believe,  because  they  can  demonstrate,  but  never  believe,  be- 
 cause they  love.  When  a  great  understanding  and  a  great 
 affection  meet  together,  it  makes  a  Saint  great,  like  an  Apostle ; 
 but  they  do  not  well,  who  make  abatements  of  their  religious 
 passions  by  the  severity  of  their  understanding.  Yerses  14,  15  ; 
 S.  Luke  vii.  38 ;  xxiii.  25,  26.     Bp.  J.  Taylor. 
 
 14  Though  "  forbidden  to  preach  the  word  "  in  Asia,  their  first 
 convert  at  Philippi  is  an  Asiatic,     xvi.  6.     Alford. 
 
 A  seller  of  purple. — Let  us  master  this  great  and  simple  truth, 
 that  all  rich  materials  and  productions  of  this  world,  being 
 God's  property,  are  intended  for  God's  service  ;  and  sin  only, 
 nothing  but  sin,  turns  them  to  a  different  purpose.  All  things 
 are  His  :  He  in  His  bounty  has  allowed  us  to  take  freely  of  all, 
 that  is  in  the  world,  for  food,  clothing,  and  lodging ;  He  allows 
 us  a  large  range ;  He  afflicts  us  not  by  harsh  restrictions  :  He 
 gives  us  a  discretionary  use,  for  which  we  are  answerable  to 
 Him  alone.  Still,  after  all  permission,  on  the  whole  we  must 
 not  take  what  we  do  not  need.  We  may  take  for  life,  for  com- 
 fort, for  enjoyment ;  not  for  luxury,  not  for  pride.  .  .  .  Every 
 one,  high  and  low,  who  is  in  the  practice  of  dressing  osten- 
 tatiously, whether  in  silk  or  cotton,  that  is,  every  one,  who 
 dresses  to  be  looked  at  and  admired,  is  using  God's  gifts  for  an 
 idol's  service,  and  offering  them  up  to  self.  iii.  2  ;  xii.  21 ;  S. 
 Luke  xvi.  19  ;  Ezek.  xxviii.  13,  17  ;  1  Tim.  iv.  4—6.  J.  W. 
 Newman.     (Serm.  Isa.  Ix.  13.) 
 
 The  grace  of  God  comes  quite  as  freely,  and,  it  is  to  be  feared, 
 more  frequently,  to  "the  maker  and  seller  of  purple,"  than  to 
 the  wearer  of  it.     Col.  iii.  11  ;  S.  James  ii.  1 — 5.     J.  F. 
 
458  THE  ACTS  XVI.  14,  15. 
 
 We  may  be  as  happy  in  russet,  as  in  tissue.     Bp.  Hall. 
 
 We  want  not  time  to  serve  God,  but  zeal :  we  have  not  too  much 
 business,  but  too  little  grace,     x.  2  ;  xvii.  21.     Hamilton. 
 
 He  did  open  the  heart  of  Lydia  to  conceive  well ;  the  ears  of  the 
 Prophet  (Isa.  1.),  to  hear  well ;  the  eyes  of  Elisha's  servant 
 (2  Kings  vi.)  to  see  well,  and  the  lips  of  David  (Ps.  li.)  to 
 speak  well.     Bev.  iii.  18 — 20.     Dean  Boys. 
 
 That  "  still  small  voice  within"  persuades  men,  more  than  all  the 
 crying  without ;  as  he,  that  is  within  the  house,  though  he  speak 
 low,  is  better  heard  and  understood,  than  he,  that  shouts  with- 
 out doors.     Ps.  Ixxxv.  8.     Abp.  Leighton. 
 
 I  observe  a  sort  of  evidence  of  the  truth  of  Christianity,  which 
 none  but  a  Christian  can  have,  and  which  partly  depends  upon 
 a  moral  taste.  Like  a  man,  who  has  an  ear  for  music,  a  Chris- 
 tian will  perceive  harmony  and  sweetness,  where  another,  who 
 has  not  this  taste,  will  find  nothing,  but  noise.  When  a  mul- 
 titude were  gathering  to  drag  the  Apostle  to  prison  for  preach- 
 ing the  Truth,  an  individual  receives  and  obeys  this  truth,  as 
 the  means  of  salvation.  How  is  this  ?  Had  she  a  better 
 understanding,  than  the  rest  ?  No  such  reason  is  given :  but 
 it  is  said,  that  the  Loed  opened  her  heart  that  she  attended  unto 
 those  things,  that  were  spoken  of  Paul.  Verily,  we  must  know, 
 that  "  there  is  a  patli,  which  the  vulture's  eye  hath  not  seen, 
 and  which  no"  such  "fowl  knoweth:"  and,  what  seems  more 
 extraordinary,  we  know,  that  such  cannot,  or  Mill  not,  see  this 
 path,  after  all  imaginary  pains  have  been  taken  to  show  it  to 
 them.  xiii.  48  ;  Prov.  viii.  9  ;  S.  John  x.  27.  R.  Cecil.  (Tract 
 entitled  "Keasons  for  repose.") 
 
 15  The  Loed  will  be  "  sanctified  in  them,  that  come  near  Him," 
 Lev.  X.  3,  if  not  in  the  sincerity  of  their  sanctification,  yet 
 certainly  in  the  severity  of  their  condemnation.  And,  as  the 
 hypocrite  is  thus  unfit  for  God,  so  also  for  all  good  men,  to 
 have  any  thing  to  do  with  :  such  blemishes  are  they,  indeed  the 
 very  botches  of  any  Christian  society.  S.  Jude  12.  Lydia  de- 
 sired S.  Paul  and  Silas  upon  no  other  condition,  to  enter  into 
 her  house,  than  this,  if  they  had  judged  her  faithful  :  and  David 
 having  prayed  for  the  sweet  company  and  communion  of  the 
 godly,  "  Let  such,  as  fear  Thee,  turn  unto  me,  and  sucli,  as  know 
 
THE  ACTS  XVI.  15—18.  459 
 
 Thy  testimonies,"  Ps.  cxix.  79,  80,  immediately  addeth  another 
 prayer,  "  Let  my  heart  be  upright  in  Thy  statutes,  that  I  may 
 never  be  ashamed!"  insinuating  thereby,  that  he  should  be 
 unfit  for  the  company  of  Gon's  children,  unless  his  heart  were 
 upright.  As,  therefore,  in  the  former  speech,  he  prayed  for  the 
 company  of  the  godly,  so,  in  the  latter,  for  that,  which  might  make 
 him  meet  for  their  company ;  so  that  he  might  hold  out  in  that 
 Blessed  fellowship,  without  being  ashamed,  when  in  the  end,  for 
 want  of  sincerity,  he  should  be  shaken  off  by  his  companions. 
 Ps.  cxi.  6,  7.  Br,  Dyke.  (The  mystery  of  self-deceiving.  Ch.  31.) 
 She  constrained  us. — The  life  of  hospitality  is  cheerfulness.  Let 
 our  cheer  be  never  so  great,  if  we  do  not  read  our  welcome  in 
 our  friend's  face,  as  well  as  in  his  dishes,  we  take  no  pleasure 
 in  it.  xxvii.  33,  34;  Gen.  xix.  3;  xviii.  1 — 7;  Prov.  ix.  1 — 5. 
 Bp.  Hall. 
 
 16  It  did  not  so  well  suit  Satan's  purpose  to  make  open  war 
 against  the  Gospel ;  so  he  tried  to  impair  its  credit  by  secret 
 stratagem.  For,  if  S.  Paul  had  accepted  this  testimony  in  his 
 favour,  there  had  no  longer  existed  any  difference  between  the 
 saving  doctrine  of  Cheist  and  the  cheats  of  Satan.  S.  Mark 
 i.  25  ;  S.  Luke  iv.  36  ;  Job  viii.  44  ;  2  Cor.  xi.  14.     Calvin. 
 
 17  Since  this  demon  saw  the  iVpostles  becoming  famous  (xix.  13) 
 he  plays  the  hypocrite  :  by  this  means  he  hoped  to  be  allowed 
 to  remain  in  the  body,  if  he  should  preach  the  same  things. 
 Conf.  viii.  19;  S.  Matt.  viii.  31.     S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 Show  unto  us  the  way  of  salvation. — No  man  is  to  make  religion 
 for  himself,  but  to  receive  it  from  God  ;  and  the  teachers  of 
 the  Church  are  not  to  make  religion  for  their  hearers,  but  to 
 show  it  only,  as  received  from  God.  xxiv.  14 ;  xxvi.  22  ;  1 
 Cor.  XV.  1 — 3  ;  2  Tim.  ii.  2.  JDr.  Whichcote.  (Aphorisms.  Cent, 
 vi.  504.) 
 
 One  we  must  have  to  know  thoroughly  the  state  of  our  lands  and 
 goods;  one  we  must  have,  entirely  acquainted  with  the  state  of 
 our  body  ;  in  our  souls  it  holdeth  not.  I  say  no  more.  It  were 
 good  it  did.     Bp.  Andrewes. 
 
 18  1  command  thee  to  come  out  of  her. — S.  Cyril  of  Alexandria, 
 moralizing  those  words  of  Moses,  Lev.  xiii.,  that  "  he,  that  is  a 
 leper,  shall  have  his  mouth  covered,"  saith,  that   he,  who  is  in 
 
460  THE  ACTS  XVI.  18. 
 
 the  leprosy  of  sin,  hath  lost  all  authority  of  speaking ;  for  how 
 should  he  teach  another,  that  hath  not  taught  himself?  And 
 Nicetas  to  this  purpose  wittily  allegorizeth  those  words  of  the 
 Psalm,  **  How  shall  we  sing  the  Loed's  song  in  a  strange 
 land  ?"  "A  sinner  truly  is  a  stranger ;  and  he,  that  is  in  a  state 
 of  sin,  is  further  from  God,  than  Babylon  from  Jerusalem : 
 therefore  doth  his  conscience  tell  him,  that  he  is  in  no  case  to 
 
 "  make  melody  unto  the  LoED." But  put  the  case,  that 
 
 some  man  may  be  so  fool-hardy,  that,  though  he  be  a  sinner, 
 yet  will  he  not  be  silent :  he  shall  be  put  to  silence :  the  un- 
 clean Spirit  gave  glory  unto  Christ,  when  he  said,  "  I  know 
 Thee,  who  Thou  art,  the  Holy  One  of  God  ;"  but  Jesus  re- 
 buked him,  saying,  "  Hold  thy  peace."  Neither  is  this  check 
 given  only  to  wicked  spirits,  but  even  unto  every  wicked  man. 
 (See  Ps.  1.  16 — 22.)  ....  Therefore  no  man  may  presume  to 
 touch  sacred  things  with  profane  hands,  nor  with  a  profane 
 tongue  to  speak  sacred  words.  Eccl.  xv.  9  ;  Hagg.  ii.  12  ;  Eom. 
 ii.     Bp.  Lake.     (Exposition  of  Ps.  1.) 
 
 19  And  when  her  masters  saw  that  the  hope  of 
 their  gains  was  gone,  they  caught  Paul  and  Silas,  and 
 drew  them  into  the  marketplace  unto  the  rulers, 
 
 20  And  brought  them  to  the  magistrates,  saying, 
 These  men,  being  Jews,  do  exceedingly  trouble  our 
 city, 
 
 2 1  And  teach  customs,  which  are  not  lawful  for  us 
 to  receive,  neither  to  observe,  being  Romans. 
 
 22  And  the  multitude  rose  up  together  against 
 them  :  and  the  magistrates  rent  off  their  clothes,  and 
 commanded  to  beat  them. 
 
 23  And  when  they  had  laid  many  stripes  upon 
 them,  they  cast  them  into  prison,  charging  the  jailor 
 to  keep  them  safely  : 
 
 24  Who,   having   received    such   a   charge,   thrust 
 
THE  ACTS  XVI.  19.  461 
 
 them  into  the  inner  prison,  and  made  their  feet  fast 
 in  the  stocks. 
 
 19  Everywhere  money  tlie  cause  of  evils  (i.  18 ;  iii.  6 ;  v.  2 ;  vi. 
 1 ;  viii.  18  ;  xix.  13,  25  ;  xx.  33 ;  xxiv.  26.)  O !  that  heathen 
 cruelty  !  They  wish  the  girl  to  be  still  a  demoniac,  that  they 
 might  make  money  of  her.  2  S.  Pet.  ii.  3  ;  Eev.  xviii.  13.  S. 
 Chrysostom, 
 
 Here  are  three  varieties  of  auditors,  that  S.  Paul's  preaching 
 finds  at  Philippi ;  and  in  them  you  may  take  a  view  of  the 
 several  success  and  entertainment  of  our  preaching.  1.  Here 
 is  Lydia  religiosa,  verse  14,  a  devout  woman,  of  holy  education, 
 a  worshipper  of  God  according  to  the  Jews'  religion.  She  is 
 prepared  and  fitted  under  that  Pcedagogy.  Pious  education, 
 under  the  public  worship,  hath  accommodated  her,  and  so  she 
 is  more  easily  and  speedily  converted.  Cor  aperuit.  One 
 sermon  of  S.  Paul  opened  her  heart  presently.  The  being 
 born  and  trained  up  within  the  compass  and  means  of  grace 
 doth  facilitate  and  dispose  us  to  a  more  speedy  conversion.  2. 
 Here  is  Comment ariensis,  the  jailor,  a  profane  barbarous  man,  a 
 savage  torturer  of  the  Apostles :  and  to  fit  and  prepare  him  for 
 conversion,  here  is  a  mighty  earthquake,  &c.  .  .  He  is  recovered 
 out  of  the  very  jaws  of  hell ;  titio  ereptus,  "  a  brand  catched  out 
 of  the  fire,"  and  so  brought  to  conversion.  3.  Here  are  cives 
 avari  et  ambitiosi  (verse  19),  the  magistrates  and  citizens,  men 
 set  upon  gain  and  ambition  :  they  reject  S.  Paul ;  nay,  oppose 
 him  ;  nay,  they  imprison  and  persecute  him.  The  magistrates 
 have  their  plea  against  him ;  breach  of  customs  and  ancient 
 orders :  that  enrages  them.  The  citizens  put  in  their  plea ; 
 the  hape  of  gain  is  gone  .  .  .  Nee  Deo  nee  dcemoni  credunt,  saith 
 S.  Chrysostom.  Though  GrOD  authorize  S.  Paul,  and  the  devil 
 give  testimony  to  him  (verse  17)  yet  they  regard  neither  God 
 nor  devil  .  .  .  And  thus  you  have  a  short  view  of  these  three 
 varieties  of  S.  Paul's  hearers  :  devout  Lydia,  presently  saved  by 
 a  gentle  persuasion  :  a  barbarous  jailor,  wrought  upon  by  fear 
 and  astonishment,  and  driven  to  conversion :  but  covetous  and 
 ambitious  worldlings,  the  loss  of  gain  and  breaking  of  customs 
 
462  THE  ACTS  XVI.  20—25. 
 
 enrages  them  to  malicious  persecution.  S.  Matt.  xiii.  18 — 23  ; 
 S.  Jude  22,  23.     Bp.  Brownrif/.     (Serm.  Acts  xvi.  33.) 
 
 20  This  accusation  was  craftily  contrived ,  so  as  to  weigh  down  the 
 servants  of  Christ,  for  on  one  hand  they  pretend  the  name  of 
 Romans,  of  all  others  the  most  favourable ;  and  then  they  bring 
 them  into  hatred  and  contempt  by  calling  them  Jews,  a  name 
 most  infamous  at  that  time :  for  in  their  religion  the  Romans 
 differed  more  from  the  Jews,  than  from  any  other  people,  xxi. 
 28  ;  Esther  iii.  8  ;  S.  John  xviii.  35.     Calvin. 
 
 24  The  inner  iprison. — This  was  like  the  ''stone  and  the  seal," 
 designed  by  His  enemies  to  make  the  sepulchre  of  the  Loed 
 "as  sure,  as  they  could"  (S.  Matt,  xxvii.  65,  66).  It  rendered, 
 in  each  case,  the  miracle  more  illustrious,  xii.  4, 19  ;  Ps.  Ixxvi. 
 10.     /.  F. 
 
 Never  are  the  feet  of  those,  who  preach  the  Gospel  of  peace, 
 more  venerable,  or  beautiful,  than  when  made  fast  in  the  stocks 
 for  Jesu's  sake:  their  light  is  never  more  brilliant,  than  when 
 in  a  dark  prison.     Philemon  9.     Quesnel. 
 
 Better  it  is  to  sit  in  the  stocks  of  the  world,  than  to  sit  in  the 
 stocks  of  a  damnable  conscience.  E-om.  viii.  18.  John  Philpot. 
 (Letters  in  prison.) 
 
 25  And  at  midnight  Paul  and  Silas  prayed,  and 
 sang  praises  unto  God  :  and  the  prisoners  heard  them. 
 
 26  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  were  loosed. 
 
 27  And  the  keeper  of  the  prison  awaking  out  of  his 
 sleep,  and  seeing  the  prison  doors  open,  he  di'ew  out 
 his  sword,  and  would  have  killed  himself,  supposing 
 that  the  prisoners  had  been  fled. 
 
 28  But  Paul  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  saying,  Do 
 thyself  no  harm  :  for  we  are  all  here. 
 
 25  The  Mahometans  say,  Preces  nocturnce  stmt  splendor  diei,  night 
 
THE  ACTS  XVI.  25. 
 
 463 
 
 prayers  are  the  light  of  the  day.     xii.  7^    S.  Luke  xviii.  7  ; 
 xxii.  41.     Bp.  Patrick.     (Mensa  Mystica,  c.  9.) 
 Midnight*  was   one  of  the  solemn  hours  of  prayers  and  psalmody 
 in  the  primitive  Church.     S.  Matt.  xxv.  6.     Dr.  Hammond. 
 
 *  ifo  any  among  his  readers,  de- 
 sirous of  cultivating  the  spirit  of  Mid- 
 night devotion,  these  verses,  designed 
 to  connect  their  Evening  and  Morning 
 Hymns  and  so  to  keep  their  souls  ever 
 on  the  watch  unto  prayer  and  praise, 
 are  humbly  submitted  by  the  Author. 
 
 Awake,  my  soul,  awake  to  prayer  ; 
 Thy  vigil  of  the  night  prepare  : 
 Now  all  around  is  dark  and  still ; 
 Angels  defending  us  from  ill. 
 
 The  time  to  sacred  thought  is  dear, 
 When  Thou  alone,  good  Lord,  art  near; 
 Hush'd  is  the  world's  external  din, 
 That  we  may  hear  Thy  voice  within. 
 
 It  seems  to  say  with  gentle  breath, 
 "  Sad  child  of  frailty,  heir  of  death, 
 Its  rest  thy  weary  body  knows  ; 
 
 0  let  thy  soul  on  Me  repose  ! 
 
 "  I  came  to  suffer  in  thy  stead  ; 
 
 1  had  not  where  to  lay  My  head  : 
 Think  of  the  Love,  that  could  provide 
 Blessings  for  man,  to  God  denied  !'' 
 
 Thus  silent  hours  of  darkness  prove 
 Remembrancers  of  Jesu's  Love  ; 
 While  constancy  in  prayer  we  learn 
 From  each  succeeding  night's  return. 
 
 Day  without  night  the  Angels  sing, 
 Nor  rest  upon  the  drooping  wing  ; 
 Teaching  our  souls  betimes  to  ascend, 
 Where  Hallelujahs  never  end. 
 
 David  awak'd  his  harp  and  voice, 
 And  **  all  within  him  "  to  rejoice, 
 God's  Love  to  praise  at  morning  light, 
 And  "  tell  of  all  His  Truth  at  night." 
 
 Jacob  in  prayer  nocturnal  strove  ; 
 No  stern  repulse  his  prayer  could  move : 
 In  vain  the  Angel-man  did  say 
 *'  Dismiss  Me  ;  for  'tis  break  of  day  !" 
 
 See  how,  in  galling  fetters  laid, 
 ^^  At  midnight  Paul  and  Silas prag'd/' 
 Their  gory  wounds  still  smarting  sore, 
 And  cold  the  prison's  rugged  floor. 
 
 They  sang  the  praises  of  the  Lord  ; 
 So   loud   they   sang,    "  the  prisoners 
 
 heard :" 
 And  yet  they  thought  that  Death  was 
 
 nigh; 
 And  clouds  obscur'd  their  morning  sky. 
 
 How  then  shall  I  Thy  praise  decline. 
 When  health,  and  friends,  and  home 
 
 are  mine  ? 
 My  dawn  of  day  is  clear  and  calm  ; 
 No  foes  oppress,  no  fears  alarm. 
 
 Are  these  Thy  mercies,  Lord,  to  me? 
 O  !  let  me  then  Thy  servant  be  ! 
 Submitting  to  Thy  just  control, 
 And  loving  Thee  with  all  my  soul. 
 
 So  shall  I  find  Thee  strong  to  save, 
 When  my  last  bed  shall  be  the  grave ; 
 The  grave   shall  own   my  Saviour's 
 
 might, 
 And  darkness  vanish  at  His  sight ! 
 
 Only  my  soul  must  now  awake 
 From  sleep  of  sin,  for  Thy  dear  sake  ; 
 And  then  my  body  shall  arise 
 From  sleep  of  death  to  yonder  skies. 
 
 'Tis  there  I  hope  Thy  Face  to  see. 
 The  Crown  of  all  Felicity  ; 
 
464 
 
 THE  ACTS  XVI.  25,  26. 
 
 It  is  prayer  alone,  that  overcometh  God  .  .  Prayer  is  tlie  wall 
 of  Faith,  our  armour  and  weapons  against  man,  (the  perse- 
 cutor), who  watcheth  us  on  every  side.  "Wherefore  never  let 
 us  walk  unarmed.  By  day,  let  us  remember  our  station ;  by 
 night,  our  watch.  Under  the  arms  of  prayer,  let  us  guard  the 
 Standard  of  our  Captain :  in  prayer,  let  us  await  the  trumpet 
 of  the  Angel.  Eph.  vi.  13—18 ;  1  Cor.  xvi.  13.  Tertullian. 
 (De  orat.  S.  29.) 
 
 One  Beo  Gratias  in  adversity  is  worth  more,  than  six  thousand  in 
 prosperity.     Avila.     (Ep.  2.) 
 
 Non  ea  quam  tribuis  Crux  est,  sed  pignus  Amoris  ; 
 Cor  Tibi  pro  tanto  munere  reddo  lubens. 
 
 Haeftenus.     (Via  Crucis.  Lib.  ii.  c.  15.) 
 
 26  The  token  of  an  answer  no  less  conspicuous,  than  the  one 
 granted  to  the  united  prayers  of  the  whole  Church  (iv.  23,  31), 
 and  gloriously  confirming  the  truth  of  the  promise,  S.  Matt, 
 xvii.  20.     J.  F. 
 
 In  this,  their  great  distress,  in  prison,  in  chains,  under  the  sore- 
 ness of  stripes,  in  the  horror  of  night,  the  Divinest  holiest  thing, 
 they  could  do,  was  to  sinff  praises  to  GrOD.  And  shall  we,  after 
 this,  need  any  exhortation  to  this  holy  practice  ?  Shall  we  let 
 the  day  pass,  without  such  thanksgivings,  as  they  would  not 
 neglect  in  the  night  ?  Shall  a  prison,  chains,  and  darkness  fur- 
 nish them  with  songs  of  praise,  and  shall  we  have  no  singings  in 
 our  closets  ?  Eurther,  let  it  also  be  observed,  that,  while  these 
 two  holy  men  were  thus  employed  in  the  most  exalted  part  of 
 devotion,  doing  that  on  earth,  which  Angels  do  in  Heaven,  that 
 
 'Tis  there  I  hope  that  Rest  to  gain, 
 Which  here  I  seek,  but  seek  in  vain. 
 
 As  endless  ages  roll  along, 
 Endless  shall  be  my  grateful  song  : 
 And  Heaven  itself  shall  pass  away, 
 Before  I  cease  my  vows  to  pay. 
 
 Glory  to  God,  who  **  Israel  keeps," 
 Who  "never  slumbers,  never  sleeps  ; 
 Almighty  Power  no  weakness  knows 
 Unwearied  Love  asks  no  repose. 
 
 And  now,  my  midnight  musings  o'er, 
 Thy  wonted  mercies,  Lord,  restore : 
 Let  sleep  again  my  eyelids  fill, 
 And  Angels  guard  my  soul  from  ill. 
 
 Praise  to  the  Father,  to  the  Son, 
 To  th'  Holy  Ghost,  Bless'd  Three 
 
 in  One ! 
 Praise  to  the  Lord,  our  God,  begiv'n 
 By  all  on  earth,  by  all  in  heaven  ! 
 
THE  ACTS  XVI.  27,  28.  465 
 
 the  foundations  of  the  prison  were  shaken,  all  the  doors  were 
 opened,  and  every  one's  bands  were  loosed.  And  shall  we  now 
 ask  for  motives  to  this  Divine  exercise,  when,  instead  of  argu- 
 ments, we  have  here  such  Miracles  to  convince  us  of  its  mighty- 
 power  with  GrOD  ?  Could  God  by  "  a  voice  from  heaven"  more 
 expressly  call  us  to  these  songs  of  praise,  than  by  thus  showing 
 us,  how  He  hears,  delivers,  and  rewards  those,  that  use  them  ? 
 Ps.  cxix.  62,  148  ;  S.  Matt.  xxvi.  40.  Wm.  Law.  (A  serious 
 Call  to  a  devout  and  holy  Life.     Ch.  xv.) 
 
 27  Would  have  killed  himself. — Desperatio  major  est  omni  pec- 
 cato.  Despair  renders  us  more  guilty,  than  all  other  sin.  T, 
 Aquinas. 
 
 It  is  greatly  to  be  wished,  that  all  serious  persons  would  avoid 
 speaking  of  self-murderers,  as  having  "  put  an  end  to  their  ex- 
 istence ;"  which  certainly  tends  to  mislead  the  minds  of  the 
 tempted  into  very  erroneous  misapprehensions  on  this  most  im- 
 portant subject,     i.  25 ;  Heb.  ix.  27.     Tk.  Scott. 
 
 28  Indeed  our  present  condition  is  dreadful ;  and  death  would  be 
 far  more  welcome  to  me,  than  thus  for  ever  to  abide  :  but  yet 
 let  us  consider  the  Lord  of  the  country,  to  which  we  are  going, 
 hath  said,  "  Thou  shalt  do  no  murder  ;"  no,  not  to  another  man's 
 person.  Much  more  then  are  we  forbidden  to  take  his  counsel 
 to  kill  ourselves.  Besides,  he  that  kills  another,  can  but  commit 
 murder  upon  his  body ;  but  for  one  to  kill  himself,  is  to  kill 
 body  and  soul  at  once.  And,  moreover,  my  brother,  thou 
 talkest  of  ease  in  the  grave ;  but  hast  thou  forgotten  the  Hell, 
 whither  for  certain  the  murderers  go  ?  For  *'  no  murderer  hath 
 Eternal  Life  abiding  in  him."  1  S.  John  iii.  15.  Bunyan. 
 (The  Pilgrim's  Progress.     Part  i.) 
 
 Bo  thyself  no  harm. — Those  men,  who  destroy  a  healthful  consti- 
 tution of  body  by  intemperance  and  an  irregular  life,  do  as 
 manifestly  kill  themselves,  as  those,  who  hang,  or  poison,  or 
 drown  themselves.     Job  xx.  11 ;  Ps.  Iv.  25.     Bp.  Sherlock. 
 
 29  Then  he  called  for  a  hght,  and  sprang  in, 
 and  came  trembling,  and  fell  down  before  Paul  and 
 Silas. 
 
 ir  II 
 
466  THE  ACTS  XVI.  29. 
 
 30  And  brought  theai  out,  and  said,  Sirs,  what 
 must  I  do  to  be  saved  ? 
 
 31  And  they  said,  BeUeve  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. 
 
 33  And  he  took  them  the  same  hour  of  the  night, 
 and  washed  their  stripes  :  and  was  baptized,  he  and  all 
 his,  straightway. 
 
 34  And  when  he  had  brought  them  into  his  house, 
 he  set  meat  before  them,  and  rejoiced,  believing  in 
 God  with  all  his  house. 
 
 29  How  came  it  to  pass  that  the  jailor  understood  all  this  to  be 
 the  effect  of  a  Divine  power,  and  not  of  some  magical  art  ?  He 
 had  heard  them  at  midnight  praying  and  praising  God,  which 
 no  enchanters  w^ould  do.     S.  John  xi.  42  ;  viii.  48.     Clarius. 
 
 As  the  Sun  in  the  heavens  is  seen  only  by  his  own  light,  so  Jest:s, 
 the  Sun  of  Righteousness  is  seen  only  and  known  by  His  own 
 Spirit.  There  is,  however,  a  great  diversity  in  the  Spirit's  mode 
 of  "teaching  sinners  in  the  way."  All  are  taught  the  same 
 truths,  the  "  One  Eaith  ;"  but  all  are  not  taught  by  the  same  pro- 
 cess. "  The  Spirit  divideth  to  every  man  severally,  as  He  wills." 
 AVho  can  read  the  account  of  the  conversion  of  S.  Paul,  and 
 then  that  of  Cornelius,  or  that  of  the  jailor,  and  then  that  of 
 Lydia,  without  discovering,  by  means  of  such  a  test,  the  un- 
 soundness of  that  teaching,  which  would  cramp  conversion  into 
 one  narrow  particular  system  ;  it  may  be  too  a  mistaken  one,  as 
 when  we  draw  the  line  by  the  rule  of  our  own  feelings  or 
 fancies?  The  "Princely  Spirit"  (Ps.  li.  12)  will  not  suffer 
 such  bondage.  The  Greatness  of  God  will  not  be  bound  by  the 
 littleness  of  man.  In  some  cases,  then,  His  Word  is  like  "  a 
 fire,"  Jer.  v.  14;  like  a  hammer,  that  breaketh  the  rock  in 
 pieces,  Jer.  xxiii.  29.  It  is  the  rod  of  His  Strength,  Ps.  ex.  2  ; 
 a  quick  and  powerful  weapon,  "  sliarper  than  any  two-edged 
 
THE  ACTS  XVI.  29—31.  4G7 
 
 sword,"  Heb.  v.  12  ;  Eph.  vi.  17  :  in  other  cases,  it  is  the  "  stili 
 small  voice,"  1  Kings  xix.  12  ;  it  is  "  the  rain,  that  cometh  down, 
 and  the  snow  from  heaven,"  Isa.  Iv.  10;  it  distils,  as  the  dew, 
 or  as  "the  small  rain  upon  the  tender  herb  and  the  shower 
 upon  the  grass,"  Deut.  xxxii.  2.     J.  F. 
 
 The  strings  of  the  harp  are  struck  with  the  same  bow,  but  not  all' 
 with  the  same  degree  of  strength.     1  Cor.  xii.  11.     S.  Gregory. 
 
 Our  fathers  had  dark  churches  and  light  hearts  ;  afterwards,  coun- 
 terfeit Christians  had  shining  churches  and  dark  hearts.  2  Tim. 
 iii.  1,  5  ;  S.  Matt,  xxiii.  27.     Aventinus. 
 
 30  To  be  saved. — Why,  what  had  S.  Paul  said  ?  Observe,  he  does 
 not,  in  finding  himself  safe,  think  all  is  well :  he  is  overcome 
 with  awe  at  the  miraculous  power.  S.  Matt.  xiv.  2.  S.  Chry- 
 sostom. 
 
 Could  we  but  see  our  sins  and  our  miseries  by  sin ;  could  we  see 
 God  frowning,  and  hell  gaping  wide  to  swallow  us,  we  should 
 not  need  to  be  bidden  to  long  for  our  Deliverer,  and  every 
 pledge  of  His  favour  would  be  precious  to  us.  Ps.  cxxx.  Bp. 
 Hall. 
 
 Sirs  (Kvpioi,  "Lords  "). — They  startled  not  at  this  title,  who  yet 
 rent  their  clothes,  &c.,  when  unlawful  honour  was  given  them, 
 (xiv.  14.)  .  .  .  Titles  and  honours,  accepted  of  Gron's  chil- 
 dren, are  no  signs  of  ambition,  nor  forbidden,  as  unlawful ;  so 
 the  mind  be  humble  and  meek,  and  a  measure  kept.  Numb, 
 xii.  11;  1  Sam.  ix.  6 ;  1  Kings  xviii.  7  ;  S.  Luke  xxii.  26.  Bp. 
 Babington.     (Notes  on  Genesis.     Ch.  xii.) 
 
 31  The  word  faith  hath  three  senses ;  credence,  confession,  affi- 
 ance,    viii.  13,  37 ;  xv.  11.     Rd.  Gierke.     (Serm.  xxvi.) 
 
 Here  is  the  mean,  whereby  we  must  apply  the  fruits  of  Cheist's 
 death  to  our  deadly  wound.  Here  is  the  mean,  whereby  we 
 must  obtain  Eternal  life ;  namely  faith  .  .  .  that  is  to  say,  a 
 sure  trust  and  confidence  in  the  mercies  of  God  ;  whereby  we 
 persuade  ourselves  that  God  both  hath,  and  will  forgive  our  sins, 
 that  He  hath  accepted  us  again  into  His  favour,  that  He  hath 
 released  us  from  the  bonds  of  damnation,  and  received  us  again 
 into  the  number  of  His  elect  people,  not  for  our  merits  or  de- 
 serts, but  only  and  solely  for  the  merits  of  Cheist's  Death  and 
 Passion ;  who  became  man  for  our  sake,  and  humbled  Himself 
 
 II  11  2 
 
468  THE  ACTS  XVI.  31—33. 
 
 to  sustain  the  reproach  of  the  Cross,  that  we  thereby  might  be 
 saved  and  made  inheritors  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  This  faith 
 is  required  at  our  hands.  And  this  if  we  keep  steadfastly  in 
 our  hearts,  tliere  is  no  doubt  but  we  shall  obtain  salvation  at 
 God's  hands,  as  did  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  of  vrhom  the 
 Scripture  saith,  "  They  believed  ;  and  it  was  imputed  unto  them 
 for  righteousness."  ii.  24;  iii.  IG ;  iv.  32;  vi.  7  ;  viii.  37;  xiii. 
 39.     Ho7nilies.     (Serm.  on  the  Passion.     Part  ii.) 
 
 -The  whole  new  Covenant  consists  of  these  two  words,  Christ  and 
 faith ;  Christ,  bestowed  on  God's  part,  faith  required  on  ours  ; 
 Christ  the  matter,  faith  the  condition  of  the  Covenant.  S. 
 John  iii.  16;  Eom.  iii.  25,  26;  Gal.  iii.  22.  Dr,  Hammond. 
 (Serm.  S.  Matt.  x.  15.) 
 
 If  the  Son"  of  God  is  a  creature,  as  the  heretics  say,  why  was  not 
 this  truth  delivered  to  the  jailor  by  the  Apostles  ?  Why  is  he 
 bidden  to  believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  ?  Why  on  his  be- 
 lieving in  Him,  is  it  recorded,  that  he  believed  in  God  (ver.  35), 
 and  not  in  a  creature  ?  Prom  this  it  is  manifest,  that  the  Son 
 in  His  essence  is  God,  and  not  a  creature.  Conf.  verses  6,  10. 
 S.  Basil.     (Thesauri  Lib.  xii.  c.  12.) 
 
 32  They  explained  unto  him  the  several  articles  of  the  Christian 
 faith,  which  he  was  to  believe :  which  clearly  shows,  that  a  dis- 
 tinct knowledge  of  the  Word  of  God  was  necessary  to  his  be- 
 lieving aright  in  Christ  ;  or  else  it  would  have  been  superfluous 
 to  have  preached,  or  explained  it,  to  them.  ii.  40 ;  x.  48 ;  xiv. 
 28  ;  XV.  32.     Bp.  Beveridge, 
 
 33  The  same  hour  of  the  night. — Impetu  quodam  et  impulso  erum- 
 punt  bona  opera.,  good  works  (the  fruits  of  a  lively  faith)  do 
 burst  forth  with  a  kind  of  natural  power  and  vehemeucy.  ix.  20 ; 
 S.  Mark  i.  31.     Luther. 
 
 O  !  how  quick  in  its  course  is  the  Word  of  God's  wisdom  :  and, 
 when  He  is  teacher,  how  soon  do  we  learn  our  lessons !  JSTo 
 need  of  an  interpreter,  to  make  us  hear ;  nor  of  habit,  to  confirm 
 our  practice  ;  nor  of  time,  to  perfect  our  studies  !  ix.  20  ;  Ps. 
 xxix.  4.     S.  Leo.     (Serm.  i.  de  Poenit.) 
 
 Paith  makes  such  a  change  in  a  man,  that  he  is  directly  con- 
 trary to  what  he  was.  So  the  jailor  rudely  "tlirust"  S.  Paul 
 and  Silas  into  the  prison,  and  made  fast  their  feet ;  but  when 
 
THE  ACTS  XVI.  33,  34.  469 
 
 he  came  to  believe  he  took  them  into  his  house,  and  set  meat 
 before  them.     Gal.  i.  23  ;  2  Cor.  v.  17.      TFtn.  Bridge. 
 
 He  washed  them  from  their  stripes  ;  himself  was  washed  from  his 
 sins  :  he  fed  them,  and  was  fed.     S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 The  woman,  "  that  had  been  a  sinner,"  washed  with  her  tears 
 those  Blessed  feet,  which  her  sins  nailed  to  the  accursed  tree. 
 The  jailor  washed  these  gory  stripes,  with  the  same  hands,  which 
 had  scourged  the  living  members  of  the  Body  of  Christ. 
 Should  we  not  hasten  with  them  to  repair  every  injury,  we  have 
 done,  with  a  tender  hand,  with  a  feeling  heart,  with  penitent 
 sorrow,  with  Love  unfeigned  ?  S.  Matt.  v.  23,  24 ;  xxv.  45. 
 J.F. 
 
 84  The  Christian  sees  plainly,  that  God  has  so  framed  the  nature 
 of  man,  that  neither  the  great,  nor  the  lesser  societies,  neither 
 Kingdoms  nor  families,  can  be  happy,  nor  indeed  at  all  subsist, 
 without  Eeligion ;  by  this  necessary  dependance  on  Him,  and 
 continual  intercourse  between  Him  and  us,  preserving  a  per- 
 petual memory  of  Himself  among  us.  Convinced  and  fortified 
 with  this  observation,  the  truly  Christian  Master  of  a  family 
 takes  care  that  Religion  be  well  known,  and  God  constantly 
 worshipped,  in  his  house.  That  his  children  may  be  sensible  of  his 
 authority  over  them  and  pay  him  the  obedience,  due  to  a  parent, 
 he  backs  his  authority  with  that  of  God,  the  Universal  Parent. 
 That  his  servants  may  be  dutiful,  industrious,  and  honest,  he 
 teaches  them  to  fear  the  great  Master,  the  Loed  of  Lords,  and. 
 Governor  of  the  world,  from  whom  all  power  and  authority, 
 and  his  in  particular,  are  derived.  That  every  member  of  his 
 little  society  may  acquit  himself  properly  in  his  station,  and 
 contribute  to  the  good  of  the  whole,  he  gives  him  a  principle  to 
 do  it  on,  and  a  motive,  strong  enough  to  induce  him ;  that  is, 
 he  teaches  him  the  doctrines,  the  duties,  and  motives  of  Eeli- 
 gion. Eph.  v.,  vi. ;  Col.  iii.,  iv.  P.  Skelton.  (Serm.  Joshua 
 xxiv.  14.) 
 
 With  all  his  house. — Let  every  Pater  familias  recognise  under  this 
 title  the  fatherly  love  he  owes  to  his  household  for  Christ's 
 sake,  and  because  of  Eternal  Life.  Let  him  caution,  teach, 
 advise,  reprove  all,  who  belong  to  him,  cherishing  them  with 
 kindness,  forming  them  by  discipline.     In  a  certain  sense,  he 
 
470  THE  ACTS  XVI.  27. 
 
 must  be  their  Bishop.     Gen.  vi.  9  ;  vii.  1 ;  viii.  20 ;  xviii.  19. 
 XX.  28,     *S.  Auffustine. 
 
 35  And  when  it  was  day,  the  magistrates  sent  the 
 Serjeants,  saying.  Let  those  men  go. 
 
 36  And  the  keeper  of  the  prison  told  this  saying  to 
 Paul,  The  magistrates  have  sent  to  let  you  go :  now 
 therefore  depart,  and  go  in  peace. 
 
 37  But  Paul  said  unto  them,  They  have  beaten  us 
 openly  uncondemned,  being  Romans,  and  have  cast  us 
 into  prison ;  and  now  do  they  thrust  us  out  privily  ? 
 nay  verily ;  but  let  them  come  themselves  and  fetch 
 us  out. 
 
 38  And  the  Serjeants  told  these  words  unto  the 
 magistrates :  and  they  feared,  when  they  heard  that 
 they  were  Romans. 
 
 39  And  they  came  and  besought  them,  and  brought 
 them  out,  and  desired  them  to  depart  out  of  the  city. 
 
 40  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. 
 
 37  Nothing  was  further  here  from  the  mind  of  S.  Paul,  than  to 
 consult  his  own  private  advantage :  he  did  this,  in  order  to 
 secure  some  relief  afterwards  to  the  brethren,  and  to  prevent 
 the  magistrates  from  proceeding  against  them  with  such  unre- 
 strained fury.     Calvin. 
 
 Be  requires  this,  lest  the  Name  of  the  Loed  should  be  blasphemed 
 on  their  account ;  seeing  that  they  had  been  carried  before  the 
 Magistrates  under  a  charge  of  crime.     2  Cor.  vi.  3.     Clarius. 
 
 Tlie  Apostles  acted  with  firmness  ;  but  there  is  nothing  like  resis- 
 tance, in  what  they  did.  They  had  been  punished  openly  and 
 uncondemned,  against  the  privilege  of  citizens.  They  required 
 therefore  a  formal  liberation  open  and  public,  as  their  punish- 
 
THE  ACTS  XVI.  37,  40. 
 
 471 
 
 ment  Lad  been,   instead  of  a  clandestine  dismissal.     It  was 
 something  like  a  discharge  in  open  Court,  after  an  accusation 
 withdrawn  or  disproved,     xxv.   11 ;    Eom.  xiv.  1,  2.     Davison. 
 (Dialogue,  &c.) 
 S.  Paul  refused  to  come  out  of  the  prison,  till  the  Magistrate, 
 whose  mittimus  had  sent  him  thither,  should  come  to  fetch  him 
 out.     The  case  is  the  same  here.     Christ  was  raised  by  the 
 Father  by  way  of  acquittance  and  discharge:  the  Father 
 sent  an  Angel  purposely  to    "roll  away  the  stone  from  the 
 sepulchre"  and  to  discharge  and  release  the  prisoner;  "  sitting" 
 upon  the  very  stone,  to  tell  those  so,  that  came  to  inquire  what 
 was  become  of  Him.     S.  Matt,  xxviii.  2.     Dr.  Littleton.     (Serm. 
 S.  Luke  xxiv.  34.) 
 If  the  Lord  did  not  distinguish  S.  Paul's  release  from  prison 
 by  the  presence  of  an  Angel,  it  was  in  order  to  bestow  upon 
 him  something  infinitely  more  precious,  than  any  miraculous 
 deliverance;    that  is,  the  faith  and  conversion  of  the  jailor. 
 Thus  GrOD  acted  difierently  toward  the  two  chiefs  of  His  Church. 
 One  calmly  "  slept"  in  the  prison.     The  other  in  the  prison 
 "sang  hymns  to  God."     God  then,  as  He  does  now,  ordered 
 all  things  for  the  welfare  of  His  Church  and  the  edification  of 
 His  saints.     M.  de  Singlin.     (Instruct.  Chretiennes.    Pete  de 
 S.  Pierre  aux  liens.) 
 S.  Paul  submitted  to  be  scourged  by  his  own  countrymen  (five 
 times,  2  Cor.  xi.  24)  ;  for,  though  he  might  have  pleaded  his 
 privilege,  as  a  Eoman,  to  the  Jews  he  became,  as  a  Jew,  observ- 
 ing their  ceremonies,  and  submitting  to  their  Law.     (Ref.  xiv. 
 21.     J.  F.)     W.  J.  Humphrtj.     (Commentary  on  the  Acts.) 
 It  is  both  a  wise  and  merciful  act  sometimes  to  speak  in  a  high 
 tone  to  such  persons,  as  nothing  but  a  sense  of  fear  will  prevail 
 upon  to  cease  from  doing  evil.     viii.  20 — 23  ;  xiii.  10,  41 ;  Titus 
 i.  13.     Quesnel. 
 40  Entered  into  the  house  of  Lydia. — What  greater  proof  could 
 Lydia  give  of  the  noble  daring  of  her  faith  ?    "  Whom  Jason  hath 
 received!''  xvii.  7.     Here  was  a  capital  offence;  calling  up  all 
 the  city  and  popular  fury  against  him.     But  observe  how  faith 
 and  humility  grow  up  together,  and  keep  pace  with  each  other 
 in  the  soul.     Lydia  "constrains  them,"  verse  15,  to  abide  in 
 
472  THE  ACTS  XVI.  40. 
 
 her  house;  not  merely  to  enter  it,  but  to  "abide"  in  it :  but 
 then  she  humbly  checks  the  warmth  of  her  welcome,  "  If  ye 
 have  judged  me  to  he  faithful  to  the  Loed."  She  deemed  her- 
 self unworthy  of  such  high  distinction ;  she  meekly  submitted 
 her  spiritual  state  to  be  tried  and  allowed  by  God's  Ministers, 
 though  she  was,  at  the  time,  giving  the  most  unanswerable 
 proof  of  the  sincerity  and  strength  of  her  belief.  Now  these 
 are  the  sort  of  Christians  to  be  depended  on  in  times  of  perse- 
 cution ;  the  humble,  the  unassuming ;  those,  who  submit  to 
 others  in  authority,  while  they  distrust  themselves.  In  all  such, 
 though  they  be  frail  women,  the  strength  of  God  is  perfected : 
 for  on  that  strength  they  rely.  In  the  mean  time,  it  is  often 
 seen  how  "the  children  of  Ephraim,  being  harnessed  and  carry- 
 ing bows,  turn  themselves  back  in  the  day  of  battle."  Verse 
 34 ;  viii.  36,  37  ;  S.  Matt.  viii.  8—10.  J,  F. 
 When  they  had  seen  the  brethren^  they  comforted  them, — Tou  meet 
 it  everywhere,  in  the  Epistles  of  the  New  Testament,  that  such, 
 as  professed  to  obey  the  Gospel,  were  called  the  brethren.  One 
 is  the  mother  of  us  all,  in  our  natural  being,  the  earth  ;  one  mother 
 of  our  Spiritual  connection,  the  Church;  one  common  father 
 of  our  flesh,  Adam  ;  one  Eather  of  our  Eegeneration,  the  Holy 
 GnosT.  But  certainly  charity  was  the  special  scope  in  this 
 appellation ;  for  no  relation  of  love  is  so  complete  in  all  respects 
 as  between  brother  and  brother.  The  love  between  husband 
 and  wife  is  not  born  with  them.  The  love  between  father  and 
 son  is  not  level  and  reciprocal,  because  it  is  not  between  persons, 
 that  are  equal ;  the  love  between  friend  and  friend  is  of  our 
 own  choice,  not  of  necessary  duty :  only  the  love  of  brothers  is 
 from  the  womb,  from  instinct  of  nature,  stands  upon  equal  con- 
 ditions, and  is  underpropped  with  all  circumstances,  that  engender 
 affection.  And  to  give  Charity  the  pre-eminence,  this  was  the 
 first  precious  ointment,  that  was  poured  upon  our  head ;  we 
 were  called  brethren,  xi.  29;  xv.  32,  3G ;  xviii.  18;  xxi.  7; 
 1  S.  Pet.  ii.  17.     Bp.  Hacket.     (Serm.  Acts  xi.  2G.) 
 
THE  ACTS  XVII.  2.  473 
 
 CHAPTER  XVII. 
 
 l^OW  when  they  had  passed  through  Amphipolis 
 and  Apollonia,  they  came  to  Thessalonica,  where 
 was  a  synagogue  of  the  Jews  : 
 
 2  And  Paul,  as  his  manner  was,  went  in  unto  them, 
 and  three  sabbath  days  reasoned  with  them  out  of  the 
 scriptures, 
 
 3  Opening  and  alleging,  that  Christ  must  needs 
 have  suffered,  and  risen  again  from  the  dead ;  and 
 that  this  Jesus,  whom  I  preach  unto  you,  is 
 Christ. 
 
 4  And  some  of  them  believed,  and  consorted  wdth 
 Paul  and  Silas :  and  of  the  devout  Greeks  a  great 
 multitude,  and  of  the  chief  w^omen  not  a  few. 
 
 2  As  his  manner  was. — The  holy  Apostles,  after  the  Eesurrection 
 and  AsceDsion  of  Christ,  preached  the  Gospel  in  Synagogues 
 upon  the  Sabbath-days,  not  to  signify  the  perpetual  morality  of 
 the  seventh' day  sabbath,  but  to  the  end,  that  they,  complying 
 with  Jews  and  Proselytes  in  this  observance,  might  obtain 
 familiar  access  and  gain  opportunity  to  instruct  them  in  the 
 Christian  faith,  and  by  little  and  little  to  teach  them  the  cessa- 
 tion of  the  old  Law.  Neither  did  they  deal  thus  in  the  matter 
 of  the  Sabbath  only,  but  for  a  time  they  condescended  unto 
 
 them  in  the  use  of  som.e  other  Legal  observances S. 
 
 Augustine  renders  another  reason,  for  which  the  Apostles 
 observed  some  Legal  rites  and  ceremonies  for  a  time  ;  namely  to 
 signify  the  difference  betwixt  Legal  rites  and  heathenish  super- 
 stition;  God  Himself  being  the  Author  of  the  one,  and  Satan 
 of  the  other :  and  he  addeth,  that  because  God  Himself  was  the 
 Author  of  all  the  Legal  ordinances  the  holy  Apostles  were  will- 
 
474  THE  ACTS  XVII.  2,  3. 
 
 ing  to  yield  unto  tliem  an  honourable  Funeral,  after  tlie  time 
 that  their  obligation  was  fully  expired  in  Cheist.  Bp.  JT^hite. 
 (A  treatise  of  the  Sabbath-Day.     Pp.  68,  69.     Edit.  1635.) 
 
 Albeit  the  Spirit  lead  us  into  all  truth,  and  direct  us  in  all  good- 
 ness, yet,  because  these  workings  of  the  Spirit  in  us  are  so  privy 
 and  secret,  we  therefore  stand  on  plainer  ground,  when  we 
 gather  by  reason  from  the  quality  of  things,  believed  or  done, 
 that  the  Spirit  of  God  hath  directed  us  in  both,  than  if 
 we  settle   ourselves   to  believe,  or   do,  any   certain  particular 
 
 thing,  as  being  moved  thereto  by  the  Spirit Because 
 
 the  sentences,  which  are  by  the  Apostles  recited  out  of  the 
 Psalms  to  prove  the  Eesurrectiou  of  Jesus  Cheist,  did  not 
 prove  it,  if  so  be  the  prophet  David  meant  them  of  himself 
 (ii.  34 ;  xiii.  36 ;  viii.  34),  this  exposition  therefore  they  plainly 
 disprove,  and  show  by  manifold  reason  that  of  David  the  words 
 of  David  could  not  possibly  be  meant.  Exclude  the  use  of 
 natural  reasoning  about  the  sense  and  meaning  of  Holy 
 Scripture,  concerning  the  Articles  of  our  Eaith ;  and  then 
 that  the  Scripture  doth  concern  the  Articles  of  our  Eaith,  who 
 can  assure  us  ?  That,  which  by  right  exposition  buildeth  up 
 Christian  Eaith,  being  misconstrued  breedeth  error;  between 
 true  and  false  construction,  the  difference,  reason  must  show. 
 XV.  7 ;  xix.  8 ;  S.  Matt.  xxii.  43 ;  IS.  Pet.  iii.  15.  Hooker. 
 (Eccl.  Pol.  B.  iii.  s.  8.) 
 
 3  The  custom  of  the  Jews  was  to  treat  of  nothing  in  their  Syna- 
 gogues, but  the  Scriptures :  hence  had  S.  Paul  treated  of  any 
 else,  and  particularly  had  he  at  once  plainly  and  directly  spoken 
 of  Cheist  crucified,  the  Jews  would  have  turned  him  out.  S. 
 Paul's  subject  therefore  was  the  Scripture ;  yet  he  so  handled 
 it,  that  by  the  choice  of  fit  passages  he  intimated,  as  the  sequel 
 here  shows,  the  doctrine  of  Cheist.  Mark  his  prudence  and 
 good  tact,  how  ingeniously  he  introduces  Cheist,  whilst  seem- 
 ing to  be  intent  on  something  else,  and  notwithstanding  the 
 ill-will  and  aversion  of  the  Jews  to  the  subject,  vi.  9,  10 ;  xiii. 
 14 — 39.     Corn,  a  Lapide.     (in  loco.) 
 
 S.  Peter,  out  of  a  Synagogue,  at  once,  without  any  preface,  preaches 
 Cheist  ;  and  then  confirms  his  doctrine  by  Scripture,  iii. 
 12 — 18.     S.  Paul,  in  a  Synagogue,  first  states  the   doctrine  of 
 
THE  ACTS  XVII.  3.  475 
 
 Scripture ;  and  then  preaches  Christ,  as  its  fulfihnent.  One 
 seems  to  take  his  text  from  the  Old  Testament ;  the  other  from 
 the  New.     J.  F. 
 
 Christ  must  needs  have  suffered. — It  was  Sin,  O  man,  even  thy 
 sin,  that  caused  Cheist,  the  only  Son  of  God,  to  be  crucified 
 in  the  flesh,  and  to  suffer  the  most  vile  and  slanderous  death 
 upon  the  cross.  If  thou  hadst  kept  thyself  upright,  if  thou 
 hadst  observed  the  commandments,  if  thou  hadst  not  presumed 
 to  transgress  the  will  of  God  in  thy  first  father,  Adam,  then 
 Cheist  "  being  in  the  form  of  God,"  needed  not  to  have  taken 
 upon  Him  the  shape  of  a  servant :  being  immortal  in  heaven, 
 He  needed  not  to  become  mortal  on  earth:  being  the  true 
 bread  of  the  soul.  He  needeth  not  to  hunger :  being  the  health- 
 ful water  of  Life,  He  needeth  not  to  thirst :  being  Life  itself, 
 He  needed  not  to  have  suffered  death.  Canst  thou  think  of 
 this,  O  sinful  man,  and  not  tremble  within  thyself?  Canst 
 thou  hear  it  quietly,  without  remorse  of  conscience  and  sorrow 
 of  heart  ?  Did  Cheist  suffer  His  Passion  for  thee ;  and  wilt 
 thou  show  no  compassion  towards  Him  ?  While  Cheist  was 
 yet  hanging  on  the  cross,  and  yielding  up  the  ghost,  the  Scrip- 
 ture witnesseth  that  "  the  veil  of  the  Temple  did  rend  in  twain, 
 
 .  and  the  earth  did  quake,  and  the  stones  clave  asunder,  that  the 
 graves  did  open,  and  the  dead  bodies  rise."  And  shall  the  heart 
 of  man  be  nothing  moved  to  remember  how  grievously  and 
 cruelly  He  was  handled  of  the  Jews  for  our  sins  ?  Shall  man 
 show  himself  to  be  more  hardhearted  than  stones  ?  to  have  less 
 compassion  than  dead  bodies  ?  .  .  .  .  Call  to  mind,  0 !  sinful 
 creature,  and  set  before  thine  eyes  Cheist  crucified ;  think  thou 
 seest  His  Body,  stretched  out  in  length  upon  the  cross.  His 
 head  crowned  with  sharp  thorns,  His  hands  and  His  feet  pierced 
 with  nails.  His  heart  opened  with  a  long  spear.  His  flesh  rent 
 and  torn  with  Mhips,  His  brows  sweating  water  and  blood. 
 Think,  thou  hearest  Him  now  crying  in  an  intolerable  agony 
 to  His  Fathee,  and  saying,  "My  God,  My  God,  why  hast 
 Thou  forsaken  Me  ?"  Couldest  thou  behold  this  wonderful 
 sight,  or  hear  this  mournful  voice,  without  tears,  considering, 
 that  He  suffered  all  this,  not  for  any  desert  of  His  own,  but 
 only  for   the   grievousness  of  Thy    sins  ?     0 !    that   mankind 
 
476  THE  ACTS  XVII.  4. 
 
 should  put  the  everlasting  Son  of  God  to  such  paius !  0 1  that 
 we  should  be  the  occasion  of  His  death,  and  the  only  cause  of 
 His  condemnation !  May  we  not  justly  cry,  "  "Woe  worth  the 
 time,  that  ever  we  sinned !"  O  !  my  brethren,  let  this  image  of 
 Cheist  crucified  be  always  printed  in  our  hearts  ;  let  it  stir  us 
 up  to  the  hatred  of  sin,  and  provoke  our  minds  to  the  earnest 
 love  of  Almighty  God.     Homilies.     (Serm.  on  the  Passion,  p.  2.) 
 
 4  As  it  would  facilitate  the  future  preaching  of  the  Apostles 
 among  the  Gentiles,  that  some  preliminary  tidings  of  the  light 
 that  had  arisen,  should  be  carried  to  those,  who  were  then 
 "  sitting  in  darkness,"  it  appears  probable,  that  the  discourse  of 
 our  LoED  (see  S.  John  xii.  20 — 22)  was  delivered  (to  these 
 Greeks)  either  as  they  were  approaching,  or  actually  in  His 
 presence.  This  would  give  them  an  opportunity  of  improving 
 the  hint  of  the  gracious  intention  of  the  Redeemer  of  Abraham's 
 seed  in  their  favour.     They  would  be  telling  something  of  the 
 
 good  news  of  salvation  in  their  own  land Titus  was  a 
 
 Greek ;  and  Timothy  himself,  one  of  the  most  active  agents  in 
 the  promulgation  of  Christianity,  was  also  a  Greek  by  his 
 father's  side.  Gal.  ii.  3 ;  Acts  xvi.  1.  It  is  also  particularly 
 recorded,  that  at  Iconium  and  at  Thessalonica,  there  were  among 
 the  number  of  believers,  of  the  devout  Greeks  a  great  multitude. 
 xiv.  1.  Antioch  was  a  city  of  the  country,  to  which  the  Syro- 
 phoenician  woman  (S.  Mark  vii.  27)  belonged :  and  the  news, 
 she  would  carry  of  her  benefactor,  might  perhaps  have  been 
 Providentially  designed  to  contribute  to  the  subsequent  success 
 of  S.  Paul  and  S.  Barnabas  in  that  place.  Bp.  Sumner,  (On 
 the  Ministerial  character  of  Cueist.     Ch.  v.  s.  1.) 
 
 I  observe  throughout  the  whole  tenor  of  Josephus's  history,  that 
 the  Eomans  treated  with  respect  what  the  Jews  held  sacred ; 
 and  whoever  was  distinguished  by  any  religious  thoughtfulness 
 from  others,  such  a  one  found  nothing  to  suit  him  in  Gentile 
 rites,  but  preferred  the  \Norship  of  the  Jews.  The  devout  Greeks^ 
 converted  at  Thessalonica,  were  of  this  class ;  and  this  is  not 
 the  first  instance  we  have  seen  of  the  Loed's  preparing  persons, 
 by  an  attention  to  a  more  imperfect  light,  for  the  Sun  of  E-igh- 
 teousness.  viii.  27  ;  x.  1,  2  ;  xiii.  48  ;  xvi.  11 ;  Zech.  viii.  21 — 23. 
 J.  Milner.     (Church  History,  Cent,  i.,  ch.  9.) 
 
THE  ACTS  XVII.  5.  477 
 
 5  Bat  the  Jews  which  beheved  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  the  house  of  Jason,  and  sought 
 to  bring  them  out  to  the  people. 
 
 6  And  when  they  found  them  not,  they  drew  Jason 
 and  certain  brethren  unto  the  rulers  of  the  city,  crying. 
 These  that  have  turned  the  world  upside  down,  are 
 come  hither  also ; 
 
 7  Whom  Jason  hath  received :  and  these  all  do 
 contrary  to  the  decrees  of  Caesar,  saying  that  there  is 
 another  King,  one  Jesus. 
 
 8  And  they  troubled  the  people  and  the  rulers  of 
 the  city,  when  they  heard  these  things. 
 
 9  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  coming  thither 
 went  into  the  synagogue  of  the  Jews. 
 
 1 1  These  were  more  noble  than  those  in  Thessalo- 
 nica,  in  that  they  received  the  word  with  all  readiness 
 of  mind,  and  searched  the  Scriptures  daily,  whether 
 those  things  were  so. 
 
 12  Therefore  many  of  them  believed;  also  of 
 honourable  women  which  were  Greeks,  and  of  the 
 men,  not  a  few. 
 
 5  These  lewd  fellows  of  the  baser  sort,  who  were  bent  on  riot, 
 uproar,  and  mischief,  were  the  last  persons  surely  in  the  world, 
 who  ought  to  have  accused  other  men  of  turning  the  world  upside 
 down.  See  how  blind  we  are  to  our  own  faults,  when  we  rise 
 in  judgment  against  our  neighbours.  The  worst  characters  are 
 soon   made  tools    in  the  hands  of   designing    men,   if   a   cry 
 
478  THE  ACTS  XVIL  6. 
 
 about  religion  is  to  be  got  up.  It  is  then  that  they  seem  to  be 
 most  zealous  in  the  cause  of  God,  who  really  know  and  care 
 the  least  about  Him :  but  nothing  inflicts  more  harm  on  re- 
 ligion, than  an  appeal,  made  to  the  bad  passions  of  the  popu- 
 lace, than  the  use  of  such  "carnal  weapons"  on  hypocritical 
 pretences,  and  for  private  ends.  xiv.  19 ;  xxi.  27 ;  xxiv.  27 ; 
 XXV.  9 ;  S.  Matt.  vii.  1—6  ;  xxvii.  20.     J.  F. 
 
 6  The  Apostles,  having  received  the  Spirit,  were,  as  men  made  all 
 of  fire,  running  through  the  world  and  burning  it  up.  ii.  3 ; 
 1  Sam.  V.  11.     IF.  Dell.     (Serm.  Acts  i.  8.) 
 
 That  we  must  not  sin  against  God  for  the  sake  of  peace,  is  no 
 more  than  to  say,  that  we  must  not  sin  on  any  consideration 
 whatsoever;  which  is  very  true,  and  the  contrary  would  be 
 absurd :  but  still  the  greater  question  of  all  remains  undecided, 
 namely,  when  it  is  a  sin  or  no  sin,  when  lawful  or  unlawful,  to 
 offend  against  peace ;  and  this  only  can  be  determined  in  many 
 cases  by  considering  which  is  the  greater  good,  or  which  the 
 greater  charity ;  to  leave  men  easy  and  quiet,  or  to  molest  and 
 
 disturb  them  in  such  particular  circumstances Now  the 
 
 Apostles  of  our  Loed  did  by  their  preaching  occasion  many 
 tumults  and  disturbances,  and  were  censured,  as  men,  that  had 
 turned  the  world  upside  down,  by  reason  of  the  riots  and  con- 
 fusions, which  were  everywhere  raised  upon  their  coming ;  yet 
 what  they  did  was  for  the  everlasting  benefit  of  mankind,  and 
 therefore  of  far  greater  moment  than  a  short  and  false  peace. 
 If  they  had  resolved  to  offend  nobody,  but  to  have  lived  peace- 
 ably and  quietly,  in  a  strict  sense,  Paganism  and  idolatry  had 
 remained  still,  and  Christianity  had  made  small  progress  in  the 
 world.  But  this  would  have  been  valuing  peace  against  the  very 
 end  and  design  of  it,  and  betraying  the  cause  of  Cheist  to  the 
 ruin  of  their  own  and  other  men's  souls,  iv.  19,  20 ;  xvi.  20 ; 
 S.  Matt.  X.  34—36.     Br.  Waterland.     (Serm.  Eom.  xii.  18.) 
 
 These,  that  have  turned  the  world  upside  down. — Sirs,  what  is  it, 
 that  we  are  exhorting  you  unto  ?  Is  it  to  dig  down  mountains  ? 
 Is  it  to  exhaust  the  sea  ?  Is  it  to  pull  down  the  sun  from  his 
 orb  ?  Is  it  to  reverse  the  course  of  nature  ?  Is  it  to  work 
 miracles  ?  Is  it  to  unhinge  the  earth,  or  to  stop  the  flux  and 
 reflux  of  the  ocean?     One  would  think  by  the  earnestness  and 
 
THE  ACTS  XVII.   7.  479 
 
 veliemency  of  expressions,  we  are  forced  to  use,  that  it  must 
 be  something  beyond  the  power  of  man :  but  no ;  all,  that  we 
 keep  this  stir  for,  is  only,  that  you  would  consent  to  be  happy, 
 contrive  how  to  inherit  an  incorruptible  crown,  and  think 
 seriously,  how  to  escape  your  own  torment :  and  needs  there 
 any  intreaty  for  this  ?  One  would  think  you  should  run  to  us, 
 break  down  the  doors  of  our  habitations,  pull  us  out  of  our 
 studies,  interrupt  us,  though  we  were  never  so  busy,  and  im- 
 portune us,  as  that  widow  did  the  judge,  and  follow  us  day  and 
 night  to  be  satisfied — the  thing  is  of  that  importance.  And 
 oh !  did  you  but  believe  an  Eternity,  you  would  do  so.  ii.  40  ; 
 XX.  31 ;  S.  Luke  xiv.  23  ;  2  Tim.  iv.  1,  2.  Br.  HornecJc.  (The 
 Great  Law  of  Consideration,  ch.  7.) 
 
 Whom  Jason  hath  received. — If  the  fury  of  tyrants  (against  the 
 Primitive  Christians)  abated,  or  remitted  at  any  time,  and  the 
 imprisoned  and  afflicted  believers  got  leave  to  return  home  again, 
 some  wounded,  some  bruised,  some  with  disjointed  bones,  some 
 half  burnt,  some  maimed,  some  with  one  arm,  some  wdth  one 
 eye,  some  with  one  leg  only,  their  friends  would  run  out  to 
 them,  and  strive  who  should  first  receive  them  into  their  houses. 
 Happy  the  man,  that  could  kiss  their  wounds,  and  refresh  them 
 with  necessaries  and  conveniences ;  and  the  longer  any  man 
 could  harbour  such  a  Christian  at  his  house,  the  happier  he 
 thought  himself  to  be.  And  such  men,  as  had  thus  sufiered  for 
 Cheist,  they  honoured  for  the  future,  and  esteemed  them 
 equal  with  their  Pastors  and  Presidents.  Indeed,  out  of  these 
 they  chose  their  Bishops,  thinking  those  fittest  to  serve  at 
 Christ's  Altar,  who  had  already  made  themselves  a  sacrifice 
 for  Him.  Thus  men  purchased  the  degree  of  Pastors  by  their 
 holiness ;  and  their  eminent  Sanctity,  which  pressed  even 
 through  wounds  and  tortures  for  the  Name  of  Cheist,  prepared 
 them  for  that  function.  Men,  that  were  strong  to  suffer,  they 
 justly  thought  might  be  fittest  to  labour  in  God's  Church ;  and 
 they,  that  had  been  such  champions  for  the  truth,  they  looked 
 upon,  as  the  properest  instruments  to  defend  it  to  their  death, 
 xvi.  25,  33 ;  xxviii.  7 ;  Gal.  iv.  14,  15  ;  2  Tim.  i.  16 ;  3  S.  John 
 8.  Br.  Horneck.  (A  letter  to  a  person  of  quality  concerning 
 the  heavenly  lives  of  the  Primitive  Christians.) 
 
480  THE  ACTS  XVII.  7,  11. 
 
 Let  those,  who  say,  that  Christianity  hinders  the  common  weal, 
 give  us  an  array  of  such  soldiers,  as  the  doctrine  of  Cheist 
 forms ;  let  them  give  such  dwellers  in  the  midst  of  us,  such 
 husbands,  such  wives,  such  parents,  such  sons,  such  masters, 
 such  servants,  such  kings,  such  magistrates,  such  creditors,  such 
 collectors  of  the  tribute,  as  the  Christian  religion  prescribes : 
 and  then  let  them  dare  to  say,  that  Christianity  hinders  the 
 common  weal.     1  S.  Pet.  iii.  16.     S.  Augustine. 
 
 Saying. — The  least  consideration  will  inform  us,  how  easy  it  is  to 
 put  an  ill-natured  construction  on  a  word,  and  what  perverse 
 terms  and  expressions  spring  from  an  evil  temper.  Nothing 
 can  be  explained  to  him,  that  will  not  understand ;  nor  will 
 anything  appear  right  to  the  unreasonable.  "  Everything  in 
 life,"  says  one  of  the  ancients,  (Epictetus,)  "has  two  handles;" 
 but  it  must  be  a  bad  disposition  indeed,  which  will  ever  be 
 seizing  the  wrong  one.  vi.  14  ;  S.  Mark  xiv.  58  ;  S.  John  ii.  19 ; 
 S.  Matt.  xxvi.  61.     R.  Cecil. 
 
 This  false  charge  seems  to  have  been  founded  on  S.  Paul's 
 preaching  much  at  Thessalonica  concerning  the  kingdom  of 
 Cheist.  This  appears  again  and  again  in  his  two  Epistles,  see 
 1  Thess.  i.  10 ;  ii.  19,  &c.,  and  particularly  2  Thess.  ii.  5,  when 
 he  refers  to  his  having  often  told  them  of  "these  things,"  that 
 is,  the  course  and  destruction  of  Antichrist,  by  whom  these 
 Jews  might  perhaps  misrepresent  S.  Paul,  as  designating  Caesar. 
 Ps.  Ivi.  5.     Alford. 
 
 Caesar  now  sat  supreme  at  the  helm  of  the  government  of  the 
 world.  To  speak  of  another  Jung,  and,  much  more,  to  transfer 
 allegiance  and  tribute  to  that  other  King,  was  nothing  less  than 
 to  turn  the  world  upside  down.  Here  we  may  observe,  that  the 
 enemies  of  the  Gospel  bear  indirect  and  undesigned  witness  to 
 its  universal  success  and  prevalence ;  and  therefore  to  the  com- 
 pletion of  Prophecy  ;  and  therefore  to  the  truth  of  Christianity, 
 xxiv.  5  ;  xxviii,  22  ;  Col.  i.  6.     J.  F. 
 
 Another  King. — This  King  came  not  into  the  world  to  subdue 
 kings  by  fighting,  but  to  win  them  by  dying.  Verse  3 ;  S. 
 Matt.  xxi.  5.     Fulgentius. 
 
 11  The  country  town  of  Berea  was  more  zealous  and  religious, 
 than  the  rich  and  stately  city  of  Thessalonica.     xx.  4.     E.  Leigh. 
 
THE  ACTS  XVII.  11.  481 
 
 They  are  the  truly  noble  souls,  which  are  inclinable  to  the  things 
 
 of  God.     viii.  27,  28  ;  Ps.  cxiix.  9.     Bengel 
 They  searched,  but  for  confirmation,  and  not  upon  suspicion.  .  .  . 
 Though  we  require  not  an  implicit  faith  in  you,  that  you  believe, 
 because  we  say  it,  yet  we  require  a  holy  nobleness  in  you,  a  re- 
 ligious good  nature,  a  conscientious  ingenuity,  that  you  remem- 
 ber from  whom  we  come,  from  the  King  of  Heaven,  and  in  what 
 quality,  as  His  ambassadors ;  and  so  be  apt  to  believe,  that,  since 
 we  must  return  to  Him,  that  sent  us,  and  give  Him  a  relation 
 of  our  negociations,  we  dare  not  transgress  our  Commission. 
 XX.  26,  27 ;  1  Cor.  ix.  16 ;  Heb.  xiv.  17.     Br.  Bonne.     (Serm. 
 Acts  XX.  25.) 
 Baily. — Scriptura  semper  habet  aliqiiid  relegentibus.     They,  who 
 read  the  Scripture  again  and  again,  will  always  find  in  it  some- 
 thing new.     xiii.  42.     Tertullian. 
 Because  there  is  a  numerous  party  in  the  Christian  world,  which 
 doth  not  only  forbid  the  people  to  search  the  Scriptures,  but  re- 
 presents it,  as  a  practice  of  very  dangerous  consequence,  it  is 
 hereby  become  necessary,  that  we  should  not  only  assert,  but 
 prove  their  obligation  to  it ;  which  otherwise  would  be  very 
 needless,  there  being  nothing  more  plain  and  evident  in  itself. 
 Now,  to  prove  that  the  people  are  obliged  to  search  and  read 
 the  Scriptures,  I  shall,  as  briefly  as  I  can,  argue  the  point  from 
 the  following  topics.     1.  From  the  obligations,  which  the  Jews 
 were  under,  to  read  and  search  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testa- 
 ment.    2.  Erom  our  Sayiour's  and  His  Apostles'  approbation 
 of  their  practice,  in  pursuance  of  this  their  obligation.     3.  Prom 
 ■    the  great  design  and  intention  of  writing  the  Scriptures.     4. 
 Prom   the   direction   of  these   Holy   writings   to  the  people. 
 5.  From  the  great  concernment  of  the  people  in  the  matters, 
 contained  in  them.     6  From  the  universal  sense  of  the  Primi- 
 tive  Church  in  this  matter.      Ps.  xix.,   cxix.     Br.    J.    Scott. 
 (Discourse,  S.  John  v.  39.) 
 Only  search  with  an  humble  spirit ;  ask  in  continual  prayer  ;  seek 
 with  purity  of  life;  knock  with  perpetual  perseverance;  and 
 cry  to  the  good  Spirit  of  Christ,  the  Comforter  :  and  surely  to 
 every  such  asker  it  shall  be  given ;  such  searchers  must  needs 
 find ;  to  them  it  will  be  opened.     Christ  Himself  will  open 
 
 I  I 
 
48.2  THE  ACTS  XVII.  11,  12. 
 
 the  sense  of  Scripture,  not  to  the  proud,  or  the  wise  of  the 
 world,  but  to  the  lowlj  and  contrite  in  heart :  for  "  He  hath  the 
 key  of  David,  who  opens,  and  no  man  shuts,  who  shuts,  and  no 
 man  opens."     Prov.  ii.  1 — 6.     Abp.  Parker. 
 
 Perlegis  ?  An  mundi  curse  nug^eque  repugnant  ? 
 
 Perlege ;  Divina  sunt  ea  scrip ta  manu : 
 Perlege  ;  sed  videas  qua  mente  animoque  legatur, 
 
 Nam  bene  ceu  prosunt,  sic  mal^  lecta  nocent : 
 Perlege ;  sed  precibus  prius  ad  Coelestia  fusis 
 
 Limina,  lecturum  ut  prsDparet  Ipse  Deus. 
 
 F,  Kilvert.     (Bibliis  SS.  iuscriptum.) 
 
 12  Many  believed. — This  does  not  refer  to  the  clause  immediately- 
 preceding,  as  if  the  persons,  just  mentioned,  then  began  to  be- 
 lieve, a  certain  selection  from  among  them  being  made,  delectu 
 habito  :  this  would  be  absurd :  but  S.  Luke's  meaning  is,  that, 
 because  many  became  converts  through  their  example,  the  Church 
 was  enlarged  in  that  city.     xi.  24.     Calvin. 
 
 It  speaks  the  mind  of  S.  Paul,  with  whom  S.  Luke  travelled,  that 
 he  took  it  well  too  (that  with  this  intent  they  searched  the 
 Scriptures.).  Gal.  i.  8.  Dr.  Lightfoot.  (Exposition  of  three 
 select  Articles  of  the  Creed,  2.) 
 
 What  a  contrast  between  the  effects  of  the  same  Gospel  dispensed 
 to  the  illiterate  Macedonians,  and  the  philosophical  Athenians ! 
 Yet  there  want  not  many  professing  Christians,  who,  while  they 
 stigmatize  men  of  the  former  sort  with  the  name  of  barbarians, 
 bestow  on  the  latter  the  appellation  of  enlightened  Philosophers, 
 xxviii.  2;  S.  Matt.  xi.  25,  26.  /.  Milner.  (Church  History. 
 Cent.  i.  ch.  10.) 
 
 Is  there  any  repugnancy  in  the  thing,  that  Scripture  should  be  re- 
 ceived first  on  the  account  of  Tradition,  and  yet  afterwards  men 
 resolve  their  faith  into  the  Scripture  itself?  May  not  a  man 
 very  probably  believe,  that  a  diamond  is  sent  him  from  a  friend, 
 upon  the  testimony  of  the  messenger,  who  brings  it,  and  yet  be 
 firmly  persuaded  of  it  by  discerning  the  sparklings  of  it  ?  S. 
 John  iv.  42.     Bp.  Stillingfeet. 
 
 13  But  when  the  Jews  of  Thessalonica  had  know- 
 
THE  ACTS  XVII.  15.  483 
 
 ledge  that  the  word  of  God  was  preached  of  Paul  at 
 Berea,  they  came  thither  also,  and  stuTed  up  the 
 people. 
 
 14  And  then  immediately  the  brethren  sent  away 
 Paul  to  go  as  it  were  to  the  sea :  but  Silas  and  Timo- 
 theus  abode  there  still. 
 
 1 5  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. 
 
 16  Now  while  Paul  waited  for  them  at  Athens,  his 
 spirit  was  stirred  in  him,  when  he  saw  the  city  wholly 
 given  to  idolatry. 
 
 17  Therefore  disputed  he  in  the  synagogue  with 
 the  Jews,  and  with  the  devout  persons,  and  in  the 
 market  daily  with  them  that  met  with  him. 
 
 15  S.  Paul  had  been  at  Athens,  and  had,  through  his  conflicts 
 therewith,  become  acquainted  with  that  wisdom  of  man,  which 
 aftecteth  the  Truth  and  corrupteth  it ;  itself  also  being  divided 
 many  ways  into  its  own  heresies  by  the  variety  of  sects  opposing 
 each  other.  What  then  hath  Athens  to  do  with  Jerusalem  ? 
 what  the  Academy  with  the  Church  ?  w^hat  heretics  with  Chris- 
 tians ?  Our  school  is  the  porch  of  Solomon,  who  himself  also 
 hath  delivered  unto  us,  that  we  must  "  in  simplicity  of  heart 
 seek  the  Lord."  Away  with  those,  who  have  put  forward  a 
 Stoic,  a  Platonic,  and  a  Dialectic  Christianity  !  iii.  11 ;  1  Cor.  i. ; 
 1  Tim.  i.  4 ;  2  Tim.  ii.  17  ;  Titus  iii.  9  ;  Col.  ii.  8.  Tertullian. 
 (De  Prsescr.  s.  7.) 
 
 If  by  chance  any  scraps  or  shreds  of  knowledge  were  ever  scattered 
 among  the  Gentiles,  they  certainly  fell  from  the  Chaldaean's 
 table  (i.e.,  from  Abraham)  ;  from  whence  in  time  the  poor  beg- 
 garly world  gathered  such  baskets  full,  that  they  began  to  feed 
 full,  and  be  in  good  liking ;  and  Athens  at  last  begins  to  set  up, 
 
 I  I  2 
 
484  THE  ACTS  XVII.  15,  16. 
 
 as  the  only  University  in  the  world.  Dr.  Hammond.  (Serm. 
 S.  John  vii.  48.) 
 A  mind,  fortified  by  constant  recourse  to  the  Scriptures,  the  foun- 
 tain of  all  spiritual  strength,  comes  to  the  study  of  human 
 knowledge,  with  a  matchless  superiority  over  all  other  men,  and 
 is  enabled  to  derive  from  it  incalculably  greater  advantages. 
 Why  should  we  leave  science,  and  politics,  and  literature,  only 
 in  the  possession  of  unbelievers  ?  In  the  hands  of  Christians, 
 they  each  hold  their  proper  place,  and  are  made  to  teach  lessons 
 of  true  wisdom.     Dr.  Arnold. 
 
 Plurima  quid  varias  per  ssecula  profuit  artes 
 Eimari,  6  miseri  ?  rerum  quid  noscere  causas 
 Profuit,  et  vitse  rectam  quid  discere  legem  ? 
 Summa  tamen  vis  nulla  boni  est  inventa ;  nee  Ipse 
 Cognitus  Autor  adhuc.     Vobis  sapientia  frustra  est 
 Tempore  tam  longo  terras  qusesita  per  omnes, 
 Sincera  veri  sine  religione  Tonantis. 
 Quin  agite,  et  Iseti  felicia  discite  dona, 
 Qu3e  tulit  optatum  felix  cum  legibus  sevum  : 
 Mortalis  fieri  superb  miseratus  ab  arce 
 Et  perferre  necem  voluit,  rursumque  reverti 
 Ad  vitam  Deus ;  astra  volens  ut  pandat,  et  aequo 
 Maxima  Coelestis  generi  det  munera  Yitse ! 
 
 Rossetus.     (Lib.  v.  De  Paulo.) 
 
 The  proud  think  they  can  stand  alone :  the  humble  Minister  of 
 Cheist,  though  he  be  a  second  S.  Paul,  feels  his  constant  need 
 of  some  brotherly  help.     iii.  11 ;  2  Tim.  iv.  9,  11,  21.     Quesnel. 
 
 (Conf.  1  Thess.  iii.  1,  2,  6.)  So  careful  was  S.  Paul  for  that  house, 
 which  he  had  built ;  for  the  fire,  which  he  had  kindled ;  for  the 
 grafts,  which  he  had  planted ;  and  for  the  children  which  he 
 begot  among  the  Thessalonians.  xv.  36  ;  1  Thess.  i.  7,  8  ;  3  S. 
 John  1—6  ;  Gal.  iv.  11.     Bp.  Jewel.     (Expos,  of  1  Ep.  Thess.) 
 
 16  It  is  observable,  that,  through  all  successions  of  men,  there  never 
 was  any  society,  any  collective  body  of  Atheists — a  single  one 
 perhaps  might  here  or  there  be  found,  as  we  sometimes  see 
 monsters  and  illshapen  births — but,  for  the  generality,  they  had 
 always  such  instincts  of  a  Deity,  that  they  never  thought  they 
 
THE  ACTS  XVII.  16.  485 
 
 came  far  enough  from  Atheism ;  but  rather  chose  to  multiply 
 their  gods,  to  have  too  many,  than  none  at  all.  Ps.  xiv.  1. 
 Palmer.     (Aphorisms,  834.) 
 
 "What  man  of  us  is  not,  in  some  kind,  guilty  of  this  highest  crime, 
 idolatry?  Some  of  them  took  the  brain  to  be  sacred  .  .  .  and 
 so  many  of  us  deify  our  own  brains,  and  adore  every  thing,  that 
 comes  out  of  them.  Again,  who  is  there,  that  hath  not  some 
 pleasure  in  his  heart,  which  takes  place  of  God  there  ?  The 
 heathens  had  their  sun  and  moon,  most  glorious  creatures,  their 
 heroes,  whose  virtues  had  even  deified  their  memory ;  and  silly 
 
 men  they  admired,  and  could  not  choose  but  worship 
 
 But  how  basely  have  we  outgone  their  vilest  worships  ?  How 
 have  we  outstripped  them  !  Let  but  one  appearance  of  gain,  like 
 that  golden  calf  of  the  Israelites — a  beautiful  woman,  like  that 
 Venus  of  the  heathen — nay,  in  brief,  whatever  image,  or  repre- 
 sentation of  delight,  thy  own  lust  can  propose  thee,  let  it  but 
 glance,  or  glide,  by  thee  and  Quis  non  incurvavit,  (who  hath  not 
 bowed  himself  down  ?)  Show  me  a  man,  that  hath  not,  at  some 
 time  or  other,  fallen  down  and  worshipped.  In  some,  all  the  lower 
 part  of  the  soul,  or  carnal  affections,  are  but  a  picture  of  the  city 
 of  Atliens,  wholly  given  to  idolatry.  Wisdom  iii.  13.  (Refer 
 S.  Matt.  xix.  25.  Skelton.)    Dr.  Hammond.     (Serm.  Eom.  i.  26.) 
 
 "Wealth  is  the  goddess,  whom  all  the  world  worshippeth.  There  is 
 many  a  city  in  our  Empire,  of  which  with  an  eye  of  apostolical 
 discernment  it  may  be  seen,  that  it  is  almost  wholly  given  over 
 to  idolatry.  If  a  man  looks  no  higher,  than  to  his  money  for 
 his  enjoyment,  then  money  is  his  god.  It  is  the  god  of  his  de- 
 pendence, and  the  god,  upon  whom  his  heart  is  stayed.  Or  if, 
 apart  from  other  enjoyments,  it  by  some  magical  power  of  its 
 own  has  gotten  the  ascendancy,  then  still  it  is  followed  after,  as 
 the  Supreme  good ;  and  there  is  an  actual  supplanting  of  the 
 Living  God.  He  is  robbed  of  the  gratitude,  that  we  owe  Him 
 for  our  daily  sustenance ;  for,  instead  of  receiving  it,  as  if  it 
 came  direct  out  of  His  hand,  we  receive  it,  as  if  it  came  from 
 the  hand  of  a  secondary  agent,  to  whom  we  ascribe  all  the  sta- 
 bility and  independence  of  God.  Job  xxxi.  24  ;  Col.  iii.  5.  Dr. 
 Chalmers.  (Discourses  on  the  application  of  Christianity  to 
 the  commercial  and  ordinary  affairs  of  life.     Disc.  8.) 
 
486  THE  ACTS  XVII.  18. 
 
 18  Then  certain  philosophers  of  the  Epicureans, 
 and  of  the  Sto'cs,  encountered  him.  And  some 
 said,  What  will  this  babbler  say  ?  other  some.  He 
 seemeth  to  be  a  setter  forth  of  strange  gods :  because 
 he  preached  unto  them  Jesus,  and  the  resurrection. 
 
 19  And  they  took  him,  and  brought  him  unto 
 Areopagus,  saying,  May  we  know  what  this  new  doc- 
 trine, whereof  thou  speak  est,  is  ? 
 
 20  For  thou  bringest  certain  strange  things  to  our 
 ears  :  we  would  know  therefore  what  these  things 
 mean. 
 
 2 1  (For  all  the  Athenians  and  strangers  which  were 
 there  spent  their  time  in  nothing  else,  but  either  to 
 tell,  or  to  hear  some  new  thing.) 
 
 18  Place  then  before  your  eyes  the  Epicureans,  the  Stoics,  and 
 
 the  Apostles "What  say  ye,  Epicureans  ?     "What  thing 
 
 makes  a  happy  life  ?  They  answer ;  "  the  pleasure  of  the 
 body."  What  say  ye,  Stoics  ?  what  thing  makes  a  happy  life  ? 
 They  answer;  *'  the  virtue  of  the  mind."  Give  heed  with  me, 
 beloved,  we  are  Christians :  we  are  disputing  with  the  philo- 
 sophers. See  ye,  why  those  two  sects  only  are  procured  to 
 confer  with  the  Apostles  ?  There  is  nothing  in  man,  that  ap- 
 pertains to  his  substance  and  nature,  besides  body  and  soul. 
 In  one  of  these  two,  that  is,  in  the  body,  the  Epicureans  placed 
 the  happy  life :  in  the  other,  that  is,  in  the  soul,  the  Stoics 
 placed  the  happy  life.  As  far  as  appertains  to  man,  if  his 
 happy  life  is  from  himself,  nothing  remains  besides  the  body 
 and  soul.  Either  the  body  is  tlie  cause  of  a  happy  life  ;  or  the 
 soul  is  the  cause  of  a  happy  life :  if  thou  seek  for  any  thing 
 farther,  thou  gettcst  out  of  man.  .  .  .  Having  now  the  three, 
 set  before  our  eyes,  the  Epicurean,  the  Stoic,  and  the  Christian, 
 let  us  ask  each  ;  Say,  Epicurean,  what  thing  maketh  happy  ? 
 He  answers;  "  The  pleasure  of  the  body:"  Say,  Stoic ;  "The 
 virtue  of  the  soul:"  Say,  Christian;  "The  Gift  of  God."     S. 
 
THE  ACTS  XVII.   18.  487 
 
 John  iii.  16 ;  iv.  14  ;  vii.  37 — 39  ;  Ps.  iv.  6.  S.  Augustine. 
 (Homilies  on  the  New  Testament,  e.  s.  5,  8.) 
 God  in  His  wisdom  manifests  a  way  to  man,  to  know  the  Creator 
 by  the  creature,  that  "  the  invisible  things  of  Him  might  be  seen 
 by  the  visible."  And  this  gracious  and  wise  purpose  of  God 
 took  not  effect,  because  man,  being  brought  to  the  contempla- 
 tion of  the  creature,  rested  and  dwelt  upon  the  beauty  and 
 dignity  of  that,  and  did  not  pass  by  the  creature  to  the  Creator. 
 And  then  God's  wisdom  was  farther  expressed  in  a  second  way, 
 when  God  manifested  Himself  to  man  by  His  Word,  in  the 
 Law,  and  in  the  Prophets :  and  then  man,  resting  in  the  letter 
 of  the  Law,  and  going  no  farther,  and  resting  in  the  outside 
 of  the  Prophets,  and  going  no  farther,  not  discerning  the 
 sacrifices  of  the  Law  to  be  types  of  the  Death  of  Cheist 
 Jesus,  nor  the  purpose  of  the  Prophets  to  be  to  direct  us  unto 
 that  Messias,  that  E/Cdeemer,  Ipsa,  qiicE  per  Prophetas  locuta  est, 
 sapientia,  says  S.  Clement,  the  wisdom  of  God  in  the  mouths  of 
 the  Prophets,  could  not  save  man.  And  then,  when  the  wisdom 
 of  nature  and  the  wisdom  of  the  Law,  the  wisdom  of  the  phi- 
 losophers, and  the  wisdom  of  the  scribes  became  defective  and 
 insufficient  by  man's  perverseness,  God  repaired  and  supplied 
 it  by  a  new  way,  but  a  strange  way,  by  "  the  foolishness  of 
 preaching  :"  for  it  is  not  only  to  the  subject,  to  the  matter,  to 
 the  doctrine,  which  they  were  to  preach  (but  to  the  act  of 
 preaching  itself)  that  this  foolishness  is  referred.  Job  xxxiv. 
 14 ;  Hosea  viii.  12 ;  1  Cor.  i.  Br.  Donne.  (Serm.  S.  Mark 
 xvi.  16.) 
 Epicureans — Stoics — strange  gods. 
 
 Pythagoras  olim  quid  senserit,  aut  quid  acutus 
 
 Chrysippus,  vel  quid  priscus  Anaxagoras  ; 
 Scire  etiam  quid  Protagoras,  Zenoque,  Platoque, 
 
 Tradiderint,  et  quid  magnus  Aristoteles  ; 
 Scire  etiam  quotnam  fuerint  Bacchique,  Jovesque, 
 
 Inscitum  scire  est,  et  sine  fruge,  voco. 
 Longe  alia  est  multo  et  melior  doctrina  piorum  ; 
 Num  lachrymas*  imo  pectore  gignit  eis. 
 
 Billius.     (Anthol.  Sacra,  Ixxxviii.) 
 *  i.e.  fletum  contritionis. 
 
488 
 
 THE  ACTS  XVII.  18. 
 
 ^7Tep/uo\6(^o9,  seminiverbius,  this  sower  of  words.  Some  think  it  an 
 aUusion  to  little  birds,  that  pick  up  the  seed  sown ;  yet  are 
 troublesome  with  their  continual  chirping.  S.  Matt.  xiii.  4. 
 E.  Leigh. 
 
 Quibus,  inquit,  ab  oris 
 Verhorum  fluit  iste  sator  ?     Plebs  nescia  Paulum 
 Semina  ferre  vocat,  fruiturque  errore  magistro 
 Vera  loquens. 
 
 Arator.  (In  Acta  Apost.  Lib.  ii.) 
 
 You  imagine,  that  I  am  preaching  up  some  new  Deity,  some 
 strange  daemon  :  no  ;  I  find  you  have  Deity  and  daemons  enough, 
 and  too  many,  already,  xiv.  11;  xviii.  26;  Jer.  xi.  13;  xvi. 
 19—21.     M.  Mead. 
 
 Novelty,  it  is  a  contradiction  to  a  Deity.  Quis  novus  Deus,  nisi 
 falsus  ?  any  innovation  in  religion  is  odious  and  dangerous. 
 Quod  utilitati  prodest,  novitate  perturbat^  saith  S.  Augustine. 
 But  a  new  God  !  It  is  an  impossible  contradiction.  God  can 
 neither  be  old  nor  new.  Novus  Deus  non  fuit ;  vetus  Deus  non 
 erit,  saith  Tertullian.  Judg.  v.  8 ;  Zech.  xiv.  9.  Bp.  Brownrig. 
 (Serm.  2  Sam.  vi.  12.) 
 
 Si  quid  enini  de  principiis  felicibus  illi 
 Et  vita  exilii  superest  prudenter  agenda, 
 Hoc  sanum,  et  quo  nil  fuerit  sublimius  in  se 
 Credit,  amatque  suum  mundi  sapientia  sensum, 
 Innumeras  sese  claram  mirata  per  artes  ; 
 Quod  conjecturis  sublimibus  abdita  quaerit. 
 Quod  meminit  recte,  sapit  acriter,  aestimat  apte. 
 Quod  studium  fandi  excoluit,  quod  legibus  urbes 
 Instituit,  moresque  feros  ratione  recidit, 
 Ut  poenae  metus  officio  certarit  amoris.* 
 
 Jam  cum  exercetur  numeris  ad  sidera  coeli 
 Per  cursus  noscenda  sues,  et  scire  videtur 
 
 *  The  sense  of  this  obscure  line  is 
 well  given  in  the  anonymous  French 
 Translation  (Paris,  1752),  attributed  to 
 the  celebrated  M.  Le  Maitre  de  Sacy, 
 of  the    Port    Royal,    where   we    have 
 
 a   very  full   paraphrase   of  the  whole 
 
 poem. 
 
 "  Et  s'il  n'a  par   I'amour   inspire  les 
 
 vertus, 
 Qu'il  a  par  la  terreur  les  vices  abattus." 
 
THE  ACTS  XVII.  19,  20.  489 
 
 Defectus  solis  varies,  lunseque  labores, 
 Quam  spatiosa  sibi  est,  et  quam  vanescit  in  ipsis ! 
 Quae  lic^t  ex  primo  naturse  habeantur  honore, 
 JSTon  tameii  ad  veram  possunt  perducere  Yitam. 
 Denique  ab  his  praeceps  in  multas  religiones 
 Decidit,  et  factis  hsesit  Eactore  relicto. 
 
 Prosper.     (Carmen  da  ingratis.  P.  iv.) 
 
 19  May  we  know,  ^c. — He,  who  cometh  to  seek  after  knowledge 
 with  a  mind  to  scorn  and  censure,  shall  be  sure  to  find  enough 
 
 matter  for  his  humour,  but  no  matter  for  his  instruction 
 
 There  is  no  greater  confusion,  than  the  confounding  of  jest  and 
 earnest.  The  Majesty  of  religion  and  the  contempt  and  de- 
 formity of  things  ridiculous  are  things  as  distinct,  as  things  may 
 be.  Two  principal  causes  have  I  ever  known  of  Atheism  ; 
 curious  controversies  and  profane  scoffing :  now  these  two  are 
 joined  in  one,  no  doubt  that  sect  will  make  no  small  progression. 
 Verse  32 ;  ii.  13  ;  Gral.  vi.  7 ;  Jer.  xx.  7  ;  Job  xii.  4.  Lord 
 Bacon. 
 
 As  antiquity  cannot  prejudice  a  mistake,  so  novelty  cannot  pre- 
 judice Truth,     vi.  14  ;  x.  34  ;  xxvi.  9.     Sir  T.  P.  Blount. 
 
 Men  in  ancient  times,  who  cultivated  literature,  became  what  were 
 called  "Sophists;"  that  is,  men,  who  wrote  elegantly  and 
 talked  eloquently  on  any  subject  whatever,  whether  right  or 
 wrong.  S.  Luke  perhaps  might  have  been  such  a  Sophist, 
 had  he  not  been  a  Christian.  J.  H.  Newman.  (Serm.  Ex. 
 xxxi.  6.) 
 
 Nothing  breeds  more  Atheists  among  us  than  this,  the  first  spawn 
 of  sin,  curiosity.     Eom.  i.  22,  23.     Ch.  Herle. 
 
 ^^  Cu7'iositas,^^  ipso  *^  curce''  nomine,  inimica  securitati.  The  very 
 name  of  curiosity  shows  it  to  be  adverse  to  peace  of  mind.  Ps. 
 xlvi.  10.     S.  Augustine. 
 
 He,  that  desires  to  hear  much  news,  is  never  devoid  of  passions, 
 secular  desires,  and  adherences  to  the  world.  1  Tim.  v.  13. 
 Bp.  J.  Taylor. 
 
 Be  not  "  hearers  only  :"  many  persons  go  from  Sermon  to  Sermon, 
 from  one  place  of  worship  to  another,  and  hear  much,  digest 
 little,  and  do  nothing,     xiii.  27  ;  2  Tim.  iii.  7.     Manton. 
 
 20  Here  the  thing  noted  is,  that,  though  always  occupied  in  this 
 
490  THE  ACTS  XVII.  21. 
 
 telling  and  hearing,  yet  they  thought  these  things  strange 
 things,  which  they  had  never  heard.  Things,  which  now  the 
 most  ordinary  persons  know,  these  the  Athenians  and  the  wise 
 men  of  the  Athenians  knew  not.  ii.  11 ;  xiii.  12  ;  1  Cor.  ii.  8,  9. 
 S.  Ch/ysostom. 
 
 21  All  other  things  are  foreign  to  us  ;  nothing  is  properly  ours, 
 but  time.     Job  vii.  1;  xiv.  14,  "tni/  time."     S.  Berna?'d. 
 
 Ab  hoc  momento  pendet  Eternitas.  Surely  our  prodigality  in  the 
 expense  of  time  argues  we  have  but  little  sense  of  Great  Eter- 
 nity.    2  Cor.  iv.  18.     Flavel 
 
 Our  life  here  is  short ;  but  the  art  of  living  well  is  long,  difficult, 
 and  hard  to  be  learned.  It  is  true  the  just  and  righteous,  the 
 good  and  merciful  God  requires  no  more  of  us,  in  order  to  our 
 Eternal  happiness  hereafter,  than  what  He  gives  us  time  and 
 power,  opportunity  and  ability,  to  perform  here.  But,  as  we, 
 through  our  own  folly,  generally  order  the  matter,  our  time 
 proves  too  short  for  our  work.  Deduct  the  time  we  spend  in 
 sleeping,  eating,  and  drinking,  which  commonly  amounts  to  at 
 least  one  half  of  our  time,  the  time,  required  to  the  necessary 
 works  of  our  calling,  the  time,  we  spend  in  recreation,  in  un- 
 necessary visits,  and  compliments,  in  idle  company,  vel  nihil 
 agendo,  vel  male  agendo,  in  doing  either  nothing,  or  that,  which 
 is  worse  than  nothing,  and  the  remainder  will  appear  to  be  a 
 very  slender  portion  of  time ;  too  little,  I  fear,  for  the  work  and 
 business  of  religion,  the  main  end,  for  which  God  made  us,  and 
 sent  us  into  this  world,  xxiv.  25 ;  IS.  Pet.  iv.  3 ;  Ps.  xc.  12. 
 Bp.  Bull.     (Serm.  Ps.  xxxix.  4.) 
 
 Whereas  the  devil's  greatest  business  is  to  tempt  other  men,  the 
 idle  man's  only  business  is  to  tempt  the  devil.  S.  Mark  xiv.  G7. 
 Bp.  Sanderson. 
 
 If  the  eager  love  of  novelty  and  the  conceit  of  useful  knowledge 
 are  tempers,  very  dangerous  to  be  encouraged,  tending  to  make 
 people,  more  or  less  ashamed  of  Cheist,  and  weary  of  the 
 Gospel,  surely  the  men  of  this  age  and  country  are  in  very  great 
 danger ;  since  there  never  was  a  time,  nor  a  people,  as  far  as 
 we  know  since  the  world  began,  more  abounding  in  new  things, 
 or  more  eagerly  set  upon  them.  There  never  was  a  time,  nor  a 
 people,  among  whom  the  conceit  of  knowledge  and  understand- 
 
THE  ACTS  XVII.  21.  491 
 
 ing  on  every  subject  had  more  to  encourage  it.  Accordingly,  it 
 is  found  every  day,  that  the  plain  truths  of  the  Creed  and 
 Catechism,  such  truths,  as  S.  Paul  would  have  taught  the 
 Athenians,  are  presented  in  vain  to  men's  eyes  and  ears.  They 
 are  so  taken  up  with  looking  and  listening  after  something  quite 
 new,  so  delighted  with  their  own  skill  in  contriving  something, 
 for  which  they  expect  to  be  admired,  or  at  least  in  finding  fault 
 with  former  contrivances,  that  they  will  not  pay  any  attention 
 to  the  message,  sent  them  by  their  Sayioue,  from  Heaven. 
 Above  all  things,  they  stop  their  ears  against  the  Doctrine  of  a 
 Judgment  to  coDie.  "  It  is  the  old  story,"  they  say  ;  "  we  know 
 it  all  beforehand  :"  and  they  turn  their  minds  as  quick,  as  they 
 can,  to  something,  or  other,  M'hich  they  love  better  to  think  on. 
 Dan.  xii.  4;  Hosea  viii.  12;  2  S.  Pet.  ii.  18,  19.  Br.  Pusey. 
 (Serm.  Acts  xvii.  32—34.) 
 
 22  Then  Paul  stood  in  the  midst  of  Mars'  hill,  and 
 said,  Ye  men  of  Athens,  I  perceive  that  in  all  things 
 ye  are  too  superstitious. 
 
 23  For  as  I  passed  by,  and  beheld  your  devotions, 
 I  found  an  altar  with  this  inscription,  TO  THE 
 UNKNOWN  GOD.  Whom  therefore  ye  ignorantly 
 worship,  Him  declare  I  unto  you. 
 
 24  God  that  made  the  world  and  all  things  therein, 
 seeing  that  He  is  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  dwelleth 
 not  in  temples  made  with  hands ; 
 
 25  Neither  is  worshipped  with  men's  hands,  as 
 though  He  needed  any  thing,  seeing  He  giveth  to  all 
 life,  and  breath,  and  all  things  ; 
 
 26  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,  and  the  bounds 
 of  their  habitation  ; 
 
 27  That   they  should  seek  the  Lord,  if  haply  they 
 
493  THE  ACTS  XVII.  22. 
 
 might  feel  after  Him,  and  find  Him,  though  He  be  not 
 far  from  every  one  of  us  : 
 
 28  For  in  Him  we  live,  and  move,  and  have  our 
 being;  as  certain  also  of  your  own  poets  have  said, 
 For  we  are  also  His  offspring. 
 
 22  Superstition  imports  an  overtimorous  and  dreadful  appre- 
 hension of  the  Deity,  and  therefore,  witli  Hesychius,  Lei<n^aii.Lovia 
 and  (po/BoOeta  are  all  one.  It  arises  from  a  false  opinion,  that 
 renders  the  Deity  dreadful  and  terrible,  as  being  rigorous,  and 
 imperious  ;  which  represents  Him,  as  austere  and  apt  to  be 
 angry,  but  yet  impotent,  and  easy  to  be  appeased  again  with 
 some  flattering  devotions,  especially  if  performed  with  sancti- 
 monious shows  and  a  solemn  sadness  of  mind.  ...  It  destroys 
 all  free  and  cheerful  converse  with  Him,  and  begets  instead 
 thereof  a  forced  and  dry  devotion,  void  of  inward  life  and  love. 
 Micah  vi.  7  ;  S.  Matt.  vi.  16;  xxv.  24,  25.  J.  Smith.  (Select 
 Discourses,  ii.  and  viii.  c.  4.) 
 
 Superstitio  quasi  supra  statutum  ;  more  than  is  appointed  by  the 
 Law  of  God.     Col.  ii.  23  ;  S.  Luke  xvii.  10.     Isidore  of  Seville. 
 
 McD,  not  contented  with  the  plain  and  simple  truths,  God  hath 
 vouchsafed  to  mankind,  are  strangely  tickled  with  new  things. 
 .  .  .  Hence  rose  the  various  idolatries  in  the  world,  that  it  be- 
 came as  modish  to  invent  new  gods,  as  it  was  to  invent  new 
 fashions  in  clothes.  Adam  no  doubt  delivered  the  notion  of 
 One,  Eternal,  and  Invisible  God,  Creator  of  heaven  and  earth, 
 and  the  decent  worship  of  Him  to  his  posterity.  This  notion, 
 being  become  common  and  stale,  the  succeeding  ages  thought 
 themselves  obliged  to  invent  something  new,  and  counted  it 
 more  gay  and  glorious  to  worship  the  Creator  in  the  creature ; 
 and  seeing  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  that  they  were  the  brightest 
 monuments  of  God's  power,  they  easily  fell  into  the  worship  of 
 those  luminaries,  till  the  more  brutish  among  the  people 
 adored  them,  as  gods  indeed ;  and  this  novelty,  once  broached, 
 one  god  brought  in  another ;  and,  as  men  were  still  fond  of 
 novelties,  so  they  went  on  and  fell  a  worshipping  deceased 
 heroes  and  princes,  in  whom  the  image  of  the  Supreme  Deity 
 
THE  ACTS  XVII.  23.  493 
 
 resided,  and  who  had  been  famous  for  some  notable  exploits  or 
 benefits ;  and  from  hence  they  still  went  on,  even  to  the  wor- 
 shipping of  trees,  herbs,  plants,  beasts,  crocodiles,  fishes,  and 
 creeping  things;  one  age  still  thinking  to  out-do  the  other  in 
 
 .  new  inventions  of  objects  of  worship,  till  it  came  to  pass,  that 
 those  were  counted  most  religious,  that  worshipped  the  greatest 
 number  of  gods.  vii.  42  ;  G-en,  xxxi.  BO ;  Ex.  xxxii.  1 ;  Isa.  ii. 
 8,  9,  18—20;  Eom.  i.  21—25.  Br.  Homeck.  (The  Crucified 
 Jesus.    Ch.  v.  s.  2,  1.) 
 
 23  A  remarkable  instance  of  S.  Paul's  using  the  best  methods,  that 
 prudence  could  suggest,  to  escape  danger  and  avoid  persecution, 
 appears  in  this  conduct  among  the  Athenians.  There  was  at 
 Athens  a  Law,  which  made  it  capital  to  introduce  or  teach  any- 
 new  gods  in  their  state.  Therefore,  when  S.  Paul  was  i^reaching 
 Jestjs  and  the  Resurrection  to  the  Athenians,  some  of  them 
 carried  him  before  the  Court  of  Areopagus,  the  ordinary  Judges 
 of  criminal  matters,  and,  in  a  particular  manner,  entrusted  with 
 the  care  of  Eeligion,  as  having  broken  this  Law,  and  being  a 
 setter  forth  of  strange  gods.     Now,  in  this  case,  an  impostor 
 
 .  would  have  retracted  his  doctrine  to  save  his  life ;  and  an 
 enthusiast  would  have  lost  his  life  without  trying  to  save  it  by 
 innocent  means.  S.  Paul  did  neither  the  one,  nor  the  other  : 
 he  availed  himself  of  an  altar,  which  he  had  found  in  the  city 
 inscribed,  "  To  the  unknown  GrOD,"  and  pleaded,  that  he  did  not 
 propose  to  them  the  worship  of  any  new  God,  but  only  ex- 
 plained to  them  one,  whom  their  government  had  already  re- 
 ceived. Whom  therefore  ye  ignorantly  ivorship,  Him  declare  I 
 unto  you.  By  this  he  avoided  the  Law,  and  escaped  being  con- 
 demned by  the  Areopagus,  without  departing  in  the  least  from 
 the  truth  of  the  Gospel,  or  violating  the  honour  of  God  ;  an 
 admirable  proof  in  my  opinion  of  the  good  sense,  with  which 
 he  acted,  and  one,  that  shows  there  was  no  mixture  of  fanaticism 
 in  his  religion,  xxiii.  6  ;  xxvi.  25  ;  I  Cor.  x.  32.  Lord  Lyttle- 
 ton.  (Observations  on  the  Conversion  and  Apostleship  of  S. 
 Paul,  p.  74,  ed.  1777.) 
 
 This  was  the  happy  use  the  primitive  learned  Christians  made  of 
 all  those  passages,  concerning  the  Divine  nature  and  the  Im- 
 mortality of  the  souls  of  men,  which  they  found  in  the  heathen 
 
494  THE  ACTS  XVII.  23. 
 
 writers;  thereby  to  evidence  to  the  world  that  the  msim  postulata^ 
 or  suppositions  of  Christian  Eeligiou,  were  granted  by  their  own 
 most  admired  men,  and  that  Christianity  did  not  rase  out,  but 
 only  build  upon,  those  common  foundations,  which  were  enter- 
 tained by  all,  who  had  any  name  for  reason.  2  Cor.  i.  13.  Bp. 
 Stillingjleet.     (Orig.  Sacrse.  B.  i.  c.  i.) 
 
 S.  Paul  acted  upon  the  little  of  rectitude,  the  mere  shadow  of  a 
 shade  of  truth,  that  he  found  amongst  the  Athenians.  He  viewed 
 their  devotions,  before  he  attempted  to  reform  their  principles ; 
 and  though  in  all  he  saw,  he  saw  but  one  object,  which  was 
 not  wretchedly  wrong,  he  passed  by  the  accumulated  heaps  of 
 error  to  make  a  gentle  and  conciliatory  use  of  that  solitary 
 atom  of  a  better  element.  You  see  too  he  had  acquainted  him- 
 self with  what  was  good  in  their  poets,  and  seizes  the  oppor- 
 tunity of  meeting  them  on  their  common  ground.  Let  the 
 zealous  Protestants  of  this  day  act  only  towards  their  fellow 
 Christians,  as  S.  Paul  acted,  in  this  celebrated  instance,  toward 
 Pagans.  .  .  Headlong  attempts,  as  if  our  natives  (Irish  Eoman 
 Catholic,)  and  Hindoos,  or  Caffres,  stood  on  the  same  ground  in 
 rehgious  matters,  I  would  repress,  xix.  37  ;  xxviii.  18  ;  2  Thess. 
 iii.  15.  Alex.  Knox.  (Unfinished  letter  to  J.  Butterworth, 
 Esq.) 
 
 What  is  God?  I  should  be  God  myself,  if  I  knew.  He  is 
 hio-her,  than  the  heavens,  deeper  than  hell,  broader  than  the 
 earth,  wider  than  the  sea.  He  is  no  where,  and  every  where. 
 S.  Matt.  xi.  27  ;  2  Tim.  vi.  15,  16.     S.  Bernard. 
 
 In  not  findiug  fault  with  their  devotions,  before  he  had  beheld 
 them,  S.  Paul  trod  in  the  steps  of  His  Divine  Master ;  who, 
 though  he  was  the  Omniscient  Judge  of  all,  yet,  as  man,  in  the 
 days  of  His  flesh,  sought  proof  and  evidence,  before  He  con- 
 demned. "  Jesus  entered  into  the  Temple,  and  when  He  had 
 looked  round  about  upon  all  things  He  went  out,  &c."  S.  Mark 
 xi.  11.  How  calm,  deliberate,  and  dignified  was  this  conduct : 
 indeed  He  not  only  examined,  before  He  spake;  but  even 
 "held  His  tongue  and  spake  nothing,"  waiting  and  forbearing, 
 till  the  following  day,  when,  on  His  return  to  Jerusalem,  He 
 pronounced  judgment  against  its  Temple  and  worshippers. 
 How  contrary  all  this  to  the  violent,  rash,  unkind,  and  unjust 
 
THE  ACTS  XVII.  24—26.  495 
 
 verdicts  of  men,  when  actuated  by  their  own  bad  passions,  or 
 by  the  prejudices  of  a  party,  lacking  the  Spirit  of  Christ — tlie 
 Wisdom  and  Charity,  which  are  from  above,  xxiii.  2  ;  Gen.  iii. 
 8—11 ;  S.  James  i.  19,  20.     /.  F. 
 
 24i  A  remarkable  reminiscence  of  the  dying  speech  of  S.  Stephen, 
 vii.  48  ;  xxii.  20.     Jlford. 
 
 S.  Paul  here  seems  to  have  taken  his  Missionary  instructions  from 
 the  very  lips  of  David  ;  but  it  was  by  the  same  Spirit ;  in  tlie 
 Psalmist,  predicting,  and  in  the  Apostle,  fulfilling ;  "  Tell  it 
 out  among  the  heathen  that  the  Loed  is  King :  and  that  it  is 
 He,  that  hath  7nade  the  round  world  so  fast,  that  it  cannot  be 
 moved;  and  how  that  He  shall  judge  the  people  righteously." 
 xiv.  15;  Ps.  xcvi.  10.     J.  F. 
 
 Xo  wonder  that  the  devil,  in  order  to  diffuse  idolatry,  has  blotted 
 out  among  all  heathen  nations  the  recognition  of  Creation.  The 
 true  doctrine  of  Creation  is  the  proper  refutation  of  all  idolatry, 
 xiv.  15.     Roos.     (Quoted  by  Alford,  at  xvii.  24.) 
 
 25  God  is  every  where  in  all  His  fulness,  yet  included  in  no 
 place.  He  comes  to  us,  but  does  not  recede  from  where  He  is ; 
 nor,  when  He  withdraws,  does  He  forsake  the  place,  to  which 
 He  came.  He  is  within  all  things,  yet  not  shut  up ;  He  is 
 without  all  things,  yet  not  excluded :  He  is  above  all  things, 
 yet  not  exalted ;  and  He  is  below  all  things,  yet  not  depressed. 
 1  Kings  viii.  27 ;  Ps.  cxxxix.  7  ;  Jer.  xxiii.  24.     S.  Augustine. 
 
 God  is  a  sphere  or  circle,  whose  centre  is  every  where,  and  cir- 
 cumference no  where.     Eph.  i.  23.     Hermes  Trismegistus. 
 
 We  must  always  live  to  Him,  by  whom  we  always  live,  xxvii. 
 23  ;  Eom.  xiv.  7—9.     M.  Henry. 
 
 Dicite,  qui  colitis  picti  ludibria  trunci, 
 Aut  ebur,  in  varias  aut  saxa  excisa  figuras, 
 Ecquis  in  sethereo  rerum  moderatur  Olympo 
 Eraena  alius  Dominus  ?     Quis  terras  temperet  orbem 
 Alter,  et  invicta  qusa  vult  facit  omnia  dextra  ? 
 
 Buchanan.     (Ps.  xviii.) 
 
 26  We  are  but  several  streams,  issuing  from  one  primitive  source ; 
 several  branches,  sprouting  from  the  same  stock ;  several  stones, 
 hewed  out  of  the  same  quarry  ;  one  substance,  by  miraculous 
 
496  THE  ACTS  XVII.  26. 
 
 efficacy  of  the  Divine  Benediction,  Gen.  i.  26,  diffused  and  mul- 
 tiplied. One  element  affords  us  matter,  and  one  fire  actuates 
 it,  kindled  at  first  by  the  breath  of  Gron.  One  Hood  flows  in 
 all  our  veins  ;  one  nourishment  repairs  our  decayed  bodies,  and 
 one  common  air  refreshes  our  languishing  spirits  ...  so  that 
 v^hat  Aristotle  said  of  a  friend  is  applicable  to  every  man :  every 
 man  is  «X\o?  avros,  '*  another  ourself."  .  .  .  "When  we  use  our 
 fellow-creature  well,  we  are  kind  to  ourselves ;  w^hen  we  yield 
 him  courteous  regard,  we  bear  respect  to  our  own  nature ;  when 
 we  feed  and  comfort  him,  we  sustain  and  cherish  a  member  of 
 our  own  body  :  but,  when  we  are  cruel  and  harsh  to  him,  we 
 abuse  ourselves  ;  when  we  scorn  him,  we  lay  disparagement  and 
 disgrace  on  mankind  itself;  when  we  withhold  succour  or 
 sustenance  from  him,  w^e  do,  as  the  prophet  speaketh,  "  hide 
 ourselves  from  our  own  flesh  ;"  we  starve  a  part  of  our  own 
 body,  and  wither  a  branch  of  our  stock  :  immoderate  selfishness 
 so  blindeth  us,  that  we  oversee  and  forget  ourselves.  It  is  in 
 this,  as  in  other  good  senses,  true,  what  the  wise  man  saith, 
 "  The  merciful  man  doeth  good  to  his  own  soul ;  but  he,  that 
 is  cruel,  troubleth  his  own  flesh."  vii.  26;  Isa.  Iviii.  7;  Prov. 
 xi.  17.     Br.  Barrow,     (Serm.  Eom.  xii.  18  and  Ps.  cxii.  9.) 
 
 "We  may  take  notice  of  a  remarkable  difference  between  nature 
 and  grace  :  for  nature  of  one  makes  many  ;  for  we  all,  who  are 
 many  among  ourselves,  even  a  whole  world  of  men,  were  but 
 one  in  Adam — omnes  eramus  ille  unus  homo  :  but  Grace  makes 
 of  many  one  ;  for  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  is,  as  fire,  melts  all 
 the  faithful  into  one  mass  or  lump,  and  makes  of  many  "  one 
 Body,"  one  thing ;  yea,  it  makes  them  one  in  the  Unity  of 
 God.  iv.  32 ;  S.  John  xvii.  21 ;  1  Cor.  x.  17.  TFm.  Bell. 
 (Serm.  Acts  i.  8.) 
 
 In  two  things  all  are  alike  ;  we  come  in,  and  go  out  of  the  world 
 alike  ;  as  one  is  not  made  of  finer  earth,  so  not  resolved  into 
 purer  dust.     Job  i.  21 ;  Ps.  xlix.  17.     Gurnall. 
 
 If  w^e  would  trace  our  descents,  we  should  find  all  slaves  to  come 
 from  Princes,  and  all  Princes  from  slaves.     Seneca. 
 
 You  might  have  fallen  iuto  the  samejand,  in  which  your  habita- 
 tion now  is,  and  yet  have  no  advantage  by  it,  as  to  Salvation,  if 
 He,  who  chose  "the  bounds  of  your  habitation,''   had  not  also 
 
THE  ACTS  XVII.  26,  27.  497 
 
 graciously  determined  the  times  for  you.  .  .  But  such  liatli 
 been  the  special  care  of  Providence  towards  us,  that  our  turn 
 to  be  brought  upon  the  stage  of  this  world  was  graciously  re- 
 served for  better  days ;  so  that,  if  we  had  had  our  own  option, 
 we  could  not  have  chosen  for  ourselves,  as  Providence  hath. 
 S.  Matt.  xiii.  IG,  17;  Deut.  i.  33;  xxxii.  8.  Flavel.  (Di- 
 vine conduct.     Serm.  Ps.  Ivii,  2.) 
 
 Omnibus  his  gonitis,  animal  rationis  amicutn 
 Pormatur  virtute  Dei,  limatur  in  artus, 
 Ut  dominator  eat  moderatior  omnibus  unus. 
 Naturae  jussu,  quae  protulit  omnia  princeps. 
 Ast  hominem  non  terra  parit,  non  pontus  ab  undis, 
 Non  coelum,  non  astra  creaiit,  non  purior  aer ; 
 Sod  dominatorum  Dominator  Summus,  et  Auctor 
 Limavit  per  membra  virum  de  pulvere  factum  ; 
 Limus  adhuc  deformis  erat,  membratur  in  artus 
 Corporea  species  homiuis,  coelcstis  Imago. 
 Conspicitur  nova  forma  viri,  sine  mente  paruiiiper, 
 Spiritus  infusus  subito  per  membra  cucurrit, 
 Et  calefacta  rubens  tenuit  pra;cordia  sanguis  ; 
 Mox  rubuere  gena) ;  totus  rubor  inficit  artus  ; 
 Jam  cutis  est,  qui  pulvis  erat ;  jam  terra  medullas 
 Ossibus  includit,  surgunt  in  masse  capilli, 
 Orbe  micant  gemino  gemmantia  lumiua  visu, 
 Et  vocem  compago  dedit ;  nova  iiuichina  surgens 
 Auctorem  laudare  suuin,  gavisa  quod  esset. 
 
 Dracontius.     (Hexameron,  seu  de 
 opere  sex  dierura.) 
 
 27  I  have  only  studied  three  Books  ;  the  ]3ible,  my  own  heart,  and 
 the  beauties  of  Nature.     F.  Neff. 
 
 The  human  mind,  however  stunned  and  weakened  by  so  dreadful 
 a  fall,  still  retains  some  faint  idea,  some  confused  and  obscure 
 notions  of  the  good  it  has  lost,  and  some  remaining  seeds  of  its 
 Heavenly  Original,  coynata  semina  Conti.  Horn.  viii.  19 — 22. 
 Abp.  Leighton. 
 
 The  idea  of  GtOd  in  the  mind  of  man  is  the  one  unanswerable  evi- 
 dence of  the  existence  of  God.     xiv.  11 ;  xxviii.  2G.     Anselm. 
 
 E  E 
 
498  THE  ACTS  XVII.  27,  28. 
 
 The  patient  investigators  of  Truth,  who  in  ancient  times  turned 
 their  researches,  in  the  spirit  of  the  best  philosophers,  to  the 
 question  of  a  future  immortal  state,  often  to  be  honoured  for 
 their  sincerity  and  admired  for  their  genius,  have  yet  failed,  we 
 know  how  much,  in  making  any  clear  discovery  of  the  object  of 
 their  inquiry.  But  their  failure  has  proved,  not  so  much  their 
 want  of  skill  in  the  research,  as  the  infelicity  of  their  condition. 
 Tor  the  immortal  life,  which  they  sought,  was  a  forfeited  inheri- 
 tance. The  right  and  title  to  it  were  gone.  It  is  not  surpris- 
 ing, therefore,  that  they  failed  in  adjusting  the  evidence  of  it. 
 Isa.  XXV.  8.  Davison.  (On  Prophecy,  p.  ii.  Disc.  4.) 
 ^  Ifha'ply  they  might  find  Him. — When  I  renounced  and  left  myself, 
 then  I  found  God  :  and  when  I  found  myself,  then  I  lost  Him. 
 Job  xlii.  5,  6  ;  S.  Luke  ii.  49 ;  S.  John  vi.  26.     Br.  John  Tauler. 
 
 Let  us  seek  the  Loed,  that  He  may  be  found ;  let  us  seek  Him, 
 where  He  is  found  :  He  is  hidden  in  secret,  that  by  seeking.  He 
 may  be  found  ;  He  is  Infinite,  that,  when  found.  He  may  still 
 be  sought.  Sol.  Song  i.  7 ;  Ps.  Ixiii.  1,  2 ;  1  S.  John  v.  13 ; 
 Job  xi.  7.     S.  Augustine.     (Tract,  in  Joan.  63.) 
 
 Quid  ccelo,  mea  Lux,  terrave  marive  reponam  ? 
 
 Nee  ccelum,  sine  Te,  terra,  nee  unda  placet. 
 Non  equidem  ignore  qu8B  quantaque  gaudia  coelum 
 
 Terraque  quas  fundat,  condat  et  sequor  opes : 
 Sed  sine  Te,  mea  Lux,  mala  sunt,  qusecunque  vel  sether, 
 
 Yel  tellus  gremio,  vel  tegit  unda  salo. 
 O  coelum !  O  tellus  !  0  caDrula  marmora,  ponti ! 
 
 O  tria  deliciis  regna  superba  suis ! 
 Delicias  cumulus  vestras  licet  aggerat  unus, 
 
 Non  sint  delicise,  si  mens  absit  Amor  .  .  . 
 Tu  mihi  terra,  Deus  ;  mihi  Tu  mare  ;  Tu  mihi  coelum  : 
 
 Denique  cuncta  mihi  es  :  Te  sine,  cuncta  nihil. 
 
 Ps.  Ixxiii.  25.     H.  Hugo.     (Pia  desideria, 
 Suspiria  animae  amantis,  c.  vi.) 
 
 (y  28  In  Patre  sumuSy  in  Filio  vivimus,  in  Spiritu  Sancto  movemur  et 
 proficimus.  We  have  our  being  in  the  Pathee,  we  live  in  the 
 Son,  we  move  and  grow  in  the  Spieit.  1  Cor.  xvi.  23.  S. 
 Cyprian. 
 
THE  ACTS  XVII.  28.  499 
 
 God,  it  seems,  is  the  foundation,  as  well  as  the  efficient  cause,  of 
 our  existence ;  and  the  soul  has  her  being  in  God,  as  well  as 
 from  God.  As  God  penetrates  and  pervades  her,  so  she  dwells 
 and  subsists  in  God,  who  is  the  place  of  spirits,  as  space  is  of 
 bodies.  ...  He  is  not  far  from  us  signifies  as  much,  as  that  He 
 is  very  near  to  us,  and  that  we  are  most  intimately  united  to 
 Him.  But  how  does  the  Apostle  prove  this,  our  intimate  union 
 with  Him  ?  Why,  because  in  Him  we  live  and  move  and  have 
 our  being.  .  .  .  God  penetrates  our  being,  and  contains  us ;  and 
 we  dwell  in  Him.  He  is  our  place ;  that,  which  supports  us, 
 and  pervades  every  part  of  us ;  according  to  another  very  re- 
 markable expression  of  the  same  Apostle  concerning  God,  that 
 -'"He  is  above  all,  and  through  all,  and  in  us  all ;"  than  which 
 nothing  could  have  been  said  more  expressive  of  God's  Essen- 
 tial Presence  to  us  .  .  .  and  of  that  strict  union  of  the  soul  with 
 God,  who  indeed  is  more  intimately  united  with  His  creatures, 
 than  they  are,  or  can  be,  with  one  another.  Eph.  iv.  6 ;  1  Cor. 
 viii.  5 — 7.     Norris.     (Discourse  on  Ps.  Ixxiii.  28.) 
 
 As  God,  desiring  the  salvation  of  the  Jews,  gave  them  the  pro- 
 phets, so  He  separated  from  among  the  common  mass  the  most 
 approved  among  the  Gentiles;  raising  up  to  them  peculiar 
 prophets,  in  their  own  languages,  according  to  their  capacity  of 
 receiving  this  heavenly  benefit.  S.  Clem.  Alex.  (Strom.  Lib. 
 vi.  s.  5.) 
 
 If  then  we  hold  some  opinions,  near  of  kin  to  poets  and  philo- 
 sophers in  greatest  repute  among  you,  and  others  of  a  Diviner 
 strain  and  far  above  out  of  their  sight,  and  have  demonstration 
 on  our  side  into  the  bargain,  why  are  we  to  be  thus  unjustly 
 hated  and  to  stand  distinguished  in  misery,  above  the  rest  of 
 mankind  ?  Eor  in  saying,  that  all  things  were  made  in  this  beau- 
 tiful order  by  God,  what  do  we  seem  to  say  more,  than  Plato  ? 
 When  we  teach  a  general  conflagration,  what  do  we  teach  more, 
 than  the  Stoics  ?  When  we  assert  departed  souls  to  be  in  a 
 state  of  sensibility,  and  the  wicked  to  be  in  torments,  but  the 
 good  free  from  pain  and  in  a  blissful  condition,  we  assert  no 
 more,  than  your  poets  and  philosophers.  By  opposing  the  wor- 
 ship of  the  work  of  men's  hands,  we  concur  with  Menander  the 
 Comedian,  and  such  as  affirm  the  workman  to  be  greater,  than 
 
 K  K  2 
 
500  THE  ACTS  XVII.  28. 
 
 his  work ;  and  by  declaring  the  Loffos,  the  Pirst-Begotten 
 of  God,  our  Master  Jesus  Cheist,  to  be  "born  of  a  Virgin" 
 without  any  human  mixture,  and  to  be  crucified,  and  dead,  and 
 to  have  risen  again,  and  ascended  into  heaven,  we  say  no  more, 
 than  this,  than  what  you  say  of  those,  whom  you  style  "  the 
 sons  of  Jove."  xxiv.  15  ;  xxvi.  22.  Justin  Martyr.  (Apology, 
 s.  28.) 
 
 Hie  dies  postremus  natalis  est  JEterni  is  the  word,  that  I  admire 
 more  than  any  other,  that  ever  dropped  from  the  mouth  of  any 
 heathen.     Kom.  viii.  21,  22  ;  1  S.  Pet.  i.  3,  4.     Abp.  Leighton. 
 
 Since  I  have  known  God  in  a  saving  manner,  Poetry,  Painting,  and 
 Music  have  had  charms  unknown  to  me  before.  I  have  received 
 what  I  suppose  is  a  taste  for  them  ;  for  religion  has  refined  my 
 mind,  and  made  it  susceptible  of  impressions  from  the  sublime 
 and  beautiful.     H.  Martyn.     (Memoir,  by  Sargent.) 
 
 Theology  and  Poesie  have  in  all  ages  of  the  world  gone  hand  in 
 hand,  nor  is  there  really  such  a  disparity  between  their  natures, 
 as  is  generally,  though  without  any  reason,  imagined.  Por,  if 
 one  has  been  looked  on,  as  containing  the  will  and  pleasure,  the 
 other  no  less  has  been  reckoned  the  style  and  language  of 
 heaven.  ...  If  we  consider  Poesie,  in  her  first  institution, 
 before  she  became  a  common  prostitute  to  lu-st,  flattery,  igno- 
 rance, and  ambition,  we  shall  find  her  alone  acknowledged,  as 
 the  Sovereign  Mistress  of  the  civilised  world,  and  behold  her 
 from  her  throne  giving  Laws,  not  only  to  their  religion  and 
 policy,  but  also  to  their  manners.  Her  Court  was  esteemed  the 
 proper  and  only  school  of  virtue,  to  which  the  greatest  Princes 
 formed  theirs ;  and  under  her  custody  was  kept  sealed  that 
 fountain,  whence  all  the  profitable  instructions  of  life  were  to 
 be  drawn.  Ex.  xv.  1 ;  Numb.  xxi.  17,  IS  ;  Dent,  xxxii.  JDr. 
 Sam.  Woodford.  (A  Paraphrase  upon  the  Psalms  of  David. 
 Preface.     Second  Edit.  1678.) 
 
 Cur  magis  oblectant  lauri,  felicior  arbos 
 Si  Crux  Divini  pignus  Amoris  habet  ? 
 Orphea  cur  canimus  penetrantem  ad  tartara,  Victor 
 
 Si  spolians  Erebum  Jesus  ad  astra  redit  ? 
 
 Te  species  mutata  trahit  ?     Spcctacula  Lucis 
 
 Et  nivis  in  Christo  dat  tibi  mira  Tbabor. 
 
THE  ACTS  XVII.  29.  501 
 
 0  !  mihi,  quae  prosint,  liceat  diffundere  cantu, 
 Sectanti  veteres  quse  cecinere  Patres. 
 
 Card.  Barberini. 
 Poesis,  probis  et  piis  ornata  documentis, 
 primsevo  decori  restituenda.) 
 
 29  Forasmuch  then  as  we  are  the  offspring  of  God, 
 we  ought  not  to  think  that  the  Godhead  is  hke  unto 
 gold,  or  silver,  or  stone,  graven  by  art  and  man's 
 device. 
 
 30  And  the  times  of  this  ignorance  God  winked  at ; 
 but  now  commandeth  all  men  every  where  to  repent. 
 
 31  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. 
 
 29  Man  was  an  abstract,  or  model,  or  brief  story  of  the  Universal ; 
 in  whom  God  concluded  the  Creation  and  work  of  the  world, 
 and  whom  He  made  the  last  and  most  excellent  of  His  creatures. 
 God  vouchsafed  unto  man  both  the  intellectual  of  Angels,  the 
 sensitive  of  beasts,  and  the  proper  rational,  belonging  unto  man ; 
 and  therefore,  saith  S.  Gregory  Nazianzen,  Homo  est  utriusque 
 naturae,  vinculum,  man  is  the  connecting  link  of  each  nature.  1  Th. 
 V.  23.     ^ir  W.  Raleigh.     (History  of  the  World.     Ch.  ii.  s.  5.) 
 
 Without  a  due  apprehension  of  the  Divine  excellency  and  perfec- 
 tion, the  mere  belief  of  the  Being  of  God  will  contribute  little  to 
 a  true  state  of  Eeligion.  A  man  may  have  such  unworthy  notions 
 of  a  Deity,  that  it  would  in  some  respects  be  as  good,  nay,  much 
 better,  to  be  without  a  God,  than  to  have  such  a  one,  as  he  may 
 frame.  "  It  would  be  better,"  saith  a  great  author  (Lord 
 Bacon)  "  to  have  no  opinion  of  God,  than  such  a  one,  as  is  un- 
 worthy of  Him :  the  one  is  but  mere  unbelief;  the  other  is  con- 
 tumely." Amos  ii.  4 ;  Eom.  i.  25.  Bp.  Wilkins.  (Of  the 
 Principles  of  Natural  Eeligion.     Ch.  viii.) 
 
502  THE  ACTS  XVII.  29,  30. 
 
 Sin  formare  Deum  taiitus  te  possidet  ardor, 
 
 Hac  lege  depingas  licet : 
 Majestate  Sua  radiantem  pinge,  Supremi 
 
 Qualem  obstupescant  Angeli ; 
 Monstra  Invisibilem,  Immensum  describe,  careutem 
 
 Effinge,  sodes,  partium  ; 
 Muuificum,  Justum,  Sapientemque  exprime,  supra 
 
 Mens  assequatur  quam  tua ; 
 Yerbum  cuncta  Creans  line,  dextram  cuncta  tenentem, 
 
 Oculumque  cuncti  Providum : 
 Sic  veniam,  forte  et  laudem,  merearis  ;  Apellem 
 
 Nee  Ipse  respuet  Suum  ! 
 
 Br.  Barrow. 
 (Sparsa  quaedam  Poemata.     Anno  1668.) 
 Si  Deus  est  animus,  nobis  ut  carmina  dicunt, 
 Hie  tibi  prsecipue  sit  pura  mente  colendus. 
 
 Cato. 
 
 30  He  calls  those  times,  wherein  Cheist  was  unknown  to  them, 
 the  times  of  their  ignorance.  Though  the  stars  shine  never  so 
 bright,  and  the  moon  with  them  in  its  full,  yet  they  do  not,  alto- 
 gether, make  it  day  :  still  it  is  night,  till  the  Sun  appear.  Abp, 
 Leighton.     (Commentary  1  S.  Pet.  i.) 
 
 Cheist  is  now  offered  to  you,  as  a  "  Jestjs  :"  the  times  and  sins 
 of  your  heathenism  and  unbelief  God  winketh  at.  The  Spirit 
 proclaims  all  this  by  the  Word  to  yo\xv  hearts  :  and  now  (God 
 knows,  if  ever  again)  commands  all  men  everywhere  to  repent. 
 Oh  that  there  were  such  a  Spirit  in  our  hearts,  such  a  zeal  to 
 our  Eternal  bliss,  and  indignation  at  hell,  that  we  would  give 
 one  heave  and  spring,  before  we  die ;  that  we  would  but  answer 
 those  invitations  of  mercy,  those  desires  of  God  that  we  should 
 live,  with  an  inclination,  with  a  breath,  with  a  sigh  towards 
 heaven !  Deut.  v.  29  ;  xxxii.  29 ;  2  Cor.  vi.  1,  2.  Br.  Ham- 
 mond.    (Serm.  Ezek.  xviii.  31.) 
 
 Some  people  do  not  like  to  hear  much  of  repentance :  but  I  think 
 it  so  necessary,  that,  if  I  should  die  in  the  pulpit,  I  would  desire 
 to  die,  preaching  repentance  ;  as,  if,  out  of  the  pulpit,  I  would 
 desire  to  die,  practising  it.  xx.  21 ;  S.  Luke  xiii.  3, 5.  P.  Henry. 
 (Life  by  M.  Henry.     Ch.  vi.) 
 
THE  ACTS  XVII.  30,  31.  503 
 
 The  command  saith,  "  Now  repent."  The  Imperative  hath  no  fu- 
 ture tense,     xxiv.  25.     Gurnall. 
 
 31  There  are  two  things,  which  seem  reasonably  to  excuse  in 
 human  actions :  the  first  is,  want  of  light,  whereby  to  know 
 that,  which  we  are  to  do.  The  second  is,  want  of  motives  to  set 
 us  about  the  doing  of  that,  which  we  know :  for  it  is  not  enough 
 for  me  to  know,  that  this,  or  that,  is  fit  to  be  done ;  I  must  like- 
 wise know  of  what  importance  it  will  be  to  me,  if  I  do  it,  or  if  I 
 let  it  alone.  .  .  .  Till  such  time,  as  GrOD  had  manifested  His 
 decree  of  a  future  Judgment,  and  given  an  assurance  of  it  by 
 raising  Cheist  Jestjs  from  the  dead,  till  that  time,  God  had 
 winked  at  their  ignorance ;  not  their  ignorance  of  what  they 
 ought  to  do ;  for  therein  their  notions  were  excellently  good  j 
 but  their  ignorance  of  the  Eesurrection,  upon  which  depends  all 
 the  life  of  human  endeavours  :  but  now,  says  the  Apostle,  after 
 the  Eevelation  of  this.  Now  He  commands  all  men  every  where  to 
 repent.     S.  Luke  xii.  48.     Dean  Young.     (Serm.  S.  John  xv.  22.) 
 
 "While  all,  that  is  contained  in  this  Book  of  the  Acts,  is  worthy  of 
 admiration,  so  especially  is  the  way  the  Apostles  have  of  coming 
 down  to  the  wants  of  their  hearers,  a  condescension,  suggested 
 by  the  Spirit;  which  has  so  ordered  it,  that  the  subject,  on 
 which  they  chiefly  dwell,  is  that,  which  pertains  to  Christ,  as 
 Man.  For  so  it  is,  that,  while  they  discoursed  so  much  about 
 Cheist,  they  have  spoken  but  little  concerning  His  Godhead : 
 it  was  mostly  of  the  Manhood,  that  they  discoursed,  and  of  the 
 Passion,  and  the  Eesurrection,  and  the  Ascension.  For  the 
 thing,  required  in  the  first  instance,  was  this ;  that  it  should  be 
 believed,  that  He  was  risen  and  ascended  into  heaven.  As  then 
 the  point,  on  which  Cheist  Himself  most  insisted,  was  to  have 
 it  known  that  He  was  come  from  the  Father,  so  is  it  this 
 writer's  principal  object  to  declare,  that  Christ  was  risen  from 
 the  dead,  and  was  received  up  into  Heaven,  and  that  He  "  went 
 to  God"  and  "  came  from  God."  For,  if  the  fact  of  His  coming 
 from  God  were  not  first  believed,  much  more,  with  the  Eesur- 
 rection and  Ascension  added  thereto,  would  the  Jews  have 
 found  the  entire  doctrine  incredible.  Wherefore  gently  and  by 
 degrees  He  leads  them  on  to  higher  truths.  .  .  .  For  if,  when 
 Cheist  Himself  spoke  of  His  equality  with  the  Fathee,  they 
 
504  THE  ACTS  XVII.  31,  32. 
 
 often  attempted  to  stone  Him,  and  called  Him  a  blasphemer  for 
 this  reason,  it  was  little  to  be  expected,  that  they  would  receive 
 this  doctrine  from  the  fisherm.en,  and  that  too  with  the  Cross 
 coming  before  it.  ii.  22  ;  iii.  13,  20,  26 ;  iv.  10 ;  ix.  20 ;  x. 
 38—42;  S.  Mark  iv.  33;  S.  John  xvi.  12.  S.  Chrysostom. 
 (Note,  ch.  i.  1.) 
 That  Eternal  "  Word,"  "by  whom  all  things  were  made,"  by  Him 
 all  shall  be  judged ;  and  so  He  shall  be  the  "Word  in  that  last 
 act  of  time,  as  in  the  first.  He  shall  judicially  pronounce  that 
 great  and  final  sentence,  which  shall  stand  unalterable  in  Eter- 
 nity ;  and,  not  only,  as  the  Eternal  Sojf  of  God,  but  withal  as 
 the  Son  of  Man ;  and  so  shall  He  sit  as  King,  and  invested 
 with  "all  power  in  heaven  and  earth."  The  powers  of  the 
 world  and  of  hell  are  combined  against  His  throne  :  therefore 
 they  shall  be  His  footstool,  sitting  on  that  throne.  And  the 
 crown,  which  He  hath  purchased  for  believers.  He  shall  set  it 
 on  their  heads  with  His  own  hand.  This  shall  be  exceeding 
 joy  and  comfort  to  all,  that  have  believed  on  Him,  that  their 
 Eedeemer  shall  be  their  Judge.  He,  who  was  judged  for  them, 
 shall  judge  them,  and  pass  sentence,  according  to  that  Covenant 
 of  Grace,  which  holds  in  Him,  pronouncing  them  free  from  the 
 wrath,  which  He  Himself  endured  for  them,  and  heirs  of  that 
 life,  which  He  bought  with  His  dearest  Blood,  i.  11 ;  S.  Matt, 
 xxiv.  30  ;  Ps.  ii.  10—12 ;  2  Thess.  i.  7.  Abp.  Leighton.  (Ex- 
 pos, of  the  Creed.) 
 
 32  And  when  they  hetird  of  the  resurrection  of  the 
 dead,  some  mocked :  and  others  said,  We  will  hear 
 thee  again  of  this  matter, 
 
 33  So  Paul  departed  from  among  them. 
 
 34  Howbeit  certain  men  clave  unto  him,  and  be- 
 lieved :  among  the  which  was  Dionysius  the  Areopa- 
 gite,  and  a  woman  named  Damaris,  and  others  with 
 them. 
 
 32  Tlie  doctrine  of  the  Eesurrection  was  the  best  intelligence, 
 ever  brought  into  the  world.     It  was  published  at  Athens,  a 
 
THE  ACTS  XVII.  32,  33.  505 
 
 seat  of  learning,  by  as  great  an  orator,  as  ever  spoke,  and  upon 
 unquestionable  authority :  all  nature  suggests  and  confirms  the 
 truth  of  it :  but  philosophers,  through  wisdom,  neither  believed, 
 
 nor  understood  it It  was  wisely  and  piously  observed 
 
 by  the  great  Lord  Verulam,  that,  "if  we  believe  only  what  is 
 agreeable  to  our  own  apprehension  of  things,  we  give  consent 
 to  the  matter,  and  not  to  the  Author ;  which  is  no  more,  than 
 we  should  allow  to  a  suspected  or  discredited  witness;  but  that 
 faith,  which  was  accounted  to  Abraham  for  righteousness,  was 
 of  such  a  point,  as  whereat  Sarah  '  laughed ;'  who  therein  was 
 an  image  of  natural  reason."  iv.  2 ;  xxiv.  21 ;  1  Cor.  xv.  12,  35  ; 
 2  Tim.  ii.  18.  W.  Jones.  (A  letter  to  one,  intended  for  Holy 
 Orders.) 
 
 The  Athenians  would  not  have  sneered  at  S.  Paul  for  preaching 
 the  doctrine  of  the  Kesurrection,  in  case  he  had  maintained  a 
 mere  Eesurrection  of  the  soul ;  since  that  was  a  doctrine,  with 
 which  they  were  quite  familiar,  xxiii.  8.  Tertullian.  (De 
 Eesur.  c.  xxxix.) 
 
 Sharpness  of  wit  hath  commonly  with  it  two  ill  companions,  Pride 
 and  Levity.  By  the  first,  it  comes  to  pass  that  men  know  not 
 how  to  yield  to  another  man's  reasonable  positions ;  by  the 
 second,  they  know  not  how  to  keep  themselves  constant  to  their 
 own.     1  Cor.  i.  22,  23.     /.  Hales.     (Serm.  2  S.  Pet.  iii.  16.) 
 
 Sneering  is  the  natural  fault  of  the  predominance  of  the  mere 
 intellect,  unaccompanied  by  a  corresponding  growth  and  liveli- 
 ness of  the  moral  affections,  particularly  that  of  admiration  and 
 love  of  moral  excellence;  just  as  superstition  arises,  where  it  is 
 honest,  from  the  undue  predominance  of  the  affections,  without 
 the  strengthening  power  of  the  intellects  advancing  in  propor- 
 tion,    xiv.  11 — 13  ;  xxviii.  6  ;  Gen.  iii.  1.     Br.  Arnold. 
 
 Eeware  of  him,  who  jests  at  every  thing.  Such  men  disparage  by 
 some  ludicrous  association  all  objects,  which  are  presented  to 
 their  thoughts,  and  thereby  render  themselves  incapable  of  any 
 emotion,  which  can  either  elevate  or  soften  them ;  they  bring 
 upon  their  moral  being  an  influence,  more  withering  than  the 
 blasts  of  the  desert.     2  S.  Pet.  iii.  3  ;  Prov.  xiv.  6.     Br.  Southey, 
 
 33  Paul  departed  from  among  them. — Let  not  philosophy  any 
 more  take  up  our  life,  so  as  to  leave  us  no  leisure  to  prepare 
 
506  THE  ACTS  XVII.  33,  34. 
 
 for  death,  and  study  a  science,  which  shall  most  benefit  us  in 
 another  world,  and  which  alone  will  do  so  there.  No ;  we  may- 
 visit  Athens  ;  but  we  should  dwell  at  Jerusalem.  We  may  take 
 some  turns  on  Parnassus,  but  should  more  frequent  Mount 
 Calvary ;  and  must  never  so  busy  ourselves  about  those  "  many 
 things,"  as  to  forget  that  TJnum  necessarium,  *'  that  good  part, 
 which  shall  not  be  taken  away  from  us."  S.  John  i.  38,  39; 
 vi.  QQ — 69.  Hon.  R.  Boyle.  (Occasional  Eeflections,  &c.,  s.  v. 
 c.  10.) 
 
 Philosophy  should  submit  itself  to  Theology,  as  Hagar  to  Sarah ; 
 should  allow  itself  to  be  advised :  but  if  it  be  unwilling  to  be- 
 come obedient,  "cast  out  the  handmaid."  Gral.  iv.  30.  S. 
 Clemens  Jlex. 
 
 It  is  thus,  that  while  we  stand  deliberating,  the  opportunities  of 
 salvation  slip  from  us.     We  neglect  to  take  advantage  of  the 
 society  and  advice  of  a  servant  of  God  ;  he  is  taken  from  us 
 he  returns  no  more  to  us :  and  so  we  die,  unprepared  to  meet 
 our  GrOD.     vii.  29;   xiii.  46,  47;   xviii.  6,  7;  xxviii.    25,   29 
 1  Sam.  XV.  35  ;  S.  John  xii.  35,  36.     Quesnel. 
 
 It  is  a  mercy  toward  hardened  sinners  to  be  silent  before  them 
 because  all  arguments  and  disputiugs  with  them  do  but  liarden 
 them  the  more,  and  administer  to  them  occasion  of  greater  sin. 
 This  is  an  useful  caution,  and  not  a  little  comfortable  to  pious 
 persons,  whose  souls  are  daily  vexed  with  the  evil  conversation 
 of  the  wicked,  and  have  often  been  perplexed  in  conscience, 
 whether  they  ought  not  always  to  enter  into  dispute  with  such 
 profane  scoffers  of  religion,  or  rather  "  keep  silence,  even  from 
 good  words,  and  open  not  their  mouth,"  while  the  ungodly  is  in 
 their  sight,  although  it  be  "pain  and  grief"  to  forbear.  It  seems 
 safer  and  wiser  to  avoid,  than  to  engage  in,  such  "  doubtful  dis- 
 putations." xix.  9  ;  Isa.  xxxv.  21 ;  Ps.  xxxix.  3  ;  S.  Matt.  vii.  6. 
 W^offan.     (On  the  Lessons.     AVhitsunday.) 
 
 34  Siformidaret  irridentes  non  perveniret  ad  credentes.  If  S.  Paul 
 had  been  afraid  of  the  mockers,  he  would  not  have  reached 
 the  believers ;  just  as  if  that  sower  of  the  Grospel,  whom  the 
 LoED  makes  mention  of  (for  doubtless  this  was  S.  Paul)  had 
 hesitated  to  cast  in  the  seed,  lest  some  should  "  fall  by  the  way- 
 side," other  some  "among  thorns,"  other  into  "stony  places," 
 
THE  ACTS  XVII.  34.  507 
 
 the  seed  could  never  have  got  also  into  the  "  good  ground." 
 So  let  us  sow,  let  us  scatter :  do  ye  prepare  your  hearts ;  do  ye 
 yield  fruit,  ii.  13—15 ;  xxvi.  25  ;  Ezek  ii.  4,  5 ;  2  Cor.  vi.  8. 
 ^.  Augustine.     (Homil,  on  the  N.  Testament,  100.) 
 
 That  the  Apostles  did  de  facto  ordain  with  their  own  hands  several 
 Bishops  to  preside  over  several  Churches  is  most  certain,  if  any 
 credit  may  be  given  to  Ecclesiastical  History,  which  assures  us 
 that  they  ordained  Dionysius  the  Areopagite,  Bishop  of  Athens ; 
 Caius,  of  Thessalonica ;  Archippus,  of  Colosse ;  Onesimus,  of 
 Ephesus ;  Antipas,  of  Pergamos ;  Euphroditus,  of  Philippi ; 
 Crescens,  of  the  Gauls;  Erastus,  of  Macedonia;  Trophimus, 
 of  Aries ;  Jason,  of  Tarsus ;  Titus,  of  Corinth ;  Onesiphorus, 
 of  Colophon  ;  Quartus,  of  Berytus ;  Paul  the  Proconsul,  of 
 Narbona.  (See  at  xx.  4.)  Br.  J.  Scott.  (Christian  Life. 
 Part  ii.  c.  7.) 
 
 This  is  the  Dionysius,  who,  on  the  historical  testimony  of  Suidas, 
 is  reported,  when  he  observed  in  Egypt  the  eclipse  at  the  time 
 of  our  Lord's  crucifixion,  to  have  exclaimed,  "Either  the  Deity 
 suffers,  or  the  whole  fabric  of  the  world  is  being  dissolved!" 
 Tradition  also  records,  that  he  was  the  builder  of  the  altar  with 
 the  inscription  to  the  ^^  unknown  God'^  (verse  23;)  which  was 
 erected  by  him  in  commemoration  of  the  above  miraculous  event. 
 Through  the  preaching  of  S.  Paul,  he  has  now  been  brought  to 
 believe  and  confess  the  Deity,  who  suffered ;  and  the  true  GrOD 
 is  made  known  unto  him  in  the  Gospel  of  His  Eedeemer.  S. 
 John  xvii.  3  ;  1  S.  John  v.  19—21.     J.  F. 
 
 Viderat  ista  procul  Dionysius  Attide  terra, 
 
 Atque  ait :  "  Aut  muudus  finem  casumque  minatur ; 
 
 Aut  mala  naturae  patitur  Deus  ultima :  nam  nee 
 
 Sponte  sua  tantos  cogit  natura  labores." 
 
 O  !  Divinum  animi  lumen,  mentemque  beatam, 
 
 QusD  potuit  causam  insoliti  cognoscere  motus ! 
 
 Eobanus  Hessus.     (In  Hymno  Paschali.) 
 
508  THE  ACTS  XVIII.  2. 
 
 CHAPTER  XVIII. 
 
 A  FTER  these  things  Paul  departed  from  Athens,  and 
 came  to  Corinth ; 
 
 2  And  found  a  certain  Jew  named  Aquila,  born  in 
 Pontus,  lately  come  from  Italy,  with  his  wife  Priscilla ; 
 (because  that  Claudius  had  commanded  all  Jews  to 
 depart  from  Rome  :)  and  came  unto  them. 
 
 3  And  because  he  was  of  the  same  craft,  he  abode 
 with  them,  and  wrought :  for  by  their  occupation  they 
 were  tentmakers. 
 
 4  And  he  reasoned  in  the  synagogue  every  sabbath, 
 and  persuaded  the  Jews  and  the  Greeks. 
 
 5  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  blas- 
 phemed, he  siiook  his  raiment,  and  said  unto  them, 
 Your  blood  he  upon  your  own  heads ;  I  am  clean : 
 from  henceforth  I  will  go  unto  the  Gentiles. 
 
 2  His  wife  Priscilla. — It  is  scarcely  to  be  calculated,  what  an  in- 
 fluence the  spirit  of  a  Minister's  wife  will  have  on  his  own,  and 
 all  his  ministerial  affairs.  If  she  come  not  up  to  the  full 
 standard,  she  will  so  far  impede  him,  derange  him,  unsanctify 
 
 him If  she  assist  him  not  in  urging  forward  the  machine 
 
 (i.e.  his  ministry),  she  will  hang,  as  a  dead  weiglit,  on  its  wheels, 
 liom.  xvi.  3 — 5 ;  1  Tim.  iii.  11.     R.  Cecil.     (Eemains.) 
 
 The  government  of  a  Minister's  family  is  an  important  trust,  and 
 may  be  considered  as  comprehensive  of  his  pastoral  duties. 
 Parishes  are  composed  of  families ;  a  nation  of  parishes.     How 
 
THE  ACTS  XVIII.  2,  3.  509 
 
 extensive  then  is  the  influence  even  of  one  domestic  circle! 
 Let  me  be  diligent  in  promoting  family  religion  in  every  shape. 
 ....  Let  me  remember  my  solemn  promise  to  ''fashion  my  own 
 life  and  the  lives  of  my  family  with  all  diligence,  according  to  the 
 doctrine  of  Christ."  J.  Brewster.  (Practical  observ.  on  the 
 Ordination  services,  &c.) 
 
 The  houses  of  Ministers  should  be  the  schools  of  virtue,  little 
 emblems  of  a  Church,  and  patterns  for  all  their  parishioners  of 
 peace  and  good  order,  sobriety  and  devotion.  Bean  Comber. 
 (A  discourse  on  the  Office  for  making  Deacons.     Ch.  iii.  s.  12.) 
 
 Happy  exile,  w^hich  brings  us  into  acquaintance  with  a  man  of 
 GrOD !     Philemon  7.     Quesnel. 
 
 3  It  has  ever  been  the  practice  of  the  Jewish  nation  to  teach  their 
 children  some  trade,  even  though  they  might  be  destined  to 
 learning  and  sacred  offices.  Many  of  their  most  respected 
 Babbis  have  been  even  surnamed,  according  to  their  civil  pro- 
 fessions, as  "Habbi  Judah,  the  baker,"  "Eabbi  Isaac,  the 
 smith,"  *'  Eabbi  Johanan,  the  shoemaker,"  &c.  Nor  was  it  ever 
 imputed  to  S.  Paul  or  to  Aquila  by  their  enemies,  as  any  thing 
 degrading,  that,  besides  their  Ministerial  office,  they  were  tent 
 makers.  That  the  '*  sons  of  the  prophets"  carried  on  such  occu- 
 pations is  evident  from  2  Kings  vi.  4  ;  where  we  find  them  with 
 the  axe  and  tools,  cheerfully  engaged  in  constructing  their 
 dwellings.     Krummacher.     (Elijah  the  Tishbite,  ch.  21.) 
 
 Tent  makers. — He,  who  teaches  not  his  son  a  trade,  teaches  him 
 to  be  a  thief.     S.  Luke  xvi.  3.     Jewish  Proverb. 
 
 Making  these  tents  was  a  very  lucrative  employment.  They  were 
 much  required  for  the  use  of  the  soldiers  in  war.  Was  war, 
 then,  in  the  judgment  of  S.  Paul,  absolutely  a  sin  and  unchris- 
 tian ?  So  far  it  would  appear,  certainly  not.  Grotius  draws 
 the  same  inference  from  xxiii.  23.  1  Cor.  vii.  17 — 20 ;  Titus 
 iii.  14.     J.  F. 
 
 How  unnatural  a  thing  is  it,  for  that  creature  to  be  idle,  who  alone, 
 of  all  creatures,  stands  condemned  to  labour !  Gen.  iii.  17  ;  as  S. 
 Ambrose  observes  (Pref.  in  Luc.)  :  upon  which  consideration 
 S.  Basil  doubts  not  to  brand  this  vice  with  the  infamous  cha- 
 racter of  a  sin  against  nature :  because  there  is  nothing  in  the 
 whole  frame  of  nature  idle  or  inactive.     Our  Blessed  Saviour 
 
510  THE  ACTS  XVIII.  3. 
 
 testifies  of  the  Godhead  itself,  "  My  Fathee  worketh  hitherto ;  * 
 and  I  work."  S.  John  v.  17.  All  the  Hierarchs  of  Angels,  as 
 one  assures  us,  who  had  heen  in  the  third  heaven,  are  "  minis- 
 tering spirits."  (Heb.  i.  14.)  The  prophet  declares,  they 
 "  have  no  rest  day  or  night ;"  but  incessantly  pour  forth  their 
 harmonious  acclamations,  "Holy,  Holy,  Holy,  Loed  GtOd  of 
 Sabaoth !"  And,  what  I  should  have  mentioned  before,  the  Sa- 
 cred Humanity  of  Cheist  "  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto, 
 but  to  minister."  The  celestial  orbs  have  never  had  any  respite 
 from  their  perpetual  motion.  All  things  below  are  in  a  con- 
 tinual tide,  a  regular  succession  of  causes  and  effects If 
 
 man  would  but  take  the  measure  of  his  moral  actions  from  the 
 observation  of  his  natural,  the  continual  working  of  the  heart, 
 circulation  of  the  blood,  respiration  of  the  lungs,  pulse  of  the 
 arteries,  and  activity  of  the  fancy  would  teach  him  assiduity  in 
 the  exercise  of  those  nobler  faculties,  whose  actions  depend 
 upon  the  liberty  of  his  will ;  how  constant  and  regular  his 
 motion  ought  to  be  in  the  service  of  God  ;  and  that  his  soul  is 
 as  much  dead,  when  it  is  idle,  and  surceases  from  doing  well,  as 
 the  body  will  be,  when  all  these  vital  operations  are  at  an  end. 
 xvii.  21 ;  Eccl.  i.  4—8  ;  1  Tim.  v.  6.  Phil.  Ellis.  (Serm.  Eph. 
 V.  16.) 
 
 Eemember  S.  Paul,  a  poor  tent  maker,  and  yet  no  less  holy  in  his 
 shop  among  his  tents,  than  in  his  study  among  his  books  and 
 parchments ;  and  by  his  example  learn,  how  thy  shop  may  be 
 used,  even  as  an  Oratory,  or  place  of  greatest  devotion.  Never 
 tell  me  thy  handy  labours  abstract  thy  mind  from  heavenly 
 meditations.  Paul,  a  tent  maker,  working  with  his  hands,  could 
 yet  say,  "  Our  conversation  is  in  heaven."  Never  complain  of 
 the  pinches  of  poverty,  that  they  lay  thee  open  to  the  devil's 
 temptations.  Who  ever  richer,  than  Adam,  in  Paradise  ? 
 Who  ever  poorer,  than  Job,  on  the  dunghill  ?  Yet  in  Paradise 
 Satan  foiled  Adam  :  on  the  dunghill  Job  foiled  Satan,  xx.  34 ; 
 Phil.  iii.  20 ;  S.  Matt.  xi.  5.  Dr.  Dyke.  (On  the  mystery  of 
 self-deceiving,  ch.  13.) 
 
 An  unemployed  life  is  a  burden  to  itself;  a  heart,  not  exercised 
 in  some  honest  labour,  works  trouble  out  of  itself,  xvii.  21 ; 
 Prov.  vi.  10,  11.     Dr.  Sibbes. 
 
THE  ACTS  XVIII.  4—6.  511 
 
 4  In  S.  Paul's  several  apologies  for  himself  and  his  G-ospel,  recorded 
 in  the  Acts,  and  throughout  his  Epistles,  sent  to  the  several 
 Churches  he  planted,  we  find  him  continually  reasoning ;  not 
 merely  proposing  doctrines  in  an  authoritative  manner,  by  virtue 
 of  his  Apostleship  and  commission  from  God,  but  proving  and 
 making  good  what  he  proposes  by  inference  and  argument.  This 
 he  frequently  did,  and  by  so  doing  has  sanctioned  reason  to  the 
 purposes  of  religion,  and  showed  us,  that  one  sort,  indeed  the 
 best  sort,  of  good  preaching  consists  in  good  arguing.  Yerse 
 19,  28 ;  xvii.  2;  xxiv.  25  ;  1  Cor.  xv.  12—19.  Bp.  Atterbury. 
 (Serm.  Acts  xxiv.  25.) 
 
 5  He  was  impelled  with  greater  vehemence,  freely  and  openly,  to 
 speak  of  Christ.  Hence  we  see,  that  S.  Paul  did  not  declare 
 everything  at  once,  nor  at  the  same  time  ;  but  that  he  tempered 
 his  doctrine  as  opportunity  served.  And,  since  the  same  mo- 
 deration is  profitable  now,  it  becomes  faithful  teachers  prudently 
 to  consider  how  to  open  their  doctrine,  lest  a  premature  and 
 confused  statement  should  stand  in  the  way  of  its  orderly  pro- 
 gress.    Eom.  iii.  i — 26  ;  ii.  4  ;  iv.  29.     Calvin. 
 
 6  There  is  no  surer  mark  of  spiritual  decay,  than  a  low  esteem  of 
 the  Sacred  function.  Contempt  for  GrOD  and  Salvation  first  ap- 
 pears in  contempt  for  His  appointed  Ministers  and  servants. 
 Bp.  B.  Wilson.     (Charge,  Calcutta,  1838.) 
 
 Your  blood  be,  ^c. — It  means  this,  that  whosoever  departs  from 
 Cheist,  who  is  "The  Life,"  is  the  procurer  of  his  own  death  ; 
 he  passes  from  life  to  death,  and  seems  to  pour  out  his  own 
 blood  on  himself,  in  an  act  of  suicide,     v.  28  ;  xx.  26.     Clarius. 
 
 7  And  he  departed  thence,  and  entered  into  a  cer- 
 tain man's  house,  named  Justus,  one  that  worshipped 
 God,  whose  house  joined  hard  to  the  synagogue. 
 
 8  And  Crispus,  the  chief  ruler  of  the  synagogue, 
 believed  on  the  Lord  with  all  his  house  ;  and  many 
 of  the  Corinthians  hearing  believed,  and  were  bap- 
 tized. 
 
 9  Then  spake  the  Lord  to  Paul  in  the  night  by  a 
 
512  THE  ACTS  XVIII.  7,  8. 
 
 vision,  Be  not  afraid,  but  speak,  and  hold  not  thy 
 peace : 
 
 10  For  I  am  with  thee,  and  no  man  shall  set  on 
 thee  to  hurt  thee  :  for  I  have  much  people  in  this  city. 
 
 1 1  And  he  continued  there  a  year  and  six  months, 
 teaching  the  word  of  God  among  them. 
 
 7  The  same  reason,  which  induced  the  Apostle  invariably  to  visit 
 first  the  Synagogue,  that  he  might  take  occasion  from  the  read- 
 ing of  the  Law  and  the  prophets  to  preach  Jesus,  may  have  in- 
 clined him,  when  driven  by  opposition  from  the  Synagogue,  to 
 enter,  and  most  probably  to  abide  in,  a  house  hard  to  it.  He 
 would  not  altogether  depart  from  his  brethren,  "his  kinsmen 
 according  to  the  flesh  ;"  he  would  be  still  nigh  at  hand,  "if  by 
 any  means  he  might  save  some ;"  for  he  had  "  great  heaviness 
 and  continual  sorrow  of  heart  for  them  ;"  yea,  "  his  heart's  de- 
 sire and  prayer  to  GrOD  for  Israel"  was,  "  that  they  might  be 
 saved."  xiii.  14,  27,  42  ;  xv.  21 ;  xvii.  1 ;  Eora.  ix.  1 — 5  ;  x.  1 ; 
 2  Cor.  xii.  15.     J.  F. 
 
 8  After  the  Three  Divine  Persons,  principally  concurring  and  co- 
 operating in  man's  Justification,  we  may  next  pass  on  to  the 
 subordinate  instruments  :  and  here  come  in  the  Ministry,  the 
 "Word,  and  the  Sacraments,  but,  more  particularly,  the  Sacra- 
 ment of  Baptism According  to  the  natural  order  of  prece- 
 dency, the  authorized  Ministry  is  first  in  consideration ;  the 
 Word  next ;  then  hearing  and  believing  with  a  penitent  heart ; 
 and  lively  faith  ;  after  that.  Baptism,  and  therein  the  first  solemn 
 reception  of  Justification,  which  is  afterwards  continued  by  the 
 same  lively  faith,  and  the  use  of  the  AVord  and  the  other  Sacra- 
 ment. Eph.  i.  13,  14.  Dr.  Waterland.  (A  summary  view  of 
 the  doctrine  of  Justification,  s.  4.) 
 
 There  was  so  little  space  often  between  the  Apostles'  iireaching 
 and  baptizing,  that  the  converts  could  not  be  taught  more  than 
 this,  that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah  or  Christ,  that  was  expected, 
 and  that  all  must  be  obedient  to  Him.  ...  In  the  words  of  our 
 Lord's  Commission,  S.  Matt,  xxviii.  19,  20,  there  are  two 
 teachings ;    the  one  before,  the  other  after  Baptism  :    the  first 
 
THE  ACTS  XVIII.  10.  513 
 
 can  be  no  more  than  a  persuasion  of  them  to  become  the  dis- 
 ciples of  Christ  and  put  themselves  into  His  school,  because 
 He  was  the  Son  of  God  ;  and  then,  after  they  were  Baptized, 
 follows  a  more  accurate  and  full  instruction  of  them  in  all  the 
 parts  of  their  duty  ;  which  is  meant  by  those  words  LLlaaKovTes 
 avTovs  "  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things,  whatsoever  I  have 
 commanded  you;"  where  the  word  for  "teaching"  is  different 
 from  that  in  the  former  verse,  inaOrjievaare^  and  signifies  a  larger 
 knowledge  of  Christ's  Doctrine,  which  they  had  engaged  them- 
 selves to  observe,  being  assured  the  Son  of  God  could  teach 
 them  nothing  but  the  Truth.  And  this  I  take  to  be  the  reason, 
 why  so  many  fell  off  again  from  this  profession,  when  the  dis- 
 pleasing Doctrines  of  Christ  came  to  be  practised.  They  had 
 not  considered,  what  it  would  cost  them  to  be  Christians ;  but 
 only,  as  I  said,  were  in  general  convinced,  that  He  was  God's 
 Son,  and  that  they  must  be  His  disciples  ;  and  so  they  liked  no 
 longer  to  be  His  followers,  when  their  carnal  interests  came  to 
 be  touched,  and  when  they  saw  that  He  was  such  a  Master,  as 
 would  not  let  them  have  their  own  way,  nor  enjoy  this  present 
 world,  nor,  in  one  word,  "  serve  two  masters,"  God  and  their 
 Mammon  too.  Though  they  did  in  gross  profess  to  forsake 
 their  sins  and  lead  a  holy  life,  yet,  when  they  came  to  be  in- 
 formed in  the  particulars  of  self-denial  and  such  hard  lessons, 
 they  returned  rather  "  with  the  dog  to  the  vomit,  and  the  washed 
 sow  to  the  wallowing  into  the  mire."  ii.  41,  42  ;  ix.  42,  43  ; 
 X.  48 ;  xvi.  32.  Bp.  Patrick.  (A  Discourse  concerning  Bap- 
 tism, entitled  Aqua  Genitalis.) 
 
 10  /  om  with  thee. — As  Jesus  personally  revealed  His  Gospel  to 
 S.  Paul,  and  ordained  him  to  be  a  Preacher  of  it,  so  here  He  as- 
 sures him  of  His  own  Divine  Presence  and  Blessing,  to  make 
 the  Gospel  effectual  through  S.  Paul's  administration.  Thus, 
 though  called  irregularly  and,  as  it  were  out  of  season,  the 
 great  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  in  nothing  fell  short  of  the  chiefest 
 Apostles.  Christ  said  to  them  collectively,  "  Lo  I  am  with  you 
 alway,^''  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world  ;"  and  now  He  says  to 
 S.  Paul,  singly  and  individually,  "J  am  with  thee!''  Gal.  i. 
 12  :  ii.  2  ;  1  Cor.  ix.  1 ;  xi.  23  ;  xv.  3  ;  2  Cor.  xi.  5.     J.  F. 
 
 Christ's  being  with  S.  Paul  was  his  chief  security ;  S.  Paul's 
 
 L  L 
 
614  THE  ACTS  XVIII.  10,  U. 
 
 being  with  Christ  was  S.  Paul's  supreme  happiness.  Ps.  Ixxiii. 
 23  ;  S.  Luke  xxiii.  43  ;  S.  John  xvii.  24.     S.  Bernard. 
 
 There  is  a  God  in  the  midst  of  us,  portans,  implens,  protegens ; 
 bearing  with,  and  supporting,  our  weakness ;  filling  our  empti- 
 ness and  repairing  our  decays;  covering  us  with  His  wings, 
 and  defending  us  from  our  enemies.  Deut.  xx.  4 ;  Isa.  iv.  6. 
 S.  Augustine. 
 
 Our  privacy  perhaps  may  sit  down  in  peace ;  but  never  man  did 
 attempt  a  common  good  without  opposition.  It  is  a  sign,  that 
 both  the  work  is  holy,  and  the  agent  faithful,  when  we  meet 
 with  strong  opposition.     1  Cor.  xvi.  9.     Bp.  Hall. 
 
 I  have  much  people  in  this  city. — The  designs  of  Providence  in  or- 
 
 dering the  removes  and  governing  the  motions  of  Ministers 
 from  place  to  place,  in  order  unto  the  conversion  of  souls,  is 
 very  remarkable  and  wonderful.  Thus  oftentimes  it  carries 
 them,  where  they  intended  not  to  go  ;  God  having,  unknown  to 
 them,  some  elect  vessels  there,  who  must  be  called  by  the 
 Gospel,  viii.  26—29;  S.  John  iv.  2.  Flavel.  (Divine  Con- 
 duct.    Serm.  Ps.  Ivii.  2.) 
 
 II  He  continued  there,  ^c. — It  was  accounted  the  honour  of  these 
 Primitive  Churches  to  have  some  Apostle,  or  other,  to  be  their 
 Pounder ;  and  the  more  eminent  the  Apostle  was,  the  greater 
 was  the  honour  of  the  Church  he  planted.  Now,  in  this  respect, 
 Corinth  was  inferior  unto  none,  as  being  founded  by  S.  Paul,  the 
 great  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles ;  one,  w^ho  is  sometimes  styled  by 
 the  ancients  Prince  of  the  Apostles,  and  who,  in  that  modest 
 character,  which  he  has  left  of  himself  in  2  Cor.  xi.  5,  tells  us 
 expressly,  that  he  w^as  "not  a  whit  behind  the  very  chiefest 
 Apostles."  The  honour,  therefore,  of  the  Church  of  Corinth 
 could  not  but  be  great,  since  it  was  planted  by  this  great 
 Apostle,  S.  Paul ;  and  the  honour  of  it  will  appear  yet  greater, 
 if  we  add  the  observation  of  a  learned  author,  Super  hac  Ecclesid 
 maxime  triumphat  Paulus ;  "  S.  Paul"  (saith  he,)  "though  he 
 converted  several  other  nations,  and  planted  several  other 
 Churches,  yet  he  seems  to  glory  most,  yea,  even  triumph,  in 
 the  conversion  of  the  Corinthians."  These,  he  calls,  his 
 "  special  work  in  the  Loed,"  and  the  very  "  seal  of  his  Apostle- 
 ship,"  ch.  ix.  1,  2.     And,  as  the  Church  of  Corinth  had  the 
 
THE  ACTS  XVIII.  13.  515 
 
 honour  to  be  planted  by  the  labours  of  S.  Paul,  so  it  had  also 
 the  happiness  to  be  watered  by  the  eloquence  of  Apollos,  and 
 the  powerful  preachings  of  S.  Peter.  Now  one  would  have 
 thought  a  Church,  thus  happily  planted  and  watered,  might,  if  any 
 in  the  world,  have  promised  itself  an  immunity  from  schisms  and 
 divisions  ;  at  least  so  long,  as  these  Infallible  Apostles  and  un- 
 erring guides  were  still  alive.  But  alas,  even  Infallibility  itself 
 is  so  far  from  proving  an  antidote  against  schisms,  that  it  was  a 
 great  means  of  raising  and  promoting  them  here  at  Corinth : 
 for  in  the  first  chapter  of  this  Epistle  we  find  them  crying  out, 
 "  I  am  of  Paul,  I  am  of  Apollos,  I  am  of  Cephas  ;"  and,  besides 
 these  schisms,  which  took  their  rise  from  the  eminency  of  their 
 teachers,  we  find  in  this  eleventh  chapter  several  other  divisions 
 about  the  Sacraments.  Unity  is  indeed  a  signal  blessing;  yet 
 such,  as  the  best  of  Churches  may  not  always  enjoy.  1  Cor.  ii. 
 9 ;  ix.  1,  2  ;  Eph.  ii.  20.     March.     (Serm.  1  Cor.  xi.  19.) 
 
 1 2  And  when  Gallio  was  the  deputy  of  Achaia,  the 
 Jews  made  insurrection  with  one  accord  against  Paul, 
 and  brought  him  to  the  judgment  seat, 
 
 13  Saying,  This  fellow  persuadeth  men  to  worship 
 God  contrary  to  the  law. 
 
 14  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,  reason  would 
 that  I  should  bear  with  you : 
 
 15  But  if  it  be  a  question  of  words  and  names,  and 
 of  your  law,  look  ye  to  it ;  for  I  will  be  no  judge  of 
 such  matters. 
 
 16  And  he  drave  them  from  the  judgment  seat. 
 
 1 7  Then  all  the  Greeks  took  Sosthenes,  the  chief 
 ruler  of  the  synagogue,  and  beat  him  before  the  judg- 
 ment seat.     And  Gallio  cared  for  none  of  those  things. 
 
 13  Several  of  the  leading  doctrines,  taught  by  Jesus  and  His 
 
 ll2 
 
516  THE  ACTS  XVIII.  15. 
 
 followers  are  such,  as  could  not  be  expected  to  originate  from 
 Jews.  This  appears  on  the  surface.  The  Messiah,  desired  by 
 tlie  Jews,  was  conspicuous  and  powerful :  the  Christian  Mes- 
 siah was  humble  and  unknown.  The  Jewish  religion  was  na- 
 tional and  exclusive :  the  Christian  religion  was  open  and 
 universal.  The  characteristic  of  the  Jewish  religion  was  its 
 ceremonial  strictness  :  the  characteristic  of  the  Christian  religion 
 its  spirituality.  The  Jews  adored  their  city  :  Jesus  foretold  its 
 destruction.  So  that  Christianity  cannot  be  said  to  have  grown 
 up  out  of  Judaism,  though  it  was  grafted  upon  a  Jewish  stock. 
 Its  character  was  entirely  new,  and  as  much  opposed  to  the 
 common  principles,  existing  among  Jews,  as  to  the  habits  of 
 polytheism,  vi.  14 ;  S.  John  i.  17 ;  iv.  21—24  ;  1  Cor.  i.  22. 
 Ab}^.  Sumner.     (The  evidence  of  Christianity,  &c.  Ch.  3.) 
 
 15  How  much,  my  brethren,  have  we  turned  aside  from  that 
 original  simplicity  of  Christians  !  The  Apostolic  Catechism 
 consisted  of  but  six  heads  :  but  the  theology  of  the  present  day 
 (such  is  the  curiosity  of  men's  minds)  is  like  any  quantity 
 either  in  mathematics  or  physics,  which  is  infinitely  divisible. 
 Erasmus  indeed  has  truly  said,  "  that  this  never  ending  mass  of 
 questions,  every  where  arising,  and  of  decisions,  has  stirred  up 
 whatever  disturbances  now  exist  in  the  Church  of  God."  Nor 
 would  I  hesitate  to  use  the  words  of  Festus  to  some  of  the 
 schoolmen  and  send  them  together  to  Anticyra  :*  for  an  excess 
 of  learning  has  reduced  them  to  the  worst  kind  of  "madness." 
 xxvi.  24 ;  Prov.  xviii.  1 ;  S.  Matt.  xxii.  46.  Bp.  Hall.  (Ser- 
 mon before  the  Synod  of  Dort.) 
 
 S.  Paul  asserted  Jestjs  to  be  the  Christ  ;  which  the  Jews 
 denied :  this  to  a  Homan  would  be  ^a  question  of  names. 
 Alford. 
 
 The  frequent  repetition  of  the  sacred  Naine  of  God,  as  used  in  the 
 Form  of  Baptism,  may  have  drawn  unusual  attention  to  this 
 particular,     ii.  38 ;  xix.  13  ;  S.  James  ii.  7.     J.  F. 
 
 We  have  lost  the  substance  of  religion  by  changing  it  into  opinion, 
 viii.  37 ;  Heb.  xi.  1.     Abp.  Laud. 
 
 *  Anticyra,  a  town  where  hellebore,  a  plant,  used  in  the  cure  of  madness, 
 grew  in  great  abundance. 
 
THE  ACTS  XVIIL  15,  17.  517 
 
 Theology  must  always  suffer,  when  it  is  studied,  as  a  science.  1 
 Tim.  vi.  3  ;  2  Tim.  iii.  7.     Heurtley. 
 
 Our  controversies  about  religion  have  brought  at  last  even  religion 
 itself  into  controversy.  The  schoolmen  have  spun  the  thread 
 too  jBne,  and  made  Christianity  look,  more  like  a  course  of  phi- 
 losophy, than  a  system  of  faith  and  supernatural  Kevelation : 
 so  that  the  spirit  of  it  evaporates  into  niceties  and  exercises  of 
 the  brain  ;  and  the  contention  is  not  for  Truth,  but  victory.  2 
 Cor.  xi.  3.     Palmer.     (Aphorisms.  1460.) 
 
 The  first  thing  they  charge  upon  us,  and  for  which  they  cannot 
 embrace  the  Christian  faith,  is  the  diversities  of  opinions  and 
 sects,  that  are  among  us ;  whereas  there  w^ere  various  sects  and 
 parties  among  the  Jews  and  the  heathen  philosophers ;  yet  this 
 did  not  hinder  any  man  from  adhering  to  the  Jewish  ceremonies 
 and  discipline,  nor  from  studying  the  philosophy  of  the  Gen- 
 tiles  The  traveller  will  not  be  discouraged  from  going 
 
 his  journey,  because  there  are  many  cross  ways,  that  thwart  the 
 common  road,  but  will  rather  inquire  which  is  the  plain  and 
 King's  highway  :  neither  will  the  husbandman  refuse  to  till  his 
 ground,  because  weeds  grow  up  together  with  the  plants.  And, 
 therefore,  those  differences  should  make  us  more  carefully  ex- 
 amine truth  from  falsehood,  and  realities  from  pretensions,  that, 
 escaping  the  snares  which  are  plausibly  laid,  we  may  attain  to 
 that,  which  is  really  Truth  indeed,  and  which  is  not  hard  to  be 
 found  of  them,  that  sincerely  seek  it.  xx.  30 ;  S.  Matt.  xiii.  25  ; 
 1  Cor.  xi.  19.  S.  Clemens  Alex.  (Quoted  by  Dr.  Cave  in  his 
 life  of  S.  Irenaeus.) 
 
 17  Here  Gallio  departed  from  his  own  principles  :  for  the  multi- 
 tude did  that,  which,  according  to  his  own  acknowledgment 
 (Verse  14)  fell  under  his  cognizance,  a  violent,  a  criminal  act, 
 yet  he  suffered  it  to  pass  unpunished :  nay,  they  did  it  to  his 
 face,  before  the  judgment  seat ;  yet  he  did  not  interfere.     His 
 
 professions  then  were  hollow Men  find  it  expedient  to 
 
 profess  principles  of  equity,  of  liberality,  of  impartiality;  but 
 not  always  to  act  upon  them.  True  liberality  and  true  equity 
 will  not  be  met  with  among  those,  whose  views  of  religious 
 truth  are  wavering  and  indefinite.  (See  note  at  xxv.  20.) 
 T.  Boys.     (Note  in  loco.) 
 
518  THE  ACTS  XVIII.  17. 
 
 Pure  and  unstained  religion  ought  to  be  the  highest  of  all  cares, 
 appertaining  to  public  regimen,  as  well  in  regard  of  that  aid 
 and  protection,  which  they,  who  faithfully  serve  God,  confess 
 they  receive  at  His  merciful  hands,  as  also  for  the  force,  which 
 religion  hath  to  qualify  all  sorts  of  men,  and  to  make  them  in 
 public  affairs  the  more  serviceable  ;  Governors  the  apter  to  rule 
 with  conscience ;  inferiors,  for  conscience'  sake,  the  willinger  to 
 obey.  It  is  no  peculiar  conceit,  but  a  matter  of  sound  conse- 
 quence, that  all  duties  are  by  so  much  the  better  performed  by 
 how  much  more  the  men  are  religious,  from  whose  abilities  the 
 same  proceed.  For  if  the  course  of  politic  affairs  cannot  in  any 
 good  sort  go  forward  without  fit  instruments,  and  that,  which 
 fitteth  them,  be  their  virtues,  let  Polity  acknowledge  itself  in- 
 debted to  Eeligion ;  godliness  being  tlie  chiefest  top  and  well- 
 spring  of  all  virtues,  even  as  God  is  of  all  good  things.  Hooker. 
 (Eccl.  Pol.  B.  V.  c.  i.  s.  2.) 
 
 Gallio  cared,  ^c. — Persons,  taken  up  with  their  toilet  and  looking 
 glass,  who  would  much  sooner  have  the  Commonwealth  out  of 
 order,  than  their  own  head-dress,  Turbari  malunt  rempuhlicamj 
 quam  comam.     Seneca.^ 
 
 We  treat  sensible  and  present  things,  as  realities ;  and  future  and 
 eternal  things,  as  fables  :  whereas  the  reverse  should  be  the  case. 
 Isa.  V.  20.     R.  Cecil. 
 
 The  exemption  from  persecution  of  the  people  of  Corinth  under 
 Gallio,  and  their  state  of  ease  and  prosperity,  so  uncommon 
 with  other  Churches,  in  a  great  measure  account  for  the  little 
 spirituality,  which  they  manifested.  Perhaps  no  Church  was 
 so  numerous,  and  none  less  holy  in  the  Apostolic  age.  And 
 it  may  teach  us,  not  to  repine  at  the  want  of  the  miraculous 
 operations  of  the  Holt  Spirit,  when  we  consider,  that 
 these  Corinthians  abounded  in  thorn.  1  Cor.  i,  4,  5;  xii. 
 31 ;  XV.  12,  33,  34.  J.  Milner.  (Church  Hist.  Cent.  i. 
 ch.  11.) 
 
 *  In  connection  with  this  note,  it  is  i   exact  accordance  with  that  which  we 
 
 interesting  to  bear  in  mind  that  the  j    may  infer  from  this  narrative  "    Nemo 
 
 famous  philosopher  Seneca  was   bro-  mortalium  mihi  tarn  dulcis  est,  quam 
 
 ther  to  GaUio ;  and  the  character  he  hie  omnibus — a  good  easy  man,   and 
 
 gives  him,  is,  as  Alford  observes,   "in  universal  favourite. 
 
THE  ACTS  XVIII.  18,  19.  519 
 
 18  And  Paul  after  this  tarried  there  yet  a  good 
 while,  and  then  took  his  leave  of  the  brethren,  and 
 sailed  thence  into  Syria,  and  with  him  Priscilla  and 
 Aquila :  having  shorn  his  head  in  Cenchrea  :  for  he 
 had  a  vow. 
 
 19  And  he  came  to  Ephesus,  and  left  them  there : 
 but  he  himself  entered  into  the  synagogue,  and  rea- 
 soned with  the  Jews. 
 
 20  When  they  desired  him  to  tarry  longer  time  with 
 them,  he  consented  not ; 
 
 21  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  God  will.  And  he 
 sailed  from  Ephesus. 
 
 22  And  when  he  had  landed  at  Ceesarea,  and  gone 
 up,  and  saluted  the  church,  he  went  down  to  Antioch. 
 
 23  And  after  he  had  spent  some  time  there,  he  de- 
 parted, and  went  over  all  the  country  of  Galatia  and 
 Phrygia  in  order,  strengthening  all  the  disciples. 
 
 18  The  religion  of  vows  was  not  only  hallowed  by  the  example 
 of  Jacob  at  Bethel,  of  Hannah  praying  for  a  child  and  God 
 hearing  her,  of  David  vowing  a  temple  to  God,  and  made  re- 
 gular and  safe  by  the  rules  and  cautions  in  Moses'  Law ;  but 
 left  by  our  Blessed  Saviour  in  the  same  constitution  He  found 
 it ;  He  having  innovated  nothing  in  the  matter  of  vows  ;  and  it 
 was  practised  accordingly  in  the  instance  of  S.  Paul  at  Cen- 
 chrea. vii.  46  ;  xxi.  23,  24.  Bp.  J.  Taylor.  (Life  of  Christ. 
 Part  ii.) 
 
 19  Our  reason  has  a  large  field  to  move  in,  in  order  to  dicect  and 
 guide  us,  what  religion  to  be  of,  or  what  Church  to  join  our- 
 selves to.  But  the  use  of  reason  is  more  special,  in  stating 
 and  clearing  the  particular  doctrines  of  Christianity.  Chris- 
 tians of  all  sorts,  however  divided  in  opinions,  yet  plead  the 
 
520  THE  ACTS  XVIII.  21. 
 
 same  Scriptures  commouly  in  defence  of  them,  each  abounding 
 in  their  own  sense,  and  resolutely  adhering  to  their  own  con- 
 struction or  interpretation.  And  what  can  give  us  any  light,  or 
 what  can  lead  us  to  the  trutli  among  the  contending  parties, 
 but  the  laying  together  and  considering  with  all  sincerity  and 
 impartiality  the  reasons,  oifered  here  or  there  respectively  ?  .  .  . 
 Here  the  office  of  reason  is  various  and  manifold,  according  as 
 Scripture,  or  the  matters,  it  treats  of,  are  more  or  less  clear  and 
 positive.  In  some  points  Scripture  is  very  plain  and  clear,  and 
 the  reason  of  the  thing  too  ;  as  in  the  floral  doctrines  of  Chris- 
 tianity. In  such  a  case  reason  proceeds  upon  double  evidence, 
 extrinsic  and  intrinsic  ;  either  of  which  might  stand  single  and 
 be  a  sufficient  proof  of  the  thing :  but  both  together  make  it 
 the  more  indisputable ;  and  our  assent  rests  fast  and  firm  upon 
 a  twofold  foundation.  Sometimes  Scripture  is  very  clear  and 
 express,  but  the  reason  of  the  thing  dark  and  obscure ;  as  iu 
 the  venerable  Mysteries  of  our  faith.  Here  reason  proceeds 
 only  upon  extrinsic  evidence,  the  authority  of  the  Hevealer  and 
 the  proofs,  brought  to  show,  that  this  is  revealed,  and  this  the 
 sense  of  it ;  not  pretending  to  say,  how  or  why  those  things 
 are,  but  that  they  really  are,  because  God  has  declared  them. 
 In  other  points.  Scripture  may  be  obscure  and  silent ;  but  the 
 reason  of  the  thing  (taking  in  what  Scripture  has  elsewhere 
 asserted)  very  clear  and  manifest;  as  in  the  case  of  Infant 
 Baptism.  The  use  of  reason  in  this,  and  other  the  like  cases, 
 is  to  show,  what  by  analogy,  or  consequence,  though  not  di- 
 rectly. Scripture  either  allows,  commands,  or  condemns 
 
 When  by  the  careful  observance  of  these  rules  we  have  done 
 our  parts  in  "proving  all  things;"  then  we  are  to  remember 
 also  the  other  precept,  which  is  to  "  hold  fast  that,  which  is 
 good."  Verse  4;  xvii.  2;  xxiv.  25.  Br.  Waterland.  (Serm. 
 1  Thess.  V.  21.) 
 21  Let  every  preacher  in  his  parish  take  care  to  explicate  to  the 
 people  tlie  Mysteries  of  the  great  Festivals,  as  of  Christmas, 
 Easter,  Ascension-day,  AVhitsuuday,  Trinity  Sunday,  the  An- 
 nunciation of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary ;  because  these  Feasts, 
 containing  in  them  the  great  fundamentals  of  our  faith,  will 
 with  most  advantage  convey  the  Mysteries  to  the  people,  and 
 
THE  ACTS  XVIII.  21.  521 
 
 fix  them  in  their  memories  by  the  solemnities  and  circumstances 
 of  the  Day.  1  Cor.  v.  7,  8  ;  Gal.  iii.  1.  Bp.  J.  Taylor.  (Ad- 
 vice to  his  Clergy.     S.  61.) 
 
 Well  to  celebrate  these  religious  and  sacred  Days  is  to  spend 
 the  jdower  of  our  time  happily.  They  are  the  splendour  and 
 outward  dignity  of  our  religion  ;  forcible  witnesses  of  ancient 
 Truth,  provocations  to  the  exercises  of  all  piety,  shadows  of  our 
 endless  felicity  in  heaven,  on  earth  everlasting  records  and  me- 
 morials ;  wherein  they,  which  cannot  be  drawn  to  hearken  unto 
 what  we  teach,  may  only,  by  looking  upon  what  we  do,  in  a 
 manner  read  whatsoever  we  believe.  xx.  16 ;  Ps.  xlii,  5. 
 Hooker.     (Eccl.  Pol.  B.  v.  s.  71.) 
 
 LoED,  when  in  any  writing  I  have  occasion  to  insert  these  pas- 
 sages, "  God  willing^^  "  God  lending  me  life.,  ^c,"  I  observe, 
 LoED,  that  I  can  scarce  hold  my  hand  from  encircling  these 
 words  in  a  parenthesis,  as  if  they  were  not  essential  to  the  sen- 
 tence, but  may  as  well  be  left  out,  as  put  in  .  .  .  whereas,  in- 
 deed, without  them  all  the  rest  is  nothing.  "Wherefore  hereafter 
 I  will  write  these  words  fully  and  fairly,  without  any  enclosure 
 about  them.  Let  critics  sentence  it  for  bad  grammar ;  I  am 
 sure  it  is  good  Divinity,  xxi.  14  ;  xxvi.  22  ;  S.  James  iv.  13,  15. 
 Th.  Fuller.     (Good  thoughts  in  bad  times,     S.  17.) 
 
 S.  Bernard  expresseth  the  subjection  of  our  wills  to  the  will  of 
 God  in  three  particulars.  We  must,  1,  velle  omnino  quod  certum 
 est  Deum  velle,  absolutely  and  entirely  will  what  we  certainly 
 know  God  wills  ;  not  opposing  our  nag  to  His  Yea :  2,  nolle 
 omnino  et  execrari  quod  certum  est  Deum  nolle,  absolutely  nill 
 and  execrate  what  God  nills  and  dislikes  ;  not  opposing  our  gea 
 to  His  Nag  :  3,  neque  velle  ex  toto,  neque  penitus  non  velle,  quod 
 incertum  est,  utrum  Beus  velit  aut  nolit,  to  be  indifferent,  or,  at 
 least,  very  moderate,  not  peremptory  and  eager,  in  those  things, 
 concerning  which  the  will  of  God  is  dubious  and  uncertain ;  but 
 to  suspend  our  yea  and  nay,  till  God  have  expressed  His.  And 
 then  are  we,  in  any  of  these  ways,  out  of  order,  as  S.  Austin 
 says,  "when  we  rather  labour  to  bend  God's  will  to  ours,  than 
 amend  ours  by  His."  S.  Matt.  vi.  10 ;  xvi.  23  ;  Acts  ix.  9  ;  Ps. 
 Ixxxv.  8.  Simon  Ford.  (Serm.  Acts  xxi.  14.  Preached  at  the 
 Puneral  of  Lady  Elizabeth  Langham.     a.d.  1664.) 
 
522  THE  ACTS  XVIII.  22. 
 
 22  The  word  Ecclesia  is  noted  to  signify — 1.  An  assembly,  called 
 together  by  a  Superior.  2.  Any  multitude,  gathered  into  one 
 place.  3.  According  to  the  use  of  the  Holy  Scripture,  a  certain 
 multitude,  that  retain  the  name,  as  well  when  they  are  apart,  as 
 when  they  are  met  together.  .  .  .  The  word  Church  is  the 
 English  of  Ecclesia,  in  its  appropriated  signification ;  and  it  is 
 taken  divers  ways,  but  all  agreeing  in  the  aforesaid  notion. 
 (1.)  For  the  whole  company  of  God's  Elect,  cqraprising  the  un- 
 called, and  the  militant,  and  the  Triumphant.  Eph.  v.  25,  26. 
 (2.)  Eor  the  whole  Company  of  the  faithful,  both  militant  and 
 Triumphant.  Col.  i.  18 ;  Heb.  xii.  23.  (3.)  Eor  all  professors 
 of  the  Eaith  of  Christ,  or  visible  Christians.  Acts  v.  11 ;  viii. 
 3 ;  xii.  1.  (4.)  Eor  the  Catholic  visible  Church,  as  a  political 
 society.  1  Cor.  xii.  28.  (5.)  Eor  the  particular  Churches,  parts 
 of  the  Catholic,  as  comprising  the  Church  officers,  and  the 
 people  or  Community  of  the  faithful ;  as  the  Church  at  Corinth, 
 1  Cor.  i.  2 ;  the  Churches  of  Galatia,  Gal.  i.  2  ;  and  in  many 
 other  places.  (6.)  Eor  the  members  of  the  Church,  or  Com- 
 munity of  the  faithful,  as  distinct  from  their  Spiritual  Eulers. 
 Acts  XV.  4,  22.  (7.)  Eor  the  Governors  of  the  Church,  as 
 distinct  from  the  governed.  S.  Matt,  xviii.  17 — 19.  (8.)  Eor 
 a  Church  assembly,  come  together  for  Divine  Worship.  1  Cor. 
 xi.  22  ;  xiv.  19,  34.  (9.)  Eor  the  faithful  in  some  one  family, 
 E-om.  xvi.  5,  Philemon  2,  if  it  do  not  signify  a  Church,  meeting 
 in  those  houses.  These  several  acceptions  of  the  word  agree  in 
 the  said  common  notion  of  a  number  of  people,  associated  in  a 
 peculiar  and  spiritual  relation  to  God  ;  yet  the  said  notion  is 
 more  noble  and  complete  in  some  of  them,  than  in  others,  xv.  4. 
 J.  Corbet.     (Remains,  ch.  i.) 
 
 24  And  a  certain  Jew  named  Apollos,  born  at  Alex- 
 andria, an  eloquent  man,  and  mighty  in  the  scriptures, 
 came  to  Ephesus. 
 
 25  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  only  the 
 baptism  of  John. 
 
THE  ACTS  XVIII.  24,  25.  523 
 
 26  And  he  began  to  speak  boldly  in  the  synagogue  : 
 whom  when  Aquila  and  Priscilla  had  heard,  they  took 
 him  unto  them,  and  expounded  unto  him  the  way  of 
 God  more  perfectly. 
 
 27  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  had  believed  through  grace  : 
 
 28  For  he  mightily  convinced  the  Jews,  and  that 
 publicly,  showing  by  the  scriptures  that  Jesus  was 
 Christ. 
 
 24  We  see,  in  the  Providential  calling  of  Apollos  to  the  Ministry, 
 an  instance  of  adaptation  of  the  workman  to  the  work.  A  mas- 
 terly exposition  of  the  Scriptures  by  a  learned  Hellenist  of 
 Alexandria  formed  the  most  appropriate  "watering"  (1  Cor. 
 iii.  6)  for  those,  who  had  been  planted  by  the  pupil  of  Grama- 
 liel.     vi.  9  ;  2  Tim.  ii.  15.     Alford. 
 
 The  apparition  to  the  shepherds  (S.  Luke  ii.)  was  no  sooner  over, 
 than  this  Star  (the  guide  of  the  educated  and  learned)  appeared 
 presently,  if  not  the  very  same  hour ;  that  is,  both  at  once.  In 
 like  manner,  Christ,  at  first,  to  show  the  glory  of  His  Great- 
 ness, took  and  employed  fishermen,  such  as  had  no  bringing  up 
 in  schools.  But  it  was  not  long  after,  that  learned  men  came 
 in  apace,  learned  men  of  all  sorts :  Zenas,  in  Law  (Titus  iii.  13)  ; 
 S.  Luke,  in  Physic  (1  Tim.  iv.  11)  ;  Apollos,  with  his  eloquence  ; 
 Bionyse,  with  his  philosophy  (Acts  xvii.  34)  ;  S.  Paul,  with  his 
 "  much  learning"  (which  he  had  at  Tharsus,  as  famous  an  Uni- 
 versity in  xlsia,  as  Athens  was  for  Greece)  ;  which  learning  (for 
 all  Pestus's  fancy,  xxvi.  24)  turned  not  his  brains,  nor  did  them 
 any  hurt  at  all.  vii.  22  ;  1  Kings  iii,  30 ;  Dan.  i.  4.  Bp.  An- 
 drewes.     (Serm.  S.  Matt.  ii.  1,  2.) 
 
 25  Instructed  {Catechised,  Gr.) — The  way  to  be  mighty  in  the 
 Scriptures  and  eyen  fervent  in  the  Spirit  (men  being  zealous  for 
 the  science  they  best  understand)  is  to  be  early  thoroughly  well 
 Catechised.     "  The  neglect  of  catechising,"  declared  Archbishop 
 
524  THE  ACTS  XVIII.  25. 
 
 Usher,  in  his  sermon  on  Eph.  iv.  13,  before  King  James  I.,  "  is 
 the  frustrating  of  the  whole  work  of  the  Ministry:  for  let  us 
 preach  never  so  many  Sermons  unto  the  people,  our  labour  is 
 but  lost,  as  long  as  the  foundation  is  unlaid,  and  the  first  prin- 
 ciples untaught,  upon  which  all  other  doctrine  must  be  taught." 
 To  prevent  such  neglect  and  all  its  sad  consequences,  that  excel- 
 lent Prelate  has  left  behind  him  what  will  be  found  a  most 
 useful  enlargement  of  our  Church  Catechism  ;  namely,  his  work 
 entitled,  "A  Body  of  Divinity,  or  the  sum  and  substance  of 
 Christian  Eeligion,  Catechistically  propounded  in  the  way  of 
 question  and  answer,  methodically  and  familiarly  handled  for 
 the  use  of  families."  Eom.  xvi.  17,  18  ;  Eph.  iv.  12—14.  J.  F. 
 The  difterence  of  Catechising  from  preaching  is  in  three  things. 
 1.  Preaching  is  the  dilating  of  one  member  of  religion ;  cate- 
 chising is  a  contraction  of  the  whole.  2.  Catechising  is  to  be 
 delivered  to  the  young  and  ignorant;  preaching  to  all.  3. 
 Preaching  exacteth  no  repetition ;  catechising  requireth  repe- 
 tition. .  .  .  Hegesippus  testifies,  that  by  the  diligent  instructing 
 of  the  Church  in  this  way  there  was  no  known  commonwealth 
 in  any  part  of  the  world  inhabited,  but  within  forty  years  after 
 Cheist's  Passion  received  a  great  shaking  ofi"  of  heathenish  re- 
 ligion. The  same  may  be  seen  in  the  most  wicked  Julian,  the 
 Apostate,  the  subtillest  enemy,  that  ever  the  Church  had  ;  who, 
 the  easier  to  root  out  religion,  suppressed  all  Christian  schools, 
 places  of  catechising,  &c.  Bp.  Andrewes.  (Pref.  to  The  Moral 
 Law  expounded,  &c.) 
 As  out  of  Eden  into  Paradise  went  a  great  river,  so  doth  there  out 
 of  God's  Book  into  the  Catechism,  which  breaks  itself  into  four 
 heads,  Pishon,  Grihon,  Hiddekel,  and  Perat  (Gen.  ii.  10)  ;  the 
 Creed,  the  Commandments,  the  Loed's  Prayer,  and  the  Sacra- 
 ments. These  far  excel  those.  The  first  had  only  gold,  and 
 bdellium,  and  the  onyx  stone.  These  all  are  in  all  these.  And 
 their  streams,  like  David's  river  in  the  Psalms,  "  make  glad  the 
 City  of  God,"  water  God's  garden.  Br.  Rd.  Gierke.  (Serm. 
 upon  the  last  Question  in  the  Catechism.) 
 
 Ecce  Catechistes  humili  serm  one  tenellis 
 
 Os  balbum  format  pueris  animosque,  docetque 
 
 Et  sapere  ct  fari,    Sacro  do  codice  sumpta 
 
THE  ACTS  XVIII.  25,  26.  525 
 
 Dogmata  proponens,  digitoque  notante,  sequaces 
 Attrahit  inculcans  oculos  :  stat  parvula  pubes 
 Expectaus  monitus,  pendetque  docentis  ab  ore, 
 Prsescriptas  iterans  voces  et  non  sua  verba.  .  . 
 O  !  quantum  est  tenerae  pietatis  semina  menti 
 Indere,  Christiadumque  futuram  condere  gentem  ? 
 
 O  !  ego  qualis  eram  ?     Yitam  mihi  redde  priorem, 
 O  !  Pater,  infantemque  novate  corde  refinge, 
 Qua  licet,  immunem  culpse  :  sic  itur  ad  astra  ! 
 
 Joan.  Biu'ton. 
 (Sacerdos  Paroecialis  rusticus.) 
 Knowing  only. — Hence  we  gather  the  true  use  of  the  Sacraments, 
 that  they  initiate  us  into  some  particular  doctrine,  or  that  they 
 establish  that  faith,  that  we  have  embraced.  ...  In  order  to  a 
 right  administration  of  the  Sacraments,  it  is  requisite  that  the 
 sound  of  heavenly  doctrine  should  go  forth  from  them.  S.  John 
 vi.  63  ;  Rom.  vi.  3 — 7.  Calvin. 
 26  As  the  Baptist  submitted  to  Christ,  so  must  the  Baptist's 
 followers  submit  to  Cueist's  followers,  Apollos  to  the  Church 
 .  .  .  now  that  the  Church  was  set  up.  i.  5  ;  xix.  1 — 5.  J.  H. 
 Newman.  (Serm.  S.  Mark  ix.  38,  39.) 
 It  will  be  good  to  try  and  examine  every  conclusion,  which  we 
 have  made  our  rule  ;  to  let  one  day  teach  another ;  and  matu- 
 rity oversee  and  judge  our  greener  years ;  and  the  wisdom  of 
 age  correct  the  easiness  of  our  youth ;  reason  recognise  our 
 education  ;  consideration  control  custom ;  judgment  censure 
 our  delight ;  and  the  new  man  crucify  the  old  :  in  a  word,  to 
 think  that  we  may  have  erred,  and  not  to  be  so  wise  as,  be- 
 cause we  are  deceived,  to  be  so  for  ever.  x.  34 ;  xxvi.  9,  10. 
 Farinclon. 
 How  beautifully  is  the  Christian  grace  of  humility  here  seen  in 
 the  mutual  bearing  of  Apollos  and  Aquila  towards  each  other. 
 Apollos  with  all  his  knowledge,  fervour,  unction  of  soul,  elo- 
 quence and  diligence  in  preaching,  meekly  submits  to  Aquila. 
 Aquila  in  expounding  to  him  the  way  of  GrOD  more  perfectly  has 
 no  selfish  fears  in  his  mind,  lest  he  should  now  be  eclipsed  by 
 his  more  accomplished  pupil  and  fellow  labourer ;  he  looks 
 simply  to  the  Glory  of  GrOD  in  the  more  effectual  preaching  of 
 
526  THE  ACTS  XVIII.  26-28. 
 
 Cheist's  Gospel,     xi.   18,  23;  1  Cor.  iii.  1—7;  xv.  11;  Phil, 
 i.  18.     J.  F. 
 
 Is  not  every  true  Christian  a  member  of  the  Body,  and  therefore 
 partaketh  of  the  blessings  of  the  whole  and  of  each  particular 
 member  thereof?  And  doth  not  every  man  owe  thanks  to  God 
 for  his  brethren's  gifts,  not  only  as  having  himself  a  part  in 
 them,  as  the  foot  hath  the  benefit  of  the  guidance  of  the  eye, 
 but  also  because  his  own  ends  may  be  attained  by  his  brethren's 
 gifts,  as  well  as  by  his  own  ?  For  if  the  glory  of  God  and  the 
 Church's  felicity  be  not  his  end,  he  is  not  a  Christian.  Numb, 
 xi.  29  ;  Col.  iii.  17.    R.  Baxter.    (Gildas  Salvianus.  Ch.  iii.  s.  3.) 
 
 27  Through  grace. — It  is  the  Spirit,  that  gives  true  light,  and  like- 
 wise gives  it  reception,  xvi.  14 ;  Ps.  cxix.  18 ;  1  Cor.  iii.  6. 
 Br.  Waterland.     (Serm.  Rom.  viii.  14.) 
 
 "Without  the  grace  of  God  you  can  "do  nothing;"  you  can 
 neither  feel  the  burden  of  your  sins,  nor  seek  to  be  eased  of 
 them,  nor  perceive,  when  they  are  forgiven :  you  cannot  rend 
 your  heart,  and  set  apart  from  you  the  vanities  and  lusts  of  the 
 flesh,  which  doth  evermore  fight  against  the  soul ;  you  cannot 
 discern  the  Word  of  God,  and  by  it  enter  the  way  to  everlast- 
 ing Life:  you  cannot  "abhor  that,  which  is  evil,  and  cleave 
 unto  tliat,  which  is  good :"  without  the  grace  of  God  you  can- 
 not continue  stedfast  and  constant  in  faith,  and  in  hope  of  the 
 mercies  of  God  through  our  Saviouk  Jesus  Christ,  xvi.  14 ; 
 S.  John  XV.  1 — 5  ;  1  S.  Pet.  v.  10.  Bp.  Jewel.  (Exposition 
 of  1  Ep.  Thess.) 
 
 28  It  were  impossible  He  should  be  our  Jesus,  except  He  were 
 the  Cheist.  Eor  He  could  not  reveal  the  way  of  Salvation, 
 except  He  were  a  Prophet ;  He  could  not  work  out  our  Salva- 
 tion revealed,  except  He  were  a  Priest ;  He  could  not  confer 
 that  Salvation  upon  us,  except  He  were  a  King  ;  He  could  not 
 
 .  be  Prophet,  Priest,  and  King,  except  He  were  the  Cheist. 
 This  was  the  fundamental  Doctrine,  which  the  Apostles  not  only 
 
 .  testified,  as  they  did  that  of  the  Eesurrection,  but  argued, 
 proved,  and  demonstrated  out  of  the  Law  and  the  Prophets.  .  .  . 
 This  was  the  touchstone,  by  which  all  men  at  first  were  tried, 
 whether  they  were  Christian,  or  Antichristiau.  Eor  "  whoso- 
 ever believeth,"  saith  S.  John,  "  that  Jesus  is  Cheist  is  born  of 
 
THE  ACTS  XIX.  2.  527 
 
 God."  What  greater  commendation  of  the  assertion  of  this 
 Truth !  "  Who  is  a  liar  ?"  says  the  same  Apostle,  "  but  he,  that 
 denieth  that  Jesus  is  the  Cheist  ?  This  is  the  Antichrist,  that 
 denieth  the  Father  and  the  Sok."  What  higher  condemna- 
 tion of  the  negation  of  it  ?  Verse  5  ;  xvii.  2,  3.  Bp.  Pearson. 
 (Expos,  of  the  Creed.     Art.  ii.) 
 
 CHAPTER  XIX. 
 
 AND  it  came  to  pass,  that,  while  Apollos  was  at 
 
 Corinth,  Paul  having  passed  through  the  upper 
 
 coasts  came  to  Ephesus :  and  finding  certain  disciples, 
 
 2  He  said  unto  them,  Have  ye  received  the  Holy 
 Ghost  since  ye  believed  ?  And  they  said  unto  him. 
 We  have  not  so  much  as  heard  whether  there  be  any 
 Holy  Ghost. 
 
 3  And  he  said  unto  them.  Unto  what  then  were 
 ye  baptized  ?     And  they  said.  Unto  John's  baptism. 
 
 4  Then  said  Paul,  John  verily  baptized  with  the 
 baptism  of  repentance,  saying  unto  the  people,  that 
 they  should  believe  on  Him  which  should  come  after 
 him,  that  is,  on  Christ  Jesus. 
 
 2  That  the  Holy  Ghost  was  taken  away  from  Israel,  was  so  noto- 
 rious in  experience,  that  when  S.  Paul  meets  disciples  at  Ephesus, 
 and  asks  them,  if  they  have  received  the  Holy  Ghost  ;  whether 
 at  their  Baptism  the  Spirit  came  down  on  them,  as  He  did  then 
 on  others  ?  they  answer,  We  have  not  so  much  as  heard  whether 
 there  be  any  Holy  Ghost,  any  extraordinary  effusions  of  the 
 Spirit ;  whether  He  does  come  down  in  gifts  and  afflations,  such 
 
 -    as  we  know  were  usual  in  the  first  Jewish  Temple,  but  have 
 
528  THE  ACTS  XIX.  2. 
 
 not  been  for  a  long  time,  and  we  have  not  yet  heard  they  are 
 restored  :  for  of  this  pouring  out  of  the  Holt  Ghost  they  must 
 needs  mean,  not  of  Himself;  of  whom  they  could  not  doubt: 
 nothing  was  more  known  in  the  Jewish  Church,  i.  5  ;  ii.  17 ; 
 Hagg.  ii.  9  ;  S.  John  vii.  39.     Dr.  AUestry.     (Serm.  Acts  xiii.  2.) 
 
 As  an  absolute  necessity  there  is  that  we  receive  the  Spirit,  else 
 can  we  not  live  the  life  of  nature ;  so  no  less  absolute  that  we 
 receive  the  Holy  Spirit,  else  we  cannot  live  the  life  of  Grace ; 
 and  so,  consequently,  never  come  to  the  Life  of  Glory.  Ee- 
 cepistis  Sjnritum  gives  the  life  natural  (Gen.  ii.  7  ;  1  Cor.  xv. 
 
 45).     Recepistis  Spiritum  Sanctum  giyes  the  \i^e  SipirituaX 
 
 If  the  Holt  Spirit  be  in  us,  as  the  natural  spirit  doth,  at  the 
 heart  it  will  beat ;  at  the  mouth  it  will  breathe ;  at  the  pulse  it 
 will  be  felt.  Some  one  of  them  may,  but  all  these  will  not, 
 deceive  us.  Ezek.  xxxvi.  26 ;  Eom.  v.  5  ;  2  Cor.  iv.  13  ;  Eom. 
 X.  9,  10 ;  Eph.  iv.  31.  The  pulse  is  the  head,  the  work;  inquire 
 of  that.  The  Holt  Ghost  was  first  given  and  received  by  the 
 breath  inward,  for  the  heart  (S.  John  xx.  22)  :  then  by  fiery 
 tongues  for  the  speech :  but  ever  after,  and  here  in  this  place, 
 the  Holt  Ghost,  we  know,  was  given  and  received  by  "  laying 
 on  of  hands ;"  and  that  to  admonish  us  that  by  imposito  and 
 admotu  manu,  by  lifting  up  and  laying  to  our  hands  we  may 
 know  we  have  received  Him :  we  have  had  laying  on  of  hands, 
 if  we  use  laying  or  putting  our  hands  to  any  good  work.  Lam. 
 iii.  41 ;  1  Thess.  i.  3  ;  Gal.  v.  6 ;  S.  James  ii.  18,  24.  Bp.  An- 
 drewes.     (Serm,  on  text.) 
 
 It  seems  that  the  great  question,  which  we  should  be  anxious  to 
 be  able  to  answer  in  the  affirmative,  is  this ;  Are  we  receiving 
 the  Holt  Ghost,  since  we  believed?  Since  we  believed;  whe- 
 ther we  choose  to  carry  back  the  date  of  our  first  belief  to  the 
 very  time  of  our  Baptism,  when  grace  was  given  to  us — we 
 know  not  to  what  degree,  nor  how — yet  given  to  us,  as  being 
 then  received  into  Christ's  flock  ;  or,  whether  we  go  back  only 
 to  that  time,  when  we  can  ourselves  remember  ourselves  to 
 have  believed,  and  so  can  remember,  that  God's  grace  was  given 
 to  us.  Have  we  been  ever  since,  and  are  we  still,  receiving  the 
 Holt  Ghost?  O  Blessed  above  all  Blessedness,  if  we  can 
 say,  that  this  is  true  of  us  !     O  Blessed  with  a  Blessedness  most 
 
THE  ACTS  XIX.  2,  4.  529 
 
 complete,  if  we  only  do  not  too  entirely  abandon  ourselves  to 
 enjoy  it !  Elect  of  God,  holy  and  beloved,  justified  and  sanc- 
 tified, there  is  nothing  in  all  the  world,  that  could  impair  or 
 destroy  such  happiness,  except  we  ourselves  in  an  evil  hour  be- 
 lieved it  to  be  out  of  the  reach  of  danger.  Rom.  viii.  9  ;  Col. 
 ii.  6.  Br.  Arnold.  (Serm.  on  text.) 
 Even  in  the  case  of  those,  who  may  be  decent  in  their  lives,  who 
 are  enough  instructed  in  what  is  called  morality,  nay,  and  would 
 take  it  ill  to  be  thought  wanting  in  a  competent  share  of  re- 
 ligious knowledge,  a  discourse  on  the  elements  of  the  faith  may 
 not  be  altogether  unseasonable.  Eor  there  are  of  these,  who 
 exclude  religion  from  their  scheme  of  morality ;  or  Christianity 
 from  their  scheme  of  religion ;  or  who,  professing  Christianity, 
 scarce  know  what  Redemption  means ;  who  are  yet  to  learn 
 with  what  awful  yet  filial  piety  they  are  to  look  up  to  God,  the 
 Fathee;  who  reflect  not,  w^hat  transcendent  honour  is  due 
 from  them  to  God,  the  Son  ;  and  who  have  scarce  perhaps 
 heard,  or  have  little  regarded,  whether  there  be  any  Holt 
 Ghost,  xvii.  23;  S.  John  xiv.  17.  Bp.  Hurd.  (Serm.  S. 
 Matt.  xiii.  51,  52.) 
 How  is  it  possible  to  receive  the  seal  without  feeling  the  impres- 
 sion ?  Rom.  viii.  16 ;  2  Cor.  xiii.  5.  Bp.  Downhaine.  (Chris- 
 tian warfare.) 
 
 An  Deus  in  nobis  ?     Quid  nos  morfcalibus  oris 
 Sevocat,  0  !  nostrasque  rapit  super  sethera  mentes  ? 
 Non  ea  vis  opis  humansB,  non  pectoris  hujus  : 
 Desuper  extimulat  Numen.     Deus  insidet  Ipse  ; 
 Intus  agit  Deus,  et  nostro  se  pectore  versat. 
 Hoc  duce  mortales  fines  transcendimus,  aptis 
 Cognatisque  animis  coeli  super  alta  tenentes : 
 Hoc  sine  prostratique  solo  in  tenebrisque  voluti 
 Jactamur,  nee  mens  nobis  ignobilis  altum 
 Quicquam  agitat :  quicquid  recti  sanctique  movemus 
 Hac  manat  de  fonte :  boni  hinc  fluit  omnis  origo  .  .  . 
 Hoc  uno  afilati  prsecordia  ab  igne  calemus. 
 
 M.  II.  Vida.     (Hymn.  Spiritui  Sancto.) 
 4  S.  John  Baptized  half  a  year,  before  he  knew  the  person  of  the 
 Messias :  "  I  knew  Him  not."     S.  John  i.  31.     So,  those  bap- 
 
 M  M 
 
530  THE  ACTS  XTX.  4,  5. 
 
 tized  by  S.  John,  knew  not  Jesus,  yet  were  baptized  into  tbe 
 
 Messias By  their  Baptism  they  took  the  badge  of  owning 
 
 the  Messias,  but  knew  not  His  person,     xi.  19 ;  xviii.  25.     Dr. 
 
 Lightfoot.     (Serm.  S.  Matt,  xxviii.  19.) 
 The  Baptism  of  Cheist  doth  exceed  the  Baptism  of  S.  John. 
 
 I    will  name  five  distinctions,   1.    In  forma  verborum,  ii.   38. 
 
 2.  In  mnplitudine  nationum,  x.  35.     3.  In  varietate  personarunit 
 
 ii.  39.     4.  In  gradibus  efficacice,  i.  5.     5.  In  modo  necessitatis^ 
 
 ii.  47.     Bp.  Racket.     (Serm.  S.  Matt.  iii.  13.) 
 What  the  Loed  did  not  as  yet  bestow.  His  servant  surely  would 
 
 not  be  able  to  give.     S.  John  xvi.  7.     Tertullian.     (De  Bap. 
 
 c.  10.) 
 The  Baptism  of  repentance,  not  of  forgiveness.     S.  Chrysostom. 
 S.  John  baptized  without,  Cheist  within.     S.  Luke  iii.  9.     Bp. 
 
 Hall. 
 
 5  When  they  heard  this,  they  were  baptized  in  the 
 name  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 
 
 6  And  when  Paul  had  laid  Ms  hands  upon  them, 
 the  Holy  Ghost  came  on  them  ;  and  they  spake  with 
 tongues,  and  prophesied. 
 
 7  And  all  the  men  were  about  twelve. 
 
 5  It  must  be  acknowledged,  that  being  baptized  into  the  Name  of 
 these  Three  Persons  (S.  Matt,  xxviii.  19),  is  no  where  expressly 
 mentioned,  except  in  this  text.  But  tlien  the  more  usual  phrase 
 of  being  "  Baptized  into  Cheist,"  or  into  "  His  Name,"  amounts 
 to  just  the  same  thing.  Eor  by  bearing  the  name  of  Christians 
 we  declare  ourselves  believers,  not  ia  Cheist  alone,  but  in  the 
 Eathee,  of  whom,  to  use  the  Apostle's  words,  "the  whole 
 family  in  heaven  and  earth  is  named  ;"  and  in  the  Holy  Spieit 
 also,  whose  Name  appears  evidently  never  to  have  been  omitted 
 in  Baptism,  from  that  remarkable  passage,  where  some  pro- 
 fessors of  the  Gospel,  owning,  that  they  were  entirely  ignorant 
 concerning  the  Holy  Ghost,  S.  Paul  asks  them.  Unto  what  then 
 were  ye  baptized  ?  And,  finding  it  was  only  unto  the  baptism 
 of  John,  commands  them  to  be  now  Baptized  into  the  Name  of 
 
THE  ACTS  XIX.  5.  531 
 
 the  LoED  Jesus.  So  it  is  expressed :  but  the  foregoing  ques- 
 tion fully  proves,  that  the  Name  of  the  Holt  Ghost  was  used 
 likewise ;  from  whence  it  follows  that  the  expression  "  Baptizing 
 into  the  Name  of  Cheist,"  wherever  we  find  it  in  Scripture,  is 
 only  put  for  shortness ;  and  that  the  original  Eorm  of  Baptism 
 was,  "  In  the  Name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
 Holt  G-host;"  which  accordingly  was  the  constant  one  in 
 the  primitive  Church,  v.  3 — 5 ;  S.  James  ii.  7.  Ahi^.  Seeker. 
 (Serm.  S.  Matt,  xxviii.  19,  20.) 
 S.  Peter,  finding  that  the  household  of  Cornelius,  the  Gentile,  had 
 received  the  Holt  Ghost,  regarded  it,  as  a  certain  direction 
 for  him  to  admit  them  into  the  Church  of  Cheist  :  which  he 
 did  by  the  initiatory  rite  of  water-baptism,  x.  47.  S.  Paul,  in 
 his  travels  through  lesser  Asia,  finding  some  of  the  Jewish 
 converts,  who  had  never  heard  of  the  Holt  Ghost,  and  on 
 inquiry  understanding  they  had  been  only  baptized  by  water 
 unto  John's  baptism,  thought  fit  to  Baptize  them  with  water 
 in  the  Name  of  the  Loed  Jesus  ;  that  is,  to  admit  them  into  the 
 Church,  and  then  laying  his  hands  upon  them  the  Holt  Ghost 
 came  upon  them^  and  they  spake  with  tongues  and  prophesied. 
 In  spite  of  these  two  memorable  transactions,  some  have,  not- 
 withstanding rejected  water-baptism.  What  is  the  pretence? 
 Water-baptism  (it  seems)  is  John's  baptism,  and  only  a  type 
 of  Baptism  by  the  Holt  Ghost,  or  by  fire ;  so  that,  when  this 
 last  came  in  use,  the  former  ceased  and  was  abolished.  Yet,  in 
 the  two  histories  given  above,  both  these  fancies  are  reproved, 
 and  in  such  a  manner,  as  if  the  stories  had  been  recorded  for 
 no  other  purpose.  Por,  in  the  adventure  of  S.  Paul,  the  water- 
 baptism  of  Jesus  is  expressly  distinguished  from  the  water- 
 baptism  of  John ;  and,  in  that  of  S.  Peter,  it  appears  that 
 water-baptism  was  necessary  for  admittance  into  the  Church  of 
 Cheist,  even  after  the  ministration  of  Baptism  by  fire,  or  the 
 communicated  power  of  the  Holt  Ghost.  It  is  further  ob- 
 servable, that  these  two  heads  of  the  Mission  to  the  two  great 
 divisions  of  mankind,  the  Jews  and  Gentiles,  here  acted  in 
 one  another's  province ;  S.  Peter,  the  Apostle  of  the  Jews,  ad- 
 ministering Baptism  to  the  Gentile  household  of  Cornelius; 
 and  S.  Paul,  the  Apostle  of  the   Gentiles,  administering  the 
 
 M  M  2 
 
53.2  THE  ACTS  XIX.  5,  6. 
 
 same  rite  to  the  Jewish  converts.  And  why  was  this  crossing 
 of  hands,  but  to  obviate  that  silly  evasion,  that  water-baptism 
 was  only  partial  or  temporary  ?  Bjp.  Warburton.  (Divine  Le- 
 gation.    B.  vi.  s.  1.) 
 
 John's  baptism  was  rebaptized.  S.  John  iii.  30.  Dr.  Littleton. 
 (Serm.  S.  John  v.  8.) 
 
 Cornelius  and  his  household  had  received,  previous  to  Baptism, 
 enlightening,  converting  and  miraculous  grace;  but  not  that 
 regenerating  grace,  which  engrafts  into  the  Body  of  Christ. 
 The  converts  at  Samaria,  being  Baptized,  had  received  regener- 
 ating grace ;  but  not  its  confirmation.  Here,  at  Ephesus, 
 converting  grace  unto  repentance  had  been  bestowed ;  but  they 
 received  no  regenerating  grace  nor  miraculous  spiritual  endow- 
 ment, until  they  were  Baptized  in  the  "Name  of  the  Loed  Jesus. 
 How  important  it  is  to  distinguish  between  the  diversities  of 
 gifts  and  operations,  as  proceeding  from  the  same  Spirit,  that 
 we  may  learn  to  restrict  to  each  its  proper  theological  term. 
 What  confusion,  yea,  what  strife  among  brethren,  has  arisen 
 from  the  neglect  of  this  rule.  x.  47  ;  viii.  15 — 17  ;  1  Cor.  xii. 
 4—6.     /.  F. 
 
 6  Thus  (see  Acts  ii.  3)  the  Holt  Ghost  appeared;  but  only 
 once.  In  the  effect  of  tongues  indeed,  but  not  in  the  appear- 
 ance of  them,  He  twice  afterwards  fell  upon  some  disciples; 
 upon  the  centurion  and  his  company,  the  first  fruits  of  the 
 Gentiles,  x.  46  ;  and  upon  those  disciples  at  Ephesus,  who  knew 
 nothing,  but  John's  baptism ;  that  so,  they  might  sensibly  find 
 the  difference  of  John's  baptism  and  Cheist's.  They  both,  as 
 soon  as  they  were  baptized,  "  spake  with  tongues,"  says  the 
 text ;  the  one  so  honoured  to  teach  this  truth,  that  "  In  all 
 nations  whoever  doth  righteousness  shall  be  accepted;"  the 
 Gentiles  now  in  Cheist,  as  well  accepted  as  the  Jews :  the 
 other  so  highly  favoured,  that  imperfect  Christians  might  be 
 encouraged  to  go  on,  and  not  be  dismayed  to  see  so  many  glo- 
 rious professors  so  exceedingly  transcend  them.  These  comings 
 were  miraculous ;  only  to  found  Christianity,  and  settle  an 
 Article  of  faith,  the  Article  of  the  Holt  Ghost,  never  distinctly 
 known  to  the  world,  till  Christianity  arose.  Cueist  Himself 
 was  fain  to  confirm  His  Divinity  by  signs  and  miracles ;  and 
 
THE  ACTS  XIX.  6.  533 
 
 the  Godhead  of  the  Holt  Ghost  can  be  persuaded  by  no  less. 
 But,  this  once  done,  He  was  to  lead  us  by  an  ordinary  track ; 
 no  longer  now  by  sight,  but  faith ;  that  salvation  might  be 
 through  faith,  1  S.  Pet.  i.  5,  and  the  Blessing  upon  them,  who 
 have  "not  seen,  and  yet  have  believed."  S.  John  xx.  29;  1 
 Cor.  xiii.  8—13.     Br.  Mark  Frank.     (Serm.  S.  John  xvi.  13.) 
 
 As  the  Spirit  immediately  proposed  the  Divine  light  to  their 
 minds,  so  He  also  illuminated  their  minds  to  discern  and  com- 
 prehend it ;  He  raised  and  exalted  their  intellectual  faculties, 
 and,  as  a  vital  form  to  the  light  of  their  reason,  did  actuate,  and, 
 
 thereby  enable  it,  to  comprehend  His  revelations The 
 
 effect  of  these  persons  receiving  the  Holt  Ghost  was  prophecy, 
 that  is,  a  clear  understanding  of,  and  ability  to  explain  the  mys- 
 teries of  religion  (1  Cor.  xiii.  2)  :  a  plain  evidence  how  effec- 
 tually He  taught  them ;  in  that  they  no  sooner  became  His 
 scholars,  but  they  were  fit  to  be  the  teachers  of  the  world.  S. 
 John  xiv.  12,  20 ;  xvi.  12,  13.  Br.  J.  Scott.  (Of  the  Christian 
 life,  p.  ii.  ch.  7.) 
 
 Prophesied. — (See  one  of  its  meanings,  Ex.  xv.  20 ;  1  Sam.  x.  5,6; 
 S.  Luke  i.  67, 68.)  "When  the  rays  of  the  sun  fall  on  the  surface 
 of  a  material  object,  part  of  those  rays  are  absorbed ;  part  of 
 them  are  reflected  back  in  straight  lines ;  and  part  of  them  re- 
 fracted, this  way  and  that,  in  various  directions.  "When  the 
 Holy  Ghost  shines  upon  our  souls,  part  of  the  grace  He 
 inspires  is  absorbed,  to  our  own  particular  comfort ;  part  of  it 
 is  reflected  back  in  acts  of  love,  and  joy,  and  prayer,  and  praise ; 
 and  part  of  it  is  refracted  every  w^ay,  in  acts  of  benevolence, 
 beneficence,  and  all  moral  and  social  duty.  i.  46,  47  ;  iv.  24 ; 
 xiii.  52 ;  xi.  24.  Toplady.  (Observations.  Posthumous  works, 
 p.  225.) 
 
 8  And  he  went  into  the  synagogue,  and  spake 
 boldly  for  the  space  of  three  months,  disputing  and 
 persuading  the  things  concerning  the  kingdom  of 
 God. 
 
 9  But  when  divers  were  hardened,  and  believed  not, 
 but  spake  evil  of  that  way  before  the  multitude,  he 
 
534  THE  ACTS  XIX.  8,  9. 
 
 departed  from  them,  and  separated  the  disciples,  dis- 
 puting daily  in  the  school  of  one  Tyrannus. 
 
 10  And  this  continued  by  the  space  of  two  years; 
 so  that  all  they  which  dw^elt  in  Asia  heard  the  word  of 
 the  Lord  Jesus,  both  Jews  and  Greeks. 
 
 1 1  And  God  wrought  special  miracles  by  the  hands 
 of  Paul. 
 
 12  So  that  from  his  body  w^ere  brought  unto  the 
 sick  handkerchiefs  or  aprons,  and  the  diseases  departed 
 from  them,  and  the  evil  spirits  went  out  of  them. 
 
 8  The  union  of  these  two  completes  the  qualification  of  the  Min- 
 ister— the  head  to  dispute,  the  heart  to  persuade ;  knowledge 
 and  sound  discretion  in  the  one,  zeal  and  tender  love  in  the 
 other;  the  man  disputing,  the  Christian  persuading;  "the  wis- 
 dom of  the  serpent,"  combined  with  the  meekness  andharmless- 
 ness  of  the  dove,     sxviii.  23  ;  2  Tim.  i.  13.     J.  F. 
 
 The  design  of  his  sermons  was  to  show  reasons  for  what  he  spake ; 
 and  with  these  reasons  such  a  kind  of  rhetoric,  as  did  rather 
 convince  and  persuade,  than  frighten  men  to  piety ;  studying 
 not  so  much  for  matter  (which  he  never  wanted),  as  for  apt 
 illustrations  to  inform  and  teach  his  unlearned  people  by  familiar 
 examples,  and  then  make  them  better  by  familiar  applications ; 
 never  labouring  by  hard  words,  and  then  by  needless  distinc- 
 tions and  subdistinctions,  to  amuse  his  hearers  and  get  glory  to 
 himself,  but  glory  to  God  only:  which  intention,  he  would 
 often  say,  was  as  discernible  in  a  preacher,  as  an  artificial  from  a 
 natural  beauty.  Eccl.  xii.  9 — 11.    I.  Walton.    (Life  of  Hooker.) 
 
 9  It  is  called  a  hard  heart,  which  is  neither  rent  with  compunc- 
 tion, nor  softened  with  pity,  nor  moved  wdth  entreaties ;  which 
 yieldeth  not  to  threatenings,  is  rendered  callous  by  stripes  ;  in 
 benefits  unthankful,  in  councils  unfaithful,  in  judgment  cruel, 
 in  base  things  shameless,  in  dangers  fearless,  in  things  humane 
 inhuman,  in  things  Divine  daring,  forgetful  of  the  past,  negli- 
 gent of  the  present,  blind  to  the  future.  (Eefer  to  lUustr.  S. 
 Mark  iii.  5.)     S.  Bernard.     (De  Consideratione.) 
 
THE  ACTS  XIX.  9.  535 
 
 After  three  months'  ineifectual  trial,  not  a  private  ordinary  per- 
 son, but  an  Apostle  (who  had  an  immediate  vocation  and  com- 
 mission, an  infallible  inspiration,  an  universal  jurisdiction) 
 quitted  obdurate  obstinate  Jews,  who  undermined  the  founda- 
 tion, who  blasted  the  superstruction  of  Christian  religion,  who 
 were  branded  for  notorious  scandalous  blasphemy,  infidelity, 
 impenitency.  In  this  exigency  S.  Paul  withdrew  the  disciples 
 from  a  Synagogue  to  the  school  of  Tyrannus  (a  sort  of  seminary 
 of  piety  and  literature,  according  to  Maimonides),  a  private  Col- 
 legiate academy  for  the  prophets  and  the  prophets'  sons  :  what 
 will  you  hence  infer  ?  Therefore,  you  ought  to  separate  from 
 professed  Christian  believers  for  their  practical  defailances.  The 
 proof  fits  the  conclusion,  as  well  as  Goliath's  armour  did  David's 
 body,  or  Elisha's  dimensions,  stretched  upon  the  child,  xiii.  51 ; 
 xvii.  33  ;  Heb.  x.  25 ;  S.  Jude  19 ;  Ps.  cxxii.,  cxxxiii.  Bp. 
 Thomas.  (Apology  for  the  Church  of  England,  in  point  of  se- 
 paration from  it.) 
 
 So  long  as  a  Church  makes  no  separation  from  Cheist,  we  must 
 make  no  separation  from  it ;  and,  when  it  separates  from  Christ, 
 we  may  separate  from  it.  In  two  cases  there  is  warrant  of 
 separation.  The  one  is,  when  the  Worship  of  GrOD  is  corrupt  in 
 substance  (2  Chron.  xi.  14 ;  2  Cor.  xvi.  14)  :  the  second  is, 
 when  the  Doctrine  of  religion  is  corrupt  in  substance  (2  Tim.  vi. 
 3,  5.)  ...  As  for  the  corruptions,  that  be  in  the  manners  of 
 men,  that  be  of  the  Church,  they  are  no  sufficient  warrant  of 
 separation,  unless  it  be  from  private  company.  (Ps.  xvii.  4 ; 
 xxvi.  4,  5  ;  1  Cor.  v.  11  ;  2  S.  Pet.  ii.  8.)  Hence  it  appears, 
 that  the  practice  of  such,  as  make  separation  from  us,  is  very 
 bad  and  schismatical,  considering  our  Churches  fail  not,  either 
 in  the  substance  of  Doctrine,  or  in  the  substance  of  the  true 
 Worship  of  God.  W.  Perkins.  (Exposition  of  the  Creed ;  Art. 
 the  Church.) 
 
 It  is  observable  that  the  Apostle,  at  Eom.  xvi.  17,  and  1  Cor. 
 iii.  4,  is  not  here  charging  them  with  any  heretical  opinions,  but 
 merely  with  the  sin  of  party  spirit  and  schism.  Heresy  indeed 
 and  schism  usually  go  together;  but  they  are  in  themselves 
 two  distinct  oifences :  and  of  this  it  is  the  more  necessary  to 
 remind  you,  because  there  are  not  a  few,  who  think  very  lightly 
 
536  THE  ACTS  XiX.  10,  11. 
 
 of  the  guilt  of  schism,  and  who  seem  to  imagine,  that,  provided 
 a  man  adheres  to  the  right  faith,  his  union  with  or  separation 
 from  the  Church  is  a  matter  of  very  little  moment,  and  may  be 
 determined,  according  to  his  own  taste  or  convenience ;  a 
 notion,  which  if  we  consult  the  Bible,  we  shall  find  to  be  ut- 
 terly unwarrantable.  .  .  .  Doctrines  indeed  and  practices,  con- 
 trary to  the  word  of  God,  we  are  bound  to  resist,  by  whatever 
 Church  they  may  be  enjoined ;  but  when  no  reason  of  this  kind 
 can  be  alleged,  we  are  no  less  bound  to  conformity.  All  sepa- 
 ration must  either  be  a  duty,  or  a  sin.  ii.  1,  42,  46  ;  S.  John 
 xvii.  11;  Eph.  iv.  1 — 6;  G-al.  v.  20.  Bp.  Copleston.  (Bosworth 
 Lectures.   Lect.  10.) 
 
 10  In  no  place  does  the  word  of  God  seem  to  have  triumphed  so 
 much,  as  at  Ephesus.  No  less  numerous  than  those  of  Corinth, 
 the  believers  were  much  more  spiritual.  The  work  of  conver- 
 sion was  deep,  vigorous,  and  soul-transforming  to  a  great  degree. 
 Verses  18—20  ;  Eph.  i.  13—16.  J.  Milner.  (Church  History. 
 Cent.  i.  ch.  14.) 
 
 11  When  shall  I  in  terms  suitable  declare  the  marvellous  deeds, 
 wrought  by  the  operation  of  the  Holt  Ghost  in  the  Name  of 
 Christ  ?  those,  wrought  in  Cyprus  upon  Elymas  the  Sor- 
 cerer, and  in  Lystra  at  the  healing  of  the  cripple,  and  those 
 done  in  Cilicia,  and  Phrygia,  and  Galatia,  and  Mysia,  and  Ma- 
 cedonia ?  or  those  at  Philippi,  the  preaching,  I  mean,  and  the 
 driving  out  of  the  unclean  spirit  in  the  Name  of  Christ,  and 
 the  salvation  by  Baptism  of  the  jailor  with  his  whole  house  at 
 night  after  the  earthquake  ?  or  the  events  at  Thessalonica,  or 
 the  address  at  Areopagus,  in  the  midst  of  the  Athenians ;  or 
 the  instructions  at  Corinth,  and  in  all  Achaia  ?  How  shall  I 
 worthily  recount  the  mighty  deeds  which  at  Ephesus,  by  the 
 hands  of  S.  Paul,  were  wrought  by  the  Holy  Ghost?  .  .  . 
 who,  in  unison  with  the  Father  and  the  Son,  has  established 
 the  New  Testament  in  the  Church  Catholic,  and  set  us  free 
 from  the  grievous  burdens  of  the  Law  ?  Ps.  cvi.  2.  S.  Cyril. 
 (Catech.  Lectures,  xvii.  s.  30.) 
 
 The  Old  Testament  affords  us  the  same  historical  evidence  of  the 
 miracles  of  Moses  and  of  the  prophets,  as  of  the  common  civil 
 history  of  Moses  and  the  kings  of  Israel,  or  as  of  the  affairs  of 
 
THE  ACTS  XIX.  12.  537 
 
 the  Jewish  nation.  And  the  Gospel  and  the  Acts  afford  us  the 
 same  historical  evidence  of  the  miracles  of  Christ  and  the 
 Apostles,  as  of  the  common  matters,  related  in  them.  This  in- 
 deed could  not  have  been  affirmed  by  any  reasonable  man,  if  the 
 authors  of  these  Books,  like  many  other  historians,  had  ap- 
 peared to  make  an  entertaining  manner  of  writing  their  aim, 
 though  they  had  interspersed  miracles  in  their  works  at  proper 
 distances  and  upon  proper  occasions.  .  .  .  But  the  facts,  both 
 miraculous  and  natural  in  Scripture,  are  related  in  plain  un- 
 adorned narratives,  and  both  of  them  appear  in  all  respects  to 
 stand  upon  the  same  footing  of  historical  evidence,  xxvi.  25  ; 
 2  Cor.  ii.  17.     Bp.  Butler.     (Analogy.  P.  ii.  c.  7.) 
 
 12  Let  some  one  be  brought  forward  here  before  your  judgment- 
 seats,  who  it  is  agreed  is  possessed  of  a  demon.  When  commanded 
 by  any  Christian  to  speak,  that  spirit  shall  as  truly  declare  itself 
 demon,  as  elsewhere,  falsely,  a  god.  In  like  manner,  let  some 
 one  be  brought  forward  of  those,  who  are  believed  to  be  acted 
 upon  by  a  god,  who,  breathing  over  the  altar,  conceive  the 
 deity  from  its  savour,  who  are  relieved  by  vomiting  wind,  and 
 prelude  their  prayer  with  sobs  :  nu?nen  de  nidore  concipiunt,  qui 
 ructando  curantur,  qui  anhelando  prcefantur.  That  very  virgin 
 Coelestis  herself,  who  promiseth  rains,  that  very  Esculapius,  that 
 discovereth  medicines  that  supplied  life  .  .  .  unless  these  con- 
 fess themselves  to  be  demons,  not  daring  to  lie  unto  a  Christian, 
 there  shed  upon  the  spot  the  blood  of  that  most  insulting  Chris- 
 tian. What  can  be  plainer  than  this  fact  ?  what  more  reliable 
 than  this  proof  ?  The  simplicity  of  Truth  is  before  you ;  her 
 own  virtue  supporteth  her  cause.  Here  will  be  no  room  for 
 suspicion.  Will  ye  say,  that  it  is  done  by  magic,  or  some  cheat 
 of  that  sort  ?  Why,  so  do,  if  your  own  eyes  and  ears  will  per- 
 mit you.  1  Kings  xviii.  24  ;  Deut.  xxxii.  31 ;  S.  Mark  xvi.  17. 
 Tertullian.     (Apolog.  Ch.  xxiii.) 
 
 Do  you  ask,  Who  are  they,  that  shall  judge  the  wicked  Angels 
 (1  Cor.  vi.  3)  ?  The  evil  spirits  went  out  of  them.  xvi.  18  ;  S. 
 Mark  xvi.  17.     Br.  Lightfoot.     (Concio  ad  Clerum.  1674.) 
 
 13  Then  certain  of  the  vagabond  Jews,  exorcists, 
 took  upon   them  to  call  over  them  which  had  evil 
 
538  THE  ACTS  XIX.  13. 
 
 spirits  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  saying,  We  adjure 
 you  by  Jesus  whom  Paul  preacheth. 
 
 1 4  And  there  were  seven  sons  of  one  Sceva,  a  Jew, 
 and  chief  of  the  priests,  which  did  so. 
 
 1 5  And  the  evil  spirit  answered  and  said,  Jesus  I 
 know,  and  Paul  I  know  ;  but  who  are  ye  ? 
 
 16  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  naked  and 
 wounded. 
 
 1 7  And  this  was  known  to  all  the  Jews  and  Greeks 
 also  dwelling  at  Ephesus  ;  and  fear  fell  on  them  all, 
 and  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  was  magnified. 
 
 13  Took  upon  them. — For  private  men,  upon  a  pretence  of  being 
 gifted,  to  take  upon  them  the  public  Ministry,  it  cannot  be  from 
 the  Spikit  of  God  ;  for  the  Spirit  keeps  men  within  their 
 bounds.  The  Spirit  puts  men  upon  the  doing  of  good  in  their 
 place  and  calling ;  but  the  devil  doth  not.  1  Cor.  vii.  20,  24 ; 
 2  Cor.  X.  16.     Chr.  Love. 
 
 It  behoveth,  generally,  all  sorts  of  men  to  keep  themselves  vt^ithin 
 the  limits  of  their  own  vocation  ;  and,  seeing  God,  from  whom 
 men's  several  degrees  and  pre-eminences  do  proceed,  hath  ap- 
 pointed them  in  His  Church,  at  whose  hands  His  pleasure  is, 
 that  we  should  receive  both  Baptism  and  all  other  public  me- 
 dicinable  helps  of  soul,  perhaps  thereby  the  more  to  settle  our 
 hearts  in  the  love  of  our  ghostly  superiors,  they  have  small 
 cause  to  hope,  that  with  Him  their  voluntary  services  will  be 
 accepted,  who  thrust  themselves  into  functions  either  above 
 their  capacity,  or  besides  their  place,  and  over-boldly  intermeddle 
 with  duties,  whereof  no  charge  was  ever  given  to  them.  They, 
 that  in  any  thing  exceed  the  compass  of  their  own  order,  do  as 
 much  as  in  them  lies  to  dissolve  that  order,  which  is  the  harmony 
 of  God's  Church.  Numb.  xvi.  10 ;  1  Sam.  xiii.  11 ;  2  Sam.  vi.  6; 
 2  Chron.  xxvi.  18 ;  Heb.  v.  4,  5.  Hooker.  (Eccl.  Pol.  B.  v.  s.  62.) 
 
THE  ACTS  XIX.  13,  14.  539 
 
 Merely  to  use  the  Name  of  Jesijs  is  not  enough  to  constitute  what 
 Scripture  means  by  "  speaking  in  the  Name  of  the  Loed  ;"  we 
 must  look  for  that  Sacred  Name,  where  He  has  lodged  it.  Ever 
 since  His  Eesurrection,  His  Church  has  existed  and  borne  His 
 Name.  Ex.  xxiii.  20,  21 ;  Deut.  xii.  5,  8,  9  ;  Mai.  i.  11.  J.  H. 
 Newman.     (Serm.  S.  Mark  ix.  38,  39.) 
 
 "  God's  Name  is  fearful,"  David  saith.  .  .  .  How  does  the  wicked 
 swearer  name  it  ?  not  vainly  only ;  God  will  punish  that ;  but 
 falsely  often.  How  fears  he  not,  lest,  as  in  the  law  the  harlot, 
 drinking  of  the  cursed  water,  her  thigh  rotted  and  her  belly 
 burst,  so  his  profane  tongue,  at  the  pronouncing  of  that  Name, 
 should  swell  and  cleave  to  the  roof  of  his  mouth.  Thou  pro- 
 fane man,  if  thou  fear  not  God,  then  name  not  God.  If  thou 
 fear  not  Him,  as  a  son  his  father,  fear  Him,  as  a  felon  does  his 
 judge.  Name  not  His  "Wounds,  lest  the  fiend  wound  thee,  as 
 he  did  the  sons  of  Sceva ;  nor  His  Heart,  lest  a  dart  from  hea- 
 ven pierce  thy  heart,  as  it  did  Julian's  ;  nor  His  Soul,  lest  Satan 
 enter  thy  soul,  as  he  did  Judas's,  and  "  fill  thee  full  of  iniquity 
 and  bring  thee  to  destruction  both  of  body  and  soul."  Thy 
 unclean  mouth  defiles  His  Holy  Name.  S.  Matt.  vii.  22  ;  Eom. 
 ii.  24  ;  Ps.  xcvi.  8.     Br.  Rd.  Gierke.     (Serm.  2  Tim.  ii.  19.) 
 
 14  Seven  sons  of  one  Sceva,  a  Jew. — As  in  Egypt,  Satan  raised  up 
 Jannes  and  Jambres,  and  other  magicians,  to  contend  with  Moses 
 in  working  of  miracles,  so,  in  the  primitive  times  of  Christianity, 
 he  raised  up  several  conjurors  and  magicians  ...  to  confront  the 
 miracles,  and  invalidate  the  authority  of  the  Apostles,  and  con- 
 firm this  anti- Christian  doctrine,  which  was  a  contradiction  to 
 their  Gospel,  that  Jesus  was  not  Christ.  .  .  .  God,  therefore, 
 in  compassion  to  the  state  of  the  primitive  Church,  inspired 
 the  governments  in  all  places  with  a  supernatural  sagacity  to 
 discern  these  satanical  spirits,  and  distinguish  their  works  from 
 those  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  One  of  the  principal  rules,  which 
 the  discerners  of  spirits  gave  to  the  Church,  whereby  to  try 
 the  spirits,  was  this ;  that  every  spirit,  which  wrought  miracles 
 to  prove  that  Jesus  was  the  Cheist,  was  "  of  God  ;"  but  every 
 spirit,  that  wrought  wonders  to  prove  that  He  was  not  Cheist, 
 or  that  another  was  the  Cheist,  was  "  a  lying  spirit,"  that 
 spirit  of  antichrist,  which  our  Savioue  foretold  His  disciples 
 
540  THE  ACTS  XIX.  15.   16. 
 
 should  come,  and  which  was  in  the  world  in  the  time  of  S.  John, 
 as  you  may  read  in  his  2  Ep.  7.  viii.  9  ;  xiii.  6 ;  Hev.  xiii.  14 ; 
 xvi.  14  ;  IS.  John  iv.  6  ;  1  Cor.  xiv.  37.  Dr.  Hickes.  (Serm. 
 1  Cor.  xii.  4.) 
 
 15  This  gracious  knowledge  of  Christ  doth  not  consist  in  mere 
 speculation,  such  as  reason  and  external  revelation  can  furnish 
 us  with,  under  the  common  illuminations  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
 The  evil  Spirit  said,  Jesus  I  know.  "  The  devils  believe  and 
 tremble,"  though  they  cannot  love  :  their  capacities  are  larger, 
 activity  greater,  time  and  experience  longer,  than  our's  are : 
 therefore  it  may  be  reasonably  supposed  they  have  more  of  this 
 speculative  knowledge,  than  we ;  yet  they  do  not  know  Christ 
 in  a  gracious  manner.  .  .  .  Many  have  had  this  barren  specu- 
 lative knowledge,  who  have  been  shut  out  of  the  kingdom, 
 viii.  13;  S.  John  x.  14;  Eph.  i.  17.  Hurrion.  (Sermons  on 
 the  knowledge  of  Christ  Crucified.  1.) 
 
 To  heretics  it  may  be  justly  said.  Who  are  ye  ?  when  and  whence 
 came  ye  ?  Not  being  mine,  what  do  ye  in  that,  which  is  mine  ? 
 By  what  right  dost  thou,  Marcion,  cut  down  my  wood  (by 
 mutilating  the  Scriptures)  ?  By  what  licence  dost  thou,  Ya- 
 lentinus,  turn  the  course  of  my  waters  (by  perverting  the 
 Scriptures)  ?  By  what  power  dost  thou,  Apelles,  remove  my 
 landmarks  (by  introducing  novelties)  ?  This  is  my  possession ; 
 why  do  ye,  the  rest,  sow  and  feed  here  at  your  own  pleasure  ? 
 It  is  my  possession.  I  have  held  it  of  old.  I  held  it  first.  I 
 have  a  sure  title  down  from  the  first  owners  themselves,  whose 
 the  estate  was.  I  am  the  heir  of  the  Apostles.  As  they  pro- 
 vided by  their  own  Testament,  so  they  committed  it  in  trust,  as 
 they  have  adjured  (1  Tim.  vi.  13  ;  2  Tim.  ii.  14 ;  and  iv.  1 — 4)  : 
 so  I  hold  it.  Tou  assuredly  they  have  ever  disinherited  and 
 renounced,  as  aliens  and  enemies,  iv.  7 ;  Isa.  i.  12 ;  S.  Matt. 
 XXV.  13.     Tertullian.     (De  Prsescr.) 
 
 16  Careless  men  are  apt  to  think,  what  is  a  mere  name  or  word, 
 even  although  it  be  the  most  holy  of  all  words  (xviii.  15)  ?  But 
 Scripture  tells  us,  that  the  way,  in  which  we  use  this  dreadful 
 Name  is  all  in  all  to  us  ;  it  is  that,  which  we  need  pray  for  first 
 and  above  all  things :  the  very  Name  hath  power,  if  rightly 
 used,  for  all  good ;  if  not  reverentially  used,  for  perdition.     It 
 
THE  ACTS  XIX.  16,  17.  541 
 
 is  not  used  for  nothing  :  if  it  casts  not  out  evil  spirits,  the  evil 
 spirits  will  overcome  and  'prevail,  iii.  6 ;  iv.  30.  1.  Williams. 
 (Serm.  Ezek.  xxxvi.  22,  23.) 
 
 Nothing  makes  worse  sense,  than  the  oracles  of  God,  when  they 
 are  perverted.  .  .  .  The  devil  himself  was  not  afraid  of  the 
 Name  of  Jesus,  when  it  is  not  rightly  used.  The  Holy  incense 
 was  to  be  offered  up  in  the  Lord's  censer;  so  the  Scripture 
 hath  a  right  savour  in  it,  when  it  is  offered  up  with  the  meaning 
 of  the  Holt  Ghost.  2  S.  Pet.  iii.  16  ;  i.  20,  21.  Bp.  Racket. 
 (Serm.  S.  Matt.  iv.  6.) 
 
 Look  what  judgments  befall  men  ;  mark  well  the  time  and  circum- 
 stances thereof,  it  shall  be  found  that  they  are  cast  upon  them 
 by  the  hand  of  God,  when  they  are  forth  of  their  callings 
 (verse  13),  which  God  hath  prescribed  them  to  keep.  There- 
 fore this  must  always  be  remembered  and  practised  carefully, 
 that  we  take  nothing  in  hand,  unless  we  have  first  ranged  our- 
 selves within  the  precincts  of  our  calling.  Judg.  xiii.  5  ;  1 
 Sam.  XV.  23  ;  Jonah  i.  3,  4  ;  S.  Luke  xxii.  54—56.  W.  Perkins, 
 (A  treatise  of  callings,  1  Cor.  vii.  10.) 
 
 17  This  was  known,  ^c. — Ephesus  was  one  of  the  most  noted  cities 
 in  Asia  Minor,  large  and  populous,  had  a  good  port,  and  a  great 
 trade.  The  things  related  are  spoken  as  publicly  done,  and 
 known  to  all.  They  were  also  of  such  a  nature,  as  must  neces- 
 sarily excite  men's  curiosity  and  attention,  beget  much  talk, 
 and  spread  themselves  wide.  And  they  fell  out  not  above  seven 
 or  eight  years  before  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  was  published. 
 Is  it  possible  to  conceive  that  the  Christian  Church  at  Ephesus 
 could  receive  a  book,  relating  such  events,  had  they  not  been 
 well  known  facts  ?  ix.  36.  R.  Biscoe.  (History  of  the 
 Acts,  &c.  Ch.  16.) 
 
 Things  good,  things  noble,  things  sacred  may  become  to  us  idols  ; 
 X.  25,  26.  .  .  .  Where  can  we  find  a  Name  so  holy,  as  that  we 
 may  surrender  our  whole  souls  to  it ;  before  which  obedience, 
 reverence  without  measure,  intense  humility,  most  unreserved 
 admiration,  may  all  be  duly  rendered  ?  One  Name  there  is, 
 and  one  only  ;  one  alone  in  heaven  and  in  earth ;  not  truth,  not 
 justice,  not  benevolence,  not  Cheist's  mother,  nor  His  holiest 
 servants,  nor  His  Blessed  Sacraments,  nor  His  very  Mystical 
 
542  THE  ACTS  XIX.  17,  18. 
 
 Body,  the  Church,  but  Himself  only,  who  died  for  us,  and  rose 
 again,  Jesus  Christ  both  God  and  Man.  Ps.  cxxxviii.  2 ;  lii. 
 10.     Br.  Arnold,     (Serm.  Ezek.  xiii.  22.) 
 
 O  Nomen  prsedulce  mihi !  lux,  et  decus,  et  spes, 
 PraBsidiumque  meum !  requies  0  certa  laboriim  ! 
 Blandus  in  ore  sapor,  fragrans  odor,  irriguus  fons, 
 Castus  amor,  pulchra  species,  sincera  voluptas. 
 Si  gens  surda  negat  sibi  tot  prseconia  de  Te, 
 Tam  multas  rerum  voces,  elementaque  tantse 
 Nuntia  Isetitise  stolidas  intrare  per  aures ; 
 Audiat  insanum  bacchantis  energima  monstri. 
 Quod  rabidus  clamat  capta  inter  viscera  daemon, 
 Et  credat  miseranda  suis  :  torquatur  Apollo 
 Nomine  percussus  Christi,  nee  fulmina  Yerbi 
 Ferre  potest :  agitant  miserum  tot  verbera  linguae, 
 Quot  laudata  Dei  resonant  miracula  Christi. 
 
 Prudentius.     (Apotheosis.) 
 
 18  And  many  that  believed,  came,  and  confessed, 
 and  showed  their  deeds. 
 
 19  Many  of  them  also  which  used  curious  arts 
 brought  their  books  together,  and  burned  them  before 
 all  men  :  and  they  counted  the  price  of  them,  and 
 found  it  fifty  thousand  pieces  of  silver. 
 
 20  So  mightily  grew  the  word  of  God  and  prevailed. 
 
 18  When  S.  Peter  and  S.  John  preached  in  the  streets  "  the 
 people  marvelled  (iv.  13).  Why  ?  for  they  had  understood, 
 that  they  were  *'  unlearned :"  but  "  beholding  also  the  man, 
 that  was  healed,  standing  by,  they  had  nothing  to  say."  The 
 insufficiency  of  the  instrument  makes  a  man  wonder  naturally  ; 
 but  the  accomplishing  of  some  great  work  brings  them  to  a 
 necessary  acknowledgment  of  a  greater  power,  working  in  that 
 
 weak  instrument For  all  S.  Paul's  learning  (though  he 
 
 were  very  learned)  never  brought  any  of  the  conjurors  to  burn 
 his  books,  or  to  renounce  his  art :  but  when  God  wrought  ex- 
 
THE  ACTS  XIX.  19.  543 
 
 traordinary  works  by  S.  Paul,  that  sicknesses  were  cured  by  his 
 napkins,  and  his  handkerchiefs  (in  which  cures  S.  Paul's  learn- 
 ing had  no  more  concurrence,  no  more  co-operation,  than  the 
 ignorance  of  any  of  the  fishermen  Apostles)  ;  and,  when  the 
 world  saw,  that  these  exorcists,  which  went  about  to  do  miracles 
 in  the  Name  of  Jesus,  because  S.  Paul  did  so,  could  not  do  it, 
 because  that  Jesus  had  not  promised  to  work  in  them,  as  in  S. 
 Paul ;  then  the  conjurors  came,  and  burnt  their  books  in  the 
 sight  of  all  the  world.  It  was  not  learning,  but  it  was  the 
 calling  of  the  world  to  an  apprehension  of  a  greater  power  by 
 seeing  great  things,  done  by  weak  instruments,  that  reduced 
 them,  that  convinced  them.  S.  Peter's  and  S.  John's  preaching 
 did  not  half  the  good  then,  as  the  presenting  of  one  man,  which 
 had  been  recovered  by  them,  did.  Twenty  of  our  sermons 
 edify  not  so  much,  as  if  the  congregation  see  one  man,  con- 
 verted by  us.  Any  one  of  you  might  out-preach  us.  That  one 
 man,  that  would  leave  his  beloved  sin,  that  one  man,  that  would 
 restore  his  ill-gotten  goods,  had  made  a  better  sermon,  than 
 ever  I  shall,  and  should  gain  more  souls  by  his  act,  than  all  our 
 words  (as  they  are  our's)  can  do.  viii.  13,  19  ;  xi.  24  ;  Ex.  viii. 
 19  ;  S.  John  xvii.  23.  Br.  Bonne.  (Serm.  S.  Matt.  iv.  18—20.) 
 19  The  devil  and  his  agents  have  many  cmnous  arts,  whereby  they 
 draw  away  and  delude  the  unwary.  They  have  also  the  policy 
 to  adapt  them  to  the  tastes  and  passions  of  mankind.  What 
 else  are  lewd  songs,  immodest  pictures,  immoral  plays,  wicked 
 books,  profane  wit,  and  most  of  our  pleasurable  diversions,  but 
 so  many  arts  to  allure  and  betray  men  into  the  service  of  Satan  ? 
 And  this  no  doubt  is  one  kind  of  witchcraft,  though  not  con- 
 sidered or  believed,  until  we  come  to  believe  and  relish  the 
 Word  of  God.  Then  the  soul  with  the  utmost  detestation  and 
 abhorrence  perceives  the  hellish  charm,  and  will  make  haste  to 
 "escape,  as  a  bird  out  of  the  hand  of  the  fowler."  Be  the 
 price  ever  so  great,  the  true  penitent  not  only  parts  with  them 
 freely,  but  destroys  them  utterly,  casting  them  away  into  the 
 fire  (of  Divine  Love)  as  "an  accursed  thing,"  to  be  burnt  and 
 consumed.  And  no  whole  burnt-ofiering  can  be  more  acceptable 
 to  God.  Isa.  ii.  12 — 21 ;  Hosea  xiv.  8 ;  Eom.  vi.  21 ;  Eev. 
 xviii.  11 — 19.     Wogan.     (On  the  Lessons.  Whitsunday.) 
 
544  THE  ACTS  XIX.   19,  20. 
 
 What  hath  not  the  fond  heart  of  man  dared  to  arrogate  to  itself  ? 
 All  figure-casters,  palmisters,  physiognomers,  fortune-tellers,  al- 
 chy mists,  fantastic  projectors,  and  all  the  rabble  of  professors 
 of  those  Tre/n'cp^/a,  not  SO  much  curious,  as  idle  arts,  have 
 their  M'ord  given  them  by  the  Apostles — "  deceiving  and  being 
 deceived."  Ps.  cxxvi.  29 ;  Eccles.  vii.  29  ;  2  Thess.  viii.  8—12. 
 Bp.  Hall. 
 
 These  men  suffered  the  loss  of  all  things.  If  their  books  were 
 of  such  value,  of  what  profit  to  them  was  their  employment  ? 
 They  burned  their  books,  and  wholly  disabled  themselves  ever 
 after  to  use  such  ways  of  gain  and  advantage.  Ex.  xxxii.  20  ; 
 2  Kings  xviii.  4.     Dr.  Whichcote.     (Serm.  Phil.  iii.  7,  8.) 
 
 It  was  said  of  Bonaventure,  that  he  would  rather  lose  all  his 
 Philosophy,  than  one  article  of  his  Paith.  .  .  .  These  men  were 
 not  losers  by  burning  their  books  ;  for  they  had  got  acquaintance 
 with  one  Book,  that  was  worth  them  all.  Ps.  xix.  10  ;  S.  Matt, 
 xiii.  46.  Gurnall.  (On  Christian  Armour.  Eph.  vi.  19,  20. 
 Ch.  8.) 
 
 This  was  a  better  course  to  take  than  selling  them,  even  though 
 the  price  had  been  "  given  to  the  poor."  xx.  33  ;  S.  Matt, 
 xxvi.  9.     Bengel. 
 
 20  So  mightily,  ^c. — There  is  something  arousing,  as  the  note  of 
 a  trumpet,  breaking  through  softer  music,  in  the  occasional 
 occurrence  of  these  declarations  of  the  progress  of  Chetst's 
 Kingdom,  amidst  the  even  flow  of  Apostolic  narrative.  It 
 seems,  as  if  at  these  times  the  inspired  actors  in  this  scene  of 
 wonders  had  paused  for  a  moment,  as  though  to  take  breath  in 
 their  work ;  and,  as  they  surveyed  what  God  was  doing  by 
 them,  the  marvel  of  its  Greatness  broke  suddenly  upon  their 
 consciousness,  and  overwhelmed  their  own  souls  with  astonish- 
 ment, vi.  7 ;  xii.  24 ;  Ps.  cxviii.  23  ;  xlvi.  8.  JBp.  Wilberforce. 
 (Sermon  before  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
 Gospel,  &c.  1850.) 
 
 Mightily  indeed !  when  it  enabled  these  men  at  once  to  cast  off 
 the  most  oppressive  dominion  of  "the  love  of  money."  Ob- 
 serve throughout  the  Acts  the  frequent  reference  to  this  "  root  of 
 all  evil."  Verse  25  ;  viii.  18  ;  xvi.  19 ;  xix.  33  ;  xx.  33  ;  xxiv.  26. 
 Some,  who  practised  magic,  were  converted  ;  but  none,  it  would 
 
THE  ACTS  XIX.  20.  545 
 
 appear,  of  the  mercenary  money-making  traffickers  in  "the 
 silver  shrines  made  for  Diana."     Verses  24^,  25,  38.     /.  F. 
 
 Every  thing  was  an  argument  for  the  truth  of  Christ's  Eesur- 
 rection,  and  improved  it :  no  objection  could  hinder  it ;  no 
 enemies  destroy  it :  whatsoever  was  for  them,  it  made  the  re- 
 ligion to  increase ;  whatsoever  was  against  them  made  it  increase : 
 sunshine  and  storms,  fair  weather  and  foul,  it  was  all  one,  as  to 
 the  event  of  things  :  for  they  were  instruments  in  the  hand  of 
 God,  who  could  make  what  Himself  should  choose  to  be  the 
 product  of  any  cause  ;  so  that,  if  the  Christians  had  peace,  they 
 went  abroad  and  brought  in  converts  ;  if  they  had  no  peace, 
 but  persecution,  the  converts  came  in  to  them.  In  prosperity, 
 they  allured  and  enticed  the  world  by  the  beauty  of  holiness ; 
 in  affliction  and  trouble  they  amazed  all  men  with  the  splen- 
 dour of  their  innocence  and  the  glories  of  their  patience.  .  .  . 
 By  their  Sermons  and  their  actions,  by  their  public  Offices  and 
 discourses,  by  Festivals  and  Eucharists,  by  arguments  of  experi- 
 ence and  sense,  by  reason  and  religion,  by  persuading  rational 
 men  and  establishing  believing  Christians,  by  their  living  in  the 
 obedience  of  Jesus,  and  dying  for  the  testimony  of  Jesus,  they 
 greatly  advanced  His  Kingdom,  and  His  Power,  and  His  Glory, 
 into  which  He  entered,  after  His  Eesurrection  from  the  dead, 
 viii.  3,  4 ;  ix.  31 ;  2  Cor.  ii.  14.  Bp.  J.  Taylor.  (Serm.  preached 
 at  the  Funeral  of  Abp.  Bramhall.) 
 
 There  are  four  things,  that  chiefly  conduce  to  the  spreading  of 
 any  new  doctrine,  and  most  remarkably  make  way  for  its  re- 
 ception in  the  world.  1.  If  the  principles  of  it  be  suited  to 
 the  lusts,  the  interests,  the  wishes  of  those,  among  whom  it  is 
 to  be  propagated.  2.  If  it  be  supported  and  countenanced  by 
 persons  in  power  and  authority,  of  great  name  and  note ;  if  it 
 be  either  forcibly  obtruded  upon  men  by  sanguinary  laws  and 
 edicts,  or  more  indirectly  advanced  by  art  and  management,  and 
 the  methods  of  worldly  prudence.  3.  If  it  be  first  brought  into 
 the  world  in  dark  and  barbarous  ages,  when  men  are  either  too 
 rude  and  illiterate  to  be  able  to  weigh  and  dispute  the  truth  of 
 it,  or  too  much  sunk  in  sloth  and  vice  to  be  willing  to  do  it. 
 4.  If  it  be  not  proposed  to  men  all  at  once,  but  be  insinuated 
 into  them  by  degrees,  secretly  and  insensibly.  .  .  .  The  Christian 
 
546  THE  ACTS  XIX.  20. 
 
 religion  was  utterly  destitute  of  every  oue  of  these  advantages ; 
 and  yet  nevertheless  did  prevail,  xxiv.  25 ;  xxviii.  22  ;  xvii. 
 18,  22  ;  xix.  21 ;  v.  20 ;  xx.  27  ;  2  Cor.  x.  4 ;  1  Cor.  ii.  4.  Bp. 
 Atterbury.     (Serm.  Isa.  Ix.  22.) 
 
 Spiritus  postquam  Sacer  Hie  summo 
 Missus  a  coelo,  calefecit  igni 
 Intimas  mentes,  et  Apostolorum 
 
 Corda  novavit. 
 Vanitas  ingens  veterum  sophorum 
 Turn  redarguta  est,  et  ineptus  error ; 
 Turn  suis  Phoebus  dare  verba  Delphis 
 
 Desiit  augur. 
 Turn  Libys  mutus  quoque  factus  Amnion, 
 Atque  Cyrrhsei  tripodes,  Clarosque, 
 Nee  speeus  quicquam  blaterat  Trophoni, 
 
 Amphilochusque. 
 Jure  nimirum,  veniente  quando 
 Sole  et  Eoas  jaculante  flammas, 
 Ejus  obscuram  radiis  decebat 
 
 Cedere  noctem  .  .  . 
 Ergo  solennes  sine  fine  Christo 
 Sint  Deo  laudes  hominique,  qui  nos 
 A  malis  tutos  Geniis  nefandi 
 
 Asserit  Orci. 
 Qui  docet,  quae  sint  sacra  grata  Patri 
 Maximo,  nobis  sit  et  ambulandum 
 Qua  via,  ut  tandem  redeamus,  unde 
 
 Venimus  olim. 
 
 Scdm.  Macrinus.     (Hymn.  Lib.  iii.) 
 
 21  After  these  things  were  ended,  Paul  purposed  in 
 the  sphnt,  when  he  had  passed  through  Macedonia  and 
 Achaia,  to  go  to  Jerusalem,  saying,  After  I  have  been 
 there,  I  must  also  see  Rome. 
 
 22  So  he  sent  into  Macedonia  two  of  them  that 
 ministered  unto  him,  Timothcus  and  Erastus  ;  but  he 
 himself  stayed  in  Asia  for  a  season. 
 
THE  ACTS  XIX.  21.  547 
 
 23  And  the  same  time  there  arose  no  small  stir 
 about  that  way. 
 
 24  For  a  certain  man  named  Demetrius,  a  silver- 
 smith, which  made  silver  shrines  for  Diana,  brought  no 
 small  gain  unto  the  craftsmen  ; 
 
 25  Whom  he  called  together  with  the  workmen  of 
 like  occupation,  and  said.  Sirs,  ye  know  that  by  this 
 craft  we  have  our  wealth. 
 
 26  Moreover  ye  see  and  hear,  that  not  alone  at 
 Ephesus,  but  almost  throughout  all  Asia,  this  Paul 
 hath  persuaded  and  turned  away  much  people,  saying 
 that  they  be  no  gods,  which  are  made  with  hands ; 
 
 2/  So  that  not  only  this  our  craft  is  in  danger  to  be 
 set  at  nought ;  but  also  that  the  temple  of  the  great 
 goddess  Diana  should  be  despised,  and  her  magnifi- 
 cence should  be  destroyed,  whom  all  Asia  and  the 
 world  worshippeth. 
 
 21  Rome. — As  he  was  sent  to  tlie  G-entiles,  lie  saw  that  the  great 
 Metropolis  of  the  Gentile  world  was  the  legitimate  centre  of 
 his  Apostolic  working.     Eom.  i.  15  ;  xv.  23 — 28.     Alford. 
 
 S.  Paul  had  already  reduced  Ephesus  and  Asia  to  "  the  obedience 
 of  Cheist."  He  had  already  brought  Macedonia  and  Achaia 
 into  subjection  to  the  Gospel.  He  had  long  ago  erected  the 
 standard  and  spread  the  triumphs  of  Christianity  in  the  regions 
 of  Arabia.  Yet,  as  if  he  had  hitherto  achieved  nothing,  he 
 bends  his  forces  towards  Jerusalem ;  then  he  marks  out  Rome  for 
 the  seat  of  his  spiritual  warfare.  After  this,  he  forms  the  same 
 beneficent  design  upon  Spain,  including  in  his  comprehensive 
 plan  the  Metropolis  and  the  boundaries  of  the  known  world. 
 The  Universe  is  but  just  large  enough  to  be  the  scene  of  his 
 activity  and  zeal.  He  never  discontinues  the  charitable  cam- 
 paign, but  with  the  last  breath  of  his  life  ;  and  he  speaks  of 
 this  unintermitted  course  of  arduous  and  dangerous  services, 
 
 N  N  2 
 
548 
 
 THE  ACTS  XIX.  24. 
 
 as  if  he  was  only  going  to  make  some  friendly  visit,  or  join  in  a 
 party  of  innocent  pleasure,*  After  I  have  been  at  Jerusalem^  I 
 must  also  see  Rome.  .  .  If  we  consider  the  nature  of  the  Apos- 
 tle's enterprise,  that  it  was  nothing  less,  than  an  open  attack  on 
 the  empire  of  Satan,  a  declared  war  against  the  whole  idolatrous 
 world  ;  all  which  was  to  commence  in  reproach  and  persecution, 
 was  to  be  attended  with  bonds  and  afflictions,  was  to  end  in 
 martyrdom  and  death  ;  if  we  consider  this,  I  believe,  nothing 
 will  appear  at  once  so  humble  and  so  exalted,  so  modest, 
 yet  so  magnanimous,  as  the  turn  and  air  of  his  expression, 
 After  I  have  been  at  Jerusalem,  I  must  also  see  Rome.  xx. 
 22,  23;  2  Cor.  xii.  11.  J.  Hervey.  (Theron  and  Aspasio. 
 Letter  xi.) 
 
 24  The  use  of  images  in  religious  worship  is  idolatry  ;  yea,  there- 
 fore idolatry,  because  a  trust  and  confidence  is  placed  in  them, 
 as  helps  and  instruments  of  religion ;  which  God  hath  no  where 
 appointed,  but  rather  expressly  forbidden.  ...  To  ascribe  to 
 pictures  and  images  such  eftects,  as  proceed  only  from  the  Holt 
 Ghost,  and  are  conveyed  by  those  means  only,  which  He  hath 
 Sanctified  and  Ordained,  is  that  species  of  idolatry,  which  is 
 more  immediately  committed  against  the  Holt  Ghost,  or  the 
 Third  Person  in  the  ever  blessed  Trinity  ;  whereas  the  wor- 
 shipping of  Angels  and  Saints,  and  making  intercessors  of 
 them,  is  an  act  of  idolatry,  more  directly  and  immediately 
 against  God  the  Son,  and  substituting  creatures  into  His  office 
 of  Mediator  between  God  and  man.  Isa.  xliv.  20.  Wogan. 
 (On  the  Lessons.  First  Sunday  after  Epiphany.) 
 
 The  Providence  of  God,  with  respect  to  our  worldly  callings,  may 
 be  seen  in  ordering  you  to  such  employments,  as  are  not  only 
 lawful  in  themselves,  but  most  suitable  to  you.  There  are  many 
 persons,  employed  in  sinful  trades  and  acts,  merely  to  furnish 
 other  men's  kists ;  they  do  not  only  sin  in  their  employments. 
 
 *  The  author  is  quite  aware  that 
 this  passage  from  the  Rev.  J.  Hervey 
 is  more  fanciful  than  sound ;  but  he 
 inserts  it,  as  giving  a  true  description 
 of  the  noble  character,  generally,  of 
 the  Apostle.    The  necessity  of  S.  Paul's 
 
 visiting  Rome  was  probably  made  known 
 to  him  by  a  special  revelation,  subse- 
 quently confirmed  in  express  terms, 
 xxiii.  1 1.  Thus,  he  expressed  a  know- 
 ledge of  future  events  in  two  particu- 
 lars.    See  XX.  25,  29. 
 
THE  ACTS  XIX.  24—26.  549 
 
 but  their  very  employments  are  sinful :  they  trade  for  hell,  and 
 are  factors  for  the  devil.  ...  To  have  an  honest  lawful  calling, 
 wherein  you  do  not  dishonour  GrOD  in  benefiting  yourselves,  is 
 no  small  mercy.  Eev.  xviii.  11 ;  1  Tim.  v.  22.  Flavel.  (Di- 
 vine conduct.  Serm.  Ps.  Ivii.  2.) 
 It  is  not  right,  that  silver  and  gold,  though  unshaped  into  statuary, 
 should  still  be  doing  in  this  enlightened  land,  what  the  images 
 of  Paganism  once  did.  It  is  not  right  that  they  should  thus 
 supplant  the  deference,  which  is  owing  to  the  God  and  Go- 
 vernor of  all  things ;  or  that  each  man  amongst  us  should  in 
 the  secret  homage  of  trust  and  satisfaction,  which  he  renders 
 to  his  bills,  and  his  deposits,  and  his  deeds  of  property  and 
 possession,  endow  these  various  articles  with  the  same  moral 
 ascendancy  over  his  heart,  as  the  household  gods  of  antiquity  ; 
 making  them,  as  effectually  usurp  the  place  of  the  Divinity,  and 
 dethrone  the  one  Monarch  of  heaven  and  earth  from  that  pre- 
 eminence of  trust  and  affection,  that  belongs  to  Him.  vii.  41 ; 
 xvii.  16  ;  Isa.  ii.  8 ;  Job  xxxi.  24 ;  Dan.  iii.  5.  Dr.  Chalmers. 
 (Discourses  on  the  application  of  Christianity  to  Commercial 
 Life,  &c.  Discourse  8.) 
 
 25  Adventure  not  on  any  course  without  good  assurance,  that  it 
 be  in  itself  lawful.  The  ground  of  this  rule  is  plain  and  evi- 
 dent :  for  it  cannot  be,  that  God,  who  hateth,  and  forbiddeth, 
 and  punisheth  every  sin  in  every  man,  should  call  any  man  to 
 the  practice  of  any  sin.  "  Let  him  that  stole,  steal  no  more," 
 saith  S.  Paul,  "  but  rather  let  him  labour  with  his  hands 
 the  thing,  that  is  good."  Ephes.  iv.  If  it  be  not  something, 
 that  is  good,  it  is  good  for  him  to  hold  his  hands  off;  let  him 
 be  sure  God  never  called  him  to  labour  in  that ;  and  he  were 
 as  good  hold  to  his  old  trade,  and  steal  still,  as  labour  with  his 
 hands  the  thing,  that  is  not  good.  If  Diana  of  Ephesus  be  an 
 idol,  Demetrius*  occupation  must  down  :  he  must  make  no  more 
 silver  shrines  for  Diana,  though  by  that  craft  he  has  his  wealth. 
 .  .  .  Let  this  first  rule  be  remembered  of  us  in  every  choice  and 
 trial  of  our  callings — no  unlawful  thing  can  be  a  lawful  calling. 
 Deut.  xviii.  10 — 12 ;  1  Sam.  xxviii.  9.  Bp.  Sanderson.  (Serm. 
 1  Cor.  vii.  24.) 
 
 26  This  Paul. — If  you  meddle  with  Diana  of  the  Fphesians,  you 
 
550  THE  ACTS  XIX.  26,  27. 
 
 must  expect  to  lose  the  friendship  of  Demetrius.     GaL  iv.  16. 
 Jer.  Collier.     (Essays.) 
 
 "When  we  smite,  we  must  strike  home.  It  is  S.  Paul's  rule.  "  I 
 so  fight,  not  as  one,  beating  the  air"  (1  Cor.  ix.  26).  Here 
 is  not  a  blow  lost ;  non  verberat  ictihus  auras.  How  doth  he 
 cut  the  throat  of  the  Ephesian  beast,  idolatry,  while  He  argues, 
 They  he  no  Gods  which  are  made  with  hands  !  All  the  silver- 
 smiths of  Diana  cannot  hammer  out  a  reply  to  this  charge.  It 
 is  no  flourishing,  when  we  come  to  this  charge.  Weak  proofs 
 betray  good  causes.  Demonstrations  must  have  place  here,  not 
 probabilities.  S.  Mark  xii.  16,  17,  24—27,  34  ;  1  Cor.  x.  20. 
 Bp.  Hall.     (Serm.  1  Cor.  xv.  32.) 
 
 27  "  That  which  is  born  of  the  flesh,  is  flesh."     Take  covetousness 
 and  ambition,  the  proper  and   natural  issues  of  the  flesh,  and, 
 as  the  Apostle  joins  it  every  where,  with  uncleanness,  so  may 
 we  with  hatred  and  persecution  ;  for  these  make  that  desolation 
 upon  earth,  the  only  incendiaries  in  a  Church  or  Commonwealth, 
 and  great  troublers  of  the  peace  of  Israel.  .  .  .  Eor  what  did 
 the  husbandmen  set  upon  the  Lord   of  the  vineyard  (S.  Matt, 
 xxi.)  but  to  gain  the  inheritance  ?     What  set  the  whole  city  of 
 Ephesus  in  an  uproar,  but  Demetrius  his  rhetoric  ?  ,  .  .  fi^om 
 this  craft  have  we  our  gain.     Look  back  upon  every  age  of  the 
 Church  ;  was  there  ever  rent,  or  schism,  which  these  made  not  ? 
 AVas  there  ever  a  heresy,  which  these  coined  not  ?     Was  there 
 ever  fire,  which  they  kindled  not  ?     Was  there  ever  torment, 
 which  these  invented  not  ?     AVas  there  ever  "  evil  in  the  city," 
 which  these  have  not  done  ?     S.  James  iv.  1 — 3  ;  3  S.  John  9, 
 10;  2  S.  Pet.  ii.  1—3.     Farindon.     (Serm.  Gal.  iv.  39.) 
 K^othing  less  than  being  present  at  the  difl'erent  scenes,  which 
 attended  the  propagation  of  Christianity,  would  give  us  a  per- 
 fect conception  of  this  interesting  subject.     We  should  see  the 
 moynificence  of  the  heathen  temples,  the  fine  workmanship  of 
 the  statues,  the  priests,  the  victims  superbly  adorned,  the  at- 
 tendant youths  of  both  sexes,  &c.,  &c.     AVe  should  observe  how 
 every  part  of  religion  was  contrived  to  captivate  and  allure  :  we 
 should  see  how  all  men  were  attached  to  it,  not  only  the  lower 
 ranks,  but  the  most  improved  and  the  best  informed  :  for  we,  in 
 our  improved  times,  are  apt  to  think  Jupiter,  Apollo,  and  A^cnus 
 
THE  ACTS  XIX.  27.  551 
 
 SO  absurd,  as  deities,  that  we  have  no  idea  or  feeling  of  the  at- 
 tachment of  the  heathens  to  their  gods.  xiv.  13.  Br.  Hey. 
 (Lectures.  B.  i.  ch.  18.  s.  6.) 
 
 A  man  may  much  more  rationally  worship  himself,  than  a  creature 
 of  his  own  making,     xvii.  28  ;  Isa.  xliv.  20.     Bp.  Ken. 
 
 Whom  all  Asia,  ^c. — Here  is  the  specious  pretence  so  often  put 
 forward,  in  the  defence  of  falsehood  in  doctrine  or  of  licentious- 
 ness in  living — Universality,  xxi.  36 ;  S.  Luke  xiv.  18  ;  2  Chron. 
 xviii.  12,  13.     J.  F. 
 
 28  And  when  they  heard  these  sayings,  they  were 
 full  of  wrath,  and  cried  out,  saying,  Great  is  Diana  of 
 the  Ephesians. 
 
 29  And  the  whole  city  was  filled  with  confusion : 
 and  having  caught  Gains  and  Aristarchus,  men  of 
 Macedonia,  Paul's  companions  in  travel,  they  rushed 
 with  one  accord  into  the  theatre. 
 
 30  And  when  Paul  would  have  entered  in  unto  the 
 people,  the  disciples  suffered  him  not. 
 
 31  And  certain  of  the  chief  of  Asia,  which  were  his 
 friends,  sent  unto  him,  desiring  him  that  he  would  not 
 adventure  himself  into  the  theatre. 
 
 32  Some  therefore  cried  one  thing,  and  some 
 another  :  for  the  assembly  was  confused ;  and  the 
 more  part  knew  not  wherefore  they  were  come  to- 
 gether. 
 
 33  And  they  drew  Alexander  out  of  the  multitude, 
 the  Jews  putting  him  forward.  And  Alexander  beck- 
 oned with  the  hand,  and  would  have  made  his  defence 
 unto  the  people 
 
 34  But  when  they  knew  that  he  was  a  Jew,  all  with 
 one  voice  about  the  space  of  two  hours  cried  out, 
 Great  is  Diana  of  the  Ephesians. 
 
552  THE  ACTS  XIX.  28,  29. 
 
 28  Full  ofvjrath. — A  mechanic  kind  of  malice,  like  that  of  Deme- 
 trius or  Alexander  (2  Tim.  iv.  14)  ;  the  one  a  silversmith,  and 
 the   other  a  coppersmith ;  and  both  blacksmiths,    as  to  their 
 
 .  covetous  souls,  and  malicious  spirits  against  the  Gospel  and 
 true  Apostles.  Bp.  Gauden.  (Serm.  preached  at  the  Funeral 
 of  Bp.  Brownrig.) 
 
 1.  Some  out  of  superstition  dare  not  examine  the  doctrine  of  re- 
 ligion ;  but  blindly  refer  themselves  to  other  men  (xix.  28.) 
 2.  Some,  out  of  design,  will  not  examine  what  they  profess ; 
 because  they  practise  upon  Eeligion,  and  it  is  not  Truth,  but 
 interest,  that  is  intended  by  them  (xix.  24).  3.  Some,  out  of 
 idleness  and  self-neglect,  do  not  examine  their  religion ;  all  their 
 care  being  to  be  denominated  by  it  (S.  Luke  iii.  8).  xvii.  32. 
 Br.  Whichcote.     (Aphor.  Cent.  ix.  833.) 
 
 Error,  according  to  Bacon's  comparison,  may  originate  in  ourselves 
 or  without  us  :  outward  objects  may  not  communicate  a  faithful 
 image  to  us ;  or  our  own  minds,  like  a  broken  or  uneven  mirror, 
 may  distort  the  image  presented  to  them.  Truth  may  not  be 
 found,  or  we  may  be  in  no  fit  condition  to  receive  it.  What 
 then  are  the  hindrances  in  our  own  minds  to  receiving  truth  ? 
 Bacon  divides  them  into  three  principal  classes,  which  he  calls 
 "  the  spectres"  or  "phantoms"  of  "the  race,"  of  "the  den,'* 
 and  of  *'the  market  place."  The  fancifulness  of  these  names  is 
 characteristic  of  the  man ;  but  their  meaning  is  not  the  less 
 admirable.  The  phantoms  of  "the  race"  are  those  prejudices  or 
 tendencies  to  error,  which  are  common  to  the  whole  race  of 
 mankind  ;  the  phantoms  of*  the  den"  are  those,  which  grow  out 
 of  the  peculiar  weakness  of  each  man's  individual  mind ;  and 
 those  of  "  the  market  place"  are  such,  as  arise  from  our  commu- 
 nication with  other  men,  from  the  vaguenesses  and  ambiguitiea 
 of  language.  Br.  Arnold.  (Lecture  on  the  divisions  and 
 mutual  relations  of  knowledge.) 
 
 Not  Thou,  O  LoED,  but  my  own  error  was  my  God.  S.  Augustine. 
 (Confessions.) 
 
 29  Uhi  plures  erant,  omnes  fuere,  as  Tacitus  saith  ;  where  the  most 
 are,  there  will  soon  be  many  more ;  and  all  will  join  with  the 
 many.  And  shall  ambition  and  covetousness,  shall  malice  and 
 envy,  and  even  folly  itaelf,  have  such  force,  as  to  master  multi- 
 
THE  ACTS  XIX.  29.  553 
 
 tudes,  and  shall  Eeligion  and  Cheist  have  so  thin  and  poor  a 
 retinue  ?  1  Kings  viii.  22 ;  Exod.  xxiii.  2.  Farindon.  (Serm. 
 Ps.  cxxii.  1.) 
 
 The  common  people,  like  brute  beasts,  if  one  foolishly  rush  into 
 danger  or  tumult,  all  the  rest  follow ;  observing,  who  leads ; 
 not,  whither,  v.  36,  37  ;  xxi.  38  ;  S.  John  vii.  48.  Lord  Capel, 
 (Contemplations.     184.) 
 
 "We  prefer  plays  before  the  Churches  of  God  ;  we  despise  the  Altars 
 and  honour  the  theatres  ;  we  love  them  all,  we  respect  them  all : 
 it  is  only  God  Almighty,  who  seems  little  to  us,  in  comparison 
 of  them  all  ....  If  at  any  time  it  chances,  which  it  often  does, 
 that  on  the  same  day  there  is  a  Church  Festival  and  public 
 plays,  I  desire  to  ask  of  every  man's  conscience,  which  of  the 
 two  places  has  the  greater  congregation  of  Christians  in  it  ? 
 the  seats  of  the  public  play,  or  the  Court  of  God  ?  and  whether 
 all  rather  follow  the  Temple  or  the  theatre  ?  and  whether  they 
 love  the  words  of  the  Gospel  more,  or  those  of  the  players ;  the 
 Words  of  Life,  or  the  words  of  death  ?  the  words  of  Cueist, 
 or  the  words  of  a  mimical  actor  ?  For  on  every  day  of  these 
 deadly  sports,  if  there  happen  to  be  any  Feasts  of  the  Church, 
 they,  who  call  themselves  Christians,  do  not  ouly  not  come 
 to  Church,  but  if  by  chance,  not  having  heard  of  any  such 
 thing,  they  have  come,  as  soon  as  ever  they  hear  there  are  plays, 
 they  presently  leave  the  Church.  The  Church  of  God  is  de- 
 spised, that  they  may  haste  to  the  play  house :  the  Church  is 
 emptied,  and  the  cirque  filled.  Jer.  ii.  11 — 13 ;  Eom.  xii.  1,  2. 
 Sahianus.^     (A  treatise  of  God's  government,  b.  v.  s.  7.) 
 
 It  is  an  undeniable  fact,  for  the  truth  of  which  we  may  safely 
 appeal  to  every  age  and  nation,  that  the  situation  of  performers, 
 (on  the  stage  of  the  theatre)  particularly  those  of  the  female 
 sex,  is  remarkably  unfavourable  to  the  maintenance  and  growth 
 
 of  the  religious  and  moral  principle That  man  w^ould  be 
 
 deemed,  and  justly  deemed,  of  an  inhuman  temper,  who,  in 
 these  days,  was  to  seek  his  amusement  in  the  combat  of  gla- 
 diators, and  prize  fighters;  yet  Christians  appear  conscious 
 of  no  inconsistency,  in  finding  their  pleasures  in  spectacles, 
 maintained  at  the  risk,  at  least,  if  not  the  ruin,  of  the  Eternal 
 *  Salvianus,  Presbyter  of  Marseilles,  a.d.  440. 
 
554  THE  ACTS  XIX.  29—31. 
 
 happiness  of  those,  who  perform  in  them.  1  Cor.  viii.  11 ;  IS. 
 Pet.  iv.  7.  Wilberforce.  (Practical  Christianity,  eh.  iv.  s.  5.) 
 At  our  theatres  and  stages,  profaneness  and  vice  is  thought  to  he 
 indeed  satirically  whipped,  and  presented,  that  it  might  be  hated ; 
 hut  it  is  rather  so  personated  and  acted,  as  people  become  more 
 in  love  with  it.    S.  Matt.  vi.  13.    Br.  Temple.  (Serm.  Pari.  1642.) 
 
 30  His  zeal  seems  not  void  of  rashness ;  but  it  was  the  rashness 
 of  a  hero,  vexed  to  the  soul  to  think  that  Gaius  and  Aristarchus, 
 his  two  friends,  were  likely  to  suffer  in  his  absence.  Now  I 
 apprehend  was  the  season  of  extreme  distress,  which  he  felt  in 
 Asia,  and  which  he  describes  so  pathetically  in  his  Epistle  to 
 the  Corinthians.  2  Cor.  i.  8 — 10;  2  Sam.  xxiii.  J.  Milnei-. 
 (Church  History.     Cent.  i.  c.  14.) 
 
 Even  those,  who  are  most  under  the  care  of  God,  and  are  led  by 
 His  Spirit,  fail  not  sometimes  to  stand  in  need  of  human  re- 
 straint,    xvii.  15.     Quesnel. 
 
 31  When  things  in  their  own  nature  evidently  tend  to  corrupt 
 and  debauch  men's  manners,  they  are  capable  of  no  defence. 
 Whatever  exposes  or  renders  religion  contemptible,  whatever 
 serves  to  make  virtue  and  j^iety  ridiculous,  to  make  vice  glo- 
 rious, to  give  lust  the  dominion  over  reason,  or  to  heighten  the 
 appetite  after  sinful  pleasures,  is  of  this  kind.  These  conside- 
 rations have  carried  many  wise  and  good  men  unto  an  utter 
 condemnation  of  the  employments  of  the  Stage,  as  unlawful 
 means  of  maintenance.  And  whatever  may  be  said  of  the  repre- 
 sentations of  the  Theatre  in  general,  yet,  when  they  transgress 
 the  bounds  of  decency,  and  employ  their  wit  and  art  to  make 
 virtue,  and  sobriety,  and  chastity,  ridiculous ;  when  they  treat 
 the  Sacred  Laws  of  marriage  with  contempt,  and  paint  out  the 
 villain,  who  betrays  his  friend,  breaks  the  laws  of  hospitality, 
 and  brings  to  ruin  unguarded  innocence,  as  an  accomplished 
 character  and  lit  for  imitation,  there  can  be  no  doubt  but  the  em- 
 ployment is  extremely  wicked.  And,  whenever  the  Stage  is  so 
 employed,  every  good  man,  every  good  Christian,  must  condemn 
 it.  Poets  were  anciently  instructors  of  mankind,  and  teachers  of 
 morality  ;  and  virtue  never  went  off  the  stage  without  applause, 
 nor  vice  without  contempt.  Thus  heathen  Poets  wrote.  Josh, 
 xxiv.  14,  15.     Bp.  Sherlock.     (Discourse.     Eph.  iv.  28,  p.  2.) 
 
THE  ACTS  XIX.  32—34.  555 
 
 32  He  can  never  speak  well,  that  can  never  hold  his  tongue.  It 
 is  one  thing  to  speak  much,  and  another  to  speak  pertinently. 
 Much  tongue  and  much  judgment  seldom  go  together:  for 
 talking  and  thinking  are  two  quite  different  faculties  :  and  there 
 is  commonly  more  depth,  where  there  is  less  noise.  Prov.  xv. 
 2  ;  S.  James  i.  19  ;  iii.  1 — 6.     Palmer.     (Aphorisms.     1527.) 
 
 33  This  person  seems  to  have  been  the  very  "Alexander  the 
 mppersmith,''  mentioned  2  Tim.  iv.  14,  well  known  to  Demetrius, 
 because  of  his  skill  in  this  craft.     Bengel. 
 
 Every  suffering  for  Christ  is  not  suffering,  as  a  Christian.  For 
 a  man  may  suffer  for  Christ,  for  that  profession  of  religion, 
 that  is  upon  him.  The  world  hates  the  show  of  religion.  Times 
 may  come,  when  it  may  cost  a  man  as  dear  to  wear  the  livery 
 of  Christ,  as  to  wear  Christ  Himself.  Alexander  had  like  to 
 have  lost  his  life  for  the  GospeFs  sake :  yet  he  was  that  Alex- 
 ander, as  is  generally  judged,  that  afterwards  made  "  shipwreck 
 of  faith,"  and  greatly  opposed  S.  Paul's  ministry.  S.  Matt.  v. 
 11  ;  1  Tim.  i.  19,  20;  iv.  14.  M.  Meade.  (The  almost  Chris- 
 tian discovered,  p.  113.     Edit.  29th.) 
 
 34  All  with  one  voice. —  Vt  est  Dei  una  Fcclesia,  sic  est  Diaboli  una 
 Babylon.  As  God  has  His  one  Church,  so  the  devil  has  his 
 one  Babylon,  iv.  27 ;  vi.  9 ;  xviii.  12 ;  Ps.  Ixxxiii.  1 — 5.  S. 
 Augustine. 
 
 35  And  when  the  townclerk  had  appeased  the  people, 
 he  said,  Ye  men  of  Ephesus,  what  man  is  there  that 
 knoweth  not  how  that  the  city  of  the  Ephesians  is  a 
 worshipper  of  the  great  goddess  Diana,  and  of  the 
 image  which  fell  down  from  Jupiter  ? 
 
 36  Seeing  then  that  these  things  cannot  be  spoken 
 against,  ye  ought  to  be  quiet,  and  to  do  nothing 
 rashly. 
 
 37  For  ye  have  brought  hither  these  men,  which 
 are  neither  robbers  of  churches,  nor  yet  blasphemers 
 of  your  goddess. 
 
556  THE  ACTS  XIX.  35. 
 
 38  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 
 implead  one  another. 
 
 39  But  if  ye  inquire  any  thing  concerning  other 
 matters,  it  shall  be  determined  in  a  lawful  assembly. 
 
 40  For  we  are  in  danger  to  be  called  in  question 
 for  this  day's  uproar,  there  being  no  cause  whereby 
 we  may  give  an  account  of  this  concourse. 
 
 41  And  when  he  had  thus  spoken,  he  dismissed  the 
 assembly. 
 
 35  Fell  down,  ^c. — Therefore,  he  might  have  intended  them  to 
 infer,  not  made  with  hands,  and  so,  not  coming  under  the  in- 
 dictment of  the  Apostle.  Verse  26.  The  whole  speech  is  won- 
 derfully to  the  point,  and  ingenious.     J.  F. 
 
 Do  not  imagine  any  form  to  be  in  God  ;  lest  thou  limit  or  circum- 
 scribe Him  in  thy  own  mind  too.     1  Tim.  vi.  15,  16.     S.  Basil, 
 
 Did  the  heathen  make  so  much  account  of  the  voice  of  their  gods, 
 which  in  truth  were  no  gods  ;  and  shall  we  neglect  the  precious 
 benefit  of  conference  with  those  Oracles  of  the  true  and  living 
 God,  whereof  so  great  store  is  left  to  the  Church,  and  where- 
 unto  there  is  so  free,  so  plain,  so  easy  an  access  to  all  men  ? 
 xvii.  23  ;  S.  Matt.  xii.  42.     Hooker. 
 
 The  fifth  cover  (of  sin  from  the  sight  of  God)  is  hypocrisy.  This 
 was  Absalom's  cloak  for  his  rebellion.  Such  covers  were  Cain's 
 sacrifice,  Esau's  tears,  Jezebel's  fast,  the  Pharisee's  alms,  the 
 harlot's  vow,  the  traitor's  kiss  :  the  world  is  full  of  such  jugglers 
 and  mountebanks  in  religion,  of  all  sects,  who  cry,  Great  is 
 Diana  !  and  magnify  the  Image,  that  fell  down  from  Jupiter^ 
 meaning  nothing,  but  their  profit ;  who  cry  aloud,  "  Lobd, 
 Lord,"  and  mutter  to  themselves  "Da  mihi  f alter e,  da  jiistum 
 sanctumque  videri^^  "  Give  me  grace  to  cheat  and  to  delude  the 
 eyes  of  the  world  ;"  painted  sepulchres,  very  glow-worms,  which 
 have  a  counterfeit  light  without  any  heat ;  pictures  with  double 
 prospoctivcB ;  that,  to  the  light,  presents  an  Angel,  the  other. 
 
THE  ACTS  XIX.  35,  36.  557 
 
 from  the  light,  a  devil :  we  have  pulled  down  other  pictures,  to 
 set  these  up  in  our  Churches.  Nothing  is  more  odious  unto 
 GrOD,  than  to  make  a  stalking-horse  of  Eeligion.  Cheist  throws 
 out  seven  great  woes  against  hypocrites.  Other  sinners  may- 
 be converted ;  the  hypocrite  hardly  :  because  he  hath  converted 
 conversion  itself  into  sin.  Suich  as  "  devour  widows'  houses," 
 under  a  colour  of  "long  prayers'*  shall  "receive  the  greater 
 damnation."  2  Sam.  xv.  1 — 6  ;  Gen.  iv.  3 ;  xxvii.  34 ;  Heb. 
 xii.  17 ;  1  Kings  xxi.  9  ;  S.  Matt.  vi.  2,  &c. ;  Prov.  vii.  14 ;  S. 
 Matt.  xxvi.  47  ;  vii.  21 ;  xxiii.  27.  Abp.  Bramhall.  (Serm. 
 Prov.  xxviii.  13.) 
 
 What  man  is  there,  ^c. — S.  Paul  would  be  an  exception  :  but  the 
 speech  of  the  townclerk  is  ambiguous,  and  he  might  from  mo- 
 tives of  expediency,  or  even  from  his  own  conviction  thus  speak. 
 At  verse  37  he  says  "yowr  goddess,"  not  our's.     Bengel. 
 
 36  "We  may  suppose  Patience  in  the  soul,  to  be  as  the  Town-clerk 
 
 in  Ephesus.     He  comes  and  appeases  the  multitude So 
 
 Patience  comes  in,  when  wrongs  and  injuries  are  offered  us.  It 
 moderates,  and  says,  Tou  should  do  nothing  rashly.  Passion  is 
 rash ;  but  Patience  is  advised  and  discreet.  And  next,  the  Law 
 is  open ;  the  ears  of  God  are  open  to  receive  your  complaints, 
 if  they  be  rendered  to  Him  in  a  religious  way  ;  and  He  will 
 right  you :  for  He  is  "  the  God,  to  whom  vengeance  be- 
 longeth."  Lastly,  it  saith,  thou  art  in  danger  of  God's  dis- 
 pleasure by  this  day's  impatience  :  and  so  it  sends  away  these 
 mutinous  thoughts,  as  it  did  the  multitude,  and  makes  the  heart 
 to  yield  to  God,  and  it  causeth  a  man  to  lay  his  hand  upon  his 
 mouth,  and  become  dumb.  Eph.  iv.  31,  32 ;  Eom.  xv.  5.  T, 
 Valentine.     (Serm.  Zeph.  iii.  8.  Before  Pari.  1642.) 
 
 "The  peace  of  God"  is  thus  beautifully  personified  at  Col.  iii.  15, 
 as  "ruling"  and  presiding  in  men's  hearts,  sitting  there,  as  an 
 umpire,  holding  the  balances  between  conflicting  parties,  and 
 suppressing  every  unkind  and  rebellious  thought.  We  desire 
 to  have  such  a  Judge  to  rule  over  us.  0  !  for  "  the  Unity  of 
 the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of  Peace  !"  Phil.  iv.  7  ;  S.  Matt.  v.  9. 
 J.F. 
 
 But  the  men  (Christian  and  Hopeful)  being  patient,  and  "  not 
 rendering  railing  for  railing,  but  contrariwise  blessing,"  and 
 
558  THE  ACTS  XIX.  37. 
 
 giving  good  words  for  bad,  and  kindness  for  injuries  done  ; 
 some  men  in  the  fair,  that  were  more  observing  and  less  pre- 
 judiced than  the  rest,  began  to  check  and  blame  the  baser  sort, 
 for  their  continual  abuses,  done  by  them  to  the  men.  Prov. 
 xvi.  7  ;  Eom.  xii.  18 — 21.     Bunyan.     (The  Pilgrim's  Progress. 
 
 p.  i.) 
 
 37  Robbers  of  Churches. — If  Judas,  who  was  the  first  president  of 
 this  sin,  were  "a  thief,"  as  the  Holt  Ghost  termeth  him,  for 
 embezzling  that,  which  was  committed  unto  him  for  the  main- 
 tenance of  Cheist  and  His  disciples,  that  is,  of  the  Church, 
 by  the  same  reason  must  it  also  be  thieving  to  withhold  these 
 things,  which  were  given  for  the  maintenance  of  the  Church 
 and  Ministers  of  Cheist.  And  herein  it  is  a  degree  above 
 that  sin  of  Judas,  as  robbery  is  above  theft ;  for  Judas  only 
 detained  the  money,  delivered  unto  him,  closely  and  secretly ; 
 but  we  and  our  fathers  have  invaded  Church  livings  and  taken 
 them,  as  it  were  by  assault,  even  from  the  Sacred  body  and  per- 
 son of  the  Church.  It  is  a  great  sin  to  steal  from  our  neighbour ; 
 much  greater,  even  sacrilege,  to  steal  from  God.  If  it  were  so 
 heinous  a  fact  in  Ananias  to  withhold  part  of  his  own  goods, 
 which  he  pretended  he  would  give  unto  God,  how  much  more 
 is  it  in  us  presumptuously  to  reave  that  from  God,  that  others 
 have  already  dedicated  and  delivered  unto  Him  ?  Solomon  saith, 
 "  He,  that  robbeth  his  father  and  his  mother,  and  saith  it  is  no 
 sin,  is  the  companion  of  (a  murderer,  or)  him,  that  destroy  eth." 
 But  he,  that  purloineth  the  things  of  God,  robbeth  his  Father ; 
 and  he,  that  purloineth  the  things  of  the  Church,  robbeth  his 
 Mother.  And  therefore  that  man  is  a  companion  of  the  de- 
 stroyer. V.  1 — 11 ;  Prov.  xxviii.  24  ;  Ex.  xii.  31 ;  1  Sam.  v.  11. 
 ^ir  H.  Spelman.  (He  non  temerandis  Ecclesiis.  p.  101.  Edit. 
 Oxford,  1668.) 
 Though,  good  Madam,  I  pretend  not  to  prophesy,  yet  I  beg  pos- 
 terity to  take  notice  of  what  is  already  become  visible  in  many 
 families ;  that  Church-land,  added  to  an  ancient  inheritance, 
 hath  proved  like  a  "  moth,  fretting  a  garment,"  and  secretly 
 consumed  both  ;  or  like  the  eagle,  that  stole  a  coal  from  the 
 altar,  and  thereby  set  her  nest  on  fire,  which  consumed  both 
 her  young  eagles,  and  herself,  that  stole  it.     Ps.  Ixxix.  5,  6 ; 
 
THE  ACTS  XIX.  37,  38.  559 
 
 Mai.  iii.  8.  Abp.  Whitgift.  (Address  to  Queen  Elizabeth.  See 
 "Walton's  life  of  Hooker.) 
 
 Nor  yet  blasphemers  of  your  goddess. — I  condemn  images  ;  but  I 
 would  have  them  assailed  by  the  "Word,  and  not  by  blows  and 
 fire.  I  would  deal  with  them  so,  that  the  people  should  no 
 longer  have  the  faith  in  them,  which  they  have  had  heretofore. 
 To  effect  this  great  object,  must  be  the  work  of  the  "Word,  and 
 not  of  violence.  Be  assured,  the  images  will  fall  of  themselves, 
 when  the  people,  becoming  enlightened,  shall  know  that  they 
 are  nothing  in  the  eyes  of  God.  (See  at  xxv.  8.  F?'asmus.)  1 
 Sam.  V.  1 — 4  ;  S.  John  xii.  32  ;  S.  Jude  8,  9.  Luther.  (Letter 
 to  Melancthon,  17th  June,  1522.) 
 
 "We  must  give  place  to  the  sway  of  the  times,  wherein  we  live,  so 
 far  forth,  as  may  stand  with  keeping  "  faith  and  a  good  con- 
 science." "We  may  not  be  temporizers,  and  change  our  religion 
 with  the  times ;  but  yet  we  may,  and  must,  give  place  to  times, 
 as  we  give  place  to  the  stream  ;  so  that  it  be  done  with  keeping 
 of  true  religion  and  a  good  conscience.  .  .  .  S.  Paul  was  three 
 years  in  Ephesus,  an  idolatrous  place,  where  the  great  goddess^ 
 Diana,  was  worshipped  ;  yet,  in  all  that  time,  he  contained  him- 
 self and  spake  nothing  in  particular  against  Diana,  but  only  in 
 general  against  false  gods ;  saying,  that  they  be  no  gods,  that 
 are  made  with  hands.  jS'ay,  Alexander  could  not  charge  him 
 with  this,  that  he  had,  in  all  that  while,  blasphemed  their  goddess, 
 Diana.  Paul  therefore  was  fain  to  yield  to  the  sway  of  those 
 times ;  that  so,  he  might  do  some  good  in  Ephesus  by  his  mi- 
 nistry :  whereas,  if  he  had  spoken  against  Diana  directly,  it 
 had  not  been  possible  for  him  to  have  done  that  good  by  preach- 
 ing, which  otherwise  he  did.  Again,  in  the  primitive  Church, 
 the  Apostles  for  the  weakness  of  the  Jews  did  yield  to  the  use 
 of  Circumcision,  and  permitted  abstinence  from  blood,  and  that, 
 which  was  strangled,  &c.,  so  far  forth,  as  it  stood  with  pure 
 religion  and  good  conscience  ;  and,  if  they  had  not  so  done, 
 they  should  not  have  won  the  Jews  to  the  faith,  as  they  did. 
 (Eefer  to  xvii.  31.  S.  Chrysostom.)  W.  Perkins.  (Cases  of 
 Conscience.  B.  ii.  c.  2.) 
 
 38  Of  Law  there  can  be  no  less  acknowledged,  than  that  her  Seat 
 is  the  bosom  of  God  ;  her  Voice  the  harmony  of  the  world  :  all 
 
560  THE  ACTS  XIX.  38,  40. 
 
 things  in  heaven  and  earth  do  her  homage,  the  very  least,  as 
 feeling  her  care,  and  the  greatest,  as  not  exempted  from  her 
 power ;  both  Angels,  and  men,  and  creatures  of  what  condition 
 soever,  though  each  in  different  sort  and  manner,  yet  all  with 
 uniform  consent,  admiring  her,  as  the  mother  of  their  peace  and 
 joy.  Prov.  viii.  22,  23  ;  1  Cor.  xiv.  33.  Hooker.  (E.  Pol.  B.  i.  18.) 
 
 The  Law  is  like  the  wrest  of  a  musical  instrument,  wliich  puts  the 
 jarring  strings  in  tune.  It  is  the  balance  of  the  Commonwealth, 
 which  gives  the  same  weight  to  gold  and  lead ;  the  rule  and 
 square  of  Justice  ;  the  standard  and  measure  of  the  Kingdom  ; 
 the  foundation  of  Liberty ;  the  fountain  of  Equity ;  the  life 
 and  soul  of  Policy.  Judg.  v.  6 — 8 ;  xvii.  6  ;  xxi.  25  ;  E.om. 
 xiii.  4.     Abp.  Bramhall. 
 
 There  are  four  rules,  to  be  duly  observed  in  going  to  law  :  1.  "We 
 must  not  go  to  law  for  trifles  ;  as  he  did,  who  said  he  would 
 rather  spend  an  hundred  pounds  in  law,  than  lose  a  pennyworth 
 of  his  right.  2.  AVe  must  not  be  rash  and  hasty  in  it,  but  try 
 all  other  means  possible  to  compose  differences ;  wherein  he, 
 that  yields  most,  as  Abraham  did  to  Lot,  is  the  better  man ; 
 and  there  is  nothing  lost  by  it  in  the  end.  3.  "We  must  see 
 that  it  be  done  without  malice  or  desire  of  revenge.  If  the 
 undoing  of  our  brother  be  the  end  of  our  going  to  law,  as  it  is 
 with  many,  it  is  certainly  evil,  and  it  speeds  accordingly.  4. 
 It  must  be  with  a  disposition  to  peace,  whenever  it  may  be  had, 
 and  an  ear  open  to  all  overtures  of  that  kind.  S.  Matt.  v. 
 39—41;  xviii.  15—17;  1  Cor.  vi.  1,  2.  P.  Henri/.  (Life. 
 Ch.  5.) 
 
 40  If  the  *' Trumpets"  belong  to  Moses  (see  Numb.  x.  1,  2),  and 
 that  to  this  end,  that  with  them  he  may  "  call  the  congregation," 
 these  two  things  do  follow :  first,  that,  if  he  call,  the  congrega- 
 tion must  not  refuse  to  come ;  secondly,  that,  unless  he  call, 
 they  must  not  assemble  of  their  own  heads,  but  keep  their 
 places :  briefly  thus,  the  congregation  must  come,  when  it  is 
 called  ;  and  it  must  be  called,  ere  it  come.  These  are  the  two 
 duties,  we  owe  to  the  two  Trumpets ;  and  both  these  have  God's 
 
 people  ever  performed They,  that  meet  against  Moses* 
 
 will  (see  Numb.  xvi.  1,  23),  when  they  have  once  thoroughly 
 learned  that  lesson,  will  quickly  perhaps  grow  capable  of  an- 
 
THE  ACTS  XIX.  40,  41.  561 
 
 other,  even  to  meet  against  Moses  himself,  as  Corah  and  his 
 company  did.  Verses  12 — 14.  Periclitamur  argui  seditionis^ 
 saith  the  Town-clerk ;  we  have  done  more,  than  we  can  well 
 answer :  we  may  be  indicted  of  treason  for  this  day's  work,  for 
 coming  together  without  a  trumpet :  and  yet  it  was  for  Diana, 
 that  is,  for  a  matter  of  Eeligion.  Bp.  Andrewes.  (Serm. 
 Numb,  X.  1,  2.) 
 
 In  the  Commonwealth  Unity  needs  keeping  too ;  for  her  Governors 
 are  custodes  civitatis,  keepers  of  the  cit3^  .  The  way  to  do  this,  is 
 to  carry  a  watchful  eye  over  all  such,  as  are  discovered,  or 
 feared,  to  have  private  ends.  For  there  is  no  private  end,  but 
 in  something,  or  other,  it  will  be  led  to  run  cross  the  public ; 
 and,  if  ffain  come  in,  though  it  be  by  maldny  shrines  for  Biana, 
 it  is  no  matter  to  them,  though  Ephesus  be  in  an  uproar  for  it. 
 And  certainly  there  is  no  keeping  of  Unity,  in  either  Church  or 
 State,  unless  men  will  be  so  temperate,  when  it  comes  to  a  jump 
 at  least,  as  to  lay  down  the  private  for  the  public's  sake,  and 
 persuade  others  to  do  the  like :  else,  saith  S.  Chrysostom,  quic- 
 quid  ducit  ad  amorem  sui  dividit  U7iifatem,  "  whatsoever  leads 
 men  to  any  love  of  themselves  and  their  own  ends,  helps  to 
 divide  the  Unity."  And  the  School  applies  it  both  to  Church 
 and  State :  for,  in  the  Church,  they,  which  "  seek  their  ow^n'* 
 and  not  that,  w^hich  is  Ckrist's,  who  is  Publicum  Ecdesice, 
 "the  public  interest  of  the  Churcli,"  depart  from  the  unity  of 
 the  Spirit.  And,  in  an  earthly  city,  the  unity  of  that  is  gone, 
 when  the  citizens  study  their  own,  not  the  public  good.  xx. 
 28  ;  Ezek.  iii.  17  ;  3  S.  John  9,  10 ;  S.  Jude  16.  Abp.  Laud. 
 (Serm.  before  the  Parliament.  Eph.  iv.  3.) 
 
 41  When  he  had  thus  spoken. — That  discreet  Town-clerk  with  mild, 
 soft,  and  wise  speech  pacified  all  the  tumult  and  uproar,  sooner 
 
 and  better,  than  force  would  or  could The  saying  is  old 
 
 and  true, 
 
 "  Fistula  dulce  canet,  volucres  dum  decipit  auceps  ;" 
 
 if  a  man  will  catch  birds,  he  may  not  come  towards  them  with 
 
 a  staff :  the  pipe  goeth  sweetly,  while  they  are  deceived 
 
 Great  is  the  power  of  a  sweet  tongue.  It  comforteth  the 
 afflicted;  it  healeth  the  sick;  it   cheereth  the   poor;  it  ruleth 
 
 o  o 
 
562  THE  ACTS  XIX.  41. 
 
 tlic  rich ;  it  AYinuetli  the  subject ;  it  a,ppeaseth  the  king ;  and, 
 whatsoever  it  will  have,  it  getteth  in  the  end :  neither  anger 
 nor  strength  can  resist  the  force  of  it.  Mark  therefore  well 
 the  blessing  of  Nepthali  on  this  place  (Gen.  xlix.  21)  ;  and  know 
 it  to  be  a  blessing,  used  well,  that  he  shall  be  "  a  hind  let  loose, 
 giving  goodly  words."  xxi.  38,  39  ;  Judg.  viii.  1 — 3 ;  Prov. 
 XV.  1 ;  1  Sam.  xxv.  32,  33.  Bp.  Babington.  (Comfortable  notes 
 on  Genesis  and  Numbers,  xii.  Yerse  3.) 
 
 Tandem  experimur,  hactenus  psene  obruti 
 
 Discordiarum  fluctibus, 
 Fraterna-quid  pax  valeat,  et  concordium 
 
 Unita  virtus  civium. 
 Nil  charitate  mutua  salubrius. 
 
 Nil  uspiam  est  amsenius.  .  .  . 
 Illic  benigna  rerum  abundat  copia  ; 
 
 Illic  pia3  tranquillitas 
 Yitae  :  propitii  quam  benignitas  Dei 
 
 In  speculum  usque  pertrahet. 
 
 Ps.  cxxxiii.     Joan.  Dunceus,  Barnstapulensis, 
 amicus  Josephi  Halli,  Episcopi  Norvicensis. 
 
 CHAPTER  XX. 
 
 A  ND  after  the  uproar  was  ceased,  Paul  called  unto 
 him  the  disciples,  and  embraced  them,  and  de- 
 parted for  to  go  into  Macedonia. 
 
 2  And  when  he  had  gone  over  those  parts,  and  had 
 given  them  much  exhortation,  he  came  into  Greece, 
 
 3  And  there  abode  three  months.  And  when  the 
 Jews  laid  wait  for  him,  as  he  was  about  to  sail  into 
 Syria,  he  purposed  to  return  through  Macedonia. 
 
THE  ACTS  XX.  I,  2.  563 
 
 4  And  there  accompanied  him  into  Asia  Sopater  of 
 Berea ;  and  of  the  Thessalonians,  Aristarchus  and  Se- 
 cundus ;  and  Gains  of  Derbe,  and  Timotlieus  ;  and  of 
 Asia,  Tychicus  and  Trophimus. 
 
 5  These  going  before  tarried  for  us  at  Troas. 
 
 6  And  we  sailed  away  from  PhiUppi  after  the  days 
 of  unleavened  bread,  and  came  unto  them  to  Troas  in 
 five  days ;  where  we  abode  seven  days. 
 
 1  The  uproar  was  ceased. — It  is  observable  that,  as  other  inferior 
 creatures  revere  the  very  countenance  of  man  and  those  few 
 features  of  the  defaced  Image  of  God,  which  are  still  remain- 
 ing there,  and  that,  although  they  far  exceed  in  strength,  yet 
 they  dare  not,  unless  enraged,  make  use  of  it  against  their 
 natural,  though  weaker,  lords ;  so  also  that  God  hath  spread 
 such  an  awe  upon  the  face  of  authority,  that  a  look  or  a  word 
 from  a  lawful  Magistrate  sliall  more  daunt  and  terrify,  than  the 
 armed  force  of  an  enemy.  There  is  some  secret  character,  that 
 God  hath  imprinted  on  them,  which  makes  them  venerable; 
 and  although  their  subjects  do  as  far  exceed  them  in  strength, 
 as  they  do  in  number,  yet  strength  alone  was  never  made  to 
 command,  but  rather  to  obey  and  execute ;  and  power  ought  to 
 be  the  servant  of  authority.  I  have  often  and  seriously  thought, 
 that,  next  to  the  invaluable  gift  of  Jesus  Cheist,  the  best  and 
 the  greatest  Good,  that  God  ever  gave  to  the  world,  w^as  this 
 appointment  of  Magistracy  :  for,  were  it  not  for  this,  the  whole 
 world  would  be  turned  into  a  wilderness,  and  men  into  savage 
 beasts,  preying  one  upon  another.  Ex.  xxxiv.  29 — 33 ;  Prov. 
 xxiv.  21.  Bp.  Hopkins.  (Exposition  of  the  Eifth  Command- 
 ment.) 
 
 2  Exhortation  is  for  the  exciting  and  quickening  of  our  affections 
 unto  any  grace  or  duty.  It  is  so  principal  a  part  of  preaching, 
 that.  Acts  xiii.  15,  all,  that  was  to  be  spoken,  is  called  Exhorta- 
 tion. The  chief  end  of  an  orator  is  to  persuade,  say  the  philo- 
 sophers :  and  therefore  that  preacher,  who  in  his  discourses  does 
 oidy  flourish  in  general  notions,  and  does  not  contrive  at  some 
 
 o  o  2 
 
564  THE  ACTS  XX.  3—5. 
 
 particular  argument,  endeavouring  to  press  upon  his  auditory 
 the  belief  or  practice  of  some  truth  or  duty,  is  like  an  unwise 
 fisher,  who  spreads  his  net  to  the  empty  air,  where  he  cannot 
 expect  any  success  of  his  labour.  This  use  hath  two  common 
 heads  of  amplification ;  motives  to  persuade,  and  means  to 
 direct,  ii.  40 ;  S.  Luke  iii.  18 ;  2  Tim.  iv.  1,  2 ;  Eom.  xii.  1 ; 
 1  Cor.  i.  10 ;  Phil.  ii.  1,  2  ;  Eph.  vi.  14—18 ;  Col.  iii.  16.  Bp. 
 Wilkins.     (Ecclesiastes,  or  the  Gift  of  Preaching.     S.  2.) 
 
 3  Trust  in  God  does  not  supersede  the  employment  of  prudent 
 means  on  our  part.  To  expect  God's  protection,  while  we  do 
 nothing,  is  not  to  honour,  but  to  tempt  Providence,  xxiii.  11, 
 17  ;  xxvii.  22,  31,  44.     Quesnel. 
 
 4  It  were  an  infinite  labour  to  reckon  up  all  those,  whom  the 
 Apostles  made  Bishops  with  their  own  hands,  as  .  .  Sosipater  at 
 Iconium  .  .  Trophimus  at  Aries.  Bp.  J.  Taylor.  (Episcopacy 
 asserted.     S.  17.) 
 
 5  Tarried  for  us. — The  first  direct  intimation  of  S.  Luke's  being  in 
 the  company  of  S.  Paul  occurs  at  xvi.  10,  when  S.  Paul  at  Troas 
 was  "  endeavouring  "  (looking  for  a  ship)  "  to  sail  into  Mace- 
 donia." .  .  .  xifter  the  second  junction  with  S.  Paul  and  his 
 company,  xx.  5,  we  find  him  remaining  with  the  Apostle  to  the 
 end  of  our  history.  It  would  not  be  necessary  to  suppose  this 
 second  attachment  to  him  to  have  had  the  same  occasion  (pro- 
 bably, the  weak  state  of  S.  Paul's  health,  supposed  to  be  referred 
 to  Col.  iv.  14),  as  the  first.  That,  which  w^eakness  of  body  then 
 made  advisable,  afi'ection  may  subsequently  have  renewed.  And 
 we  have  reason  to  believe  that  this  was  really  the  case :  not 
 only  the  epithet  "beloved,"  but  the  fact  that  very  late  in  the 
 life  of  the  Apostle,  when  *'  all  in  Asia  were  turned  away  from 
 him"  (2  Tim.  i.  15)  .  .  the  faithful  S.  Luke  still  remained, 
 bespeaks  an  ardent  and  steady  attachment  to  the  person  of  S. 
 Paul.     Alford.     (Prolog.  Ch.  i.  s.  12.) 
 
 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  the  morrow  ;  and  con- 
 tinued his  speech  until  midnight. 
 
THE  ACTS  XX.  7.  565 
 
 8  And  there  were  many  lights  in  the  upper  chamber, 
 where  they  were  gathered  together. 
 
 9  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  from  the  third  loft,  and  was  taken  up 
 dead. 
 
 10  And  Paul  went  down,  and  fell  on  him,  and  em- 
 bracing him  said,  Trouble  not  yourselves  ;  for  his  life 
 is  in  him. 
 
 1 1  When  he  therefore  was  come  up  again,  and  had 
 broken  bread,  and  eaten,  and  talked  a  long  while,  even 
 till  break  of  day,  so  he  departed. 
 
 12  And  they  brought  the  young  man  alive,  and 
 were  not  a  little  comforted. 
 
 13  And  we  went  before  to  ship,  and  sailed  unto 
 Assos,  there  intending  to  take  in  Paul :  for  so  had  he 
 appointed,  minding  himself  to  go  afoot. 
 
 14  And  when  he  met  with  us  at  Assos,  we  took 
 him  in,  and  came  to  Mitylene. 
 
 15  And  we  sailed  thence,  and  came  the  next  day 
 over  against  Chios ;  and  the  next  day  we  arrived  at 
 Samos,  and  tarried  at  Trogylliuni ;  and  the  next  day 
 we  came  to  Miletus. 
 
 16  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  Jerusalem 
 the  day  of  Pentecost. 
 
 7  These  words  seem  fairly  to  intimate,  that  the  first  Day  of  the 
 week  or  the  Lord's  Bay  was  set  apart  or  sanctified  for  religious 
 worship :  but  then,  finding  Justin  Martyr,  who  wrote  but  forty 
 
566  THE  ACTS  XX.  7. 
 
 years  after  the  death  of  S.  John,  telling  us  in  his  Apology,  that 
 "  on  Sunday  all  the  Christians  in  city  or  countr}^  meet  together, 
 because  that  is  the  Day  of  our  Loed's  E-esurrection ;  and  then 
 we  have  read  unto  us  the  writings  of  the  Prophets  and  Apos- 
 tles :  this  done  the  President,  or  Bishop,  makes  a  sermon  to  the 
 assembly,  to  exhort  them  to  imitate  and  do  the  things,  they 
 heard :  then  we  all  join  in  prayer :  and,  after  that,  we  receive 
 the  Sacrament,  and  they,  that  are  willing  and  able,  give  alms :" 
 now,  finding  this,  I  say,  related  by  Justin  Martyr  and  the  Fa- 
 thers in  general,  it  clears  up  the  foregoing  text,  beyond  dispute, 
 for  the  religious  observation  of  the  Loed's  Day  in  the  time  of 
 the  Apostles.  Eev.  i.  10  ;  1  Cor.  xvi.  2.  TV.  Reeves.  (Preface 
 to  his  translation  of  the  Apology  of  J.  Martyr.) 
 
 To  break  bread. — The  primary  intent  of  their  assemblies  was  to 
 receive  the  Loed's  Supper  ;  upon  occasion  of  this,  the  Apostle 
 instructed  them  by  preaching.  It  is  most  evident,  by  all  the 
 records  of  the  Church,  that  it  was  the  Apostolic  and  primitive 
 custom  to  partake  of  this  most  Holy  Ordinance  every  Loed's 
 day,  and  that  their  meetings  were  chiefly  designed  for  this :  to 
 which  were  annexed  prayer  and  preaching,  xiii.  44;  1  Cor. 
 xi.  20.     Bp,  Hopkins.     (Exposition  of  Eourth  Com.) 
 
 Honour  especially  in  your  public  and  private  instructions  the 
 primaeval  Law  of  the  Sabbath ;  the  chief  vestige  of  our  Para- 
 disaical state ;  the  one  Command,  inscribed  on  the  order  of 
 Creation ;  the  grand  external  symbol  of  revealed  religion ;  a 
 prominent  branch  of  the  first  table  of  the  Moral  Law,  and 
 standing  on  the  same  footing,  as  the  Love  of  God  and  our  neigh- 
 bour ;  the  theme  of  the  Prophets'  exhortations  in  their  descrip- 
 tions of  the  Evangelical  age  ;  vindicated  indeed  from  the  uncom- 
 manded  austerities  of  the  Pharisees,  but  honoured  by  the 
 constant  practice  of  our  blessed  Sayioue  ;  transferred  by  the 
 LoED  and  His  Apostles,  after  the  ^Resurrection,  to  that  great 
 Day  of  the  Church's  triumph,  but  remaining  the  same  in  its 
 apportionment  of  time,  its  spiritual  character,  and  its  Divine 
 obligation  on  the  whole  human  race ;  and  handed  down  and 
 commended  by  the  constant  and  unvaried  usage  of  the  Church 
 from  the  very  birth  of  Christianity  to  the  present  hour.  Bj).  D. 
 Wilson.     (Cliarge.     Calcutta.     1838.) 
 
THE  ACTS  XX.  7,  8. 
 
 567 
 
 If  what  appears  to  be  but  probahhj  taught  in  Scripture  itself  ap- 
 pears certainly  to  have  been  taught  by  the  Primitive  and  Ca- 
 tholic Church  (as,  for  instance,  the  change  from  the  seventh  to 
 the  First  day  of  the  week),  such  probability,  so  confirmed  and 
 strengthened,  carries  with  it  the  force  of  demonstration.  Br. 
 Waterland. 
 
 O  Lux  Candida,  lux  mihi 
 Lseti  conscia  transitus ! 
 Per  Christi  meritum  patet 
 Yitae  porta  beata?. 
 
 Me  status  revocat  Dies 
 Augustam  Domini  ad  domum  ; 
 Jam  sacra  setherii  premam 
 Lsetus  limina  Templi. 
 
 Jam  visam  SolymsB  edita 
 Coelo  culmina,  et  sedium 
 Coetus  Angelicos,  suo  et 
 Augustam  populo  urbem : 
 
 Urbem,  quam  procul  infimis 
 Terrae  finibus  exciti 
 Petunt  Christiadae,  et  Deum 
 Laudent  voce  perenni ; 
 
 Zuinger. 
 
 Jussam  coelitus  oppidis 
 Urbem  jus  dare  caeteris, 
 Et  sedem  fore  Davidis 
 Cuncta  in  saecla  beati. 
 
 Mater  nobilis  urbium  ! 
 Semper  te  bona  pax  amat : 
 Et  te  semper  amantibus 
 Cedunt  omnia  recte. 
 
 Semper  Pax  tua  maenia 
 Colit ;  semper  in  atriis 
 Tuis  copia  dextera 
 Larga  munera  fundit. 
 
 Dulcis  Christiadum  domus, 
 Civem  adscribe  uovitium : 
 Sola  comitata  caritas — 
 Spes  fidesque  valete ! 
 (See  Bp.  Home's    Coram,  on 
 
 Psalm  cxxii.     Second  Edit.) 
 
 HaDC  est  ilia  Dies,  toto  celebrabilis  orbe, 
 Quem  facit,  et  proprio  signat  honore  Deus. 
 
 Eobanus  Hessus.    (Psalterium  Davidis  car- 
 mine redditum.     Ps.  cxviii.  24.) 
 
 8  Many  lights,  so  that  their  meetings  should  give  rise  to  no 
 scandal.     1  Thess.  v.  22  ;  1  S.  John  ii.  10.     Bejigel. 
 
 Lights  were  received  in  the  primitive  Church,  to  signify  to  the 
 people,  that  God,  "the  Father  of  lights,"  (S.  James  i.  17,)  was 
 otherwise  present  in  that  place,  than  in  any  other ;  and  then 
 men  came  to  offer  lights,  by  way  of  sacrifice  to  God  ;  and  so, 
 
668  THE  ACTS  XX.  9. 
 
 that,   which    was    providently  intended   for   man,  who  indeed 
 needed  such  helps,  was  turned  upon  God,  as  though  He  were 
 to  be  supplied  by  us.     But  what  then  ?     Because  things,  good 
 in  their  institution,  may  be  depraved  in  their  practice,  Ergone 
 nihil  ceremoniarum  rudioribus  dabitur,  ad  juvandam  eorum  imperi- 
 tiam?     (Calvin,  Inst.  Lib.  iv.  c.  10,  s.  14.)     Shall  therefore  the 
 people  be  denied  all  ceremonies  for  the  assistance  of  their  weak- 
 ness ?     Id  ego  non  dico ;  I  say  not  so,  says  Calvin.     Omninb 
 illis  utile  esse  sentio  hoc  genus  adminiculi.     I  think  these  kinds 
 of  help  to  be  very  behoveful  for  them  ;  tantum  hic  contendo,  all, 
 that  I  strive  for,  is  but  moderation ;  and  that  moderation  he 
 places  very  discreetly  in   this,  that  these  ceremonies  may  be 
 few  in  number;  that  they  may  be  easy  for  observation;  that 
 they  ma}^  be   clearly  understood   in   their   signification.     "We 
 must  not  therefore  be  hasty  in  condemning  particular  cere- 
 monies ;  for,  in  so  doing  in  this  ceremony  of  lights,  we  may  con- 
 demn the  primitive  Church,  that  did  use  them  ;  and  we  condemn 
 a  great  and  noble  part  of  the  Eeformed  Church,  which  doth  use 
 them   at  this  day.     Ps.  Ixxiii.  14.     Br.  Bonne.     (Serm.  8  ;  on 
 Candlemas  Day.) 
 9  S.  Paul  "  came  not  with  excellency  of  words,"  or  enticing  speech 
 of  man's  wisdom,  but  in  plain  evidence  of  the  spirit  and  power : 
 and  perhaps  it  was  for  that  reason,  the  young  man,  Eutychus, 
 used  to  the  Grecian  eloquence,  grew  tired  and  fell  so  fast  asleep. 
 .  .  .  Among  all  neglects  of  preaching,  none  is  so  fatal,  as  that 
 of  sleeping  in  the  House  of  God.     A  scorner  may  listen  to 
 truth  and  reason,  and  in  time  grow  serious  :  an  unbeliever  may 
 feel  the  pangs  of  a  guilty  conscience :  one,  whose  thoughts  or 
 eyes  wander  among  other  objects,  may,  by  a  lucky  word,  be 
 called  back  to  attention :  but  the  sleeper  shuts  up  all  avenues 
 to  his  soul ;  he  is,  "  like  the  deaf  adder,  that  hearkeneth  not  to 
 the  voice  of  the  charmer,  charm  he  never  so  wisely."     And  we 
 may  preach  with  as  good  success  to  the  grave,  that  is  under  his 
 feet.  .  .  .  This  indecent  sloth  is  very  much  owing  to  that  luxury 
 and  excess  men  usually  practise  upon  this  day,  by  which  half 
 the  service  thereof  is  turned  to  sin ;  men  dividing  their  time 
 between  God  and  their  bellies,  when,  after  a  gluttonous  meal, 
 their  senses  dozed  and  stupified,  they  retire  to  God's  House  to 
 
THE  ACTS  XX.  9—11.  569 
 
 sleep  out  the  afternoon.  Surely,  brethren,  "  these  things  ought 
 not  so  to  be."  Jonah  i.  6 ;  S.  Mark  xiv.  37.  Bean  Swift.  (Serm. 
 on  text.) 
 In  our  exterior  service  of  God  there  is  so  little  fear,  or  rather, 
 such  want  of  fear,  that  we  commonly  see  in  it  that  thing,  which 
 is  contrary  to  fear,  namely  sleej^^  which  cannot  concur  with  fear. 
 .  .  .  But  Jacob,  which  feared  his  brother,  Esau,  slept  not  all  that 
 night.  (Gen.  xxxii.)  The  example  of  the  Apostle  was  remem- 
 bered, as  a  special  thing  in  the  Primitive  Church,  that  the 
 Christians  watched,  and  heard  S.  Paul's  media  noctej  at  mid- 
 night :  of  which  S.  Chrysostom  saith :  "  It  was  for  this  purpose 
 he  mentioned  those,  who  watched  at  midnight,  that  he  might 
 condemn  those,  who  sleep  at  mid-day."  .  .  .  Again,  seeing  every 
 sin  is  to  be  weighed  and  esteemed  in  primo  partu  •  et  prima 
 poena,  (at  its  first  outbreak  and  first  signal  punishment,)  as  of 
 disobedience,  in  Adam  ;  murder,  in  Cain ;  unlawful  marriage, 
 in  the  old  world  ;  pride,  in  Sodom ;  so  in  the  New  Testament, 
 unreverent  hearing,  punished  in  Eutychus.  v.  5,  10  ;  xiii.  11 ; 
 1  Thess.  V.  7.  Bp.  Andrewes.  (On  the  Moral  Law.  Command- 
 ment ii.) 
 
 I  should  wonder,  if  such  sleepers  do  dream  of  anything,  but  Hell- 
 fire.  It  is  dangerous,  you  know,  to  fall  asleep  with  a  candle 
 burning  by  our  side  ;  some  have  been  so  burnt  in  their  beds ; 
 but  more  dangerous  to  sleep,  while  the  candle  of  the  Word  is 
 shining  so  near  us.     xxviii.  26,  27.     Gurnall. 
 
 Si  somnus  nihil  est  nisi  mors,  nil  mors  nisi  somnus, 
 Quo  plus  in  vitd  dormio,  vivo  minus. 
 
 Joan.  Audoenus.  (Epigr.) 
 10  With  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  of  love  S.  Paul  mixes  up 
 the  practice  of  love,  in  the  performance  of  this  miracle.  Thus, 
 in  a  far  higher  sense,  the  Lord  of  Love  broke  off  in  the  midst 
 of  His  agonizing  prayer  in  the  garden,  that  He  might  go  and 
 admonish  His  disciples.  Thus  should  our  Prayer  and  preach- 
 ing ever  be  sanctified  by  works  interspersed  of  Charity  to  our 
 brethren.     Verse  34,  35  ;  S.  Matt.  xxvi.  36—44.     J.  F. 
 
 II  His  life  is  in  him. — S.  Paul  speaks  at  once  to  the  point  and 
 matter  of  fact,  so  as  to  allay  their  fears  immediately,  when  he 
 might  have  said  much  more  :  exactly  so  does  he  come  to  the 
 
570  THE  ACTS  XX.  11—13. 
 
 relief  of  the  terror-stricken  desperate  jailor,  "  Do  thyself  no 
 harm  ;  for  ive  are  all  hereP  xvi.  28.  How  these  little  incidents 
 open  to  us  the  character  of  the  Apostle.  See  xxvii.  21 — 25  ; 
 xxviii.  2,  3.  J.  F. 
 The  "  breaking  of  bread,"  mentioned  at  verse  7,  was  the  celebration 
 of  the  Eucharist ;  the  breaking  bread,  recorded  here,  was  the 
 Agape,  or  Love-feast,  consequent  often  upon  the  former,  as.  at 
 ii.  46 :  and  both  in  the  upper  chamber,  set  apart,  as  at  i.  13,  for 
 the  holy  purposes  of  Christian  Worship.     J.  F. 
 
 12  Tu  quoque  signa  ferens  titulos  in  carmine  nostro, 
 Troia,  repone  tuos,  et  laudibus  adde  triumphos, 
 Qui  magis  ex  vero  fulgent  tibi  clarius  actu, 
 Quam  quos  pbmposo  reboant  tua  bella  cothurno. 
 Lingua  colona  Dei  cum  semina  foeta  saluti 
 Spargeret,  in  seram  produxit  tempera  noctem, 
 Plus  animis  factura  diem  ;  micuere  corusc^e 
 Lampades,  ut  Yerbi  lucerent  igne  fideles. 
 Solus  ab  excubiis  vivacibus  Euthycus  exul 
 Mersa  sopore  gravi  commisit  membra  fenestrse : 
 O  male  parta  quies !     O  semper  dedita  somno 
 Pectora  nuda  bono !     Quantis  patet  ille  minis, 
 Quem  nox  sola  tenet  .  .  Ees  est  inimica  saluti 
 Pendula  celsa  sequi  .  .  poteras  meliore  cubili 
 In  Verbo  recubare  Dei. 
 
 Arator.     (In  Acta  Apost.  Lib.  ii.) 
 
 13  He  preferred  w^alking,  though  he  had  passed  the  preceding 
 night  without  sleep,  and  though  Assos,  as  Eustathius  observes, 
 was  a  town  difficult  and  dangerous  to  get  to.     Bengel. 
 
 To  keep  the  true  middle  way  between  too  much  activity  and  too 
 much  retirement,  is  one  of  the  main  duties  of  a  Christian. 
 Bengel.     (Diary,  a.d.  1712.) 
 
 O  Solitude !  mentibus  Hie,  hie  serena  Spiritus 
 
 Orantium  gratissima,  Adspirat  aura  pectori ; 
 
 O  vera  cordis  suavitas,  Hie  nullus  auditur  fremens 
 
 Ignota  vulgi  sensibus,  Tumultuantium  fragor. 
 
 Ut  te  require  et  expcto  Hie  corda  nullus  iuquinat 
 
 Turbam  perosus  improbam  !  Vapor,  vel  umbra  crimiuis. 
 
THE  ACTS  XX.  16.  571 
 
 Campi  sonant  hie  mellicis  Inanis  expers  ambitus  ... 
 
 Psallentium  concentibus  :  Optet  superba  culmina 
 
 Hie  Angelorum  coetibus  Opes  domusque  splendidas 
 
 Immixtus  et  vindex  sui  Quicuuque  vult.     Me  nescium 
 
 Sapiens  quietam  transigit  Fraudis  juvat  silentium  ; 
 
 Vitam  procul  negotiis,  Me  solitude,  me  quies 
 
 Curis  procul  nocentibus,  Abscondat  ignotum  omnibus 
 
 Solutus  omui  jurgio.  Deoque  solo  cognitum : 
 
 Hie  alta  vitans  CurisD  Hoc  scire  demum,hoe  vivere  est; 
 
 Poteutioris  limina  Sibi  Deoque  vivere ! 
 Innoxius  ducit  dies 
 
 Anonymi  cujiisdam  jwetcB.     Quoted  by  J.  Norris 
 (of  Bemerton).    Discourse  on  Ps.  Ixxiii.  28. 
 
 16  That  he  might  keep  Pentecost  at  the  very  place,  where  the 
 Holy  Ghost  descended ;  have  an  opportunity  of  preaching 
 Chkist  to  the  vast  concourse  of  the  people  at  the  feast ;  win 
 over  the  Jews  by  his  observance  of  their  law  ;  and  silence  the 
 calumnious  charge  of  his  being  hostile  to  it.     Quesnel. 
 
 1 7  And  from  Miletus  he  sent  to  Ephesus,  and  called 
 the  elders  of  the  church. 
 
 18  And  when  they  were  come  to  him,  he  said  unto 
 them,  Ye  know,  from  the  first  day  that  I  came  into 
 Asia,  after  what  manner  I  have  been  with  you  at  all 
 seasons. 
 
 19  Serving  the  Lord  with  all  humility  of  mind,  and 
 with  many  tears,  and  temptations,  which  befell  me  by 
 the  lying  in  wait  of  the  Jews  : 
 
 20  And  how  I  kept  back  nothing  that  was  profita- 
 ble unto  you,  but  have  showed  you,  and  have  taught 
 you  publicly,  and  from  house  to  house, 
 
 21  Testifying  both  to  the  Jews,  and  also  to  the 
 Greeks,  repentance  toward  God,  and  faith  toward  our 
 Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
 
572  THE  ACTS  XX.  17—19. 
 
 17  From  Miletus,  ^c.  (A  distance  of  almost  fifty  miles.) — The 
 Apostles  of  our  Loed  did,  according  unto  those  directions, 
 which  were  given  them  from  above,  erect  Churches  in  all  such 
 cities,  as  received  the  word  of  truth,  the  Gospel  of  God.  All 
 Churches,  by  them  erected,  received  from  them  the  same  faith, 
 the  same  sacraments,  the  same  form  of  public  regiment.  The 
 form  of  regiment,  by  them  established  at  first,  was,  that  the 
 laity  or  people  should  be  subject  unto  a  college  of  Ecclesiastical 
 persons,  which  were  in  every  such  city  appointed  for  that  pur- 
 pose. These  in  their  writings  they  term  sometime  presbyters, 
 sometime  bishops  .  .  both  subject  unto  S.  Paul,  as  to  a  higher 
 Governor,  appointed  of  God  to  be  over  them.  xiv.  23  ;  1  Tim. 
 V.  22,  17,  18,  19 ;  i.  3.  Hooker.  (Eccl.  Pol.  B.  vii.  ch.  5, 
 S.2.) 
 
 18  He  said,  ^c. — The  evidence,  furnished  by  this  speech  as  to  the 
 literal  report  in  the  Acts  of  the  words,  spoken  by  S.  Paul,  is 
 most  important.  It  is  a  treasure-house  of  words,  idioms,  and 
 sentiments,  peculiarly  belonging  to  the  Apostle  himself.    Alford. 
 
 It  is  in  S.  Paul's  Apostolic  charge  at  Miletus,  that  you  "  see  the 
 man."     J.  F. 
 
 Ye  know. — This  is  the  excellence  of  a  teacher  to  have  witnesses  of 
 his  merits  those,  who  are  his  disciples.  .  .  This  is  the  merit  of 
 a  teacher,  by  his  own  achievements  of  virtue,  to  form  the 
 character  of  his  disciples.  2  Cor.  iii.  1 — 3 ;  1  Thess.  ii.  10 ; 
 Phil.  iii.  17.     S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 At  all  seasons. — As  by  your  sermons  you  preach  "  in  season,"  so 
 by  your  lives  you  may  preach  "  out  of  season,"  and  to  all  men  ; 
 that  they,  seeing  your  good  works,  may  glorify  God  on  your 
 behalf  and  on  their  own.     2  Tim.  iv.  1,  2.     Bp.  J.  Taylor. 
 
 19  With  all  humility  of  mind. —  O  !  vocem  dignam  vere  magno  Pon- 
 tijice  !  O  language  worthy  of  a  truly  great  Prelate  !  v.  3G  ; 
 viii.  9;  xiv.  14,  15;  xxvii.  23;  S.  Mark  x.  44;  Eph.  iv.  2. 
 Erasmus. 
 
 The  highest  point  in  righteousness  and  holiness  consists  in  our 
 being  the  most  exalted  in  virtue  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  most 
 abased  in  our  humility.  S.  John  iii.  28 — 34  ;  S.  Luke  xvii.  10. 
 S.  Gregory. 
 
 His  chief  delight  was  in  the  holy  Scripture  ....  That  was  his  wis- 
 
THE  ACTS  XX.  19—21.  573 
 
 dom,  his  comfort,  his  joy ;    out  of  that   he  took  his    motto ; 
 
 "  Less  than  the  least  of  all  GtOd's  mercies  !" The  same 
 
 night  he  had  his  induction,  he  said  to  Mr.  Woodnot,  "  I  beseech 
 God  that  my  humble  and  charitable  life  may  so  win  upon  others, 
 as  to  bring  glory  to  my  Jestjs,  whom  I  have  this  day  taken  to 
 be  my  Master  and  Governor  :  and  I  am  so  proud  of  His  service 
 ....  that  I  will  always  contemn  my  birth,  or  any  title,  or  dig- 
 nity, that  may  be  conferred  upon  me,  when  I  shall  compare 
 them  with  my  title  of  being  a  Priest,  and  serving  at  the  altar  of 
 Jesus,  my  Master."  1  Cor.  xv.  9  ;  Eph.  iii.  8.  G.  Herbert. 
 (Life  by  Walton.) 
 
 The  sacred  tears  of  those,  who  never  or  seldom  weep  about  matters 
 of  this  life,  nobly  attest  the  truth  and  power  of  the  Christian 
 Eeligion.  With  such  tears,  however,  joy  is  combined.  Verse 
 24, 31 ;  Ps.  cxix. ;  2  Cor.  ii.  4  ;  Phil.  iii.  18  ;  S.  Matt.  xxvi.  75. 
 Bengel.     (Life  and  memoirs  by  Burk,  ch.  14.) 
 
 Oratio  Deum  ungit,  sed  lachryina  compungit ;  Prayer  anoints  God, 
 but  weeping  pierceth  Him  :  hcec  lenity  ilia  cogit ;  that  appeases, 
 this  compels  Him.     Ps.  xxxix.  13.     S.  Augustine. 
 
 20  From  house  to  house  ;  as  if  he  perceived  that  his  public  doctrine 
 would  vanish  into  air,  except  it  were  assisted  by  private  admoni- 
 tion and  conference.  ...  If  false  teachers  "  creep  into  houses,'* 
 for  the  purpose  of  seduction  from  the  truth,  should  not  the  or- 
 thodox pastors  show  at  least  equal  diligence  ?  Verses  29,  30, 
 28  ;  Col.  i.  28,  29 ;  1  Thess.  ii.  11,  12 ;  Eph.  iv.  14.  Bowles. 
 (Pastor  Evangelicus.     Lib.  ii.  ch.  6.) 
 
 21  Faith  without  repentance  is  not  faith,  but  presumption ;  like  a 
 ship,  all  sail  and  no  ballast,  that  tippeth  over  with  every  blast : 
 and  repentance  without  faith  is  not  repentance,  but  despair ; 
 like  a  ship,  all  ballast  and  no  sail,  which  sinketh  with  her  own 
 weight.  What  is  it  then  we  are  to  do,  to  turn  away  God's 
 wrath  from  us,  and  to  escape  the  judgments.  He  threateneth 
 against  us  ?  Even  this :  as,  in  His  comminations.  He  joineth 
 **  mercy  and  truth"  together,  so  are  we,  in  our  humiliations,  to 
 join  faith  and  repentance  together.  Ps.  Ixxxv.  10;  S.  Mark 
 i.  15.     Bp.  Sanderson.     (Serm.  1  Chron.  xxi.  29.) 
 
 Faith  is  a  sacrifice  of  the  understanding  to  God  ;  repentance  sa- 
 crifices the  whole  will :  that  gives  the  knowing ;  this  gives  up  all 
 
574  THE  ACTS  XX.  22. 
 
 tho  desiring  fiiculties  to  God  :   that  makes  lis  disciples ;  this 
 
 makes  us  servants  of  the  Holy  Jesus so  that,  as  Faith 
 
 contains  all  the  knowledge,  which  is  necessary  to  Salvation,  so 
 liepeutance  comprehends  in  it  all  the  whole  practice,  and  working 
 duty  of  a  returning  Christian.     S.  Mark  x.  9.     Bp.  J.  Taylor. 
 
 22  And  now,  behold,  I  go  bound  in  the  spmt  unto 
 Jerusalem,  not  knowing  the  things  that  shall  befall  me 
 there : 
 
 23  Save  that  the  Holy  Ghost  witnesseth  in  every 
 city,  saying  that  bonds  and  afflictions  abide  me. 
 
 24  But  none  of  these  things  move  me,  neither  count 
 I  my  life  dear  unto  myself,  so  that  I  might  finish  my 
 course  with  joy,  and  the  ministry,  which  I  have  re- 
 ceived of  the  Lord  Jesus,  to  testify  the  gospel  of  the 
 grace  of  God. 
 
 25  And  now,  behold,  I  know  that  ye  all,  among 
 whom  I  have  gone  preaching  the  kingdom  of  God, 
 shall  see  my  face  no  more. 
 
 26  Wherefore  I  take  you  to  record  this  day,  that  I 
 am  pure  from  the  blood  of  all  men. 
 
 27  For  I  have  not  shunned  to  declare  unto  you  all 
 the  counsel  of  God. 
 
 22  Our  Saviour  Christ  did  not  of  His  own  private  motion  and 
 will  betake  Himself  into  the  wilderness,  but  by  the  direction  of 
 the  Holt  Spirit  (S.  Matt.  iv.  1.)  S.  Paul,  in  like  manner,  did 
 not  of  his  own  head  go  to  Jerusalem,  but  upon  the  motion  of 
 the  Spirit.  In  the  light  of  these  examples,  men  are  taught  not 
 to  cast  themselves  into  any  places  of  apparent  danger.  .  .  .  And 
 this  condemncth  the  rash  and  heady  conceits  of  some  persons, 
 who,  upon  confidence  of  their  own  strength,  do  put  themselves 
 into  needless  dangers,  having  neither  extraordinary  calling  from 
 God,  nor  any  sufficient  warrant  out  of  His  Word.     viii.  2G,  29  ; 
 
THE  ACTS  XX.  22—24.  575 
 
 xvi.  10  ;  xix.  13  ;  S.  Matt.  iv.  5—7  ;  Ps.  Ixxviii.  10.   JT^.  Perkins. 
 
 (Cases  of  Conscience,  b.  i.  ch.  9.) 
 
 Let  no  man  presume,  that  he  can  see  prospectively  into  the  ways 
 of  Providence.  His  part  is  to  contemplate  them  in  the  past, 
 and  trust  in  them  for  the  future  ;  but,  so  trusting,  to  act  always 
 upon  motives  of  human  prudence,  directed  by  religious  principle. 
 xxvi.  22  ;    Ps.  xxiii.  6  ;   2  Tim.  iv.  10— 18.     Dr.  Southey. 
 
 We  must  trust  God,  where  we  cannot  trace  Him.  Heb.  xi.  8. 
 Adam.     (Private  thoughts.) 
 
 23  The  Holy  Spirit,  all-Comforter  as  He  is,  foils  not  to  an- 
 nounce to  us  crosses  and  afflictions,  that  we  may  be  prepared  ]to 
 meet  them.     xi.  28.     Quesnel. 
 
 24  Gemina  virtus  in  Chrisfiano  :  intentio  et  actio. — There  is  a  double 
 virtue  in  the  Christian  ;  to  intend  a  right  end,  and  to  do  what 
 he  intends,     xi.  23.     ^S.  Ambrose. 
 
 It  is  necessary  in  all  our  endeavours  that  our  views  should  be 
 clear  and  our  aims  well  defined,  and  that  we  should  be  thoroughly 
 convinced  that  the  object  we  are  striving  for  is  worthy  of  our 
 labour ;  for  otherwise,  whatever  may  be  the  nature  of  our  un- 
 dertakings, we  can  neither  have  a  right  to  rejoice  in  their  suc- 
 cess, nor  find  comfort  in  their  failure.  But,  if  we  are  thus 
 fully  persuaded  in  our  own  minds,  then  we  have  no  need  to  feel 
 either  impatience  or  anxiety  about  the  issue,  and  no  ground  to 
 fear,  whatever  it  may  be,  that  our  labour  will  have  been  lost. 
 Still,  it  does  not  follow  that  we  should  be  indifferent  to  the  re- 
 sult of  our  exertions :  that  would  be  absurd  and  unseemly. 
 The  more  firmly  we  believe,  that  our  undertakings  are  conform- 
 able to  the  will  of  God,  the  more  earnestly  must  we  desire,  not 
 only  to  forward,  but  to  witness  their  accomplishment.  And, 
 when  we  have  once  fixed  our  purposes  on  a  solid  foundation  of 
 faith  and  charity,  it  would  be  unwise  to  neglect  any  encourage- 
 ment, that  may  be  derived  from  a  pious  and  reasonable  hope. 
 Ps.  xxxvii.  3  ;  1  Cor.  ix.  24—27 ;  Phil.  iv.  6,  7.  Bp.  Thirlwall. 
 (Serm.  for  the  Soc.  Prop.  Gospel,  1846.) 
 
 Let  us  not  from  the  mean  notions  of  the  vulgar  and  the  fond 
 opinions  of  common  souls  take  our  estimates  of  so  sublime 
 and  extraordinary  a  quality,  as  Greatness  of  mind.  .  .  In  my  ap- 
 prehension, the  man,  that  has  a  great  mind,  is  he,  that  uses 
 
576  THE  ACTS  XX.  24-27. 
 
 his  utmost  moral  diligence  to  find  out  what  are  the  best  things, 
 he  can  do ;  and  then,  without  being  deterred  by  dangers,  and 
 discouraged  by  difficulties,  does  resolutely  and  steadily  pursue 
 them,  as  far  as  his  ability  and  opportunities  will  serve  ;  and  this, 
 out  of  an  internal  principle  of  Love  to  God  and  man,  and  with  a 
 sincere  aim  to  glorify  the  one  and  benefit  the  other.  E-om.  xiv. 
 7—9;  Phil.  i.  13,  14;  1  Tim.  iv.  10;  2  Tim.  iv.  6—8.  Hon, 
 R.  Boyle.  (Greatness  of  mind  promoted  by  Christianity,  in  a 
 Letter  to  a  friend.) 
 'A0ai/a(Tia<s  Jides  est  fundameyitum  EbOauaaia^.  The  belief  that  we 
 shall  never  die  is  the  foundation  of  our  dying  well.  Ps.  cxviii. 
 17  ;  Heb.  xi.  22,  13.     Turretin. 
 
 Qaalis  ubi  ad  mortem  Stephanus  raperetur  acerbam. 
 
 Cum  Te,  Christe,  pia  voce  professus  erat ; 
 Ibat  ovans  animis,  et  spe  sua  damna  levabat, 
 
 Commendans  animam,  Eex,  Tibi,  Christe,  suam :  .  .  . 
 Taliter  intrepidi  Tua  Nomina  sancta  professi 
 
 Eidamus  meritis,  Christe  benigne,  Tuis : 
 Constantique  fide  mortes  adeamus  acerbas : 
 
 Non  mors,  sed  Yita  est,  pro  pietate  mori ! 
 
 Pantaleon  Candidus^     (Prec.  Dominic,  lib.  1.) 
 
 20  The  murder  of  the  soul  is  so  much  the  more  grievous,  as  God'8 
 Image  is  in  the  soul,  rather  than  in  the  body  ...  If  the  bodily 
 blood  of  Abel  cry  for  vengeance,  then  the  blood  of  the  soul 
 much  more.     v.  28  ;  Heb.  xii.  24.     Bp.  Andrewes. 
 
 If  our  work  and  office  be  attended  with  this  difficulty,  sure  it  is 
 your  duty  to  pity  us,  to  "  pray  for  us,"  to  encourage  us  by  all 
 possible  ways  and  means  to  the  vigorous  performance  of  it ;  at 
 least,  not  to  add  to  our  load  or  discourage  us,  either  by  your 
 w^ayward  factiousness,  or  stubborn  profaneness,  or  sacrilegious 
 injustice:  if  you  do  so,  sad  will  be  your  account.  Judges  v. 
 23,  24.     Bp.  Bidl.     (Serm.  S.  James  iii.  1.) 
 
 27  As  Christ  is  King  of  His  Church,  He  will  have  His  Church 
 governed  in  His  own  way,  not  according  to  the  fancies  and  in- 
 ventions of  man.  AVe  must  not  deny  that  to  Christ  in  Go- 
 vernment of  His  Kingdom,  which  we  yield  to  all  earthly 
 Monarchs  in  the  government  of  theirs  ;  when  Christ,  after  His 
 
THE  ACTS  XX.  27.  577 
 
 Eesurrection,  continued  forty  days  upon  earth  among  His  dis- 
 ciples, "  speaking  of  the  things  pertaining  to  the  Kingdom  of 
 God,"  we  cannot  think  He  would  omit  the  giving  of  Eules  for 
 the  framing  of  the  regiment  of  His  Church.  And  when  S.  Paul 
 tells  the  elders  of  Ephesus  he  had  not  shunned  to  declare  to 
 them  the  whole  counsel  of  GrOD,  we  must  take  it  in  pursuance 
 of  those  directions  himself  and  the  rest  of  the  disciples  had 
 received  from  Cheist  for  the  Government  of  His  Church, 
 i.  3 ;  1  Cor.  xi.  2,  16.  Br.  Temple,  (Serm.  before  the  Parlia- 
 ment, 1642.) 
 
 Some  persons  ground  on  this  declaration  of  the  Apostle  the  duty 
 of  at  once  bringing  forward  all  Doctrine,  even  the  highest  mys- 
 teries of  faith,  before  all  people.  They  forget  that  S.  Paul's 
 audience  on  this  occasion  consisted  of  Elders  and  Presbyters, 
 who  are  not  to  be  confounded  with  the  ignorant  and  the  un- 
 learned ;  they  also  forget  that  there  is  "  milk  for  babes,"  as 
 well  as  "strong  meat"  for  grown  up  and  advanced  Christians. 
 It  is  a  sad  mistake,  causing  much  uncharitableness  among  the 
 servants  of  the  Lord,  to  suppose  that  ministerial  faithfulness 
 cannot  be,  unless  every  revealed  truth  be  continually  preached, 
 no  regard  being  had  to  the  several  necessities  and  capacities  of 
 the  hearers.  The  principle  of  reserve,  though  it  must  be  car- 
 ried into  practice  with  great  care,  and  though  it  has  unquestion- 
 ably been  abused,  is  sanctioned  by  the  Ministry  of  our  Loed 
 and  of  His  Apostles  ;  and  we  ought  not  to  give  it  up  for  "  fear 
 of  a  name."  No  where  is  that  principle  more  acted  upon,  than 
 here,  by  the  first  preachers  of  the  Gospel,  in  their  addresses 
 both  to  the  Jew  and  to  the  Gentile.  See  Notes  at  ii.  24,  33  ; 
 xiv.  18  ;  xvii.  31 ;  and  xviii.  5.     J.  F. 
 
 All  the  counsel  of  God. — The  subject  matter  of  the  Ministerial 
 work  is  in  general  spiritual  things,  or  matters,  that  concern  the 
 
 pleasing  of  God  and  the  salvation  of  our  people 1.  It  is 
 
 the  first  and  great  work  of  the  ministers  of  Cheist  to  acquaint 
 men  with  that  God,  that  made  them,  and  it  is  their  happiness 
 to  open  to  them  the  treasures  of  His  goodness,  and  to  tell  them 
 of  the  Glory,  that  is  in  His  presence,  which  all  His  chosen  people 
 shall  enjoy ;  that  so,  by  showing  men  the  certainty  and  the 
 excellency  of  the  promised  felicity  and  the  perfect  blessedness  in 
 
 p  p 
 
378  THE  ACTS  XX.  27. 
 
 the  life  to  come,  compared  with  the  vanities  of  this  present  life, 
 we  may  turn  the  stream  of  their  cogitations  and  affections,  and 
 bring  them  to  a  due  contempt  of  this  world,  and  set  them  on 
 
 seeking  the  durable  treasure 2.  Having  showed  them  the 
 
 right  end,  our  next  work  is  to  acquaint  them  with  the  right 
 means  of  attaining  it ;  where  the  wrong  way  must  be  disgraced, 
 the  evil  of  all  sin  must  be  manifested,  and  the  danger,  that  it 
 hath  brought  us  into,  and  the  hurt  it  hath  already  done  us  must 
 be  discovered.     Then  have  we  the  great  mystery  of  E-edemption 
 to  disclose ;  the  Person,  Natures,  Incarnation,  Perfection,  Life, 
 Miracles,   Sufferings,   Death,   Burial,  Eesurrection,  Ascension, 
 Glorification,  Dominion,  Intercession  of  the  Blessed  Son   of 
 God  ;  as  also  the  tenour  of  His  promises,  the  conditions  imposed 
 on  us,  the  duties  He  hath  commanded  us,  and  the  everlasting 
 torments,  which  He  hath  threatened  to  the  final  impenitent 
 neglecters  of  His  Grace.     0  !  what  a  treasury  of  His  blessings 
 and  graces,  and  the  privileges  of  His  Saints,  have  we  to  unfold ! 
 what  a  blessed  life  of  holiness  and  communion  therein  have  we 
 to  recommend  to  the  sons  of  men !     And  yet  how  many  tempta- 
 tions, difficulties,    and   dangers   to   disclose   and    assist   them 
 against !     How  many  precious  spiritual  duties  have  we  to  set 
 them  upon,  and  excite  them  to,  and  direct  them  in!     How 
 many  objections  of  flesh  and  blood,  and  cavils  of  vain  men  have 
 we  to  refute  !     How  much  of  their  own  corruptions  and  sinful 
 inclinations  to  discover  and  root  out !     We  have  the  depth  of 
 God's  bottomless  love  and  mercy,  the  depth  of  the  mysteries  of 
 His  designs  and  works  of  Creation,  Eedemption,  Providence, 
 Justification,  Adoption,  Sanctification,  Glorification ;  the  depth 
 of  Satan's  temptations,  and  the  depth  of  their  own  hearts  to 
 disclose.     In  a  word,  we  must  teach  them,  as  much  as  we  can, 
 of  the  whole  word  and  works  of  God.     0  !  what  two  Volumes 
 are  these  for  a  minister  to  preach  upon !  how  great,  how  excel- 
 lent, how  wonderful  and  mysterious  !     R.  Baxter.     (Gildas  Sal- 
 vianus,  ch.  ii.  s.  3.)  ' 
 
 28  Take  heed  therefore  unto  yourselves, and  to  all  the 
 flock,  over  the  which  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  made  you 
 
THE  ACTS  XX.  28.  579 
 
 overseers,  to  feed  the  Church  of  God,  which  He  hath 
 purchased  with  His  own  hlood. 
 
 29  For  I  know  this,  that  after  my  departing  shall 
 grievous  wolves  enter  in  among  you,  not  sparing  the 
 flock. 
 
 30  Also  of  your  own  selves  shall  men  arise,  speak- 
 ing perverse  things,  to  draw  away  disciples  after  them. 
 
 31  Therefore  watch,  and  rememher,  that  by  the 
 space  of  three  years  I  ceased  not  to  warn  every  one 
 night  and  day  with  tears. 
 
 28  Take  heed  unto  yourselves. — There  is  no  Clergyman,  unless  he 
 hath  drunk  the  cup  of  slumber  to  the  very  dregs,  but  the  voice 
 of  this  trumpet  will  be  unto  him,  as  Samuel's  message,  making 
 his  ears  to  tingle,  and  his  heartstrings  to  tremble.  Isa.  li.  17  ; 
 1  Sam.  iii.  8  ;  S.  Matt.  xxiv.  45—51.     E.  Leigh. 
 
 It  appears,  that  even  in  the  Apostles'  days  there  was  a  distinction 
 of  Church  and  congregation  ;  for  the  Elders  had  their  flocks, 
 over  whom  the  Holy  Gthost  made  them  overseers.  The  like 
 is  said  of  S.  Paul  and  S.  Barnabas,  that  '*  they  ordained  Elders 
 in  every  Church."  Hence  (saith  Calvin  in  locum)  may  be  ga- 
 thered the  difference  betwixt  the  office  of  those  Elders  and  that 
 of  the  Apostles.  These  had  no  certain  station  in  the  Church ; 
 but-  still  went  up  and  down,  hither  and  thither,  to  plant  new 
 Churches.  Eom.  xv.  19,  20,  23,  24  ;  1  Cor.  iv.  17  ;  Acts  i.  8  ; 
 Eom.  i.  14;  1  Tim.  i.  11 ;  2  Cor.  x.  14,  16.  But  the  other 
 were,  by  Gtod's  appointment,  fixed  and  tied  to  their  own  proper 
 congregations  and  flocks.  Acts  xiv.  23  ;  xx.  28 ;  Titus  i.  5  ;  1 
 S.  Pet.  V,  1.  The  diminutive  ttoZ/hviou,  used  in  S.  Luke  xii.  32  ; 
 Acts  XX.  28  ;  1  S.  Pet.  v.  23,  not  Troi/uuij,  doth  intimate  as  much  ; 
 for  parvum  gregem  signijicat,  it  signifies  a  small  part  of  the 
 great  flock,  distinguished  from  the  rest.  And  indeed  the  state 
 and  condition  of  the  Ministers  and  Ministry  of  the  Church 
 required,  that  every  Pastor  should  not  take  care  of  all  the  flock 
 or  Church,  but  that  rather  they  should  have  certain  portions,  or 
 congregations  of  Gon's  people,  committed  to  them  particularly, 
 
 p  p  2 
 
580  THE  ACTS  XX.  28. 
 
 amongst  whom  tliey  shoiUd  bestow  their  care  and  pains.  For 
 this  cause,  S.  Paul  took  course  to  send  certain  Ministers  to 
 certain  particular  Churches  ;  as  Crescens  to  Galatia,  Titus  to 
 Dalmatia,  and  Tychicus  to  Ephesus.  TJiide  rectisshne  collegimus 
 (saith  a  learned  casuist)  auditores  ordinariis  Pastoribus  contentos 
 esse  oportere,  ne  eos  in  crimen  aWoTpioeTrlaKOTn^'i  conjiciant.  Norris. 
 (On  Convocation.  Ch.  65.) 
 
 Owning  the  Holt  Ghost  as  CEcumenical  Bishop,  to  order  all 
 Church  affairs,  xiii.  2,  4  ;  xv.  28  ;  xvi.  6.  Br.  Littleton.  (Serm. 
 S.  John  XV.  26.) 
 
 Which  He  hath  purchased,  ^c. — A  Blessed  way  of  Simony.  Dr. 
 Bonne.     (Serm.  S.  John  xvi.  8 — 11.) 
 
 Of  the  greatness  of  Cheist's  Love  to  His  sheep  there  are  two 
 great  proofs  in  the  two  words,  Sanguis  and  Testamentum ; 
 sanguis,  a  great  price,  and  testamentum,  a  great  Legacy  ;  sanguis, 
 what  He  suffered ;  testamentum,  what  He  did  for  them.  1  S. 
 John  iii.  1.     Bp.  Andrewes.     (Serm.  Heb.  xiii.  20,  21.) 
 
 Had  I  some  of  that  Blood,  poured  forth  on  the  cross,  how  care- 
 fully should  I  carry  it  ?  And  ought  I  not  to  be  as  careful  of 
 the  souls  it  was  shed  for?  S.  John  x.  11;  xxi.  15,  16.  S. 
 Bernard. 
 
 The  properties  of  one  nature  (in  the  Person  of  the  Son  of  God) 
 by  the  communication  of  idiom,  is  attributed  in  the  concrete  to 
 the  Person,  denominated  from  either  nature,  iii.  15  ;  S.  John 
 iii.  13  ;  1  Cor.  ii.  8.     J.  Ellis. 
 
 That  Person,  which  was  "begotten  of  the  Pathee  before  all 
 worlds,"  and  so  was  really  "the  Loed  of  Glory"  and,  most 
 truly,  "  God,"  took  upon  Him  the  nature  of  man  ;  and  in  that 
 nature,  being  still  the  same  Person  which  before  He  was,  did 
 suffer.  When  our  Savioue  fasted  forty  days,  there  was  no 
 other  Person  hungry,  than  that  Son  of  God,  wliich  made  the 
 world ;  when  He  sat  down  weary  by  the  well,  there  was  no 
 other  Person  felt  that  thirst,  but  He,  which  was  eternally  be- 
 gotten of  the  Pathee,  the  Pountain  of  the  Deity ;  when  He 
 was  buffeted  and  scourged,  there  was  no  other  Person  sensible 
 of  those  pains,  than  that  Eternal  Word,  which  before  all  worlds 
 was  impassible  ;  when  He  was  crucified  and  died,  there  was  no 
 other  Person,  which  "gave  up  the  Gliost,"  but  the  Son  of  Him, 
 
THE  ACTS  XX.  28.  581 
 
 and  so  of  the  same  nature  with  Him,  who  "  only  hath  Immor- 
 tality." .  .  .  But  while  we  prove  the  person  suffering  to  be 
 God,  we  may  seem  to  deny  the  Passion,  of  which  the  Perfec- 
 tion of  the  Godhead  is  incapable.  The  Divine  nature  is  of  In- 
 finite and  Eternal  Happiness,  never  to  be  disturbed  by  the  least 
 degree  of  infelicity  ;  and  therefore  subject  to  no  sense  of  misery. 
 Wherefore,  while  we  profess  that  the  Soif  of  God  did  suffer  for 
 us,  we  must  so  far  explain  our  assertion,  as  to  deny  that  the 
 Divine  nature  of  our  Sayioub  suffered.  .  .  .  The  conjunction 
 with  humanity  could  put  no  imperfection  upon  the  Divinity : 
 nor  can  that  Infinite  Nature  by  any  external  acquisition  be  any 
 way  changed  in  its  intrinsical  and  essential  perfections.  If  the 
 bright  rays  of  the  sun  are  thought  to  insinuate  into  the  most 
 noisome  bodies,  without  any  pollution  of  themselves,  how  can 
 that  spiritual  Essence  contract  the  least  infirmity  by  any  union 
 with  humanity  ?  IS.  Pet.  iv.  1 ;  iii.  18.  Bp.  Pearson.  (Ex- 
 position of  the  Creed.  Art.  iv.) 
 
 In  Christo  nos  naturas  hominisque  Deique 
 
 Jungi  sub  Jeau  Persona  credimus  una ; 
 
 In  qua  fit  naturarum  confusio  nulla : 
 
 Namque  potestates  in  Christo  et  proprietates 
 
 Distinctas  constat  naturae  utriusque  manere  .  .  . 
 
 M.*  An  Deus  et  passus  ?     D.  Passus  fuit  Hie  profecto 
 
 Qui  Deus  est  et  homo,  noster  Mediator  lesus : 
 
 Quamvis  non  potuit  fieri,  ut  pateretur  in  ilia 
 
 Naturd,  qu^  sit  Deus  Omnipotens,  sed  in  ilia 
 
 Tantum,  qua  sit  homo,  mortique  obuoxius  idem. 
 
 Est  tamen  in  Christo  Jesu  naturae  utriusque 
 
 (Diae  atque  humanae)  Communio  proprietatum  ; 
 
 Ut  quis  de  tota  Persona  dicere  possit 
 
 Cum  patribus  Sanctis,  "En  !  Yitae  est  mortuus  Auctor!" 
 
 Atque  "  Cruore  Suo  mundum  Deus  Ipse  redemit !" 
 
 Hac  dici  ratione  potest  homo  Christus  lesus 
 
 "  Omnipotens ;  et  quod  ccelo  descenderit  alto  ;" 
 
 "  Condiderit  mundum  ;  sciat  omnia  ;  et  esset  ubique." 
 
 G.  Nicols.      (jrepl  ap')(jjcv.      Lib.  ii.) 
 
 *  M.  Magister.     D.  Discipulus. 
 
582  THE  ACTS  XX.  29—31. 
 
 29  As  there  are  many  wolves  within  the  Church  ;  so,  out  of  it,  there 
 are  many  sheep,     xv.  24  ;  Eom.  ix.  6  ;  Eev.  ii.  2.     »S^.  Augustine. 
 
 30  Most  of  those  heresies,  that  have  been  broached  to  the  people, 
 were  first  brewed  by  the  priests,  from  Avhose  lips  the  people  do 
 commonly  derive  their  errors,  as  well  as  their  knowledge :  wit- 
 ness those  famous  heresies,  with  which  the  Christian  world  hath 
 been  so  distracted  from  one  generation  to  another,  such  as  the 
 Novatian,  the  Donatist,  the  Arian,  the  Pelagian,  the  Eutychian, 
 the  Eunomian ;  all  which  counterfeits,  and  a  great  many  more, 
 
 '  were  first  coined  by  the  Clergy,  and  dispersed  for  current  Chris- 
 tianity among  the  Laity.  S.  Matt.  vii.  15  ;  IS.  John  ii.  18, 19  ; 
 Isa.  iii.  12  ;  2  Cor.  xi.  26 ;  Eev.  ii.  2.     Br.  J.  Scott. 
 
 Christianity,  which  has  weathered  out  the  storm  of  ten  long  per- 
 secutions, is  not  to  be  borne  down  by  all  the  deliberate  reason- 
 ing or  malice  of  its  open  adversaries.  Those  are  most  to  be 
 dreaded,  who  being  not  declared  enemies  to  Christianity,  en- 
 deavour to  find  out  easier  ways  of  going  to  heaven,  and  to 
 expound  away  the  sense  of  Scripture,  when  it  interferes  with 
 any  darling  notion.  Jer.  v.  31 ;  S.  Luke  xx.  20.  J.  Seed.  (Serm. 
 S.  James  ii.  10,  11.) 
 
 "When  we  read  that  our  blessed  Loed  prayed  earnestly  in  His  last 
 moments  for  the  peace  and  union  of  His  Church,  and  enjoined 
 the  strict  preservation  of  it,  as  they  loved  and  revered  Him, 
 upon  all  His  disciples ;  and  yet  find  that  this  peace  was  con- 
 tinually disturbed  and  this  union  interrupted,  even  under  the 
 superintendence  of  Apostles,  we  can  never  regard  such  evils,  as 
 grounds  of  apprehension,  that  Christ  is  no  longer  present 
 with  us,  that  the  Gospel,  like  many  a  scheme  of  human  inven- 
 tion, has  had  its  day,  and  is  now  perishing  from  natural  causes. 
 To  us,  warned,  as  we  have  been,  and  instructed  by  those  early 
 examples,  the  prevalence  of  schism  in  the  Church  may  be 
 regarded  rather  as  an  evidence  of  its  Divine,  than  of  its  human 
 origin.  It  is  an  abiding  monitor  in  every  age.  Our  sense  of 
 duty  is  awakened  by  it ;  but  our  faith  is  in  no  degree  shaken  or 
 impaired,  xv.  18  ;  S.  John  xvi.  1 — 4.  Bp.  Copleston.  (Serm. 
 for  Soc.  Prop.  Gospel,  1833.) 
 
 31  S.  Paul  is  often  said  to  have  wept,  never  said  to  have  smiled ; 
 as  it  was  of  Cuiitst.   .  .  .  No  one  ever  lamented  so  deeply  his 
 
THE  ACTS  XX.  31.  583 
 
 own  sad  estate,  as  S.  Paul  did  that  of  other  men.  Isa.  liii.  3  ; 
 Eom.  ix.  2 ;  2  Cor.  ii.  4.    ^S".  Chrysostom.   (Horn.  vi.  in  S.  Matt.) 
 
 It  belongs  to  the  office  of  a  pious  pastor  to  weep  within  him- 
 self, before  he  excites  the  tears  of  others  ;  to  be  tormented  in 
 his  own  secret  thoughts,  before  he  expresses  his  indignation 
 openly  against  sin.  The  grief  he  inflicts  on  others  should  be 
 less,  than  the  grief  he  feels  himself,  xiv.  14 ;  xvii.  16  ;  Jer. 
 xxxi.  31  ;  Phil.  iii.  18.     Calvin.     (In  2  Cor.  ii.  4.) 
 
 Whatever  the  mode  of  address,  or  whatever  the  choice  of  topics, 
 there  are  two  qualities,  inseparable  from  religious  instruction  : 
 these  are,  seriousness  and  affection.  In  the  most  awful  de- 
 nunciations of  the  Divine  displeasure,  an  air  of  unaffected  ten- 
 derness should  be  preserved  ;  that,  while  with  unsparing  fidelity 
 we  declare  "the  whole  counsel  of  God,"  it  may  appear  we  are 
 actuated  by  a  genuine  spirit  of  compassion.  A  hard  and  un- 
 feeling manner  of  denouncing  the  threatenings  of  the  Word  of 
 GrOD,  is  not  only  barbarous  and  inhuman,  but  calculated  by 
 inspiring  disgust  to  rob  them  of  all  their  efficacy.  If  the  awful 
 part  of  our  message,  which  may  be  styled  "  the  burden  of  the 
 Lord"  ever  fall  with  due  weight  on  our  hearers,  it  will  be,  when 
 it  is  delivered  with  a  trembling  hand  and  faltering  lips ;  and  we 
 may  then  expect  them  to  realize  its  solemn  import,  when  they 
 perceive,  that  we  ourselves  are  ready  to  sink  under  it.  "  Of 
 whom  I  have  told  you  before,"  said  S.  Paul,  "and  now  tell 
 you  even  weeping^  that  they  are  the  enemies  of  the  cross  of 
 Christ."  Phil.  iii.  18.  AYhat  force  does  that  affecting  declara- 
 tion derive  from  these  tears !  An  affectionate  manner  in- 
 sinuates itself  into  the  heart,  renders  it  soft  and  pliable,  and 
 disposes  it  to  imbibe  the  sentiments  and  follow  the  impulse  of 
 the  speaker.  Whoever  has  attended  to  the  effect  of  addresses 
 from  the  pulpit  must  have  perceived,  how  much  of  their  im- 
 pression depends  upon  this  quality,  which  gives  to  sentiments, 
 comparatively  trite,  a  power  over  the  mind,  beyond  what  the 
 most  striking  and  original  conceptions  possess  without  it.  Ps. 
 cxix.  136 ;  Jer.  ix.  1 ;  Phil.  iii.  18.  Robert  Hall.  (Discourse 
 on  2  Cor.  iv.  1.) 
 
 Yet  thou  art  alive,  and  they  alive  ;  yet  thou  hast  a  tongue,  and 
 they  have  ears :  the  final  sentence  hath  not  yet  cut  off"  their 
 
584  THE  ACTS  XX.  32. 
 
 hopes.  Preach,  therefore ;  and  preach  with  all  thy  might ; 
 exhort  them  privately  and  personally,  with  all  the  seriousness 
 thou  canst ;  quickly,  or  it  will  be  too  late  ;  prudently,  or  Satan 
 will  overreach  thee  ;  fervently,  or  thy  words  are  like  to  be  dis- 
 regarded. Eemember,  when  thou  lookest  them  in  the  faces, 
 when  thou  beholdest  the  assemblies,  that  they  must  be  con- 
 verted, or  condemned;  sanctified  on  earth,  or  tormented  in 
 hell;  and  that  this  is  the  day:  it  must  be  "now,  or  never." 
 ii.  40 ;  1  Cor.  ii.  3  ;  v.  20,  21 ;  vi.  1,  2.  11.  Baxter.  (Discourse. 
 Eccl.  ix.  10.) 
 
 32  And  now,  brethren,  I  commend  you  to  God, 
 and  to  the  word  of  His  grace,  which  is  able  to  build 
 you  up,  and  to  give  you  an  inheritance  among  all 
 them  which  are  sanctified. 
 
 33  I  have  coveted  no  man's  silver,  or  gold,  or 
 apparel. 
 
 34  Yea,  ye  yourselves  know,  that  these  hands  have 
 ministered  unto  my  necessities,  and  to  them  that  were 
 with  me. 
 
 35  I  have  showed  you  all  things,  how  that  so 
 labouring  ye  ought  to  support  the  weak,  and  to  re- 
 member the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  how  He  said, 
 It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive. 
 
 32  He  does  not  say  to  build,  but  to  build  up,  showing,  that 
 they  had  already  been  built.  Eph.  ii.  20;  Col.  ii.  7.  S. 
 Chrysostom. 
 
 It  is  proper  to  this  good  Word  of  God  to  regenerate,  to  sanctify, 
 and  reform  us.  It  hath  vim  seminalem  et  plasticam  ...  It  is 
 an  "  engrafted  Word "  able  to  alter  and  change  our  nature. 
 Invenit  lahruscam,  saith  S.  Chrysostom,  facit  olivam ;  of  a 
 wild  crab-stock  it  will  make  it  a  kindly  plant.  S.  John  xv. 
 3  ;  xvii.  17  ;  S.  James  i.  21.  Bp.  Brownrig.  (Serm.  S.  James 
 i.  22.) 
 
THE  ACTS  XX.  33.  585 
 
 33  I  have  coveted,  ^c. — That  man  has  found  the  secret  of  peace 
 upon  earth,  who,  looking  at  all  temporal  things,  can  say  from 
 his  heart ;  "  I  have  as  much  as  I  really  want,  and  infinitely 
 more,  than  I  deserve  :  I  envy  no  man  ;  I  covet  nothing."  But 
 how  difficult  it  is  to  be  contented  with  our  temporal,  when  we 
 are  so  soon  satisfied  with  our  spiritual  condition  !  How  diffi- 
 cult to  be  brought  to  that  high  class  in  the  school  of  Cheist, 
 which  testifies  with  S.  Paul,  (Phil.  iv.  12  ;  iii.  12, 13.)  "  I  have 
 learned  in  wliatsoever  state  I  am  therewith  to  be  content ;"  and 
 then,  in  regard  to  spiritual  attainment,  "  I  count  not  m3^self  to 
 have  apprehended,"  or  to  be  "already  perfect."  Very  instruc- 
 tive is  the  history  of  S.  Paul  in  this  particular.  (Conf.  Eom. 
 vii.  7  with  text.  Eom.  viii.  1 — 4.)  Trace  in  this  the  exceed- 
 ing power  of  the  Grospel.  Samuel,  under  the  Law,  could  pro- 
 fess only  that  "  he  had  not  taken''  (1  Sam.  xii.  3):  S.  Paul, 
 under  the  Grospel,  has  not  coveted,  has  not  even  the  desire  to 
 take.  In  one,  the  outward  act  was  restrained  ;  in  the  other, 
 the  inw^ard  lust  was  mortified.  (See  note  at  xxvi.  11.)  xix.  37 ; 
 S.  Matt.  iii.  10  ;  v.  6  ;  1  Cor.  xii.  31.     J.  F. 
 
 What  had  the  Apostles  to  gain  by  the  scheme  ?  Did  they  dis- 
 tinguish themselves,  or  their  families  ?  Did  any  of  them 
 advance  thereby  their  posterity  to  honours,  and  favours,  and 
 high  states  ?  Was  there  any  prospect,  or  probability,  of  such 
 advancement  ?  Here  is  an  infallible  rule ;  an  impostor  has 
 always  something  to  get  by  his  imposition  :  he  may  not  get  it ; 
 that  is  another  thing  ;  he  aims  at  some  advantage  to  himself  or 
 friends ;  and  thus  it  becomes  a  natural  consideration  and  in- 
 quiry, was  there  any  interest  to  bias  them  ?  Now,  if  ever  men 
 were  disinterested,  the  Apostles  were :  upon  all  occasions  they 
 declined  and  reprobated  the  idea  of  taking  any  thing  of  their 
 converts.  .  .  .  When  Simon  Magus  offered  them  money  for 
 some  of  their  supernatural  powers,  "Thy  money,"  replied  S. 
 Peter,  "  perish  with  thee,  because  thou  hast  thought  the  gift 
 of  God  may  be  purchased  w-ith  money."  "  Did  I  make  a  gain 
 of  you,"  says  S,  Paul  to  the  Corinthians,  "  by  any  of  them, 
 whom  I  sent  unto  you  ?  Did  Titus  make  a  gain  of  you  ?"  The 
 Apostles,  it  is  true,  had  all  the  opportunity  of  making  them- 
 selves masters  of  the  fortunes  of  their  followers.  ...  So  far 
 
586  THE  ACTS  XX.  33,  34. 
 
 from  taking  advantage  of  the  unlimited  confidence  of  their  fol- 
 lowers to  their  own  interest  and  use,  they  embraced  the  first 
 opportunity  of  getting  rid  of  their  charge,  only  receiving  the 
 contributions  of  the  rich  and  distributing  them  amongst  the 
 poor,  and  transferring  it  to  some  men,  appointed  for  that  pur- 
 pose, not  by  themselves,  but  by  the  people  at  large,  iv.  34 — 
 37  ;  vi.  2,  3 ;  viii.  20 ;  1  Cor.  xv.  19.  Paley,  (Serm.  S.  John 
 XX.  31,  P.  3.) 
 
 You  can  scarce  find  any  Saint  in  Scripture  charged  with  covet- 
 ousness,  because  it  is  as  possible  the  devils  should  be  saved,  as 
 the  man,  that  finally  takes  up  his  chief  rest  and  happiness  in 
 any  thing  below  God.  Gal.  v.  21 ;  S.  Luke  xvi.  25.  R.  Baxter. 
 (Premonition  to  Saints'  Eest.) 
 
 This  motto  of  an  Apostle  ("  I  seek  not  yours,  but  you  ")  is  trans- 
 mitted to  us  with  his  Apostleship,  to  be  transcribed,  not  into 
 our  rings  and  seals  of  Orders,  but  into  our  hearts  ;  there,  if  you 
 please,  to  be  engraven  with  a  diamond ;  set,  as  the  stones,  in 
 our  ephod,  the  jewels  in  our  breast-plate,  gloriously  legible  to 
 all,  that  behold  us.  Br.  Hammond.  (Pastor's  motto.  Serm. 
 2  Cor.  xii.  14.) 
 
 34  It  was  small  credit  for  the  Ephesians  to  liear  S.  Paul  protest, 
 that  his  own  hands  had  supplied  his  necessities.  .  .  What  a 
 shame  it  is  for  you,  that  the  guides  of  your  souls  should  be  dis- 
 tracted into  anxious  solicitude  for  their  own  bodies.  Lapides 
 Sanctuarii  in  capita  omnium  platearum,  what  pity  it  is  to  see  the 
 stones  of  the  Sanctuary  lie  scattered  in  the  street  ?  that  is, 
 saith  S.  Gregory,  to  have  the  Ministers  of  God  scattered  and 
 dispersed  into  secular  necessities  ?  Oh !  these  "  fowls  of  tlie 
 heavens"  should  be  provided  for,  without  their  sowing  and 
 reaping.  These  "  lilies  "  of  Paradise  should  not  toil  nor  labour, 
 and  yet  grow  and  flourish.  S.  Matt.  vi.  .  .  Cain,  that  killed  his 
 brother,  even  when  he  labours,  is  cursed  with  barrenness  :  the 
 Levites,  that  save  their  brethren,  though  they  labour  not,  are 
 Blessed  with  fruitfulness.  S.  Luke  x.  7 ;  1  Cor.  ix.  4.  Bp. 
 Brownrig.     (Serm.  2  Sam.  vi.  12.) 
 
 Would  that  this  example  of  S.  Paul,  in  his  noble  spirit  abhorring 
 every  kind  of  gain  and  advantage  to  himself  were  imitated  by 
 the  preachers  of  our  day.     There  was  a  man,  who  denied  him- 
 
THE  ACTS  XX.  34,  35.  587 
 
 self  animal  food  all  his  life ;  be  had  his  imitators :  there  was 
 one,  who  always  went  bare-foot ;  he  too  had  his  imitators  :  there 
 was  one,  who  wore  a  girdle  round  his  loins ;  he  lacked  not  many 
 zealous  followers :  there  was  one,  who  always  went  out  in 
 vile  apparel,  he  finds  his  votaries.  It  is  this  most  beautiful 
 example  of  S.  Paul,  which  stands  alone,  without  an  imitator. 
 Col.  ii.  20—23  ;  iii.  1,  2 ;  1  Tim.  iv.  3,  4,  8.     Erasmus. 
 
 I  see  not,  why  a  man  may  not  be  allowed  to  speak  well  of  himself, 
 or  publish  his  own  gifts,  graces,  or  virtues,  if  it  be  for  the  good 
 end  and  purpose  that  God,  and  not  himself,  may  be  glorified. 
 And,  accordingly  S.  Paul  not  only  commends  himself,  but  even 
 enlarges  on  his  own  commendation  (2  Cor.  xi.  xii.),  being  com- 
 pelled to  it,  as  he  there  tells  us.  And  S.  Cyprian  in  the  like 
 necessity  and  for  his  own  vindication  commends  himself,  and 
 that  even  for  his  very  humility,  appealing  both  to  Christiana 
 and  to  heathens  for  the  truth  of  it :  Humilitatem  meam  et  fr aires 
 omnes,  et  Gentiles  quoque,  optinie  noriint  et  diliyunt.  Ep.  Ixix. 
 (De  obtrectatoribus.)  xxiii.  1 ;  1  Cor.  xv.  9, 10.  Noiris.  (Trea- 
 tise on  Humility,  ch.  6.) 
 
 I'o  them  that  were  with  me. — The  greatest  Prelate  in  the  Church 
 is  he,  who  is  most  conformable  to  the  example  of  Cueist,  by 
 humility,  charity,  and  the  care  of  his  flock,  and  who,  for 
 Christ's  sake,  will  be  a  servant  to  the  servants  of  God.  Bp. 
 Wilson.     (Sacra  privata.) 
 
 35  I  have  showed  you  all  things,  ^c. — S.  Hierom,  writing  upon 
 these  words  of  the  Proverbs,  "  The  slothful  man  hideth  his 
 hand  in  his  bosom  ;  it  grieveth  him  to  bring  it  again  to  his 
 mouth,"  says,  that  the  slothful,  of  whom  the  wise  man  speaks, 
 is  a  figure  of  a  preacher,  that  practises  not  what  he  says,  and 
 whose  actions  agree  not  with  his  words.  S.  Gregory  Nazianzen 
 says,  that  "  those,  who  preach  not  by  their  actions,  as  well  as  by 
 their  words,  draw  souls  to  them  with  one  hand  and  drive  them 
 away  with  the  other  ;  they  build  with  one  hand,  and  pull  down 
 with  the  other."  i.  1 ;  S.  Matt.  v.  19 ;  2  Tim.  ii.  15  ;  Titus  ii. 
 7.     Rodriguez.     (On  perfection,  p.  iii.  c.  8.) 
 
 So  lalouring.—A.  Bishop's  office  is  a  name  of  labour,  not  a  name  of 
 honour,  operis  no7i  honoris  ;  that  he,  who  coveteth  the  place  of 
 pre-eminence,  and  hath  not  a  desire  to  do  goo^,  praeesse  non 
 
588  THE  ACTS  XX    35. 
 
 prodesse,  may  know   he  is  not  a   Bishop.     Eom.  ii.  28,  29.     S. 
 Augustine.     (De  Civit.  Dei.  L.  xix.  c.  19.) 
 
 The  opinion  of  the  world  is  the  very  reverse  of  this.  Ps.  xiix.  18. 
 Bengel. 
 
 He,  with  all  right  and  reason,  might  have  challenged  a  comforta- 
 ble subsistence  from  his  disciples,  in  recompense  for  the  incom- 
 parable benefits,  he  did  confer  on  them,  and  of  the  excessive 
 pains,  he  did  endure  for  their  good :  this  he  knew  well ;  but  yet 
 did  rather  choose  to  support  himself  by  his  own  labour,  than 
 anywise  to  seem  burdensome,  or  troublesome  to  them.  .  .  This 
 was  the  practice  of  him,  who  was  "  in  labours  most  abundant :" 
 and  such  is  the  genius  of  every  man,  who  upon  principles  of 
 conscience,  reason,  and  honour,  is  industrious.  .  .  Sloth  is  a 
 base  quality,  the  argument  of  a  mind  wretchedly  degenerate 
 and  mean,  which  is  content  to  grovel  in  a  despicable  state, 
 which  aimeth  at  no  worthy  thing,  nor  pursueth  anything  in  a 
 laudable  way,  which  disposeth  a  man  to  live  gratis  (precariously) 
 and  ungratefully  on  the  public  stock,  as  an  insignificant  cipher 
 among  men,  as  a  burthen  of  the  earth,  as  a  wen  of  any  society, 
 sucking  aliment  from  it,  but  yielding  no  benefit  or  ornament 
 thereto.  Prov.  xxxi.  13,  14,  27 ;  1  Cor.  ix.  11,  15 ;  2  Thess. 
 iii.  9.     Dr.  Barrow.     (Serm.  Eccl.  ix.  10.) 
 
 A  generous  mind  never  enjoys  its  possessions  so  much,  as  when 
 others  are  made  partakers  of  them.  Numb.  x.  29  ;  1  S.  John  i. 
 1 — 4.      W.  Jones.     (Serm.  on  text.) 
 
 Let  every  day  be  a  day  of  humility ;  condescend  to  all  the  weak- 
 ness and  infirmities  of  your  fellow-creatures,  cover  their 
 frailties,  love  their  excellencies,  encourage  their  virtues,  re- 
 lieve their  wants,  rejoice  in  their  prosperities,  compassionate 
 their  distress,  receive  their  friendship,  overlook  their  unkind- 
 ness,  forgive  their  malice,  be  a  servant  of  servants,  and  con- 
 descend to  the  lowest  offices,  to  the  lowest  of  mankind,  x.  38  ; 
 1  Thess.  V.  14,  15  ;  Eom.  xii.  13—21.  Wm.  Law, 
 Nuda  sacerdotis  docti  bene  credere  inertem 
 
 Verba  decent  populum  ;  vivere  vita  docet. 
 TJt  decuit  docuit,  qui  re  sua  verba  probavit : 
 
 Plus  male  facta  nocent,  quam  bene  dicta  juvant. 
 
 Joan.  Audoenus.     (Epigr.  Lib.  ix.  79.) 
 
THE  ACTS  XX.  36.  589 
 
 36  And  when  he  had  thus  spoken,  he  kneeled  down 
 and  prayed  with  them  all. 
 
 37  And  they  all  wept  sore,  and  fell  on  Paul's  neck, 
 and  kissed  him, 
 
 38  Sorrowing  most  of  all  for  the  words  which  he 
 spake,  that  they  should  see  his  face  no  more.  And 
 they  accompanied  him  unto  the  ship. 
 
 36  When  he  had  thus  spoken. — I  confess  some  of  these  words  of 
 S.  Paul  have  been  so  often  presented  before  mine  eyes  and 
 stuck  upon  my  conscience,  that  I  have  been  much  convinced  by 
 them  of  my  duty  and  neglect.  And  I  tliink  this  one  speech 
 better  deserveth  a  twelvemonth's  study,  than  most  things,  that 
 young  students  do  lay  out  their  time  in.  O  !  Brethren,  write 
 it  on  your  study  doors  ;  or  set  it,  as  your  copy,  in  capital  letters 
 still  before  your  eyes.  Could  we  but  well  learn  two  or  three 
 lines  of  it,  what  preachers  should  we  be  ?  1.  For  our  general 
 business.  Serving  the  Lord  ivith  humility  of  mind;  2.  Our 
 special  work.  Take  heed  to  yourselves  and  to  all  the  flock; 
 3.  Our  doctrine,  Repentance  towards  God  and  faith  towards 
 our  LoBD  Jesus  Cheist  ;  4,  The  place  and  manner  of  teach- 
 ing, I  have  taught  you  publicly  and  from  house  to  house  ;  5.  The 
 object  and  internal  manner,  I  ceased  not  to  warn  every  one 
 night  and  day  with  tears.  This  is  that,  must  win  souls  and  pre- 
 serve them.  6.  His  innocency  and  self-denial  for  the  advantage 
 of  the  Gospel,  I  have  coveted  no  maiCs  silver  or  gold ;  7.  His 
 patience,  None  of  these  things  move  me.,  neither  count  I  my  life 
 dear  ;  8.  And  among  all  our  motives,  these  have  need  to  be  in 
 capital  letters  before  our  eyes  ;  (1.)  "We  oversee  and  feed  the 
 Church  of  God  which  He  hath  purchased  with  His  own  Blood  ; 
 (2.)  Grievous  wolves  shall  enter  in  among  you,  not  sparing  the 
 flock,  and,  of  your  own  selves  shall  men  arise  speaking  perverse 
 things,  to  draw  away  disciples  after  them.  AVrite  all  this  upon 
 your  hearts ;  and  it  will  do  yourselves  and  the  Church  more 
 good,  than  twenty  years'  study  of  those  lower  things,  which, 
 though  they  get  you  greater  applause  in  the  world,  yet,  sepa- 
 rated from  these,  will   make    you   but  "  sounding  brass   and 
 
590  THE  ACTS  XX.  36.  oT. 
 
 tmkling  cymbals,''      ."?     •     :   : -,     ^^Gildas  SalTiiiims,     Ch.  vi. 
 
 8.6.) 
 
 It  is  good  for  fiie-i^^  :  .':  the  nulier  because, 
 
 wheu  we  parts  w^  ^vjv;  iij :  s  .   .  i  we  shall  meet  tc^ther 
 
 again :  but  here  we  may  s  -  :e  duty  was  performed  with 
 the  more  aff^ .  evotion,  because  they  knew 
 
 it  was  to  be  *-        ;    ^     .  "lessed  S.  Paul  was  to  pray 
 
 with  them :  and  it  is  very  fit  that  at  death  we  should  take  leave 
 of  our  finends  with  prayer,  because  then  we  aie  to  take  leave  of 
 prayer  itself;  fereweU  prayer,  and  welcome  praise.  Everlasting 
 piaise !  ssi.  5 ;  S.  John  xvii.  1.  M.  Henry,  (Serm.  Acts  xi. 
 37,  3S.) 
 
 37  Their  tears,  on  eveiT  account  so  natural,  were  probably  in- 
 creased by  the  prospect  of  impending  troubles.  (Terse  29,  BOA 
 This  rendered  S.  Fiaul's  depsortore  and  his  final  £surewell  most 
 painful  to  them.  And  was  it  not  so  in  a  £ar  higher  degree, 
 when  our  Lokd  spake  to  the  Eleyen,  ^*  Because  I  have  said  these 
 tilings,  sorrow  hath  filled  your  hearts  ?"  He  ld%  them,  when 
 His  Presence  was  m<^  needed;  for  He  left  them  with  the 
 knowledge,  that  after  His  departwre^  their  persecutions  would 
 begin.   S.  John  it.  IS— 20;  xvL  1—4;  Phil.  ii.  12, 13.   J.  F. 
 
 The  ancient  Christians  had  many  significant  customs  and  prac- 
 tices, wh^^y  they  did  notably  express  at  the  Losd's  Sapper 
 tlie  love,  which  was  among  them.  The  most  remarkable  of 
 which  were  thesi^  Theie  was  a  holy  kiss,  wherewith  they 
 saluted  each  other,  as  a  token  of  the  dear  afl^tion,  wherewith 
 they  aoabraced,  and  of  their  desire,  that  their  souls  might  pa;^ 
 (as  it  were)  into  each  oth(»'s  bodies.  There  are  many  places  of 
 Scx^tuie,  which  mention  this  kiss  (as  Bom.  xvi.  16 ;  1  Cor.  xvi. 
 20,  Ac),  and  the  b^*  writers,  near  the  times  of  our  S-lttour, 
 teQ  us  it  was  used  to  be  given  at  the  Holy  Communion,  as  the 
 fittest  season  to  express  such  an  innocent  and  sincere  love.  .  .  . 
 Among  liie  Jews  there  were^  Firsts  the  kiss  of  koma^e;  such  as 
 Samu^  gave  to  Saul,  1  Sam.  x.  1,  (and  such,  1  may  add,  as  we 
 are  bid  to  give  to  the  Sox  of  Gon,  Ps.  ii.  12.)  SecoMd/jf,  th. 
 kisa  of  meetimg,  such  as  Aaron  gave  to  Moses,  Ex.  iv.  27. 
 Tkirdly,  the  kiss  of  departmre,  such  as  Orphah  gave  to  her 
 mother,  Buth  i.  14.     And  JbmrtAIjft  the  kiss  of  kmJredy  such  as 
 
THE  ACTS  XX.  37,  38.  591 
 
 Jacob  gave  to  Eachel,  because  she  waa  his  cy 
 
 seek  therefore  for  no  other  reason  of  this  ki> :. 
 
 a  sign  of  kindness  and  lore,  hj  the  custom  of  all  the  world ;  and 
 
 therefore  it  is  called  the  kijis  of  charity.     1  S.  Pet.  t.  13.     S. 
 
 Luke  xxii.  48  ;  1  Cor.  xvi.  20.     Bp.  Patrick.     (3Iensa Mystica. 
 
 Ch.  vi.) 
 
 Thoughts  are  often  known  by  events.  A  sudden  accident  opens 
 the  closet  of  the  heart.     S.  Luke  ii.  35.     Caryl. 
 
 38  The  perfection  of  the  faithful  doth  not  consist  in  their  aban- 
 donment of  all  human  affections,  but  in  their  exercising  them 
 on  proper  occasions,  and  knowing  bow  to  moderate  them.  yiiL 
 2  ;  xxi.  13  ;  Gen.  xxiii.  4;  1  Thess.  iv.  13.     Calrin. 
 
 Thev,  to  whom  S.  Paul  said  thi^,  do  not  ack  S.  Paul  how  he  knew 
 that  they  should  see  his  face  /»o  more ;  they  believed,  as  we  do, 
 that  he  had  it  by  revelation  from  God  :  and  such  knowledge  is 
 faith.  Tricvbitalis  erat  et  cceh/m  attinyit,  says  S.  Chiysostom. 
 S.  Paul  was  a  man  of  low  stature,  but  four  foot  and  a  hal^  says 
 he  ;  and  yet  his  head  reached  to  the  highest  heaven,  and  his 
 eyes  saw,  and  his  ears  heard  the  Counsels  of  God.  Scarce  any 
 ambassador  can  show  so  many  letters  of  his  master's  own  hand, 
 as  S.  Paul  could  produce  revelations.  His  King  came  to  him, 
 as  often  as  other  kings  write  to  their  ambassadors.  He  had  his 
 first  calling  by  revelation  ;  he  had  his  commission,  his  Apostle- 
 r^hip,  by  revelation ;  so  he  was  directed  to  Jerusalem,  and  so  to 
 Eome ;  to  both  by  revelation ;  and  so  to  Macedonia  also.  So 
 he  was  confirmed  and  comforted  in  the  night  by  vision  by  reve- 
 lation ;  and  so  he  was  assured  of  the  lives  of  all  them,  that  suf- 
 fered shipwreck  with  him  at  Malta.  All  his  catechisms  in  the 
 be2inning,  all  his  dictals  in  his  proceeding,  all  his  encourage- 
 ments at  his  departing,  were  all  revelation.  Every  good  man 
 hath  his  conversation  in  heaven  ;  and  heaven  itself  had  a  con- 
 versation in  S.  Paul.  And  so  even  the  book  of  the  Acts  of  the 
 Apostles,  is,  as  it  were,  a  first  part  of  the  book  of  Eevelation — 
 Eevelations  to  S.  Paul,  as  the  other  was  to  S.  John.  ix.  4, 16  ; 
 siii.  2  ;  x^-i.  9  :  xviii.  9  ;  xxvii.  23  ;  Dent,  xxxiv.  10  ;  Gal.  i.  16. 
 Dr.  Bonne.     (Serm.  Acts  xx.  25.) 
 
 A  tender  love  and  kindness  there  is  to  be  in  our  r.earts  to  a'.  n:en, 
 of  what  nature  or  nation   soever.  .   .  .  Yer   a  more    SLEp^Jir 
 
592  THE  ACTS  XX.  38. 
 
 cleaving  of  souls  there  should  be  to  those,  that  are  good ;  but 
 the  most  unspeakable  and  greatest  adhesion  and  union  is  to 
 those,  by  whom  we  have  profited  in  wisdom  and  godliness,  and 
 whose  lips  have  dropped  the  words  of  life  into  our  minds.  For, 
 as  Solomon  hath  it,  "  There  is  gold  and  a  multitude  of  rubies ; 
 but  the  lips  of  knowledge  are  a  precious  jewel."  Prov.  xx.  15. 
 We  should  stand  affected  to  them,  as  the  Galatians  to  S.  Paul, 
 who  would  have  pulled  out  their  very  eyes,  and  given  them  unto 
 him.  Gral.  iv.  15.  They  ought  to  be  to  us  oculis  chariores  (as 
 the  ordinary  phrase  is)  dearer  than  our  eyes  ;  by  which  speech 
 God  expresses  His  extraordinary  love  to  His  people,  Israel, 
 saying,  that  "  He  kept  them  as  the  apple  of  His  eye."  .  .  . 
 Those  precepts,  which  we  imbibe  from  another's  mouth,  na- 
 turally call  forth  a  strong  affection  to  flow  from  us  to  him :  and 
 he,  who  inflames  our  souls  with  love  to  God,  will  certainly  en- 
 kindle a  subordinate  love  within  us  to  himself,  x.  48  ;  xvi.  15  ; 
 Isa.  XXX.  20.  Bp.  Patrick.  (Serm.  preached  at  the  Puneral  of 
 Mr.  John  Smith.  2  Kings  ii.  12.) 
 Let  us  therefore  say  concerning  those,  whose  earth  we  have  com- 
 mitted to  the  dust,  in  hope  of  a  resurrection  to  Eternal  Life, 
 that  we  have  put  them  on  shipboard,  not  to  be  tossed  with  tem- 
 pests ;  for  there  the  weary  are  at  rest ;  but  rather  to  be  be- 
 calmed a  while,  till  the  embargo  shall  be  taken  off  in  the  resur- 
 rection :  and  then,  like  the  ship,  into  which  Cheist  was 
 "willingly  received,"  it  shall  immediately  land  its  passengers  iu 
 the  desired  harbour  of  endless  bliss  and  joy.  Or  we  will  sup- 
 pose, that  we  shut  them  up  in  such  a  ship,  as  God  shut  Noah 
 in,  not  so  much  for  passage  as  for  preservation,  in  which  they 
 shall  be  safe  from  the  waters  of  the  flood,  and  kept  secret,  till 
 the  appointed  time  comes  for  God  to  remember  them,  as  He  re- 
 membered Noah :  and  then  they  shall  be  brought  out  with  joy 
 and  led  forth  with  singing  into  a  new  world.  S.  John  vi.  21 ; 
 Gen.  viii.  1.     M.  Henry.     (Serm.  on  text.) 
 
THE  ACTS  XXI.  593 
 
 CHAPTER  XXI. 
 
 A  ND  it  came  to  pass,  that  after  we  were  gotten  from 
 them,  and  had  launched,  we  came  with  a  straight 
 course  unto  Coos,  and  the  day  following  unto  Rhodes, 
 and  from  thence  unto  Patara  : 
 
 2  And  finding  a  ship  sailing  ov^er  unto  Phenicia,  we 
 went  aboard,  and  set  forth. 
 
 3  Now  when  we  had  discovered  Cyprus,  we  left 
 it  on  the  left  hand,  and  sailed  into  Syria,  and 
 landed  at  Tyre :  for  there  the  ship  was  to  unlade  her 
 burden. 
 
 4  And  finding  disciples,  we  tarried  there  seven  days  : 
 who  said  to  Paul  through  the  Spirit,  that  he  should 
 not  go  up  to  Jerusalem. 
 
 5  And  when  we  had  accomplished  those  days,  we 
 departed  and  went  our  way ;  and  they  all  brought  us 
 on  our  way,  with  wives  and  children,  till  we  were  out 
 of  the  city  :  and  we  kneeled  down  on  the  shore,  and 
 prayed. 
 
 6  And  when  we  had  taken  our  leave  one  of  another, 
 we  took  ship  ;  and  they  returned  home  again. 
 
 7  And  when  we  had  finished  our  course  from  Tyre, 
 we  came  to  Ptolemais,  and  saluted  the  brethren,  and 
 abode  with  them  one  day. 
 
 8  And  the  next  day  wx  that  were  of  Paul's  com- 
 pany departed,  and  came  unto  Cesarea :  and  we  entered 
 into  the  house  of  PhiHp  the  evangelist,  which  was  one 
 of  the  seven  ;  and  abode  with  him. 
 
 Q  Q 
 
594  THE  ACTS  XXI.  1—5. 
 
 9  And  the  same  man  had  four  daughters,  virgins, 
 which  did  prophesy. 
 
 1  Gotten  from  them;  torn  from  their  affectionate  embraces 
 (Greek).  It  suggests  to  us  the  pain,  the  spasm,  attending  the 
 dissevering  of  any  of  oar  bodily  limbs,     iv.  32.     J.  F. 
 
 4  Finding  disciples. — The  expression  in  the  original  implies  search 
 and  inquiry.  S.  Paul  here  illustrates  the  character  of  the  good 
 pastor,  who  both  "  searches  his  sheep  and  seeks  them  out."  Pro- 
 phecy here  may  have  served  him,  as  a  guide,  declaring  the  con- 
 version ofTj/re  from  her  rebellion,  when,  in  the  latter  days,  "  her 
 merchandise  and  her  hire  shall  be  Holiness  unto  the  Lord." 
 Isa.  xxiii. ;  Ezek.  xxxiv.  Conf.  Ps.  Ixxxiii.  7,  with  Ixxxvii.  4. 
 J.F. 
 
 Here,  says  Bede,  the  prophecy  was  fulfilled ;  "  The  daughters  of 
 Ti/re  shall  be  there  with  a  gift ;  like  as  the  rich  also  among  the 
 people  shall  make  their  supplication  before  thee."  Ps.  xliv.  13. 
 For  no  city  with  greater  endearment  received,  and  detained,  and 
 sent  away  the  Apostle.     Corn,  il  Lnpide. 
 
 Their  speech  was  so  conveyed,  as  to  give  S.  Paul  to  understand, 
 that  they  spake  with  the  Spirit  of  prophecy :  no  common  trial 
 surely  to  him,  lest  he  should  abandon  the  journey  he  had  taken 
 in  hand,  on  the  plea  of  the  Holy  Ghost's  dissuading  him  from 
 it.     Yer.  11 ;  Ps.  v.  8.     Calvin. 
 
 5  Kneeled  down. — The  more  ordinary  posture  at  prayer  among  the 
 Jews  was  standing :  but  in  their  confessions,  supplications,  and 
 deprecations,  and  in  times  of  mourning  and  affliction,  they  fell 
 down  upon  their  knees,  and  bowed  their  faces  to  the  ground, 
 vii.  60 ;  xx.  36  ;  S.  Matt.  vi.  5 ;  S.  Mark  xi.  25.  R.  Biscoe. 
 (History  of  the  Acts,  &c.     Ch.  vii.) 
 
 Kneeled  down  on  the  shore  and  prayed. — This  was  no  unusual  thing 
 among  them  in  those  days.  Tertullian  tells  us,  "  They  sent 
 their  prayers  to  heaven  from  every  shore."  Per  omne  littus 
 preces  ad  caelum  mitfunt ;  and  elsewhere  he  calls  them  orationes 
 littorales,  shore-prayers.  So  customary  was  it  for  men,  in  those 
 days,  to  be  taken  into  the  ship  from  their  knees,  not  from  the 
 tavern  and  alehouse,     xvi.  13.     Flavel. 
 
 The  sound  of  men,  women,  and  children,  praying  together,  maketh 
 
THE  ACTS  XXL  5—9.  595 
 
 a  noise,  like  the  waves  of  the  sea,  beating  ou  the  shore.   .S*.  Basil. 
 (Hexaem.  4.  i.  39.) 
 Prayer  and  provender  never  hinder  a  journey.     Gen.  xliii.  13, 14  ; 
 Ps.  xliii.  14  ;  cxxi.  8.     P.  Henry. 
 
 8  We  know  why  SS.  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  and  John  are  called 
 Evangelists ;  namely,  because  they  were  so  well  skilled  in  the 
 history  of  our  Satioub's  life  and  death,  as  to  give  it  us  in 
 writing.  By  parity  of  reason  all  others,  called  Evangelists,  were 
 such,  as  made  it  their  study  and  business  to  make  themselves 
 acquainted  with  our  Satioue's  actions,  and  sermons,  and  suffer- 
 ings, and  to  relate  such  passages  of  them  in  the  public  congre- 
 gation, as  the  present  occasion  required.  And  this  was  as 
 useful  and  edifying  an  oflBce,  as  any  in  the  Church  of  God  ; 
 and  it  was  extremely  necessary  for  some  years  after  our  Sa- 
 viour's Ascension  :  for  it  was  a  good  while  before  the  Gospels 
 were  written,  and  much  longer  still,  before  they  were  dispersed 
 and  universally  received.  During  all  this  time,  the  Evangelist, 
 who  could  confirm  any  great  truth,  add  weight  to  any  advice  or 
 reprehension,  by  rehearsing  any  discourse,  or  relating  any  mo- 
 mentous passage  of  our  Saviour's  life  and  death,  must  have  fre- 
 quent and  great  occasion  to  exercise  his  abilities :  but  when  the 
 four  Gospels  were  committed  to  writing  and  were  in  every  one's 
 hand,  this  office  of  course  ceased  ;  nor  is  there  any  mention  of 
 such  officers  in  the  history  of  the  Church  of  the  ages  next  to 
 the  Apostles.  Eph.  iv.  11 ;  2  Tim.  iv.  5.  J.  Johnson.  (Cler- 
 gyman's Vade  mecum.     P.  i.  Pref ) 
 
 9  Four  daughters. — In  this  gift  of  children,  who  are  "  an  heritage 
 and  gift  that  cometh  of  the  Lord,"  and  then,  still  more  re- 
 markably, in  these  distinguished  powers  of  Prophesying,  be- 
 stowed on  them  by  the  same  Lord,  trace  we  not  some  indirect 
 sanction  and  approval  of  the  Marriage  of  Priests  in  the  Church 
 of  Christ  ?     1  Cor.  ix.  5  ;  1  Tim.  iii.  2.     J.  F. 
 
 He  shows  us  that  they  lived  in  a  state  of  virginity,  out  of  devoted- 
 ness  to  God  :  otherwise,  there  was  no  need  of  his  adding, 
 virgins :  but  he  appended  this  in  praise  of  them,  and  because, 
 at  the  beginning  of  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  this  kind  of 
 life  was  practised,  the  life  /o-oV/^/eXo?,  S.  IMark  xii.  25  ;  1  Cor. 
 vii.  25—40.      Clarius. 
 
 Q   Q   2 
 
596  .  THE  ACTS  XXI.  9,  10. 
 
 Such  was  the  beginning  and  first  Institution  of  the  Christian 
 Church,  that  in  it  we  find  men,  who  voluntarily  became  "  little 
 children  ;"  children,  who  in  wisdom  exceeded  patriarchs ;  virgins^ 
 who  had  the  prudence  and  gravity  of  matrons  ;^and  matrons,  en- 
 dowed with  virginal  modesty  and  chastity ;  men  of  grey  hairs 
 and  old  in  years,  but  '* children  in  malice,"  pride, and  ambition; 
 and  it  was  hard  to  say,  which  were  the  old  and  which  the  young 
 disciples,  for  the  younger  sort  strove  to  be  equal,  if  not  exceed 
 the  elder  in  devotion.  Holiness  was  their  ornament ;  and  men 
 were  counted  great,  as  they  arrived  to  high  degrees  of  piety,  and 
 the  more  religious  any  man  was,  the  greater  majesty  and  respect 
 he  was  thought  worthy  of.  Titus  ii.  14  ;  IS.  Pet.  v.  5.  Br. 
 Horneck.     (A  Letter  to  a  person  of  quality,  &c.) 
 
 10  And  as  we  tarried  there  many  days,  there  came 
 down  from  Judea  a  certain  prophet,  named  Agabus. 
 
 1 1  And  when  he  was  come  unto  us,  he  took  Paul's 
 girdle,  and  bound  his  own  hands  and  feet,  and  said, 
 Thus  saith  the  Holy  Ghost,  So  shall  the  Jews  at  Je- 
 rusalem bind  the  man  that  owneth  this  girdle,  and 
 shall  deliver  him  into  the  hands  of  the  Gentiles. 
 
 12  And  when  we  heard  these  things,  both  we,  and 
 they  of  that  place,  besought  him  not  to  go  up  to  Je- 
 rusalem. 
 
 13  Then  Paul  answered,  What  mean  ye  to  weep 
 and  to  break  mine  heart  ?  for  I  am  ready  not  to  be 
 bound  only,  but  also  to  die  at  Jerusalem  for  the  name 
 of  the  Lord  Jesus. 
 
 14  And  when  he  would  not  be  persuaded,  we  ceased, 
 saying.  The  will  of  the  Lord  be  done. 
 
 10  At  1  Cor.  xii.  8 — 10,  the  Apostle  reckons  up  nine  distinct 
 gifts  of  the  Holt  Spirit,  all  of  the  extraordinary  kind ;  "  the 
 word  of  wisdom,"  the  talent  of  arguing  from  the  natural  prin- 
 ciples of  reason,  for  the  conversion  of  philosophical  infidels  ; 
 
THE  ACTS  XXL  11,  12.  597 
 
 "  the  word  of  knowledge,"  the  talent  of  holding  learned  argu- 
 ments from  the  ancient  prophecies  and  the  writings  of  the  Old 
 Testament,  for  the  conversion  of  Jewish  infidels ;  "  faith,"  a 
 depth  and  accuracy  of  understanding  in  the  general  scheme  of 
 the  Christian  Eevelation,  for  the  improvement  and  edification  of 
 believers ;  *'  the  gifts  of  healing,"  and  "  the  working  of  mira- 
 cles," for  the  purpose  of  making  new  converts,  and  displaying 
 the  extent  of  the  power  of  Christ  ;  *' /^ro/^Aecy,"  or  the  talent 
 of  foreseeing  future  events,  for  the  purpose  of  providing  against 
 the  calamities,  whether  worldly  or  spiritual,  that  might  threaten 
 particular  Churches ;  such  as  famines,  pestilence,  wars,  perse- 
 cutions, heresies  ;  '*  discerning  of  spirits,"  for  the  better  govern- 
 ment of  the  Church  ;  and  "  the  gift  of  tongues"  and  "  the  inter- 
 pretation of  tongues,"  which  seem  to  have  been  very  generally 
 dispersed,  that  every  Christian  might  be  quaHfied  to  argue  with 
 the  learned  Jews  in  the  Synagogues  from  the  original  Scrip- 
 tures, especially  when  the  Jew  thought  proper  to  appeal  from 
 the  G-reek  of  the  Septuagint  to  the  Hebrew  text.  ii.  4  ;  xi.  28. 
 XX.  23,  25.     Bp.  Horsley.     (Appendix  to  Sermons.     Vol.  i.) 
 
 11  Sicut  verbis,  sic  rebus  prophetatum  est. — There  is  a  prophecy 
 by  things,  as  well  as  by  words.     Jer.  li.  63.     Tertullian. 
 
 12  A  question  here  arises  ;  how  could  these  brethren  dissuade  S. 
 Paul  by  the  Spirit  from  doing  that,  which  he  professed  himself 
 to  undertake  on  a  secret  Divine  impulse  ?  Does  the  Spirit  con- 
 tradict Himself,  so  as  to  release  S.  Paul,  whom  before  He  had 
 "bound?"  I  answer;  there  is  a  diversity  in  the  gifts  of  the 
 Spirit :  hence  it  should  not  surprise  us  to  find,  that  persons, 
 endowed  with  the  gift  of  prophecy,  are  sometimes  left  destitute 
 of  judgment  or  of  fortitude.  The  Loed  revealed  to  these 
 brethren  what  was  about  to  happen :  but  at  the  same  time  they 
 were  ignorant  of  what  the  calling  of  S.  Paul  demanded  of  him, 
 or  what  was  in  accordance  with  it ;  because  their  gift  did  not 
 reach  so  far,  as  this.     xx.  22  ;  Isa.  xi.  2 ;  1  Cor.  xii.     Calvin. 
 
 I  remember,  when  Melancthon  was  under  some  despondencies  of 
 spirit  about  the  estate  of  Gon's  people  in  Germany,  Luther 
 chides  him  thus  ;  Monendus  est  Philippus,  ut  desinat  esse  Rector 
 mimdi.  We  must  admonish  Philip  no  longer  to  regard  himself 
 as  the  Euler  of  the  world.     S,  John  iv.  1 ;  Ps.  xlvi.     Flavel. 
 
598  THE  ACTS  XXI.  13,  14. 
 
 13  Some  martyrs  have  confessed  tbe  hardest  work  they  met  withal 
 was  to  overcome  the  prayers  and  tears  of  their  friends  and  re- 
 lations ;  S.  Paul  himself  could  not  get  off  this  snare  without 
 heart  hrealdng.     GurnalL 
 
 The  tears  of  those  we  love  do  either  slacken  our  hearts,  or  wound 
 them.     Bp.  Hall. 
 
 To  weep. — How  often  do  we  afflict  and  torment  ourselves  by  our 
 own  unquiet  thoughts,  when  there  is  no  real  cause  or  ground  for 
 so  doing !  0  what  abundance  of  disquiet  and  trouble  might  we 
 prevent,  by  waiting  quietly,  till  we  see  the  issues  of  Providence, 
 and  not  bringing,  as  we  do,  tlie  evils  of  the  morrow  upon  the 
 day.     Gen.  xxxvii.  35  ;  xlii.  36—38.     Flavel. 
 
 I  am  read]/,  ^c. — It  is  the  glory  of  a  Christian,  to  be  carried  with 
 full  sail,  and,  as  it  were,  with  a  spring-tide  of  affection,  xx.  24 ; 
 S.  Luke  xxii.  33  ;  2  Cor.  v.  14.     Dr.  Sibbes. 
 
 Eemember  that  of  David  to  Solomon,  1  Chron.  xxviii.  20,  together 
 with  that  of  courageous  Luther  to  his  friend,  Spalatinus,  who 
 had  sent  to  inquire,  whether,  or  no,  he  would  go  to  Worms, 
 and  appear  in  the  Gospel's  cause,  if  Caesar  summoned  him. 
 Omnia  de  me  prcesumas,  prceter  fugam  et  palinodiam  ;  "  whatever 
 else  you  may  imagine,  never  think  I  will  either  flee,  or  recant. 
 So  help  me  God  !"  iv.  9  ;  xi.  23  ;  Ps.  xliv.  18-20.  J.  Arroiv- 
 smith.     (Serm.  Lev.  xxvi.  25.     Before  Pari.  1643.) 
 
 14  He  would  not  be  persuaded. — "The  crown  of  life,"  which  the 
 Lord  hath  promised  to  "  the  man,  that  endureth  temptation," 
 is  rendered  briglit,  in  proportion  to  tlie  obstacles  we  have  over- 
 come in  our  determination  to  seize  upon  it.  These  obstacles 
 may  be  often  grounded  on  right  reason,  on  plausible  views  of 
 expediency,  on  deference  to  the  feelings  and  opinions  of  others, 
 yea,  on  apparent  Providences  of  God  and  notices  from  heaven. 
 To  close  the  eye,  and  to  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  such  counsellors  of  a 
 smooth  and  self-sparing  course,  and  to  follow  the  path  of  duty, 
 however  rugged,  from  the  conviction  of  "  conscience  towards 
 God,"  is  a  noble  exercise  and  triumph  of  faith  ;  never  perhaps 
 more  beautifully  exemplified  than  by  Abraham  in  the  Old  Tes- 
 tament (Gen.  xxii.  3, 10),  and  by  S.  Paul  here  in  the  New.  God, 
 we  may  believe,  suffers  all  such  impediments  to  be  suggested  to 
 us  in  order  to  render  our  obedience  to  llis  blessed  will  more 
 
THE  ACTS  XXI.  14. 
 
 599 
 
 complete,  and  our  reward  hereafter  more  glorious.  If  the 
 pilgrim-patriarchs  "had  been  mindful  of  that  country,  from 
 whence  they  came  out,  they  might  have  had  opportunity  to 
 have  returned."  Heb.  xi.  14 — 16.  It  was  the  availing  himself 
 of  a  like  opportunity  of"  returning,"  that  proved  the  ruin  of  the 
 disobedient  Prophet*  (1  Kings  xiii.  15 — 19)  :  he  preferred  the 
 doubtful  word  of  man,  speaking  a  self-indulgent  peace,  to  the 
 unquestionable  Command  of  Gron,  calling  him  to  hardness  and 
 self-denial.  But  S.  Paul,  on  the  occasion,  before  us,  as  he 
 said,  was  bound  in  the  Spirit,  (xx.  22.)  The  revelation,  made 
 to  himself,  was  so  forcible,  as  to  outweigh  the  testimony  of  any 
 contrary  revelation,  made  concerning  him,  to  another  person, 
 iv.  20  ;  S.  Matt.  xvi.  23  ;  Heb.  xi.  35.     J.  F. 
 
 He  was  not  wont  to  oppose  the  entreaties  of  his  brethren,  as,  for 
 instance,  when  at  Damascus,  he  allowed  himself  to  be  let  down 
 by  the  window,  and  when  at  Ephesus  he  would  not  go  into  the 
 theatre ;  now  he  firmly  resists  them,  so  sure  was  he  of  the  will 
 of  God.     ix.  24  ;  xix.  31.     S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 One  cannot  always  discern  the  secret  reasons,  that  actuate  holy 
 men,  especially  when  their  conduct  is  out  of  the  ordinary  way. 
 We  may  often  raise  some  plausible  objections  ;  but  it  is  in  vain 
 for  us  to  do  so,  when  God  is  directing  their  steps.  We  read  of 
 the  resistance  offered  by  the  disciples  to  S.  Paul's  intention  of 
 going  to  Jerusalem  :  this  resistance  on  their  part  was  grounded 
 on  the  most  obvious  reasons ;  and  yet  his  determination,  so 
 
 himself;  according  to  the  rule,  which 
 Abarbinel  lays  down  in  this  case, — 
 '  Nothing/  says  he,  '  that  a  prophet 
 receives  from  God,  is  to  be  altered, 
 unless  that  prophet  has  another  word 
 from  God,  revoking  the  former,'  This 
 is  intended  for  a  warning  to  us  all  that 
 we  be  careful  to  hearken  to  God,  ra- 
 ther than  men,  and  that  we  suffer  not 
 any  confident  man  to  argue  and  dis- 
 pute us  out  of  the  meaning  of  any 
 part  of  God's  Word,  when  the  sense 
 of  it  is  once  clear  and  plain  to  us." 
 Reading,  on  the  First  Lessons,  &c. 
 (Eighth  Sunday  after  Trinity.) 
 
 *  Mr.  Reading,  in  his  sermon  on 
 1  Kings  xiii.  1,  explains  very  clearly 
 the  case  of  the  disobedient  Prophet. 
 **  His  error  was  this,  in  neglecting 
 God's  command,  revealed  to  himself, 
 of  which  he  was  very  certain,  and  trust- 
 ing the  old  prophet  about  a  contrary 
 Revelation,  of  which  he  could  not  be 
 certain,  and  which  indeed  proved  but 
 a  fiction.  Here  was  his  fault :  and 
 therefore  it  was  said  emphatically  to 
 him,  '  Because  thou  hast  disobeyed  the 
 mouth  of  the  Lord.'  For  if  God  had 
 thought  fit  to  recall  His  word.  He 
 would  have  intimated  it  to  the  prophet 
 
600  THE  ACTS  XXI.  14. 
 
 seemingly  rash  in  their  opinion,  was  alone  according  to  the  will 
 of  God  :  and  hence  the  disciples,  after  much  entreaty,  ceased 
 from  their  endeavour,  saying,  "  The  will  of  the  Loed  be 
 doner''  S.  John  iv.  32;  xxi.  20—22.  Monsieur  de  Paris, 
 (Life.  Ch.  15.  Edit,  en  France,  1731.) 
 
 God  wills  it  be  so.  It  is  His  will  concerning  me.  What  need 
 I  more  ?  While  I  am  engaged  in  this  business,  I  am  released 
 from  every  other.  The  most  holy  will  of  God  is  my  centre  of 
 action  :  beyond  that,  I  find  nothing,  but  trouble  and  anxiety, 
 xvi.  10;  S.  Matt.  xi.  26  ;  S.  James  iv.  15.  S.  Francois  de  Sales. 
 (Esprit.  P.  i.  c.  13.) 
 
 Every  word  in  the  text  is  practically  hard,  but  one  ;  and  that  is, 
 Saying ;  which  is  so  easy,  that  S.  Austin  told  his  people  long 
 since,  that  these  forms.  The  will  of  the  Loed  he  done,  and  let 
 the  Loed  do  His  pleasure,  &c.,  are  lingua  popularis,  common 
 discourse :  wherefore  he  adviseth  to  learn  to  get  this  lesson  by 
 heart,  which  every  one  was  able  to  say  by  rote ;  and  then  they 
 should  find  doctrina  salutaris,  a  wholesome  and  saving  doctrine 
 contained  in  it.  This  then  is  an  easy  text,  but  comprehending 
 a  hard  task,  one  of  the  hardest  in  all  the  compass  of  Chris- 
 tianity. 1  Cor.  iv.  20;  Eph.  vi.  6.  Simon  Ford.  (Serm.  on 
 text.) 
 
 Voluntary  submission  is  better  satisfaction,  than  imposed  suffer- 
 ings. It  is  not  in  our  power  to  bring  our  condition  to  our 
 minds  ;  but  it  is  our  duty  to  bring  our  minds  to  our  condition. 
 XX.  24 ;  Phil.  iv.  12.     I)r.  Whichcote.     (Aphor.  Cent.  viii.  728.) 
 
 Lay  thy  heart  to  rest  in  the  will  of  God  :  for  there  is  no  other 
 rest  of  the  soul  to  be  thought  on.    Corbet.    (Notes  for  himself) 
 
 15  And  after  those  days  we  took  up  our  carriages, 
 and  went  up  to  Jerusalem. 
 
 1 6  There  went  with  us  also  certain  of  the  disciples 
 of  Cesarea,  and  brought  with  them  one  Mnason  of 
 Cyprus,  an  old  disciple,  with  whom  we  should  lodge. 
 
 17  And  when  we  were  come  to  Jerusalem,  the 
 brethren  received  us  gladly. 
 
THE  ACTS  XXI.  15—17.  601 
 
 18  And  the  day  following  Paul  went  in  with  us 
 unto  James ;  and  all  the  elders  were  present. 
 
 19  And  when  he  had  saluted  them,  he  declared 
 particularly  what  things  God  had  wrought  among  the 
 Gentiles  by  his  ministry. 
 
 15  They  showed  by  this,  that,  when  they  would  have  dissuaded  S. 
 Paul  from  his  journey,  they  had  an  eye  rather  to  the  common 
 safety  of  the  Church,  than  for  their  individual  preservation  : 
 for,  after  he  had  refused  them,  they  do  not  decline  to  share  in 
 like  danger  with  him ;  though  they  had  a  plausible  excuse,  in 
 that  they  were  compelled  by  no  law  to  expose  themselves  to 
 death,  because  one  man  chose  to  be  obstinate.  Heb.  xi.  15. 
 Calvin. 
 
 16  There  is  not  a  nobler  sight  in  the  world,  than  an  aged  and  expe- 
 rienced Christian  ;  who,  having  been  sifted  in  the  sieve  of  temp- 
 tation, stands  forth,  as  a  connrmer  of  the  assaulted ;  testifying 
 from  his  own  trials  the  reality  of  religion,  and  meeting  by  his 
 warnings,  and  directions,  and  consolations,  the  cases  of  all,  who 
 may  be  tempted  to  doubt  it.     R.  Cecil.     (Eemains.  S.  i.) 
 
 Saepe  nigrum  cor  est,  caput  album ;  sed  quibus  album 
 Et  caput  et  cor  est,  sunt  in  honore  senes. 
 
 Prov.  xvi.  31.     Anonym. 
 
 With  whom  we  should  lodge. — They  thought  it  no  small  happinesa 
 to  lodge  their  pastors  at  their  houses  ;  for,  when  they  had  them, 
 they  believed  they  had  got  some  good  Spirit  in  their  houses ; 
 and  with  them  they  prayed,  and  hoped,  that  now  their  prayers 
 could  not  miscarry,  when  joined  with  the  incense  of  those,  who 
 had  so  often  moved  God  to  be  merciful  to  a  whole  congre- 
 gation. Eor  this  reason,  they  were  desirous  to  entertain  pious 
 men  in  general,  to  do  them  good,  and  to  relieve  them,  as  they 
 did  their  domestics  ;  for  they  thought  the  presence  of  such  men 
 a  blessing  to  their  families,  and  a  protection  from  innumerable 
 evils,  that  might  otherwise  befall  them.  iii.  43  ;  x.  48  ;  xvi. 
 15  ;  xxviii.  7.    Br.  Horneck.  (Letter  to  a  person  of  quality,  &c.) 
 
 17  Gladly  (verse  21). — Because  Satan  knows  that  nothing  lays 
 
602  THE  ACTS  XXI.  18,  19. 
 
 waste  the  Kingdom  of  God  more,  tban  discord  and  secret  ill- 
 will  among  the  brethren,  he  never  ceases  to  spread  abroad  false 
 words,  whereby  to  render  them  mutually  suspicious  of  each 
 other.  Therefore  we  must  shut  our  ears  against  detractions, 
 that  we  may  believe  nothing  against  the  credit  of  Christ's 
 faithful  Ministers,  but  what  we  have  found  to  be  true.  1  Cor. 
 xi.  18.     Calvin. 
 
 18  Although  the  command  was  given  to  S.  James  (S.  Matt,  xxviii. 
 19)  in  common  with  the  other  Apostles,  yet  I  am  persuaded, 
 that  it  was  so  arranged  among  them,  that  he  should  reside  at 
 Jerusalem,  which  was  the  daily  resort  of  vast  numbers  of 
 strangers  :  for  that  was  virtually  the  same,  as  if  he  had  preached 
 the  Grospel  far  and  wide  in  distant  localities,     ii.  5.     Calvin. 
 
 S.  Jerome,  in  his  comment  on  Isaiah,  styles  S.  James  the  thir- 
 teenth Apostle,  that  is,  the  first,  that  was  made  an  Apostle  after 
 
 the  Twelve Now  for  what  other  reason  should  S.  Paul 
 
 go  in  to  S.  James  more  especially,  or  upon  what  other  account 
 should  all  the  elders  be  present  with  S.  James,  but  that  he  was 
 a  person  of  the  greatest  note  and  figure  in  the  Church  at  Je- 
 rusalem ?  (xv.  13;  Gal.  iii.  9.)  Considering  that  S.  James  is 
 called  an  Apostle,  and  considering  the  preference  he  had,  in  all 
 these  instances,  above  the  other  disciples  at  Jerusalem,  it  is  at 
 least  highly  probable,  that  he  was  peculiarly  the  Apostle  of  the 
 Church  at  Jerusalem.  But  if  to  all  this  evidence  we  add  the 
 most  early  testimonies  of  Christian  Antiquity,  we  shall  advance 
 the  probability  to  a  demonstration.  Dr.  J.  Scott.  (Christian 
 Life.  Part  ii.  c.  7.) 
 
 I  exhort  you,  that  ye  study  to  do  all  things  in  a  Divine  concord, 
 your  Eishop  presiding  in  the  place  of  God  ;  your  Presbyters 
 in  the  place  of  the  council  of  the  Apostles ;  and  your  Deacons, 
 most  dear  to  me,  being  intrusted  with  the  Ministry  of  Jestjs 
 Christ.     Col.  ii.  5.     ^S".  Ignatius.     (Ep.  Magnes.  S.  6.) 
 
 19  It  appears  that  regular  accounts  of  the  progress  of  the  Gospel 
 in  difierent  parts  were  duly  sent  to  the  Apostles  at  Jerusalem, 
 xi.  1,  22  ;  viii.  14 ;  and  moreover,  that  S.  Paul  on  his  returns 
 to  the  sacred  city,  the  great  Missionary  station  of  the  Church, 
 appeared  in  person  before  his  brethren,  and  told  tliem  ivhat 
 things  GoD  had  wrought  by  His  Ministry.     These  facts  have, 
 
THE  ACTS  XXI.  19.  603 
 
 more  or  less,  guided  the  proceedings  of  the  Church  in  subse- 
 quent times,  in  regard  to  its  foreign  operations.     J.  F. 
 
 Let  every  page,  which  you  write,  be  consecrated  by  sacred  Truth. 
 Beware  of  that  powerful  self-deception,  whose  operation  is  some- 
 times commensurate  with  a  man's  zeal  for  his  object,  which  leads 
 him  to  deceive  for  God's  sake,  and  to  do  partial  evil,  under  the 
 hope  and  plea  that  great  good  may  come.  If  you  would  keep  at  a 
 remote  distance  from  such  a  temptation,  avoid  amplification  and 
 embellishment  in  what  makes  for  the  credit  and  honour  of  your 
 
 •  personal  labours,  or  of  those  of  your  fellow-missionaries.  Like 
 great  generals,  w4io  recount  their  victories  in  few  words,  let  a 
 modesty  of  description  characterize  your  spiritual  trophies, 
 xxvi.  25  ;  2  Kings  x.  16  ;  2  Cor.  x.  18.  Br.  Buchanan*  (Charge 
 to  some  Missionary  Clergy.  See  life  by  Pearson.  Vol.  ii. 
 p.  339.  Ed.  1819.) 
 
 20  And  when  they  heard  it,  they  glorified  the 
 Lord,  and  said  unto  him,  Thou  seest,  brother,  how 
 many  thousands  of  Jews  there  are  which  believe  ;  and 
 they  are  all  zealous  of  the  law. 
 
 21  And  they  are  informed  of  thee,  that  thou 
 teachest  all  the  Jews  which  are  among  the  Gentiles  to 
 forsake  Moses,  saying  that  they  ought  not  to  circum- 
 cise their  children,  neither  to  walk  after  the  customs. 
 
 22  What  is  it  therefore  ?  the  multitude  must  needs 
 come  together  :  for  they  will  hear  that  thou  art  come. 
 
 23  Do  therefore  this  that  we  say  to  thee :  We  have 
 four  men  which  have  a  vow  on  them  ; 
 
 24  Them  take,  and  purify  thyself  with  them,  and 
 be  at  charges  with  them,  that  they  may  shave  their 
 heads  :  and  all  may  know  that  those  things,  whereof 
 they  were  informed  concerning  thee,  are  nothing  ;  but 
 
 *  He  is  here  speaking  of  the  pe-   [   aries  were   expected   to  give  of  their 
 riodical   accounts,  which  the  Mission-    1   labours  and  success. 
 
604  THE  ACTS  XXI.  20,  21. 
 
 that  thou  thyself  also  walkest  orderly,  and  keepest  the 
 law. 
 
 25  As  touching  the  Gentiles  which  believe,  we  have 
 written  and  concluded  that  they  observe  no  such 
 thing,  save  only  that  they  keep  themselves  from  things 
 offered  to  idols,  and  from  blood,  and  from  strangled, 
 and  from  fornication. 
 
 20  How  mamj  thousands,  ^c— Had  the  Jews  been  entirely  con- 
 verted by  our  Loed,  we  should  have  none  but  suspected  wit- 
 nesses :  had  they  been  entirely  destroyed,  we  should  have  had 
 no  witnesses  at  all.     Pascal. 
 
 "VVe  all  know  how  difficult  it  is  to  escape  from  the  influence  of 
 habitual  associations,  so  as  to  distinguish  between  the  essence 
 of  a  thing  and  the  form,  in  which  it  happens  to  have  been  long 
 familiar  to  us.  x.  14.  Bp.  Thirlwall.  (Serm.  Soc.  Prop.  Gos- 
 pel, 184G.) 
 
 That  a  handful  of  men  of  no  learning,  mean  in  character,  obscure 
 and  friendless  wanderers,  should  prevail  on  such  numbers  to 
 turn  from  a  loose  religion  to  a  strict  one,  from  vice  to  virtue, 
 from  indulgence  to  self-denial,  should  persuade  them  to  quit 
 the  religion,  in  which  they  had  been  educated,  and  w^ere  at 
 ease,  to  forego  the  enjoyment  also  of  worldly  pleasures  and 
 convenience,  to  give  up  ample  fortunes,  and  oblige  their  dearest 
 friends  and  relations  to  leave  their  country,  to  offend  Eulers 
 and  Magistrates,  to  suffer  all  kinds  of  temporal  evils  and  in 
 many  cases  even  the  loss  of  life,  and  this  among  Jews  and 
 Gentiles,  rich  and  poor,  learned  and  unlearned,  savage  nations 
 and  polished  people — that  they  sliould  do  this,  without  having 
 any  proof  to  offer  of  the  Truth  of  what  they  taught,  is  altogether 
 incredible.  Human  nature  is  undoubtedly  the  same  in  every 
 age  and  in  every  country  :  to  suppose  therefore  that  thousands 
 and  tens  of  thousands  should  do  then,  what  no  man  in  his 
 senses  would  do  now,  is  to  set  aside  every  rule  of  reason  and 
 probability.  Paley.  (Serm.  Eom.  x.  10.) 
 21  They  are  informed  of  thee. — Do  not  suffer  yourself  to  repeat 
 stories  to  the  disadvantage  of  others,  though  never  so  public  ;  for 
 
THE  ACTS  XXT.  21—23.  605 
 
 though  this  on  some  occasions  may  be  innocently  done,  yet,  by 
 degrees,  it  may  insensibly  betray  you  to  real  defamation,  vi.  14. 
 Lev.  xix.  16  ;  S.  James  iv.  11.     R.  Nelson. 
 
 It  is  a  good  Christian  rule  not  to  think  the  worse  of  our 
 brethren  for  the  malevolent  report  of  the  wicked,  nor  to  flatter 
 ourselves  for  their  commendations.  For  commonly  to  be 
 praised  by  a  wicked  person  is  to  be  praised  for  a  wicked  action. 
 Verse  38  ;  xxiv.  1 — 5.     Lord  Capel.     (Contemplations,  169.) 
 
 Sudden  changes,  without  substantial  and  necessary  cause,  and  the 
 heady  setting  forth  of  extremities,  I  did  never  love.  vi.  14 ; 
 xix.  37  ;  xxviii.  19.     Bp.  Ridley.     (Letter  to  West.) 
 
 22  The  multitude  must  needs  come  together. — This  anxious  con- 
 sideration of  the  opinion  of  the  lay  brethren  sliows  how  far  the 
 Eulers  of  the  primitive  Apostolic  Church  were  from  all  wishes  or 
 attempts  to  "  Lord  it  over  Cod's  heritage."  Wisdom  and  sacred 
 discretion,  humility  and  meekness,  charity  and  love  were  all 
 exemplified  by  them  on  this  critical  occasion,  when  surrounded 
 with  foes  of  all  kinds  from  without  it  was  so  urgent  upon  them 
 to  be  ''at  peace  among  themselves."     2  Cor.  vii.  11.     J.  F. 
 
 1  find  it  to  be  true  what  Tully  saith,  Justitia  mirijica  qucedam  res 
 multitudini ;  and  certainly  to  our  proper  work  a  great  advan- 
 tage it  is  to  obtain  a  good  opinion  of  those,  we  are  to  deal  with, 
 vi.  3  ;  xvi.  2.  Bp.  Bedell.  (Letter  to  Abp.  Usher.  Life  by 
 Bp.  Burnet,  p.  108.     Edit.  1692.) 
 
 He,  that  loseth  his  good  name,  loseth  his  power  of  doing  good, 
 ii.  47  ;  xi.  24.     Bp.  Wilson. 
 
 23  Want  of  sound  proceeding  in  Church  controversies  hath  made 
 many  more  stiff  in  error  now,  than  before.  Want  of  wise  and 
 discreet  dealing  hath  much  hindered  the  peace  of  the  Church.  .  . 
 In  matters  of  so  great  moment,  whereupon  the  peace  or  dis- 
 turbance of  the  Church  is  known  to  depend,  if  there  were  in 
 us,  that  reverend  care,  that  should  be,  it  is  not  possible  we 
 should  speak  at  any  time  without  fear,  or  ever  write  but  with  a 
 trembling  hand.  Do  they  consider  whereabout  they  go,  or 
 what  it  is  they  have  in  hand,  who,  taking  upon  them  the  causes 
 of  GrOD,  deal  only  or  chiefly  against  the  persons  of  men  ?  .  .  But 
 how  sober  and  how  sound  soever  our  proceedings  be  in  these 
 causes,  all  is  in  vain,  which  we  do  to  abate  the  errors  of  men, 
 
606  THE  ACTS  XXI.  23-25. 
 
 except  their  unruly  affections  be  bridled.  Self-love,  vain  glory, 
 impatience,  pride,  pertinacity,  these  are  the  bane  of  our  peace  ; 
 and  these  are  not  conquered  or  cast  out,  but  by  prayer  .  .  .  O ! 
 that  we  would  now  hold  our  tongues,  leave  contending  with 
 men,  and  have  our  talk  and  treaty  of  peace  with  God.  We 
 have  spoken  and  written  enough  of  peace ;  there  is  no  way  left 
 but  this  one — "  Pray  for  the  peace  of  Jerusalem  !"  Ps.  cix.  3  ; 
 2  Cor.  xiii.  11.  Hooker,  (or  Anonymous.  See  Edit.  Keble. 
 Vol.  iii.  Appendix  2.) 
 
 The  greatest  trust  between  man  and  man  is  the  trust  of  giving 
 counsel-     Lord  Bacon. 
 
 Pray,  when  the  Church  prayeth ;  sing,  when  they  sing,  and  in 
 the  action  of  kneeling,  standing,  sitting,  and  such  indifferent 
 ceremonies  (for  the  avoiding  of  scandal,  the  continuance  of 
 charity,  and  in  testimony  of  thine  obedience),  conform  thyself 
 to  the  manner  of  the  Church,  wherein  thou  livest.  Eom.  xv. 
 5,  6.     Bp.  Baily.     (Practice  of  Piety,  ch.  18.) 
 
 "When  I  go  to  Eome,  I  fast  on  the  Sabbath  ;  when  I  am  at  this 
 place,  I  do  not  fast :  so  do  you  :  to  whatsoever  Church  you  go, 
 observe  its  customs,  if  you  wish  to  avoid  being  a  scandal  to  any, 
 or  any  such  to  you.     E-ora.  xiv.  19.     *S.  Ambrose. 
 Cum  fueris  EomsB  Eomano  vivito  more ; 
 Cum  fueris  alibi,  vivito  sicut  ibi. 
 
 Citat.  apud  Bp.  J.  Taylor.     (Ductor 
 dubitantium.     B.  i.  c.  i.  x.  5. 
 
 24  Be  not  slow  in  common  and  usual  acts  of  piety  and  devotion, 
 and  quick  and  prompt  at  singularities  :  but,  having  first  done 
 what  thou  art  bound  to,  proceed  to  counsels  and  perfections, 
 and  the  extraordinaries  of  religion,  as  you  see  cause.  2  S.  Pet. 
 i.  5_8  ;  Col.  ii.  23.  Bp.  J.  Taylor.  (The  Golden  Grove  .  . 
 Via  pacis.     Wednesday.) 
 
 25  To  allow  men,  under  pretence  that  some  offence  may  be  taken 
 thereat,  to  disobey  laws  and  constitutions,  made  by  those,  that 
 are  in  authority  over  us,  is  the  next  way  to  cut  the  sinews  of 
 all  authority,  and  to  bring  both  magistrates  and  laws  into  con- 
 tempt :  for  what  law  ever  was  made,  or  can  be  made,  so  just 
 and  reasonable,  but  some  men  or  other  either  did,  or  might, 
 take  offence  thereat  ?     Eom.  xiii.  1 — 7.     Bp.  Sanderson. 
 
THE  ACTS  XXI.  25.  607 
 
 Christ,  as  a  great  Prophet  and  worker  of  miracles,  according  to 
 the  example  of  other  Prophets  and  according  to  the  decisions 
 of  the  Jews  themselves,  had  a  power  of  setting  aside  the  Cere- 
 monial rest  of  the  Sabbath,  or  any  ritual  law.  Thus  Joshua 
 commanded,  that  the  ark  of  God  should  be  carried  round 
 Jericho,  the  armed  men  going  before  and  after  it,  seven  days 
 together,  one  of  which  must  have  been  a  Sabbath  :  thus  Elijah 
 and  Elisha  touched  and  handled  dead  bodies,  to  restore  them  to 
 life  ;  and  did  not  account  themselves  legally  unclean :  thus 
 Samuel  and  Elijah  offered  sacrifices,  though  neither  of  them 
 were  priests,  and  in  places,  where,  as  some  think,  sacrifices 
 could  not  be  offered,  according  to  the  Law.  In  a  word,  it 
 appears,  that  many  Ceremonial  laws  were  at  certain  times 
 generally  disused  and  not  observed  by  very  good  men.  vi.  14  ; 
 xxviii.  17.  J.  Jortin,  (Discourses  concerning  the  Christian 
 Eeligion,  i.) 
 
 26  Then  Paul  took  the  men,  and  the  next  day  puri- 
 fying himself  with  them  entered  into  the  temple,  to 
 signify  the  accomplishment  of  the  days  of  pmification, 
 until  that  an  offering  should  be  offered  for  every  one 
 of  them. 
 
 27  And  when  the  seven  days  were  almost  ended, 
 the  Jews  which  were  of  Asia,  when  they  saw  him  in 
 the  temple,  stirred  up  all  the  people,  and  laid  hands 
 on  him. 
 
 28  Crying  out.  Men  of  Israel,  help  :  This  is  the 
 man,  that  teacheth  all  men  every  where  against  the 
 people,  and  the  law,  and  this  place  :  and  further 
 brought  Greeks  also  into  the  temple,  and  hath  polluted 
 this  holy  place. 
 
 29  (For  they  had  seen  before  with  him  in  the  city 
 Trophimus  an  Ephesian,  whom  they  supposed  that 
 Paul  had  brought  into  the  temple ) 
 
608  THE  ACTS  XXI.  26,  28. 
 
 30  And  all  the  city  was  moved,  and  the  people  ran 
 together  :  and  they  took  Paul,  and  drew  him  out  of 
 the  temple  :  and  forthwith  the  doors  were  shut. 
 
 26  May  our  Missionaries  meet  and  confer  with  their  anxious  in- 
 quiring brethren  in  the  spirit  of  S.  Paul.  It  was  his  care  and 
 study  to  remove  every  difficulty,  to  anticipate  every  prejudice. 
 Eespect  was  the  rule  of  his  conduct ;  kindness  was  the  law  of 
 his  tongue.  Let  his  conduct  he  a  pattern  for  ours.  So  shall 
 we  obey  that  grand  rule,  provided  for  the  direction  of  all  our 
 Missions,  and  of  all  our  deportment  towards  the  children  of 
 Abraham, — "  Speak  ye  comfortably  to  Jerusalem."  1  Thess.  ii. 
 10;  Phil.  iii.  17;  S.  Luke  xxiv.  47.     T.  Boijs.     (on  Ch.  xxviii.) 
 
 It  behoves  us  to  take  care  that,  looking  into  the  depths  of  the  Di- 
 vine Knowledge,  we  "  do  all  things  in  order,"  whatsoever  our 
 LoED  has  commanded  us  to  do.  And  particularly  that  we  per- 
 form our  offerings  and  services  to  God  at  their  appointed 
 seasons ;  for  these  He  has  commanded  to  be  done  not  rashly 
 and  disorderly,  but  at  certain  determinate  times  and  hours. 
 And  the  same  care  must  be  had  of  the  persons,  that  minister 
 unto  Him.  Por  the  Chief  Priest  has  his  proper  services;  and 
 to  the  Priests  their  proper  place  is  appointed ;  and  to  the 
 Levites  appertain  their  proper  ministries ;  and  the  layman  is 
 confined  within  the  bounds  of  what  is  commanded  to  laymen. 
 Eccl.  iii.  11 ;  S.  Luke  i.  6.  S.  Clem.  Rom.  (Ep.  to  Cor.  s.  40. 
 Transl.  Abp.  Wake.) 
 
 There  is  a  mean,  if  we  could  but  see  it,  in  all,  save  fundamental, 
 quarrels,  worthy  to  be  the  scope  of  all  our  charitable  desires : 
 which,  if  we  could  attain,  and  rest  in,  we  and  the  Church  of 
 God  should  be  peaceable  and  happy.  Phil.  iii.  15,  16.  Bp, 
 Hall.     (The  Peace-maker,  s.  5.  note.) 
 
 28  "//e//?,"  say  they,  "ye  men  of  Israel,''  as  though  it  were 
 some  (wild  beast)  difficult  to  be  caught,  and  hard  to  be  over- 
 come, that  liad  gotten  into  tlieir  hands,  vi.  12 ;  xviii.  10 ; 
 Ps.  Ixxi.  6.      S.  Chrysosfom. 
 
 Teacheth  all  men  every  where. — To  go  about  the  world  teaching  re- 
 ligion, teaching  it  to  all  ranks,  to  the  poor,  as  earnestly  as  to  the 
 
^  THE  ACTS  XXI.  28.  609 
 
 r 
 
 rich,  had  never  entered  into  the  thought  of  Jew  or  Gentile. 
 Whatever  instruction  had  been  given  by  heathen  philosophers 
 was  given  to  those,  who  were  able  to  remunerate  their  teachers. 
 To  communicate  the  mysteries  of  religion  to  the  vulgar  and  illi- 
 terate, to  women  and  children,  would  have  been  reckoned  most 
 preposterous.  All  conspired,  on  principle,  to  keep  them  in  i(^- 
 norance;  and  to  make  the  characteristic  of  Christianity  more 
 remarkable,  that  "to  the  poor  the  Gospel  was  preached."  It 
 arose  indeed  out  of  the  facts  of  the  religion,  which  declared  the 
 value  of  every  soul.  Abp.  Sumner.  (Evidences  of  Christianity, 
 &c.  ch.  8.) 
 
 If  you  look  throughout  all  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  you  shall  find, 
 that  almost  in  every  place,  when  the  Gospel  came  among  the 
 Jews,  this  was  the  main  obstacle,  that  ever  lay  in  the  way  to 
 hinder  the  freedom  of  its  passage,  the  fixedness  of  that  people 
 and  nation  to  their  ceremonies  and  traditions,  vi.  14 ;  Gal. 
 i.  14.     Dr.  Lightfoot.     (Serm.  S.  Luke  i.  17.) 
 
 Proud  hypocrites  despise,  as  unholy,  those,  who  in  God's  accept- 
 ance are  holier  than  themselves.  S.  Augustine  speaks  of  men, 
 jinxerunt  se  nimis  justos,  cum  totum  vellent  perturbare  orbem  (they 
 pretended  to  an  exceeding  sanctity,  when  their  design  was  to 
 throw  every  thing  into  confusion),  vi.  13,  14 ;  S.  Luke  xviii.  11 ; 
 S.  John  xviii.  28.  Bp.  Babington.  (Notes  on  Genesis, 
 ch.  xlvi.) 
 
 Feigned  equity  is  double  iniquity  ;  both  because  it  is  iniquity,  and 
 because  it  is  feigning.     S.  Matt,  xxiii.  29—33.     S.  Augustine. 
 
 Behold,  how  they  took  it  for  a  like  offence  to  speak  against  the 
 Temple  of  God,  as  to  speak  against  the  Law  of  God  ;  and  how 
 they  judged  it  convenient  that  none  but  godly  persons  and  the 
 true  worshippers  of  God  should  enter  into  the  Temple  of  God. 
 .  .  .  You  will  say,  that  the  Jews  honoured  it  superstitiously,  and 
 a  great  deal  too  much,  crying  out,  "  The  Temple  of  the  Loed, 
 the  Temple  of  the  Lord!"  being  notwithstanding  most  wicked 
 in  life,  and  therefore  justly  reproved  by  Jeremiah  the  prophet  of 
 the  Loed  (vii.  4)  :  truth  it  is,  that  they  were  superstitiously 
 given  to  the  honouring  of  their  Temple.  But  I  would  we  were 
 not  as  far  short  from  the  due  reverence  of  the  Loed's  House, 
 as  they  overshot  themselves  therein,     vi.  13;  xxi.  27,  28;    S. 
 
 B   B 
 
610  THE  ACTS  XXI.  29,  30. 
 
 Matt,  xxvii.  6 ;  2  Cor.  vi.  16 ;   Eccl.  v.  1,  2 ;    1  Cor.  xi.  22. 
 Homilies.     (Of  the  right  use  of  the  Church,  p.  2.) 
 
 29  A  little  water  is  evaporated  into  a  great  deal  of  steam  and 
 smoke ;  and  so  a  thing,  trifling  in  itself,  may  become  the  means 
 of  incalculable  mischief  if  it  be  put  forth  in  the  spirit  of  malice 
 or  even  inconsiderateness.     S.  James  iii.  5.     Manton. 
 
 30  It  is  the  folly  and  ruin  of  most  people  to  live  at  adventure,  and 
 run  together  to  take  part  in  every  thing,  that  comes  in  their  way, 
 seldom  considering  what  they  are  about  to  do,  cr  to  say.  xix. 
 28,  34 ;  Exod.  xxiii.  2  ;  S.  Matt.  vii.  13.     Scougal 
 
 The  Jews,  which  were  of  Asia — the  people — all  the  city. — Envy 
 (xvii.  5),  it  is  like  a  stone  thrown  into  a  pool  of  water;  it  rises 
 in  circles,  each  circle  begetteth  another,  and  growing  still  wider, 
 till  they  all  quite  lose  themselves  in  the  end  (verse  31 ;  xix.  29), 
 dato  unoy  mille  sequuntur :  like  Cadmus' s  brood,  they  start  up  sud- 
 denly, and  as  soon  fall  foul  of  each  other.  Prov.  xvii.  14  ;  2  Tim. 
 ii.  16.     Ch.  Herle.     (Serm.  Pari.  1642.) 
 
 31  And  as  they  went  about  to  kill  him,  tidings 
 came  unto  the  chief  captain  of  the  band,  that  all  Je- 
 rusalem was  in  an  uproar. 
 
 32  Who  immediately  took  soldiers  and  centurions, 
 and  ran  down  unto  them :  and  when  they  saw  the 
 chief  captain  and  the  soldiers,  they  left  beating  of 
 Paul. 
 
 33  Then  the  chief  captain  came  near,  and  took 
 him,  and  commanded  him  to  be  bound  with  tw^o 
 chains ;  and  demanded  who  he  was,  and  what  he  had 
 done. 
 
 34  And  some  cried  one  thing,  some  another,  among 
 the  multitude :  and  when  he  could  not  know  the  cer- 
 tainty for  the  tumult,  he  commanded  him  to  be  car- 
 ried into  the  castle. 
 
 35  And  when  he  came  upon  the  stairs,  so  it  was. 
 
THE  ACTS  XXI.  32,  34.  611 
 
 that  he  was  borne  of  the  soldiers  for  the  violence  of 
 the  people. 
 
 36  For  the  multitude  of  the  people  followed  after, 
 crying,  Away  with  him. 
 
 37  And  as  Paul  was  to  be  led  into  the  castle,  he 
 said  unto  the  chief  captain,  May  I  speak  unto  thee  ? 
 Who  said.  Canst  thou  speak  Greek  ? 
 
 38  Art  not  thou  that  Egyptian,  which  before  these 
 days  madest  an  uproar,  and  leddest  into  the  wilder- 
 ness four  thousand  men  that  w^ere  murderers  ? 
 
 39  But  Paul  said,  I  am  a  man  which  am  a  Jew  of 
 Tarsus,  a  city  in  Cilicia,  a  citizen  of  no  mean  city : 
 and,  I  beseech  thee,  suffer  me  to  speak  unto  the 
 people. 
 
 40  And  when  he  had  given  him  licence,  Paul  stood 
 on  the  stairs,  and  beckoned  with  the  hand  unto  the 
 people.  And  when  there  was  made  a  great  silence, 
 he  spake  unto  them  in  the  Hebrew  tongue,  saying, 
 
 32  Facilius  est  movere  qnieta,  quam  quietare  mota.  It  is  far  easier 
 to  disturb  what  is  quiet,  than  to  quiet  what  is  disturbed. 
 Prov.  xvii.  14.     Plato.     (Motto  on  his  Seal.) 
 
 34  The  multitude  is  a  beast  of  many  heads  ;  every  head  hath  a 
 several  mouth,  and  every  mouth  a  several  tongue,  and  every 
 tongue  a  several  accent ;  every  head  hath  a  several  brain,  and 
 every  brain  thoughts  of  their  own  :  so  it  is  hard  to  find  a 
 multitude  without  some  division.     S.  Luke  xxiii.  23.     Bp.  Hall. 
 
 In  the  persecutions,  in  the  primitive  Church,  the  Martyrs,  which 
 were  hurried  to  tumultuary  executions,  and  could  not  be  -heard 
 for  noise,  in  excusing  themselves  of  treason,  and  sedition,  and 
 crimes  imputed  to  them  to  make  their  cause  odious,  did  use  in 
 the  sight  of  the  people  (who  might  see  a  gesture,  though  they 
 could  not  hear  a  protestation)  to  sign  themselves  with  the  sign 
 of  the  Cross,  to  let  them  know  for  what  profession  they  died : 
 
 R  R  2 
 
612  THE  ACTS  XXI.  36,  37. 
 
 so  that  the  sign  of  the  Cross  in  that  use  thereof,  in  that  time, 
 was  an  abridgment  and  a  Catechism  of  the  whole  Christian 
 ^Religion.  Gah  vi.  14;  2  Cor.  iv.  10.  Dr.  Bonne.  (Serm. 
 Gen.  i.  26.) 
 3G  Here  then  we  have  a  man  of  liberal  attainments,  and  in  other 
 points  of  sound  judgment,  who  had  addicted  his  life  to  the  ser- 
 vice of  the  Gospel.  We  see  him,  in  the  prosecution  of  his  pur- 
 pose, travelling  from  country  to  country,  enduring  every  species 
 of  hardship,  encountering  every  extremity  of  danger,  assaulted 
 by  the  populace,  punished  by  the  Magistrates,  scourged,  beat, 
 stoned,  left  for  dead,  expecting,  wherever  he  came,  a  renewal  of 
 the  same  treatment  and  the  same  dangers  ;  yet,  when  driven 
 from  one  city,  preaching  in  the  next,  spending  his  whole  time 
 in  the  employment,  sacrificing  to  it  his  pleasures,  his  ease,  his 
 safety,  persisting  in  this  course  to  old  age,  unaltered  by  the  ex- 
 perience of  perverseness,  ingratitude,  prejudice,  desertion,  un- 
 subdued by  anxiety,  want,  labour,  persecutions,  unwearied  by 
 long  confinement,  undismayed  by  the  prospect  of  death.     Such 
 
 was  S.  Paul The  question  is,  whether  falsehood  was  ever 
 
 attested  by  evidence,  like  this.  Falsehoods,  we  know,  have 
 found  their  way  into  reports,  into  tradition,  into  books :  but  is 
 an  example  to  be  met  with  of  a  man,  voluntarily  undertaking  a 
 life  of  want,  and  pain,  of  incessant  fatigue,  of  continual  peril, 
 submitting  to  the  loss  of  his  home  and  country,  to  stripes  and 
 stoning,  to  tedious  imprisonment  and  the  constant  expectation 
 of  a  violent  death,  for  the  sake  of  carrying  about  a  story  of  what 
 ■was  false,  and  of  what,  if  false,  he  must  have  known  to  be  so  ? 
 Gal.  i.  24.  Foley.  (Horae  Paulinse,  Conclusion.) 
 37  The  Apostles  were  not  acquainted  with  the  genuine  Greeks 
 but  used  that  corrupted  kind,  which  prevailed  among  the  Hel- 
 lenistical  Jews.  For  this  reason  S.  Paul  says,  '*  I  am  rude  in 
 speech,"  but  not  in  knowledge.  2  Cor.  xi.  16.  It  is  very  ob- 
 vious, that  the  Apostle  here  only  meant,  he  was  not  a  master  of 
 the  Greek  tongue,  though  he  solidly  explained  the  Doctrine  of 
 the  Holy  Scripture.  The  Apostles  possessed  the  gift  of  speak- 
 ing unknown  tongues,  and  they  even  conveyed  that  gift  to  great 
 numbers  of  their  illiterate  converts :  but  as  for  the  languages, 
 that  the  Apostles  had  learnt  in  a  natural  way,  we  have  reason 
 
THE  ACTS  XXI,  38-40.  613 
 
 to  believe,  that  the  Spirit  of  God  permitted  them  to  speak,  as 
 they  did  before.  S.  Paul,  who  was  a  citizen  of  Tarsus  in  Cilicia, 
 naturally  spake  the  corrupted  Greek,  used  among  the  Jews 
 there ;  and  we  fiud  that  this  is  the  language  he  wrote  in.  S. 
 Luke  seems  to  have  understood  Greek  a  little  better.  Fenelon. 
 (Dialogues  on  Eloquence,  3.) 
 
 38  We  should  be  extremely  careful  to  avoid  defamation,  because 
 an  injury  of  this  sort  is  without  after-recompense.  We  cannot 
 follow  a  lie  at  the  heels  to  recover  credit  taken  away,  as  we  can 
 follow  a  thief,  to  recover  goods  taken  away.  Ex.  xxiii.  1 ;  Ps.  xv. 
 1 — 3;  1  Cor.  xi.  18.     Dr.  JVhichcote.     (Aphor.  Cent.  iv.  360.) 
 
 Tale-bearers  and  tale-hearers  are  alike  guilty.  .  .  .  Whether  is 
 more  damnable,  to  be  a  teller  or  receiver  of  tales  and  of  ill  re- 
 ports, it  is  hard  to  say ;  for,  as  the  tale-bearer  hath  the  devil  in 
 his  tongue,  so  the  tale-hearer  hath  the  devil  in  his  ear.  xxv.  19 ; 
 Prov.  vi.  19  ;  Eph.  iv.  31.  S.  Bernard.  (De  interiori  domo. 
 De  consideratione.     Lib.  ii.  in  fine.) 
 
 Si  deest  auditor,  deest  et  detractor. — If  there  were  not  a  receiver 
 of  tales,  there  would  be  no  tale-bearer.  Dent.  xiii.  12 — 14.  S. 
 Jerome. 
 
 He,  that  credits  an  ill  report,  is  almost  as  criminal,  as  the  first  in- 
 ventor of  it.     Palmer.     (Aphorisms,  760.) 
 
 39  It  is  the  method  of  charity  to  suffer  without  reaction ;  those 
 usual  satires  and  invectives  of  the  pulpit  may  perchance  produce 
 a  good  efi'ect  on  the  vulgar,  whose  ears  are  opener  to  rhetoric, 
 than  logic;  yet  do  they  in  no  wise  confirm  the  faith  of  wiser 
 believers,  who  know,  that  a  good  cause  needs  not  be  patroned 
 by  passion,  but  can  sustain  itself  upon  a  temperate  dispute. 
 xix.  37  ;  S.  James  i.  19,  20.  Sir  T.  Browne.  (Eeligio  Medici. 
 S.  5.) 
 
 40  The  very  soul  of  S.  Paul  speaks  in  all  his  writings.  There  is 
 that  undissembled  zeal  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  salvation  of 
 mankind,  that  courage,  that  beautiful  disregard  to  his  own  in- 
 terest, when  it  interfered  with  higher  views,  that  boldness  of 
 expression,  that  life  and  spirit,  which  is  hard  to  be  counter- 
 feited. The  same  force  and  energy,  which  animated  all  his 
 actions,  and  empowered  him  to  spread  the  Gospel  from  East  to 
 West,  ennobles  all  his  compositions ;  and  it  would  be  almost  as 
 
614  THE  ACTS  XXL  40. 
 
 impossible  for  an  impostor  to  write,  as  S.  Paul  did,  as  it  would 
 be  to  act,  as  he  did.  It  is  very  difiScult  to  personate  a  warm, 
 affectionate,  interesting  writer.  We  may  trace  tbe  same  fea- 
 tures, and  exact  resemblances  in  his  speeches  in  the  Acts  of  the 
 Apostles,  and  in  his  Epistles  ;  which  proves  them  both  to  be  the 
 offspring  of  the  same  parent.  In  both  there  is  the  same  great- 
 ness of  spirit,  the  same  glowing  language,  and  elevated  thoughts, 
 warm  from  the  heart.  In  both  he  either  speaks,  or  writes,  with 
 too  animated  a  zeal  to  be  a  cold  deceiver,  with  too  much  sense, 
 solidity,  and  consistency  to  be  an  enthusiast.  J,  Seed.  (Serm. 
 1  Thess.  ii.  13.) 
 
 A  great  silence. — A  quiet  soul  is  the  seat  of  wisdom.  It  is  ill 
 sowing  in  a  storm  ;  so  a  stormy  spirit  will  not  allow  the  Word 
 of  God  to  take  place.  1  Sam.  ix.  27;  S.  John  xi.  20 ;  1  S. 
 Pet.  ii.  1,  2.     Dr,  Sibbes. 
 
 It  is  the  part  of  a  discreet  man  not  to  enter  upon  any  affair  of 
 consequence  hastily  or  inconsiderately,  and  of  a  religious  man 
 not  to  do  any  holy  action  without  preparation.  Por  "  the  me- 
 ditations of  the  heart "  should  precede  "  the  words  of  the 
 mouth."  xix.  32 ;  S.  Matt.  v.  2.  Lord  Capel.  (Contempla- 
 tions, 266.) 
 
 Turn  subito  ingenti  graviter  succensus  oborto 
 Concursu  Lysias  ;  "Tune  ille  ^gyptius,"  inquit, 
 "  Saltibus  et  sylvis  quem  nuper  multa  secuta 
 Millia  latronum,  hos  nutu  qui  vertere  muros 
 Promisit,  Divumque  sibi  qusesivit  honores  ? 
 Jam  super  instabat,  montemque  tenebat  Olivae, 
 Praesidia  attentans  Romance  pellere  gentis. 
 Hunc  ubi  praBsensit  Pelix  infanda  parantem 
 Invasit,  multis  captis  multisque  peremptis  ; 
 Hie  latuit  sociis,  et  tela  inimica  refugit." 
 
 Rossetus.     (Lib.  i.  De  Paulo.) 
 
THE  ACTS  XXII.  615 
 
 CHAPTER  XXII. 
 
 lyTEN,   brethren,  and   fathers,   hear  ye   my  defence 
 which  I  make  now  unto  you. 
 
 2  (And  when  they  heard  that  he  spake  in  the  He- 
 brew tongue  to  them,  they  kept  the  more  silence  :  and 
 he  saith,) 
 
 3  I  am  verily  a  man  which  am  a  Jew,  born  in  Tarsus, 
 a  city  in  Cihcia,  yet  brought  up  in  this  city  at  the  feet 
 of  Gamahel,  and  taught  according  to  the  perfect  man- 
 ner of  the  law  of  the  fathers,  and  was  zealous  toward 
 God,  as  ye  all  are  this  day. 
 
 4  And  I  persecuted  this  way  unto  the  death,  binding 
 and  dehvering  into  prisons  both  men  and  women. 
 
 5  As  also  the  high  priest  doth  bear  me  witness,  and 
 all  the  estate  of  the  elders :  from  whom  also  I  received 
 letters  unto  the  brethren,  and  went  to  Damascus,  to 
 bring  them  which  were  there  bound  unto  Jerusalem, 
 for  to  be  punished. 
 
 6  And  it  came  to  pass,  that,  as  I  made  my  journey, 
 and  was  come  nigh  unto  Damascus  about  noon,  sud- 
 denly there  shone  from  heaven  a  great  light  round 
 about  me. 
 
 7  And  I  fell  unto  the  ground,  and  heard  a  voice 
 saying  unto  me,  Saul,  Saul,  why  persecutest  thou 
 Me? 
 
 8  And  I  answered,  Who  art  thou.  Lord  ?  And  He 
 said  unto  me,  I  am  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  whom  thou 
 persecutest. 
 
616  THE  ACTS  XXII.  2,  4. 
 
 2  The  Hebrews  drink  at  the  fountain  head ;  the  Greeks  at  the 
 stream ;  the  Latins  at  the  pool.     Reuchlinus.     (De  Unguis.) 
 
 4  This  word  way,  by  a  translation  or  metaphor  in  the  Scripture, 
 hath  sundry  significations.  Sometimes  it  is  taken  for  doctrine ; 
 as  "  Thou  teachest  the  way  of  God  truly :"  sometimes  for  reli- 
 gion ;  as  when  S.  Paul  saith,  "  I  persecuted  this  way  ;"  and 
 again,  "  According  to  this  way,  which  they  call  heresy,  I  wor- 
 ship the  God  of  my  fathers :"  sometimes  it  is  taken  for  the 
 course  and  order  of  a  man's  life ;  as  in  the  words  of  the  prophet 
 Esay,  "  The  Loed  taught  me,  that  I  should  not  walk  in  the 
 way  of  this  people:"  sometimes  for  the  counsels  and  purposes 
 of  men ;  so  Elihu  meant  it,  saying,  "  His  eyes  are  upon  the 
 ways  of  man,  and  He  seeth  all  his  goings."  .  .  .  JN"ow  as  God 
 hath  His  way,  so  man  hath  his.  '*  My  ways  are  not  your 
 ways."  The  ways  of  Christ  and  Antichrist,  of  the  Church  of 
 God  and  the  Synagogue  of  Satan,  of  religion  and  superstition, 
 these  are  contrary  to  each  other.  Christ  saith  of  Himself,  "  I 
 am  The  "Way."  In  the  knowledge  of  this  Way  S.  Paul  glorieth, 
 "I  esteemed  to  know  nothing,  but  Christ  Jesus  and  Him 
 crucified ;"  and  in  the  knowledge  of  this  way  the  prophet  de- 
 sireth  to  be  taught  of  God,  "  Teach  me  Thy  way,  O  Lord." 
 ix.  2  ;  Ps.  i.  1 ;  Jer.  vi.  16.     Abp.  Sandys.     (Serm.  Ixxxvi.  11.) 
 
 S.  Paul  "persecuted  the  Church  of  Christ"  ignorantly  and  in 
 unbelief,  out  of  an  honest  and  well-meant  zeal :  but  he  sinned 
 in  so  doing,  and  grievously  too ;  because  he  had  several  oppor- 
 tunities of  knowing  better,  and  he  had  seen  enough  of  the  mira- 
 culous powers  of  the  Church  to  convince  a  man  of  his  education 
 and  abilities,  if  he  had  duly  attended  to  them.  However,  be- 
 cause his  ignorance  in  that  case  was  not  entirely  afffected,  nor 
 owing  to  envy,  malice,  or  other  corrupt  principle,  his  sin  in  that 
 instance  may  pass  among  the  sins  of  ignorance,  rather  than 
 among  the  sins  of  presumption :  it  was  blameable,  but  pitiable 
 at  the  same  time ;  for  ignorance  lessens  and  extenuates  a  fault 
 more  or  less,  according  as  the  ignorance  was  more  or  less  wilful. 
 If  the  ignorance  had  been  perfectly  involuntary  and  unavoid- 
 able, it  would  have  entirely  acquitted  him  of  all  blame.  But, 
 when  the  ignorance  is  in  some  measure  voluntary,  and  in  some 
 measure  involuntary,  there  it  does  not  take  off  the  guilt  entirely, 
 
THE  ACTS  XXII.  6,  7.  617 
 
 but  lessens  and  extenuates  it  in  proportion.  Gen.  xx.  L — 6 ; 
 S.  John  ix.  41 ;  S.  Luke  xii.  48.  Br.  Waterlatid.  (Serm.  Ps. 
 xix.  13.) 
 
 6  E  coelo  tibi,  Paule,  Lux  refulsit, 
 
 Aureo  radians  decore ;  sic  fis 
 
 Agnus  h  rabido  lupo.     Supernae 
 
 Hinc  te  miror  ut  Angelura  eohortis. 
 
 Me  tuum  eloquiura  trahit  stupentem  ; 
 
 At  magis  Sacra  flamma  Caritatis. 
 
 Ilaptum  ad  sidera  te  silens  honoro  ; 
 
 Et  cum  lacte  tuum  colo  cruorem. 
 
 Vana  spes,  temerarius  sit  ausus, 
 
 Quaerens  te  celebrare  !     Sat  voluptas 
 
 Cum  cor  exilit  ob  tuos  triumpbos. 
 
 E/auca  vox  labiis  profusa,  plectro 
 
 Qui  meo  citharaa  sonus  cietur, 
 
 Non  laudis,  sed  amoris,  est  tributura. 
 
 Card.  Barberini.  (De  Sancto  Paulo.) 
 7  We  bear  the  voice  of  the  Church,  suffering  in  Chkist,  "  My 
 God,  my  God,  look  upon  me,"  &c. :  in  like  manner,  we  hear 
 the  voice  of  Christ,  suffering  in  the  Church,  "  Saul,  Saul,  ivhy 
 persecutest  thou  Me  V  1  Cor.  xii.  25,  26  ;  Eph.  v.  29,  30.  S. 
 Augustine. 
 It  is  He,  who  is  stoned  in  Stephen ;  flayed  in  the  person  of  S. 
 Bartholomew :  He  was  roasted  upon  S.  Laurence's  gridiron  ; 
 exposed  to  lions  in  S.  Ignatius ;  burnt  in  S.  Poly  carp  ;  frozen 
 in  the  lake,  where  stood  forty  martyrs  of  Cappadocia.  Zech. 
 ii.  8  ;  S.  Matt.  xxiv.  45.  Bp.  J.  Taylor. 
 There  is  more  in  the  Christian,  than  thou  seest :  for  he  is  both  an 
 entire  body  of  himself,  and  he  is  a  limb  of  another  more  excel- 
 lent, even  that  Glorious  Mystical  Body  of  his  Sayioue  ;  to 
 whom  he  is  so  united,  that  the  actions  of  either  are  recipro- 
 cally referred  to  each  other.  For,  on  the  one  side,  the  Chris- 
 tian lives  in  Christ,  dies  in  Christ,  in  Christ  fulfils  the  Law, 
 possesseth  heaven :  on  the  other,  Christ  is  persecuted  by 
 Paul  in  His  members,  and  is  persecuted  in  S.  Paul  afterwards 
 by  others.  He  suffers  in  us ;  He  lives  in  us  ;  He  works  in  and 
 by  us  ;  so  thou  canst  not  do  either  good  or  harm  to  a  Christian, 
 
618  THE  ACTS  XXII.  9. 
 
 but  thou  dost  it  to  his  Redeemer,  to  whom  he  is  invisibly 
 united.  Thou  seest  him,  as  a  man,  and  therefore  worthy  of 
 favour  for  humanity's  sake ;  thou  seest  him  not,  as  a  Christian, 
 worthy  of  honour  for  his  secret  and  yet  true  Union  with  our 
 Satiotjr.  I  will  love  every  Christian,  for  that  I  see;  honour 
 him,  for  that  I  shall  see.  S.  John  xv.  4,  5  ;  Heb.  xiii.  2.  Bp. 
 Hall.     (Meditations  and  Vows,  93.) 
 
 9  And  they  that  were  with  me  saw  indeed  the  light, 
 and  were  afraid ;  but  they  heard  not  the  voice  of  Him 
 that  spake  to  me. 
 
 10  And  I  said,  What  shall  I  do,  Lord?  And  the 
 Lord  said  unto  me,  Arise,  and  go  into  Damascus ;  and 
 there  it  shall  be  told  thee  of  all  things  which  are  ap- 
 pointed for  thee  to  do. 
 
 1 1  And  when  I  could  not  see  for  the  glory  of  that 
 light,  being  led  by  the  hand  of  them  that  were  with 
 me,  I  came  into  Damascus. 
 
 9  As  he  was  going  to  the  lists  (before  his  martyrdom),  there  came 
 a  voice  from  heaven  to  him,  "  Be  strong,  Polycarp,  and  quit 
 thyself,  like  a  man."  Now  no  one  saw,  who  it  was,  that  spake 
 to  him  ;  but  for  the  voice,  many  of  our  brethren,  who  were  pre- 
 sent, heard  it.  xxiii.  11 ;  1  Cor.  ii.  14,  15.  Circular  Ep.  of  the 
 Ch.  of  Smyrna  (concerning  the  death  of  S.  Polycarp). 
 
 They  heard  not,  ^c. — That,  which  is  strictly  and  truly  man's  weal 
 or  woe,  depends  upon  what  passeth  between  God  and  a  man's 
 own  soul ;  the  terms,  which  are  between  God  and  a  man's  self. 
 Job  xxii.  21 ;  E.om.  viii.  16.  Br.  Whichcote.  (Aphor.  Cent. 
 v.  467.) 
 
 "  Tliere  stood  no  man  with  him,  when  Joseph  made  himself  known 
 unto  his  brethren."  Gen.  xlv.  1.  Here  is  "  the  secret,  with 
 which  the  stranger  intermeddleth  not,"  of  which  the  solitary 
 chamber,  or  the  retired  walk,  or  the  silent  midnight,  is  the  only 
 witness,  far  from  the  gaze  or  observation  of  men.  The  voice  of 
 God  is  heard  within ;  let  it  be  our  care,  as  it  is  our  Blessed- 
 
THE  ACTS  XXII.  10,  11.  619 
 
 ness,  to  listen.  ''I  will  hearken,  what  the  Loeb  God  will  say 
 concerning  me."  1  Sara.  iii.  3 — 8 ;  S.  Luke  xvii.  20 ;  Ps. 
 Ixxxv.  8.     J.  F. 
 
 10  What  shall  I  do  ? — Appointed  for  thee  to  do. — It  is  impossible 
 to  inculcate  too  often  the  momentous  truth,  that  the  character 
 is  not  formed  by  passive  impressions,  but  by  voluntary  actions  ; 
 and  that  we  shall  be  judged  hereafter  not  by  what  we  have  felt, 
 but  by  what  we  have  done.     Robert  Hall. 
 
 Appointed  for  thee  to  do. — What  is  faith's  highest  wish  and  best 
 enjoyment  ?  A  dying  saint  (Dr.  Hammond)  shall  answer.  It 
 is  related  of  a  meek  and  holy  confessor  of  our  own,  shortly 
 before  his  departure,  that  when,  after  much  pain,  he  was  asked 
 by  a  friend  ;  "  What  more  special  thing  he  would  recommend 
 for  one's  whole  life  ?"  he  briefly  replied,  "  Uniform  Obedience ;" 
 by  which  he  means,  as  his  biographer  (Dr.  Eell)  tells  us,  that 
 the  happiest  state  of  life  was  one,  in  which  we  had  not  to  com- 
 mand, or  direct,  but  to  obey  solely ;  not  having  to  choose  for 
 ourselves,  but,  having  our  path  of  duty,  our  mode  of  life,  our 
 fortunes  marked  out  for  us.  This  lot  indeed,  as  is  plain, 
 cannot  be  the  lot  of  all  :  but  it  is  the  lot  of  the  many.  Thus 
 GoT>  pours  out  His  Blessings  largely,  and  puts  trial  on  the  few. 
 S.  John  ii.  5  ;  S.  Matt.  xi.  29,  30.  J.  H.  Newman.  (Serm. 
 Prov.  iv.  24—27.) 
 
 Ofter  your  heart,  all  wretched  as  it  is,  in  sacrifice  to  My  adorable 
 heart,  which  burns  with  love  towards  you,  and  on  which  your 
 name  is  engraven.     1  S.  John  iv.  19.     Plaiiites  du  Sauveur. 
 
 Make  a  daily  resignation  of  thyself  to  the  will  of  GtOD.  Indeed 
 this  should  be,  as  it  were,  the  lock  of  the  night,  and  the  key  of 
 the  morning ;  we  should  open  and  shut  our  eyes  with  this  re- 
 commending of  ourselves  into  the  hands  of  God.  Ps.  cxliii.  8. 
 Gurnall.     (On  the  Christian  Armour.     Eph.  vi.  15.     Ch.  17.) 
 
 11  His  blinding  was  the  opening  of  the  eyes  of  the  world,  xxvi. 
 18.     Theodorus. 
 
 God  cannot  be  seen,  but  covered  under  something.  See  His 
 mercy  in  His  anger.  In  what  appears  bringing  us  to  Hell, 
 Faith  sees  Him  bringing  us  to  heaven ;  in  darkness,  it  beholds 
 brightness ;  in  hiding  His  face  from  us,  it  beholds  His  cheering 
 Countenance.     How  did  Job  see  God,  but,  as  you  would  say, 
 
620  THE  ACTS  XXII.  11. 
 
 under  Satan's  cloak  ?  For  who  cast  the  fire  from  heaven  upon 
 his  goods  ?  AVho  overthrew  his  house,  and  stirred  up  men  to 
 take  away  his  cattle,  but  Satan  ?  And  yet.  Job  pierced  through 
 all  these  and  saw  God's  work,  saying,  "  The  Loed  hath  given  ; 
 the  Lord  hath  taken  away :  Blessed  be  the  Name  of  the  Loed." 
 xvi.  26  ;  Job  xiii.  15 ;  2  Cor.  i.  9,  10 ;  Eom.  iv.  18—22.  J, 
 Bradford.     (Letters  in  prison.) 
 
 Luther  was  a  man  of  great  natural  courage :  and  yet,  when 
 God  let  in  spiritual  troubles  upon  his  soul,  it  is  noted  of  him, 
 '*  ut  nee  vox,  nee  calor,  nee  sanguis  siiperesset^  Dan.  x.  7 — 9. 
 Flavel. 
 
 Though  there  appear  unto  us  as  great  a  light,  as  ever  there  did 
 unto  Saul  at  noon-day,  yet,  until  by  the  finger  of  the  Holt 
 Ghost,  as  it  were  by  the  hand  and  ministry  of  Ananias,  the 
 scales  of  natural  ignorance  (ix.  18)  be  taken  away,  well  we  may 
 sufier  ourselves  to  be  led  by  others,  but  we  shall  not  be  able  to 
 see  the  way  ourselves.  The  natural  man  (take  him  in  his  wisest 
 part)  perceiveth  not  the  spiritual  things  of  God.  1  Cor.  ii.  14 ; 
 Eph.  i.  17,  18 ;  Eev.  iii.  18.  Miles  Smith.  (Pref.  to  Bp.  Ba- 
 bington's  Notes  on  Genesis.) 
 
 12  And  one  Ananias,  a  devout  man  according  to 
 the  law,  having  a  good  report  of  all  the  Jews  which 
 dwelt  there. 
 
 13  Came  unto  me,  and  stood,  and  said  unto  me^ 
 Brother  Saul,  receive  thy  sight.  And  the  same  hour 
 I  looked  up  upon  him. 
 
 14  And  he  said,  The  God  of  our  fathers  hath  chosen 
 thee,  that  thou  shouldest  know  His  will,  and  see  that 
 Just  One,  and  shouldest  hear  the  voice  of  His  mouth. 
 
 15  For  thou  shalt  he  His  witness  unto  all  men  of 
 what  thou  hast  seen  and  heard. 
 
 16  And  now  why  tarriest  thou  ?  arise,  and  be  bap- 
 tized, and  wash  away  thy  sins,  calling  on  the  name  of 
 the  Lord. 
 
THE  ACTS  XXII.   12—14.  621 
 
 12  A  devout  man. — Devotion  is  nothing  else  but  right  apprehen- 
 sions and  right  affections  towards  GrOD.      Wm.  Law. 
 
 A  good  name  is  a  name  for  good  things  with  good  people,  xi.  24  ; 
 Prov.  xxxi.  23,  28,  31.     P.  Henry. 
 
 Having  a  good  report. — Whoso  contemns  fame  will  soon  prostitute 
 virtue  ;  and  those,  wdio  care  not  what  others  say,  will  shortly 
 arrive  at  that  impudence  of  sinning,  as  not  to  care  what  they 
 themselves  do.  ii.  47  ;  vi.  3  ;  xvi.  2  ;  S.  Luke  vii.  5  ;  3  S.  John 
 V.  6.     Bp.  Hopkins. 
 
 13  We  must  know  where,  when,  and  to  whom  pardon  of  sin  is 
 granted.  Where  ?  in  the  Church.  When  ?  before  the  last 
 Day.  To  whom  ?  to  none,  but  the  converted,  who  in  their 
 humility  get  themselves  to  be  like  little  children  :  for  "  of  such 
 is  the  kingdom  of  heaven."     Isidore.     (Sent.  Lib.  ii.  7.) 
 
 O  splendour  of  the  Glory  of  the  Father,  who  sittest  between  the 
 Cherubim  and  seest  through  all  space  ;  true  Light,  illuminating 
 and  indefectible,  into  "  whom  the  Angels  desire  to  look,"  Behold, 
 my  heart  is  before  Thee  ;  scatter  its  darkness,  and  let  it  be  plenti- 
 fully filled  with  the  bright  beams  of  Thy  Love  !  Ps.  xliii.  3,  4. 
 8.  Augustine.     (Meditations.) 
 
 14  The  God  of  our  fathers. — When  there  is  question  made  about 
 religion,  let  us  learn,  by  the  example  of  S.  Paul,  not  to  devise  any 
 new  God,  .  .  .  but  to  cling  to  that  same  God,  w'ho  has  revealed 
 Himself  to  our  fathers  both  in  the  Law  and  also  by  divers  oracles, 
 iii.  13  ;  v.  30 ;    vii.  2  ;  xiii.  17  ;  xxiv.  24  ;  xxviii.  17.      Calvin. 
 
 It  is  remarkable,  that  Ananias  told  S.  Paul,  that  God  had  chosen 
 him  to  see  that  Just  One.  .  .  .  Every  appearance  of  our  Lord 
 to  the  Apostles,  after  His  Eesurrection,  was  in  truth  an  appear- 
 ance of  the  Great  God,  the  Maker  of  heaven  and  earth,  to 
 mortal  man.  .  .  .  This  was  no  less  an  appearance  of  God,  in 
 tlie  form  of  God,  than  that  to  Moses  at  the  bush.  S.  Paul 
 saw  nothing,  but  that  tremendous  Light,  which  struck  himself 
 and  his  companions  to  the  ground.  (Conf.  S.  John  xviii.  6.) 
 He  saw  not  the  man  Jestjs  ;  he  saw  only  the  Light,  the  token 
 of  the  Divine  Presence,  and  from  the  midst  of  that  Light  he 
 heard  the  voice  of  Jesus  speaking.  Yet  this  appearance,  in 
 which  the  human  form  of  Jesus  was  not  rendered  visible,  is 
 mentioned  as  the  last  instance,  in  which  Jesus  was  seen  after 
 
622  THE  ACTS  XXII.  14—16. 
 
 His  Resurrection  (1  Cor.  xv.  5 — 8)  ;  wliich  proves,  that  all  the 
 rest,  in  which  the  human  form  was  seen,  were  considered  by  the 
 Apostles,  as  equally  with  this,  manifestations  of  the  Deity.  (See 
 at  X.  40,  41 ;  vii.  52.)  Bp.  Horsley.  (Four  Discourses  on  the 
 Eesurrection,  4.) 
 If  S.  Paul  only  saw  "a vision"  of  Christ  (vii.  56  ;  ix.  10,  11),  and 
 not  Cheist  verily  and  indeed,  in  that  case  he  was  not  a  witness 
 of  His  Resurrection,  i.  21,  22;  x.  40,  41 ;  1  Cor.  ix.  1 ;  xv.  8. 
 J.  H.  Newman.     (Serm.  S.  John  xvi.  16.) 
 
 15  What  thou  hast  seen  and  heard. — It  is  observable,  though  one 
 great  article  of  the  Apostolical  office  was  particularly  to  be  wit- 
 nesses of  the  Resurrection  of  Christ,  that  this  at  first  was 
 necessary  to  the  constitution  of  an  Apostle  ;  and  therefore 
 Christ  did  show  Himself  in  a  miraculous  manner  to  S.  Paul 
 to  qualify  him  for  that  office  :  yet,  as  Himself  says,  it  was  last 
 of  all,  as  '*one  born  out  of  due  time."  For  he  was  constituted 
 to  be  the  Apostle  of  the  Grentiles,  who  came  into  the  Gospel 
 last  of  all,  as  born  out  of  due  time.  And  he  was  the  only  man 
 among  the  Apostles,  who  had  acquired  learning  by  study  and 
 education ;  therefore  he  was  not  admitted,  till  the  Gospel  had 
 been  first  preached  by  the  others  and  fully  established  ;  and  he 
 was  at  first  a  persecutor  of  it,  to  take  away  the  least  suspicion 
 that  his  parts  or  learning  had  any  share  in  the  contrivance  of 
 tlie  Gospel.  And  then  his  coming  in  at  last  did  remove  the 
 prejudice  that  no  men  of  learning  and  sagacity  had  embraced  it. 
 He  broke  the  ice  for  the  Gentiles,  wlio  were  admirers  of  learn- 
 ing ;  and  for  this  they  valued  him  the  more  and  hearkened  to 
 him.  i.  22;  ii.  23;  iv.  26;  x.  40,  41  ;  1  S.  John  i.  1—4; 
 1  Cor.  ix.  1.  C.  Leslie.  (Short  and  easy  method  with  the 
 Jews.     S.  15.) 
 
 16  Why  tarriest  thou  ? — 
 
 Convert!  ad  rectos  mores  et  vivere  sancte 
 In  Christo  meditans,  quod  cupit,  acceleret. 
 
 xxvi.  19.     Latin  Anthology. 
 
 The  water,  wherein  we  are  Baptized,  doth  not  cleanse  the  soul ; 
 
 but  the  Blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  His  Son,  doth  '*  cleanse  us 
 
 from  all  sin."     Not  the  water,  but  the  Blood  of  Christ,  recon- 
 
 cileth  us  unto  God,  strengtheneth  our  conscience,  and  worketh 
 
THE  ACTS  XXII.  16.  623 
 
 our  Redemption.  We  must  seek  salvation  in  Christ  alou 
 and  not  in  any  outward  thing.  Hereof  saith  S.  Cyprian  ;  Re- 
 missio  peccatorum,  sive  per  BaptismuMy  sive  per  alia  sacramenta 
 donetur,  proprie  Spiritm  Sancti  est.  Verborum  solemnitas,  ^c. 
 "  The  remission  of  sins,  whether  it  be  given  by  Baptism,  or  by 
 any  other  sacraments,  do  properly  appertain  to  the  Holt 
 Ghost.  The  solemnity  of  the  words  and  the  invocation  of 
 God's  Holy  Name,  and  the  outward  signs,  appointed  to  the 
 ministry  of  the  Priest  by  the  Institution  of  the  Apostles,  work 
 the  visible  outward  sacrament."  But,  touching  the  substance 
 thereof,  it  is  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  worketh  it.  S.  Ambrose 
 also  saith,  Vidisti  fontem,  vidisti  sacerdotemy  ^c.  "  Thou  hast 
 seen  the  water,  thou  hast  seen  the  priest "...  thou  hast  seen 
 those  things,  which  thou  mightest  see  with  the  eyes  of  thy 
 body,  and  with  such  sight  as  man  hath ;  but  those  things,  which 
 work  and  do  the  deed  of  salvation,  which  no  eye  can  see,  thou 
 hast  not  seen.  Such  a  change  is  made  in  the  sacrament  of  Bap- 
 tism. Through  the  power  of  God's  working,  the  water  is  turned 
 into  Blood.  They,  that  be  washed  in  it,  receive  the  remission 
 of  sins ;  their  robes  are  made  clean  in  the  Blood  of  the  Lamb. 
 The  water  itself  is  nothing ;  but  by  the  working  of  God's 
 Spirit,  the  death  and  merits  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jestjs 
 Christ,  are  thereby  assured  unto  us.  S.  John  iii.  14  ;  1  S.  Pet. 
 iii.  21.     Bp.  Jewel.     (A  Treatise  of  the  Sacraments.) 
 
 Baptism  is  with  water ;  but  a  water,  capable  of  extinguishing  the 
 everlasting  flames  of  hell.     S.  Greg.  Nazianzen. 
 
 This  stirring  call  to  Baptism  harmonises  with  the  eager  and  ener- 
 getic remonstrance  of  the  Eunuch  (viii.  36)  :  "  See !  here  is 
 water  :  what  doth  hinder  me  to  be  baptized  ?"  Surely  there  must 
 be  something  in  Baptism  far  beyond  an  outward  ceremony,  or 
 an  authoritative  sign  of  grace.  It  is  "  a  means,  whereby  we 
 (actually)  receive  grace,  as  well  as  a  pledge  (figuratively)  to 
 assure  us  thereof."     S.  John  iii.  5.     /.  F. 
 
 Arise  therefore,  run  to  the  Church.  There  is  the  Father  ;  there 
 is  the  Son  ;  there  is  the  Holy  Ghost.  S.  Matt,  xxviii.  19 ; 
 S.  John  V.  2 — 4.     *S^.  Chrysostom. 
 
 Hie  reparandarum  generator  fons  animarum 
 Yivum  Divino  Lumine  flumen  agit. 
 
624  THE  ACTS  XXII.  17. 
 
 Sanctus  in  hunc  coelo  descendit  Spiritus  amnem, 
 
 Coelestique  sacras  fonte  maritat  aquas. 
 Concipit  unda  Deum  :  sanctamque  liquoribus  almis 
 
 Edit  ab  ^teruo  semiue  progeniem. 
 Mira  Dei  pietas !     Peccator  mergitur  undis, 
 
 Mox  eadem  emergit  justificatas  aqud. 
 Sic  homo,  et  occasu  felici  functus  et  ortu, 
 
 Terrenis  moritur,  perpetuis  oritur : 
 Culpa  perit,  sed  Yita  redit :  vetus  interit  Adam, 
 
 Et  novus  ^teruis  nascitur  imperiis. 
 
 Paulinus.     (De  Baptisterio,  in  Ep.  xxxii.  ad 
 Severum.) 
 
 17  And  it  came  to  pass,  that,  when  I  was  come 
 again  to  Jerusalem,  even  while  I  prayed  in  the  temple, 
 I  was  in  a  trance  ; 
 
 18  And  saw  Him  saying  unto  me,  Make  haste,  and 
 get  thee  quickly  out  of  Jerusalem :  for  they  will  not 
 receive  thy  testimony  concerning  Me. 
 
 19  And  I  said.  Lord,  they  know  that  I  imprisoned 
 and  beat  in  every  synagogue  them  that  believed  on 
 Thee : 
 
 20  And  when  the  blood  of  Thy  martyr  Stephen 
 was  shed,  I  also  was  standing  by,  and  consenting  unto 
 his  death,  and  kept  the  raiment  of  them  that  slew 
 him. 
 
 21  And  He  said  unto  me,  Depart:  for  I  will  send 
 thee  far  hence  unto  the  Gentiles. 
 
 17  This  was  one  of  the  times,  some  great  men  have  thought,  when 
 S.  Paul  was  carried  up  to  heaven.  See  at  xiii.  3 ;  2  Cor.  xii. 
 2.     Bp.  Patrick.     (Jesus  and  the  Eesurrection,  ch.  3.) 
 
 S.  Paul  had  an  extraordinary  privilege,  and  yet,  for  his  private  in- 
 formation, had  the  truth  proposed  to  hitn  by  Ananias,  though  the 
 gifts  of  his  imblic  ministry  were  immediately  from  God.     (Gal. 
 
THE  ACTS  XXII.  17,  20.  625 
 
 i.  1,  12.)  Both  the  measure  of  his  faith  and  manner  of  attain- 
 ing it  were  unusual ;  but  his  faith  itself,  once  attained,  was  no 
 otherwise  independent  of  any  external  proposal  (help  of  the 
 Church  and  its  ordinances)  than  our's  is,  and  all  Christians' 
 must  be.  Eph.  iv.  12,  13;  2  Tim.  iv.  13,  21;  1  Thess,  v.  25. 
 Dr.  Jackson.     (B.  iii.  c.  29.) 
 
 The  Apostles,  besides  the  change  of  their  spirits  "  from  darkness 
 to  light,"  whereby  they  were  led  out  of  ignorance  and  infidelity 
 "into  all  truth,"  and  from  torpid  and  pusillanimous  persons, 
 during  the  life  of  their  Master,  they  became,  when  He  was 
 dead,  the  most  active  and  magnanimous  in  the  world,  (I  say, 
 besides  this  change,)  they  had  bestowed  upon  them  all  things 
 necessary  for  their  own  assurance Besides  the  conversa- 
 tion with  their  Master,  before  and  after  His  Eesurrection,  they 
 had,  1.  Apparitions  of  Angels,  and  to  one  of  them  Christ  ap- 
 peared, after  He  was  ascended  to  His  Father.  2.  They  had 
 the  Bath  Kol  (voices  from  heaven).  In  Acts  ix.we  find  a  voice 
 from  heaven,  maintaining  a  dialogue  with  S.  Paul,  and,  at 
 another  time,  "  a  voice  saying  to  Peter,  Arise,  Peter,  kill  and 
 eat."  3.  They  had  extatical  visions;  B.  Peter  was  "in  a 
 trance,"  (x.  10,  19.)  S.  Paul  "rapt  up  to  the  third  heaven," 
 (2  Cor.  xii.  2.)  4.  They  had  monitory  dreams ;  S.  Paul  saw  a 
 man  in  a  dream,  saying  unto  him,  "  Come  into  Macedonia  and 
 help  us."  5.  They  had  impulses  of  the  Spirit ;  so  S.  Paul  was 
 "  forbidden  by  the  Spirit  to  preach  the  word  in  Asia."  Bp.  S. 
 Ward.     (Serm.  Heb.  iii.  12.) 
 
 20  Martyrdom  is  the  testimony,  which  a  Christian  beareth  to  the 
 doctrine  of  the  Gospel  by  enduring  any  kind  of  death,  to  invite 
 many,  and  to  confirm  all,  to  embrace  the  truth  thereof.  ...  It 
 is  not  the  cruelty  of  the  death,  but  the  innocency  and  holiness 
 of  the  cause,  that  maketh  a  martyr  (non  mortes,  sed  mores.  T. 
 Aquinas).  Neither  is  an  erroneous  conscience  a  sufficient 
 warrant  to  suffer  martyrdom  :  because  science  in  God's  word 
 
 must  direct  conscience  in  man's  heart To  this  kind  of 
 
 death  Christ  has  promised  "a  crown"  (Eev.  ii.  10)  ;  which 
 promise  the  Church  so  firmly  believed,  that  they  termed  mar- 
 tyrdom itself  a  Crown  :  and  God,  to  animate  Christians  to  this 
 excellent  prize,  would,  by  a  prediction,  that  ^S*.  Stephen^  the  first 
 
 3  S 
 
I 
 
 626  THE  ACTS  XXII.  20,  21. 
 
 Christian  martyr,  should  have  his  name  of  a  Crown,  ix.  1 ;  1 
 S.  Pet.  ii.  19  ;  S.  John  xvi.  2 ;  2  S.  Pet.  iv.  7,  8.  Bp.  Baily. 
 (The  practice  of  Piety.  Ch.  43.) 
 
 Death. — "  Murder."  S.  Stephen  was  slain,  without  any  precedent 
 sentence  of  law,  by  manifest  violence,  as  by  robbers  ;  when  it 
 was  not  allowed  to  the  Jews  capitally  to  condemn  any  one,  even 
 according  to  the  laws.     S.  John  xviii.  31.     Beza.     (in  loco.) 
 
 The  mention  of  these  particulars  attests  the  truth  and  the  depth 
 of  his  repentance.  I  was  standing  by,  who  ought  to  have  rushed 
 forward  to  save  him  ;  consenting  to  his  death,  who,  having  heard 
 his  defence,  ought  to  have  asserted  his  innocence ;  and  I  kept 
 the  raiment  of  them  that  slew  him,  was  the  ringleader  of  his 
 murderers  and  the  chief  cause  of  his  death.  Thus  does  re- 
 pentance store  up  the  several  items  of  guilt,  and  in  special  con- 
 fession make  mention  of  them,  as  S.  Paul  did,  unto  GrOD.  Josh, 
 vii.  21 ;  2  Cor.  vii.  11.     J.  F. 
 
 Primus  init  Stephanus  mercedem,  sanguinis  imbri 
 Afflictus  lapidum  ;  Christum  tamen  ille  cruentus 
 Inter  saxa  rogat,  ne  sit  lapidatio  fraudi 
 Hostibus  :  'O  primse  Pietas  miranda  coronce  ! 
 
 Prudentius.     (Enchirid.  45.) 
 
 ^ternam  docta  Crux  fabricat  arte  coronam  : 
 
 O  !  quantum  est  Christi  pro  Cruce  ferre  crucem  ! 
 Haeftenus.     (Eegia  via  Crucis.  Ch.  vii.) 
 
 21  Far  hence. — S.  Paul,  having  been  in  Spain,  went  from  one 
 ocean  to  another,  imitating  the  motion  and  course  of  the  Sun 
 of  Eighteousness,  of  whom  it  is  said,  '*  His  going  forth  is  from 
 the  end  of  heaven,  and  His  circuit  unto  the  ends  of  it."  (Ps. 
 xix.)  His  diligence  in  preaching  extended  as  far,  as  the  earth 
 itself.  ....  After  his  imprisonment  (at  Eome,  xxviii.  16)  he 
 preached  the  Gospel  in  the  "Western  parts.  ^S*.  Jerome.  (In 
 Amos.  c.  v.  et  De  Scrip.  Eccles.) 
 
 S.  Paul  preached  both  in  the  East  and  in  the  West,  leaving  be- 
 hind him  the  glorious  report  of  his  faith  :  and  so,  having  taught 
 the  whole  world  righteousness,  and  for  that  end  travelled  even 
 to  the  utmost  bounds  of  the  West,  he  at  last  suffered  Martyrdom, 
 i.  8;  Mai.  i.  11.     Clem.  Romanus.     (Ep.  Cor.  s.  5.) 
 
THE  ACTS  XXII.  21.  627 
 
 Transit  et  oceanum,  vel  qua  facit  insula  portum  ; 
 
 Quasque  Britannus  habet  terras,  quasque  ultima  Thule. 
 
 Fenantius  Fortimatus.  (Lib.  iii.  de  vita  S.  Martini.) 
 "Who  shall  dare  to  say,  the  Church  of  the  Jews  should  never  go 
 to  the  Gentiles,  when  the  first  Church,  the  Jews  ever  had,  was 
 carried  to  them  ?  "  The  tabernacle  of  witness  in  the  wilder- 
 ness" was  carried  with  Joshua  (Jestjs)  into  the  possession  of 
 the  Gentiles  ;  it  went  into  Canaan,  while  the  Gentiles  were  in 
 possession  of  the  country,  and  thereby  showed,  that  the  Chris- 
 tian Church  should  go  with  our  Jesfs,  when  He  should  pass 
 into  the  Gentile  world.  They,  who  went  into  Canaan  with 
 Joshua,  were  a  new  generation :  those,  who  came  out  with 
 Moses,  fell  with  him  in  the  wilderness.  Thus  have  the  followers 
 of  Jesds  attained  the  promises,  after  the  Jews  had  fallen  short 
 of  them.  If  you  look  at  the  furniture  of  the  Temple,  you  find 
 a  curious  article,  which  conveys  the  same  doctrine.  There  was 
 a  brazen  sea  with  twelve  oxen  underneath  it,  with  their  faces, 
 pointing  to  the  four  quarters  of  the  world,  thereby  showing, 
 that  the  laver  of  Christian  Eegeneration,  for  the  Baptizing  of 
 the  world,  should  be  carried  out  into  "all  nations"  by  the 
 twelve  Apostles  of  Jesus  Chbist.  The  Scripture  has  other 
 signs  of  the  Baptizing  of  the  Gentiles.  .  .  .  And  what  shall  I 
 say  more  ?  Did  not  your  Law-giver  Moses  go  into  an  heathen 
 land  and  form  an  alliance  there  ?  But  not,  till  he  had  oftered 
 himself  to  his  own  people  and  been  forced  to  fly  from  them. 
 So  the  Apostles  of  Jesus  Christ  turned  not  to  the  Gentiles, 
 till  the  Jews  had  "  put  from  them  the  word  of  life."  Exod. 
 ii.  21,  22.     W.  Jones.     (A  letter  to  three  converted  Jews.) 
 
 22  And  they  gave  him  audience  unto  this  word, 
 and  then  Hfted  up  their  voices,  and  said.  Away  with 
 such  a  fellow  from  the  earth  :  for  it  is  not  fit  that  he 
 should  live. 
 
 23  And  as  they  cried  out,  and  cast  off  their  clothes, 
 and  threw  dust  into  the  air, 
 
 24  The  chief  captain  commanded  him  to  he  brought 
 
 s  s  2 
 
628  THE  ACTS  XXII.  22. 
 
 into  the  castle,  and  bade  that  he  should  be  examined 
 by  scourging ;  that  he  might  know  wherefore  they 
 cried  so  against  him. 
 
 25  And  as  they  bound  him  with  thongs,  Paul  said 
 unto  the  centurion  that  stood  by,  Is  it  lawful  for  you 
 to  scourge  a  man  that  is  a  Roman,  and  uncon- 
 demned  ? 
 
 26  When  the  centurion  heard  that,  he  went  and 
 told  the  chief  captain,  saying,  Take  heed  what  thou 
 doest :  for  this  man  is  a  Roman. 
 
 27  Then  the  chief  captain  came,  and  said  unto 
 him,  Tell  me,  art  thou  a  Roman  ?     He  said,  Yea. 
 
 28  And  the  chief  captain  answered.  With  a  great 
 sum  obtained  I  this  freedom.  And  Paul  said.  But  I 
 was/ree  born. 
 
 29  Then  straightway  they  departed  from  him  w^hich 
 should  have  examined  him :  and  the  chief  captain  also 
 was  afraid,  after  he  knew  that  he  was  a  Roman,  and 
 because  he  had  bound  him. 
 
 30  On  the  morrow,  because  he  would  have  known 
 the  certainty  wherefore  he  was  accused  of  the  Jews, 
 he  loosed  him  from  his  bands,  and  commanded  the 
 chief  priests  and  all  their  council  to  appear,  and 
 brought  Paul  down,  and  set  him  before  them. 
 
 22  Unto  this  word.— The  mention  of  heaven's  mercy  being  ex- 
 tended to  the  Gentiles  always  put  the  Jews  beside  themselves. 
 Cheist  only  hinted  the  case  of  Elijah  healing  Naaman  the 
 Syrian^  and  that  of  Elisha  being  sent  to  a  widow  of  SarejJta, 
 leaving  the  application  to  themselves :  they  understood  Him, 
 and  endeavoured  instantly  to  destroy  Him.  S.  Mark  xi.  17, 18  ; 
 S.  Luke  iv.  27.     Bj).  Home.     (Serm.  S.  John  i.  11.) 
 
 27tei/  lifted  up  their  voices. — It  was  a  good  method,  observed  by 
 
THE  ACTS  XXIT.  22—25.  629 
 
 Socrates,  when  he  found  in  himself  any  disposition  to  anger,  he 
 would  check  it  by  speaking  low,  in  opposition  to  the  motions 
 of  his  displeasure,  xxiii.  9 ;  Prov.  xvi.  32 ;  Ps.  cxxxi.  3. 
 Palmer.     (Aphorisms.  1337.) 
 
 Awai/  with  such  a  fellow  from  the  earth,  ^c. — The  Christians 
 disputed  for  their  religion  and  had  their  answer  from  the  exe- 
 cutioner :  Christianos  ad  leones !  Christianos  ad  metalla  !  Ps. 
 cxxxvii.  12  ;  1  Thess.  ii.  15.     Tertullian. 
 
 "Wicked  men  thiuk  this  world  too  good  (xxii.  22),  God  knows  it 
 is  too  bad,  for  His  Servants.  Henceforward  I  will  not  wonder 
 that  good  men  die  so  soon,  but  that  they  live  so  long  ;  seeing 
 wicked  men  desire  their  room  here  upon  earth,  and  God  their 
 company  in  heaven.     Heb.  xi.  38  ;  Wisd.  iv.  13.     T.  Fuller. 
 
 It  is  plain  that  many  thousands,  at  the  first  professing  Christian 
 religion,  became  afterwards  wilful  apostates,  moved  with  no 
 other  cause  of  revolt,  but  mere  indignation  that  the  Gentiles 
 should  enjoy  the  benefit  of  the  Gospel,  as  much  as  they,  and  yet 
 not  be  burdened  with  the  yoke  of  Moses'  law.  Heb.  vi.  6 ;  x. 
 26.     Hooker.    (Eccl.  Pol.  B.  vi.  c.  16.) 
 
 This  the  wicked  Jews  said  of  S.  Paul ;  but  he  said  of  the  godly 
 Jews  (Heb.  xi.  38),  "  Of  whom  the  world  was  not  worthy." 
 Here  I  perceive  heaven  and  hell,  mercy  and  malice,  God's 
 Spirit  and  man's  spite  resolved  on  the  question,  that  it  is  not  fit 
 that  a  good  man  should  live  long  on  the  earth.  Ps.  cix.  27. 
 1  Kings  xiv.  12,  13  ;  Isa.  Ivii.  1.     Flavel. 
 
 23  The  more  false  any  man's  religion  is,  the  more  furious  he  will 
 be  in  maintaining  it.  xix. ;  1  Kings  xviii. ;  Jer.  xliv.  17  ; 
 xxxii.  35.     Br.  Whichcote.     (Serm.  S.  James  iii.  18.) 
 
 Those  are  greatest  enemies  to  religion,  that  are  not  most  irreligious. 
 Atheists,  though  in  themselves  they  be  the  worst,  yet  are  seldom 
 found  hot  persecutors  of  others  ;  whereas  those,  which  in  some 
 one  fundamental  point  be  heretical,  are  commonly  most  violent 
 in  oppositions.  One  hurts  by  secret  infection ;  the  other  by 
 open  resistance  ;  one  is  careless  of  all  truth,  the  other  vehement 
 for  some  untruth :  an  Atheist  is  worthy  of  more  hatred  ;  a 
 heretic  of  more  fear ;  both  of  avoidance,  iv.  2,  3  ;  xiii.  50. 
 Bp.  Hall.     (Holy  Observations.  36.) 
 
 25  "What  is  this  humility  so  much  commended  in  Scripture  ?     Is 
 
630  THE  ACTS  XXII.  25,  28. 
 
 it  for  a  man  to  make  himself  cheap  and  common  ?  Is  it  to 
 submit  and  give  way  to  every  one  ?  Is  it  to  stoop  below  one's 
 place,  station,  and  character  ?  No ;  by  no  means.  Humility 
 is  no  levelling  principle,  no  enemy  to  any  distinctions  of  age, 
 rank,  place,  or  dignity.  A  man  need  not  forget  his  station  or 
 his  character,  to  show  his  humility.  A  man  may  think  very 
 humbly  of  himself,  and  yet  know  his  place,  and  act  up  to  his 
 station  and  dignity.  S.  Paul  was  not  proud,  when  he  said  of 
 himself  (having  a  just  occasion  for  saying  it)  that  "  he  was  not 
 a  whit  behind  the  very  chiefest  Apostles;"  nor  when  he  in- 
 sisted upon  the  benefit  of  his  birth,  and  claimed  his  privilege,  as 
 a  Roman.  This  was  thinking  highly  of  himself,  but  justly  at 
 the  same  time ;  for  he  was  deeply  sensible  at  the  same  time 
 from  whom  he  had  received  all ;  and  therefore  he  humbly  added, 
 "  though  I  be  nothing."  2  Cor.  xi.  5  ;  xii.  11.  Dr.  Waterland. 
 (Serm.  Prov.  xvi.  18.) 
 
 Jurisdiction  bridleth  men  against  their  wills :  that,  which  a  Judge 
 doth,  prevails  by  reason  of  his  very  power.  Jurisdiction  is  a 
 yoke,  which  law  hath  imposed  upon  the  necks  of  men,  in  such 
 sort  that  they  must  endure  it  for  the  good  of  others,  how  con- 
 trary soever  it  be  to  their  own  particular  appetites  and  inclina- 
 tions. Prov.  XX.  8  ;  Titus  i.  11—13  ;  1  Tim.  v.  28.  Hooker. 
 Verberibus  cum  csesus  eras,  defensio  prsesens, 
 
 Civis  Romanus  sum,  tua,  Paule,  fuit : 
 
 Judicii  Suprema  Dies  cum  venerit,  an  turn 
 
 Sat  Sum  Romanus,  dicere,  civis,  erit  ? 
 
 Joan.  Audoenus.     (Epigr.  De  Civi- 
 tate  Dei.     Lib.  ix.  48.) 
 
 28  If  we  think  it  a  privilege  to  be  the  sons  of  God  and  fellow- 
 heirs  with  Christ,  why  do  we  grudge  at  the  condition  ?  The 
 Boman  captain  tells  S.  Paul,  that  he  obtained  the  immunities 
 of  a  Boman  with  a  great  sum  ;  and  shall  we  expect  so  much  a 
 nobler  and  more  advantageous  adoption  perfectly  gratis  ?  look, 
 that  God  should  change  His  whole  economy  for  our  ease,  give 
 us  an  Eternal  inheritance,  discharged  of  those  temporal  in- 
 cumbrances. Himself  has  annexed  to  it  ?  This  were,  sure,  as 
 unjust  a  hope,  as  it  would  be  a  vain  one.  When  David  had 
 that  ensnaring  proposal,  made  him,  of  being  the  King's  son-iu- 
 
THE  ACTS  XXIII.  1.  631 
 
 law,  1  Sam.  xviii.  21,  he  set  such  a  value  upon  the  dignity,  that 
 he  despised  the  difficulty  of  the  condition ;  and  sure  we  must 
 have  very  low  abject  souls,  if,  when  so  infinitely  a  higher  ad- 
 vancement is  sincerely  offered  us,  we  can  suffer  any  apprehen- 
 sion of  hardship  to  divert  us.  Eom.  viii.  12 — 18  ;  2  Tim.  ii.  12  ; 
 Gal.  V.  1.  Art  of  contentment.  (By  the  author  of  *'  The  whole 
 duty  of  man."  Sect.  8.) 
 
 CHAPTER  XXIII. 
 
 A  ND  Paul,  earnestly  beholding  the  council,  said,  Men 
 and  brethren,  I  have  lived  in  all  good  conscience 
 before  God  until  this  day. 
 
 2  And  the  high  priest  Ananias  commanded  them 
 that  stood  by  him  to  smite  him  on  the  mouth. 
 
 3  Then  said  Paul  unto  him,  God  shall  smite  thee, 
 f/iow  whited  wall :  for  sittest  thou  to  judge  me  after 
 the  law,  and  commandest  me  to  be  smitten  contrary 
 to  the  law  ? 
 
 4  And  they  that  stood  by  said,  Revilest  thou  God's 
 high  priest  ? 
 
 5  Then  said  Paul,  I  wist  not,  brethren,  that  he  was 
 the  high  priest :  for  it  is  written,  Thou  shalt  not  speak 
 evil  of  the  ruler  of  thy  people. 
 
 1  I  must  first  caution  you,  not  to  think  the  heart  is  set,  as  if  it 
 were  the  entire  and  only  principle,  by  which  a  judgment  might 
 be  passed  upon  our  doings  ;  as  if  our  actions  so  wholly  derived 
 denomination  from  it,  that  they  were  pure,  which  came  from  a 
 clean  upright  heart.  In  opposition  to  which,  I  shall  not  doubt 
 to  put,  that  the  external  actions  may  have  guilt,  peculiar  to 
 
632  THE  ACTS  XXIII.  I. 
 
 themselves,  such  as  are  truly  their  own,  not  shed  into  them  by 
 an  evil  mind ;  and  a  man  may  be  wicked  in  the  uprightness  of 
 his  heart,  when  he  does  not  intend  any  such  thing,  but  rather 
 
 the  clean  contrary S.  Paul  finds  reason  to  call  himself 
 
 *'the  chief  of  sinners"  (1  Tim.  i.  15)  for  the  commissions  of 
 that  time,  of  which  he  says  that  "  he  served  God  with  a  pure 
 conscience"  (verse  3).  He  did  what  he  was  persuaded  in  his 
 heart  he  ought  to  do,  pursued  sincere  intentions ;  and  after  says 
 he  had  lived  in  all  good  conscience  before  God  until  that  day : 
 so  that  here  was  enough  of  the  "clean  heart,"  a  good  and  a 
 pure  conscience  ;  and  could  his  fiery  persecutions,  by  virtue  of 
 that  flame  within,  be  christened  Holy  Zeal  ?  Could  his  pure 
 conscience  make  his  bloody  hands  undefiled  ?  Oh  no  :  it  was 
 blasphemy,  and  persecution,  and  injury,  for  all  it  was  con- 
 science ;  for  all  his  heart  was  clean  from  such  intentions.  "  I 
 was  before  a  blasphemer,  and  a  persecutor,  and  injurious " 
 (verse  13).  We  may  not  think  to  shroud  foul  actions  under 
 handsome  meanings,  and  an  innocent  mind.  A  conscientious 
 man  may  yet  be  "  chief  of  sinners."  S.  Paul  was  so,  he  says  : 
 and  a  clean  heart  will  not  suffice  alone,  xxvi.  9,  10  ;  Ps.  xxiv. 
 4 ;  S.  John  xvi.  2 ;  Eom.  x.  2.  Dr.  Allestry,  (Serm.  Ps. 
 Ixxiii.  1.) 
 
 An  erroneous  conscience  is  in  a  sort  obligatory  ;  though  conscience 
 ought  to  be  sifted,  that  it  be  not  erroneous.  Gentilis,  the 
 heretic,  pretended  conscience  for  his  blasphemy  against  the 
 Trinity.  S,  Paul  vindicates  himself,  /  have  in  all  good  con- 
 science served  God  until  this  day,  not  only  when  he  was  a  pilot 
 to  steer  the  Church,  but  when  he  was  a  pirate  to  rifle  it ;  when 
 he  was  S.  Paul  the  Apostle,  and  when  he  was  Saul  the  per- 
 secutor ;  in  all  good  conscience,  though  for  a  time  errante  with  an 
 erring,  yet  not  repugnante  vel  dnbitante,  with  a  clashing  or 
 scrupling  conscience.  S.  Matt.  vi.  22,  23.  Bp.  Thomas.  (Apol. 
 for  the  Church  of  England.  P.  6.) 
 
 God  governs  the  world  by  several  attributes  and  emanations 
 from  Himself.  The  nature  of  things  is  supported  by  His 
 power ;  the  events  of  things  are  ordered  by  His  providence ; 
 and  the  actions  of  reasonable  men  are  governed  by  Laws,  and 
 these  Laws  are  put  into  a  man's  soul  or  mind,  as  into  a  trea- 
 
THE  ACTS  XXIII.   1—5.  633 
 
 sury  or  repository :  some  in  his  very  nature ;  some  by  after 
 actions,  by  education  and  positive  sanction,  by  learning  and 
 custom.  .  .  .  GrOD  is  in  our  hearts  by  His  Laws :  He  rules  in 
 us  by  His  substitute,  our  conscience.  Exod.  vii.  1 ;  Kom.  ii.  15. 
 Bp.  J.  Taylor.  (Ductor  dubitantium.  B.  i.  c.  1.) 
 Conscience  is  the  brightness  and  splendour  of  the  Eternal  Light, 
 a  spotless  Mirror  of  the  Divine  Majesty,  and  the  image  of  the 
 Goodness  of  God.  Eom.  ix.  1 ;  Heb.  ix.  14 ;  1  Tim.  iii.  9  ;  i.  5. 
 <S.  Bernard.     (Lib.  de  interiori  domo.) 
 
 2  S.  Paul  is  indebted  to  the  violence  of  this  man  for  a  new  feature 
 of  resemblance  to  Jesus  Cheist.    S.  John  xviii.  22.    Quesnel. 
 
 3  Give  not  thy  tongue  too  great  a  liberty,  lest  it  take  thee 
 prisoner.  A  word  unspoken  is  like  a  sword  in  thy  scabbard, 
 thine  ;  if  vented,  thy  sword  is  in  another's  hand.  If  thou  de- 
 sire to  be  held  wise,  be  so  wise,  as  to  hold  thy  tongue.  S.  Matt, 
 xii.  37  ;   S.  James  i.  19 ;  iii.  2 — 8.     F.  Quarles. 
 
 Dicendi  ars  magna  est ;  major,  mihi  crede,  tacendi : 
 Mille  loqui  docuere  artes,  sed  nulla  tacere. 
 
 B,  Bauhusius.     (Epigr.  Lib.  i.) 
 
 Irasci  hominis  est :  tram  nan  perficere  Christiani  est.  As  men,  we 
 are  subject  to  anger ;  but,  as  Christians,  we  do  not  allow  it 
 to  pass  into  act.     Eph.  iv.  26,  27.     S.  Jerome. 
 
 God  shall  smite  thee. — The  union  of  Christ  with  His  people  in 
 the  same  Mystical  Body  is  here  forcibly  expressed.  It  is,  as  if 
 the  impious  blow  had  been  aimed  at  the  Lord  Himself;  and  so 
 the  Lord  receives  and  avenges  the  insult.  Paul,  who  persecuted 
 Christ  in  His  members,  is  now  identified  with  Christ,  when 
 it  comes  to  his  turn  to  be  persecuted,   ix.  4  ;  Zech.  ii.  8.     J.  F. 
 
 5  I  wist  not  that  he  was  the  high  priest. — And  how  could  he  ? 
 Eor,  if  we  believe  Josephus,  Annas  was  not  at  that  time  high 
 priest ;  neither  indeed  had  there,  for  many  years  before,  any 
 high  priest  been  constituted,  according  to  the  Mosaic  Law. 
 Besides,  S.  Paul  could  not  at  that  time  confess  any  man  to  be 
 high  priest,  but  Christ  ;  and  the  little  apology  he  makes  after- 
 wards is  but  a  civil  compliment,  due  to  any  man  in  mere  ap- 
 parent authority,  and  justified  by  his  own  doctrine.  Eom.  xiii.  1. 
 Skelton.     (Senilia.  74.) 
 
634. 
 
 THE  ACTS  XXIII.  5. 
 
 If  I  should  render  it,  7  know  not  that  there  is  an  high  priest.  I  am 
 sure  it  hath  warrant  enough  of  the  original  Greek,  and  warrant 
 enough  of  the  truth  of  the  thing  itself.  Did  not  the  high 
 priest  die,  and  cease,  and  was  no  more,  when  the  Great  High 
 Priest  of  souls  Died,  and  by  Death  made  expiation  for  His 
 people  ?  If  you  will  allow  the  other  priesthood  and  the  em- 
 ployment of  it  to  live  still,  after  the  Death  of  Christ,  and  His 
 Sacrifice,  offered  by  the  Eternal  Spirit,  till  the  fall  of  Jerusalem 
 and  dissolution  of  the  temple,  yet  can  you  find  nothing  that 
 the  high  priest  had  then  to  do,  that  it  should  survive  any  longer, 
 after  Christ  was  sacrificed.  ...  This  was  spoken,  like  a  S. 
 Paul,  boldly,  and  as  one,  that  very  well  understood,  and  could 
 well  distinguish  between  substance  and  shadow ;  and  how  long 
 those  ordinances  of  that  economy  were  to  last,  and  when  to 
 decay.  Heb.  x.  20  ;  S.  Matt,  xxvii.  15.  Br,  Lightfoot.  (Serm. 
 S.  John  xi.  51.) 
 
 The  commentators  account  for  S.  Paul's  ignorance  in  various  ways ; 
 but  they  leave  the  great  difficulty  untouched ;  since  the  seat 
 and  dress  of  the  high  priest  would  have  been  sufficient  evidence 
 of  his  dignity  in  the  eyes  of  a  Jew,  if  eyes  he  had.  But  if  S. 
 Paul's  infirmity  (1  Cor.  xii.  7)  prevented  him  from  seeing  the 
 position  in  the  council,*  or  the  external  emblems  of  office,  which 
 indicated  the  high  station  of  the  speaker,  a  clear  solution  of  the 
 mystery  is  provided ;  and  the  validity  of  the  Apostle's  apology 
 for  his  hasty  expression  may  be  admitted  by  us,  as  from  the 
 silence  of  the  sacred  historian,  it  seems  to  have  been,  by  the 
 assembly.  Bp,  Sumner.  (On  the  Ministerial  Character  of 
 Cheist.  Ch.  X.  s.  2.  Note.) 
 
 *  By  reference  to  Gal.  iv.  14 — 16 
 and  vi.  11,  as  well  as  by  the  incident, 
 here  recorded,  the  Bishop  endeavours 
 very  ingeniously  to  show,  that  S.  Paul's 
 "  thorn  in  the  flesh"  ("  in  my  flesh," 
 Gal.  iv.)  was  some  defect  in  the  organ 
 of  sight ;  perhaps,  he  suggests,  the  re- 
 maining and  judicial  effect  of  the  daz- 
 zling light,  which  shone  on  him  at  his 
 conversion,    xxvi.     13.      (Conf.    Gen. 
 
 xxxii.  31,  32.)  It  is  evident  here, 
 that  S.  Paul  knew,  that  it  was  some 
 high  judicial  personage,  who  ordered 
 him  to  be  smitten.  Sittest  thou,  <Sfc. 
 Possibly,  however,  he  may  have  sup- 
 posed it  to  be  one,  inferior  to  Ananias, 
 the  high  priest ;  in  which  case  the  act 
 of  reviling,  though  blameable,  was  less 
 aggravated. 
 
THE  ACTS  XXIII.  5.  635 
 
 It  is  the  precept  of  Solomon,  that  the  Eulers  be  not  reproached  ; 
 no,  not  in  our  thoughts :  but  that  we  draw  our  very  conceit 
 into  a  modest  interpretation  of  their  doings.  The  holy  Angel 
 would  give  no  sentence  of  blasphemy  against  the  common 
 slanderer,  but  said,  Increpet  te  Dominus,  "  The  Loed  rebuke 
 thee."  The  Apostle  S.  Paul,  though  against  him,  that  did 
 pollute  sacred  justice  with  tyrannous  violence,  did  justly  de- 
 nounce the  judgment  of  G-od,  saying,  Percutiet  te  Dominus, 
 "  The  Loed  will  strike  thee ;"  yet  in  saying  paries  dealbate, 
 thou  whited  wall,  he  thought  he  had  gone  too  far,  and  retracted 
 it :  whereupon  a  learned  father  said,  "  ipsum,  quamvis  inane 
 nomen  et  umbram  sacerdotis,  expavit.''*  xxvi.  25  ;  1  Thess.  v.  22. 
 Lord  Bacon.     (Of  Church  Controversies.) 
 
 Be  not  ashamed  to  confess  you  have  been  in  the  wrong.  It  is 
 but  owning,  what  you  need  not  be  ashamed  of,  that  you  have 
 now  more  sense,  than  you  had  before,  to  see  your  error  ;  more 
 humility  to  acknowledge  it,  and  more  grace  to  correct  it.  We 
 double  the  greatest  part  of  our  faults  by  the  excuses,  which  we 
 make  use  of  to  justify  them.  .  .  .  It  is  a  sign  a  man  is  generally 
 in  the  right,  who  has  the  ingenuity  to  own  himself  sometimes 
 in  the  wrong  ;  that  he  is  one  of  those,  whose  fund  of  reputation 
 is  so  great,  he  is  not  afraid  of  impoverishing  it  by  taking  or 
 losing  a  little  from  it.  Gen.  iii.  10 — 13  ;  S.  Luke  xiv.  17 — 19  ; 
 S.  James  v.  16.     J.  Seed.     (Serm.  Prov.  xv.  17.) 
 
 6  But  when  Paul  perceived  that  the  one  part  were 
 Sadducees,  and  the  other  Pharisees,  he  cried  out  in 
 the  council,  Men  and  brethren,  I  am  a  Pharisee,  the 
 son  of  a  Pharisee  :  of  the  hope  and  resurrection  of  the 
 dead  I  am  called  in  question. 
 
 7  And  when  he  had  so  said,  there  arose  a  dissension 
 between  the  Pharisees  and  the  Sadducees :  and  the 
 multitude  was  divided. 
 
 8  For  the  Sadducees  say  that  there  is  no  resurrec- 
 tion, neither  angel,  nor  spirit :  but  the  Pharisees  con- 
 fess both. 
 
636  THE  ACTS  XXIII.  6. 
 
 6  As  nothing  is  more  to  be  wished  than  peace  in  good  things,  so 
 nothing  is  more  to  be  wished  also  than  discord  in  evil  things. 
 Discordia  in  malts  is  as  good,  as  concordia  in  bonis :  as  S.  Paul, 
 seeing  one  half  of  the  company  of  the  Pharisees'  part,  and  the 
 other  of  the  Sadducees',  cried  out  in  the  midst  among  them, 
 that  he  was  judged  for  the  hope  of  the  Resurrection  from  the 
 dead ;  and  so  set  them  together,  and  by  that  means  escaped 
 himself:  and  not  only  S.  Paul,  but  Christ,  He  came  to  set 
 discord,  xix.  29,  40 ;  xxi.  34 ;  Gen.  xi.  7 ;  Ps.  Iv.  9.  Bp. 
 Andrewes.     (On  the  Moral  Law  ;  sixth  Commandment.) 
 
 S.  Paul's  equivocation  cannot  be  excused,  when  he  professed  him- 
 self a  Pharisee,  which  strictly  he  was  not,  though  in  the  point 
 of  the  resurrection  he  agreed  with  them,  and  they  with  him. 
 The  reviling  also  of  Ananias  seems,  by  his  own  recalling,  an 
 oversight :  yet,  I  remember,  the  Pathers  forbid  us  to  judge  of 
 the  doubtful  actions  of  Saints  in  Scripture,  which  is  a  modest 
 admonition.  But  it  is  one  thing  not  to  judge,  another  to  de- 
 fend them.  Gen.  xx.  2  ;  S.  James  iii.  2.  G.  Herbert,  (Notes 
 to  Yaldesso's  Divine  Considerations,  62.) 
 
 All  the  actions  of  holy  men,  of  Apostles  in  the  New  Testament,  of 
 Patriarchs  in  the  Old,  are  not  to  be  drawn  into  example  and 
 consequence  for  others ;  no,  nor  always  to  be  excused  and  jus- 
 tified in  them,  that  did  them.  "  Be  ye  followers  of  me,  as  I 
 am  of  Chetst,"  is  the  example,  that  the  Apostle  gives  you. 
 Good  examples  are  good  assistances ;  but  no  example  of  man 
 is  sufficient  to  constitute  a  certain  and  constant  rule.  All  the 
 actions  of  the  holiest  men  are  not  holy.  1  S.  Pet.  ii.  21 — 23  ; 
 1  S.  John  i.  8.     Dr.  Donne.     (Serm.  on  text.) 
 
 S.  Stephen  stands  conspicuous,  as  the  champion  of  God's  truth, 
 as  opposed  to  the  Pharisees  (vi.  13,  14)  :  it  is  S.  Peter,  who 
 confronts  the  Sadducees  (iv.  1 ;  v.  17,  29)  :  S.  Paul,  like  his 
 Blessed  Master,  enters  the  arena  and  contends  triumphantly 
 against  both  (xxi.  28).  Again,  the  opposition  of  the  Pharisees 
 is  chiefly  recorded  in  the  Gospels ;  that  of  the  Sadducees  here, 
 in  the  "  Acts :"  for  this  latter  and  far  more  dangerous  sect  was 
 brought  upon  tlie  stage  at  a  later  period,  that  is,  immediately 
 after  our  Lord's  Eesurrection,  which  gave  the  public  and  unan- 
 swerable denial  to  their  favourite  doctrine.     J.  F. 
 
THE  ACTS  XXIII.  7,  8.  637 
 
 7  In  Christian  prudence,  we  are  so  to  look  at  Everlasting  Life 
 hereafter,  as  not  to  neglect  this  here  ;  but  may  contrive  for  the 
 conveniences  of  this  life  to  avoid  what  may  be  dangerous,  or 
 incommode  us,  provided  we  do  nothing,  that  is  against  the 
 other.  So  S.  Paul  was  wise,  when  both  the  Sadducees  and 
 Pharisees  conspired  against  his  life,  to  break  their  confederacy 
 by  throwing  in  the  question  of  the  Resurrection  of  the  dead ; 
 which  was  certain  to  divide  them  :  since  the  thing  he  said  was 
 true,  and,  consequently,  since  the  means  he  used  did  not  at  all 
 clash  with  his  higher  purposes :  the  rule  this  signifying,  that 
 wise  men,  in  order  to  whatever  end  their  wisdom  lies,  must  still 
 be  true  to  their  own  end ;  be  careful  to  do  nothing,  that  may 
 take  them  off  from,  or  oppose,  their  main  aim  (for  that  were 
 to  destroy  their  own  design)  ;  and  must  be  certain  never  to 
 avoid  whatever  tends  most  to  attain  their  purposes,  xviii. 
 21;  XX.  16;  Ecclus.  vii.  36.  Br.  Allestry.  (Serm.  S.  Luke 
 xvi.  19.) 
 
 8  The  Dogmata  and  tenets  of  the  Sadducees,  opposite  to  the  doctrine 
 of  the  ancient  Church  of  the  Jews,  held  by  the  Pharisees,  are  here 
 very  briefly,  yet  fully  enough,  expressed.  The  Sadducees  be- 
 lieved, that  there  is  a  God,  though,  whether  they  believed  God 
 Himself  to  be  incorporeal  is,  not  without  very  great  reasons, 
 questioned  by  some.  But  this  is  certain,  that,  besides  God, 
 they  believed  nothing  at  all  to  subsist,  but  what  is  perceptible  to 
 sense.  And  hence  they  denied  Angels  to  be  permanent  sub- 
 stances ;  believing  the  Angels,  of  which  they  had  read  in 
 Scripture,  to  be  only  certain  phantasms,  occasionally  formed  by 
 God,  when  He  would  at  any  time  reveal  His  Will  to  the  sons 
 of  men,  and  afterwards  vanishing  and  disappearing.  And, 
 agreeably  to  the  same  hypothesis,  they  denied  also  any  such 
 beings,  as  the  spirits  of  men,  distinct  substances  from  their 
 bodies,  and  able  to  subsist  without  them.  And  hence,  farther, 
 by  a  necessary  chain  of  consequences,  they  denied  the  Eesur- 
 rection  of  the  bodies  of  men  after  death.  For  to  what  purpose 
 should  the  body  of  man  arise,  if  there  were  no  soul  in  being,  to 
 which  it  should  be  re-united,  and  by  which  it  should  be  again 
 informed  ?  And  how  could  the  same  man  at  the  Eesurrection 
 receive  the  reward  of  his  past  actions,  as  the  Pharisees  rightly 
 
638  THE  ACTS  XXI II.  8. 
 
 taught,  if  his  soul  did  not  subsist  after  death?  Bp.  Bull. 
 (Serm.  Acts  i.  25.) 
 The  Sadducees  did  not  only  reject  the  resurrection  of  the  body, 
 but  they  denied  a  future  state  ;  they  did  not  allow  that  the  soul 
 survived  the  body ;  they  looked  upon  the  doctrines  of  a  resur- 
 rection and  future  state  to  be  so  nearly  allied,  or  so  closely 
 connected  with  each  other,  that  they  might  reasonably  be 
 conceived  to  stand  or  fall  together:  wherefore  they  denied 
 both,  as  on  the  other  hand  the  Pharisees  admitted  both.  For, 
 if  the  soul  survived  the  body,  it  was  very  natural  to  sup- 
 pose that  some  time  or  other  the  body  would  be  again  raised 
 up  and  re-united,  to  make  a  whole  man ;  but,  if  the  soul  died 
 with  the  body,  it  was  obvious  to  infer  there  would  be  no  resur- 
 rection ;  since  that  would  amount,  in  such  a  case,  to  a  new 
 creation,  rather  than  a  resurrection,  properly  so  called ;  and  the 
 parties,  so  raised,  would  not  be  the  same  persons,  as  before. 
 This  observable  connection  of  the  two  several  doctrines  seems 
 to  have  made  the  Sadducees  deny  both.  Dr.  Waterland.  (Serm. 
 S.  Luke  XX.  37,  38.) 
 Nor  Spirit. — The  devil  hath  not  a  more  poisonous  temptation,  than 
 that,  which  pours  into  our  hearts  a  persuasion,  that  there  is  no 
 devil  at  all  .  .  .  that  our  own  lusts  and  concupiscence,  which  by 
 a  wonderful  kind  of  prosopopceia,  or  feigning  of  the  person,  is 
 called  (by  the  false  teachers)  the  devil  .  .  .  that  sin  alone  is 
 the  serpent,  that  deceives  us,  the  lion,  that  roars  against  us, 
 and  the  dragon,  which  devours  us  ;  that  only  sin  is  an  accuser. 
 And  this  S.  Bernard  seems  to  lay  to  the  charge  of  Petrus  Adail- 
 ardus  (Ep.  190,)  where  he  calls  him  quintmn  Evangelistam^ 
 the  fifth  Evangelist,  that  saw  more  than  any  of  the  four.  But 
 by  the  same  art  and  skill  men  may,  if  they  please,  make  the 
 whole  Scripture  an  allegory :  since  we  find  nothing,  more 
 plainly,  nor  historically  delivered  than  this,  that  there  is  a 
 devil.     1  S.  John  iv.  3.     Farindon.     (Serm.  S.  Matt.  iv.  1.  p.  4.) 
 
 Hell-fire  is  no  fable  ;  devils  are  not  nominals  only,  but  reals  ;  not 
 qualities,  but  spiritual  substances ;  here  tempters,  hereafter  tor- 
 mentors.    Dean  Boys. 
 
 When  the  Sadducees  did  so  much  dishonour  them,  that  they  said 
 there  were  no  Angels  at  all,  yet  we  do  not  read,  in  all  the 
 
THE  ACTS  XXIII.  8.  639 
 
 Scripture,  that  these  Angels  did  avenge  themselves  of  the  Sad- 
 ducees  in  their  own  behalf;  but,  in  another  quarrel  in  God's 
 cause,  they  are  as  quick  and  hot,  as  a  flaming  fire.  Nay,  for 
 fear,  lest  some  one  should  step  in  before  them  to  do  the  deed, 
 as  soon  as  ever  the  word  was  out  of  Herod's  mouth,  that  he  was 
 magnified,  as  a  God,  "immediately"  he  is  apprehended,  xii. 
 22,  23  ;  S.  John  xii.  29  ;  2  S.  Pet.  ii.  11.  Bp.  Backet.  (Serm. 
 Acts  xii.  23.) 
 
 Sadduccei.    ■ 
 Sadducaea  cohors  furiis  processit  iniquis, 
 Crudelis  nimium  ;  casu  sine  Numine  volvi 
 Kes  hominum,  extinguique  animas  cum  corpore  censet ; 
 Esse  negat  divum  quenquam,  nee  sontibus  ullas 
 Post  obitum  pcenas,  meritis  nee  praemia  linquit. 
 
 Phariscei. 
 Multa  regi  partim  fatis,  partimque  fatentur 
 Multa  Dei  arbitrio  ;  et  Divos  consistere  coelo 
 Queis  nostrum  curae  genus  est :  non  praemia  tollunt 
 Non  scelerum  pcenas  ;  rursumque  in  luce  supremi 
 Judicii  expectant  redituram  in  corpora  vitam. 
 
 L.  Selneccerus.     (Annot.  ap.  Acta,  xxiii.) 
 
 9  And  there  arose  a  great  cry :  and  the  scribes  that 
 were  of  the  Pharisees'  part  arose,  and  strove,  saying, 
 We  find  no  evil  in  this  man :  but  if  a  spirit  or  an 
 angel  hath  spoken  to  him,  let  us  not  fight  against  God. 
 
 10  And  when  there  arose  a  great  dissension,  the 
 chief  captain  fearing  lest  Paul  should  have  been  pulled 
 in  pieces  of  them,  commanded  the  soldiers  to  go  down, 
 and  to  take  him  by  force  from  among  them,  and  to 
 bring  him  into  the  castle. 
 
 11  And  the  night  following  the  Lord  stood  by  him, 
 and  said,  Be  of  good  cheer,  Paul :  for  as  thou  hast 
 testified  of  Me  in  Jerusalem,  so  must  thou  bear  witness 
 also  at  Rome. 
 
640  THE  ACTS  XXIII.  9. 
 
 9  This  great  cry  (such  as  was  observed  in  the  story  of  S.  Stephen 
 vii.  57)  was  the  beginning  of  the  flaming  of  zeal ;  and,  verse 
 16,  it  follows  that  the  chief  Captain,  or  Tribune,  sent  soldiers 
 to  rescue  and  defend  S.  Paul,  that  he  might  not  be  taken  by 
 that  party  of  Zealots,  verse  12  ;  who  could  not  have  taken  that 
 oath  so  impune,  had  it  not  thus  been  indulged  to  them,  as 
 Zealots.  (See  Note,  verse  15.)  Dr.  Hammond.  (Of  resisting 
 the  Lawful  Magistrate,  &c.) 
 
 "Why  did  they  not  plead  for  him  before  this  ?  Do  you  observe, 
 how,  when  the  passions  give  way,  the  Truth  is  discovered  ?  S. 
 Chrysostom. 
 
 Violent  passions,  intensive  desires,  or  strong  affections,  either 
 strain  out,  or  suck  in,  only  so  much  of  the  sense  of  Scripture, 
 as  symboliseth  with  themselves.  Such  circumstances,  as  in 
 sober  examination  would  make  most  against  us,  leave  no  im- 
 pression in  our  minds,  much  bent  upon  any  private  purpose. 
 What  could  have  been  more  oflensive  to  the  Pharisees  (not 
 moved  with  bitter  opposition  to  the  Sadducees)  than  S.  Paul's 
 doctrine  of  Cheist's  appearance  to  him  after  His  Hesurrec- 
 tion  ?  .  .  .  But  unto  their  passionate  and  vehement  distaste  of 
 the  Sadducees'  doctrine,  S.  Paul's  conformity  with  the  Phari- 
 sees in  birth,  education,  and  generality  of  belief,  doth  relish  so 
 well,  that  his  particular  differences,  or  dissensions  from  them, 
 no  way  disafiect  them.  He  avouched  expressly,  that  Christ, 
 whom  they  had  crucified,  did  appear  unto  him  ;  but  they  appre- 
 hended it  to  be  after  such  a  manner,  as  God's  Angels  did,  in 
 times  past,  to  their  fathers.  Now  this  kind  of  appearance  wit- 
 nessed the  truth  of  the  Pharisees'  opinions,  that  there  be 
 Spirits,  or  Angels :  and  S.  Paul's  seasonable  proffering  of  this 
 testimony  doth  so  please  their  humour,  that  the  Scribes,  which 
 were  on  the  Pharisees'  part,  acquitted  him  by  proclamation. 
 That  thus  far  they  favoured  him,  was  not  out  of  true  love, 
 either  to  his  person,  or  any  part  of  the  truth,  he  taught ;  but 
 from  love  of  themselves  and  their  opinions,  from  jealous  im- 
 patiency  of  contradiction  in  public  place  by  an  inferior  sect. 
 So  likewise  we  read  in  the  Gospel,  when  our  Savioue,  from 
 God's  word  to  Moses,  had  most  Divinely  proved  the  Besurrec- 
 tion,  and  fully  satisfied  a  curious  question,  so  captiously  pro- 
 
THE  ACTS  XXIII.  10,  11.  641 
 
 posed  by  the  Sadducees,  as  would  have  puzzled  the  greatest 
 Eabbi  amongst  the  Pharisees,  certain  of  them  answered,  "  Mas- 
 ter, Thou  hast  well  said,"  S.  Luke  xx.  39.  They  like  well,  he 
 should  be  a  witness  of  the  Resurrection,  that  being  one  special 
 point,  which  their  credit  lay  upon  to  make  good  unto  the  multi- 
 tude against  the  Sadducees ;  but  as  ready  they  are  to  adjudge 
 Him  to  death,  for  avouching  Himself  to  be  the  great  Judge  of 
 such,  as  were  raised  from  the  dead.  xix.  23 — 25  ;  Phil.  ii.  21. 
 Br.  Jackson.     (B.  v.  c.  42.) 
 
 10  False  religions  brook  no  contradiction ;  and  what  is  wanting 
 in  argument  is  made  up  by  force,  xix.  29 — -34 ;  xx.  27,  &c. 
 Manton. 
 
 Nee  mora  ;  discedunt  propere  in  diversa  frementes : 
 Sed  Deus,  ut  Scriptura  canit,  vesana  minantes 
 Irridebat  eos  ccelesti  Christus  ab  arce  ; 
 Felicemque  Suum  sacris  velaverat  alls : 
 Qui  Domini  tutus  gremio,  candentia  tela 
 Discutiebat  ovans  galea  scutoque  fidei ; 
 Et  gladium  Yerbi  Confessor  in  ore  gerebat. 
 Armatus  pietate  manus  et  pectora  plenus 
 Casta  Deo,  insignis  meriti  thorace  tegebat. 
 O  multis  Divina  modis  Sapientia  dives. 
 Semper  ab  infirm  is  confundens  fortia  mundi ! 
 
 Paulinus.     (Poem  xvi.  in  Nat.  S.  Felicis.) 
 
 11  He  is  no  good  Christian,  who  thinks  he  can  be  safe  without 
 God,  or  not  safe  with  Him.  xviii.  9,  10 ;  Heb.  xiii.  5,  6.  Bp. 
 Henshawe. 
 
 A  wise  man  is  out  of  the  reach  of  fortune  ;  and  all  attempts  upon 
 him  are  no  more  than  Xerxes'  arrows  :  they  may  darken  the 
 day,  but  they  cannot  obscure  the  Sun.  2  Cor.  iv.  7 — 10 ;  Eom. 
 viii.  35 — 39.     Anonymous. 
 
 12  And  when  it  was  day,  certain  of  the  Jews 
 banded  together,  and  bound  themselves  under  a  curse, 
 saying  that  they  would  neither  eat  nor  drink  till  they 
 had  killed  Paul. 
 
 T    T 
 
642  THE  ACTS  XXIII. 
 
 13  And  they  were  more  than  forty  which  had  made 
 this  conspiracy. 
 
 14  And  they  came  to  the  chief  priests  and  elders, 
 and  said,  We  have  bound  ourselves  under  a  great 
 curse,  that  we  will  eat  nothing  until  we  have  slain 
 Paul. 
 
 15  Now  therefore  ye  with  the  council  signify  to  the 
 chief  captain  that  he  bring  him  down  unto  you  to- 
 morrow, as  though  ye  would  inquire  something  more 
 perfectly  concerning  him :  and  we,  or  ever  he  come 
 near,  are  ready  to  kill  him. 
 
 16  And  when  Paul's  sister's  son  heard  of  their 
 lying  in  wait,  he  went,  and  entered  into  the  castle,  and 
 told  Paul. 
 
 17  Then  Paul  called  one  of  the  centurions  unto 
 him,  and  said,  Bring  this  young  man  unto  the  chief 
 captain :  for  he  hath  a  certain  thing  to  tell  him. 
 
 18  So  he  took  him,  and  brought  him  to  the  chief 
 captain,  and  said,  Paul  the  prisoner  called  me  unto 
 him,  and  prayed  me  to  bring  this  young  man  unto 
 thee,  who  hath  something  to  say  unto  thee. 
 
 19  Then  the  chief  captain  took  him  by  the  hand, 
 and  went  ivith  him  aside  privately,  and  asked  him. 
 What  is  that  thou  hast  to  tell  me  ? 
 
 20  And  he  said.  The  Jews  have  agreed  to  desire 
 thee  that  thou  wouldest  bring  down  Paul  to-morrow 
 into  the  council,  as  though  they  would  inquire  some- 
 what of  him  more  perfectly. 
 
 21  But  do  not  thou  yield  unto  them  :  for  there  lie 
 in  wait  for  him  of  them  more  than  forty  men,  which 
 have  bound  themselves  with  an  oath,  that  they  will 
 
THE  ACTS  XXIII.  12,  14.  643 
 
 neither  eat  nor  drink  till  they  have  killed  him :  and 
 now  are  they  ready,  looking  for  a  promise  from  thee. 
 
 12  Quanta  confusio !  what  a  shame  upon  us !  The  wicked  are 
 more  earnest  in  their  desires  of  what  is  evil,  than  we  are  of  what 
 is  good.  Citius  illi  ad  mortem  proper  ant,  quam  nos  ad  vitam. 
 They  make  more  speed  in  the  way  of  death,  than  we  do  in  the 
 way  of  Life.  S.  Luke  xvi.  3.  S.  Bernard.  (Serm.  i.  De 
 altit.  cordis.) 
 
 Truth  and  righteousness  may  be  found  and  practised  with  half  the 
 pains,  that  are  often  employed  to  "  search  out  iniquity  "  and 
 establish  error.     Bp.  Home.     (Comment.  Ps.  Ixiv.  6.) 
 
 Other  sinners  serve  the  devil  for  pay ;  but  cursers  and  swearers 
 are  volunteers,  who  get  nothing  for  their  pains.  Kom.  vi.  21. 
 Boston.     (Eour-fold  State.) 
 
 God  is  heaping  up  so  many  gains  for  you  in  heaven,  as  your 
 enemy  is  curses  on  earth,  v.  33  ;  S.  Matt.  v.  10 — 12.  S. 
 Augustine. 
 
 14  1.  If  that,  we  have  sworn  to,  be  simply  evil,  the  rule  is ;  Ne 
 sit  Sacrainentum  pietatis  vinculum  iniquitatis.  2.  If  it  hinder 
 a  greater  or  higher  good,  the  rule  is  ;  Ne  sit  Sacramentum 
 pietatis  impedimentum  pietatis.  3.  If  it  be  in  things  indifferent, 
 as  we  term  them,  absque  grano  salts,  it  is  a  rash  oath ;  to  be  re- 
 pented, not  to  be  executed.  4.  If  the  oath  be  simply  made, 
 yet  (as  we  say)  it  doth  subjacere  civili  intellectui,  so  as  God's 
 oath  doth,  (Jer.  xviii.  8)  and  therefore  those  conditions  may 
 exclude  the  event,  and  the  oath  remain  good.  5.  If  in  regard 
 of  the  manner,  it  be  extorted  from  us,  the  rule  is,  Injusta 
 vincula  rumpit  justitia.  6.  If  rashly,  Vcenitenda  promissio,  non 
 perjicienda  prcesumptio,  7.  If  to  any  man,  for  his  benefit  or  for 
 favour  to  him,  if  that  party  release  it,  it  bindeth  not.  Judg.  xi. 
 31 ;  1  Sam.  xiv.  24 ;  S.  Mark  vi.  23.  Bp.  Andrewes.  (Serm. 
 Jer.  iv.  2.) 
 
 Eat  nothing.— EoholA,  fasting  the  mother  of  murder !  Just  as 
 Herod  imposed  on  himself  that  necessity  by  an  oath,  so  also  do 
 these ;  for  such  are  the  devil's  ways :  under  the  pretext  of  piety 
 he  sets  his  traps,     xxi.  28 ;  S.  Matt.  xiv.  7.     S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 T  T  2 
 
644  THE  ACTS  XXIII.  15—17. 
 
 15  Are  readij  to  kill  him. — There  was  among  the  Jews,  either 
 truly  or  pretendedly,  ^judicium,  Zelotarum,  a  peculiar  liberty  or 
 power  oi  Zealots  (i.e.  of  private  men,  led  by  zeal),  to  punish  or 
 execute  malefactors,  whether  with  death  or  any  lower  punish- 
 ment. These  they  style  pious  men,  inflamed  with  the  zeal  of 
 God  ;  and  these  were  wont,  when  they  found  any  men  in  the 
 fact,  guilty  of  sedition,  blasphemy,  or  any  other  crime  of  the 
 greater  size,  openly  and  publicly  committed,  presently  to  set 
 upon  him,  to  smite,  and,  if  need  were,  to  kill  him,  without  any 
 process  of  law  against  him.  .  .  These  Zealots  were  a  fourth  sect 
 of  the  Jews  (added  to  Sadducees,  Pharisees,  Essenes)  ;  "  a 
 sect,"  as  Cornelius  Bertramus  affirms,  "most  sadly  pernicious 
 to  the  Jews  themselves  ;  the  destruction  of  all  whom,  and  the 
 prostration  of  their  commonwealth  it  did  not  only  hasten  and 
 precipitate,  but  made  it  so  miserable  and  calamitous,  when  it 
 came."  Verse  2 ;  i.  13 ;  vii.  57  ;  xvii.  5  ;  xxi.  20 ;  xxii.  3  ; 
 Numb.  XXV.  7,  8  ;  S.  Matt.  xxvi.  51 5  S.  Luke  ix.  54  ;  S.  John 
 X.  31  ;  xviii.  22.  Dr.  Hamtnond.  (Tract  on  resisting  the 
 Lawful  Magistrate  under  colour  of  religion.) 
 
 16  Every  creature  is  that  to  us,  which  God  makes  it,  and  no 
 more.     2  Kings  v.  3  ;  S.  John  vi.  9.     P.  Henry. 
 
 17  We  may  learn,  not  only  from  S.  Paul's  precepts,  relative  to 
 Christian  trust  and  "joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost,"  but  also  from 
 his  example,  as  recorded  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  in  con- 
 cerns of  a  different  nature,  that  he  at  least  did  not  consider  the 
 active  and  circumspect  employment  of  means,  inconsistent  wdth 
 the  most  undoubting  certainty,  as  to  the  event ;  even  a  cer- 
 tainty, founded  on  immediate  precise  E-evelation  from  heaven. 
 Let  any  one  read  the  account  of  what  befel  him,  while  im- 
 prisoned at  Jerusalem ;  and  he  will  find  him  assured  by  a 
 supernatural  vision  of  his  deliverance  from  the  then  present 
 danger.  "  Be  of  good  cheer,  Paul,  for  thou  must  bear  witness 
 of  Me  also  at  Kome."  Yet,  when  the  designs  of  the  conspira- 
 tors to  murder  him  came  to  his  knowledge,  he  took  every  pre- 
 caution (by  sending  to  warn  the  chief  captain)  that  prudent 
 apprehension  could  suggest.  .  .  .  Was  it  then,  that  he  doubted 
 the  supernatural  assurance  he  had  received  ?  Surely  not ;  but 
 he  regarded  that  very  assurance,  as  grounded  on  the  supposi- 
 
THE  ACTS  XXIII.  17—21.  645 
 
 tion,  that  he  himself  should  employ  all  those  regular  means, 
 which  he,  on  his  part,  was  ready  and  fully  resolved  to  employ, 
 xxvii.  24,  31 ;  2  Tim.  ii.  10.  Abp.  Whately.  (Essays  on  the 
 writings  of  S.  Paul,  4.) 
 
 (Conf.  verse  11.)  The  moral  certainty,  however  great,  of  an  end, 
 which  rests  in  other  hands,  does  not  dispense  with  the  diligent 
 employment  of  such  righteous  means,  conducive  to  it,  as  are 
 entrusted  to  our  own.  S.  John  xi.  39.  J.  Miller.  (Bampt. 
 Lecture  iii.) 
 
 21  If  you  have  promised  what  is  wrong,  be  unfaithful  to  your 
 promise  ;  if  your  vow  be  evil,  abandon  your  determination  :  for 
 that  promise  must  needs  be  impious,  which  can  only  be  per- 
 formed by  your  acting  wickedly.  .  .  Unlawful  oaths  are  laudably 
 broken,  and  damnably  kept.  2  Sam.  xv.  1 — 10 ;  Jer.  xliv.  25 
 —28.     Isidore  (Of  Seville.) 
 
 Per  quot  pericula  pervenimus  ad  grandius periculum. — Through  how 
 many  dangers  do  we  attain  to  the  greatest  danger  of  all.  i.  18. 
 S.  Augustine. 
 
 22  So  the  chief  captain  then  let  the  young  man  de- 
 part, and  charged  him,  See  thou  tell  no  man  that  thou 
 hast  showed  these  things  to  me. 
 
 23  And  he  called  unto  him  two  centurions,  saying, 
 Make  ready  two  hundred  soldiers  to  go  to  Csesarea, 
 and  horsemen  three  score  and  ten,  and  spearmen  two 
 hundred,  at  the  third  hour  of  the  night ; 
 
 24  And  provide  them  beasts,  that  they  may  set  Paul 
 on,  and  bring  him  safe  unto  Felix  the  governor. 
 
 25  And  he  wrote  a  letter  after  this  manner  : 
 
 26  Claudius  Lysias  unto  the  most  excellent  governor 
 Felix  sendeth  greeting. 
 
 27  This  man  was  taken  of  the  Jews,  and  should 
 have  been  killed  of  them :  then  came  I  with  an  army, 
 and  rescued  him,  having  understood  that  he  was  a 
 Roman. 
 
646  THE  ACTS  XXIII.  22,  23. 
 
 28  And  when  I  would  have  known  the  cause  where- 
 fore they  accused  him,  I  brought  him  forth  into  their 
 council : 
 
 29  Whom  I  perceived  to  be  accused  of  questions  of 
 their  law,  but  to  have  nothing  laid  to  his  charge 
 worthy  of  death  or  of  bonds. 
 
 30  And  when  it  was  told  me  how  that  the  Jews 
 laid  wait  for  the  man,  I  sent  straightway  to  thee,  and 
 gave  commandment  to  his  accusers  also  to  say  before 
 thee  what  they  had  against  him.     Farewell. 
 
 31  Then  the  soldiers,  as  it  was  commanded  them, 
 took  Paul,  and  brought  him  by  night  to  Antipatris. 
 
 32  On  the  morrow  they  left  the  horsemen  to  go 
 with  him,  and  returned  to  the  castle : 
 
 33  Who,  when  they  came  to  Ceesarea,  and  delivered 
 the  epistle  to  the  governor,  presented  Paul  also  before 
 him. 
 
 34  And  when  the  governor  had  read  the  letter,  he 
 asked  of  what  province  he  w^as.  And  when  he  under- 
 stood that  he  was  of  Cilicia  ; 
 
 35  I  will  hear  thee,  said  he,  w^hen  thine  accusers  are 
 also  come.  And  he  commanded  him  to  be  kept  in 
 Herod's  judgment  hall. 
 
 22  It  is  rarely  seen,  in  the  events  of  life,  that  the  designs  of  man 
 accord  with  those  of  God.  That  of  Lysias  here  was  to  place 
 the  person  of  S.  Paul  out  of  the  reach  of  danger :  that  of  God 
 to  preserve  S.  Paul,  and  to  send  him  afterwards  to  Home.  xxv. 
 12  ;  Gen.  1.  20  ;  2  Sam.  xvi.  11,  12  ;  S.  Luke  ii.  1,  4,  5.    Quesnel. 
 
 23  S.  Paul,  the  Apostle,  having  understood  the  Jews'  plot  against 
 him,  willed  it  to  be  revealed  to  the  chief  captain  ;  and  when  the 
 chief  captain  gave  him  a  guard  of  soldiers  to  secure  his  journey, 
 he  accepted  it,  making  never  a  word  to  the  captain  or  the 
 soldiers,  that  God  was  not  pleased  with  resisting  of  force  by 
 
THE  ACTS  XXIII.  23,  31.  647 
 
 force :  and  yet  S.  Paul  was  a  man,  who  would  himself  omit,  nor 
 suffer  others  to  omit,  no  occasion  of  teaching  men  their  duty. 
 This  is  another  proof  that  the  right  of  war  is  not  wholly  taken 
 away  by  the  Law  of  Cheist.  x.  1 ;  xix.  19 ;  S.  Luke  iii.  14. 
 Grotius.     (Of  the  Law  of  peace  and  war.     S.  19.) 
 
 Scio  Belli  nomen  splendidum  esse  et  gloriosum.     Dum  animus 
 grandis  suique  impos  triumphos  et  victorias,  quasi  "  fraena  ferox 
 spumantia  mandit :"  juvat  micare  gladio,  et  mucronem  intueri. 
 Jam  nunc  minaci  murmure  cornuum 
 Stringuntur  aures  ;  jam  litui  strepunt ; 
 Jam  fulgor  armorum  fugaces 
 
 Terret  equos,  equitumque  vultus. 
 Cum  tamen  splendida  plerumque  vitrea  sint,  claritatem  fragili- 
 tate  corrumpentia,  neque  de  private  agamus  bono,  sed  publico, 
 certe  fatendum  est  anteferendam  bello  Pacem,  sine  qua  omnis 
 vita  procella,  et  mundus  soHtudo.  Pace,  filii  sepeliunt  patres  ; 
 bello,  patres  filios  ;  Pace,  sanantur  aagri ;  bello,  etiam  sani  inter- 
 eunt ;  Pace,  securitas  in  agris  est ;  bello,  neque  intra  muros ; 
 Pace,  avium  cantus  expergefacit ;  bello,  tubsB  ac  tympana  :  Pax 
 novum  orbem  aperuit ;  bellum  destruit  veterem.  G.  Herbert. 
 (Academise  Cantab.  Orator.  1623.  See  Appendix  No.  1  to  Dr. 
 Zouch's  edition  of  "Walton's  Life  of  G.  Herbert.) 
 
 31  Took  Paul  and  brought  him  by  night  unto  Antipatris. — Those 
 things,  which  be  most  free  and  absolute,  the  hearts  and  wills  of 
 men,  follow  the  influence  of  Divine  Providence.  They  do  what- 
 soever liketh  them  ;  but  yet  they  do  no  more,  and  in  no  other 
 manner,  than  God  hath  decreed :  He  guideth  them  to  His  own 
 ends ;  yet  He  guideth  them,  according  to  that  nature,  which  He 
 hath  put  into  them :  they  voluntarily  perform  what  certainly 
 shall  come  to  pass.  He  causeth  good  actions ;  He  permitteth 
 bad  actions ;  He  rules  and  orders  all.  ...  Posidonius,  in  his 
 Life  of  S.  Augustine  (ch.  x.,  xv.),  gives  us  two  memorable  ex- 
 amples to  this  purpose.  The  good  Father,  having  to  visit  and 
 instruct  the  people  of  a  certain  place,  and  having  a  guide  to 
 direct  the  way  and  conduct  him  thither,  did,  notwithstanding, 
 mistake  the  common  and  usual  road,  and  ignorantly  fell  into  a 
 by-path,  and  so  escaped  the  bloody  hand  of  some  Donatists, 
 who,  knowing  of  his  journey,  lay  in  ambush   to  take  away  his 
 
648  THE  ACTS  XXIII.  31. 
 
 life.  At  another  time,  this  holy  Bishop,  preaching  to  the  con- 
 gregation, and  forgetting  the  argument,  which  first  he  proposed, 
 fell  upon  the  errors  of  the  Manichees,  which  he  never  intended  ; 
 (Conf.  verse  6—9?)  and  by  that  means  he  converted  one 
 rirmus,  his  auditor,  who  afterwards  fell  down  at  S.  Augustine's 
 feet,  weeping,  and  confessing  that  he  had  lived  a  Manichee 
 many  years,  and  now,  by  God's  mercy  and  his  last  sermon,  was 
 reduced  to  the  Catholic  belief  ii.  23  ;  Prov.  ii.  1 ;  xix.  12  ; 
 1  Sam.  ii.  25  ;  2  Sam.  xvii.  23.  Ed.  Corbett.  (Serm.  1  Cor. 
 i.  27.     Before  Pari.  1642.) 
 
 Dum  struit  occultas  justo  gens  impia  technas* 
 
 Infremit,  et  dentem  perfida  dente  terit. 
 Eidet  ab  setherea  recti  Deus  arbiter  aula,t 
 
 Exitii  cernens  non  procul  esse  diem. 
 Impius  eduxit  gladium,  lunavit  et  arcum, 
 
 Quo  plus  occumbat,  quo  juguletur  inops. 
 Sed  Deus  hoc  illi  transfiget  viscera  ferro, 
 
 Pranget  et  ultrici  cornua  tensa  manu.  .  . 
 Vidi  ego,  nam  memini,  scelerum  florere  ministros, 
 
 XJt  viret  in  pingui  laurus  amaena  solo. 
 In  fumos  abiere  tamen  :  vestigia  nulla, 
 
 Umbraque  quserenti  nulla  reperta  mihi  est. 
 
 A.  Jonston.     (Psalmi  Davidici.     Ps.  xxxvii.) 
 
 CHAPTER  XXIV. 
 
 A 
 
 ND  after  five  days  Ananias  the  high  priest  descended 
 with  the  elders,  and  with  a  certain  orator  named 
 Tertullus,  who  informed  the  governor  against  Paul. 
 
 2  And  when  he  was  called  forth,  Tertullus  began  to 
 accuse  him,  saying,  Seeing  that  by  thee  we  enjoy  great 
 
 *  Technas,  verbum  inusitatum  ;  melius  forsan , /raw^eA- 
 t  In  original — Ridei  at  cethered  recti  Deus  Autor  ab  aula. 
 
THE  ACTS  XXIV.  2.  649 
 
 quietness,  and  that  very  worthy  deeds  are  done  unto 
 this  nation  by  thy  providence, 
 
 3  We  accept  it  always,  and  in  all  places,  most  noble 
 Felix,  with  all  thankfulness. 
 
 4  Notwithstanding,  that  I  be  not  further  tedious 
 unto  thee,  I  pray  thee  that  thou  wouldest  hear  us  of 
 thy  clemency  a  few  words. 
 
 5  For  we  have  found  this  man  a  pestilent /eZZo?^;, 
 and  a  mover  of  sedition  among  all  the  Jews  through- 
 out the  world,  and  a  ringleader  of  the  sect  of  the 
 Nazarenes  : 
 
 6  Who  also  hath  gone  about  to  profane  the  temple  : 
 whom  we  took,  and  would  have  judged  according  to 
 our  law. 
 
 7  But  the  chief  captain  Lysias  came  upon  us,  and 
 with  great  violence  took  him  away  out  of  our  hands, 
 
 8  Commanding  his  accusers  to  come  unto  thee  :  by 
 examining  of  whom  thyself  mayest  take  knowledge  of 
 all  these  things,  whereof  we  accuse  him. 
 
 9  And  the  Jews  also  assented,  saying  that  these 
 things  were  so. 
 
 2  Very  worthy  deeds,  ^c. — In  this  world  men  thrive  by  villany ; 
 and  lying  and  deceiving  is  accounted  just ;  and  to  be  rich  is  to 
 be  wise,  and  tyranny  is  honourable.  And,  though  little  thefts 
 and  petty  mischiefs  are  interrupted  by  the  Laws,  yet,  if  a  mis- 
 chief become  public  and  great,  acted  by  Princes  and  effected  by 
 armies,  and  robberies  be  done  by  whole  fleets,  it  is  virtue,  and 
 it  is  glory.     Isa.  v.  20  ;  xxxii.  5  ;  S.  Luke  vi.  26.     Bp.  Taylor. 
 
 Flatterers  are  as  inseparable  from  prosperous  princes,  as  flies  are 
 from  fruit  in  summer  ;  whom  adversity,  like  cold  weather,  drives 
 away.     xii.  21,  22.     Eikon  Bas. 
 
 Elattery  bribes  an  evil  nature,  and  corrupts  a  good  one.  Prov.  ii. 
 15,  16.     Bp.  J.  Taylor. 
 
650  THE  ACTS  XXIV.  3,  5. 
 
 3  Most  noble. — "With  God  eminence  in  virtue  is  the  highest  no- 
 bility. Eeligion  is  no  respecter  of  persons,  nor  of  men's  condi- 
 tions in  life  ;  it  looks  to  their  minds  and  principles.  S.  Jerome. 
 (Ep.  ad  Calantium.) 
 
 5  A  mover  of  sedition,  ^c. — Had  S.  Paul  been  this  indeed,  they 
 would  have  proclaimed  him  to  be  the  benefactor  and  Saviour  of 
 the  nation  !  .  .  .  Found  him,  as  if  he  had  always  been  trying  to 
 evade  them.     xxi.  28.     S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 A  pestilent  fellow. — Foolish  Tertullus  !  that  mistook  the  antidote 
 for  the  poison,  the  remedy  for  the  disease  !  But,  had  S.  Paul 
 been  such,  as  thy  misprision  supposed  him,  he  had  been  such,  as 
 thy  unjust  crimination  now  makes  thyself;  Xoifio^,  the  plague  of 
 thy  people.  Amos  v.  7  ;  vi.  12.   Bp.  Hall.  (Serm.  Acts  ii.  37,  38.) 
 
 If  the  Pharisees  were  to  be  believed,  it  was  not  they,  but  Christ, 
 that  was  the  hypocrite.  Nor  was  it  "  the  Son  of  Gron,"  but  an 
 enemy  to  Csesar  and  a  blasphemer,  that  they  put  to  death.  Eut 
 will  not  Christ  "  know  His  sheep,"  though  He  find  them  torn 
 in  a  wolf's  skin  ?  You  say,  it  is  turbulent  Precisians,*  that  you 
 strike;  but  what,  if  Christ  find  but  one  of  '*the  least  of  His 
 brethren  "  bleeding  by  it  ?  It  is  but  hypocrites  and  schismatics 
 that  you  reproach;  but,  if  Christ  find  an  humble  serious 
 Christian,  suffering  by  your  abuse,  and  you  to  answer  it,  I  would 
 not  be  in  your  coats  for  all  the  greatness  and  honour,  that  you 
 shall  have,  before  your  everlasting  shame.  If  Tertullus  accuse 
 a  pestilent  fellow  and  a  mover  of  sedition,  and  Christ  find  an 
 holy  laborious  Apostle  in  bonds  and  suffering  by  it,  it  is  not 
 his  names  that  will  excuse  him,  and  make  an  Apostle,  or  perse- 
 cution, to  be  another  thing,  xxii.  8  ;  Wisd.  v.  1 — 5 ;  Deut. 
 xxxii.  43  ;  1  Cor.  iv.  3.     Jt.  Baxter.    (Discourse  on  Eccl.  ix.  10.) 
 
 Man  is,  by  nature,  rather  a  vituperative,  than  a  complimentary 
 animal.  The  language  of  satire  and  censure  has  a  far  greater 
 copia  verborum,  than  that  of  praise,  xiii.  45  ;  xviii.  6  ;  Ps.  Iviii. 
 3  ;  Eom.i.  29,  30.  Bp.  Ileber.  (Life.  Vol.  ii.  p.  5,  Edit.  1830.) 
 A  ringleader  of  the  sect,  ^'C. — It  is  evident  that  all  the  designs, 
 which  have  been  formed  against  Christianity  since  its  first  in- 
 stitution, have  endeavoured  its  subversion,  as  a  Visible  society. 
 And  that  the  present  enemies  of  the  Gospel  among  us  pursue 
 *  A  title,  corresponding  with  that  of  Methodists. 
 
THE  ACTS  XXIV.  6,  7.  651 
 
 the  same  maxims  appears  from  the  applause  and  triumph,  with 
 which  they  receive  all  notions,  which  tend  to  dissolve  the  ex- 
 ternal Polity  of  the  Church,  and  withdraw  men's  respect  from 
 those  offices  and  administrations,  without  which  it  cannot  sub- 
 sist. They  are  contented  that  the  duties,  which  flow  from  our 
 external  relation  to  Christ,  and  belong  to  us,  as  members  of 
 His  Invisible  Church,  should  be  pressed  and  recommended,  pro- 
 vided the  submission  we  owe  to  those,  whom  He  has  appointed 
 to  rule  over  us,  be  left  out  of  the  catalogue ;  and  all  those  laws, 
 duties,  and  offices,  which  incorporate  and  unite  us,  as  a  "Visible 
 society,  be  exposed,  as  priestcraft  and  imposture  :  because  they 
 see  plainly,  that  these  principles  will  so  effectually  assist  them 
 in  subverting  the  Church,  as  a  Visible  society,  that  not  even 
 a  single  congregation  can  be  formed  upon  them  :  and  they  are 
 very  well  satisfied  that,  if  they  can  once  dissolve  those  ties, 
 which  unite  us  together,  as  a  Visible  Church,  our  Invisible 
 Church  will  give  them  no  trouble,  but  expire  of  itself,  xxviii. 
 22  ;  2  S.  Pet.  ii.  10 ;  S.  Jude  8.  J.  Rogers.  (A  Discourse  of  the 
 Visible  and  Invisible  Church  of  Christ.  P.  iv.  c.  2.) 
 A  slander,  or  other  wrong  or  contempt,  done  to  a  Minister,  qud 
 talis,  is  a  sin  of  a  higher  strain,  than  the  same,  done  to  a  com- 
 mon Christian.  Not  at  all  for  his  person  s  sake  :  for,  so,  he  is  no 
 more  God's  good  creature,  than  the  other ;  no  more  free  from 
 sins,  and  infirmities,  and  passions,  than  the  other,  xiv.  15.  But 
 for  his  calling's  sake ;  for,  so,  he  is  God's  Ambassador,  which  the 
 other  is  not ;  and  for  his  work's  sake ;  for  that  is  God's  mes- 
 sage, which  the  other  is  not.  Personal  slanders  and  contempts 
 are  to  a  Minister,  but  as  to  another  man,  because  his  person  is 
 but,  as  another  man's  person :  but  slanders  and  contempts,  done 
 to  him,  as  a  Minister,  that  is,  with  reference  either  to  his  calling 
 or  doctrine,  are  much  greater,  than  to  another  man,  as  reaching 
 unto  God  Himself,  whose  person  the  Minister  represents  in  his 
 calling,  and  whose  errand  the  Minister  delivereth  in  his  doc- 
 trine, vi.  11 ;  S.  James  v.  17  ;  2  Cor.  v.  20 ;  1  Thess.  ii.  13 ; 
 iv.  8.  Bp.  Sanderson.  (Serm.  Eom.  iii.  8.) 
 Came  upon  us,  and  with  great  violence,  ^c. — He,  that  goeth 
 about  to  persuade  a  multitude,  that  they  are  not  so  well  go- 
 verned, as  they  ought  to  be,  shall  never  want  attentive  and 
 
652  THE  ACTS  XXIV.  9. 
 
 favourable  hearers.     2  Sam.  xv.  1 — 6.     Hooker.     (Eccl.  Pol. 
 E.  i.  1.) 
 
 9  Saying  that  these  things  were  so. — If  thou  comest  hither,  as  to 
 thine  harvest,  to  reap  some  fruit  of  thy  long  and  expensive 
 study  in  the  Laws,  and  to  assist  thy  client  and  his  cause  with 
 thy  counsel,  learning,  and  eloquence,  think  not,  because  thou 
 speakest  for  thy  fee,  that  therefore  thy  tongue  is  not  thine  own, 
 but  thou  must  speak,  what  thy  client  will  have  thee  speak,  be  it 
 true  or  false ;  neither  think,  because  thou  hast  the  liberty  of 
 the  Court,  and  perhaps  the  favour  of  the  Judge,  that  therefore 
 thy  tongue  is  thine  own,  and  thou  mayesfc  speak  thy  pleasure  to 
 the  prejudice  of  the  adversary's  person,  or  cause  :  seek  not  pre- 
 posterously to  win  the  name  of  a  good  Lawyer  by  wresting  and 
 perverting  good  laws,  or  the  opinion  of  the  best  Counsellor  by 
 giving  the  worst  and  the  shrewdest  counsel.  Count  it  not,  as 
 Protagoras  did,  the  glory  of  thy  profession  by  subtilty  of  wit 
 and  volubility  of  tongue  to  *'  make  the  worse  cause  the  better ;" 
 but,  like  a  good  man,  as  well  as  a  good  orator,  use  the  power  of 
 thy  tongue  and  wit  to  shame  impudence,  and  protect  innocency, 
 to  crush  oppressors,  and  succour  the  afflicted,  to  advance  justice 
 and  equity,  and  to  "  help  them  to  right,  that  suffer  wrong." 
 Let  it  be,  as  a  Euled  case,  to  thee  in  all  thy  pleadings,  *'  not  to 
 speak  in  any  cause  to  wrest  judgment."  vi.  11 — 14;  xxiii.  3  ; 
 Deut.  xvi.  19.     Bp.  Sanderson.     (Serm.  Ps.  cvi.  30.) 
 
 "What  smack  or  relish,  think  you,  hath  Dives  now  left  him  of  all 
 his  delicacies,  or  Esau  of  his  pottage  ?  What  pleasure  hath  the 
 rich  fool  of  his  full  barns,  or  the  young  man  of  his  great  posses- 
 sions ?  What  delight  hath  Jezebel  in  her  paint,  or  Ahab  in  the 
 vineyard,  purchased  with  the  innocent  blood  of  him,  that  owned 
 it  ?  How  much  policy  hath  Ahithophel,  or  how  much  pomp  hath 
 Herod,  or  how  much  E/hetoric  hath  TertuUus  left,  to  escape,  or  to 
 bribe  the  torments,  which,  out  of  Christ,  they  must  ever  suffer  ? 
 Isa.  xliv.  9  ;  Jer.  v.  31 ;  1  S.  John  ii.  15 — 17.     Bp.  Reynolds. 
 
 I  have  read  of  one  Sylvanus,  that  he  always  began  his  work  in  the 
 morning  with  these  holy  purposes,  "  To  censure  nobody  that 
 day,  but  reflect  always  on  his  own  sin,  whenever  he  met  with  a 
 temptation  to  judge  his  brother ;  not  to  hate  any  person  for  his 
 sin,  but  to  pity  him  and  to  pray  for  him  ;  to  think  of  the  day  of 
 
THE  ACTS  XXIV.  10.  653 
 
 his  death,  and  not  to  rejoice  at  any  thing,  that  was  evil :"  whence 
 it  came  to  pass  that  he  arrived  to  that  perfection  of  G-race,  that, 
 like  another  Abraham,  he  became  "  a  father  of  the  faithful," 
 and  able  "  to  comfort  them,  which  were  in  any  trouble,  by  the 
 comfort,  wherein  himself  was  comforted  of  GtOD,"  to  use  S.  Paul's 
 expression,  2  Cor.  i.  4.  xxviii.  19.  Dr.  Horneck.  (The  Happy 
 Ascetic.     Exercise  2.) 
 
 1 0  Then  Paul,  after  that  the  governor  had  beckoned 
 him  to  speak,  answered,  Forasmuch  as  I  know  that 
 thou  hast  been  of  many  years  a  judge  unto  this  nation, 
 I  do  the  more  cheerfully  answer  for  myself: 
 
 1 1  Because  that  thou  mayest  understand,  that  there 
 are  yet  but  twelve  days  since  I  w^ent  up  to  Jerusalem 
 for  to  worship. 
 
 12  And  they  neither  found  me  in  the  temple  dis- 
 puting with  any  man,  neither  raising  up  the  people, 
 neither  in  the  synagogues,  nor  in  the  city : 
 
 13  Neither  can  they  prove  the  things  whereof  they 
 now  accuse  me. 
 
 14  But  this  I  confess  unto  thee,  that  after  the  way 
 which  they  call  heresy,  so  worship  I  the  God  of  my 
 fathers,  believing  all  things  which  are  written  in  the 
 law  and  in  the  prophets  : 
 
 15  And  have  hope  toward  God,  which  they  them- 
 selves also  allow,  that  there  shall  be  a  resurrection  of 
 the  dead,  both  of  the  just  and  unjust. 
 
 16  And  herein  do  I  exercise  myself,  to  have  always 
 a  conscience  void  of  offence  toward  God,  and  toward 
 men. 
 
 10  "Wise  and  godly  silence  is  as  excellent  a  virtue,  as  holy  speech  ; 
 for  he  knoweth  not  how  to  speak,  which  knoweth  not  how  to 
 hold  his  tongue.     The  rule  of  our  silence  must  be  the  Law  of 
 
654  THE  ACTS  XXIV.  12,  13. 
 
 God.  .  .  Here  must  be  considered  the  things,  of  which  silence 
 must  be  used ;  and  the  persons,  before  whom.  .  .  .  The  per- 
 sons are  these :  1.  Malicious  enemies  of  religion  (Ps.  xxxix. 
 1—3 ;  S.  Matt.  vii.  6  ;  xxvii.  14)  ;  2.  Before  Magistrates  in 
 their  open  Courts,  where  such,  as  come  before  them,  are  not  to 
 speak,  till  they  be  bidden  ;  3.  In  the  presence  of  our  Elders  and 
 betters,  who  must  have  leave  and  liberty  to  speak  first,  and  must 
 of  others  be  heard  in  silence  (Job  xxxii.  6 ;  Eccl.  vii.  5,  11 ; 
 Ecclus.  xxxii.  7 — 9.)  ....  and  here  all  servants  and  children 
 must  remember,  when  they  are  justly  reproved,  to  be  silent, 
 and  not  to  answer  anything  again  (Titus  ii.  9.)  4.  Fools  and 
 prattlers  are  not  to  be  answered,  unless  it  be  to  let  them  see 
 their  folly,  (Prov.  xxvi.  4,  5.)  xxi.  40.  W.  Perkins.  (Of  the 
 government  of  the  tongue,  ch.  xi.) 
 
 12  Then  Eaithful  began  to  answer,  that  he  had  only  "  set  himself 
 against  that,  which  had  set  itself  against  Him,  that  is  higher, 
 than  the  highest."  And  said  he,  "  As  for  disturbance,  I  make 
 none,  being  myself  a  man  of  peace.  The  parties,  that  were  won 
 to  us,  were  won  by  beholding  our  truth  and  innocence ;  and 
 they  are  only  turned  from  the  worse  unto  the  better."  xvii.  6 ; 
 Ps.  cxx.  6.     Bunyan.     (Pilgrim's  Progress,  p.  1.) 
 
 The  interference  of  spiritual  religion  with  men's  covetous,  am- 
 bitious, and  sensual  pursuits,  and  the  interruption  it  gives  to 
 their  false  peace,  and  unanimity  in  ungodliness,  or  hypocrisy, 
 which  it  tends  to  expose  and  undermine,  form  the  grounds  of 
 the  indictment ;  that  is,  when  the  persecuted  can  truly  answer 
 that  they  only  "  set  themselves  against  that,  which  sets  itself 
 against  Him,  that  is  higher  than  the  highest,"  and  when  they 
 do  not  "  suffer,  as  evil  doers,  busy  bodies  in  other  men's  mat- 
 ters," ambitious  competitors  for  secular  advantages,  or  con- 
 tentious disputants  about  political  questions,  xix.  23,  24; 
 1  Kings  xviii.  7  ;  Gal.  iv.  16 ;  IS.  Pet.  iv.  15.  T.  Scott. 
 (Note  to  the  above  extract  from  Bunyan,) 
 
 33  Like  his  Divine  Master,  he  leaves  unnoticed  the  personal  in- 
 vectives and  terms  of  reproach,  levelled  against  himself,  and  ap- 
 plies himself  to  answer  the  charges,  alleged  on  fact,  and  such, 
 as  related  to  the  Glory  of  God  and  the  honour  and  defence  of 
 the  Gospel,  xxvi.  25.  (lUustr.S.  Johnviii.  49.  Dean  Boys.)  J.F. 
 
THE  ACTS  XXIV.  13,  14.  655 
 
 In  all  accusations,  whether  public  or  private,  when  thou  hast  made 
 a  sufficient  defence,  enter  not  into  needless  matters  of  ostentation, 
 or  such  further  vindication,  as  is  not  necessary,  xi.  4 — 17. 
 Corbet.     (Notes  for  himself) 
 
 A  defence,  which  is  over  anxious,  makes  a  good  cause  suspicious. 
 Ps.  xxxvii.  4,  5  ;  S.  Matt,  xxvii.  12.  Bp,  Hacket.  (Serm. 
 Acts  ii.  12,  13.) 
 
 It  is  the  glory  of  a  man  to  pass  by  an  offence.  Injuries,  if  by  re- 
 garding them  a  man  lay  himself  open  to  them,  wound  and  hurt 
 us  :  if  they  be  contemned,  or  borne  off  with  the  shield  of  meek- 
 ness, they  glance  off,  or  rebound  unto  the  party,  that  offereth 
 them.  Prov.  xix.  11;  1  S.  Pet.  ii.  21—23.  Bp.  Bedell. 
 (Serm.  on  S.  Matt.  xi.  29.  See  Bp.  Burnet's  Life  of  him, 
 p.  155.     Edit.  1692.) 
 
 14  Cheist  our  Sayioue,  when  He  was  thus  charged  (with  heresy) 
 made  answer,  "  If  I  through  Beelzebub  cast  out  devils,  by  whom 
 do  your  children  cast  them  out  ?"  So  may  we  say  to  such,  as 
 this  day  be  adversaries  to  this  cause  and  speak  against  us.  If 
 we  be  heretics,  that  teach  this  doctrine,  what  are  the  ancient 
 Fathers,  the  Doctors,  and  the  Apostles,  that  have  taught  the 
 same  ?  If  they  were  Catholics,  and  have  evermore  been  so 
 taken,  writing,  as  they  did,  how  is  it,  that  only  we  are  not  Ca- 
 tholics, writing  and  saying,  as  they  did  ?  They  shall  judge  on 
 our  side  against  you.  And  would  God,  in  the  greatest  and 
 specialest  points  of  our  controversies,  all  parts  would  be  con- 
 tented to  stand  to  their  judgment :  so  should  all  contention  be 
 soon  at  an  end.  Por  "  I  call  heaven  and  earth  to  witness," 
 and  speak  it  before  GrOD,  and  His  Holy  Angels,  and  before  the 
 consciences  of  all  them,  that  speak  against  us,  that,  touching 
 the  very  substance  of  religion,  we  teach  nothing  this  day,  but 
 that  hath  been  taught  before  by  Cheist  Himself,  set  abroad  by 
 His  Apostles,  continued  in  the  primitive  Church,  and  maintained 
 by  the  old  and  ancient  Doctors,  xxviii.  17  ;  1  Cor.  xv.  1 — 3. 
 jBp.  Jewel.     (Serm.  S.  Luke  xi.  15.) 
 
 These  men  account  us  innovators,  because  we  recommend  that  all 
 persons  should  study  with  diligence  and  receive  with  veneration 
 the  writings  of  ancient  Doctors,  approved  by  the  Catholic 
 Church;   especially,  of  those  Doctors,  who  bordered  on  the 
 
656  THE  ACTS  XXIV.  14,  15. 
 
 Apostolic  age.  These  men  account  us  innovators,  because, 
 next  to  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  we  simply  regard  and  revere  the 
 most  pure  and  primitive  antiquity ;  and  because  we  advise 
 others  religiously  to  follow  the  consenting  judgment  of  that 
 Antiquity,  wherever  discoverable,  as  it  certainly  is  discoverable 
 in  all  matters  of  greater  moment :  whilst,  in  other  matters,  we 
 leave  each  individual  to  the  dictates  of  his  own  free  judgment ; 
 saving  Ecclesiastical  and  Christian  peace.  And  this,  we  are 
 persuaded,  is  the  best  and  only  method  of  terminatiug  those 
 unhappy  controversies,  which,  at  the  present  day,  have  rent  the 
 Church  of  Christ  into  so  many  parties.  Job.  xxiv.  2  ;  Prov. 
 xxii.  28.     Bp.  Bull.     (Apolog.  pro  Harm.  Apostolica.) 
 
 The  Scripture  doth  not  consist  in  mere  letters,  whether  written  or 
 printed  ;  but  in  the  true  sense  of  it ;  which  no  man  can  in- 
 terpret better  than  the  true  Church,  to  which  Cheist  hath 
 committed  that  sacred  pledge.     Walton.    (Prolog,  to  Polyglot.) 
 
 I  said  I  w^ould  be  judged  by  the  Old  Church  ;  and  that  Doctrine 
 which  could  be  proved  the  elder,  that  I  would  stand  unto. 
 S.  Jude  3  ;  Ps.  Ixxviii.  1 — 4.     Abp.  Cramner. 
 
 To  believe  and  confess,  as  God's  word  teacheth,  the  primitive 
 Church  believed,  and  all  the  Catholic  and  good  holy  Fathers 
 taught  for  five  huudred  years  at  least,  after  Christ,  will  not 
 serve  :  and  therefore  I  am  condemned,  and  shall  be  burnt,  out 
 of  hand,  as  an  heretic.  S.  Matt.  v.  17  ;  2  Cor.  i.  13.  J.  Bradford. 
 (Letters  in  prison.) 
 
 15  It  hath  been  truly  said,  and  agreeably  with  all  men's  ex- 
 perience, that,  if  the  virtuous  did  excel  in  no  other  privilege,  yet 
 far  happier  are  they  than  the  contrary  set  of  men,  for  that  their 
 hopes  be  always  better.     1  S.  Pet.  i.  13  ;  'Rom.  xv.  13.     Hooker. 
 
 There  shall  be,  ^c. — Since  therefore  we  thus  demonstrably  prove, 
 that  the  things,  now  come  to  pass,  were  proclaimed  by  the  pro- 
 phets long  before  the  events,  how  can  we  withhold  from  believ- 
 ing, that  the  prophecies,  as  yet  unfulfilled,  will  as  verily  be 
 accomplished  in  their  season,  as  those  we  now  see  verified  with 
 our  own  eyes  ?  Eor,  as  these  were  once  foretold  and  disbelieved, 
 and  yet  came  to  pass,  so  the  remainder  will  be  brought  to  as 
 certain  an  issue,  in  spite  of  ignorance  and  infidelity :  for  the 
 very  same  prophets  have  foretold  a  two-fold  Advent  of  Christ  ; 
 
THE  ACTS  XXIV.  15,  IG.  657 
 
 one,  wherein  He  was  to  come  in  the  guise  of  an  inglorious 
 suffering  mortal,  and  this  is  over ;  the  other,  wherein  He  shall 
 come  in  His  own  form,  encircled  with  Celestial  Glory,  and  His 
 Host  of  Angels  ;  when  He  shall  raise  from  the  dead  all  the  men, 
 that  ever  had  a  being ;  and  shall  invest  the  righteous  with 
 bodies  incorruptible,  and  make  the  ungodly,  together  with  these 
 wicked  spirits,  feel  His  vengeance  in  fire  everlasting,  i.  11 ;  S. 
 Matt.  xxvi.   64 ;    Hab.  ii.  1—4.     Justin  Martyr.     (Apology, 
 
 ch.  m.) 
 
 Wonderful  is  the  Eesurrection  ;  but  more  wonderful  is  that, 
 which  Christ  hath  done.  For  which  is  the  more  incredible, 
 that  man  should  live  for  ever  ?  or,  that  God  should  ever  die  ? 
 That  man  should  receive  life  from  God  is  the  more  credible ; 
 that  God  should  receive  death  from  man  is,  I  suppose,  the  more 
 incredible :  yet  this  hath  been  brought  to  pass  already ;  let  us 
 then  believe  that,  which  is  to  be.  S.  Augustine.  (Serm.  S. 
 John  vi.  11.) 
 
 Both  of  the  just  and  the  unjust. — An  apt  distinction,  as  he  was 
 speaking  in  a  Court  of  Justice.     Bengel. 
 
 16  Why  should  I  call  it  his  "  exercise,"  when  it  is  his  enjoyment  ? 
 It  is  his  antepast  of  heaven  itself.     2  Cor.  i.  12.     Dr.  Allestry. 
 
 Always. — It  has  been  well  said,  that  it  is  always  Term-time  in  the 
 Court  of  Conscience.     Eph.  vi.  18.     /.  F. 
 
 A  conscience  void  of  offence. — The  meaning  is,  a  confidence  and  as- 
 surance that  he  hath  done  nothing,  subject  so  much  as  to  the 
 censure  of  having  scandalized  others :  for  S.  Paul,  being  there 
 accused  by  the  Jews  (verses  5,  6,)  for  three  crimes,  sedition, 
 heresy,  and  profaning  of  the  Temple,  he  answers  to  the  first, 
 verse  12  ;  to  the  second,  verse  14  ;  to  the  third,  verses  16,  18  : 
 and  his  being  ''purified  in  the  Temple,"  after  the  Jewish  man- 
 ner, he  makes  an  evidence  of  his  innocence  in  that  particular ; 
 a  proof  of  his  not  having  scandalized  any  Jew;  which  to 
 have  done  would  have  been  a  fault  in  him,  whose  office 
 it  was  to  "  become  all  things  to  all  men,  that  he  might  gain 
 or  save  all,"  and  not  to  discourage  or  deter  any,  who  might 
 be  gaiued  by  compliance :  and  the  doing  so  is  it,  which  is  called 
 being  airpoaKOTro^  'lovSaioL^  1  Cor.  X.  32,  "  giving  none  offence  to 
 the   Jews," — the  very  word,  used  in  this  place  of  the  Acts. 
 
 u  u 
 
658  THE  ACTS  XXIV.  16. 
 
 xxiii.  1 ;  1  Cor.  ix.  12 :  1  Tim.  i.  5,  19 ;  iii.  9 ;  2  Tim.  i.  3 ; 
 Heb.  xiii.  8 ;  IS.  Pet.  iii.  16.  Dr.  Hammond.  (Several 
 Tracts.     Of  conscience,  s.  13.) 
 
 17  Now  after  many  years  I  came  to  bring  alms  to 
 my  nation,  and  offerings. 
 
 18  Whereupon  certain  Jews  from  Asia  found  me 
 purified  in  the  temple,  neither  with  multitude,  nor 
 with  tumult. 
 
 19  Who  ought  to  have  been  here  before  thee,  and 
 object,  if  they  had  aught  against  me. 
 
 20  Or  else  let  these  same  here  say,  if  they  have 
 found  any  evil  doing  in  me,  while  I  stood  before  the 
 council, 
 
 21  Except  it  be  for  this  one  voice,  that  I  cried 
 standing  among  them,  Touching  the  resurrection  of 
 the  dead  I  am  called  in  question  by  you  this  day. 
 
 22  And  when  FeHx  heard  these  things,  having  more 
 perfect  knowledge  of  that  way,  he  deferred  them,  and 
 said.  When  Lysias  the  chief  captain  shall  come  down, 
 I  will  know  the  uttermost  of  your  matter. 
 
 23  And  he  commanded  a  centurion  to  keep  Paul, 
 and  to  let  him  have  liberty,  and  that  he  should  forbid 
 none  of  his  acquaintance  to  minister  or  come  unto  him. 
 
 24  And  after  certain  days,  when  Felix  came  with 
 his  wife  Drusilla,  which  was  a  Jewess,  he  sent  for 
 Paul,  and  heard  him  concerning  the  faith  in  Christ. 
 
 25  And  as  he  reasoned  of  righteousness,  temper- 
 ance, and  judgment  to  come,  Felix  trembled,  and 
 answered,  Go  thy  way  for  this  time ;  when  I  have  a 
 convenient  season,  I  will  call  for  thee. 
 
 26  He  hoped  also  that  money  should  have  been 
 
THE  ACTS  XXIV.  17—21.  659 
 
 given  him  of  Paul,  that  he  might  loose  him  :  wherefore 
 he  sent  for  him  the  oftener,  and  communed  with 
 him. 
 
 27  But  after  two  years  Porcius  Festus  came  into 
 Felix'  room :  and  Felix,  wilhng  to  show  the  Jews  a 
 pleasure,  left  Paul  bound. 
 
 17  The  occasional  references,  made  in  the  Acts  and  Epistles  to 
 S.  Paul's  two  journeys  to  Jerusalem  on  a  message  of  love  and 
 mercy  to  his  suifering  brethren,  are  like  a  beautiful  tissue  of 
 gold,  interwoven  in  the  account  of  his  Missionary  life  ;  or,  like 
 a  graceful  underplot,  they  fall  in  with  the  general  design  of  his 
 preaching,  and  practically  illustrate  the  leading  grace  of  Chris- 
 tianity, which  is  Love.  Eom.  xv.  25  ;  Gal.  ii.  10.  Nor,  look- 
 ing further,  can  we  fail  to  trace  the  Apostle's  reward.  In  his 
 own  sufferings,  he  found  in  his  brethren  the  best  of  human 
 comforters  and  helpers.  Thus  the  Colossians  sent  their  Epaphras, 
 and  the  Philippians  their  Epaph'oditus  to  his  relief;  while 
 Onesimus  of  his  own  good  will  "  sought  him  out  diligently  "  and 
 found  him,  when  he  was  "the  prisoner  of  the  Loed"  at  Bome, 
 *'  was  not  ashamed  of  his  chain,"  and  "  oft  refreshed  him."  How 
 sure  is  the  promise,  how  great  the  support  of  that  promise ; 
 "  Blessed  is  he,  that  considereth  the  poor  and  needy :  the  Lord 
 shall  deliver  him  in  the  time  of  trouble."  xi.  29,  30  ;  Ps.  xli. 
 1  ;  Col.  i.  7,  8 ;  Phil.  iv.  18 ;  2  Tim.  i.  16,  17.     /.  F. 
 
 18,  20  Here  is  the  blackest  calumny ;  to  accuse  S.  Paul  of  vio- 
 lating the  Law  and  profaning  the  Temple  at  the  very  time, 
 when  he  is  engaged  in  doing  honour  to  them  both.  It  is  a 
 proof  of  the  excess  of  blindness  on  one  side,  and  of  credulity  on 
 the  other :  of  which  we  have  among  us  too  frequent  examples. 
 Eut  S.  Paul  (verse  20)  does  not  fail  to  make  use  of  the  advan- 
 tage of  his  own  position.  For  Grace  ouvre  V esprit,  sharpens  the 
 wits  on  such  occasions,  and  suggests  the  means  of  self-defence 
 to  those,  who  suffer  in  the  cause  of  God.     Quesnel. 
 
 21  Tertullus  by  a  diabolical  rhetoric  begins  with  flatteries  and 
 ends  with  lies :  but   S.  Paul,  relying  on  a  Divinely  inspired  elo- 
 
 u  XI  2 
 
660  THE  ACTS  XXIV.  24,  25. 
 
 quence,  having  made  a  simple  introduction,  repels  the  charge  of 
 sedition  by  a  true  denial.     Beza.     (In  loco.) 
 
 24  'H  eU  Xpimov  TTifXTfi,  "  The  faith  on  Cheist  ;"  the  phrase,  that 
 some  nice  observers  have  laid  such  weight  on,  to  denote  the 
 special  act  of  Justifying,  as  it  is  an  affiance  on  Christ,  of  a  far 
 higher  pitch,  than  either  the  believing  Cheist,  or  believing  in 
 Cheist  :*  and  yet  it  seems  those  so  despicable  moral  virtues  are 
 here  brought  in  by  S.  Paul  (I  hope  not  impertinently)  under 
 this  head  justice,  and  continence,  and  judgment  to  come,  parts 
 of  a  sermon  on  the  faith  on  Cheist.  Conf.  1  Cor.  ii.  2,  with 
 iii.  3  ;  v.  1.     Dr.  Hammond.     (Serm.  Acts  xxiv.  25.) 
 
 Quid  est  fides  nisi  prcEcejitis  Christi  ohedire  ? — What  is  faith,  but 
 obedience  to  the  commands  of  Cheist  ?  IS.  John  iii.  23. 
 Sahianus. 
 
 25  Although  God's  word  in  general  be  powerful,  and  the  con- 
 science of  itself  be  of  a  stirring  nature,  yet  then  ordinarily 
 doth  the  word  of  God  work  most  powerfully  upon  the  con- 
 sciences of  obstinate  sinners,  when  it  is  thoroughly  and  closely 
 applied  to  some  special  corruption,  whereunto  the  party  cannot 
 plead  not  guilty  ;  when  the  sin  and  the  judgment  are  both  so 
 driven  home,  that  the  guilty  offender  can  neither  avoid  the 
 evidence  of  the  one,  nor  the  fear  of  the  other.  .  .  S.  Paul's  dis- 
 course fell  upon  those  special  vices,  wherein  Felix  was  notably 
 faulty,  and  then  clapped  in  close  with  Judgment  upon  them  :  for 
 he  was  noted  of  mucli  cruelty  and  injustice  in  the  administra- 
 tion of  the  affairs  of  Jewry  .  .  .  also  of  incontinency,  both  other- 
 wise, and  especially  in  marrying  Drusilla,  who  was  another 
 man's  wife.  Tacitus  speaking  of  him,  in  the  fifth  of  his  history, 
 painteth  him  out  thus.  Per  omnem  scevitiayn  et  libidinem  jus 
 Regium  serviJi  inyenio  exercuit.  And  for  such  a  man,  as 
 governed  with  cruelty  and  rapine,  and  lived  in  unchaste  wed- 
 lock, to  hear  one  reason  powerfully  of  justice  and  of  chastity 
 (for  so  much  the  word,  ^r^Kpa-reia,  there  used,  properly  importeth) 
 and  of  judgment,  it  is  no  wonder,  if  it  made  him  tremble.  S. 
 John  iv.  16 — 19.     Bp.  Sanderson.     (Serm.  1  Chron.  xxi.  29.) 
 
 How  artfully  does  S.  Paul  here  insinuate  himself  into  the  soul 
 
 *  S.  Augustine  was  the   author   of  I    of  the  unsoundness  of  them  see   Di*. 
 these   distinctions.      For  an  exposure   I    Barrow  on  the  Creed.     Art.  i. 
 
THE  ACTS  XXIV.  25.  661 
 
 of  this  great  sinner,  and  shake  his  conscience  at  the  remem- 
 brance of  his  vices ;  not  by  denouncing  vengeance  against  him 
 for  his  lust  and  injustice ;  but  by  pkicing  in  the  strongest  point 
 of  light  the  opposite  virtues  ;  showing  their  reasonableness  in 
 themselves  and  their  rewards  at  the  day  of  Judgment.  For  he 
 reasoned,  not  of  unrighteousness,  not  of  incontinence,  but  of 
 righteousness  and  chastity;  and,  by  holding  forth  a  beautiful 
 picture  of  these  necessary  virtues,  he  left  it  to  Felix  to  form  the 
 contrast  and  to  infer  the  blackness  of  his  own  vices.  A  mas- 
 terly stroke !  and  it  effectually  succeeded :  for,  as  the  prisoner 
 spoke,  the  Judge  trembled.  Dan.  vi.  9 ;  Heb.  xii.  4.  T.  H. 
 Home.  (Introd.  to  the  critical  study  and  knowledge  of  the 
 Holy  Scriptures,  p.  ii.  c.  3,  s.  1.) 
 
 S.  Paul  was  not  in  the  number  of  those  complaisant  preachers, 
 who  take  a  text,  in  which  their  hearers  have  no  concern.  He 
 had  to  do  with  persons,  who  bade  defiance  to  religion  in  all  its 
 forms  ;  and  his  subject  w^as  well  suited  to  the  occasion.  They 
 expected  an  amusing  tale  of  Jesus  Christ  ;  but  the  Apostle, 
 w^ho  knew  how  unworthy  they  were  of  being  instructed  in  the 
 Truth,  as  not  yet  possessing  the  first  principles  of  morals,  took 
 up  the  matter  a  great  deal  higher ;  and  discoursing  to  them  on 
 the  natural  duties  of  justice  and  temperance,  which  they  had 
 grossly  violated,  and  on  the  natural  doctrine  of  a  judgment  to 
 come,  w^hich  they  had  never  believed,  or  respected,  gave  them  to 
 understand,  that  they  had  much  to  learn,  or  practise  at  least, 
 before  they  were  fit  hearers  of  what  he  had  further  to  say  con- 
 cerning the  Christian  Revelation,  xvii.  19,  31 ;  S.  Matt.  iii. 
 7—12  ;  Heb.  vi.  1,  2.     Bp.  Hurd.     (Serm.  on  text.) 
 
 A  cotivenient  season.—S.  Austin  in  his  Confessions  describes  the 
 strife  between  conviction  and  corruption  in  his  soul.  He  tells 
 us,  in  the  conflict  between  reason  and  lust,  that  he  had  recourse 
 to  God  ;  and  his  prayer  was,  "  Da  mihi  continentiam ;  sed  noli 
 modh ;""  he  desired  chastity,  but  not  too  soon:  he  was  afraid 
 that  God  should  hear  his  petition ;  it  being  more  bitter,  than 
 death,  to  change  his  custom.  This  is  the  general  sense,  though 
 not  the  general  discourse,  of  men.  As  the  sick  person,  that 
 desired  his  physician  to  remove  his  fever,  but  not  his  thirst, 
 which  made   his  drink  very  pleasing  to  him,  so  man,  in  his 
 
662  THE  ACTS  XXIV.  25—27. 
 
 sensual  state,  would  fain  be  freed  from  the  sestuations  of  con- 
 science J  but  he  cherishes  those  carnal  desires,  which  give  a  high 
 taste  to  objects,  suitable  to  them.  Ezek.  xiv.  1 — 5  ;  Gral.  vi.  7. 
 Br.  Bates.     (Harm,  of  the  Divine  Attributes,  ch.  4.) 
 
 These  notices  of  things  terrible  and  true  pass  through  the  under- 
 standing, as  an  eagle  through  the  air ;  as  long  as  her  flight 
 lasted,  the  air  was  shaken ;  but  there  remains  no  path  behind 
 her.     xvii.  31,  32.     Bp.  J.  Taylor. 
 
 Our  Pride  inclines  us  to  think  repentance  easy  ;  and  our  self-love 
 tempts  us  to  defer  it.     A  co7itrite  heart. 
 
 The  devil  cozens  us  of  all  our  time  by  cozening  us  out  of  the 
 present  time.     P.  Henry. 
 
 26  Felix  trembled  before  S.  Paul ;  for  all  that,  he  could  not  leave 
 his  covetousness,  but  even  then  he  sought  for  a  bribe.  Gren. 
 xxvii.  38,  41  ;  xxviii.  9  ;  Exod.  viii.  8.  S.  James  ii.  19,  20. 
 W.  Perkins.     (Certain  propositions,  &c.  13.) 
 
 27  "Wisdom  ruleth  in  counsel :  so  do  riches  .  .  .  Manhood  ruleth 
 in  the  war ;  so  do  riches.  .  .  Divinity  ruleth  in  the  Church  and 
 pulpit ;  so  do  riches.  .  .  Law  governeth  in  the  seat  of  justice  ; 
 so  do  riches.  .  .  Eloquence  ruleth  in  persuasion :  so  do  riches. 
 "When  Tertullus  had  laboured  a  goodly  flowing  oration  against 
 S.  Paul,  Pelix  looked,  that  another  and  greater  Orator  should 
 have  spoken  for  him  ;  namely,  that  something  should  have  been 
 given  him  :  and  if  that  Orator  had  spoken  his  short  pithy  sen- 
 tence Tantum  dabo,  Tertulius's  oration  had  been  clean  dashed. 
 Tantum  dabo  is  a  strange  piece  of  E^hetoric.  Devise,  as  cun- 
 ningly ;  pen,  as  curiously,  as  you  can,  it  overthrows  all.  Tantum 
 valent  quatiior  syllabce,  such  force  is  there  in  four  syllables.  Ezra 
 iv.  5  ;  S.  Matt.  xxvi.  15.     Bp.  Andrewes.     (1  Tim.  vi.  17—19.) 
 
 You  see,  what  place  the  honour  of  God  had  in  this  man's  affec- 
 tions :  he  would  have  sold  both  God  and  the  people  for  money  ; 
 but,  when  no  money  was  to  be  had,  he  chose  rather  to  please 
 the  people,  than  God  ;  and  therefore  sacrificed  his  innocent 
 prisoner,  whom  in  justice  he  ought  to  have  set  free,  to  the  pre- 
 judices and  resentments  of  the  Jewisli  nation.  Many  denied 
 Cheist  for  the  same  reason,  that  Eelix  left  S.  Paul  bound ; 
 that  they  might  show  the  people  a  pleasure,  and  thereby  become 
 acceptable  to  them.     Truth  and  justice  must  always  suffer,  as 
 
THE  ACTS  XXIV.  27.  663 
 
 long  as  men  determine  their  choice  by  considerations  of  their 
 temporal  interests.     These  considerations  are  so  apt  to  overbear 
 the  judgment,  that  our  Saviour  speaks  of  them,  as  if  they  put 
 men  under  a  moral  impossibility  of  acknowledging  the  truth  : 
 "  How  can  ye  believe,  who  receive  honour  one  of  another,  and 
 seek  not  the  honour  that  cometh  from  Gron  only  ?"     Bp.  Sher- 
 lock.    (Discourse  S.  John  v.  44.) 
 He,  whose  duty  will  not  permit  him  to  oblige  in  what  is  unjust, 
 should  arm  himself  against  the  possible  malevolence  of  many, 
 who  will  account  themselves  disobliged  by  the  direct  issues  of 
 Justice.     He  therefore,  that  will  be  just,  must  harden  himself 
 against  all  the  impressions  of  interest,  though  in  that  he  may 
 seem   imprudent ;    against    all    the    impressions    of    affection, 
 though  in  that  he  may  seem  ill-natured ;  against  all  the  im- 
 pressions of  benefit,  though  in  that  he  may  seem  ungrateful ; 
 nay,  against  all  the  impressions  of  vulgar  piety,  though  in  that  he 
 may  seem  hard-hearted  :  he  must  render  himself  disengaged  from 
 all  the  world  and  from  himself  above  all ;  because  self  is  un- 
 doubtedly the   greatest   bias  to   human  prevarication.     Deut. 
 xxxiii.  9.    Bean  Young.    (Serm.  2  Chron.  xix.  6.) 
 Formidare  Deum  discite,  Judices, 
 Qui  magnis  Procerum  ccetibus  interest, 
 Et  suffragia  Eegum 
 Pendit  consiliantium  ... 
 .  .  .  Vos  fateor  gloria  nobilis 
 Terrarum  dominos  evehit  ad  deos, 
 Heroasque  Supremi 
 Auditis  soboles  poll 
 Eectoris  :  veniet  mors  tamen  ultima 
 Eerum  meta.     Pari  lege  necessitas 
 Plebem  deprimit  unam 
 Et  Eegum  pueros  :  sua 
 Nee  servat  tumidos  purpura  Principes. 
 At  Tu,  magne  Deus,  Tu  potius  veni 
 Judex,  et  Tibi  dictas 
 Gentes  imperio  preme ! 
 
 Grotius.     (Paraphrasis  Psalmi  Ixxxii. 
 Silv.  Lib.  i.) 
 
664  THE  ACTS  XXIV.  27. 
 
 Willing  to  show,  ^-c. — 
 
 Mobil  is  oblectant  quid  te  prseconia  vulgi  ? 
 lu  solum  referas  teque  crucemque  Deum. 
 
 Haeftenus.     (Eegia  via  crucis.     Lib.  ii.  c.  9.) 
 
 CHAPTER  XXV. 
 
 MOW  when  Festus  was  come  into  the  province,  after 
 three  days  he  ascended  from  Caesarea  to  Jeru- 
 salem. 
 
 2  Then  the  high  priest  and  the  chief  of  the  Jews 
 informed  him  against  Paul,  and  besought  him, 
 
 3  And  desired  favour  against  him,  that  he  would 
 send  for  him  to  Jerusalem,  laying  wait  in  the  way  to 
 kill  him. 
 
 4  But  Festus  answered,  that  Paul  should  be  kept  at 
 Caesarea,  and  that  he  himself  would  depart  shortly 
 thither. 
 
 5  Let  them  therefore,  said  he,  which  among  you  are 
 able,  go  down  with  me,  and  accuse  this  man,  if  there 
 be  any  wickedness  in  him. 
 
 6  And  when  he  had  tarried  among  them  more  than 
 ten  days,  he  went  down  unto  Cccsarea  ;  and  the  next 
 day  sitting  on  the  judgment  seat  commanded  Paul  to 
 be  brought. 
 
 7  And  when  he  was  come,  the  Jews  which  came 
 down  from  Jerusalem  stood  round  about,  and  laid 
 many  and  grievous  complaints  against  Paul,  which 
 they  could  not  prove. 
 
 8  While  he  answered  for  himself,  Neither  against 
 
THE  ACTS  XXV.  2—4.  665 
 
 the  law  of  the  Jews,  neither  against  the  temple,  nor 
 yet  against  Csesar,  have  I  offended  any  thing  at  all. 
 
 2  The  High  Priest,  ^c,  ("  which  is  the  sect  of  the  Sadducees,'^  ch.  v. 
 17.) — No  one  that  reads  the  Evangelists,  but  must  observe 
 that  our  blessed  Sayiour  does  upon  everj  occasion  bend  all 
 His  force  and  zeal  to  rebuke  and  correct  the   hypocrisy  of  the 
 
 Pharisees Tliis  is  plain  from  the  history  of  the  life  and 
 
 actions  of  our  Loed  in  the  four  Evangelists.  One  of  them,  S. 
 Luke,  continued  his  history  down  to  a  second  part,  w^hich  we 
 commonly  call  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  Now  it  is  observable 
 that  in  this  second  part  ....  we  find  not  only  no  opposition  to 
 Christianity  from  the  Pharisees,  but  several  signal  occasions, 
 in  which  they  assisted  its  first  teachers,  when  the  Christian 
 Church  was  in  its  infant  state.  The  true,  zealous,  and  hearty 
 persecutors  of  Christianity  at  that  time  were  the  Sadducees, 
 whom  we  may  truly  call  the  free-thinkers  among  the  Jews.  .  .  . 
 Of  the  Sadducees  we  meet  not  wdth  one  in  the  w^hole  Apostolic 
 history,  that  was  converted.  We  hear  of  no  miracles  wrought 
 to  convince  any  of  them,  though  there  was  an  eminent  one 
 wrought  to  reclaim  a  Pharisee.  S.  Paul,  we  see,  after  his  con- 
 version, always  gloried  in  his  having  been  bred  a  Pharisee.  He 
 did  so  to  the  people  of  Jerusalem,  to  the  great  Council,  to  King 
 
 .  Agrippa,  and  to  tbe  Philippians.  So  that  from  hence  we  may 
 justly  infer  that  it  was  not  their  institution,  which  was  in  itself 
 laudable,  which  our  Blessed  Saviour  found  fault  with,  but  it 
 w^as  their  hypocrisy,  their  covetousness,  their  oppression,  their 
 overvaluing  themselves  upon  their  zeal  for  the  ceremonial  Law, 
 and  their  adding  to  that  yoke  by  their  traditions,  all  which, 
 w'ere  not  properly  essentials  of  their  institution,  that  our  Lord 
 blamed.  Atheism  is  more  dreadful  and  would  be  more  grievous 
 to  human  society,  if  it  w^ere  invested  with  sufilcient  power,  than 
 E-eligion  under  any  shape,  where  its  professors  do  at  the  bottom 
 believe  what  they  profess,  iv.  1;  v.  17,  34;  xxiii.  6;  xv.  5. 
 Addison.     (On  the  evidences  of  Christianity,  s.  9.) 
 
 3,  4  Grood  men  have  been  engaged  in  the  way  to  their  ow^n  ruin, 
 and  knew  it  not :  but  Providence  "  met  them  in  the  way,"  and 
 preserved  them  by  strange  diversions;  the  meaning  of  which 
 
666  THE  ACTS  XXV.  4—7. 
 
 they  understood  not,  until  the  event  discovered  it.  xxiii.  31 ; 
 ix.  1 — 4  ;  xii.  9.     Flavel.     (Mystery  of  Providence,  p.  1.) 
 
 There  is  nothing  in  the  world  can  hurt  a  man,  but  sin  ;  and  sin 
 can  do  him  no  hurt,  except  he  willingly  admits  of  it.  .  .  .  Holi- 
 ness is  such  a  protection,  that  the  ancients  thought  it  rendered 
 a  man  in  some  cases  invulnerable.  Hence  their  fire-ordeal  and 
 water-ordeal ;  they  supposing  that  those  elements  in  judicial 
 trials  would  put  a  difference  between  the  innocent  and  the  guilty, 
 (xxviii.  4) .  Hence  Horace  observes,  that  pureness  and  integrity 
 of  life  was  a  better  safeguard  to  a  traveller,  than  all  the  arms 
 oifensive  or  defensive,  which  he  could  put  on  ;  and  that  the  lions 
 of  the  Libyan  desert,  the  serpents  of  Mauritania,  the  wolves 
 of  Apulia  would  suiFer  a  naked  virtue  to  pass  by  them  unmo- 
 lested. The  meaning  of  all  which  is  this  ;  good  Angels  attend 
 the  innocent,  the  Divine  Image  shines  in  them,  "  The  Lobd  is 
 with  them."  W.  Reading.  (Serm.  on  the  First  Lessons,  Third 
 Sunday  in  Lent.) 
 
 5  Those  which  are  able  among  you  (^cvi^mol). — Calvin  from  this  ex- 
 pression infers,  that  the  enemies  of  S.  Paul  at  Jerusalem  had 
 objected  to  the  trouble,  or  expense,  or  delay,  of  making  the 
 journey  to  Caesarea,  thus  doing  all  in  their  power  to  get  the 
 prisoner  into  their  blood-snare.  How  evident  is  the  overruling 
 Hand  of  GrOD  in  the  conduct  of  Festus,  as  in  that  of  the  chief 
 captain  before  him.     Prov.  xxi.  1.     J.  F. 
 
 7  How  little  doth  reason  signify  with  most  men,  where  interest  is 
 against  it !  Truth  and  falsehood  are  odd  kind  of  metaphysical 
 things  to  them,  which  they  do  not  care  to  trouble  their  heads 
 with ;  but  what  makes  for,  or  against,  their  interest  is  thought 
 easy  and  substantial.  All  other  matters  are,  as  Gallio  said, 
 "  questions  of  names  and  words,"  which  they  care  not  for  ;  but 
 no  man  will  sooner  demonstrate  a  thing  to  be  false,  than  they, 
 who  know  it  to  be  against  their  interest  to  believe  it  to  be  true. 
 This  was  the  case  of  these  great  men  of  the  Jews,  that  came 
 down  to  accuse  Paul :  they  easily  saw,  whither  this  new  religion 
 tended,  and,  if  it  prevailed  among  their  people,  farewell  then  to 
 all  the  pomp  and  splendour  of  the  High-priesthood  at  Jerusalem ; 
 farewell  then  to  the  glory  of  the  Temple  and  city,  whither  all 
 the  Tribes  came  up  to  worship  thrice  a  year ;  farewell  then  to 
 
THE  ACTS  XXV.  8.  667 
 
 all  the  riches,  and  ease,  and  pleasure,  which  they  enjoyed :  and 
 what  was  the  greatest  truth  and  best  religion  in  the  world  to 
 them,  in  comparison  with  these  ?  These  were  sufficient  reasons 
 to  them  to  accuse  Truth  itself  of  deceiving  men,  and  the  most 
 peaceable  Doctrine  of  laying  the  foundation  of  faction  and  se- 
 dition. 2  Cor.  iv.  4  ;  x.  5.  Bp.  Stillingfieet.  (Serm.  Acts 
 xxiv.  14.) 
 
 8  They  were  under  the  same  mistake  about  their  Law^  as  about 
 their  Temple :  for  neither  was  that  an  original.  Its  services 
 had  a  "  shadow  and  pattern  of  the  good  things,"  which  were  to 
 be  under  the  Grospel ;  so  that  there  was  a  sense,  in  which  the 
 Law  was  empty,  till  the  Gospel  had  fulfilled  it.  Jews  were  en- 
 raged at  Christians  for  attempting  to  "change  the  customs, 
 which  Moses  had  delivered."  But  how  did  they  change  them  ? 
 only  by  showing  their  true  use  and  signification.  The  Law  of 
 Moses  had  been  observed  by  the  Jews,  as  an  outward  Law ;  the 
 Christians  made  it  inward  and  spiritual :  and  thus  changed  its 
 old  temporary  form  into  one,  that  was  perpetual.  It  is  not  de- 
 stroyed, because  the  spirit  of  it  is  preserved ;  which  spirit  we, 
 Christians,  have ;  and  so  are  more  truly  Jews,  than  the  Jews 
 ever  were.  Their  Law  is  killed,  as  GtOd  kills  a  righteous  man, 
 when  the  body  dies ;  but  the  soul  lives.  Thus  we  have  "  the 
 circumcision  of  the  heart,"  which  Moses  commanded:  they 
 have  the  circumcision  of  the  flesh,  as  their  fathers  had,  who 
 "  fell  in  the  wilderness"  and  came  short  of  the  promised  land. 
 They  have  the  Lamb  of  Moses,  which  was  sacrificed  in  Egypt ; 
 we  have  "  the  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
 world."  We  have  therefore  saved  the  Law,  which  the  Jews 
 have  lost ;  and  our  Law  shall  never  be  changed,  so  long  as  the 
 world  lasts.  O !  that  the  Jews  had  this  Law !  They  would 
 then  be  "  Israelites  indeed,"  and  love  Moses  better,  than  ever 
 they  did  before.  S.  John  iv.  22  ;  Phil.  iii.  3  ;  Gal.  vi.  18  ;  Col. 
 ii.  10 — 17.     W.  Jones.     (A  letter  to  three  converted  Jews.) 
 
 In  my  opinion,  greater  progress  toward  good  is  efiocted  by  poli- 
 tical moderation,  than  by  violence.  It  was  by  His  moderation 
 Cheist  brought  over  the  world  to  His  Law.  It  was  by  modera- 
 tion S.  Paul  abolished  the  Law  of  Moses.  It  is  better  to  raise 
 one's  voice  against  those,  who  abuse  the  priesthood,  than  against 
 
668  THE  ACTS  XXV.  8. 
 
 the  priesthood  itself :  and  so,  with  regard  to  Kings.  Instead  of 
 throwing  scorn  against  the  Schools,  it  were  advisable  to  bring 
 them  back  to  sounder  studies.  "When  we  take  in  hand  matters, 
 too  deeply  rooted  in  men's  minds  to  be  torn  out  by  a  single 
 effort,  we  must  proceed  by  discussion,  by  close  stringent  argu- 
 mentation, and  not  by  mere  assertion.  AVe  must  ever  be  careful 
 not  to  do,  or  to  say,  anything  with  an  air  of  arrogance  or  of  re- 
 volt :  at  least,  such  in  my  opinion  is  the  method,  more  consonant 
 Vfith  the  spirit  of  Christianity.  xvi.  3 ;  xix.  37 ;  xxi.  26 ; 
 xxiii.  1 — 5  ;  xxiv.  12 ;  S.  James  i.  20 ;  iii.  17,  18.  Erasmus. 
 (Ep.  iii.  445.) 
 Innocency  and  obedience  to  the  Law  hath  always  been  the  badge 
 of  a  Christian.  "  Look  into  our  prisons,"  saith  Tertulliau ; 
 "  you  find  no  Christian  there.  If  you  find  a  Christian  there, 
 the  fault,  that  laid  him  there,  is  but  this ;  that  he  is  a  Christian. 
 A\^e  sail  with  you,  we  traffic  with  you,  we  go  to  war  with  you. 
 Plus  nostra  misericordia  msutnit  vicatim,  quam  religio  vestra 
 temjilario.  Our  charity  spendeth  more  upon  the  poor  in  our 
 streets,  than  your  superstition  does  on  the  gods  in  your  temples. 
 ix.  14;  S.  Matt.  V.  14—16;  1  S.  Pet.  ii.  12—17.  Fanndon. 
 (Serm.  1  Cor.  vi.  1.) 
 
 9  But  Festus,  willing  to  do  the  Jews  a  pleasure, 
 answered  Paul,  and  said,  Wilt  thou  go  up  to  Jerusa- 
 lem, and  there  be  judged  of  these  things  before  me  ? 
 
 10  Then  said  Paul,  I  stand  at  Caesar's  judgment 
 scat,  where  I  ought  to  be  judged :  to  the  Jews  have  I 
 done  no  wrong,  as  thou  very  well  knowest. 
 
 1 1  For  if  I  be  an  offender,  or  have  committed  any- 
 thing worthy  of  death,  I  refuse  not  to  die  :  but  if  there 
 be  none  of  these  things  whereof  these  accuse  me,  no 
 man  can  deliver  me  unto  them.     I  appeal  unto  Caesar. 
 
 12  Then  Festus,  when  he  had  conferred  with  the 
 council,  answered,  Hast  thou  appealed  unto  Caesar? 
 unto  Caesar  shalt  thou  go. 
 
THE  ACTS  XXV.  9—11.  669 
 
 9  The  call  to  the  Last  Judgment  will  undoubtedly  once  come; 
 and  we  cannot  tell  how  soon  :  and,  when  it  comes,  it  will  not 
 be  with  that  lenity,  that  Eestus  used  with  S.  Paul,  Wilt  thou  go 
 up  to  Jerusalem,  and  be  judged  before  me  of  these  things  ?  But, 
 "for  all  these  things  God  will  bring  thee  into  judgment;" 
 whether  thou  wilt,  or  no.  xvii.  31 ;  Ps.  1.  3  ;  2  Cor.  v.  10. 
 Dr.  Lightfoot.     (Serm.  Acts  xvii.  31.) 
 
 Judges  ought  to  be  more  learned,  than  wdtty ;  more  reverent,  than 
 plausible  ;  and  more  advised,  than  confident.  Above  all,  inte- 
 grity is  their  portion  and  proper  virtue.  Ex.  xviii.  21 ;  2  Sam. 
 viii.  15.     Lord  Bacon.     (Essays,  57.) 
 
 Multum  deliro,  si  cuique  placere  require  : 
 Omnia  qui  potuit  hae  sine  dote  fuit. 
 
 A  Latin  Proverb  of  the  Middle  Ages. 
 
 10  Colimus  Imperatorem  .  .  ut  hominem  a  Deo  secundum  .  .  solo  Deo 
 minorem.  "We  reverence  the  Emperor,  as  the  second  man  to 
 God,  and  inferior  to  none,  but  to  God.  S.  Matt.  xxii.  21. 
 Tertullian.     (Ad  Scapulam.     S.  69.) 
 
 Super  Lnperatorem  non  est,  nisi  solus  Dens,  qui  fecit  Imperatorem. 
 There  is  none  above  the  Emperor,  except  his  Maker.  Ps. 
 Ixxxii.  6.     ^S*.  Augustine. 
 
 11  I  refuse  not  to  die. — In  S.  Paul's  judgment,  even  siuce  the 
 publication  of  the  Gospel,  there  are  some  crimes,  which  equity 
 alloweth,  yea,  and  requireth  to  be  punished  with  death  :  which 
 also  S.  Peter  showeth  in  the  first  of  his  Epistles  (ii.  19,  20). 
 Had  the  will  of  God  been  so  now,  that  capital  judgments  should 
 cease,  S.  Paul  might  indeed  have  made  an  apology  for  himself: 
 but  he  ought  not  to  have  left  in  the  minds  of  his  hearers  such 
 an  opinion,  as  this,  that  it  was  no  less  lawful  now,  than  hereto- 
 fore, to  put  ofi'enders  to  death,  xxviii.  18.  Grotius.  (De 
 bello.     P.  i.  c.  20.) 
 
 Had  capital  punishments  been  contrary  to  the  Christian  religion, 
 as  some  kind-hearted  but  mistaken  Christians  have  ventured  to 
 assert,  S.  Paul  would  probably  have  denounced  the  iniquity  of 
 the  Law,  rather  than  thus  openly  professed  his  perfect  readiness 
 to  submit  to  it,  saying,  I  refuse  not  to  die.     Gen.  ix.  5,  6.     J.  F. 
 
 He  called  to  mind,  that  the  Loed  had  declared  to  him  that  he 
 must  bear  witness  of  the  Truth  "  before  Kings"  (ix.  15).    Hence, 
 
670  THE  ACTS  XXV.  11. 
 
 conceiving  the  time  to  be  now  come  for  the  discharge  of  this 
 office,  he  appeals  unto  Caesar,  xvi.  10.  Clarius. 
 To  Cheist,  as  Supreme  Judge,  in  an  unerring  Court  of  Equity, 
 lies  an  appeal  from  the  unjust  determinations  here  below;  and 
 by  Him  in  Person  shall  every  cause  be  re-heard,  when  that 
 Court  shall  sit,  and  all  nations  shall  be  summoned  to  appear 
 before  it.     Pa.  xxxviii.  15  ;  2  Kings  xix.  1 — 5.     Bp  Home. 
 
 Non  poenas  fugio,  nee  pro  cruce  praemia  posco : 
 Sat  mihi  Dilecto  posse  placere  meo. 
 
 Haefteniis.     (Eegia  via  crucis.     Lib.  ii.  c.  12.) 
 
 1 3  And  after  certain  days  king  Agrippa  and  Bernice 
 came  unto  Caesarea  to  salute  Festus. 
 
 14  And  when  they  had  been  there  many  days, 
 Festus  declared  Paul's  cause  unto  the  king,  saying. 
 There  is  a  certain  man  left  in  bonds  by  Felix : 
 
 1 5  About  whom,  when  I  was  at  Jerusalem,  the  chief 
 priests  and  the  elders  of  the  Jews  informed  me,  de- 
 siring to  have  judgment  against  him. 
 
 16  To  whom  I  answered.  It  is  not  the  manner  of 
 the  Romans  to  deliver  any  man  to  die  before  that 
 he  which  is  accused  have  the  accusers  face  to  face,  and 
 have  licence  to  answer  for  himself  concerning  the 
 crime  laid  against  him. 
 
 17  Therefore,  when  they  were  come  hither,  without 
 any  delay  on  the  morrow  I  sat  on  the  judgment  seat, 
 and  commanded  the  man  to  be  brought  forth. 
 
 18  Against  whom,  when  the  accusers  stood  up,  they 
 brought  none  accusation  of  such  things  as  I  had  sup- 
 posed. 
 
 19  But  had  certain  questions  against  him  of  their 
 own  superstition,  and  of  one  Jesus,  which  was  dead, 
 whom  Paul  affirmed  to  be  aUve. 
 
THE  ACTS  XXV.  14-19.  671 
 
 20  And  because  I  doubted  of  such  manner  of  ques- 
 tions, I  asked  him  whether  he  would  go  to  Jerusalem, 
 and  there  be  judged  of  these  matters. 
 
 21  But  wdien  Paul  had  appealed  to  be  reserved  unto 
 the  hearing  of  Augustus,  I  commanded  him  to  be  kept 
 till  I  might  send  him  to  Csesar. 
 
 14  Ma7t7/  days. — After  some  time  was  spent,  they  wanted  some 
 matter  of  talk,  as  idle  people  employ  their  invention  for  this 
 purpose :  and  so  mention  came  to  be  made  of  S.  Paul.  xvii. 
 19—21 ;  Judg.  xvi.  25.      Calvin. 
 
 16  How  will  this  maxim  of  the  Eomans,  who  had  only  the  light 
 of  natural  reason  to  guide  them,  condemn  our  hasty  judgments! 
 A  heathen  exactly  adheres  to  the  Law  and  custom  :  and  a 
 Christian  will  neglect  the  rules  of  truth,  justice,  and  charity, 
 when  he  sits  in  judgment  upon  his  brother.  Verse  27  ;  xix.  36 ; 
 Jer.  ii.  11.     Quesnel. 
 
 19  Their  own  superstition. — ceiaiSai/uovia. — When  S.  Paul's  reli- 
 gion, or  Christianity  itself,  is  called  by  that  name  by  Eestus,  a 
 heathen,  it  appears  not  that  he  did  use  that  word,  as  an  accusa- 
 tion, or  in  an  ill  sense ;  but  only  in  general  to  signify  S.  Paul's 
 religion,  as  somewhat  in  that,  different  from  the  religion  of  the 
 Jews,  and  no  whit  less  favoured  by  him  than  the  Jews'  religion. 
 For  he,  that  reads  the  story,  shall  see  that  he  rather  favoured 
 S.  Paul's  part  against  the  Jews  ;  or,  at  most  doubted  whose 
 side  to  judge  on,  so  far  is  he  from  prejudging  S.  Paul's  cause  or 
 his  religion,  in  comparison  of  theirs,  or  expressing  that  by  this 
 word.  .  .  .  He  means  that  they  had  some  questions,  or  accusa- 
 tions against  S.  Paul,  concerning  his  own  worship,  peculiar  to 
 him  from  them,  and  (as  it  follows,  to  explain  what  they  meant 
 by  the  word)  of  one  Jestjs,  that  was  dead,  putting  Him  under 
 the  vulgar  notion  of  a  halfuvv,  or  dead  hero,  and  so  meaning  the 
 worship  of  Him  by  ^eiaihaiixovla.  xvii.  22,  23  ;  liom.  i.  25  ; 
 1  Cor.  X.  20  ;  1  Tim.  iv.  1.  Br.  Hammond.  (Several  Tracts.  Of 
 Superstition.     S.  xxvii.  12.) 
 
 To  multiply  questions  is  not  the  way  to  improve  religion :  the  zeal 
 of  man  should  be  turned  from  curiosity  of  speculation  to  honesty 
 
672  THE  ACTS  XXV.  19,  20. 
 
 of  practice,  i.  6  ;  S.  Mark  xii.  14,  23,  34.  Dr.  Whichcote. 
 (Aphor.  Cent.  xi.  1036.) 
 
 The  first  propagators  of  our  faith  well  l^new,  that  not  the  brain, 
 but  the  heart,  was  the  proper  soil  of  the  celestial  plant ;  and 
 therefore  did  not  amuse  their  proselytes  with  curious  questions^ 
 but  set  them  to  the  active  part  of  their  religion,  xxvi.  18,  20. 
 Bean  Fell. 
 
 One  Jesus. — Jesus  Christ  lived  in  so  much  obscurity  (as  to  what 
 the  world  terms  obscure),  that  the  Pagan  historians,  who  were 
 wont  to  record  only  persons  of  eminence  and  things  of  import- 
 ance, have  scarce  afforded  Him  a  slender  notice.  S.  John  vii. 
 3,  5,  10.     Pascal.     (Thoughts  on  Eeligion.     Ch.  14.) 
 
 20  Professions  of  equity,  of  candour,  of  liberality,  of  impartiality, 
 are  not  borne  out  in  the  practice  of  worldly  men.  Lysias,  much 
 in  the  spirit  of  Grallio  (xviii.  17),  writes  to  Pelix  that  S.  Paul 
 was  merely  accused  of  "  questions,  concerning  the  Law,"  and  of 
 nothing,  really  deserving  punishment  (xxiii.  29).  Yet  a  little 
 while  before,  the  same  Lysias  commanded  that  the  same  S.  Paul 
 should  be  scourged  (xxii.  24).  S.  Paul  claimed  exemption,  as 
 "  a  E-oman  and  uncondemned ;"  upon  which  Lysias  felt  great 
 alarm  at  his  having  so  dealt  with  a  man,  that  was  a  E-oman ; 
 but  none  whatever  at  having  so  dealt  with  a  man,  that  was  un- 
 condemned. So  Pestus,  speaking  of  S.  Paul,  declares  that  his 
 enemies  had  brought  no  accusation  of  such  things,  as  he  had  sup- 
 posed, but  had  only  certain  questions  against  him,  concernipg 
 their  respective  doctrines.  Yet  this  same  Pestus,  "  willing  to 
 do  the  Jews  a  pleasure,"  said  to  S.  Paul,  "  AYilt  thou  go  up  to 
 Jerusalem,  and  there  be  judged  ?"  (ver.  9) — well  knowing  that 
 the  journey  would  have  cost  the  prisoner  his  life  (ver.  3 ;  xxiii. 
 15).  And  afterwards,  declaring  S.  Paul's  cause  to  Agrippa, 
 Pestus  said,  Because  I  doubted  of  such  manner  of  questions,  I 
 asked  him,  whether  he  would  go  to  Jerusalem  ?  thus  alleging  his 
 own  ignorance  as  to  the  motive,  which  led  him  to  make  tlie  pro- 
 posal, whereas  his  real  motive  was,  that  he  might  "  please  the 
 Jews."  S.  James  i.  8;  Ps.  cxviii.  9;  Prov.  iv.  23—27.  T. 
 Boys  (in  loco). 
 
 There  are  two  excellent  sayings  of  old,  bearing  upon  this  point  of 
 self-interested  partizanship.     Affectiones facile faciunt  opiniones  ; 
 
THE  ACTS  XXV.  22.  673 
 
 our  affections  are  a  ready  mould  to  our  opinions.  Cito  perit 
 judicium,  cum  transit  in  affectum  ;  our  right  judgment  is  soon 
 perverted,  when  we  allow  it  to  yield  to  private  feeling.  S.  John 
 V.  44 ;  vii.  17.     J.  F. 
 
 22  Then  Agrippa  said  unto  Festus,  I  would  also 
 hear  the  man  myself.  To-morrow,  said  he,  thou  shalt 
 hear  him. 
 
 23  And  on  the  morrow,  when  Agrippa  was  come, 
 and  Bernice,  with  great  pomp,  and  was  entered  into 
 the  place  of  hearing,  with  the  chief  captains,  and 
 principal  men  of  the  city,  at  Festus'  commandment 
 Paul  was  brought  forth. 
 
 24  And  Festus  said.  King  Agrippa,  and  all  men 
 which  are  here  present  with  us,  ye  see  this  man,  about 
 whom  all  the  multitude  of  the  Jews  have  dealt  with 
 me,  both  at  Jerusalem,  and  also  here,  crying  that  he 
 ought  not  to  live  any  longer. 
 
 25  But  when  I  found  that  he  had  committed  no- 
 thing worthy  of  death,  and  that  he  himself  hath 
 appealed  to  Augustus,  I  have  determined  to  send  him. 
 
 26  Of  whom  I  have  no  certain  thing  to  write  unto 
 my  lord.  Wherefore  I  have  brought  him  forth  before 
 you,  and  specially  before  thee,  O  King  Agrippa,  that, 
 after  examination  had,  I  might  have  somewhat  to 
 write. 
 
 27  For  it  seemeth  to  me  unreasonable  to  send  a 
 prisoner,  and  not  withal  to  signify  the  crimes  laid 
 against  him. 
 
 22  The  fame  of  S.  Paul  had  excited  a  general  desire  in  men's 
 minds  to  see  and  to  hear  him.  .  .  .  Hence  the  wish  of  S.  Au- 
 gustine to  see  three  things — Paulum  in  Cathedrd  fulminantem, 
 
 X  X 
 
674  THE  ACTS  XXV.  22. 
 
 Romam  in  jlore  triumphantem,  Christum  in  came  conversanfem. 
 S.  Luke  ix.  9  ;  xxiii.  8 ;  2  Cor.  vi.  9.  Corn,  a  Lapide. 
 Many  are  desirous  to  see  the  countenance  of  S.  Paul,  to  see  his 
 sword,  or  the  relics  of  his  blood,  which  was  shed  at  his  death, 
 or  of  his  upper  garment,  or  of  his  coat,  or  of  the  hairs  of  his 
 head ;  and,  for  purpose,  to  see  such  things,  many  take  painful 
 pilgrimages  to  far  places,  where  they  are  deceived.  How  much 
 better  may  they  be  satisfied  by  reading  the  story  of  his  life,  set 
 down  in  the  Scriptures  !  Here  he  is  to  be  seen  in  more  excel- 
 lent show,  than  when  he  was  yet  in  the  body.  Gal.  i.  22  ;  Col. 
 ii.  1.     Bp.  Jewel.     (Exposition  of  1  Ep.  to  Thess.  i.  1.) 
 
 Paule  Tharsensis,  tuba  clara  Yerbi 
 Paule  Divini,  fideique  prseco, 
 Cujus  auditae  penitus  sub  omni 
 
 Climate  voces ; 
 Tu  rapax  olim  lupus  innocentem 
 In  gregem,  accensus  furiis  et  ira, 
 EfFerebaris,  famulisque  Christi 
 
 .   Yincla  parabas. 
 De  Suo  vidit  Deus  hsec  Olympo, 
 Nee  tulit  csecos  miseratus  ausus  : 
 De  lupo  mitem  sed  enim  voraci 
 
 Eeddidit  agnum.  .  .  . 
 Ore  centeno  mihi  ahena  si  vox 
 Intonet,  quos  sis,  pietatis  ergo, 
 Propter  et  Christum,  nequeam  labores 
 
 Dicere  passus. 
 
 Salm.  Macrinus.     (Hymn.  Lib.  iv.) 
 
 I  would  also  hear  the  man  myself. — There  are,  that  desire  to  know, 
 that  they  may  be  known ;  and  it  is  vanity  :  there  are,  which 
 desire  to  know,  that  they  may  but  know ;  and  it  is  curiosity  : 
 there  are,  that  desire  to  know,  that  they  may  gain  by  their 
 knowledge  ;  and  it  is  covetousness  :  but  there  are,  which  desire 
 to  know,  that  they  may  edify  others,  or  be  edified ;  and  it  is 
 Charity,  viii.  31 ;  x.  33  ;  xvii.  19  ;  xxviii.  21 ;  S.  John  xii.  9,  21. 
 S.  Bernard. 
 
 It  is  the  right  and  duty  of  all  persons  to  believe  no  further,  than 
 
THE  ACTS  XXV.  23.  675 
 
 they  have  reasons,  and  to  look  themselves  (as  far  as  they  are 
 able)  into  the  strength  and  force  of  those  reasons,  before  they 
 give  their  assent ;  or,  however,  before  they  fix  and  abide  by  it. 
 Neither  is  this  peculiar  to  us,  as  Christians  ;  but  it  concerns  us, 
 as  men.  It  is  one  of  the  natural  rights  of  mankind,  founded 
 in  the  very  nature  of  things,  and  necessarily  resulting  from 
 their  being  made  rational  creatures.  ISTo  man  can  be  found  to 
 follow  others  blindly,  who  has  faculties  given  him  to  discern 
 between  true  and  false,  between  good  and  evil.  His  own  judg- 
 ment and  conscience,  and  not  another's,  is  the  immediate  guide 
 of  his  faith  and  practice,  which  he  must  give  account  of  at  the 
 great  Day.  It  is  therefore  his  duty  and  his  business  to  inform 
 himself,  as  carefully,  as  he  can ;  and  then  and  there  only  to 
 trust  to  other  men's  eyes,  where  he  cannot  see  clearly  with  his 
 own.  And  even  in  these  cases  he  is  still  to  judge  for  himself, 
 as  reasonably  as  he  can,  who  or  what  persons  are  to  be  taken 
 for  his  guides,  or  instructors,  upon  the  best  and  most  impartial 
 judgment  he  is  able  to  make  of  their  authority,  integrity,  or 
 abilities,  xvii.  11 ;  IS.  John  iv.  1 ;  2  Cor.  xiii.  5  ;  1  S.  Pet. 
 iii.  15.     Dr.  Waterland.     (Serm.  S.  Luke  viii.  10.) 
 
 23  As  if  they  had  rather  come  to  show  their  train  and  magnifi- 
 cence, than  to  hear  S.  Paul's  sermon :  a  mighty  crime  and  a 
 great  indignity  against  God  ;  and  yet,  I  fear,  as  common  as  the 
 highway,  for  some  specious  persons  to  come  to  Church  and 
 make  a  garish  lustre  of  their  pride,  rather  than  to  do  the  work 
 of  a  good  Christian,  in  devotion  to  prayer  and  attention  to  the 
 Sermon.  .  .  .  But  the  more  publication  Pride  makes  of  itself, 
 the  more  scandal  is  given ;  the  more  scandal  the  more  guilti- 
 ness ;  and  the  more  guiltiness  the  greater  condemnation.  Satan 
 loves  these  open,  these  flaming  sins  ;  that  weak  ones  may  run 
 to  them,  like  moths  to  the  light  of  a  candle,  and  be  touched 
 and  scorched  with  coming  near  them.  xii.  21,  22  ;  Isa.  i.  10 — 
 15.     Bp.  Racket.     (Serm.  S.  Matt.  iv.  5.) 
 
 With  great  pomp  ((;[)au7aaia9j  xain  show). — As  the  naturalists  ob- 
 serve of  the  glory  of  the  rain-bow,  that  it  is  wrought  in  our 
 eye,  and  not  in  the  cloud,  and  that  there  is  no  such  pleasing 
 variety  of  colours  there,  as  we  see ;  so  the  pomp,  and  riches, 
 and  glory  of  this  world  are,  of  themselves,  nothing  ;  but  are 
 
 xx2 
 
^76  THE  ACTS  XXV.  23—25. 
 
 the  work  of  our  opinion  and  the  creations  of  our  fancy,  and 
 have  no  worth  or  price,  but  what  our  lusts  and  desires  set  upon 
 them.  Luxuria  his  pretium  fecit.  S.  Matt.  iv.  8  ;  Isa.  xxviii. 
 10,  13  ;  Ps.  xix.  2.  Farindon.  (Serm.  Horn.  viii.  32.) 
 What  is  more  glorious  upon  earth  and  more  worthy  of  man,  than 
 the  cares  of  Eternity  ?  Prosperity  is,  but  honourable  anxiety  ; 
 brilliant  employments,  illustrious  slavery ;  reputation  is  often  a 
 public  mistake  :  titles  and  dignities  are  rarely  the  fruit  of  virtue ; 
 and  all  serve  at  most,  but  to  adorn  our  tombs.  Grreat  talents, 
 if  religion  does  not  influence  their  application,  are  but  great 
 temptations :  vast  acquirements,  a  wind,  which  inflates  and 
 corrupts  us,  if  faith  does  not  correct  the  venom.  All  these  are 
 great,  only  as  they  can  be  made  available  for  our  Salvation  :  and 
 Virtue  is  estimable  for  herself  alone.  S.  John  iv.  13, 14 ;  S.  James 
 i.  10,  11 ;  ii.  5 ;  1  S.  John  ii.  15 — 17.  Massillon.  (Sermons 
 in  Lent.) 
 
 24  Crying  that  he  ought  not  to  live  any  longer. — The  Holt  Spieit, 
 who  pleaded  for  the  life  of  S.  Paul,  in  the  hearts  of  the  saints, 
 with  "  groanings  which  cannot  be  uttered,"  and  with  that  cry 
 of  charity,  which  God  never  fails  to  hear,  was  more  powerful, 
 than  the  spirit,  that  required  his  death,  the  spirit  of  envy 
 speaking  by  the  mouth  of  the  Jews.  xii.  4,  5  ;  Eom.  viii.  26 ; 
 Phil.  22.     Quesnel. 
 
 25  He  himself  had  appealed,  ^c. — Let  the  great  Caesars  of  the 
 world  then  know,  that  the  more  subject  they  are  to  Christ, 
 the  more  sure  they  are  of  the  loyalty  of  their  subjects  to  them. 
 Neither  is  there,  in  all  the  world,  any  so  firm  and  strait  bond 
 to  tie  the  hearts  of  their  people  to  them,  as  true  religion  to 
 God.  Dan.  vi.  4,  5 ;  1  Tim.  ii.  1—3.  Bp.  Hall.  (Serm.  S. 
 John  xix.  15.) 
 
 Before  we  entertain  a  feeling  of  hatred  against  any  sect,  because 
 of  a  mere  name,  it  was  our  duty  to  inquire  first  into  its  cha- 
 racter ;  to  trace  its  qualities  from  the  author  of  it,  or  the 
 author  from  them.  But  both  these  methods  of  inquiry  being 
 neglected,  the  name  (of  "  Christian")  is  combated,  and  stormed 
 against.  The  prejudice,  conceived  against  a  name,  brings  at 
 once  condemnation  on  a  sect  and  its  author,  when  the  principles 
 of  both  are  unknown,  Ignotam  sec  tarn,  ignotum   et  auctorem  vox 
 
THE  ACTS  XXV.  25.  677 
 
 sola  prcedamnat :  they  are  condemned  for  their  name,  not  for  any 
 guilt  proved  against  them,  Quia  nominantur^  non  quia  revin- 
 cuntur.  xviii.  15  ;  1  S.  Pet.  iv.  14—16.  Tertullian.  (Apol. 
 Ch.  iii.) 
 
 Tu  licet  extremes  late  dominere  per  Indos, 
 Te  Medus,  te  mollis  Arabs,  te  Seres  adorent, 
 Si  metuis,  si  prava  cupis,  si  duceris  ira, 
 Servitii  patiere  jugum  ;  tolerabis  iniquas 
 Interius  leges.     Tunc  omnia  jure  tenebis, 
 Cum  poteris  Eex  esse  tui.     Proclivior  usus 
 In  pejora  datur,  suadetque  licentia  luxum 
 Illecebrisque  elFrsena  favet :  tunc  vivere  caste 
 Asperius,  cum  prompta  Venus ;  tunc  durius  irsB 
 Consulimus,  cum  poena  patet :  sed  comprime  motus  ; 
 Nee  tibi  quod  liceat,  sed  quod  fecisse  decebit, 
 Occurrat,  mentemque  domet  respectus  honesti. 
 
 Claudian.     (Ad  Imper.  Theodosium.) 
 
 CHAPTER  XXVI. 
 
 'THEN  Agrippa  said  unto  Paul,  Thou  art  permitted 
 to  speak  for  thyself.     Then  Paul  stretched  forth 
 the  hand,  and  answered  for  himself : 
 
 2  I  think  myself  happy,  king  Agrippa,  because  I 
 shall  answer  for  myself  this  day  before  thee  touching 
 all  the  things  whereof  I  am  accused  of  the  Jews  : 
 
 3  Especially  because  I  know  thee  to  be  expert  in  all 
 customs  and  questions  which  are  among  the  Jews: 
 wherefore  I  beseech  thee  to  hear  me  patiently. 
 
 4  My  manner  of  life  from  my  youth,  which  was  at 
 
678  THE  ACTS  XXVI.  2,  3. 
 
 the  first  among  mine  own  nation  at  Jerusalem,  know 
 all  the  Jews ; 
 
 5  Which  knew  me  from  the  beginning,  if  they 
 would  testify,  that  after  the  most  straitest  sect  of  our 
 religion  I  lived  a  Pharisee. 
 
 6  And  now  I  stand  and  am  judged  for  the  hope  of 
 the  promise  made  of  God  unto  our  fathers  : 
 
 7  Unto  which  promise  our  twelve  tribes,  instantly 
 serving  God  day  and  night,  hope  to  come.  For  which 
 hope's  sake,  king  Agrippa,  I  am  accused  of  the  Jews. 
 
 2  To  use  many  circumstances,  ere  one  comes  to  the  matter,  is 
 wearisome  ;  to  use  none,  is  blunt,     xxiv.  10.     Lord  Bacon. 
 
 It  is  the  mark  of  a  clear  conscience,  not  to  shrink  from  a  Judge, 
 who  has  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  circumstances  ;  but  even 
 to  rejoice,  and  to  call  himself  happj.  Verse  26 ;  xxv.  10.  S, 
 Chrysostom, 
 
 The  Omniscience  of  the  great  Judge  will  fail  in  affording  us  any 
 comfort  of  soul  at  the  last  Day :  it  will  rather  overwhelm  us 
 with  shame  and  confusion,  and  sink  us  in  Eternal  condemna- 
 tion ;  unless  (Blessed  alternative !)  we  have  disarmed  and,  as  it 
 were,  disabled  the  Justice  of  God  by  our  true  repentance,  and 
 our  timely  appeal  through  Christ,  to  that  "  Mercy,"  which 
 "rejoiceth  against  judgment."  Eom.  ii.  16  ;  Mai.  iii.  2  ;  Heb. 
 vi.  18.     J.  F. 
 
 3  In  the  discourses  of  S.  Paul,  we  discover  the  most  discri- 
 minative attention  to  every  variation  of  place,  and  person, 
 and  religious  faith.  At  Athens,  the  most  philosophic  and  cul- 
 tivated people  in  the  world  are  addressed  with  an  appeal  to  the 
 authority  of  their  own  sages  and  poets.  At  Lystra,  whose  un- 
 educated inhabitants  were  more  accessible  to  a  direct  appeal  to 
 the  senses,  than  to  any  abstract  deductions  of  philosophic 
 truth,  he  refers  to  "  the  rain  from  heaven,  and  to  the  fruitful 
 seasons,  that  fill  our  hearts  with  food  and  gladness."  Before 
 Felix,  an  unjust,  luxurious,  adulterous  heathen,  he  urges  the 
 most    awakening    topics  of  natural   religion ;   he   reasons    of 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVI.  5—7.  679 
 
 **  righteousness  and  temperance  and  judgment  to  come."  To 
 Agrippa,  a  zealous  and  well  instructed  Jew,  expert  in  all  cus- 
 toms and  questions  among  the  Jews,  he  opens  at  large  those  great 
 and  glorious  events,  to  which  all  the  Law  and  the  Prophets  bear 
 witness.  In  a  word,  "to  the  Jews  he  became  a  Jew,  that  he  might 
 gain  the  Jews  ;  to  them,  that  were  without  law,  he  became  as 
 without  law,  that  he  might  gain  them,  that  were  without  law ;  to 
 the  weak  he  became,  as  weak,  that  he  might  gain  the  weak :  he 
 was  all  things  to  all  men,  that  he  might  by  all  means  save 
 some."  This  judicious  management  it  is  our  bounden  duty  to 
 study  for  the  edification  of  those,  committed  to  our  charge, 
 xiv.  12 ;  2  Tim.  ii.  15.  Bp.  Jebb.  (Ordination  Serm.  2  Tim. 
 ii.  15.) 
 
 5  If  they  would  testify. — They  were  unwilling  so  to  do,  as 
 thoroughly  well  aware  that  S.  Paul's  Conversion,  even  in  re- 
 gard to  his  life  before  it,  would  furnish  a  most  weighty  argu- 
 ment of  the  Truth  of  Christianity,     xxii.  3  ;  xxiii.  1.     Bengel. 
 
 6  The  fathers. — Follow  true  antiquity  and  the  general  custom  of 
 the  Church  of  God  in  all  ages,  when  they  have  not  erred  from 
 the  evident  truth  of  Gob.  If  thou  sufferest,  let  it  be  for 
 known  Truth,  and  against  known  wickedness ;  for  which  thou 
 hast  example  in  God's  Word,  or  of  the  Holy  Martyrs  in  Church 
 story.  But  beware  of  far  fetched  consequences,  or  suffering 
 for  new  devices,  and  for  things,  formerly  unto  all  ages  un- 
 known, seem  they  never  so  holy  and  just  unto  men.  iii.  13, 18, 
 24 ;  vii.  2  ;  xiii.  32 ;  xxviii.  17,  20.  A.  Bernard.  (Counsels  of 
 peace,  1608.) 
 
 Hope  to  come. — The  whole  existence  of  the  Jewish  people  turned 
 on  the  pivot  of  hope  (as  contra- distinguished  from  the  heathen 
 nations,  whose  prominent  feeling  was  regret  for  what  man  had 
 lost)  ;  and  the  keystone  of  its  moral  life  projected  its  shadows 
 far  into  futurity.     S.  Luke  ii.  25,  29,  30  ;  xxiv.  21.     F.  SchlegeL 
 
 7  Unto  which  promise,  ^c. — This  hope  of  Salvation,  where  it  is 
 stedfast,  makes  the  Christian  active  and  zealous  for  God.  It  is 
 called  "  a  lively  hope."  1  S.  Pet.  i.  3.  They  are  men  of  metal, 
 that  have  it :  you  may  expect  more  from  them,  than  many 
 others ;  and  not  be  deceived.  Why  are  men  dull  and  heavy  in 
 the  service  of  God  ?    Truly  because  their  hopes  are  so.     Hope- 
 
680  THE  ACTS  XXVI.  7. 
 
 less  and  lifeless  go  together.  No  marvel  the  work  goes  hardly 
 off  a  hand,  when  men  have  no  hope,  or  but  little,  to  be  well 
 paid  for  their  labour  in  doing  it.  .  .  .  Mark  the  twelve  tribes 
 here  are  both  instant  and  constant,  iu  itcjeueia ;  they  will  run 
 with  full  speed,  stretching  themselves  forth,  as  in  a  race,  and 
 this,  niffht  and  day  :  no  stop  nor  halt  in  their  way,  but  ever 
 putting  on.  And  what  is  it,  that  keeps  them  in  breath  ?  even 
 the  hoipe,  that  they  shall  at  last  come  to  that  Salvation  promised. 
 ...  It  is  the  very  physic,  which  the  Apostle  prescribes  for 
 this  disease  of  indolence,  Heb.  vi.  11,  12.  "  "We  desire  every 
 one  of  you  to  show  the  same  diligence  to  the  full  assurance  of 
 hope,  unto  the  end,  that  ye  be  not  slothful."  "Verse  22  ;  xxiv. 
 15 ;  1  S.  Pet.  i.  13.  Gurnall.  (On  the  Christian  Armour, 
 Eph.  vi.  17,  ch.  4.) 
 
 Expectation  is  the  inward  spirit  of  the  Old  Testament,  as  fulfil- 
 ment is  of  the  New.  "Wonderful  itself,  its  function  clearly  is  to 
 testify  wonders  more  august  to  come.  Erom  Moses  to  Malachi 
 these  Hebrew  Scriptures  are,  as  it  were,  one  long  drawn  sigh  of 
 sorrowful  hope,  while,  to  make  the  purposed  lesson  of  imper- 
 fection more  complete,  the  same  testimony  is  uttered  from 
 every  rank  and  state  of  humanity  :  for  of  what  variety  of  human 
 fortune  will  you  not  find  an  example  there  ?  iii.  21 ;  Eom.  viii. 
 19,  22.     W.  A.  Butler.     (Serm.  S.  John  v.  39.) 
 
 S.  Paul,  dividing  the  narrative  of  his  life  into  two  parts,  cites  his 
 adversaries  themselves,  as  witnesses  of  the  former  part ;  and 
 the  Eathers  and  Prophets,  to  attest  the  latter.  2  Cor.  vii.  11. 
 Beg  a. 
 
 8  Why  should  it  be  thought  a  thing  incredible  with 
 you,  that  God  should  raise  the  dead  ? 
 
 9  I  verily  thought  with  myself,  that  I  ought  to  do 
 many  things  contrary  to  the  name  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 
 
 10  Which  thing  I  also  did  in  Jerusalem  :  and  many 
 of  the  saints  did  I  shut  up  in  prison,  having  received 
 authority  from  the  chief  priests  ;  and  when  they  were 
 put  to  death,  I  gave  my  voice  against  them. 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVI.  8.  681 
 
 11  And  I  punished  them  oft  in  every  synagogue, 
 and  compelled  them  to  blaspheme ;  and  being  ex- 
 ceedingly mad  against  them,  I  persecuted  them  even 
 unto  strange  cities. 
 
 8  It  was  an  excessive  greatness  of  power,  which  God  exerted,  an 
 activity  of  the  might  of  strength  (or  of  most  mighty  strength), 
 which  He  set  on  work,  in  the  raising  of  C heist  from  the  dead  : 
 so  the  Apostle  labours  to  express  the  unexpressible  emineney 
 of  this  miracle,  Eph.  i.  19.  Pliny,  I  remember,  among  instances 
 of  things,  which  were  impossible,  even  to  God  Himself,  reckons 
 these  two,  Mortales  ceternitate  donare,  et  revocare  defunctos  (to 
 bestow  Eternity  upon  mortals,  and  to  recall  the  dead  to  life)  : 
 both  which  suppositions  we  see  by  our  Sayiour's  Eesurrection 
 clearly  confuted  ;  yet  so,  as  the  making  them  argues,  how  high 
 and  hard  a  work  in  human  conceit  it  was  to  effect  jt.  Indeed 
 S.  Paul  seems  to  suppose  otherwise,  when  he  thus  puts  the 
 question,  What !  doth  it  seem  incredible  to  you  that  God  should 
 raise  the  dead  ?  But  there  is  an  emphasis  in  the  words  nap 
 v/iiiv  with  you — with  you,  whose  minds  were  prepossessed  with 
 notions,  favourable  to  this  doctrine,  who  had  so  many  instances 
 thereof,  who  had  been  instructed  to  hope  future  rewards  from 
 God  ?  ii.  25—31 ;  S.  Matt.  xxii.  31,  32  ;  Heb.  xi.  19.  Br. 
 Barrow.     (Exposition  of  the  Creed.) 
 
 "  Cheist  is  risen"  became  credible  at  first  by  the  certainty  of 
 them,  that  saw  it ;  then  by  the  constancy  of  them,  that  died  for 
 confession  of  it ;  and  to  us,  now,  the  huge  multitude  of  them, 
 that  have  and  do  believe  it,  maketh  it  credible.  Eor,  if  it  be 
 not  credible,  how  is  it  credible  that  the  world  could  believe  it  ? 
 the  world  (I  say)  being  neither  enjoined  by  authority,  nor 
 forced  by  fear,  nor  inveigled  by  allurements ;  but  brought 
 about  by  persons,  by  means,  less  credible,  than  the  thing  itself. 
 Gamaliel  said,  "If  it  be  of  God,  it  will  prevail."  And,  though 
 we  cannot  argue  all,  that  hath  prevailed,  is  of  God  ;  yet  thus 
 we  can :  that,  which  hath  been  mightily  impugned  and  weakly 
 pursued,  and  yet  prevailed,  that  was  of  God  certainly :  that, 
 which  all  the  powers  of  the  earth  fought,  but  could  not  prevail 
 
682  THE  ACTS  XXVI.  8,  9. 
 
 against,  was  from  heaven  certainly.  Certainly,  "  Cheist  is 
 risen :"  for  many  have  risen  and  lift  up  themselves  against  it, 
 but  all  are  fallen.  But  the  Apostle  saith,  it  is  a  foundation, 
 that  he  will  not  "lay  it  again:"  no  more  will  we;  but  go  for- 
 ward, and  raise  upon  it :  and  so  let  us  do.  v.  37 ;  Bom.  viii. 
 34  ;  Col.  iii.  1,  2.     Bp.  Andrewes.     (Serm.  1  Cor.  xv.  20.) 
 
 As  no  just  reasoning  can  show  it  to  be  impossible,  it  is  more  cer- 
 tainly God's  work  for  being  beyond  our  comprehension.  Isa. 
 ix.  6.     Abp.  Seeker.     (Serm.  1  Cor.  i.  22—24.) 
 
 It  is  a  greater  miracle  to  make  that,  which  was  not,  than  to  repair 
 that,  which  was.  Why  cannot  He  raise  us,  after  we  are  turned 
 into  dust,  who,  if  we  ever  were  reduced  into  nothing,  could 
 give  us  a  being  ?  Ps.  xc.  3  ;  civ.  30 ;  Ezek.  xxxvii.  S.  Augus- 
 tine.    (Serm.  xci.  de  verb.  Apost.) 
 
 The  light  dies  daily,  and  is  daily  renewed.  The  bud  bursts  from 
 the  branches.  How  is  it,  that  in  a  seed  of  such  small  size,  in 
 brevitata  seminis,  lurks  within  so  huge  a  tree  ?  1  Cor.  xv.  36 
 — 38.     S.  Gregory. 
 
 Qu9D  nunc  herba  fuit  lignum  jacet  herba  futura : 
 Aeriae  nudantur  aves,  cum  penna  vetusta  ; 
 Et  nova  subvestit  reparatas  pluma  volucres. 
 
 Bracontius.     (Hexameron,  seu  de  opere 
 sex  Dierum.) 
 
 9  The  cases  of  S.  Peter  and  S.  Paul,  in  a  matter,  signally  proving 
 the  sincerity  and  uprightness  of  both,  here  seem  to  meet.  S. 
 Paul  thought  it  his  duty  to  persecute  the  Christians.  S.  Peter 
 thought  it  his  duty  to  abstain  from  every  thing  "  common  and 
 unclean."  Both,  in  each  several  particular,  were  led  to  pursue 
 a  course  opposite  to  their  former;  the  one  to  befriend  the 
 Christians  ;  the  other,  to  associate  with  the  Gentiles  ;  in  regard 
 to  both,  no  visible  interests,  or  secular  motives  were  apparent, 
 inviting  them  to  so  great  a  change.  Whence  then  could  the 
 change  proceed  ?  From  nothing  less,  than  some  Divine  Eeve- 
 lation  and  impulse,  "  leading  them  by  paths  they  knew  not," 
 and  producing  such  a  strong  conviction  on  their  minds,  as 
 completely  over-ruled  all  their  former  prejudices  and  habits  of 
 life.     X.  14 ;  xi.  8,  9.     J.  F. 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVI.  9.  683 
 
 If  we  consider,  how  the  mind  of  man  is  influenced  by  custom  and 
 education,  and  that  his  conscience  and  self-approbation  will  be 
 according  to  his  principles,  then  we  shall  see,  that  sincerity,  if 
 admitted,  would  sanctify  all  the  wickedness  under  heaven.  .  .  . 
 Now,  as  S.  Paul  had  a  good  meaning  in  all,  that  he  did,  to  what 
 end  was  he  converted,  when  his  sincerity  would  have  saved  him 
 in  his  former  way  ?  After  his  mind  was  better  enlightened,  he 
 pronounced  himself  to  have  been  "  the  greatest  of  sinners," 
 for  what  he  had  done  in  the  sincerity  of  his  heart.  (Bef.  xi.  14. 
 Bp.  Sherlock.)     W.  Jones.     (Essay  on  the  Church.  Ch.  iii.) 
 
 He,  that  hopes  with  fruit  to  reprehend,  or  exhort,  men  much 
 daunted  or  ashamed  at  the  foulness  of  their  offences,  must,  as 
 far  as  truth  will  suffer  him,  acknowledge  himself  to  be  a  sharer 
 in  his  own  reproofs,  to  have  been  sometimes  tainted  with  the 
 original  of  their  present  grief :  for  so  the  parties  grieved  will 
 be  less  jealous,  and  conceit  the  medicine  better.  1  Tim.  i.  12, 
 13  ;  Titus  iii.  1 — 3.     Dr.  Jackson.     (B.  iii.  ch.  7.  s.  1.) 
 
 Praise  and  punishment  cannot  with  reason  be  charged  upon  a  mere 
 name,  unless  there  be  actions,  either  good  or  bad,  to  justify  the 
 charge  ;  but  it  is  very  notorious,  that,  when  any  of  your  own 
 religion  are  brought  to  trial,  you  never  punish,  before  you  con- 
 vict them :  but,  when  a  Christian  is  indicted,  you  snatch  at  the 
 shadow  of  his  Name,  as  a  substantial  crime :  whereas,  if  you 
 would  give  yourselves  leave  to  consider  that  Name,  you  would 
 find  it  more  becoming  to  animadvert  upon  the  accusers,  than 
 the  accused.  For  we  are  indicted  by  the  name  of  Christians ; 
 but  x/9?/<rTos  is  a  word  for  kind,  or  good  ;  but  such  a  word  can- 
 not be  a  just  foundation  for  hatred :  again,  if  any  of  the  accused 
 retract  the  Name  of  a  Christian,  you  take  him  presently  at  his 
 word  and  acquit  him,  as  having  nothing  more  criminal  to  charge 
 against  him  ;  but  he,  who  has  the  courage  to  stick  to  the  pro- 
 fession of  his  Name,  is  certain  to  suffer  for  so  doing.  Eev.  ii. 
 13  ;  xiii.  8.     Tertullian.     (Apology.  S.  3.) 
 
 Opinion  is  the  main  thing,  which  does  good  or  harm  in  the  world : 
 it  is  our  false  opinion  of  things,  which  ruins  us.  xxviii.  22  ;  S. 
 Matt.  xxii.  42.     M.  Aurelius. 
 
 Tyranne  vitse,  fax  temeraria, 
 Infide  dux,  ignobile  vinculum, 
 
684  THE  ACTS  XXVI.  11. 
 
 Sidus  dolosum,  senigraa  mentis, 
 Ingenii  labyrinthe  voti, 
 {Assensus  errans)  Invalidse  potens 
 Matris  propago,  quern  vetuit  Deus 
 Nasci,  sed  orto  principatum 
 
 Attribuit  regimenque  sanctum.  .  .  . 
 Lex  mentis,  omni  lege  valentior, 
 Lux  mentis,  omni  luce  micantior, 
 Jus  prsepotentis  Veritatis 
 
 Yel  specie  simulata  vincunt.  .  .  . 
 Eac,  quod  videtur  luminibus  tuis, 
 Fac,  quod  putatur  judicio  tuo; 
 Judex  refelli,  falli  ocellus 
 
 Possit ;  uterque  tamen  sequendus.  .  .  . 
 Quod  cuique  scitur  Numinis  est  loco, 
 Cogens  vereri :  nostra  scientia, 
 Seu  vera  sit  sen  ficta,  nosmet 
 Compede  prsevalida  coercet. 
 
 xxiii.  1.  Dr.  Barrow.  (Sparsa  quaadam 
 poeraata.  Anno  1652.) 
 11  Even  S.  Paul  himself  (who,  from  the  part  he  took,  when  the 
 blood  of  the  Martyr  S.  Stephen  was  shed,  must  have  been  pre- 
 sent at  the  trial)  could  hear  the  Martyr's  apology,  without  being 
 persuaded  by  it ;  that  very  man  afterwards  struck  into  the  same 
 way  of  interpretation,  and  delighted  to  apply  the  figures  of  the 
 Law,  as  a  testimony  to  Jesus  Cheist.  There  was  a  time, 
 when  he  was  not  only  deaf,  but  inveterate,  and,  as  he  said,  ex- 
 ceedingly mad  against  the  Christians,  and  all  their  arguments. 
 S.  Stephen,  might  look  like  an  Angel,  and  reason,  like  an 
 Angel:  nothing  could  touch  him.  1  Cor.  xiii.  1.  He  had  an 
 opinion  that  the  Christians  were  wrong  and  deserved  to  be 
 -  persecuted :  but  opinion  is  that  judgment,  which  a  man  forms 
 of  the  things  of  God  without  the  grace  of  God.  "When  S. 
 Stephen  had  reasoned  with  his  hearers,  he  prayed  for  them ; 
 and  perhaps  the  conversion  of  that  glorious  instrument  of  God, 
 the  Blessed  Apostle  S.  Paul,  might  be  granted  in  consequence 
 of  that  prayer,  xxii.  29  ;  Heb.  x.  1.  W.  Jones.  (On  the 
 figurative  language  of  Scripture.) 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVI.  11.  685 
 
 What  could  lie  say  more  against  himself  ?  And  then  says  Cheist 
 to  this  tempest,  Quiesce,  "Be  still;"  to  this  glaring  sun,  Siste, 
 "  Stand  still ;"  to  this  unclean  spirit,  Feniforis,  "  Come  forth." 
 In  this  sense  especially  doth  S.  Paul  call  himself  abortivum,  a 
 person,  born  out  of  season ;  that,  whereas  Cheist' s  other 
 Apostles  and  disciples  had  a  breeding  under  Him,  and  came 
 first  ad  discipulatum,  and  then  ad  Apostolatum,  first  to  be  dis- 
 ciples and  after  to  be  Apostles,  S.  Paul  was  born  a  man ;  an 
 Apostle,  not  carved  out,  as  the  rest  in  time,  but  a  fusil  Apos- 
 tle, an  Apostle  poured  out,  and  cast  in  a  mould.  As  Adam  was 
 a  perfect  man  in  an  instant,  so  was  S.  Paul  an  Apostle,  as  soon 
 as  Cheist  took  him  in  hand.    Dr.  Bonne.  (Serm.  on  Acts  ix.  4.) 
 
 Exceedingly  mad. — I  find  S.  Paul  in  "the  same  chapter  confess 
 and  deny  madness  in  himself  (verse  25).  "Whilst  he  was  mad 
 indeed,  then  nobody  did  suspect  or  accuse  him  to  be  dis- 
 tracted; but  when  converted  and  "in  his  right  mind,"  then 
 Pelix  taxeth  him  of  madness.  2  Cor.  v.  13,  14 ;  Isa.  v.  20. 
 T.  Fuller. 
 
 David,  S.  Peter,  and  S.  Paul,  were  men,  all,  for  their  holiness, 
 of  singular  and  worthy  renown  ;  their  sins,  all  of  them,  for 
 their  matter,  of  the  greatest  magnitude — murdering  of  the  in- 
 nocent, abnegation  of  Cheist,  persecution  of  the  Church. 
 S.  Paul's  persecution,  a  grievous  sin ;  yet  a  sin  of  ignorance  : 
 S.  Peter's  denial,  a  grievous  sin ;  yet  a  sin  of  infirmity :  David's 
 murder,  a  far  more  grievous  sin,  than  either  of  both,  because  a 
 
 sin  of  presumption S.  Paul's  aflections  were  not  set 
 
 against  the  disciples  of  the  Loed  through  any  personal  provo- 
 cation ;  but  merely  out  of  zeal  to  the  Law  :  and  surely  his  zeal 
 had  been  good,  had  it  not  been  blind.  His  error  was  in  his 
 understanding,  his  judgment  not  being  yet  actually  convinced 
 of  the  truth  of  the  Christian  religion.  He  was  yet  fully  per- 
 suaded, that  Jestjs  was  an  impostor,  and  Christianity  a  pes- 
 tilent sect,  raised  by  Satan  to  the  disgrace  and  prejudice  of 
 Moses  and  the  Law.  .  .  .  His  persecution,  therefore,  was  a  sin 
 of  ignorance,  so  called ;  and,  under  that  name  condemned  by 
 himself  Gal.  i.  13 ;  1  Tim.  i.  13.  Bp.  Sanderson.  (Serm. 
 Ps.  xix.  3.) 
 
 We  observed  at  xx.  33  how  Divine  Grace  enabled  S.  Paul  to  get 
 
686  THE  ACTS  XXVI.  11. 
 
 the  entire  mastery  over  the  besetting  sin  of  coveting  (Rom. 
 vii.  7).  In  the  passage  before  us,  taken  together  with  1  Tim. 
 i.  13,  we  see  him  to  have  been  once  a  blasphemer  and,  more  than 
 this,  a  man,  compelling  others  to  blaspheme:  here  also  his 
 conduct  underwent  a  like  total  change.  The  man  of  "  unclean 
 lips"  was  purified  by  fire,  by  the  touch  of  the  ''living  coal" 
 from  heaven.  "  Te  have  brought  hither  these  men,  which  are 
 neither  robbers  of  Churches  (covetous),  nor  yet  blasphemers  of 
 your  goddess."     xix.  37.     J.  F, 
 
 12  Whereupon  as  I  went  to  Damascus  with  autho- 
 rity and  commission  from  the  chief  priests, 
 
 13  At  midday,  O  king,  I  saw  in  the  way  a  hght 
 from  heaven,  above  the  brightness  of  the  sun,  shining 
 round  about  me  and  them  which  journeyed  with  me. 
 
 14  And  when  we  were  all  fallen  to  the  earth,  I 
 heard  a  voice  speaking  unto  me,  and  saying  in  the 
 Hebrew  tongue,  Saul,  Saul,  why  persecutest  thou 
 Me  ?  it  is  hard  for  thee  to  kick  against  the  pricks. 
 
 15  And  I  said.  Who  art  Thou,  Lord?  And  He 
 said,  I  am  Jesus  whom  thou  persecutest. 
 
 1 6  But  rise,  and  stand  upon  thy  feet :  for  I  have 
 appeared  unto  thee  for  this  purpose,  to  make  thee  a 
 minister  and  a  witness  both  of  these  things  which 
 thou  hast  seen,  and  of  those  things  in  the  which  I 
 will  appear  unto  thee  ; 
 
 17  Delivering  thee  from  the  people,  and  from  the 
 Gentiles,  unto  whom  now  I  send  thee, 
 
 18  To  open  their  eyes,  and  to  turn  them  from  dark- 
 ness to  light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  God, 
 that  they  may  receive  forgiveness  of  sins,  and  inherit- 
 ance among  them  which  are  sanctified  by  faith  that  is 
 in  Me. 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVI.  12.  687 
 
 12  The  story  of  S.  Paul's  Conversion  is  told  in  three  different 
 ways  by  the  same  author ;  and,  when  compared,  the  differences 
 appear  so  natural  from  the  different  situations  and  circum- 
 stances, in  which  they  are  related,  that,  first,  they  bear  invincible 
 testimony  to  the  authenticity  and  genuineness  of  the  book  itself; 
 and,  secondly,  are  a  standing  instance  how  natural  are  the  varia- 
 tions between  the  different  Gospels  ;  and  prove  that,  instead  of 
 furnishing  an  objection,  they  are  an  additional  evidence  of  their 
 truth.  The  account  of  the  Baptism  of  Cornelius  is  told  twice, 
 and  is  another  instance  of  the  same  kind.  S.  James  i.  17. 
 C.  Wolfe.     (Appendix  to  Sermons.) 
 
 The  Ecclesiastical  story  abounds  with  examples  of  occasional 
 converts  and  upon  strange  occasions  ;  but  yet  the  Church  cele- 
 brates no  conversion,  but  that  of  S.  Paul.  The  Church  doth 
 not  consider  the  martyrs,  as  born,  till  they  die  ;  till  the  world 
 see,  how  they  persevered  to  the  end,  she  takes  no  knowledge  of 
 them :  therefore  she  calls  the  days  of  their  deaths  Natalitia, 
 their  Birth-days.  Then  she  makes  account  they  are  born,  when 
 they  die.  But  of  S.  Paul  the  Church  makes  herself  assured 
 the  first  minute ;  and  therefore  celebrates  his  Conversion,  and 
 none  but  his.  Here  was  a  true  Transubstantiation,  and  a  new 
 Sacrament.  These  few  words,  "  Saul,  Saul,  why  persecutest 
 thou  Me  .^"  are  words  of  Consecration :  after  these  words  Saul 
 was  no  longer  Saul,  but  he  was  Cheist.  Vivit  in  me  Christus, 
 says  he.  It  is  not  I,  that  live ;  not  I,  that  do  anything :  but 
 "  Christ  in  me."  .  .  .  Here  a  wolf  is  made  a  lamb,  exlupo  a  gnus  ; 
 ex  vepribus  racemus,  says  S.  Chrysostom,  a  bramble  is  made  a 
 vine;  ex  sizaniis frumentum,  cockle  and  tares  become  wheat;  ex 
 pirato  gubernator,  a  pirate  becomes  a  safe  pilot ;  ex  novissimo 
 primus,  the  lees  are  come  to  swim  on  the  top,  and  the  last  is 
 grown  first ;  and  ex  abortivo  perfectus,  he,  that  was  born  out  of 
 time,  hath  not  only  the  perfection,  but  the  excellency  of  all  his 
 lineaments.  S.  Chrysostom  goes  further  than  this,  ex  blasphemo 
 OS  Christi  et  lyra  Spiritus,  he,  that  was  the  mouth  of  blasphemy, 
 is  become  the  mouth  of  Cheist  ;  he,  that  was  the  instrument 
 of  Satan,  is  now  the  organ  of  the  Holt  G-host.  He  goes  very 
 far,  when  he  says.  In  ccelis  homo  in  terris  Angelus,  being  yet  but 
 upon  earth,  he  is  an  Angel,  and,  being  yet  but  a  man,  he  is 
 
688  THE  ACTS  XXVI.  13,  14. 
 
 already  in  heaven.     Gal.  i.  24 ;  vi.  17  ;  1  Cor.  xv.  8 — 11.    Br. 
 Donne.     (Serm.  Acts  ix.  4.) 
 
 13  The  Body  of  Christ  is  doubtless  the  most  glorious  body  in 
 the  world,  far  more  glorious,  than  the  sun.  If  we  could  see 
 the  Body  of  Cheist  shining  in  the  heavens,  as  we  do  that  of 
 the  sun  in  a  clear  day,  we  should  scarce  see  the  sun  at  all,  no 
 more  than  we  do  the  moon,  when  the  sun  shineth.  S.  Matt, 
 xvii.  2 ;  xiii.  43  ;  Dan.  xii.  3 ;  Phil.  iii.  21.  Bp.  Beveridge. 
 (Serm.  S.  Matt.  xxv.  46.) 
 
 The  substance  of  these  accounts  (this  and  that  of  the  Trans- 
 figuration) seems  to  be,  that  the  form  of  the  Glorified  Satiotik, 
 when  human  eyes  have  been  privileged  to»  behold  it,  has  re- 
 sembled that,  which  He  bare  upon  earth  ;  that,  which  was 
 "  seen  with  the  eyes  and  handled  with  the  hands"  of  His  dis- 
 ciples :  with  this  most  important  variation,  that  a  strong  and 
 glorious  light  struggled  forth  into  manifestation  at  every  part 
 of  the  Person,  penetrating  through  the  transparent  features,  and 
 dissipating  from  them  the  earthy  appearance  of  flesh  and  blood. 
 The  notion,  which  we  gain  of  Transfiguration-glories,  and  of 
 those  also,  with  which  the  Person  of  our  Lord  is  at  present  in- 
 vested, is  that  of  the  same  body,  rendered  luminous  by  Divine 
 power.  Eev.  i.  13—16 ;  1  S.  John  iii.  2 ;  Phil.  iii.  21.  Br. 
 Goulburn,     (Bampton  Lectures.  S.  John  xx.  29.) 
 
 The  world  is  not  so  much  illuminated  by  the  rising  of  the  sun,  as 
 is  the  soul  of  man  made  shining  and  bright  when  it  receives 
 the  grace  of  God  by  the  Spirit ;  for  the  former  illumination, 
 whether  we  will  or  no,  is  followed  by  the  night ;  but  the  rays 
 of  this  are  strangers  to  darkness.  Wisd.  vii.  30  ;  Ps.  xix.  5 — 11. 
 S.  Chrysostom.     (Homil.  21.  ad  pop.  Antioch.) 
 
 14  Nolite  tangere  Christos  Meos,  says  God  of  all  holy  people. 
 You  were  as  good  touch  Me,  as  touch  any  of  them  ;  for  "  they 
 are  the  apple  of  Mine  eye."  Our  Saviour,  Christ,  never  ex- 
 postulated for  Himself,  never  said,  Why  scourged  you  Me? 
 why  spit  you  upon  Me  ?  why  crucify  you  Me  ?  As  long,  as 
 their  rage  determined  in  His  person.  He  "  opened  not  His 
 mouth."  When  Saul  extended  the  violence  to  the  Church  to 
 His  servants,  then  Christ  came  to»that  "  Saul,  Saul,  why  perse- 
 cutest  thou  Me .''"     Cain's  trespass  against  God  Himself  was 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVI.  14,  16.  689 
 
 that  he  would  bind  God  to  an  acceptation  of  his  sacrifice ;  and 
 for  that  GrOD  comes  no  farther,  but  to,  "  "Why  doest  thou  thus  ?" 
 (Gen.  iv.  6,  11,)  but,  in  his  trespass  upon  his  brother,  God 
 proceeds  so  much  farther,  as  to  say,  *'  Now  art  thou  cursed  from 
 the  earth."  Jeroboam  suffered  idolatry ;  and  God  let  him 
 alone  :  that  concerned  but  God  Himself:  but  "  when  Jeroboam 
 "stretched  forth  his  hand"  to  lay  hold  on  the  Prophet,  his  hand 
 withered.  Here  is  a  holy  league  defensive  and  offensive  :  God 
 shall  not  only  protect  us  from  others,  but  He  shall  fight  for  us 
 against  them.  Oar  enemies  are  His  enemies,  xviii.  10;  Ps. 
 cv.  15;  xvii.  8;  1  Kings  xiii.  4;  Eom.  xv.  3.  Dr.  Donne. 
 (Serm.  Ps.  Ixvi.  3.) 
 
 O  Sayioue,  as  our  holy  boldness  dares  interest  ourselves  in  Thy 
 Graces,  so  Thy  wonderful  compassionate  mercy  vouchsafes  to 
 interest  Thyself  in  our  infirmities.  Thy  poor  Church  suffers  on 
 earth ;  Thou  feelest  in  heaven !  and,  as  complaining  of  our 
 stripes,  canst  say,  "  Why  persecutest  thou  Me?'^  Thou,  again, 
 art  not  so  Thine  own,  as  that  Thou  art  not  ours  also.  Thy  suf- 
 ferings, Thy  merits.  Thy  obedience,  Thy  life,  death,  resurrec- 
 tion, ascension,  intercession,  glory :  yea.  Thy  Blessed  Humanity, 
 yea,  Thy  Glorious  Deity,  by  virtue  of  our  right,  of  our  union, 
 are  so  ours,  as  that  we  would  not  give  our  part  in  Thee  for  ten 
 thousand  worlds.  2  Sam.  xix.  43  ;  Eph.  v.  25—32  ;  1  Cor.  i.  30. 
 Bp.  Hall.     (Occasional  Meditations,  71.) 
 
 It  is  hard  for  thee,  ^^c. — It  is  not  always  observed,  but  yet  it  adds 
 much  to  the  fitness  of  this  proverb's  use  on  this  great  occasion, 
 that  it  was  already  even  in  the  heathen  world,  to  which  it  ori- 
 ginally belonged,  predominantly  used  to  note  the  madness  of  a 
 striving,  on  man's  part,  against  the  superior  Power  of  the  gods ; 
 for  so  we  find  it  in  the  chief  passages  of  heathen  antiquity,  in 
 which  it  occurs.  The  image  is  that  of  the  stubborn  ox,  which, 
 when  urged  to  go  forward,  recalcitrates  against  the  sharp  pointed 
 iron  goad,  and,  already  wounded,  thus  only  v.'ounds  itself  the 
 more.  v.  39;  vii.  51;  xi.  17.  R.  C.  Trench.  (On  the  Lessons 
 in  Proverbs.     Lect.  2.) 
 
 16  Agnoscimus  Christum  in  Paulo  priiis  cogentem  ;  deinde  docentem. 
 CiTEiST  brought  S.  Paul  first  under  discipline  ;  then  under  in- 
 struction.    Micah  vi.  9.     S.  Augustine. 
 
 Y    Y 
 
690  THE  ACTS  XXVI.  J  6,  18. 
 
 Mise. — Thou  didst  not  despise  the  thief,  confessing  on  the  Cross  ; 
 nor  the  sinner,  weeping  at  Thy  feet ;  nor  the  Canaanite,  crying 
 to  Thee  on  the  way ;  nor  the  blushing  adulteress  ;  nor  the 
 odious  publican ;  nor  the  forswearing  disciple ;  nor  the  perse- 
 cutor of  disciples  ;  nor  Thine  own  executioner.  How  can  we 
 be  unwelcome  unto  Thee,  if  we  come  with  tears  in  our  eyes, 
 faith  in  our  hearts,  restitution  in  our  hands  ?  1  Tim.  i.  15  ;  S. 
 John  vi.  37 ;  S.  Luke  xix.  8—10.     Bp.  HalL 
 
 In  the  which  I  will  appear  unto  thee. — S.  Paul  was  called  yro?72 
 heaven  to  preach  the  Gospel ;  but  he  was  called  to  heaven,  to 
 qualify  him  for  this  higher  separation,  to  be  an  Apostle  and 
 Church  Governor.  Gal.  i.  1, 12.  Dr.  Allestry.  (Serm.  Acts  xiii.  1.) 
 
 18  The  commission,  given  here  to  S.  Paul,  was  to  preach  repent- 
 ance. .  .  .  Eepentance  has  two  parts,  according  to  the  two 
 terms,  ti  quo  and  ad  quem.  Aversion  or  turning  away  from  Satan 
 and  sin  ;  that  is  the  first  part ;  then  a  conversion,  or  turning  unto 
 God,  by  newness  of  life ;  that  is  the  second  part.  The  one  is  a 
 falling  off  from  the  creature ;  the  other  a  betaking  to  the 
 Creator.  The  first  some  call  mortiiication,  from  the  phrase  in 
 Scripture  of  "  dying  to  sin,"  Eom.  viii.  13  ;  Col.  iii.  13,  that  is,  of 
 ceasing  to  be  the  servants  of  sin.  The  second,  vivificatioD,  from 
 the  Scripture  phrase  of  "living  to  God,"  Rom.  vi.  11,  Gal.  ii. 
 19,  that  is,  the  beginning  to  be  to-Godward  (the  first,  receiving 
 virtue  from  Christ's  Death  ;  the  other,  from  His  Resurrection)  : 
 for  "to  live,"  in  the  Scripture  notion,  is  as  much  as  "to  be," 
 "to  die,"  as  not  "to  be."  Because  therefore  to  turn  away 
 from  Satan  and  sin  is  to  renounce  them,  and  to  be  no  more 
 theirs  and  under  them,  it  is  called  "  dying  to  sin  ;"  and  because 
 turning  to  God  by  newness  of  life  is  to  become  His,  and  be  that 
 to  Him,  which  before  we  were  not,  it  is  called  "living  to  God." 
 xvii.  30 ;  xx.  21.     J.  Mede.     (Discourse  S.  Mark  i.  14,  15.) 
 
 As  the  visible  light  directs,  governs,  and  fills  the  visible  world,  so 
 the  intellectual  and  Heavenly  Light  fills  and  enlightens  all  in- 
 tellectual beings.  It  purifies  the  soul  from  darkness  and  error ; 
 and  brings  it  into  communion  with  the  Light  of  God.  It  is  at 
 first  no  more  than  a  tw^ilight,  or  faint  glimmering  of  light ; 
 but,  wdien  it  is  tasted,  loved,  and  desired,  then,  in  proportion  to 
 our  love,  it  "  increases  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  Day." 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVI.  18.  691 
 
 Wherefore  this  transcendent  Light  exceeds  all  lights,  being,  as 
 it  were,  the  centre  and  fountain  of  them  all.  From  its  fulness 
 it  enlightens  all  spirits ;  and,  being  the  original  of  all  light,  it 
 comprehends  under  it  all  the  degrees  of  Spiritual,  Angelical, 
 rational,  and  natural  light.  And  as  ignorance  separates  deluded 
 souls  from  the  light,  so  the  presence  of  this  Divine  Light  collects, 
 unites,  perfects,  and  delivers  from  ignorance  and  error  all,  that 
 are  enlightened  by  it :  it  converts  them  to  the  Truth,  reducing 
 their  various  imaginations  to  the  standard  of  pure  and  simple 
 Truth,  and  fills  their  souls  with  pure  and  uniform  light.  Gen.  i. 
 3 ;  Ps.  civ.  1,  2 ;  Job  xxx viii.  19 ;  Jer.  xxxi.  35 ;  Isa.  Ix.  1.  S.  Biony- 
 sius.     (Quoted  by  J.  Arndt,  True  Christianity,  B.  iv.  P.  i.  c.  i.) 
 
 Holiness  is  not  blind.  Illumination  is  the  first  part  of  Sanctifica- 
 tion.  Believers  are  "  children  of  the  light."  JSTothing  requireth 
 so  much  wisdom,  as  the  matters  of  God  and  of  our  salvation. 
 1  Cor.  iii.  19 ;  ii.  6,  7  ;  Eph.  i.  8,  17  ;  Col.  iii.  16  ;  iv.  5 ;  Heb. 
 x.  32.     R.  Baxter.     (Discourse  on  Eccl.  ix.  10.) 
 
 "We  say  that  "we  believe  the  forgiveness  of  sins  :^^  and  it  is  a 
 Blessed  confidence,  that  all  the  treasures  in  the  world  cannot 
 equal.  But  do  ourselves  keep  equipage,  and  hand  in  hand  ac- 
 company this  profession  ?  Let  me  catechise  you  awhile.  You 
 "believe  the  forgiveness  of  sins:''  but  I  hope,  not  absolutely, 
 that  the  sufferings  of  Christ  shall  effectually  clear  every  man's 
 score  at  the  Day  of  Judgment.  Well  then,  it  must  be  meant 
 only  of  those,  that  by  repentance  and  faith  are  grafted  into 
 Cheist,  and  shall  appear  at  that  great  Marriage  in  a  wedding 
 garment,  which  shall  be  acknowledged  the  livery  and  colours  of 
 the  Lamb.  But  do  our  lives  ever  stand  to  this  explication  and 
 restriction  of  the  Article  ?  Do  they  ever  expect  this  beloved  re- 
 mission by  performing  the  condition  of  repentance  ?  Do  we 
 ever  go  about  to  make  ourselves  capable  of  receiving  this  mercy, 
 conditionally  offered  us  ?  Nay,  do  we  not  by  our  wilful  stupidity 
 and  pertinacious  continuing  in  sin  nullify,  in  respect  of  us,  all 
 that  satisfaction  of  Christ,  and  utterly  abandon  those  means, 
 which  must  bring  home  this  remission  to  us?  .  .  .  Till  this 
 piece  of  our  Creed  be  thus  explained  and  interpreted  in  our 
 conversation,  we  remain  but  confident  atheists,  not  able  to  per- 
 suade anybody,  that  hears  us,  that  indeed  we  believe,  what  we 
 
 Y  Y  2 
 
692  THE  ACTS  XXVI.  18,  19. 
 
 possess,  ii.  38 ;  iii.  19 ;  v.  31 ;  xi.  18 ;  Ps.  xxxii.  1,  2.  Br. 
 Hammond.  (Serm.  2  S.  Pet.  iii.  3.) 
 How  are  we  sanctified  by  Faith,  but  as  it  is  "  the  substance  of 
 what  we  hope  for,"  even  the  Spirit,  which  He  hath  promised  to 
 us  ?  How  by  faith,  that  is  in  Chetst  ;  but  because  "in  Him 
 all  the  promises  of  God  are  Yea,  and  Amen  ?"  As  the  Apostle 
 speaks  (2  Cor.  i.  20)  ;  that  is,  as  S.  Chrysostom  explains  the 
 words,  "They  have  in  Him  their  existence,  and  accomplish- 
 ment, or  confirmation."  xv.  9;  Ezek.  xxxvi.  26,  27  ;  IS.  John 
 V.  4.     Bp.  Beveridge.     (Serm.  2  Cor.  v.  7.) 
 
 19  Whereupon,  O  king  Agrippa,  I  was  not  dis- 
 obedient unto  the  heavenly  vision  : 
 
 20  But  showed  first  unto  them  of  Damascus,  and  at 
 Jerusalem,  and  throughout  all  the  coasts  of  Judea,  and 
 then  to  the  Gentiles,  that  they  should  repent  and  turn 
 to  God,  and  do  works  meet  for  repentance. 
 
 21  For  these  causes  the  Jews  caught  me  in  the 
 temple,  and  went  about  to  kill  me. 
 
 22  Having  therefore  obtained  help  of  God,  I  con- 
 tinue unto  this  day,  witnessing  both  to  small  and  great, 
 saying  none  other  things  than  those  which  the  prophets 
 and  Moses  did  say  should  come : 
 
 23  That  Christ  should  suffer,  and  that  He  should 
 be  the  first  that  should  rise  from  the  dead,  and  should 
 show  light  unto  the  people,  and  to  the  Gentiles. 
 
 19  Whereupon. — The  very  life  and  being  of  faith  makes  it  natu- 
 rally working.  Impetu  quodam  et  imjndsu  erumpunt  bona  opera, 
 saith  Luther  excellently.  Dost  thou  believe  ?  Good  works  do 
 naturally  and  powerfully  break  out.  ...  At  the  beginning  the 
 Loud  created  trees  with  fruit  on  them  ;  not  a  trunk,  or  a  stock, 
 but  flourishing  and  abundant :  so,  in  our  new  Creation,  the  tree 
 of  faith,  it  is  presently  furnished  with  the  fruits  of  piety.  .  .  . 
 Sementis  heri  hodierna  messis,  saith  S.  Chrysostom  of  his  auditors  : 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVI.  19,  20.  693 
 
 the  seed,  the  blade,  the  ripe  corn,  all  in  an  instant :  it  is  not 
 nature,  that  delays ;  but  Grace,  that  urges  on.     S.  Luke  iii.  10  ; 
 2  Cor.  V.  14  ;  Gren.  xxx.  1.   Bp.  Browm-ig.    (Serm.  Acts  xvi.  33.) 
 The  outward  call,  in  his  case,  was  miraculous  ;  but  the  inward  grace, 
 which  went  with  it,  w'as  no  other,  than  what  might  have  been  re- 
 sisted, and  would  have  been  resisted,  had  it  fallen  upon  a  perverse 
 temper  and  a  stubborn  heart.  He  might  have  been  disobedient  unto 
 the  heavenly  vision ;  but   he  chose  to  obey,  being  .  .  .  not  under 
 the  dominion  of  any  malicious  wickedness  or  stubborn  passions. 
 We  do  not  find  that  any  miracles  could  convert  the  hardened 
 Pharisees,  or  Sadducees,  or  Simon  Magus ;  and  though  Elymas 
 the  sorcerer  was  miraculously  struck  blind,  yet  it  had  no  saving 
 effect  upon  his  heart.     There  is  a  certain  degree  of  obstinacy, 
 which  the  grace  of  God  extends  not  to,  or  does  not  attempt  to 
 conquer.  .  .  Men,  considered,  as  free  agents,  must  be  reformed 
 by  the  gentler  methods,  or  none :  if  they  will  not  be  led  by  the 
 Spirit  of  God,  they  shall  not  be  driven.     Gen.  vi.  3 ;  Prov.  i. 
 24—33.     Br.  Waterland.     (Serm.  Eom.  viii.  14.) 
 20  Et  tamen  in  Sanctos  animum  cum  intendimus  actus, 
 Cum  desideriis  carnis  mens  casta  repugnat, 
 Cum  tentatori  non  cedimus,  et  per  acerbas 
 Vexati  poenas  illaeso  corde  manemus, 
 Libertate  agimus  ;  sed  libertate  redempta ; 
 Cui  Deus  est  rector,  summ.oque  ex  Lumine  lumen, 
 Vita,  salus,  virtus,  sapientia  :  Gratia  Christi  est. 
 Qua  currit,  gaudet,  tolerat,  cavet,  eligit,  instat, 
 Credit,  spirat,  amat,  mundatur,  justificatur. 
 
 Prosper.  (Carmen  de  ingratis.  P.  iv.) 
 That  they  should  turn  to  God. — Conf.  18,  to  turn  them.  Those 
 things,  which  God  worketh  in  us,  and  bestoweth  upon  us  by 
 His  grace.  He  also  requireth  of  us  by  His  command.  Some- 
 times He  promiseth  to  turn  us,  sometimes  He  commandeth  us 
 to  turn  to  Him.  Sometimes  He  biddeth  us  to  "  put  away  sin ;" 
 and  sometimes  He  promiseth  to  "  take  it  away  "  from  us.  In 
 the  one,  showing  us,  what  is  our  duty ;  and,  in  the  other,  where 
 is  our  help ;  and  as  this  latter  consideration  calleth  upon  our 
 faith,  to  pray,  so  the  former  upon  our  obedience,  to  work. 
 (Kefer  S.  Mark  iii.  5.   Wilks.)     Bp.  Reijnolds. 
 
694  THE  ACTS  XXVI.  20. 
 
 Petamus  ut  det,  quod,  ut  habeamus  juhet.  We  must  ask  God  to 
 give  us  what  He  commands  us  to  have.  Ps.  cxix.  32 ;  Ex. 
 xxxiii.  15  ;  Jer.  xviii.  1.     S.  Augustine. 
 
 All  the  outward  means,  which  God  hath  afforded  thee,  He  com- 
 mands thee  to  make  use  of ;  and  will  require  it  at  thy  hands  in 
 the  best  measure,  even  before  thou  art  regenerate  :  though  thou 
 sin  in  all  thy  unregenerate  performances,  for  want  of  inward 
 Sanctity,  yet  it  is  better  to  have  obeyed  imperfectly,  than  not  at 
 all :  the  first  is  weakness,  the  other  desperate  presumption  ;  the 
 first,  material  partial  obedience ;  the  second,  total  disobedience. 
 ....  Do  Thou,  O  Holy  Loed,  work  this  whole  grace  in  us ! 
 Prepare  us  by  Thy  outward  ;  perfect  us  by  Thy  inward  graces  : 
 awaken  us  out  of  the  darkness  of  death,  and  plant  a  new  seed  of 
 holy  light  and  life  in  us  :  infuse  into  our  heathen  hearts  a  Chris- 
 tian habit  of  Sanctity ;  that  we  may  perform  all  spiritual  duties 
 of  Holiness,  that  we  may  glorify  Thee  here  by  Thy  Spirit,  and 
 be  glorified  with  Thee  by  Thy  Chkist  hereafter !  Isa.  i.  16 — 
 20;   Eph.  ii.  1;  v.  15.     Br.  Hammond.     (Serm.  Gal.  vi.  15.) 
 
 *'  To  repent^'  Bengel  here  observes,  "  applies  to  the  Jews  ;  to  turn 
 unto  God,  applies  to  the  Gentiles :"  may  we  not  add,  that  to  do 
 works  meet  for  repentance,  applies  to  both  and  to  us  all  ?     J.  F. 
 
 Bo  works,  ^c. — There  is  no  virtue  at  all,  but  hath  her  proper  act 
 or  work ;  but  not  any  virtue  of  them  all,  so  proper  as  repent- 
 ance. For  of  repentance  it  is  said  "  Jgere  pcenitentiam  :"  so  it 
 is  not  of  any  besides.  .  .  .  Ot\iev'w\^e,fingitur,  non  agitur  poeni' 
 tentia  (it  is  Augustine)  ;  we  do  but  dally ;  all  is  but  counterfeit. 
 IS^o  serious  repentance,  if  somewhat  be  not  done.  Eor,  that 
 somewhat  is  to  be  done  is  so  sure,  as  ye  shall  not  find  any  man 
 in  the  mind  or  way  to  repent,  but  his  first  question  is.  What 
 must  I  Bo  ?  And  that,  even  by  the  A^ery  instinct  of  reason. 
 "  Loed,  what  wilt  Thou  have  me  to  Do  ?"  S.  Paul's  first  words, 
 when  he  began.  Quid  oportet  me  facere  ?  The  jailor's  first 
 words  (being  now  a  convert  to  S.  Paul)  when  he  began.  As 
 much  as  to  say,  Somewhat  I  am  to  do,  if  I  knew  what.  Thrice 
 together  you  have  this  question,  here  immediately  after.  Quid 
 faciemus?  say  the  publicans;  "What  shall  we  c?o  .^"  say  the 
 soldiers  ;  "  What  shall  we  do  ?''  say  all  the  people  to  S.  John, 
 when  they  came  to  the  Baptism  of  repentance — all  agreeing  in 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVI.  21,  22.  695 
 
 this,  all  implying  soraewliat  there  was  to  be  done^  whatsoever  it 
 was  ;  that  the  fruit  of  repentance  is  in  the  work.  (xv.  36,  M. 
 Henry ^  i.  1 ;  ix.  6  ;  S.  Luke  iii.  10,  12,  14.  Bp.  Andrewes. 
 (Serm.  S.  Matt.  iii.  8.) 
 
 21  The  Saints,  in  a  certain  sense,  are  a  cursed  people.  The 
 wicked  make  the  greatest  part  of  the  world :  the  Church  is  a 
 little  flock  ;  but  her  enemies  a  huge  herd;  and  these  cannot 
 wish  well  to  the  saints.  "  Cain  (as  Luther  said)  will  hate,  and 
 kill  Abel  to  the  end  of  the  world ;"  the  same  Spirit,  that  was  in 
 him,  remaineth  in  his  seed.  ix.  23  ;  xxi.  13  ;  xxiii.  12,  15  ; 
 XXV.  3  ;  E-om.  viii.  36.  Gurnall.  (On  the  Christian  Armour, 
 Eph.  vi.  18,  ch.  56.) 
 
 22  For  these  cmises,  ^c.  I  continue  unto  this  day. — A  like  fate 
 seems  to  attend  the  writings  also,  which  this  Blessed  Apostle  and 
 Martyr  left  behind  him.  No  part  of  the  Scriptures  of  the  New 
 Testament  has  been  so  unjustly  neglected  by  some  Ciu'istians, 
 and  so  much  perverted  by  others ;  over  and  above  the  special 
 hatred  of  them  by  infidels  and  by  some  descriptions  of  heretics. 
 Still  may  S.  Paul  be  said  to  stand,  in  his  works,  as  he  did,  in 
 person,  while  on  earth,  in  the  front  of  the  battle,  to  bear  the 
 chief  brunt  of  assailants  from  the  enemies'  side,  and  to  be 
 treacherously  stabbed  by  false  friends  on  his  own ;  degraded 
 and  vilified  by  one  class  of  heretics,  perverted  and  misinter- 
 preted by  another ;  and  too  often  most  unduly  neglected  by 
 those,  who  are  regarded,  as  orthodox.  And  still  do  his  works 
 stand,  and  will  ever  stand,  as  a  mighty  bulwark  of  the  true 
 Christian  faith  :  he,  after  having  himself  ''fought  the  good  fight 
 and  Bnished  his  course,"  has  left  behind  him  a  monument  in 
 his  works,  whereby  "  he,  being  dead,  yet  speaketh ;"  a  monu- 
 ment, which  his  Master  will  guard  (even  till  that  Day,  when 
 its  author  shall  receive  "the  crown  of  glory  laid  up  for  him  ") 
 from  being  overthrown  by  the  assaults  of  enemies,  and  from 
 mouldering  into  decay  through  the  negligence  of  friends.  Phil, 
 i.  25  ;  2  Tim.  ii.  9.    Abp.  Whatehj.    (Essays  on  S.  Paul,  &c.  2.) 
 
 Saying  none  other  things,  ^c. — One  Eevelation,  admitted  to  be 
 of  Divine  authority,  must  be  a  touch-stone  to  try  all  succeeding 
 Kevelations  by:  for  GrOD  cannot  contradict  Himself,  and  tlie 
 great  works,  done  by  Moses  and  by  Christ,  are  not  only  an 
 
696  THE  ACTS  XXVI.  22,  23. 
 
 evidence  of  their  Divine  authority,  but  are  a  bar  to  all  succeed- 
 ing pretenders.  Mai.  iii.  6  ;  Gal.  i.  8,  9.  Bp.  Sherlock.  (Dis- 
 coursej  Acts  ii.  22.) 
 
 The  faces  of  these  Cherubims  were  one  toward  another,  and  both 
 of  them  toward  the  Mercy-seat ;  so  representing  the  consent  of 
 the  Old  and  New  Testament,  in  both  which  there  is  but  one 
 Truth  and  one  Doctrine :  the  Old  having  his  face  towards  the 
 New,  and  the  New  also  looking  at  the  Old.  For  what  is  the 
 Old  Testament,  but  the  New,  obscure  ?  And  what  is  the  New 
 Testament,  but  the  Old,  made  plain  ?  And  both  Old  and  New 
 look  upon  Christ,  the  promised  "  Seed  of  the  woman,"  that 
 should  "bruise  the  serpent's  head;"  they,  being  saved  in  the 
 Old  Testament,  by  believing  He  should  come,  and  we,  being 
 saved  in  the  Nev^^,  by  believing  He  is  come.  S.  John  i.  45  ;  v. 
 39.     Bp.  Bahington.     (Notes  on  Exodus  xxv.  18.) 
 
 The  prophecies  look  forward  to  the  times  of  the  Gospel ;  and  the 
 things,  then  fulfilled,  look  back  to  the  prophecies ;  and  each 
 confirms  the  other,  meeting  all  in  Christ,  who  is  their  truth 
 and  centre.     Eph.  ii.  14 ;  Kev.  xix.  10.     Abp.  Leighton. 
 
 The  whole  Old  Testament  is  a  Mystical  Virgin  Mary,  a  kind  of 
 mother  of  Christ,  which,  by  the  Holt  Ghost,  conceived  Him 
 in  Genesis  iii.  15 ;  and  throughout  Moses  and  the  Prophets 
 carried  Him  in  the  womb  ;  and  at  last,  in  Malachi  iii.  4,  was 
 delivered  of  Him.  For  there  you  shall  find  mention  of  S.  John 
 the  Baptist,  who  was,  as  it  were,  the  midwife  of  the  Old  Testa- 
 ment, to  open  its  womb,  and  to  bring  the  Messias  into  the 
 world.  X.  43  ;  S.  John  i.  45.  Dr.  Hammond.  (Serm.  S.  Matt, 
 i.  23.) 
 
 23  That  Christ  should  suffer, — If  hunger  and  thirst,  if  reviliugs 
 and  contempt,  if  sorrows  and  agonies,  if  stripes  and  buffetings, 
 if  condemnation  and  crucifixion  be  sufferings,  then  Jesus  suf- 
 fered. If  the  infirmities  of  our  nature,  if  the  weight  of  our 
 sins,  if  the  malice  of  man,  if  the  machinations  of  Satan,  if  the 
 Hand  of  God  could  make  Him  suffer,  our  Sayiour  suffered. 
 If  the  annals  of  time,  if  the  writings  of  His  Apostles,  if  the 
 death  of  His  Martyrs,  if  the  confession  of  the  Gentiles,  if  the 
 scoffs  of  the  Jews  be  testimonies,  Jesus  suffered.  Isa.  liii. ; 
 Lam,  i.  12.     Bp.  Pearson.     (Exposition  of  the  Creed.) 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVI.  24,  25.  697 
 
 24  And  as  he  thus  spake  for  himself,  Festus  said 
 with  a  loud  voice,  Paul,  thou  art  beside  thyself;  much 
 learning  doth  make  thee  mad. 
 
 25  But  he  said,  I  am  not  mad,  most  noble  Festus  ; 
 but  speak  forth  the  words  of  truth  and  soberness. 
 
 26  For  the  king  knoweth  of  these  things,  before 
 whom  also  I  speak  freely  :  for  I  am  persuaded  that  none 
 of  these  things  are  hidden  from  him  ;  for  this  thing 
 was  not  done  in  a  corner. 
 
 2/  King  Agrippa,  believest  thou  the  prophets  ?  I 
 know  that  thou  beUevest. 
 
 24  Much  learning. — If  you  believe  me  to  be  in  error,  it  is  my 
 glory  to  deceive  myself  with  such  guides,    xxiv.  14.    S.  Jerome. 
 
 25  An  indignity,  which  only  toucheth  our  private  person,  may  be 
 dissembled,  as  Augustine  replied  to  Petilian  ;  Possumus  esse  in 
 his  pariter  copiosi ;  sed  nolimus  esse  pariter  vani  :  so  learned 
 Hooker,  (Eccl.  Pol.  v.  s.  80),  "A  bare  denial  is  answer  suffi- 
 cient to  things,  which  mere  fancy  objecteth.  .  .  The  best 
 apology  to  words  of  scorn  and  petulancy  is  Isaac's  apology  to 
 his  brother,  Ishmael ;  the  apology,  which  patience  and  silence 
 maketh.  Our  answer,  therefore,  to  their  reasons  is,  No  ;  to 
 their  scoffs,  nothing."  And,  yet  when  the  slanders,  which  light 
 on  our  persons,  rebound  to  the  discredit  of  our  profession  it 
 behoveth  us  not  to  be  silent  in  answering  truly,  when  our 
 adversaries  are  eloquent  in  objecting  falsely.  Dean  Boys.  (Ex- 
 pos.  of  the  Dominical  Epistles,  &c.     Gospel  5th  Sun.  in  Lent.) 
 
 S.  Peter  made  an  exactly  similar  reply  to  a  similar  base  charge. 
 He  first  simply  denied  the  charge ;  and  then  established  the 
 truth.  S.  Peter  and  S.  Paul  were  alike  taught,  at  the  critical 
 moment  of  speech,  by  the  same  Spirit,  (ii.  15,  16  ;  S.  Matt.  x. 
 16)  and  according  to  the  example  of  Christ  before  them.  (S. 
 John  viii.  49,  50.)     J.  F. 
 
 "When  S.  Paul  recommends  to  Timothy  that  "  sound  speech, 
 which  cannot  be  condemned,"  it  is  probable  he  refers  as  much 
 
698  THE  ACTS  XXVI.  25,  26. 
 
 to  the  propriety  of  tlie  vehicle,  as  to  the  purity  of  the  instruc- 
 tion. Tliere  is  a  sober  dignity  both  of  language  and  of  senti- 
 ment, suited  to  the  representations  of  religion  in  all  its  variety 
 of  topics,  from  which  the  inspired  writers  never  depart,  and 
 which  it  will  be  our  wisdom  to  imitate.  In  describing  the 
 pleasures  of  devotion  or  the  joys  of  heaven,  there  is  nothing 
 weak,  sickly,  or  effeminate ;  a  chaste  severity  pervades  their 
 delineations,  and  whatever  they  say  appears  to  emanate  from  a 
 serious  mind,  accustomed  to  the  contemplation  of  great  objects, 
 without  ever  sinking  under  them  from  imbecility,  or  attempting 
 to  supply  a  deficiency  of  interest  by  puerile  exaggerations  and 
 feeble  ornaments.  The  exquisite  propriety  of  their  representa- 
 tions is  chiefly  to  be  ascribed  to  their  habitual  seriousness  ; 
 and  the  latter  to  their  seeing  things,  as  they  are.  Eom.  xii.  6  ; 
 1  S.  Pet.  iv.  11 ;  2  Cor.  ii.  17.     R.  Hall.     (Serm.  2  Cor.  iv.  1.) 
 
 True  eloquence  I  find  to  be  none,  save  the  serious  and  hearty  love 
 of  Truth  ;  and  that,  whose  mind  soever  is  fully  possessed  with 
 a  fervent  desire  to  know  good  things,  and  with  the  dearest 
 charity  (verse  29)  to  infuse  them  into  others,  when  such  a  man 
 would  speak,  his  words,  like  so  many  nimble  and  airy  servitors, 
 trip  about  him  at  command,  and  in  well-ordered  files,  as  he 
 would  wish,  fall  aptly  into  their  own  places,  ii.  40 ;  xx.  2,  9. 
 Milton. 
 
 True  eloquence  is  vehement  simplicity,  iv.  13  ;  1  Cor.  ii.  1 — 5. 
 R.  Cecil. 
 
 In  thy  discourse  take  heed  lohat  thou  speakest,  to  whom  thou 
 speakest,  how  thou  speakest,  and  when  thou  speakest.  What 
 thou  speakest,  speak  truly.  When  thou  speakest,  speak  wisely. 
 A  fool's  heart  is  in  his  tongue ;  but  a  wise  man's  tongue  is  in 
 his  heart.     Ps.  cxli.  3.     F.  Quarles. 
 
 26  I  speah  freely . — In  public  teaching,  he  can  never  be  ashamed, 
 who  has  himself  experienced  the  influence  of  Christianity.  He 
 will  speak  of  our  holy  religion  with  a  directness,  an  energy,  a 
 deepness  of  conviction,  which  must  finally  prevail ;  for  there  is 
 something  irresistibly  affecting  in  the  abundance  of  a  full  heart. 
 The  truth  is,  that  no  man  can  do  justice  to  the  Gospel,  who 
 is  not  personally  conscious  of  its  power.  The  great  masters  of 
 criticism  assert,  that  a  good  man  alone,  can  be  a  perfect  orator. 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVI.  26.  699 
 
 And,  on  higlier  principles,  than  those  of  criticism,  we  must 
 equally  assert,  that  he  alone,  who  is  approved  unto  God,  can  be 
 an  adequate  preacher  of  God's  holy  word.  He  alone  can  speak 
 with  full  effect,  who  speaks  with  ease  and  freedom.  And  whence 
 can  ease  and  freedom  flow,  but  from  a  consciousness  that  all  is 
 right  within  ?  This  is  true  in  mere  human  morality :  in  Chris- 
 tian morals,  it  is  infinitely  true.  The  purest  system  demands 
 the  purest  teacher.  He,  therefore,  who  preaches  Christianity, 
 to  preach  it,  as  he  ought,  must  first  practically  ascertain  its 
 virtue.  He  must  know  and  feel,  that  it  gives  victory  over 
 evil  passions,  ascendancy  over  wrong  desires,  freedom  from  un- 
 holy tempers,  deliverance  from  guilty  terrors.  He  must  be 
 enabled  to  declare,  from  his  own  habitual  experience,  that  the 
 fear  of  God  is  a  sure  preservative  from  sin  ;  and  the  love  of 
 God,  a  victorious  principle  of  righteousness,  and  peace,  and  joy 
 in  the  Holt  Ghost,  iv.  20 ;  xxii.  15 ;  S.  John  iii.  11 ;  S. 
 Matt.  xii.  34.  Bp.  Jehb.  (Serm.  2  Tim.  ii.  15.) 
 "What  made  the  Martyrs  so  to  blunt  the  very  edge  of  persecution  ? 
 to  tire,  as  the  hands,  so  the  wits  of  their  tormentors  ?  to  turn 
 their  pity  at  their  sufferings  into  envy  at  their  patience  ?  to  hug 
 their  stakes,  as  so  many  horns  of  the  altar,  letting  fall,  not  so 
 much  as  a  tear,  lest  it  might  quench  some  sparkle  of  that  fire, 
 wherein  they  were  with  Elijah  to  ride  to  heaven,  as  in  a  chariot  ? 
 Ignis  igni  remedium  ;  it  was  this  fire,  that  out-burned  that.  .  .  . 
 Two  of  the  fearfullest  curses  in  all  Scripture  are,  that  in  Judges 
 V.  23  and  Kevelation  xxi.  8  :  and  upon  whom  light  they  ?  but 
 on  the  "fearful  "  in  God's  cause.  "  Curse  ye  Meroz,"  says  the 
 Angel  of  the  Lord,  "  curse  ye  Meroz  with  a  bitter  curse,  be- 
 cause they  came  not  to  the  help  of  the  Lord  against  the 
 mighty :"  and  who  leads  the  dance  to  all  the  rest  into  that 
 "lake,  that  burns  with  fire  and  brimstone"  of  the  second  curse, 
 but  "  the  fearful  and  unbelieving  ?"  And  no  marvel,  if  the  curse 
 be  double,  the  guilt  is  no  less  than  of  a  triple  treason ;  it  be- 
 trays the  cause,  the  Truth  itself,  into  a  suspicion  of  falsehood  : 
 who  will  think  that  a  truth,  which  we  dare  not  maintain? 
 Next  it  betrays  ourselves,  our  profession  of  the  truth,  into  the 
 just  censure  of  hypocrisy  :  who  will  take  him  for  a  true  servant 
 of  the  Truth,  that  quits  her  service,  when  she  most  needs  it  in 
 
700  THE  ACTS  XXVI.  26. 
 
 danger?  v.  41;  xxi.  13;  Cant.  viii.  6,  7;  Esther  iv.  16; 
 Neliem.  vi.  11 ;  2  Cor.  v.  14.  C.  Ilerle.  (Serm.  before  the 
 Parliament,  1642.) 
 
 This  close  connection  between  boldness  in  the  Ministry,  and  a 
 good  conscience  in  the  Minister  is  not  lost  sight  of  in  tlie  full 
 and  comprehensive  Service  for  the  Ordering  of  Deacons  in  our 
 Apostolic  Church.  The  Bishop  prays  for  the  Candidates  for 
 that  primary  Ecclesiastical  Office,  that  "  they,  having  always 
 the  testimony  of  a  good  conscience,  and  continuing  ever  stable 
 and  strong  "  in  Christ,  may  be  found  worthy  to  be  promoted 
 to  the  higher  Ministries  of  the  Church.  In  that  higher  Ministry 
 of  the  Priesthood  then  this  "testimony  of  a  good  conscience" 
 should  rise,  by  dint  of  continued  proof  and  experience,  to 
 greater  degrees  of  assurance.  "  Our  rejoicing"  should  be  this, 
 *'the  testimony  of  our  conscience;"  and  its  last  triumphant, 
 though  humble,  witness  to  our  "godly  sincerity"  should  be  that 
 of  the  same  Apostle,  "  I  have  kept  the  faith."    2  Cor.  i.  12.    J.  F. 
 
 This  thing  was  not  done  in  a  corner,  but  in  the  eye  of  the  world, 
 and  subject  immediately  to  the  examination  of  those,  who 
 would  be  most  strict  in  searching  into  the  truth  of  it,  the  Jews 
 at  Damascus.  Had  they  been  able  to  bring  any  shadow  of 
 proof  to  convict  him  of  fraud  in  this  affair,  his  whole  scheme  of 
 imposture  must  have  been  nipped  in  the  bud.  Nor  were  they 
 at  Jerusalem,  whose  commission  he  bore,  less  concerned  to  dis- 
 cover so  provoking  a  cheat.  But  we  find  that  many  years  after- 
 wards, when  they  had  had  all  the  time  and  means  they  could 
 desire,  to  make  the  strictest  inquiry,  he  was  bold  enough  to 
 appeal  to  Agrippa,  in  the  presence  of  Eestus,  upon  his  own 
 knowledge  of  the  truth  of  his  story ;  who  did  not  contradict 
 him,  though  he  had  certainly  heard  all,  that  the  Jews  could 
 allege  against  the  credit  of  it  in  any  particular;  a  very  re- 
 markable proof,  both  of  the  notoriety  of  the  fact,  and  the  in- 
 tegrity of  the  man,  who  with  so  fearless  a  confidence  could  call 
 upon  a  King,  to  give  testimony  for  him,  even  while  he  was 
 sitting  in  judgment  upon  him.  Verses  3,  5 ;  xxiv.  10 ;  xxv. 
 10 ;  S.  John  xviii.  20.  Lord  Lyttleton.  (Observations  on  the 
 Conversion  of  S.  Paul.) 
 
 Veritas  nihil  erubescit  2)rcBterquam  abscondi.     Truth  blushes   at 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVI.  27.  701 
 
 nothing,  but  its  own  concealment.  Veritas  non  amat  angulos, 
 the  Truth  has  no  love  for  corners.  Prov.  i.  20  ;  2  Thess.  iii.  1. 
 ^S*.  Jerome. 
 
 27  It  is  not  the  flourishing  or  brandishing  a  sword  in  the  air,  that 
 will  wound  or  pierce ;  but  the  stroke  of  the  weapon  must  be 
 
 brought  home  to  the  body  ;  or  no  wound  will  be  given 
 
 It  is  not  sufficient  to  show  a  man  physic,  or  to  set  it  by  him ; 
 but  the  sick  man  must  be  made  to  take  it,  ere  it  do  him  any 
 good.  General  discourses  are  like  the  beams  of  the  sun,  dis- 
 persed in  the  air ;  they  may  warm  us  a  little ;  but  that's  all : 
 conviction  is  like  a  burning  glass,  that  gathers  all  the  beams 
 into  one  point,  or  centre,  and  fastens  them  upon  the  soul,  and 
 so  kindles  or  enflames  it.  ii.  36 ;  xxiv.  25  ;  xxviii.  25  ;  1  Cor. 
 vi.  II.     Bp.  Brownrig.     (Serm.  Acts  ii.  37.) 
 
 Prophecy,  when  it  predicted  the  reception  of  a  religion,  which  was 
 to  have  Jews  for  its  teachers,  and  kings  and  nations  for  its  con- 
 verts, had  nothing  to  build  upon,  nothing  either  in  the  present 
 appearance  or  the  ordinary  calculation  of  things,  xv.  16 ;  Isa. 
 liii.  2.     Davison. 
 
 Art  thou  a  kiiig  ?  Eead  the  Scriptures ;  thou  shalt  find  who  hath 
 stablished  thine  estate,  and  what  duty  thou  owest  to  God. 
 God  there  telleth  thee,  "  By  Me  kings  rule  and  princes  decree 
 justice."  I  have  given  thee  authority  :  thou  carriest  My  sword : 
 I  have  put  a  crown  on  thy  head ;  thou  art  My  servant ;  walk 
 before  Me ;  let  thy  heart  be  perfect  in  My  sight.  Josh.  i.  7,  8  ; 
 Ps.  cxix.  46  \  Deut.  xvii.  18 — 20.  Bp.  Jewel.  (A  treatise  of 
 the  Holy  Scriptures.) 
 
 28  Then  Agrippa  said  unto  Paul,  Almost  thou  per- 
 suadest  me  to  be  a  Christian. 
 
 29  And  Paul  said,  I  would  to  God,  that  not  only 
 thou,  but  also  all  that  hear  me  this  day,  were  both 
 almost  and  altogether  such  as  I  am,  except  these  bonds. 
 
 30  And  when  he  had  thus  spoken,  the  king  rose 
 up,  and  the  governor,  and  Bernice,  and  they  that  sat 
 with  them : 
 
702  THE  ACTS  XXVI.  28,  29. 
 
 31  And  when  they  were  gone  aside,  they  talked 
 between  themselves,  saying,  This  man  doeth  nothing 
 worthy  of  death  or  of  bonds. 
 
 32  Then  said  Agrippa  unto  Festus,  This  man  might 
 have  been  set  at  liberty,  if  he  had  not  appealed  unto 
 Cesar. 
 
 28  The  phrase  eV  oXi^if,  may  be  rendered  a  little  way ;  convinced 
 of  the  general  truths  in  his  brain ;  but  the  lower  half,  his  heart 
 and  affections  remained,  as  heathenish,  as  ever.  Hos.  vii.  8  ; 
 Eev.  iii.  15.     Dr.  Hammond.     (Serm.  Jer.  v.  2.) 
 
 So  long  only  shall  a  man  be  esteemed  wise  and  prudent,  who 
 teaches  that,  which  is  almost  Christian ;  whereas,  if  he  affects 
 prudence  or  wisdom,  either  in  rejecting  heathen  ceremonies,  or 
 in  convicting  the  world,  he  is  branded  as  a  Christian.  Ter- 
 tullian.     (De  testiraonio  animsB.  s.  i.) 
 
 Of  all  errors  in  doctrine,  we  must  beware  of  those,  which  come 
 nearest  and  border,  as  it  were,  npon  the  truth,  and  so  draw  it 
 in,  to  help  to  defeat  itself.  Eom.  ii.  17—21 ;  Col.  ii.  23.  S. 
 Ambrose. 
 
 Though  the  evidence  of  religion,  which  is  afforded  to  some  men, 
 should  be  little  more,  than  that  they  are  given  to  see  the  system 
 of  Christianity,  or  religion  in  general,  to  be  supposable  and 
 credible,  this  ought  in  all  reason  to  beget  a  serious  practical 
 apprehension,  that  it  may  be  true.  And  even  this  will  afford 
 matter  of  exercise  for  religious  suspense  and  deliberation,  for 
 moral  resolution  and  self-government ;  because  the  apprehension 
 that  religion  may  be  true  does  as  really  lay  men  under  obliga- 
 tions, as  a  full  conviction  that  it  is  true Doubting  con- 
 cerning religion  implies  such  a  degree  of  evidence  for  it,  as, 
 joined  with  the  consideration  of  its  importance,  unquestionably 
 lays  men  under  the  obligations  before  mentioned,  to  have  a 
 dutiful  regard  to  it  in  all  their  behaviour.  Deut.  xxx.  15,  19 ; 
 S.  Mark  viii.  36.     Bp.  Butler,     (Anal.  ch.  6.) 
 
 29  A  Christian  should  not  discover,  that  he  has  enemies  any  other 
 way,  than  by  doing  more  good  to  them,  than  to  others,  vii. 
 GO ;  X.  38  ;  S.  Luke  vi.  35.     Bp.  JFilson. 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVI.  29.  703 
 
 "What  sayest  thou,  O  Paul?  Except  these  bonds?  And  what 
 confidence  remains  for  thee,  if  thou  art  ashamed  of  these  things, 
 and  fliest  from  them  ?  And  this  before  so  great  a  multitude  ? 
 Dost  thou  not  every  where  in  thy  Epistles  boast  of  this  matter, 
 and  call  thyself  "a  prisoner?"  Dost  thou  not  every  where 
 carry  about  this  chain  in  our  sight,  as  a  diadem  ?  What  then 
 hath  happened  now,  that  thou  dost  deprecate  these  bonds? 
 "  I  deprecate  them  not,"  saith  he,  "  nor  am  I  ashamed  of  them  : 
 but  I  condescend  to  their  weakness.  Por  they  are  not  yet 
 able  to  receive  my  glorying ;  and  I  have  learned  from  my 
 LoED  not  to  *  put  a  piece  of  new  cloth  on  an  old  garment :' 
 therefore  did  I  thus  speak."  Eph.  iii.  1;  vi.  20;  Phil.  i.  29; 
 Eom.  v.  3 — 5 ;  1  Cor.  iii.  2.  S.  Chrysostom.  (Ilom.  xxiii.  1 
 Cor.  xiii.  9.) 
 
 Our  Lord  "taught  with  authority"  (S.  Matt.  vii.  29).  Is  it 
 possible  to  conceive  a  more  striking,  or  more  dignified  reproof, 
 than  when  with  mingled  majesty  and  meekness  He  asked  that 
 unanswerable  question ;  "  Which  of  you  convinceth  Me  of  sin  ?" 
 It  was  thus  that,  in  all  places  and  on  all  emergencies,  S.  Paul 
 could  speak  with  righteous  intrepidity  the  words  of  truth  and 
 soberness.  "Whoever  was  impeached,  whoever  was  ofiended,  the 
 sacred  monitor  stood  forth  fearless,  because  irreproachable. 
 And  it  is  certain,  that  no  Clergyman  can  admonish  with  bold- 
 ness, who  is  not  endued  with  a  portion  of  the  same  spirit,  who 
 is  not  a  partaker  of  that  good  conscience,  which  dictated  per- 
 haps the  noblest  reply  ever  uttered  by  a  merely  human  being, 
 *'  /  would  to  God,  that  not  only  thou,  but  all^  that  hear  me  this 
 day^  were  both  almost  and  altogether,  such  as  I  am  ;  except  these 
 bonds'*     Bp.  J  ebb.     (Visitation  Sermon.     1806.) 
 
 Before  he  laid  his  neck  on  the  block,  he  gave  orders  to  his  friends, 
 to  whom  he  had  committed  the  care  of  his  body,  that  his  chains 
 and  fetters  should  be  buried  in  the  same  grave  with  him  ;  that 
 they  might  there  remain,  as  ensigns  of  honour  and  the  badges 
 of  his  sufferiugs,  and  as  evidences  how  much  he  accounted  those 
 things,  which  seem  most  ignominious  among  men,  to  be  for 
 Christ's  sake  most  splendid  and  honourable;  imitating  therein 
 the  great  S.  Paul,  who  "  took  pleasure"  in  bonds,  chains,  im- 
 prisonments,  reproaches,   professing   to   rejoice   and   glory  in 
 
701  THE  ACTS  XXVI.  29. 
 
 nothing  so  much,  as  in  his  sufferings  and  in  the  cross  of  Christ. 
 Accordingly,  the  chains  of  S.  Babylas  were  laid  up  with  him  in 
 the  grave,  where  Chrysostom  (Horn.  Eph.  iv.  3)  assures  us  they 
 remained  to  his  time.  v.  41 ;  Gal.  vi.  14,  17  ;  Ps.  cv.  18  ;  Heb. 
 xi.  22.  Dr.  Cave.  (Life  of  S.  Babylas,  Bp.  of  Antioch ;  about 
 A.n.  237—250.) 
 Who  would  seek  to  escape  those  bonds,  which  loosen,  rather  than 
 bind  ?  Thy  bands,  O  Loed,  are  the  bands  of  Love.  More 
 nobly  are  we  restrained  by  Thine,  than  set  at  liberty  and  eman- 
 cipated by  any  other!  2  Tim.  i.  16.  S.  Ambrose.  (Ep. 
 25,  1.  3.) 
 
 Crimina  Te  duro,  fateor,  mea  fune  legarunt ; 
 Dulcior  astriugat  cor  Tibi  funis  Amor ! 
 
 S.  John  xviii.  24.      Haeftenus.     (Schola 
 Cordis,  Lib.  iv.  sect.  2.) 
 
 CHAPTER  XXVII. 
 
 A  ND  when  it  was  determined  that  we  should  sail  into 
 Italy,  they  delivered  Paul  and  certain  other  pri- 
 soners unto  one  named  Julius,  a  centurion  of  Augustus' 
 band. 
 
 2  And  entering  into  a  ship  of  Adramyttium,  w^e 
 launched,  meaning  to  sail  by  the  coasts  of  Asia ;  one 
 Aristarchus,  a  Macedonian  of  Thessalonica,  being 
 with  us. 
 
 3  And  the  next  day  we  touched  at  Sidon.  And 
 Julius  courteously  entreated  Paul,  and  gayehim  liberty 
 to  go  unto  his  friends  to  refresh  himself. 
 
 4  And  when  we  had  launched  from  thence,  we 
 sailed  under  Cyprus,  because  the  winds  were  contrary. 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVII.  1—3.  705 
 
 5  And  when  we  had  sailed  over  the  sea  of  CiHcia, 
 and  Pamphyha,  we  came  to  Myra,  a  city  of  Lycia. 
 
 6  And  there  the  centurion  found  a  ship  of  Alexan- 
 dria sailing  into  Italy ;  and  he  put  us  therein. 
 
 7  And  when  we  had  sailed  slowly  uiany  days,  and 
 scarce  were  come  over  against  Cnidus,  the  wind  not 
 suffering  us,  we  sailed  under  Crete,  over  against 
 Salmone ; 
 
 8  And,  hardly  passing  it,  came  unto  a  place  which 
 is  called  The  fair  havens ;  nigh  whereunto  was  the 
 city  o/Lasea. 
 
 1  The  grand  object  of  travelling  is  to  see  the  shores  of  the  Medi- 
 terranean. On  these  shores  were  the  four  great  Empires  of 
 the  world,  the  Assyrian,  the  Persian,  the  Grecian,  and  the 
 Koman.  All  our  Eeligion,  almost  all  our  Laws,  almost  all  our 
 arts,  almost  all,  that  sets  us  above  savages,  has  come  to  us  from 
 the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean.     Dan.  vii.     Dr.  Johnson. 
 
 2  Degenerem  linquunt  tenebrosi  carceris  umbram, 
 
 Ut  scandant  fragilem  mascula  turba  ratem. 
 Sunt  illic  merces  plagae  ;  sunt  vota  rudentes  ; 
 Mors  pretium  ;  virtus  prora ;  carina  salus  ; 
 Vincla  fides  ;  mains  pietas  ;  suspiria  venti ; 
 
 Spes  velum  ;  reraus  gratia ;  Eector  Amor. 
 Tunc  Deus,  "  His  si  navis,"  ait,  "  Mea  cingitur  armis, 
 Typhi,  tuam  coelo  dejice  ;  mitte  Meara  !" 
 
 M.  Casimir  Sarbievius.  (De  plurimis  Christi  Mar- 
 tyribus,  qui  navi  vetustse  impositi  demersi  sunt. 
 Epigram.  Lib.  i.  107.) 
 
 3  S.  Paul,  among  prisoners  indeed,  and  through  various  forms  of 
 death,  yet,  distinguished  by  many  testimonies,  is  led  to  Home, 
 as  by  the  Hand  of  GrOD  Himself.  2  Cor.  ii.  14.  JBeza, 
 (In  loco.) 
 
 The  giving  honour  to  the  Priesthood  was  a  custom,  universal 
 among  all  civilized  nations  :  and  whatsoever  is  universal  is  also 
 natural,  as  not  being  founded  on  compact,  or  the  particular 
 
706  THE  ACTS  XXVII.  8. 
 
 humours  of  men  ;  but  flowing  from  the  native  results  of  reason  ; 
 and  that,  which  is  natural,  neitlier  does,  nor  can  oppose  Keligion. 
 Verse  23 ;  xxviii.  7.     Br.  South.     (Serm.  1  Kings  xiii.  33,  34.) 
 
 8  Prayer  is  a  haven  to  the  shipwrecked  mariner ;  an  anchor  unto 
 them,  that  are  sinking  in  the  waves ;  a  staff  to  the  limbs,  that 
 totter ;  a  mine  of  jewels  to  the  poor ;  a  security  to  the  rich  ;  a 
 healer  of  disease  ;  and  a  guardian  of  health,  xii.  5  ;  Ps.  ix.  9  ; 
 1.  15 ;  cvii.  23 — 31.  S.  Chrysostom.  (Orat.  vi.  De  incompre- 
 hens.  Dei  Nat.) 
 
 Opportunity  hath  its  denomination  from  the  word,  which  signifies 
 a  haven  :  I  may  say,  opportunity  is  a  haven :  we  see  they,  who 
 are  tossed  up  and  down  in  the  deep,  make  all  means,  stretch 
 their  endeavours  to  the  farthest,  to  thrust  their  torn  and 
 weather-beaten  vessel  into  "the  haven,  where  they  would  be." 
 Qimm  optati  portus,  how  welcome  is  the  very  sight  of  it !  littus 
 naufrayis,  the  shore  for  shipwrecked  persons !  What  can  they 
 wish  for  more?  "Behold,"  saith  the  Apostle,  "now  is  the 
 accepted  time  ;  now  is  the  day  of  salvation."  Here  is  a  haven  ; 
 and  the  tide  is  now  :  now  put  in  your  broken  vessel ;  now  thrust 
 it  into  the  haven.  Opportunity  is  a  prosperous  gale ;  delay  is 
 a  contrary  wind,  and  will  drive  you  back  upon  the  rocks  again, 
 and  dash  you  to  pieces.  And  indeed  a  strange  thing  it  is,  that 
 in  all  other  things  opportunity  should  be  a  haven,  but  in  this, 
 which  concerns  us  more  than  anything,  a  rock.  The  twilight 
 for  the  adulterer;  Isaac's  funeral  for  Esau's  murder;  Pelix's 
 "  convenient  time"  for  a  bribe :  and  to  opportunity  they  fly, 
 tanquam  ad  portum,  as  to  a  haven  :  the  adulterer  waits  for  it ; 
 Esau  wished  for  it ;  Eelix  sought  for  it  ....  It  is  all  in  all  in 
 every  thing ;  but,  in  our  spiritual  polity  and  warfare,  it  hath 
 not  strength  enough  to  turn  us  unto  God.  S.  Luke  xxii.  6 ; 
 S.  Matt.  xxii.  8;  S.  John  vii.  6.  Farindon.  (Serm.  Ezek. 
 xxxiii.  11.) 
 
 9  Now  when  much  time  was  spent,  and  when  sail- 
 ing was  now  dangerous,  because  the  fast  was  now 
 already  past,  Paul  admonished  them, 
 
 10  And  said  unto  them,  Sirs,  I  perceive  that  this 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVII.   9,  11.  707" 
 
 voyage  will  be  with  hurt  and  much  damage,  uot  only 
 of  the  lading  and  ship,  but  also  of  our  lives. 
 
 1 1  Nevertheless  the  centurion  believed  the  master 
 and  the  owner  of  the  ship,  more  than  those  things 
 which  were  spoken  by  Paul. 
 
 12  And  because  the  haven  was  not  commodious  to 
 winter  in,  the  more  part  advised  to  depart  thence  also, 
 if  by  any  means  they  might  attain  to  Phenice,  and 
 there  to  winter :  which  is  an  haven  of  Crete,  and  lietli 
 toward  the  south-west  and  north-west. 
 
 13  And  when  the  south  wind  blew  softly,  supposing 
 that  they  had  obtained  their  purpose,  loosing  thence, 
 they  sailed  close  by  Crete. 
 
 9  Admonished  them. — A  good  and  loving  fjither,  which  sendeth 
 his  son  to  a  dangerous  journey,  either  by  sea  or  land,  first  in- 
 structeth  him  with  advice,  and  telleth  him  iu  what  sort  he  shall 
 avoid  perils.  "  Take  heed,"  saith  he,  "  the  way  is  perilous, 
 which  thou  must  pass.  The  sea  is  terrible ;  the  waves  rise  up 
 as  high  as  heaven  ;  and  by  and  by  thou  shalt  see  a  pit,  as  low 
 as  hell.  The  sands  may  swallow  thee ;  the  rocks  may  destroy 
 thee.  Thou  shalt  pass  by  huge  mountains,  and  through  wilder- 
 nesses, where  thieves  will  assault  thee.  Thy  heart  will  quake  ; 
 thou  shalt  cry  for  succour,  and  find  no  man  to  help  thee.  In 
 these  and  these  places  hath  many  a  good  man's  child  been  cast 
 away :  take  heed,  my  son,  thou  art  the  staff"  and  the  comfort  of 
 mine  age ;  if  aught  come  to  thee,  otherwise  than  well,  I  shall, 
 soon  after,  end  my  days  in  sorrow."  If  a  father  be  thus  careful 
 that  his  child  should  escape  worldly  dangers,  he  must  be  more 
 careful  of  spiritual  dangers  ;  in  which  whosoever  is  lost  is  lost  for 
 ever.  Tobit  iv. ;  1  Thess.  ii.  7,  11.  Bp.  Jewel.  (Exposition  of 
 1  Ep.  Thess.  ii.  11,  12.) 
 
 11  Men  by  following  their  own  prudence,  rather  than  the  word  of 
 God  by  the  mouth  of  His  servants,  of  their  own  will  run 
 themselves  and  one  another  into  infinite  dangers.  Gen.  xix. 
 14.     Beza.     (In  loco.) 
 
 z  z  2 
 
708  THE  ACTS  XXVII.  11,   13. 
 
 It  is  not  for  us,  who  are  passengers,  to  meddle  with  the  card 
 and  with  the  compass.     Let  that  all-skilful  Pilot  alone  with  His 
 own  work.     It  is  an   Almighty  Hand,  that  holds  the  stern  of 
 this  tossed  vessel,  and  steers  it  in  the  course,  which  He  knows 
 best.     XV.  17  ;  Ps.  xlvi.  1,  2.     Bp.  Hall. 
 Parishes  are  holy  ships,  whose  Curates  are  the  pilots,  and  Eternity 
 the  port,  they  must  guide  them  to.     If  it  need  so  much  art, 
 and  such  long  experience,  to  sail  upon  the  seas,  what  knowledge 
 and  prudence  does  it  call  for,  to  pass  over  happily  the  sea  of 
 this  world,  where  tempests  never  cease  ?     Alas  !  who  can  think 
 without  sensible  grief  and  bitter  tears,  that  the  helm  of  these 
 vessels,  which  contain  such  precious  wares,  as  cost  no  less  than 
 the  Blood  of  God,  should  be  committed  ordinarily  to  many  of 
 so  little  experience,  that  they  are  not  only  ignorant  of   the 
 tempests,  shelves,  and  banks  of  this  terrible  sea,  but  even  have 
 not  the  strength  and  industry  to  guide  their  own  little  vessel  back 
 to  the  road?     2  Tim.  ii.  2 ;  2  Cor.  ii.  16.    Ahbe  Jean.    (Entre- 
 tiens.) 
 13  "When  mariners  have  newly  escaped  a  wreck  at  sea,  the  fears 
 of  which  have  a  long  time  deprived  them  of  their  wonted  rest ; 
 they  think  they  may  securely  lie  down  and  sleep,  till,  it  may 
 be,  another  storm  overtake  and  sink  them.     We  see  then  there 
 is  neither  piety  nor  wisdom  in  so  much  security,  when  a  great 
 danger  is  over ;  for  we  know  not  but  that  very  security  itself 
 may  provoke  God  to  send  a  greater.     And  no  kinds  of  judg- 
 ments are  so  dreadful  and  amazing,  as  those,  which  come  most 
 unexpectedly  upon  men  :  for  these  betray  the  succours,  which 
 reason  offers  ;  they  infatuate  men's  councils,  weaken  their  cou- 
 rage, and  deprive  them  of  that  presence  of  mind,  which  is  ne- 
 cessary at  such  a  time  for  their  own  and  the  public  interest, 
 ix.  31 ;  1  Sam.  xv.  32  ;  Eph.  vi.  18.     Bp.  Stillingfleet.     (Serm. 
 Amos  iv.  11.) 
 In  this  virtuous  voyage  of  thy  life,  hull  not   about,  like  the  ark,* 
 without  the  use  of  rudder,  mast,  or  sail,  and  bound  for  no  port. 
 Let  not  disappointment  cause  despondency  ;  nor  difficulty  de- 
 spair.    Think  not,  that  you  are  sailing  from   Lima  to  Manilla, 
 when  you  may  fasten  up  the  rudder  and  sleep  before  the  wind : 
 
 *  Milton,  Paradise  Lost,  xi.  840. 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVII.  13,  14.  709 
 
 but  expect  rough  seas,  flows,  and  contrary  blasts ;  and  it  is 
 well,  if  by  many  cross  tacks  and  veerings  you  arrive  at  the  port : 
 for  we  sleep  in  lion's  skins  in  our  progress  unto  virtue,  and  we 
 slide  not,  but  climb,  unto  it.  xiv.  22 ;  xx.  23,  24  ;  IS.  Pet.  iv. 
 1,  2  ;  1  Cor.  vi.  13.     Sir  T.  Browne.     (Christian  Morals,  p.  i.  1.) 
 
 JSTon  ego,  ventorum  quamvis  freta  blanda  fruantur 
 
 Pace,  vel  a  Zephyro  molliter  acta  tremant, 
 Scaudam  transtra  ratis.     Quae  namque  pericula  sensi, 
 
 Luctatus  contra  flamina,  sat  memini. 
 
 1  Kings  xxii.  49.     Grotius. 
 
 1 4  But  not  long  after  there  arose  against  it  a  tem- 
 pestuous wind,  called  Euroclydon. 
 
 15  And  when  the  ship  w^as  caught,  and  could  not 
 bear  up  into  the  wind,  we  let  her  drive. 
 
 16  And  running  under  a  certain  island  which  is 
 called  Clauda,  we  had  much  work  to  come  by  the  boat : 
 
 17  Which  when  they  had  taken  up,  they  used 
 helps,  undergirding  the  ship  ;  and,  fearing  lest  they 
 should  fall  into  the  quicksands,  strake  sail,  and  so 
 were  driven. 
 
 18  And  we  being  exceedingly  tossed  with  a  tem- 
 pest, the  next  day  they  lightened  the  ship ; 
 
 19  And  the  third  day  we  cast  out  with  our  own 
 hands  the  tackling  of  the  ship. 
 
 20  And  when  neither  sun  nor  stars  in  many  days 
 appeared,  and  no  small  tempest  lay  on  us^  all  hope 
 that  we  should  be  saved  was  then  taken  away. 
 
 14  The  greatest  griefs  of  our  life  arise  from  this  ;  that  the  tempest 
 came  unexpectedly.     1  Thess.  v.  3.     Carneades. 
 
 That  S.  Luke  was  a  Virtuoso  in  the  art  of  painting,  as  well  as  in 
 history  and  physic,  I  am  the  more  apt  to  believe,  not  only  in 
 veneration  to  antiquity,  which  has  so  reported  him,  but  from 
 
710  THE  ACTS  XXVII.  14,  18. 
 
 ocular  demonstration,  when  I  look  upon  his  florid  descriptions ; 
 particularly,  how  graphically  and  to  the  life  he  set  forth  the 
 tempest  and  shipwreck,  as  if  he  had  drawn  them  in  colours  to 
 haug  up,  as  the  manner  was,  in  Neptune's  Temple.     D?\  Lit- 
 tleton.    (Serm.  Col.  iv.  14.) 
 There  are  certain  peculiarities  in  the  style  of  S.  Luke,  as  a  narrator 
 of  nautical  events,  which  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  attend 
 to,  because  a  knowledge  of  them  throws  light,  not  only  upon  the 
 voyages  he  has  recorded  in  the  Acts,  but  upon  several  passages 
 in  his  Gospel.     The  difference  of  the  manner  of  describing  such 
 events  by  seamen  and  by  landsmen  is  too  obvious  to  require  re- 
 mark ;  but  there  is  a  third  class  of  authors,  who  are  properly 
 speaking,  neither  seamen,  nor  landsmen  ;  I  mean  men,  who,  for 
 some  cause  or  other,  have  been  much  at  sea,  who  understand 
 what  they  are  describing,  and  who,  from  their  living  and  being 
 in  constant  intercourse  with  the  officers  of  the  ship,  necessarily 
 acquire  the  use  of  the  technical  language  of  seamen.     An  atten- 
 tive examination  of  S.   Luke's  writings  shows  us,  that  it  is  to 
 this  class  he  belongs.     J.  Smith.     (The  voyage  and  shipwreck 
 of  S.  Paul.     Notices  of  the  life  and  writings  of  S.  Luke.) 
 Christe,  maris  Domitor,  quassatam  banc  respice  navem, 
 Quam  nunc  fluctus  habet,  versantque  in  gurgite  venti. 
 Nonne  vides  nullo  fluitautem  errare  Magistro  ? 
 Nonne  gubernaculum  cernis  vi  ssepe  revulsum, 
 Cui  datus  hserebas  custos,  cursusque  regebas  ?  .  .  . 
 Solve  metus,  atque  hoc  precibus  sine  posse  ministrum, 
 Ne  cursu  quassatse  alto,  neu  turbine  venti     (carinaD  scil.) 
 Vincantur ;  clavum  teneas,  et  sidera  serves 
 Kursus,  et  Ipse  ratis  rapidis  sis  Rector  in  undis ; 
 Omnes  per  casus,  fluctuque  ajstuque  secundo, 
 XJt  tandem  optatas  patri£e  referatur  ad  eras. 
 
 A.  Roscpus.  (Virgilii  Evangelisantis 
 Christiados,  Lib.  13.) 
 18  (Vide  Job  xxxi.  23.  A'^ulg.)  Semper  enim,  quasi  tiimentes 
 super  me  JiuctuSy  timui  Dominum,  et  pondus  Ejus  ferre  non 
 potui ;  "  For  I  always  feared  God,  like  waves  swelling  over  me, 
 and  I  could  not  endure  the  weight  of  Him.")  Erom  the  ter- 
 rors of  this  comparison  we  may  understand,  how  wondrous  a 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVII.  18.  711 
 
 fear  was  on  the  soul  of  tins  holy  man.  For  when  lofty  waves 
 hang  over  us,  threatening  imminent  death,  the  voyagers  lose  all 
 concern  for  temporal  things  ;  they  have  no  more  remembrance 
 of  any  carnal  pleasure.  The  very  treasures,  for  the  sake  of 
 M^hich  they  undertook  the  voyage,  they  now  cast  into  the  sea  : 
 love  of  life  makes  them  despise  everything  else  (ii.  4.)  Accord- 
 ingly, Job  "fears  God,  as  waves  swelling  over  him:"  whilst  he 
 desires  the  true  life,  he  has  in  contempt  all  his  present  posses- 
 sions. When  the  overladen  soul  casts  off  its  earthly  desires,  it 
 is  like  the  ship,  caught  by  a  tempest,  getting  rid  of  its  freight. 
 The  ship,  thus  lightened,  floats,  which  by  being  burdened 
 was  fast  sinking ;  since  worldly  cares  weigh  us  down,  and  drag 
 the  soul  into  the  depth  :  the  same  soul  rises  above  the  billows 
 of  temptation,  in  proportion  as  it  is  emptied  of  the  thoughts  of 
 this  world.  Ps.  xlii.  9  ;  2  Kings  vii.  7 ;  Col.  iii.  1—5.  S. 
 Gregory.  (Morals  on  the  Book  of  Job,  p.  iii.  b.  21.) 
 Qui  recto  ccelum  vultu  petis  exerisque  frontem, 
 In  sublime  feras  animum  quoque  ;  ne  gravata  pessum 
 Inferior  sidat  mens  corpore  Celsius  levato. 
 
 Boethius.     (De  Consol.  Metr.  v.) 
 
 There  is  a  forsaking  sin,  that  is  not  right,  but  unsound.  Open 
 sins  may  be  deserted,  and  yet  secret  sins  may  be  retained  .... 
 A  man  may  also  forsake  sin,  but  not,  as  sin :  for  he,  that  for- 
 sakes sin,  as  sin,  forsakes  all  sin.  A  man  may  let  one  sin  go, 
 to  hold  another  the  faster  ;  as  a  man,  that  goes  to  sea,  would 
 willingly  save  all  his  goods :  but,  if  the  storm  arises,  that  he 
 cannot,  then  he  throws  some  overboard,  to  lighten  the  vessel  and 
 save  the  rest.  So  the  sinner  chooses  to  keep  all  his  sins ;  but  if 
 a  storm  arises  in  his  conscience,  why  then  he  will  heave  one 
 lust  overboard,  to  save  the  life  of  another.  Phil.  iii.  8,  9 ; 
 Exod.x.  9 — 11.    M.Meade.     (The almost  Christian  discovered.) 
 
 Men  will  at  times  hazard  their  lives  to  get  wealth ;  but,  in  general, 
 when  men  see  their  life  in  danger,  they  will  part  with  their 
 most  valuable  treasures,  sooner,  than  throw  away  their  life  in 
 trying  to  keep  them.  "All,  that  a  man  hath,  will  he  give  for 
 his  life,"  (Job  ii.  4.)  If  our  natural  life  on  earth,  which  can 
 last  but  a  few  fleeting  years  at  most,  be  deemed  such  an  in- 
 valuable treasure,  how  much  more  highly  should  we  esteem  our 
 
712  THE  ACTS  XXVII.  18. 
 
 Eternal  Life  in  Cheist  !  And  what  far  greater  care  and  pains 
 should  we  take,  not  to  throw  this  Life  away!  Gen.  xlvii.  19; 
 S.  Matt.  V.  29,  30 ;  S.  John  vi.  27.  Thomas  Jones.  (Jonah's 
 Portrait,  Serm.  iii.) 
 
 It  w-as  a  storm,  that  occasioned  the  discovery  of  the  golden  mines 
 in  India :  hath  not  a  storm  driven  some  to  the  discovery  of  the 
 richer  mines  of  the  Love  of  God  in  Christ  ?  viii.  4  ;  Ps. 
 cxix.  67.      D?\  Owen.     (Serm.  Acts  xvi.  11.) 
 
 Be  Thou  a  Star  and  a  guide  to  them,  that  travel  by  land  or  sea ; 
 tlie  confidence  and  comfort  of  them,  that  are  in  storms  and  ship- 
 wrecks ;  the  strength  of  them,  that  toil  in  mines,  and  row  in  the 
 galleys  ;  an  instructor  to  the  ignorant ;  to  them,  that  are  con- 
 demned to  die,  be  Thou  a  guide  unto  death :  give  cheerfulness 
 to  every  sad  heart,  spiritual  strength  and  proportionable  comfort 
 to  them,  that  are  afflicted  by  evil  spirits  :  give  liberty  to  prisoners, 
 redemption  to  captives,  maintenance  to  the  poor,  patronage  and 
 defence  to  the  oppressed,  and  put  a  period  to  the  iniquity  and 
 to  the  miseries  of  all  mankind  !  2  Cor.  i.  3  ;  1  S.  Pet.  v.  10.) 
 BjJ.  J.  Taylor.     (The  Golden  Grove.     Postulauda.) 
 
 In  brum  a  nostro  Sol  \ongh  a  vertice  distat, 
 Et  terrse  gaudet  proximus  esse  tamen : 
 
 Sic  Deus  a  Sanctis,  procul  ut  cessisse  videtur. 
 Est  prope,  prsesentem  fertque  salutis  opem. 
 
 P.  Melancthon. 
 
 Mc^wovsi.  qui  fragili  sulcat  male  fide  carinei 
 
 Quid,  cursum  ut  teneat,  nocte  silente  facit  ? 
 Pervigil  ad  caelum  tendit  sua  lumiua,  sidus 
 
 Spectat,  et  in  Boreo  juge  quod  axe  micat. 
 Quisquis  iter  vitse  sequeris  vita3que  perennis, 
 
 Ne  tua  sint  terrse  lumina  fixa,  cave. 
 Semper  at  athercas  sublimi  vertice  sedes 
 
 Couspice :  sic  tutum  Isetus  habebis  iter. 
 
 Billius.     (Anthologia  Sacra.  5.) 
 
 It  was  anciently  said,  **  Qui  nescit  orare,  discat  navigare,  who 
 knoweth  not  how  to  pray,  let  him  learn  it  at  sea;"  but  now 
 how  long  may  a  man  be  at  sea,  before  he  hears  a  praying  sea- 
 man ?     Jonah  i.  6  ;    S.  Mark  iv.  38.     Flavel. 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVII.  20.  713 
 
 20  Few  of  us  are  ever  likely  to  be  in  siicli  a  terrible  situation, 
 but  then  we  cannot  help  reflecting,  that  there  is  a  ship,  in  which 
 we  are  all  embarked  ;  there  is  a  troubled  sea,  on  which  we  all 
 sail ;  there  are  storms,  by  which  we  are  all  frequently  over- 
 taken ;  and  there  is  a  haven,  which  we  all  desire  to  behold  and 
 to  enter.  For  the  Church  is  a  ship  ;  the  world  is  a  sea ;  temp- 
 tations, persecutions,  and  afllictions  are  the  waves  of  it ;  the 
 prince  of  the  power  of  the  air  is  the  stormy  wind,  which  raises 
 them  ;  and  heaven  is  the  only  port  of  rest  and  security.  Often 
 during  the  voyage  for  our  punishment,  or  our  trial,  God  per- 
 raitteth  us  to  be  thus  assaulted.  The  succession  and  the  vio- 
 lence of  our  troubles,  the  elevations  and  depressions  of  mind 
 and  fortune,  the  uncertainty  of  our  counsels,  and  our  utter  ina- 
 bility to  help  ourselves  are  finely  represented  by  the  multitude 
 and  impetuosity  of  the  waves,  the  tossings  and  agitations  of  the 
 vessel,  the  confusion,  terror,  and  distress  among  the  sailors. 
 In  both  cases,  prayer  is  the  proper  effect  and  the  only  remedy 
 
 left (And  so,  in  regard  to  the  dangers  of  a  spiritual 
 
 storm  and  shipwreck),  the  Church  requests  for  all  her  children, 
 at  the  time  of  their  Baptism,  that  they,  "  being  delivered  from 
 God's  wrath,  may  be  received  into  the  Ark  of  Christ's 
 Church,  and,  being  steadfast  in  faith,  joyful  through  hope,  and 
 rooted  in  charity,  may  so  pass  the  waves  of  this  troublesome 
 world,  that  finally  they  may  come  to  the  land  of  everlasting 
 life."     Ps.  Ixv.  7  ;  xciii.  5.     Bp.  Home.     (Comment.  Ps.  cvii.) 
 
 It  may  be,  thou  art  a  poor  trembling  soul ;  thy  faith  is  weak,  and 
 thy  assaults  from  Satan  strong,  thy  corruptions  stirring  and  ac- 
 tive, and  thy  mortifying  strength  little,  so  that  in  thy  opinion 
 they  rather  gain  ground  on  thy  grace,  than  give  ground  to  it  ; 
 ever  and  anon  thou  art  ready  to  think  thou  shalt  be  cast  a 
 WTCck  upon  the  devil's  shore :  and  yet  to  this  day  thy  grace 
 lives,  though  full  of  leaks.  Now  is  it  not  worth  stepping  aside 
 to  see  this  strange  sight  ?  A  broken  ship,  with  masts  and  hull 
 rent  and  torn,  thus  towed  along  by  Almighty  power,  through  an 
 angry  sea  and  armadoes  of  sins  and  devils,  safely  into  His  har- 
 bour. To  see  a  poor  dilling,  or  rush  candle,  in  the  face  of  a 
 boisterous  wind  and  not  blown  out ;  in  a  word,  to  see  a  strip- 
 ling, weak  in  grace,  held  up  in  God's  arms,  till  he  beats  the 
 
714  THE  ACTS  XXVII.  20,  21. 
 
 devil  craven  :  tliis  GrOD  is  upholding  thee :  thou  art  one  of  those 
 babes,  out  of  whose  mouth  God  is  "  perfecting  His  praise,"  by 
 ordaining  such  strength  for  thee,  that  thou,  a  babe  in  grace, 
 shalt  yet  foil  a  giant  in  wrath  and  power,  vii.  30,  31 ;  Ps. 
 cxviii.  13  ;  2  Cor.  iv.  7 — 10.  Gumall.  (On  the  Christian 
 armour.  Eph.  vi.  10.  ch.  5.) 
 Naturalists  observe,  that  the  greatest  darkness  is  a  little  before 
 the  dawning  of  the  morning.  It  was  so  with  Christ  ;  it  may 
 be  so  with  thee.  Act,  therefore,  your  faith  upon  this,  that  the 
 most  glorious  light  usually  follows  the  thickest  darkness  :  the 
 louder  your  groans  are  now,  the  louder  your  triumphs  hereafter 
 will  be :  the  horror  of  your  present  will  but  add  lustre  to  your 
 future  state,  xii.  7  ;  xvi.  26 ;  Gen.  xxii.  10 ;  Ps.  xcvii.  11 ; 
 2  Chron.  xx.  12.     Flavel. 
 
 21  But  after  long  abstinence  Paul  stood  forth  in 
 the  midst  of  them,  and  said,  Sirs,  ye  should  have 
 hearkened  unto  me,  and  not  have  loosed  from  Crete, 
 and  to  have  gained  this  harm  and  loss. 
 
 22  And  now  I  exhort  you  to  be  of  good  cheer :  for 
 there  shall  be  no  loss  of  any  man's  life  among  you,  but 
 of  the  ship. 
 
 23  For  there  stood  by  me  this  night  the  angel  of 
 God,  whose  I  am,  and  whom  I  serve, 
 
 24  Saying,  Fear  not,  Paul ;  thou  must  be  brought 
 before  Csesar;  and,  lo,  God  hath  given  thee  all  them 
 that  sail  with  thee. 
 
 25  Wherefore,  sirs,  be  of  good  cheer :  for  I  believe 
 God,  that  it  shall  be  even  as  it  was  told  me. 
 
 26  Howbeit  we  must  be  cast  upon  a  certain  island. 
 
 21  S,  Paul's  heart,  like  a  ship,  stood  firm  in  the  midst  of  the 
 
 storm.     XX.  24 ;  Heb.  vi.  19.     S.  Gregory. 
 How  often  has  public  calamity  been  arrested  on  tlie  brink  of  ruin 
 
 by  the  seasonable  energy  of  a  single  man  !     I  am  as  sure  as  I 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVII.  21—23.  715 
 
 am  of  my  being,  that  one  vigorous  mind,  confiding  in  the  aid  of 
 God,  and  full  of  just  reliance  in  his  own  fortitude,  enterprise, 
 and  perseverance,  would  first  draw  to  him  some  few  like  himself, 
 and  then  that  multitudes,  hardly  thought  to  be  in  existence, 
 would  appear  and  troop  about  him.  "Why  should  not  a  Macca- 
 beus and  his  brethren  arise  to  assert  the  honour  of  the  ancient 
 Law,  and  defend  the  Temple  of  their  forefathers  ?  (iv.  19,  Bp. 
 Home.)  Ps.  xciv.  16;  Jer.  ii.  25 ;  Isa.  lix.  1.  Burke.  (Works. 
 Vol.  iii.  p.  366,  Ed.  London,  1826.) 
 
 Ye  should  have  hearkened  unto  me,  ^c. — What  then !  Shall  we 
 think  the  issues  of  Eternity  fatal  (fated),  when  those  of  time, 
 wherein  w'e  are  comparatively  so  little  concerned,  are  free  ? 
 Shall  GrOD  not  only  leave  us  the  use  of  our  reason,  but  also  assist 
 us  by  the  aid  of  His  Providence,  for  the  avoiding  temporal  evils ; 
 and  will  He  allow  us  neither,  for  the  avoiding  of  Eternal  ones  ? 
 Must  temporal  ruin  be  the  effect  only  of  our  sinful  choice,  and 
 obstinacy  ?  Eternal  ruin  the  effect,  not  of  our  folly  or  sin,  but 
 fate  ?     Br.  Lucas. 
 
 All  those  evils,  which  fall  so  daily  and  thickly  upon  us,  from 
 heaven,  whether  to  warn  us,  or  to  plague  us,  are  but  arrows, 
 which  ourselves  first  shot  up  against  heaven,  and  now  drop 
 down  again  with  double  force  upon  our  heads.  Omnis  poena 
 propter  cuJpam  :  all  evils  of  pain  are  for  the  evils  of  sin.  xii.  23  ; 
 Ps.  xci.  8.     Bp.  Sanderson.     (Serm.  1  Kings  xxi.  29.) 
 
 22  Be  of  good  cheer. — The  height  of  human  wisdom  is  to  bring  our 
 tempers  down  to  our  circumstances,  and  to  make  a  calm  within, 
 under  the  weight  of  the  greatest  storms  without,  xvi.  25.  Be  Foe, 
 
 It  is  a  good  rule,  that  S.  Bernard  gives,  "  Cui  quceque  res  sapiunt, 
 prout  sunty  is  sapiens  est.^^  He,  that  apprehends  all  things  in 
 their  proper  and  natural  taste,  he,  that  takes  all  things  aright, 
 as  they  are,  is  sapiens  est ;  nothing  distastes  him,  nothing  alters 
 him  ;  he  is  wise  :  but  then,  Cui  ipsa  sapientia  sapit,  is  Beatus  ; 
 he,  that  tastes  this  Wisdom  itself  aright,  he  only  is  Blessed. 
 2  Cor.  xii.  10.     Br.  Bonne.     (Serm.  S.  Matt.  v.  8.) 
 
 23  Those  visions,  which  we  meet  with  in  the  New  Testament,  as 
 a  thing  vulgarly  known,  w-ere  attributed  to  angels.  So  Acts 
 xxvii.  23,  There  stood  by  me  the  angel  of  GrOD  this  night,  that  is, 
 in  a  prophetical  dream ;  and  Acts  xii.,  when  the  Angel  of  God 
 
716  THE  ACTS  XXVII.  23. 
 
 did  really  appear  to  S.  Peter,  and  bring  him  out  of  prison,  he 
 could  scarce  be  persuaded  of  a  long  time,  but  that  all  this  was 
 a  vision  :  this  indeed  being  the  common  manner  of  all  prophetical 
 visions.  And  Acts  xxiii.,  when  the  Pharisees  would  describe 
 S.  Paul,  as  a  prophet,  that  had  received  some  vision,  or  reve- 
 lation, from  heaven,  they  phrase  it  by  the  speaking  of  an  Angel, 
 or  spirit,  unto  him,  verse  9,  "  We  find  no  evil  in  this  man ;  but, 
 if  an  angel  or  spirit  hath  spoken  to  him,  let  us  not  fight  against 
 Gron."  S.  John  xii.  29.  John  Smith.  (Select  Discourses.  Of 
 Prophecy,  6.) 
 However  the  wicked  and  careless  may  scorn  a  truly  religious  cha- 
 racter, while  they  are  themselves  in  ease  and  prosperity,  yet, 
 when  they  come  to  experience  scenes  of  distress,  such  as  that, 
 which  the  text  describes,  when  all  hope  of  temporal  salvation  is 
 taken  away,  tliey  cannot  but  wish  they  were  in  the  situation  of 
 the  godly  man,  whose  hope  is  laid  up  sure  in  heaven.  His  por- 
 tion the  winds  and  waves  cannot  destroy,  though  they  may  be 
 the  means  of  freeing  him  from  the  prison  of  the  body,  and 
 ushering  him  into  the  possession  of  his  heavenly  home.  .  .  .  S. 
 Paul  can  say  to  this  ship's  crew,  "  the  God,  whose  I  am,  and 
 whom  I  serve:''  I  am  not  my  own,  but  His:  to  Him  have  I 
 given  up  myself  in  storm  or  calm,  in  sunshine  or  darkness,  in 
 life  or  death.  I  am  safe.  Underneath  me  are  the  Everlasting 
 arms.  "  I  know  whom  I  have  believed,  and  am  persuaded  He 
 is  able  to  keep  that,"  soul,  "which  I  have  committed  to  Him, 
 against  the  last  Day."  viii.  24  ;  Deut.  xxxiii.  27,  29.  J.  Milner. 
 (Serm.  on  text ;  an  affectionate  admonition  to  seamen.) 
 
 All  I  am  and  have,  both  in  principle  and  practice,  is  to  be  summed 
 up  in  this  one  expression — The  Lord's  property.  My  belong- 
 ing totally  to  CnEiST,  as  my  Saviour,  is  "  all  my  salvation  and 
 all  my  desire."  I  have  no  other  glory  than  this ;  and  I  want  no 
 other.  1  Cor.  vi.  19,  20  ;  Eom.  xiv.  7—9  ;  Col.  iii.  3.  Bengel. 
 (Life  by  Burk.     P.  iv.  c.  3.) 
 
 To  think  that  you  are  your  own,  or  at  your  own  disposal,  is  as  ab- 
 surd as  to  think,  that  you  created,  and  can  preserve  yourself. 
 Horn.  ix.  20.     Wm.  Law. 
 
 Libertas  nulla  est  melior,  majorve  potestas, 
 Quam  servire  Deo,  cui  bene  servit  amor. 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVII.  24.  717 
 
 Absque  jugo  posita  est  ditionis  arnica  voluntas, 
 Quae  viget  afFectu,  non  gemit  imperio. 
 
 S.  Prosper.     (Epigram,  xviii.) 
 
 24  This  history  suggests  to  my  mind  .  .  the  benefits,  which  holi- 
 ness bestows,  not  only  on  the  children  of  God  themselves,  but 
 on  all,  who  are  even  incidentally  connected  with  them.  .  .  It  is 
 not  S.  Paul  alone,  the  chosen  vessel  of  the  Loed,  and  the  ap- 
 pointed ambassador  of  the  truth  to  the  shores  of  the  western 
 ocean  ;  it  is  not  S.  Paul  alone,  nor  his  comrades,  S.  Luke  and 
 Timothy,  nor  the  courteous  centurion,  whose  discerning  kind- 
 ness to  his  prisoner  might  have  operated,  as  some  little  claim  to 
 snatch  him  from  the  general  calamity ;  the  selfish  mariners  and 
 the  brutal  soldiery  are  moreover  give7i  {x^ipl^eaOai)  by  God  to 
 the  prayers  and  services  of  His  Apostle  :  two  hundred  three  score 
 and  fifteen  persons  are  preserved  from  death  by  the  presence  of 
 a  single  captive :  and  the  vainglorious  boast  of  the  Homan, 
 CcBsarem  vehis,  was  realised  in  the  instance  of  S.  Paul.  Gen.  xviii. 
 32  ;  xix.  12  ;  xxxix.  5.     Bp.  Heber.     (Serm.  Acts  xxvii.  23,  24.) 
 
 God  gave  those  passengers  to  S.  Paul,  as  He  had  given  S.  Paul 
 himself  to  S.  Stephen  before.  Si  Stephanus  non  sic  orasset, 
 Paulum  hodie  Ecdesia  non  haberet,  says  S.  Augustine  :  if  S.  Paul 
 had  not  been  enwrapped  in  those  prayers,  which  S.  Stephen 
 made  for  his  persecutors,  the  Church  had  lost  the  benefit  of  S. 
 Paul's  labours  :  and  if  God  had  not  given  S.  Paul  the  lives  of 
 all  those  passengers,  they  had  perished.  .  .  Magnus  Dominus^ 
 saith  S.  Ambrose,  qui  aliorum  meritis  aliis  ignoscit.  This  is  the 
 large  and  plentiful  mercy  of  God,  that,  for  one  man's  sake.  He 
 forgives  another:  and  again,  Quantus  miirus  patrice  vir  bonus, 
 (what  a  bulwark  to  any  land  is  a  righteous  man).  2  Kings 
 xiii.  14  ;  xix.  34  ;  Gen.  xviii. ;  xix.  29 ;  S.  Matt.  viii.  13.  Br. 
 Bonne.     (Serm.  S.  Matt.  ix.  2.) 
 
 "  All  these  matters  seem  to  have  been  ordered,  in  order  to  produce 
 faith  in  the  prisoners,  the  soldiers,  and  the  Centurion,"  says  S. 
 Chrysostom  ;  implying,  that  they  were  converted  by  S.  Paul. 
 Por,  unless  they  had  been  hard,  as  stones,  they  must  have  enter- 
 tained very  high  thoughts  of  him,  because  of  his  predictions, 
 miracles,  and  the  benefits  they  received  from  him.  Yer.  43 ; 
 xiv.  10, 11.     Corn,  h  Lapide. 
 
718  THE  ACTS  XXVII.  25,  27. 
 
 25  Within  this  Blessed  Ark  (the  Providence  of  GtOd),  if  we  please, 
 we  may  live  securely,  whilst  all  the  floods  of  misery  do  swell 
 and  rove  about  us  ;  here  we  may  sing  requiems  in  the  loudest 
 thunders,  and  sleep  securely  in  the  midst  of  storms  :  for  what 
 should  we  be  afraid  of,  when  we  have  Omniscience  for  our  pilot, 
 Omnipotence  for  our  convoy,  and  all-sufficient  Goodness  for  our 
 purveyor  and  caterer  ?  By  the  help  of  this  one  consideration,  a 
 man  may  bid  defiance  to  misery,  and  stand  impregnable  against 
 all  the  batteries  of  the  world.     Ps.  xxiii.     Dr.  J.  Scott. 
 
 Carnal  men,  that  have  nothing  above  themselves,  but  their  corrupt 
 self,  sink  in  great  troubles,  having  nothing  within  to  uphold 
 them ;  whereas  a  good  man  is  wiser  than  himself,  holier  than 
 himself,  stronger  than  himself;  for  there  is  something  in  him 
 more,  than  a  man.     Ps.  xiv.  9.     Dr.  Sibbes. 
 
 27  But  when  the  fourteenth  night  was  come,  as  we 
 were  driven  up  and  down  in  Adria,  about  midnight 
 the  shipmen  deemed  that  they  drew  near  to  some 
 country ; 
 
 28  And  sounded,  and  found  it  twenty  fathoms : 
 and  when  they  had  gone  a  little  further,  they  sounded 
 again,  and  found  it  fifteen  fathoms. 
 
 29  Then  fearing  lest  we  should  have  fallen  upon 
 rocks,  they  cast  four  anchors  out  of  the  stern,  and 
 wished  for  the  day. 
 
 30  And  as  the  shipmen  were  about  to  flee  out  of 
 the  ship,  when  they  had  let  down  the  boat  into  the 
 sea,  under  colour  as  though  they  would  have  cast 
 anchors  out  of  the  foreship, 
 
 31  Paul  said  to  the  centurion  and  to  the  soldiers. 
 Except  these  abide  in  the  ship,  ye  cannot  be  saved. 
 
 27  There  is  a  record,  which  refers  to  these  "  perils  of  waters,"  un- 
 dergone by  S.  Paul.     It  is  computed,  that,  when  a  ship  drifts 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVII.  27,  29.  719 
 
 before  the  wind,  she  will  move  about  three  knots  (or  miles)  in 
 the  hour.  On  reckoning  the  distance  from  the  "  fair  havens  " 
 in  Crete  to  Melita,  it  appears,  that  a  vessel,  driven  by  the  tem- 
 pest, would  arrive  there  in  fourteen  days.  You  will  remember, 
 that  it  was  so — "When  the  fourteenth  night  was  come,  &c." 
 C.  P.  Wilbraham.     (Holy  Sites  in  the  Land  of  Promise.) 
 
 Deemed  that  they  drew  near  to  some  country. — It  sometimes  so 
 befalls  a  man  in  this  life,  that  he  sees  from  afar  his  own  country ; 
 but  the  sea  intervenes :  he  sees  whither  he  would  go ;  but  he 
 has  no  means  of  getting  there.  .  .  That  such  persons  might 
 arrive,  where  they  desire  to  be,  I  came  thence  ;  I,  to  whom  they 
 desire  to  go.  And  what  did  I  ?  Institui  lignum,  I  appointed 
 a  plank,  over  which  the  sea  might  be  passed :  for  no  one  can 
 pass  over  the  sea  of  this  world,  unless  borne  upon  My  Cross. 
 This  cross  a  man  of  weak  eyes  sometimes  embraces,  M^ho  sees 
 not  from  afar  whither  he  is  going  :  let  him  not  quit  hold  of  it ; 
 and  it  will  conduct  him  in  safety,  xvi.  17,  30,  31 ;  Heb.  xi.  14 ; 
 Ps.  xliii.  3.     S.  Augustine.     (In  Joan.  Hom.  ii.) 
 
 29  Take  heed,  Christian,  of  leaving  any  worldly  lust  unmortified 
 in  thy  soul ;  this  will  never  consent  that  thou  shouldest  endure 
 much  for  Cheist  :  few  ships  sink  at  sea ;  they  are  the  rocks  and 
 shelves,  that  split  them.  Couldst  thou  get  off  the  rocks  of 
 pride  and  unbelief,  and  scape  knocking  on  the  sands  of  fear  of 
 man,  love  of  the  world,  and  the  like  lusts,  thou  wouldest  do  well 
 enough  in  the  greatest  storm,  that  can  overtake  thee  in  the  sea 
 of  this  world.  '*  If  a  man  purge  himself  from  these,  he  shall 
 be  a  vessel  unto  honour,  sanctified,  and  meet  for  his  Master's 
 use,  and  prepared  unto  every  good  work."  2  Tim.  ii.  21.  O ! 
 that  we  knew  the  heaven,  that  is  in  a  mortified  soul !  Ps.  cxix. 
 165.    Gurnall.    (On  the  Christian  armour.  Eph.  vi.  15.  Ch.  17.) 
 
 Quid  Crux,  cui  flexu  sinuoso  involvitur  anguis, 
 
 Uncaque  quid  sibi  vult  Anchora  juncta  Cruci  ? 
 Una  velut  medicina  fuit  morientibus  anguis 
 ^Ereus,  impositus,  Mose  jubente,  Cruci ; 
 Sic  parit  seternam  Christi  Crux  una  salutem, 
 Jactatosque  malis  Anchora  sola  fovet. 
 
 Inscription  to  an  allegorical  design  in   Calvin's 
 Harmonia  Evangelica.  (Edit.  Genevse.  1582.) 
 
720 
 
 THE  ACTS  XXVII.  29—31. 
 
 Tuta  salutiferaB  miseram  crucis  Anchor  a  firmet ; 
 Tota  vel  sequoreis  iiaul'raga  mergor  aquis ! 
 
 Haeftenus.     (Hegia  Via  Crucis.  Lib.  iii.  c.  4.) 
 
 30  Precipitation  often  ruins  the  best  laid  designs,  whereas  patience 
 ripens  the  most  difficult  ones.  xix.  36,  40 ;  S.  Luke  xiv.  28. 
 Anonym. 
 
 To  cast  ourselves  upon  an  immediate  Providence,  where  means  fail 
 not,  is  to  disobey,  instead  of  believing  GrOD.     Bp.  Hall. 
 
 31  He  had  received  it,  by  a  Divine  vision,  that  none  with  him  in 
 the  ship  should  perish  :  what  then  ?  Must  all  be  secure,  and 
 wilfully  cast  themselves  into  the  sea  ?  JSTo  ;  that  were  to  have 
 tempted  their  Preserver :  but  when  the  case  so  requireth,  every 
 one  must  endeavour*  himself  to  use  the  mean,  ordained  to  save 
 his  life.  "We  sail  in  this  mortal  life  with  contrary  winds  :  some- 
 times there  is  a  tempest ;  and  anon  cometh  a  calm  :  the  one  is 
 ready  to  make  us  doubt  of  Gron  by  impatience,  the  other  to 
 forget  Him  by  security.  Therefore  four  principal  virtues  we 
 must  ever  exercise  in  this  passage  ;  the  Love  of  God,  the  fear 
 of  sin,  the  hope  of  mercy,  and  the  fear  of  justice  ;  which  shall 
 ever  guide  us  in  a  right  Christian  course  unto  our  end ;  all  the 
 way  meditating,  that  GrOD  is  an  Ocean-Sea  of  Infinite  Good- 
 ness. .  .  .  0  !  the  depth  of  the  wisdom  of  the  riches  of  the 
 mercy  of  our  God.  1  S.  Pet.  i.  2,  5  ;  2  S.  Pet.  i.;l— 10.  Br. 
 Sutton.     (Disce  vivere.  Ch.  iii.  s.  6.) 
 
 As  God  hath  appointed  all  things  to  come  to  pass  in  His  Eternal 
 and  Unchangeable  counsel,  so  in  the  same  degree  He  hath  to- 
 gether set  down  the  means  and  ways,  whereby  He  will  have  the 
 same  things  brought  to  pass :  for  these  two  must  never  be 
 severed ;  the  thing  to  be  done,  and  the  means,  whereby  it  is 
 done.  We  may  read,  in  the  Acts,  in  S.  Paul's  dangerous 
 voyage  towards  E/ome,  an  Angel  of  the  Lord  told  S,  Paul  tliat 
 God  had  given  him  all  that  sailed  with  him  in  the  ship.  JVow 
 the  soldiers  and  mariners  hearing  this,  might  reason  thus  with 
 
 *  "Endeavour"  was  formerly  used, 
 as  an  active  verb  ;  an  instance  of  which 
 occurs  in  the  Collect  for  the  Second 
 Sunday  after  Easter.     In  reading  this 
 
 Collect,  the  accent  is  often  impro- 
 perly laid  upon  the  pronoun  "  our- 
 selves." (See  also  Ans.  to  Quest. 
 Ord.  Service  for  Priests.) 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVII.  31.  721 
 
 themselves — "  Seeing,  that  God  hath  decreed  to  save  us  all,  we 
 may  do  what  we  will :  there  is  no  danger ;  for  we  shall  all 
 come  to  land  alive."  But  mark  what  S.  Paul  saith,  Except  these 
 abide  in  the  ship  ye  cannot  be  saved,  where  we  see,  that,  as  it 
 was  the  Eternal  counsel  of  GrOD  to  save  S.  Paul  and  all,  that 
 were  with  him,  so  He  decreed  to  save  all  by  this  particular 
 means  of  their  abode  in  the  ship.  King  Hezekiah  was  restored 
 to  his  health,  and  received  from  God  a  promise,  that  he  should 
 have  " fifteen  years  added  to  his  days;"  and  the  promise  was 
 confirmed  by  a  sign.  Now  what  doth  he  ?  Cast  off  all  means  ? 
 No  :  but,  as  he  was  prescribed,  so  he  applied  a  bunch  of  dry 
 figs  to  his  sore,  and  useth  still  his  ordinary  diet.  Therefore  it 
 is  gross  ignorance  and  madness  in  men  to  reason  so  against 
 God's  decrees.  "  God  in  His  Unchangeable  Counsel  hath 
 decreed  and  set  down  all  things,  how  they  shall  be  :  therefore  I 
 will  use  no  means,  but  live,  as  I  list."  Nay,  rather,  we  must 
 say  the  contrary ;  '*  Because  God  hath  decreed  this  thing,  or 
 that,  to  be  done,  therefore  I  will  use  the  means,  which  God 
 hath  appointed  to  bring  the  same  to  pass."  S.  John  vi.  27; 
 Phil.  ii.  12,  13  ;  2  Kings  xx.  6,  7  ;  1  Thess.  i.  4.  6.  W,  Perkins. 
 (Exposition  of  the  Creed.  Art.  1.) 
 
 Thus  did  means  eflTect  God's  purpose  Verse  44 ;  and  not  God's 
 purpose,  known  of  S.  Paul,  hinder  the  careful  use  of  means  in 
 him  and  the  company.  Gen.  xxv.  23  ;  xxvii.  42  ;  S.  Matt.  i. 
 21 ;  ii.  13 ;  Judg.  vii.  15,  16.  Bp.  Babington.  (Serm.  at 
 Paul's  Cross.  S.  John  vi.  37.) 
 
 The  question  is  not,  whether  the  means  be  necessary  to  the  end ; 
 for  that  is  agreed  upon  by  all  parties :  but  the  question  is,  to 
 whom  the  ordering  of  the  means,  which  are  necessary  to  the 
 production  of  the  event,  doth  properly  belong,  whether  to  the 
 Eirst  Cause,  or  to  the  free  agent.  If  it  belong  to  the  free 
 agent,  under  God  (as  we  say  it  doth),  then  it  concerneth  him 
 to  use  consultations  and  all  good  endeavours,  as  requisite  means 
 to  obtain  the  desired  end.  Abp.  Bramhall.  (Castigation  of 
 Mr.  Hobbes's  animadversions.  Disc.  ii.  p.  3.) 
 
 The  secret  Will  of  G  od  considereth  especially  the  end  ;  the  re- 
 vealed "Will  the  things,  referred  to  the  end.  Abp.  Usher.  (Sum 
 and  Substance.) 
 
 AAA 
 
722  THE  ACTS  XXVII.  31. 
 
 Eemember,  that  our  union  is  necessary  to  our  communion  with 
 Christ  and  His  Church,  and  to  all  the  blessings  and  benefits 
 of  such  communion  (S.  John  xv.  4)  "  Abide  in  Me,  &c."  The 
 member,  that  is  cut  oiF  from  the  body,  hath  no  life  or  nourish- 
 ment from  the  head,  or  from  the  body  ;  but  is  dead.  He,  that 
 is  out  of  the  Church,  is  without  the  teaching,  the  holy  worship, 
 the  prayers,  and  the  discipline  of  the  Church,  and  is  out  of  the 
 way,  where  the  Spirit  doth  come,  and  out  of  the  society,  which 
 Christ  is  specially  related  to :  for  He  is  the  Sayioue,  of  His 
 Body ;  and,  if  we  once  leave  His  hospital,  we  cannot  expect  the 
 presence  and  help  of  the  Physician.  Nor  will  He  be  a  pilot  to 
 them,  who  forsa/ce  His  Ship  ;  nor  a  captain  to  them,  who  se- 
 parate from  His  Army.  Out  of  this  Ark,  there  is  nothing,  but 
 a  deluge,  and  no  place  of  rest  or  safety  for  a  soul.  S.  John  vi. 
 66—69.     R.  Baxter.     (Cure  of  Church  Divisions.) 
 
 32  Then  the  soldiers  cut  off  the  ropes  of  the  boat, 
 and  let  her  fall  off. 
 
 33  And  while  the  day  was  coming  on,  Paul  be- 
 sought them  all  to  take  meat,  saying,  This  day  is  the 
 fourteenth  day  that  ye  have  tarried  and  continued 
 fasting,  having  taken  nothing. 
 
 34  Wherefore  I  pray  you  take  some  meat :  for  this 
 is  for  your  health  :  for  there  shall  not  an  hair  fall  from 
 the  head  of  any  of  you. 
 
 35  And  when  he  had  thus  spoken,  he  took  bread, 
 and  gave  thanks  to  God  in  presence  of  them  all :  and 
 when  he  had  broken  it,  he  began  to  eat. 
 
 36  Then  were  they  all  of  good  cheer,  and  they  also 
 took  some  meat. 
 
 37  And  we  were  in  all  in  the  ship  two  hundred 
 threescore  and  sixteen  souls. 
 
 38  And  when  they  had  eaten  enough,  they  lightened 
 the  ship,  and  cast  out  the  wheat  into  the  sea. 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVII.  33—35.  723 
 
 33  It  was  not  for  nothing,  that  the  voyage  was  so  protracted  :  it 
 afforded  S.  Paul  an  opportunity  of  teaching.  .  .  .  The  storm 
 also  and  the  darkness  contributed  not  a  little  to   his   beintr  lis- 
 
 o 
 
 tened  to,  in  the  manner  he  was.     S.  John  v.  4  ;  1  Thess.  i.  6. 
 
 5.  Chrysostoin. 
 
 The  time  of  fear  is  a  time  oi  fasting  with  the  natural  man.  There 
 was,  saith  S.  Luke  here,  Verse  21,  iroXky)  aai-rla,  no  spending  of 
 victuals,  all  the  time  of  the  tempest.  Will  we  naturally  fast, 
 for  fear  of  the  wreck  of  our  ship  ?  and  not  be  afraid  as  much 
 of  the  wreck  of  our  souls  by  sin,  and  fast  for  that  ?  Doth  not 
 nature  teach  us  this  ?     Bp.  Andrewes.     (Serm.  S.  Matt.  vi.  16.) 
 
 If  thou  hast  any  business  of  consequence  in  agitation,  let  thy 
 care  be  reasonable  and  seasonable.  Continual  standing  beut 
 weakens  the  bow  ;  too  hasty  drawing  breaks  it.  Put  off  thy 
 cares  with  thy  clothes  :  so  shall  thy  rest  strengthen  thy  labour  ; 
 and  so  shall  thy  labour  sweeten  thy  rest.     Quarles. 
 
 34  The  world  cannot  hurt  Him,  that  made  it,  nor  them,  that  are 
 laid  up  in  Him.  Jonas  did  but  change  his  vessel,  when  he 
 entered  the  whale ;  he  was  not  shipwrecked.  God  was  his 
 pilot  then,  as  well  as  in  the  ship.     xii.  5  ;  Ps.  cxxx.  1 ;  cxxxiv. 
 
 6,  7.     Dr.  Donne. 
 
 "We  could  not  but  feel  a  very  peculiar  pleasure  in  being  tossed  by 
 a  tempest,  while  the  vessel  was  infallibly  secured  from  sinking; 
 such  a  vessel  is  the  Church  ;  such  tempests  are  its  persecutions. 
 (Itefer  to  Illustr.  S.  Matt,  xxviii.  20.  S.  Chrysostom.)  Pascal. 
 (Thoughts  on  Eeligion.     Ch.  xxviii.) 
 
 35  This  was  not  a  celebration  of  the  Eucharist,  but  a  common 
 meal  together  with  the  passengers  in  the  same  ship.  S.  Luke 
 xxiv.  30.     Bp.  Fatrick.     (Mensa  Mystica.     Ch.  vi.  s.  5.) 
 
 Meditate,  how  that  thy  Master,  Jesus  Christ,  did  never  eat  any 
 food,  but  first  He  Blessed  the  creatures,  and  gave  thanks  to  His 
 Heavenly  Pather  for  the  same ;  and  after  His  Last  Supper  we 
 read,  that  He  sang  a  Psalm  :  for  this  was  the  commandment  of 
 God,  "  When  thou  hast  eaten  and  filled  thyself,  thou  shalt 
 Bless  the  Lord,  thy  God,"  &c.  This  was  the  practice  of  the 
 prophets ;  for  "  the  people  would  not  eat  at  their  feasts,  till 
 Samuel  came  to  bless  their  meat."  And  saith  Joel  to  God's 
 people,  "  Ye  shall  eat,  and  be  satisfied,  and  praise  the  Name  of 
 
 A  A  A  2 
 
724  THE  ACTS  XXVII.  35. 
 
 the  LoED,  your  God."    This  also  was  the  practice  of  the  Apos- 
 tles ;  for  S.  Paul  in  the  ship  gave  thanks  before  meat,  in  the 
 presence  of  all  the   people,  that  were  therein.     Imitate  thou 
 therefore  in  so  holy  an  action  so  Blessed  a  Master  and  so  many 
 worthy  precedents,  that  have  followed  Him  and  gone  before 
 thee.     It  may  be,  because  thou  hast  never  used  to  give  thanks 
 at  meals,  therefore  thou  art  now  ashamed  to  begin :  think  it  no 
 shame  to  do  what  Cheist   did;    but  be  rather  ashamed  that 
 thou  hast  so  long  neglected  so  Christian  a  duty.     And,  if  the 
 Son  of  God  gave  His  Fathee  such  great  thanks  for  a  dinner 
 of  barley  bread  and  broiled  fish,  what  thanks  should  such  a 
 sinful  man,  as  thou  art,  render  unto  God  for  such  variety  of 
 good  and  dainty  cheer  ?     How  many  a  true  Christian  would  be 
 glad  to  fill  his  belly  with  the  morsels,  that  thou  refusest ;  and  do 
 lack  that,  which  thou  leavest !     How  hardly  do  others  labour 
 for  that,  which  they  eat ;  and  thou  hast  thy  food,  provided  for 
 thee  witliout  care  or  labour !     To  conclude,  if  Pagan  idolaters, 
 at  their  feasts,  were  accustomed  to  praise  their  false  gods,  what 
 shame  is  it  for  a  Christian   (at  his  dinners  and  suppers)  not  to 
 praise  the  true  God,  in  whom  "  we  live,  and  move,  and  have  our 
 being!"     xiii.  17  ;  S.  Matt.  xxvi.  30  ;  Deut.  viii.  10;  1  Sam.  iv. 
 13  ;  Joel  ii.  26  ;  Dan.  v.  1,   4.     Bp.  Baily.     (The  Practice  of 
 Piety.     Ch.  xv.) 
 Thanksgiving  in  my  text  is  not  meant  only  that  subsequent  act, 
 whereby  we  render  unto  God  praise  and  thanks  for  the  crea- 
 ture, after  we  have  received  it,  and  enjoyed  the  benefit  of  it ; 
 which  yet  is  most  properly  thanksgiving  :  but  we  are  to  extend 
 the  word  farther,  even  to  those  precedent  acts  of  prayer  and 
 benediction,  whereby  w^e  beseech  God  to  give  His  Blessing  to 
 the  creature,  and  to  Sanctify  the  use  of  it  to  us :  for  what  in 
 this  verse  is  called  thanksgiving  is  in  the  next  verse  compre- 
 hended under  the  name  of  prayer.  .  .  .  The  prayer  of  Blessing 
 used,  before  the  eating  of  common  bread,  is  by  every  one  of  the 
 four  Evangelists  in  some  places  described  by  the  word  ehxo^pia^etv ; 
 and  by  three  of  them  in  other  some  places  by  evXo'^e'iv.  .  .  And 
 we,  in  our  ordinary  manner  of  speech,  call,  as  well  the  Blessing 
 before  meat,  as  the  Tlianksgiving  after,  by  the  common  name  of 
 Grace,  or  saying  of  Grace.     Both  these  then  together,  Grace 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVII.  35,  36.  725 
 
 before  meat  and  Grace  after  meat,  a  sacrifice  of  Prayer,  before 
 we  use  any  of  the  good  creatures  of  God,  and  a  sacrifice  of 
 Praise,  after  we  have  used  them — the  blessing,  wherewith  we 
 bless  the  creature  in  the  Name  of  God,  and  the  blessing,  where- 
 with we  bless  the  Name  of  God  for  the  creature — both  these 
 together  is  the  full  meaning  of  this  Thanksgiving.  Eph.  i.  3. 
 Bp.  Sanderson.  (Serm.  1  Tim.  iv.  4.) 
 If  every  head  of  a  family  was,  at  the  return  of  every  meal,  to 
 oblige  himself  to  make  a  solemn  adoration  of  God,  in  such  a 
 decent  manner,  as  becomes  a  devout  mind,  it  M^ould  be  very 
 likely  to  teach  him  that  swearing,  sensuality,  gluttony,  and  loose 
 discourse  were  very  improper  at  those  meals,  which  were  to 
 begin  and  end  with  Devotion.  1  S.  Pet.  iv.  7 ;  1  Cor.  x.  31. 
 Wtn.  Law.     (Serious  Call.) 
 
 Actio  gratiarum  cibo  sumpto. 
 Sterne  Princeps,  orbis  et  artifex, 
 Qui  Te  timenti  das  alimoniam, 
 Pisces  et  undosi  profundi 
 Aerias  volucresque  pascis : 
 Persolvo  sumptis  pro  dapibus  Tibi 
 Grates  canori  carmine  jubili, 
 Actseque  vitse  perperam,  cum 
 Pace  Tua,  veniam  reposco. 
 
 Salm.  Macrinus.     (Hymn.  Lib.  i.) 
 
 36  Then  were  they  all  of  good  cheer. — It  is  the  reason,  why  many 
 sink  into  despair  and  are  lost  in  a  troubled  sea  of  sorrow,  be- 
 cause they  have  no  friend  to  administer  properly  the  comforts  of 
 religion ;  none  to  raise  their  thoughts  from  the  storm,  that 
 beats  upon  them,  to  the  mercy  of  that  God,  who  "  stilleth  the 
 raging  of  the  sea."  See,  how  the  Apostle  performs  this  office 
 to  those,  who  had  brought  him  into  all  this  danger  by  neglecting 
 his  advice  (verse  21).  Instead  of  being  ofiended  with  their  past 
 perverseness,  he  considers  their  present  distress ;  he  talks  to 
 them,  as  if  they  were  his  children,  and  tells  them,  how  they  are 
 all  given  to  his  prayers  ;  he  encourages  them  to  eat  with  thank- 
 fulness for  their  necessary  refreshment,  and  sets  them  the  ex- 
 ample in  his  own  person.     Here  let  me  observe,  for  the  benefit 
 
726  THE  ACTS  XXVII.  36,  37. 
 
 of  those,  who  may  be  in  the  like  distress,  that  there  is  a  source 
 of  comfort,  to  which  all  Christians  may  have  recourse,  though 
 they  are  not  Blessed  with  the  personal  attendance  of  S.  Paul. 
 They  have  the  Word  of  God,  which  is  a  sure  and  faithful 
 attendant  upon  us  in  the  storms  and  troubles  of  life  :  we  may 
 travel  with  it  by  land,  or  by  water :  there  we  may  hear  S.  Paul 
 speaking  to  us :  there  we  may  have  the  Psalms  of  David,  accom- 
 modated to  all  the  trials,  dangers,  and  afflictions,  to  which  a 
 Christian  can  be  exposed.  Thus  we  may  sail  with  S.  Paul  in 
 our  company,  and  find  Salvation,  even  in  shipwreck,  ix.  17 ; 
 Ps.  xciv.  19.     TF.  Jones.     (Serm.  Acts  xxvii.  1.) 
 
 They  were  o^  good  cheer,  before  they  took  some  meat  ;  their  com- 
 fort therefore  was  spiritual,  and  not  the  mere  effect  of  a  bodily 
 refreshment.  The  word  of  promise,  with  the  cheering  example  of 
 the  Apostle  wrought  in  them,  and  "  put  joy  into  their  hearts, 
 more  than  when  their  corn,  and  wine,  and  oil  increased."  This 
 incident  may  serve  to  support  the  opinion  of  S.  Chrysostom, 
 that  these  follow  travellers  with  the  Apostle  were  now  converts 
 to  the  faith,  whose  souls,  in  a  far  higher  sense,  than  their  bodies, 
 God  may  have  given  unto  him.  To  ourselves  the  fact  itself 
 suggests  the  inquiry,  so  needful  at  all  times,  but  especially  in 
 our  dangers  and  adversities — Is  our  peace  of  mind  carnal,  or 
 purely  spiritual  ?  Is  our  joy  a  joy  "  in  the  Lord  ?"  xiii.  52  ; 
 Ps.  Ixxiii.  24.     (Eefer  to  xiv.  17.  Br.  Jackson.)     J.  F. 
 
 They  are  prodigiously  wide  of  the  mark,  who  think,  that  what  be- 
 lievers know  to  be  the  joys  of  the  Holt  Ghost  are,  in  fact,  no 
 other  than  certain  pleasing  sensations,  arising  from  a  brisk  cir- 
 culation of  the  blood,  and  a  lively  flow  of  the  animal  spirits  .  .  . 
 the  mere  result  of  eoe^/as  (Tiv/umiKyt.  I  myself  am  a  witness, 
 that  spiritual  comforts  are  sometimes  highest,  when  bodily 
 health,  strength,  and  spirits  are  at  the  lowest ;  and  when  bodily 
 health,  strength,  and  spirits  are  at  the  highest,  spiritual  comforts 
 are  sometimes  at  the  lowest ;  nay,  clean  gone  and  totally  absent. 
 "Whence  I  conclude,  that  the  sensible  effusion  of  Divine  Love  in 
 the  soul  is  superior  to,  independent  of,  and  distinct  from  health, 
 strength,  and  spirits.  These  may  be,  when  that  is  not,  and  vice 
 versd.    2  Cor.  xii.  10.     Tojdady.    (Short  memorials  of  himself.) 
 
 37  The  number  of  the  men  is  recorded  in  order  to  set  forth  the 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVII.  37,  38.  727' 
 
 greatness  of  the  miracle ;  for  otherwise  we  should  consider  it 
 impossible  that  276  persons  could  scape  to  land  from  a  ship- 
 wreck without  a  single  life  being  lost.     Calvin. 
 
 Thus,  still  more  evidently,  the  numbers  of  those  are  invariably- 
 recorded  in  the  four  G-ospels,  who  partook  of  the  miraculous 
 loaves  and  fishes.     S.  Matt.  xvi.  9,  10.     /.  F. 
 
 38  Wheat,  as  it  represents  the  staff  of  human  life,  and,  therefore, 
 as  being  exceeding  precious,  serves  in  this  passage  to  illustrate 
 the  emphatic  words  of  our  Lord,  so  often  spoken,  because  so 
 unspeakably  important ;  "  If  any  man  come  to  Me,  and  hate  not 
 his  father,  and  mother,  and  wife,  and  children,  and  brethren,  and 
 sisters,  yea,  and  his  own  life  also,  he  cannot  be  My  disciple." 
 S.  Luke  xi.  5  ;  xiv.  26.     /.  F. 
 
 Every  ship-master,  when  in  a  storm,  will  willingly  cast  that  over- 
 board, that  is  of  the  smallest  value  in  the  vessel :  but  who  will 
 throw  the  best  out,  first  ?  None  but  he,  that  feareth  God. 
 Heb.  xii.  1,  4 ;  2  Cor.  viii.  5.  Bumjan.  (Pilgrim's  Progress. 
 P.  ii.) 
 
 Crates,  it  is  well  known,  threw  away  all  his  possessions,  and  then 
 caused  it  to  be  proclaimed  in  these  terms,  "This  day  Crates 
 hath  set  Crates  free!"     Bp.  Patrick. 
 
 Jt  was  the  saying  of  a  Philosopher,  when  he  heard  how  merchants 
 lost  great  estates  at  sea  in  a  moment,  Non  amo  felicitatem,  e 
 funibus  pendentem,  I  love  not  that  happiness,  which  hangs  upon 
 a  rope.     S.  James  iv.  14.     Flavel. 
 
 39  And  when  it  was  day,  they  knew  not  the  land : 
 but  they  discovered  a  certain  creek  with  a  shore,  into 
 which  they  were  minded,  if  it  were  possible,  to  thrust 
 in  the  ship. 
 
 40  And  when  they  had  taken  up  the  anchors,  they 
 committed  themselves  unto  the  sea,  and  loosed  the 
 rudder  bands,  and  hoised  up  the  mainsail  to  the  wind, 
 and  made  toward  shore. 
 
 41  And  falling  into  a  place  where  two  seas  met, 
 they  ran  the  ship  aground-    and  the  forepart  stuck 
 
728  THE  ACTS  XXVII.  39. 
 
 fast,  and  remained  immoveable,  but  the  hinder  part 
 was  broken  with  the  violence  of  the  waves. 
 
 42  And  the  soldiers'  counsel  was  to  kill  the  pri- 
 soners, lest  any  of  them  should  swim  out,  and  es- 
 cape. 
 
 43  But  the  centurion,  willing  to  save  Paul,  kept 
 them  from  their  purpose ;  and  commanded  that  they 
 which  could  swim  should  cast  themselves  first  into 
 the  sea,  and  get  to  land  : 
 
 44  And  the  rest,  some  on  boards,  and  some  on 
 broken  pieces  of  the  ship.  And  so  it  came  to  pass, 
 that  they  escaped  all  safe  to  land. 
 
 39  An  sapit  is,  pressus  qui  fluctibus  arripit  algam  ? 
 Nee  solitis  nixus  littora  tuta  petit  ? 
 Haud  magis  ille  sapit,  qui  vitas  in  fluctibus  hujus 
 
 Prseponit  solidis  fluxa,  miserque  perit. 
 Ut  fugias  igitur  tanti  discrimina  ponti, 
 
 Nee  caput  ista  minax  obruat  unda  tuum, 
 Spemque,  fidemque,  agapemque  tene  ;  fluxa  omnia  linquens  : 
 Has  nihil  in  tabulas  ulla  procella  potest. 
 
 Billius.     (Sacra  Anthologia,  3.) 
 
 Like  as  the  winds  of  heaven  and  the  waves  of  the  sea,  when  we 
 are  on  a  voyage,  remind  us  that  we  are  yet  on  the  broad  ocean 
 and  are  not  yet  arrived  in  the  harbour,  and  make  us  wish  for 
 the  shore ;  so  the  dark  clouds  of  error,  which  hang  over  us,  and 
 the  tempestuous  winds  and  waves  of  strife,  which  rage  about  us, 
 serve,  as  a  continual  memento,  that  now  we  are  sailing  on  a 
 voyage,  that  we  are  still  in  the  great  deep,  and  have  not  arrived 
 in  the  haven.  They,  therefore,  restrain  us  from  fixing  our  affec- 
 tions on  the  transitory  things  about  us  ;  they  wean  us  from 
 this  world  and  its  perishable  vanities,  and  make  us  look  far  be- 
 yond to  the  Everlasting  shore,  for  which  we  are  bound.  .  .  . 
 Through  the  mists  and  clouds  we  see  the  clear  blue  sky,  and 
 the  calm  and  joy  of  Angels,  and  the  pure  river  of  life,  and  the 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVII.  40,  41.  739 
 
 crystal  sea,  and  the  Throne  of  GrOD.     Deut.  xii.  9  ;  2  Cor.  iv. 
 16—18.     Br.  C.  Wordsworth,     (Serm.  1  Cor.  ix.  18,  19.) 
 
 40  The  sign  of  a  Cross  naturally  appears  in  a  ship,  either  when  she 
 is  under  sail,  or  rowed  with  expanded  oars,  like  the  palm  of  our 
 hands  :  not  B.jugum,  but  exhibits  the  sign  of  the  cross  ;  and,  when 
 a  pure  worshipper  adores  the  true  GrOD  with  hands  extended,  he 
 makes  the  same  figure.  S.  John  iii.  14.  M.  Minutius  Felix, 
 (In  Octavio.  S.  29.) 
 
 The  Cross  is  the  great  characteristic  of  Cheist's  power  and  go- 
 vernment, and  is  visible  in  almost  every  thing  we  see.  .  .  . 
 Without  this  trophy  of  ours,  you  cannot  go  to  sea ;  for  navi- 
 gation depends  upon  sails,  and  they  are  made  in  the  fashion  of 
 a  Cross  :  there  is  neither  ploughing,  nor  digging,  nor  any  handi- 
 craft work  performed  without  instruments  of  this  figure  ;  nay, 
 a  man  is  distinguished  from  a  beast  by  the  uprightness  of  his 
 body,  and  the  extension  of  his  arms.  .  .  .  Your  banners  declare 
 the  power  of  this  figure,  and  the  trophies  you  use  in  your 
 public  processions,  are  symbols  of  dominion.  .  .  .  The  images 
 of  your  departed  Emperors  you  consecrate  upon  Cross-like  en- 
 gines, and  inscribe  them  gods.  Justin  Martyr.  (Apology.  C.  72.) 
 
 41  The  greatest  cause  of  impatience  is  not  so  much  from  the 
 pressure  and  force  of  any  external  cross,  or  calamity,  as  from 
 the  great  disturbance  and  reluctance  of  the  mind  of  him,  that 
 sufiers  it :  and  this  is  it,  that  raiseth  up  the  waves  and  billows 
 within.  The  cross,  or  calamity,  it  may  be,  is  rough  and  beyond 
 the  power  of  him,  that  suffers  it,  to  extricate  or  control ;  and, 
 on  the  other  side,  when  it  meets  with  a  mind,  as  tumultuous 
 and  contumacious,  as  the  calamity  or  cross,  it  raiseth  a  storm ; 
 as  when  the  wind  and  tide  are  contrary,  or,  like  the  state  of  S. 
 Paul's  voyage,  where  two  seas  met ;  which  often  endangers  the 
 vessel.  He,  that  violently  and  impetuously  contends  against  a 
 calamity,  contributes  more  to  his  own  uneasiness,  than  his  cross 
 doth  :  but  an  humble  lowly  mind  is  naturally  more  able  to  bear 
 his  cross  wdth  more  patience ;  because  it  is  evident,  that  the 
 softness,  humility,  and  quietness,  and  calmness  of  his  mind 
 breaks  the  force  of  the  calamity,  and  renders  it  more  easy  by 
 submission  to  it.  Prov.  xix.  3  ;  S.  Luke  xxi.  19.  Sir  M.  Hale. 
 Contemplations.     Of  humility.) 
 
730  THE  ACTS  XXVII.  41-44. 
 
 Are  your  afflictions  outward  and  inward  together?  an  afflicted 
 soul  in  an  afflicted  body  ?  Are  you  fallen,  like  the  ship,  in 
 which  S.  Paul  sailed,  into  a  place,  where  two  seas  met  ?  Ps. 
 xlii.  9.     Flavel. 
 
 The  past  is  a  bottomless  abyss,  which  swallows  up  all  transitory 
 things  ;  the  future  is  another  abyss  unfathomable  :  one  of  these 
 depths  flows  continually  into  the  other ;  the  future  discharges 
 itself  into  the  past  by  the  channel  of  what  now  is.  Man  is 
 placed  between  these  two  seas.     Nicole. 
 
 43  The  Centurion  willing  to  save  Paul. — Gob  hath  so  ordered 
 it,  that  honour  is  naturally  consequent  on  the  honouring  Him. 
 God  hath  made  goodness  a  noble  and  a  stately  thing  ;  hath  im- 
 pressed on  it  that  beauty  and  majesty,  which  commands  an 
 universal  love  and  veneration ;  which  strikes  presently  both  a 
 kindly  and  an  awful  respect  into  the  minds  of  all  men.  Power 
 may  be  dreaded,  riches  may  be  courted,  wit  and  knowledge  may 
 be  admired  ;  but  only  goodness  is  truly  esteemed  and  honoured. 
 Verse  3  ;  ii.  47 ;  vi.  15  ;  S.  Mark  vi.  20.  Br.  Barrow.  (Serm. 
 1  Sam.  ii.  34.) 
 
 44  Since  we  have  all  made  shipwreck  of  Baptismal  Grace  by  sin, 
 since  all  without  exception  do  stand  in  need  of  "  a  second  plank" 
 (Tertullian)  to  save  them  from  drowning,  it  remains  that  we 
 make  choice  of  one  of  the  two,  presented  to  us  in  my  text — 
 dissimulation,  or  conversion — *'  covering,"  or  "confessing"  .  .  . 
 the  one  plank  is  painted,  but  rotten,  which  will  undoubtedly 
 deceive  us  ;  '*  He  that  covereth  his  sins,  shall  not  prosper :"  the 
 other  rugged,  but  sound,  which  will  infallibly  bring  us  safe  to 
 land  ;  that  is,  the  plank  of  repentance ;  "  He,  that  confesseth 
 and  forsaketh  his  sins,  shall  have  mercy."  viii.  22  ;  S.  Mark 
 xiv.  72  ;  2  S.  Pet.  ii.  25,  26.  Ahp.  Bramhall.  (Discourse  on 
 Prov.  xxviii.  13.) 
 
 Lest  it  be  deemed,  that  we  here  attach  too  much  \'irtue  to  repent- 
 ance, in  the  matter  of  salvation,  be  it  remembered,  that  we  sup- 
 pose this  "  second  plank  "  to  be  made  of  wood,  taken  from  the 
 Cross  of  Jesus  ...  at  the  last  great  shipwreck.  Optandum 
 esset,  ut  in  simplici  virginitate  servaretur  navis,  «^c.,  writes  Ter- 
 tullian. It  were  to  be  wished,  that  the  ship,  our  souls,  could  be 
 kept  in  its  singular  virginity,  and  never  be  in  danger  of  either 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVII.  44.  731 
 
 leak  or  sliipwTeck.  But  this  perpetual  integrity  being  a  des- 
 perate impossible  wish,  there  is  one  only  remedy,  which,  though 
 it  cannot  prevent  a  leak,  can  stop  it.  And  this  is  repentance 
 after  sin  committed,  post  naufragium  tabula^  a  means  to  secure 
 one  after  a  shipwreck,  and  to  deliver  him,  even  in  the  deep 
 waters.  And  this  we  call  a  restored  virginity  of  the  soul,  which 
 Cheist  also  vouchsafes  to  be  conceived  and  born  in.  The  first 
 degree  of  innocence  being,  not  to  have  sinned ;  the  second,  to 
 have  repented.  1  S.  John  i.  8 — 10.  Br.  Hammond.  (Serm. 
 S.  Matt.  i.  23.) 
 None  are  more  safe,  in  our  common  naufrage  (shipwreck)  of  sin, 
 than  they,  that  swim  out  upon  the  cross,  which  God  hath  laid 
 upon  them.  xiv.  22  ;  1  Cor.  xi.  32.  Bp.  Hacket.  (Serm.  S. 
 John  iii.  14.) 
 
 Vos,  qui  tranatis  pictis  vada  salsa  carinis, 
 
 Maris  coloni  divitis, 
 Magna  Dei  ver^  Miracula  cernitis,  alti 
 
 Dispersa  campis  aequoris. 
 Nam  simul  ac  jussit,  rapidi  tota  sequora  venti 
 
 Ad  ipsa  tollunt  sidera : 
 Abripitur  pariter  ratis,  et  nunc  nubila  tangit, 
 
 Tumente  vecta  gurgite : 
 Tartara  nunc  contra  praeceps  contendit  ad  ima, 
 
 Ipsisque  jungitur  Inferis. 
 Yorticibus  miseri  titubant  hinc  indeque  nautae, 
 
 Ceu  turba  nutat  ebria  : 
 Nil  artis  praecepta  juvant ;  animique  manusque 
 
 Spe  destitutis  concidunt. 
 Clamant ;  clamantis  Superum  Pater  audit,  et  istis 
 
 Angustiis  mox  eripit. 
 ^quora  jussa  cadunt  subito  ;  fluctusque  silentes 
 
 Tranquilla  lambunt  littora. 
 Incolumes  illi  optato  se  littore  condunt, 
 
 Miris  ovantes  cantibus ! 
 
 T.  Beza.     (Psalm.  Sacr.  Libri  vario  carminum 
 genere  Latine  expressi,  &c.  cvii.  23 — 30.) 
 
733  THE  ACTS  XXVIII.  1. 
 
 CHAPTER  XXVIII. 
 
 A  ND  when  they  were  escaped,  then  they  knew  that 
 the  island  was  called  Melita. 
 
 2  And  the  barbarous  people  showed  us  no  little 
 kindness  :  for  they  kindled  a  fire,  and  received  us  every 
 one,  because  of  the  present  rain,  and  because  of  the 
 cold. 
 
 3  And  when  Paul  had  gathered  a  bundle  of  sticks, 
 and  laid  them  on  the  fire,  there  came  a  viper  out  of 
 the  heat,  and  fastened  on  his  hand. 
 
 4  And  when  the  barbarians  saw  the  venomous  beast 
 hang  on  his  hand,  they  said  among  themselves.  No 
 doubt  this  man  is  a  murderer,  whom,  though  he  hath 
 escaped  the  sea,  yet  vengeance  suffereth  not  to  live. 
 
 5  And  he  shook  off  the  beast  into  the  fire,  and  felt 
 no  harm. 
 
 1  When  any  calamity  has  been  suffered,  the  first  thing  to  be 
 remembered  is,  how  much  has  been  escaped,  Ps.  cxviii.  18 ; 
 Isa.  xxvii.  8.     Br.  Johnson. 
 
 Theophilus  at  length  conquered  this  objection,  (arising  from  the 
 Platonic  view  of  a  resurrection,)  by  a  frequent  reflexion  upon 
 those  many  shadows  of  a  Eesurrection,  which  Gron  had  im- 
 pressed upon  the  common  course  of  nature,  and  the  standing 
 Phenomena  of  Divine  Providence ;  and  especially  after  he  had 
 conversed  with,  and  embraced,  the  holy  Volumes,  wherein  those 
 things  were  so  positively  declared  and  published.  And  thus  he 
 became  a  Christian ;  being  baffled  and  disappointed  in  all  other 
 refuges,  he  took  sanctuary  in  the  Church,  which,  as  himself 
 expresses  it,  God  has  set  in  the  world,  like  an  island  in  the 
 midst  of  the  sea,  into  whose  safe  and  convenient  harbours  the 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVIII.  1—3.  733 
 
 lovers  of  truth  might  fly,  and  all  those,  who  desired  to  be  saved 
 and  to  escape  the  judgment  and  the  wrath  to  come.  S.  John 
 xvi.  33 ;  S.  Matt.  xi.  28 ;  2  Thess.  i.  7.  Dr.  Cave.  (Life  of 
 S.  Theophilus.) 
 
 Mox  Siculos  inter  fluctus  Libycosque  renideus 
 
 Allicit  incertam  Malta  superba  ratem. 
 Infelix  scopulus,  si  Parca  benignior  illas, 
 
 Quas  natura  negat,  non  tribuisset  opes  .   .  . 
 DiflBcili  turres  saxo  natura  tuetur, 
 Adjicit  ars  vires  ingeniosa  suas. 
 Plus  pia  virtutis  species,  fulgentia  summis 
 
 Aggeribus  niveae  signa  decora  Crucis. 
 Ploreat  ^terniim  justae  prosperrima  sedes 
 
 Militias,  heroum  prodigiosa  domus  ; 
 Quels  dedit  baud  animos,  scelerata  nee  induit  arma 
 
 Eluxus  opum,  aut  vani  falsus  honoris  amor. 
 Nobilis  obstrinxit  Sancti  tutela  Sepulchri, 
 Agaridasque  Sacro  pellere  cura  solo ! 
 
 Dr.  Barrow.     (Iter  maritimum  a  portu  Ligustico 
 ad  Constantinopolim,  Nov.  6,  1657.) 
 
 2  "While  the  professing  people  of  God  employ  every  kind  of 
 cruelty  against  His  servants,  God  inspires  the  hearts  of  barba- 
 rians with  every  feeling  of  humanity  towards  them.  Ex.  i.  17. 
 Quesnel. 
 
 3  One  cannot  but  admire  the  active  and  resolute  spirit  of  the  Apos- 
 tle, equal  to  any  emergency,  ready  for  any  office,  whether  to  sup- 
 port the  crew  in  the  ship,  or  to  light  the  fire  on  the  shore ;  as 
 vigorous  and  earnest  in  little,  as  in  the  more  important  concerns 
 of  life ;  the  same  man  everywhere  ;  bold  and  intrepid,  kind  also, 
 condescending  and  charitable;  holding  up  the  Sayiour's  Cross 
 before  the  Kings  and  Hulers  of  this  world  at  one  time ;  at 
 another,  gathering  a  bundle  of  sticks,  and  laying  them  on  the  fire, 
 in  the  midst  of  a  set  of  savages.  He  adorned  the  doctrine  of 
 God,  his  Satiotjr,  in  all  things.  He  "  knew  how  to  be  abased, 
 and  he  knew  how  to  abound."  In  Paul,  as  in  a  glass,  we  see 
 what  a  Christian  Bishop,  and  more  particularly  a  Christian 
 Missionary  Bishop  ought  to  be.     xx.  34,  35.     J.  F. 
 
 To  say,  that  Christians  are  idle  and  unprofitable  to  the  Common- 
 
734  THE  ACTS  XXVIII.  3. 
 
 wealth  is  an  injurious  and  forged  accusation.  Look  into  your 
 prisons :  you  see  no  Christian  there :  and,  if  you  do  find  a 
 Christian  there,  what  brought  him  there  could  be  only  this, 
 tliat  he  was  a  Christian.  Non  sine  foro,  non  sine  macello ;  we 
 have  our  market  place,  we  have  our  shambles ;  we  have  our 
 shops,  we  have  our  fairs.  Navigamus  vobiscum,  et  militamus,  et 
 mercamur  ;  we  sail  with  you,  w^e  go  to  war  with  you,  we  traffic 
 with  you.  If  I  do  not  join  you  in  your  ceremonies,  for  all  that, 
 even  then,  I  am  a  man,  attamen  et  ilia  die  homo  sum :  nor  are 
 we  less  Christians,  because  we  work  for  our  bread,  and  labour 
 to  supply  ourselves  with  food  and  raiment.  E-om.  xii.  11 ;  IS. 
 Pet.  iv.  15,  16.     Tertullian.     (Apol.) 
 
 A  viper. — These  creatures  (and  all  others  hurtful  to  man)  had  been 
 still  harmless,  if  we  had  been  still  faultless.  It  was  our  sin, 
 that  at  once  forfeited  both  our  innocency  and  their's.  Every 
 sense  of  evil  therefore  in,  and  from,  the  creatures,  should  work 
 in  us  a  sense  of  our  disobedience  to  God  ;  should  increase  in 
 us  a  detestation  of  the  sins,  we  have  committed  against  God  ; 
 should  teach  us,  by  condemning  ourselves,  to  acquit  the  good 
 creatures  of  God  ;  which,  as  they  are  good  in  themselves  so 
 should  they  have  been,  ever  and  only,  good  unto  us,  if  we  had 
 been  true  to  ourselves,  and  continued  good  and  faithful  servants 
 unto  God.  His  creatures  are  all  good ;  do  not  thou  accuse 
 any  of  them,  and  say  they  are  evil ;  do  not  thou  abuse  any 
 of  them,  and  make  them  evil.  Rom.  viii.  20.  Bp.  Sanderson. 
 (Serm.  1  Tim.  iv.  4.) 
 
 I  know  not  what  horror  we  find  in  ourselves  at  the  sight 
 of  a  serpent.  Other  creatures  are  more  loathsome,  and  some 
 no  less  deadly  than  it ;  yet  there  is  none,  at  which  our  blood 
 riseth  so  much,  as  at  this.  "Whence  should  this  be,  but  out  of 
 an  instinct  of  our  old  enmity  ?  "We  were  stung  in  Paradise, 
 and  cannot  but  feel  it :  but  here  is  our  weakness ;  it  was  not 
 the  body  of  the  serpent,  that  could  have  hurt  us,  without  the 
 suggestion  of  sin ;  and  yet  we  love  the  sin,  while  we  hate  the 
 serpent.  Gen.  xlix.  17,  18 ;  Prov.  xxiii.  32.  Bp.  Hall.  (Oc- 
 casional meditations,  75.) 
 
 When  man  rebelled  against  his  God,  the  creatures  renounced 
 their  allegiance  to  him,  and  became,  in  the  hands  of  their  com- 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVIII.  4.  735 
 
 mon  Creator,  instruments  of  his  punishment.  "  The  beasts  of 
 the  field  were"  no  longer  "at  peace  with  him."  Yet,  in  conse- 
 quence of  the  new  Covenant,  we  find  it  said  after  the  flood, 
 "  The  fear  of  you  and  the  dread  of  you,  &c."  Gen.  ix.  2.  So 
 far  is  the  superiority  still  preserved,  that  "  every  kind  of  beasts, 
 &e.,  is  tamed,  &c."  S.  James  iii.  7.  In  some  cases,  for  the 
 sake  of  eminently  holy  persons,  favoured  by  heaven  on  that 
 account,  the  instincts  of  the  most  savage  and  ravenous  have 
 been  suspended ;  as  when  some  of  every  kind  assembled  and 
 lodged  together  in  the  Ark  ;  and  when  the  mouths  of  the  lions 
 were  stopped  in  the  den  of  Babylon,  while  the  righteous  and 
 
 "greatly  beloved"   Daniel  was  there Our  Loed   gave 
 
 His  disciples  power  not  only  over  the  natural  serpents  and 
 scorpions,  but  over  some,  whose  venom  is  of  a  more  malignant 
 and  fatal  kind,  "over  all  the  power  of  the  enemy."  The 
 Apostles  returned,  accordingly,  crying  out,  "  Loed,  the  very 
 devils  are  subject  unto  us  through  Thy  Name."  And  we  have 
 a  general  promise,  that  in  our  combats  with  them  God  will  give 
 us  victory,  and  bruise  their  leader,  Satan  himself,  under  our 
 feet.  Our  Eedeemer  is  exalted  above  the  heavens  ;  and  human 
 nature  in  the  second  Adam  restored  to  dominion  over  all  the 
 earth.  And,  though  at  present  the  Apostle's  lot  may  be  ours, 
 to  "  fight  with  beasts,"  with  evil  men,  evil  passions,  and  evil 
 spirits,  yet  "  through  God  we  shall  do  great  acts :  it  is  He, 
 that  shall  tread  down  those,  that  rise  up  against  us  ;"  till,  finally 
 triumphant  over  "  the  last  enemy"  and  exalted  to  the  Eternal 
 Throne,  we  slmll  view  the  earth  beneath  us ;  and  the  sun  and 
 the  stars  shall  be  dust  under  our  feet.  Exod.  iv.  3 — 5 ;  Isa. 
 xi.  8 ;  S.  Luke  x.  19 ;  Ps.  xci.  13.  Bp.  Home.  (Serm.  Gen. 
 i.  26.) 
 
 4  No  doubt  this  man^  ^c. — The  vain  hearts  of  sensual  men  are 
 thus  carried  with  those  outward  events,  which  God  never  meant 
 for  the  distinction  of  either  love  or  hatred.  Eccl.  ix.  1 ;  Jonah 
 i.  10.     Bp.  Hall, 
 
 If  we  are  to  regard  an  event  of  this  kind  (famine  in  Scotland  and 
 Ireland,  1847)  as  a  special  judgment  for  special  sinfulness,  we 
 must  be  prepared  to  regard  every  such  event  in  the  same  light. 
 But  to  do  this,  would  be  little  short  of  abandoning  the  Christian 
 
736  THE  ACTS  XXVIII.  4. 
 
 Dispensation,  and  reverting  to  the  Jewish :  it  would  be  to  make 
 us  look  for  much  more  of  the  execution  of  God's  righteous 
 judgments  in  this  world,  than  we  have  any  warrant  in  the  Gos- 
 pel to  expect.  In  truth,  one  of  the  most  important  and  most 
 improving  trials  of  our  faith,  is  the  imperfect  state  of  retributive 
 justice,  under  which  Christians  are  placed  in  this  world.  S. 
 Luke  xiii.  1 — 5;  1  Cor.  iv.  5.  Bp.  Fhillpotts.  (Serm.  2  Sam. 
 xxiv.  14,  15.) 
 
 A  murderer. — Charity  may  safely  make  constructions,  and  applica- 
 tions of  blessings  and  mercies ;  and  it  delights  to  do  it :  but 
 interpretations  of  judgments  are  not  so  warrantable.  In  such 
 cases,  Ille  debet  judicare,  qui  non  potest  errare.  Is  God's  hand 
 upon  the  land  in  any  visitation  ?  Let  every  man  bewail  his  own 
 sins,  the  plague  of  his  own  heart  and  mourn  for  the  sins  of  the 
 land  too ;  but  he,  that  will  say,  "  Certainly  these  are  the  sinners, 
 ■whom  God  aims  at;"  let  him  call  for  the  Ephod,  consult  with 
 God,  as  David  did  about  the  years  of  famine.     If  an  Oracle 
 
 -    speak  to  him,  he  may  censure  warrantably The  Jews 
 
 observe,  that  Gerizim  stood  southward,  ad  dextram  mundi;  Ebal 
 northward,  ad  sinistram  mundi;  the  motion  of  the  right  hand 
 is  more  quick  and  active.  And  the  cursing  tribes  on  Ebal  were 
 the  sons  of  the  handmaids ;  the  tribes  on  Gerizim  were  the 
 sons  of  the  free-women.  Eight-bred  Christians  desire  to  bless 
 rather.  S.  Paul  sends  blessings  and  salutations  personally ;  but 
 his  curse  is  in  general,  and  conditional  only  :  "  If  any  man  love 
 not  the  LoED  Jesus,  let  him  be  Anathema."  That  thunder- 
 bolt hovers  aloft  in  the  sky,  seizes  on  no  subject.  Deut.  xxvii. 
 S.  John  viii.  7 ;  S.  James  iii.  8 — 13.  Bp.  Brownrig.  (Serm. 
 2  Sam.  vi.  12.) 
 
 Afflictions  and  calamities  are  often  sent  upon  innocent  and  righ- 
 teous men ;  and  therefore,  in  the  general,  there  is  no  certain 
 consequence  to  be  drawn  from  greater  sufferings  to  greater  sins. 
 And,  when  we  are  certain,  that  the  sufferers  were,  or  are, 
 wicked  men,  yet,  as  their  afflictions  may  be  intended  for  their 
 amendment,  their  very  afflictions  are  an  argument  of  their  com- 
 parative innocency,  and  that  they  are  not  altogether  so  wicked 
 
 or  desperate,  as  other  sinners,  who  are  spared It  is  a 
 
 false  rule  of  judging,  which  neither  Scripture,  nor  reason,  nor 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVIII.  4,  5.  737 
 
 observation  countenance ;  but,  which  ought  to  be  laid  aside, 
 for  the  iniquity  there  is  in  it,  and  because  of  the  pernicious 
 effects  and  influences,  flowing  from  it.  For  the  very  end  and 
 design,  which  men  have  in  judging  so  severely  of  others,  is 
 nothing  else,  but  to  speak  peace  to  themselves.  2  Sara.  xvi. 
 7,  8 ;  1  Cor.  xiii.  6,  7.  Dr.  Waterland.  (Serm.  2  on  S.  Luke 
 xiii.  2,  3.) 
 
 Anguis  origo  necis  (nam  mors  hinc  edita  nomeu 
 De  morsu  peccantis  habet)  contraria  justis 
 Vult  retinere  manum,  quouiam  manus  apta  ministrans 
 Jure  vocatur  opus :  talem  qui  senserit  hostem, 
 Impiger  excutiat,  Dominique  vaporibus  urat. 
 
 Arator.     (Lib.  ii.     In  Acta  Apost.) 
 
 5  We  are  stricken  with  some  amazement  at  the  consideration  of 
 these  strange  and  supernatural  accidents ;  and  these  we  all 
 confess  to  be  miraculous  escapes.  Yet  such  miracles,  as  these, 
 and  such  escapes  God  worketh  daily  in  our  preservation ;  not- 
 withstanding we  live  encompassed  with  so  many  fire-brands  of 
 hell,  such  herds  of  ravening  wolves,  and  lions,  and  tigers,  and 
 such  numerous  "generations  of  vipers,"  I  mean  wicked  and 
 ungodly  men,  the  spawn  of  the  old  serpent,  who  have  it  by  kind 
 from  their  father  to  "  thirst  after  the  destruction  of  the  saints" 
 and  servants  of  God,  and  to  whom  it  is,  as  natural  so  to  do,  as 
 for  the  fire  to  burn,  or  a  viper  to  bite,  or  a  lion  to  devour." 
 Oh  that  men  would  therefore  praise  the  Lord  for  this  His 
 goodness,  and  daily  declare  these.  His  great  wonders,  which 
 He  daily  doeth  for  the  children  of  men !  Ps.  cxv.  1 ;  S.  John 
 i.  50.     Bp.  Sanderson.     (Serm.  Gen.  xx.  6.) 
 
 The  first  miraculous  sign,  recorded  in  Holy  Scripture,  is  about 
 a  serpent  (Ex.  iv.  3 — 5)  ;  and  so  is  this  last :  for  they  may 
 both  be  reckoned  amongst  mere  signs.  Br.  Lightfoot.  (Exer- 
 citations,  in  loco.) 
 
 He  shook  off. — The  sin  of  the  barbarians  hung  upon  the  heart  of 
 the  Apostle ;  the  viper  only  upon  his  hand :  but  one  excussit 
 did  serve  for  both ;  the  beast  was  cast  into  the  fire ;  and  then 
 the  uncharitable  thoughts  did  vanish.  Well,  I  see  there  was 
 some  Divinity  in  those  hands,  which  were  so  often  lifted  up  to 
 
 B    B    B 
 
738  THE  ACTS  XXVIII.  5. 
 
 God  in  prayer ;  those  hands,  which  wrote  such  Divine  Epistles 
 to  so  many  churches ;  those  hands,  which  consecrated  the  two 
 famous  Bishops,  Titus  and  Timothy ;  those  hands,  which  ga- 
 thered alms  for  "  the  poor  saints  at  Jerusalem."  0  those  hands 
 were  Blessed !  No  serpent  could  envenom  them  .  .  .  .  O  why 
 should  we  doubt,  when  God  doth  thus  miraculously  save  the 
 particular  member  of  our  body  from  harm,  but  that  the  whole 
 man,  in  the  whole  entire  body,  '*  our  corruptible  shall  put  on 
 incorruption,"  Felt  no  harm. — Many  worthy  saints  have  had 
 a  taste  of  heaven  upon  earth,  not  only  by  grace  in  their  soul, 
 but  by  some  other  excellent  quality,  shining  in  these  vile  bodies. 
 .  .  .  The  properties  of  a  Glorified  body  are  thus  reckoned  up  by 
 T.  Aquinas;  first,  that  **the  Just  shall  shine  like  the  sun"  in 
 the  firmament ;  that  is,  elaritas  in  corpore :  so  the  face  of  S. 
 Stephen,  standing  before  the  council,  was  bright,  as  the  face  of 
 an  Angel,  (vi.)  The  second  ornament  is  agilitas  in  motu,  to  be 
 able  to  *'  fly  upon  the  wings  of  the  M'ind :"  thus  Philip  was 
 carried  by  the  Spirit  from  Gaza  in  the  desert  to  Azotus  sud- 
 denly, viii.  40.  Thirdly,  '*  our  corruption  shall  put  on  incor- 
 ruption," as  in  this  one  act  S.  Paul  suffered  on  his  hand  and 
 felt  no  harm  :  for  the  last  attribute  of  a  Glorified  body,  which  is 
 called  spiritualitas,  I  do  not  reckon  it ;  for,  according  to  the 
 schoolmen's  interpretation,  it  doth  quite  destroy  the  nature  of 
 a  body.  But  let  us  remember  to  keep  our  bodies  pure  and 
 undefiled,  since  God  hath  given  us  a  taste  in  this  life,  that  here- 
 after they  shall  be  refined  in  greater  glory.  1  Cor.  xv.  51 — 54 ; 
 Phil.  iii.  20,  21 ;  1  Thess.  iv.  17.  Bp.  Racket.  (Serm.  on  text.) 
 Nexus  denique,  qui  manus  retrorsus 
 
 In  tergum  revocaverant  revinctas, 
 
 Intacta  cute  decidunt  adusti : 
 
 Non  ansa  est  cohibere  psena  palmas. 
 
 In  morem  Crucis  ad  Patrem  levandas ; 
 
 Solvit  brachia,  qua;  Deum  precentur. 
 Priscorum  specimen  trium  putares, 
 
 Quos  olim  Babylonicum  per  ignem 
 
 Cantantes  stupuit  tremens  Tyrannus. 
 
 Prudentius.     (Peristephanon.  In  honorem  Mar- 
 tyris  Pructuosi,  Episcopi  Tarraconensis.) 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVIII.  739 
 
 6  Howbeit  they  looked  when  he  should  have  swol- 
 len^  or  fallen  down  dead  suddenly  :  but  after  they  had 
 looked  a  great  while,  and  saw  no  harm  come  to  him, 
 they  changed  their  minds,  and  said  that  he  was  a  god. 
 
 7  In  the  same  quarters  were  possessions  of  the  chief 
 man  of  the  island,  whose  name  was  Publius ;  who 
 received  us,  and  lodged  us  three  days  courteously. 
 
 8  And  it  came  to  pass,  that  the  father  of  Publius 
 lay  sick  of  a  fever  and  of  a  bloody  flux  :  to  whom  Paul 
 entered  in,  and  prayed,  and  laid  his  hands  on  him,  and 
 healed  him. 
 
 9  So  when  this  was  done,  others  also,  which  had 
 diseases  in  the  island,  came,  and  were  healed : 
 
 10  Who  also  honoured  us  with  many  honours :  and 
 when  we  departed,  they  laded  us  with  such  things  as 
 were  necessary. 
 
 1 1  And  after  three  months  we  departed  in  a  ship 
 of  Alexandria,  which  had  wintered  in  the  isle,  whose 
 sign  was  Castor  and  Pollux. 
 
 12  And  landing  at  Syracuse,  we  tarried  there  three 
 days. 
 
 13  And  from  thence  we  fetched  a  compass,  and 
 came  to  Rhegium :  and  after  one  day  the  south  wind 
 blew,  and  we  came  the  next  day  to  Puteoli : 
 
 14  Where  we  found  brethren,  and  were  desired  to 
 tarry  with  them  seven  days :  and  so  we  went  toward 
 Rome. 
 
 15  And  from  thence,  when  the  brethren  heard  of 
 us,  they  came  to  meet  us  as  far  as  Appii  forum,  and 
 The  three  taverns :  whom  when  Paul  saw,  he  thanked 
 God,  and  took  courage. 
 
 B  B  B  2 
 
740  THE  ACTS  XXVIII.  6. 
 
 6  They  looJcedy  ^c. — Thus  the  enemies  of  G-od  and  His  people 
 have  looked,  one  generation  after  another,  when  the  Church, 
 that  hath  been  always  laden  with  their  curses,  should  perish 
 under  them ;  but  the  Church  lives  yet  to  walk  over  the  graves 
 of  all  those,  that  have  wished  it  ill.  xxvi.  22  ;  Ps.  cix.  28  ;  xli. 
 5 — 13.     Gurnall.     (On  the  Christian  armour.     Eph.  vi.  18.) 
 
 Said  that  he  ivas  a  god. — Had  he  himself  said  "Amen"  to  their 
 motions,  he  might  have  received  Divine  honour  from  them  by 
 public  decree.  Much  better  was  the  indistinct,  or  confused, 
 notion,  which  this  kind  hearted  people  had  of  the  Godhead 
 or  of  Divine  powers,  than  the  speculative  acquired  know- 
 ledge of  the  true  and  only  God,  which  the  malicious  hard- 
 hearted Jews  had  translated  out  of  God's  Book  into  their 
 own  brains,  viii.  9,  10 ;  xiv.  12 — 15  ;  x.  25,  26.  Br.  Jackson. 
 (B.  V.  ch.  16,  s.  4.) 
 
 It  has  been  observed  by  some  writers,  that  man  is  more  distin- 
 guished from  the  animal  world  by  devotion,  than  by  reason ;  as 
 several  brute  creatures  discover  in  their  actions  something,  like 
 a  faint  glimmering  of  reason,  though  they  betray,  in  no  single 
 circumstance  of  their  behaviour,  any  thing,  that  bears  the  least 
 affinity  to  devotion.  It  is  certain  the  propensity  of  the  mind 
 to  religious  worship,  the  natural  tendency  of  the  soul  to  fly  to 
 some  superior  Being  for  succour  in  dangers  and  distresses,  the 
 gratitude  to  an  invisible  superintendent,  which  arises  in  us 
 upon  receiving  any  extraordinary  and  unexpected  good  fortune, 
 the  acts  of  love  and  admiration,  with  which  the  thoughts  of  men 
 are  so  wonderfully  transported  in  meditating  upon  the  Divine 
 perfections,  and  the  universal  concurrence  of  all  nations  under 
 heaven  in  the  great  Article  of  adoration,  plainly  show,  that 
 devotion,  or  religious  worship,  must  be  the  effect  of  tradition 
 from  some  first  founder  of  mankind ;  or  that  it  is  conformable 
 to  the  natural  light  of  reason,  or  that  it  proceeds  from  an  in- 
 stinct, implanted  in  the  soul  itself.  Por  my  part,  I  look  upon 
 all  these  to  be  the  concurrent  causes  ;  but,  whichever  of  them 
 shall  be  assigned,  as  the  principle  of  Divine  worship,  it  mani- 
 festly points  to  a  Supreme  Being,  as  the  first  Author  of  it. 
 xvii.  23 ;  Jonah  i.  5,  6 ;  1  Cor.  viii.  5.  Addison.  (Spectator. 
 No.  201.) 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVIII.  6—8.  741 
 
 There  is  no  subject,  in  dealing  with  which  the  natural  man  com- 
 mits more  mistakes,  than  in  the  judgment  he  forms  of  the  saints 
 of  God.     ii.  13  ;  xiv.  13,  19  ;  xxi.  38  ;  xxvi.  24.     Bengel. 
 
 The  serpent  is  loath  we  should  have  any  benefit  bj  him ;  but  we 
 have.  Even  his  temptations  arm  us,  and  the  very  falling  exalts 
 us,  when,  after  a  sin  of  infirmity,  we  come  to  a  true  and  serious 
 repentance  and  scrutiny  of  our  conscience.  So  he  hath  nothing 
 to  eat,  but  our  dust ;  and  he  eats  up  our  dust  so,  as  that  he 
 contributes  to  our  glory  by  his  malice.  The  whale  was  Jonas' 
 pilot ;  the  crows  were  Elias'  caters  (providers)  ;  the  lions  were 
 Daniel's  sentinels  ;  the  viper  was  Paul's  advocate ;  it  pleaded 
 for  him  and  brought  the  beholders  in  an  instant  from  extreme 
 to  extreme,  from  crying  out  that  S.  Paul  was  a  murderer,  to  cry, 
 that  he  was  a  god.  Though  at  any  time  the  serpent,  having 
 brought  me  to  a  sin,  cry  out,  "  thou  art  a  murderer,"  that  is, 
 bring  me  to  a  desperate  sense  of  having  murdered  mine  own 
 soul,  yet  in  that  darkness  I  shall  see  light,  and,  by  a  present 
 repentance  and  effectual  application  of  the  merits  of  my  Sa- 
 viouE,  I  shall  make  the  serpent  see,  "  I  am  a  god ;"  thus  far 
 a  god,  that,  by  my  adhering  to  Christ,  I  am  made  "partaker 
 of  the  Divine  nature."  Micah  vii.  8;  Eom.  v.  20.  Br.  Donne. 
 (Serm.  Gen.  iii.  24.) 
 
 7  No  one  will  ever  repent  of  having  entertained  a  servant  of  God, 
 however  wretched  and  indigent.  Heb.  xiii.  1,  2.  Beza.  (In 
 loco.) 
 
 8  How  clear  is  it  to  every  man's  observation,  that  the  kindnesses 
 and  benefits,  any  have  done  to  the  Lord's  people,  have  been 
 rewarded  with  full  measure  into  their  bosoms.  The  Egyptian 
 midwives  refused  to  obey  Pharaoh's  inhuman  command,  and 
 saved  the  male  children  of  Israel :  for  this  the  Lord  dealt  well 
 with  them,  and  "  built  them  houses,"  Exod.  i.  21.  The  Shu- 
 nammite  was  hospitable  and  careful  for  Elisha;  and  God  re- 
 compensed it  with  the  desirable  enjoyment  of  a  son,  2  Kings 
 iv.  9,  17.  Eahab  hid  the  spies,  and  was  exempted  from  the 
 common  destruction  for  it,  Heb.  xi.  31.  In  like  manner,  we 
 find  the  evils,  done  to  God's  people,  have  been  repaid  by  a  just 
 retribution  to  their  enemies.  Exod.  xii.  29 ;  Esther  vii.  10 ; 
 2  Sam.  xvii.  2,  3.     Flavel.     (On  Providence,  ch.  1.) 
 
742  THE  ACTS  XXVIII.  8—11. 
 
 The  accuracy  of  the  Greek  expression,  here  employed  to  denote 
 the  nature  of  the  disease,  has  been  noticed  ;  there  are  many 
 instances  to  the  same  purport  in  the  Gospel  of  S.  Luke  and 
 also  in  the  Acts  (iii.  7 ;  xii.  23  ;  xiii.  11 ;  S.  Luke  iv.  38  ;  viii. 
 43,  44),  bearing  witness  to  the  hand  of  "  the  beloved  physician," 
 (Col.  iv.  11).  In  the  chapter  preceding  this,  the  nautical  ac- 
 curacy of  S.  Luke,  (Conf  Acts  xxvii.  with  S.  Luke  viii.  22 — 24,) 
 especially  in  his  description  of  storms  at  sea,  has  moreover  been 
 observed  (Note  xxvii.  3.)  A  very  able  writer*  on  the  subject 
 has  hence  suggested  the  probability,  that  S.  Luke  must  once 
 have  exercised  his  medical  profession  at  sea ;  but  the  fact  may 
 sufficiently  be  accounted  for  by  the  circumstance  of  his  having 
 been  born,  and  probably  bred,  at  the  seafaring  town  of  Antioch, 
 as  Eusebius  tells  us  he  was.     (Hist.  Eccl.  lib.  iii.  c.  4.)     J.  F. 
 
 10  The  reverent,  the  grateful,  the  generous  conduct  of  these  poor 
 savages  towards  S.  Paul  and  his  company  will  rise  up  in  the 
 judgment  against  many  professing  Christians ;  who,  knowing 
 their  duty  towards  Christ's  Church  and  its  Ministers,  can  yet 
 find  it  in  their  hearts  to  "  keep  back  the  hire"  of  the  spiritual 
 labourer,  and  even  to  grudge  the  little  they  may  give.  Shall 
 not  God  "visit  for  these  things?"  Mai.  iii.  8  ;  S.  James  v.  4. 
 J.  F. 
 
 11  Although  the  ship  bare  this  heathen  flag,  yet  S.  Paul  availed 
 himself  of  it,  without  any  share  in  the  superstition  ;  just  as  he 
 allowed  the  use  of  meats,  offered  to  idols,  when'they  could  be 
 eaten  without  inflicting  scandal  or  harm  done  to  the  conscience. 
 1  Cor.  viii.     Selneccerus.     (in  loco). 
 
 The  Pagan  gods  were  the  godfathers  of  the  days  of  the  whole  week, 
 and  gave  them  their  names.  This  some  zealot  may  behold,  as  the 
 object  of  a  necessary  reformation,  desiring  to  have  the  days  of 
 the  week  new  dipped  and  called  after  other  names ;  though  in- 
 deed this  supposed  scandal  will  not  ofl'end  the  wise,  as  beneath 
 their  notice,  and  cannot  ofleud  the  ignorant,  as  above  their 
 knowledge.  Wherefore  none  need  so  hastily  to  hurry  to  the 
 top  of  the  mainmast,  thence  to  pluck  down  the  badge  of  Castor 
 and  Pollux ;  but  rather  let  them  be  careful  steadily  to  steer 
 
 *  The  voyage  and  shipwreck  of  S.  Paul.     By  James  Smith,   Esq.    Longman  : 
 London.      1848. 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVIII.  11,  15.  743 
 
 their  ship  to  the  haven,  for  which  it  is  bound  ;  and  let  us  "  re- 
 deem the  time,  for  the  days  are  evil ;"  not  because  in  their  names 
 they  bear  the  cognizance  of  the  Pagan  gods,  but  because  swarm- 
 ing with  the  sins  of  profane  men,  which  all  should  labour  to  re- 
 prove in  others,  and  amend  in  themselves.  T.  Fuller.  (Church 
 History,  b.  ii.  cent.  6.) 
 
 How  many  brave  ships  have  perished  in  the  storms,  notwithstand- 
 ing their  fine  names  ;  "  The  Prosperous,"  "  The  Success,"  "  The 
 Happy  Eeturn."  A  fine  name  could  not  protect  them  from 
 the  rocks ;  nor  will  it  save  one  from  hell.  Amos  ix.  10 ;  Prov. 
 i.  13—15.     Eom.  ii.  17—21.     Flavel. 
 
 15  By  the  seventh  Injunction  of  Elizabeth,  Ecclesiastical  persons 
 are  forbidden  haunting  of  alehouses  and  taverns.  I  know  S. 
 Paul  may  meet  his  acquaintance  at  the  market  of  Appius  (Appii 
 forum)  and  at  the  three  taverns ;  but  this  ought  to  be  for  his 
 honest  necessities,  as  the  former  Injunction  intimates,  and  not 
 to  keep  rank  riot  at  unlawful  hours.  He,  that  is  irregular  in 
 this  kind,  after  admonition  and  warning,  is  worthy  to  be  sus- 
 pended ab  officio  et  benejicio.  1  Tim.  iii.  3.  Dean  Boys.  (Ex- 
 pos, of  the  Dominical  Epistles,  &c.  20th  S.  after  Trinity.) 
 
 S.  Paul  (not  Peter)  was  ordained  by  the  grace  of  Gron  to  be  the 
 chief  Apostle  of  the  G-entiles,  and  consequently  of  Eome,  the 
 chief  city  of  the  Gentiles,  Eom.  xv.  15,  16,  19,  20,  &c. ;  Eom. 
 xi.  14,  16,  4.  It  seems  by  this  reference,  and  the  whole  last 
 chapter,  that  the  Christians,  who  were  in  Eome,  before  S.  Paul 
 came  thither,  were  converted  by  those  preachers,  whom  he  had  sent 
 thither  before  him  ;  for  he  calls  them  his  "helpers"  verse  3,  9  ; 
 "kinsmen"  verse  7,  13;  "fellow  prisoners"  verse 7;  "the  first- 
 fruits  of  Achaia,"  where  he  had  preached,  verse  7  ;  all  familiar 
 to  him  and  to  Tertius,  who  wrote  the  Epistle,  verse  22 :  and 
 therefore  they  came  so  joyfully  to  meet  S.  Paul  at  Appii  forum^ 
 hearing  that  he  was  coming  towards  Eome.  Bp.  Baihj.  (Prac- 
 tice of  Piety,  ch.  43.) 
 
 An  earlier  date,  than  the  one  suggested  in  the  last  note,  may  be 
 assigned  with  great  probability  to  the  Church  of  Eome :  its 
 foundations  may  have  been  laid  by  "  the  strangers  of  Eome, 
 Jews  and  proselytes,"  mentioned  ch.  ii.  10,  as  witnesses  of  the 
 first  outpouring  of  the  Spirit  on  the  Day  of  Pentecost ;  through 
 
7'44  THE  ACTS  XXVIII.  15. 
 
 these  the  streams  of  life,  may  have  found  their  way  to  the  Im- 
 perial city.  Subsequently,  Aquila  and  Priscilla  may  have  been 
 instrumental  in  this  most  glorious  and  triumphant  work  of  Evan- 
 gelization. Ch.  xviii.  2,  26  ;  Eom.  xvi.  3.  But  the  observation 
 of  Skelton,  in  our  next  note,  opens  to  us  a  new  aspect  of  this 
 interesting  inquiry,  and  much  deserves  our  consideration. 
 (Eefer.  xvii.  4.     Bp.  Sumner.)    J.  F. 
 
 Erom  the  20th  verse  of  the  last  chapter  in  this  book  to  the  end, 
 it  is  probable,  that  the  Gospel  was  first  preached  by  S,  Paul  at 
 Eome,  and  that  he,  not  S.  Peter,  was  the  founder  of  the  Church 
 in  that  city,  when,  as  yet,  there  were  few,  if  any  Christians 
 there.  It  is  true  he  was  met  at  Ajjpii  Forum  by  some  men, 
 whom  S.  Luke  calls  brethren  (verse  15)  ;  but  so  he  might  style 
 them,  as  mere  Jews :  for  that  they  were  not  yet  Christians  ap- 
 pears very  probable  from  their  inquiring,  what  "  he  thought" 
 concerning  the  sect  of  Christians,  when  they  met  him  again  at 
 Eome  (verse  22)  ;  observing  to  him  that  it  was  then  "  every- 
 where spoken  against."  This  is  the  language  of  strangers  to 
 it ;  and  the  extreme  coldness,  or  rather  aversion,  they  showed 
 for  it,  on  his  first  preaching  it  to  them,  does  not  at  all  favour  the 
 supposition  of  their  having  been  previously  believers.  Neither 
 this,  nor  the  manner  of  S.  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Eomans,  suits 
 the  opinion,  that  he  wrote  it,  before  he  had  seen  that  city. 
 "Whether  S.  Peter  was  ever  there,  is  disputed  by  some.  I  be- 
 lieve he  was  :  but  that  he  built  on  the  foundation,  laid  by  S. 
 Paul,  and  was  not  therefore  the  founder,  nor  first  Bishop,  of 
 the  Eoman  Church.     Verse  17.     SMton.     (Senilia,  75,) 
 
 New  mercies  for  new  returns  of  praise  ;  and  then  those  new  re- 
 turns will  fetch  in  new  mercies.  If  the  end  of  one  mercy  were 
 not  the  beginning  of  another,  we  were  undone,  xxvii.  22,  25. 
 P.  Henry. 
 
 How  happy  is  the  man,  O  Lord,  that  hath  Thee  for  his  God! 
 He  can  want  nothing,  that  is  good ;  he  can  be  hurt  by  nothing, 
 that  is  evil.  His  sins  are  pardoned,  his  good  endeavours  are 
 accepted,  his  crosses  are  sanctified,  his  prayers  are  lieard.  All, 
 that  he  hath,  are  blessings  ;  all,  that  he  suffers,  are  advantages: 
 his  life  is  holy ;  his  death  comfortable ;  his  estate  after  death 
 glorious,   Oh !    that  I  could  feel  Thee  to  be  my  God,  that  I 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVIII.  15.  745 
 
 could  enjoy  an  heavenly  Communion  with  Thee!  In  vain 
 should  earth  or  hell  labour  to  make  me  other,  than  Blessed. 
 Eom.  viii.  28,  31 ;  Phil.  iv.  6,  7.  Bp.  Hall.  (Breathings  of  a 
 devout  soul.) 
 
 16  And  when  we  came  to  Rome,  the  centm-ion  de- 
 livered the  prisoners  to  the  captain  of  the  guard  :  but 
 Paul  was  suffered  to  dwell  by  himself  with  a  soldier 
 that  kept  him. 
 
 17  And  it  came  to  pass,  that  after  three  days  Paul 
 called  the  chief  of  the  Jews  together :  and  when  they 
 were  come  together,  he  said  unto  them,  Men  and 
 brethren,  though  I  have  committed  nothing  against 
 the  people,  or  customs  of  our  fathers,  yet  was  I  de- 
 livered prisoner  from  Jerusalem  into  the  hands  of  the 
 Romans. 
 
 18  Who,  when  they  had  examined  me,  would 
 have  let  me  go,  because  there  was  no  cause  of  death 
 in  me. 
 
 19  But  when  the  Jews  spake  against  it,  I  was  con- 
 strained to  appeal  unto  Cesar ;  not  that  I  had  aught 
 to  accuse  my  nation  of. 
 
 20  For  this  cause  therefore  have  I  called  for  you,  to 
 see  youy  and  to  speak  with  you :  because  that  for  the 
 hope  of  Israel  I  am  bound  with  this  chain. 
 
 21  And  they  said  unto  him,  We  neither  received 
 letters  out  of  Judea  concerning  thee,  neither  any  of 
 the  brethren  that  came  showed  or  spake  any  harm  of 
 thee. 
 
 22  But  we  desire  to  hear  of  thee  what  thou  thinkest : 
 for  as  concerning  this  sect,  we  know  that  every  where 
 it  is  spoken  against. 
 
746  THE  ACTS  XXVIII.  16. 
 
 16  What  a  happy  Church  is  that,  on  which  the  Apostles  poured 
 out  all  their  doctrine  with  their  blood,  where  S.  Peter  had  a  like 
 passion  with  the  Lord  ;  where  S.  Paul  hath  for  his  crown  the 
 same  death  with  S.  James ;  where  the  Apostle  S.  John  was 
 plunged  into  boiling  oil,  and  suffered  nothing,  and  was  after- 
 wards banished  to  an  island.  Let  us  see  what  she  hath  learned, 
 what  taught,  what  fellowship  she  hath  had  with  the  Churches 
 of  Africa  likewise.  She  acknowledgeth  one  God,  the  Lord, 
 the  Creator  of  the  universe  ;  and  Christ  Jesus,  the  Son  of 
 God  the  Creator,  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary  ;  and  the  Eesur- 
 rection  of  the  flesh.  She  joineth  the  Law  and  the  Prophets 
 with  the  writings  of  the  Evangelists  and  Apostles  ;  and  thence 
 drinketh  in  her  faith.  That  faith  she  sealeth  with  Water, 
 clotheth  with  the  Holy  Spirit,  feedeth  with  the  Eucharist,  ex- 
 horteth  to  Martyrdom,  and  so  receiveth  no  one  in  opposition 
 to  this  teaching.  Kom.  i.  8.  Tertullian.  (On  prescription 
 against  heretics,  S.  36.) 
 
 Eelix  Roma,  ducum  non  tantum  elata  trophseis. 
 Quantum  morte  tua,  felicique  inclyta  busto. 
 Scilicet  huic  uni  coelum  concesserat  urbi, 
 Ut  Cilicas  inter  natus  Perseide  Tharso 
 Quam  vastum  procul  a  nostris  mare  dividit  oris, 
 Hie  spoliis  moriens  peteres  super  alta  relictis : 
 Ilia  tuos  obitus  vidit  miserata  cadentem, 
 Explentem  Eegis  crudeles  sanguine  poenas, 
 Begis  inhumani  materna  caede  madentis. 
 
 H,  Vida.     (Hymn.  De  Sancto 
 
 Paulo.) 
 
 It  was  so  ordered  by  Providence,  that  S.  Paul  was  led  to  Kome, 
 
 as  a  jirisoner,  that  he  might  not,  as  a  Jew,  be  driven  away,  but 
 
 as  acting  under  military  custody,  might  ever  be  guarded  there. 
 
 S.  Chrysostom.     (On  Acts  xviii.  1 — 6.) 
 
 He  was  fastened  by  a  chain  to  the  soldiery  who  had  tlie  charge  of 
 
 him,  and  who,  therefore,  as  Bengel   observes,  could  always  hear 
 
 his  preaching.     How  wonderfully  does  the  Providence  of  God 
 
 exert  itself  for  tlie  salvation  of  single  individuals,  as  well  as 
 
 entire  communities.     He  is  indeed  maxhnns,  and  maximus  in 
 
 minimis.     S.  Paul's  "appeal"  carries  the  Gospel  to  K-ome,  and 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVIII.  17,  19.  747 
 
 his  "cbaiu"  fixes  it  on  the  soldier,     viii.  26,  27;  xviii.  10;  Isa. 
 xl.  10,  11.     J.  F. 
 
 17  Bj  this  Providential  distribution  and  settlement  of  the  Jews 
 in  almost  every  part  of  the  civilized  world,  they  were  every 
 where  to  be  found  carrying  with  them  their  Law  and  Prophets, 
 establishing  their  synagogues,  celebrating  their  Sabbaths,  bear- 
 ing constant  testimony  to  the  Unity,  the  Supremacy,  the 
 Providence  of  God,  in  opposition  to  Pagan  superstition  and 
 idolatry ;  and  numbers  of  them  declaring  their  firm  belief  in  a 
 future  state  of  retribution,  while  all  maintained  a  constant 
 connection  with  Jerusalem,  attended  there  at  the  three  great 
 Festivals,  whenever  it  was  practicable,  sent  thither  their  pious 
 and  charitable  contributions,  and  universally  gloried  in  the  ex- 
 pectation of  that  Messiah,  who  was  to  be  a  Light  to  lighten  the 
 G-entiles,  as  well  as  the  '*  Glory  of  His  people  Israel."  The 
 influence  of  such  a  preparation  for  the  reception  and  diflTusion 
 of  the  Gospel  must  have  been  great  and  salutary.  The  preachers 
 of  Christianity  almost  every  where  instantly  found  hearers,  who 
 could  understand  and  feel  their  addresses,  ii.  4 — 11 ;  viii.  27  ; 
 X.  1 ;  xiii.  14 ;  xiv.  1 ;  xvii.  1 — 4.  Dean  Graves.  (On  the 
 Pentateuch,  P.  iii.,  Lect.  6.) 
 
 19  Though  rejected  by  his  countrymen,  he  still  says  "?wy  nation." 
 Among  the  manifold  graces  displayed  in  the  lives  of  the  first 
 Christians,  candour  and  forbearance  towards  opponents  are 
 among  the  most  conspicuous.  See  this,  instanced  in  S.  Paul 
 here,  and  xiii.  27  ;  1  Cor.  ii.  8  ;  Eom.  ix.  1 — 5  ;  x.  1 ;  and  in 
 S.  Peter,  i.  IG,  (see  note)  ;  ii.  15 ;  iii.  17 ;  xi.  2—4  ;  S.  Matt, 
 vi.  44;  1  Cor.  iv.  12 ;  IS.  Pet.  iii.  9.     /.  F. 
 
 Not  that  I  had  aught  to  accuse  my  nation  of. — S.  Paul  had  evidently 
 a  soul  large  and  capacious,  and  possessed  of  those  seemingly 
 contradictory  excellencies,  which,  whenever  they  appear  in 
 combination,  fail  not  to  form  an  extraordinary  character.  His 
 talents  were  great  and  various ;  his  learning  also  was  profound 
 and  extensive.  His  consummate  fortitude  was  tempered  with 
 the  rarest  gentleness  and  the  most  active  charity.  His  very 
 copious  and  vivid  imagination  was  chastised  by  the  most  accu- 
 rate judgment,  and  was  connected  with  the  closest  argumenta- 
 tive powers.     Divine  grace  alone  could  effect  so  wonderful  a 
 
748  THE  ACTS  XXVIII.  19,  20. 
 
 combination;  inasmucli  that  for  the  space  of  near  thirty  years  after 
 his  conversion,  this  man,  whose  natural  haughtiness  and  fiery 
 temper  had  hurried  him  into  a  very  sanguinary  course  of  per- 
 secution, lived  the  friend  of  mankind,  returned  good  for  evil 
 continually,  was  a  model  of  patience  and  benevolence,  and 
 steadily  attentive  only  to  heavenly  things  ;  while  yet  he  had  a 
 taste,  a  spirit,  and  a  genius,  which  might  have  shone  among  the 
 greatest  statesmen  and  men  of  letters,  that  ever  lived.  What 
 Quintilian  said  of  Cicero,  may  be  justly  applied  to  the  Apostle 
 of  the  Gentiles,  Ille  se  profecisse  sciat,  cut  Paulus  valde  placehit. 
 J.  Milner.     (Church  History,  cent,  i.,  c.  15.) 
 
 We  should  never  use  reproach  as  a  means  of  compassing  any  de- 
 sign we  do  affect,  or  aim  at ;  it  is  an  unwarrantable  engine  of 
 raising  us  to  wealth,  dignity,  or  repute.  To  grow  by  the 
 diminution,  to  rise  by  the  depression,  to  shine  by  the  eclipse  of 
 others,  to  build  a  fortune  upon  the  ruins  of  our  neighbour's 
 reputation,  is  that,  which  no  honourable  mind  can  affect,  no 
 honest  man  will  endeavour.  Our  own  wit,  courage,  and  in- 
 dustry, managed  with  God's  assistance  and  blessing,  are  suffi- 
 cient and  only  lawful  instruments  of  prosecuting  honest  enter- 
 prises :  we  need  not,  we  must  not,  instead  of  them,  employ  our 
 neighbour's  disgrace.  No  worldly  good  is  worth  purchasing  at 
 such  a  rate  ;  no  project  worth  achieving  by  such  foul  ways.  S. 
 John  vii.  12;  ix.  29;  Eph.  iv.  31;  Col.  iii.  8.  Dr.  Barrow. 
 (Serm.  Tit.  iii.  2.) 
 
 20  Mighty  is  the  power  of  S.  Paul's  chain  !  A  spectacle  this, 
 which  may  suffice  for  every  other,  to  behold  S.  Paul  bound  and 
 led  forth  from  his  prison  !  to  behold  him  bound  and  sitting 
 within  it,  what  pleasure  can  come  up  to  this  ?  What  would  I 
 not  give  for  such  a  sight  ?  Do  ye  see  the  Emperors,  the  Con- 
 suls, borne  along  in  their  chariots  and  arrayed  in  gold,  and 
 their  body  guard  with  every  thing  about  them  of  gold  ?  Their 
 halberds  of  gold,  their  shields  of  gold,  their  raiment  of  gold, 
 their  horses  with  trappings  of  gold  ?  How  far  more  delightful, 
 than  such  a  spectacle,  is  this !  I  would  rather  see  S.  Paul, 
 once  going  forth  with  the  prisoners  from  his  prison,  than  be- 
 hold these,  ten  thousand  times  over,  parading  along  with  all  that 
 retinue.     When  he  was  thus' led   forth,  how  many  Angels,  sup- 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVIII.  22.  749 
 
 pose  ye,  led  the  way  before  him  ?     2  Kings  vi.  8 — 17 ;  Ps. 
 xxxiv.  7.     S.  Chnjsostom.     (Horn.  ix.  Eph.  iv.  3.) 
 
 22  The  nature  of  Christianity  itself  stands  in  opposition  to  all 
 other  professions  in  the  world,  confutes  the  Philosopher, 
 silences  the  Scribe,  strikes  oracles  dumb,  cries  to  every  man  in 
 the  world  to  go  out  of  it.  "  Behold,"  saith  our  Saviour  to 
 His  disciples,  '*  I  send  you  forth,  as  sheep  in  the  midst  of 
 wolves,"  which  will  tear  you  in  pieces ;  for  no  other  reason, 
 but  because  you  are  "  sheep."  .  .  Tertullian  tells  us,  Cum  odio 
 sui  coepit,  that  Christianity  was  hated,  as  soon  as  known ;  and 
 did  no  sooner  show  itself  in  the  world,  but  it  found  enemies, 
 who  were  ready  to  suppress  and  cast  it  out ;  men,  that  could 
 hate  it  for  no  other  reason,  but  because  it  taught  to  love ;  that 
 could  be  angry  with  the  Christian,  because  he  was  meek ;  and 
 destroy  him,  because  he  made  it  his  profession  to  forgive.  2 
 Cor.  vi.  14.     Farindon,     (Serm.  S.  Matt.  v.  5.) 
 
 Nothing  is  more  evident,  than  the  utter  disgrace,  which  was 
 annexed  by  the  world  at  large  to  the  profession  of  Christianity 
 at  that  period.  Tacitus  calls  it  superstitio  exitiabilis,  and 
 accuses  the  Christians  of  enmity  to  mankind.  By  Epictetus 
 and  others  their  heroism  is  termed  obstinacy;  and  it  was 
 generally  treated  by  the  Eoman  Governors,  as  the  infatuation 
 of  a  miserable  and  despised  people.  There  was  none  of  that 
 Glory,  annexed  to  it,  which  blazes  around  the  martyrdom  of  a 
 patriot  or  a  philosopher.  That  constancy,  which  in  another 
 cause  would  have  made  them  illustrious,  was  held  to  be  a  con- 
 temptible folly,  which  only  exposed  them  to  the  derision  and 
 insolence  of  the  multitude.  A  name  and  a  reputation  in  the 
 world  might  sustain  the  dying  moments  of  Socrates,  or  E-egu- 
 lus  :  but  what  earthly  principles  can  account  for  the  intrepidity 
 of  those  poor  and  miserable  outcasts,  who  consigned  themselves 
 to  a  voluntary  Martyrdom  in  the  cause  of  their  religion  ?  Dr. 
 Chalmers.     (Evidences  of  the  Christian  Eeligion,  ch.  4.) 
 
 A  striking  Antithesis !  "While  S.  Paul,  persecuted  with  every  man- 
 ner of  persecution  by  his  own  countrymen  has,  in  the  exercise 
 of  unbounded  Christian  Charity  (i.  16 ;  ii.  15  ;  xiii.  27),  nothing 
 to  accuse  his  nation  of^  the  whole  world  of  Jews  and  Gentiles, 
 in  the  exercise  of  the  spirit  of  anti-christ  and  of  evil,  speaks 
 
750  THE  ACTS  XXVIII,  22. 
 
 against  that  very  sect,  whose  chief  aim  and  endeavour  was  their 
 happiness  and  Salvation.  P/my  speaks  of  it,  as  "  a  lewd  and 
 impious  superstition  "  {prava  et  immodica)  ;  Suetonius  speaks 
 of  its  followers,  as  men  of  an  unheard  of  magical  superstition 
 (novcB  ac  maleJiccB).  Tertullian  tells  us,  that  however  good  a 
 man  might  be,  yet  his  being  a  Christian  man  made  him  bad : 
 the  very  name  implied  guilt :  he  informs  us,  more  particularly, 
 (Apol.  s.  8),  that,  among  the  many  calumnies,  brought  against 
 the  Christians,  they  were  accused  of  infanticide,  of  drinking 
 blood,  and  of  committing  incest,  the  sequel  of  their  horrible 
 feasts  :  (Apol.  p.  8)  on  which  passage  Eigault,  his  Editor,  makes 
 this  sagacious  remark  ;  "  Observandum  vero  inter  tot  probra  et 
 convicia  accusantium  Christianos  irapietatis  .  .  .  interque  tot 
 fratrum  perfidorum  transfugia,  noii  extitisse,  qui  Christianos 
 criminarentur,  quod  Dei  ac  Domini  sui  carnes  ederent^  sanguinem 
 potarent,  cum  hsBc  facere  in  Eucharistiis  suis  testarentur."  S. 
 Luke  vi.  28.  J.  F. 
 Within  sixty-six  years  after  the  death  of  Cheist,  this  "  grain  of 
 mustard  seed  "  was  become  a  tree.  Pliny,  Proconsul  of  Bithy- 
 nia  (to  whom  the  care  of  religion  ex  officio  did  appertain), 
 appointed  by  Trajan  to  suppress  the  Christians,  writes  to  him, 
 that  this  belief  was  longe  lateque  diffusa  ;  civitates,  vicos,  agi'os, 
 impletos  Christi  cultoribus.  (Lib.  x.  Ep.  10.)  During  the  second 
 century,  it  had  shot  out  great  branches  ;  *'  the  boughs  of  this 
 tree  were  stretched  out;"  Hesterni  sumus,  et  vestra  omnia  im- 
 plevimus.  Tertullian  reckons  up  the  known  parts  of  the  world  in 
 quihus  omnibus  Christi  Nomen  regnat,  and  concludes  uhique  porri- 
 gituvy  creditur,  colitur^  regnat^  adoratur  (Adv.  Judacos.  c.  vii.  s.  8.) 
 And,  lastly,  during  the  third  (Ji  morte  Christi)  "  the  fowls  of  the 
 air  and  beasts  of  the  field  lodged  under  the  shadow  of  it."  The 
 net  drew  good  and  bad  to  shore ;  the  Eoman  Emperor  and 
 Empire  declared  themselves  Christians,  i.e.  believers  and  asser- 
 tors  of  these  Books  :  "  So  mightily  grew  the  Word  of  God  and 
 prevailed."  xix.  10.  It  went  on  "conquering  and  to  con- 
 quer," not  by  the  spirit  of  the  sword  but  by  the  Sword  of  the 
 Spirit :  the  powers  of  the  earth  and  "  the  gates  of  hell  "  could 
 not  withstand  it ;  it  drove  the  devil  aw^ay  with  all  his  temples, 
 idols,  oracles,  priests,  sacrifices,  services,  like  lightning :  so  fell 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVIII.  22.  751 
 
 the  Dragon,  the  old  serpent,  that  deceiveth  the  world  ;  he  was 
 east  out  with  all  his  train.  .  .  For  the  Gospel,  like  leaven,  or 
 fire  from  heaven,  seized  upon  all,  that  stood  before  it.  .  .  It 
 took  possession  of  the  learned,  and  the  wise,  the  greatest,  and 
 noblest  wits  of  the  Eastern  and  Western  nations.      It  raised 
 up  philosophers  to  confound  the  philosophy,  and  noble  orators 
 to  confound  the  Ehetoric,  wherewith  it  was  opposed.  .  .  And, 
 as  it  spread  itself  large  and  high,  so,  where  it  took  possession, 
 it  took  deep  possession,  Quantum  vertice  .  .  .  tantum  radice. 
 Those,  that  received  it  truly,  received  it  in  the  love  thereof;  it 
 took  possession  of  their  hearts ;  it  penetrated  their  spirits,  and 
 took  its  lodging  in  the  inmost  recess  of  the  soul.     Ps.  ii.  8  ; 
 Ixxx.  8—11;    Eev.   vi.  2.     Bp.  Seth   Ward.      (Serm.  2  Tim. 
 iii.  16.) 
 Destitute  of  all  human  advantages,  protected  by  no  authority, 
 assisted  by  no  art,  not  recommended  by  the  reputation  of  its 
 Author,  not  enforced  by  eloquence  in  its  advocates,  "  the  Word 
 of  God  grew  mightily  and  prevailed."     Twelve  men,  poor,  and 
 artless,  and  illiterate,  we  behold  triumphing  over  the  fiercest 
 and  most  determined  opposition,  over  the  tyranny  of  the  magis- 
 trate, and  the  subtleties  of  the  philosopher,  over  the  prejudices 
 of  the  Gentile,  and  the  bigotry  of  the  Jew.     They  established  a 
 Eeligion,  which  held  forth  high  and  venerable  mysteries,  such  as 
 pride  of  man  would  induce  him  to  suspect,  because  he  could 
 not  perfectly  comprehend  them  ;  which  preached  doctrines  pure 
 and  spiritual,  such  as  corrupt  nature  was  prone  to  oppose,  be- 
 cause it  shrank  from  the  severity  of  their  discipline  ;  which 
 required  its  followers  to  renounce  almost  every  opinion  they  had 
 embraced  as  sacred,  and  every  interest  they  had  pursued  as  im- 
 portant ;  which  even  exposed  them  to  every  species  of  danger 
 and  infamy,  to  persecution  unmerited  and  unpitied,  to  the  gloom 
 of  a  prison  and  to  the  pangs  of  death.     Hopeless  as  this  pro- 
 spect might  appear  to  the  view  of  short-sighted  men,  the  Gos- 
 pel yet  emerged  from  the  obscurity,  in  which  it  was  likely  to 
 be  overwhelmed  by  the  complicated  distresses  of  its  friends  and 
 the  unrelenting  cruelty  of  its  foes.     It  succeeded  in  a  peculiar 
 degree  and  in  a  peculiar  manner ;  it  derived  that  success  from 
 truth,  and  obtained  it  under  circumstances,  where  falsehood 
 
752  THE  ACTS  XXVIII.  23. 
 
 must  have  been  detected  and  crusliod.     Ps.  xxix.  4  ;  xxxiii.  9  ; 
 Ixviii.  11.     White.     (Bampton  Lectures.     Serm.  3.) 
 
 23  And  when  they  had  appointed  him  a  day,  there 
 came  many  to  him  into  his  lodging :  to  whom  he  ex- 
 pounded and  testified  the  kingdom  of  God,  persuading 
 them  concerning  Jesus,  both  out  of  the  law  of  Moses, 
 and  out  of  the  prophets,  from  morning  till  evening. 
 
 24  And  some  believed  the  things  which  were  spoken, 
 and  some  believed  not. 
 
 25  And  when  they  agreed  not  among  themselves, 
 they  departed,  after  that  Paul  had  spoken  one  word. 
 Well  spake  the  Holy  Ghost  by  Esaias  the  prophet 
 unto  our  fathers, 
 
 26  Saying,  Go  unto  this  people,  and  say.  Hearing 
 ye  shall  hear,  and  shall  not  understand  ;  and  seeing  ye 
 shall  see,  and  not  perceive  : 
 
 27  For  the  heart  of  this  people  is  waxed  gross,  and 
 their  ears  are  dull  of  hearing,  and  their  eyes  have  they 
 closed  ;  lest  they  should  see  with  their  eyes,  and  hear 
 with  their  ears^  and  understand  with  their  heart,  and 
 should  be  converted,  and  I  should  heal  them. 
 
 28  Be  it  known  therefore  unto  you,  that  the  salva- 
 tion of  God  is  sent  unto  the  Gentiles,  and  that  they 
 will  hear  it. 
 
 23  He  expounded. — He  revived  the  use  of  Lectures,  looking  on  it 
 as  the  most  edifying  way  to  have  (as  a  great  light  of  this  nation 
 used  to  say)  "  long  Texts  and  short  sermons."  Dr.  Gairden. 
 (Serm.  preached  at  the  funeral  of  H.  Scougal.) 
 
 Persuading. — "When  S.  Paul  disclaimed  the  use  of  '*  the  persua- 
 sive words  of  man's  wisdom,"  1  Cor.  ii.  4,  he  did  not  mean  to 
 condemn  true  wisdom  and   the  force  of  reasoning.  .  .  He  rea- 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVIII.  23.  753 
 
 soned  much  ;  he  persuaded  effectually ;  so  that  he  was  really 
 an  excellent  philosopher  and  an  orator.  But  his  preaching  was 
 not  founded  on  human  reasoning,  nor  on  the  art  of  per- 
 suasion. It  was  a  Ministry  of  Divine  Institution,  that  owed  its 
 efficacy  to  God  alone.  The  conversion  of  the  world  was  accord- 
 ing to  the  ancient  prophecies  to  be  the  great  and  standing 
 miracle  of  the  Christian  religion.  This  was  the  kingdom  of 
 God,  that  came  from  heaven,  and  was  to  convert  and  reduce  all 
 the  nations  of  the  earth  to  the  worship  and  service  of  the  true 
 God.  Jesus  Cheist  crucified,  by  His  being  declared  to  them, 
 was  to  draw  them  all  to  Himself,  merely  by  the  power  of  His 
 Cross.  The  philosophers  had  reasoned  and  disputed,  without 
 converting  either  themselves  or  others  :  The  Jews  had  been  in- 
 structed by  a  Law,  that  showed  them  their  miseries,  but  could 
 not  relieve  them.  All  mankind  were  convinced  of  the  general 
 disorder  and  corruption,  that  reigned  among  them.  .  .  Now  it 
 would  only  have  weakened  and  frustrated  the  wonderful  power 
 of  the  Cross  (as  S.  Paul  says,  1  Cor.  i.  17)  to  ground  the 
 preaching  of  the  Gospel  upon  natural  means.  It  was  necessary 
 that,  without  human  help,  the  Gospel  should  of  itself  open 
 people's  hearts,  and  by  that  prodigious  efficacy  show  mankind 
 that  it  came  from  God.  Thus  was  human  wisdom  confounded 
 and  rejected.  Now  what  must  we  conclude  from  hence  ?  This 
 only  ;  that  the  conversion  of  the  nations  and  the  establishment 
 of  the  Christian  Church  was  not  owing  to  the  learned  reason- 
 ings and  persuasive  words  of  man's  wisdom.  It  does  not  imply 
 that  there  was  no  eloquence,  nor  wisdom,  in  several  of  those, 
 who  first  preached  the  Gospel ;  but  onl}^,  that  they  did  not  de- 
 pend upon  this  eloquent  wisdom,  nor  did  they  study  it,  as  a 
 thing,  that  was  to  give  an  efficacy  to  their  doctrine.  It  was 
 founded  (as  the  Apostle  tells  us)  not  upon  the  persuasive  dis- 
 courses of  human  philosophy,  but  solely  upon  the  effects  of  the 
 Spirit,  and  the  Power  of  God,  that  is,  upon  the  miracles,  that 
 struck  the  eyes  and  minds  of  men,  and  upon  the  inward  opera- 
 tion of  the  Divine  Grace,  xiii.  12  ;  xiv.  12  ;  xix.  26  ;  2  Cor.  v. 
 11.  Fenelon.  (Dialogues  on  Eloquence,  3.) 
 Out  of  Moses  and  the  Prophets. — This  is  the  weapon,  whereby  our 
 grand  Captain  vanquished  the  great  challenger  of  the  bottomless 
 
 c  c  c 
 
754  THE  ACTS  XXVIII.  23,  24. 
 
 pit,  Scriptum  est  "  It  is  written."  All  other  blades  are,  but 
 lead  to  this  steel.  Councils,  fathers,  Histories  are  good  helps ; 
 but  ad  pompam  (for  show)  rather,  than  ad  pugnam  (for  the 
 fight.)  These  Scriptures  are  they,  whereof  ^S*.  ^w^w^^iwe  justly, 
 Hcec  fundamental  ■  hcec  Jirmamenta.  What  do  we  multiply 
 volumes  and  endlessly  go  about  the  bush  ?  That  of  Tertullian 
 is  most  certain,  Au/er  ah  hcereticis  qucecumque  Ethnici  sapiunty 
 ut  de  Scripturis  soils  qucestiones  suas  sistant ;  et  stare  nonpoterunt. 
 "Take  from  heretics  what  they  borrow  of  Pagans,  and  hold 
 them  close  to  the  trial  by  the  Scriptures  alone,  they  cannot 
 stand."  Bring  but  this  fire  to  the  wildest  beast,  his  eye  will 
 not  endure  it ;  he  must  run  away  from  it :  for  these  kind  of 
 creatures  are  all,  as  that  Father,  Lucifugce  Scripturarum.  What 
 w^orlds  of  volumes  had  been  spared,  how  infinite  distractions  of 
 weak  and  wavering  souls  had  been  prevented,  if  we  had  con- 
 fined ourselves  to  S.  Paul's  fence  !  i.  20  ;  ii.  16,  25  ;  iii.  22 ; 
 iv.  25 ;  viii.  35  ;  xiii.  15,  27,  33,  35,  40,  47  ;  xv.  15  ;  xvii.  11 ; 
 xviii.  28  ;  xx.  32  ;  xxiv.  14  ;  xxvi.  22.  Bp.  Hall.  (Serm.  1 
 Cor.  XV.  32.) 
 
 The  Books  of  the  Prophets  are  Historical  and  Doctrinal,  The 
 first  contain  the  explication  of  the  Law  by  practice,  chiefly ; 
 the  latter  by  doctrine,  chiefly.  Abp.  Usher.  (Sum  and  Sub- 
 stance.) 
 
 From  morning  till  evening. — This  is  the  man,  who  in  Macedonia 
 gave  "much  exhortation,"  xx.  2;  who,  at  Troas  was  long 
 preaching  ;  who  "  talked  a  long  while,  even  till  break  of  day," 
 9,11;  who  "ceased  not,"  at  Ephesus,  "for  the  space  of 
 three  years  to  warn  every  one  night  and  day  with  tears,"  31; 
 and  who  therefore,  on  the  ground  of  his  own  consistent  and 
 illustrious  example,  could  exhort  Ministers  to  the  end  of  time, 
 and  until  the  Lord  come,  to  "  preach  the  Word,  to  be  instant 
 in  season  and  out  of  season,  to  reprove,  rebuke,  and  exhort  with 
 all  long  suffering  and  doctrine."    xxvi.  22  ;  2  Tim.  iv.  1,  2.  J.  F, 
 
 24  The  Gospel  is  declared.  Some  there  are,  which  believe  ;  some 
 there  are,  which  believe  not.  They,  which  believe,  hear  it  in- 
 wardly by  the  Father  ;  and  so  learn  it.  They,  which  believe  not, 
 hear  it  only  with  their  outward  sense  and  not  with  inward  feel- 
 ings ;  and  therefore  learn  it  not.    xvi.  14  ;  S.  Luke  xxiv.  27,  31 ; 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVIII.  24,  25.  755 
 
 S.  John  X.  26,  27 ;  Ps.  xxxiv.  2.  *S.  Jugustine.  (De  Pr^dest. 
 Sanctorum,  c.  viii.) 
 
 There  being  two  effects  of  the  preaching  of  the  word,  either  con- 
 verting or  hardening,  either  dissolving  the  wax  or  stiffening  the 
 clay,  you  shall  in  every  man  be  sure  to  meet  with  one  of  them. 
 Isa.  i.  19,  20  ;  2  Cor.  ii.  15.  Dr.  Hamtnojid.  (Serm.  Acts 
 xvii.  30.) 
 
 "Where  mankind  have  been  divided  in  their  opinions,  with  regard 
 to  any  Divine  truth,  it  has  not  been  owing  to  the  ambiguity 
 of  its  terms,  or  the  defect  of  its  evidence ;  but  wholly  and 
 solely  to  the  state  and  temper  of  the  hearers.  And  thus 
 CiiEiST  Himself  has  instructed  us  in  His  parable  of  the  sower  ; 
 that,  where  "the  good  seed"  of  the  AVord  perishes,  it  is  to 
 be  imputed  to  the  ground,  and  not  to  the  seed.  How  else 
 can  we  account  for  it,  that,  when  S.  Paul  laid  the  evidence  of 
 the  Gospel  before  a  large  assembly  of  Jews  at  Eome,  some  be- 
 lieved the  things,  which  were  spoken,  and  some  believed  not ; 
 though  the  same  things  were  spoken  to  all  ?  Such  in  general 
 was  the  success  of  the  Apostolical  preaching ;  some  few  "  re- 
 ceiving the  Word  with  gladness,"  while  others  "  opposed  them- 
 selves and  blasphemed."  And  though  it  be  supposed,  that 
 words  are  more  easily  misunderstood  than  facts,  and  may  admit 
 of  a  greater  latitude,  yet  here  we  shall  find,  that  the  same  spirit, 
 which  has  divided  mankind,  in  what  are  called  the  more  specu- 
 lative points  of  faith,  will  also  divide  them  in  the  plainest  and 
 most  striking  matters  of  fact.  See  S.  John  xii.  10, 11.  S.  John 
 iii.  2 ;  S.  Matt.  xii.  24 ;  Acts  ii.  13,  41.  W.  Jones.  (On  the 
 Catholic  Doctrine  of  the  Trinity.  Pref.) 
 
 25  He  did  not  wish  to  reproach  the  unbelievers,  but  to  confirm 
 those,  that  believed.     S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 One  word. — He  did  not  shoot  the  arrow  of  the  Word  over  the 
 heads  of  his  audience,  in  the  flourishes  of  affected  rhetoric  ; 
 nor  under  their  feet  by  homely  expressions ;  but  to  their  hearts, 
 in  close  and  lively  applications,  ii.  22 — 37  ;  vii.  51 — 53;  Isn. 
 Iviii.  1;  Micah  iii.  8;  Job  vi.  25.  P.  Hemy.  (Life  by  M. 
 Henry.) 
 
 In  Scripture  w^e  have  those  commands,  relating  to  the  Holt 
 Ghost,  as  show  Him  to  be  a  proper  object  of  Doxology ;  and 
 c  c  c  2 
 
756  THE  ACTS  XXVIII.  25,  26. 
 
 some  examples  of  it.  This  is  included  in  the  Form  of  Baptism, 
 which  is  in  the  Name  of  the  Holt  Ghost,  as  well  as  of  the 
 Fathee  and  of  the  Soisr,  and  includes,  not  only  invocatings,  but 
 thanksgivings.  Hence,  S.  Basil,  who  well  understood  this  matter, 
 says,  "  We  are  to  be  Baptized,  as  we  have  received  the  Form, 
 delivered  unto  us ;  and  to  believe,  as  we  are  Baptized  ;  and  to 
 glorify,  as  we  believe,  the  Father,  Son  and  Holt  Ghost  :" 
 and  again,  "  We  make  the  Confession  of  faith,  as  it  were,  the  be- 
 ginning and  mother  of  the  Doxology."  There  is  a  Doxology  to 
 the  Holt  Ghost  in  Isaiah's  vision,  where  we  find  the  Seraphs 
 crying  "Holy,  Holy,  Holy,  is  the  Loed  of  Hosts,  the  whole 
 earth  is  full  of  His  Glory."  The  Loed  of  Hosts  here  signifies 
 God,  including  Fathee,  Son,  and  Spieit.  None  will  exclude 
 the  Fathee  :  S.  John  applies  the  passage  to  the  Son  ;  and  S. 
 Paul  interprets  it  of  the  Holt  Ghost  :  for  the  Loed  of  Hosts, 
 who  is  said  to  utter  His  voice  and  say,  "  Whom  shall  I  send  ? 
 and  who  will  go  for  TJs  ?"  and  who  said  "  Go,  and  tell  this 
 people;"  this  Loed,  according  to  S.  Paul,  is  the  Holt  Ghost. 
 Isa.  vi.9  ;  S.  John  xii.  40,  41.  Hurrion.  (On  the  Holt  Spieit. 
 Serm.  6.) 
 
 Here  the  last  chapter  of  the  Acts  harmonizes  with  the  first,  in 
 setting  forth  the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost  (i.  2)  ;  and  a  like  cor- 
 respondence may  be  traced,  in  regard  to  the  establishment  of 
 Cheist's  Kingdom,  another  principal  subject,  aimed  at  in  this 
 Book.  (Yerse  31 ;  i.  3.)  At  Pentecost,  however,  the  Holt 
 Ghost  spake  in  terms  of  invitation  and  mercy ;  but  here  in  the 
 sterner  language  of  judgment  and  condemnation:  for,  as  a 
 general  truth,  if  we  refuse  God's  Mercy  inviting  us,  what  can 
 we  expect  but  His  heavy  wrath,  taking  vengeance  on  our 
 souls  ?     /.  F. 
 
 26  As  if  they  had  not  heard,  that,  when  the  Holt  Spieit  is  thus 
 forced  away,  the  evil  spirit  takes  His  place.  1  Sam.  xvi.  14.  As 
 if  they  knew  not,  that  to  those,  who  "  close  their  eyes  and  stop 
 their  ears''  against  the  Holt  Spieit's  motions,  till  they  are 
 grown  dull  of  hearing  and  blind  to  them,  God  does  send  a  spirit 
 of  slumber,  that  tliey  should  not  see,  nor  hear :  and  for  this 
 dire  reason,  that  tlicy  "  may  not  be  converted  nor  be  saved." 
 Five  times  he  alBrms  it  in  the  Scripture.     Yea,  once  more,  in 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVIII.  26,  27.  757 
 
 words  of  a  sad  emphasis,  2  Thess.  ii.  12,  13.  He  sends  them 
 "  strong  delusions,  that  they  may  believe  a  lie  ;  that  they  all 
 may  be  damned,  who  believe  not  the  truth,  but  have  pleasure  in 
 unrighteousness ;  and  that,  because  they  received  not  the  love 
 of  the  truth,  that  they  might  be  saved."  Blessed  Groo  !  Is  it 
 so  easy  for  such  sinners  to  believe  and  be  converted,  that  Thy- 
 self shouldest  interpose  to  hinder  it,  and  hide  the  possibilities 
 of  mercy  from  their  eyes  ;  that  they  may  never  see  them  nor 
 recover !  What  then  can  become  of  those,  for  whom  God  does 
 contrive  that  they  shall  not  escape  ?  When,  instead  of  those 
 bowels,  that  did  make  Him  swear.  He  would  not  have  the  sinner 
 die,  but  would  have  him  "  return  and  live,"  He  puts  on  so  much 
 indignation  at  such  sinners,  as  to  take  an  order,  they  shall  not 
 repent,  and  take  an  order,  that  they  shall  be  damned  !  Isa.  vi. 
 9 ;  S.  Matt.  xiii.  14,  15  ;  S.  John  xii.  40 ;  Eom.  xi.  8.  Br. 
 Allestry.     (Serm.  S.  James  iv.  7.) 
 
 God  hath  two  seals  ;  the  one,  of  '*  the  spirit  of  adoption,"  whereby 
 He  seals  up  believers  to  the  day  of  Redemption ;  and  the  other, 
 of  obduration,  whereby  He  seals  up  the  impenitent  to  the  day 
 of  destruction  :  He  seals  them  up  under  sin,  and  sets  them 
 aside  for  wrath.  S.  John  iii.  36  ;  E-om.  ii.  5.  Bp.  Hopkins. 
 (Serm.  Ps.  xix.  13.) 
 
 27  Isa.  vi.  9, 10.  This  is  referred  to,  six  times  in  the  New  Testa- 
 ment, S.  Matt.  xiii.  14 ;  S.  Mark  iv.  12  ;  S.  Luke  viii.  10  ;  S. 
 John  xii.  40  ;  Acts  xxviii.  26  ;  E-om.  xi.  8.  Not  that  this  is 
 spoken  prophetically,  but  spoken  by  the  Prophet  first,  and  by 
 the  Evangelists  and  Apostle  afterwards  referred  to  the  Prophet 
 in  the  like  cases.  Por  this  is  only  what  is  consequent  on  man's 
 disobedience ;  nothing  was  antecedently  intended  by  God.* 
 But  to  justify  God  in  this  case,  two  things  I  lay  down  ;  1,  none 
 are  wicked,  through  any  neglect  of  God,  but  through  their  own 
 wilfulness :  2,  none  are  miserable  by  God's  contrivance,  but  by 
 their  own  wickedness:  so  that  God  is  free  from  the  blood  of 
 all  men :  our  destruction  is  of  ourselves ;  but  our  Salvation  is 
 of  God.     Br.  Whichcote.     (Serm.  Joel  ii.  13.) 
 
 S.  Paul's  old  rule  holds  still,  "  To  the  Jews  a  stumbling  block  ;" 
 and  that  more  ancient  curse  of  David,  "  Let  their  table  be  made 
 *  'EK^aTiKoi/  not  alriaTiKbv,  consequential,  not  intentional.     S.  Chrysostom. 
 
758  THE  ACTS  XXVIII.  27. 
 
 a  snare ;  and  S.  Stephen's  two  bmnds  stick  still  in  tbe  flesh  of 
 these  wretched  men,  vii.  51 ;  one  in  the  neck,  "  stiffnecked ;"  the 
 other  in  their  heart,  "  uncircumcised  :"  the  one  obstinacy,  the 
 other  unbelief.  Still'  necks  indeed!  that  will  not  stoop  and 
 relent  with  the  yoke  of  1600  years'  judgment  and  servility. 
 Uncircumcised  hearts !  the  film  of  whose  unbelief  would  not  be 
 cut  off  with  so  many  convictions !  O  !  God,  that  after  so  clear 
 a  Gospel,  so  many  miraculous  confirmations,  so  many  thousand 
 martyrdoms,  so  many  glorious  victories  of  truth,  so  many  open 
 confessions  of  Angels,  man,  devils,  fiends,  enemies,  such  con- 
 spirators of  heaven  and  earth,  such  universal  contestations  of 
 all  ages  and  people,  there  should  be  left  any  spark  of  this 
 damnable  infidelity  in  the  false  hearts  of  men.  Let  them  show 
 us  one  Prophecy,  that  is  not  fulfilled  ;  let  them  show  us  one  other 
 
 (person),  in  whom  all  the  Prophecies  can  be  fulfilled If 
 
 they  cannot  and  yet  resist,  their  doom  is  fixed.  S.  Luke  xix.  27. 
 Bp.  Hall.     (The  Passion  Sermon.) 
 
 Undoubtedly  the  people  of  the  Jews  shall  once  more  be  com- 
 manded to  "  arise  and  shine  ;"  and  their  return  shall  be  "the 
 riches  of  the  Gentiles ;"  and  that  shall  be  a  more  glorious  time, 
 
 than  ever  the  Church  of  Christ  did  yet  behold They 
 
 forget  a  main  point  of  the  Church's  glory,  that  pray  not  daily 
 for  the  conversion  of  the  Jews.  Ps.  xiv.  11 ;  liii.  7  ;  Eom.  x.  1. 
 Abp.  Leighton.     (Serm.  Isa.  Ix.  1.) 
 
 "When  we  see  the  Jews  for  so  great  a  length  of  time  preserved 
 under  calamities,  which  would  have  been  long  since  the  ruin  of 
 any  other  people,  our  regard  and  attention  ought  to  be  strongly 
 excited  towards  them.  Extraordinary  was  their  beginning  and 
 their  progress  ;  more  extraordinary  perhaps  will  be  their  end. 
 Glorious  things  are  spoken  of  them  by  their  own  Prophets, 
 which  do  not  seem  as  yet  to  have  received  their  full  and  proper 
 
 accomplishment The  very  mercy,  shown  to  the  Gentiles, 
 
 is  to  be  a  means  of  bringing  the  Jews  to  the  faith ;  and  per- 
 haps we  can  no  where  meet  with  an  instance  of  a  more  popular 
 and  affectionate  turn,  than  that,  by  which  S.  Paul  seems  to  find 
 a  reason  for  his  zeal  to  convert  the  Gentiles,  in  his  love  to  his 
 own  countrymen,  the  Jews,  that  ho  may  thereby  "provoke  them 
 to  emulatiou."     Let  us  second  his  endeavours  to  effect  this,  by 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVIII.  28,  29.  759 
 
 our  love  and  our  good  works ;  let  us  in  our  lives  and  conversa- 
 tions show  them  a  religion,  whose  attractive  excellence  may  in- 
 vite and  compel  them  to  embrace  it.  S.  Luke  xxi.  24  ;  Eom.  xi. 
 Bp.  Home.     (Serm.  S.  John  i.  11.) 
 
 28  Neither  his  fear  of  offending  the  Jews,  nor  the  need  he  might 
 have  of  their  assistance,  can  induce  S.  Paul  to  conceal  from 
 them  his  mission  to  the  Gentiles,  and  their  calling  to  the  faith. 
 Fidelity  to  our  Orders  should  exclude  from  our  view  every  re- 
 gard to  man  or  to  our  own  personal  advantage,  xx.  27 ;  xxvi. 
 20—22;  1  Cor.  iv.  1,  2.     Quesnel. 
 
 As  once,  by  the  counsel  of  God,  Jacob  supplanted  Esau,  and 
 thrust  him  out  of  his  birthright,  so  now,  by  the  mercy  of  God, 
 Esau  hath  supplanted  Jacob,  and  taken  his  room  in  God's 
 Church  and  favour ;  and,  instead  of  that  one  language  of  the 
 Jews,  of  which  the  Church  so  long  consisted,  now  is  come  in  the 
 confusion  of  the  Gentiles,  Parthians,  Modes,  and  Elamites,  and 
 the  Babel  of  tongues,  as  S.  Austin  said ;  that  the  Catholic 
 Church  should  be  dispersed  over  all  nations,  and  speak  in  as 
 many  languages,  as  the  world  hath  tongues.  Dr.  Hammond. 
 (Serm.  Acts  xvii.  30.) 
 
 29  And  when  he  had  said  these  words,  the  Jews 
 departed,  and  had  great  reasoning  among  them- 
 selves. 
 
 30  And  Paul  dwelt  two  whole  years  in  his  own 
 hired  house,  and  received  all  that  came  in  unto  him, 
 
 31  Preaching  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  teaching 
 those  things  which  concern  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
 with  all  confidence,  no  man  forbidding  him. 
 
 29  The  Jews  departed. — Twice  mentioned.  Verse  25.  They  left 
 S.  Paul,  and  S.  Paul  did  not,  by  his  own  act,  withdraw  himself 
 and  his  Ministry  from  them.  Sinners  first  depart  from  God  ; 
 and  then  are  left  to  the  consequences  of  their  own  ingratitude 
 and  unbelief,     xiii.  46  ;  xvii.  33  ;  Job  xxi.  14.     /.  F. 
 
760  THE  ACTS  XXVIII.  29,  30. 
 
 The  right  use  of  reason  is  to  make  doubtful  tilings  certain,  not  to 
 make  certain  things  doubtful.  .  .  The  use  of  reason  in  religious 
 matters  is  first  in  the  explanation  of  mysteries ;  when  the  mind 
 must  be  dilated  to  the  mysteries,  and  not  the  mystery  con- 
 tracted to  the  mind.  S.  Luke  xxiv.  15 ;  Eph.  i.  18.  Lord 
 Bacon, 
 
 It  is  certain,  that  a  Sermon,  the  conclusion  whereof  makes  the 
 auditory  look  pleased,  and  sets  them  all  a  talking  one  with  an- 
 other, was  either  not  rightly  spoken,  or  not  right  heard  :  it  has 
 been  fine,  and  has  probably  delighted  the  congregation,  rather 
 than  edified  it:  but  that  Sermon,  that  makes  every  one  go 
 away  silent,  and  grave,  and  hastening  to  be  alone,  and  pray 
 the  matter  over  in  secret,  has  had  a  true  effect,  ii.  37 ;  Jer. 
 xxxi.  19;  S.  Matt.  vii.  27.  Bj^.  Burnet.  (Pastoral  Care. 
 Ch.  ix.) 
 
 30  (Conf.  Philemon  i.  10  ;  Heb.  x.  33.)  A  source  of  peculiar  in- 
 terest and  instruction  is  opened  to  the  student  of  "  the  Acts  " 
 by  a  frequent  reference  to  the  Epistles  of  S.  Paul.  The  truth 
 of  S.  Luke's  history  is  shown  to  the  greatest  advantage  by  the 
 reflected  light  of  what  S.  Paul  writes  of  himself  and  others,  in 
 corresponding  parts  of  his  Epistles:  numerous  allusions  and 
 coincidences  subsist  between  the  two,  such  as  could  hardly  have 
 been  the  result  of  a  previous  design,  nor  be  produced  otherwise 
 than  by  the  uniformity  of  Truth  and  the  reality  of  the  facts 
 themselves.  "We  are  indebted  to  Paley  for  this  argument,  who  has 
 fully  supported  it  with  the  most  minute  criticism  and  convincing 
 evidence  in  his  Horce  Paulince.  Thus,  to  give  a  single  instance 
 from  each  of  S.  Paul's  Epistles  (space  allowing  no  more),  we 
 may  compare  Eom.  xv.  25,  26  with  Acts  xxiv.  17 — 19 ;  1  Cor. 
 iv.  17—19  with  Acts  xix.  21,  22 ;  2  Cor.  xi.  32,  33  with  Acts 
 ix.  23—25  ;  Gal.  ii.  12  with  Acts  xii.  17,  xxi.  17,  18 ;  Eph.  iv.  1, 
 vi.  20  with  Acts  xxviii.  16,  20  ;  Phil.  i.  29,  30  with  Acts  xvi.  22 ; 
 Col.  iv.  10  with  Acts  xix.  29 ;  1  Thess.  iii.  1 — 7  with  Acts  xvii. 
 15,  16 ;  2  Thess.  ii.  8  with  Acts  xx.  34 ;  1  Tim.  i.  12,  13  with 
 Acts  xxvi.  10,  11 ;  2  Tim.  i.  5  with  Acts  xvi.  1 ;  Titus  i.  12  with 
 Acts  xvii.  28  ;  Philemon  i.  10  with  Acts  xxviii.  20 ;  Heb.  x.  34 
 with  Acts  xxviii.  20.  In  close  connection  with  the  above  in- 
 quiry, we  may  trace,  in  reading  "  the  Acts,"  the  places  where,  and 
 
THE  ACTS  XXVIII.  30,  31. 
 
 761 
 
 the  circumstances  under  which,  the  Epistles  of  S.  Paul  were 
 written,  according  to  the  best  conjectures,  we  are  able  to  make. 
 The  order,  here  subjoined,  is  taken  from  "the  Apostolical  His- 
 tory "  by  Mr.  Cradock,  a  work  recommended  by  Dr.  Dod- 
 dridge, "as  among  the  most  useful  and  judicious  expositions 
 of  the  New  Testament  he  had  ever  seen."  (Eefer  to  note 
 at  xiii.  4,  p.  356.) 
 
 i 
 
 In  time  of  S.  Paul's/ 1  Ep.  Thess.  written  at  Corinth ;  Acts  xviii.  11. 
 
 .  xviii.  18. 
 
 Ephesus,  xix.  20. 
 
 .  xix.  21, 22. 
 xix.  22. 
 
 2  Ep.  Cor xix.  22. 
 
 1  Ep.  Tim.   Upper  part  of  Greece,  xx.  2,  3. 
 .     Corinth,  xx.  3. 
 
 Third  journey.     12  Ep.  Thess. 
 
 Fourth  journey. 
 
 Ep.  Gal. 
 1  Ep.  Cor. 
 I  Ep.  Titus 
 
 ^Ep.  Eom.    . 
 
 'Philemon.   \ 
 Phil. 
 Imprisonment  at]  Col. 
 Eome.  \  Eph. 
 
 Hebr. 
 2  Tim. 
 
 xxviii.  30,  31. 
 
 J.F. 
 
 In  his  own  hired  house. — Here  is  matter  for  meditation.  "When 
 you  are  in  your  own  houses,  bethink  yourselves  thus ;  Now  I 
 am  walking  in  my  house  from  chamber  to  chamber;  but  ere 
 long  my  chamber  shall  be  in  the  dust.  Now  I  am  coming  to 
 my  bed  in  a  dark  night ;  but  ere  long  God  will  put  out  the 
 candle  of  my  life,  and  will  lay  me  in  the  grave,  as  in  a  bed  of 
 darkness.  Now  I  am  in  my  own  house  ;  but  ere  long  my  house 
 will  east  me  out  to  my  grave ;  and  that  is  the  house,  that  will 
 take  me  in.  Eccl.  xii.  5  ;  2  Cor.  v.  1.  Chr.  Love,  (Sermons 
 on  Grace,  p.  147.) 
 
 31  S.  Paul  was  Nero's  prisoner ;  but  Nero  was  much  more  God's  : 
 and,  while  God  had  work  for  S.  Paul,  He  found  him  friends 
 both  in  Court  and  in  prison.  S.  Paul  no  sooner  comes  into 
 prison,  than  he  falls  a  preaching  ;  at  which  the  gates  of  Satan's 
 
762  THE  ACTS  XXVIII.  31. 
 
 prison  fly  open,  and  poor  sinfiers  come  forth.  S.  Luke  iv.  18, 
 19  ;  2  Tim.  ii.  9.  Gurnall.  (On  the  Christian  Armour.  In- 
 trod.) 
 With  all  confidence,  no  man  forhidding  him. — They,  who  least  con- 
 sider hazard  in  the  doing  of  their  duties,  always  fare  best.  Ps. 
 xxxvii.  3 — 7  ;  Prov.  xvi.  7  ;  Isa.  xxxii.  18.  Br.  Hammond.  (Life 
 by  Dr.  Pell,  p.  78,  Edit.  1661. 
 
 Glokia  sit  Teiadi!  Sic  eeat,  est,  et  erit 
 
INDEX  I. 
 
 OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  MATTERS  CONTAINED  IN  THIS  VOLUME. 
 
 Abraham. — Trial  of  his  faith.     170,  S.  Ambrose,  &c. 
 
 Peculiar  circumstances  in  his  call.     170,  De  Burgh. 
 
 Prophecy  and  revelation  traced  down  from  him.     169,  Davison. 
 Acts,  Book  of  the. — Its  subject  matter,  &c.     2,  Dr.  Donne.     8,  J.  F. 
 
 Why  read  between  Easter  and  Pentecost.     2,  S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 Polity  of  the  Holy  Ghost.     25,  S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 Connection  with  the  Gospels  and  the  Epistles.     3,  Marloratey  &c. 
 
 Continuation  of  the  parable  of  the  sower.     349,  Erasmus. 
 
 The  development  of  the  twofold  Apostolic  Commission.     4,  /.  F. 
 
 Analysis  of  its  contents.     5,  J.  F. 
 
 Places,  noted  in  it,  whence  S.  Paul  sent  some  of  his  Epistles.     761 ,  /.  F. 
 
 Facts,  recorded  in  it,  analogous  to  events  under  the  Law.     135,  358,  /.  F. 
 
 Acquaints  us  with  a  variety  of  characters.     357,  /.  F. 
 
 Singularly  commends  to  us  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures.     Pre/ace. 
 
 Bp.  Ridley's  favourite  Chapter.     350,  J.  F. 
 Afflictions. — When  at  their  height,  meet  with  relief.     714,  Flavel. 
 
 No  certain  proofs  of  God's  judicial  punishment.     735,  Bp.  Phillpotts,  &c. 
 
 Characteristic  of  Christianity.     254,  Lord  Bacon. 
 
 Means  of  exalting  it  above  Judaism,     409,  Bp.  Warburton. 
 
 Needful,     dn,  Flavel. 
 
 Profitable.     712,  Dr.  Owen.     728,  Dr.  C.  Wordsworth. 
 
 Coeval  with  our  lives.     394,  J.  F. 
 
 Spring  from  our  own  sins.     715,  Bp.  Sanderson. 
 
 Keep  company  with  God's  promise.     173,  J.  F. 
 
 We  must  prepare  for  them.     708,  Sir  T.  Browne. 
 
 Try  believers  in  two  ways.     83,  Plain  Sermons.     715,  De  Foe,  &c. 
 
 Comfort  under  loss  of  Christian  friends.     216,  Pascal. 
 Alms. — Not  compr.lsory  at  Pentecost.     77,  Bp.  Medley,  &c.     122,  Perkins. 
 
 Must  be  a  voluntary  offering.     77,  Fenelon. 
 
 Shoidd  not  be  delayed.     124,  Bp.  Hall. 
 
 Their  reward.     269,  Bp.  Buckeridge. 
 
 The  perfume  of  prayers.     274^,  Dr.  Hic/ces. 
 
 Absence  of  them  renders  our  prayers  inconsistent.     275,  Dr.  Barrow. 
 
761  INDEX  I. 
 
 Alms — continued. 
 
 A  sacrifice.     275,  Bp.  Patrick. 
 
 A  rule  for  givers  and  receivers.     123,  J.  F. 
 Ananias. — His  sin  and  its  accompaniments.     129,  /,  Mede. 
 Angels. — Tbeir  nature  and  various  excellencies.     1G7,  Bp.  Andrewes. 
 
 The  mouth-piece  of  God.     193,  Bp.  White. 
 
 Symbols  of  His  Presence.     206,  Mede. 
 
 The  medium  of  visions.     716,  Smith. 
 
 Zealous  for  God,     638,  Bp.  Hacket. 
 
 Instance  of  their  humility.     335,  De  Sinylin.     341 ,  /.  F. 
 
 Whether  each  faithful  servant  of  God  has  his  particular  Angel.     338,  Bp. 
 Bull,  &c. 
 ANTiauiTY. — Not  always  to  be  adhered  to.     165,  Sir  W.  Raleigh,     679,  A. 
 Bernard. 
 
 To  be  followed  in  questions  of  religion.     621,  Calvin. 
 Apostles. — Their  equality  among  themselves,     8,  26,  67,  /.  F.,  &c.    24,  Abp. 
 Bramhall. 
 
 How  at  Pentecost  they  sate  on  twelve  thrones.     QQ,  Macarivs. 
 
 Their  credibility  as  witnesses  of  Christ's  Resurrection.     101,  Bp.  Taylor. 
 
 Their  several  missionary  circuits,     33,  Dr.  Jackson.     414,  Dr.  Bernard. 
 
 Analogy  of  their  Ministry  with  that  of  Moses.     137,  Bp  Pearson. 
 
 Simplicity  of  their  doctrine.     90,  Bp.  Taylor. 
 
 How  their  teaching  differed  from  their  preaching.     154,  /.  F. 
 
 The  world's  incendiaries.     143,  S.  Augustine,  &c. 
 
 Why  unlearned  men  chosen.     107,  Oriyen. 
 
 Their  ignorance  how  remedied.     44,  Dr.  Hammond. 
 
 Their  disinterestedness.     86,  J.  F.     90,  Abbadie,  &c.     585,  Dr.  Paley. 
 586,  Erasmus. 
 
 Their  boldness.     506,    ^S".  Aug2(stine.      408,    J.  F.     104,  S.   Chrysostom. 
 107,  Bp.  Stillingfleet.     110,  /S.  Chrysostom,  &c.     120,  Dr.  Liyhifoot. 
 
 Their  proper  time  when  to  preach  with  boldness.     142,  Bp,  Warburton. 
 
 Their  humility  and  cognate  graces.     134,  605,  /.  F.     G08,  Boys. 
 
 Their  prudence  in  preaching.     364,  J.  F, ;  Bp.  Copleston. 
 
 Their  wondrous  success.     409,  Dr.  Barrow. 
 
 Their  early  prejudices  advantageous   to  their  subsequent  Ministry.     279, 
 Bp.  Copleston. 
 
 Their  examples  not  absolute  patterns  for  our  imitation.     636,  Herbert,  &c. 
 
 Their  slowness  of  belief  in  our  Lord's  Resurrection  profitable  to  us.  10,  Leo. 
 
 In  performing  miracles  how  they  remembered  the  Lord.     269,  /.  F. 
 
 Seem  to  have  had  no  certainty  of  a  power  of  working  miracles  in  particular 
 cases.     269,  Calvin. 
 
 A  limitation  in  their  gift  of  tongues.     612,  Fenelon, 
 
 The  extraordinary  supports  of  their  faith,  625,  Bp.  Ward. 
 
 Why  endued  with  supernatural  judicial  powers.     360,  Dr.  Hickes. 
 
 Cause  of  their  joy  in  the  Lord.     392,  A  contrite  heart,  &.c. 
 
INDEX  I.  765 
 
 Apostacy. — A  cause  of  it  arising  from  instructions  after  Baptism,  513,  Bi). 
 
 Patrick. 
 Ascension. — Our  being  glorified.     18,  Bp.  Patrick. 
 Atheism.— Opposed  to  the  general  sense  of  mankind.     484,  Palmer. 
 Authority. — That  of  man,  to  what  it  must  yield.     143,  Hooker. 
 
 A  sure  way  to  destroy  it.     606,  Bp.  Sanderson, 
 Barnabas. — A  good  man.     320,  iJ^.  D.  Wilson.     321,  /.  F. 
 
 His  charity.     323,  Dr.  Pusey. 
 
 The  reward  of  his  munificence  and  humility.     395,  Dr.  Pusey. 
 
 The  '*  Son  of  Consolation,"  a  just  title.     123,  J.  F.,  &c. 
 Baptism. — The  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  us.     623,  Bp.  Jewel,  &c. 
 
 In  the  Name  of  the  Lord  Jesus.     68,  Dr.  Lightfoot. 
 
 Its  administration  in  the  Name  of  Christ  includes  the  Trinity.     531 ,  AbjJ. 
 Seeker. 
 
 Of  Christ,  how  superior  to  that  of  S.  John.     530,  Bp.  Hacket,  &c. 
 
 Fluminis  et  Flaminis.     4 1 ,  Dr.  Spark. 
 
 By  water,  a  perpetual  ordinance.     531,  Bp.  Warhirton. 
 
 Not  a  dead  ordinance,  but  the  life-giving  channel  of  our  Justification.     210, 
 Neivman,  &c.     243,  Bp.  Hacket. 
 
 Its  grace  dependent  on  our  concurring,  stipulating,  lively  faith.     24 1 ,  Dr. 
 Waterland. 
 
 Subordinate  to  the  Word  preached.     303,  /.  F.,  &c. 
 
 Demands  a  public  avowal  of  repentance  and  faith.     67,  Dr.  Barrow. 
 
 Required  a  previous  and  a  subsequent  teaching  of  the  recipient.     512,  Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 Connected  with  the  Day  of  Judgment.     93,  Williams. 
 
 The  denial  of  it  to  infants  gives  the  advantage  to  Judaism.     174,  Dr.  Frank. 
 
 Viewed  in  regard  to  infants  and  adults.     69,  Dr.  Waterland. 
 Bishops. — Their  Apostolic  orders,  office,  and  mission.     340,  Sykes.     507,  Dr. 
 J.  Scott.     564,  Bp.  Taylor.     587,  S.  Augustine. 
 
 Their  great  duty  to  preach.     396,  Dean  Comber,  &c. 
 
 Guardians  of  Church-alms.     77,  Farindon. 
 
 Why  at  first  their  succession  v/as  so  rapid.     328,  Addison. 
 
 Those,  who  were  subject  to  S.  Paul.     572,  Hooker. 
 Brethren. — Definition  of  the  term.     25,  /.  F. 
 
 Its  wide  meaning.     184,  Farindon. 
 
 The  completeness  of  the  relation  implied.     472,  Bp,  Hacket. 
 Callings. — When  unlawful.     549,  Bp.  Sanderson. 
 
 Of  God's  ordering.     547,  Flavel. 
 
 We  cannot  judge  of  our  own  calling.     455,  Quesnel,  &c. 
 
 We  must  keep  within  its  limits.     541,  574,  Perkins. 
 Catechising. — Its  vast  importance  to  a  Church.     524,  J.  F. 
 
 How  it  differs  from  preaching.     524,  Bp.  Andrewes. 
 Charity. — Its  perfection  exemplified  by  S.  Stephen.     211,  Dr.  U.  Gierke,  &c. 
 
 Its  pedigree.     120,  S.  Augustine, 
 
766  INDEX  I. 
 
 Charity — continued. 
 
 Its  influence  at  the  first  Council  at  Jerusalem.     433,  436,  J.  F, 
 
 Taught  by  a  traditional  saying  of  our  Lord.     319,  Farlndon. 
 
 Attracted  by  misery.     86,  Farindon,  &c. 
 
 Promoted  by  Common  Prayer.     456,  Jones. 
 
 How  it  teaches  us  to  deal  with  enemies.     702,  Bp.  Wilson.     108,  Th.  Scott. 
 117,  Bp.  Broicnrig. 
 
 Does  not  retaliate.     613,  Sir  T.  Browne. 
 
 Stays  the  plague  of  angry  speech.     183,  M.  Henry.     5-59,  Valentine,  ike. 
 
 Encouragement  to  pray  for  our  enemies.     218,  Bp.  Lake. 
 
 In  speaking  of  others.     296,  /,  F. 
 
 Has  its  limits  in  the  opinions  we  form  of  men.     262,  Dr.  Dyke. 
 
 Compatible  with  great  severity  of  reproof.     360,  Norris. 
 
 Shown  in  disturbing  the  peace  of  this  world.     477,  Dr.  Waterland. 
 
 Makes  us  sharers  in  other  men's  enjoyments.     319,  Collyer. 
 
 Its  construction  of  their  sufferings.     736,  Bp.  Brownrig. 
 
 Not  to  be  sacrificed  for  uncertain  truths.     414,  Dr.  Whichcote. 
 
 In  our  views  of  the  final  state  of  the  heathen.     279,  Baxter. 
 
 Shown  in  making  allowances.     92,  Dr.  Whichcote. 
 
 Must  be  quick  and  sympathising.     327,  Bp.  Hall. 
 
 Excludes  meum  and  tuum.     120,  Farindon. 
 
 Rewarded  in  this  present  life.     659,  /.  F. 
 
 To  be  commemorated  after  death.     268,  Bp.  Taylor,  &c. 
 
 Its  pleasantness.     262,  Seed. 
 
 Its  primitive  kiss.     590,  Bp.  Patrick. 
 
 An  every. morning  resolve.     652,  Dr.  Horneck. 
 Christ.— His  Divinity.  '\m,S.BasiL  211, /.F.    \\^,299, Jones.  390, Bp. Hall. 
 
 Why  termed  by  S.  Stephen  '*  the  Son  of  Man."     209,  Alford. 
 
 Communication  of  properties  in  His  two  Natures.     580,  Ellis,  &c. 
 
 Anointed.     295,  Dr.  Donne,  &c.     303,  S.  Irenceus. 
 
 A  Stone.     104,  Dr.  Donne. 
 
 His  emblematical  characteristics.     106,  Dr.  Owen. 
 
 His  twofold  Nature  a  vast  advantage  to  His  Ministry.     191,  Dr.  J.  Scott. 
 
 The  Lord  and  the  Saviour.     64,  Dr.  Temple,  &c. 
 
 The  Redeemer  by  His  Death.     380,  Ahp.  Sandys. 
 
 The  need  of  His  sufferings.     475,  Homilies.     696,  Bp.  Pearson. 
 
 Their  pre -ordination.     55,  Dr.  South,  &c. 
 
 As  vicarious  for  man  beyond  all  human  experience.     238,  Abbadie. 
 
 They  expressed  His  Glory.     91,  Bp.  Reynolds,  &c. 
 
 How  He  recognized  by  His  mode  of  Death  the  authority  of  God.     373.  Dr. 
 Barrow. 
 
 A  call  to  gaze  on  His  Cross.     475,  Homilies. 
 
 His  Cross  not  to  be  reserved  in  preaching.     145,  Bp.  Atterbury. 
 
 His  Resurrection  a  certainty.     68  I,  Bp.  Andrewes,  &c. 
 
 The  cause  of  ours.     55^  Bp.  Lake. 
 
INDEX  I.  767 
 
 Ch  Ri  ST — continued. 
 
 Confirms  the  truth  of  all  God's  gracious  promises.    375,  Bp.  Beveridge,  &c. 
 
 Its  supreme  importance.     30,  Dean  Stanhope.     31,  Dr.  Donne,  &c. 
 
 The  Sacrificial  consequence  of  His  death  and  resurrection.     61,  Pascal. 
 
 Why  not  public.     297,  Origen,  &c. 
 
 Its  witnesses.     374,  Bp.  Patrick,  &c. 
 
 Seen  by  the  Patriarchs.     59,  March. 
 
 Joy  of  His  Resurrection.      1 19,  Bp.  Hacket. 
 
 Our  conformity  to  it.     9,  Ellis. 
 
 Probable  nature  of  His  Glorified  Body.     683,  Dr.  Goulhurn. 
 
 His  sinlessness  prevented  His  "  seeing  corruption."     377,  Plain  Sermons. 
 
 The  nature  of  His  instructions  to  the  Apostles  after  His  Resurrection.     10, 
 
 Bp.  Baily. 
 His  Descent  into  hell.     57,  Bp.  Pearson,  &c. 
 Uses  of  the  doctrine.     58,  Bp.  Horsley. 
 
 His  Ascension  was  a  proof  of  His  Divinity.  1 9,  Dr.  Jackson ;  S.  Chrysostom. 
 By  His  own  Power.     18,  /S',  Gregory. 
 Why  seen  by  His  Apostles,  His  Resurrection  having  been  unseen.     17,  Bp. 
 
 Pearson. 
 The  wicked  have  no  part  in  it.     20,  A  contrite  heart. 
 What  we  are  taught  by  the  place  of  it.     21,  Dean  Boys. 
 A  great  motive  to  Holiness.     18,  Gerhard.     20,  Bp.  Ken. 
 His  Body  limited  by  space.     93,  S.  Augustine,  &c. 
 One  with  His  people  after  His  Ascension.     246,  Abp.    Leighton.     248, 
 
 Paulinus,  &c. 
 Union  with  His  Church  and  people.     617,  *S'.  Augustine,  &c.     633,  /.  F. 
 
 689,  Dr.  Donne. 
 Uncertainty  of  the  time  of  His  second  Coming.     14,  Dr.  Donne,  &c. 
 His  future  Kingdom,  the  Christian's  desire.      13,  Tertullian. 
 "  The  Word"  at  the  Day  of  Judgment.     504,  Abp.  Leighton. 
 The  types  concerning  Him  are  of  a  prophetic  character.     202,  Dr.  Jackson. 
 His  resemblance  to  Moses.     95,  Davison. 
 
 Seen  by  Moses  at  the  bush.     186,  Bp.  Heber.     188,  /.  Martyr. 
 His  Love  and  His  Glory  in  Creation  and  Redemption.     8,  Sutton,  &c. 
 
 45,  Dr.  Bates. 
 Proof  of  His  solicitude  for  His  Church.     215,  Bp.  Sanderson. 
 The  two  great  tokens  of  His  Love.     580,  Bp.  Andrewes. 
 His  life  of  Beneficence.     295,  Dr.  Littleton,  &c. 
 
 His  Love  in  forbearing  mention  of  judgment.     16,  J.  F.     131,  Hooker. 
 The  gracious  knowledge  of  Him.     540,  Hurrion. 
 Prayer  to  Him  for  the  afflicted.     712,  Bp.  Taylor. 
 Christianity. — Not  the  abrogation,  but  the  fulfilment  of  the  Law.     222,  Bp. 
 
 Copleslon. 
 Originated  from  Judaism,  but  was  alien  to  it.     516,  Abp.  Sumner. 
 Its  best  evidence  is  its  existence.     151,  Coleridge. 
 
768  INDEX  I. 
 
 Christianity — continued. 
 
 Why  opposed.     749,  Farindon. 
 
 Peculiar,  as  being  preached  to  the  people.     608,  Abp.  Sumner. 
 
 Its  marvellous  growth  and  triumphant  progress  in  the  world.     73,    Bp. 
 
 Brownrig.    102,  Clarius.    115,  449,  Bp.  Home.    142,  Dr.  J.  Scott,  Sec. 
 
 144,  J.  F.    161,  Alford.    348,  544,  Bp.    Wilberforce.    750,  Bp.  Seth 
 
 Ward. 
 The  calumnies  at  first  heaped  upon  it.     749,  Dr.  Chalmers,  &c. 
 When  learning  came  to  its  support.     523,  Bp.  Andrewes. 
 Its  two  parts,  as  a  Covenant.     468,  Dr.  Hammond. 
 Has  its  fundamentals  and  non- fundamentals.     449,  Dr.  Waterland. 
 Departure  from  its  simplicity.     516,  Bp.  Hall. 
 Woe  to  its  corrupters.     483,  TertuUian. 
 Its  dictum  respecting  human  happiness.     485,  S.  Augustine. 
 Had  at  its  first  establishment  an  Achan,  Korah,  &c.     358,  /.  F. 
 The  greatest  public  benefit.     218,  Lord  Bacon.     480,  S.  Augustine.     518, 
 
 Hooker. 
 Its  recognition  of  Kingly  authority.     669,  TertuUian. 
 It  secures  loyalty  in  subjects.     676,  Bp.  Hall. 
 Who  its  gx-eatest  foes.     582,  Seed. 
 Has  its  concealed  friends.     149,  Jortin. 
 Christians. — Import  of  the  name.     324,  aS*.  Greg.  Nyssen,  Sec. 
 As  combined  with  Catholic.     324,  S.  Pacian. 
 Their  first  titles      301,  Bp.  Hacket. 
 Spiritual  stones.     105,  S.  Ignatius. 
 
 Their  sympathy  with  God  in  their  view  of  evil.     403,  Dr.  Arnold. 
 Unknown  to  the  world.     22,  Quesnel. 
 Always  eminent  for  their  charity.     268,  Laiv. 
 
 Must  not  disproportion  their  obedience.  606,  Bp.  Taylor.  158,  Sir  M.  Hale. 
 Should  pursue  in  faith  a  right  well-understood  end.     575,  Bp.  Thirlwall. 
 
 454,  Williams. 
 Should  be  open  to  conviction,     525,  Farindon. 
 Encouragement  for  them  to  do  good.     377,  Bp.  Brownrig.     378,  /.  F. 
 
 321,  Gurnall. 
 Mutual  sympathy.     326,  /.  F.,  &c.     331,  Farindon.     526,  Baxter. 
 Their  rule  in  regard  to  the  world's  praise  or  blame.     603,  Lord  Capel. 
 Must  not  be  over-anxious  in  rebutting  false  charges.     655,  Corbet,  &c. 
 Must  not  raise  themselves  by  lowering  others.     747,  Dr.  Barrow. 
 May  use  prudence  in  avoiding  temporal  harm,  in  subordination  to  their 
 
 higher  end.     637,  Dr.  Allestry. 
 Must  do  all  things  in  order.     608,  Clem.  Roman. 
 After  a  deliverance,  must  still  watch.     708,  Bp.  Stillingfleet. 
 Have  peace  in  a  troubled  world.    252,  /.  F.   665,  Reading.    641,  Anonym. 
 Their  security,  when  the  wicked  are  in  trouble.     7 1 6,  Milner. 
 Noble  in  their  declining  years.     001,  Cecil. 
 
INDEX  1.  769 
 
 Church. — Its  detinition.     4  \S,  Bingham. 
 
 Various  meanings  of  the  term.     522,  Corbet, 
 
 Its  constitution.     214,  Brymer. 
 
 Visible  and  Invisible.     433,  Bp.  Sanderson. 
 
 Identified  with  the  Lord.     322,  /.  F. 
 
 Exchanges  of  love  between  it  and  Christ.     61,  Dr.  Manton,  &c. 
 
 Its  Unity  a  prime  truth.     246,  /.  F. 
 
 Its  unanimity  and  its  uniformity.     37,  Bp.  Andrewes. 
 
 Its  primitive  state  and  beauty.     80,  Bp.  Kaye. 
 
 The  mother  of  believers.     80,  Wogan. 
 
 House  of  prayer.     233,  Bp.  Andrewes. 
 
 In  what  sense  both  a  Tabernacle  and  a  Mountain.     200,  Bp.  Dotvnhame. 
 
 98,  Plain  Sermons. 
 Its  analogy  with  Solomon's  temple.     78,  Bp.  Hacket. 
 Compared  to  a  ship  in  a  storm.     713,  Bp.  Home. 
 Compared  to  an  island.     732,  Dr.  Cave. 
 
 Its  six  resemblances,  because  of  suffering.     214,  Bp.  Andrewes. 
 Picture  of  its  flourishing  condition.     263,  Clem.  Roman. 
 Flourishes  under  persecution.     114,   Farindon.     121,   Quesnel.     122,   /S". 
 
 Hilary.     349,  Bp.  Home. 
 Invisible.     161,  Bp.  D.  Wilson,  &c. 
 
 Visible.  There  can  be  no  social  settled  religion  without  it.    74,  S.  Augustine. 
 Cannot  be  without  an  authority.    429,  Farindon.     432,  Hooker.     576,  Dr. 
 
 Temple. 
 Its  visible  constitution  and  character  the  object  of  hatred  and  attack,  650. 
 
 Rogers. 
 Outlives  the  curses  of  its  enemies.     740,  Gurnall. 
 Its  constitutions  to  be  observed  in  obedience  to  the  general  commandment 
 
 of  God.     439,  Bp.  White. 
 No  sole  and  exclusive  power  in  its  Clergy  to  make  laws  for  it.    439,  Hooker. 
 Promise  of  guidance  and  grace,  not  of  infallibility,  to  its  post-Apostolic 
 
 Councils.     440,  Abp.  Laud. 
 Separation  from  it  only  lawful  in  two  cases.     535,  Perkins,  &c. 
 Every  schism  does  not  divide  its  unity.     445,  Abp.  Bramhall. 
 Consequences  of  disunion  from  it.     720,  Baxter. 
 Reverence  to  Sacred  places.     609,  Homilies.     201,  Hooker.     203,  Medley. 
 
 187,  J.  F. 
 Sleepers  in  the  house  of  God  warned.     568,  Dean  Swift,  &c. 
 Our  spiritual  traffic  with  its  Ordinances.     234,  Gurnall. 
 Force  of  its  universal  teaching.     567,  Dr.  Waterland. 
 The  appointed  channel  of  public  Christian  Charity.     127,  /.  F.,  &c. 
 Its  primitive  store  of  alms  for  the  poor.     122,  Farindon.     125,  Bp.  An- 
 drewes.    128,  Bengel. 
 Alienators  of  its  property  liable  to  God's  vengeance.     130,  Bp.  Babinglon. 
 
 742,  /.  F. 
 
 D  D  D 
 
770  INDEX  I. 
 
 Church — continued. 
 
 A  blessing  on  its  defenders  and  benefactors.     419,  Bp.  Brownrig. 
 
 Encouragement  to  church  builders  and  restorers.  88,  /.  F.   125,  Dr.  Temple. 
 
 The  particular  custom  of  each  Church  a  guide  to  conduct.  60G,  Bp.  Baily,  &c. 
 
 Reasons  for  its  external  adornment.     84,  Hooker,  &c. 
 
 Advice  touching  its  controversies.     605,  Hooker. 
 Church  of  England. — The  basis  of  its  Doctrine  and  Discipline.     655,  Bp. 
 Jewel,  &c. 
 
 Its  fixed  dislike  of  innovation,  and  vi^ay  of  avoiding  it.     416,  Dr.  Ham- 
 mond, &c. 
 
 Episcopacy   retained  among  us,   according  to  the  rule  of  V.   Lirinensis. 
 355,  Bp.  Heber. 
 
 Its  Daily  Morning  Prayer.     140,  Addison,  &c. 
 
 The  four  heads  of  its  Catechism  traced  to  Paradise.    524,  Dr.  R.  Gierke. 
 
 The  regard  we  ought  to  have  both  to  its  truth  and  its  peace.     Pre/ace. 
 
 A  vain  plea  of  seceders.     535,  Bp.  Thomas. 
 Confirmation. — Its  Apostolic  origin  and  administration.     223,  Dr.  J.  Scott, 
 ike.     225,  Bp.  Hall. 
 
 Evils  arising  from  its  neglect  or  abuse.     226,  Bp.  Wilson. 
 Conscience. — The  rule  of  God  in  us.     633,  Bp,  Taylor. 
 
 Its  dignity.     633,  S.  Bernard. 
 
 However  good  and  sincere,  insuflScient  alone.  632,  Dr.  Allestry.  683,  Jones. 
 
 An  erroneous  one  obligatory.     632,  Bp.  Thomas. 
 
 When  tender.     279,  Cecil. 
 
 First  warning,  then  gnawing.     26,  Dr.  Smith. 
 
 Gives  us  peace  in  the  path  of  duty.     287,  Brainerd. 
 
 Smoothes,  when  good,  the  sufferer's  pillow.     332,  Bp.  Taylor. 
 
 Its  effect  on  the  preacher.     700,  /.  F.     703,  Bp.  Jebb. 
 Controversy. — Rules  for  the  conduct  of  it.     309,  Bp.  Bedell,  &c. 
 
 Undue  weight  attached  to  errors  of  the  understanding.     305,  Farindon. 
 
 Disputes  not  favourable  to  the  discovery  of  truth.     162,  Gurnall,  &c. 
 Conversion. — Mostly  accompanied  by  fear  and  suffering.    249,  Dr.  Pusey,  &c. 
 
 Effected  in  us  by  different  methods.     251,  J.  F.,  &c. 
 Corinth. — Its  distinction  among  the  Apostolical  Churches.     514,  March. 
 
 Causes  of  its  want  of  spirituality.     518,  Milner. 
 CovETOUSNESS. — Under  the  Law  and  under  the  Gospel.     585,  /.  F. 
 
 No  Saint  charged  with  it  in  Scripture.     586,  Baxter. 
 
 Its  earliest  rise  in  the  Church.     155,  /.  F. 
 
 Opposed  to  the  Gospel.     544,  /.  F.     461,  S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 A  cause  of  schism.     550,  Farindon.     561,  Abp.  Laud. 
 
 Idolatry.     485,  Dr.  Chalmers,  &c. 
 Creeds. — Occasioned  by  the  rise  of  heresies.     241 ,  /.  F. 
 Cross,  The. — An  almost  universal  sign.     729,  M.  M.  Felix,  &c. 
 
 Remarkable  use  of  its  sign  under  persecution.     611,  Dr.  Donne. 
 
 Its  wonders.     145,  Anselm. 
 
INDEX  I.  771 
 
 Curiosity. — Its  definition  and  evil  effects.  489,  S.Augustine,  &c.  4Q0,Dr.Pusey. 
 
 Reproved.     19,  /.  F. 
 David. — His  virtues.    368,  Wogan,  &c. 
 Day,  The  Lord's. — Its  primitive  observance.     566,  Reeves. 
 
 Its  duties.     385,  Origen. 
 Day  of  Judgment. — How  connected  witli  Pentecost.     51,  Dr.  Jackson. 
 
 Terrors  of  Joel's  prophecy.     52,  Bp.  Patrick. 
 
 In  what  sense  like  the  first  Creation.     94,  Sir  T.  Browne. 
 Death. — To  believers  a  sleep.     212,  Milner.     378,  Mayo. 
 
 A  blessed  state.     214,  Bradford. 
 
 An  embarkation.     592,  M.  Henry. 
 
 What  kind  of  to  be  desired.     134,  Hooker. 
 
 Capital  punishment  sanctioned  under  the  Gospel.     669,  Grotius,  &c. 
 Education. — Its  early  blessing  to  Timothy.     448,  Dr.  C.  Wordsworth. 
 Elociuence. — In  what  its  truth  consists.     698,  Milton,  &c. 
 Enthusiasm. — Its  popular  effect.     220,  Bp.  Bull. 
 Envy.— A  self-torraentor.     139,  Bp.  Hall.     175,  Palmer. 
 
 Soon  spreads  and  raises  followers.     610,  Herle. 
 Error. — Its  unity.     115,  S.  Augustine. 
 
 Various  sources  of  it.     552,  Dr.  Arnold. 
 
 Must  be  stopped  at  its  first  little  inroad.     434,  Dr.  Dyke. 
 Evangelists. — What  their  particular  office.     595,  Johnson. 
 Evidences. — Resurrection  of  Christ.      61,  Farindon.     63,  Bp.  Beveridge. 
 119,  Bp.  Patrick.    143,  S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 From  the  doctrine  and  labours  of  the  Apostles.     121,  Bp.  Stillingfleet . 
 
 From  the  weakness  of  the  instruments,  and  the  kind  of  religion  which  they 
 taught.     109,  S.  Chrysostom.     604,  Paley.     445,  Milner.     751,  White. 
 
 From  the  case  of  S.  Paul.     612,  Paley. 
 
 From  the  notoriety  of  recorded  Gospel  facts.     288,  Fenelon.    700,  Lord 
 Lyttleton.     \Q,  Sir  J.  Harrington.     541,  Biscoe.     357,  Abbadie. 
 
 From  testimonies  at  the  time,  as  to  facts.     299.     Bp.  Horsley. 
 
 From  the  submission  of  Christianity  to  the  strictest  trial.     108,  Seed. 
 
 From  the  incidental  record  of  Moses'  miracles.     188,  Graves. 
 
 From  minor  incidents  in  this  Book.     46,  Abbadie. 
 
 From  coincidences  of  passages  in  it,  and  in  S.  Paul's  Epistles.     760,  /.  F. 
 
 From  the  beUef  of  the  Jews.     365,  Dr.  Horneck. 
 
 From  the  mode  of  the  accomplishment  of  certain  prophecies.    112,  Skelton. 
 
 From  the  testimony  of  opponents.     480,  /.  F. 
 
 From  the  fate  of  the  early  writings  against  Christianity.      150,  S.  Chry- 
 sostom. 
 
 Circumstances  unfavourable  to  the  spread  of  Christianity.     545,  Bp.  Alter - 
 bury. 
 
 Rather  strengthened  by  the  general  failure  of  the  Gospel.     381,  Keble. 
 
 Those  of  the  first  and  later  ages  of  Christianity  contrasted.  321,  5;;.  Butler. 
 
 Where  scanty,  man  responsible  for  their  use.     395,  702,  Bp.  Butler. 
 D    D    D    2 
 
772  INDEX  1. 
 
 Evidences — continued. 
 
 A  kind  of  them  intelligible  only  to  some  persons.     458,  Cecil. 
 
 To  be  copied  out  in  our  own  conduct.     1 10,  Bp.  Alterbury. 
 Example. — Power  of  it  in  bad  times.     Ill,  Bp.  Home.     715,  Burke. 
 Exhortation. — For  what  end.     563,  Bp.  Wilkins. 
 
 To  sinners.     70,  478,  Dr.  Horneck. 
 Facts. — How  to  ascertain  their  truth.     199,  Leslie. 
 Faith. — Its  definition.     73,  S.  Clem.  Alex. 
 
 Used  in  three  senses.     467,  Dr.  R.  Clerke. 
 
 In  the  mind  and  in  the  will.     22 1 ,  Heminghius. 
 
 The  work  of  God.     \\\,  Bp.  Sherlock. 
 
 Comes  by  hearing.     414,  Dr.  R.  Clerke. 
 
 Credits  Revelation,  because  of  its  Author.     504,  Lord  Bacon. 
 
 Must  be  coupled  with  repentance,  and  vice  versa.     573,  Bp.  Sanderson. 
 
 Its  connection  with  Baptism.     221,  Wogan. 
 
 Its  office  distinct  from  that  of  repentance.     573,  Bp.  Taylor. 
 
 Its  combination  with  humility  in  the  conduct  of  Lydia.     472,  /.  F. 
 
 Produces  good  works.     468,  Luther,  &c.     697,  Bp.  Brownrig.     660,  Dr. 
 Hammond. 
 
 Purifies  the  heart.     420,  Ahp.  Leighton,  &c. 
 
 Gives  us  peace.     76,  J.  F. 
 
 Sees  God  through  His  covering.     619,  Bradford. 
 
 Exalted  in  Scripture.     101,  /.  F. 
 
 The  key  of  heaven,     209,  Bp.  Hall.     467,  Homilies. 
 
 Simplicity  of  it  commended.     457,  Bp.  Taylor. 
 
 Its  joyous  effects  instanced  in  the  Eunuch.     244,  /.  F. 
 
 When  weak,  encouraged.     713,  Gurnall. 
 Falsehood. — Apes  truth.     402,  Leslie.     435,  Dr.  Cudworth.     229,  Cecil. 
 
 Its  promoters  described.     219,  Gurnall.     220,  S.  Irenceus. 
 
 Only  of  temporary  success.     135,  Hooker. 
 Fasting. — Reasons  demanding  its  practice.     287,  Gurnall.     288,  Law. 
 
 Importance  of  the  Ember-week  fast.     353,  Herbert. 
 Fear. — The  beginning  of  wisdom  in  Jew,  Gentile,  and  Proselyte.     371,  /.  F. 
 
 A  companion  of  hope.     263,  A  contrite  heart. 
 Feelings. — Rules  of  self-judgment  in  regard  to  them.     88,  Love. 
 
 Damaged  by  our  not  acting  on  them  in  our  walk  with  God.    249,  Neivman. 
 Festivals. — Their  beauty  and  utility.     52\,  Hooker. 
 
 Teach  a  particular  lesson.     310,  Newman. 
 
 To  be  explained  to  the  people  by  Ministers.     520,  B]}.  Taylor. 
 Fortitude. — What  gives  it.     703,  Bp.  Jehh.     144,  0.  Feltham. 
 Gentiles — The  intimations  in  the  Old  Testament  of  their  accession  to  the 
 Church.     301,  Bp.  Cosin. 
 
 Their  conversion  typified.     627,  Jones. 
 God. — What  He  is.     494,  S.  Bernard.     495,  S.  Augustine,  &.c. 
 
 The  universal  Centre  and  One  overruling  Power.     400,  Dr.  Donne. 
 
INDEX  I.  773 
 
 God — continued. 
 
 His  perfect  Beauty.     209,  Arndt. 
 
 His  Excellency  inferred  fi*om  the  works  of  creation.     403,  M.  Felix. 
 
 His  dreadful  title,  "  The  Lord  of  Hosts."     346,  March. 
 
 Simplest  proof  of  His  existence.     497,  Anselm. 
 
 The  ascription  of  human  feeling  to  Him  in  what  sense  to  be  understood. 
 
 195,  Bp.  Copleston.     318,  S.  Augustine. 
 Clothed  in  Light.     621,  Tip.  Horsley, 
 A  consuming  Fire.     186,  S.  Ambrose,  &c. 
 His  Unchangeableness  is  our  stay.     179,  P.  Henry. 
 His  Holiness  gives  assurance  to  the  truth  of  His  promises.     376,  Gurnall. 
 Instance  of  His  Wisdom  in  ordering  the  first  propagation  of  the  Gospel. 
 
 315,  Bp.  War  bur  ton. 
 His  Goodness.     399,  Dr.  Jackson.     401,405,  J.  F.     320,  Hales. 
 Signified  by  the  bow  in  the  clouds.     17,  Bp.  Home. 
 His  gifts  exceed  His  promise.     44,  S.  Augustine. 
 Overrules  our  infirmities  for  good.     444,  Abp.  Wake. 
 Employs  man  for  man's  benefit.     454,  Flavel.     256,  Rodriguez. 
 His  longsuffering  towards  great  sinners.     361,  /.  F. 
 His  judicial  severity  in  certain  cases  reasonable  and  merciful.     136,  Abp. 
 
 Til  lot  son. 
 Judicial  punishments,  viewed  in  their  connection  with  this  life  and  hereafter. 
 
 133,  Wolfe.     134,  S.  Augustine. 
 Not  the  author  of  men's  destruction.     757,  Dr.  Whichcote.     759,  /.  F. 
 Vindication  of  Him  in  His  destruction  of  the  Canaanites.  200,  Bp.  Burnet,  &c. 
 Knowledge  a  more  proper  term  in  regard  to  Him,  than  foreknowledge ^  427, 
 
 Toplady, 
 His  predetermination  of  the  Death  of  Christ  how  to  be  understood,  in 
 
 regard  to  the  agents  employed.     371 ,  Dr.  Jackson. 
 His  predestination  does  not  supersede  the  use  of  means  on  our  part.     720, 
 
 Dr.  Sutton,  &c. 
 Nor  furnish  any  excuse  for  man's  sins.     54,  J.  F.,  &c. 
 Independent  of  man  in  the  conferring  of  spiritual  gifts.     228,  S.  Augustine. 
 Regards  His  own  gifts,  in  His  estimate  of  men.     159,  De  Singlin. 
 Where  spiritually  present.     204,  Bp.  Taylor. 
 The  closeness  of  His  union  with  man,  as  our  Creator  and  Preserver.     499, 
 
 Norris. 
 Our  all-sufficiency  in  Him.     745,  Bp.  Hall. 
 Folly  of  resisting  Him.     689,  Trench.     186,  Gurnall. 
 His  praise  a  reasonable  service.     405,  Epictetus.     406,  Dr.  Barrow. 
 Use  of  His  creatures.     457,  Newman 
 His  Providence  to  be  carefully  noticed.     366,  Cecil.     372,  Flavel.    521, 
 
 Fuller.     575,  Southey. 
 He  brings  good  out  of  evil.     217,  /.  F.     648,  Corbet.     665,  Flavel. 
 Reorders  the  particulars  of  our  way  for  us.   174,  Boston.  177,  Sir  T  Browne. 
 
774  INDEX  I. 
 
 God — continued. 
 
 He  makes  a  particular  provision  for  us.     497,  Flavel. 
 
 Benefits  us  by  means  of  seeming  contrarieties.     184,  S.  Chrysostom.     599, 
 De  Renty,  &c. 
 
 His  frustration  of  our  good  designs  to  be  adored.     454,  De  Renty. 
 
 He  appoints  Ministers  to  different  places.    514,  Flavel.    223,  A/ford.    598, 
 Flavel.     600,  Corbet.     641,  Bp.  Hensliawe. 
 
 A  rule  for  tracing  His  Providence.     316,  Corn.  Lapid. 
 
 Trust  in  His  guardian  care.     708,  Bp.  Hall.    718,   Dr.   Scott.    723,  Dr. 
 Donne. 
 Glory. — God's  peculiar.     169,  Bp.  Sanderson. 
 Gospel. — Its  spirit,  as  opposed  to  that  under  the  Law.     386,  Dr.  Hammond. 
 
 Praise  to  God  for  our  deliverance  from  the  Law.     441,  Dr.  Frank. 
 
 Differs  from  the  Lawin  its  constraining  practical  power.  1A,J.F.  422,  Smith. 
 
 Exhibits  the  harmony  of  the  Divine  Attributes.     362,  Halyburton. 
 
 Gives  us  peace.     494,  Gurnall.     282,  Cecil. 
 
 Its  tendency  to  supremacy  and  universality.     16,  Grant. 
 
 A  covenant  of  sufferings.     410,  Bp.  Taylor^  &c. 
 
 God's  choice  of  fit  places  for  its  preaching.     389.     Dr.  Barrow. 
 
 Delay  in  its  early  promulgation  advantageous.     93,  Leo. 
 
 Preparations  for  its  reception  among  the  Gentiles.     476,  Bp.  Sumner,  &c. 
 499,  S.  Clem.  Alex. 
 
 Why  readily  heard  by  the  Proselytes.     384,  Bp.  Pearson. 
 
 Inquiry  into  its  particular  practical  effects  on  us.     443,  M.  Henry. 
 GiiACic. — Its  universal  necessity  in  religion.     52G,  Bp.  Jewel. 
 
 Even  in  Apostolic  times.     21,  Sutton. 
 
 Gives  effect  in  us  to  God's  commands.     698,  Bp.  Reynolds,  &c. 
 
 Opens  the  heart.     458,  Dean  Boys,  &c. 
 
 Exalts  man's  nature.     1G8,  Wesley. 
 
 Even  now,  in  some  cases,  must  be  extraordinary.     117,  Dr.  South. 
 
 Sliown  in  its  work  on  base  materials.     254,  Abp.  Leightun. 
 
 The  giver  of  it  provides  occasions  for  its  use.      193,  Boston. 
 
 Its  progressive  character  exemplified.     260,  /.  F. 
 Happiness. — Must  have  a  sure  foundation.     727,  Flavel. 
 Heaven. — The  joy  of  God's  countenance.     60,  /.  F. 
 
 Our  only  happiness.     172,  Adam. 
 Heresy. — Its  distinction  from  schism.     535,  Bp.  Copleston. 
 
 Tested  by  an  appeal  to  Antiquity.     540,  Tertullian. 
 
 How  to  avoid  it.     450,  Bp.  Hall. 
 
 Who  chiefly  to  blame  for  it.     582,  Dr.  J.  Scott. 
 Holiness. — How  it  pervaded  the  Primitive  Church.     596,  Dr.  Horncck. 
 
 Not  required  of  Ministers  only.     272,  Laiv. 
 
 Not  in  the  place,  but  in  the  person.     232,  S.  Augustine. 
 
 A  peculiar  reward  of  it  in  this  life.     717,  Bp.  Heber,  &c.     718,  Dr.  Sibbcs. 
 
 No  solitary  neglected  thing.      167,  Cudworih. 
 
INDEX  I.  775 
 
 Hospitality. — As   shown  to  Pastors  in   the   Primitive   Church.      601,    Dr. 
 
 Horneck.     741,  Beza,  &c. 
 Humility.— An  every-day  work.     588,  Law. 
 
 Shown  in  the  acknowledgment  of  our  faults.     635,  Seed. 
 
 When  consistent  with  one's  praise  of  self.    b87,  Norris.  629,  Dr.  Waterland. 
 
 Exemplified  in  the  relative  conduct  of  Apollos  and  Aquila.     525,  /.  F. 
 Hypocrisy. — Springs  from  disregard  to  God's  Omniscience.     132,  Dr.  Dyke. 
 
 The  odious  cover  of  sin.     556,  Abp.  Bramhall. 
 
 The  Devil's  trap.     643,  S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 Pretends  sometimes  to  exceeding  sanctity.     609,  Bp.  Babington. 
 
 Renders  us  incapable  of  repentance.     229,  Bp.  Baily. 
 Idleness. — A  state  opposed  to  the  whole  system  of  the  Creation.     509,  Ellis. 
 
 Condemned  by  a  particular  custom  among  the  Jews.     509,  Krummacher. 
 
 And  by  the  example  of  S.  Paul.     588,  Dr.  Barrow. 
 Idolatry. — Subsists  through  ignorance  of  the  Creation.     495,  Roos. 
 
 Historical  notice  of  it  in  Egypt.     194,  Bp.  Horsley. 
 
 What  it  is.     196,  Ravanetus. 
 
 Respected  not  the  object,  but  the  mean,  of  worship.  194,  Dr.  Whichcote,  &c. 
 197,  Calvin. 
 
 Origin  of  its  numerous  absurdities.     492,  Dr.  Horneck. 
 
 Distinction  between  the  gods  of  the  heathen.     196,  Mede. 
 
 In  the  use  of  images.     548,  Wogan. 
 
 In  our  use  of  silver  and  gold.     549,  Dr.  Chalmers. 
 
 The  transfer  of  homage  from  God  to  His  instruments  of  good  towards  us. 
 284,  Dr.  Jackson.     308,  A.  Knox. 
 
 In  a  spiritual  sense,  all  guilty  of  it.     485,  Dr.  Hammond. 
 
 May  wear  a  most  specious  form.     541,  Dr.  Arnold. 
 Ignorance. — Excuses  sin  in  a  degree.     93,  Bp.  Babington. 
 Infidelity. — Incompatible  with  social  morality.     101,  Seed. 
 Intemperance. — A  kind  of .  suicide.     465,  Sherlock. 
 Injuries. — Good  for  us,  not  to  know  their  authors.     173,  Bp.  Babington. 
 
 How  to  be  avenged  for  them.     183,  Quarles.     469,  /.  F.     655,  Bp.  Bedell. 
 James,  S. — Bishop  of  Jerusalem.     340,  Sykes.     602,  Dr.  Scott,  Calvin. 
 
 His  title  to  precedence  (if  any)  among  the  Apostles.     428,  Dr.  Barrow. 
 Jerusalem. — Its  fall  the  destruction  of  the  old  world.     49,  Dr.  Light/oot. 
 
 The  Mother  of  all  other  Churches.     73,  Bp.  Brownrig. 
 
 The  chief  Missionary  station.     602,  J.  F. 
 
 Its  second  Temple  inferior  to  its  first  in  five  respects.     49,  Foot  note. 
 Jesus. — The  adorable  Name  of  God.     253,  Dr.  Frank. 
 
 His  Name  implies  the  presence  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
 224,  Jones. 
 
 A  Blessed  Name.     92,  S.  Bernard,  &c. 
 
 Properties  in  the  Name  of,  suggestive  of  our  duties.     106,  Dr.  Frank. 
 
 "The  Son  of  God,''  an  all-comprehensive  title.     2il,  Dr.  South.     258, 
 Williams. 
 
776  INDEX  I. 
 
 Jksus — continued. 
 
 A  Name  of  no  service  to  us,  unless  Christ  be  added  to  it.    526,  Bj).  Pearson. 
 
 The  very  mention  of  it  avoided  by  His  enemies.      143,  Bengel. 
 
 As  revealed  to  S.  Stephen,  and  afterwards  to   S.  Paul.     248,  Bp.  Patrick. 
 256,  Newman. 
 
 A  Prophet  like  unto  Moses.     191,  Graves. 
 Jews. — Why  God's  chosen  people.     189,  Bp.  Sherlock. 
 
 Origin,  as  a  people  and  as  a  kingdom,  traced.     368,  Bp.  Hacket. 
 
 Why  so  few  converted  before  Christ's  Resurrection.     160,  Leslie. 
 
 Their  dispersion.     394,  Davison.     747,  Deaii  Graves. 
 
 Why  they  of  the  dispersion  were  sojourning  at  Jerusalem.     43,  /.  Mcde,  &c. 
 
 Respected  for  their  religion  by  the  Romans.     476,  Milner. 
 
 Their  veneration  of  their  Temple.     162,  ^.  Chrysostom. 
 
 Their  upper-rooms  sacred.     22,  Bp.  Pearson. 
 
 Their  four  modes  of  capital  punishment,     145,  Bp.  Hall. 
 
 Why  God  permitted  them  to  offer  sacrifice.      196,  S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 Proof  of  their  exceeding  prejudice  against  the  Gentiles.     629,  Hooker. 
 
 The  aggravating  circumstances  of  their  guilt.    387,  Dr.  Liyhtfoot.    205,  J.  F. 
 
 Authors  of  their  own  woes.     165,  Proclus. 
 
 Whence  their  national,  v^oes  were  dated.     143,  Dr.  Lightfoot. 
 
 Their  desperate  state,  whilst  continuing  in  unbelief.     757,  Bp.  Hall. 
 
 Hope  of  their  restoration,  and  prayer  for  it.     758,  Abp.  Leiyhton,  &c. 
 John  Baptist,  S.— In  His  Baptism  he  does  honour  to  Christ.     12,  Calvin. 
 Joshua. — Type  of  Christ.     199,  Dr.  Jackson. 
 Judaism. — God's  principal  design  by  it.     365,  Dean  Graves. 
 
 Not  allowed  to  trench  on  the  essential  truths  of  the  Gospel.  311,  Dean  Graves. 
 
 Its  Feasts  Christianized,     36,  Dr.  M.  Frank. 
 Justification. — By  faith,  not  by  works  of  any  kind.     379,  Clem.  Rom. ;  Bp. 
 Copleston.     313,  Bp.  Sherlock. 
 
 The  human  instruments  of  it  subordinate  to  God.     512,  Dr.  Waterland. 
 
 How  its  work  is  hindered  in  us.     224,  Fletcher. 
 
 Opens  the  door  to  the  grace  of  sanctification.     99,  Smith.     28,  Bp.  Lake. 
 Kingdom  of  Heaven. — In  what  it  consists.     10,  Aquinas. 
 Kings. — Exhorted  to  the  fear  of  God.     663,  Grotius. 
 Knowledge. — Its  three  Books.     497,  Neff. 
 
 Sought  on  many  different  motives.     675,  S.  Bernard, 
 
 That  of  self,  most  valuable.     316,  S.  Bernard. 
 Laity. — Duty  towards  Ministers.     576,  Bp.  Bull.     586,  Bp.  Brownriy.     591, 
 
 Bp.  Patrick.     88,  Wogan. 
 Law,  of  Moses. — Its  true  Gospel  use  and  signification.     667,  Jcnes. 
 
 Its  ceremonies  incompatible  with  the  Gospel  state.     166,  Bp.  Stillingfleet. 
 
 Why  respected  by  the  Apostles.     473,  Bp.  White. 
 
 Proof  of  its  being  no  imposture.     192,  D.  Forbes. 
 
 Two  sorts,  under  it,  of  Proselyte  worshijipcrs.     307,  Mede. 
 
 Its  first  breach  why  so  severely  punished.      134,  Dr.  Bates. 
 
INDEX  I.  lit 
 
 Law — continued. 
 
 Its  benefits  in  a  Commonwealth.    560,  Alp.  Bramhall. 
 
 A  yoke  imposed  on  us  for  the  good  of  others.     629,  Hooker. 
 
 God's  last  fearful  inquiry  into  its  observance.     207,  Bp.  Andrewes. 
 
 Four  rules  for  persons  going  to  law.     560,  P.  Henry. 
 
 Warning  to  lawyers  in  their  defence  of  their  clients.     652,  Bp.  Sanderson. 
 Learning. — The  handmaid  of  religion.    181,  Dr.  Hammond ;  Bp.  Stillingfleet. 
 Liberalism. — Often  found  inconsistent  in  practice.     517,  Boys. 
 Lord's  Supper. — The  chief  thing  in  public  "Worship.  566,  Bp.  Hopkins.  570,  J.F. 
 
 Its  frequent  administration.     73,  Skelton,  &c. 
 Love  of  God. — The  substance  of  the  Jewish  Law.     203,  Pascal. 
 
 Tried,  as  to  its  sincerity.     126,  Lord  Capel. 
 Lots. — Their  use  an  act  of  religion.     34,  Perkins. 
 Luke,  S. — His  first  and  second  junction  with  S.  Paul.     564,  Alford. 
 
 His  pictorial  and  medical  skill.     709,  Dr.  Littleton. 
 
 His  medical  and  nautical  knowledge.     710,  Smith.     742,  /.  F. 
 Magistracy. — Honour  done  to  it  in  the  mode  of  Christ's  death.  o7  3,  Montaigne. 
 
 An  innate  power  in  it  from  God.     563,  Bp.  Hopkins. 
 
 How  to  be  respected.     635,  Lord  Bacon. 
 
 A  resisting  strength  of  principle  required  in  Magistrates.     663,  Dean  Young. 
 669,  Lord  Bacon. 
 
 In  capital  sentences  not  guilty  of  murder.     150,  Cecil. 
 
 Duty  of  prayer  for  them.     337,  Gurnall. 
 Man. — His  position  among  the  creatures.     501,  Sir  W.  Raleigh. 
 
 What  chiefly  distinguishes  him  from  the  animal  world.     740,  Addison. 
 
 Man  like  unto  the  beasts  that  perish.     310,  Dr.  Hammond. 
 
 His  one  common  nature.     495,  Dr.  Barroiv. 
 
 How  he  may  reflect  God's  glory.     204,  Smith. 
 
 In  what  his  greatness  of  mind  consists.     576,  Boyle. 
 
 In  what  his  rectitude  or  hardness  of  heart.     229,  S.  Augustine.      534,    S. 
 Bernard. 
 
 His  freewill  reconcileable  with  Divine  prescience.     54,  116,  Davison,  Dr. 
 Barrow. 
 
 His  life  wonderfully  supported.     278,  Quarles,  &c. 
 
 His  baseness  of  spirit  how  most  shown.     388,  Pascal. 
 
 His  personal  beauty  a  talent  from  God.     180,  Wogan. 
 Martyrdom. — Its  three  kinds.     436,  Bp.  Baily. 
 
 Its  genuine  nature.     625,  Bp.  Baily. 
 
 A  saint's  glory.     703,  Dr   Cave. 
 Martyrs. — To  be  remembered,  but  not  worshipped.     216,  Church  of  Smyrna. 
 
 Their  fiery  zeal.     699,  Dr.  Dyke. 
 
 Their  triumphs  in  persecution.     330,  Farindon. 
 
 No  heretics  of  their  number.     436,  Addison. 
 Mark,  S. — His  character.     362,  Milner.     444,  445,  &c.  Dr.  Pusey. 
 Mary,  V.  — The  expressive  silence  of  Scripture  concerning  her.   23,  Bartholomew . 
 Meditation. — Its  advantages.     281,  Bp.  Taylor,  &c. 
 
778  INDEX  I. 
 
 Ministry. — Necessary  to  religion.    413,  Hooker. 
 
 Must  be  by  God's  appointment  and  how.    29,  Bp.  Home.     30,  Tracts 
 
 for  the  Times. 
 Its  three  Orders.     602,  S.  Ignatius. 
 
 Nature  of  some  distinct  orders  in  the  Primitive  Church.     352,  Bp.  Lake. 
 Deacons  designed  for  a  higher  ministry.     157,  S.  Chrysostom. 
 That  of  Bishops  and  deacons  intimated  in  the  Psalms.     412,  Clem.  Rom. 
 Leading  outline  of  its  end,  and  the  means  towards  that  end.     577,  Baxter. 
 Reducible  to  two  general  heads.     158,  Bp.  Taylor. 
 A  state  of  separation,  and  for  what  objects.     352,  Bp.  Medley. 
 Its  responsibility.     576,  Bp.  Andrewes.     579,  Leigh. 
 The  door  of  entrance  must  be  well  guarded.     448,  Dean  Comber. 
 Necessity  of  the  external  call  of  the  Church.     412,  Bp.  Heber. 
 Who  are  not  called  of  God  to  it.     156,  Dr.  Allestry. 
 Presumption  of  those,  who  act  without  Ordination.     352,  Skelton.    355,  Bp. 
 
 Gauden.     442,  Calvin.     538,  Love,  &c. 
 Preparation  for  it  exemplified  by  Christ.     11,  Rodriguez. 
 Adorned  by  humility.     572,  Erasmus,  &c.     284,  Massillon. 
 Universal  honour  paid  to  it.     706,  Dr.  South.     729,  Dr.  Barrow. 
 What  indicated  by  the  contempt  of  it.     511,  Bp.  D.  Wilson. 
 Advantages  of  Parochial.     266,  Sherlock.     708,  Abbe  Jean.     412,  Calvin. 
 
 459,  Bp.  Andrewes.     519,  Norris. 
 Ministers. — The  Lord's  portion  and  lot.     34,  S.  Jerome, 
 Their  Apostolic  succession.     96,  Lord  Bacon. 
 Titles  of  honour  how  to  be  received  by  them.     467,  Bp.  Babington. 
 Their  various  titles,  implying  more  or  less  of  rule.     432,  Dr.  Barrow. 
 God's  agents  and  representatives  under  both  Dispensations.     136,  Jones. 
 
 137,  Bp.  Pearson. 
 Servants  of  God,  and  not  of  man.     356,  Mede. 
 
 Their  peculiar  power  for  edification,  given  them  by  God.    441,  Abp.  Usher. 
 Mutual  relations  between  Bishops,  Priests,  and  Deacons.     357,  Mede. 
 Intercessors  with  God.     266,  Dr.  Manton. 
 A  kind  of  sentinels.     341,  Dean  Comber. 
 Diversities  of  gifts  in  them.     32,  Dean  Boys. 
 Their  head  to  dispute  and  their  heart  to  persuade.     534,  J.  F. 
 Importance  of  concord  among  them.     445,  Dr.  A.  Clarke. 
 Their  chief  encouragement  to  hope  for  success.     318,  R.  Hall. 
 Their  Visitation  of  the  sick.     267,  Bp.  Taylor. 
 Require  a  generous  confiding  treatment  at  the  hands  of  their  people.     481, 
 
 Dr.  Donne. 
 More  endangered  by  praise,  than  by  opposition.     305,  Quesnel.     347,  Bp. 
 
 Taylor.     370,  Quesnel. 
 Most  honoured,  when  persecuted.     462,  Quesnel. 
 
 Danger  of  slanderingordespisingtheir  Office  through  them.  651,2?/;.  »S'o«rfer4'0«. 
 Their  wives  and  families.     508,  Cecil,  &c. 
 An  implied  sanction  of  their  n^j.rriage.     595,  J.  F. 
 
INDEX  I.  779 
 
 Ministers — continued. 
 
 Thoughts  on  succeeding  to  a  parsonage  house.     29,  Adam. 
 
 Must  show  fidelity  and  discretion.     406,  Abp.  Sandys. 
 
 Must  be  above  the  fear  of  man.     699,  Herle. 
 
 Must  not  seek  popular  applause.     66,  -S.  Jerome.     407,  Dr.  South. 
 
 Must  deliver  not  their  own  private  notions,  but  what  they  have  received. 
 
 459,  Dr.  Whichcote. 
 Must  unite  doing  with  teaching.     7,  Dr.  R.  Gierke,  &c. 
 Must  be  diligent  in  the  preparation  of  their  sermons.     394,  Baxter. 
 Must  use  sound  speech.     698,  R.  Hall. 
 Must  not  sit  still.     443,  T.  Scott. 
 Must  go  from  house  to  house.     573,  Bowles. 
 
 Must  respect  truth  in  their  ministerial  reports.     603,  Dr.  Buchanan. 
 Must  be  disposed  to  take  their  share  in  the  sins  they  reprove.     683,  Dr. 
 
 Jackson. 
 Must  take  courage,  when  sent  by  God  to  "  a  desert  place."    232,  Bjj.  Home. 
 Earnestness  required  in  them.     70,  Baxter. 
 Their  melting  tenderness.     583,  Calvin,  &c. 
 Monarchy. — Commendation  of  it.     368,  Dr.  Donne. 
 MosES. — His  praises.     180,  Bp.  Lake. 
 
 A  type  of  Christ.     182,  Jones. 
 Miracles. — Their  historical  evidence  under  bothDispensations.  b36,Bp.  Butler. 
 Confirmed  the  Divinity  of  the  Spirit,  as  well  as  of  Christ.     533,  Dr.  Frank. 
 Triumphed  over  heathen  impostures.     537,  Tertullian.      539,  Dr.  Hickes. 
 Not  employed,  when  ordinary  means  sufficient.     339,  Fuller. 
 Preceded  sermons.     318,  Bp.  Lake. 
 Give  weight  to  prophecy.     95.  Pascal. 
 How  to  judge  of  them.     44,  Boyle.     62,  Bp.  Douglas. 
 Strange  consequences,  if  we  suppose  them  feigned.     110,  S.  Chrysostom. 
 Not  quite  out-dated.     137.  Isid.  Pelus.     737,  Bp.  Sanderson. 
 Nations. — Their  dependence,  or  independence,  of  each  other  for  the  necessaries 
 of  life.     342,  Dr.  Johnson;  Addison. 
 Christian,  most  amenable  to  God's  judgments.     173,  R.  Hall. 
 Oaths. — Rules  in  regard  to  them.     643,  Bp.  Andrewes. 
 
 Awful  state  of  swearers.     539,  Dr.  R.  Gierke.     540,  Williams. 
 Obedience.— The  note  of  God's  children.     292,  Bp.  Downhame. 
 Our  debt  to  God.     130,  Dr.  Temple. 
 Our  Summum  bonum.     619,  Newman. 
 
 Forms  our  characters.     619,  R.  Hall,  > 
 
 Teaches  us  doctrine.     148,  Overberg,  S^c. 
 Must  be  universal.     7 IS,  Gurnall. 
 The  necessity  of  motives,  as  well  as  of  knowledge,  in  order  to  it.     503,  Dean 
 
 Young. 
 Must  be  throughout  in  the  Name  of  the  Lord  Jesus.     103,  Dr.  Barrow. 
 Perfected  by  the  surrender  of  our  wills  to  God.    249,  Liguori. 
 
780  INDEX  I. 
 
 Offertory. — Importance  attached  to  it  in  the  primitive  Church.     155,  Dr. 
 
 Hammond.     127,  /.  F. 
 Opinion. — The  mainspring  of  most  men's  conduct.     149,  Farindon. 
 Orders. — Their  threefold  character  traced  in  the  Old  Testament.     159,  Jones. 
 Ordination. — Completed  by  two  things.     159,  S.  Jerome. 
 
 Meaning  of  imposition  of  hands.     159,  Dean  Comber. 
 
 Man's  share  with  the  Holy  Ghost  in  it.     156,  Dr.  Allestry,  &c. 
 Paul,  S. — How  qualified  to  be  an  Apostle.     622,  Norris. 
 
 His  equality  with  the  other  Apostles.     513,  /.  F. 
 
 When  consecrated  to  the  office.     351,  Abp,  Wake.     350,  Kelsall. 
 
 Probable  reason  of  His  special  call,  and  of  that  of  S.  Barnabas.  353,  Hooker. 
 355,  Bp.  Beveridge. 
 
 The  three  different  narratives  of  his  Conversion.     687,  Wolfe. 
 
 The  suddenness  and  completeness  of  his  change.     685,  687,  Dr.  Donne. 
 
 Two  particular  instances  of  the  amendment  wrovight  in  him.     G86,  /.  F. 
 
 His  outward  calling  only,  miraculous.     698,  Dr.  Waterland. 
 
 Highly  honoured  of  God.     591,  Dr.  Donne. 
 
 His  two-fold  championship.     636,  /.  F. 
 
 His  five  Missionary  journeys.     356,  J.  F. 
 
 His  journeys  to  the  far  west.     626,  S.  Jerome,  &c. 
 
 Probable  period,  when  he  was  caught  up  into  Paradise.     353,  Bp.  Patrick. 
 
 Why  not  delivered  out  of  prison,  as  S.  Peter  was,  by  an  Angel.     471,  De 
 Singlin. 
 
 Why  stoned  at  Lystra.     408,  Dr.  Jackson. 
 
 His  charge  at  Miletus.     589,  Baxter. 
 
 His  chain.     748,  S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 His  noble  character.     747,  Milner. 
 
 His  zeal  for  God  and  man.     613,  Seed. 
 
 His  yearning  over  the  Jews.     512,  /.  F. 
 
 His  charity  and  forbearance.     659,  747,  749,  J.  F. 
 
 His  anxiety  for  his  converts.     484,  Bp.  Jewel. 
 
 His  zeal  for  his  friends.     554,  Milner. 
 
 His  disinterestedness.     470,  Calvin. 
 
 His  faithfulness.     759,  Quesnel. 
 
 His  constancy  in  preaching.     754,  J.  F.     761,  Gurnall. 
 
 His  laboriousness  and  success  as  a  Missionary.     547,  Hervey. 
 
 His  prudence.     636,  Bp.  Andrewes.    637,  Dr  Allestry.     661,  Bp.  Hoi^ie. 
 
 His  sanctified  worldly  wisdom  exemplified.     448,  S.  Chrysostom,  &c. 
 
 The  judicious  management  of  his  speeches.     678,  Bp.  Jehb. 
 
 How  far  in  his  preaching  he  used  natural  means  and  human  wisdom.     767, 
 Fenelon. 
 
 Consideration  of  his  prudent  conduct  at  Athens.     493,  Lord  Lyttleton. 
 
 Like  to  S.  Peter,  in  his  Divine  victory  over  prejudice.     682,  /.  F. 
 
 Striking  coincidence  in  his  history  with  that  of  Saul  King  of  Israel.  259,  J^.  F. 
 
 Not  above  means  in  matters  predetermined  by  God.     644,  Abp.  Whately. 
 
INDEX  I.  781 
 
 Paul,  S. — continued. 
 
 The  different  character  of  his  hearers  at  Philippi.     461,  Bp.  Browtwig. 
 
 His  matter-of-fact  decisive  manner.     570,  /.  F. 
 
 The  same  man  everywhere.     733,  J.  F. 
 
 Instance  of  a  natural  inclination  in  him  being  sanctified.     246,  /.  F. 
 
 Persecuted  even  now  in  his  writings.     695,  Abp.  Whately. 
 
 His  infirmity  in  the  flesh.     634,  Bp,  Sumner. 
 
 His  ignorance  at  first,  how  far  blameable.     616,  Dr.  Waterland. 
 
 His  sin,  contrasted  with  that  of  David  and  of  S.  Peter.     685,  Bp.  Sanderson. 
 
 An  instance  of  his  true  repentance.     626,  J.  F. 
 Persecution. — The  lot  of  true  Christians.  164,  S.  Ambrose,  &c.   695,  Gurnall. 
 
 Exemption  from  it  no  blessing  to  a  Church.     518,  Milner. 
 
 That  of  the  Jews  exceeded  in  cruelty.     207,  S.  Jerome. 
 
 Its  external  violence  cannot  harm  the  Faith.      110,  Evelyn. 
 
 Does  not  always  arise  from  the  offence  of  the  cross.     555,  Meade. 
 
 What  should  be  the  plea  of  the  persecuted.     654,  Bunyan,  &c. 
 
 For  a  name.     676,  683,  Tertullian. 
 
 The  honour  bestowed  on  the  sufferers.     479,  Dr.  Horneck. 
 
 The  sufferer's  joy  completed  in  heaven.     151,  Boyle. 
 
 God  will  vindicate  the  scandals  heaped  on  His  Saints.     650,  Baxter. 
 Peter,  S. — His  Primacy,  how  limited.     24,  Dr.  Barrow. 
 
 His  Supremacy  disproved.     307,  Bp.  Burnet. 
 
 His  custody  and  use  of  the  Keys.    316,  423,  Bp.  Horsley.     419,  Bp.  Burnet. 
 
 His  Apostleship,  viewed  in  contrast  with  that  of  S.  Paul.     2,  97,  389,  Dr. 
 Jackson. 
 
 His  tone  and  doctrine  at  Pentecost  contrasted  with  that  of  the  Baptist. 
 1\,J.  F. 
 
 In  his  prison  compared  with  Herod  on  his  throne.     347^  /.  F. 
 
 His  deliverance  from  prison  viewed  figuratively.     333,  Jones.    338,  Gurnall. 
 
 Remarks  on  his  vision  of  the  sheet  let  down  from  heaven.     279,  315,  Bp. 
 Warburton.     291,  Dr.  Hammond. 
 
 Change  in  his  character  after  Pentecost.     283,  /.  JF'. 
 
 What  he  learned  by  his  fall.     26,  /.  F.     48,  S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 Proof  of  his  recovery  after  it.     133,  Dr.  Lightfoot. 
 Pharisees. — Less  foes  to  the  Gospel  than  were  the  Sadducees.     664,  Addison. 
 
 Their  insincere  siding  with  S.  Paul  against  the  Sadducees.     639,  Dr.  Jackson. 
 Philosophy. — Not  to  be  rejected.     181,  Clarius. 
 
 Why  the  heathen  failed  in  their  search  into  futurity.     498,  Davison. 
 
 That  of  the  heathen  made  available  to  Christianity.     494,  Bp.  Stilling  fleet  y 
 A.  Knox.     499,  /.  Martyr.     505,  Boyle,  &c. 
 Poetry. — The  associate  of  Theology.     500,  Woodford. 
 Prayer. — A  divine  life.     252,  Hooker,  &c. 
 
 Our  defence.     464,  Tertullian.     740,  Addison.     706,  S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 Its  supreme  power.     119,  Gurnall. 
 
 Its  blessedness.     272,  Dr.  Blair. 
 
782  INDEX  I. 
 
 Prayer — continued. 
 
 Its  influence  on  the  Word  and  Sacraments.     74,  Gurnall. 
 
 Its  preciousness  in  times  of  suffering.     331,  0.  Feltham,  &c. 
 
 A  most  affecting  season  for  it.     590,  M.  Henry,  &c. 
 
 For  our  enemies.     \\6,  Gurnall. 
 
 Quickens  the  appetite  for  God's  Word.     288,  Gurnall. 
 
 Advantages   of  stated   and   occasional   secret.      309,    Bp.   Butler.      277, 
 Bonnell,  &c. 
 
 Canonical  hours  of.     82,  Tertullian.     48,  S.  Cyprian. 
 
 In  the  early  Morning.     140,  Overberg,  &c. 
 
 The  Evening  sacrifice.     272,  Lee. 
 
 Midnight  commended.     464,  Law.     463,  /.  F. 
 
 Practicable  always.     310,  Farindon,  &c.     337,  Gurnall.     273,  /.  F. 
 
 Public  most  effectual.     82,  337,  S.  Chrysostom,  &c. 
 
 By  the  sea-side.     594,  712,  Flavel. 
 
 That  of  good  desires.     187,  Hooker. 
 
 What  renders  it  earnest.     680,  Gurnall. 
 
 Kneeling,  a  posture  on  fit  occasions.     594,  Biscoe. 
 Preaching. — God's  final  way  of  teaching  man  wisdom.     487,  Dr.  Donne. 
 
 Necessary  as  the  light  of  the  sun.     382,  Hurrion. 
 
 The  Apostolic  method  of  confirming  souls.     410,  J.  F. 
 
 In  what  view  of  it,  the  way  of  Life.     313,  Segneri. 
 
 A  method,  not  of  violence  but  persuasion.     384,  Dr.  Scott. 
 
 Its  designs  and  advantages.     385,  Bp.  Baily. 
 
 The  centre  Truth  of  Gospel  preaching.     153,  Bp.  Wllvaine. 
 
 Derives  much  of  its  foi'ce  from  reason  and  argument.     511,  Bp.  Atterhury. 
 
 In  what  consists  its  great  power.     543,  Dr.  Donne.     572,  aS*.  Chrysostom. 
 
 Demands  in  the  Minister  a  blameless  life.     698,  Bp.  Jebb. 
 
 Must  be  adapted  to  the  state  of  the  hearers.     661,  Bp.  Hard. 
 
 Caution,  as  to  preaching  "  all  the  counsel  of  God."     577,  J.  F. 
 
 Reserve  of  the  Apostles  exemplified.     55,  62,  503,  S.  Chrysostom.     506, 
 Wogan.     511,  Calvin. 
 
 The  advantage  of  dwelling  on  the  same  subjects.     383,  Bp.  Downhame. 
 
 Should  be  attended  with  acts  of  charity.     569,  /.  F.     572,  Bp.  Taylor. 
 587,  Bp.  Wilson.     258,  Plain  Sermons. 
 
 Must  be  pointed  in  reproving  sin.     660,  Bp.  Sanderson. 
 
 Must  be  demonstrative.     550,  Bp.  Hall. 
 
 Must  be  close  and  discriminating.     701,  Bp.  Brownrig.     755,  P.  Henry. 
 
 Hooker's  method  of.     534,  Walton. 
 
 Earnest  stirring  call  to  it.     584,  Baxter. 
 
 Relative  duties  of  preachers  and  hearers.     290,  Abp.  Sandys,  &c. 
 
 Its  two  effects  on  the  hearers.     754,  ^S".  Augustine,  &c.     760,  Bp.  Burnet. 
 
 Unprofitable  hearers.     372,  Herbert. 
 Pride. — A  sin  of  peculiar  malignity.  206,  Dr.  Man  ton.  119,  Isidore.  328,  Halea. 
 
 Whence  it  and  its  attendant,  levity  of  mind,  proceed.     505 ,  Hales. 
 
INDEX  I.  783 
 
 Awful  punishment  of  it  in  the  ease  of  Herod  Agrippa.     346,  Bp.  Hacket. 
 
 Seen  in  the  House  of  God.     675,  Bp.  Hacket. 
 Prophecy. — Poured  out  on  the  Primitive  Church.     325,  Dr.  Hickes. 
 
 How  exercised  by  Ministers  now.     442,  Bp.  Andrewes. 
 
 Its  several  periods  in  the  Old  Testament.     96,  Davison. 
 
 "Wondrous  power  of  Isaiah  liii.     237,  Bp.  Burnet. 
 
 A  singular  feature  in  his  prophecy.     235,  Davison. 
 
 Of  progressive  development.     52,  Bp.  Lowth. 
 
 Fulfilment  of  past,  emboldens  our  hopes  for  the  future.     656,  /.  Martyr. 
 Prophets. — The  relation  of  their  writings  to  the  law.     754,  Abp.  Usher. 
 
 Their  agreement  among  themselves.    93,  Abp.  Leighton.    300,  Hurrion,  &c. 
 
 Their  power  to  dispense  with  ritual  laws.     607,  Jortin. 
 
 The  case  of  **the  disobedient  Prophet."     599,  Reading. 
 Psalms. — The  Book  of,  our  Lord's  Prayer-book.     377,  Williams. 
 
 Their  sum  and  substance.     376,  S.  Augustine. 
 
 The  Church's  voice.     56,  S'.  Basil. 
 
 The  Bible's  heart.     64,  Dr.  Sibbes. 
 
 Their  remarkable  fulfilment.     37 1 ,  495,  /.  F. 
 
 Their  special  power.     25,  /.  F. 
 Reason. — Its  use  in  religion.     760,  Lord  Bacon. 
 
 Every  man's  right  to  use  it.     674,  Dr.  Waterland. 
 
 If  in  temporal,  much  more  to  be  exercised  in  things  eternal.     715,  Dr. 
 Lucas.     723,  Bp.  Andrewes. 
 Religion. — Derivation  of  the  term.     319,  Wogan. 
 
 Man's  true  exaltation.     288,  Addison. 
 
 None  real,  but  what  brings  us  into  relation  with  God.     197,  Newman. 
 
 Means  more  than  the  recognition  of  God's  existence.     501,  Bp.  Wilkins, 
 
 How  men  lose  its  substance.     516,  Abp.  Laud,  &c.     517,  Palmer. 
 
 Pervades  the  whole  life.     234,  M.  Henry. 
 
 Good  effects  of  moderation  in  promoting  it.     667,  Erasmus. 
 
 Poverty  no  just  plea  for  the  neglect  of  it.     510,  Dr.  Dyke. 
 
 Why  different  persons  do  not  examine  it.     552,  Dr.  Whichcote. 
 
 Who  are  its  greatest  enemies.     629,  Bp.  Hall. 
 
 Ceremonies,  not  to  be  set  aside  because  abused.     568,  Calvin. 
 
 Family  religion,  its  importance.     273,  P.  Henry.     469,  Skelton,  &c. 
 
 Paternal  advice  to  a  son.     707,  Bp.  Jewel. 
 Repentance. — Its  position  in  the  covenant  of  grace.  146,/.  F. ;  Bp.  Butler,  &c. 
 
 Its  vast  importance.     502,  P.  Henry. 
 
 A  preparation  to  Christ's  birth  in  us,  and  an  effect  of  it.     370,  Dr. 
 
 Hammond. 
 Inseparable  from  faith.     68,  /.  Mede. 
 Sometimes  in  Scripture  language  includes  faith.     147,  Dr.  Whichcote. 
 
 The  plank,  after  the  soul's  shipwreck.     730,  Abp.  Bramhall. 
 
 Consists  of  a  double  turning.     690,  Mede. 
 
 Has  an  eye  to  the  intrinsic  evil  of  sin.     231,  Bp.  Reynolds. 
 
784  INDEX  I. 
 
 Repentance — continued. 
 
 Requires  of  us  more  than  compunction.     72,  Bp.  Thomas. 
 
 Implies  something  to  be  done  by  us.     694,  Bp.  Andrewes. 
 
 When  it  must  be  openly  declared.     67,  Dr.  Barroio. 
 
 Encouragement  to  it.     257,  aS.  Chrysostom.     690,  Bp.  Hall. 
 Reproof. — O  that  men  would  obey  its  call !     502,  Dr.  Hammond. 
 
 Should  be  deliberative.     494,  /.  F. 
 Reputation. — With  what  view  to  be  desired.     80,  S.  Gregory.     138,  Cowley. 
 
 605,  Bp.  Bedell,  &c.     621,  P.  Henry,  &c. 
 Resignation. — Three  modes  of  submitting  our  wills  to  God.     521,  Ford. 
 
 Breaks  the  stormy  force  of  afflictions.     729,  8ir  M.  Hale. 
 
 Sings  in  a  prison.     332,  Swain. 
 
 Its  language.     600,  Ford. 
 
 Its  blessings.     619,  Gurnall. 
 Resurrection. — Less  wonderful  than  the  Crucifixion.     657,  S.  Augustine. 
 
 Brought  to  light  by  the  Gospel.     57,  Plain  Sermons. 
 
 Inconsistency  of  the  Jews'  opposition  to  the  doctrine.     681,  Dr.  Barrow. 
 
 Typified  in  the  cave  of  Machpelah.     172,  Jones. 
 
 The  qualities  of  a  glorified  body.     738,  Bj).  HacJcet. 
 Revelation. — To  be  reasonably  expected  on  the  ground  of  the  Divine  attri- 
 butes.    404,  Dr.  Barrow, 
 
 Its  differences  from  Inspiration.     1,  Lee. 
 Riches. ^Their  all-pervading  influence.     662,  Bp.  Andrewes,  &c. 
 
 Their  golden  fetters.     343,  Ellis. 
 
 Three  imperative  calls  to  the  abandonment  of  them.     122,  Perkins. 
 Rome. — Praises  of  its  original  Church.     746,  Tertullian. 
 
 Inquiries,  as  to  the  founder  of  its  Church.     743,  Bp.  Baily,  &c. 
 Sabbath  The. — Its  perpetual  honour.     366,  Bp.  D.  Wilson. 
 
 How  made  by  the  Apostles  a  means  of  introducing  the  Gospel.     473,  Bp. 
 White.     474,  Corn,  a  Lap. 
 Sacraments. — Are  seals  of  the  Word  of  God.     72,  Dr.  Littleton.     525,  Calvin. 
 
 Their  efficacy  derived  from  the  Blood  of  Christ.     74,  S.  Augustine. 
 
 Moral,  not  necessary  instruments.     221,  Hooker. 
 
 Not  absolutely  necessary.     418,  Farindon. 
 
 Distinctive  appellations  of  each.  81,  >S'.  Augustine. 
 Sacrifice. — What  we  design  in  it.  \^b,Abp.  Sandys. 
 Sadducees. — Their  opinions.     637,  Bp.  Bull,  &c. 
 
 Greater  enemies  to  the  faith  than  were  the  Pharisees.     100,  Addison. 
 Salvation. — Its  most  accepted  day,  at  Pentecost.     138,  Dr.  Frank. 
 
 All  to  be  resigned  for  its  sake.     710,  -S.  Gregory,  &c.     727,  J.  F.     630, 
 Art  of  Contentment. 
 Samaria. — Its  position,  and  the  instruments  of  its  conversion.     223,  /.  F. 
 Sanctification. — Its  necessity,  under  the  Gospel,  as  arising  from  the  nature 
 of  God.     99,  Dr.  Young. 
 
 How  its  work  is  hindered  in  us.     234,  Fletcher. 
 
INDEX  I.  785 
 
 Sanctifi  CATION — Continued. 
 
 How  promised  to  Abraham.     90,  /,  F. 
 Satan. — A  real  being,  not  nominal  only.     638,  Farindon,  &c. 
 
 His  manifold  powers.     220,  Dr.  Lightfoot. 
 
 His  curious  arts.     543,  Wogan,  &c. 
 
 Counterfeits  the  Truth.     220,  Bp.  Stillingfleet.     402,  Leslie. 
 
 Uaes  the  power  of  this  world  against  God.  358,  Gurnall.  390,  Bp, 
 Babington. 
 
 His  aim  to  destroy  Christian  unity.     446,  Gurnall.     602,  Calvin. 
 
 How  he  speaks  by  the  lips  of  men.     128,  Bp.  Lake. 
 
 Disappointed  in  the  result  of  his  temptations.     741,  Dr.  Donne. 
 Scoffing. — Its  origin,  as  distinguished  from  superstition.     505,  Dr.  Arnold,  &c. 
 
 Shuts  against  us  the  door  of  wisdom.     489,  Lord  Bacon. 
 Scoffers. — Their  society  to  be  avoided.     70,  M.  Henry. 
 
 Hardly  ever  saved,     47,  /.  F.,  &c. 
 
 Their  folly  and  unreasonableness.     47,  Bp.  Stillingfleet ,  &c. 
 Scriptures,  the  Holy. — Reason  for  valuing  them.     556,  Hooker. 
 
 Blessings  on  the  head  of  those  who  search  them.     234,  239,  /.  F. 
 
 A  special  blessing  on  them,  as  read  by  God's  Ministers.  431,  Bp. 
 Beveridge. 
 
 Correspondence  of  Old  with  New.  695,  Bp.  Babington.  696,  Abp.  Leigh' 
 ton.  Ill,  A.  Knox.  198,  Dr.  J.  Scott.  206,  Bp.  Home.  98,  Plain 
 Sermons. 
 
 The  distinctive  inward  spirit  of  each  Testament.     680,  W.  A.  Butler. 
 
 Centre  in  Christ.     300,  M.  Henry. 
 
 Christ  mystically  conceived  and  born  in  them.     696,  Dr.  Hammond. 
 
 How  honoured  in  "  the  Acts."      25,  /.  F. 
 
 Their  converting  power.     584,  Bp.  Brownrig. 
 
 Best  means  of  preserving  and  diffusing  the  faith.     450,  Abp.  Tillotson. 
 
 Preservatives  against  dreams  and  enthusiasm.     313,  Dr.  Whichcote. 
 
 The  knowledge  of  them  furthers  other  knowledge.  484,  Dr.  Arnold.  500, 
 H.  Martyn. 
 
 Our  pilgrimage  through  them,  leading  us  to  God.     234,  Luther. 
 
 Supply  the  personal  attendance  on  us  of  S.  Paul.     726,  Jones. 
 
 Our  best  weapon  in  controversies.     753,  Bp.  Hall. 
 
 Their  truth  proved  by  their  unchanged  character.      151,  Luther. 
 
 The  Jewish  dispersion  kept  them  in  their  entireness.     430,  S.  Augustine. 
 
 Imperishable.     430,  Sir  T.  Browne. 
 
 Exceed  in  power  the  utmost  efforts  of  man.     362,  Boyle,  &c. 
 
 Importance  of  their  repeated  testimonies.     93,  Musculus. 
 
 How  their  promises  are  like  a  well  drawn  portrait.     398,  Gurnall. 
 
 Their  impartiality.     444,  Fenelon. 
 
 Danger  of  our  refusing  to  hear  them.    388,  Dr.  Hammond. 
 
 The  office  of  tradition  in  respect  to  them.     432,  Bp.  Stillingfleet. 
 
 Dictated  by  the  Spirit,  must  be  spiritually  read.     236,  ^.  Bernard. 
 E    E    E 
 
786  INDEX  I. 
 
 Scriptures,  the  Holy — continued. 
 
 Self-interpreting.     239,  S.  Hilary,  &c. 
 
 Office  of  human  reason  in  connection  with  their  study.     520,  Dr.  Water- 
 land.     474,  Hooker. 
 
 Danger  of  a  false  interpretation.     236,  Dr.  Donne.     541 ,  Bp.  Hacket, 
 
 Rule  of  exposition  by  Ministers.     540,  Bp.  Taylor. 
 
 How  to  be  read.     481.     Abp.  Parker. 
 
 Right  and  obligation  of  the  Laity  concerning  them.     481,  Dr.  J.  Scott. 
 
 Because  of  any  obscurity  in  them,  not  to  be  set  aside.    236,  Clarius.     238, 
 Boyle. 
 
 Should  be  the  study  of  Kings.     701 ,  Bp.  Jewel. 
 Sectarianism. — An  easy  work  compared  with  that  of  being  a  Christian.     324, 
 Baxter. 
 
 How  incurred,  and  its  evils.     75,  Dean  Young. 
 
 Harm  done  to  religion  by  appealing  to  the  bad  passions  of  the  people. 
 411,  J.  F.     611,  Bp.  Hall. 
 
 The  number  of  sects  no  objection  to  our  embracing  Christianity.     517,  ^S*. 
 Clem.  Alex.     582,  Bp.  Copleston. 
 Sedition. — Often  springs  from  mercenary  motives.     150,  Bp.  Andrewes. 
 Self-examination. — An  instance  of  it.     270,  /.  F. 
 
 A  point  of  selfishness.     365,  Adam. 
 Servants. — Honourable  reference  to  them  in  Scripture.     338,  J.  F.     338,  S. 
 
 Chrysostom. 
 Simon  Magus. — Partner  with  Judas  Iscariot.     227,  Bp.  Andretves. 
 Simony. — An  aggravated  sin.     231,  Abp.  Sandys. 
 
 How  Christ  was  guilty  of  it.     580,  Dr.  Donne. 
 Sin. — Its  forgiveness  conditional.     692,  Dr.  Hammond. 
 
 Confession  of  it  to  God  required  of  us.     132,  S.  Ambrose. 
 
 After   Baptism  it   calls   for   repentance,  not  for   regeneration.     230,  Dr. 
 Water  land. 
 
 The  sure  end  of  obstinacy  in  it.     381,  Bp.  Taylor,  &c. 
 
 When  our  endurance  of  its  temptations  shines  brightest.     598,  /.  F. 
 
 God's  various  ways  of  preventing  it.     341,  Bp.  Sanderson. 
 
 God  overrules  it  for  good.     415,  /S.  Chrysostom. 
 
 Figured  by  bodily  defects.     397,  /.  F. 
 
 Begs  further  indulgence  in  the  first  stage  of  conviction.     661,  Dr.  Bates. 
 
 Partial  abandonment  of  it.     711,  Mede. 
 
 The  after  disrelish  of  it.     652,  Bp.  Reynolds. 
 
 Our  sad  state,  on  our  not  being  presently  punished  for  it.     329,  aS".  Augustine. 
 
 Generally  causes  sin.     132,  Dr.  South,  &c. 
 
 Not  excused  by  pleading  God's  predestination.     54,  /.  F.,  &c. 
 
 Has  estranged  from  man  the  brute  creation.     734,  Bp.  Sanderson,  &c. 
 Sincerity. — The  greatest  of  social  virtues.     127,  Toplady. 
 
 Commended  in  our  relations  to  God.     458,  Dr.  Dyke. 
 Slander. — The  common  lot  of  holy  men  in  Scripture.     164,  Bp.  Hacket. 
 
INDEX  I.  787 
 
 Slander — continued. 
 
 Its  threefold  guilt  and  harm.     165,  Isidore. 
 
 How  to  be  treated.     697,  Dean  Boys,  &c. 
 Solomon. — His  glory  in  the  search  of  truth.     233,  Jjord  Bacon. 
 
 Special  honour  paid  to  him  in  this  Book.     88,  /.  F. 
 Speech. — Rules  for  it.     698,  Quarles. 
 
 Wisdom  of  refraining  it.     633,  Quarles.     282,  Sir  H.  Sidney. 
 
 Silence  necessary  to  its  i-ight  exercise.     555,  Palmer.     654,  Perkins. 
 
 Power  of  gentleness.     561,  Bp.  Bahington. 
 
 Its  arrogancy.     386,  Farindon. 
 
 That  of  others  easily  misconstrued.     480,  Cecil. 
 
 Why  we  should  avoid  defamation.     613,  Dr.  Whichcote,  &c. 
 Spirit,  the  Holy. — His  wondrous  acts  recorded  in  this  Book.     536,  S.  Cyril. 
 
 Shown  in  the  Acts  to  be  the  Divine  Remembrancer.     314,  J.  F. 
 
 His  part  in  the  Doxology.     756,  Hurrion. 
 
 His  Procession.     39,  Bp.  Andrewes.     8,  Skelton. 
 
 His  Personality  declared  at  the  Council  of  Jerusalem.     436,  Hurrion. 
 
 His  Personality  shown  from  the  calling  of  Ministers.     352,  Dr.  Owen. 
 
 The  vicarious  power  of  Christ.     11,  Bp.  Patrick. 
 
 Angel  of  the  Lord  after  Pentecost.     232,  /.  F. 
 
 The  God  of  all  comfort.     263,  Hurrion. 
 
 All-pervading  light.     690,  S.  Dionysius. 
 
 His  universal  agency.     50,  Dr.  Donne,  &c. 
 
 The  promise  of  the  Christian  Covenant.     69,  Abp.  Whately. 
 
 The  Blessing  of  Abraham.     98,  /.  F. 
 
 The  giver  of  faith.     398,  Bp.  Beveridye. 
 
 The  internal  witness  to  Christ.     147,  Dr.  Barrow. 
 
 Is  in  God's  word  and  promises.     11,  Dell. 
 
 Acted  on  men  before  Pentecost.     25,  Olshausen.     41,  Ludolp/ius.     49,  Dr. 
 Allestry. 
 
 The  Spirit  of  Prayer.     22,  Gerhard. 
 
 His  works  of  Providence.     452,  Hurrion. 
 
 His  Descent  at  Pentecost.     36,  Abp.  Bramhall,  &c. 
 
 His  appearance  visible  only  at  Pentecost.     533,  Dr.  Frank. 
 
 His  settlement  with  us  under  the  Gospel.  437,  Dr.  Frank.  41,  Homilies,  &c. 
 
 How  He  governed  the  infant  Church.     451,  Skelton. 
 
 The  case  of  His  forbidding  the  Gospel  to  be  preached  by  S,  Paul  in  Bithynia. 
 453,/.  F.,  &c. 
 
 His  former  and  present  witness  to  Christ.     148,  Baxter. 
 
 He  formed  the  Apostles  into  one  living  visible  society.     73,  Newman.     80, 
 Dr.  Donne. 
 
 His  distinctive  operations,  as  One  in  the  Trinity.     15,  Dr.  R.  Clerke. 
 
 His  threefold  fulness.     157,  Leigh. 
 
 His  nine  distinct  extraordinary  gifts.     596,  Bp.  Horsley. 
 
 Distinction  between  His  common  and  special  gifts.     301,  Dr.  Hickes. 
 
788 
 
 INDEX  I. 
 
 Spirit,  the  Holy — continued. 
 
 Employs  a  variety  of  means  of  edification.     287,  Gurnall. 
 
 His  manifold  gifts  to  what  ends  distributed  to  different  persons.    162,  Dean 
 Young. 
 
 Attached  to  a  continued  Ministry.     314,  Dell. 
 
 How  His  grace  produces  an  opposite  effect  to  the  operation  of  nature.    496, 
 Dell. 
 
 His  threefold  effects  illustrated  by  the  solar  rays.     533,  Toplady. 
 
 His  various  operations  expressed,  severally,  by  proper  theological  terms. 
 532,  J.  F. 
 
 Restricted  certain  gifts  to  certain  persons.     597,  Calvin. 
 
 Works  often  within  us  insensibly.     335,  Dell. 
 
 His  teaching.     533,  Dr.  Scott.     620,  31.  Smith.     314,  Farindon. 
 
 His  gradual  teaching  exemplified.     292,  Farijidon.     308,  A.  Knox» 
 
 Different  mode  of  teaching  different  persons.     467.  J.  F.,  &c. 
 
 Does  not  supersede  our  deliberation.     435,  Farindon. 
 
 Seen  in  the  opening  of  our  hearts  and  hands  to  our  brethren.     125,  /.  F. 
 
 His  joys  independent  of  bodily  excitements.     726,  TojHady. 
 
 Ignorance  of  Him  among  Christians.     529,  Bp.  Hurd. 
 
 Necessity  of  our  receiving  Him.     528,  Bp   Andrewes,  &c. 
 
 The  danger  of  resisting  Him.     756,  Dr.  Allestry. 
 S.  Stephen. — His  name  from  a  Crown.    210,  P.  Chrysologus.    212,  Dr.  Spark. 
 
 How  much  more  than  a  Deacon.     162,  Ellis. 
 
 Favoured  with  a  special  revelation.     165,  /.  F.     Another  Moses.     166, 
 Jones. 
 Suicide. — Why  forbidden.     28,  Bp.  Fleetwood,  &c. 
 
 Dangerous  mode  of  speaking  of  it.     465,  Th.  Scott. 
 
 Arguments  against  it.     465,  Bunyan. 
 Superstition. — Its  nature  and  effects.     492,  Smith,  &c. 
 Supper,  the  Lord's. — Followed  by  the  Love-feast.     156,  Bp.  Patrick. 
 Swearing.— A  gratuitous  sin,  643,  S.  Anyustine. 
 Thanksgiving. — At  meals.     724,  Bp.  Baily,  &c. 
 Theatres. — Dangerous  to  souls.     553,  Wilherforce,  &c.     554,  Bp.  Sherlock. 
 
 More  frequented  than  Churches.     553,  Salvian. 
 Time. — Our  sole  property,  and  its  proper  improvement.     490,  S.  Bernard,  &c. 
 506,  Quesnel. 
 
 The  opportunity  of  salvation.     706,  Farindon. 
 
 Importance  of  the  present  moment.     662,  P.  Henry. 
 Trinity  — May  be  traced  in  the  Polytheism  of  the  heathens.     399,  Forbes. 
 Truth. — Its  words  endure.     221,  Newman. 
 
 Regard  to  private  interests  its  chief  opponent.    667,  Bp.  Stilling  fleet.    672, 
 Boys,  &c. 
 
 Passion  a  hindrance  in  our  search  after  it.     387,  Bp.  Bedell.     390,  Bp. 
 Atterbury. 
 Types. — Speak  the  language  of  doctrine,     285,  Dr.  Jackson. 
 
INDEX  II.  789 
 
 Unity.     In  the  Church— How  to  be  attained.     391 ,  Bp.  Sanderson. 
 
 Two  ways  of  disturbing  it.     416,  Norris.     418,  Hales.     435,  Lord  Bacon. 
 
 The  call  of  the  Trumpets.     560,  Bp.  Andrewes. 
 Vows. — Left  under  the  Gospel,  as  found  under  the  Law.     519,  Bp.  Taylor. 
 
 Rules,  concerning  them.     645,  Isidore. 
 War. — Its  lawfulness  inferred  from   two  places  in  this   Book.     646,  Grotius. 
 509,  /.  F. 
 
 Compared  with  Peace.     647,  Herbert. 
 Woman. — Scripture  records  of  female  goodness.     266,  Milner. 
 Works,  Good. — What  constitutes  them.     265,  Sir  M.  Hale. 
 
 Moral  a  preparation  for  spiritual.     282,  Dr.  Hammond. 
 World. — Its  vanity  at  the  best.     675,  Farindon,  &c.     343,  Law,  &c. 
 
 How  to  use  it  without  sin.     742,  Sehieccerus,  &c. 
 
 How  to  live  above  it.     194,  Law. 
 Youth. — Its  characteristics  in  matters  of  action.     210,  Lord  Bacon. 
 Zeal. — Must  be  added  to  love.     39,  Bp.  Hacket,  &c. 
 
 Becomes  a  Christian.     385,  Flavel. 
 
 In  a  bad  cause.     629,  Dr.  Whichcote. 
 Zealots. — A  Jewish  sect.     640,  644,  Dr.  Hammond. 
 
 INDEX  11. 
 
 OF  THE  LATIN  VEKSES. 
 
 Abraham. — A  picture  of  him  journeying  to  Canaan.     171,  Dobson. 
 
 Arius. — In  his  death  like  Judas.     27   Baronius. 
 
 Charity. —  Must  be  prompt.     327,  Ausonius. 
 
 Church. — Had  its  birth  and  growth  in  sufferings.  207,  Anonym.  218,  Gallutius. 
 
 Admonition  at  close  of  its  Service.     234,  Paulinus. 
 Creeds. — The  Apostles'.     241,  Macrinus. 
 Baptism. — Its  cleansing  power.     243,  Lactantius. 
 
 Its  spiritual  benefits.     523,  Paulinus. 
 Catechist. — Seen  engaged  in  his  work.     524,  Burton. 
 Christ. —The  communication  of  properties  in  His  two  natures,     581,  Nicols. 
 
 By  His  sinlessness  conquered  death.     55,  Prudentius. 
 
 The  only  acceptable  Sacrifice.     166,  Melancthon. 
 
790  INDEX  II. 
 
 Christ— confmned. 
 
 A  Man  of  sorrows.     237,  Rosceus.     Ill,  Macrinus. 
 
 Our  pattern  of  suffering.     110,  Gcr.  van  Rheyden. 
 
 By  love  we  are  crucified  with  Him.     55,  Haeftenus. 
 
 A  desire  to  be  bound  with  Him.     704,  Haeftenus. 
 
 Tlie  triumph  of  His  Resurrection.     63,  Barlceus. 
 
 Prayer  to  Him  in  our  spiritual  voyage.     710,  Rosaeus. 
 
 Pleading  our  interest  in  Him.     239,  Selneccerus. 
 Christianity. — Triumphant  over  the  heathen  oracles,  &c.     546,  Macrinus. 
 Conscience. — Its  binding  severity  when  erroneous.     683,  Dt\  Barroiv. 
 Cross. — Its  wonders  and  praises.     145,  T.  Bochlus. 
 
 Its  honour.     J  53,  Haeftenus. 
 
 Its  fertility.     374,  Haeftenus.     296,  Cahillaus. 
 
 Its  crown.     626,  Haeftenus. 
 
 The  anchor  of  the  soul.     719,  Haeftenus. 
 
 A  preservative.     738,  Prudentius. 
 
 Wreathed  with  the  serpent.     719,  Anonymous. 
 Day  of  Judgment. — Its  constant  Memento.     53,  S.  Jerome. 
 Day,  the  Lord's. — Its  holy  duties  and  heavenly  blessings.     567,  Zuinger. 
 DiONYSius. — His  remark  on  observing  the  eclipse  at  the   time  of  our  Lord'jj 
 
 Crucifixion.     507,  Hessus. 
 Faith. — Opens  the  lips  to  speak  of  God.     Ill,  Macrinus. 
 
 In  maintaining  His  cause,  commended.     140,  Boethius. 
 
 And  exemplified.     641,  Paulinus. 
 God. —  Incomprehensible.     203,  Buchanan, 
 
 A  delineation  of  His  glorious  attributes.     502,  Br.  Barroiv. 
 
 A  search  after  Him,  as  He  is  our  All.     498,  Hugo.     404,  Selneccerus. 
 
 A  guide  and  comfort  in  our  desolations.     233,  Propertius.     712,  Melanc- 
 than.     342,  Haeftenus. 
 
 He  saves  His  servants  from  the  ungodly.     648,  Jonston. 
 
 His  service  is  true  liberty.     717,  Prosper. 
 
 We  must  serve  Him  sincerely.     130,  ^S*.  Greg.  Naz. 
 
 He  looks  to  the  heart.     33,  B.  Mantuanus.     402,  Bauhusius. 
 
 His  praise  sung  by  Sailors,  saved  from  shipwreck.     731,  Beza. 
 Grace. — Its  heart-transforming  power.     421,  Prosper. 
 
 Co-operates  with  our  free-will.     698,  Prosper. 
 Heaven. — To  be  kept  in  view  in  our  spiritual  voyage.     712,  Billius. 
 
 Earnest  sighs  for  it.     13,  Hugo. 
 Herod. — A  murderous  family.     329,  Lyra. 
 Herod  Agrippa. — His  suitable  punishment.     346.  Paulinus. 
 Humility. — Kings  and  great  people  taught  it.     348,  Waerenborch. 
 Idolaters. — Remonstrance  with  thera.     495,  Buchanan. 
 Jesus. — His  Name,  both  sweet  and  powerful.     542,  Prudentius. 
 Jews.— Their  Twelve  Tribes.     174,  ^S'.  Greg.  Naz. 
 Joseph.— A  type  of  Christ.     178,  Rosceus. 
 
INDEX  11.  791 
 
 Joseph — continued. 
 
 His  victory  over  concupiscence.     175,  Claudian. 
 Judas. — His  epitaph.     27,  Barlaus. 
 Kings. — Exhorted.     663,  Grotius.     677,  Claudian. 
 Knowledge. — Christian  far  better  than  classical  heathen.  500,  Card.  Barberini. 
 
 Practical  far  better  than  speculative.     487,  Billius. 
 
 Must  not  be  curious  in  things  unrevealed.     15,  Scaliger. 
 Love. — The  stamp  of  the  value  of  our  obedience.     127,  Graswinkelius. 
 Malta. — Its  rock  and  Order  of  Knights  Templars.     733,  Dr.  Barrow. 
 Man. — His  first  creation.     497,  Dracontius. 
 
 Like  unto  the  beasts  that  perish.     310,  Billius. 
 Martyrdom. — Its  true  character  seen  in  S.  Stephen.  576,  Pantaleon  Candidus. 
 Martyrs. — Their  praise.     322,  S.  Ambrose. 
 
 Triumphant  reply  of  one  of  them.     145,  Prudentius. 
 
 On  certain,  who  were  shipwrecked.     705,  M.  C.  Sarbievius. 
 Ministers. — Their  life  tells  more  than  their  preaching.     588,  Audoenus. 
 
 Picture  of  one,  confirming  souls  under  suffering,     411,  Paulinns. 
 Moses. — His  exposure  in  the  river.     181,  Becanus. 
 
 At  the  bush.     187,  Sedulius.     188,  Prudentius. 
 Old  age. — Its  double  honour.     &0\ ,  Anonymous. 
 S.  Paul. — His  praises.     617,  Card.  Barberini, 
 
 His  conversion  and  preaching.     260,  Vida.     674,  Macrinus. 
 
 The  morning  wolf.     245,  Vida.     257,  Prudentius. 
 
 At  Lystra.     398,  Arator. 
 
 At  Athens.     484,  Rossetus.     488,  Arator. 
 
 Examined  by  Lysias.     614,  Rossetus. 
 
 His  plea  of  being  a  Roman.     629,  Audoenus. 
 
 Shakes  off  the  serpent.     737,  Arator. 
 
 Visits  the  far-West.     637,  V.  Fortunatus. 
 S.  Peter.-— His  sermon  at  Pentecost.     65,  Clarke. 
 
 At  Joppa.     277,  Arator. 
 
 At  Lydda  and  Joppa.     270,  Gallutius. 
 
 His  deliverance  from  prison.     336,  Gallutius.    334,  Algerius.    336,  Hugo. 
 Pharisees. — Their  opinions.     639,  Selneccerus. 
 Philosophy. — Inadequate  guide  to  our  true  Life.     489,  Prosper. 
 Prayer. — The  seven  hours  of.     82,  Alvarado,  (with  a  French   and  English 
 translation.) 
 
 Suited  to  the  Ember-week.     35,  Gilpin. 
 Priest. — His  character  and  office.     158,  Weever. 
 Repentance. — Must  not  be  delayed.     622,  Latin  Anthology. 
 Resurrection. — Seen  in  objects  of  nature.     682,  Dracontius. 
 Rome. — Proud  of  being  the  scene  of  S.  Paul's  death.     746,  Vida. 
 Sadducees. — Their  opinions.     639,  Selneccerus . 
 Salvation. — In  only  one  way  to  be  found.     107,  Audoenus. 
 Satan. — Counterfeits  the  truth.     402,  Dr.  Barrow. 
 
792  INDEX  II. 
 
 Schism. — A  remonstrance  with  its  promoters.     75,  Grotius. 
 Scriptures. — How  to  be  read.     482,  Kilvert. 
 
 Use  and  intent  of  their  obscurities.     236,  Prosper. 
 Simony. — In  what  it  consists.     228,  Anonymous. 
 Sin. — Freedom  from  it  true  liberty.      Gerardus  van  Rheyden. 
 Sleep. — The  case  of  Eutychus.     570,  Arator. 
 Solitude. — A  blessed  state.     570,  Anonymous. 
 Solomon. — His  temple  eclipsed.     89,  Prudentius. 
 Spirit,  the  Holy. — His  Pentecostal  gift  of  tongues.    45,  Paulinus.    39,  Arator. 
 
 The  blessedness  of  His  being  in  us.     529,  Vida. 
 
 His  praise  and  our  prayer.     42,  Card.  Barberini. 
 Speech. — Less  difficult  than  silence.     633,  Bauhusius. 
 S.  Stephen. — His  death.     208,  Arator.     213,  Macrinus. 
 
 His  Crown.     626,  Prudentius. 
 Storms. — Prevent  our  future  ventures.     709,  Grotius. 
 Unity. — Its  advantages.     562,  Dunceus.     294,  Prudentius. 
 
 Prevented  by  regard  to  private  interests.     120,  Lorinus. 
 Vows. — Argument  for  their  performance.      135,  -S'.  Greg.  Naz. 
 Wisdom. — Attained  by  frequently  repeated  single  lessons.     383,  Anonymous. 
 
 How  shown  in  the  voyage  of  life.     728,  Bitlius. 
 
 In  falling  in  with  local  religious  customs.    606,  Bp.  Taylor.    81 ,  Bp.  Lowth ; 
 Melancthon. 
 
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